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Expedition" was overshadowed. While Lewis and Clark's travels into then unknown territory produced some of the most expansive and well documented maps, journal writings, drawings and scientific studies, it was Hunter and Dunbar who first officially explored parts of this dangerous, unknown and mysterious territory for the
American government. Originally the team was to venture only into southern regions of the Louisiana Purchase. However, their route changed several times due to trouble with the local indian tribes which eventually detoured them into southern Arkansas. “It provided Americans with the first scientific study of the varied landscapes as well as the animal and plant life of early southern Arkansas. In fact, the expedition resulted in arguably the most purely scientific collection of data among all of the Louisiana Purchase explorations.” The Hunter-Dunbar expedition was extremely important to the future for the United States because the information garnered was essential to the American expansion westward. The expedition was not as long as other expeditions, but was no less relevant. The Hunter-Dunbar Expedition set many things in place for future expansion based upon their findings during their sojourn into that uncharted territory.
181:. After Ross' death in 1800, he bought out his interest from Ross' heirs. In 1785 he married Dinah Clark from Whitehaven, England, with whom he had nine children. By 1803 Dunbar owned some 4,000 acres (16 km) – he also owned "The Grange" and other lots within Natchez given him for his service to the Spanish Government as surveyor. In 1807 he wrote Charleston merchants, Thomas Tunno and John Price, to purchase a shipload of African slaves excepting those from 'the Iboa nation' and those 'nearer the coast, such as Bornon, Houssa, Zanfara, Zegzeg, Kapina, Tombotoo, all or near the river Niger'. Dunbar died in
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died in 1769, leaving him only about 500 pounds. His remaining half-brother, Alexander, as the oldest surviving male, inherited the full rights to all of the estates – he became Sir
Alexander Dunbar, 5th baronet of Northfield and Duffus. William probably could have expected assistance from his father in making his way in Britain, but not from a half-brother with whom he had never really been close.
284:. Dunbar used his experience from the first Red River expedition to plan this one; among his ideas was to use a boat suited for inland river exploration in the trans-Mississippi region. This expedition was led by astronomer/surveyor Thomas Freeman and medical student Peter Custis, and it reached 615 miles (990 km) up the river before being halted by a Spanish military force.
225:. After returning from the expeditions, and until his death in 1810, he devoted himself to scientific inquiry, gathering a significant collection of data on Indian vocabulary, as well as using chemical analysis in geology, seasonal river levels, fossils, astronomical phenomena, and utilizing a method of finding longitude by astronomical means.
213:. Through Jefferson, Dunbar would be introduced to the rest of the American scientific establishment. Dunbar met Jefferson for the first time in person two weeks before his death, but the two corresponded for many years, and Jefferson asked him to lead the Red River expedition in 1804 and to organize another one in 1806. He was elected to the
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The success of this expedition is based upon Hunter and Dunbar's extensive journal entries, their scientific observations and a few geological experiments that were conducted during the trip.“Dunbar and Hunter were not the first to travel the
Ouachita River or to taste the waters of the hot springs,
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degree on March 30, 1767. After his return to Elgin, William continued his study and research in the natural sciences. The deaths in 1762 of his two eldest half-brothers, Archibald and Robert, brought
William from fourth to second in line to inherit the family estates, but William's father Archibald
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Another expedition preliminarily named the "Great
Excursion" was planned by Jefferson in order to continue the exploration of the Red River. Although Dunbar's failing health prevented him from participating in the expedition, he nevertheless was charged by Jefferson with the task of organizing it,
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William Dunbar was known for his engineering and scientific talents, which he employed in plantation work. He invented a screw press and introduced the square baling of cotton, and was the first to suggest the manufacture of cottonseed oil. He was
Surveyor General for West Florida in 1798 and made
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The Hunter-Dunbar expedition was the first
American government financed expedition into the recent Louisiana Purchase. This particular expedition is somewhat overlooked because Lewis and Clark made their expansive and dramatic expeditions shortly after the Hunter-Dunbar expedition and "The Grand
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River. The crew brought back a wealth of scientific information, geological surveys, and records of flora and fauna. One important note from the expedition was that they recorded the first detailed chemical analysis of the
295:“As Dunbar and Hunter ascended the Red, Black and Ouachita rivers, the journals of both men became replete with descriptions of soil types, water levels, flora, fauna, and daily astronomical and thermometer readings.”
436:— compiled and prepared from the original documents for the National Society of Colonial Dames in America by Mrs. Dunbar Rowland (Eron Rowland), Historian of the Mississippi Society of Colonial Dames in America.
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Berry, Trey, Pam
Beasley, and Jeanne Clements, eds. The Forgotten Expedition: The Louisiana Purchase Journals of Dunbar and Hunter, 1804–1805. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 2006.
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On March 13, 1804, Thomas
Jefferson (who was President at the time) wrote to Dunbar, charging him with the task of assembling the first scientific expedition into the southern territory of the
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nor were they the first to describe the region in journals or publications. They did succeed in the first scientific mapping and description of the
Ouachita River valley.”
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Berry, Trey. “The Expedition of William Dunbar and George Hunter along the Ouachita River, 1804–1805.” Arkansas Historical Quarterly 62 (Winter 2003): 386–403.
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Corps of Discovery expedition to the northern territory of the Louisiana Purchase (post Dundar and Hunter), Willam Dunbar's Red River expedition of 1806, the
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On October 16, 1804, Dunbar and Hunter set off with a party of 15 on the expedition, which lasted just under three months. They explored the
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Milson, Andrew J. Arkansas Travelers: Geographies of Exploration and Perception, 1804–1834. Fayetteville: University of Arkansas Press, 2019.
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260:. The trip was drastically altered due to friction with the Osage Indians and Spanish colonial officials, resulting in a shorter journey.
256:, a prominent Philadelphia chemist and also a Scot, to be second in command to Dunbar. The proposed southern journey was later called the
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the first meteorological observations in the Mississippi Valley in 1799. Dunbar built an astronomical observatory in Union Hill near his
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McDermott, John Francis. The Western Journals of Dr. George Hunter, 1796–1805. Philadelphia: The American Philosophical Society, 1963.
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153:, transporting goods he brought with him from London in an effort to enter the Indian trade. In 1773 he formed a partnership with
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DeRosier Jr., Arthur. William Dunbar: Scientific Pioneer of the Old Southwest. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 2007.
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Rowland, Eron. Life, Letters and Papers of William Dunbar. Jackson: Press of the Mississippi Historical Society, 1930.
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William Dunbar Papers. Riley-Hickingbotham Special Collections. Ouachita Baptist University, Arkadelphia, Arkansas.
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DeRosier, Arthur H. Jr. (August 1966). "William Dunbar: A Product of the Eighteenth Century Scottish Renaissance".
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in 1800 and contributed twelve articles to the Society Transactions on subjects in natural history, astronomy and
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which was referred to as "The Great Expedition". Jefferson sanctioned four other such expeditions: the 1804
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106:(1749–1810) was a Scottish-American merchant, plantation owner, naturalist, astronomer and explorer.
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The Forgotten Expedition, 1804–1805: The Louisiana Purchase Journals of Dunbar And Hunter
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Berry, Trey; Beasley, Pam; Dunbar, Jeanne Clements William; Hunter, George (June 2006).
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Mississippi Society for the Acquirement and Dissemination of Useful Knowledge
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to try his luck in America. He initially became a merchant in
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In the spring of 1771, William Dunbar sailed from London to
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Sir Archibald Dunbar, 4th baronet of Northfield and Duffus
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Sir Archibald Dunbar, 4th baronet of Northfield and Duffus
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William Dunbar: Scientific Pioneer of the Old Southwest
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Life, Letters and Papers of William Dunbar 1749–1810
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137:in the autumn of 1763, and graduated with a
671:Scottish emigrants to the Thirteen Colonies
459:DeRosier, Arthur H. Jr. (October 5, 2007).
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353:Learn how and when to remove this message
114:William Dunbar was born in Duffus House,
316:This article includes a list of general
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85:Archibald, Robert, Alexander, one girl
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646:Alumni of the University of Aberdeen
472:. Louisiana State University Press.
487:The Journal of Mississippi History
430:Dunbar Rowland, Mrs., ed. (1930).
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372:Dunbar Rowland 1930, pp.351–352.
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636:18th-century American planters
445:American Philosophical Society
215:American Philosophical Society
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16:American explorer (1749–1810)
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403:"Encyclopedia of Arkansas"
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407:Encyclopedia of Arkansas
110:Early life and education
68:King's College, Aberdeen
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274:Hot Springs of Arkansas
189:Scientific achievements
219:American Sign Language
173:, where he cultivated
441:"Expedition Journals"
185:on October 16, 1810.
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235:Louisiana Purchase
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171:"The Forest"
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97:Helen Dunbar
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626:1810 deaths
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581:Mississippi
343:August 2017
335:introducing
159:Baton Rouge
615:Categories
450:August 23,
424:References
318:references
183:The Forest
676:Surveyors
569:Geography
557:Biography
412:March 31,
265:Red River
155:John Ross
90:Parent(s)
64:Education
605:Scotland
269:Ouachita
201:In 1799
135:Aberdeen
82:Children
593:Science
543:Portals
331:improve
196:Natchez
167:Natchez
320:, but
179:cotton
175:Indigo
491:XXVII
299:Notes
120:Elgin
118:near
493:(3).
452:2017
414:2021
177:and
52:Died
40:Born
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
