On November 11, 1803 a small contingent of men led by Capts. Meriwether Lewis and William Clark arrived at Ft. Massac, situated on a promontory overlooking the Ohio River not far above its confluence with the Mississippi. A fort was built at the location by the French in 1757, and the Americans built another in 1794 near the ruins of the earlier structure. The frontier outpost was under the command of Capt. Daniel Bissell at the time of the Corps' arrival, and was garrisoned by a company of the 1st U.S. Infantry. While at Massac Lewis, armed with orders from Secretary of War Henry Dearborn, selected men for possible recruitment into the permanent party. In this scene Capt. Lewis and Capt. Bissell review potential candidates on the parade ground just outside the northern gates of the fort. Standing with them is the French/Indian interpreter and hunter George Drouillard, who was the most valuable addition to the Corps recruited at Ft. Massac. There was a village near the fort and in the painting, three native onlookers from the neighborhood watch the procedure with interest. A total of fourteen men in addition to Drouillard were acquired at Massac to navigate Lewis' boats up the Mississippi River; perhaps as few as two actually became members of the Corps of Discovery.
