RARE Autograph Letter Signed
Signed
by
Jonathan Clark
Brother of William Clark (Lewis & Clark expedition)
1789
For offer, an early ORIGINAL American letter. Fresh from an estate collection. Vintage, Old, antique, Original - NOT a Reproduction - Guaranteed !! Major General Jonathan Clark, brother to William and George Rogers Clark. His brother William of the famous Lewis & Clark Expedition. All brothers played important roles in American history, including the Revolution. See below for bios. Manuscript letter entirely in Jonathan Clark's hand, addressed to Captain William Meriwether. Letter regards a debt owed, land, etc. Dated May 24, 1789. One page, once folded, with recipient name on back. Nice watermark in paper. Signature at bottom. In good to very good condition. Lower edge of letter looks to be ripped off - fold marks, small puncture to center (with old archival repair to back), probably from sealed letter and caused to rip when opened by recipient. Please see photos for details. If you collect Americana history, American politics, Colonial America, manuscript, etc., this is one you will not see again. A nice piece for your paper / ephemera collection. Perhaps some genealogy research information as well. Combine shipping on multiple bid wins! 2423
Jonathan Clark (August 1, 1750 – December 14, 1811) was an American soldier. After saving his captain, major and colonel in the American Revolutionary War, he rose to the rank of major-general. He was the older brother of fellow soldiers General George Rogers Clark and Captain William Clark of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Navy to army for ten to nine years. Clark was the oldest brother of the children of John Clark and Ann Rogers, was born in Albemarle County, Virginia on August 1, 1750. He received a fair English education, and, in time, became a lawyer, and a successful man of business. He was the prudent, practical business man of the elder portion of the numerous children of John Clark, as his brother William was of the younger. When quite young he spent some time in the office of the clerk of Spottsylvania county, Virginia, as deputy clerk.
In 1772 he removed to Woodstock, in the county then called Dunmore, but which was afterwards changed to Shenandoah, and was very soon taken into public favor by being selected, with the celebrated Peter Muhlenberg, to serve as delegate from the county in an important convention held at Richmond in the interests of the colonies.
About this time trouble began between the citizens of Virginia, and the royal governor, Lord Dunmore, which culminated in the latter seizing the public powder belonging to the colony without authority. This led to an uprising of the colonists to regain possession of the powder, by force if necessary, and young Clark marched towards Williamsburg, the then capital, as lieutenant of an independent company of riflemen for that purpose.
Clark's company returned home, however, without bloodshed, and he and Muhlenberg were again sent as delegates to the convention which met at Richmond in December, 1775.
In the spring of 1776, Clark was promoted to the captaincy of a company (commissioned March 4), which advanced from Woodstock to Portsmouth, and was engaged in several skirmishes with the adherents of the royal governor, Dunmore, who, in the meantime, had fled the capital and taken refuge on an English ship.
Early in the following summer, Clark marched with Muhlenberg's regiment and other troops to Charleston, South Carolina, at which place they arrived on the 24th of June, and were at once involved in the important military movements then going on at that place and vicinity. He continued there until in August when he was ordered further south, and at Savannah was seized with dangerous illness which so prostrated him that, for a long time, he was unable to perform military service, and returned home on furlough in the autumn of that year. When about recovered from this long protracted sickness in the spring of 1777, he had the misfortune to be taken down with the smallpox, which again disabled him for a considerable period.
As soon as his health permitted, he returned to the army under Washington, then at Bound Brook encampment, and with the Eighth Virginia Regiment, in the brigade of General Charles Scott, participated in the battles of Brandywine and Germantown, and aided in breaking the British right wing in the latter battle.
He was also in the battle of Monmouth in 1778, and in 1779 served with great distinction in the surprise of the enemy at Paulus Hook, on which important occasion he was second in command, having been previously promoted to be a major by congress.
One hundred and fifty-nine of the enemy were captured in this affair, with a loss to the Americans of only two killed and three wounded. So important was the result that General Washington hastened to communicate it to Congress in a manner highly complimentary. He said "that a remarkable degree of prudence, address, enterprise and bravery was displayed on the occasion, which does the highest honor to all the officers and men engaged in it, and that the situation of the fort rendered the attempt critical and the success brilliant." Congress returned thanks and ordered a gold medal to be made in honor of the event, and fifteen thousand dollars to be distributed among the rank and file who participated in the enterprise.
Major Clark was highly complimented in letters from Lord Sterling and other officers, and in November following congress promoted him to be a lieutenant-colonel, to date from the previous May.
In the following winter Clark and the Virginia regiment to which he belonged, together with other troops, marched through terrible hardships to the south, reaching the Siege of Charleston in the last of March, 1780, where they encountered still further trials and sufferings, until finally, on the 12th of May, the American army, then under command of General Benjamin Lincoln, was compelled to surrender to the enemy. Colonel Clark was held a prisoner in Charleston until the spring of 1781, when he was paroled and returned to Virginia, but he was not formally exchanged until after the surrender of Lord Cornwallis.
Abraham Bowman was the colonel of the eighth Virginia regiment of which Clark was the lieutenant-colonel, and he was also the first cousin of an attractive young lady residing in Frederick county, Virginia, named Sarah Hite. She was the daughter of Isaac Hite, Sr., and granddaughter of Jost Hite, and her brother Isaac Hite, Jr., was likewise a major in the Revolutionary army.
The friendship existing between the two comrades-in-arms led to an acquaintance between Colonel Clark and Miss Hite, which resulted in their marriage February 13, 1782. He settled for a time in Spottsylvania county, and was commissioned a major-general of the Virginia militia in 1793.
But his thoughts now turned to the great west, and in 1802 he joined his distinguished brother, General George Rogers Clark at the falls of the Ohio, settling finally at Trough Spring, near Louisville, Kentucky. Here he devoted himself to business with great success, accumulating a large fortune in real estate as well as personal property. The inventory of the latter, returned by Abraham Hite, his wife's cousin, and John H. Clark, his son, his administrators, covers eleven pages of book of inventories No. 2, Jefferson county, Kentucky. A glance over the long list shows that fifty-six of his slaves were mentioned by name. The following notice of General Jonathan Clark's death appeared in the Western Sun, published at Vincennes, December 14, 1811: "Another Revolutionary hero is gone--Died at his seat near Louisville, Kentucky, on Monday, the 25th ult. (November, 1811), General Jonathan Clark--He supped with his family on the 24th, retired at his accustomed hour to rest, and in the morning was found numbered with the dead."
Sarah Hite was the younger by some eight years and survived him about that time. They are resting side by side in Cave Hill Cemetery.
William Clark (August 1, 1770 – September 1, 1838) was an American explorer, soldier, Indian agent, and territorial governor.[1] A native of Virginia, he grew up in prestatehood Kentucky before later settling in what became the state of Missouri. Clark was a planter and slaveholder.[2]
Along with Meriwether Lewis, Clark helped lead the Lewis and Clark Expedition of 1804 to 1806 across the Louisiana Purchase to the Pacific Ocean, and claimed the Pacific Northwest for the United States.[3] Before the expedition, he served in a militia and the United States Army. Afterward, he served in a militia and as governor of the Missouri Territory. From 1822 until his death in 1838, he served as Superintendent of Indian Affairs.
