Rejected Territorial Expenditures Lewis and Clark to Washington

Rejected Bills of Exchange (A written order binding one party to pay a fixed sum of money to another party, on demand) written for U.S. Government expenses left the financial responsibility for payment on Lewis or Clark. The Bills of Exchange were for amounts as small as $18.75 for English to Spanish translation of the Territorial Laws to $1575.95 for printing of the Territorial Laws. War Department accountant, William Simmons was controlling the Federal “purse” with a tight fist beyond reason, a fact Lewis had already experienced while settling expedition expense. Simmons was a War Department Accountant and had become an impediment to the effective operation of his office.⁽¹⁾ The lack of or even reduction in Federal funds flowing into St. Louis would leave the territorial financial “house of cards” in a very precarious situation.⁽²⁾⁽³⁾

After developing a coordinated strategy to settle their disputed Bills of Exchange, Lewis and Clark left St. Louis traveling east by separate routes and at slightly different times. Lewis left by boat on 4 September 1809, with the intention of traveling to New Orleans, sailing to Baltimore then overland travel to Washington, DC. However, as he floated down the hot and humid Mississippi River, he had time to rethink his plans and started changing his mind. At the same time, he felt his old nemesis ague returning – malaria (ague) was caused by parasites transmitted through mosquitoes. Equally disturbing, there were reports from boats going up river of “the fever” further down river. Additionally, the increased hostilities with the British impressing American sailors and concerns for his documents, including the unpublished expedition journals, made Lewis change his travel plans.

During the trip, Lewis had paused to update his Will, witnessed by Francois Trenchard, a prominent land owner between Lake Gayoso and the Mississippi River, and Lewis’ Servant, John Pernier. Writing a will or designating a Power-of-Attorney before a long and dangerous trip was not unusual in that day. The boat crew’s concern for Lewis’ health and safety became great. They advised Captain Gilbert Russell, Fort Pickering Commander, that Lewis had twice tried to jump into the water. Both situations play into future evaluations of Lewis’ state of health. Medical professionals today confirm that a malarial attack brings on a confused state of mind and high temperature.⁽⁴⁾ There is no wonder that Lewis tried to cool-off in the river water. Lewis’ health was similar-to countless individuals in the Ohio and Mississippi River Valley in the early 1800’s. Hundreds of settlers in the region were carriers of the malarial parasite Plasmodium, even Thomas Jefferson, who never visited the Ohio River valley, experienced the ague.⁽⁵⁾

When Lewis arrives at Ft. Pickering the fort was not new to him. The fort was the fifth built on the bluffs, all on the future site of Memphis, TN, and overlooking the Mississippi River. Ft. Assumption, built by the French, San Fernando by the Spanish, and Ft. Adams, the third fort was an American fort. Ft. Adams, the third fort was renamed Ft. Pickering for the Secretary of State Timothy Pickering and eventually moved three miles south to a location near the American Indian Mound. The new location provided a better view of the river. ⁽⁶⁾⁽⁷⁾ In January 1798, Secretary of War James McHenry, directed that Capt. John Pierce be sent to command Ft. Pickering along with what he called “a select corps of incomparable rascals under Lewis, Marschaulk and Steele”. When Pierce died from the “fever” Lewis assumed command.⁽⁸⁾

Also in 1798, a friend and former commander of Lewis, William Clark, now a civilian, took a flat boat of products down the Mississippi River to sell in New Orleans or ship to other markets. In addition to 50 hog-heads of tobacco, the shipment included smoked bacon and various types of furs.⁽⁹⁾ Clark drew maps of the Mississippi River that included Ft. Adams, the future Ft. Pickering. It is not a stretch of the imagination to believe William Clark visited with Lewis at the fort, though we find no verifying source.

