Clarksville, Indiana (CoD October 15-26, 1803)

“When they shook hands, the Lewis and Clark Expedition began”. This is a quote from Stephen Ambrose’s book Undaunted Courage, describing Meriwether Lewis meeting William Clark in Clarksville Indiana on October 15, 1803. Lewis had ridden to Pittsburgh Pennsylvania, to take delivery of the Corp of Discovery’s (CoD) keelboat, while Clark was staying at his brother’s home in Clarksville Indiana. While there, Clark recruited 7 other young men to join the CoD. Lewis floated the keelboat down the Ohio River to Clarksville, where they joined forces for the first time on this expedition. The (CoD October 15-26, 1803) indicates the time the CoD spent in this location and the nomeclature will be used in future blog postings.
The photo of the statue depicts this hand shake. It stands outside the Falls of the Ohio Interpretive Center in Clarksville. The Falls are a two mile series of rapids, with the river dropping 24 feet. A portion of the rapids is visible behind the statue. A replica of the Clark cabin is shown in the second photo. It is situated on a bluff called the Point of Rocks, about 2 miles downstream of the Interpretive Center, thought to be the original location of the cabin.
Clarksville is named for William Clarks’ older brother General George Rodgers Clark, who is a revolutionary war hero. General Clark’s small army cleared the then northwest frontier of the British and made it safe for American settlers.