Searching for the Lewis and Clark Expedition at Ft. Kaskaskia, Illinois
Author(s): Mark Wagner; Ryan Campbell
Year: 2018
Summary
Lewis and Clark recruited 11 soldiers from the small US Army outpost of Ft. Kaskaskia (1802-1807), Illinois, in 1803 to join their expedition to explore the American west. This event traditionally has been identified as having occurred at a 1750s French fort of the same name. 2017 SIU summer field school investigations within the fort walls successfully located the remains of the French occupation but found no evidence of use by the US Army. Archaeological investigation of a nearby hilltop, however, located an extensive brick scatter intermixed with early 1800s military items that clearly represents the remains of the 1802-1807 American Ft. Kaskaskia. This rediscovery of one of the pivotal sites of the Lewis and Clark Expedition not only corrects history but affords an opportunity to recover information on the daily lives and material posessions of American soldiers immediately prior to the start of the Lewis and Clark expedition.
Cite this Record
Searching for the Lewis and Clark Expedition at Ft. Kaskaskia, Illinois. Mark Wagner, Ryan Campbell. Presented at Society for Historical Archaeology, New Orleans, Louisiana. 2018 ( tDAR id: 441635)
This Resource is Part of the Following Collections
Keywords
General
Exploration
•
French
•
Military
Geographic Keywords
North America
•
United States of America
Temporal Keywords
1750-1810
Spatial Coverage
min long: -129.199; min lat: 24.495 ; max long: -66.973; max lat: 49.359 ;
Individual & Institutional Roles
Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology
Record Identifiers
PaperId(s): 181