Meriwether Lewis - Revision history

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Colest at 13:52, June 7, 2007

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[[Image:lewis.jpg|thumb]]
'''Meriwether Lewis''' (1774-1809) was born on a plantation near Charlottesville, [[Virginia]]. He was the leader of the [[Lewis and Clark]] expedition.

==Early Life==
As a child, he developed a love of hunting and exploring, because he was raised in the wilderness. While he was a young man, Lewis fought against the Whiskey Rebellion in 1794. He became an officer in the army and battled against [[Native American]]s in the [[Northwest Territory]]. Lewis soon learned a lot about Native Americans and their languages. In 1801, President [[Thomas Jefferson]] recruited Lewis to be his private secretary. When Jefferson had proposed such an expedition in 1792, Lewis had been among the first volunteers, although his youth and inexperience disqualified him at the time. When he became experienced in frontier, Lewis made a perfect candidate in Jefferson's eyes, and the President soon set out a course of study that would equip him with the scientific skills needed for his journey.

==The Expedition==
[[Image:keelboat.jpg|right|thumb|Keelboat viewed from rear starboard. Image from [http://www.army.mil/cmh-pg/LC/The%20Mission/KeelboatPhotos/keelboat_photos.htm U.S. Army]]]
Lewis selected [[William Clark]], a fellow Virginian with whom he had served on the frontier in 1795, to serve a co-leader. They set out by keelboat (see right) in 1803 to Wood River, Illinois, at the confluence of the Missouri and Mississippi rivers. The next spring, they began their journey up the [[Missouri River]] and by October had reached the Mandan villages in present-day North Dakota, where they decided to stay for the winter. Relying completely upon the goodwill of Indian peoples for their success, Lewis and Clark received food, military protection, and valuable information about the path ahead. Their most valuable help came in the form of Touissant Charbonneau, a French Canadian whom they hired as an interpreter, and his Shoshone wife [[Sacagawea]], who provided help as a guide and interpreter. Sacagawea's very presence helped insure good relations with Indian people. In April of 1805 all thirty-three members of the expedition left the Mandan village and started up the Missouri again. A band of Shoshone led by Sacagawea's brother provided invaluable assistance, primarily horses, as the expedition began to ascend the Rocky Mountains. After crossing the Bitterroot Mountains, they arrived cold, wet, hungry and exhausted, the [[Nez Percé]] village were they were taken in. In November, they traveled down the Columbia River basin and reached the Pacific Ocean in November. They stayed the winter on the Pacific Coast and returned to the United States in 1806.

{{DEFAULTSORT: Lewis, Meriwether}}
[[Category:Explorers]]

Aschlafly at 03:06, June 4, 2007

2007-06-04T03:06:31Z

Aschlafly: added image of keelboat

2007-06-04T03:05:02Z

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 Thanks in part to his personal connections as a member of the Virginia planter class, but also because of his skill and integrity as an officer, Lewis was steadily promoted through the army officer corps. In March 1799, he received the rank of lieutenant and shortly thereafter became regimental paymaster; in December 1800, he was promoted again, to captain. It has been noted that, given Lewis' pronounced sympathy for the [[Democratic-Republican]] party, his advancement at a time when President [[John Adams]] was trying to pack the army with [[Federalist]] officers was itself a testament to his abilities.<ref>Ambrose, ''Undaunted Courage'', p. 43, 49-50.</ref>
-In 1801, President [[Thomas Jefferson]] recruited Lewis to be his private secretary. When Jefferson had proposed such an expedition in 1792, Lewis had been among the first volunteers, although his youth and inexperience disqualified him at the time. When he became experienced in frontier, Lewis made a perfect candidate in Jefferson's eyes, and the President soon set out a course of study that would equip him with the scientific skills needed for his journey.
+==Presidential Secretary==
 ==The Expedition==

@@ Line 8: / Line 8: @@
 ==Army Career==
-In response to the outbreak of the [[Whiskey Rebellion]] in 1794, Lewis enlisted in a Virginia militia unit raised to defeat the uprising. He joined, in his own words, "to support the glorious cause of Liberty, and my Country," seeing the rebellion as a threat to break up the new nation; he may also have become bored with the life of a Virginia planter and been eager for adventure.<ref>Meriwether Lewis to Lucy Marks, October 13, 1794, Lewis Papers.</ref> He became an officer in the army and battled against [[Native American]]s in the [[Northwest Territory]]. Lewis soon learned a lot about Native Americans and their languages. In 1801, President [[Thomas Jefferson]] recruited Lewis to be his private secretary. When Jefferson had proposed such an expedition in 1792, Lewis had been among the first volunteers, although his youth and inexperience disqualified him at the time. When he became experienced in frontier, Lewis made a perfect candidate in Jefferson's eyes, and the President soon set out a course of study that would equip him with the scientific skills needed for his journey.
+In response to the outbreak of the [[Whiskey Rebellion]] in 1794, Lewis enlisted in a Virginia militia unit raised to defeat the uprising. He joined, in his own words, "to support the glorious cause of Liberty, and my Country," seeing the rebellion as a threat to break up the new nation; he may also have become bored with the life of a Virginia planter and been eager for adventure.<ref>Meriwether Lewis to Lucy Marks, October 13, 1794, Lewis Papers.</ref> That autumn, he was given a commission as an ensign (junior officer) in the militia, spending the winter on patrol in western [[Pennsylvania]] after the defeat of the rebellion, and in May 1795 entered the regular army at the same rank.
 ==The Expedition==

