Meriwether Lewis And Clark Expeditions: William Clark

Lewis and Clark went on their journey to explore the western region of what is now known as

In 1804, Thomas Jefferson had Meriwether Lewis and William Clark on an arduous mission. Their mission was to explore the west side of Mississippi, because the United States had bought the land in the Louisiana Purchase. The long journey required Lewis and Clark to overcome many obstacles, such as mountains and Native tribes that were unfamiliar to them.

The expedition that Lewis and Clark had been on was a trip to the Pacific or the west. The President at the time was Thomas Jefferson and he wanted to explore and expand his country after receiving Louisiana from the French. So Jefferson asked his personal secretary, whose name was Meriwether Lewis to go on a journey along the Missouri River from St. Louis. Lewis. Meriwether Lewis was born on August 18, 1774 in the colony of Virginia and he was an explorer, soldier, and a public administrator. But Lewis did not just agree to the expedition he wanted his best friend to come with him on the expedition and his name was William Clark. William Clark was born on August 1, 1770 only four years younger than Lewis and he was also from the colony of Virginia. He was explorer and a soldier as well as Lewis but he was a Indian agent and a territorial governor. And when they decided to leave on their journey they had about 40 members in their group including a man by the name York. York was a slave that they brought along on the trip for the hard and manual labor that they had to do on the expedition.

In 1800 Thomas Jefferson was elected president. With the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, Jefferson had the vision of the United States growing from sea to sea. However, it was unknown what was out there. Jefferson planned an exploratory expedition and called upon Meriwether Lewis to lead it. Jefferson was very interested in what was in the west lands. Much was involved in the carrying out of this expedition; the preparations for this trip, what happened during their long journey west, and the return home. This expedition was very important in the development of the United States.

In May of 1804, two men set out on an important journey that would take them across the country and discover new land, but none of it would have been possible without the aid of one woman. The Lewis and Clark Expedition was planned by Thomas Jefferson, in order to explore the unknown in the newly purchased Louisiana Territory, and also to find a water route across the continent. Along the way the group of men met a quiet native, named Sacagawea, whose impact would later have a large effect on the success of their important journey.

On May 14th, 1804 Meriwether Lewis and William Clark start their three year expedition across the Louisiana Purchase. They started in Camp River Dubois, east of the Mississippi river. They sailed all the way up the Missouri river. When the Great Falls came up, they had to get out of the boat and split up. William Clark and four dozen other men went on the

Lewis and Clark were able to cover many miles before The Missouri River froze . Four days after the first snowfa ll, they reached the Mandan tribe's villages, where they planned to spend the winter. Without stopping,the members began to build a fort for protection against the snow and attack by the Sioux. Before the end of November, when ice wa s already running in the river, the fort was finished. Temperatures dropped to below QQF and guards, watching the entire fort, had to be relieved every 30 minutes. The expedition's food supplies soon began to run low. To make it through the winter, the

Never have the men seen Lewis this mad and they never seen them whip an Indian. The soldiers had threatened the Old man with the rifles and they also had gave him a few hit with a switch. The Chinooks show Lewis and Clark their flaws. They had such a bad reputation. They wasn’t just known as thieves they was known as one of the best thieves. They was so good that the men could turn their back for one second and something would be missing. The Indians tended to upset Lewis. They had stolen his dog (Seaman) and that was the last straw for Lewis patience with these Indians. Lewis ordered three men to go out and follow them and if they become any type of difficult to fire at

America doubled in size in 1803 when President Thomas Jefferson bought the Louisiana Territory from France for 15 million dollars. Jefferson wanted to discover this land and hoped to find a water route that would link the pacific ocean with the mississippi river. Jefferson decided to enlist the help of his personal secretary and soldier, Meriwether Lewis. Lewis knew he couldn’t go on this journey alone and he knew just the man to join him on the journey. William Clark was a draftsman who possessed knowledge of the outdoors. Among Lewis and Clark, young american soldiers and french canadian river men were hand picked to tag along with them on their journey. York, Clark’s personal slave and companion since childhood, tagged along. Another person

Then they also had to deal with mosquitoes, they were a major problem for the explorers because, the mosquitoes would cause swelling of the face and eyes. Besides that they had to handle encountering many different wild animals. One encounter Lewis nearly died getting attacked by a grizzly bear. To continue the explorers had to try an make good relations with Native Americans and they usually went well except for one incident where they had to fight. There wasn’t any casualties for the explorers but two members out of the black fleet tribe died. They would also get lost an be on the verge of starving. However by the end of the expedition there was only one casualty, Sargent Charles Floyd and it was from a ruptured appendix so for the explorers this was a successful expedition.

Exploration has always been a central theme in the development of the United States. The Louisiana Purchase, in 1803, made the government more eager to expand west. The newly acquired lands were in need of exploration. A team needed to be established to survey and document the new territory. The Lewis and Clark expedition would answer the unknown questions of the west. The expedition would not have been successful without the leadership, determination, discipline of the Corps of Discovery, and the cooperation of the Native Americans. President Jefferson wanted the leader to have the same passion and intensity toward the discovery of the west as he possessed. Jefferson hand-

Beginning on February 9, 1779, Clark and his men embarked for Vincennes 240 miles away through the now flooded region. The major faced a test of morality as the company trudged through frozen dirt and in freezing waters. In the rain, the troops sung to keep high hopes and when they were close enough to the village, Clark had to post a riflemen at the rear to encourage the tired individuals (Davis 98). Their ambitions rose when they captured an Indian hunting canoe carrying buffalo meat, corn, tallow, and kettles. After devouring their finds, the unit made it the final miles within eyesight of Fort Sackville on February 23(Davis 99).

In this country’s great history, there have been many important expeditions, discoveries, and wonders. One of the most famous and important expeditions in this country’s history is that of Lewis and Clark. Within their great journey, the two men met countless obstacles, met many new and intriguing cultures, and saw some of the most incredible land that God had ever made. After the purchase of the Louisiana Territory from France, President Thomas Jefferson commissioned Meriwether Lewis and William Clark to lead an expedition on a journey to explore the headwaters of the Missouri River and find an overland route to the Pacific Ocean by way of the Columbia River. By August 31, 1803, Lewis and his party were under way down the Ohio River to meet up with Clark and his group. Together, their group, known as the Corps of Discovery, departed from Camp DuBois near Wood River, Illinois, on May 14, 1804, and proceeded up the Missouri River using a keelboat and two pirogues. By late fall, the party reached the Knife River Indian Villages near present day Washburn, North Dakota. There they built Fort Mandan and spent a

Winter- The lewis and clark expedition crew stopped for the winter along a small river, south of the Columbia. They built a fort, fort Clatsop which was named after the closest tribe of native Americans at that time. During the winter, they didn 't have a lot of adventurous activities to fill their time with, so they devoted their time to making moccasins, buckskin clothing, storing their food, and wring out unfinished maps and journaling their thoughts and findings. Their everyday life was filled with gloomy, wet, poor weather. Their food wasn’t any better, bad stringy elk with bitter indigenous roots. The Captains wanted to trade with an oncoming ship for food and supplies. Ships from the U.S. ports and Britain frequently stopped at the mouth of the Columbia . One actually did stop. They traded with the Indians but the Indians didn’t tell the expedition team.

Within this group, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark were among the leaders. The Corps of Discovery followed the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers where they were able to make it to the Pacific Ocean. In total, the journey lasted two and a half years and resulted in only one fatality. This expedition helped lead the Americans to leave claim on the Oregon Territory and the population of the Northwest Territory