Corps of Discovery

Common card · No. 307981

The Corps of Discovery was a specially established unit of the United States Army which formed the nucleus of the Lewis and Clark Expedition that took place between May 1804 and September 1806. The Corps was led jointly by Captain Meriwether Lewis and Second Lieutenant William Clark. Commissioned by President Thomas Jefferson, the Corps' objectives were scientific and commercial – to study the area's plants, animal life, and geography, and to learn how the Louisiana Purchase could be exploited economically. Aside from its military composition, the Corps' additional personnel included scouts, boatmen, and civilians. On its two-year expedition through the Great Plains and the Rocky Mountains, the Corps encountered more than two dozen Native American tribes. Modern research now acknowledges that without such contact or help, the Corps of Discovery would have struggled to have completed their journey.

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