March 23
March 23
Lewis and Clark depart Fort Clatsop
After passing a wet and tedious winter near the Pacific Coast, Lewis and Clark leave behind Fort Clatsop and head east for home. The Corps of Discovery arrived at the Pacific…
A Year In History: 1806
This Year in History:
1806
Discover what happened in this year with HISTORY’s summaries of major events, anniversaries, famous births and notable deaths.
May 30
May 30
Future president Andrew Jackson kills Charles Dickinson in a duel
On May 30, 1806, future President Andrew Jackson kills a man who accused him of cheating on a horse race bet and then insulted his wife, Rachel. Contemporaries described Jackson,…
July 15
July 15
Pike expedition sets out across the American Southwest
Zebulon Pike, the U.S. Army officer who in 1805 led an exploring party in search of the source of the Mississippi River, sets off with a new expedition to explore…
August 11
August 11
Meriwether Lewis is shot in the leg
While hunting for elk along the Missouri River, Meriwether Lewis is shot in the thigh, probably by one of his own men. Meriwether Lewis and William Clark had embarked on…
September 20
September 20
The returning Lewis and Clark reach the first white settlement on the Missouri
On September 20, 1806, after nearly two‑and‑a‑half years spent exploring the western wilderness, the Corps of Discovery arrived at the frontier village of La Charette, the first white settlement they…
September 23
September 23
Lewis and Clark return to St. Louis
Amid much public excitement, American explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark return to St. Louis, Missouri, from the first recorded overland journey from the Mississippi River to the Pacific coast…
November 15
November 15
Zebulon Pike spots an imposing mountain
Approaching the Colorado foothills of the Rocky Mountains during his second exploratory expedition, Lieutenant Zebulon Pike spots a distant mountain peak that looks “like a small blue cloud.” The mountain…
