Undaunted Courage: The Story of Meriwether Lewis and the Exploration of the Western United States

  Anyone with a minute knowledge of our history has heard of Lewis, and most only know it as Lewis and Clark. In 1803 little was known  about our country west of the Mississippi but that was soon to change. Thomas Jefferson, our nation's third president, was a good friend of Lewis and in fact, Lewis became his personal secretary while Jefferson was in the White House. Spain had been the worlds super power for some time, but its' empire was crumbling. New Orleans had been in Spanish hands since early exploration of the western hemisphere and relations between Spain and the U.S. had allowed for good trade relations in this critical port. New Orleans was the outlet for all trade on the Mississippi and was shifted to French hands in the late 1790's. France, upset with the U.S. over our neutrality threatened to shut the port down to American commerce. Jefferson sent James Madison and Robert R. Livingston to France to acquire New Orleans. Napoleon, France's war mongering leader was once again at war with Britain in much need of money. So in the deal of the century France sold the U.S. not only the rights to New Orleans but the whole Louisiana Territory for what amounted to 42 cents an acre. Livingston had been given authority to spend $10 million for just New Orleans and was more than happy to accept it along with the Louisiana Territory for $5 million more. On April 30, 1803, the U.S. land mass more than doubled and so came the need for a party to map and investigate the new territory.
    Lewis was born in Virginia on August 18, 1774 and died in Tennessee on October 11, 1809. Such a short life for one of America's greatest pioneers. His youth, mostly in Georgia, was spent outdoors becoming an expert woodsmen. His schooling was conducted at Liberty Hall, where he was given a education only few could afford. In 1793 after graduating, he enlisted in the Virginia Militia and helped put down The Whiskey Rebellion. During his time in the militia he came to be  under the command of William Clark for a short period of time. The two took an instant liking to one another and remained in contact throughout the years. The year was 1801, and  Lewis had become Jefferson's aide and because of this he was able to continue his education. This period of our history in known as The Enlightenment and Lewis was constantly in the presence of all the top minds in every field while being Jefferson's aide. Jefferson had wanted to find an all water route or the North West Passage, and with the acquirement of the Louisiana Territory it was  to become his main goal while still in office. In 1803, Jefferson put Lewis in charge of the Corps of Discovery, their first expedition was to map the new territory. Lewis immediately picked William Clark to be his Co Captain on the expedition. From January 1803 to May 1804 Lewis was tutored by all the leading minds in Philadelphia, acquired everything he would need for his journey, and choose most of the men for the expedition. Lewis had asked Clark to pick some men for their journey, this shows how much faith Lewis had in his Co Captain. Jefferson gave Lewis  what amounted to a blank check from the U.S. government to get what he needed for the expedition. After his crash course in Philadelphia, Lewis headed to St. Louis, where he would depart up the Missouri River into the unknown.
     On May 22, 1804, at 6:00 A.M., The Corps of Discovery turned their keel boat into the current of the Missouri and prepared to write history. The first leg of the journey consisted of meetings with  Indian tribes to let them know of their new father, Thomas Jefferson and try to broker peace among warring tribes. They made their way through the Otto, Arikara, Mandan, Hidatsas, and Sioux Territories other tribes were out hunting but the expedition could not afford to wait to meet with them. The expedition made camp at Fort Mandan, for the winter of 1804-1805. The fort was located on the banks of the Missouri in Washburn, North Dakota and a replica stands there today.
     The next leg of the journey took them up the Marias River, over the continental divide, and then the most arduous part of the journey, over the Bitterroot Mountains. After getting over the Bitterroots they descended the Columbia River and made winter camp at Fort Clatsop. The fort was located near the mouth of the Columbia, along  a river bearing the name Lewis and Clark, at the north end of the Clatsop plains,  in Oregon Country. Today a replica stands five miles south west of Astoria, Oregon. This location was the winter camp from 1805-06 and was thought by all to be a horrible place. The weather was terrible, they had little meat, and the Indians in the area were not hospitable to them.
    On March 23, 1806, the Corps of Discovery left Fort Clatsop and began the journey back to civilization. During their return trip over the hated Bitterroots, the Nez Perce Indians played a big part in their success. The Nez Perce were so helpful, that Lewis almost wrote about them with respect. His view of the Indians was that of most Americans at the time, they were thought to be savages not much better than slaves. During their return the party was split up into three parts, to better explore parts of the new territory. This was a very brave move by Lewis and could have lead to disaster. They all explored on their separate journeys and meet where  the Yellowstone and Missouri rivers joined, next to the winter camp at Mandan. Soon the party was back into somewhat civilized territory and pulled into St.Louis on September 22, 1806 to much fanfare.
     The story is not over here but would insist that you read the book to find out the rest. I couldn't possibly do this book justice by only writing a couple paragraphs and hope they have peaked your interest enough for you to go out and get a copy or download, borrow from your library, whatever you must do to read this book. I have been a history buff for many years and I haven't read many books to which the knowledge gained was so vast as this. General Meriwether Lewis lived an extraordinary life and the pages of this book capture it with stunning detail. If you would like to increase your understanding of our U.S. history, this book is one that cannot be passed up. So if adventure is what you seek, grab Undaunted Courage, written by Stephen E. Ambrose and prepare for a story of adventure, political feuds, and glimpse into early 1800's United States pioneers at their best!

