Arts / L&C in Literature

L&C in Literature

“While other civilized nations have encountered great expense to enlarge the boundaries of knowledge, by undertaking voyages of discovery, & for other literary purposes, in various parts and directions, our nation seems to owe to the same object”

The “writingest” American expedition was entangled in the contemporary literature of its time and their successes eventually led to a large literary response.

Related Pages

    First Accounts of the Expedition

    The first published accounts

    by

    Publications that attempted to tell the story of Lewis and Clark were being printed before Lewis and Clark had even returned from their trans-Mississippi exploration. Their popularity continued for approximately ten years after they returned to St. Louis.

    The Mosquito in Literature

    Songs and superstitions

    by

    Poets and philosophers have meditated on it. The early Roman naturalist Pliny the Younger (ca. 30-ca. 112 AD) complained, “Who gave the mosquito so terrifying a voice, infinitely greater than it should be in comparison to the size of its body?”

    Becoming an American Epic

    The connection to children's literature

    by

    A reason for their continuing popularity may be traced to nineteenth century literature and the stimulation of interest in reading and teaching that brought fictionalized versions of the Lewis and Clark story to generations of young readers.

    Wheeler’s “Trail of Lewis and Clark”

    The trail 100 years later

    by

    The story Wheeler wished to tell can be found in his book’s subtitle: “A story of the great exploration across the Continent in 1804-06; with a description of the old trail, based upon actual travel over it, and of the changes found a century later.”

    Nicholas Biddle

    by

    Nicholas Biddle (1786–1844), the first editor of the Lewis and Clark journals, was a seventeen-year-old college graduate and student of law in 1803. The work was published seven years after the return of the expedition.

    Wilson’s “Foresters”

    An early American epic poem

    by

    Alexander Wilson’s epic poem The Foresters, was a tediously versified 2,210-line diary of his twelve hundred mile round-trip hike from Philadelphia to Niagara Falls in the autumn of 1804.

    The Traveling Library

    The captains assembled a collection of books, journal excerpts, and maps to use as references on the expedition often called “The Traveling Library.”

    Influence on Science

    The captains’ careful observations of the geography, natural history, and ethnography of the American west and Pacific Northwest influenced many scientists who built on their work.

    Frederick Pursh

    Cataloger of expedition plants

    by

    During the winter of 1807-1808, Pursh lived at the home of Bernard McMahon in Philadelphia. Here he worked on the drawings and descriptions of Lewis’s western plants.

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.

Logo: Lewis and Clark.travel

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.