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Thomas Jefferson chooses Meriweather Lewis to lead exploration of Louisiana Territory, which at the time was largely uncharted wilderness.
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Congress approves Thomas Jefferson's request for a journey to explore Louisiana Territory
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France sells 828,000 square miles of land west of the Mississippi to the United States, known then as the Louisiana Territory. This event would become known as the Louisiana purchase.
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Lewis asks William Clark to share command of expidition, an old friend from time in the military.
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Expert hunters, scouts, translators, cartographers, ornithologists, and carpenters are hired for the Corps of Discovery, the men to accompany Lewis on his journey to the west.
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The Corps of Discovery leaves St. Charles after overwintering there, and the expidition began.
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After traveling up the Missouri River for months, the Corps begins construction of a winter fort, Fort Mandan (close to present day Bismarck). This is their first winter far from home in the Louisiana Territory.
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The Corps encounter their first major difficulty as they attempt to continue past the Great Falls of the Missouri River.
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Sacagawea reunites with her brother, the chief of the Shoshone. This was an important moment for the expedition because it meant that the expedition would have the complete support of the Shoshone Tribe.
