Day-by-Day with Lewis & Clark
December 16, 1803
Eight men from Tennessee
Winter Camp at Wood River, IL Clark sends Sgt. Floyd to Cahokia with letters for Lewis. Samuel Griffith, a local farmer, visits camp. In the evening, Drouillard arrives at Cahokia with eight new recruits brought from a fort in Tennessee.
December 16, 1804
A letter from Chaboillez
Fort Mandan, ND Traders Hugh Heney and François-Antoine Larocque bring a letter from the manager of Fort Assiniboine of the North West Company accompanied by Budge of the Hudson’s Bay Company. Information is exchanged and the three traders spend the night
December 16, 1805
Filling the meat house
Fort Clatsop, Astoria, OR After a wet night without fires, Clark’s large group brings in the meat of sixteen elk as a coastal gale storm topples trees.
Latest Additions
- Prior Military Careers -
Prior to the Lewis and Clark Expedition, William Clark and Meriwether Lewis began their military careers by actively serving in their local militias. After that, they joined the regular army and first met during the Ohio Valley's Indian wars.
- Henry Dearborn -
As Secretary of War during the expedition, Henry Dearborn made several decisions critical to the it's success, and he was the one who gave Clark's the military rank of lieutenant.
- The American Philosophical Society -
In this brief extract from We Proceeded On, the quarterly journal of the Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation, Carol MacGregor explains the beginning and purpose of the American Philosophical Society and its connection to the Lewis and Clark Expedition.
- Hunter and Dunbar Expedition -
While Lewis and Clark wintered in North Dakota, Dunbar and Hunter explored the Ouachita River in Arkansas. They would alter Jefferson's plans to explore the Red and Arkansas Rivers.
- Harpers Ferry -
During preparations, Lewis relied on the Harpers Ferry Armory and Arsenal for the guns and hardware that would meet his unique requirements.
The Trail
Native Nations Encountered
Northwest Coast
Plateau / Southwest
Northeast
More
The Boats
Starting at Pittsburgh, traveling to the Pacific Ocean, and then returning to St. Louis, the Lewis and Clark Expedition traveled approximately 10,600 miles. Of that, 85%—over 9,000 miles—was by boat. To understand travel in the early 1800 American West is to understand the boats and challenges of river navigation.
A Military Corps
Throughout the expedition the soldiers were expected to conform to the rules and routines of the frontier soldier of 1803.
The Trail
Starting with its genesis in Jefferson’s Monticello, Lewis’s training and preparations in Philadelphia, and the keeled boat’s excursion down the Ohio River, the route they took, often called the Lewis and Clark Trail, crosses the continent weaving an epic tale of western exploration treasured by many today.
Louisiana’s Purchase
The President’s representatives in Paris had bargained successfully with Napoleon’s bureaucrats not only to buy the port of New Orleans, then the keystone of the continent, but also to acquire, at three cents an acre, an area extending from the Mississippi River to . . . where? No one knew until Meriwether Lewis stood at the crest of the Rocky Mountains at a place known today as Lemhi Pass, on 12 August 1805.
Medicine on the Trail
From major crisis such as the death of Sgt. Floyd, Lewis’s gunshot wound, and the illness of Sacagawea to minor events such as sexually transmitted diseases, mosquito-born illnesses, and deep cuts, the medical aspects of the Lewis and Clark Expedition provide an interesting topic of study.
Native American Nations
The Lewis and Clark Expedition benefited from the Indians’ knowledge and support. Maps, route information, food, horses, open-handed friendship—all gave the Corps of Discovery the edge that spelled the difference between success and failure.
Trail Diplomacy
Lewis and Clark left behind among many Indians a legacy of nonviolent contact. Those who came later enjoyed that legacy and too often betrayed it.
People
The success of the Lewis and Clark Expedition was due to its many members and the people they met, including politicians, Eastern gentleman scientists, traders, and the many people already living in the American west.
Related Explorers
Lewis and Clark were among several significant explorers of North America both before and after the expedition.
The Arts
Because of the literate journalists, historians and visual artists can tell the Expedition’s story. When they celebrated with song and dance, we too can share in the experience.
Hunting and Fishing
Although hunting and fishing were often considered a ‘gentleman’s sport’ especially in Europe, hunting and fishing for Native Americans and Americans alike were a matter of survival. The success of the Lewis and Clark Expedition depended on the success of its hunters.
Horse Travel
To cross the Rocky Mountains, the Lewis and Clark Expedition needed horses and the skills to manage them. Despite their seemingly constant struggle to find missing and stolen horses, as a kind of calvary unit, they left hoof prints on approximately 1,500 miles of western terrain.
Language
From clichés and colorful sayings of the time to Native American languages, these pages feature the art of language.
The Fur Trade
Given President Jefferson’s directive to establish commerce, the captains worked extensively within a long-established network of North American fur trade. Part of their mission was to help establish the United States of America’s position within that industry.
Tools and Techniques
Other Topics
Other topics include music, holidays, High Potential Historic Sites, and an index of articles from We Proceeded On.
Expedition Members
Legacies
Legacy is a very slippery sort of term. If we could erase our myth concepts of Lewis and Clark … it might reawaken something really extraordinary in our national consciousness.
Calendar
Expedition Calendar
Links to every day-by-day page in a calendar format spanning 31 August 1803 to 26 September 1806. A page every day!
Scientific Explorations
Their work in the emerging fields of botany, ethnography, geography, geology, and zoology are now considered classics of early American scientific literature.
Discover More
- The Lewis and Clark Expedition: Day by Day by Gary E. Moulton (University of Nebraska Press, 2018). The story in prose, 14 May 1804–23 September 1806.
- The Lewis and Clark Journals: An American Epic of Discovery (abridged) by Gary E. Moulton (University of Nebraska Press, 2003). Selected journal excerpts, 14 May 1804–23 September 1806.
- The Lewis and Clark Journals. by Gary E. Moulton (University of Nebraska Press, 1983–2001). The complete story in 13 volumes.
This site is provided as a public service by the
Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation
with cooperation and funding from the following organizations:
- Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail
- Montana Committee for the Humanities
- Idaho Governor's Lewis and Clark Trail Committee
- The Capital Gallery (Lewis and Clark Fort Mandan Foundation)
- Yellowstone Public Radio
Unless otherwise noted, journal excerpts are from The Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, edited by Gary E. Moulton, 13 vols. (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1983-2001).