SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.Va. -- It's a cold case that's baffled historians for two centuries, but Shepherdstown resident Thomas McSwain hopes a new forensic investigation of Meriwether Lewis' remains will determine once and for all whether the great explorer was murdered or committed suicide.
McSwain, a fourth-great nephew of Lewis, and nearly 200 other descendants are involved in a campaign to force the National Park Service to allow them to exhume Lewis's grave.
The descendants' effort to shed new light on Lewis' death had been going on for 12 years, but escalated last week, when they hired a public relations firm, posted a Web site (www.solvethemystery.org) and held a news conference at the National Press Club.
Lewis died of gunshot wounds to the head on Oct. 11, 1809, three years after leading the Corps of Discovery through the vast tract of Louisiana Purchase land between the Missouri River and the Pacific Ocean and back.
Appointed governor of the new Louisiana Territory after completing the epic journey, Lewis was traveling back to Washington along the Natchez Trace to report on territorial government problems when he stopped at the Grinder's Stand Inn near Hohenwald, Tenn.
Lewis, known to have experienced periods of deep depression, is believed to have committed suicide by many historians, including Stephen Ambrose, author of "Undaunted Courage: Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson and the Opening of the American West," a critically acclaimed account of Lewis and the expedition.
Others have argued that a bandit, the keeper of the inn where he spent his last night, or a rival political figure murdered the explorer.
One of the most compelling arguments against the suicide theory is that Lewis would have to have shot himself more than once, since the innkeeper's wife and others reported hearing two or three gunshots from Lewis' room.
"If he used the same flintlock pistol more than once, it's hard to figure how he would have been able to take the time to reload and shoot himself again," said McSwain, a retired Air Force colonel.
"His mother believed his servant did it, because he ended up wearing his clothes and having his watch," said McSwain. "Some people think he may have been killed by a highwayman. And there are political assassination theories related to General James Wilkinson, the first governor of the Louisiana Territory, who Lewis replaced.
"The only thing I'm sure of is that there's no conclusive evidence, one way or the other."
In 1996, a coroner's jury in Lewis County, Tenn., where Lewis is buried, examined historic records and witness accounts of the explorer's demise and determined that the cause of death was inconclusive.
McSwain said the jury recommended an exhumation and forensic study of the remains, which are buried in a National Park Service-managed cemetery, but the park service declined to act on the recommendation, or on a similar request from the descendants.
SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.Va. -- It's a cold case that's baffled historians for two centuries, but Shepherdstown resident Thomas McSwain hopes a new forensic investigation of Meriwether Lewis' remains will determine once and for all whether the great explorer was murdered or committed suicide.
McSwain, a fourth-great nephew of Lewis, and nearly 200 other descendants are involved in a campaign to force the National Park Service to allow them to exhume Lewis's grave.
The descendants' effort to shed new light on Lewis' death had been going on for 12 years, but escalated last week, when they hired a public relations firm, posted a Web site (www.solvethemystery.org) and held a news conference at the National Press Club.
Lewis died of gunshot wounds to the head on Oct. 11, 1809, three years after leading the Corps of Discovery through the vast tract of Louisiana Purchase land between the Missouri River and the Pacific Ocean and back.
Appointed governor of the new Louisiana Territory after completing the epic journey, Lewis was traveling back to Washington along the Natchez Trace to report on territorial government problems when he stopped at the Grinder's Stand Inn near Hohenwald, Tenn.
Lewis, known to have experienced periods of deep depression, is believed to have committed suicide by many historians, including Stephen Ambrose, author of "Undaunted Courage: Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson and the Opening of the American West," a critically acclaimed account of Lewis and the expedition.
Others have argued that a bandit, the keeper of the inn where he spent his last night, or a rival political figure murdered the explorer.
One of the most compelling arguments against the suicide theory is that Lewis would have to have shot himself more than once, since the innkeeper's wife and others reported hearing two or three gunshots from Lewis' room.
"If he used the same flintlock pistol more than once, it's hard to figure how he would have been able to take the time to reload and shoot himself again," said McSwain, a retired Air Force colonel.
"His mother believed his servant did it, because he ended up wearing his clothes and having his watch," said McSwain. "Some people think he may have been killed by a highwayman. And there are political assassination theories related to General James Wilkinson, the first governor of the Louisiana Territory, who Lewis replaced.
"The only thing I'm sure of is that there's no conclusive evidence, one way or the other."
In 1996, a coroner's jury in Lewis County, Tenn., where Lewis is buried, examined historic records and witness accounts of the explorer's demise and determined that the cause of death was inconclusive.
McSwain said the jury recommended an exhumation and forensic study of the remains, which are buried in a National Park Service-managed cemetery, but the park service declined to act on the recommendation, or on a similar request from the descendants.
But last year, according to McSwain, park service officials indicated to family members they had decided an exhumation would be in the public interest.
"We re-submitted our permit application in January of this year, and on June 17, got a letter from the National Park Service that they will process our application," McSwain said.
In order for the permit process to move forward, family members must pay for a National Environmental Policy Act review of the project, according to McSwain. In addition to environmental considerations, a NEPA review involves public hearings and comments from historic preservation officials.
All but one of the known Lewis descendants has signed a letter supporting the exhumation, and the sole holdout has agreed to furnish researchers with a DNA sample for comparison purposes.
McSwain said he hasn't formed an opinion about the cause of his great-great-great-great uncle's death.
"I'm kind of on the fence," he said. "I've read everything I've been able to find on the matter, and I don't see conclusive evidence one way or the other. The only way to find out for sure is to exhume the remains and examine them, and even then we may not get a conclusive answer. The family doesn't have a position on how he died. We just want the truth."
Hugh E. Berryman, a forensic pathology professor at Middle Tennessee State University, has agreed to perform a forensic examination of the remains.
If enough skeletal matter remains, he may be able to determine such details as the approximate range from which the gunshots were fired and whether the shots struck the front or back of the skull.
Will the postmortem exam eventually take place?
"After being in this for 12 years, it's hard to tell what will happen," said McSwain. "But one thing is certain -- that bones deteriorate over time, and the longer it takes, the less the chances become for learning the truth.
"Our family objective is to find the truth. We want history to be history and not fiction."
Reach Rick Steelhammer at rsteelham...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-5169.
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