United States Army Captain Zebulon Pike led the Pike expedition (July 15, 1806 – July 1, 1807) to explore the south and west of the Louisiana Purchase. Roughly contemporaneous with the Lewis and Clark expedition, Pike's excursion was the first American effort to explore the western Great Plains and the Rocky Mountains in Colorado, and marked the discovery of Pikes Peak. US Army Seal HHC, US Army Distinctive Unit Insignia The Army is the branch of the United States armed forces that has primary responsibility for land-based military operations. ... Zebulon Montgomery Pike (January 5, 1779–April 27, 1813) was an American soldier and explorer for whom Pikes Peak in Colorado is named. ... July 15 is the 196th day (197th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 169 days remaining. ... 1806 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... July 1 is the 182nd day of the year (183rd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 183 days remaining. ... 1807 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... From Frank Bond, Louisiana and the Louisiana Purchase. ... Lewis and Clark The Lewis and Clark expedition (1804–1806) was the first United States overland expedition to the Pacific coast and back, led by Captain Meriwether Lewis and Second Lieutenant William Clark. ... The Great Plains is the broad expanse of prairie which lies east of the Rocky Mountains in the United States of America and Canada, covering all or parts of the U.S. states of New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, Wyoming, Montana, South Dakota and North Dakota and the... White Goat Wilderness Area, Alberta, Canada The Rocky Mountains, often called the Rockies, are a broad mountain range in western North America. ... Official language(s) English Capital Denver Largest city Denver Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 8th 269,837 km² 451 km 612 km 0. ... Pikes Peak (formerly Pikes Peak, see below) is a mountain in the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains, 10 miles west of Colorado Springs, Colorado, in El Paso County. ...

Purpose of the Expedition

Initiated by order of the Governor of the newly-formed Louisiana Territory James Wilkinson, the Pike expedition had several overt goals, and at least one covert one. The most prosaic purpose was the return to their native soil of 50 Osage Nation prisoners who had been held hostage by rival Potawatomis and liberated by the US Army. More ambitious and vague were orders to negotiate a peace settlement between the Kansas and Pawnee people, and to establish relations with the Comanche. Finally, the expedition was to explore the headwaters of the Arkansas and Red rivers, and explore the length of the Red to its mouth on the Mississippi. The United States in 1810, following the Louisiana Purchase. ... General James Wilkinson James Wilkinson (1757 - December 28, 1825) was a U.S. soldier and statesman, who was associated with several scandals and controversies. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Rain dance, Kansas, c. ... Official language(s) None Capital Topeka Largest city Wichita Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 15th 82,277 mi²; 213,096 km² 211 mi; 340 km 400 mi; 645 km 0. ... Pawnee The Pawnee (also Paneassa, Pari, Pariki) are a Native American tribe that historically lived along the Platte River in what is now Nebraska. ... The Comanche are a Native American group whose historical range (the Comancheria) consisted of present-day Eastern New Mexico, Southern Colorado, Southern Kansas, all of Oklahoma, and most of Northern and Southern Texas. ... Lower Arkansas River The Arkansas River is a tributary of the Mississippi which flows east and southeast through Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma and the state of Arkansas. ... The Red River is one of several rivers with that name, and of two rivers with that name in the United States. ...

The covert purpose of the mission was to determine the strength and location of Spanish forces in what is now Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico and northern Texas. The Louisiana Purchase had just been completed, and large swathes of the southwest edge of the territory were disputed between the United States and Spain. Pike and his outfit were to determine what ability Spain had to defend that claim, if pressed. Official language(s) English Capital Denver Largest city Denver Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 8th 269,837 km² 451 km 612 km 0. ... Official language(s) None Capital Topeka Largest city Wichita Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 15th 82,277 mi²; 213,096 km² 211 mi; 340 km 400 mi; 645 km 0. ... Official language(s) English and Spanish Capital Santa Fe Largest city Albuquerque Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 5th 315,194 km² 550 km 595 km 0. ... Official language(s) None. ... From Frank Bond, Louisiana and the Louisiana Purchase. ...

Wilkinson did not have approval from his superiors in Washington DC for any of the more important points of this mission. Some of the goals, such as the prisoner repatriation, would fall under a territorial governor's jurisdiction, but the more important exploratory and military ones were beyond his authority. After the expedition's departure, however, Wilkinson presented the mission as a fait accompli to the War Department, and received explicit approval. ...

Exploration

Pike left Fort Bellefontaine near St. Louis, Missouri on July 15 with a detachment of 20 soldiers and the 50 freed prisoners. They followed the Missouri River and Osage River to the Osage Nation village at the present-day border of Kansas and Missouri. There, they returned the hostages and parleyed with the natives. Striking northwest, the group made for the Pawnee territory on the Republican River in southern Nebraska. At the Pawnee village on September 29, Pike met with the Pawnee council and announced the new protectorship of the United States government over the territory. He instructed them to remove a Spanish flag and to fly the Stars and Stripes instead. The Gateway Arch, shown here behind the Old Courthouse, is the most recognizable part of the St. ... The Missouri River is a tributary of the Mississippi River in the United States. ... The Osage River is a tributary of the Missouri River, 360 mi (579 km) long, in central Missouri in the United States. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Official language(s) None Capital Topeka Largest city Wichita Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 15th 82,277 mi²; 213,096 km² 211 mi; 340 km 400 mi; 645 km 0. ... State nickname: The Show Me State Official languages English Capital Jefferson City Largest city Kansas City (largest metropolitan area is Saint Louis) Governor Matt Blunt (R) Senators Kit Bond (R) Jim Talent (R) Area  - Total  - % water Ranked 21st 69,709 mi²; 180,693 km² 1. ... The Republican River rises on the high plains of eastern Colorado in the United States. ... Official language(s) English Capital Lincoln Largest city Omaha Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 16th 200,520 km² 340 km 690 km 0. ... September 29 is the 272nd day of the year (273rd in leap years). ...

