Lewis & Clark in the Pierre and Fort Pierre Area

Schuler, Harold

From the Introduction: "The United States Congress approved the $15 million purchase of the Louisiana Territory from France, in 1803. This vast expanse bordered the 2,963 miles long Missouri River between its mouth near St. Louis, Missouri and its source near Three Forks, Montana. President Thomas Jefferson asked United States Army Captains, thirty year old Meriwether Lewis and thirty-four year old William Clark, to form an expedition and explore the Missouri River and find a direct water route to the Pacific Ocean. He also directed the two explorers to meet and make friends with the different Indian Tribes along the way, especially the Teton Sioux, but not to take any unnecessary risks. The captains were also asked to keep journals showing information about the various Indian Tribes, latitude and longitude of remarkable points, types of soils and minerals, different kinds of wildlife, and details of the journey. The exploring party consisted of twenty-six members of the United States Army: two captains, three sergeants, and twenty-one privates. Other crew members were three hunters and interpreters, one laborer, thirteen French boatmen, and Captain Clark's servant, a total of forty-four men.... Lewis and Clark began their journey up the Missouri River at its mouth near St. Louis on May 14, 1804. More than three months later on August 21, 1804, they arrived at the mouth of the Big Sioux River in what is now South Dakota. A month after that, on September 22, 1804, they camped on the north side of the Missouri River at the mouth of Chapelle Creek. (The creek is located twenty-two miles east of Pierre, SD, intersecting Highway 34, just east of the DeGrey Lakeside Use Area)." Project funding was provided in part by a Historic Preservation Fund grant to the South Dakota State Historic Preservation Office, South Dakota State Historical Society, administered by the State, Tribal, Local Plans and Grants division, National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior (grant number P19AF00014).

Lewis & Clark in the Pierre and Fort Pierre Area

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