The Lewis and Clark Expedition: The History and Importance

The historic achievement known as the Lewis and Clark Expedition, an event that Quig Nielsen calls "the fulfillment of a longtime dream of Thomas Jefferson," is also often labeled as one of the greatest accomplishments of exploration.¹ Although the journey stands out on its own, it was the effect of a series of remarkable events in history. The Lewis and Clark Expedition was actually the brainchild of the president of the United States, Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson had been interested and curious about the lands west of the Mississippi River for over twenty years, and had conceived ideas for a government-sponsored exploration of the uncharted territory of the West long before he was even inaugurated president in March of 1801.²

In 1800, Napoleon Bonaparte became the emperor of France and held the land known as Louisiana. President Thomas Jefferson did not want a French army at the western border of the United States, and he knew that losing access to the port of New Orleans would cause a huge downfall in the economy of the United States. Napoleon, in the meantime, was having troubles in the New World. The people of Haiti had successfully revolted against French rule, and simultaneously, France was at war with Great Britain. Jefferson was informed of Napoleon's difficult situation and instructed his minister to France to offer to buy the tract of land on the lower Mississippi River, or at least to negotiate a treaty guaranteeing free navigation of the river. Napoleon refused every proposal at first, but surprised everyone in April 1803 by offering to sell the entire Louisiana territory.

Thomas Jefferson's purchase of Louisiana amounted to about three cents per acre, and extended America's western border to the Rocky Mountains. The added territory doubled the size of the country by adding 828,000 square miles. Finalization of the purchase took months,³ but by the fall of 1802, President Jefferson was well into formulating the Lewis and Clark Expedition, seizing the opportunity to make his "pet project" a reality.⁴

In January of 1803, Jefferson sent a confidential message to Congress, asking for funding and stating the objective of the project as exploring the land between the

Missouri River and the Pacific Ocean.⁵

Gentlemen of the Senate and of the House of Representatives: As the continuance of the act for establishing trading houses with the Indian tribes will be under consideration of the Legislature at its present session, I think it my duty to communicate the views which have guided me in the execution of that act...

...An intelligent officer with ten or twelve chosen men, fit for the enterprise and willing to undertake it, taken from out posts where they may be spared without inconvenience, might explore the whole line, even to the Western Ocean, have conferences with the natives on the subject of commercial intercourse, get admission among them for our traders as others are admitted, agree on convenient deposits for an interchange of articles, and return with the information acquired in the course of two summers.⁶

The purpose of Jefferson's plan was for a group of men to follow the Missouri River to its headwaters, then portage the mountains and finally follow the Columbia River from its headwaters to its mouth. Jefferson wanted the proposed expedition to fill in the vast, unknown region located in the "middle" of the country, otherwise known as the West.⁷ Congress set aside $2,500 for the proposed expedition.

In 1801, before the Louisiana Purchase was declared official, President Jefferson had appointed a personal secretary, a well-born young army captain named Meriwether Lewis. Jefferson soon asked him to head the expedition into the West.⁸ From his selection on, Lewis had been privy to the highest levels of information of a domestic and diplomatic nature regarding the Western lands. Like Jefferson, Lewis realized the importance of a Western expedition in the "geopolitical climate of the day."⁹

Only one week after Congress had set aside the funds for the journey in the making, President Jefferson began writing his scientist friends, seeking advice and instruction from them. Lewis's preparations for the expedition began during the time from New Year's Day of 1803 to the fifteenth of March. At this time, Lewis was still living in the President's House, and often discussed the upcoming trip with Jefferson. The topics of study Lewis learned about included lessons in the use of a sextant and other measuring instruments, which took place on the lawn of the house, and studying the maps in Jefferson's collection.