In August 1798, Col. John F. Hamtramck, leading an advanced party of Gen. James Wilkinson’s Army, reached Ft. Adams and directed Lewis to prepare to move the fort to the elevated site near the Indian Mound. Today the mound is in Chickasaw Heritage Park (Chikasaha Heritage Park). The mound is described as a Woodland and Mississippian culture mound dating 400-700 AD and 1000-1500 AD and believed to be used as a pre-contact ceremonial center. The location allows north and south view of the Mississippi River. Today the park is entered from Riverside Boulevard and Metal Museum Drive. ⁽¹⁰⁾ The fort where Lewis would arrive 15 September 1809, ill and in need of medical assistance, was not new to him.

The Governor’s illness was very concerning to Captain Russell. Lewis was placed in Russell’s private quarters where he could be observed. Excessive use of alcohol and opium used for treatment of the malaria attack had placed a severe strain on Lewis’ health.⁽¹¹⁾

On 18 September, Militia Major James Neeley, U.S. Agent to the Chickasaw Indians, arrived at Ft. Pickering. Major Neeley had been appointed to the position on 9 August 1809, after the position had been vacant for a year.^(12)(13) The exact reason Major Neeley traveled to the fort is uncertain. However, his responsibilities would include transporting treaty annuities and other supplies to the agency headquarters at Houlka and a joint responsibility for Major Neeley and Captain Russell, to remove “squatters” intruding on Chickasaw land.

Neeley’s arrival provided an opportunity for a larger party to travel east with greater security. After securing cash and credit for two horses for the journey, Lewis, his servant John Pernier, Major Neeley, and “Captain Tom”, Reuben Lewis’ African American servant, left Ft. Pickering for the Chickasaw Agency on 29 September. While their route of travel was not described, the logical route of their travel was along the Indian Trail listed as Trail 105 or 119 in Indian Trails of the Southeast by William E. Meyer.^(14)(15) Today, US 78 and I-22 is the corridor of travel through the region. Additionally, either trail would balance with a historical accepted rate of 20 miles per day on horseback. Lewis’ weakened condition from the illness and treatment made the 20 miles per day a real strain on his body and mind. [Raw numbers based on today’s roads: the 127 miles from Memphis, TN to Old Houlka, MS divided by 6 days of travel time -29 September through 4 October- equals 21.2 miles per day.] The party would have passed in the vicinity of Holly Springs, MS and Chuahla Shintok (Mound) GPS 34.73278 -89.333972 and the lngomar Shintok (Mound) GPS 34.39641, – 89.051971. The lngomar Mound is approximately 10 miles south of New Albany, MS and near today’s Tanglefoot Trail. Lesser-known Tribal sites are logical over-night stops where food, water and shelter could be found. The historic ford on the Little Tallahatchie River was crossed by Lewis, Neeley and party is at: 34.48455°N – 89.02115°W. The ford is in the New Albany Park Sports Complex and near I-22. The Bratton Road gate is the nearest entrance.

Editorial Note: This is a good place to suggest that seven places in Northern Mississippi clarify the relationship of Meriwether Lewis to the culture and the geography of Northern Mississippi. The sites vividly interpret the culture and history:

Natchez Trace Parkway Visitor Center

2680 Natchez Trace Parkway

Tupelo, MS 38804

662-680-4027

Union County Heritage Museum

114 Cleveland Street

New Albany, MS 386S2

662-538-0014

Pontotoc Town Square Museum and Post Office

59 South Main Street

Pontotoc, MS 38836

800-275-8777

Chickasaw Heritage Center

Chickasaw lnkana Foundation

opening in 2026

inkana.org

Holly Springs National Forest: https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/mississippi/about-forest/clfsfricts/?cic!=steIprdb5209589
Chickasaw Game Management Area https://mapcarta.com/21188582/Map
Mississippi Hills Heritage Area https://mississippihiIls.org/history-culture/

Lewis, Neeley and party arrived at the Chickasaw Agency, Old Houlka, MS on 4 October 1809. In 1801, Agent, Samuel Mitchell had stated building the headquarters and center of commerce for the benefit of the Chickasaw People. The main house was 30 feet long with nine-foot-deep porches along the entire length of the front and rear with a central chimney having back-to back fire places, built in a style known as a “saddlebag”. Additionally, there was a corn house, potato house, meat house, loom house, kitchen, and wheelwright/carpenter shop. After hiring a blacksmith in 1807, a blacksmith shop was built.⁽¹⁶⁾ The location was on the Pontotoc Ridge, near the Natchez Trace. In-addition to serving the Chickasaw People the location provided services and accommodations for boatmen traveling north, the so-called “Kaintucks”.

