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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 Augustus’s 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. 
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