Lewis also talked with Albert Gallatin, who was a serious map collector. Gallatin ordered a special map to be created for Lewis that showed North America from the Pacific Coast to the Mississippi River, including details on what was known of the Missouri River up to the Mandan villages in the Great Bend of the river. The maps also had drawings of what the Rocky Mountains might look like and the course of the Columbia River. The only three points certain on the map were the latitude and longitude of the mouth of the Columbia River, St. Louis, and the Mandan village. By the time Lewis finished studying with Jefferson and Gallatin, he knew everything there was to know about the Missouri River and what lay to the west of it.¹⁰

President Jefferson dreamed of an easy portage from the headwaters of a far western river, such as the Columbia, back to the headwaters of the Missouri. Perhaps furs could be collected on the Pacific coast and transported back across the continent instead of across the Pacific or around South America. Others before him had envisaged such a Northwest Passage that would both provide a traversable route across the continent and help establish a base on the Pacific coast for trade with Asia, especially China.¹¹

By the time President Thomas Jefferson had started to write exploring instructions for Meriwether Lewis, he knew that the Missouri River was the master river for American expansion, and its tributaries were also important in relation to the main branch of the Missouri. Jefferson wanted the unexplored lands to add more than mere territory to the United States. He envisioned a West that would promise continued vitality to the country, and vitality depended on the incentives of commerce and inexpensive water transportation. The president wanted American farmers to settle in the western lands, but did not forget that they would only live there if there existed a means to transport agricultural goods to the market.¹²

Jefferson drafted the official instructions to Lewis toward the end of June of 1803. The top priority of the exploring mission was to find an all-water passage from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific by way of the great Missouri and Columbia Rivers. The president was searching for the most direct the practicable route to the Pacific Ocean; everything else, including botany, ethnology, diplomacy and zoology, was secondary.¹³

The final draft of Jefferson's commands put exploration and commerce ahead of agriculture. In commerce, Jefferson asked Lewis to find out the routes used by British traders coming down from Canada to trade with the Missouri River Indian tribes, and about their trading methods and practices. He wanted Lewis to make suggestions on how the United States could take over the fur trade, which was dominated by the British at the time, by utilizing the Missouri route. Jefferson also wished for Lewis to create multiple copies of serviceable maps of the West, which were essential to commerce, and mark the latitude and longitude of all distinguishable places.

The fur trade also required knowledge of the Indian tribes of the West. Jefferson told Lewis to learn as much as he could about the various tribes, including the names of the nations and their population, the extent of their land possessions, their relations with other tribes, languages, traditions, occupations, and most importantly, what trade goods they needed. Jefferson instructed Lewis to treat all of the Indians in a friendly manner, but also to inform them of the size and strength of the United States, who had peaceful intentions, for the country only wanted to trade with them. Beyond the first major issue of commerce, the purpose of the expedition was to discover the flora and fauna of the West. The president wanted Lewis to record his observations of the soil, plant and animal life in the unknown territory.¹⁴

When President Thomas Jefferson had won approval from Congress to fund a small expeditionary party to explore the West, he had always called the project "Mr. Lewis's Tour" or the "tour of Lewis and Clark." Sometimes, though, the president called the group the Corps of Discovery, and this name has become increasingly popular over the years.¹⁵ After Jefferson had appointed Meriwether Lewis as the first corps member, Lewis quickly asked former military leader William Clark to serve as co-commander of the expedition. Clark readily accepted the offer.¹⁶ William Clark was no longer on active army status and was told he would receive a regular army captaincy, but Congress refused to grant it. Even with these barriers, Lewis chose Clark as a fellow captain and commander, and the men of the corps regarded him as so.¹⁷

Captain Meriwether Lewis, as leader of the western expedition, was in charge of all the details of preparing the Corps of Discovery for the journey westward. His list of things to do included securing the party of explorers, drawing up a budget, making a list

of needed supplies and making sure everything worked according to schedule.¹⁸ Only a few weeks after his appointment of leader to the expedition in the spring of 1803, Meriwether Lewis went to the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Virginia, to choose weapons and oversee the construction of canoes. Lewis then traveled to Lancaster, Pennsylvania and met astronomer Andrew Ellicot to learn how to plot latitude and longitude to help in finding his way across the unknown wilderness. Finally, Lewis went to Philadelphia and learned rudimentary medicine, along with studying botany, zoology, surveying and Indian lore.¹⁹ In the East, Lewis also gathered supplies for the journey, which included trading goods like awls, fishhooks, paints, tobacco twists, Jefferson medals, whiskey, and laudanum. Lewis moreover supervised the building of a twenty-two foot keelboat that would take him and the Corps of Discovery up the Missouri River to a winter quartering place. He also searched for recruits for the Corps of Discovery in the East.

