At Wood River, Clark writes letters to George Hancock in Fincastle, Virginia and Richard Clough Anderson in Louisville, Kentucky. Lewis continues working in St. Louis and Cahokia.
Captains’ Desk, Camp River Dubois
Photo provided by Lewis & Clark State Historic Site, Hartford, Illinois. Used by permission.
Writing Letters
Snow this morning Cloudey & wet all day, finish my hut and write 2 Letters one to G. H.[1]Osgood speculates that G. H. “probably stood for George Hancock of Fincastle, Virginia.” Clark would marry his daughter, Julia, in 1808. Ernest S. Osgood, The Field Notes of Captain … Continue reading & one to Col Anderson[2]Richard Clough Anderson, early resident of Louisville, Kentucky, whose first wife was Clark’s sister. Moulton, Journals, 142:n2. rain at night
—William Clark
Louisiana Inquiries
Cahokia December 28th 1803.
Dear Sir,
In pursuing my enquiries in relation to Louisiana, any information which I may recieve and which appears to me worthy of your attention shall be forwarded to you.
I have enclosed many quiries under sundry heads to the best informed persons I have met with at St. Louis and within the vicinity of that place; these gentlemen have promised me answers in due time, but as every thing undergoes examination of the Commandant, you may readily concieve the restraint which exists on many points.
MERIWETHER LEWIS. CAPT.
1st. U.S. Regt. Infty.[3]Lewis to Jefferson. Donald Jackson, ed. Letters of the Lewis and Clark Expedition with Related Documents: 1783-1854, 2nd ed. (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1978), 154.
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.
Old Cahokia Courthouse is a High Potential Historic Site along the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail managed by the U.S. National Park Service. The site is managed by the State of Illinois and is open to the public.
Notes
| ↑1 | Osgood speculates that G. H. “probably stood for George Hancock of Fincastle, Virginia.” Clark would marry his daughter, Julia, in 1808. Ernest S. Osgood, The Field Notes of Captain William Clark, 1803–1805 (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1964), 10:n6. |
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| ↑2 | Richard Clough Anderson, early resident of Louisville, Kentucky, whose first wife was Clark’s sister. Moulton, Journals, 142:n2. |
| ↑3 | Lewis to Jefferson. Donald Jackson, ed. Letters of the Lewis and Clark Expedition with Related Documents: 1783-1854, 2nd ed. (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1978), 154. |
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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.
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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).