On or near this date, Lewis crosses Culpeper County on his way to Washington City. Two of his favorite soldiers were born here. Far to the west, Clark—and likely York—travel the Wilderness Road also bound for Washington City.
Reubin and Joseph Field
Kelly’s Ford on the Rappahannock River (10 February 1864)
(Stylized)
Stylized from the original 10 February 1864 pencil sketch by Edwin Forbes (1839–1895). Original available at the U.S. Library of Congress, 2004661496, www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2004661496/.
Kelly’s Ford was a major crossing of the Rappahannock River and played a key role during the Civil War. It is unlikely Lewis crossed the river here on his way to Washington City, but it was likely the birthplace of two of his favorite soldiers: Reuben and Joseph Field.
Field Brothers: Lewis and Clark Expedition
Courtesy Lewis and Clark Legacy Trail™, valewisandclarklegacytrail.org/recent-news-post/part-of-lewis-and-clark-expedition-field-brothers-marker-unveiled/.
Brothers Joseph Field (d. 1807) and Reubin Field (d. ca. 1822) were highly valued members of the Lewis and Clark Expedition to the Pacific Ocean (1803–1806). Both were born near here, probably by 1782, to Abraham and Elizabeth “Betty” Field. The family relocated to Jefferson County, near Louisville in present-day Kentucky, in the fall of 1784, and the brothers grew to adulthood there. Known as skilled woodsmen and hunters, they were among the first three men William Clark recruited for the Expedition. In 1807, Meriwether Lewis noted that the Field brothers had been “engaged in all the most dangerous and difficult scenes of the voyage, in which they uniformly acquited themselves with much honor.”[1]“9 New State Historical Highway Markers Approved”, Virginia Department of Historic Resources, updated 23 October 2024, … Continue reading
Fight with the Blackfeet
When he left the Falls of the Missouri to explore the Marias River, Lewis took three of his best men: George Drouillard and Reubin and Joseph Field. The trip did not go well:
This morning at day light the indians got up and crouded around the fire, J. Fields who was on post had carelessly laid his gun down behid him near where his brother was sleeping, one of the indians the fellow to whom I had given the medal last evening sliped behind him and took his gun and that of his brothers unperceived by him, at the same instant two others advanced and seized the guns of Drewyer and myself . . . . R Fields as he seized his gun stabed the indian to the heart with his knife the fellow ran about 15 steps and fell dead . . . .
—Meriwether Lewis, 27 July 1806
Notes
| ↑1 | “9 New State Historical Highway Markers Approved”, Virginia Department of Historic Resources, updated 23 October 2024, www.dhr.virginia.gov/press-release-posts/9-new-state-historical-highway-markers-approved-september-2024/. |
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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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