Patricia Cornwell

    Patricia Cornwell is one of my favorite authors and her character, Kay Scarpetta never disappoints.Although this latest installment had me thinking Scarpetta may be on her last leg. The endings of the initial Scarpetta novels were surprising and unexpected but now they are somewhat obvious. Scarpetta's cast of  characters have become mere shells of themselves, in order to create the plots. Scarpetta has been the antagonist for 19 novels and has received  many awards, including the Gold Dagger, Edgar Award, and  the Sherlock Award for her creation of Kay Scarpetta. 

    Patricia Cornwell was born in 1956, in Miami, Florida and was a descendant of Harriet Beecher Stowe. Her father, Sam Daniels was an appellate lawyer and a law clerk for the Supreme Court. Cornwell said the emotional abuse from her father motivated her to succeeded in life. Daniels walked out on the family Christmas day 1961 and was close to his deathbed. After her fathers death the family packed up and moved to Montreat, North Carolina, where her mother was hospitalized for depression. She attended King college, in Tennessee  and the transferred to Davidson and graduated with B.A. in English

  In 1979 she became a reporter for The Charlotte Observer and was drawn to covering crime scene beat. In 1983 she published a biography of Ruth Graham Bell a close family friend. The following year she began working for the Chief Medical Examiner of Virginia. She was technical writer and then a computer annalist, while also volunteering for the Richmond Police Department. She worked at the medical examiners office for six years and wrote three novels, each rejected before publication. Postmortem, the first Scarpetta novel was published in 1990, which then won 4 prestigious literary awards, and she remains the only author to do so.

  Although she is  noted mostly for her  Scarpetta novels, her other characters, Andy Brazil and Judy Hammer are a crime fighting duo from Charlotte. Brazil started the series as a newspaper reporter and eventually became a police officer. Hammer resembles Scarpetta in the facts they are both strong women in a male dominated career field. One of my other favorite characters in Win Garano, who is a Massachusetts State Police Trooper, he also shares the spotlight with  district attorney and is a carbon copy of all her strong female characters. Another similarity between author and Scarpetta is the love of cooking. Cornwell is the author of two cookbooks both bearing Scapetta's name.Cornwell wrote Portrait of a Killer, a Jack the Ripper book, caused some to think she was obsessed with the still unknown killer. Cornwell believes that Walter Sickert , a painter was the mass murder who terrorized London's Whitechaple district in the late 1800's. She also wrote  two autobiographies about family friend Ruth Graham Bell. Finally a children's book published in 1999 rounds out her literary portfolio.

 I wish Cornwell would put some more Win Garano novels on the bookshelves. I enjoyed those stories as much as Scarpetta and they take place in Massachusetts. I would not be shocked to hear that Red Mist, her last novel will be the end of the famous Kay Scarpetta. I could get lucky and by some chance Cornwell reads my blog and gives me my wish.