At the Falls of the Ohio, Sergeant Nathaniel Pryor and Private William Bratton officially enlist in the U.S. Army. On the expedition’s return journey, Pryor would become stranded south of the Yellowstone River and Bratton’s back became so painful he could scarcely walk.
In Washington City, the U.S. Senate ratifies the Louisiana Purchase treaty, and it is sent to the House of Representatives for approval.
Ohio River Recruits
The soldier depicted here wears the full dress uniform of an infantry sergeant. As a recruit from Kentucky, Sergeant Pryor would not have previously owned such a uniform, nor is it known if he was issued one. Sergeants carried swords and their uniforms included a single epaulette on the shoulder and a sash around the abdomen.[1]Robert J. Moore, Jr. and Michael Haynes, Lewis & Clark: Tailor Made, Trail Worn (Helena: Far Country Press, 2003), 18.
In a summary of extra pay awarded the men, Clark recorded the enlistments of Pryor and Bratton as starting on 20 October 1803:
We the Subscribers do acknowledge to have received of [blank] the several Sums set opposite to our names, the Same being due us from the War department pursuant to an Act of Congress bearing date March 3rd 1807, entitled ‘an Act makeing compensation to Messrs. Lewis & Clark and their companions.
. . . .
Name Period of Service Monthly Rate Amount Nathaniel Pryor 20 Oct. 1803 to 10 Oct. 1806 5 & 8 [$]278.50 William Bratton 20 Oct. 1803 to 10 Oct. 1806 178.33 1/3 178.50[2]Donald Jackson citing Yale University Library, New Haven, Connecticut in Letters of the Lewis and Clark Expedition with Related Documents: 1783-1854, 2nd ed. (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, … Continue reading [—William Clark]
Sweating Pvt. Bratton
William Bratton sometimes suffered from debilitating back pain. When the expedition was waiting at Long Camp for the Bitterroot Mountain snows to melt, they employed two Nez Perce methods to cure him:
William Bratton still continues very unwell; he . . . is so weak in the loins [lower back] that he is scarcely able to walk, nor can he set upwright but with the greatest pain. . . . Bratton requested that he might be sweated in the manner proposed by Sheilds to which we consented.
—Meriwether Lewis, 24 May 1806during the time of his being in the sweat hole, he drank copious draughts of a strong tea of horse mint . . . .
—William Clark, 24 May 1806
Pryor’s Mission
Returning with Clark on the Yellowstone River, Sgt. Pryor would be assigned a special mission which started by taking their horses to the Knife River Villages. Two days into the mission, the horses were stolen, and his group of three were stranded. He lived to tell the tale to his captain:
they returned to their Camp and packed up their baggage on their backs and Steared a N. E. course to the River Rochejhone which they Struck at pompys Tower [Pompeys Pillar], there they killed a Buffalow Bull and made a Canoe [bull boat] in the form and shape of the mandans & Ricares . . . . Sergt. Pryor informs me that the Cause of his building two Canoes was for fear of ones meating with Some accedent in passing down the rochejhone a river entirely unknown to either of them by which means they might loose their guns and amunition and be left entirely destitute of the means of precureing food.
—William Clark, 8 August 1806
Senate Ratifies Louisiana Treaty
With a 24–7 vote, the Senate ratifies the treaty and conventions for the cession of Louisiana from France:
“Resolved, (two-thirds of the Senators present concurring therein,) That the Senate do advise and consent to the ratification of the treaty, as well as to the ratification of the two conventions connected therewith, made and concluded at Paris, on [30 April 1803].[3]U.S. Congress. Executive Journal. 1:450 at “A Century of Lawmaking,” Library of Congress, accessed 11 August 2022, … Continue reading
Seven Federalist senators opposed ratification arguing that there was no constitutional provision authorizing the President to acquire territories. Jefferson and the Republicans argued the provision authorizing the governing of a territory presupposed the right to acquire that territory. The Supreme Court agreed with the later argument.[4]“The Senate Approves for Ratification the Louisiana Purchase Treaty” United States Senate accessed 11 August 2022, … Continue reading
Experience the Lewis and Clark Trail
The Lewis and Clark Trail Experience—our sister site at lewisandclark.travel—connects the world to people and places on the Lewis and Clark Trail.
Plan a trip related to October 20, 1803:
Notes
| ↑1 | Robert J. Moore, Jr. and Michael Haynes, Lewis & Clark: Tailor Made, Trail Worn (Helena: Far Country Press, 2003), 18. |
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| ↑2 | Donald Jackson citing Yale University Library, New Haven, Connecticut in Letters of the Lewis and Clark Expedition with Related Documents: 1783-1854, 2nd ed. (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1978), 2:378. |
| ↑3 | U.S. Congress. Executive Journal. 1:450 at “A Century of Lawmaking,” Library of Congress, accessed 11 August 2022, https://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=llej&fileName=001/llej001.db&recNum=456. |
| ↑4 | “The Senate Approves for Ratification the Louisiana Purchase Treaty” United States Senate accessed 11 August 2022, https://www.senate.gov/about/powers-procedures/treaties/senate-approves-louisiana-purchase-treaty.htm. |
