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Born in Caroline County as a Clark family slave, York traveled with Meriwether Lewis and William Clark and the Corps of Discovery on their expedition of 1804-06 that opened the American West to widespread exploration and settlement. During the journey by foot, boat and horseback across the continent, York enjoyed unaccustomed freedoms as an armed hunter for the expedition party and participant in the informal vote that determined the group's choice of a wintering site near today's Astoria, Oregon on the Pacific coast. The African-American's strong physique and black skin intrigued and impressed many of the Native Americans encountered by the Lewis and Clark party as it traveled terrain never before visited by the white man… or a black man. As one result, York is credited by historians today with helping the group to establish friendly relations with many of the Indian tribes encountered on the path west and back. Despite the nearly free and somewhat exalted status York enjoyed during the journey west, he still was a slave to William Clark, as became clear once the group returned east at the end of 1806. York was not granted his freedom for several years, nor did he receive any of the awards meted out to white members of the expedition. In the end, Clark finally did grant York freedom. The former slave then briefly went into business as a wagoner (teamster), but, by some accounts, he fell ill from cholera and died in Tennessee. Hasan Davis assumes the persona of the historic 19th-century black man to tell his story in great detail and with passion. Mr. Davis, a 1992 graduate of Berea College in Kentucky, also holds a law degree from the University of Kentucky. Through his own private agency, Empowerment Solutions, he works with youth in schools and community agencies as a motivational speaker. In 2001 he was selected as a Rockefeller Foundation Next Generation Leadership Fellow. In addition to his portrayal of York, Mr. Davis has performed as A.A. Burleigh, a Union soldier during the Civil War who subsequently attended Berea College as the first adult African American to do so. Mr. Davis appeared as Burleigh on Kentucky Educational Television. He has carried his performance as York to venues ranging from the Harpers Ferry National Historical Park in West Virginia to Long Beach, Washington. He delivered his dramatic York monologue before members of the national Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation meeting in Louisville during the summer of 2002. Davis will do two briefer performances of his York role at the Lewis and Clark Festival in Lee Park downtown Charlottesville on Saturday, May 1st, at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m., and will work with children in the public schools on Monday, May 3rd as a part of his visit. Please
contact Alexandria Searls at the Lewis and Clark Exploratory Center
for more information: 434-979-2425 lewisandclark@lewisandclarkeast.org Extending
the Trail HR 2327 reads in pertinent part: ". . . the trail shall be extended to include the route followed by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, whether independently or together, in the preparation phase of the expedition starting at Monticello, located near Charlottesville, Virginia, and traveling to Wood River, Illinois, and in the return phase of the expedition from Saint Louis, Missouri, to Washington, D.C. The extended route shall include designated Lewis and Clark sites in Virginia, the District of Columbia, Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Indiana, and Illinois. The Secretary shall complete a general management plan to include the extended route within three years from the date funds are first made available for that purpose." The Real Keel: Pole, Pole, Pole your boat Volunteers and visitors from all over the country braved freezing temperatures on this blustery day as they tried various tools one might need to build a keelboat like the 55-footer that Lewis and Clark piloted up the Missouri River using sails, poles, and raw human pulling power. At Darden Towe, teepees, men in raccoon hats, and other "authentic" props got attendees in the right spirit. It wasn't difficult to go back in time and imagine Lewis and Clark's journey. To find out more information about the Lewis and Clark Exploratory Center of Virginia, call 985-3534 or visit www.lewisandclarkeast.org.
