At precisely 11 a.m. on August 31, 1803, Meriwether Lewis stepped aboard a specially crafted keelboat and pushed off from the banks of the Ohio River in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. With that quiet but momentous launch, the Corps of Discovery began its epic journey westward-an expedition that would reshape the young United States’ understanding of its vast, untamed interior.
The Mission Behind the Journey
Commissioned by President Thomas Jefferson shortly after the Louisiana Purchase, the Lewis and Clark Expedition was tasked with:…