Handcrafted Nautical Decor - Solid Brass Lewis & Clark Pocket Compass 3"

Following the dispersion of the hand compass throughout Europe, the Age of Discovery began. From the early 15^th century, through the 17^th century, European powers expanded across the globe, especially to the Americas where the British eventually succeeded in establishing colonies. By 1776 those original colonies had grown in size and strength, as well as into a fledgling country in their own right. On July 4^th of that year the United States was born as the Declaration of Independence announced that the 13 colonies of America would no longer under British Rule. In the quarter decade that followed, the United States grew in leaps and bounds, eventually pushing forward with the same desire for adventure, exploration, and conquest that had set European countries sailing across the seas 300 years earlier. As the country grew, settlements began to push farther and farther West, leading to the 1804 expedition of Lewis & Clark. With their brass pocket compasses and supplies packed Army Captain Meriwether Lewis and his partner William Clark, explorers commissioned by President Jefferson himself, started out on a legendary fact finding mission across the continent. Intent on discovering the Northwest Passage and claim the Pacific Northwest for the United States, they guided themselves by skill, the aid of their brass pocket compasses, and the help of the Native American Sacagawea. Though they never found the passage, Jefferson had also tasked the expedition with studying the diversity of plant and animal life while using their brass pocket compass to chart land and create accurate maps along the way. Discovering amazing resources on a trip that eventually lead them to the Pacific Coast of what is now Oregon, the intrepid exploration of Lewis & Clark proved fundamental in the Westward expansion of the United States. This mini brass compass lets you look back upon the amazing history of the device itself, as well as the heroic journey of two explorers who defined the ambition of early America.