12th Dec. proceeded on to the Merry Oaks 16 miles from Richmond. Met with the stage going there left scot & my horse & took the stage at Sun set arrived at Richmond before bedtime met some angls (angels). Feel myself much fatigued.

On 12 December William and Scott left the Samuel Redd, Jr. (1764-1841) house and traveled the corridor of present-day VA 603 south to VA 738 (Old Tree Road) to VA 667 (Blunts Bridge Road) through Ashland, VA to the VA 657 (Ashcake Road). The Merry Oaks Tavern was located at the intersection of VA 656 (Sliding Hill Road) and VA 657 (Ashcake Road). 

Differences of opinion concerning the location of Smith’s Tavern and/or Merry Oaks Tavern has been conclusively settled by Anne Geddy Cross in an article written for the Hanover County Historical Society. The location of Merry Oaks Tavern was the only tavern at the location.⁽¹⁾⁽²⁾ An extensive archaeological examination, conducted by Dutton + Associates, September 2021 through March 2022, Site 44HN0326, for the Timmons Group based on Memorandum of Agreement between Wegmans Food Markets Inc., The Virginia State Preservation Office and The Norfolk District, Corps of Engineers located the foundation and dependency buildings as defined in the 1801-1806-1815 Mutual Assurance Society (Insurance Policies). The exact site has been secured and all excavated artifacts preserved for future study and possible public display.⁽³⁾

William Clark’s statement, ….left scot and my horse at the Merry Oaks Tavern is of significant importance. This may be the only time an enslaved servant’s name is recorded at the Merry Oaks Tavern.

The name Ashcake Road originated from the hogsheads, large round barrels, used for transporting tobacco to Hanovertown on the Pamunkey River during the Colonial and Revolutionary Period. Mud would build up on the tobacco hogshead as it was rolled to port for shipment. The large mud cakes resembled “ashcakes”.⁽⁴⁾

Richmond, 13 December, William met with General Thomas Preston and delivered the money sent by Col. Hancock. General John Preston was the first son of William and Susanna Smith Preston, born at Greenfield in Botetourt County. John Preston was first elected to the House of Delegate in 1783 from Botetourt County and later elected from Montgomery County, VA.⁽⁵⁾ 

General Preston introduced William to Governor John Tyler, Sr., father of John Tyler, Jr. future Virginia Governor and President of the United States. William was honored by consent of the Speaker James Barbour (Delegate from Orange County 1809-1812 and future Governor of Virginia) to sit in the House of Delegates. He saw Col. Mosses Green, Democratic Republican, Culpeper Co. serving on the Armory, Proposition & Grievance Committee; Col. William C. Holt, Norfolk Co., Court of Justice, Executive & Expenditure Committee; Major William Lewis, Federalist, Botetourt Co., Claims Committee; Mr. William Douglas Meriwether, Federalist, Albemarle Co., Armory Committee; Thomas L. Preston Democratic Republican, Rockbridge Co., Finance Chairman & Court of Justice Committee.⁽⁶⁾ 

William’s visit in the historic Capitol of Virginia, located on Shockoe Hill overlooking the James River, was short and filled with several needs. He met with Mr. (William Douglas) Meriwether executor of Meriwether Lewis’ estate and received permission to remove the Lewis and Clark Journals and take such papers as concerned me out of Governor (Lewis) papers if they were brought to the City (Washington). William was invited to dine with Mr. William Wirt and several other but declined the invitations. William Wirt was a preferred potential editor for the Lewis and Clark Journals but declined the opportunity due to lack of time.⁽⁷⁾ In the future, Wirt would write the biography of Patrick Henry and was a member of the team prosecuting Aaron Burr for “high misdemeanors”. In 1816, Wirt would become the U.S. Attorney General and a candidate for President of the United States in 1832.⁽⁸⁾ 

After declining dinner William set out in the rain at dark, proceeded to where I had left my horse, night very dark.

William took the stage coach back to Merry Oaks Tavern where he had left Scott and his horses on the night of 13 December. His expense to Richmond and back to Mr. Redds totals $13.75.

Did William Clark know or remember that his brother, George Rogers Clark, served as a leader in the 1781 defensive efforts in Richmond, when traitor Benedict Arnold invaded the Virginia Capitol? George Rogers Clark, using limited troops and resources under the direction of temporary Commander Major General Baron von Steuben, set a trap he had learned from the Shawnee Indians and ambushed the daring British Captain John Graves Simcoe. The ambush was of little importance in the overall raid on Richmond but it pricked the ego of the arrogant Captain Simcoe and his leadership of the Queen’s Rangers. “The American poured in a heavy fire and the Rangers suffered heavily,” Captain Simcoe reported. More significant to George Rogers Clark, the raid on Richmond resulted in the burning of his $14,000 in vouchers and related expense documents for the Revolutionary War in the West.  The loss of those documents caused financial ruin for George Rogers Clark and extreme work for William Clark in trying to settle law suits against brother George.⁽⁹⁾ 

In addition to Richmond being the state capitol. The city by the James River would become a financial center and the tobacco capitol of the United States with worldwide operations.⁽¹⁰⁾ 

Willian Clark’s focus was on returning to the Merry Oaks to retrieve Scott and his horse before proceeding to Mr. Redds. It is doubtful that William gave thought to Henry Clay or his birth near Merry Oaks on 12 April 1777. The future attorney, politician, Speaker of the U.S. House, Senator from Kentucky, U.S. Secretary of State, and three-time Presidential Candidate was born at Clay Spring in Hanover County, VA (intersection of US 301 and Stumpy Road (37°7309763 N-77° 4013704 W).^(11)(12) Young Henry’s initiative showed great promise and through his step-father’s connections a place was secured as assistant clerk in Virginia High Court of Chancery. The position steered Clay to a law degree on 6 November 1797, and eventual move to Kentucky. In addition to practicing law, Clay taught law at Transylvania College and was mentor for expedition member George Shannon. Clay and Shannon became more involved in a business dealing when Shannon signed a power-of-attorney on 2 November 1815, transferring the 320 Acre Land Warrant he had received as a member of the expedition to Henry Clay. In the same document, Clay is authorized to receive back pension pay for Shannon.⁽¹³⁾ The pension resulted from the loss of a leg during the return of Shehake to the Mandan villages. On 18 October 1816, George Shannon signed a receipt in the amount of $288.00 acknowledging receipt of three years of back pension pay delivered by Henry Clay.⁽¹⁴⁾