The "Corps of Discovery" numbered 44 men of diverse backgrounds. Most were U.S. Army enlisted men. Others were backwoodsmen. A few were French boatmen who were hired to pilot the keelboat up the Missouri and who also knew how to handle the smaller boats called pirogues.

The "Corps of Discovery" numbered 44 men of diverse backgrounds. Most were U.S. Army enlisted men. Others were backwoodsmen. A few were French boatmen who were hired to pilot the keelboat up the Missouri and who also knew how to handle the smaller boats called pirogues.