The Journal of Augustus Pelletier: The Lewis
and Clark Expedition, 1804
In 1803, Thomas Jefferson bought the Louisiana Territory from France.
The Louisiana Purchase instantly doubled the size of the United States
and gave adventurers vast, new areas to explore.
In 1804, Jefferson appointed his private secretary, Meriwether Lewis,
to head an expedition to map the new territory, establish friendly
relations with Native Americans, and pave the way for a fur trade.
In addition, Meriwether and his co-leader, William Clark, were told
to collect information about the plants, animals, climate, and other
geographical features of the vast region. Jefferson hoped that his
explorers would discover an all-water route that would allow ships
to travel from the east coast all the way to the Pacific Ocean.
Both Lewis and Clark were officers in the U.S. Army and experienced
frontiersmen. They selected about 30 adventurous young men, some with
military experience, to join the expedition. The group discovered
no water passage to the Pacific, but they accomplished an even more
important feat: filling in a huge blank space on the map of North
America. The American West, known previously only through rumor and
guesses, had been given to the American people. The Lewis and Clark
expedition also began a new age of exploration, which made possible
the settlement of the western frontier.
Meet Augustus Pelletier
Without telling anyone, 14-year-old Augustus Pelletier followed Lewis
and Clark on their journey, finally becoming part of their expedition.
His diary follows Lewis and Clark and shows us just what their momentous
journey was like.
Read Augustuss entry from the first Independence Day celebrated
west of the Mississippi River!
To me, the most exciting part of the day was
not the cannon, which they blasted twice, or poor Joe Field getting
bit by the rattler, but the naming of the creek where we stopped at
midday. The Captains named it Independence Creek. I never before thought
much about naming things like this. I know my mama and I named the
island back near St. Charles, but it was just like our own private
name. Here, the Captains name things not just for private. They mark
it down on the map Captain Clark is making for the expedition. Everybody
in the whole country will know that the name of this creek is Independence
and that the Corps of Discovery has named it. There is something mighty
exciting about being part of a group that names things. We are truthfully
naming America! That is a powerful notion.