Leaders of
The Corps of Discovery

America's third President Thomas Jefferson was a Renaissance man with an unrelenting obsession for knowledge. As minister to France he developed a keen interest in Paleontology and studied fossils, some from a famous site along the Ohio River called Big Bone Lick. Among Jefferson's notable achievements were the purchase of the Louisiana Territory in 1803 and his support of the Lewis and Clark expedition. There is no doubt that President Jefferson stretched his power to the breaking point in order to buy the Louisiana Territory: $15 million dollars was a lot of money back then, but that sale included over 600 million acres at about 3 cents an acre. It ended the threat of war with France and opened the land west for settlement. In 1802 Jefferson made preparations for an expedition west. The next year Congress appropriated $2,500 to fund a small expeditionary group, whose mission was to explore the uncharted West. The group came to be called the Corps of Discovery. When they returned in 1807 after much debate congress agreed to pay the men over $25,000 in compensation, in cash and land grants.

Captain Meriwether Lewis was a Virginian who served as Thomas Jefferson's personal secretary. He was serious and well educated, but also reserved and may have even suffered from depression. Lewis was 29 years old in 1803 when President Jefferson asked him to lead the expedition west. Lewis was accompanied on the journey by his Newfoundland dog Seaman. After returning, Lewis was appointed Governor of the Louisiana Territory. When clerks in Washington protested some of his drafts regarding the expedition, this created a great deal of emotional stress. Lewis decided to go to Washington to explain his journals. While on route in 1809, he met a tragic end, apparently committing suicide before clarifying his journals.

William Clark was born near Charlottesville Virginia and was the brother of famed General George Rogers Clark. Although commissioned as second lieutenant for expedition, Clark signed on as co-leader and received the pay and recognition of a captain. After the westward expedition returned, Clark revisited Big Bone Lick in 1807 to collect specimens for scientific research for President Jefferson. After Captain Lewis's death Clark was appointed the Governor of Missouri.