Picture Courtesy of Jim Kuntz

Picture courtesy of Jim Kuntz

The United States purchased the Louisiana territory--more than 830,000 square miles--from France in 1803. President Jefferson selected Meriwether Lewis [on the left] to lead an expedition there.

With Jefferson's permission Lewis asked his friend and fomer commanding officer, William Clark [on the right], to be co-leader. Although opposite in temperament, they worked harmoniously throughout the two year journey.

In 1804-1806, Captains Meriwether Lewis and William Clark led about 40 soldiers and boatmen on an epic journey. President Thomas Jefferson commissioned this "Corps of Discovery" to find a route to the Pacific Ocean through the newly acquired Louisiana territory. Along the way, they mapped the land, recorded its resources, and contacted it native inhabitants.

The landscape has changed since Lewis and Clark explored it: rivers have been dammed, forests cut over, prairies plowed under, and roads built to the horizon. Although remnants of wilderness still exist, imagine this land as Lewis and Clark first saw it two centries ago.

[This marker contains a very detailed map of their journey both outbound, and the return. Camp sites, hunting trips, and discoveries. And, by the way, William Clark is the younger brother of George Rogers Clark a prominent figure of the Revolutionary War.]

Comments (0)

Show/Hide comment form

Name

Email

Comment

Write the displayed characters

Add Comment