Meriwether Lewis
United
States
It
was June 1803 when President Thomas
Jefferson asked his friend and fellow Virginian Meriwether
Lewis to explore the newly purchased Louisiana
Territory . The United States had just bought this huge region
from France for $15 million. As an army captain with experience
on the frontier, Lewis seemed to be the perfect choice to lead
the exploration.
Meriwether
Lewis was born in Locust Hill, Virginia, on August 18, 1774. As
a child he developed a love of the wilderness that would later
lead him to be known as "the greatest pathfinder this country
has ever known."
In
1794 Lewis joined the Virginia militia to help put down the
Whiskey Rebellion in Pennsylvania.
It was at this time that he met and became friends with Lieutenant
William
Clark , his future partner in exploration.
In
1801 Meriwether Lewis became the private secretary to President
Jefferson. Often he and the President would discuss Jefferson's
dream of finding an all-water route to the Pacific Ocean. In 1803
the United States purchased the Louisiana Territory. Jefferson
chose Lewis to plan an expedition
to explore it. Lewis invited his army friend William Clark
to join the expedition. The two men agreed to share leadership.
Lewis and Clark named their expedition the Corps of Discovery.
To
get ready for the 8,000-mile (12,874-km) trip, Lewis studied plants,
animals, and mapmaking .
He also learned how to navigate, or travel by boat, by using the
stars. By May 1804 Lewis and Clark's expedition, which was called
the Corps of Discovery, was ready to start their journey. The
corps of Discovery was made up of about 40 people, including soldiers,
scientists, and boat rowers.
On
May 14, 1804, the group left St. Louis. By traveling north on
the Missouri River, they reached what is now North Dakota in October.
The expedition wintered there with the Mandan Indians. It was
there that Lewis and Clark met Sacagawea. As an interpreter and
guide, Sacagawea
helped the Corps of Discovery cross the Rocky Mountains.
On the western side of the Rocky Mountains, they traveled on the
Clearwater, Snake, and Columbia Rivers. They reached the Pacific
Ocean in November 1805. The group spent the winter near what is
today Astoria, Oregon. In March 1806 the expedition began the
journey home. They returned to St. Louis by September 1806.
For
his work Lewis was made governor of the new Louisiana Territory
in 1807. His explorations made it possible for the United States
to claim the Oregon Territory
and for pioneers to settle the American West. The journals that
Lewis kept about the expedition still provide an important written
history of the adventure and the Indian groups that they met.
On October 11, 1809, while traveling to Washington, D.C., Lewis
died mysteriously at a location near Nashville, Tennessee.
Information
taken from:
http://www.harcourtschool.com/activity/biographies/lewis/
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