By MARIFLO STEPHENS Published January 16, 2002 in issue #0202 of The Hook A friend called the other day to say I might want to take a look at a story in the Metro section of The Washington Post. She knew that I had recently completed a children's novel on the topic of York, the black man who accompanied explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark on their historic cross-country trek. The day before, I had read a news article on the subject in the Daily Progress. Both articles are about events scheduled to commemorate the bicentennial of the Lewis and Clark expedition. The Progress article detailed celebrations and events occurring in area schools, while the Post story was about the expedition's famous Indian guide: "Sacagawea Famed, Yet a Mystery." My friend was concerned that the Post story may have scooped my novel in some way. She need not have worried. The Post story reveals what I discovered for myself during my research-- Sacagawea is commemorated around the country by at least 23 statues, not to mention numerous lakes, schools, mountains, and rivers. She has her own golden coin, and two-- count 'em, two-- grave markers. Soon, no doubt, a Western Barbie will befriend her, and she'll become a doll. But my novel isn't about Sacagawea. My novel answers the question posed by the last sentence in the Progress story, which is illustrated by a picture of an African-American child dressed as Sacagawea. An astute school administrator, noticing that all the children were playing with dolls of Lewis and Clark, asks: "What about York? Where is York?" This is the question I've been asking myself for the past eight years, ever since I wrote and had produced locally a children's play called Sacajawea and York: The Hidden Heroes of Lewis and Clark. I found whole books written about Sacagawea, and two count 'em, two-- books written from the point of view of Lewis's dog that went along on the expedition. But very little about York. When I began my research in 1994, the Internet was relatively new, and I wasn't online. Now, it's easier to find information about previously unknown members of the expedition. I discovered In Search of York, by Robert Betts, originally published in 1985 and reissued in 2000 by the University Press of Colorado. I recently located a speech given at Montana State University in December 1998 by William and Mary Professor Philip Morgan. As a historian, Morgan agrees with Betts that the historical record is as divided about York as it is about Sacagawea's death. In one version of history, Clark did not grant York his freedom after they returned from the expedition. Another version claims that Clark did free York, but found that his former slave couldn't handle being free. In some materials still being used in schools, misinformation is presented as history. One of the texts for children says President Thomas Jefferson freed York when the slave returned with the expedition. And his master, William Clark, is often referred to as "Captain Clark" despite the fact that-- as Stephen Ambrose's Undaunted Courage makes clear-- Clark was commissioned a lieutenant. (Although he was paid as a captain, he had not been officially commissioned at that rank.) Why has York been ignored for so long? And is he still being ignored? Ambrose does not list Betts in his bibliography, so we can assumed that the late historian probably didn't consult it. Ambrose makes only 14 references to York, the same number he makes to Reubin Field, a woodsman and hunter Clark recruited for the expedition. Pierre Cruzatte, another of the expedition members, merits 22 references-- one of his claims to fame was playing the violin. York voted on the decision to cross the Columbia River, thereby becoming the first black man in America to cast a vote. York also had a say about where to pitch a winter camp; he attended to the ailing Charles Floyd and to the pregnant Sacagawea; and he procured food for the expedition-- including three elk, five buffalo, two geese, eight ducks, and a deer. York was the source of endless fascination among the Indians-- they called him the "black white man." Meriwether Lewis showed off York as a physical novelty in his successful effort to obtain the horses crucial to the expedition's crossing of the Rocky Mountains. But when the pages of history turn, York is barely there. Unlike Sacagawea, there are no statues of York and no grave markers. Nobody knows where York is buried. Sacagawea is not a mystery. York is. In my fictional story, a student at Meriwether Lewis Elementary School wants to write York into his rightful place in history. While I was penning that novel, The Boy Who Moved a Mountain, last spring, a documentary filmmaker riding the same zeitgeist wrote a history for children called Who Is York: A New Look at the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Ron Craig, an executive producer with Filmworks Northwest, said he wanted to set the record straight. Craig has given three different presentations out west, including one May 22, at which a Portland, Oregon, street became the first named for the black explorer. Craig has been in town this week giving performances at area schools, and he will speak about York at Old Cabell Hall on January 16. With this Charlottesville excursion, Craig will have traveled all over the country on behalf of York. In the last days of the Clinton administration, he was invited to the White House when President Bill Clinton awarded York and Sacagawea sergeant stripes and finally made William Clark's captain commission official. Craig is filming a documentary about York because, as he says, "The story is just so empowering. An African-American boy asked me what York looked like," he continues, "and I walked him over to the mirror. 