Early life
William Clark was born in Caroline County, Virginia, on August 1, 1770, the ninth of ten children of John and Ann Rogers Clark.[4][5] His parents were natives of King and Queen County, and were of English and possibly Scots ancestry.[6] The Clarks were planters in Virginia and owned several modest estates and a few slaves. They were members of the Anglican Church.[7]
Clark did not have any formal education; like many of his contemporaries, he was tutored at home. In later years, he was self-conscious about his convoluted grammar and inconsistent spelling—he spelled "Sioux" 27 different ways in his journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition—and sought to have his journals corrected before publication. The spelling of American English was not standardized in Clark's youth, but his vocabulary suggests he was well read.[8]
Clark's five older brothers fought in Virginia units during the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), but William was too young.[6] His oldest brother, Jonathan Clark, served as a colonel during the war, rising to the rank of brigadier general in the Virginia militia years afterward. His second-oldest brother, George Rogers Clark, rose to the rank of general, spending most of the war in Kentucky fighting against British-allied American Indians. After the war, the two oldest Clark brothers made arrangements for their parents and family to relocate to Kentucky.[citation needed]
William, his parents, his three sisters, and the Clark family's slaves arrived in Kentucky in March 1785, having first traveled overland to Redstone Landing in present-day Brownsville, Pennsylvania. They completed the journey down the Ohio River by flatboat. The Clark family settled at "Mulberry Hill", a plantation along Beargrass Creek near Louisville. This was William Clark's primary home until 1803. In Kentucky, his older brother George Rogers Clark taught William wilderness survival skills.[9]
Military career begins
Kentuckians fought the Northwest Indian War against American Indians, who were trying to preserve their territory north of the Ohio River. In 1789, 19-year-old William Clark joined a volunteer militia force under Major John Hardin.[10] Clark kept a detailed journal of the expedition, beginning a lifelong practice. Hardin was advancing against the Wea Indians, who had been raiding settlements in Kentucky, on the Wabash River. In error, the undisciplined Kentucky militia attacked a peaceful Shawnee hunting camp, where they killed a total of eight men, women, and children.[11]
In 1790, Clark was commissioned by General Arthur St. Clair, governor of the Northwest Territory, as a captain in the Clarksville, Indiana militia. One older source says he was sent on a mission to the Creek and Cherokee, whom the US hoped to keep out of the war, in the Southeast. His responsibilities are unclear.[12] He may have visited New Orleans at that time. His travels prevented him from participating in General Josiah Harmar's disastrous campaign into the Northwest Territory that year.[13]
In 1791, Clark served as an ensign and acting lieutenant with expeditions under generals Charles Scott and James Wilkinson.[14] He enlisted in the Legion of the United States and was commissioned as a lieutenant on March 6, 1792 under Anthony Wayne. On September 4, 1792, he was assigned to the 4th Sub-Legion. He was involved in several skirmishes with Indians during the continuing Northwest Indian War.[12] At the Battle of Fallen Timbers in 1794, Clark commanded a company of riflemen who drove back the enemy on the left flank, killing a number of Native Americans and Canadians. This decisive US victory brought the Northwest Indian War to an end. In 1795, Clark was dispatched on a mission to New Madrid, Missouri. Clark also served as an adjutant and quartermaster while in the militia.[14]
Lewis and Clark Expedition
Main article: Lewis and Clark Expedition
See also: Timeline of the Lewis and Clark Expedition
William Clark resigned his commission on July 4, 1796 and retired due to poor health, although he was only 26 years old. He returned to Mulberry Hill, his family's plantation near Louisville.[14]
In 1803, Meriwether Lewis recruited Clark, then age 33, to share command of the newly formed Corps of Discovery, whose mission was to explore the territory of the Louisiana Purchase, establish trade with Native Americans and the sovereignty of the US. They were to find a waterway from the US to the Pacific Ocean and claim the Oregon territory for the United States before European nations did.[3] Clark spent three years on the expedition to the Pacific Coast. A slave owner known to deal harshly with his slaves, he brought York, one of his slaves, with him. The indigenous nations treated York with respect, and many of the Native Americans were interested in his appearance, which "played a key role in diplomatic relations".[15][16]
Although Clark was refused a promotion to the rank of captain when Jefferson asked the Senate to appoint him, at Lewis' insistence, he exercised equal authority, and continued the mission. Clark concentrated chiefly on the drawing of maps, the management of the expedition's supplies, and leading hunting expeditions for game.[17]
Indigenous nations and war
In 1807, President Jefferson appointed Clark as the brigadier general of the militia in the Louisiana Territory, and the US agent for Indian affairs. At the time, trade was a major goal and the US established the factory system. The government and its appointees licensed traders to set up trading posts in Native American territory. Native American relations were handled in what became the War Department.[14] Clark set up his headquarters in St. Louis, Missouri, where he would live for most of the rest of his life.
There he became a member of the Freemasons, a secret fraternal group. The records of his initiation do not exist, but on September 18, 1809, Saint Louis Lodge No. 111 issued a traveling certificate for Clark.[18]
As a reward for their contributions during their expedition to the Pacific Lewis and Clark were given government positions. Jefferson appointed Meriwether Lewis territorial governor of Upper Louisiana, commander-in-chief of the militia, and superintendent of Indian Affairs.[19] Although he was in charge of Indian affairs, Clark was under the supervision of the Governor of the Louisiana Territory. The governor had final say of all decisions made in the territory. Although Clark had primary duties in dealing with the Native Americans, "the territorial governor held the title of ex officio superintendent of Indian affairs.[20]
Clark's experiences during his cross-continent expedition gave him the tools to be the ideal candidate for a diplomat to the Native Americans. That was Jefferson's motives behind giving Clark these duties, although it would not be until Madison's presidency that Clark's title became official. President James Madison appointed Clark as Missouri territorial governor and thus ex officio superintendent of Indian affairs in that region, during the summers of 1808 and 1813. In the earlier period, Clark performed the same duties that he would have if he held the title.[21] During the years while Clark held position under Governor Lewis, he was continuously involved in decision making with him. Clark was consulted on affairs on a regular basis. In Louisiana and Missouri, Clark served the United States government for the longest term in history as diplomat to the Native American peoples.[citation needed]
Indian diplomacy occupied much of Clark's time; the dutiful soldier and bureaucrat never wavered in his commitment to an expansionist national agenda that expected Indians to surrender their lands, abandon their traditional ways, and acquiesce to the dictates of the U.S. government. But he was aware of the consequences and he demonstrated genuine concern for the plight of destitute native people increasingly threatened with extinction.[22] Clark's expeditions and frontier settlement gave him unique views and feelings toward Native Americans. He felt as though he held a firm hand when he had to, but at the same time he had passion towards them as people still deserving of rights. At times he was said to be too compassionate. Clark took his position as one of extreme importance to not only the government of the United States, but to the Native American people as well.[citation needed]
Clark recognized Indians' nationalism, their history, language, culture and territory and negotiated treaties between the various nations and his. He tried to protect Indians and preserve their culture by removing them from the influences of white society, providing life-saving inoculations, having their portraits painted, and assembling a museum of Indian artifacts. At the same time, he removed Indians from their ancestral lands; encouraged federal "civilization" and "education" programs to change native lifestyles, religious beliefs, and cultural practices; and usually promoted the interests of American citizens over Indian needs and desires.[23]
During the War of 1812, Clark led several campaigns, among them in 1814, one along the Mississippi River, up to the Prairie du Chien-area. He established the short-lived Fort Shelby, the first post in what is now Wisconsin. Soon, the post was captured by the British. When the Missouri Territory was formed in 1813, Clark was appointed as the governor by President Madison.[14] He was reappointed to the position by Madison in 1816, and in 1820 by President Monroe.[14]
William Clark appeared before Supreme Court Judge John B.C. Lucas in St. Louis on July 6, 1813, to take the oath of office as governor of the Missouri Territory.[24] Clark's road to a gubernatorial appointment was long and complex. Upon Lewis' appointment by Jefferson, Clark backed him and at times filled the role of governor without holding official position, due to Lewis' complications in life, whether it was debt, loneliness, or drinking. Upon the death of Lewis in 1809, Clark declined to take office for varying reasons.
By the time he was appointed governor, Clark appreciated his own capabilities and embraced them rather than turning them away. when he took office, America was involved in the War of 1812 with the British. Clark feared the influence the British would have on the Native Americans. British tactics would include the use of Indians as allies in the fighting against the United States. In return for British victory, Indians would either be able to continue to occupy their current land or receive lands back that were taken from them previously by the United States Government. Clark held office for the next seven years until he was voted out of office in 1820, in the first election after Missouri became a state. He was defeated by Alexander McNair.[citation needed]
In 1822, Clark was appointed Superintendent of Indian Affairs by President James Monroe, a new position created by Congress after the factory system was abolished.[14] Clark served in that position until his death; his title changed with the creation of the Office of Indian Affairs in 1824 and finally the Bureau of Indian Affairs in 1829, both within the War Department. From 1824 to 1825, he was additionally appointed surveyor general of Illinois, Missouri and the Territory of Arkansaw. It was around this time that Clark received a rare smoking pipe or calumet as a gift from a Potowatomi chief in Missouri. The pipe is held in the British Museum's collection.[25]
As the Superintendent of Indian Affairs, Clark was the most important man on Native American matters west of the Mississippi. As superintendent at St. Louis, Clark took on some additional duties: he issued licenses and granted passports to traders and travelers; provided payments for injuries and injustices to both whites and Indians; invoked military force to arrest lawbreakers; prevented or terminated hostilities between tribes; removed unauthorized persons from Indian country or confiscated their property; established, marked, and surveyed boundaries; distributed annuities and made sure that treaty provisions were delivered; and conducted treaty councils.[26] Of the four superintendents of Indian affairs, the others were the governors of Michigan, Florida and Arkansas territories; Clark had by far the largest superintendency.[26]
Though Clark tried to maintain peaceful relations with indigenous nations and negotiated peace treaties, he was involved in President Andrew Jackson's Indian removal policy. This included "his duty to oversee removal". He managed retaliation against Black Hawk and those allied with him in the Black Hawk War, when hostilities arose between them and the Americans. Clark issued "an extermination order", which he gave to Lewis Cass, a man who played a central role in Jackson's removal policy.[27]
Clark believed in the Jeffersonian ideology in which assimilation would be the best course of action for Native Americans. However, in the end, relocation of the Indians from their native lands became the government's primary goal. Clark's government position on Native American affairs kept him at the forefront of countless relocations. He expressed sympathy for those uprooted tribes and promoted their interests as he understood them, nevertheless, he agreed with and implemented the policy of Indian removal, negotiating 37, or one-tenth, of all ratified treaties between American Indians and the United States. Over the course of his career, millions of acres passed from Indian to U.S. ownership through Clark's hand.[28]
Marriage and family
After returning from his cross-country expedition, Clark married Julia Hancock on January 5, 1808, at Fincastle, Virginia. They had five children: Meriwether Lewis Clark, Sr. (1809–1881), named after his friend and expedition partner; William Preston Clark (1811–1840); Mary Margaret Clark (1814–1821); George Rogers Hancock Clark (1816–1858), named after Clark's older brother; and John Julius Clark (1818–1831), named after his oldest brother Jonathan and Clark's wife.[14]
After Julia's death in 1820, William Clark married Julia's first cousin, Harriet Kennerly Radford. They had three children together: Jefferson Kearny Clark (1824–1900), named after the president; Edmund Clark (1826–1827), named after another of his older brothers; and Harriet Clark, named after her mother (dates unknown; died as child). His second wife Harriet died in 1831.[citation needed]
His son by a sister of Chief Red Grizzly Bear, Tzi-Kal-Tza/Halahtookit Clark, was alive in 1866; his image was recorded in a photo taken that year. "Oral history says that this man called himself 'Clark', that he was captured at the end of the Nez Perce Indian war of 1877, and that he died of malaria fifteen hundred miles away from home. There are many gaps in the story of Clark's Nez Perce son, many questions for which historians will never find answers."[29] Clark also served as a guardian to Jean Baptiste Charbonneau, the son of Sacagawea and Toussaint Charbonneau.[citation needed]
Later life and death
William Clark died in St. Louis on September 1, 1838 at age 68. Clark was originally buried at his nephew John O'Fallon's property, in 1838. That area is now known as O'Fallon Park. The funeral procession stretched for more than a mile and cannons fired a military salute. The entire city of St. Louis mourned his passing.[30]
Clark and six of his family members were later buried at Bellefontaine Cemetery on October 23, 1860. The monument that marks their graves, a 35-foot (11 m) gray granite obelisk, was dedicated in 1904 on the centennial anniversary of the Louisiana Purchase. Clark's son, Jefferson Kearney Clark, designed the monument and paid $25,000 for it ($425,000 in 2005 figures). Jefferson Clark's wife had to complete the building of the monument after Jefferson died in 1900. Many years later, the monument was restored and rededicated on May 21, 2004, to mark the bicentennial of the Corps of Discovery's departure from St. Charles, Missouri. Members of the Shoshone, Osage, and Mandan tribes spoke at the ceremony, marking Clark's service to these Indian nations during the final years of his life.[31]
Legacy and honors
Clark was elected a member of the American Antiquarian Society in 1814.[32]
In 2001, President Bill Clinton promoted Clark to the rank of captain in the US Army posthumously. Descendants of Clark were there to mark the occasion.[33]
2004 rededication of the obelisk: Although his family had established endowments to maintain his grave site, by the late 20th century, the grave site had fallen into disrepair. His descendants raised $100,000 to rehabilitate the obelisk. They celebrated the rededication with a ceremony May 21, 2004, on the bicentennial of the start of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. The ceremony was attended by a large gathering of Clark's descendants, reenactors in period dress, and leaders from the Osage Nation and the Lemhi band of the Shoshone.
