In St. Louis, Captain Amos Stoddard, Lewis, Clark, and several citizens are told by Spanish Lt. Governor Dehault Delassus that he is ready to transfer Louisiana to the United States. A dinner and parade follow. Most of the enlisted men remain at Wood River, Illinois.
Transfer of Upper Louisiana
Watercolor and pastel by F. L. Stoddard, no date. Courtesy Missouri History Museum, “Early St. Louis and the Transfer of Power.”
The transfer of Upper Louisiana occurred on 9 March 1804 and 10 March 1804.
Dinner and Parade
St. Louis 25th Feby. 1804
Dear Brother
. . . .
yesterday Capt. Stoddard was ascorted into town by about 20 Citizens. The Lt. Govr. [Dehault Delassus] informed him that he was ready to deliver up the province to him at any house, a great Dinner & porrade took place at the Lt. Govrs.—
. . . .
Wm Clark[1]William Clark to Jonathan Clark. James J. Holmberg, ed. Dear Brother: Letters of William Clark to Jonathan Clark (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2002), 76–77.
Weather Diary
Therm at rise
weather wind Therm at 4 Oclk weather wind River 6 above 0 fair N E 26 above 0 fair N E fall 2 in. —William Clark[2]To assist the reader, the editor of this web page has omitted the “day of month 1804” 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.
Plan a trip related to February 24, 1804:
- Winter Camp at Wood River (Camp Dubois)
- Along the Mississippi (Inspiration Trip)
- Around St. Louis (Inspiration Trip)
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.
In present St. Louis, the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial “commemorates Thomas Jefferson’s vision of the continental expansion of the United States” and is a High Potential Historic Site along the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail managed by the U.S. National Park Service.
Notes
| ↑1 | William Clark to Jonathan Clark. James J. Holmberg, ed. Dear Brother: Letters of William Clark to Jonathan Clark (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2002), 76–77. |
|---|---|
| ↑2 | To assist the reader, the editor of this web page has omitted the “day of month 1804” column, merged the “River” columns, and spelled out some abbreviations. |
