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On February 28, 1803, President Thomas Jefferson won
approval from Congress for a small expeditionary group, whose mission was
to explore the uncharted West. Jefferson called the group the Corps of
Discovery. The Corps of Discovery would be led by Meriwether Lewis and
William Clark.
Meriwether Lewis was born in Albemarle County, Virginia, on August 18,
1774, the second child and first son of William and Lucy Meriwether Lewis.
Lewis joined the U.S. Army in 1794, serving six years in the Frontier Army
and rising to the rank of captain in 1800, then serving as paymaster of
the First Infantry Regiment of the U.S. Army. In 1801, Lewis was appointed
by President Jefferson to be his personal secretary.
William Clark, the red-haired co-captain of the Corps of Discovery, was
born on August 1, 1770, the sixth son and ninth child from a family of 10
children. Originally from the same area of Virginia that was home to both
Jefferson and Lewis, Clarkâs parents moved their family near the
Rappahannock River, where William was born.
Clark's military career began at age 19 when he joined the Kentucky
Militia. He later joined the regular army and was promoted to lieutenant.
On two occasions, Clark was sent to spy on the Spanish, who were exploring
and building forts high up the east bank of the Mississippi. By 1795, he
had received successive promotions to leadership positions, eventually
attaining the rank of Captain. Ensign Meriwether Lewis was among men
assigned to Clark. The two struck up a friendship that would lead to their
co-commanding the Corps of Discovery.
From 1803-1806 the Corps of Discovery traveled thousands of miles,
experiencing lands, rivers and peoples that no Americans ever had
experienced before.
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Meriwether Lewis
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William Clark |
Note:
On November 4, 1804 the captains hired Toussaint
Charbonneau, a French Canadian fur trader living among the Hidatsas, as an
interpreter. His young Shoshone wife, Sacagawea, had been captured
by the Hidatsas several years earlier and then sold to Charbonneau. Having
been told that the Shoshones live at the headwaters of the Missouri and
have many horses, the captains believed the two will be helpful when the
expedition reaches the mountains.
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