Day-by-Day / May 7, 1804

May 7, 1804

Loading the barge

Privates John Colter and Moses Reed deliver a letter to William Clark from Meriwether Lewis in St. Louis informing Clark that his commission is for second lieutenant—not the captaincy originally promised. Clark has the barge loaded to make ready their imminent departure up the Missouri.

Barge Cargo (Replica)

Canvas-wrapped bales and kegs inside the barge

Provided by the U.S. Army Center of Military History.

Loading the Boat

I Load the boat all day, a fair Day   Mr. Rumsey ride a public horse to St Louis
—William Clark

Related: The Barge (called the boat, barge, and bateau but never the keelboat)

Comings and Goings

Sent Sjt. Ordway with a perogue to St Louis after Colter arrived express, & [Moses Reed] with a Hors & Tallow.
—William Clark

The letters were about Clark’s Military Rank. See May 6, 1804.

 

Weather Diary

Thermometer at sun symbol rise Weather Wind at sun symbol Rise Thermometer at 4 oCk. P.M. Weather Wind at 4 oCk. P.M River
46 above fair S E 60 above fair S S W fall 4 ½ in.

—Meriwether Lewis[1]To assist the reader, the editor of this web page has omitted the date column, merged the “River” columns, and spelled out some abbreviations.

Related: Thermometers and Temperatures | Weather Observations

logo: Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail logo: National Park Service

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

Notes
↑1 To assist the reader, the editor of this web page has omitted the date column, merged the “River” columns, and spelled out some abbreviations.

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 page was funded in part by the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail, U.S. National Park Service.

This site is provided as a public service by the
Logo: Lewis & Clark Trail Heritage Foundation
Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation
with cooperation and funding from the following organizations:

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).