Corps of Discovery

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Corps of Discovery
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New Orleans

• By the early 1800s the United States stretched
  from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mississippi River.
  With overland transportation still unreliable,
  the Mississippi River was a vital transportation
  route for farmers to get their products to
  markets in the East. President Thomas Jefferson
  knew whoever controlled New Orleans, controlled
  the Mississippi River.
• In 1802 Jefferson sent James Monroe to France to
  negotiate the purchase of New Orleans for 10
  million. Monroe also was sent to Spain to
  negotiate the purchase of the territory of
  Florida.
• While the French initially refused Americas
  offer, the French now knew the United States was
  interested in paying for the territory.

Thomas Jefferson
Napoleon Bonaparte
Satellite Image of New Orleans
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Frances Plans Are Foiled

• France planned to use its island colony of Haiti
  as a base for future French settlers to move into
  the Louisiana Territory west of the Mississippi.
• These plans were disrupted when a slave,
  Toussaint LOuverture, led a revolt against the
  French. The slaves took control of the island,
  and Frances plans for a French base were
  abandoned.
• At the same time, France was fighting a war with
  other European countries and badly needed money.
• These events caused Napoleon to approach the
  Americans with the greatest land bargain of all
  time! He agreed to sell New Orleans and the
  entire Louisiana territory for 15 million. This
  land purchase would double the size of the United
  States!
• However, the French could not define the borders
  of the land.

Toussaint LOuverture
Haiti
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The Corps of Discovery

• Jefferson chose his secretary, Captain Meriwether
  Lewis. He and his old friend organized an
  expedition of thirty-one men, mostly soldiers.
  This Corps of Discovery headed for the unknown
  lands west of the Mississippi River.
• The Corps mission was to travel up the Missouri
  River in search of a northwest passage, an
  all-water route to the Pacific Ocean. The men
  were to make contact with American Indian tribes
  in the region.

Captain William Clark 1770-1838
Meriwether Lewis 1774-1809
A Newfoundland named Seaman accompanied the Corps
of Discovery.
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Training in Philadelphia

• In the spring of 1803, Meriwether Lewis made his
  way to Philadelphia, the scientific capital of
  the United States, to train for the mission. In
  Philadelphia he was educated in mapmaking and the
  sciences. Lewis spent much of his time at the
  museum of Charles Willson Peale located on the
  second floor of Independence Hall.
• Lewis also purchased scientific instruments and
  other supplies with the 2,500 Congress had given
  him to finance the expedition.
• After stopping in Pittsburgh to oversee the
  building of the keelboat, Lewis joined Clark at
  the Corps winter camp in Illinois.

The shop of Israel Whelan, Purveyor of Public
Supplies. Lewis bought many of his supplies here.
The Peale museum was located on the second floor
of Independence Hall.
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One Big Shopping List!
Camping Equipment

• 150 Yards (140 meters) of cloth to be oiled and
  sewn into tents and sheets 6 large
  needlespliers chisels handsawsoilskin bags
  25 hatchets whetstones30 steels for striking
  or making fire iron corn mill 2 dozen
  tablespoons mosquito curtains 10.5 pounds (5
  kilograms) of fishing hooks and fishing lines
  12 pounds (5.4 kilograms) of soap 193 pounds
  (87.5 kilograms) of portable soup (a thick
  paste concocted by boiling down beef, eggs, and
  vegetables, to be used if no other food was
  available on the trail) 3 bushels (106 liters)
  of salt writing paper, ink, and crayons

Weapons

• 15 prototype Model 1803 muzzle-loading
  .54-caliber rifles "Kentucky Rifles"15 gun
  slings24 large knivespowder horns 500 rifle
  flints420 pounds (191 kilograms) of sheet lead
  for bullets 176 pounds (80 kilograms) of
  gunpowder packed in 52 lead canisters 1
  long-barreled rifle that fired its bullet with
  compressed air, rather than by flint, spark,
  and powder

