Westward Ho

It was on this date 210 years ago, on May 14, 1804, that the Corps of Discovery departed for the Pacific Ocean. One could think of this group as an early 1800's version of the astronauts of the 1960's. The deportation did not occur at St Louis, MO, as often told, but rather from the eastern shore of the Mississippi River from Camp Dubois near present day Wood River, IL.  So our friendly Illinois brethren to the south can claim to not only be the home state of two US Presidents, but was also the winter camp and starting point of the Lewis and Clark Expedition.  The Corps of Discovery was a special unit of the US Army, and was led by Captain Meriwether Lewis, and Second Lieutenant William Clark.  Lewis tried, but was unsuccessful in gaining a promotion for the co-leader of the expedition, but nonetheless he referred to his partner as Captain Clark, as did the men who would embark on this groundbreaking journey.  Clark would comment about the lack of promotion by simply saying: “I do not think myself very well treated.”  One wonders why the Commander-in-chief did not simply grant the promotion.  Of course, the name Corps of Discovery would seem to indicate the area into which they would journey was the moon, that is uninhabited, but as we know, and as they did too, much of the area was well visited, if not occupied, by native tribes.  The western ethic of discovery and domination was well in place at that time in history. 

 

Captain Lewis and Second Lieutenant Clark

While Lewis was traipsing around St Louis, for various reasons, Clark would oversee the provisions of the boat and canoes.  Soldiers were joined for part of the expedition by French voyagers, who were among a group of men who had a long history of peaceful living among Native Americans and who themselves had well-traveled the upper reaches of the Mississippi.   The stated purpose of the journey was mainly to explore, document, and provide opinion on the exploitation of resources.  Yes, it was termed exploitation of resources, and even today fracking in the plains of North Dakota is allowing further exploitation, or to use the euphemism preferred by the government—“recovery” of natural resources.  It was on July 4, 1803 that President Jefferson announced the US purchase of the Louisiana Territory from Napoleon.  This was not just New Orleans, but it was the country drained west of the great Mississippi River, including the Missouri River drainage basin.  Lacking detailed maps, watersheds were a logical boundary.  The manifest destiny of the nation was now beginning.  It would almost double the size of the nation, adding 825,000 square miles of territory, all at the bargain price of $15 million dollars. 

Replica cut away of keel boat (Lewis and Clark Museum in IL)

Lewis made the trip from the Corp's winter camp to St. Louis a number of times.  He was in St Louis in February and March in an attempt to get approval to move prior to the formal transfer of the Upper Mississippi to the US.  The French well knew that Lewis was wanting to find the long-hoped for water route to the Pacific, and would put him off until after the formal transfer which occurred on March 9, 1804.  But, as anxious as he was to depart before the early March transfer, they were not ready to leave.  It was still necessary to secure some provisions and of course they had to pack.  The gathered men were anxious to depart and a day in April was set, but Lewis still thought the need for more provisions, and so went on a journey in attempt to acquire more of what he thought was necessary for the journey.  Lewis was also in St Louis to arrange journey of an Indian Chief, Osage, to see the great white father (yes, they used that term too), Thomas Jefferson.  In the meantime, Clark was having the men pack, test the boat, re-pack and repeat until he arrived at boats sufficiently balanced to allow more ease of travel upstream.  On May 13 Clark would send a message to Lewis that all was ready to depart, the boat and the pirogues were loaded.  Twenty-two privates would be needed to row the boat, but also on-board would be three sergeants.  One canoe would be paddled by six, with a Corporal in tow, another canoe was to be rowed by eight French voyagers. 

Route of the Corps of Discovery

Even though Jefferson had provided authorization on that July 4 day in 1803 for Lewis, as noted by historian Stephen Ambrose “to draw on any agency of the US government anywhere in the world anything he wanted for an exploring expedition to the Pacific Ocean” Clark would comment that they had sufficient stores “as we thought ourselves autherised (sic) to precure (sic).”  Even though the President gave about as open check book as one could obtain, Clark still felt compelled to spend wisely, a notion seemingly lost on the Defense Department of the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. 

Drawing of botanical sample brought back by the expedition

One would think that they would have left at first light, they left about four in the afternoon from Camp Dubois and would travel about four miles upstream before setting up camp for the night.  As they made way up the Missouri, the boat would be unpacked and packed again trying to  find that critical and suitable balance between river flow and the craft's ability to navigate the spring river waters.  Over a more than two year period the group would make way for the eventual settlement of the territory, document botanical and zoological collections, and describe the geography.  They would not find a connecting water route between the two major basins of the nation, although a reader of this blog will have recently read that one such route, albeit a freak of geography, does exist (although not a boat navigable route).  They would make contact with over two dozen groups of indigenous residents, who would help them survive the over two year trek to the Pacific Ocean and back.  The journey would see its share of trials and tribulations, but was considered a success.  Although given what would happen to the indigenous populations over the course of time, one cannot help think of the events in the 1986 movie The Mission, and that perhaps the indigenous population would have been better off not being "discovered."

Note:  All images from Google Images