Meriwether Lewis (1774-1809)
Meriwether Lewis is remembered as the leader of the successful expedition which traveled from the confluence of the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers to the pacific Coast in 1804-06. He spent his youth roaming the woods, hunting and observing nature. He volunteered to lead a transcontinental exploration in 1792 which Thomas Jefferson was organizing, but the expedition never happened. Lewis enlisted in the Virginia militia instead and became an ensign in the U.S. Army in 1795. Eventually, he was assigned to a company William Clark commanded.
In 1801 Jefferson contacted Lewis to begin preparations for an expedition. In 1803 Lewis asked Clark to accompany him; Jefferson approved and instructed Lewis to explore the Missouri River to its source and then follow a westward flowing stream to the Pacific Ocean. Lewis commanded the expedition and recorded most of the scientific information in the journals. The objective was to secure the fur trade of tribes living in the west and to increase scientific and geographic understanding of the continent. It was also the first time white men crossed the North American continent within the boundaries of the present United States. After the expedition Jefferson appointed Lewis governor of the Louisiana Territory but he was unsuccessful in the position. Lewis was either murdered or committed suicide at a tavern on the Natchez Trace.
Additional Information Can Be Found At...
Meriwether Lewis - American Explorer
Meriwether Lewis - Lewis County - Hohenwald Tennessee
National Historic Landmarks Database
Carmen Sandiego Connection, Time