This Day in History: Lewis and Clark Depart May 14, 1804 Meriwether Lewis and William Clark were commissioned by U.S. President Thomas Jefferson to lead an expedition of about 45 men to explore the land purchased from France as part of the Louisiana Purchase.
Nearly doubling the area of the United States, the land was largely unexplored by Europeans.
Beginning in St.
Louis, MO, the expedition would last almost two-and-a-half years.
The expedition was eventually accompanied by a French Canadian fur trader and his Native American wife, Sacagawea.
After facing numerous dangers, the group arrived at the Pacific Ocean by way of the Columbia River on November 8, 1805.