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More Supplies ...
Presents for American Indians
Medicine
50 dozen Dr. Rush's patented "Rush's
Thunderclapper" pills lancets forceps
syringes tourniquets 1,300 doses of physic
1,100 doses of emetic 3,500 doses of
diaphoretic (sweat inducer) additional drugs

• 12 dozen pocket mirrors 4,600 sewing needles
  144 small scissors 10 pounds of sewing thread
  silk ribbonsivory combs handkerchiefs yards
  of bright-colored cloth 130 rolls of tobacco
  tomahawks that doubled as pipes 288 knives 8
  brass kettles vermilion face paint 20 pounds of
  assorted beads, mostly blue5 pounds of small,
  white, glass beads288 brass thimblesarmbandsear
  trinkets

Clothing

• 45 flannel shirts 20 coats 15 frocks shoes
  woolen pants 15 blankets knapsacks 30
  stockings 15 pairs of wool overalls

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Transportation

• The primary means of transportation west was a
  large keel boat and two smaller open boats
  (pirogues). Lewis also brought a collapsible boat
  he had designed.
• The Corps hoped at some point they would be able
  to trade with native people for horses.

The keelboat was fifty-five feet long.
Securing horses as they traveled was vital to
completing the Corps mission.
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Starting Out

• On May 20, 1804, the Corps of Discovery left St.
  Louis on their journey up the Missouri River.
• On August 2, the Corps had their first encounter
  with Indians when they met members of the Oto and
  Missouri tribes. The tribes warned the Corps of
  the powerful Teton-Sioux that lived farther up
  the Missouri. The group would soon learn why the
  Sioux earned the nickname, Pirates of the
  Missouri.

Camp Wood (Illinois)
Mississippi River
Missouri River
St. Louis (Missouri)
Satellite image of the Mississippi and Missouri
Rivers
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The Pirates of the MissouriSeptember 1804
Teton-Sioux Warrior

• In September 1804, the Corps of Discovery entered
  Sioux territory and began to have contact with
  the natives.
• The Corps presented the Sioux with gifts of glass
  beads, sewing needles and thread, mirrors, and
  other items.
• As the group prepared to leave, several Sioux
  braves demanded more goods. Clark drew his sword
  as the Sioux braves notched their arrows.
• An old chief eased the tension when he requested
  that his people be allowed to meet the strangers.

• Capt. Lewis ordered all under arms in the boat,
  those with me also Showed a Disposition to Defend
  themselves and me, the grand Chief then took hold
  of the rope ordered the young Warriors away, I
  felt My Self warm Spoke in very positive terms.
  Most of the Warriors appeared to have their Bows
  strung and took out their arrows from the quiver.

Captain William Clark September 25, 1804
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A Whole New World

• One of the missions assigned to the Corps was to
  record the discovery of new plants and animals.
  They also hoped to bring some animals back for
  further study.
• Throughout their 8,000- mile journey, the group
  would discover one hundred seventy-eight plants
  and one hundred twenty-two species and
  sub-species of animals.

When members of the Corps first saw a grizzly
bear, they decided to shoot it. This angered the
bear, and the bear charged the men.
The men used soapy water to flush the
blacktailed prairie dog out of its burrow. It
was the only animal that survived the return
journey to Washington, D.C.
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William Clark drew many of the plants and animals
he saw on the journey. Scientists would take
years to review the mountains of new information
that Lewis and Clark brought back with them.
Sketches from Clarks Journal
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Fort MandanWinter Quarters 1804-1805

• The Corps reached what is today Bismarck, North
  Dakota, in October 1804 and began constructing
  their winter quarters.
• This was the traditional homeland of the Mandan
  and Hidatsa Indians who lived off the plains
  buffalo.
• It was here that the Corps would hire Toussaint
  Charbonneau and his young wife, Sacagawea, to
  guide them west.
• On February 11, 1805, Sacagawea gave birth to a
  son with the help of Meriwether Lewis. She named
  her son Jean-Baptiste. The members of the Corps
  nicknamed him Pompy, or little dancer. Pompy
  became the youngest member of the Corps.

