History, Culture and Faith – The Lewis and Clark Expedition Part 2

By Rick Chromey

On May 14, 1804, forty-three men and a dog launched a large boat and two pirogues into the muddy Missouri River at St. Charles.

The westward journey to find a Northwest passage to the Pacific Ocean began. Over the next thirty-one months, the Lewis and Clark expedition faced all types of weather, traversed ten future U.S. states, endured injuries and illnesses, and survived fifty-six incidents that could have terminated the historic expedition. ¹

However, only Sgt. Charles Floyd died, and he likely succumbed to an unrelated and incurable ruptured appendix. For comparison, John Jacob Astor’s 1810 attempt to establish a trading post at the Columbia River’s mouth resulted in over sixty deaths! On the Oregon Trail, one in ten (or roughly 25,000) Oregon Trail emigrants died heading west.

Lewis and Clark and their party were living blessed.

“A Protestant Novelty”

In our last issue, I discussed how the First (1730-1775) and Second Great Awakenings (1790-1835) revived America’s Christian roots. Every Lewis and Clark expedition American member likely attended a Protestant church, as that was America’s religion (90% of the population). Furthermore, between 1700 and 1750, historian James Hutson noted that 70-80% percent of Americans regularly attended church, a trend that persisted through 1800. ²

The expedition’s French interpreters and rivermen — like Pierre Cruzatte and Francois Labiche who practiced Roman Catholicism — notably differed from American Protestants. In 1800, Catholics comprised only 1% of the U.S. population, meaning many Americans probably never met a Catholic, let alone attended a Mass. Nevertheless, twenty Corpsmen went to Pentecost Sunday Mass on May 20, 1804. ³ This is why nearly every journal writer referenced it, with one describing it as a “novelty.” ⁴

But this behavior also reveals the spiritual devotion of nearly half the party, who chose church over a day off and boldly tolerated a religion their Protestant ancestors fought and fled in Europe.

Bibles and Religious Services

The Corps traveling library excluded religious books, but personal Bibles likely accompanied the men. Their dads had carried the Aitken Bible (1777-79), known as the Bible of the Revolution, during the Revolutionary War, as pocket Bibles were popular. ⁵

For a soldier, every day could be his last.

The Lewis and Clark Expedition learned this vital lesson when Charles Floyd died on August 20, 1804. Floyd received a full funeral service with military honors.⁶ Clark noted that Lewis read the service, suggesting he used his personal copy of the Anglican Book of Common Prayer. This ministerial resource included prayers, baptism and marriage instructions, prayers for the sick, Holy Communion rites, and a complete funeral service.

The journals were a military record. Consequently, they didn’t address informal gatherings or religious services besides Floyd’s funeral. However, assuming several men carried Bibles, it’s safe to assume informal Bible studies, prayer groups, and Sunday services occurred. It’s also possible Lewis’ Book of Common Prayer was employed to pray for the sick and injured.

“The Party All Thankful”

In early America, prayer and sacred days were prevalent. Governors and U.S. Presidents often proclaimed days of thanksgiving, prayer, and fasting. The Corps of Discovery recognized three holidays: New Year’s Day, Independence Day, and Christmas, the latter being the most revered.

On Christmas 1804 at Fort Mandan, the men began the day with a cannon salute at dawn, followed by a 43-gun salute. They celebrated with brandy toasts, feasting, gunfire, and dancing. Sgt. John Ordway noted the local Indians did not disturb them, recognizing it as a sacred “Great Medicine” day. ⁷

A year later, Christmas at Fort Clatsop, near the Pacific Ocean coast, included carols, a gift exchange, and other mentioned traditions. Clark journaled, “…we would have spent this day, the nativity of Christ, in feasting had we anything to raise our spirits or gratify our appetites.” Their no-alcohol dinner consisted of poor, lean elk, fish, and some roots. ⁸

Joseph Whitehouse shared a Christmas blessing, citing that their liquor supply had been depleted six months earlier in Montana. He expressed gratitude for the party’s good health, a true blessing, and credited God: “The party is all thankful to the Supreme Being for His goodness towards us.” ⁹

