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!