Winter Camp at Wood River, IL A letter written by President Jefferson would have arrived in Cahokia by this date. The letter mentions the popularity of the expedition and the skepticism of the Federalists.
Alexander Hamilton
Courtesy U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing.
Jefferson to Lewis
Washington Jan. 13. 1804.
Dear Sir
. . . .
The acquisition of the country through which you are to pass has inspired the public generally with a great deal of interest in your enterprize. The enquiries are perpetual as to your progress. The Feds. alone still treat it as philosophism, and would rejoice in its failure.
. . . .
TH: JEFFERSON[1]Jefferson to Lewis. Donald Jackson, Letters of the Lewis and Clark Expedition with Related Documents: 1783-1854, 2nd ed. (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1978), 163.
Weather Diary
Therm at rise
weather wind Therm at 4 Oclk weather wind River 8 above 0 hail & snow N W 12 above 0 cloudy after snow N W fall 2 ½ in. Snow all night & until 11 oClock a. m. & Cleared away the weather had been Clear since lef Camp until this.
—William Clark and Meriwether Lewis[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.
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 | Jefferson to Lewis. Donald Jackson, Letters of the Lewis and Clark Expedition with Related Documents: 1783-1854, 2nd ed. (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1978), 163. |
|---|---|
| ↑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. |
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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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- Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail
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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).