Lewis Cass expedition
Encyclopedia
The Lewis Cass expedition of 1820 was a survey of the western part of Michigan Territory
led by Lewis Cass
, governor of the territory. On January 14, 1820, United States
Secretary of War John C. Calhoun
authorized the governor of Michigan Territory, Lewis Cass, to lead a party of scientists, soldiers, Canadian voyageurs, and native Americans into the wilderness of western Michigan Territory. The purpose of the expedition was to:
, located near the entrance to Lake Huron
. The commander of the fort, Major Cummings, exchanged five of his sixty soldiers for two from the expedition who had become ill. On June 6 the expedition reached Michilimackinac
where they awaited the arrival of additional supplies. On June 13 the party departed Michilimackinac bound for Sault Ste. Marie escorted by a twelve-oared barge carrying a military detachment intended to overawe the native Americans. At Sault Ste. Marie Cass called a council of the Ojibway to obtain their permission to establish an Indian agency. The Ojibway, many of whom were loyal to the British, expressed their displeasure with the American proposal. One of their chiefs known as "the count", dressed in the uniform of a British officer, raised a British flag near the expedition's camp. Cass tore down the flag and trampled it under foot, which brought about the submission of the native Americans, who ceded 16 square miles (41.4 km²) on the St. Mary's River
where Fort Brady was constructed two years later. The expedition proceeded west along the south shore of Lake Superior portaging across the Keweenaw Peninsula
. A contingent including Cass, Schoolcraft, and Doty made a side trip 30 miles (48.3 km) up the Ontonagon River
to see the huge mass of copper known as the copper rock. At the western end of Lake Superior the expedition proceeded up the Saint Louis River
to the American Fur Company's
post at Fond du Lac
. Six miles further up the river Cass split his party. Schoolcraft, Doty, and 14 others struck out across country for the American Fur Company's post at Sandy Lake near the Mississippi River, while Cass and the rest of the party continued up the Saint Mary's River heading for the same destination. The overland party lost the trail and struggled through swamps and knee-deep mud, yet arrived at Sandy Lake two days ahead of Cass's group. Cass spent a day at Sandy Lake treating with the native Americans, after which he and the scientific staff ascended the Mississippi in search of its source. They went as far as the lake
that now bears Cass's name and then returned to the post at Sandy Lake.
along the banks. Near the Falls of Saint Anthony
they encountered an encampment of the Fifth Infantry under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Henry Leavenworth
. Here the resident Indian agent, Major Lawrence Taliaferro
called together the local Sioux
for a ceremony of peace with the Ojibway accompanying the Cass expedition. The expedition continued down the Mississippi stopping at Sioux villages to smoke the pipe of peace. On August 5 the party reached Fort Crawford
at Prairie du Chien
, the westernmost post in Michigan Territory. Schoolcraft made a brief side trip to the lead mines near Dubuque
, after which the entire expedition ascended the Wisconsin River
to the Fox-Wisconsin partage and descended the Fox River
to Green Bay
, where they were greeted by a salute from the guns of Fort Howard. At Green Bay Cass dismissed the soldiers and shipped the natural history specimens collected by the scientists to Detroit. He led most of the remaining men down the western shore of Lake Michigan
to Chicago
. Dr. Wolcott and a few companions remained at the Indian agency at Chicago. Governor Cass returned to Detroit on horseback via the Indian trail, while Schoolcraft and Captain Douglass traveled up the eastern shore of Lake Michigan to Michilimackinac where they joined Doty and a couple other members of the expedition who had traveled there directly from Green Bay. This group retraced the expedition's route down Lake Huron to Detroit, arriving there on September 24, 1820, 124 days after their departure.
Michigan Territory
The Territory of Michigan was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from June 30, 1805, until January 26, 1837, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Michigan...
led by Lewis Cass
Lewis Cass
Lewis Cass was an American military officer and politician. During his long political career, Cass served as a governor of the Michigan Territory, an American ambassador, a U.S. Senator representing Michigan, and co-founder as well as first Masonic Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Michigan...
, governor of the territory. On January 14, 1820, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Secretary of War John C. Calhoun
John C. Calhoun
John Caldwell Calhoun was a leading politician and political theorist from South Carolina during the first half of the 19th century. Calhoun eloquently spoke out on every issue of his day, but often changed positions. Calhoun began his political career as a nationalist, modernizer, and proponent...
authorized the governor of Michigan Territory, Lewis Cass, to lead a party of scientists, soldiers, Canadian voyageurs, and native Americans into the wilderness of western Michigan Territory. The purpose of the expedition was to:
- survey the geography and topography of the region in order to produce a complete map
- survey the flora and fauna of the region
- survey the Indians of the region, their numbers, tribes, customs, and loyalties, whether to the United States or Great BritainUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
- select and purchase sites for forts, especially at Sault Ste. MarieSault Ste. Marie, MichiganSault Ste. Marie is a city in and the county seat of Chippewa County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is in the north-eastern end of Michigan's Upper Peninsula, on the Canadian border, separated from its twin city of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, by the St. Marys River...