William Clark went to St. Louis to recruit young, experienced and versatile backwoodsmen for the journey. The captains needed interpreters, river experts and hunters all able to live under the harshest conditions. The expedition also required men with multiple skills who could perform jobs in carpentry and blacksmithing, while following orders. With the exception of hunter-interpreter George Drouillard, if the men were not already in the army, they were enrolled in it. ²⁰

The start of the expedition was delayed because of construction problems. Lewis had designed a special boat made of an iron frame with animal hides that he believed would prove outstanding in the "short portage" across the mountains. Reality proved otherwise, however. Lewis also had created a special type of flatboat to use in traveling up the Missouri River that could be fortified in case of an Indian attack. Once the vessels had been built, Lewis joined Clark at St. Louis to begin the mission.²¹

President Thomas Jefferson had purchased the entire Louisiana Territory from the French in May of 1803, but to be on the safe side, the United States had informed both the British and the French about the proposed expedition in order to obtain passports for the exploring party. Jefferson emphasized the fact that the journey was being made in the name of science to the other countries, and assured them that no imperial designs were involved. The president did not, however, inform the Spanish government, for unknown reasons.²²

On December 7, 1803, the party of soldiers and boatmen landed on the shore of St. Louis after poling their keelboat and two pirogues up the Illinois side of the Mississippi River. At this place, the soldiers began clearing land for Camp River Dubois at the mouth of the Wood River, where the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers meet.²³ At the time of the Corps of Discovery's arrival in St. Louis, the transfer of the Louisiana Territory was still not official. The group faced some problems with the Spanish officials in Louisiana, but on March 10, 1804, at St. Louis, Lewis and Clark witnessed the formal exchange of Louisiana in a set of ceremonial procedures. The final preparations for departure were made then, and on May 14, 1804, Lewis and Clark and the Corps of Discovery set out from St. Louis.²⁴

The regular group of twenty-nine men and temporary complement of sixteen others who started out from St. Louis were bound for the Mandan winter quarters location, accompanied by Lewis's Newfoundland dog and Clark's body servant, a black man named York. Both the leaders of the expedition and the officers designated sergeants under them kept journals.²⁵ The men chosen by Lewis and Clark to make up the Corps of Discovery included soldiers, civilian boatmen, and interpreters,²⁶ and their appointment was based on their leadership and interpreting skills, hunting prowess, specialized craftsmanship and frontier adeptness.²⁷

Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, the two scientist-explorer leaders of the expedition, possessed personalities that complemented each other. Both men were strict disciplinarians, but Lewis was somewhat aloof and had periods of despondency, while Clark was more extroverted and a father figure. Lewis had immense scientific interests in the flora, fauna, and minerals of the west, and Clark had the surveying and engineering skills required for the journey. On the issue of Indians, Lewis tended to view the natives primarily as savages, but Clark shared Jefferson's opinion on them and believed they were a part of the human race.²⁸

Other members of the original Corps of Discovery are less recognized than the two captains, but they all played a large part in the success of the mission. Sergeant John Ordway, Sergeant Nathaniel Pryor, Private John Colter, Private Pierre Cruzatte, and Private François Labiche served as recorders, hunters, trappers, boatmen, and interpreters among various other jobs.²⁹ Members of the corps came from all parts of the United States, and some were even French-Canadian. The sergeants, privates and nonmilitary members of the corps cooked meals, built camps, manned boats, interpreted native languages and portaged supplies without complaint. The corps never openly challenged the captains, who trained the men to be disciplined, tough and loyal, even when morale was low or they disagreed with the captains' decisions.³⁰

