Saturday, August 26, 2018

Week 2 SUMMARY- We've driven 2,210 miles over 10 major US rivers and 4 major US mountain ranges over 13 States... and have seen 41 bird species.

"William Clark received his commission as Lieutenant
from George Washington in 1791. He was appointed
Brigadier General by Thomas Jefferson in 1807 and
reappointed as such by James Madison in 1811. He was
made Governor of Missouri Territory by this President
in 1813 and recommissioned twice by him. Being again
appointed Governor James Monroe in 1820, who also
made him Superintendent of Indian Affairs in 1822. His
great fame as an Explorer was won on the Expedition
of 1804-5-6" (Quote from 1 of 5 stone panels)

Bellefontaine Cemetery
Today, St. Louis was hot and humid and sunny; 86 degrees at 9:15 am.  We drove first to William Clark's Burial Site in St. Louis at Bellefontaine Cemetery (National Historic Landmark) of 1849. It was quite the grave site with many of his children interred around him. Bellefontaine Cemetery is very large with 314 acres and 14 miles of road! In addition to Clark's grave, we stopped at Civil War Major General Don Carlos Buell, Major General John Pope, Almira Hancock (picture). Also buried here is Aldolphus Busch (1839-1913- with Father-in-law Eberhard Anheuser, founded Anheuser Busch Beer), Stephen Watts Kearny (married William Clark's stepdaughter; born in Newark, NJ), James McDonnell (of McDonnell-Douglas Aircraft), Samuel Hawken (of Hawken Rocky Mountain Rifle). Ulysses Grant's favorite General, William Tecumseh Sherman is buried at Calvary Cemetery across the street from Bellefontaine.  

Grave site of Almira Hancock "the most beautiful woman in the
West" in 1850, met and married Major General Winfield Scott Hancock,
stationed with Robert E.Lee (and other Union and Confederate
Officers) at Jefferson Barracks. Best friends with then Captain
later Brigadier Lewis Armistead of the Confederacy, Winfield and Almira
were best friends with Armistead for 17 years. On July 2, 1863 at Gettysburg, PA
led his Brigade of Pickett's Division against Hancock's II Corps at
Cemetery Ridge... Armistead killed and Hancock gravely wounded.
Please note the other "most beautiful woman" in the picture. 

Camp River (Ft Dubois)
From there we drove to the Lewis and Clark State Historic Site in Hartford, IL (the National Lewis and Clark Heritage Trail Site #1) where we toured their museum and an accurate replica of the 1803-1804 Camp River Dubois. This is the place that Lewis and Clark and the Corps of Discovery began their trip up the Missouri River (picture) on May 14, 1804... Ground Zero for L&C! They left Pittsburgh too late in the year to launch up the Missouri, so they built a Camp/Fort across the Mississippi River and lived there for 5 months; planning, gathering more supplies, packing gear, drilling and training and gathering more men for the trip. Note that St. Louis and the Louisiana Purchase was still governed by the Spanish until the French sold it to the US and transferred it on December 20, 1803, so Lewis and Clark needed special "passports" to enter St. Louis while at Camp Dubois. When they returned in 1806, St. Louis and the Louisiana Territory was part of the USA. The average age of the Corps was in the early 20s; a Private got $10/mo, now $20/per month as member and Captains got $40/mo, now $80/mo. as Officers as well as 320 acres of land in the new territory. The actual Camp River Dubois is located 3-4 miles east of this site under the Mississippi due to river movement.

The museum's movie was good history but the exhibits were great; specifically the replica of the keel boat and how supplies were stored and packed. We also took a tour in 93 degree heat of replica of the Fort laid out on Lewis's plans. The guide noted that William Clark's maps were so good they were used for 20-25 years after he returned to St. Louis.  Also, from Ft. Mandan (Bismark, ND), Lewis and Clark sent the keel boat down river to St. Louis in April 1805 with 8-12 men as

well as live and stuffed animals, plants, minerals,bones, Indian artifacts, journals and records. The keel boat was probably sold for wood in St. Louis. Of the red and white pirogues, only the white pirogue made it to St. Louis when the Corps returned in 1806.

Jefferson Barracks
From IL we drove back to St. Louis to Jefferson Barracks Military Post and Cemetery (1826-1946) in Lemay, MO; VERY famous American Officers (including Civil War Union and Confederate) were stationed there including Jefferson Davis, Robert E.Lee, Ulysses S.Grant, William T.Sherman, Philip Sheridan, Henry Dodge, Albert S.Johnson, Joseph E.Johnson, Winfield S.Hancock, Henry Halleck, Nathaniel Boone, James Longstreet, Jeb Stewart, Don Carlos Buell, John Pershing, Dwight Eisenhower ,... 426 acres used for Basic Infantry Training, a Hospital, a Cemetery, Arsenal/Armory and was the 3rd largest city in MO during WWII. We visited the WWI and WWII sites. At the WWII site a 92 year old WWII veteran of the Battle of the Bulge greeted us and talked for awhile... William Pilger. Jefferson Barracks was a major military post for the Mexican American War (1846-1848) and each war thereafter until decommissioned in 1946. Cemetery started 1827  is 331 acres with 188,000+ interred, including 1,000 Confederate soldiers.  We had dinner at a great St.Louis BBQ restaurant and headed back to the campground. 

Description says, "Original Jefferson Barracks Display Stone, ca 1827.
Placed near the flagstaff on the parade ground, this stone stood at
the center of the original base. Its crossed muskets represent the
infantry. The olive branches in one claw of the eagle indicate that the
marker was set in place during a time of peace." 

NOTE: Apologies to all our blog readers... I'm still struggling to wrap text around the pictures.