The western American plant genus Clarkia (in the evening primrose family Onagraceae), is named after him, as are the cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarki ), and Clark's nutcracker (Nucifraga columbiana), a large passerine bird, in the family Corvidae. All were species which Clark identified during the expedition. Clark's grebe (Aechmophorus clarkii ) was not named for William Clark, but for J.H. Clark who collected the first specimen.
Lewis and Clark, 1954 issue
Clark depicted on the 1904–05 commemorative Lewis and Clark Exposition dollar
Meriwether Lewis and William Clark were honored with a 3-cent stamp July 24, 1954 on the 150th anniversary of their expedition.[34]
Both Lewis and Clark appear on the gold Lewis and Clark Exposition dollars minted for the Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition. Among the Early United States commemorative coins, they were produced in both 1904 and 1905 and survive in relatively small numbers.
The Lewis and Clark expedition was celebrated on May 14, 2004, the 200th anniversary of its outset, depicting the two on a hilltop outlook. Two companion 37-cent stamps showed portraits of Meriwether Lewis and William Clark. A special 32-page booklet accompanied the issue in eleven cities along the route taken by the Corps of Discovery.[35]
Clark is included on the St. Louis Walk of Fame.[36]
Counties are named in his honor in six states: Arkansas, Idaho, Kentucky, Missouri, Montana, and Washington.
The city of Clarkston, Washington is named for him.
The Clarks River in western Kentucky is named for him, as is the Clark Fork in Montana and Idaho, and the Clarks Fork Yellowstone River in Montana and Wyoming.
Two U.S. Navy Vessels have been named in honor of Clark; the Polaris nuclear submarine USS Lewis and Clark and the supply ship USNS Lewis and Clark were named for him and Lewis.
The Clark Bridge, a cable-stayed bridge across the Mississippi River between West Alton, Missouri and Alton, Illinois, was named after him.
Lewis and Clark Community College, in the Metro East region of Illinois, was named for the explorers.
Lewis and Clark Law School in Portland, Oregon, was named after Lewis and Clark.
Lewis-Clark State College in Lewiston, Idaho, is named for the two explorers.
Lewis and Clark Elementary School in Mandan, North Dakota, is named for the two explorers.
Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon is named for the two explorers.
Lewis & Clark Elementary School in Fargo, North Dakota is named for the two explorers.
In 1965, Clark was inducted into the Hall of Great Westerners of the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum.[37]
George Rogers Clark (November 19, 1752 – February 13, 1818) was an American surveyor, soldier, and militia officer from Virginia who became the highest-ranking American patriot military officer on the northwestern frontier during the American Revolutionary War. He served as leader of the militia in Kentucky (then part of Virginia) throughout much of the war. He is best known for his celebrated captures of Kaskaskia (1778) and Vincennes (1779) during the Illinois Campaign, which greatly weakened British influence in the Northwest Territory. The British ceded the entire Northwest Territory to the United States in the 1783 Treaty of Paris, and Clark has often been hailed as the "Conqueror of the Old Northwest".
Clark's major military achievements occurred before his thirtieth birthday. Afterward, he led militia in the opening engagements of the Northwest Indian War, but was accused of being drunk on duty. He was disgraced and forced to resign, despite his demand for a formal investigation into the accusations. He left Kentucky to live on the Indiana frontier but was never fully reimbursed by Virginia for his wartime expenditures. During the final decades of his life, he worked to evade creditors and suffered living in increasing poverty and obscurity. He was involved in two failed attempts to open the Spanish-controlled Mississippi River to American traffic. After suffering a stroke and the amputation of his left leg, he became an invalid. He was aided in his final years by family members, including his younger brother William, one of the leaders of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. He died of a stroke on February 13, 1818.
Early years
George Rogers Clark was born on November 19, 1752 in Albemarle County, Virginia, near Charlottesville, the hometown of Thomas Jefferson.[5][6] He was the second of 10 children of John and Ann Rogers Clark, who were Anglicans of English and Scottish ancestry.[7][8] Five of their six sons became officers during the American Revolutionary War. Their youngest son William was too young to fight in the war, but he later became famous as a leader of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. The family moved from the Virginia frontier to Caroline County, Virginia around 1756, after the outbreak of the French and Indian War. They lived on a 400-acre (1.6 km2) plantation that they later developed to a total of more than 2,000 acres (8.1 km2).[9]
Clark had little formal education.[6] He lived with his grandfather so that he could receive a common education at Donald Robertson's school, where fellow students included James Madison and John Taylor of Caroline.[10] He was also tutored at home, as was usual for the children of Virginia planters in this period. There was no public education. His grandfather trained him to be a surveyor.[citation needed]
In 1771 at age 19, Clark left his home on his first surveying trip into western Virginia.[11] In 1772, he made his first foray into Kentucky via the Ohio River at Pittsburgh and spent the next two years surveying the Kanawha River region, as well as learning about the area's natural history and customs of the various tribes of Indians who lived there.[12][13] In the meantime, thousands of settlers were entering the area as a result of the Treaty of Fort Stanwix of 1768, by which some of the tribes had agreed to peace.[14]
Clark's military career began in 1774, when he served as a captain in the Virginia militia. He was preparing to lead an expedition of 90 men down the Ohio River when hostilities broke out between the Shawnee and settlers on the Kanawha frontier; this conflict eventually culminated in Lord Dunmore's War. Most of Kentucky was not inhabited by Indians, although such tribes as the Shawnee, Cherokee, and Seneca (of the Iroquois Confederacy) used the area for hunting. Tribes in the Ohio country who had not been party to the treaty signed with the Cherokee were angry, because the Kentucky hunting grounds had been ceded without their approval. As a result, they tried to resist encroachment by the American settlers, but were unsuccessful. Clark spent a few months surveying in Kentucky, as well as assisting in organizing Kentucky as a county for Virginia prior to the American Revolutionary War.[13][15]
Revolutionary War
As the American Revolutionary War began in the East, Kentucky's settlers became involved in a dispute about the region's sovereignty. Richard Henderson, a judge and land speculator from North Carolina, had purchased much of Kentucky from the Cherokee by an illegal treaty. Henderson intended to create a proprietary colony known as Transylvania, but many Kentucky settlers did not recognize Transylvania's authority over them. In June 1776, these settlers selected Clark and John Gabriel Jones to deliver a petition to the Virginia General Assembly, asking Virginia to formally extend its boundaries to include Kentucky.[16]
Clark and Jones traveled the Wilderness Road to Williamsburg, where they convinced Governor Patrick Henry to create Kentucky County, Virginia. Clark was given 500 lb (230 kg) of gunpowder to help defend the settlements and was appointed a major in the Kentucky County militia.[17] Although he was only 24 years old, older settlers such as Daniel Boone, Benjamin Logan, and Leonard Helm considered him a leader.[citation needed]
US Postage Stamp, 1929 issue designed by F.C. Yohn; George Rogers Clark recaptured Fort Sackville in the February 23, 1779 Battle of Vincennes without losing a single soldier
Illinois campaign
Main article: Illinois campaign
In 1777, the Revolutionary War intensified in Kentucky. British lieutenant governor Henry Hamilton armed his Indian allies from his headquarters at Fort Detroit, encouraging them to launch raids on the Kentucky settlers by enticing them with hopes of reclaiming the region as their hunting ground. The Continental Army could spare no men for an invasion in the northwest or for the defense of Kentucky, which was left entirely to the local population.[18] Clark spent several months defending settlements against the Indian raiders as a leader in the Kentucky County militia, while developing his plan for a long-distance strike against the British. His strategy involved seizing British outposts north of the Ohio River to destroy British influence among their Indian allies.[13][19]
In December 1777, Clark presented his plan to Virginia's Governor Patrick Henry, and he asked for permission to lead a secret expedition to capture the British-held villages at Kaskaskia, Cahokia, and Vincennes in the Illinois country. Governor Henry commissioned him as a lieutenant colonel in the Virginia militia and authorized him to raise troops for the expedition.[13][20] Clark and his officers recruited volunteers from Pennsylvania, Virginia, and North Carolina. Clark arrived at Redstone, a settlement on the Monongahela River south of Fort Pitt on February 1st, where he made preparations for the expedition over the next several months.[21] The men gathered at Redstone and the regiment departed from there on May 12th, proceeding on boats down the Monongahela to Fort Pitt to take on supplies and then down the Ohio to Fort Henry and on to Fort Randolph at the mouth of the Kanawha. They reached the Falls of the Ohio in early June where they spent about a month along the Ohio River preparing for their secret mission.[13][21] Patrick Henry had been a leading land speculator before the Revolution in lands west of the Appalachians where Virginians had sought control from the Indians, including George Washington and Thomas Jefferson.[22]
