In a description about a book on Meriwether Lewis, he was hailed
as “undoubtedly the greatest pathfinder this country has ever
had.” This pathfinder made his permanent mark on American
history as the official leader of the Lewis and Clark
Expedition. Thomas Jefferson assigned that task to Lewis in
1803, two years after he had been named the president’s personal
secretary. Lewis was born Aug. 18, 1774, near Charlottesville,
Va.; he was a boyhood neighbor of Jefferson. Lewis’ father,
William Lewis, died in 1779; his mother, Lucy Marks Lewis Marks,
died 58 years later. Meriwether Lewis had five siblings. For a
while, Lewis lived with his family in Georgia, but he returned
to his native Virginia as a teenager to manage the nearly
2,000-acre family plantation, Locust Hill, and receive a formal
education. He enlisted in the Army in 1794 and left at the rank
of captain. After serving in the Army and as Jefferson’s
personal secretary, Lewis assumed leadership of the expedition.
“I could have no hesitation in confidin