The Missouri River was sometimes called the "big muddy" because it carried a tremendous volume of silt from its headwaters to distant eroding mountains. Lewis and Clark had to lead a group of men aboard one flatboat and two pirogues into the unknown territory.³¹ At the beginning of the journey westward, it proved difficult to travel up the Missouri River because spring floods pushed the water downstream in torrents. The hunters in the group routinely walked the shores while keelboatsmen alternately rowed, poled, sailed and rope-pulled the boat against the current. Wind, rain and hail, along with snags and sandbars were constant obstacles in the twisting Missouri River, and the bloated, gangrenous carcasses of buffalo that floated downriver implied the danger of thin ice ahead.³²

On July 21, 1804, some six hundred miles and sixty-eight days upstream from the Wood River camp, the Corps of Discovery reached the mouth of the Platte River. This was a milestone, because to go past the mouth of the Platte was a Missouri riverman's equivalent of crossing the equator. It also meant the party was entering a new ecosystem and Sioux territory. On July 30, Clark recorded that he and Captain Lewis had walked in the prairie on top of the bluff of the Platte region and saw that grass covered the region, growing ten to twelve inches high. They also observed swans in a nearby pond, and plenty of catfish were caught that evening. Private Joseph Field killed and brought to Lewis a badger, which was never before seen in the United States.³³

The explorers stopped at major Indian villages and acted as ambassadors of goodwill, advising the Indians to make peace with each other, and distributing gifts they had brought from the East. They questioned the Indians about what lay ahead, for their answers were mostly reliable.³⁴ The Corps of Discovery did not encounter any Indians on their path to the Platte River because all tribes of the lower Missouri had been out hunting buffalo as the group traveled west and north. The first Indian meeting occurred at sunset on August 2, 1804, when a party of Otos and a few Missouris arrived at the expedition's camp with a French trader and translator. After exchanging greetings, the captains gave the Indians gifts of tobacco, pork, flour, and meal, and in return, they received watermelons. The Indians numbered about two hundred and fifty in total, and were a farming and hunting people. Captains Lewis and Clark invited the Indians to a council the next day at their campsite, which they named Council Bluff.

On the morning of Friday, August 3, 1804, the expedition held its first meeting with Indians. As they waited for the Indians to come to council, Lewis wrote out a long speech he was planning to deliver and Clark oversaw the preparation of gifts. At ten o'clock in the morning, the Indian delegation arrived, made up of six or seven lesser chiefs of the Otos, as the main chief, Little Theif, was away hunting. Lewis and Clark were present in full-dress uniform, and the sergeants put the men of the corps through a dress parade and they passed in review. It may have been the first time the Indians had viewed such a disciplined drill. Lewis then gave his speech, in which he stated that the Missouri River country now belonged to the United States and all who lived in the area were under the command of the new great father, President Thomas Jefferson.³⁵

At Council Bluff, tragedy struck when Sergeant Charles Floyd died, most likely of a ruptured appendix. He was the only member of the corps to lose his life. After a proper eulogy, the group continued.³⁶ Along the way, the expedition spent much time collecting samples of flora and fauna of the West. Lewis found fossils and collected geological samples that he sent back to Jefferson. Lewis and Clark also had the responsibility of keeping order and maintaining discipline among the corps members.³⁷

As the winter of 1804 approached, the Corps of Discovery settled in with the Mandan Indians in November. The Indians welcomed the white men as protection against Sioux attacks. It was here that the corps met Toussaint Charbonneau, a French-Canadian trapper wintering with the Mandans, and his teenage wife, Sacagawea. Sacagawea was a Shoshone Indian captured and traded by the Hidatsa, and she was a member of a tribe of horse-people, who lived hear the headwaters of the Missouri River. For this reason, Lewis and Clark invited her and her husband to accompany them on their journey.³⁸

