Members of the
Lewis and Clark Expedition
The Lewis and Clark
Expedition consisted of Captain Meriwether Lewis,
Second Lieutenant
William Clark, Clark’s slave York, the soldiers of the Corps of
Discovery and two interpreters. The interpreters were a French
Canadian called Toussaint Charbonneau, and his Shoshone wife,
Sacagawea and their young son Jean Baptiste (nicknamed Pomp).
Members of the
Lewis and Clark Expedition - Sacagawea
Sacagawea
proved to be a brave and skilled guide. There were some reservations
about taking a woman on the expedition but this was a calculated
risk as her presence would assured other Native American tribes
that the expedition was not a war party - no war parties ever took
women with them.
Lewis and Clark Expedition: The Goals and Purpose of the Lewis and
Clark Expedition
What were the goals and
the purpose of the Lewis and Clark Expedition? The purpose, aims and
goals of the Lewis and Clark
Expedition and the Corps of Discovery were both scientific and
commercial. The goals and purpose of the Lewis and Clark Expedition
was to: ● Explore the lands obtained
in the Louisiana Purchase
● To study and document
plants, animals, birds, geology and the geography of the lands
● Study the climate and
weather
● To keep journals of the
expedition
● To map the lands covered
by the Lewis and Clark Expedition
● To identify the natural
resources of the lands
● Establish trade and U.S.
sovereignty over the Native American Tribes along the Missouri
River
● Establish a claim by the
United States to the Pacific Northwest and Oregon territory
(refer to the 1846 Oregon
Treaty)
Facts about the
Lewis and Clark Expedition for kids
Facts about the Lewis
and Clark Expedition are as follows:
20 Interesting
Facts about the
Lewis and
Clark Expedition for kids
Fact 1: Who was Lewis?
Captain Meriwether Lewis was a frontiersman and the
personal secretary of President Jefferson
Fact 2: Who was Clark? Second
Lieutenant William Clark was a draftsman and
frontiersman had once had been Jefferson's commanding
officer in the army
Fact 3: What was the Corps of
Discovery? The Corps of Discovery was a special military
unit consisting of select group of 33 volunteers chosen
to join the Lewis and Clark Expedition and the Shoshone
guide, Sacajawea.
Fact 4: The Corps of
Discovery was commissioned by President Thomas Jefferson
Fact 5: How many men were in
the Lewis and Clark Expedition? 35, including Lewis and
Clark
Fact 6: How many men died on
the Lewis and Clark Expedition? Only one man died,
Sergeant Charles Floyd, of acute appendicitis
Fact 7: When did the Lewis
and Clark Expedition start? Training commenced
1803-1804. The expedition started in May 21, 1804
Fact 8: When did the Lewis
and Clark Expedition end? The expedition ended on
September 23, 1806
Fact 9: How long was the
Lewis and Clark Expedition? 2 years 4 months and 10 days
Fact 10: How much did the
Lewis and Clark Expedition cost? Congress approved
$2,500 for expenses. The final cost for the expedition
totaled $38,000
Fact 11: Where did the Lewis
and Clark Expedition start and end? The expedition left
Camp Dubois, near St. Louis, on May 14, 1804 and arrived
at the Pacific Ocean in early November of 1805. They
returned to St. Louis on September 23, 1806
Fact 12:
What transport did they use? A 10-ton 55ft keelboat and
two pirogues (dugout boats). They also used canoes
Fact 13: Were there any fights
with Native Indians? Yes, a small skirmish with the
Blackfeet tribe
Fact 14: A Newfoundland
dog named Seaman accompanied the expedition
Fact 15: What scientific
instruments were used by the Lewis and Clark Expedition?
Octants, Sextants, Chronometers, Compasses, Surveying
instruments. They also used Nautical almanacs
Fact 16: What were the ages of
the men on the Lewis and Clark Expedition? The youngest
man (George Shannon) was 17 years old and the oldest
(John Shields) was 35 years old. The average age of all
the men was 27 years old.
Fact 17: What problems were
encountered by the Lewis and Clark Expedition? Crossing
the Rocky Mountains, rapids, bear, snakes, mosquitoes
and cold weather
Fact 18: When did Lewis and
Clark reach the Pacific Ocean? November 7, 1805
Fact 19: How many miles did
the journey cover? 8,000 miles
Fact 20: Congress established
the 3,700-mile (6,000-km) Lewis and Clark National
Historic Trail in 1978.
20 Interesting
Facts about the
Lewis and
Clark Expedition for kids
Results of the Lewis and Clark
Expedition
The results of
the Lewis and Clark Expedition included the following:
●
More than
140 maps of the region were produced by the Lewis and Clark
Expedition
●
178 plants
that were new to science were identified
●
A catalog
of 122 animals were made
●
Samples of
minerals, rocks, fossils and natural resources were brought back
●
Established relations with the Native American Indians
●
The
culture of the Native American Indians would decline
●
The Lewis
and Clark Expedition fired the imagination of America and led
the way west
Lewis and Clark
Expedition for kids
The info about the Lewis and Clark
Expedition provides interesting facts and
important information about this important event that occured during the presidency of the 3rd President of the United States of America.
Lewis and Clark Expedition for kids: The Corps of Discovery
The Lewis and Clark
Expedition consisted of special volunteers who had the skills to
undertake the long expedition of discovery. The
journey was dangerous, the expedition would explore
unknown lands and be confronted with both friendly
and hostile Native American Indians. The men chosen
for the Corps of Discovery were all unmarried. They
were fit and healthy possessing the skills necessary
to undertake such a long expedition of discovery.
The Corps of Discovery was a military unit whose
members were excellent hunters, skilled in the use
of weapons and many had fought in the Indian Wars.
Their knowledge included botany, astronomy,
cartography and (map making). Others had artistic
abilities to draw pictures of the plants and
animals. The Corps of Discovery were well trained
and extremely equipped with the most advanced
weapons of the day and excellent cartography
equipment. The members of the Lewis and Clark
Expedition were also equipped with tokens of peace
to present to the Native Americans such as medicine
and trinkets. The also took special Indian Peace
Medals, minted in silver displaying a portrait of
President Jefferson to distribute to Native American
tribes with a message of friendship and peace.
For comprehensive details of this
great milestone in American history refer to the
Lewis and Clark Expedition
website.
Lewis and Clark Expedition for kids - President Thomas Jefferson Video
The article on the
Lewis and Clark Expedition provides an overview of one of the Important issues of his presidential term in office. The following video will give you additional important facts, history and dates about the political events experienced by the 3rd American President whose presidency spanned from March 4, 1801 to March 4, 1809.
Lewis and Clark Expedition
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Interesting Facts about the
Lewis and Clark Expedition for kids
●
Lewis and Clark
Expedition of historical events
for kids
●
Summary of the
Lewis and Clark Expedition
●
Thomas Jefferson Presidency from March 4, 1801 to March 4, 1809
●
Fast, fun,
interesting facts about the Lewis and Clark Expedition
●
Purpose, goals, aims and results of the Lewis and Clark
Expedition
●
Thomas Jefferson Presidency and
the Lewis and Clark Expedition for schools,
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