The first – and perhaps the only – two men who ever asked for directions are honored in today’s #stampoftheday, a 3-cent stamp issued on July 29, 1954 honoring the 150th anniversary of the famous Lewis and Clark Expedition.

The expedition, which also was known as the Corps of Discovery Expedition, which stared on August 31, 1803, and continued to September 25, 1806. (Given this, it’s not at all clear why the stamp was issued in late July.) Like FDR and the Wright brothers, both subjects of recent posts, ago, Lewis and Clark are pretty well-known so I’ll highlight a four important lessons that I take from their amazing journey.

The first, which is a theme I often find in the stamps, is the importance of finding and empowering good leaders. President Thomas Jefferson, a man whose curiosity and knowledge knew few bounds, wanted someone who could lead a group that would explore and to map the enormous amount of land that the United States bought from France in the Louisiana Purchase. The expedition was supposed to find a practical route across the western half of the continent, establish an American presence in this territory before Britain and other European powers tried to claim it, and assert US dominion over the many Native American tribes living on those lands. Moreover, it had scientific and economic objectives as well: to study the area’s plants, animal life, and geography, and to establish trade with Native Americans living on the land the US had just acquired.

To carry out this ambitious charge, Jefferson tapped Army Captain Meriwether Lewis who, he later wrote, not only had expertise in “in botany, natural history, mineralogy & astronomy,” but also had “firmness of constitution & character, prudence, habits adapted to the woods & a familiarity with the Indian manners and character.” Lewis, in turn, asked his close friend Second Lieutenant William Clark to join him and together they assembled a group of about 45 people, including soldiers, civilian volunteers, and York, a slave owned by Clark.

Second is the question of figuring out what you need to know before you set out and what you need to take on the trip as well. (Or, in the words of a sign I once saw in a South Carolina BBQ joint run by a former Marine drill sergeant: “Proper Prior Preparation Prevents Piss Poor Performance.”). Jefferson, for example, not only spent hours with Lewis discussing key questions and ideas, he also sent Lewis to Philadelphia to study medicinal cures under Benjamin Rush, a physician and humanitarian. In addition, he arranged for Lewis to be further educated by Andrew Ellicott, an astronomer who instructed him in the use of the sextant and other navigational instruments.

It’s interesting as well to look at some of what Lewis and Clark brought with them on the expedition, which left Missouri in spring of 1804, reached the Pacific Ocean in December 1805, and returned to St. Louis in September 1806. The US Mint prepared special silver medals with a portrait of Jefferson and inscribed with a message of friendship and peace, called Indian Peace Medals. The soldiers were to distribute them to the tribes that they met. The expedition also prepared advanced weapons to display their military firepower. In addition it was equipped with flintlock firearms, knives, blacksmithing supplies, and cartography equipment. They also carried flags, gift bundles, medicine, and other items that they would need for their journey.

Third is the ability to adjust, particularly to recognize opportunities to add people or resources that might help with the journey. The most obvious and well-known example of this was the addition of Sacagawea, a Shoshone Indian, to the expedition. Her story is quite amazing. In 1804, while spending the winter at Fort Mandan in North Dakota, Lewis and Clark met and recruited Toussaint Charbonneau, a French trapper who had spent some time living among the Hidatsa people. During that time, he had purchased or won a Shoshone girl: Sacagawea (Bird Woman) who had been captured on one of Hidata’s annual raiding and hunting parties to the west. It is possible that Sacagawea had little choice in the matter, or that she chose it because it was preferable to her previous position. When Charbonneau married Sacagawea in 1804, he was already married to Otter Woman, another Shoshone woman. Charbonneau eventually considered these women to be his wives.

Lewis and Clark asked Charbonneau and both his wives to join the expedition as a translator. While Charbonneau could speak French and some Hidatsa, Lewis, and Clark were more enthusiastic about having two Shoshone women join them. With Charbonneau, Sacagawea, and the Otter Woman’s skills combined, the expedition gained the ability to speak Hidatsa and Shoshone. Moreover the presence of the women, and Sacagawea’s son, who was born not long after they joined the group, helped ease tensions when the expedition came upon Native Americans.

Finally, it’s interesting to think about what they thought was interesting and worthy of saving. While at Fort Mandan, for example, Lewis and Clark sent four boxes, two trunks, and three cages to Washington, D.C. These vessels contained maps, Native American items, as well as animal skins, bones, and antlers. They also sent a live prairie dog, four magpies, and a grouse, as well as plant, soil, and mineral samples. A delighted Jefferson cataloged the contents and then shipped them to at least three different locations, including Monticello, the American Philosophical Society in Philadelphia, and the Peale Museum in Baltimore.

With good leaders, adequate resources, a willingness to improvise, and extraordinary curiosity about the land they were exploring, the expedition was a great success. Over the course of 28 months, its members traveled 8,000 miles, and in spite of all the challenges, the only person who died was a man who had appendicitis.

We are, of course, long past the time when such expeditions are possible or needed. But the lessons Lewis and Clark offer about how to identify and carry out daunting tasks still strike me as quite timely.

Be well, stay safe, do Prior Proper Preparation so you Prevent Piss-Poor Performance, fight for justice and work for peace.