Charles Gratiot Sr.-- Part 2: An Influential Man of St. Louis

He petitioned the U.S. government for the $8,000 in supplies he had given to George Rogers Clark during the American Revolution, but did not receive the money.  He did, however, receive land in Kentucky in lieu of it.

In 1795, he hosted William Clark in St. Louis and also assisted Meriwether Lewis as translator with the Spanish governor of Louisiana.  Charles was an official witness to the transfer of the Upper Louisiana Territory from Spain to France and then to the United States in 1804 in what is called the Ceremony of the Three Flags.

Later he was appointed judge of the Court of Common Pleas, Justice of the Peace and clerk of the Board of Land Commissioners.

He died of a stroke in St. Louis and is buried at Calvary Cemetery in St. louis, where son Charles is also buried.

--Brock-Perry

Ceremony of the Three Flags-- Part 4

On November 30, 1803, Spain formally transferred the Louisiana Territory to France in New Orleans...On December 20, 1803, New Orleans and the rest of the Louisiana Territory was transferred to the United States.  The new governor of the territory was William C.C. Claiburne.

But navigation of the Mississippi River was closed for the winter by then and word did not reach St. Louis.

On March 9, 1804, Adam Stoddard, the lt.-governor of Upper Louisiana and Meriwether Lewis arrived in St. Louis by boat.  The Spanish flag was lowered that day and the French flag hoisted to fly for 24 hours..  The next morning, March 10, 1804, the U.S. flag was raised and the ceremony was complete.

The events of these two days are referred to as the Three Flags ceremony or the Ceremony of the Three Flags, which Charles Gratiot witnessed.

This is why the Lewis and Clark Expedition did not begin in 1803.

--Brock-Perry

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Ceremony of the Three Flags-- Part 3: Lewis and Clark Delayed

On April 30, 1803, the United States bought the Louisiana Territory from France, but did not take possession of it.  Spain continued to administer it as it had not officially turned it over to France.

President Thomas Jefferson ordered Lewis and Clark to explore the territory, but Spain would not allow them to do so.  So, Lewis and Clark spent the winter 1803-1804 at Camp Dubois in the then Indiana Territory (now Illinois), opposite the confluence of the Missouri and Mississippi rivers.

--Brock-Perry

Ceremony of the Three Flags-- Part 1: Charles Gratiot At It

From Wikipedia.

In the last post, I mentioned that Charles Gratiot was at the Ceremony of the Three Flags on St. Louis.It is also called Three Flags Day and took place on March 9 and 10, 1804, when Spain officially turned over Louisiana (New Spain) to France who then turned it over to the United States as per the Louisiana Purchase.

The ceremony took place in St. Louis and cleared the way for Lewis and Clark to begin their famous expedition of exploration.

--Brock-Perry

Charles Chouteau Gratiot-- Part 5

From Find-A-Grave.Was the grandson of Madame Chouteau, mother of August Chouteau, founder of St. Louis.

As a boy, he was present at the Ceremony of the Three Flags where the Louisiana Territory became a part of the United States.

--Brock-Perry