If Lewis told the Chickasaw Leaders about the Lewis and Clark Expedition, they would have recognized the Clark name. The Colbert brothers were successful Chickasaw leaders and had led the attack on Ft. Jefferson, built by George Rogers Clark, in 1780 near the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers.⁽¹⁷⁾ Lt. William Clark, as General Anthony Wayne’s diplomat to the Chickasaw People, delivering gifts of muskets, powder, lead, corn, salt, and whiskey to secure their alliance with the United States against the Indians in the Ohio Country in 1794.⁽¹⁸⁾ William was successful in the mission and returned to Gen. Wayne’s headquarters with Chickasaw Chief Underwood and seven (7) Warriors, “who appear determined and anxious for action”, Wayne reported to Secretary of War Knox.^(19)(20)The Chickasaw relationship with the Jefferson Administration was further strengthened in 1801 at the Treaty of Chickasaw Bluffs where Chief George Colbert was presented a Silver Jefferson Peace Medal.⁽²¹⁾

Pictured is the 1801 Jefferson Peace Medal published in Calvin Brown’s 1926 Archeology of Mississippi, found in Union County, MS near New Albany by Will Ticer. The medal is believed to be the one given to a Chickasaw Leader who signed the 1801 Treaty of Chickasaw Bluffs, authorizing the use and improvement of the Natchez Trace through the Chickasaw Nation. ^(22)(23)

After resting at the agency for two (2) days the party set out again on 6 October following the U. S. designated Natchez Trace, the historic Chickasaw Trace. The party passed near the Pharr Mounds (Natchez Trace Parkway Mile marker 286.7) North of Tupelo and crossed the Tennessee River on the morning of 9 October, where Chickasaw Chief George Colbert operated a Stand and Ferry.⁽²⁴⁾ Calling the Culbert’s Ferry buildings, a “Stand” does not do justice to the very considerable estate that was known as “Georgetown”. In addition to the ferry storehouses, build by the U. S. government during construction of the of the Natchez Trace, there were slave houses and other buildings where products were sold to travelers on the Trace. George and his wife lived in a house, also built by the U. S. Government, in the architecture style of King’s Tavern in Natchez. Numerous glass windows were a luxury in an era when most stands had no windows.⁽²⁵⁾

That evening the party camped near present-day Collinwood, TN (Natchez Trace Parkway Mile Marker 355). The next morning two (2) horses had strayed and Neeley searched for the horses while Lewis promised to wait at the first house along the Trace inhabited by white people.⁽²⁶⁾

Unfortunately, we have no record of Meriwether Lewis recording his impression of the parklike region or culturally rich area through which he was traveling. Archaeologically documented, the area of Northern Mississippi, Northwestern Alabama and Western Tennessee had supported human habitation since 6000 BC. The Chickasaw People, a European pronunciation of “Chickasah”, are recorded contacting with DeSota in 1540 and again with LaSalle in 1682. Significant trade between the Chickasaw and Choctaw People, began in 1698 when they were visited by the Thomas Welch trading party. As testimony to the rich history of human habitation in Northern Mississippi, Archeology of Mississippi describes a find by a farmer plowing his field near today’s Tanglefoot Trail. The find included a “brass kettle fifteen (15) inches in diameter and nine (9) inches deep well preserved except the iron bale and handle. Items in the kettle included two (2) large diameter china plates; three (3) saucers; six (6) cups or bowls; two (2) metal spoons; two (2) metal knives; twenty-two (22) feet of trade beads; and one (1) Jefferson medal of silver”. A find of this value was a grave site or a cache of a high ranked member of the Tribal People and material wealth.⁽²⁷⁾

Sources:

(1) Danisi, Thomas & Jackson, John, Meriwether Lewis, Promefheus Books, Amherst, NY, 2009, page 271.