'Like you,' I said, and he gave a wide grin." Mariflo Stevens is a Charlottesville writer whose stories have been published in a variety of journals, including the Virginia Quarterly Review. Her novel for children is currently being shopped by an agent in New York. Backpacking 1803: Explore like Lewis and Clark Actually, the Lewis and Clark Exploratory Center promises to be the biggest museum of them all. With the approaching bicentennial of that duo's exploration of America, William Clark and Charlottesville native son Meriwether Lewis are hot historical figures. Former Charlottesville mayor Kay Slaughter, who's spearheading the project, became interested in the explorers after reading Stephen Ambrose's Undaunted Courage. "I always thought it was something that happened out west," says Slaughter. "I'd overlooked the significance of its starting in Virginia and its Virginia roots. I thought, we ought to be celebrating that in Charlottesville." Plans for the museum are well under way, including a detailed website at lewisandclarkeast.org. Organizers haven't settled on a final fundraising target, but $15 million was one number tossed out early on. The exploratory center will feature indoor and outdoor displays-- "do not touch" signs are incompatible with its hands-on philosophy. Visitors who think transcontinental travel is challenging now can see what it was like to mount such a major expedition when the main form of travel was keelboats and there were no weather-rated sleeping bags. The group is working to acquire a site that has some tie-in with Lewis pal William Clark. Out on Route 20 near Darden Towe Park is Buena Vista, the birthplace of the brother with whom he is often confused, George Rogers Clark, the "Conqueror of the Northwest." (William was born in Caroline County.) In fact, part of the museum could be on park property, part on Buena Vista, which for six years in the '70s was home to the George Rogers Clark Museum. George, the older brother, could have been the "Clark" in the Lewis and Clark expedition, but he was broken physically and financially after an earlier expedition to Ohio. His conquering of a British fort led to an impressive statue in Louisville, Kentucky, but also, ultimately, to his being overshadowed in history by younger brother William. Slaughter says 2004 is the target to start building what she believes will be a 30,000-square-foot facility, and she hopes to have a UVA architecture class work on a design this year. She's not worried about stiff competition for visitors from the Toaster Museum or the new Waltons/Nelson County museum. "This is such a different concept," Slaughter explains. "The idea is very interactive. It's not going to be an artifact museum like old toasters." Indeed, many artifacts from the famous trip were sold off and dispersed across the country at an 1806 auction; Harvard holds the largest known collection of remaining Lewis and Clark items in its Peabody Collection. Over at the Charlottesville-Albemarle Convention and Visitors Bureau, director Mark Shore doesn't think you can ever have too many museums. "As we promote the area as a destination," Shore says, "people are often surprised there's more here than Monticello." Back in 1993, City Councilors were hoping and praying that a steam train would provide the magical third attraction-- after Monticello and UVA-- that would give visitors a reason to spend the night (and more money). And of course the area's leading tourist attraction will provide a perfect tie-in with the Lewis and Clark Exploratory Center. Foresees Slaughter, "People can go to Monticello, see the Lewis and Clark exhibit in the hall, and then they can go to the Lewis and Clark Center." And then go to sleep. Expert helping recreate boat used by Lewis, Clark on expedition By ELIZABETH NELSON / Daily Progress staff writer, Nov 11, 2002 The first boat Butch
Bouvier built floated like a rock. His skills have improved, and Bouvier now is considered by many to be the leading authority on 19th-century river craft, particularly the type used in the Lewis and Clark expedition. Bouvier is in Charlottesville assisting the Lewis and Clark Exploratory Center in its construction of a reproduction of the keelboat used on the expedition. The end product will be an operationally equivalent version of the boat Meriwether Lewis and William Clark took on the first leg of their journey, though electric drills and metal bolts may not have been the 1803 tools of choice. "My main concept is to preserve not so much the technology of the building, but the technology of operation," Bouvier said. The keelboat is a teaching project that began in the spring of 2001. Since then, said Exploratory