View from the Front Gates of a Replica of Fort
Mandan.
In 1804 millions of buffalo still roamed the
plains of the Midwest. Today only small herds
exist in national parks such as Yellowstone.
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Sacagawea c. 1788-1812

• Sacagawea was a young Shoshone women who had been
  kidnapped from her tribe when she was young.
• She later married a French fur trapper, Toussaint
  Charbonneau .
• When the Corps arrived at Fort Mandan, they hired
  Charbonneau to be their guide. It was agreed his
  wife Sacagawea and their young son,
  Jean-Baptiste, would accompany the expedition.
• Sacagawea proved to be an unexpected asset to the
  Corps. Throughout the expedition, she would play
  the crucial roles of guide, translator, and even
  more importantly, a peace symbol. Indians who saw
  the Corps approaching assumed the group came in
  peace because the group of men included a woman
  and young child.

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York

• One of the men in the Corps of Discovery was
  York, the slave of William Clark.
• As the Corps met Indians in their journey west,
  Yorks appearance amazed the Indians. Many
  Indians had never seen an African-American man
  and believed him to be part bear.

Many former slaves went west in search of freedom
in the territories. The Indians treated them as
equals.
Indians who met York thought he was covered in
paint and attempted to wipe it off.
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John Colter
William Clark
York
Toussaint Charbonneau
Meriwether Lewis
Sacagawea
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The Source of the MissouriAugust 12, 1805

• As the group traveled up the Missouri, they were
  unable to continue in their boats. They could
  also see the snow-capped mountains ahead.
• At this point the Corps realized a northwest
  passage did not exist.
• At this point the group had to find Indian tribes
  to trade for horses or they would run the risk of
  being caught in the Rockies during the winter.

Source of the Missouri River
The expedition had been told that they only had
to cross a small range of mountains. They were
astounded to discover the true size of the
Rockies.
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Sacagawea Saves the Day

• On August 17, 1805, the Corps reached a Shoshone
  village at the foot of the Rocky Mountains, and
  they began to trade for horses.
• During this initial meeting, Sacagawea realized
  the Shoshone chief, Cameahwait, was her long-lost
  brother. This was the same tribe from which
  Sacagawea had been kidnapped many years before!
• Needless to say, the Shoshone provided the Corps
  with the horses they needed and even sent guides
  to help the expedition through the Bitterroot
  Range of the Rocky Mountains.

Sacagawea began to weep when she recognized her
brother. The translation at this meeting was very
complicated. It involved Sacagawea translating
the Shoshone language into Mandan and Charbonneau
translating the Mandan into French. Another
member of the Corps would translate the French
into English.
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The Fastest People on Earth!!

• On September 23, 1805, the Corps reached the
  other side of the Rockies.
• When the Corps reached the Columbia River, on the
  present-day Washington-Oregon border, they built
  canoes and began to float down the river with the
  current.
• As they made their way down the swiftly moving
  river, they were traveling faster than any other
  people on Earth.
• The Columbia did have many treacherous rapids
  that threatened the group several times. At some
  points the Corps was forced to carry its canoes
  and supplies around steep rapids and falls.

The name Nez Perce was mistakenly given to the
group even though they did not pierce their noses.
Rapids on the Columbia River
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Ocian in View! O! The Joy!William Clark,
November 7, 1805

• The expedition reached the Pacific Ocean in
  November 1805. They immediately began to look for
  a ship to carry copies of the records of the
  Corps discoveries back to Washington, D.C.
• At the mouth of the Columbia River, the group
  began to build its winter quarters.
• When Clark wrote the words, Ocian in view! O!
  The Joy! he believed he had seen the Pacific
  Ocean. However, he was just seeing the widening
  of the Columbia River. It would take another two
  weeks to reach the ocean.

