Introduction

The year was 1803. Thomas Jefferson, the third President of the United States, had just purchased the territory between the Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains, known as The Louisiana Purchase Territory, from France. This land has not been explored by anyone other than Native Americans. The President wanted to know more about this land and whether there was a water route to the Pacific Ocean.

Thomas Jefferson hired Meriwether Lewis and William Clark to explore this newly purchased land west of the Mississippi River. In May of 1804, they officially started their journey in St. Charles, Missouri. They had 33 men join them on this expedition. Lewis and Clark were to report back President Jefferson regarding their observations along the way. They were also asked to create maps of rivers and mountains along their path.