The day is rainy at Camp River Dubois opposite the mouth of the Missouri. Sgt. John Ordway records detachment orders for Officer of the Day. Lewis continues working in St. Louis.
In Washington City, Secretary of War Henry Dearborn writes to Captain Amos Stoddard to tell him that Major James Bruff will soon arrive to replace him.
Military Parade
© 2011 by Kristopher K. Townsend. Permission to use granted under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.
Officer of the Day
The Sergeants are to mount as officers of the Day During the time we Delay at this place, and whilst on Duty to Command the Detachment in the absence of the Commanding officer—he is to see that the Guard doe their Duty, and that the Detachment attend to the regulations heretofore made and those which may be made from time to time.
—John Ordway
Permission to Leave
No man of the Detachment Shall leave Camp without permission from the Commanding officer present, except the French Hands who have families maybe allowed to Stay with their families whilst at this Island
—John Ordway
Capt. Stoddard’s Replacement
War Department 4 May 1804
Amos Stoddard
. . . As it will require some time to decide on the most eligible site as a permanent situation for the Garrison you will please to take the necessary measures for erecting such temporary Huts, for Barracks & quarters as the nature of the case may require in addition to those left by the Spanish Troops—Major Bruff will probably arrive soon after this reaches you, he will have the Command of Upper Louisiana.
[Henry Dearborn][1]Clarence E. Carter, The Territorial Papers of the United States (Washington, DC: United States Government Printing Office, 1948), 13:20, digitized by Google books.
Weather Diary
Thermometer at rise
Weather Wind at Thermometer at 4 oCk. P.M. Weather Wind at 4 oCk. P.M River 48 above thunder, lightning, cloudy, rain S. 64 above Cloudy after rain S rise 2 in. —Meriwether Lewis[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.
Plan a trip related to May 4, 1804:
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 | Clarence E. Carter, The Territorial Papers of the United States (Washington, DC: United States Government Printing Office, 1948), 13:20, digitized by Google books. |
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| ↑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. |
