People
The success of the Lewis and Clark Expedition was due to its many members and the people they met, including politicians, Eastern gentleman scientists, traders, and the many people already living in the American west.
On the Trail
September 6, 1803
Sailing past Steubenville
Opposite Weirton, West Virginia, Lewis continues his observations on fog. When the fog lifts, they move down the Ohio, but they must hire horses and oxen to drag the barge over several gravel bars. They raise the sails, but the sprit sail breaks. About two in the afternoon, they pass Steubenville, Ohio, and only make ten miles before stopping for [...]
September 6, 1804
Towing the barge
Moving up the Missouri, the barge hits several sandbars and must be towed. They only make eight miles for the day camping near present Greenwood, South Dakota. Pvt. Colter returns without Pvt. Shannon who has been missing for many days. In present Nebraska, Pedro Vial reaches a Pawnee village with the intention of arresting Meriwether Lewis and his expedition. He [...]
September 6, 1805
To the Bitterroot River
At present Ross' Hole, Montana, the captains record common Salishan words. They then climb Sula Peak to reach the East Fork of the Bitterroot River—which runs north. At supper, the 33 hungry members share some parched corn, berries, and two grouse. The new horses are corralled to prevent them from returning home.
September 6, 1806
A taste of whiskey
Moving down the Missouri along the present Nebraska-Iowa border, the expedition meets a large boat owned by Auguste Chouteau of St. Louis. Some of the enlisted men trade beaver skins for new linen shirts and woven hats. They also enjoy their first whiskey since their 1805 Fourth of July celebration. Clark advises the traders to treat the Lakotas with contempt.
Down the Ohio
31 August–13 November 1803
On 31 August 1803, after months of preparation, Lewis and his crew finally head down the Ohio River. Unfortunately, the water is so low that they must frequently unload and tow the overloaded barge with horses and oxen.
At the request of President Jefferson, Lewis disembarks at Cincinnati and travels overland to gather fossils at Big Bone Lick. He meets the boats, and together they continue to the Falls of the Ohio to pick up William Clark and several new recruits.
The expedition arrives at Fort Massac near the mouth of the Ohio on 11 November. There, they meet George Drouillard and immediately hire him as an interpreter. His first mission is to find the missing army recruits from Fort Southwest Point in Tennessee.
Day-by-Day Pages In-depth Articles
Among the Yanktons
21 August–8 September 1804
Moving along the present border between Nebraska and South Dakota, the expedition turns its ‘enlightened‘ attention to several features in the upper Missouri River mythology.
Instead of a volcano, they find blue earth, cliffs of white marl, and burning bluffs. Lewis becomes ill while testing one of the minerals he found. Instead of La Véndrye’s Golden Sands, they find hills of wind-blown loess. Instead of a Spirit Moundmountain of little people and devilish spirits, they find birds feeding on pissants atop present Spirit Mound.
Pvt. George Shannon fails to return from a hunting trip, and Patrick Gass is promoted to sergeant. At Calumet Bluff, their attention turns to receiving the Yankton Sioux. For two days, a council with speeches, gifts, songs, and dances is held.
At Old Baldy—present The Tower in South Dakota—everybody but the camp guard visits a prairie dog town, and they manage to capture one as a live specimen. He would travel to the Knife River Villages, Washington City, and reside in Peale’s Museum in Philadelphia.
Their encounters here had been encouraging, but Shannon is still missing, and the Lakota Sioux homelands are just ahead.
Day-by-Day Pages In-depth Articles
Down the Western Valleys
11 August–10 September 1805
Having reached the end of the navigable Missouri, the captains—aided by Lemhi Shoshone Chief Cameahwait, Sacagawea‘s brother—begin acquiring horses, making pack saddles, and caching supplies they can no longer take with them.
With the help of the Lemhi Shoshones, everything is carried across the Continental Divide. Clark and their new guide they call Toby, scout the Salmon River and find it is not navigable.
After nearly three weeks with the Shoshones, the expedition moves down the Lemhi River valley and heads up the North Fork Salmon River. The captains ignore Toby’s advice to follow the Indian Road, and they are forced to spend a snowy night near the summit of Lost Trail Pass.
Dropping down from Lost Trail Pass, the Flathead Salish give them a warm welcome and sell them some horses. The expedition then proceeds down the Bitterroot River Valley to Travelers’ Rest where they have yet to cross the Bitterroot Mountains.
Day-by-Day Pages In-depth Articles
The Final Leg
11 August–26 September 1806
While hunting on the Missouri River below present Williston, North Dakota, Lewis is accidentally shot through the flesh of his buttocks. The next day, they catch up to Clark’s party at Reunion Bay. As one united force, they are ready to sprint down the river to St. Louis.
At the Knife River Villages, they drop off the Charbonneau family and pick up Chief Sheheke and interpreter René Jusseaume who will visit Washington City.
The faithful paddlers meet several traders and receive flour, whiskey, woven shirts, and most importantly, news of the United States.
On 23 September 1806, the citizens of St. Louis—having given them up for dead—provide a boisterous welcome. The captains commence writing.
Day-by-Day Pages In-depth Articles
Featured Members
William Clark (1784–1838)
Clark was a highly intelligent man, and in terms of the practical knowledge required to make his way in the wilderness, to lead men, and to succeed in the world of frontier politics, he was highly educated and consummately effective.
