At the Wood River construction site, Clark uses the Army Commissary’s wagons to haul logs and by the end of day, the enlisted men move into their huts.
In New Orleans, officials conduct the formal transfer of the city and lower Louisiana from France to the United States.
Hoisting the American Colors
Thure de Thulstrup (1848–1930)
Painting from the Cabildo Museum, New Orleans.
Hauling Logs
I Detain the waggon to haul logs for my building . . . . hauled Logs to day with the Comosaries Teem men move into ther huts this eveninge.
—William Clark
The Formal Transfer
[Undated]
[T]he citizen Laussat in consequence, at this present time, delivered to the said Commissioners of the United States, in this public sitting, the keys of the city of New Orleans, declaring that he discharges from their oaths of fidelity towards the French Republic, the citizens and inhabitants of Louisiana, who shall choose to remain under the dominion of the United States.
And that it may forever appear, the undersigned have signed the procès verbal of this important and solemn act . . . .
Wm. C. C. Claiborne, James Wilkinson, Laussat.[1]Annals of Congress, 8th Cong., 2nd sess., 1231 at “A Century of Lawmaking,” Library of Congress, accessed 11 August 2022, … Continue reading
Unfurling the American Flag
New Orleans Decr. 20th 1803.
Sir
The standard of my Country was this day unfurled here, amidst the reiterated acclamations of thousands. And if I may judge from professions and appearances the government of the United States is received with joy and gratitude by the people. I shall write to you more fully by the next mail. At present let it suffice to say, that the surrender of the province to us, has been happily accomplished under as favourable omens as we could wish. Accept assurances of my sincere esteem And high consideration.
William C. C. Claiborne[2]William C. C. Claiborne to James Madison, 20 December 1803,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Madison/02-06-02-0187. [Original source: The Papers of … Continue reading
Claiborne’s Proclamation
I have therefore thought fit to issue this, my proclamation . . . to declare, that the government heretofore exercised over the said Province of Louisiana, as well under the authority of Spain as of the French Republic, has ceased, and that of the United States of America is established. . . . [T]he inhabitants thereof will be incorporated in the Union of the United States, and admitted as soon as possible, according to the principles of the Federal Constitution, to the enjoyment of all the rights, advantages, and immunities of citizens of the United States; that, in the meantime, they shall be maintained and protected in the free enjoyment of their liberty; property, and the religion which they profess.[3]Annals of Congress, 8th Cong., 2nd sess., 1232.
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 | Annals of Congress, 8th Cong., 2nd sess., 1231 at “A Century of Lawmaking,” Library of Congress, accessed 11 August 2022, https://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=llac&fileName=014/llac014.db&recNum=611. |
|---|---|
| ↑2 | William C. C. Claiborne to James Madison, 20 December 1803,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Madison/02-06-02-0187. [Original source: The Papers of James Madison, Secretary of State Series, vol. 6, 1 November 180–31 March 1804, ed. Mary A. Hackett, J. C. A. Stagg, Ellen J. Barber, Anne Mandeville Colony, and Angela Kreider. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2002, pp. 188–189.] |
| ↑3 | Annals of Congress, 8th Cong., 2nd sess., 1232. |
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).