In Washington City, the Osage delegation visits the National Capitol and Thomas Jefferson announces that Lewis will soon arrive with ‘much in the lines of botany and natural history’.
Lewis remains at his Virginia home while Clark and likely York travel to Washington along the Wilderness Road.
Church in Congress Hall
A letter to a Philadelphia newspaper tells of the Osage delegates visiting the Capitol building on this day:
Extracts of letter from Washington to the Editor of the United States’ Gazette, dated Dec 21.
A number of Osage Indians have just arrived in this city. Five of them attended church to-day in Congress Hall.[1]Philadelphia Gazetteer, 29 December 1806.
Floor Plan of the Principal Story of the Captitol
From Pictorial Guide to Washington and Environs. Image is in the Public Domain.
The original design of the U.S. Capitol—or Congress Hall as it was sometimes called—came from William Thornton who was in charge of the Patent Office. Those plans were subsequently redrawn by Stephen Hallett. In 1806, only the north wing was complete. The south wing containing the House of Representatives was not ready until 1811. After the capitol’s sack in the War of 1813, the new central building and overall restoration was supervised by Benjamin Henry Latrobe and Charles Bullfinch.[2]Pictorial Guide to Washington and Environs (Chicago: Rand, McNally & Company, 1903), 16–18. For a more complete description of the Capitol’s design and construction, see “United … Continue reading
Peale’s National Treasure
The Artist in His Museum, 1822
Self-Portrait
Oil on canvas. Accession No. 1878.1.2. Original size, 103¾ x 79-7/8 inches [263.5 x 202.9 cm]. Courtesy of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia. Gift of Mrs. Sarah Harrison (The Joseph Harrison, Jr. Collection), No. 1878.1.2.
In Philadelphia, Charles Willson Peale awaits the arrival of Lewis and hopes for new specimens for his museum:
Washington Dec. 21. 06.
Dear Sir [Charles Willson Peale]
I expect Capt Lewis here to-day or tomorrow. I presume that after a while he will go on to Philadelphia and carry some of his new acquisitions. having proposed to Congress the subject of a National university, should they come into it it will be no small part of the gratification I shall recieve from it, that the means will be furnished of making your Museum a national establishment. Accept my friendly salutations & assurances of great esteem.
Th: Jefferson[3]Thomas Jefferson to Charles Willson Peale, Founders Online, National Archives, founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/99-01-02-4727.
Much Botany and Natural History
Also in Philadelphia, Benjamin Smith Barton, America’s pre-eminent naturalist, anticipates receiving Lewis’s plant specimens, fossils, and mineral collections:
Washington Dec. 21. 06.
Dear Sir
I expect Capt. Lewis here to-day or tomorrow. he brings with him much in the lines of botany, & Nat. history. I presume that he will go on with them to Philadelphia after some delay here. he will doubtless ask the aid of yourself & brother literati, of Philada. in his arrangement of these articles. Accept my friendly salutations & assurances of my great esteem & respect.
Th: Jefferson[4]Thomas Jefferson to Benjamin Smith Barton, Founders Online, National Archives, founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/99-01-02-4723, accessed 5 January 2026.
Notes
| ↑1 | Philadelphia Gazetteer, 29 December 1806. |
|---|---|
| ↑2 | Pictorial Guide to Washington and Environs (Chicago: Rand, McNally & Company, 1903), 16–18. For a more complete description of the Capitol’s design and construction, see “United States Capitol”, Wikipedia, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Capitol. |
| ↑3 | Thomas Jefferson to Charles Willson Peale, Founders Online, National Archives, founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/99-01-02-4727. |
| ↑4 | Thomas Jefferson to Benjamin Smith Barton, Founders Online, National Archives, founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/99-01-02-4723, accessed 5 January 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.
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