VFTB 194: The Mystery of Meriwether Lewis

Meriwether_Lewis-Charles_Willson_Peale
Meriwether Lewis

ALMOST EXACTLY 205 years ago, famed explorer Meriwether Lewis, then governor of the new Louisiana Territory, set off from Saint Louis for Washington, D.C.  Besides hoping to recover expenses he had incurred on behalf of the Jefferson administration, Lewis carried with him the journals in which he recorded his experiences during the Lewis & Clark Expedition.

He never made it. On October 11, 1809, Lewis died at a small inn southwest of Nashville, Tennessee, officially by his own hand.  But the Lewis family has never accepted the official explanation.

Our friendly neighborhood Ph.D., history professor Dr. Judd Burton, explains why the ruling of suicide is questionable, and he speculates as to what might have been in Lewis’ journals that could have led to his death.

Note: On September 28, 2014, Sharon and I will begin what we’re calling, for lack of a better name, the Gilbert House Fellowship. Our plan is to study through the Bible in a live webcast every Sunday morning. Log on to www.GilbertHouse.org for more details as we get closer to the date.

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