Born January 5, 1779,
Lamberton, New Jersey
Died April 27, 1813,
York, Ontario

Zebulon Montgomery Pike was born in Lamberton, New Jersey, on January 5, 1779. His father, who had the same name, was a major in the American army during the American Revolution; after the United States gained its independence from Britain he continued as a regular officer in the United States Army. At the age of 14 the younger Pike became a cadet in his father’s company; six years later he was commissioned a lieutenant and assigned to various frontier posts.

Searches for Mississippi source and explores rivers in the West

In 1805 Pike was instructed by General James Wilkinson to lead an expedition to locate the source of the Mississippi River. Wilkinson was the governor of the newly acquired Louisiana territory, but he was also in the pay of the Spanish government, which still controlled Florida, Texas, New Mexico...