The Nez Perce taught the Corps how to make dugout
canoes.
View of the Pacific Ocean
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Fort ClatsopWinter 1805-1806

• Shortly after their arrival at the Pacific Ocean,
  Lewis and Clark held a vote among the Corps to
  decide where to build their camp.
• Both Sacagawea and York were allowed to vote.
  This demonstration of Americas democratic values
  would not be repeated for more than a hundred
  years.
• The Corps decided to build its winter quarters
  near the Clatsop people who lived by fishing the
  abundant salmon that migrated up the Columbia
  every year. The Corps named their fort in honor
  of the Clatsop.

Replica of Fort Clatsop
Salmon Drying on Racks
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Conflict with the Blackfoot

• On their return to St. Louis, the Corps decided
  to split up in order to map more territory. One
  group met a pair of Blackfoot Indians who
  attempted to steal their horses early the next
  morning.
• In the altercation that followed, one Indian was
  shot and the other stabbed to death.
• The members of the Corps laid the peace medals
  they brought with them on the dead Blackfoot
  Indians to send a warning to the Indians.
• The Blackfoot people were not frightened. They
  attacked future settlers and soldiers that
  entered their territory. They pointed to the
  killing of their warriors as the reason for their
  attacks.

Blackfoot Indian
Peace medal placed on dead Blackfoot Indians
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Hell on Earth!

• One of the members of the Corps, John Colter,
  split from the group and stumbled into the
  Yellowstone Valley. Colter was the first European
  to see the Yellowstone geysers.
• Lewis did not believe the stories Colter told him
  about what he had seen in the Yellowstone Valley.
  In fact, other members of the expedition and
  people in St. Louis made fun of him when he
  returned to St. Louis with what seemed to be
  outlandish tales of what he had seen. Until the
  claims were proven correct, the area was known
  sarcastically as Colters Hell.
• Yellowstone became Americas first national park
  in 1872 when Congress passed the legislation, and
  President Ulysses Grant signed it into law.

Mountain man Jim Bridger also traveled through
the Yellowstone Valley. When he told people of
this place, few believed the stories of his
experiences.
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Back in St. LouisSeptember 23, 1806

• When the Corps of Discovery returned to St. Louis
  more than two years after it had left, the Corps
  was greeted with cannon fire and hailed as
  heroes.
• Many Americans, including Thomas Jefferson, had
  given up hope of the Corps returning alive.
• When Jefferson finally received the maps the
  expedition had prepared, he is reported to have
  spread them on the floor and studied the maps for
  days.

Re-enactors play the roles of Lewis, Clark,
Colter, and even Seaman during the bicentennial
celebration of Lewis and Clarks journey.
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• Captain William Clark took nearly two years to
  piece together his maps (right) and create a
  complete map of the expedition (above).

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The Legacy

• The Louisiana Purchase doubled the size of the
  United States. The United States paid France 15
  million for the Louisiana Territory. When the
  final calculations were done, this vast tract of
  land cost about four cents and acre!
• The final cost of the Lewis and Clark Expedition
  was 39,000, which was substantially more than
  the 2,500 Congress had authorized.
• Only one man died on the journey, and he appeared
  to have succumbed to an appendicitis.
• What happened to Jean-Baptiste, Sacagaweas son?
  He grew up, traveled to Europe, and returned to
  America. He made his fortune as a forty-niner
  during the California Gold Rush.
• Sacagawea became only the second American woman
  to be honored on American currency. In 2000 she
  and her sons likenesses were engraved on a new
  1 coin.
• Sadly, Sacagawea died of an unknown illness in
  1812. William Clark took responsibility for
  raising Jean-Baptiste and Lisette.
• When York returned home, he asked Captain Clark
  for his freedom. Clark refused and noted in his
  diary that he had to whip York because Clark
  stated that York became uppity. Clark told
  Washington Irving in 1835 that he had freed York.
  However, there is no official record that Clark
  freed York.

St. Louis Arch Gateway to the West
Sacagawea Dollar 2001
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