The Main Characters

 Who were Lewis and Clark?  Why were they chosen for this important journey for the United States?

Meriwether Lewis, a Virginian neighbor to Thomas Jefferson, shared the President's interest in science and exploration.  He was an experienced woodsman and solider. Lewis became Jefferson's private secretary in 1801 and helped plan the western exploration.   Congress authorized the expedition in 1803 and Lewis was appointed its leader.  He went to Philadelphia for a crash course in science and medicine.  After the expedition was over, he was appointed the first governor of the Louisiana Territory.

William Clark, younger brother of George Rogers Clark, was a Virginian born Kentuckian, and an even better woodsman that Lewis.  He was outgoing (Lewis was intellectual and somewhat withdrawn), and a born diplomat, map maker, and artist.  The Indians called him the "red-headed Chief".  He was later appointed superintendent of Indian affairs in the Louisiana Territory. 

Another valuable member of the expedition was Clark's black slave, York, who not only shared in camp chores but helped with western Indians who had never seen a black man before.  York, tall and powerful, entertained the Indians with feats of strength and agility.  Clark freed York after the expedition.  York died of cholera in Tennessee.

Now that we have met the main characters...let's be off!
_____________________________
On this Day in Pioneer History: On December 7, 1805,  Meriwether Lewis and William Clark cross to the south shore of the Columbia River (near modern-day Portland) and begin building the small fort that would be their winter home.