@@ Line 8: / Line 8: @@
 ==Army Career==
-While he was a young man, Lewis fought against the Whiskey Rebellion in 1794. He became an officer in the army and battled against [[Native American]]s in the [[Northwest Territory]]. Lewis soon learned a lot about Native Americans and their languages. In 1801, President [[Thomas Jefferson]] recruited Lewis to be his private secretary. When Jefferson had proposed such an expedition in 1792, Lewis had been among the first volunteers, although his youth and inexperience disqualified him at the time. When he became experienced in frontier, Lewis made a perfect candidate in Jefferson's eyes, and the President soon set out a course of study that would equip him with the scientific skills needed for his journey.
+In response to the outbreak of the [[Whiskey Rebellion]] in 1794, Lewis enlisted in a Virginia militia unit raised to defeat the uprising. He joined, in his own words, "to support the glorious cause of Liberty, and my Country," seeing the rebellion as a threat to break up the new nation; he may also have become bored with the life of a Virginia planter and been eager for adventure.<ref>Meriwether Lewis to Lucy Marks, October 13, 1794, Lewis Papers.</ref> He became an officer in the army and battled against [[Native American]]s in the [[Northwest Territory]]. Lewis soon learned a lot about Native Americans and their languages. In 1801, President [[Thomas Jefferson]] recruited Lewis to be his private secretary. When Jefferson had proposed such an expedition in 1792, Lewis had been among the first volunteers, although his youth and inexperience disqualified him at the time. When he became experienced in frontier, Lewis made a perfect candidate in Jefferson's eyes, and the President soon set out a course of study that would equip him with the scientific skills needed for his journey.
 ==The Expedition==

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 [[Image:lewis.jpg|thumb]]
-'''Meriwether Lewis''' (1774-1809) was born on a plantation near Charlottesville, [[Virginia]]. He was the leader of the [[Lewis and Clark]] expedition.
+'''Meriwether Lewis''' (1774-1809) was an American explorer who became famous as the co-leader of the [[Lewis and Clark]] expedition of 1804-06, which explored the territory of the [[Louisiana Purchase]] after the [[United States of America|United States]] acquired it from [[France]] in 1803, as well as the Pacific Northwest. It is generally reckoned as one of the most successful and significant expeditions of its kind in modern history, and Lewis has been almost universally praised for his leadership of the operation. After the expedition's return, he served as governor of the territory of Upper Louisiana before dying under mysterious circumstances in 1809.
-==Early life==
+==Early Life==
-As a child, he developed a love of hunting and exploring, because he was raised in the wilderness. While he was a young man, Lewis fought against the Whiskey Rebellion in 1794. He became an officer in the army and battled against [[Native American]]s in the [[Northwest Territory]]. Lewis soon learned a lot about Native Americans and their languages. In 1801, President [[Thomas Jefferson]] recruited Lewis to be his private secretary. When Jefferson had proposed such an expedition in 1792, Lewis had been among the first volunteers, although his youth and inexperience disqualified him at the time. When he became experienced in frontier, Lewis made a perfect candidate in Jefferson's eyes, and the President soon set out a course of study that would equip him with the scientific skills needed for his journey.
+Meriwether Lewis was born on August 18, 1774, at Locust Hill Plantation in Albemarle County, [[Virginia]], just west of modern-day Charlottesville. Of Welsh descent, his parents were William and Lucy (Meriwether) Lewis, cousins and respected members of the Virginia landowning gentry ([[Thomas Jefferson]] being one of several friends of the family). William Lewis joined the Continental Army following the outbreak of the [[American Revolutionary War]] and served as an officer until his death in November 1779 from pneumonia; the following year, Meriwether's mother Lucy remarried, to Captain John Marks, also of Virginia. Around 1783, the family moved south to the Goosepond Community along the Broad River in what is now Oglethorpe County, [[Georgia]].
 ==The Expedition==
@@ Line 9: / Line 14: @@
 Lewis selected [[William Clark]], a fellow Virginian with whom he had served on the frontier in 1795, to serve a co-leader. They set out by keelboat (see right) in 1803 to Wood River, Illinois, at the confluence of the Missouri and Mississippi rivers. The next spring, they began their journey up the [[Missouri River]] and by October had reached the Mandan villages in present-day North Dakota, where they decided to stay for the winter. Relying completely upon the goodwill of Indian peoples for their success, Lewis and Clark received food, military protection, and valuable information about the path ahead. Their most valuable help came in the form of Touissant Charbonneau, a French Canadian whom they hired as an interpreter, and his Shoshone wife [[Sacagawea]], who provided help as a guide and interpreter. Sacagawea's very presence helped insure good relations with Indian people. In April 1805 all thirty-three members of the expedition left the Mandan village and started up the Missouri again. A band of Shoshone led by Sacagawea's brother provided invaluable assistance, primarily horses, as the expedition began to ascend the Rocky Mountains. After crossing the Bitterroot Mountains, they arrived cold, wet, hungry and exhausted, the [[Nez Percé]] village were they were taken in. In November, they traveled down the Columbia River basin and reached the Pacific Ocean in November. They stayed the winter on the Pacific Coast and returned to the United States in 1806.
 {{DEFAULTSORT:Lewis, Meriwether}}
 {{Nb_explorers}}
 [[Category:Missouri Governors]]