(2) Ibid, page 247.

(3) Jones, Landon, William Clark and the Shaping of the West, Hill and Wang, New York, 2004, page 175.

(4) Chuinard, E. G, M.D. Only One Man Died: The Medical Aspects of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, Ye Galleon Press, Fairfield, Washington, 1999, page 176,

(5) Peck, David, O. D., Or Perish in the Attempt, Far Country Press, Helena, MT, 2002, page 295.

(6) Cramer, Zadok, The Navigator.:.,,,,,.., 8th Edition, Pittsburgh, 1814, page 187,

(7) Weeks, Charles A., Paths to a Middle Ground: The Diplomacy of Natchez, Boukfouka, and San Ferando de las Barrancas, 1791-1795, University of Alabama Press, 2010, Page 51.

(8) Roper, James E., Fort Adams and Fort Pickering, West Tennessee Historical Society, 1970, Vol. 24, page 13.

(9) Trogdon, Jo Ann, The Unknown Travels and Dubious Pursuits of William Clark, University of Missouri Press, Columbia, MO, 2015, pages 121 & 131.

(10) https://www.chickasaw.net/getattachment/Our-Nation/Heritage/Mounds-of-the-Chickasaw-Homelands/CN-Mound-Project_2021_Apr29.pdf.aspx?lang=en-US pages 25-29.

(11) Peck, David, 0. D., Or Perish in the Attempt, Far Country Press, Helena, MT, 2002, page 291.

(12) Jackson, Donald, Letters of the Lewis and Clark Expedition with related documents, University of Illinois Press, Urbana, 1978, page 467.

(13) Atkinson, James R., Splendid Land Splendid People, The University of Alabama Press, Tuscaloosa, 2004, page 198,

(14) Ambrose, Stephen E., Undaunted Courage: Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson and the opening the American West, Simon & Schuster, NY, 1996, page, 462,

(15) Meyer, William E., Indian Trails of the Southeast: Forty-second annual report of the Bureau of American Ethnology, Facsimile Reprint, Gustavs Library, 2009, page 816 & 819.

(16) https://www.chickasaw.net/Our-Nation/Heritage/Mounds-of-the-Chickasaw Homelands.aspx, page 21-23, page 39-43,

(17) Bodley, Temple, George Rogers Clark: His Life and Public Service, Houghton Mifflin Co., Cambridge, 1926, page 170.

(19) Buckley, Jay H., William Clark: Indian Diplomat, U. of Oklahoma Press, Norman, 2008, page 37.

(20) Knopf, Richard, Wayne’s Western Campaign: The Wayne-Knox Correspondence, 1793-1794, The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, Vol.78, # 3 (July 1954), page 298-341.

(21) Clements, Paul, Chronicles of the Cumberland Settlements 1779-1796, The Foundation of William and Jennifer Frist, Self-published, 2012, page 405.

(22) https://www.oklahoman.com/story/news/1995/01/16/indian-peace-medal-given-to-chickasaws/62402913007/

(23) https://www.timesdaily.com/archives/shoals-heritage/article_c00a1d1a-0c4d-57c2-aa7b-f02e0d1a2ac7.html

(24) https://www.nps.gov/natr/index.htm

(25) Turnbow, Tony L., Hardened to Hickory, published by Tony L. Turnbow, Franklin, TN, 2018, page 143-145

(26) Jackson, Donald, Letters of the Lewis and Clark Expedition with related documents, University of Illinois Press, Urbana, 1978, Page 467.

(27) Brown, Calvin S., Archeology of Mississippi, Geological Society, University of Mississippi, 1926 & 1992, page 349.