1. Lewis and Clark

2. Meriwether Lewis was born on August 18, 1774 near Charlottesville, Virginia

3. Lewis became a soldier at an early age and fought in the Whiskey Rebellion of 1794.

4. Lewis and Clark spent over two years exploring the new frontier, mapping the terrain, and learning about and trading with various Indian tribes.

5. Lewis was considered an outstanding leader, and was highly respected by the members of the Corps of Discovery.

6. His journal, which recorded much (not all) of the events of the expedition, is one of the most important documents in American history.

7. William Clark was born on August 1, 1770 on his family’s Virginia plantation. At age 14, Clark moved from Virginia to Louisville, Kentucky.

8. 5 years later in 1789, Clark joined the militia to help fight the Native Americans in the Ohio Valley.

9. After becoming an officer in the U.S. Army, Clark retired from service and went back to Virginia to manage his family’s estate.

10. Clark agreed and was made responsible for the expedition’s records and map making. For their mission not only to explore the new land, but establish friendly relations with Indians and to discover new animals and plants, but to find the elusive Northwest Passage.

11. As Lewis and Clark made their way west, they were the first to confirm that there was no direct water passage across the continent (Northwest Passage).