In 1950 the USA issued a 3c stamp to commemorate the 150th Anniversary of the Lewis and Clark Expedition the first expedition to the Pacific Coast and back. This expedition, which had been initiated by President Thomas Jefferson before the Louisiana Purchase in 1803 trip, was about 40 strong ranging in age from 29 to 33 under the leadership of Captain Merriwether Lewis, with Lieut. William Clark as his second in command.
The Lewis and Clark Expedition (1804-06)
On May 14, 1804, after a winter near St. Louis spent in military training and gathering supplies and equipment, the group started off up the Missouri River in three boats supplementing their supplies en route with wild game and fish. By November they had made the difficult assent of the Missouri and had reached Wood River, Illinois, near the junction of the Missouri and Mississippi rivers. Here they built a small fort where they were able to spent the winter.
In the first issue, shown above, the stamps depict from left to right:
‘The Saga Begins’ the start of the expedition up the Missouri River
‘Westward Bound’ Meriwether Lewis, William Clark and Sacagawea, the Shoshoni guide survey the
vast wilderness through which they have to travel
‘Endless Bison’ Lewis and Clark encounter massive herds of North American bison.
‘The Saga Begins’ the start of the expedition up the Missouri River
‘Westward Bound’ Meriwether Lewis, William Clark and Sacagawea, the Shoshoni guide survey the
vast wilderness through which they have to travel
‘Endless Bison’ Lewis and Clark encounter massive herds of North American bison.
The 200th Anniversary was commemorated in 2004 by three further stamps from the USA (shown below) together with an issue of 18 stamps from the Marshall Islands. These were issued in six installments in strips of three as shown below, printed in a miniature sheet of three rows of three stamps.(an example of this appears as the sixth issue)
The Story Behind The Stamps