Presents for indians used on lewis and clark journey

Meriwether Lewis, after close consultation with President Jefferson, requisitioned the supplies needed for the expedition from the War Department. Along with food, clothing, arms, ammunition, medicine and other equipment, Lewis requested gifts for the Indian nations the explorers would encounter. Jefferson hoped these gifts, given in friendship ceremonies, would help establish peaceful relations and stimulate trade.

Records of the Office of the Quartermaster General, National Archives and Records Administration

List of Supplies and Indian Presents for Lewis and Clark Expedition, ca. June 1803

Appropriations from Congress funded the exploration of the West. In 1803, President Thomas Jefferson ordered Captain Meriwether Lewis to organize a Corps of Discovery and persuaded Congress to fund this expedition charged with finding a water route to the Pacific Ocean and developing trade with the native tribes. Traveling the Missouri and Columbia Rivers and partially overland to the Pacific, they acquired a wealth of information about the geography, geology, flora, fauna, and peoples of the Northwest. After the purchase of the Louisiana Territory from France later in 1803, the Corp’s mission was also to chart and report on this newly acquired land that doubled the size of our young nation.

Meriwether Lewis, after close consultation with President Jefferson, requisitioned the supplies needed for the expedition from the War Department. Along with food, clothing, arms, ammunition, medicine and other equipment, Lewis requested gifts for the Indian nations the explorers would encounter. Jefferson hoped these gifts, given in friendship ceremonies, would help establish peaceful relations and stimulate trade.

Records of the Office of the Quartermaster General, National Archives and Records Administration