At the Falls of the Ohio, Clark and Lewis are recruiting soldiers and preparing to leave for St. Louis. Other travelers give their impressions of the Louisville and Clarksville area.
In Washington City, President Jefferson asks the House of Representatives to ratify the Louisiana Purchase treaty.
Cuming’s Beautiful Town
I had thought Cincinnati one of the most beautiful towns I had seen in America, but Louisville, which is almost as large, equals it in beauty, and in the opinion of many excels it.
—Fortescue Cuming[1]Fortescue Cuming, Sketches of a Tour to the Western Country: Through the States of Ohio and Kentucky, a voyage down the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, and a trip through the Mississippi territory, and … Continue reading
Rodney’s Walk
[I] took a walk through the town and on the east side of a large square which is not yet built up. The Court House is a pretty neat small stone building with a bellfry but no bell.
—Thomas Rodney[2]15 October 1803. Dwight L. Smith and Ray Swick, ed., A Journey Through the West: Thomas Rodney’s 1803 Journal from Delaware to the Mississippi Territory (Athens: Ohio University Press, 1997), … Continue reading
Epsy’s Sickly Town
Two years after Lewis and Clark left Louisville, Josiah Epsy regarded Louisville as yet another “sickly” Ohio River settlement.
[O]n account of prevalence of the fever and ague during the autumnal months, it [Louisville] has not risen to that wealth and population which might have been expected . . . . [I]t is to be presumed that its great natural advantages will finally get the better of the prejudices now existing against it on account of its being so sickly, and that it will yet at no very distant day become a great and flourishing town.
—Josiah Epsy[3]Josiah Epsy, Memorandums of a Tour Made by Josiah Epsy in the States of Ohio and Kentucky and Indiana Territory in 1805 (Cincinnati: Robert Clarke & Co., 15), 14
Jefferson’s Ask
Jefferson’s appeal, written the previous day, is presented to the House of Representatives on this day:
Representatives of the United States
In my communication to you of the 17th instant, I informed you that Conventions had been entered into with the Government of France for the cession of Louisiana to the United States. These, with the advice and consent of the Senate, having now been ratified, and my ratification exchanged for that of the First Consul of France, in due form, they are communicated to you for consideration in your Legislative capacity. You will observe that some important conditions cannot be carried into execution, but with the aid of the Legislature; and that time press a decision on them without delay.
Th. Jefferson[4]Annals of Congress, 8th Cong., 1st sess., 382 at “A Century of Lawmaking,” Library of Congress, accessed 11 August 2022, … Continue reading
Notes
| ↑1 | Fortescue Cuming, Sketches of a Tour to the Western Country: Through the States of Ohio and Kentucky, a voyage down the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, and a trip through the Mississippi territory, and part of West Florida, commenced at Philadelphia in the winter of 1807… (Pittsburgh: Cramer, Spear, & Eichbaum, 1810). |
|---|---|
| ↑2 | 15 October 1803. Dwight L. Smith and Ray Swick, ed., A Journey Through the West: Thomas Rodney’s 1803 Journal from Delaware to the Mississippi Territory (Athens: Ohio University Press, 1997), 121. |
| ↑3 | Josiah Epsy, Memorandums of a Tour Made by Josiah Epsy in the States of Ohio and Kentucky and Indiana Territory in 1805 (Cincinnati: Robert Clarke & Co., 15), 14 |
| ↑4 | Annals of Congress, 8th Cong., 1st sess., 382 at “A Century of Lawmaking,” Library of Congress, accessed 11 August 2022, https://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=llac&fileName=013/llac013.db&recNum=188. |
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 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
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).