Missouri History: A Brief Biography Of The William Clark Expedition

Alexa Rowe

Missouri History

Ms. Gregory

February 26 2018 William Clark William Clark was born on August 1 1770. He was born in Virginia to two parents, John and Anne Rogers Clark. He was ninth of ten siblings. He had 5 older brothers that served in the Revolutionary War. When William was 19, he joined the United States Army. That is where he met his best friend Meriwether Lewis. They served together in the army in 1795. The next year William resigned from the army to run his family's estate.

The United States just bought the Louisiana Territory and they wanted to send people to explore the land west of the Mississippi River. In 1803, William got a letter from his best friend, Meriwether Lewis, inviting him to go on a expedition with him

They traveled over two months and over 8,000 miles. After they got back to St. Louis, William received as appointment as an agent of Indian affairs.

After the expedition, William Clark married Julia Hancock in 1808. He had 5 children named, Meriwether Lewis Clark (he was named after his friend and partner Meriwether Lewis), William Preston Clark, Mary Margaret Clark, George Rogers Clark (he was named after his older brother.), and John Julius Clark (also named after his oldest brother). He also took in Sacagawea's children, Jean and Lizette, after she died in 1812.

William Clark is known for his expedition to explore and discover the land west of the Mississippi River, the land that the United States brought from the French in 1803. He and Meriwether Lewis set out on the adventure in May of 1804. The expedition started in St. Charles, Missouri. The group he was with was called the Corps of Discovery. The faced very dangerous situations, like raging rivers, horrible weather, hunger, diseases, injuries,and

On the way home they split apart from each other to go separate ways to try to find a faster way back home. Lewis and Clark finally found each other again at the Missouri River and made the last part of their trip back to St. Louis. They traveled about 8,000 miles either by foot, boat, or horseback.

They traveled to Washington, D.C. While they were traveling, they were greeted by people of every town they stopped in. He and Meriwether Lewis tried to publish the journal about their journey. William was always in a bad mood, and had a drinking problem and he failed to do his duties as governor. William Clark died on September 1, 1838 in St. Louis, Missouri. Historians say that he might have commited suicide, others say that he was murdered but there is no official cause of death.

Clark has had an impact on my life because he discovered the land west of Mississippi, and I live in that area. He documented the native plants and animals of the area that became the state of Missouri. He also mapped the river, mountains, and trails in Louisiana Territory. This affected me because that led to farmers to know or understand physical features of the area, and what crops might do well there. Today the things I eat are the products of the discoveries made by