Center board member Francis Lawrence, about 75 children have worked on the boat, and 200 have learned about the tools used. "I'm helping these guys get this job done – giving them advice and guidance," Bouvier said, adding that he is impressed with the center's efforts to teach children through history. Some come from Girl or Boy Scout programs and others show up after soccer practice, said carpenter and supervisor Jim Camblos. They grab up hammers and chisels and work at stations around the boat's frame, which is housed in a barn at Darden Towe Park. A log dotted with nails attests to many practice sessions. "It's not about finishing the process," Camblos said. "It's about the process." The keelboat, named "Discovery Virginia" after Bouvier's first Lewis and Clark reproduction, has been a learning experience for both the children and the center. Camblos said the carpenters learned to slow down and adapt building techniques to young people. They may cut wood two-thirds of the way through, then let a child finish with a hand saw. Children also learn the boat's history. When the center gets a permanent location, it will offer other interactive experiences. Keelboats have been described as the pickup trucks of the 1800s. Lewis and Clark's was 55 feet long and likely had a cabin on deck and a flat bottom, Bouvier said. The boats were not easy to move. Yet even at 13 tons - empty - the boat would have floated in only 14 inches of water. The explorers could have moved by a number of means. Rowing with the 22 oars or pushing along with poles were only two of many methods. Kedging involved dropping an anchor or line ahead of the boat and pulling up to it. When bushwhacking, the explorers would have pulled on trees to move ahead. The cabin probably would have housed delicate instruments - Bouvier likened the cabin to the trunk of a car: a safe place to put camera equipment while camping. The cabin has not yet been built, and only the skeleton of the huge boat has been constructed. But the builders are in no hurry. "There is no deadline," Camblos said. Lawrence said the center would like to see the boat launch on the James River on Aug. 31, the 200th anniversary of Lewis' and Clark's launch from Pittsburgh. Lewis
and Clark teaching center in works The five-year-old dream of Charlottesville residents Katherine E. Slaughter and Francis McQ. Lawrence for a Lewis and Clark center is slowly taking shape along the Rivanna River. By the end of this year, the local group planning to build an educational exploratory center hopes to gain use of the land on a northwest corner of Darden Towe Park and a piece of the nearby George Rogers Clark birthplace. By the summer of 2004, the group planning to commemorate the Meriwether Lewis and William Clark-led "Voyage of Discovery" to the Pacific Ocean hopes to break ground for the center. George Rogers Clark was William's older brother and mentor, and a hero of the American revolution who has been identified by some as the "other great Virginia soldier," Lawrence said. Lawrence, a lawyer and one of the leaders of the area's Rivanna Trails movement, said much of the educational center would consist of outdoor exhibits and trails, possibly including "replica forts and native American villages." Interactive exhibits would allow visitors, especially children, to work on some of the 25 different boats that Lewis and Clark used to explore new American lands up and down the Missouri River and adjoining streams from 1804 to 1806. "I think the kids will build log forts" as well as boats and see how native Americans lived, Lawrence said. "For me, it is one of America's great adventures and it epitomizes self-reliance. It was a tribute to the self-reliance and competence of these people. I think the center will encourage adventure and will encourage self-reliance." Slaughter, an environmental lawyer and former Charlottesville mayor, said the center will be a good fit with the area's tourism market as well as a fun educational resource to help teach American history. The Lewis and Clark voyage of discovery "is a great story to tell," she said. The center will be the easternmost link in a trail of museums and centers from Charlottesville to the Pacific Northwest, and could have "real-time interactive links" with those other educational sites along the voyage route, she said. The center's plans include a research facility and library as well as an indoor theater. Outside, trails could connect to an Indian village depicting different types of housing of the eastern and western tribes from Virginia to Washington state, she said. The 22-member board of the Lewis & Clark Exploratory Center has started quietly raising funds, including nearly $50,000 from board members themselves. "Eventually, I'd say we're trying to raise between $4 million and $8 million," Slaughter said. The money would be used to build a 30,000-to-40,000 square foot center and to develop some of the interactive outdoor exhibits along the Rivanna. Slaughter envisions connections with the Rivanna Trails network and eventually a walking link down the river to Monticello and a footbridge across the river at or below Pen Park. Monticello is a willing partner in the effort to start the center, a few