- survey the geology of the region, especially with regard to commercially valuable minerals
- search for the source of the Mississippi RiverMississippi RiverThe Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
Members of the expedition
The expedition consisted of 42 men as follows:- Lewis CassLewis CassLewis Cass was an American military officer and politician. During his long political career, Cass served as a governor of the Michigan Territory, an American ambassador, a U.S. Senator representing Michigan, and co-founder as well as first Masonic Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Michigan...
, Governor of Michigan Territory - Captain David B. Douglass, Corps of EngineersUnited States Army Corps of EngineersThe United States Army Corps of Engineers is a federal agency and a major Army command made up of some 38,000 civilian and military personnel, making it the world's largest public engineering, design and construction management agency...
, Professor of Mathematics at the United States Military AcademyUnited States Military AcademyThe United States Military Academy at West Point is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located at West Point, New York. The academy sits on scenic high ground overlooking the Hudson River, north of New York City...
at West Point, served as topographer with additional responsibility for surveying plants and animals - Henry SchoolcraftHenry SchoolcraftHenry Rowe Schoolcraft was an American geographer, geologist, and ethnologist, noted for his early studies of Native American cultures, as well as for his 1832 discovery of the source of the Mississippi River. He married Jane Johnston, whose parents were Ojibwe and Scots-Irish...
, mineralogist and geologist - Dr. Alexander Woolcott Jr., physician, Indian Agent at ChicagoChicagoChicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
- James Duane DotyJames Duane DotyJames Duane Doty was a land speculator and politician in the United States who played a large role in the development of Wisconsin and Utah Territory.-Legal career:...
, secretary to the expedition - Lieutenant Aeneus Mackay, artillery
- Robert A. Forsyth, private secretary to Governor Cass
- Charles C. Trowbridge, assistant to Captain Douglass
- Alexander R. Chase, assistant to Captain Douglass
- James Riley, interpreter
- Roy, a Frenchman, served as pilot on Lake SuperiorLake SuperiorLake Superior is the largest of the five traditionally-demarcated Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded to the north by the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. state of Minnesota, and to the south by the U.S. states of Wisconsin and Michigan. It is the largest freshwater lake in the...
- Baptiste, a soldier, served as cook
- 10 Canadian voyageurs managed the canoes
- 10 United States soldiers served as escort
- 10 native Americans served as hunters, their names and tribes as follows:
- Joseph Parks, ShawneeShawneeThe Shawnee, Shaawanwaki, Shaawanooki and Shaawanowi lenaweeki, are an Algonquian-speaking people native to North America. Historically they inhabited the areas of Ohio, Virginia, West Virginia, Western Maryland, Kentucky, Indiana, and Pennsylvania...
, served as interpreter - Kewaychoskum, an OttawaOttawa (tribe)The Odawa or Ottawa, said to mean "traders," are a Native American and First Nations people. They are one of the Anishinaabeg, related to but distinct from the Ojibwe nation. Their original homelands are located on Manitoulin Island, near the northern shores of Lake Huron, on the Bruce Peninsula in...
chief - Manitouwaba (the devil's view), Ottawa
- Haepsanze, Ottawa
- Wyangding (source of the winds), OjibwaOjibwaThe Ojibwe or Chippewa are among the largest groups of Native Americans–First Nations north of Mexico. They are divided between Canada and the United States. In Canada, they are the third-largest population among First Nations, surpassed only by Cree and Inuit...
y - Oshashebaquato (many openings in the clouds), Ojibway
- Wyamgboyeausha (scattered by the wind), Ojibway
- Waubonequet (pale cloud), Ojibway
- Omezekekezchie (the rays of light striking the earth), Ojibway
- Macatawasim (black dog), PotawatomiPotawatomiThe Potawatomi are a Native American people of the upper Mississippi River region. They traditionally speak the Potawatomi language, a member of the Algonquian family. In the Potawatomi language, they generally call themselves Bodéwadmi, a name that means "keepers of the fire" and that was applied...
, discharged at Grosse PointeGrosse PointeGrosse Pointe refers to a coastal area in Metro Detroit, Michigan, United States that comprises five adjacent individual communities. From southwest to northeast, they are:*Grosse Pointe Park, city*Grosse Pointe, city*Grosse Pointe Farms, city...
