Lewis’s Letter to Clark to Co-Lead Expedition

Photo: Missouri Historical Society, Clark Family Collection 

On June 19, 1803, Meriwether Lewis wrote to his friend William Clark asking the former captain to consider joining the expedition of the west. Many historians consider this to be the “official beginning point” of the Lewis and Clark Expedition.

The seven-page letter, written while Lewis was in Washington to meet with President Jefferson, opens by explaining the delay in forwarding papers of William’s brother, George Rogers Clark. He then tells Clark of the congressional act that approved the exploration of Louisiana Territory, and he details his preparations for the journey.

Lewis then asks Clark to join him in the enterprise and he offers the commission of captain in return (which, at a later date, the Secretary of War would not agree to). Clark would reply with a letter written on July 18, 1803, followed by a second letter on July 24. Both letters would reach Lewis in Pittsburgh on approximately August 3.

Lewis’s original letter is held within the archives of the Missouri Historical Society in St. Louis. It is part of the Clark Family Collection.

If you’d like to read the handwritten letter or the typed transcript, go to https://mohistory.org/collections/item/resource:372095.