4/16/2020 The Age of Jefferson | Discovery Education Explore The Journey West How did Americans learn about the Louisiana Territory? Lewis and Clark began preparing for their journey even before the Louisiana Purchase was announced to the public. In the summer of 1803, Lewis had a boat built in Pittsburgh and began traveling down the Ohio River. He picked up Clark along the way. In the fall, they built a base of command at Camp Wood. This was just a few miles from where the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers meet. Both men gathered the supplies they would need for the expedition. They put together a team known as the Corps of Discovery. On May 14, 1804, they began their journey up the Missouri River. By fall of 1804, the Corps had reached the Great Plains. They caught a prairie dog to return to Jefferson, who had never seen one before. They met several Native American groups. These groups included the Yankton Sioux, Teton Sioux, Mandan, and Hidatsa. The first meetings with the Sioux were tense but friendly. At first, the Teton Sioux demanded a boat from the Corps as the price to travel through their lands, but the two groups made peace, and the expedition stayed with the Teton Sioux for three days. In November 1804, the Corps built Fort Mandan on the Missouri River in what is now central North Dakota. They were going to stay there for the winter. At the fort, they met a French-Canadian fur trader named https://google.discoveryeducation.com/learn/techbook/units/9fb46765-cab2-4481-b02f-04fc039adde6/concepts/6a93ab57-4bc5-4076-84b5-f1fee4fecaf… 1/4 4/16/2020 The Age of Jefferson | Discovery Education Toussaint Charbonneau. They also met his Shoshone wife, Sacagawea. Sacagawea had been captured by the Hidatsa and later sold to Charbonneau. Sacagawea said her people lived at the source of the Missouri River. Lewis and Clark hired Charbonneau as an interpreter. Charbonneau’s knowledge of local Native American languages would come in handy on their trip up the river. Because Charbonneau spoke little Shoshone, they agreed to bring Sacagawea along as well. Over the winter, Sacagawea gave birth to her son Jean-Baptiste. He was brought along on the expedition in the spring. Sacagawea was very helpful. She collected plants to eat. She made clothes. Having her and her child with the group of men was a signal to many of the local Native American groups that the group was peaceful. In the early spring of 1805, Sacagawea led the men up the Missouri River. The expedition found many plants and animals never seen before by Europeans in North America. The men saw grizzly bears, bull snakes, and unknown birds. Lewis and Clark kept samples and detailed notes and drawings in their journals. Following Jefferson’s orders, Lewis and Clark sent a boat with samples of animals and plants, maps, and journals back to St. Louis. The Corps arrived in the Shoshone camp in western Montana in August 1805. Sacagawea saw her family for the first time since her capture. Lewis and Clark called the camp “Camp Fortunate.” The Corps stayed there for about two weeks. By late October, the group reached the Columbia River. Clark thought he saw the Pacific Ocean, but they were still more than 20 miles and a month away. By late November, the https://google.discoveryeducation.com/learn/techbook/units/9fb46765-cab2-4481-b02f-04fc039adde6/concepts/6a93ab57-4bc5-4076-84b5-f1fee4fecaf… 2/4 4/16/2020 The Age of Jefferson | Discovery Education group finally stood on the shore of the Pacific. They made a winter camp at Fort Clatsop in northern Oregon. It would be their second winter away from their families and friends back east. VIDEO SEGMENT The Lewis and Clark Expedition Over the course of two years a team of explorers crossed the Rocky and Cascade mountains to reach the Pacific Ocean. IMAGE Guide through the Mountain Sacagawea helped Lewis and Clark communicate with Native Americans across the Northwest. IMAGE Lewis and Clark Trail Lewis and Clark’s journey from St. Louis to the Pacific and back lasted more than 28 months—from May 1804 to September 1806. Copyright © 2020 Discovery Education. All rights reserved. Discovery Education, Inc. https://google.discoveryeducation.com/learn/techbook/units/9fb46765-cab2-4481-b02f-04fc039adde6/concepts/6a93ab57-4bc5-4076-84b5-f1fee4fecaf… 3/4.