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Lewis and Clark Expedition: Quick Facts

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Facts

Date 1804 - 1806
Location United States

Did You Know?

  • A fellow expedition member mistook Meriwether Lewis for an elk and shot him in the rear.
  • After Sacagawea's death, William Clark adopted her children, Jean-Baptiste and Lisette.
  • Mercury pills were used as a panacea for illnesses such as dysentery, arsenic poisoning, and malaria.
  • Lewis and Clark consumed dog, buffalo, and squirrel meat on the journey.
  • The Corps of Discovery brought 144 small scissors to trade with the Native Americans.

Photos and Videos

Lewis and Clark Expedition
Edgar Samuel Paxson: Lewis and Clark at Three Forks
Meriwether Lewis
William Clark
Map tracing the Lewis and Clark Expedition routes from St. Louis, Missouri, up the Missouri River, across the Rocky Mountains, and to the mouth of the Columbia River on the Pacific coast. The map uses red and purple lines to show the outbound journey (1804-05) and the separate return and exploratory routes (1805-06), with key locations such as Fort Mandan and Fort Clatsop marked, and territorial boundaries of the period labeled, including the Louisiana Purchase.
A worn, handwritten journal with two open pages filled with faded cursive text, showing signs of age and use.
Lewis and Clark Expedition
Lewis and Clark Expedition
Lewis and Clark Expedition
Pompey's Pillar
The impact of the Louisiana Purchase on the U.S.
The video thumbnail image shows an illustration of Lewis and Clark, white soldiers, and a Native American woman.
Sacagawea: video
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Related Topics and References

Topics

Key People

William Clark
William Clark
American explorer
Meriwether Lewis
Meriwether Lewis
American explorer
United States postage stamp featuring Sacagawea in traditional Shoshone dress with two braids, holding a staff, against a sky with clouds. The stamp value reads 29 USA.
Sacagawea
Shoshone interpreter
Essential part of the expedition
York, enslaved man
American explorer