On July 4, 1804, Lewis and Clark and the Corps of Discovery kicked off the first Independence Day celebration west of the Mississippi in the requisite style – explosions and booze!
None of the men of the expedition were beyond infants in 1776. For them, the Revolution was a story told by their fathers. They were the first generation to celebrate Independence Day as non-revolutionaries – they only knew the Revolution through mythology and the traditions that attended observance of its anniversary.
And they were serving at the behest of the engineer of the Revolution, President Thomas Jefferson, on his extremely secret and extremely dangerous mission to essentially Mars. The odds of the expeditionists returning were long.
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What a scene. In what is today Atchinson, Kansas, the 33 Sons of the Revolution cheering and their blood percolating with the thrill of lighting off the ship’s gun just for kicks… The men who kept journals recorded their experiences:
(𝗟𝘁. 𝗪𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗺 𝗖𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗸) – 𝘶𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘣𝘺 𝘢 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘉𝘰𝘸 𝘱𝘪𝘦𝘤𝘦…… 𝘸𝘦 𝘊𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 [𝘥𝘢𝘺] 𝘣𝘺 𝘢 𝘋𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘣𝘰𝘸 𝘱𝘪𝘦𝘤𝘦, 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘵𝘳𝘢 𝘎𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘴𝘬𝘦𝘺.
(𝗦𝗴𝘁. 𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗻 𝗢𝗿𝗱𝘄𝗮𝘆) – 𝘸𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘊𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘬 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘩 𝘚𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 15 𝘺𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘥𝘦. 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘰 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦 & 𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 4 𝘰𝘧 𝘑𝘶𝘭𝘺, 𝘊𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘴. 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘐𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘊𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘬 𝘸𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘉𝘰𝘸 𝘱𝘪𝘦𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 & 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘐𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘜. 𝘚.
(𝗦𝗴𝘁. 𝗣𝗮𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗸 𝗚𝗮𝘀𝘀) – 𝘞𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘴𝘸𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘭 𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘶𝘯𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘺, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘷𝘰𝘺𝘢𝘨𝘦;
Capt. Meriwether Lewis did not mention the celebration and only recorded a few lines of longitude and latitude positional measurements for the day. Perhaps his mind was occupied on other matters. As Clark wrote: “Came to on the L. S. to refresh ourselves &. Jos: Fields got bit by a Snake, which was quickly doctered with Bark by Cap Lewis.”
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The next year, 1805, the party was in Montana preparing for their advance on the Rocky Mountains. But they still did up Independence Day in American style – they got drunk on the last of the whiskey (saving a bit for emergency medicinal use), played music and danced.
(𝗟𝗲𝘄𝗶𝘀) – 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘸𝘦 𝘨𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘢 𝘥𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘴, 𝘪𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘤𝘬, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘦𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘥𝘥𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘱𝘭𝘺𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 9 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘢 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘺 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘱𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘰’ 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘮𝘪𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘫𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘮𝘭𝘺 𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘢𝘵 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵. 𝘸𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘢 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘳, 𝘰𝘧 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘰𝘯, 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘴, 𝘴𝘶𝘪𝘵 𝘥𝘶𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 & 𝘣𝘶𝘧𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘧 &𝘤. 𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘯𝘰 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘮𝘱𝘵𝘶𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘧𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘺𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘢𝘺.
(𝗢𝗿𝗱𝘄𝗮𝘆) – 𝘪𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 4𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘐𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘚𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘦𝘱𝘵 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘚𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴. 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘥𝘥𝘭𝘦 𝘱𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘺 𝘢𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 10 𝘰𝘊𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘬 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘚𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘭 & 𝘫𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘭 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘳.
(𝗣𝘃𝘁. 𝗝𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗽𝗵 𝗪𝗵𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗲) – 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘨𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘚𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘦𝘱𝘵 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘚𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴. 𝘸𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 10 𝘰𝘊𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘬 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘚𝘩𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘺 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘪𝘯 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘚𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘱 𝘵𝘩𝘦 4𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘑𝘶𝘭𝘺 &𝘤. 𝘢𝘴 𝘐𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦.
Music on the expedition was provided by fiddle player Piere Cruzette, and occasionally fiddle player George Gibson. The interesting thing is – Cruzette is the one people write about in their journals. At best, Gibson was the opening act.
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On July 4, 1806, the return trip home – no one keeping a journal even acknowledged the holiday. Likely because there was no time for recreation, as this was the day that the party split up, with Clark taking some of the men to explore the Yellowstone River heading east, and Lewis continuing along the Missouri river to (hopefully) meet at the confluence of the two. Also, maybe because the whiskey supply was long gone.
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A country’s traditions happen whether you like it or not, and those traditions are part of your psychology, whether you like it or not….. Fireworks are one of the most essential human elements of celebration. Fire made us human. That’s the thing. And every year still alive was a massive string of challenges overcome with no assumption that the future will be secure. The harnessing of light and sound with fireworks is the deepest celebration of human nature, it’s primal and magnificent – the boomboom and sparklecrackle.
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