When the Corps of Discovery left Fort Mandan with the spring thaws on April 7, 1805,³⁹ Charbonneau, hired as an interpreter, and Sacagawea came with them. At the time, the young Indian girl was only sixteen years old and pregnant. Eight weeks before Lewis and Clark left camp on the upper Missouri River, Sacagawea gave birth to her first child, a boy named Jean Baptiste, but who was nicknamed "Pomp."⁴⁰ Sacagawea's role in the expedition cannot be considered a small one, for she had a knowledge of Indian herbs, food and medicine, and her presence along with that of her child showed others that this was not a war party.⁴¹

The expedition that left the Mandan village in 1805 traveled into unknown territory. The corps continued up the Missouri River using the geographical knowledge given to them by the Mandans. When the river seemed to split, where the Marias and Missouri Rivers join, members of the expedition separated into smaller groups, hoping to locate the Great Falls of the Missouri. When they did not find the landmark within a day, they determined that the South Fork of the Missouri River was the main branch to follow into the mountains. The group traveled on until they found the Great Falls. It took the corps twenty-four days to portage eighty-five miles around the falls and steep canyon that followed.⁴² Lewis attempted to describe the beauty of the waterfalls in a journal entry.

Lewis / Thursday June 13^th 1805.

...from the reflection of the sun on the sprey or mist which arrises from these falls there is a beatifull rainbow produced which adds not a little to the beauty of this majestically grand senery. after wrighting this imperfect discription I again viewed the falls and was so much disgusted with the imperfect idea which it conveyed of the scene that I determined to draw my pen across it and begin agin, but then reflected that I could not perhaps succeed better than pening the first impressions of the mind...⁴³

Many natural discoveries were also made in the area, such as that of the "barking squirrels" (prairie dogs) and "beardless goats" (pronghorn antelope), samples of which were stuffed and sent back to Jefferson.⁴⁴

The group next reached the three forks of the Missouri River, which they named the Jefferson, Madison and Gallatin Rivers. As the expedition reached the headwaters of the Missouri River, members of the corps saw Indian hunters from the Shoshoni tribe, and the Indians advised the expedition as to the best route across the Rocky Mountains. On August 12, 1805, the party crossed the Continental Divide at Lemhi Pass. After the difficult crossing, the Corps of Discovery came upon the Shoshoni village, where Sacagawea discovered that the chief of the tribe was her brother Cameahwait, whom she had not seen for four years since her capture. Cameahwait was moved after seeing his sister, and aided the expedition by providing horses and other necessary supplies that the corps would need for their continuing journey.

Once the group crossed the Bitterroot Mountain range, members of the corps followed the Snake River until they were in the Columbia River basin, and the expedition was soon following the Columbia westward until its junction with the Pacific Ocean. In this area, the corps met with the Flathead Indians, and the group continued to travel down the Columbia River where they soon viewed great waves as they entered the estuary of the Columbia basin. On November 8, 1805, the Lewis and Clark Expedition saw the Pacific Ocean, as Clark recorded in his journal.⁴⁵

...Great joy in camp we are in view of the Ocian, this great Pacific Octean which we been so long anxious to See. and the roreing or noise made by the waves brakeing on the rockey Shores (as I suppose) may be heard disti[n]ctly⁴⁶

The Corps of Discovery then built the primitive Fort Clatsop by the mouth of the Columbia River⁴⁷ and sent out groups in all directions to gather information about the area.⁴⁸ The Americans spent the winter of 1805-1806 at the fort, and left written word of their success upon reaching the Pacific Ocean there so that the news could be brought back to Jefferson. The arrival of the spring thaw in March 1806 marked the time for the Corps of Discovery to begin the long trek home.⁴⁹

For the journey home, the Corps of Discovery wished they might make contact with a coastal ship to carry them home. One such ship, the Lydia, did arrive, but through miscommunication, the captain of the vessel believed the corps had already left overland. On March 23, 1806, after much rainy and gloomy weather, the expedition left Fort Clatsop,⁵⁰ as Clark recorded in his journal.

