Almost immediately after his appointment by President Thomas Jefferson, Meriwether Lewis penned a letter to his longtime friend William Clark asking him to be the expedition's co-leader.

Clark was four years older than Lewis and a seasoned frontiersman, who, like Lewis, was also from Virginia. Clark had spent a good deal of his life in the Ohio and Kentucky wilderness where he gained an understanding of and appreciation for Indians.

Clark was less formally educated than Lewis, but his practical experience in the woods was exactly what Lewis was looking for. And he was an experienced boatman and navigator as well.

The two met when Lewis served under Clark in the Army. The young officers saw action during the Indian Campaigns in the Ohio Valley some eight years before they shoved off the sandy shore of the Missouri River on May 14, 1804 and headed upstream.

Lewis recruited Clark as a co-captain, but the idea of equally shared leadership was not well received by the War Department. Jefferson did not object to Clark’s involvement, but tended to consider the Corps of Discovery Lewis’ assignment, so Jefferson did not override the wishes of the War Department on Clark’s behalf, as he easily could have done. Clark gracefully accepted a position as a second lieutenant.

To continue with the mission despite the demotion in rank may have been a difficult decision for Clark who was once Lewis’ superior, but Lewis and Clark kept the matter between themselves throughout the expedition referring to one another as captains. Whether or not members of the Corps were aware of the nuance is uncertain.

In the field, the Lewis and Clark complemented each other in nearly every way. Clark’s easygoing, practical manner balanced Lewis’ somewhat moody and inflexible personality. Conflict between the two, if any, goes unmentioned in their journals and is not alluded to in any other account.

Shortly after returning safe and sound to St. Louis, Clark married his long-time sweetheart Judith Hancock. They continued to live in St. Louis were Jefferson appointed Clark the U.S. Superintendent of Indian Affairs.

Clark named his first son Meriwether Lewis after his friend. He continued as an unofficial ambassador to West’s first people. Clark’s compassion was known throughout the various tribes, and he was well respected among the Indians, who called him their “red-headed chief.”
Clark died of natural causes at age 68 at the home of his oldest son.
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