Zebulon Montgomery Pike

Zebulon Montgomery Pike (1779-1813) was an explorer who traveled through much of North America in the years after the Revolutionary War. A general in the American Army, he led two expeditions into the territory encompassed in the Louisiana Purchase. His memoir of his expeditions was translated into numerous languages, and his portrait was painted numerous times, including this version by famed portraitist Charles Willson Peale. Pike was killed in Canada during the War of 1812; Pike County is named in his honor.

Courtesy of the National Portrait Gallery