Firearms of the Lewis and Clark Expedition.

by Stuart Wier

Firearms were essential to the success of the Lewis and Clark Expedition for daily hunting for food, and, to a lesser extent, for natural history collections. Traveling across an unmapped and unknown wilderness, remote from familiar sources of aid and supply, guns were one of the indispensable tools of the explorers. During the entire expedition, lasting 2 years and 4 months, more than 30,000 dinners were served. Even though they departed with tons of supplies, during most of the journey they relied on hunting for food. Hunters went out virtually every day. Dozens of new animals were discovered and preserved specimens sent back east.

The journals and records prepared by the expedition members show that they carried U.S. military rifles obtained from the U.S. Arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Virginia, and service muskets brought by soldiers posted from other units. Personal firearms were brought by Captains Clark and Lewis, and some of the hunters enlisted for the journey may have used their own rifles. The French-speaking boatmen may have carried “trade guns,” a common type of musket. Lewis brought an “air gun,” a case of matched pistols, and a fowler, and Clark brought an "elegant fusil.”. A “swivel gun,” a small cannon, was mounted on the keelboat, and the two pirogues each had a blunderbuss. All the firearms of the Lewis and Clark expedition were single-shot, muzzle loading, black powder guns with flintlock ignition, the notable exception being Lewis's air gun, which on several occasions astonished native Indians with its rapid and nearly silent operation.

Two kinds of guns were the main reliance of the explorers. Lewis obtained fifteen rifles at Harpers Ferry Arsenal in the spring of 1803. Apparently these were the “1792 Contract Rifle,” modified for the expedition. They were plain, Pennsylvania-style rifles, with no ornamentation. Full stocked, barrel length something like 36 to 40 inches (short for the day), and caliber at least 49 and perhaps as large as 54. At least nine men brought their own rifles, as did Lewis and Clark.

The other gun of daily use was the “Charleville pattern” musket, the standard firearm of US soldiers of the period. It is a 69 caliber smoothbore, and is now called the “Model 1795 Springfield” musket. Both the rifle and musket weighed nearly nine or ten pounds and required most of a minute to load a single shot. Powder horns, powder measures, patching, and lead balls were required accessories.

Clark brought a small 36 caliber “squirrel rifle,” and an “elegant fusil,” a light-weight gentleman's sporting smoothbore. Lewis brought a case of matched pistols, one of which he traded for a horse. Both captains carried a “horseman's pistol” either the “US 1799 North and Cheney” model, similar to the French Charleville 1763 pistol, or the “US 1799 Contract” pistol (McCormick model), both now great rarities.

Lewis's air gun was a remarkable property of the expedition. Widespread agreement is that it was a Girandoni-style air rifle, designed and built in Europe for the Austrian army. The Girandoni was 46 caliber, had a magazine for 20 shots, and was a repeater. Lewis used it to impress Indians in council. It was smokeless, nearly silent, and could fire 20 shots in one minute. The Indians were impressed. The air gun was the most unusual piece of equipment on the expedition.

There are no known surviving guns from the expedition. Claims are made for three guns, but the claims are doubtful, lacking any definitive proof.

For more see Firearms of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, Stuart Wier, in print, We Proceeded On, 2005.