Fairly launched on my voyage of discovery: Meriwether Lewis’s Expedition Letters to James Findlay

Fairly launched on my voyage of discovery": Meriwetber Lewis' s Expedition Letters to James Findlay El)] TED BY ],\ ME.5 j. Hi.MIJER(; PheLewisandClarkExpeditionisanAinericanepic. Thebicentennial of the 1803-1806 jc, urney of the " Corps of 1) iscoiery"h. ls spurred interest in the expedition in recent years. u·hich in turli. as a welcome consequence, has triggered increased research and writing on the Corps . itid its transcontinental adventure. Recent years have witnessed nunierous articles, filins,books, and other projects touching upon niyriad subjects related tc,the expedition. All the effc,rts have at least one thing in colii111011 they rely on infc, rtiiation about the expeditioti gleaned from its documentary heritage. Whether novels, children' s books,cookbc, oks, or even cartoons,all published sotirces Sr, rel>' inevitabl> (, 11 some grc, unding in fact. Historians.especially,in their published articles and books, rely almost exclusively on these surviving dc, c, 1ments . Withoitt them, this odyssey woiild be largely unknown, fc, r the letters,journals, reports. maps. and 93 other documentary sources of those who participated iii the epic jourtiey provide us with the vast majority of what we know about the Lewis and Clark Expedition. j ft* ** , 3, 33 Ilut the docunientary legacy is incomplete. Sources are yet 11»lissing. Like a huge puzzle, the soizrces are the pieces 3 4 that complete the picture. Without those sourcesthose pieceswe have blank spaces. Whenever a researcher discovers another piece, it helps complete the picture. In trying to assemble 111 evermore coiziplete I.ewis and (: lark Expedition I * UG6 .-+ 3* zos, picture, newly found pieces rightly elicit great interest and excitenient. In the suminer of 2003 librarians located two exciting and important " piec- Portrait „ f Meriti' eti? er es" of the 1. ewis and Clark puzzle at the Cincinnati Historical Society Library Lett, is / 11' Charles Wil/ son of the Cincintiati Museum Center (sce sidebar by Ruby Rogers). Residing Peale,18() 7. independence Natio, ial Historical P, irk in the Library's Torrence P: ipers were two Lewis atid Clark Expeditiondate cc, Ilectic„ 1,Philadelphia letters that Captain Meriwether Lewis wrote to his friend. James Findlav of FALL 2004 19 FAIRLY LAUNCHED ON MY VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY Cincintiati. CA third letter from Lewis to Findlay,dated October 1, 1801 as well as William Clark letteis and documents were also found. Because they do not pertain directly to the expedition itself, the editor has not included them here.) Lewis wrote the first letter on March 26, 1803, in the early days ot the expedition wlile he was at 6, . , ' suspected who might hare written it. 1.ibrary staff pursued the matter until the)verified the letter's author and authenticit>. Subsequent press announcements resurrected Lewis's 1803 letter along u ith his rediscovered 1804 letter. Worldwide media attention and gratitude to the Cincinnati Museum Center staff for rediscovering these important Leu'is and Clark Expedition letters quickly followed. -owisitthatMeriwetherLewiscameto knowJamesFindlayandto write these letters to him? Lewis journeyed west to the Northn'est Territory in 1795 where,in Ohio and perhaps more speci ficall>' Cincinnati ,he met Findlay. A native of Albemarle County,Virginia, I.ewis received a commission as an ensign in the army in 1795 and reported tc)the Ohio frontier to join Gen. Anthony Wa) ne' s victorious legic, n. Just a > ear betc, re, Wa>ne's forces had defeated an Indian confederacy.breaking the tribes' will to continue their struggle to keep the Americans out of their country and Collipelling them to sue for peace. In Ohio, Lewis met his future partner in discc), er>: X'illiani Clark. Clark was then a first lieutenant,a threeyear reteran and seasoned campaigner ,and he briefly served as I. ewis: s c(} mmanding officer. Fort Washington was a major base for the army and their duties and turloughs often tc, ok both Clark and Lewis to the post and the neighboring frontier R) n'n of Cincinnati. During one of those times both men met and became friends with Findlar. Born in Mercersburg,Pennsylvania, in 1770,James Findlay cast his lot with the Ohio country when in 1793 he moved to Cincinnati and opened a store. Most likely,it was in his capacity...