- Joseph Parks, Shawnee
From Detroit to the Mississippi
The expedition departed Detroit in four large canoes on May 24, 1820. It took three days to reach Fort GratiotFort Gratiot Township, Michigan
Fort Gratiot Charter Township is a charter township of St. Clair County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 10,691 at the 2000 census. It is named for Fort Gratiot an American fort located there off and on between 1814 and 1879.-Communities:...
, located near the entrance to Lake Huron
Lake Huron
Lake Huron is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. Hydrologically, it comprises the larger portion of Lake Michigan-Huron. It is bounded on the east by the Canadian province of Ontario and on the west by the state of Michigan in the United States...
. The commander of the fort, Major Cummings, exchanged five of his sixty soldiers for two from the expedition who had become ill. On June 6 the expedition reached Michilimackinac
Michilimackinac
Michilimackinac is a name for the region around the Straits of Mackinac between Lake Huron and Lake Michigan. Early settlers of North America applied the term to the entire region along Lakes Huron, Michigan, and Superior. Today it is mostly within the boundaries of Michigan, in the United States...
where they awaited the arrival of additional supplies. On June 13 the party departed Michilimackinac bound for Sault Ste. Marie escorted by a twelve-oared barge carrying a military detachment intended to overawe the native Americans. At Sault Ste. Marie Cass called a council of the Ojibway to obtain their permission to establish an Indian agency. The Ojibway, many of whom were loyal to the British, expressed their displeasure with the American proposal. One of their chiefs known as "the count", dressed in the uniform of a British officer, raised a British flag near the expedition's camp. Cass tore down the flag and trampled it under foot, which brought about the submission of the native Americans, who ceded 16 square miles (41.4 km²) on the St. Mary's River
St. Marys River (Michigan-Ontario)
The St. Marys River , sometimes written as the St. Mary's River, drains Lake Superior, starting at the end of Whitefish Bay and flowing 74.5 miles southeast into Lake Huron, with a fall of ....
where Fort Brady was constructed two years later. The expedition proceeded west along the south shore of Lake Superior portaging across the Keweenaw Peninsula
Keweenaw Peninsula
The Keweenaw Peninsula is the northern-most part of Michigan's Upper Peninsula. It projects into Lake Superior and was the site of the first copper boom in the United States. As of the 2000 census, its population was roughly 43,200...
. A contingent including Cass, Schoolcraft, and Doty made a side trip 30 miles (48.3 km) up the Ontonagon River
Ontonagon River
The Ontonagon River is a river flowing to Lake Superior on the western Upper Peninsula of Michigan in the United States. The main stem of the river is 25 mi long and is formed by a confluence of several longer branches, portions of which have been collectively designated as a National Wild...
to see the huge mass of copper known as the copper rock. At the western end of Lake Superior the expedition proceeded up the Saint Louis River
Saint Louis River
The St. Louis River is a river in the U.S. states of Minnesota and Wisconsin that flows into Lake Superior. The largest U.S. river to flow into the lake, it is 179 miles in length and starts near Hoyt Lakes, Minnesota. The river's watershed is in area...
to the American Fur Company's
American Fur Company
The American Fur Company was founded by John Jacob Astor in 1808. The company grew to monopolize the fur trade in the United States by 1830, and became one of the largest businesses in the country. The company was one the first great trusts in American business...
post at Fond du Lac
Fond du Lac (Duluth)
Fond du Lac is a neighborhood in Duluth, Minnesota, United States.Evergreen Memorial Highway serves as a main arterial route in the community.-History:...
. Six miles further up the river Cass split his party. Schoolcraft, Doty, and 14 others struck out across country for the American Fur Company's post at Sandy Lake near the Mississippi River, while Cass and the rest of the party continued up the Saint Mary's River heading for the same destination. The overland party lost the trail and struggled through swamps and knee-deep mud, yet arrived at Sandy Lake two days ahead of Cass's group. Cass spent a day at Sandy Lake treating with the native Americans, after which he and the scientific staff ascended the Mississippi in search of its source. They went as far as the lake
Cass Lake (Minnesota)
Cass Lake is a glacially-formed lake in north central Minnesota in the United States. It is approximately long and wide, located in Cass and Beltrami counties, within the Chippewa National Forest and the Leech Lake Indian Reservation, adjacent to its namesake city of Cass Lake...
that now bears Cass's name and then returned to the post at Sandy Lake.