miles upstream from Thomas Jefferson's home. "We do think there is a great Lewis and Clark story that can be told in the East," said Kat Imhoff, Monticello's chief operating officer and one of 20 members of the center's advisory board. After all, she said, "The journey began in the mind of Thomas Jefferson" and involved a number of distinguished Virginians. A learning center along the river could help extend the visits of many tourists who come to Charlottesville and could be a wonderful draw for students, Imhoff said. The bicentennial commemoration of the Lewis and Clark expedition kicks off in Charlottesville in January with a number of events planned at Monticello. The Lewis and Clark center will hold a brunch Jan. 19 at Darden Towe Park's boathouse to introduce the public to some of its planned activities. As for the potential walking links from the center to Monticello and to downtown, Imhoff said, "It would be wonderfully farsighted of the community" to house more trails. "We are very sympathetic to linking our trail system up." Slaughter said the center has had "great support" from the city and Albemarle County for the plans, which grew out of ideas she and Lawrence had independently five years ago. The center's board has been brainstorming and discussing the plans monthly for several years. Dr. Clara Belle Wheeler, who has lived the past 40 years on the Rogers Clark property at Buena Vista, is an enthusiastic support of the center plans. "I think it is an absolutely superb idea to have an on-trail experience," Wheeler said. Plans for an educational and visitors center incorporating several acres of her land are great, she said. "I think we'll have a good site because it was an outdoor adventure," said Wheeler, who in the 1960s dismantled a miller's cabin, moved it to her land from across Albemarle and reconstructed it. From the cabin, there is a vista of mountains to the west that could help visitors understand the lure of the Lewis and Clark voyage of discovery. Museum
locations examined -- Facility will explore Lewis, Clark's lives A local group that envisions raising as much as $15 million to $24 million is eyeing a stretch of parkland along the Rivanna River and a nearby explorer's birthplace as the best site for a Lewis & Clark interactive museum. "It's an excellent location," Albemarle County Supervisor Lindsay G. Dorrier Jr., D-Scottsville, said of the land on the north end of Darden Towe Memorial Park. "I think it could become a major tourist attraction for Central Virginia" if a Lewis and Clark museum is built there, Dorrier said. The facility would include educational exhibits, an "open-air learning center" and very attractive river views, he said. "I think 10 acres would probably be sufficient" for the museum and attractions. Albemarle Board of Supervisors Chairwoman Sally H. Thomas also warmly endorsed the Darden Towe Park site, which is jointly owned by Charlottesville and Albemarle County, and nearby private property on the Buena Vista estate that includes the birthplace of George Rogers Clark, an older brother by 18 years of expedition co-leader William Clark. Both Clark brothers were esteemed military figures with histories of exploring American frontier lands, as was Albemarle native Meriwether Lewis of Ivy. A longer than three-year national bicentennial celebration of the expedition led by Lewis and William Clark begins at Monticello in mid-January. Thomas Jefferson was the intellectual force behind the expedition and, as president on Jan. 18, 1803, asked Congress in a confidential letter for $2,500 "for the purpose of extending the external commerce of the United States." An interactive museum and outdoor exhibits and trails celebrating the origins of the expedition, which traversed the great rivers of the West, would be very appropriately located along "Mister Jefferson's river," the Rivanna, several members of the local group said. "One of the exciting parts of that location is its proximity to the river," said Thomas, part of a majority on the Lewis and Clark Exploratory Center Board that preferred the park and Buena Vista property to a proposal that also included land owned by the city near the east end of the Downtown Mall. The northwest corner of the 110-acre Darden Towe Park site and the nearby George Rogers Clark birthplace are "an attractive setting," Thomas said. "It's just really absolutely gorgeous." Led by former mayor Katherine E. Slaughter, the Lewis and Clark board includes more than 20 Charlottesville-area residents who share a strong interest in promoting the history of the national expedition's local origins. "This does not mean that other sites might not also be considered," said Keswick resident Jane Henley, president of the Lewis & Clark Trail Heritage Foundation, a national group of family descendants. "Procedures are only at a preliminary stage." "We are still negotiating things," Slaughter said. "Things are so much up in the air." 