John Shields
Private
During the damp winter at Fort Clatsop and throughout 1806, the journals speak more and more often about Shields’ life-sustaining work as gunsmith. Certainly the guns had seen hard use.
Toussaint Charbonneau
Interpreter
The fur trade had put Charbonneau in place to meet the captains and join their expedition. He was the oldest expedition member would outlive most of his fellows as he followed the rigorous life of a fur trader, guide, and interpreter.
Quick Links
Meriwether Lewis William Clark Sacagawea York Jean Baptiste Charbonneau Seaman All Members
Native Nations Encountered
Northwest Coast
Plateau / Southwest
Northeast
Featured Artist: Alfred Jacob Miller
Pierre and the Buffalo in Jean Baptiste, Mountain Man.
Snake Indian Camp in August 19, 1805.
Blackfeet on the Warpath in The Blackfeet Confederacy
Miller’s reputation rests on his single Green River Rendezvous trip from which he transformed his original sketches and notes into a lifetime of images. His work preserves details of clothing, equipment, camps, transport, and performance. At the same time, his images were made for patrons who valued romance and spectacle. For that reason, Miller should be read carefully.
More
Synopsis of the Expedition
by Harry W. Fritz
Related Explorers
Lewis and Clark were among several significant explorers of North America both before and after the expedition.
A Military Corps
Throughout the expedition the soldiers were expected to conform to the rules and routines of the frontier soldier of 1803.
The Arts
Because of the literate journalists, historians and visual artists can tell the Expedition’s story. When they celebrated with song and dance, we too can share in the experience.
The Boats
Starting at Pittsburgh, traveling to the Pacific Ocean, and then returning to St. Louis, the Lewis and Clark Expedition traveled approximately 10,600 miles. Of that, 85%—over 9,000 miles—was by boat. To understand travel in the early 1800 American West is to understand the boats and challenges of river navigation.
Language
From clichés and colorful sayings of the time to Native American languages, these pages feature the art of language.
Louisiana’s Purchase
The President’s representatives in Paris had bargained successfully with Napoleon’s bureaucrats not only to buy the port of New Orleans, then the keystone of the continent, but also to acquire, at three cents an acre, an area extending from the Mississippi River to . . . where? No one knew until Meriwether Lewis stood at the crest of the Rocky Mountains at a place known today as Lemhi Pass, on 12 August 1805.
Trail Diplomacy
Lewis and Clark left behind among many Indians a legacy of nonviolent contact. Those who came later enjoyed that legacy and too often betrayed it.
Native American Nations
The Lewis and Clark Expedition benefited from the Indians’ knowledge and support. Maps, route information, food, horses, open-handed friendship—all gave the Corps of Discovery the edge that spelled the difference between success and failure.
Other Topics
Other topics include music, holidays, High Potential Historic Sites, and an index of articles from We Proceeded On.
Horse Travel
To cross the Rocky Mountains, the Lewis and Clark Expedition needed horses and the skills to manage them. Despite their seemingly constant struggle to find missing and stolen horses, as a kind of calvary unit, they left hoof prints on approximately 1,500 miles of western terrain.
Legacies
Legacy is a very slippery sort of term. If we could erase our myth concepts of Lewis and Clark … it might reawaken something really extraordinary in our national consciousness.
Tools and Techniques
Expedition Members
Scientific Explorations
Their work in the emerging fields of botany, ethnography, geography, geology, and zoology are now considered classics of early American scientific literature.
Calendar
Expedition Calendar
Links to every day-by-day page in a calendar format spanning 31 August 1803 to 26 September 1806. A page every day!
The Trail
Starting with its genesis in Jefferson’s Monticello, Lewis’s training and preparations in Philadelphia, and the barge’s excursion down the Ohio River, the route they took, often called the Lewis and Clark Trail, crosses the continent weaving an epic tale of western exploration treasured by many today.
The Fur Trade
Given President Jefferson’s directive to establish commerce, the captains worked extensively within a long-established network of North American fur trade. Part of their mission was to help establish the United States of America’s position within that industry.
Hunting and Fishing
Although hunting and fishing were often considered a ‘gentleman’s sport’ especially in Europe, hunting and fishing for Native Americans and Americans alike were a matter of survival. The success of the Lewis and Clark Expedition depended on the success of its hunters.
Medicine on the Trail
From major crisis such as the death of Sgt. Floyd, Lewis’s gunshot wound, and the illness of Sacagawea to minor events such as sexually transmitted diseases, mosquito-born illnesses, and deep cuts, the medical aspects of the Lewis and Clark Expedition provide an interesting topic of study.
Experience the Lewis and Clark Trail
The Lewis and Clark Trail Experience—our sister site at lewisandclark.travel—connects the world to people and places on the Lewis and Clark Trail.
Discover More
- The Lewis and Clark Expedition: Day by Day by Gary E. Moulton (University of Nebraska Press, 2018). The story in prose, 14 May 1804–23 September 1806.
- The Lewis and Clark Journals: An American Epic of Discovery (abridged) by Gary E. Moulton (University of Nebraska Press, 2003). Selected journal excerpts, 14 May 1804–23 September 1806.
- The Lewis and Clark Journals. by Gary E. Moulton (University of Nebraska Press, 1983–2001). The complete story in 13 volumes.
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