In July 1778, Clark led the Illinois Regiment of the Virginia State Forces of about 175 men and crossed the Ohio River at Fort Massac and marched to Kaskaskia, capturing it on the night of July 4 without firing their weapons.[23] The next day, Captain Joseph Bowman and his company captured Cahokia in a similar fashion without firing a shot. The garrison at Vincennes along the Wabash River surrendered to Clark in August.[13] Several other villages and British forts were subsequently captured, after British hopes of local support failed to materialize. To counter Clark's advance, Hamilton recaptured the garrison at Vincennes, which the British called Fort Sackville, with a small force in December 1778.[24][25]
Prior to initiating a march on Fort Detroit, Clark used his own resources and borrowed from his friends to continue his campaign after the initial appropriation had been depleted from the Virginia legislature. He re-enlisted some of his troops and recruited additional men to join him. Hamilton waited for spring to begin a campaign to retake the forts at Kaskaskia and Cahokia, but Clark planned another surprise attack on Fort Sackville at Vincennes.[13] He left Kaskaskia on February 6, 1779 with about 170 men, beginning an arduous overland trek, encountering melting snow, ice, and cold rain along the journey. They arrived at Vincennes on February 23 and launched a surprise attack on Fort Sackville. Hamilton surrendered the garrison on February 25 and was captured in the process. The winter expedition was Clark's most significant military achievement and became the basis of his reputation as an early American military hero.[26][27]
News of Clark's victory reached General George Washington, and his success was celebrated and was used to encourage the alliance with France. General Washington recognized that Clark's achievement had been gained without support from the regular army, either in men or funds.[28] Virginia also capitalized on Clark's success, laying claim to the Old Northwest by calling it Illinois County, Virginia.[29]
Clark's march to Vincennes was the most celebrated event of his career; it has been often depicted, as in this illustration by F. C. Yohn
Final years of the war
Clark's ultimate goal during the Revolutionary War was to seize the British-held fort at Detroit, but he could never recruit enough men and acquire sufficient munitions to make the attempt.[30] Kentucky militiamen generally preferred to defend their own territory and stay closer to home, rather than make the long and potentially perilous expedition to Detroit.[31] Clark returned to the Falls of the Ohio and Louisville, Kentucky, where he continued to defend the Ohio River valley until the end of the war.[32]
In June 1780, a mixed force of British and Indians from the Detroit area, including Shawnee, Delaware (Lenape), and Wyandot, invaded Kentucky. They captured two fortified settlements and seized hundreds of prisoners. In August 1780, Clark led a retaliatory force that won a victory at the Shawnee village of Peckuwe.[31] It has been commemorated as George Rogers Clark Park near Springfield, Ohio.[33]
In 1781, Virginia Governor Thomas Jefferson promoted Clark to brigadier general and gave him command of all the militia in the Kentucky and Illinois counties. As Clark prepared to lead another expedition against the British and their allies in Detroit, General Washington transferred a small group of regulars to assist, but the detachment was disastrously defeated in August 1781 before they could meet up with Clark. This ended the western campaign.[34][35]
In August 1782, another British-Indian force defeated the Kentucky militia at the Battle of Blue Licks. Clark was the militia's senior military officer, but he had not been present at the battle and was severely criticized in the Virginia Council for the disaster.[36] In response November 1782 , Clark led another expedition into the Ohio country, destroying several Indian villages along the Great Miami River, including the Shawnee village of Piqua, Miami County, Ohio[37] This was the last major expedition of the war.[38]
The importance of Clark's activities during the Revolutionary War has been the subject of much debate among historians. As early as 1779 George Mason called Clark the "Conqueror of the Northwest."[39] Because the British ceded the entire Old Northwest Territory to the United States in the Treaty of Paris, some historians, including William Hayden English, credit Clark with nearly doubling the size of the original thirteen colonies when he seized control of the Illinois country during the war. Clark's Illinois campaign—particularly the surprise march to Vincennes—was greatly celebrated and romanticized.[28]
More recent scholarship from historians such as Lowell Harrison has downplayed the importance of the campaign in the peace negotiations and the outcome of the war, arguing that Clark's "conquest" was little more than a temporary occupation of territory.[40][41] Although the Illinois campaign is frequently described in terms of a harsh, winter ordeal for the Americans, James Fischer points out that the capture of Kaskaskia and Vincennes may not have been as difficult as previously suggested. Kaskaskia proved to be an easy target; Clark had sent two spies there in June 1777, who reported "an absence of soldiers in the town."[42]
Clark's men also easily captured Vincennes and Fort Sackville. Prior to their arrival in 1778, Clark had sent Captain Leonard Helm to Vincennes to gather intelligence. In addition, Father Pierre Gibault, a local priest, helped persuade the town's inhabitants to side with the Americans. Before Clark and his men set out to recapture Vincennes in 1779, Francis Vigo provided Clark with additional information on the town, its surrounding area, and the fort. Clark was already aware of the fort's military strength, poor location (surrounded by houses that could provide cover to attackers), and dilapidated condition. Clark's strategy of a surprise attack and strong intelligence were critical in catching Hamilton and his men unaware and vulnerable.[43][44] After killing five captive Indians by hatchet within view of the fort, Clark forced its surrender.[45]
Virginia Land Office warrant to Clark for 560 acres for having raised battalion to fight in the Revolutionary War. January 1780
Later years
After Clark's victories in the Illinois country, settlers continued to pour into Kentucky and spread into and develop the land north of the Ohio River. On December 17, 1783 was Clark appointed Principal Surveyor of Bounty Lands.[46] From 1784 to 1788 Clark served as the superintendent-surveyor for Virginia's war veterans, surveying lands granted to them for their service in the war. The position brought Clark a small income, but he devoted very little time to the enterprise.[47]
In 1785 Clark helped to negotiate the Treaty of Fort McIntosh[48] and the Treaty of Fort Finney in 1786, but the violence between Native Americans and European-American settlers continued to escalate.[32][47] According to a 1790 U.S. government report, 1,500 Kentucky settlers had been killed in Indian raids since the end of the Revolutionary War.[49] In an attempt to end the raids, Clark led an expedition of 1,200 drafted men against Native American villages along the Wabash River in 1786. The campaign, one of the first actions of the Northwest Indian War,[50] ended without a victory. After approximately three hundred militiamen mutinied due to a lack of supplies, Clark had to withdraw, but not before concluding a ceasefire with the native tribes. It was rumored, most notably by James Wilkinson, that Clark had often been drunk on duty.[51] When Clark learned of the accusations, he demanded an official inquiry, but the Virginia governor declined his request and Virginia Council condemned Clark's actions. With Clark's reputation tarnished, he never again led men in battle. Clark left Kentucky and moved across the Ohio River to the Indiana frontier, near present-day Clarksville, Indiana.[51][52]
Life in Indiana
Following his military service, and especially after 1787, Clark spent much of the remainder of his life dealing with financial difficulties. Clark had financed the majority of his military campaigns with borrowed funds. When creditors began pressuring him to repay his debts, Clark was unable to obtain reimbursement from Virginia or the United States Congress. Due to haphazard record keeping on the frontier during the war, Virginia refused payment, claiming that Clark's receipts for his purchases were "fraudulent".[53]
As compensation for his wartime service, Virginia gave Clark a gift of 150,000 acres (610 km2) of land that became known as Clark's Grant in present-day southern Indiana, while the soldiers who fought with Clark also received smaller tracts of land. Clark's Grant and his other holdings gave Clark ownership of land that encompassed present-day Clark County, Indiana, and portions of adjoining Floyd and Scott Counties.[54][55] Although Clark had claims to tens of thousands of acres of land, the result of his military service and land speculation, he was "land-poor," meaning that he owned much land but lacked the resources to develop it.
Clark wrote his memoirs around 1791, but they were not published during his lifetime. Although the autobiography contains factual inaccuracies, the work includes Clark's perspective on the events of his life. Some historians believe Clark wrote his memoirs in attempt to salvage his damaged reputation and to document his contributions during the Revolutionary War.[30]
In the service of the French
On February 2, 1793, with his career seemingly over and his prospects for prosperity doubtful, Clark offered his services to Edmond-Charles Genêt, the controversial ambassador of revolutionary France, hoping to earn money to maintain his estate.[56] Western Americans were outraged that the Spanish, who controlled Louisiana, denied Americans free access to the Mississippi River, their only easy outlet for long distance commerce. The Washington administration was also unresponsive to western matters.
