Meriwether Lewis Role In The Lewis And Clark Expedition

Meriwether Lewis is an American explorer who is known for his role as leader in the Lewis and Clark expedition. He was also the governor of the Louisiana Territory. He was also Jefferson’s private secretary, these two were close friends. Since Jefferson trusted Lewis, he let Lewis travel to D.C to deliver Jefferson’s classified information. During the Lewis’s travel to Washington, he visited Robert Grinder’s Inn to rest but while he was there he died. The death was murder by conspiracy. In the report of the investigation by the medical examiner it stated that Lewis had two gunshot wounds. One of the shots was in the back of his head and took off part of his skull, exposing his brain. The other shot was to his stomach and it destroyed vital organs. Both of these gunshot wounds do not have an exit to them. Since he had two gunshot wounds it seems unlikely for him to be able to take both shots himself. The idea of suicide seems unlikely. He was also a skilled marksman so why would he need two shots to kill himself when he could only use one shot? (Cold Case) In the ballistic test, the horse pistol …show more content…
It couldn’t be a suicide because there were two shots and he could’ve died from only one shot with the gun he used. It was by conspiracy because it in the 4th paragraph, the three suspected people could’ve worked together and kill him but this is just a theory. The main suspect, Wilkinson was jealous and despised him and this could’ve been a motive. If Lewis was gone he could get his job back. He could’ve planned the murder and get some helping hands which leads up to the other two suspects. Neely worked under Wilkinson and helped him assassinate Lewis. He could’ve made a back story about Lewis’s behavior. Wilkinson could’ve hired Grinder to kill Lewis at his Inn and gain money from it. Wilkinson was the one who had a big motive while the other two were just