What year did the Lewis and Clark Expedition begin from St. Louis?
1804. The Lewis and Clark Expedition left St. Louis on May 14, 1804. They headed west up the Missouri River. The expedition used a keelboat to travel up the Missouri River. In the early 1800’s, a keelboat was the preferred craft for rivers. Their keelboat was 55 feet long and 8 feet wide. Its mast was 32 feet tall and had a square sail. There were eleven benches for the oarsmen. The expedition also used pirogues (large flat-bottomed rowboats) and canoes they made from the trunks of cottonwood trees. Most of the time, Clark traveled on the keelboat and Lewis walked on the shore. Every morning hunting parties went out on horseback and returned to the boats by nightfall. Traveling up the Missouri River was difficult because it was against the strong current. When the winds were favorable, they used the sails to glide. Most of the time, however, the men had to use their muscles to move the boats. They either paddled with oars, pulled from shore with towropes, or walked through knee-deep wa
