William Clark - biography.

William Clark - biography. American soldier, explorer, and territorial politician Date August 1, 1770 Baptized Death September 1, 1838 Place of Caroline County, Virginia Birth Known For Leading, with Meriwether Lewis, the first overland exploration of the American West and Pacific Northwest Developing good relationships with Native Americans and serving as a government agent and treaty negotiator Milestones 1789 Joined a militia company and three years later became an infantry officer in the regular army 1794 Participated in the Battle of Fallen Timbers, near present-day Toledo, Ohio Late 1790s Met Meriwether Lewis when the two served under General Anthony Wayne 1803 Asked by Lewis to be cocommander of a government-sponsored expedition to the Pacific Ocean; served principally as mapmaker and mediator between expedition members and Native Americans they encountered May 1804 Left St. Louis, Missouri, at the start of the expedition November 1805 Reached the mouth of the Columbia River on the Pacific coast September 1806 Returned to St. Louis, where he and Lewis were welcomed home as heroes 1807 Appointed brigadier general of militia and superintendent of Indian affairs for Louisiana Territory 1813-1821 Served as governor of the Missouri Territory 1814 Published the report of the Lewis and Clark Expedition with the help of American diplomat Nicholas Biddle Quote 'Great joy in Camp we are in view of the Ocian, this great Pacific Octean which we been so long anxious to see, and the roreing or noise made by the waves brakeing on the rockey shores (as I suppose) may be heard distictly.' November 7, 1805, upon sighting what he thought was the Pacific Ocean (but was actually the estuary of the Columbia River). Did You Clark's brother was George Rogers Clark, a Revolutionary War hero. Know The Lewis and Clark Expedition covered about 13,000 km (about 8,000 mi). Clark was a poor speller, as evidenced in the diaries he kept during the expedition. The official name of the Lewis and Clark Expedition was the Corps of Discovery. Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2009. © 1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.