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president jefferson sends a seceret message to congressasking fro approval and funding of an expiditon to explore the western part of the contitnent.
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Meriwether Lewis begins his training as the expedition's leader in Philadelphia
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In Pittsburgh, Lewis oversees construction of a keelboat, then picks up William Clark and other recruits as he travels down the Ohio River.
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News of the Louisiana Purchase is announced; Lewis will now be exploring land largely owned by the United States.
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Lewis and Clark establish Camp Wood, the winter camp for their Corps of Discovery, on the Wood River in Illinois.
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Lewis and Clark travel to St. Louis to attend ceremonies formally transferring the Louisiana Territory to the United States.
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The Corps of Discovery leaves Camp Wood and begins its journey up the Missouri River "under a gentle breeze."
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The Corps holds the first Independence Day celebration west of the Mississippi River.
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Sergeant Charles Floyd dies of natural causes near present-day Sioux City, Iowa; he will be the only fatality among the Corps of Discovery during the expedition.
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Near today's Bismarck, North Dakota, the Corps arrives at the villages of the Mandan and Hidatsa, buffalo-hunting tribes that live along the Missouri River.
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The Corps attends a Mandan buffalo dance, performed to call buffalo to the area.
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One of their boats nearly overturns and Lewis credits Sacagawea with saving their most important possessions.
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Having reached the Pacific, the entire expedition—including Sacagawea and Clark's slave, York—take a vote on where to build their winter quarters. They chose the Clatsop Indian side of the Columbia, and the encampment came to be called Fort Clatsop.