Bryan_Carey's Full Review: Stephen E. Ambrose Jr. - Undaunted Courage: Meriwe...
Stephen Ambrose is a well- known and well- respected historian and the author of dozens of best- selling books. He has a great love for history, and this passion is evident from start to finish in this book, “Undaunted Courage”. It tells the story of Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, two brave men who set out to explore the American west following the Louisiana Purchase.
Contents of This Book:
Ambrose begins this 474- page book with a few chapters explaining the events that led up to the exploration. President Thomas Jefferson was instrumental in the purchasing of the Louisiana territory from France, which doubled the size of the United States. Much of this land mass was unexplored and the only settlements that existed in these areas were controlled by American Indians. Jefferson felt it was important to explore the area. He was very interested in the geography and wildlife in the western lands and, most importantly, he wanted to see if there was an all- water route from the Missouri River, all the way to the Pacific Ocean.
The first 11 chapters cover the origins of the expedition, the backgrounds of the key people, and the preparations for departure. Starting with chapter 11, the Lewis and Clark expedition kicks off, in the summer of 1804, with a crew of about 30 men, and Lewis’ dog Seaman, a large Newfoundland. The crew sets off, paddling upstream on the Missouri River. They were heading into unchartered lands, and no one really knew what to expect. They were fully aware that they would be encountering several Indian tribes along the way, but whether or not these meetings with the natives would be friendly or not was a mystery.
To properly prepare themselves, the crew brought along a large supply of food, gifts, medicine, tools, weapons, and whiskey. The whiskey was more scarce than the sailors would prefer and it had to be rationed. On more than one occasion, some members of the crew were caught drinking more than their allotted amount of whiskey. They were court- marshaled, and sentenced to anywhere from 50 to 100 lashes on the back with a leather whip.
Gifts were plentiful on the expedition, and for good reason. Thomas Jefferson had instructed the men to approach the Indians in a peaceful way, and only to fight back if the Indians struck first. The gifts, which included beads, medals, clothing, hats, and a few other items, were handed out to the native peoples as a friendly sign of peace. The Indian tribes, for the most part, were friendly and they gladly accepted the peace offerings. They also liked the idea of having American trading posts established in their native lands, which was one of the promises that Lewis made to them, on the condition that they cooperate fully with the expedition. Some Indian tribes, like the Sioux, were less friendly than the others and they demanded more than just gifts of clothing, beads, and medals. They insisted on getting rifles and ammunition, too, or else the expedition would be turned back. Having no other options, the crew had to give in to the Indian’s demands.
Approximately one year and 6 months later, Lewis and Clark and their crew finally made it to their destination: the Pacific Ocean. It took a little longer than they had planned, and they failed to find an all water route to the Pacific. But they made many great discoveries along the way. They were the first Americans to see a coyote, a prairie dog, the Great Falls of the Missouri, and the Rocky Mountains. Lewis made it a point to collect plant and animal samples along the way, to help further the cause of science. He was also careful to make measurements everywhere he went of things like the latitude and longitude of an important landmark; the width of each river and tributary that the men encountered; the size of the natural wonders along the way; etc. All of this information would be very useful, when he returned home, both to the president and to the scientific community.
The trip back was a little easier, mainly because the men had already gone through the area once before and because when they reached the Missouri River, they were now going downstream, rather than upstream. They made it back to St. Louis in September, 1806, just over two years after their departure.
The final eight chapters in this book detail the reaction from the public, President Jefferson, and Lewis’ own problems with publishing his findings, alcohol abuse, and his problems with courtship. This part of the book digs into areas that most Americans are unaware, because our high school history classes make little mention of it. There was much controversy at the time, over who was the rightful owner of the information that was gathered. Lewis felt that he was the owner, and that he should be the one to benefit financially once his discoveries were published. Others felt that the findings were the property of the government, since the crew was sent on an official government mission.
Lewis’ problems seemed to grow deeper and deeper each day. He was badly in debt, a heavy drinker, and a frequent consumer of morphine and opium pills. He was depressed and felt that his mission was a failure because he didn’t find an all- water route to the Pacific Ocean. He also could not seem to fulfill his desire to find a woman. His fellow crew member, William Clark, had no problem meeting the woman of his dreams and starting a family. Lewis did not have such luck, which is surprising when you consider his great popularity at the time.
But the problems were more than he could handle. In October, 1809, Meriwether Lewis committed suicide. He shot himself once in the head, then in the chest. He was staggering, but still alive, so he finished his job by slashing his own body with a razor. He died the next day.
Final Thoughts:
Stephen Ambrose writes this book like a storyteller. You feel like you’re listening to your grandfather as he reads you an exciting adventure story on exploration.
Much of the quotes in this book are taken directly from Lewis’ meticulous journals that he wrote along the expedition. Ambrose includes the exact quote, including misspellings and bad grammar. He wants you to see the words exactly as they were written, not an edited version. The misspellings are obvious, but you can still make out what was being communicated. Lewis wrote the words based on their pronunciation, rather than their precise spelling. For example, for the word “picturesque”, he wrote instead “picturesk”.
Ambrose doesn’t speak much about the happenings in Washington, while the expedition was in progress. The bulk of the book is dedicated to the voyage itself. Even in the last section of the book, which deals with the events and problems after the exploration was over, there is little mention of the reaction by political leaders, or by Thomas Jefferson himself. The book tries to stay focused on the men who were part of the voyage of discovery.
This was a great little refresher on American History. I learned much that I did not know about this important event, from reading this book. I did not realize, for example, that the expedition included a crew of more than 30 men (I thought it was much smaller than that). I also did not know that Lewis had all these problems upon his return, and I did not know that he committed suicide. Either I slept through that part of my high school history class, or it was never mentioned at all.
“Undaunted Courage” is a great book for all to read. Ambrose explains the events in his own eloquent, passionate style, making you daydream about what it must have been like to be a member of this crew. These men explored unknown territories; met up with potentially hostile Indians; and ventured into vast wilderness areas with wildlife that no other white man had ever seen before.
Lewis and Clark were two men of great confidence and, along with their equally intrepid crew of 30+ men, they made numerous and priceless contributions to history. They will always be remembered for their courageous voyage through the American west, which solidified America’s claim to this region.
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