Genêt appointed Clark "Major General in the Armies of France and Commander-in-chief of the French Revolutionary Legion on the Mississippi River".[57] Clark began to organize a campaign to seize New Madrid, St. Louis, Natchez, and New Orleans, getting assistance from old comrades such as Benjamin Logan and John Montgomery, and winning the tacit support of Kentucky governor Isaac Shelby.[58] Clark spent $4,680 (equivalent to $70,503 in 2019) of his own money for supplies.[59]
In early 1794, however, President Washington issued a proclamation forbidding Americans from violating U.S. neutrality and threatened to dispatch General Anthony Wayne to Fort Massac to stop the expedition. The French government recalled Genêt and revoked the commissions he granted to the Americans for the war against Spain. Clark's planned campaign gradually collapsed, and he was unable to convince the French to reimburse him for his expenses.[60] Clark's reputation, already damaged by earlier accusations at the end of the Revolutionary War, was further maligned as a result of his involvement in these foreign intrigues.[61]
Mounting debts
In his later years Clark's mounting debts made it impossible for him to retain ownership of his land, since it became subject to seizure due to his debts. Clark deeded much of his land to friends or transferred ownership to family members so his creditors could not seize it.[62] Lenders and their assignees eventually deprived the veteran of nearly all of the property that remained in his name. Clark, who was at one time the largest landholder in the Northwest Territory, was left with only a small plot of land in Clarksville.[63] In 1803 Clark built a cabin overlooking the Falls of the Ohio, where he lived until his health failed in 1809.[32] He also operated a small gristmill, which he worked with two African American slaves.[63]
Clark's knowledge of the region helped him to become an expert on the West's natural history. Over the years he welcomed travelers, including those interested in natural history, to his home overlooking the Ohio River. Clark supplied details on the area's plant and animal life to John Pope and John James Audubon, and hosted his brother, William, and Meriweather Lewis, prior to their expedition to the Pacific Northwest. Clark also provided information on the Ohio Valley's native tribes to Allan Bowie Magruder and archaeological evidence related to the Mound Builders to John P. Campbell.[64]
In later life Clark continued to struggle with alcohol abuse, a problem which had plagued him on-and-off for many years. He also remained bitter about his treatment and neglect by Virginia, and blamed it for his financial misfortune.[56]
When the Indiana Territory chartered the Indiana Canal Company in 1805 to build a canal around the Falls of the Ohio, near Clarksville, Clark was named to the board of directors. He became part of the surveying team that assisted in laying out the route of the canal. The company collapsed the next year before construction could begin, when two of the fellow board members, including Vice President Aaron Burr, were arrested for treason. A large part of the company's $1.2 million (equivalent to $20.49 million in 2019) in investments was unaccounted for; its location was never determined.[65]
Grave site of Clark at Cave Hill Cemetery in Louisville
Statement from Rogers's physician noting the General's health problems, which the doctor ascribed to the severe conditions the General had endured during his wartime service. December 1809
Statue by MacNeil at George Rogers Clark National Historical Park
Return to Kentucky
Alcoholism and poor health afflicted Clark during his final years. In 1809 he suffered a severe stroke. When he fell into an operating fireplace, Clark suffered a burn on his left leg that was so severe it had to be amputated.[66] The injury made it impossible for Clark to continue to operate his mill and live independently. As a result, he moved to Locust Grove, a farm eight miles (13 km) from the growing town of Louisville, and became a member of the household of his sister, Lucy, and brother-in-law, Major William Croghan, a planter.[67]
In 1812 the Virginia General Assembly granted Clark a pension of four hundred dollars per year and finally recognized his services in the Revolutionary War by presenting him with a ceremonial sword.[68]
Death and legacy
After another stroke, Clark died at Locust Grove on February 13, 1818; he was buried at Locust Grove Cemetery two days later.[69] Clark's remains were exhumed along with those of his other family members on October 29, 1869, and buried at Cave Hill Cemetery in Louisville.[70]
In his funeral oration, Judge John Rowan succinctly summed up Clark's stature and importance during the critical years on the trans-Appalachian frontier: "The mighty oak of the forest has fallen, and now the scrub oaks sprout all around."[71] Clark's career was closely tied to events in the Ohio-Mississippi Valley at a pivotal time when the region was inhabited by numerous Native American tribes and claimed by the British, Spanish, and French, as well as the fledgling U.S. government.[72] As a member of the Virginia militia, and with Virginia's support, Clark's campaign into the Illinois country helped strengthen Virginia's claim on lands in the region as it came under the control of the Americans.[73] Clark's military service in the interior of North America also helped him became an "important source of leadership and information (although not necessarily accurate) on the West."[72]
Clark is best known as a war hero of the Revolutionary War in the West, especially as the leader of the secret expeditionary forces that captured Kaskaskia, Cahokia, and Vincennes in 1778–79. Some historians have suggested that the campaign supported American claims to the Northwest Territory during negotiations that resulted in the Treaty of Paris (1783).[13]
Clark's Grant, the large tract of land on the north side of the Ohio River that he received as compensation for his military service, included a large portion of Clark County, Indiana, and portions of Floyd and Scott Counties, as well as the present-day site of Clarksville, Indiana, the first American town laid out in the Northwest Territory (in 1784). Clark served as the first chairman of the Clarksville, Indiana, board of trustees.[13][54] Clark was unable to retain title to his landholdings. At the end of his life, he was poor, in ill health, and frequently intoxicated.[74]
Several years after Clark's death the state of Virginia granted his estate $30,000 (equivalent to $677,912 in 2019) as a partial payment on the debts it owed him.[62] The government of Virginia continued to repay Clark for decades; the last payment to his estate was made in 1913.[75]
Clark never married and he kept no account of any romantic relationships, although his family held that he had once been in love with Teresa de Leyba, sister of Don Fernando de Leyba, the lieutenant governor of Spanish Louisiana. Writings from his niece and cousin in the Draper Manuscripts in the archives of the Wisconsin Historical Society attest to their belief in Clark's lifelong disappointment over the failed romance.[76]
Honors and tributes
On May 23, 1928, President Calvin Coolidge ordered a memorial to Clark to be erected at Vincennes, Indiana. Completed in 1933, the George Rogers Clark Memorial was dedicated on June 14, 1936, by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The Roman-style temple was erected on what was believed to have been the site of Fort Sackville. The site, now called the George Rogers Clark National Historical Park, became a part of the National Park Service in 1966. Hermon Atkins MacNeil created the monument's 7.5-foot (2.3 m) bronze statue of Clark. The monument's walls include seven murals depicting Clark's famous expedition.[77][78]
On February 25, 1929, to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the surrender of Fort Sackville, the U.S. Postal Service issued a two-cent postage stamp depicting the event.[79]
In 1975 the Indiana General Assembly designated February 25 as George Rogers Clark Day in Indiana.[79]
In 1979 Indiana's automobile license plates commemorated the 200th anniversary of Clark's capture of Fort Sackville.[80]
A bronze statue of Clark is one of several erected on Monument Circle, surrounding the Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument, in downtown Indianapolis, Indiana. Sculptor John H. Mahoney received the commission to create the statue, which was completed in 1895.[81]
The Daughters of the American Revolution placed a statue by sculptor Leon Hermant at Metropolis, the site of Fort Massac, in Massac County, Illinois, in the early 1900s.[82]
Sculptor Felix de Weldon created the Clark statue at Riverfront Plaza/Belvedere, next to the wharf on the Ohio River, in Louisville, Kentucky.[83]
Charles Keck created the memorial statue of Clark at the site of the Battle of Piqua, near Springfield, Ohio.[84]
Robert Aitken's bronze sculpture of Clark was erected on Monument Square, on the grounds of the University of Virginia at Charlottesville, Virginia, in 1921.[85]
A Clark statue was erected in Riverview Park, on the eastern bank of the Mississippi River at Quincy, Illinois in 1909.[86]
In April 1929, the Paul Revere Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution of Muncie, Indiana, erected a monument to Clark on Washington Avenue in Fredericksburg, Virginia.[87] Clark spent his childhood in southwestern Caroline County, about 40 miles from Fredericksburg.
Clark is the namesake of a number of counties in the United States: Clark County, Illinois;[88] Clark County, Indiana;[89] Clark County, Kentucky;[90] Clark County, Ohio;[88] and Clarke County, Virginia[91]
Several communities in the U.S. have been named in his honor: Clarksville, Indiana;[91] Clarksville, Tennessee;[92] and Clarksburg, West Virginia.[93]
Schools named in Clark's honor include:
George Rogers Clark Elementary School of Chicago, Illinois.[94]
George Rogers Clark Elementary School, Clarksville, Indiana (closed 2010)
George Rogers Clark College, Indianapolis, Indiana (closed 1992)
George Rogers Clark Middle School, Vincennes, Indiana
George Rogers Clark Junior High School, Springfield, Ohio (now closed)
George Rogers Clark Middle/High School, Whiting, Lake County, Indiana (school closing following the 2020-21 school year)[95]
George Rogers Clark Elementary School, Paducah, Kentucky
George Rogers Clark High School, Winchester, Clark County, Kentucky[96]
George Rogers Clark Elementary School, Charlottesville, Virginia
Other sites and structures:
The George Rogers Clark Memorial Bridge (Second Street Bridge), built in 1929, carries U.S. Highway 31 over the Ohio River at Louisville, Kentucky.[97]
In 1979 the Indiana American Revolution Bicentennial Commission and the Indiana Highway Commission erected an estimated 600 signs to establish the George Rogers Clark Trail, marking the routes used by Clark and his men in Indiana during the Revolutionary War.[98]
Clark Street in Chicago, Illinois is named in his honor.[99]
The Liberty Ship SS George Rogers Clark. Launched 9 November 1942; Commissioned 2 January 1943; Sold private 1947, scrapped 1963.
