Natchez Trace: Meriwether Lewis Grave -- Hohenfeld TN
N 35° 30.669 W 087° 27.627
16S E 458245 N 3929827
The grave of Meriwether Lewis along the Natchez Trace
Waymark Code: WMWYV1
Location: Tennessee, United States
Date Posted: 11/01/2017
Views: 2
The tall broken column-topped monument to Meriwether Lewis, one half of the famous explorer duo Lewis & Clark, was erected by the State of Tennessee in 1848. The monument is engraved on all 4 sides as follows:
"[W side]
MERIWETHER LEWIS
Born near Charlottesville Va Aug 18, 1774
Died Oct. 11 1809 aged 35 years.
[S side]
An Officer of the Regular Army, Private Secretary to President Jefferson, Commander of the Expedition to the Oregon in 1803, 1806 Governor of the Territory of Louisiana. His melancholy death occurred where this monument now stands and under which rest his mortal remains."
[E side]
In the language of Mr. Jefferson:
"His courage was undaunted; his firmness and perseverance yielded to nothing but impossibilities; a rigid disciplinarian, yet tender as a father of those committed to his charge; honest, disinterested, liberal, with a sound understanding and scrupulous fidelity to truth."
[N side]
Immaturus obi; sed tu felicior annos vive meos: Bona Republica! vive tuos.
Erected by the Legislature of Tennessee AD 1848"
The English translation for the Latin inscription: I died before my time, but thou O great and good Republic, live out my years while you live out your own.
Today, this monument is part of the Meriwether Lewis National Monument, a significant historic site along the Natchez Trace.
A nearby sign reads as follows:
"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 Lousiana.
In the Grinder House, the ruins of which are still discernable, 230 yards South of this spot, his life of romantic endeavor and lasting acheivement 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., an old Surveyor, had become very early aquainted with the locality. He pointed out the place; but to make assurance doubly surethe 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."
Program: America's Byways
Website: [Web Link]
Official Name: Natchez Trace Parkway
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