Early mapmaker
by Kristopher K. Townsend
Peter Fidler (1769–1822) was a trader, surveyor, and ethnographer who played a pivotal role in mapping the Canadian Rockies and the Missouri River watershed. Employed by the Hudson’s Bay Company from 1791 to 1822, Fidler ventured into remote regions of North America. His efforts contributed significantly to the understanding of the continent’s vast and largely uncharted landscapes prior to the Lewis and Clark Expedition.
William Christy moved to St. Louis c. 1804 and opened a Public House in the old Government mansion at the corner of Main and Walnut Streets. It was here on 25 September 1806, that eighteen toasts were raised to the success of what would later become known as the Lewis and Clark Expedition.
Three accounts
by Jay H. Buckley, Maren C. Burgess
There are three accounts of how Sacagawea died as told by John Luttig and William Clark; Eastern Shoshones and Comanches; and the Hidatsas. All three accounts are explained.
Lemhi Shoshone or Hidatsa-Crow?
by Jay H. Buckley, Maren C. Burgess
A major discrepancy among the accounts of Sacagawea’s life is whether her tribal origin is Lemhi Shoshone or Hidatsa-Crow. Both accounts are explained.
Sacagawea, also known as Sacajawea or Sakakawea, was a vital member of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, serving as an interpreter, diplomat, guide, and food gatherer. Her—and her child’s—presence symbolized peace among many of the Natives they encountered. The expedition journals document her life, tribal background, and key contributions.
The mistake should never be made that the two men were friends. They were master and slave, owner and property, superior and inferior. As close as that relationship was for the many years and countless miles they were by each other’s side, for all the dangers and hardships they shared their relationship always was based on William as master and York as servant.
The trail's end
by Kristopher K. Townsend
Perhaps he was seeking new gold fields, maybe California was getting too crowded, or maybe he simply wanted to see the mountains and prairies of his mountain man days. After a long life, the journey would be his last.
After a brief service as Alcalde of San Luis Rey, Jean Baptiste moved to the gold fields around Auburn, California where he lived for 19 years.
With the Mormon Battalion
by Kristopher K. Townsend
As a military guide in the U.S.-Mexican War, Jean Baptiste and the Mormon Battalion were involved in a defining moment in the American Southwest.
Jean Baptiste’s 17-year career as a mountain man comes from a scattering of writings from some of the most notable trappers of the era.
Jean Baptiste’s European experiences with Duke Paul of Württemberg were the capstone of an education that started in a Hidatsa village and developed in St. Louis under the sponsorship of William Clark.
Knife River and St. Louis
by Kristopher K. Townsend
Jean Baptiste Charbonneau’s education began in a Hidatsa village. In St. Louis at the age of five or six, his classical education began under the guardianship of William Clark.
Baby on board
by Kristopher K. Townsend
The captains’ journals give us a small glimpse into the experiences of Jean Baptiste Charbonneau as he traveled with the Lewis and Clark Expedition.
The man and his 'almost expedition'
by Lee A. Dugatkin
In 1792, André Michaux approached members of the American Philosophical Society informing his potential sponsors that he was “ready to go to the sources of the Missouri and even explore the rivers that flow into the Pacific Ocean.”
Secretary of War
by Sherman L. Fleek
As Secretary of War during the expedition, Henry Dearborn made several decisions critical to the it’s success, and he was the one who gave Clark’s the military rank of lieutenant.
Jefferson's First Emissary to the West
by Carolyn Gilman
Jefferson put in George Clark’s hands the creation of an entire military infrastructure to defend the West. Clark was asked to whip together all the administrative structure of an army: quartermasters, commissaries, artificers, officers, and even washerwomen to keep the men uniformed, armed, disciplined, and fed.
William Christy moved to St. Louis c. 1804 and opened a Public House in the old Government mansion at the corner of Main and Walnut Streets. It was here on 25 September 1806, that eighteen toasts were raised to the success of what would later become known as the Lewis and Clark Expedition.
As describers of the natural world they encountered on the expedition, Lewis and Clark influenced—and were influenced by—several people who could now be called naturalists.
Prominent Chinook leader
by Joseph A. Mussulman
Concomly was a prominent Chinook citizen and leader whose people lived on the north side of the Columbia estuary, on the shore of Haley’s Bay. On November 17, 1805, he introduced himself to Lewis and Clark at Station Camp.
America's forgotten statesman
To help the Lewis and Clark expedition, Gallatin asked Nicholas King to prepare a new map of western North America incorporating the main features of nine of the most recent maps by other explorers.
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Lewis and Clark Trail Alliance
with additional funding from the following:
