Day-by-Day / July 26, 1803

July 26, 1803

Lewis and Hooke Expedition?

In Pittsburgh, Meriwether Lewis recommends Lt. Moses Hooke—the commander of Fort Fayette—to co-lead the Western Expedition should William Clark decline.

Lewis and Hooke

Meriwether Lewis and Moses Hooke side-by-side

Lewis: by Charles Willson Peale, courtesy WikiCommons. Hooke: courtesy of Louisiana State University Art Museum.

Pittsburgh July 26th. 1803.

Dear Sir [Thomas Jefferson],

I have recieved as yet no answer from Mr. Clark . . . . Should I recieve no answer from Mr. Clark previous to my leaving this place, or he decline going with me, I would be much gratifyed with being authorized to take Lieut. Hooke with me . . . .

. . . . .

If Lieut Hooke sets out twenty days after me, by taking the rout of Limestone, Louisville and Vincennes he will reach the mouth of the Missourie as early as I shall.

I am with the most sincere attatchment Your Obt. Servt.

Meriwether Lewis[1]Lewis to Jefferson, Founders Online, National Archives, founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/01-41-02-0082 accessed 13 June 2022. [Original source: The Papers of Thomas Jefferson, vol. 41, 11 … Continue reading

Moses Hooke was the commander of Fort Fayette at Pittsburgh. His approval came from the Secretary of War, Henry Dearborn, on 3 August 1803.

Lewis received Clark’s positive reply—written on 18 July 1803 at the Falls of the Ohio—on 29 July 1803.

 

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Notes

Notes
↑1 Lewis to Jefferson, Founders Online, National Archives, founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/01-41-02-0082 accessed 13 June 2022. [Original source: The Papers of Thomas Jefferson, vol. 41, 11 July–15 November 1803, ed. Barbara B. Oberg. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2014, pp. 116–117.]

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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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).