A Military Corps
Throughout the expedition the soldiers were expected to conform to the rules and routines of the frontier soldier of 1803.
On the Trail
September 9, 1803
Leaving Wheeling
At Wheeling, complications arise over 90 pounds of baked bread, and a potential new expedition member—a doctor—fails to appear. At 3:00 pm, Lewis says goodbye to Thomas Rodney and departs. Rodney describes Lewis's mission and predicts that he will ultimately fail. During the night, it rains so hard that Lewis is wet to the skin trying to keep the cargo [...]
September 9, 1804
Clark and York hunt
Approaching present Whetstone Bay in South Dakota, progress is slowed by countless sandbars. Clark and York hunt for pronghorn and mule deer but find none. Instead, Clark directs York to kill one of the numerous bison feeding on the plains. Pvt. Shannon is still missing.
September 9, 1805
Travelers' Rest
The expedition moves down the Bitterroot River valley reaching Travelers’ Rest, a well-used camping area near present Lolo, Montana. Their Shoshone guide, Toby, tells of the Road to the Buffalo—a good pass heading east to the Missouri River. In the Spanish colony of Mexico, officials devise another plan to stop the expedition.
September 9, 1806
Return to "bald pated" prairie
The enlisted men are anxious to get home, and they paddle hard down the swift Missouri River crowded with snags. They leave present Iowa and enter Missouri, and after 73 miles, they return to the "bald pated" prairie of 6 July 1804. Lewis appears to have fully recovered from his gunshot wound.
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
Jean Baptiste Charbonneau
The youngest member
This 9-page series examines the life of Jean Baptiste Charbonneau—the infant son of Sacagawea who traveled across the continent with the Lewis and Clark Expedition. He was educated in St. Louis and Europe, a mountain man, military guide, and California miner.
William Bratton
Private
On 11 May 1805, Bratton appeared, running toward the river and yelling to be taken aboard quickly. He had shot a grizzly through the lungs, and the wounded bear had chased him for half a mile. The bear had lived at least two hours after first being shot.
Nathaniel Pryor
Sergeant
Pryor was assigned several special missions from exploring the Sandy River to escorting Mandan Chiefs to Washington City. He would barely survive his adventures on the Yellowstone River.
Quick Links
Meriwether Lewis William Clark Sacagawea York Jean Baptiste Charbonneau Seaman All Members
Native Nations Encountered
Northwest Coast
Plateau / Southwest
Northeast
Featured Artist: Steve Ludeman
Final Inspection
Falls of the Ohio
Unloading the Red Pirogue at Camp River Dubois
In the words of artist Steve Ludeman, “I am fascinated with the geology, archeology, natural history, and cultural history of our country.” For years, he has specialized in landscapes and seascapes of the Pacific Northwest, but he also interprets the Eastern Legacy of Lewis and Clark. This is the 1803-04 journey of the Lewis and Clark Expedition from the Eastern seaboard, down the Ohio, up the Mississippi, to their winter camp at River Dubois (Wood River) across from St. Louis. These focus areas combine his love of history and outdoor adventures with a love of painting. For him, the journey of painting is a joyful one.
More
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.
Language
From clichés and colorful sayings of the time to Native American languages, these pages feature the art of language.
Other Topics
Other topics include music, holidays, High Potential Historic Sites, and an index of articles from We Proceeded On.
Tools and Techniques
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.
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.
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!
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
Scientific Explorations
Their work in the emerging fields of botany, ethnography, geography, geology, and zoology are now considered classics of early American scientific literature.
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.
Related Explorers
Lewis and Clark were among several significant explorers of North America both before and after the expedition.
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.
Synopsis of the Expedition
by Harry W. Fritz
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.
Expedition Members
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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