Meriwether Lewis

Meriwether Lewis was an American army officer and explorer who jointly commanded the expedition sent across the Louisiana Purchase to the Pacific. He helped record geography, plants, animals and Indigenous diplomacy during the journey, then served as governor of Louisiana Territory before his death in 1809.

Lewis was chosen by Thomas Jefferson to lead an expedition through the newly acquired Louisiana territory and selected William Clark as co-commander. After returning in 1806 he was appointed governor of Louisiana Territory, but administrative disputes, financial difficulties and delays in publishing the expedition's findings troubled his final years. He died from gunshot wounds at an inn on the Natchez Trace in 1809; whether his death was suicide or murder has remained disputed.

Hourly History’s Lewis and Clark Expedition explains Thomas Jefferson’s aims, the leadership of Meriwether Lewis and William Clark and the crucial assistance of Sacagawea and many Indigenous communities. Anya Seton’s My Theodosia also imagines a romantic attachment to Meriwether Lewis before following Theodosia to the final voyage during the War of 1812 on which she disappeared, turning an unresolved historical mystery into the conclusion of a fictional biography. Historical accounts that place Meriwether Lewis in context include David Hackett Fischer’s Bound Away.