See also
Biography portal
History of Louisville, Kentucky
List of people from the Louisville metropolitan area
George Rogers Clark Flag
Old Clarksville Site
George Rogers Clark (bust)
The Lewis and Clark Expedition from August 31, 1803, to September 25, 1806, also known as the Corps of Discovery Expedition, was the United States expedition to cross the newly acquired western portion of the country after the Louisiana Purchase. The Corps of Discovery was a select group of U.S. Army and civilian volunteers under the command of Captain Meriwether Lewis and his close friend Second Lieutenant William Clark. The expedition made its way westward, and crossed the Continental Divide of the Americas before reaching the Pacific Coast.
President Thomas Jefferson commissioned the expedition shortly after the Louisiana Purchase in 1803 to explore and to map the newly acquired territory, to find a practical route across the western half of the continent, and to establish an American presence in this territory before Britain and other European powers tried to claim it. The campaign's secondary objectives were scientific and economic: to study the area's plants, animal life, and geography, and to establish trade with local American Indian tribes. The expedition returned to St. Louis to report its findings to Jefferson, with maps, sketches, and journals in hand.[1][2]
Overview
One of Thomas Jefferson's goals was to find "the most direct and practicable water communication across this continent, for the purposes of commerce." He also placed special importance on declaring US sovereignty over the land occupied by the many different Indian tribes along the Missouri River, and getting an accurate sense of the resources in the recently completed Louisiana Purchase.[3][4][5][6] The expedition made notable contributions to science,[7] but scientific research was not the main goal of the mission.[8]
During the 19th century, references to Lewis and Clark "scarcely appeared" in history books, even during the United States Centennial in 1876, and the expedition was largely forgotten.[9][10] Lewis and Clark began to gain attention around the start of the 20th century. Both the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis and the 1905 Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition in Portland, Oregon showcased them as American pioneers. However, the story remained relatively shallow until mid-century as a celebration of US conquest and personal adventures, but more recently the expedition has been more thoroughly researched.[9]
In 2004, a complete and reliable set of the expedition's journals was compiled by Gary E. Moulton.[11][12][13] In the 2000s, the bicentennial of the expedition further elevated popular interest in Lewis and Clark.[10] As of 1984, no US exploration party was more famous, and no American expedition leaders are more recognizable by name.[9]
Timeline
Main article: Timeline of the Lewis and Clark Expedition
The timeline covers the primary events associated with the expedition, from January 1803 through January 1807.
Preparations
Meriwether Lewis and William Clark
For years, Thomas Jefferson read accounts about the ventures of various explorers in the western frontier, and consequently had a long-held interest in further exploring this mostly unknown region of the continent. In the 1780s, while Minister to France, Jefferson met John Ledyard in Paris and they discussed a possible trip to the Pacific Northwest.[14][15] Jefferson had also read Captain James Cook's A Voyage to the Pacific Ocean (London, 1784), an account of Cook's third voyage, and Le Page du Pratz's The History of Louisiana (London, 1763), all of which greatly influenced his decision to send an expedition. Like Captain Cook, he wished to discover a practical route through the Northwest to the Pacific coast. Alexander Mackenzie had already charted a route in his quest for the Pacific, following Canada's Mackenzie River to the Arctic Ocean in 1789. Mackenzie and his party were the first to cross America north of Mexico, reaching the Pacific coast in British Columbia in 1793–a dozen years before Lewis and Clark. Mackenzie's accounts in Voyages from Montreal (1801) informed Jefferson of Britain's intent to control the lucrative fur trade of the Columbia River and convinced him of the importance of securing the territory as soon as possible.[16][17]
Two years into his presidency, Jefferson asked Congress to fund an expedition through the Louisiana territory to the Pacific Ocean. He did not attempt to make a secret of the Lewis and Clark expedition from Spanish, French, and British officials, but rather claimed different reasons for the venture. He used a secret message to ask for funding due to poor relations with the opposition Federalist Party in Congress.[18][19][20][21] Congress subsequently appropriated $2,324 for supplies and food, the appropriation of which was left in Lewis's charge.[22]
In 1803, Jefferson commissioned the Corps of Discovery and named Army Captain Meriwether Lewis its leader, who then invited William Clark to co-lead the expedition with him.[23] Lewis demonstrated remarkable skills and potential as a frontiersman, and Jefferson made efforts to prepare him for the long journey ahead as the expedition was gaining approval and funding.[24][25] Jefferson explained his choice of Lewis:
It was impossible to find a character who to a complete science in botany, natural history, mineralogy & astronomy, joined the firmness of constitution & character, prudence, habits adapted to the woods & a familiarity with the Indian manners and character, requisite for this undertaking. All the latter qualifications Capt. Lewis has.[26]
In 1803, Jefferson sent Lewis to Philadelphia to study medicinal cures under Benjamin Rush, a physician and humanitarian. He also arranged for Lewis to be further educated by Andrew Ellicott, an astronomer who instructed him in the use of the sextant and other navigational instruments.[27][28] Lewis, however, was not ignorant of science and had demonstrated a marked capacity to learn, especially with Jefferson as his teacher. At Monticello, Jefferson possessed an enormous library on the subject of the geography of the North American continent, and Lewis had full access to it. He spent time consulting maps and books and conferring with Jefferson.[29]
The keelboat used for the first year of the journey was built near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in the summer of 1803 at Lewis's specifications. The boat was completed on August 31 and was immediately loaded with equipment and provisions. Lewis and his crew set sail that afternoon, traveling down the Ohio River to meet up with Clark near Louisville, Kentucky in October 1803 at the Falls of the Ohio.[30][31] Their goals were to explore the vast territory acquired by the Louisiana Purchase and to establish trade and US sovereignty over the Indians along the Missouri River. Jefferson also wanted to establish a US claim of "discovery" to the Pacific Northwest and Oregon territory by documenting an American presence there before European nations could claim the land.[5][32][33][34] According to some historians, Jefferson understood that he would have a better claim of ownership to the Pacific Northwest if the team gathered scientific data on animals and plants.[35][36] However, his main objectives were centered around finding an all-water route to the Pacific coast and commerce. His instructions to the expedition stated:
The object of your mission is to explore the Missouri River, & such principle stream of it, as, by its course and communication with the waters of the Pacific ocean, whether the Columbia, Oregon, Colorado or any other river may offer the most direct & practicable water communication across this continent for the purpose of commerce.[37]
Camp Dubois (Camp Wood) reconstruction, where the Corp of Discovery mustered through the winter of 1803–1804 to await the transfer of the Louisiana Purchase to the United States
The US mint prepared special silver medals with a portrait of Jefferson and inscribed with a message of friendship and peace, called Indian Peace Medals. The soldiers were to distribute them to the tribes that they met. The expedition also prepared advanced weapons to display their military firepower. Among these was an Austrian-made .46 caliber Girandoni air rifle, a repeating rifle with a 20-round tubular magazine that was powerful enough to kill a deer.[38][39][40] The expedition was prepared with flintlock firearms, knives, blacksmithing supplies, and cartography equipment. They also carried flags, gift bundles, medicine, and other items that they would need for their journey.[38][39] The route of Lewis and Clark's expedition took them up the Missouri River to its headwaters, then on to the Pacific Ocean via the Columbia River, and it may have been influenced by the purported transcontinental journey of Moncacht-Apé by the same route about a century before. Jefferson had a copy of Le Page's book in his library detailing Moncacht-Apé's itinerary, and Lewis carried a copy with him during the expedition. Le Page's description of Moncacht-Apé's route across the continent neglects to mention the need to cross the Rocky Mountains, and it might be the source of Lewis and Clark's mistaken belief that they could easily carry boats from the Missouri's headwaters to the westward-flowing Columbia.[41]
Journey
Departure
Corps of Discovery meet Chinooks on the Lower Columbia, October 1805 (Charles Marion Russel, c. 1905)
The Corps of Discovery departed from Camp Dubois (Camp Wood) at 4 pm on May 14, 1804. Under Clark's command, they traveled up the Missouri River in their keelboat and two pirogues to St. Charles, Missouri where Lewis joined them six days later. The expedition set out the next afternoon, May 21.[42] While accounts vary, it is believed the Corps had as many as 45 members, including the officers, enlisted military personnel, civilian volunteers, and Clark's African-American slave York.[43]
From St. Charles, the expedition followed the Missouri through what is now Kansas City, Missouri, and Omaha, Nebraska. On August 20, 1804, Sergeant Charles Floyd died, apparently from acute appendicitis. He had been among the first to sign up with the Corps of Discovery and was the only member to die during the expedition. He was buried at a bluff by the river, now named after him,[44] in what is now Sioux City, Iowa. His burial site was marked with a cedar post on which was inscribed his name and day of death. 1 mile (2 km) up the river, the expedition camped at a small river which they named Floyd's River.[45][46][47] During the final week of August, Lewis and Clark reached the edge of the Great Plains, a place abounding with elk, deer, bison, and beavers.