The journals captured additional prayers along the Trail:

May 14, 1805: While attempting to navigate a wind gust, Toussaint Charbonneau, Sacagawea’s husband, capsized the white pirogue, spilling the Corps’ precious cargo — medicines, journals, and artifacts — into the Missouri River. Unable to swim, Charbonneau panicked and began “crying to his God for mercy.” ¹⁰

June 7, 1805: Lewis heard Richard Windsor shout, “God! God!” and found him clinging to a ninety-foot craggy precipice. ¹¹

August 12, 1805: Hugh McNeal straddled a mountain creek and “thanked his God” for allowing him to “live long enough to bestride the mighty Missouri River.” ¹²

August 12, 1806: Sgt. Patrick Gass thanked God for reuniting the Corps of Discovery after their exploration of Montana’s Missouri and Yellowstone rivers. Lewis likely felt the same gratitude, having survived two near-fatal gunshot incidents within two weeks.

In the Lewis and Clark story, we can easily miss the many unrecorded prayers for help, protection, and gratitude — those moments when luck ran out, leaving no chance to escape and no way to overcome challenges.

A few incidents that meet the working definition of a miracle.

We’ll explore these exciting moments next issue.

 

Sources:

1 Robert R. Hunt, “Luck or Providence: Narrow Escapes of the Lewis & Clark Expedition,” We Proceeded On, (August 1999): 6.

2 James H. Hutson, Religion and the Founding of the American Republic (Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress, 1998): 24.

3 Pentecost Sunday is 50 days (7 weeks plus a day) after the high Sabbath of Passover. In 1804, Easter Sunday was April 1. Seven Sundays later was May 20 or Pentecost Sunday.

4 Joseph Whitehouse recorded: “This day several of our party went to the Chapel, where Mass was said by the Priest, which was a novelty to them.” Gary E. Moulton, Ed., The Journals of the Lewis & Clark Expedition (Lincoln: University of Nebraska) Joseph Whitehouse: May 20,1804. https://lewisandclarkjournals.unl.edu/item/lc.jrn.1804-05-20

5 Inside Francis Merrifield’s pocket Bible, he thanked God for saving his life in the Battle of Bunker Hill. American Museum of the Revolution, accessed February 28, 2025: https://www.amrevmuseum.org/collection/bunker-hill-bible

6 Moulton, Journals of Lewis and Clark, John Ordway: August 20, 1804: https://lewisandclarkjournals.unl.edu/item/lc.jrn.1804-08-20#lc.jrn.1804-08-20.04

7 Ibid., John Ordway: December 25, 1804: https://lewisandclarkjournals.unl.edu/item/lc.jrn.1804-12-25

8 Ibid., Clark: December 25, 1805:

https://lewisandclarkjournals.unl.edu/item/lc.jrn.1805-12-25

9 Ibid., Joseph Whitehouse: December 25, 1805: https://lewisandclarkjournals.unl.edu/item/lc.jrn.1805-12-25

10 Ibid., Meriwether Lewis: May 14, 1805: https://lewisandclarkjournals.unl.edu/item/lc.jrn.1805-05-14#lc.jrn.1805-05-14.04

11Some might mistake Windsor’s “god, god” cry as a profanity today, but it’s more likely a desperate prayer for Divine Assistance. Ibid., Lewis, June 7, 1805: https://lewisandclarkjournals.unl.edu/item/lc.jrn.1805-06-07#lc.jrn.1805-06-07.01

12 Ibid.: August 12, 1805:  https://lewisandclarkjournals.unl.edu/item/lc.jrn.1805-08-12#lc.jrn.1805-08-12.01

 

Dr. Rick Chromey is a historian and theologian who speaks and writes on matters of religion, culture, and history. He’s also a Lewis and Clark historian for American Cruise Lines (Coumbia and Snake Rivers). Rick and his wife Linda live in Star, ID. www.rickchromey.com.