Great Plains Studies, Center for
Date of this Version
Spring 1999
Citation
Great Plains Quarterly Vol. 19, No. 2, Spring 1999, pp. 139-40.
Abstract
This eleventh volume in the series of the Louis and Clark Expedition continues Gary Moulton's masterful work. Here the story of the journey is seen through the eyes of one of the enlisted men, Joseph Whitehouse, whose journal is the only surviving record of a. private on the expedition. In the introduction, Moulton briefly covers Whitehouse's life before and after the expedition, although there is little known of him during these times. He was one of the men who joined Lewis at Kaskasia, from Captain Russell Bissell's company of the First Infantry. The volume itself contains two versions of Whitehouse's record: his original notebook journal, which runs from 14 May 1804 to 6 November 1805 (the remaining portion has unfortunately been lost); and a second version consisting of a paraphrase of the journal written by a scribe or editor, and running from 14 May 1804 to 2 April 1806. Although the paraphrased version fills in some of the original journal's gaps, it too falls short of completing the journey. For the first time both the original journal text and the paraphrased text are shown side by side with corresponding annotated comments at the end of each day's writing, making this the most complete edition of the Whitehouse journal available.
The format is consistent with the ten previous volumes. It carries forward the excellent tradition which distinguishes Gary Moulton's work as one of the classic editorial series in American history. Much of what Whitehouse tells us is similar to, and at times verbatim with, the captains' journals. On occasions when Whitehouse has included material that is new or different from the captains' journals, Moulton offers useful explanations. The editor's cross-references to the captains' journals add greatly to the value of this volume for both the general reader and scholar.
Historians interested in gaining a fuller understanding of the expedition must read this volume. It is also a good source for someone interested in reading about the journey who does not want to sift through the eight volumes of the captains' journals. One must remember, however, that Whitehouse's journal ends on 2 April 1806, several months prior to the Corps of Discovery's return to St. Louis. Although the two versions are at times repetitious, this volume will prove to be the last necessary edition of Whitehouse's journal, unless further information comes to light.
Comments
Copyright 1999 by the Center for Great Plains Studies, University of Nebraska-Lincoln