Today In History

 On This Day In History On May 14th 1804

 

The Lewis And Clark Expedition  (May 1804-September 1806)

Captain Meriwether Lewis and his close friend Second Lieutenant William Clark led an expedition that was commissioned by President Thomas Jefferson shortly after the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. It became known as The Lewis and Clark Expedition.

The Lewis and Clark Expedition, also known as the Corps of Discovery Expedition, was the first American expedition to cross what is now the western portion of the United States, departing in May, 1804 from St. Louis on the Mississippi River, making their way westward through the continental divide to the Pacific coast.

William Clark (l) and Meriwether Lewis (c) with Sacagawea,

The Corps of Discovery departed from Camp Dubois at 4 p.m. on May 14, 1804, and met up with Lewis in St. Charles, Missouri, a short time later, marking the beginning of the voyage to the Pacific coast. The Corps followed the Missouri River westward. Soon they passed La Charrette, the last Euro-American settlement on the Missouri River.

 

References to Lewis and Clark scarcely appeared in history books even during the United States Centennial in 1876 and the expedition was largely forgotten. Lewis and Clark began to gain new attention around the start of the 20th century. Both the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition, in St. Louis, and the 1905 Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition, in Portland, Oregon, showcased Lewis and Clark as American pioneers. However, the story remained relatively shallow a celebration of US conquest and personal adventures, until the mid-century, since which time it has been more thoroughly researched and retold in many forms to a growing audience. In the 2000s the bicentennial of the expedition further elevated popular interest in Lewis and Clark. Today, no U.S. exploration party is more famous, and no American expedition leaders are more instantly recognizable by name.