The Forgotten Expedition
Document Type
Video
Publication Date
2002
Abstract
Most Americans have heard the story of Lewis and Clark and the Corps of Discovery that was sent by Thomas Jefferson to explore the new Louisiana Purchase from 1804-1806. What most people do not realize is that Jefferson also commissioned a second expedition to explore the southern areas of that new frontier. The president asked William Dunbar, a Mississippi planter/scientist/surveyor and George Hunter, a Philadelphia chemist/apothecary to lead that expedition on the Red, Black and Ouachita Rivers up to "the hot springs." The two men and their crew mapped, described flora and fauna, tested the waters of the Hot Springs area and sent Thomas Jefferson the first report on the huge territory that had just been purchased from France. Unlike Lewis and Clark, the story of Dunbar and Hunter has been long left out of the Louisiana Purchase story. Since the two hundreth anniversary of that event will be celebrated in 2003, it seems fitting that their story is told in this film for all Americans to remember.
Citation
Foley, L., & Carpenter, D. (2002). The Forgotten Expedition. Journalism Faculty Publications and Presentations. Retrieved from https://scholarworks.uark.edu/jourpub/4
Comments
Writer/Producer, Larry Foley
Camera/Editor, Dale Carpenter
Original Music, James Greeson
Narrator, Neal Moore
-Voices-
Dale Carpenter as Thomas Jefferson
John Duncan as George Hunter
Peter Duncan as William Dunbar
Roy Reed as Orleans Gazette