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U.S, president Thomas Jefferson sends a secret message to Congress asking for approval and funding of an expedition to explore the Western part of the continent.
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U.S. representatives sign the Louisiana Purchase treaty.
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Captain Meriwether Lewis, Jeffersons choice to lead the expedition, asked William Clark to serve as co-leader
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Lewis launched the expedition's boat down the Ohio River from Pittsburgh, PA.
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Lewis and Clark met in Clarksville, Indiana, where Clark had recruited men for the trip.
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The expedition established winter quarters at Camp Dubois, near St. Louis, Missouri.
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The expedition set out from Camp Dubois and headed up the Missouri River.
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Sergeant Charles Floyd became the expedition's only member to die on the journey.
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The group began to build Fort Mandan in present-day North Dakota for its winter camp
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Lewis and Clark hired the French-Canadian fur trader Toussaint Charbonneau and his Shoshone Indian wife Sacagawea to interpret Indian Languages.
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The journey resumed up to the Missouri River.
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The group reached the Great Falls of the Missouri River and soon began an 18-mile overland trip around the waterfalls.
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The expedition entered the Lolo Trail of the Biterroot Range in the Rocky Mountains. The party took 11 days to cross the mountains under severe weather conditions.
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Members of the expeditions reached the Pacific Coast.
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The expedition began to build Fort Clatsop in present-day Oregon for its winter quarters.
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The expedition arrived back in St. Louis.