The expeditionary force then turned south and struck out across the prairie for the Arkansas River. They reached the river on October 14, and the party split in two. One group, under Lieutenant James Biddle Wilkinson, travelled downstream along the length of the Arkansas to its mouth and back up the Mississippi to St. Louis. Pike lead the other group upstream, to the west, toward the headwaters. Lower Arkansas River The Arkansas River is a tributary of the Mississippi which flows east and southeast through Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma and the state of Arkansas. ... October 14 is the 287th day of the year (288th in Leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

Disappointed in the landscape, in his memoirs Pike called the prairie he had crossed The Great American Desert – a term that stuck, and discouraged settlement for decades. The Great American Desert was an inaccurate term that described the area west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains in the 19th century. ...

On November 15 Pike first saw the shadowy distant mountain he called "Grand Peak", which has since been known as Pikes Peak. Pike made an attempt to climb the peak, but was unequipped to achieve the 14,000-foot summit. Despite the coming winter, Pike pressed forwards up the Arkansas, and on December 7 the party reached Royal Gorge, a spectacular canyon on the Arkansas at the base of the Rocky Mountains. November 15 is the 319th day of the year (320th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 46 days remaining. ... Pikes Peak (formerly Pikes Peak, see below) is a mountain in the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains, 10 miles west of Colorado Springs, Colorado, in El Paso County. ... December 7 is the 341st day (342nd in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Royal Gorge (also Grand Canyon of the Arkansas) is a canyon on the Arkansas River near Cañon City, Colorado. ... White Goat Wilderness Area, Alberta, Canada The Rocky Mountains, often called the Rockies, are a broad mountain range in western North America. ...

The party's next goal was to reach the headwaters of the Red River and head back downstream to the Mississippi and relative safety. However, the company's bearings were at this point far askew, and they made several blundering steps in an attempt to find the river. In addition, they were not equipped for a mountain expedition, nor for hard winter weather. Heading north, the party found the South Fork of the Platte River, and following it upstream came to what they thought was the headwaters of the Red. Turning back downstream, they returned to the point at which they had left the Arkansas originally. In fact, they had executed a large, weeks-long loop. The Red River is one of several rivers with that name, and of two rivers with that name in the United States. ... This article is about the Platte River in Nebraska. ...

Hungry, cold, and exhausted, the party headed south over the mountains. Several men were left behind as they dropped from exhaustion, but Pike doggedly pressed on until January 30, when he came to the Rio Grande at a point near Alamosa, Colorado. Pike mistook the Rio Grande for the Red River he had been seeking. Here, he built a fort and attempted to regroup his men, strewn across miles of mountains behind him. January 30 is the 30th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... The Rio Grande flowing in Big Bend National Park Known as the Rio Grande in the United States and as the Río Bravo (or, more formally, the Río Bravo del Norte) in Mexico, the river, 3034 km long, rises in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado, USA, flows... Alamosa is a city located in Alamosa County, Colorado. ...

Capture

At this fort on February 26 Pike and his remaining men were captured by Spanish soldiers from nearby Santa Fe. Arresting the party as spies – which, in a way, they were – the Spanish collected the rest of his men that remained unrescued and marched them south. The prisoners were marched through Santa Fe, Albuquerque, and El Paso to Chihuahua, the state capital. Along the way, Pike's party was treated with respect and celebrated by the Mexican locals, and Pike made careful notes of the military strength and civilian population. February 26 is the 57th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... Santa Fe (Spanish, Holy Faith) (full form: La Villa Real de la Santa Fe de San Francisco de Asís, English: Royal City of the Holy Faith of St. ... Downtown Albuquerque Albuquerque is the largest city in the state of New Mexico, United States. ... Downtown El Paso, Texas, looking south into Mexico from the US side. ... The city of Chihuahua is the state capital of the Mexican state of Chihuahua. ...

Chihuahua's Governor Salcedo was unable to keep a military officer of a neighboring country, still keeping up the pretense of friendliness, incarcerated for long. He ordered the repatriation of Pike, although some of his party were kept in jail in Mexico for years.

Pike and some of his party were escorted north, through San Antonio, Texas, arriving at the border with Louisiana at Natchitoches on July 1, 1807. The Spanish formally complained to the United States Department of State, but the government maintained that the party had been one of exploration only. Ironically, Pike's capture by the Spanish, and consequent travels through New Mexico, northern Mexico, and Texas gave him more information about Spanish power than his exploration could ever have done. Downtown San Antonio as viewed from the Tower of the Americas Motto: Nickname: Alamo City Location in Texas Founded 1731 Incorporated County Bexar County Borough {{{borough}}} Parrish {{{parrish}}} Mayor Phil Hardberger Area  - Total  - Water 1,067. ... Official language(s) English and French Capital Baton Rouge Largest city New Orleans at last official government census, but probably Baton Rouge since Hurricane Katrina Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 31st 134,382 km² 210 km 610 km 16 29°N to 33°N 89°W to... -1... July 1 is the 182nd day of the year (183rd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 183 days remaining. ... 1807 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... The United States Department of State, often referred to as the State Department, is the Cabinet-level foreign affairs agency of the United States government, equivalent to foreign ministries in other countries. ... Official language(s) English and Spanish Capital Santa Fe Largest city Albuquerque Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 5th 315,194 km² 550 km 595 km 0. ... Official language(s) None. ...