Today is Monday, June 29, 2020.

On this day in 1804, two members of the Lewis and Clark expedition were court-martialed for breaking into the party's stores and drinking while on duty.

It was not their first infraction, but their fellow soldiers were determined that it would be their last.

Welcome to today in True Crime, a parcast original.

Due to the graphic nature of today's story,

listener discretion is advised.

Extreme caution is advised for listeners under 13.

Today we're covering the trial of privates John Collins and Hugh Hall, two members of Lewis and Clark's

core of discovery.

Let's go back to the bank of the Missouri River near present-day Kansas City a few hours

after dawn on June 29, 1804. 4.

Captain William Clark was not having a pleasant morning.

The expeditions. Captain William Clark was not having a pleasant morning.

The expedition was only 400 miles into a journey that was expected to stretch to the Pacific

ocean and back, and they'd already been traveling for two months. The challenge

was as daunting as it was momentous, but Lewis and Clark had prepared for every

obstacle they could think of. had

appropriated $2,000 for supplies.

President Thomas Jefferson was particularly invested in the mission.

To support Lewis and Clark on their journey, he created the core of discovery, a unit of 33 men

hand-picked from the U. the US Army. So far they were shaping up to be more trouble

than they were worth. There had been bouts of drunken revelry, conflicts with local farmers, men going AWOLA-wall whenever they pleased,

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