Where's Clark?
Meriwether Lewis was born in Albemarle County, Virginia, on
August 18, 1774, the second child and first son of William and Lucy
Meriwether Lewis.
Lewis joined the U.S. Army in 1794, serving six years in the
Frontier Army and rising to the rank of captain in 1800, then
serving as paymaster of the First Infantry Regiment of the U.S.
Army. In early 1801, Lewis was appointed by President Jefferson to
be his personal secretary. Lewis was a childhood protege of
Jefferson’s, and they renewed their bond years later while Lewis
was on army duty in Charlottesville, Virginia. There is no doubt
that part of Jefferson’s reason for appointing Lewis to this
position was political; like Jefferson, Lewis was a firm
Republican.
At Jefferson’s direction, Lewis planned an exploration of a
route west to the Pacific coast of North America, whose stated “aim
would be to make friends and allies of the far Western Indians
while at the same time diverting valuable pelts from the rugged
northern routes used by another nation [Britain]. . . and bringing
the harvest down the Missouri to the Mississippi and thence
eastward by a variety of routes.” During the journey, the
expedition would also gain much-valued knowledge of continental
geography and wildlife. In early 1803, Congress approved the
expedition, which would be the first in series of military
explorations launched by the U.S. government.
After the Louisiana Purchase was completed on April 30, 1803, it
became more clear that the expedition was not simply charged with
scientific inquiry, geographic mapping, and clearing the way for
commerce. The mission was to be more diplomatic, in that it would
require the explorers to communicate the transfer of sovereignty to
every Indian tribe and foreign interest occupying the lands within
the Missouri watershed. This increase in importance warranted a
need for a second-in-command to be named to assist Lewis on the
journey. That person would be none other than.........uh
What's that? Wrong Lewis? Oh, uh......nevermind.
Well, even if we have the wrong guy, you still get to examine
the local flora.
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