Most Notorious! A True Crime History Podcast · Blue Ewe Media

The Mysterious Death of Meriwether Lewis - Southern Gothic

·37 min·2 clips

Lewis and Clark covered more than 8,000 miles, identified at least 120 new animal species, and gathered 200 botanical samples.

1. Most Notorious! A True Crime History Podcast covers the death of Meriwether Lewis at Grinder’s Stand on the Natchez Trace in Tennessee. 2. Eric hosts the episode and brings in Brandon Schech-Snyder from Southern Gothic, whose show focuses on dark American South history, mysteries, and ghost stories. 3. The episode asks whether Lewis died by suicide or murder after his October 1809 stop at the inn. 4. Brandon starts with the Lewis and Clark Expedition, which began on May 14th, 1804 and became the Corps of Discovery. 5. The journey covered more than 8,000 miles across the Louisiana Territory from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean. 6. The expedition produced maps, at least 120 new animal species, and 200 botanical samples. 7. Lewis returned to public life as governor of the Louisiana Territory, but also faced debt and pressure to get reimbursed. 8. On September 11, 1809, he made a will at New Madrid, Missouri leaving his possessions to his mother after debts were paid. 9. Captain Gilbert C. Russell reported that Lewis had made several attempts on his own life while traveling at Fort Pickering. 10. The route changed from a planned trip to New Orleans to an overland journey on the Natchez Trace toward Nashville. 11. Lewis traveled with John Prenier, a free person of color who had worked in the White House under Thomas Jefferson, and with his Newfoundland dog, Seaman. 12. On October 10, 1809, Lewis reached Grinder’s Stand, where Priscilla Grinder gave him food and a room while his men slept in the barn. 13. Priscilla Grinder later said Lewis behaved oddly and was talking to himself before the gunshots. 14. Two shots were heard in the early hours of October 11th, and Lewis was found with wounds to the head and abdomen. 15. Neely arrived after the death, buried Lewis nearby, and later wrote Jefferson that Lewis died by suicide. 16. Jefferson repeated that account and said Lewis had suffered from what he called “sensible depressions of mind.” 17. The episode then examines Clark’s reaction, the missing letter Lewis wrote to him, and the argument that Lewis may have been under severe mental strain. 18. Brandon also presents later doubts about Neely and Priscilla Grinder, including conflicting versions of who entered the room and what happened that night. 19. The tone is documentary and explanatory, with Brandon narrating dates, letters, and competing theories in a careful historical register. 20. People interested in early American history, Lewis and Clark, or unresolved death cases will get the most from it; listeners wanting a light-format episode may skip it.

Listen to the show on

Apple Podcasts Spotify

Play clips from this episode More from Most Notorious! A True Crime History Podcast