Timeline of the Lewis and Clark Expedition

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This is the timeline of the Lewis and Clark Expedition through the American West (1803-1806).

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1 1803
2 1804
3 1805
4 1806
5 External links

[edit] 1803

Meriwether Lewis and William Clark meeting at the falls of the Ohio River; statue at the Falls of the Ohio State Park in Clarksville, Indiana (across from Louisville)

July 4 — News of the Louisiana Purchase is announced; Lewis will now be exploring land largely owned by the United States.
August 31 — Lewis leaves Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
October 13 — Clark joins the expedition at Clarksville, Indiana (across the Ohio River from Louisville, Kentucky).
December 13 — The Corps of Discovery establishes Camp Dubois near St. Louis, Missouri, on the east (Illinois) bank of the Mississippi River.

[edit] 1804

May 14 — The Corps of Discovery departs from Camp Dubois at 4 P.M., marking the beginning of the voyage to the Pacific coast.
May 16 — The Corps of Discovery arrives at St. Charles, Missouri.
May 21 — Departure from St. Charles.
May 23 — Meriwether Lewis nearly loses his life while on a pinnacle of rocks. He found a flower that he had never seen before. He lost his balance and tumbled down a cliff, only stopping himself with his hunting knife.
May 25 — The expedition passes the small village of La Charette on the Missouri River. Charles Floyd writes in his journal that this is "the last settlement of whites on this river."
June 26 — The expedition arrives at Kaw Point where the Kansas River drains into the Missouri River basin.
July 4 — Marking Independence Day, the expedition names Independence Creek located near Atchison.
August 3 — The Corps of Discovery hold the first official council between representatives of the United States and the Oto and Missouri Indians at Council Bluff. They hand out peace medals, 15-star flags and other gifts, parade men and show off technology.
August 20 — Sergeant Floyd dies. He is the only member lost during the expedition.
August 30 — A friendly council with the Yankton Sioux held. According to a legend, Lewis wraps a newborn baby in a United States flag and declares him "an American."
September 7 — The expedition drives a prairie dog out of its den (by pouring water into it) to send back to Jefferson.
September 25 — A band of Lakota Sioux demand one of the boats as a toll for moving further upriver.
October 24 — Expedition reaches the earth-log villages of the Mandans and the Hidatsas. The captains decide to build Fort Mandan across the river from the main village.
November 4 — The captains hire Toussaint Charbonneau, a French-Canadian fur trapper living among the Hidatsas with his Shoshone wife, Sacagawea.
December 24 — Fort Mandan is considered complete. Expedition moves in for the winter.

[edit] 1805

February 11 — Sacagawea gives birth to Jean Baptiste Charbonneau, the youngest member of the expedition. Jean Baptiste is nicknamed "Pomp" by Clark.
April 7 — The permanent party of the Corps of Discovery leaves Fort Mandan. The keelboat is sent downriver.
May 14 — A sudden storm tips a pirogue (boat) and many items, such as supplies and the Corps' journals, spill over into the river. Sacagawea calmly recovers most of the items; Clark later credits her with quick thinking.
June 3 — The mouth of the Marias River is reached. Unable to immediately determine which river is the Missouri, a scouting party is sent to explore each branch.
June 13 — Scouting ahead of the expedition, Lewis and four companions sight the Great Falls of the Missouri River, confirming that they were heading in the right direction.
June 21 to July 2 — A portage of boats and equipment is made around the falls.
July 12 — After new canoes are made and Lewis' collapsible iron boat is built, the Corps leaves the upper portage camp.
August 13 to August 17 — A council meets with the Shoshone, during which Sacagawea learns the fate of her family and reveals that tribal leader Cameahwait is her brother. Lewis and Clark successfully negotiate for horses for passage over the Rocky Mountains.
November 7 — Encounter of the Pacific Ocean at the mouth of the Columbia River.
November 24 — The Corps takes the matter of where to spend the winter to a vote. York, a slave, and Sacagawea, a woman, were allowed to vote. It was decided to camp on the south side of the Columbia River.
December 25 — Fort Clatsop, the Corps' winter residence, is completed.

[edit] 1806

January 1 — Several Corps members build a salt-making cairn near present-day Seaside, Oregon.
March 23 — Corps of Discovery leaves Fort Clatsop for the return voyage east.
July 27 — The Blackfeet Indians try to steal Lewis's group's rifles. A fight broke out and several Indians were killed. This is the only hostile encounter with an Indian tribe.
September 23 — Corps of Discovery returns to St. Louis, Missouri, ending the journey east.