Eagle Days

Each January we participate in the annual Eagle Days at the Chain of Rocks Bridge in St. Louis with a camp of 15 men, sometimes in the bitter cold and snow. With displays in blacksmithing, weapons, medicines, clothing, rope making, food, animal skins, and everyday household items we are able to provide thousands of visitors a terrific experience learning about what it was like to live in the early 1800s.

Historic Children's Festival at the First Missouri State Capitol State Historic Site

Live, learn and play like they did in the 1820s! Re-enactors from our Lewis & Clark Discovery Expedition of St. Charles, Missouri participate in the celebration of National Kids to Parks Day with living history demonstrations.

The First Missouri State Capitol State Historic Site hosts this event. Activities include children's games and toys, period skills and craft demonstrations, period dressed interpreters, learning about bartering, statehood and much more! Spend the day relaxing and having fun 1820s style!

Discovery Park of America: Sept. 23 - 25, 2016

In 2014 and again in 2016, the Lewis & Clark Discovery Corps re-enactors setup camp on the Great Lawn of the Discovery Park of America. The park’s log Pioneer Village was a great addition to our camp adding a unique element to our inspirational educational programming. The Lewis & Clark Fife & Drum joined us in 2016 making the camp livelier and added to the historical feel of the event. Our patch program with Scouts was a huge success attracting hundreds of scouts and non-scouts interested in earning the patch while learning about the Lewis & Clark Expedition.

Clark’s Cabin at the Falls of the Ohio: Sep. 30 - Oct. 2, 2016

It was a great time to be in Indiana, as they were celebrating their Bicentennial of Statehood. Indiana Parks, along with the National Park Service, were celebrating their 100th year of their founding. It can be argued that the Expedition of Lewis & Clark entered the Gateway to Discovery, here, when Lewis and Clark began their journey below the Falls of the Ohio.

We illustrated the significance that the Corps of Discovery was foundationaly rooted in local heritage of Clarksville and Louisville by demonstrating the success of the 1803 mission when the core element of the Expedition was recruited with the enlistment of the 9 young men from Kentucky. Their frontier spirit sprang from the plains and mountains of the bluegrass frontier of Kentucky.

The first stage of our stay was working with The Frazier History Museum’s Lewis & Clark programs by displaying the Keelboat moored next to the Belle of Louisville on the riverfront in Louisville on Monday with walking tours from the Frazier to see the boats. We had 4 living history stations in the Frazier History Museum on Monday at their new Lewis & Clark interactive exhibit. Visitors were taken on an immersive, educational adventure that put them face-to-face with some of the many challenges encountered by the Corps of Discovery, seeking passage to the northwest. Visitors forged rivers and crossed mountains while encountering new people, cultures and fantastic new species of animals. There were several artifacts from the period and detailed explanations on how and why they were used by the Expedition.

Thursday, the Keelboat and Red Pirogue were taken up river to the new East End Bridge that was being formally named the Lewis & Clark Bridge. While at the bridge, we were photographed and filmed by a drone with a full contingent of the Corps in dress blues on the boats.

We then moved the boats to the public docks in downtown Jeffersonville to prepare for Friday to Sunday’s Bicentennial Festival. Our encampment at Clark’s Cabin was the site for our educational programs featuring blacksmithing, weapons, medicines, rope-making, trading post, etc. on Friday to scouts, students, magnet schools, and home schoolers and the general public on Saturday and Sunday. A superb re-enactment of the enlistment of the 9 young men was performed.

We had the opportunity to take a private field trip on Tuesday to visit John Shields grave site. We also embarked down the Ohio in our Keelboat and Red Pirogue on Wednesday for a 10-day trip to Fort Massac.

Arrival of Lewis & Clark at the Frontier Garrison of Fort Massac: Oct 14 – 16, 2016

The grand finale of establishing the Lewis & Clark Eastern Legacy Trail took place at Fort Massac in 1803. This event is important in understanding the history made by Lewis & Clark’s arrival to Fort Massac, their mission, and the consequences of their success on the Expedition and perhaps the mysterious intrigue of the Spanish desire for a New World Empire. Fort Massac could be considered the frontline vanguard of defense for the fledgeling United States.

We arrived to meet an 1803 American Garrison, newly established Fort Massac still under construction encamped within the framework of garrison barracks and  redoubt. During our visit the Corps was able to land the boats as Lewis and Clark did and then re-enact the recruitment of men from the ranks stationed at the fort for students on Friday and the public on Saturday and Sunday.

Visitors to Fort Massac were able to see a glimpse of frontier military life and times of the day. Ft. Massac during this time was on the edge of a new nation’s line of defense. During this re-enactment we were able to portray the arrival of an Expeditionary Force, embarking on a journey into the wilderness from what could be considered the last “friendly confines of an American garrison”, (i.e: Similar to sending an Expedition to Mars). The Corps was able to demonstrate the primitive skills needed for a journey of undetermined length, into an unknown frontier, to encounter numerous hostile tribes that were not likely to be friendly with a desire to terminate their mission from making discoveries of an unknown origin.

For more information on the annual event visit:  https://enjoyillinois.com/en-us/thingstodo/details/6037588