Enroute to Washington City, Lewis posts a bill of exchange for $200 on behalf of Staunton, Virginia merchants Heiskell & Sowers. He is likely buying provisions and lodging for his party which includes several Mandans and two expedition members.[1]Traveling with Meriwether Lewis to Washington City is a Mandan delegation from the Knife River Villages—Chief Sheheke, his wife Yellow Corn, and their son. Speaking Mandan and French was … Continue reading
Bill from Staunton
Bill of Exchange No. 119
U.S. National Archives.
Staunton December 11th. 1806
Sir, [Genrl. Henry Dearborn, Secretary of War]
My bill of exchange No. 119 for two hundred Dollars in favour of Heiskell & Sowers is for that sum delivered me in specie, and which when paid will be charged to me on account of traveling and other necessary expences incured on a tour from St. Louis to the City of Washington in charge of certain Mandan Indians.—
I am with due consideration
Your Obt. Servt.Meriwether Lewis Capt.
1st. U’S. Regt. Infty.[2]National Archives Catalog, Record Group 107: Records of the Secretary of War, Unregistered Letters Received, 1805 THRU 1807, L-MISC-1806, catalog.archives.gov/id/450641036, accessed 21 Dec 2025.
Given the nature of Peter Heiskell’s previous business endeavors, the $200 bill may have included lodging for the Mandan delegation enabling Lewis to travel alone—one long day’s ride of 31 miles—to his nearby home at Locust Hill. Former sergeant John Ordway could have taken charge of the Mandan delegation with instructions to rejoin Lewis after Christmas at a predetermined location.
For Lewis’s penchant for moving forward alone, see A Solitary Hero by David L. Nicandri.
The Stuart House
The Stuart House
Calder Loth, 2025, Virginia Department of Historic Resources.
Built in 1791, the Stuart House could have conceivably been visited by Lewis and/or the Mandan delegates during their stay in Staunton, though no known records document their stay other than the bill of exchange for Heiskell & Sowers. Archibald Stuart studied law with Thomas Jefferson at Monticello, and the two remained close friends. Jefferson’s influence on the abode’s Classical Revival form is evident, but it is unlikely he was the architect.[4]“Stuart House”, Virgina Department of Historic Resources (24 March 2025), www.dhr.virginia.gov/historic-registers/132-0006/; “Stuart House”, National Register of Historic … Continue reading
Notes
| ↑1 | Traveling with Meriwether Lewis to Washington City is a Mandan delegation from the Knife River Villages—Chief Sheheke, his wife Yellow Corn, and their son. Speaking Mandan and French was interpreter René Jusseaume who brought one of his wives and two children. Expedition private François Labiche was included to translate between French and English. Finally, records indicate expedition sergeant John Ordway was serving as Lewis’s assistant. During this time, William Clark remained at his home at the Falls of the Ohio. |
|---|---|
| ↑2 | National Archives Catalog, Record Group 107: Records of the Secretary of War, Unregistered Letters Received, 1805 THRU 1807, L-MISC-1806, catalog.archives.gov/id/450641036, accessed 21 Dec 2025. |
| ↑3 | Alexandria Gazette, Thursday, 29 March 1804, page 3. |
| ↑4 | “Stuart House”, Virgina Department of Historic Resources (24 March 2025), www.dhr.virginia.gov/historic-registers/132-0006/; “Stuart House”, National Register of Historic Places registration form (Staunton, Virginia), www.dhr.virginia.gov/VLR_to_transfer/PDFNoms/132-0006_Stuart_House_1972_Final_Nomination.pdf, both accessed 14 October 2026. |
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 additional funding from the following:
