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261:, was ordered to select and lead a crew of notable specialists in zoology, geology, cartography, journalism, art and botany to accompany the expedition. It was the first scientific expedition of U.S. government-funded "Army Engineers" charged with mapping, studying, documenting and exploring the vast area of uncharted land between the Mississippi River and the
491:), which claimed the lives of over 200 of the 1,126 men that first winter. Estimates of the civilian deaths is possibly as high as double the military dead; no records were kept of their losses. Finally, in the spring of 1820, the Missouri River flooded Cantonment Missouri, so the soldiers built a permanent camp atop Council Bluff, and renamed it
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entire region east of the mountains, for less money than his actual operations took in 1819 alone. The insignificant results of the first season's work, and the scandal growing out of the transportation contract, disgusted
Congress with the whole enterprise and that body declined to appropriate any further funds for it.
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an unqualified failure if not a huge fiasco... Although the troops could with ease have marched three times as far as the boats carried them, it was considered necessary to transport them in a manner becoming the dignity of so vast an enterprise. As a result it took an entire season to reach a point
143:
Secretary
Calhoun stated the expedition was a "part of a system of measures" to maintain northwestern trade, describing its objects as "the protection of our northwestern frontier and the greater extension of our fur trade." The economic condition had halted in the states due to growing dissent over
558:
The same spirit of absurd extravagance pervaded the scientific branch of the enterprise. If Major Long had been content with a sentible field equipment transported on pack mules, or on a keelboat while on the
Missouri, he could have kept his party in the field for five years,, and have explored the
337:
is well armed and carries an elegant flag representing a white man and an Indian shaking hands, the calumet of peace and the sword. The boat is 75 feet long, 13 feet beam and draws 19 inches of water. The steam passes off through the mouth of a larger figure-head (a serpent)...". This was the first
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along the side, and armed the crew with rifles and sabres. Nicknamed "Long's Dragon" because it was decorated as a serpent in order to deter and frighten any hostile frontier natives, it was anything but a typical steamboat of its day. Its hull drew only 19 inches (48 cm) of water compared to
507:
Due to its financial costs and general lack of first season results, the expedition became a resounding failure upon stalling at Fort Lisa. Congressional economy measures and difficulties in supplying such distant outposts prevented the completion of the expedition and the force was halted there,
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issued a report projecting a budget deficit of five million dollars. Added to this, the costs of the expedition grossly exceeded those anticipated, mostly due to James
Johnson's "malfeasance" and his brother Richard's influential pleas for further funding. The political reputation of James and
230:
of St. Louis said on April 21, 1819 that "there is no measure which has been adopted by the present administration that has received such universal commendation." The public's later "deep disappointment at their non-fulfilment" was to coincide with an eventual "scandal growing out of the
320:
The boat had a 75-by-13-foot (22.9 by 4.0 m) hull with the weight of the machinery carefully distributed to permit increased maneuverability in shallow channels. To protect the vessel from Indian attack, Long installed a bulletproof pilothouse, mounted a cannon on the bow, placed
386:
Atkinson's party suffered a variety of problems from the outset, including an inefficient and corrupt steamboat captain. Five steamboats had been contracted for
Atkinson, but two had not reached the Mississippi at all and, of the remainder, a third (the
226:. Richard Johnson enjoyed considerable leverage over the expedition's funding as chairman from 1817 to 1819 of the House Committee on Expenditures in the Department of War, and there was warm public interest in the enterprise. An editorial of the
483:"Cantonment Missouri", set along the river bottom below the bluffs, was short-lived. The winter of 1819–20 was very harsh, and a shortfall of government contractors left the garrison without sufficient supplies. The soldiers suffered widespread
231:
transportation contract", with revelations that James
Johnson had been practically guaranteed against loss and had thus taken little care to see that his equipment was of sufficient character to ensure a prompt fulfillment of the contract.
470:
Atkinson's troops arrived several days later, on
September 26. The parties then decided to build two camps for winter quarters, establishing Atkinson's troops in "Cantonment Missouri" near Council Bluff and Major Long's men at
475:", five miles down the river near the western riverbank, and half a mile upstream from Fort Lisa. Within a month, the quarters were substantially completed and Major Long returned to the east coast for further orders.
362:
in May 1819, when
Colonel Atkinson led his force of 1,126 riflemen upriver on three well-equipped, state-of-the-art steamboats. Major Long later followed with the scientific party of "Army Engineers" aboard the
326:
the 5 or 6 feet (1.5 or 1.8 m) of most steamboats of the era. Its basic design (shallow draft, rear paddlewheel, narrow beam, amidships engine) later became the prototype for western river steam vessels.
163:, the principal tributary of the upper Missouri, which meets the Missouri in what is now western North Dakota. These forts were intended to increase the American presence in the
391:) was soon found incapable of navigating the numerous snags, sandbars and currents. She and her crew were left behind, some forty miles below Franklin. The last two (the
431:
The expedition left the mouth of the Kansas River on August 13, 1819 and arrived at the mouth of the Grand Nemaha River two weeks later. On
September 17, the steamboat
305:-littered channels of the Missouri River and its tributaries, with a particularly strong engine for increased power against swift currents. Another novel feature was a
511:
In May 1820, Long returned to "Engineer
Cantonment" with his own orders from the Secretary of War to cease work along the Missouri and turn instead to exploring the
515:
and its sources. The expedition left their winter quarters on June 6, 1820. Colonel Atkinson led a further expedition to reach the Yellowstone River in 1825.
898:
257:
The expedition was also chartered to perform science and engineering functions, in conjunction with which a U.S. Army topographical engineer, Major
403:, to winter at Cow Island and return to St. Louis in the spring. After several days and many miles, Atkinson's troops had to resort back to using
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447:. "The Council Bluffs" was at that time the generic name for the land on both sides of the Missouri River upstream of the mouth of the
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had recommended the high bluff overlooking the Missouri River to the U.S. government as a suitable location to build a fort.
32:
128:
855:
History of the American Fur Trade of the Far West (Vol.2), Ch.2: The Yellowstone Expedition of 1819-1820 (pages 560-583)
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by the Missouri River near St. Louis. The 6th Infantry hastily traveled the 2,700 miles by land and water to the area.
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36:
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Map of North America, from an 1818 U.S. edition of Pinkerton's Atlas, showing the approximate area of the 1803
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452:
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Richard Johnson was mostly maintained, however, due to their respective popularity in their home district.
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influence on the northern plains. The first fort was to be at the Council Bluff (not to be confused with
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399:) also could not advance through the treacherous obstacles and were stopped just above the mouth of the
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250:. In the fall of 1818, he received orders to rendezvous his troops to the south and encamp with the
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a few years earlier, which were powered mainly by men rowing, poling or towing upriver with ropes.
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built into the stern to reduce the danger of damage from snags. The vessel was launched in
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to transport the task force of scientists as far as possible on the venture. Named the
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184:
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113:
451:, and Fort Lisa was located "at a point between five and six miles below the original
282:
882:
599:
Goodwin, Cardinal (1917). "A Larger View of the Yellowstone Expedition (1819-1820)".
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well downstream of its intended destination at the mouth of the Yellowstone River.
27:
This article is about the 1819 Yellowstone expedition. For the 1871 expedition, see
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512:
448:
400:
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175:, 20 miles to the south), the site previously used for an 1804 council between the
85:
534:
214:
In 1818, Calhoun awarded the expedition's transportation and supply contract to
748:"184 Years of Lost American History is Emerging from Local Missouri River Soil"
529:
At about the time that the Yellowstone expedition departed from St. Louis, the
460:
380:
372:
180:
42:
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294:
443:. This was on the west side of the river, about 20 miles north of today's
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Regiments made up the expedition's military component. They departed from
404:
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70:
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424:
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301:, it was uniquely designed to navigate the expected narrow, shallow,
148:, and this gave the expedition military as well as economic purpose.
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612:
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Major Long immediately planned the construction of an experimental
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in the winter of 1818–19, and was probably the first stern-wheel
155:, the expedition aimed to establish a series of forts along the
73:
367:, leaving in June. Notable expedition members included Captain
545:
In 1905, writer H.M. Chittendem summarized the expedition as:
234:
The Yellowstone expedition was led by Colonel (later General)
375:), landscape painter Samuel Seymour, naturalist and painter
533:
brought an end to the economic expansion that followed the
463:
Indians, August 3, 1804, and now the site of the town of
644:"Richard Mentor Johnson, 9th Vice President - US Senate"
218:, partner and younger brother of Kentucky Congressman
116:, but was otherwise a costly failure, stalling near
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that could have been reached in two months at most.
813:. U.S. Corps of Topographical Engineers website
455:- where Lewis and Clark had a council with the
210:watershed with tributaries and states labelled.
537:. In December 1819, Secretary of the Treasury
525:Financial issues and over-extravagant planning
439:, a trading post belonging to William Clark's
594:
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62:in 1819 and 1820 authorized by United States
35:. For the expedition of Lewis and Clark, see
8:
781:H.R. Doc. 110 16th Cong. 2d Sess. 164 (1821)
638:
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634:
632:
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572:, for his 1820 and 1823 expeditions up the
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797:p. 53, on Rootsweb.com, Retrieved 5/28/08
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144:state issues that were to lead up to the
92:after its two principal leaders, Colonel
601:The Mississippi Valley Historical Review
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31:. For the 1873 US Army expedition, see
50:authorized the Yellowstone Expedition.
7:
520:Stephen H. Long's Expedition of 1820
669:"Fort Calhoun -- Washington County"
487:(due to poor nutrition and lack of
346:territory all the way to Nebraska.
224:Vice President of the United States
899:Expeditions from the United States
69:, with the goal of establishing a
25:
852:Chittendem, Hiram Martin (1905).
811:"Stephen Harriman Long biography"
427:at Council Bluff, Nebraska, 1819.
333:of May 26, 1819 stated that "The
675:. University of Nebraska-Lincoln
29:Hayden Geological Survey of 1871
33:Yellowstone Expedition of 1873
1:
790:Morton & Watkins. (1918)
750:. OmahaRiverFront.com website
112:post established west of the
889:Exploration of North America
499:, it was abandoned in 1827.
371:(later military governor of
100:, it led to the creation of
495:. Just east of present-day
338:steamboat to travel up the
159:on the way upstream to the
18:1818 Yellowstone Expedition
930:
894:North American expeditions
517:
423:Major Long meets with the
354:The 6th U.S. Infantry and
275:
177:Lewis and Clark Expedition
37:Lewis and Clark Expedition
26:
914:1820 in the United States
909:1819 in the United States
503:Failure of the expedition
407:similar to those used by
222:, who would later become
58:was an expedition to the
311:Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
90:Atkinson–Long Expedition
554:He wrote further that:
88:. Sometimes called the
839:Chittendem, pp.570-571
578:Red River of the North
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552:
497:Fort Calhoun, Nebraska
428:
290:
220:Richard Mentor Johnson
211:
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56:Yellowstone expedition
51:
858:. Francis P. Harper.
570:Stephen Harriman Long
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518:Further information:
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329:A description in the
285:
259:Stephen Harriman Long
244:Plattsburgh, New York
205:
131:
98:Stephen Harriman Long
45:
795:History of Nebraska.
673:Nebraska...Our Towns
445:Council Bluffs, Iowa
441:Missouri Fur Company
350:Expedition departure
242:, then stationed at
173:Council Bluffs, Iowa
118:Council Bluffs, Iowa
80:at the mouth of the
539:William H. Crawford
473:Engineer Cantonment
360:St. Louis, Missouri
238:, commander of the
179:and members of the
153:St. Louis, Missouri
429:
344:Louisiana Purchase
291:
248:U.S.–Canada border
212:
167:and to counteract
146:American Civil War
141:
134:Louisiana Purchase
110:United States Army
52:
46:Secretary of War
830:Chittendem, p.570
772:Chittendem, p.567
722:Chittendem, p.566
710:Chittendem, p.571
701:Chittendem, p.564
692:Chittendem, p.561
288:Western Engineer.
161:Yellowstone River
138:Mississippi River
82:Yellowstone River
60:American frontier
16:(Redirected from
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389:Thomas Jefferson
379:, and zoologist
365:Western Engineer
335:Western Engineer
331:Missouri Gazette
299:Western Engineer
278:Western Engineer
271:Western Engineer
228:Missouri Gazette
64:Secretary of War
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104:in present-day
84:in present-day
67:John C. Calhoun
48:John C. Calhoun
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479:Winter 1819–20
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369:Stephen Kearny
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340:Missouri River
315:paddle steamer
276:Main article:
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252:Rifle Regiment
236:Henry Atkinson
208:Missouri River
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157:Missouri River
151:Starting from
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114:Missouri River
94:Henry Atkinson
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513:Platte River
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465:Fort Calhoun
449:Platte River
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401:Kansas River
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393:R.M. Johnson
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377:Titian Peale
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317:ever built.
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240:6th Infantry
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198:Preparations
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136:west of the
108:, the first
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86:North Dakota
55:
53:
792:"Fur Trade"
535:War of 1812
435:arrived at
415:Autumn 1819
307:paddlewheel
206:Map of the
883:Categories
871:2011-08-09
817:2011-08-09
754:2011-08-09
679:2009-10-19
649:2011-01-11
584:References
397:Expedition
381:Thomas Say
373:California
286:Steamboat
269:Steamboat
124:Background
96:and Major
489:vitamin C
437:Fort Lisa
405:keelboats
356:1st Rifle
342:into the
323:howitzers
295:steamboat
185:Missouria
165:fur trade
576:and the
564:See also
457:Missouri
395:and the
190:tribes.
106:Nebraska
71:military
621:1888594
425:Pawnees
246:on the
169:British
78:outpost
862:
619:
574:Platte
485:scurvy
467:...".
617:JSTOR
860:ISBN
461:Otoe
459:and
303:snag
183:and
74:fort
54:The
609:doi
181:Oto
76:or
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