'A dual campus concept' Meredith Richards, a member of the exploratory board, said she understands the preliminary decision to focus on the park and nearby George Rogers Clark birthplace a little farther north along Route 20 because "it is drop-dead gorgeous out there. It is breathtakingly beautiful." Richards initially preferred a downtown site for the museum or a Downtown Mall and Darden Towe Park joint option, which would lure tourists into the city as part of the museum and educational experience. "I thought a dual campus concept would be workable," said Richards, a two-term member of City Council now running as the Democratic nominee for the 5th District seat in Congress. "I think the city would have donated the property" on the east end of the Downtown Mall. However, the city might not have been willing to financially underwrite the museum, which still needs a mostly private fund-raising effort to come up with more than $15 million to get it off the ground, she said. The park and Buena Vista are logical places to explore for a museum site, but "it's going to take a while before we know whether it's doable out there or not. The Darden Towe option has many attractions. If it can work, I think it will be gorgeous," Richards said. She said a 22-oar, full-size replica keelboat being built by Charlottesville residents Fran Lawrence and Chris Murray and a crew of area children will be an initial attraction at the park site along with other hands-on exhibits. Pat Mullaney, Albemarle's parks and recreation director, said he has been speaking with Lawrence and other members of the exploratory board about their plans for dedicating the northwest corner of the city-county park for Lewis and Clark. "I like the potential for the cooperative use of the land up there that's not being used, and it would allow us to extend our greenway [walking trails] up the river" to the nearby Buena Vista site, Mullaney said. Perhaps a new access road to the site would be run through the Buena Vista property, he said. Darden Towe's 110 acres have 7,300 feet of Rivanna River frontage, and the river trails could eventually extend south and east to Jefferson's Monticello property and the Glenmore Country Club area near Shadwell, he said. "It looks to me like there's a possibility for a win-win situation," Mullaney said. 'A great idea' Satyendra S. Huja, a long-time Charlottesville community planner, called the Darden Towe Park and Buena Vista option "a great idea," although he, like Richards, initially favored at least a partial city venue. "I want them to succeed," Huja said of Slaughter's museum exploratory board and its vote by a 2-1 margin two weeks ago to explore the river option first. "I think it would have been better downtown," but the Buena Vista property "is a plus. It is a beautiful property." "I want to help them in any way we can," Huja said. "They have to raise up to 25 million bucks." Thomas said the exact size of the project has yet to be determined. "It can be a medium-sized or a huge project. Obviously, this is going to have to be largely a private and grant-funded project." Although fund-raising has started already, "you don't announce a fund-raising effort until you have a lot of funds in hand," she said. Like many in the community, the county board chairwoman said she has a longstanding interest in Lewis and Clark and their part of the American story. "I grew up in a town where they camped, coming and going" to the Pacific Ocean, said Thomas, a native of The Dalles, Ore., a town of 12,000 residents on a mile-wide stretch of the Columbia River. The Darden Towe Park and Buena Vista location will get a good look as a potentially great museum location, she said. "Certainly, there's enthusiasm about that site."
"Wander West: New
direction for our study" The University of Virginia's plan to launch a fresh introspective of the Lewis and Clark Expedition – including a new undergraduate program on the West – will add an important dimension to area tourism as well as increase our understanding of and appreciation for our own history. The opening of the West owes much to the vision, courage and skill of Virginians. President Jefferson acquired the Louisiana Purchase from France for the United States and in 1803 sought money from Congress to explore it, then commissioning Meriwether Lewis and William Clark for the job. . . . Much has been written about the importance of westward expansion, both in providing new resources for a growing nation and helping to form our national character, which owes so much to the independence, ingenuity, courage and questing spirit of the pioneer. The West still claims our interest and imagination and has become a source of our national mythology. What may be underemphasized is the role Virginians played in this stirring story. Since Stephen Ambrose's book on the subject, and a subsequent television documentary, the Lewis and Clark Expedition has attracted increased national interest. But other Virginians were influential as settlement moved ever westward. . . . Plans are already under way in Charlottesville to build a major tourist attraction tied to Lewis and Clark. It is expected to cost $15 million to $24 million and attract as many as 450,000 tourists, almost as many as visit Monticello. The University of Virginia programs will dovetail beautifully with these plans undertaken by local residents, local government and Monticello. The four-year celebration of the expedition will begin Jan. 18, 2003, with a kickoff at Monticello."
