Supica provides a comprehensive analysis of the firearms that equipped the Lewis and Clark Expedition, examining how the selection, maintenance, and use of weapons shaped the expedition’s capabilities and interactions with Native nations. The article identifies the specific arms carried: the U.S. Model 1803 flintlock rifles (the first rifles specifically manufactured for the U.S. military), various trade muskets, flintlock pistols, a swivel-mounted blunderbuss on the keelboat, and the Girandoni air rifle. Supica discusses how Lewis procured these weapons at the Harpers Ferry Arsenal and elsewhere, the expedition’s ammunition supplies and powder preservation methods, and the critical importance of John Shields’s gunsmithing skills in keeping the weapons functional. The article also examines how firearms figured in diplomatic exchanges with Native peoples, serving both as gifts and as demonstrations of American military capability.
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