← Older revision		Revision as of 02:16, February 9, 2009
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	{{DEFAULTSORT: Lewis, Meriwether}}		{{DEFAULTSORT: Lewis, Meriwether}}
	{{Nb_explorers}}		{{Nb_explorers}}
		+	[[Category:Missouri Governors]]

← Older revision		Revision as of 12:07, January 20, 2008
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	{{DEFAULTSORT: Lewis, Meriwether}}		{{DEFAULTSORT: Lewis, Meriwether}}
−	~~[[Category:Explorers]]~~	+	{{Nb_explorers}}

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 ==The Expedition==
-[[Image:keelboat.jpg|right|thumb|Keelboat from rear starboard.  Image from [http://www.army.mil/cmh-pg/LC/The%20Mission/KeelboatPhotos/keelboat_photos.htm U.S. Army]]]
+[[Image:keelboat.jpg|right|thumb|Keelboat viewed from rear starboard.  Image from [http://www.army.mil/cmh-pg/LC/The%20Mission/KeelboatPhotos/keelboat_photos.htm U.S. Army]]]
-Lewis selected [[William Clark]], a fellow Virginian with whom he had served on the frontier in 1795, to serve a co-leader. They set out by keelboat in 1803 to Wood River, Illinois, at the confluence of the Missouri and Mississippi rivers. The next spring, they began their journey up the [[Missouri River]] and by October had reached the Mandan villages in present-day North Dakota, where they decided to stay for the winter. Relying completely upon the goodwill of Indian peoples for their success, Lewis and Clark received food, military protection, and valuable information about the path ahead. Their most valuable help came in the form of Touissant Charbonneau, a French Canadian whom they hired as an interpreter, and his Shoshone wife [[Sacagawea]], who provided help as a guide and interpreter. Sacagawea's very presence helped insure good relations with Indian people. In April of 1805 all thirty-three members of the expedition left the Mandan village and started up the Missouri again. A band of Shoshone led by Sacagawea's brother provided invaluable assistance, primarily horses, as the expedition began to ascend the Rocky Mountains. After crossing the Bitterroot Mountains, they arrived cold, wet, hungry and exhausted, the [[Nez Percé]] village were they were taken in. In November, they traveled down the Columbia River basin and reached the Pacific Ocean in November. They stayed the winter on the Pacific Coast and returned to the United States in 1806.
+Lewis selected [[William Clark]], a fellow Virginian with whom he had served on the frontier in 1795, to serve a co-leader. They set out by keelboat (see right) in 1803 to Wood River, Illinois, at the confluence of the Missouri and Mississippi rivers. The next spring, they began their journey up the [[Missouri River]] and by October had reached the Mandan villages in present-day North Dakota, where they decided to stay for the winter. Relying completely upon the goodwill of Indian peoples for their success, Lewis and Clark received food, military protection, and valuable information about the path ahead. Their most valuable help came in the form of Touissant Charbonneau, a French Canadian whom they hired as an interpreter, and his Shoshone wife [[Sacagawea]], who provided help as a guide and interpreter. Sacagawea's very presence helped insure good relations with Indian people. In April of 1805 all thirty-three members of the expedition left the Mandan village and started up the Missouri again. A band of Shoshone led by Sacagawea's brother provided invaluable assistance, primarily horses, as the expedition began to ascend the Rocky Mountains. After crossing the Bitterroot Mountains, they arrived cold, wet, hungry and exhausted, the [[Nez Percé]] village were they were taken in. In November, they traveled down the Columbia River basin and reached the Pacific Ocean in November. They stayed the winter on the Pacific Coast and returned to the United States in 1806.