Meriwether Lewis
1774-1809
Beneath this monument erected under Legislative Act by the State of Tennessee, A.D., 1848, reposes the dust of Meriwether Lewis, a Captain in the United States Army, Private Secretary to President Jefferson, Senior Commander of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, and Governor of the Territory of Louisiana.
In the Grinder house, the ruins of which are still discernible, 230 yards south of this spot. His life of romantic endeavor and lasting achievement came tragically and mysteriously to its close on the night of Oct. 11, 1809.
The report of the Committee appointed to carry out the provisions of the Monument Act, contains these significant statements:
"Great care was taken to identify the grave. George Nixon, ESQ., and old surveyor, had become very early acquainted with the locality.
He pointed out the place; but to make assurance doubly sure the grave was re-opened and the upper portion of the skeleton examined and such evidence found as to leave no doubt of the place of interment."
Marker is on Columbia Highway (U.S. 412 at milepost 385), 1 mile from Natchez Trace Parkway.
Courtesy hmdb.org
