County of marker: Franklin County
Location of marker: , St. Albans
Marker erected: 2000
Erected by: Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail
Marker Text:
The Lewis and Clark Expedition
In 1804-06, Captains Meriwether Lewis and William Clark led about 40 soldiers and frontiersmen on an epic journey. President Thomas Jefferson commissioned this "Corps of Discovery" to find a route to the Pacific Ocean through the newly acquired Louisiana territory. Along the way, they mapped the land, recorded its resources, and contacted the native inhabitants.
The landscape has changed since Lewis and Clark explored it: rivers have been damned forests cut over, prairies plowed under, and roads built to the horizon. Although remnants of wilderness still exist, imagine this land as Lewis and Clark first saw it two centuries ago.
The United States purchased the Louisiana territory -- more than 83,000 square miles -- from France in 1803. President Jefferson selected Meriwether Lewis (far right) to lead an expedition there.
With Jefferson's permission, Lewis asked his friend and former commanding officer, William Clark (left), to be co-leader. Although opposite in temperment, they worked harmoniously throughout the two-year journey.
[Map with time line of the journey]:
Lewis left Washington, D.C. July 8, 1803
Lewis acquired arms from Harper's Ferry Arsenal July 8, 1803
Lewis gathered supplies in Pittsburgh July-August, 1803
Clark joined Lewis in Louisville, Kentucky October 14, 1803
Left Camp Wood (winter quarters, 1803-04) May 14, 1804
First council with Indians August 3, 1804
Sgt. Floyd died here August 20, 1804
Confronted by Tenton Sioux Indians September 26, 1804
Built Fort Mandan (winter quarters, 1804-05)
First arrived at Great Falls of Missouri June 14, 1805
Received horses from Shoshoni Indians August 30, 1805
Built canoes with help from Nez Perce Indians September 26-October 7, 1805
Arrived at the mouth of Columbia River November 7, 1805
Built Fort Clatsop (winter quarters 1805-06) Started return trip March 23, 1806
Expedition split July 3, 1806
Clash with Blackfeet Indians July 27, 1806
Captain Lewis accidentally shot August 11, 1806
Leis and Clark rejoined August 12, 1806
Arrived St. Louis September 23, 1806