In 1803, at President Jefferson's request, Captains Lewis and Clark and their Corps of Discovery set out to explore beyond the newly purchased land of the Louisiana Territory to the western end of the continent. By the time the Corps returned years later, everyone believed they were dead-killed by bears, attacked by Indians, or fallen victims to a rough country. But the men had survived and with their long journey, they staked a claim to the West for the new country, America.