Sunday 23^rd March 1805

This morning proved so raney and uncertain that we were undertermined for some time whether we had best set out & risque the [tide] which appeared to be riseing or not. the rained seased and it became fair about Meridian, at which time we loaded our canoes & at 1 P.M. left Fort Clatsop on our homeward bound journey. at this place we had wintered and remained from the 7^th of Decr. 1805 to this day and have lived as well as we had any right to expect, and we can say that we were never one day without 3 meals of some kind a day either pore Elk meat or roots, notwithstanding the repeated fall of rain which has fallen almost constantly...⁵¹

The entire expedition stayed together until the western base of the Rocky Mountains, where they then split into two groups to explore more territory and to find the easiest passage across the mountains.⁵² The corps felt it was their duty to learn as much as possible, and they agreed to meet again at the confluence of the Yellowstone and Missouri Rivers.

Captain Lewis's route took him through the territory of fierce Blackfeet Indians, and on one occasion, Lewis invited a small party of Blackfeet into his camp. The results were disastrous, as the Indians attempted to steal guns and horses. The event ended in the death of two Indians, the only Indian casualties of the entire expedition.⁵³ Lewis recounted the event in his journal.

July 27^th 1806. Sunday.

This morning at daylight the indians got up and crouded around the fire, J. Fields who was on post had carelessly laid his gun down behi[n]d him near where his brother was sleeping, one of the indians the fellow to whom I had given the medal last evening sliped behind him and took his gun and that of his brother unperceived by him, at the same instant two others advanced and seized the guns of Drewyer and myself, J. Fields seeing this turned about to look for his gun and saw the fellow just runing off with her and his brother's he called to his brother who instantly jumped up and pursued the Indian with whom they overtook at the distance of 50 or 60 paces from the camp s[e]ized their guns and rested them from him and R. Fields as he seized his gun stabed the indian to the heart with his knife the fellow ran about 15 steps and fell dead; of this I did not know untill afterwards, having recovered their guns they ran back instantly to the camp.⁵⁴

As Lewis and his group of men feared a large Indian war party that might be nearby, they traveled the next sixty miles almost nonstop.⁵⁵

When the corps had split into two groups, Sacagawea had stayed with Clark's party and led them to the Yellowstone River. By mid-August, Lewis and Clark were back together at the Mandan village. The corps began to disband at this point in time, and Charbonneau, Sacagawea, and Pomp returned to the Hidatsa village at the mouth of the Knife River. Charbonneau was paid five hundred dollars for his services, but his wife was apparently not paid at all.⁵⁶

On September 23, 1806, the Corps of Discovery made its triumphant return to St. Louis.⁵⁷ John Ordway finished his journal entries with his return to the city.

Ordway / Tuesday 23^rd Sep^t 1806.

...about 12 oClock we arrived in Site of S^t Louis fired three Rounds as we approached the Town and landed oppocit the center of the Town....drew out the canoes then the party all considerable much rejoiced that we have the Expedition Completed and now we look for boarding in Town and wait for our Settlement and then we entend to return to our native homes to See our parents once more as we have been so long from them.-finis.⁵⁸

The members of the corps were deemed national heroes, as they had returned from crossing the continent to the Pacific Ocean, a feat that many had thought impossible.⁵⁹ The expedition had lasted a total of about two and a half years, and the Corps of Discovery had traveled approximately 7,200 miles.⁶⁰

Just four days after returning from the Pacific coast, on September 26, 1806, Captains Lewis and Clark settled into a rented room in St. Louis and commenced their examination, cataloguing and arranging for future study and publication the journal entries, scientific observations, ethnographic notes, and detailed maps that had been compiled over the duration of the entire journey.⁶¹ The journals alone of Lewis and Clark filled eight detailed volumes with data about climate, geography, ethnic observations, and information about new species of plants and animals.⁶² The sixty maps drawn by Lewis and Clark combined words and pictures, and covered unbound pages. They were not intended to fill a book, but to supplement their journals. The explorers juxtaposed multiple maps to extend the limits of the paper.⁶³

When Lewis and Clark were back in St. Louis, they proceeded to report to President Jefferson. Lewis sent a letter to Jefferson, stating their arrival and what they had accomplished.

