Only about 180 miles of the 1,290-mile Red River touches or passes through Arkansas. The river, however, has had a huge impact on the southwest part of our state for decades.

The most forgotten of the expeditions that explored territory added to the United States following the 1803 Louisiana Purchase was called the Great Excursion. President Thomas Jefferson asked Thomas Freeman and Peter Custis to explore the Red and Arkansas rivers.

"In the end, Freeman and Custis were tasked to ascend the Red River in search of its headwaters, along the way documenting coordinates, climate and ecological findings," John Spurgeon writes for the Central Arkansas Library System's Encyclopedia of Arkansas. "The expedition passed through the southwest corner of what would become Arkansas and its borders with Texas, Louisiana and Oklahoma.

"In selecting a civilian leader, the president designated Freeman, a 1784 Irish immigrant and Philadelphia surveyor. Although he had no field experience, Peter Custis, a University of Pennsylvania medical student from a prominent Virginia family, served as an academically trained naturalist for the team."

The 24-man party included an Army captain, a lieutenant, two non-commissioned officers, 17 privates and a Black servant. Congress appropriated $5,000, which made this the costliest and best-equipped expedition in the first decade of the 19th century. The 24 men left Fort Adams in Mississippi (38 miles south of Natchez) on two flat-bottomed barges and a pirogue on April 19, 1806.

"The team first went up the Mississippi River to Saint Catherine's landing outside Natchez for additional equipment from William Dunbar and then proceeded to the Red River," Spurgeon writes. "Entering the Red River on May 2, they reached Natchitoches on May 19. They took on additional equipment, soldiers, five boats and French guides. The party now numbered 50.

"On June 7, the team was 45 miles above Natchitoches, camping at a high settlement on the river. The next day, news arrived that Spanish forces intended to intercept and halt their journey. Having reached a raft (logs and brush blocking the river), the party proceeded, working its way around the raft. Within a few days, the expedition reached a larger blockage........

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