History Through Film Mr. Clark Lewis and Clark History Through Film Mr. Clark
Background March 6, 1801:Meriwether Lewis is asked by President Jefferson to be his secretary- aide
July 4, 1803: Announcement of Louisiana Purchase.
Spring 1803:Lewis picked as commander of expedition Spring 1803:Lewis picked as commander of expedition. Writes to ask William Clark to join him and share command. Clark accepts.
Summer 1803: Large keelboat constructed by Lewis Summer 1803: Large keelboat constructed by Lewis. Lewis takes it down the Ohio River picking up Clark and recruits along the way.
May 14, 1804: Expedition begins August 3, 1804: Group meets with reps of the Oto and Missouri Indians, give peace medals, 15 star flags and other gifts.
The Journey
August 20, 1804: Near present day Sioux City, Iowa, Sgt August 20, 1804: Near present day Sioux City, Iowa, Sgt. Charles Floyd dies of a probable burst appendix.
September 7, 1804: Men try to drown a never-before-seen prairie dog out of its hole for shipment back to Jefferson.
November 4, 1804: Toussaint Charbonneau, a French Canadian fur trapper living with the Hidatsas Indians, is hired as an interpreter.
His wife, Sacagawea, a Shoshone Indian captured by the Hidatsas and sold to Charbonneau, is helpful as her tribe lives at the headwaters of the Missouri River.
April 7, 1805: Lewis & Clark send the keelboat back downriver, with maps, reports, Indian artifacts and other scientific specimens for Jefferson. The remaining party heads west.
April 29, 1805: Lewis and another hunter kill a large grizzly bear, which had never before been described for science.
"Capt. Clark & Drewyer killed the largest brown bear this evening which we have yet seen. It was a most tremendous looking animal . . . . He measured 8 ft. 7 1/2 in. from nose to extremity of hind feet."
August 8, 1805: Sacagawea recognizes Beaverhead Rock and says they are nearing the headwaters of the Missouri, and her people, the Shoshones.
August 12, 1805: Lewis climbs the final ridge expecting to see plains and a river flowing to the Pacific Ocean, but he finds even more mountains.
September 9, 1805: expedition camps at present day Missoula, Montana to prepare for the mountain crossing.
September 22, 1805: After nearly starving in the mountains the expedition emerges near present-day Weippe, Idaho.
October 18, 1805: Clark sees Mount Hood in the distance- proof that they are near the Pacific Ocean.
November 7, 1805: Clark, who thinks he can see the ocean writes his most famous journal entry: "Ocian in view! O! the joy."
The expedition is actually still 20 miles from the sea The expedition is actually still 20 miles from the sea. Terrible storms halt the expedition for nearly 3 weeks.
Return March 23, 1806: The expedition begins the journey home. May-Late June, 1806: Expedition reaches the Bitterroot mountains, but must wait for the snow to melt before crossing them.
July 3, 1806: expedition breaks into smaller groups to explore more of the LA Territory. August 12, 1806: All of the parties are reunited downstream from the mouth of the Yellowstone River.
September 1806: Going downstream, they cover over 70 miles per day. September 23, 1806: Lewis and Clark reach St. Louis.
Heroes Fall 1806: Lewis and Clark are treated as national heroes. They return to Washington, D.C. The men receive double pay and 320 acres of land as reward, the captains get 1,600 acres. Found 300 new species of animal Encountered 50 different Indian tribes Climbed the Rocky Mountains
Lewis is named governor of the Louisiana Territory. Clark made Indian agent for the West and brigadier general of the territory's militia.
The End October 11, 1809 Lewis (35) commits suicide south of Nashville. December 20, 1812: Sacagawea dies at Fort Manuel. Clark, who is St. Louis, assumes custody of Jean Baptiste, as well as her daughter, Lisette. September 1, 1838: William Clark dies at age 68 at the home of his eldest son, Meriwether Lewis Clark.