Lewis and Clark Expedition

Lewis and Clark Expedition (1804-1806) - An expedition to explore the newly acquired Louisiana Purchase territory and to find a passage to the Pacific Ocean. Began in 1804 and ended in 1806. William Clark (1770-1838) Meriwether Lewis (1774-1809) History of the Lewis and Clark Expedition In 1801, Captain Meriwether Lewis was appointed as an aide to then President Thomas Jefferson. After the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, Jefferson chose Lewis to lead an expedition to explore a western route to the Pacific through the new territory. Lewis recruited William Clark to share command of the expedition and Clark enthusiastically accepted. Lewis and Clark carefully chose the expedition members and formed what would become the "Corps of Discovery". The Corps of Discovery was a military organization with Captain Meriwether Lewis the ranking member. William Clark, when he signed on from civilian life, expected a commission and hoped that it would be as a captain to reinforce his shared command status. When the commission arrived it was as a 2nd Lieutenant and Clark was disappointed but by then he had established his authority and it did not matter. The expedition left Camp River Dubois across from St. Louis on 14 May 1804 and spent the winter of 1804-1805 at Fort Mandan in present day North Dakota. While at Fort Mandan the expedition employed Toussaint Charbonneau and his young pregnant Shoshone wife named Sacagawea, who would later prove to be invaluable when the expedition encountered her people. On 7 Apr 1805 the expedition departed Fort Mandan in six small canoes, and two large perogues. At the very same time the river barge that had brought them to Fort Mandan was sent back to St. Louis with six soldiers, two Frechmen and an Indian aboard. The barge was accompanied by a canoe with two Frenchmen. The two vessels carried the "return party" along with the papers and specimens that would be sent to Washington as an interim report to the President. The Lewis and Clark Expedition successfully portaged the Great Falls of the Missouri, navigated to the headwaters of the Missouri River at Three Forks, crossed the Rocky Mountains and reached the Pacific Ocean at Cape Disappointment in present day Washington State. They built and then spent the winter of 1805-1806 at Fort Clatsop near the mouth of the Columbia River in present day Oregon. The expedition returned to the starting point at St. Louis on 23 Sep 1806 after examining other river basins along the way. The expedition's carefull documentation of the journey with detailed maps and observations as well as a compelling set of day-by-day narrative journals, captured the public's imagination and made the Corps of Discovery national heros. Corps of Discovery Members (edit list) Rank Name Born Died Join Left Notes Capt Lewis, Meriwether 1774 1809 1804 1806 2nd Lt Clark, William 1770 1838 1804 1806 Sgt Floyd, Charles 1782 1804 1804 1804 Died enroute Sgt Glass, Patrick 1771 1870 1804 1806 Pvt->Sgt Sgt Ordway, John 1775 1817 1804 1806 Senior Sgt Sgt Pryor, Nathaniel 1772 1831 1804 1806 Corp Warfington, Richard 1777 18?? 1804 1805 Return party leader Pvt Boley, John 17?? 18?? 1804 1805 Return party Pvt Bratton, William 1778 1841 1804 1806 Pvt Collins, John 17?? 1823 1804 180? Court-martialed received 100 lashes Pvt Colter, John 1775 1813 1804 1806 Left at Fort Mandan Pvt Cruzatte, Pierre 17?? 18?? 1804 1806 Pvt Dame, John 1784 18?? 1804 1805 Return party Pvt Field, Joseph 1772 1807 1804 1806 Pvt Field, Reubin 1772 1823 1804 1806 Pvt Frazer, Robert 17?? 1837 1804  ? Pvt Gibson, George 1804 1806 Pvt Goodrich, Silas 17?? 18?? 1804 1806 Pvt Hall, Hugh 1772 18?? 1804 18?? Pvt Howard, Thomas 1779 18?? 1804 180? Pvt Labiche, Francois 17?? 18?? 1804 1806 Pvt Lepage, John Baptiste 1805 1806 Joined at Fort Mandan Pvt McNeal, Hugh 17?? 18?? 1804 1806 Pvt Newman, John 1785 1838 1804 1806 Return party Court Martialed Pvt Potts, John 1776 1808 1804 1806 Later Killed at Three Forks Pvt Reed, Moses 1804 1805 Return party Court Martial Pvt Robertson, John 1780 18?? 1804 1804 First to Leave Pvt Shannon, George 1785 1836 1804 1806 Pvt Shields, John 1769 1809 1804 1806 Pvt Thompson, John 17?? 18?? 1804 1806 Pvt Tuttle, Ebenezer 1773 18?? 1804 1805 Return party Pvt Weiser, Peter 1781 18?? 1804 1806 Pvt Werner, William 17?? 18?? 1804 1806 Pvt White, Isaac 1774 18?? 1804 1805 Return party Pvt Whitehouse, Joseph 1775 18?? 1804 1806 Pvt Willard, Alexander 1778 1865 1804 1805 Pvt Windsor, Richard 17?? 18?? 1804 1806 Interpreter Charbonneau, Toussaint 1767 1843 1805 1806 Joined & left at Fort Mandan Civ Charbonneau, Sacagawea 1788 1812 or 1884 1805 1806 Joined & left at Fort Mandan Civ Charbonneau, Jean Baptiste 1805 1866 1805 1806 Joined & left at Fort Mandan Child Interpreter Drouillard, George 1773 1810 1804 1806 Servant York, Ben ? 1770 1832 bef 1804 1806 Boatman Carson, Alexander 1775 1836 1804 1805 Boatman Caugee, Charles Boatman Collin, Joseph Boatman Deschamps, Jean-Baptiste 1805 Return party? Boatman Herbert, Charles 1804 1804 Boatman La Jeunesse, Jean-Baptiste 1804 1805 Boatman Barter, Joseph 1804 1804 Boatman Malboeuf, Étienn 1775 Return party? Boatman Pinaut, Peter 1776 1804 1805 Return party? Boatman Primeau, Paul 1804 1805 Boatman Rivet, François 1757 1852 1804 1804 Return party? Boatman Roi, Peter See Also: Meriwether Lewis William Clark Lewis & Clark Camps Sources: The Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. 2005. U of Nebraska Press / U of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries-Electronic Text Center. NPS - Lewis and Clark Expedition Links: Wikipedia - Lewis and Clark Expedition Wikipedia - Corps of Discovery