Day-by-Day / March 2, 1804

March 2, 1804

Opportunistic soldiers

Winter Camp at Wood River, IL As indicated in the Lewis’s detachment order of 3 March 1804, some soldiers use the cover of hunting trips and other errands to visit a local “whiskey shop” contrary to orders given before Clark and Lewis left for St. Louis.

Young Recruit from Kentucky

by Michael Haynes

1803 soldier in blue pants and tan coat

© Michael Haynes, https://www.mhaynesart.com. Used with permission.

The artist here depicts a Kentucky frontier soldier recruited by Clark. This soldier wears a tan coatee and blue overalls and carries a model 1792 Springfield (see Outfitting the Expedition and Muskets and Rifles).[1]Robert J. Moore, Jr. and Michael Haynes, Lewis & Clark: Tailor Made, Trail Worn (Helena: Far Country Press, 2003), 144.

Opportunistic Soldiers

Detachment Orders
Camp River Dubois, Febr. 20th 1804

. . . .

No man shal absent himself from camp without the knowledge and permission of Sergt. Ordway, other than those who have obtained permission from me to be absent on hunting excurtions, and those will not extend their absence to a term by which they may avoid a tour of guard duty, on their return they will report themselves to Sergt. Ordway and recieve his instructions—

No whiskey shall in future be delivered from the Contractor’s store except for the legal ration, and as appropriated by this order, unless otherwise directed by Capt. Clark or myself—

Meriwether Lewis Capt.
1st. U.S. Regt. Infty.

Related: Alcohol Rations | The Frontier Soldier

 

Weather Diary

Therm at sun symbol rise weather wind Therm at 4 Oclk weather wind River
11 below 0 fair N W 22 above 0 E fall 3 in.

—Meriwether Lewis and William Clark[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.

Related: Thermometers and Temperatures | Weather Observations

logo: Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail logo: National Park Service

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

Notes
↑1 Robert J. Moore, Jr. and Michael Haynes, Lewis & Clark: Tailor Made, Trail Worn (Helena: Far Country Press, 2003), 144.
↑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.

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.

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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 page was funded in part by the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail, U.S. National Park Service.

This site is provided as a public service by the
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Lewis and Clark Trail Alliance
with cooperation and funding from the following organizations:

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).