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Missouri History Today

Missouri History Today December 7, 1803: Lewis Meets With The Spanish Lieutenant Governor

by Missouri Life

Spanish Lieutenant Governor Carlos Dehault Delassus asks Meriwether Lewis to pause his trip on the Missouri River until proper permissions can be obtained from his superiors, according to a history from the Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation. “In view of my proposition [Lewis] has agreed to wait for Your Excellencies’ determination and he is going to spend the winter on the Dubois River,” Delassus wrote. This painting depicts the transfer of the Upper Louisiana territory, over which Delassus served as lieutenant governor, to the United States at St. Louis on March 9, 1804.

Photo credit: Ford P. Kaiser. Library of Congress. https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2016648616/