Meriwether Lewis is in St. Louis when Charles Gratiot forwards about $1500 in bills. At winter camp on the Wood River, William Clark arranges the boats’ loads. In Worcester, Massachusetts, republican Samuel Brazer gives a fervent speech commemorating the Louisiana cession.
Captains’ Quarters
Provided by the U.S. Army Center of Military History.
Arranging Stores
I still arrangeing the Stores &c.
—William Clark
Expedition Bills
St. Louis the 12th May 1804
Kaskaskia Mr. Wm. Morrison
Mr. Pike will deliver you three Bills of exchange with the letter of advice on each, which I have endorsed to Messrs. Guy Bryan & Wm. Morrison; Those Bills are drawn by Capt. Meriwether Lewis on the Secretary at War, they are by first and second, all here enclosed.
The first
No. 42 his of the Sum of $477.25 The second No. 43 his of 72.51 2/3 The third No. 44—of 950.23 1/3 Charles Gratiot to William Morrison[1]Donald Jackson, ed. Letters of the Lewis and Clark Expedition with Related Documents: 1783-1854, 2nd ed., (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1978), 189.
Weather Diary
Thermometer at rise
Weather Wind at Thermometer at 4 oCk. P.M. Weather Wind at 4 oCk. P.M River 44 above fair E 80 above fair W fall 3 in. the wind at 4 was uncomly hard.
—Meriwether Lewis[2]To assist the reader, the editor of this web page has omitted the date column, merged the “River” columns, and spelled out some abbreviations.
Brazer’s Louisiana Cession Address
Also on this day, Samuel Brazer, Jr. (1785–1823) makes his pronouncement to the citizens in Worcester, Massachusetts in favor of the Louisiana cession
THE event we celebrate, whether we regard merely its intrinsic consequence, or the mode in which it was produced, will well justify our joy and gratulation. The acquisition of the vast territory of Louisiana, in itself was a great, a wonderful achievement of wisdom and policy. The means, by which it was obtained, afford an honorable, an unprecedented example of magnanimity and justice.
. . . . .
FELLOW CITIZENS! In the occasion of our joy, we anticipate neither the excesses of Liberty, nor the horrors of Tyranny. We rejoice, that an Empire of Laws is about to be established ; that mild, social, rational Freedom is about to pervade a wildely-extended terrritory [sic]; that Despotism and his minions are expelled from this fair American Eden, and that the “cherubim” are posted, and the “flaming sword, which turneth every way” is suspended, to prevent their return.
. . . . .
“Who is not WITH us, is AGAINST us:—and whoso GATHERETH not, SCATTERETH!”
NEVER had a cause nobler inducements to offer;—never had a cause better or more brilliant prospects. The Sun of Republicanism has grown brighter and brighter, almost unto perfect day![3]Samuel Brazer, Jr., Address, Pronounced at Worcester, on May 12th, 1804, in Commemoration of the Cession of Louisiana to the United States (Worcester: Sewall Goodridge, 1804), 6, 13, 15.
Winter Camp at Wood River (Camp Dubois) is a High Potential Historic Site along the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail managed by the U.S. National Park Service. The site, near Hartford, Illinois, is managed as Lewis and Clark State Historic Site and is open to the public.
Notes
| ↑1 | Donald Jackson, ed. Letters of the Lewis and Clark Expedition with Related Documents: 1783-1854, 2nd ed., (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1978), 189. |
|---|---|
| ↑2 | To assist the reader, the editor of this web page has omitted the date column, merged the “River” columns, and spelled out some abbreviations. |
| ↑3 | Samuel Brazer, Jr., Address, Pronounced at Worcester, on May 12th, 1804, in Commemoration of the Cession of Louisiana to the United States (Worcester: Sewall Goodridge, 1804), 6, 13, 15. |
Experience the Lewis and Clark Trail
The Lewis and Clark Trail Experience—our sister site at lewisandclark.travel—connects the world to people and places on the Lewis and Clark Trail.
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.
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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).