Meriwether Lewis, best known for his leadership of the Lewis and Clark expedition, set out for Washington, DC, from St. Louis in October, 1809, as governor of the Louisiana Territory.  While traveling through Tennessee, Lewis and his small entourage stopped at a local inn for the night.  Hours later, Lewis was dead from gunshot wounds.

According to historian Ellen Baumler’s article, “The Masonic Apron of Meriwether Lewis and the Legacy of Masonry in Montana,” there were no eyewitnesses, so the circumstances of the death remain a heated debate.

“While many scholars insist that Lewis committed suicide, there is ample evidence to suggest murder,” Baumler writes.

Baumler cites a story passed down through the Lewis family, that says Lewis had his Masonic apron with him on his journey, possibly even in his pocket when he died.  His silk and linen apron was decorated with hand-painted Masonic symbols, including the two pillars, an hourglass, and the all-seeing eye. But the apron’s most notable feature might be the bloodstains on the front.  In the 1970’s, lab tests identified the stains as deer blood and human blood, which has not been linked to Lewis.

Two other incidents are reported by Baumler.  In 1848, when the State of Tennessee initiated plans for a gravesite memorial, Lewis’ body was partially exhumed so it could be identified and examined by the memorial committee.  At the same time, the committee determined the cause of death to be assassination, though no reason for that judgment was given.

The second incident was in 1928, when an accidental exhumation of Lewis’ remains revealed what appeared to be a bullet hole in the back of Lewis’ skull.

Though a request was made in 1996 to exhume and examine Lewis’ remains, the National Park Service denied it.

While the facts about his death might never be known, there is no doubt about Lewis’ importance in American and Masonic history.

Brother Lewis received his Master Mason Degree in Door to Virtue Lodge, No. 44, in Albemarle County, Virginia, in 1797.  Today, Lewis is memorialized with a monument along the Natchez Trace Parkway in Tennessee.  The apron passed down from one Lewis generation to another — and from collector to collector — is now a treasured possession of the Masonic Grand Lodge of Montana Museum.

(Source: California Freemason, Oct/Nov, ’11; Emessay Notes, February  ’12)