It is with pleasure that I announce to you the safe arrival of myself and party at 12 o'clock today at this place with our papers and baggage. In obedience to your orders we have penetrated the continent of North America to the Pacific Ocean, and sufficiently explored the interior of the country to affirm with confidence that we have discovered the most practicable route which does exist across the continent by means of the navigable branches of the Missouri and Columbia Rivers...

The expedition had not, in reality, discovered the Northwest Passage Jefferson was looking for. An easy portage from the Columbia River to the headwaters of the Mississippi did not exist, for the Rocky Mountains were too great a barrier.⁶⁴ An accomplishment of the expedition did include, however, an immense collection of information about the native peoples, diverse geography, and abundant resources of the West.⁶⁵

Lewis and Clark faced the fact that they had failed to accomplish their central goal. In his letter to the president, Lewis admitted that there was no direct water route across the continent to the Pacific, and the northern overland route charted by the expedition would never be able to replace the sea passages around the Cape of Good Hope. The agricultural products of America in the West could not reach the world market through the land route. An even larger failure was implied here: even though the western lands were fertile, American farmers would not settle in the region unless they could sell their produce in markets across the Atlantic Ocean and into the Caribbean.⁶⁶

President Jefferson, nevertheless, saw otherwise. In his perspective, the expedition had been highly successful, as he told Congress on December 2, 1806.

Gentlemen of the Senate and of the House of Representatives.

The expedition of Messrs. Lewis and Clarke, for exploring the river Missouri, and the best communication from that to the Pacific Ocean, has had all the success which could have been expected. They have traced the Missouri nearly to its source, descended the Columbia to the Pacific ocean, ascertained with accuracy the georgraphy of that interesting communication across our continent, learned the character of the country, of its commerce, and inhabitants; and it is but justice to say that Messrs. Lewis and Clarke, and their brave companions, have by this arduous service deserved well of their country.⁶⁷

Whether America remembers the expedition of Lewis and Clark as a great adventure West, or a failure that managed to accomplish much more than its original goal, the two leaders and their Corps of Discovery left a permanent mark on history, and they will be celebrated for their journey.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

PRIMARYSOURCES

De Voto, Bernard, ed. The Journals of Lewis and Clark. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1953.

Eide, Ingvard Henry, ed. American Odyssey: The Journey of Lewis and Clark. Chicago: Rand McNally, 1969.

Levy, Peter B., ed. 100 Key Documents in American Democracy. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1994.

SECONDARYSOURCES

Ambrose, Stephen E. Undaunted Courage: Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson, and the Opening of the American West. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1996.

Milner, Clyde A. II, Carol A. O'Connor, and Martha A. Sandweiss, eds. The Oxford History of the American West. New York: Oxford University Press, 1994.

Rodriguez, Junius P., ed. The Louisiana Purchase: A Historical and Geographical Encyclopedia. Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO, 2002. S.v. "Corps of Discovery," by Nathan R. Meyer.

________. The Louisiana Purchase: A Historical and Geographical Encyclopedia. Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO, 2002. S.v. "Lewis and Clark Expedition (1804-1806)," by Junius P. Rodriguez.

Ronda, James P. Finding the West: Explorations with Lewis and Clark. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 2001.

Slaughter, Thomas P. Exploring Lewis and Clark: Reflections on Men and Wilderness. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2003.

PERIODICALS

High, Gil. "Lewis and Clark and the U.S. Army Corps of Discovery." Soldiers, April 2003, 23-26.

Kreyche, Gerald F. "Lewis and Clark." USA Today Magazine, January 1998, 46-51.

Nielsen, Quig. "Sacagawea of the Lewis and Clark Expedition." Wild West, December 1999, 36-40.