Day-by-Day / July 8, 1803

July 8, 1803

Leaving for Pittsburgh

After delays in shipping the expedition’s armaments and equipment, Meriwether Lewis finally leaves the Harpers Ferry Armory in present West Virginia bound for Fort Fayette in Pittsburgh. He likely spent the night in Charles Town or Brucetown—8 and 22 miles away respectively.

Leaving for Pittsburgh

Lewis watches two men load a large wagon with boxes and crates

Keith Rocco/Tradition Studios Year: November 2002

“Artist’s rendering of Captain Meriwether Lewis inspecting his weapons and articles before departing for Pittsburgh, Pa. on July 8, 1803.”[1]“Meriwether Lewis at Harpers Ferry,” Harpers Ferry National Historic Park, www.nps.gov/media/photo/gallery.htm?pg=2734773&id=2A7D3A84-1DD8-B71C-0704CA9F144A0AB9 accessed 14 May 2022.

12. O,Clock.
Harper’s Ferry July 8th. 1803.

Dear Sir [Thomas Jefferson],

. . . . .

I have been obliged to engage a second person [a teamster] who will be here this evening in time to load and will go on early in the morning: I shall set out myself in the course of an hour, taking the rout of Charlestown, Frankfort, Uniontown and Redstone old fort to Pittsburgh, at which place I shall most probably arrive on the 15th.

. . . . .

Your friend & Obt. Servt.

Meriwether Lewis[2]Meriwether Lewis to Thomas Jefferson, Founders Online, National Archives, founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/01-40-02-0521 accessed 11 July 2022. [Original source: The Papers of Thomas … Continue reading

Related: The Expedition Weaponry | Eastern Beginnings

 

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.

Plan a trip related to July 8, 1803:

Logo: Lewis and Clark.travel

Notes

Notes
↑1 “Meriwether Lewis at Harpers Ferry,” Harpers Ferry National Historic Park, www.nps.gov/media/photo/gallery.htm?pg=2734773&id=2A7D3A84-1DD8-B71C-0704CA9F144A0AB9 accessed 14 May 2022.
↑2 Meriwether Lewis to Thomas Jefferson, Founders Online, National Archives, founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/01-40-02-0521 accessed 11 July 2022. [Original source: The Papers of Thomas Jefferson, vol. 40, 4 March–10 July 1803, ed. Barbara B. Oberg. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2013, pp. 680–681.]

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 site is provided as a public service by the
Logo: Lewis & Clark Trail Alliance
Lewis and Clark Trail Alliance
with cooperation and funding from the following organizations:

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).