Meriwether Lewis

Lore & Background

Meriwether Lewis was born on August 18, 1774, at Locust Hill Plantation in Albemarle County, Virginia, to a father of Welsh ancestry and a mother of English ancestry. After his father died of pneumonia in 1779, he moved with his mother and stepfather to Georgia, settling along the Broad River in what is now Oglethorpe County. He had no formal schooling until age thirteen, but during his youth in Georgia he became a skilled hunter and outdoorsman, often venturing out alone at night in winter with only his dog. His mother taught him to gather wild herbs for medicine, and he developed an early, lifelong interest in natural history. In Georgia, he first encountered Native Americans—the Cherokee, whose lands were being encroached upon—and he appears to have been a champion for them. At thirteen, he was sent back to Virginia for private tutoring. He joined the Virginia militia and in 1794 helped suppress the Whiskey Rebellion. In 1795, he entered the U.S. Army as an ensign, rising to captain by 1800. Among his commanding officers was William Clark. In 1801, President Thomas Jefferson appointed Lewis as his personal secretary; Lewis lived in the presidential mansion and gathered intelligence on army personnel and politics. Jefferson chose Lewis to lead the transcontinental expedition, and Lewis recruited Clark to share command. Lewis brought his dog Seaman, who survived the entire journey and, after Lewis’s death in 1809, reportedly stayed by his grave, refusing food and water until he died of grief. Lewis died of gunshot wounds in 1809, under circumstances that remain uncertain—either murder or suicide.

Reader's Guide

Meriwether Lewis was an American explorer, soldier, politician, and public administrator, best known for leading the Lewis and Clark Expedition, or Corps of Discovery, alongside William Clark. Their mission was to explore the Louisiana Purchase territory, establish trade and sovereignty over Native nations near the Missouri River, and claim the Pacific Northwest and Oregon Country for the United States before European powers. The expedition also collected scientific data and information on indigenous peoples. Lewis was born in Virginia in 1774 and, after his father’s death, moved to Georgia, where he honed his skills as a hunter and outdoorsman, often hunting alone at night. He developed a lifelong interest in natural history, learning from his mother how to gather medicinal herbs. He first encountered Native Americans in Georgia, where he acted as a champion for the Cherokee against encroaching colonists. After serving in the Virginia militia and the U.S. Army, where he rose to captain under William Clark, Lewis was appointed Secretary to President Thomas Jefferson in 1801. Jefferson chose Lewis to lead the transcontinental expedition, which reached the Pacific Ocean in 1805 and returned in 1806 with extensive information on the region, including plant and animal specimens. The journey demonstrated overland travel to the Pacific and strengthened the concept of manifest destiny. After the expedition, Lewis became Governor of Upper Louisiana in 1806. He died in 1809 from gunshot wounds, either by murder or suicide. His dog Seaman, who accompanied the entire expedition, remained loyal to Lewis, staying on his grave and refusing food or water until he died of grief.

Did You Know?

• Meriwether Lewis is portrayed by Derek Charition in the History Channel docudrama *The Men Who Built America: Frontiersmen*.
• The series premiered on March 7, 2018, and is a four-part miniseries.
• It is the third installment of the That Built franchise.
• The docudrama was executive produced by Leonardo DiCaprio.
• The series follows Lewis and Clark alongside other frontiersmen like Daniel Boone, Davy Crockett, and Andrew Jackson.