50 Fun Facts About Lewis and Clark

Which US president commissioned the Lewis and Clark Expedition?

He used a secret message to ask Congress for funding because of poor relations with the Federalists.

What was the official name of the group of soldiers and volunteers led by Lewis and Clark?

It may have numbered as many as 45 people, including York, an African American man enslaved by Clark.

How much did Congress appropriate for the expedition's supplies and food?

Jefferson had asked for the money in a secret message to avoid Federalist opposition.

From which winter camp on the Illinois side of the Mississippi did the Corps set out in May 1804?

Also called Camp Wood, it was recognised by the federal government in the 1970s as the start of the voyage.

In which Missouri town did Lewis join the party six days after it left camp?

The whole expedition then set out up the Missouri on 21 May 1804.

Near which city was the expedition's keelboat built in the summer of 1803?

Lewis then took it down the Ohio to meet Clark near Louisville in October.

What breed was Seaman, the dog Lewis bought before setting off?

He was the only animal to complete the whole trip, and was briefly stolen on the way home in 1806.

Which Philadelphia physician taught Lewis medicine before the trip?

Ellicott taught him the sextant, Barton how to preserve specimens and Wistar covered fossils.

The expedition carried an Austrian-made Girandoni air rifle notable for what feature?

It was powerful enough to kill a deer and was shown off to impress the tribes they met.

What did the silver 'Indian Peace Medals' handed out to tribes bear on one side?

The reverse carried a message of friendship and peace.

How many pounds of 'portable soup' were bought for the expedition in Philadelphia?

The list also included 130 rolls of pigtail tobacco and 30 gallons of strong spirit of wine.

Sergeant Floyd, the only member of the Corps to die on the expedition, probably died of what?

He was buried on a bluff at what is now Sioux City, Iowa, in August 1804.

Which Lakota chief defused the tense standoff of September 1804 by asking Lewis for more tobacco?

Clark had brandished his sword and called the Sioux 'the vilest miscreants of the savage race'.

Where did the expedition spend the winter of 1804–05?

It was near present-day Washburn, North Dakota; the keelboat was sent back to St. Louis with specimens in April.

What was the name of the French-Canadian fur trapper hired as interpreter, husband of Sacagawea?

He suggested a potion of rattlesnake's rattle to help her difficult labour in February 1805.

To which nation did Sacagawea belong?

Scholars stress she was an interpreter and diplomatic asset rather than a guide.

What was the name of the son Sacagawea gave birth to on 11 February 1805?

Lewis happened to have some rattlesnake rattle to hand for the potion suggested to ease the birth.

Where did the expedition cross the Continental Divide?

They then crossed the Bitterroots at Lolo Pass and canoed down the Clearwater, Snake and Columbia.

The sighting of which mountain confirmed the expedition had almost reached the Pacific?

They used William Broughton's 1792 notes and maps to find their way down the lower Columbia.

On what date did the expedition first sight the Pacific Ocean?

They reached it two weeks later and faced a storm-wracked spot Clark named Dismal Nitch.

Which two members voted on where to build the Pacific-coast winter camp despite their status?

A woman and an enslaved man voting was extraordinary for the era.

What was the name of the stockade built near modern Astoria, Oregon, for the winter of 1805–06?

It sat on the Netul River, now the Lewis and Clark River, with the American flag flying to establish a claim.

What was the party's main source of food during the miserable winter on the Pacific coast?

The animals had retreated to the mountains and the party was too poor to buy enough from neighbouring tribes.

Which Russian statesman's expedition reached the mouth of the Columbia while Lewis and Clark were there?

His ship Juno could not cross the Columbia Bar, so he went to California instead, leading to the founding of Fort Ross.

Where did Captain Samuel Hill carry Clark's letter, given to the Chinook, before it reached Jefferson?

Jefferson thus heard from the expedition before it got home.

On the return trip, Lewis's party killed two men of which nation on the Marias River?

Lewis, Drouillard and the Field brothers then fled more than 100 miles in a day.

How was Lewis wounded in the thigh in August 1806?

The nearly blind Pierre Cruzatte fired the shot as the two parties were reuniting.

On what date did the expedition arrive back in St. Louis?

The return from the Pacific had taken exactly six months.

Which power sent four armed parties from Santa Fe in 1804 to intercept and imprison the expedition?

Pedro Vial reached the Pawnee on the Platte only to find the Americans had passed days earlier.

Roughly how many maps did Lewis and Clark draw during the journey?

They also met over 70 tribes.

How many new plant and animal species did the expedition describe?

Because Biddle's 1814 edition left out most of the natural history, many were later 'rediscovered' and renamed.

Which private published the first account of the journey in 1807?

He had been promoted to sergeant during the expedition.

Which banker edited, uncredited, the 1814 History of the Expedition of Lewis and Clark?

His narrative was the only printed version for 90 years and omitted most of the flora and fauna.

What did York, the enslaved man on the whole expedition, receive as a reward on return?

The other members got double pay and hundreds of acres; Clark refused to free him and he was still enslaved a decade later.

Which Mandan chief did Lewis and Clark bring back with them to visit the 'Great Father' in Washington?

It took multiple military expeditions to get him safely home again.

Which explorer crossed mainland North America to the Pacific in 1793, before Lewis and Clark?

His book Voyages from Montreal warned Jefferson that Britain meant to control the Columbia fur trade.

Which learned body sponsored the expedition and clamoured for its specimens afterwards?

Jefferson planted 'Missouri hominy corn' from the expedition's seeds at Monticello.

Whose 1904-05 Original Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition finally revealed its full scientific findings?

A complete and reliable set of the journals was only compiled by Gary Moulton for the bicentennial.

North Dakota's state Highways 1804 and 1806 are numbered for what?

Together they form the state's stretch of the Lewis and Clark Trail.

What post did Jefferson give Lewis in 1807 as a reward for the expedition?

He also received 1,600 acres of land, but struggled with debts and never finished preparing the journals.

Where did Meriwether Lewis die of gunshot wounds in October 1809?

Jefferson accepted it as suicide, but the debate continues; nobody saw him shoot himself.

In which colony was Meriwether Lewis born in 1774?

Locust Hill plantation was in Albemarle County, near Jefferson's Monticello.

Which president appointed William Clark governor of the newly formed Missouri Territory in 1813?

He was reappointed by Madison in 1816 and by Monroe in 1820.

Whom did William Clark marry at Fincastle in January 1808?

Their first son, born in 1809, was named after Clark's expedition partner.

What was William Clark's military rank at the time of the expedition, despite being called 'Captain'?

He had resigned an earlier commission in 1796, aged 26, because of poor health.

Which Le Page du Pratz book, carried by Lewis, may have misled the captains about carrying boats to the Columbia?

Its account of Moncacht-Apé's journey neglected to mention the Rocky Mountains.

How many horses did the Corps gather at Camp Chopunnish in Idaho to recross the Bitterroots in 1806?

Snow still blocked the mountains, so they had to wait; Seaman was stolen and recovered during the delay.

In which year did the expedition's bicentennial and Gary Moulton's complete journals renew interest?

A disease-resistant elm cultivar named 'Lewis & Clark' was released to mark the anniversary.

Whose 1792 notes and maps did Lewis and Clark use to orient themselves on the lower Columbia River?

Broughton had explored the river during the Vancouver expedition a decade earlier.

Where did Lewis and Clark's separated parties reunite on 11 August 1806?

Just as they came together, hunter Pierre Cruzatte mistook Lewis for an elk and shot him in the thigh.