Introduction
"Spectacular achievement is always preceded by spectacular preparation." - Robert H. Schuller
Most Americans know the basic story of Lewis and Clark, and their spectacular overland journey across what is now the northwestern United States. We learned in our American history classes that for more than two years, from May 1804 to September 1806, these two men, commissioned by President Thomas Jefferson, undertook one of the great adventures of mankind.
The men explored a wilderness between the Mississippi River and the Pacific Ocean that, in total miles, covered a distance equal to one-third the circumference of the Earth. And while they failed in their original quest to find the fabled Northwest Passage - a direct water route across the continent - their expedition was a huge success in many other ways. It will forever live in history as an epic journey that helped define a new nation while setting a standard for exploration that continues to this day.
Along the journey, Commanders Meriwether Lewis and William Clark met up with many friendly and some not-so-friendly Indian tribes. They braved their way through seemingly unbearable winters and overcame nearly impossible odds to cross the unforgiving Rocky Mountains. Through all this, they chronicled their expedition in journals that offer a breathtaking look at a natural world never before seen by the white man. The journals include wonderful stories of their meetings with Indians as well as detailed descriptions of hundreds of plants and animals never before documented for science, such as prairie dogs, coyotes and the grizzly bear. Additionally, Clark became a skilled mapmaker during the trek, providing geographical information that is still useful today.
But the trip wasn't simply Lewis and Clark by themselves. The Corps of Discovery, as they were known, included a 33-member crew of tough frontiersmen who came from various states throughout the union, and they endured the same struggles as their able commanders. The team also recruited as interpreters the Frenchman Toussaint Charbonneau and his Shoshone wife, Sacagawea. A courageous and intelligent young woman, Sacagawea lent invaluable support on the journey and lives on in history as one of this country's great women. "The Indian woman ... has been of great service to me as a pilot through this country," wrote Clark in one of the hundreds of pages of journal entries the group produced. The expedition even included a black slave named York. He, too, played a vital role in the journey's success.
These, and other details of the journey have been taught and retaught for nearly 200 years in classrooms throughout the nation. But sometimes overlooked in the history books is the period of time Lewis spent during the months prior to the journey. While the journey officially began near St. Louis and headed west to the Pacific Ocean, Lewis spent the summer before in eastern states, where he received instruction from scientists that would prepare him for this massive undertaking. The preparations Lewis made and instructions he received in the Pennsylvania cities of Pittsburgh, Fredricksburgh, Lancaster and Philadelphia primed the journey for the greatness it would realize. Some say, in fact, that if it weren't for his time in Pennsylvania, the journey never would have succeeded.