The adventures of Lewis and Clark will be touted again in Virginia, with plans under way in Charlottesville to construct a major tourist attraction to two of the country's best-known explorers. The idea offered by city officials and residents is to build on the expected bicentennial fervor that will begin nationally in 2003, celebrating the Corps of Discovery's arduous exploration across the uncharted American continent. The center, which could cost $15 million to $24 million, would entertain and instruct while potentially attracting as many as 450,000 tourists a year. "This is where the idea for the Lewis and Clark exploration was conceived, here in this community," said Satyendra Huja, the city's director of strategic planning. . . . Lewis' family home, Locust Hill, is in Albemarle County. Clark's homeplace is also in Albemarle, where his older brother, George Rogers Clark, also an early western explorer, was born. Hundreds of descendents and relatives of Lewis and Clark still live in Virginia. . . . . The bicentennial will begin on Jan. 18, 2003, when the National Lewis and Clark Bicentennial Council kicks off a four-year national commemoration of the expedition and its legacy. That kickoff will be held at Monticello. . . . "The mission will be to celebrate the origins of the Lewis and Clark expedition in the Charlottesville area," said Kay Slaughter, a former city mayor and head of the Exploratory Center who conceived the idea of the center. "We want to educate the visitors and the children and adults on various aspects of the expedition and show the contrasts of the known East and the unknown West." ... Jane Henley, a descendent of Lewis and a Charlottesville resident, said she strongly supported the center and has been serving as a "historical link and link to national organizations and as a cheerleader all the way." Henley is president-elect of the national Lewis & Clark Trail Heritage Foundation, whose mission is to educate the public about the Lewis and Clark expedition... "It's quite an ambitious project," said Slaughter. "We plan to move forward with it as a world class facility." Press Release - Wednesday, January 17, 2001 Today, President Clinton will highlight the importance of preserving America's natural and historic heritage by creating or expanding eight national monuments, including two along the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail. In a ceremony in the East Room of the White House, where the Lewis and Clark Expedition was launched nearly 200 years ago, the President also will commemorate the efforts of the explorers by granting posthumous promotions to William Clark, Sacagawea, and York, all key contributors to the success of the Expedition. The President will be joined by Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt, historian Stephen Ambrose, and descendants and representatives of the explorers. Celebrating the Legacy of Lewis and Clark. Today, President Clinton will recognize the achievements of the Lewis and Clark Expedition and its significance in American history. Nearly 200 years ago, under the direction of President Thomas Jefferson, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark spent close to three years traversing America's Western frontier. Aided by their Corps of Discovery, they traveled 8,000 miles, hauling heavy equipment into treacherous terrain, and mapping rivers, mountains, and prairies. They navigated and named two-thirds of the American continent, filled their journals with detailed images of the natives they met, and wrote the first scientific descriptions of nearly 300 plants and animals. Their adventure excited the nation with amazing discoveries. The actions the President will take today recognize three individuals who made valuable contributions to the expedition, and will ensure the preservation of some of the extraordinary landscapes explored by Lewis and Clark. Recognizing Undaunted Courage. President Clinton will posthumously honor three members of the Lewis and Clark Corps of Discovery in recognition of their courage and contributions to our nation's history: * On the recommendation of the Secretary of Defense, and by congressional authorization, President Clinton will posthumously present William Clark his rightful military commission by promoting him from Lieutenant of the Corps of Artillerists and Engineers to Captain in the Regular Army, with an effective date of March 26, 1804. On the expedition, Lewis and Clark shared equally the responsibilities of command, and although President Jefferson sought the rank of Captain for Clark, the promotion wasdenied by the War Department and Clark was instead given the rank of Lieutenant. * The President will present the title of Honorary Sergeant, Regular Army to Sacagawea, a young Shoshone woman who served as Lewis and Clark's guide. Sacagawea was the only woman to accompany the explorers to the Pacific Ocean and back, and her interpretation and navigation skills proved invaluable to the expedition. * The President will present the title of Honorary Sergeant, Regular Army to York, Clark's personal slave who accompanied the expedition party. York was the first black man to cross the continent, and although relatively unknown, was instrumental in the success of the exploration. |
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