In Charlottesville, Virginia, short speeches are exchanged in honor of Meriwether Lewis followed by dinner and festivities at the Stone Tavern.[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
In Kentucky, William Clark leaves the Falls of the Ohio bound for Washington City.
From the Citizens of Charlottesville
Impressed with the liveliest sentiments of affection and friendship towards you, the citizens of Charlottesville and its vicinity, your old friends and neighbours, hail with eager gratulation your safe return; escaped from the dangers of the savage wilderness, they welcome you to civilized life, to the affections of your friends, to the gratitude of your country.
To the Citizens of Charlottesville
To which Captain Lewis returned the following answer.
. . . . .
To have conceived is but little; the merit of having added to the world of science, and of liberty, a large portion of the immense unknown wilds of North America, is equally due to my dear and interesting friend capt. Clark, and to those who ere the joint companions of our labours and difficulties in performing that task.[2]Richmond Enquirer, 23 December 1806, page 3. Also in Letters of the Lewis and Clark Expedition with Related Documents: 1783–1854, ed. Donald Jackson (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1978), … Continue reading
Abermarle County Courthouse
James Simmons, 26 September 2012. Permission to use granted under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported license.
The Albemarle County Courthouse in 1806 was the building partially seen on the left. The building with the columns as well as the statue honoring the Confederate Soldier were added after the Civil War. The Courthouse Square nomination as a National Historic District, describes the setting encountered by Lewis in 1806:
The principal feature of the compact Albemarle County Courthouse Historic District in downtown Charlottesville is Court Square, a focus of county activity since it was laid out in 1762. In the early 1800s it was not unusual to see Thomas Jefferson conversing here with James Madison and James Monroe. On the square is the county courthouse of 1803, which also served originally as a community church where Jefferson sometimes attended services. Around the square sprang up mid-19th-century law offices, residences, and taverns, among which are the former Swan Tavern and the former Eagle Tavern.[3]“Abermarle County Courthouse Historic District”, The Virginia Department of Historic Resources, www.dhr.virginia.gov/historic-registers/104-0057/.
Dinner and Festivities
The company then sat down to an excellent dinner: many appropriate toasts were given, the social song went round; and they passed the evening in that spirit of festivity and mirth, which the joyful occasion, and the presence of their friend, safely returned from his perilous expedition, and in the bloom of health, inspired.[4]Richmond Enquirer, 23 December 1806.
Clark Heads to Washington
December 14th. 1806
Dear Sir:
I am very Sorry that it is out of my power to visit you once more before I leave this neighbourhood, tomorrow is the day I have fixed to Set out. and intend to proceed as far as Col. Andersons. I shale take Danville in my way at which place I shale See the boys.
My affectunate
Complements to my Sister and believe me to be your Sincere friend.Wm. Clark[5]Letter from William Clark to William Croghan, 1806, Historical Society of Pennsylvania, digitallibrary.hsp.org/index.php/Detail/objects/10807.
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. A large bill at Staunton, Virginia (see December 11, 1806) and no mention of them in the Richomnd Inquirer indicates that the delegation remained there during the holidays. |
|---|---|
| ↑2 | Richmond Enquirer, 23 December 1806, page 3. Also in Letters of the Lewis and Clark Expedition with Related Documents: 1783–1854, ed. Donald Jackson (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1978), 2:693. |
| ↑3 | “Abermarle County Courthouse Historic District”, The Virginia Department of Historic Resources, www.dhr.virginia.gov/historic-registers/104-0057/. |
| ↑4 | Richmond Enquirer, 23 December 1806. |
| ↑5 | Letter from William Clark to William Croghan, 1806, Historical Society of Pennsylvania, digitallibrary.hsp.org/index.php/Detail/objects/10807. |
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.
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