Lewis and Clark - Corps of Discovery - Air Rifle

In the video the curator doesn't state that this rifle IS the one used, he says that they used this type of rifle.  I was under the impression that the rifle in the video was the ACTUAL rifle used by the Lewis and Clark Expedition.

Being born and raised in St. Louis, all of the local schools hit the Lewis and Clark Expedition very hard in History and Social Studies.  And I remember as a young boy going to the Missouri History Museum, where they had actual artifacts from the Lewis and Clark Expedition, also going to the Powder Valley Conservation Area where they had a 1/2 scale replica of one of the longboats used by the Lewis and Clark Expedition.

Over the years as I grew up, I undertook many self guided trips looking for the history of the St. Louis Area.  I went to the Camp Dubois State Historic Site in Illinois.  When I went to Kemper Military School in Boonville, MO I would walk up to the Missouri river with a history book about the expedition to see if I could locate some of the landmarks from descriptions in the book.  Sections of the Katy Trail running from St. Louis to points west is putting up trail markers on the opposite side of the river from Boonville, detailing parts of the journey.

All in all, I'm grateful I grew up in St. Louis, and I'm grateful my parents instilled in me a curiosity in the history of the area, which through St. Louis' importance during the Civil War, led me to start studying the history of the Civil War and has further led to my interest in military history in particular and history in general.

As you can see I've included some links for you to peruse.

I hope you find them enjoyable.

And if you live in St. Louis and have never explored the real history f St. Louis, I urge you to.  As it is fascinating and very informative.  If you ever visit St. Louis, there are many other places besides what I have listed above, I will list a few of them below.

The City Museum

The St. Louis Science Center and Planetarium

The St. Louis Zoo

The St. Louis Art Museum

St. Louis Soldiers Memorial

St. Louis Arch/Old Court House/ Jefferson National Expansion Memorial

And easily over 100 more.  You can take a tour at one of the several breweries, go to historic Soulard Farmer's Market, if you are around at Halloween time there are many haunted houses near the down town area.  Ride the Metro Link from down town all the way out to the airport and just look at the buildings along the way.  Walk around the Central West End and sample hundreds of different types of cuisine and brews.  You can also do that in the Soulard area, but the CWE has a flavor all it's own.  See the Fox Theater on Grand Boulevard, or go west in to the Richmond Height Clayton area to the Hi-Pointe Theater and see a movie or see a show at The Muny in Forest Park.  Go to Powell Hall to hear the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra play.

I could probably put in another 10 or 20 paragraphs describing all the really neat and interesting things in St. Louis.  So if you ever have the chance, go enjoy yourself.