Return to Detroit
Taking 16 Ojibway with them, the expedition descended the Mississippi, pausing to hunt buffaloAmerican Bison
The American bison , also commonly known as the American buffalo, is a North American species of bison that once roamed the grasslands of North America in massive herds...
along the banks. Near the Falls of Saint Anthony
Saint Anthony Falls
Saint Anthony Falls, or the Falls of Saint Anthony, located northeast of downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota, was the only natural major waterfall on the Upper Mississippi River. The natural falls was replaced by a concrete overflow spillway after it partially collapsed in 1869...
they encountered an encampment of the Fifth Infantry under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Henry Leavenworth
Henry Leavenworth
Henry Leavenworth was an American soldier active in the War of 1812 and early military expeditions against the Plains Indians...
. Here the resident Indian agent, Major Lawrence Taliaferro
Lawrence Taliaferro
Lawrence Taliaferro was a United States Army officer best known for his service as an Indian agent at Fort Snelling, Minnesota from 1820 through 1839 and also as an individual who played a part in the saga of the famous African American slave Dred Scott.Taliaferro was born at Whitehall...
called together the local Sioux
Sioux
The Sioux are Native American and First Nations people in North America. The term can refer to any ethnic group within the Great Sioux Nation or any of the nation's many language dialects...
for a ceremony of peace with the Ojibway accompanying the Cass expedition. The expedition continued down the Mississippi stopping at Sioux villages to smoke the pipe of peace. On August 5 the party reached Fort Crawford
Fort Crawford
Fort Crawford was an outpost of the United States Army located in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, during the 19th Century. The Second Fort Crawford Military Hospital was designated a U.S. National Historic Landmark in 1960....
at Prairie du Chien
Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin
Prairie du Chien is a city in and the county seat of Crawford County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 5,911 at the 2010 census. Its Zip Code is 53821....
, the westernmost post in Michigan Territory. Schoolcraft made a brief side trip to the lead mines near Dubuque
Dubuque, Iowa
Dubuque is a city in and the county seat of Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, located along the Mississippi River. In 2010 its population was 57,637, making it the ninth-largest city in the state and the county's population was 93,653....
, after which the entire expedition ascended the Wisconsin River
Wisconsin River
-External links:* * * , Wisconsin Historical Society* * * *...
to the Fox-Wisconsin partage and descended the Fox River
Fox River (Wisconsin)
The Fox River is a river in eastern and central Wisconsin in the United States. Along the banks is a chain of cities, including Oshkosh, Neenah, Menasha, Appleton, Little Chute, Kimberly, Combined Locks, and Kaukauna. Except for Oshkosh, these cities refer to themselves as the Fox Cities...
to Green Bay
Green Bay, Wisconsin
Green Bay is a city in and the county seat of Brown County in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, located at the head of Green Bay, a sub-basin of Lake Michigan, at the mouth of the Fox River. It has an elevation of above sea level and is located north of Milwaukee. As of the 2010 United States Census,...
, where they were greeted by a salute from the guns of Fort Howard. At Green Bay Cass dismissed the soldiers and shipped the natural history specimens collected by the scientists to Detroit. He led most of the remaining men down the western shore of Lake Michigan
Lake Michigan
Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America and the only one located entirely within the United States. It is the second largest of the Great Lakes by volume and the third largest by surface area, after Lake Superior and Lake Huron...
to Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
. Dr. Wolcott and a few companions remained at the Indian agency at Chicago. Governor Cass returned to Detroit on horseback via the Indian trail, while Schoolcraft and Captain Douglass traveled up the eastern shore of Lake Michigan to Michilimackinac where they joined Doty and a couple other members of the expedition who had traveled there directly from Green Bay. This group retraced the expedition's route down Lake Huron to Detroit, arriving there on September 24, 1820, 124 days after their departure.
Results
The Louis Cass expedition, which cost $6300, resulted in a series of anonymous articles in the Detroit Gazette in the winter of 1820-21, a 419 page book by Henry Schoolcraft, and at least 15 scientific papers. Schoolcraft's book, Narrative Journal of Travels...from Detroit...to the Sources of the Mississippi River, sold 1200 copies within a few months of its publication in 1821.Further reading
- Brown, Ralph H.: "With Cass in the Northwest in 1820: The Journal of Charles C. Trowbridge, May 24--September 13, 1820", Minnesota History, 23(1942):126-148,233-252,328-348.
- Doty, James Duane: "Northern Wisconsin in 1820", Wisconsin Historical Collections, 79(1876):195-206.
- Schoolcraft, Henry R.: Narrative Journal of Travels from Detroit Northwest through the Great Chain of American Lakes to the Sources of the Mississippi River in the Year 1820, Albany, 1821.