The Lewis and Clark Expedition established relations with two dozen Indian nations, without whose help the expedition would have risked starvation during the harsh winters and/or become hopelessly lost in the vast ranges of the Rocky Mountains.[48]
The Americans and the Lakota nation (whom the Americans called Sioux or "Teton-wan Sioux") had problems when they met, and there was a concern the two sides might fight. According to Harry W. Fritz, "All earlier Missouri River travelers had warned of this powerful and aggressive tribe, determined to block free trade on the river. ... The Sioux were also expecting a retaliatory raid from the Omaha Indians, to the south. A recent Sioux raid had killed 75 Omaha men, burned 40 lodges, and taken four dozen prisoners."[49] The expedition held talks with the Lakota near the confluence of the Missouri and Bad Rivers in what is now Fort Pierre, South Dakota.[50]
Reconstruction of Fort Mandan, Lewis and Clark Memorial Park, North Dakota
One of their horses disappeared, and they believed the Sioux were responsible. Afterward, the two sides met and there was a disagreement, and the Sioux asked the men to stay or to give more gifts instead before being allowed to pass through their territory. They came close to fighting several times, and both sides finally backed down and the expedition continued on to Arikara territory. Clark wrote they were "warlike" and were the "vilest miscreants of the savage race".[51][52][53][54]
In the winter of 1804–05, the party built Fort Mandan, near present-day Washburn, North Dakota. Just before departing on April 7, 1805, the expedition sent the keelboat back to St. Louis with a sample of specimens, some never seen before east of the Mississippi.[55] One chief asked Lewis and Clark to provide a boat for passage through their national territory. As tensions increased, Lewis and Clark prepared to fight, but the two sides fell back in the end. The Americans quickly continued westward (upriver), and camped for the winter in the Mandan nation's territory.
After the expedition had set up camp, nearby Indians came to visit in fair numbers, some staying all night. For several days, Lewis and Clark met in council with Mandan chiefs. Here they met a French-Canadian fur trapper named Toussaint Charbonneau, and his young Shoshone wife Sacagawea. Charbonneau at this time began to serve as the expedition's translator. Peace was established between the expedition and the Mandan chiefs with the sharing of a Mandan ceremonial pipe.[56] By April 25, Captain Lewis wrote his progress report of the expedition's activities and observations of the Indian nations they have encountered to date: A Statistical view of the Indian nations inhabiting the Territory of Louisiana, which outlined the names of various tribes, their locations, trading practices, and water routes used, among other things. President Jefferson would later present this report to Congress.[57]
Lewis and Clark Meeting the Salish in Ross Hole, September 4, 1805.
They followed the Missouri to its headwaters, and over the Continental Divide at Lemhi Pass. In canoes, they descended the mountains by the Clearwater River, the Snake River, and the Columbia River, past Celilo Falls, and past what is now Portland, Oregon, at the meeting of the Willamette and Columbia Rivers. Lewis and Clark used William Robert Broughton's 1792 notes and maps to orient themselves once they reached the lower Columbia River. The sighting of Mount Hood and other stratovolcanos confirmed that the expedition had almost reached the Pacific Ocean.[58]
Pacific Ocean
Fort Clatsop reconstruction on the Columbia River near the Pacific Ocean
The expedition sighted the Pacific Ocean for the first time on November 7, 1805, arriving two weeks later.[59][60] The expedition faced its second bitter winter camped on the north side of the Columbia River, in a storm-wracked area.[59] Lack of food was a major factor. The elk, the party's main source of food, had retreated from their usual haunts into the mountains, and the party was now too poor to purchase enough food from neighboring tribes.[61] On November 24, 1805, the party voted to move their camp to the south side of the Columbia River near modern Astoria, Oregon. Sacagawea, and Clark's slave York, were both allowed to participate in the vote.[62]
On the south side of the Columbia River, 2 miles (3 km) upstream on the west side of the Netul River (now Lewis and Clark River), they constructed Fort Clatsop.[59] They did this not just for shelter and protection, but also to officially establish the American presence there, with the American flag flying over the fort.[52][63] During the winter at Fort Clatsop, Lewis committed himself to writing. He filled many pages of his journals with valuable knowledge, mostly about botany, because of the abundant growth and forests that covered that part of the continent.[64] The health of the men also became a problem, with many suffering from colds and influenza.[61]
Knowing that maritime fur traders sometimes visited the lower Columbia River, Lewis and Clark repeatedly asked the local Chinooks about trading ships. They learned that Captain Samuel Hill had been there in early 1805. Miscommunication caused Clark to record the name as "Haley". Captain Hill returned in November, 1805, and anchored about 10 miles (16 km) from Fort Clatsop. The Chinook told Hill about Lewis and Clark, but no direct contact was made.[65]
Return trip
Lewis was determined to remain at the fort until April 1, but was still anxious to move out at the earliest opportunity. By March 22, the stormy weather had subsided and the following morning, on March 23, 1806, the journey home began. The Corps began their journey homeward using canoes to ascend the Columbia River, and later by trekking over land.[66][67]
Before leaving, Clark gave the Chinook a letter to give to the next ship captain to visit, which was the same Captain Hill who had been nearby during the winter. Hill took the letter to Canton and had it forwarded to Thomas Jefferson, who thus received it before Lewis and Clark returned.[65]
They made their way to Camp Chopunnish[note 1] in Idaho, along the north bank of the Clearwater River, where the members of the expedition collected 65 horses in preparation to cross the Bitterroot Mountains, lying between modern-day Idaho and western Montana. However, the range was still covered in snow, which prevented the expedition from making the crossing. On April 11, while the Corps was waiting for the snow to diminish, Lewis's dog, Seaman, was stolen by Indians, but was retrieved shortly. Worried that other such acts might follow, Lewis warned the chief that any other wrongdoing or mischievous acts would result in instant death.
On July 3, before crossing the Continental Divide, the Corps split into two teams so Lewis could explore the Marias River. Lewis's group of four met some men from the Blackfeet nation. During the night, the Blackfeet tried to steal their weapons. In the struggle, the soldiers killed two Blackfeet men. Lewis, George Drouillard, and the Field brothers fled over 100 miles (160 kilometres) in a day before they camped again.
Meanwhile, Clark had entered the Crow tribe's territory. In the night, half of Clark's horses disappeared, but not a single Crow had been seen. Lewis and Clark stayed separated until they reached the Yellowstone and Missouri Rivers on August 11. As the groups reunited, one of Clark's hunters, Pierre Cruzatte, mistook Lewis for an elk and fired, injuring Lewis in the thigh.[68] Once together, the Corps was able to return home quickly via the Missouri River. They reached St. Louis on September 23, 1806.[69]
Spanish interference
In March 1804, before the expedition began in May, the Spanish in New Mexico learned from General James Wilkinson[note 2] that the Americans were encroaching on territory claimed by Spain. After the Lewis and Clark expedition set off in May, the Spanish sent four armed expeditions of 52 soldiers, mercenaries, and Indians on August 1, 1804 from Santa Fe, New Mexico northward under Pedro Vial and José Jarvet to intercept Lewis and Clark and imprison the entire expedition. They reached the Pawnee settlement on the Platte River in central Nebraska and learned that the expedition had been there many days before. The expedition was covering 70 to 80 miles (110 to 130 km) a day and Vial's attempt to intercept them was unsuccessful.[70][71]
Geography and science
Further information: List of species described by the Lewis and Clark Expedition
Map of Lewis and Clark's expedition: It changed mapping of northwest America by providing the first accurate depiction of the relationship of the sources of the Columbia and Missouri Rivers, and the Rocky Mountains around 1814
The Lewis and Clark Expedition gained an understanding of the geography of the Northwest and produced the first accurate maps of the area. During the journey, Lewis and Clark drew about 140 maps. Stephen Ambrose says the expedition "filled in the main outlines" of the area.[72]
The expedition documented natural resources and plants that had been previously unknown to Euro-Americans, though not to the indigenous peoples.[73] Lewis and Clark were the first Americans to cross the Continental Divide, and the first Americans to see Yellowstone, enter into Montana, and produce an official description of these different regions.[74][75] Their visit to the Pacific Northwest, maps, and proclamations of sovereignty with medals and flags were legal steps needed to claim title to each indigenous nation's lands under the Doctrine of Discovery.[76]
The expedition was sponsored by the American Philosophical Society (APS).[77] Lewis and Clark received some instruction in astronomy, botany, climatology, ethnology, geography, meteorology, mineralogy, ornithology, and zoology.[78] During the expedition, they made contact with over 70 Native American tribes and described more than 200 new plant and animal species.[79]
Jefferson had the expedition declare "sovereignty" and demonstrate their military strength to ensure native tribes would be subordinate to the U.S., as European colonizers did elsewhere. After the expedition, the maps that were produced allowed the further discovery and settlement of this vast territory in the years that followed.[80][81]
In 1807, Patrick Gass, a private in the U.S. Army, published an account of the journey. He was promoted to sergeant during the course of the expedition.[82] Paul Allen edited a two-volume history of the Lewis and Clark expedition that was published in 1814, in Philadelphia, but without mention of the actual author, banker Nicholas Biddle.[83] [note 3] Even then, the complete report was not made public until more recently.[84] The earliest authorized edition of the Lewis and Clark journals resides in the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library at the University of Montana.
