When Meriwether Lewis began shopping for supplies and firearms to take on the Corps of Discovery’s journey west, his first stop was a federal arsenal. For the following 29 months - from the time the Lewis and Clark expedition left Camp Dubois with a cannon salute in 1804, until it announced its return from the West Coast to St. Louis, with a volley in 1806 - weapons were a crucial component of the participants’ tool kit. In Weapons of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, historian Jim Garry describes the arms and ammunition the expedition carried, and the use and care those weapons received.

Throughout the trek, the travelers used their guns to procure food - they could consume around 350 pounds of meat a day - and to protect themselves from dangerous animals. Firearms were also invaluable in encounters with Indian groups, as guns were one of the most sought-after trade items in the West. As Garry notes, the explorers’ willingness to demonstrate their weapons’ firepower probably kept meetings with some tribes from becoming violent.

The mix of arms carried by the expedition extended beyond rifles and muskets to include pistols, knives, espontoons, a cannon, and blunderbusses. Each chapter focuses on one of the major types of weapons and weaves accounts from the expedition journals, with the author’s knowledge gained from field-testing the muskets and rifles he describes.

Weapons of the Lewis and Clark Expedition integrates original research with a lively narrative.

The book is published by University of Oklahoma Press. The audiobook is published by University Press Audiobooks.