12 Far-Flung Facts About the Lewis and Clark Expedition
In summertime 1804,Meriwether LewisandWilliam Clarkleft St. Louis and embarked on an 8000 - mile journeying across North America . PresidentThomas Jeffersonhad instructed their Corps of Discovery to explore role of the continent west of the Mississippi River , which the United States had recently purchased from France , and find a navigable river path to the Pacific Ocean . They did n’t determine it — but they did rejoin with journals full of observations , new maps of antecedently uncharted lands , information about Native hoi polloi ’ communities and customs , and the grounds to support the country ’s westward enlargement ....