Encounters with American Indians
One of the primary objectives of the expedition as directed by President Jefferson was to be a surveillance mission that would report back the whereabouts, military strength, lives, activities, and cultures of the various American Indian tribes that inhabited the territory newly acquired by the United States as part of the Louisiana Purchase and the northwest in general. The expedition was to make native people understand that their lands now belonged to the United States and that "their great father" in Washington was now their sovereign.[85] The expedition encountered many different native nations and tribes along the way, many of whom offered their assistance, providing the expedition with their knowledge of the wilderness and with the acquisition of food. The expedition had blank leather-bound journals and ink for the purpose of recording such encounters, as well as for scientific and geological information. They were also provided with various gifts of medals, ribbons, needles, mirrors, and other articles which were intended to ease any tensions when negotiating their passage with the various Indian chiefs whom they would encounter along their way.[86][87][88][89]
Many of the tribes had friendly experiences with British and French fur traders in various isolated encounters along the Missouri and Columbia Rivers, and for the most part the expedition did not encounter hostilities. However, there was a tense confrontation on September 25, 1804 with the Teton-Sioux tribe (also known as the Lakota people, one of the three tribes that comprise the Great Sioux Nation), under chiefs that included Black Buffalo and the Partisan. These chiefs confronted the expedition and demanded tribute from the expedition for their passage over the river.[86][87][88][89] The seven native tribes that comprised the Lakota people controlled a vast inland empire and expected gifts from strangers who wished to navigate their rivers or to pass through their lands.[90] According to Harry W. Fritz, "All earlier Missouri River travelers had warned of this powerful and aggressive tribe, determined to block free trade on the river. ... The Sioux were also expecting a retaliatory raid from the Omaha Indians, to the south. A recent Sioux raid had killed 75 Omaha men, burned 40 lodges, and taken four dozen prisoners."[91]
Captain Lewis made his first mistake by offering the Sioux chief gifts first, which insulted and angered the Partisan chief. Communication was difficult, since the expedition's only Sioux language interpreter was Pierre Dorion who had stayed behind with the other party and was also involved with diplomatic affairs with another tribe. Consequently, both chiefs were offered a few gifts, but neither was satisfied and they wanted some gifts for their warriors and tribe. At that point, some of the warriors from the Partisan tribe took hold of their boat and one of the oars. Lewis took a firm stand, ordering a display of force and presenting arms; Captain Clark brandished his sword and threatened violent reprisal. Just before the situation erupted into a violent confrontation, Black Buffalo ordered his warriors to back off.[86][87][88][89]
The captains were able to negotiate their passage without further incident with the aid of better gifts and a bottle of whiskey. During the next two days, the expedition made camp not far from Black Buffalo's tribe. Similar incidents occurred when they tried to leave, but trouble was averted with gifts of tobacco.[86][87][88][89]
Observations
As the expedition encountered the various American Indian tribes during the course of their journey, they observed and recorded information regarding their lifestyles, customs and the social codes they lived by, as directed by President Jefferson. By western standards, the Indian way of life seemed harsh and unforgiving as witnessed by members of the expedition. After many encounters and camping in close proximity to the Indian nations for extended periods of time during the winter months, they soon learned first hand of their customs and social orders.
One of the primary customs that distinguished Indian cultures from those of the West was that it was customary for the men to take on two or more wives if they were able to provide for them and often took on a wife or wives who were members of the immediate family circle. e.g. men in the Minnetaree [note 4] and Mandan tribes would often take on a sister for a wife. Chastity among women was not held in high regard. Infant daughters were often sold by the father to men who were grown, usually for horses or mules.
They learned that women in Sioux nations were often bartered away for horses or other supplies, yet this was not practiced among the Shoshone nation who held their women in higher regard.[92] They witnessed that many of the Indian nations were constantly at war with other tribes, especially the Sioux, who, while remaining generally friendly to the white fur traders, had proudly boasted of and justified the almost complete destruction of the once great Cahokia nation, along with the Missouris, Illinois, Kaskaskia, and Piorias tribes that lived about the countryside adjacent to the upper Mississippi and Missouri rivers.[93]
Sacagawea
Statue of Sacagawea, a Shoshone woman who accompanied the Lewis and Clark Expedition
Sacagawea, sometimes called Sakajawea or Sakagawea (c. 1788 – December 20, 1812), was a Shoshone Indian woman who arrived with her husband Toussaint Charbonneau on the expedition to the Pacific Ocean.
On February 11, 1805, a few weeks after her first contact with the expedition, Sacagawea went into labor which was slow and painful, so the Frenchman Charbonneau suggested she be given a potion of rattlesnake's rattle to aid in her delivery. Lewis happened to have some snake's rattle with him. A short time after administering the potion, she delivered a healthy boy who was given the name Jean Baptiste Charbonneau.[94][95]
When the expedition reached Marias River, on June 16, 1805, Sacagawea became dangerously ill. She was able to find some relief by drinking mineral water from the sulphur spring that fed into the river.[96]
Though she has been discussed in literature frequently, much of the information is exaggeration or fiction. Scholars say she did notice some geographical features, but "Sacagawea ... was not the guide for the Expedition, she was important to them as an interpreter and in other ways."[97] The sight of a woman and her infant son would have been reassuring to some indigenous nations, and she played an important role in diplomatic relations by talking to chiefs, easing tensions, and giving the impression of a peaceful mission.[98][99]
In his writings, Meriwether Lewis presented a somewhat negative view of her, though Clark had a higher regard for her, and provided some support for her children in subsequent years. In the journals, they used the terms "squar" and "savages" to refer to Sacagawea and other indigenous peoples.[100]
Accomplishments
The Corps met their objective of reaching the Pacific, mapping and establishing their presence for a legal claim to the land. They established diplomatic relations and trade with at least two dozen indigenous nations. They did not find a continuous waterway to the Pacific Ocean[101] but located an Indian trail that led from the upper end of the Missouri River to the Columbia River which ran to the Pacific Ocean.[102] They gained information about the natural habitat, flora and fauna, bringing back various plant, seed and mineral specimens. They mapped the topography of the land, designating the location of mountain ranges, rivers and the many Indian tribes during the course of their journey. They also learned and recorded much about the language and customs of the American Indian tribes they encountered, and brought back many of their artifacts, including bows, clothing and ceremonial robes.[103]
Aftermath
Painting of Mandan Chief Big White, who accompanied Lewis and Clark on their return from the expedition
Two months passed after the expedition's end before Jefferson made his first public statement to Congress and others, giving a one-sentence summary about the success of the expedition before getting into the justification for the expenses involved. In the course of their journey, they acquired a knowledge of numerous tribes of Indians hitherto unknown; they informed themselves of the trade which may be carried on with them, the best channels and positions for it, and they are enabled to give with accuracy the geography of the line they pursued. Back east, the botanical and zoological discoveries drew the intense interest of the American Philosophical Society who requested specimens, various artifacts traded with the Indians, and reports on plants and wildlife along with various seeds obtained. Jefferson used seeds from "Missouri hominy corn" along with a number of other unidentified seeds to plant at Monticello which he cultivated and studied. He later reported on the "Indian corn" he had grown as being an "excellent" food source.[104] The expedition helped establish the U.S. presence in the newly acquired territory and beyond and opened the door to further exploration, trade and scientific discoveries.[105]
Lewis and Clark returned from their expedition, bringing with them the Mandan Indian Chief Shehaka from the Upper Missouri to visit the "Great Father" at Washington City. After Chief Shehaka's visit, it required multiple attempts and multiple military expeditions to safely return Shehaka to his nation.
Legacy and honors
In the 1970s, the federal government memorialized the winter assembly encampment, Camp Dubois, as the start of the Lewis and Clark voyage of discovery and in 2019 it recognized Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania as the start of the expedition.[106]
Since the expedition, Lewis and Clark have been commemorated and honored over the years on various coins, currency, and commemorative postage stamps, as well as in a number of other capacities.
Lewis and Clark Expedition, 2004
200th Anniversary issue U.S. postage stamp commemorating the 200th anniversary of the Expedition
Lewis and Clark Expedition
150th anniversary issue, 1954
Lewis & Clark were honored (along with the American bison) on the Series of 1901 $10 Legal Tender
Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center in Cape Disappointment State Park
Lewis and Clark statue (with Seaman (dog)) in St. Charles, Missouri
Lewis & Clark Mosaic image in Missouri
Sergeant Floyd Monument in Sioux City, Iowa is the first of 2,600 National Historic Landmarks in the United States
Prior discoveries
See also: Timeline of European exploration and Exploration of North America
In 1682, René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle went down the Mississippi from the Great Lakes to the Gulf. The French then established a chain of posts along the Mississippi from New Orleans to the Great Lakes. There followed a number of French explorers including Pedro Vial and Pierre Antoine and Paul Mallet, among others. Vial may have preceded Lewis and Clark to Montana. In 1787, he gave a map of the upper Missouri River and locations of "territories transited by Pedro Vial" to Spanish authorities.[107]
Early in 1792, the American explorer Robert Gray, sailing in the Columbia Rediviva, discovered the yet to be named Columbia River, named it after his ship and claimed it for the United States. Later in 1792, the Vancouver Expedition had learned of Gray's discovery and used his maps. Vancouver's expedition explored over 100 miles (160 km) up the Columbia, into the Columbia River Gorge. Lewis and Clark used the maps produced by these expeditions when they descended the lower Columbia to the Pacific coast.[108][109]
From 1792 to 1793, Alexander Mackenzie had crossed North America from Quebec to the Pacific.[110]