Red River Expedition (1806)

The Red River Expedition, also known as the Freeman–Custis Expedition, Freeman Red River Expedition, Sparks Expedition, and officially Exploring Expedition of Red River, was one of the first civilian scientific expeditions to explore the Southwestern United States. The 1806 expedition was ordered to find the headwaters of the Red River (Red River of the South) from the Mississippi River as a possible trading route to Santa Fe, which was then under Spanish colonial control in New Mexico; to contact Native American peoples for trading purposes; to collect data on flora, fauna, and topography, and map the country and river; and to assess the land for settlement. The Spanish officials intercepted the expedition 615 miles upriver, in what is now northeastern Texas, and turned it back before the party had achieved all of its goals.