New Document on Display Features Famous Explorers

May 21, 2013

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May 14, 1804 marked the day that Meriwether Lewis and William Clark set out on the famous expedition across the Louisiana Purchase. After traveling on rough terrain, viewing different animals and seeing the Pacific Ocean, their journey became famous. Everyone has heard about Lewis and Clark, but how many people know what happened to the men after their expedition?

 

Lewis passed away several years after the trip, but Clark lived on to become a brigadier (a lower ranking general) of the Louisiana Territory. Clark was also an Indian agent who focused on developing better defenses against enemy tribes and friendly relations with Indians along the Missouri and Mississippi rivers. He was known by some Indians as the “Red-Headed Chief.”

 

While working along the rivers, Clark needed supplies from the East. One order was sent on May 8, 1810. The Museum recently uncovered the receipt for this order from behind a frame previously displayed in the Museum. The entire document is now on display in the Romancing the West exhibit. This document is signed by Clark himself listing August 17, 1810 as the goods received date. Want to know what items are on the list? Come see the document and Clark’s signature on the third floor of the Museum.