After delays in shipping the expedition’s armaments, Meriwether Lewis finally leaves the Harpers Ferry Armory in present West Virginia for Fort Fayette in Pittsburgh.
Leaving for Pittsburgh
Keith Rocco/Tradition Studios Year: November 2002
“Artist’s rendering of Captain Meriwether Lewis inspecting his weapons and articles before departing for Pittsburgh, Pa. on July 8, 1803.”[1]“Meriwether Lewis at Harpers Ferry,” Harpers Ferry National Historic Park, www.nps.gov/media/photo/gallery.htm?pg=2734773&id=2A7D3A84-1DD8-B71C-0704CA9F144A0AB9 accessed 14 May 2022.
12. O,Clock.
Harper’s Ferry July 8th. 1803.Dear Sir,
. . . . .
I have been obliged to engage a second person [a teamster] who will be here this evening in time to load and will go on early in the morning: I shall set out myself in the course of an hour, taking the rout of Charlestown, Frankfort, Uniontown and Redstone old fort to Pittsburgh, at which place I shall most probably arrive on the 15th.
. . . . .
Your friend & Obt. Servt.
Meriwether Lewis[2]Meriwether Lewis to Thomas Jefferson, Founders Online, National Archives, founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/01-40-02-0521 accessed 11 July 2022. [Original source: The Papers of Thomas … Continue reading
Notes
| ↑1 | “Meriwether Lewis at Harpers Ferry,” Harpers Ferry National Historic Park, www.nps.gov/media/photo/gallery.htm?pg=2734773&id=2A7D3A84-1DD8-B71C-0704CA9F144A0AB9 accessed 14 May 2022. |
|---|---|
| ↑2 | Meriwether Lewis to Thomas Jefferson, Founders Online, National Archives, founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/01-40-02-0521 accessed 11 July 2022. [Original source: The Papers of Thomas Jefferson, vol. 40, 4 March–10 July 1803, ed. Barbara B. Oberg. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2013, pp. 680–681.] |
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.
This site is provided as a public service by the
Lewis and Clark Trail Alliance
with cooperation and funding from the following organizations:
- Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail
- Montana Committee for the Humanities
- Idaho Governor's Lewis and Clark Trail Committee
- The Capital Gallery (Lewis and Clark Fort Mandan Foundation)
- Yellowstone Public Radio
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).