Camp Dubois (English: Camp Wood), near present-day

Wood River Wood River may refer to: Rivers In Canada * Wood River (British Columbia), a tributary of the Columbia River via Kinbasket Lake * Wood River (Saskatchewan), a river in south-west Saskatchewan In Ireland * Wood River (County Clare), Kilru ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

, served as the winter camp and launch-point for the exploration of the

Louisiana Purchase The Louisiana Purchase (french: Vente de la Louisiane, translation=Sale of Louisiana) was the acquisition of the territory of Louisiana by the United States from the French First Republic in 1803. In return for fifteen million dollars, or app ...

by the

Lewis and Clark Expedition The Lewis and Clark Expedition, also known as the Corps of Discovery Expedition, was the United States expedition to cross the newly acquired western portion of the country after the Louisiana Purchase. The Corps of Discovery was a select gr ...

. Founded at the confluence with the ''Rivière du Bois'' (

) on December 12, 1803, it was located on the east side of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it fl ...

so that it was still in

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

territory. This was important because the transfer of the

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

from

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

did not occur until March 9, 1804, and then from France to the United States on March 10, 1804. The expedition returned again to the camp on their return journey on September 23, 1806. In 1803, at

Cahokia The Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site ( 11 MS 2) is the site of a pre-Columbian Native American city (which existed 1050–1350 CE) directly across the Mississippi River from modern St. Louis, Missouri. This historic park lies in south- ...

, Lewis and Clark had met a well known French citizen, Nicholas Jarrot, who owned 400 acres on the ''du Bois,'' and he agreed to let them camp there.

William Clark William Clark (August 1, 1770 – September 1, 1838) was an American explorer, soldier, Indian agent, and territorial governor. A native of Virginia, he grew up in pre-statehood Kentucky before later settling in what became the state of Miss ...

established Camp Dubois, with a group of men that he recruited from

Kaskaskia The Kaskaskia were one of the indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands. They were one of about a dozen cognate tribes that made up the Illiniwek Confederation, also called the Illinois Confederation. Their longstanding homeland was in ...

and

Fort Massac Fort Massac (or Fort Massiac) was a French colonial and early National-era fort on the Ohio River in Massac County, Illinois, United States. Its site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971. History The Spanish explorer ...

. There, they constructed a frontier fort.

Captain Meriwether Lewis The dredge ''Captain Meriwether Lewis'' is a U.S. National Historic Landmark. The dredge is one of the few surviving examples of its type built to control flooding and improve navigation along the nation's rivers. History Built by the Marietta Ma ...

joined the camp several weeks later after gathering information about

Upper Louisiana Upper may refer to: * Shoe upper or ''vamp'', the part of a shoe on the top of the foot * Stimulant, drugs which induce temporary improvements in either mental or physical function or both * ''Upper'', the original film title for the 2013 found fo ...

and the west from Cahokia, Kaskaskia,

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

and other locations. Also during this time, Lewis took the opportunity to smooth relations with the Spanish authorities in St Louis to make the transfer of the Louisiana Purchase easier. Camp Dubois was a fully operating

military camp A military camp or bivouac is a semi-permanent military base, for the lodging of an army. Camps are erected when a military force travels away from a major installation or fort during training or operations, and often have the form of large cam ...

. Soldiers stationed at the camp were required to participate in training, maintain personal cleanliness, police the camp and other duties spelled out by the

United States military The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is th ...

. They had inspections, marched, stood guard duty and hunted to supplement their military rations. Sergeant

John Ordway Sergeant John Ordway (c. 1775 – c. 1817), the youngest of ten siblings, was an important part of the Lewis and Clark Expedition across the United States. John Ordway was one of the sergeants from the United States Army who stepped forward t ...

was in charge of the camp during periods in which both Lewis and Clark were away. On May 14, 1804, the Expedition, under Clark's command, left Camp River Dubois on the east side of the Mississippi River and sailed up the Missouri River.

Memorial

The

Lewis and Clark State Historic Site The Lewis and Clark State Historic Site opened in 2002 and is owned and operated by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources Division of Historic Preservation (formerly Illinois Historic Preservation Agency). The site, located in Hartford, ...

has been established south of the actual winter camp site of the Expedition in

Hartford, Illinois Hartford is a village in Madison County, Illinois, Madison County, Illinois, United States, on the Mississippi River near the mouth of the Missouri River. The population was 1,429 at the 2010 census. Lewis and Clark spent the winter of 1803-1804 t ...

. It is located across the Mississippi from the present mouth of the Missouri, as the original camp was; however, the rivers have altered their courses, making the original site inaccessible. The Historic Site contains a museum center and reconstructed replica of Camp Dubois.Lewis and Clark State Historic Site -- History
State of Illinois

References

External links

{{commons
DVD Documentary of Camp Dubois by Solstice Productions
Pre-statehood history of Illinois Lewis and Clark Expedition Mississippi River