On behalf of one of his Lancaster constituents, U.S. Representative Michael Leib makes a request for seeds collected by Meriwether Lewis during the Western Expedition.
Gotthilf Heinrich Ernst Muhlenberg (1810)
Source: Wiki Commons commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:MuhlenbergGotthilf.jpg
A Request for Seeds
Lancaster Decr. 22nd. 1806
Sir,
My friend Dr. Muhlenberg of this place, whose reputation as a botanist you are not unacquainted with, is very desirous of possessing the seed of any rare plants that Captain Lewis may have brought with him. As you will be in possession of them, I have taken the liberty of requesting a specimen of any that you may have to spare, for my friend the Doctor. As you have always evinced the strongest desire to promote science of every kind, and to give every encouragement in your power to men of science, I shall make an apology for the freedom of this request. Permit me to tender to you the homage of my sincere respect and regard
M Leib[1]Michael Leib to Thomas Jefferson, Founders Online, National Archives, founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/99-01-02-4734.
Notes
| ↑1 | Michael Leib to Thomas Jefferson, Founders Online, National Archives, founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/99-01-02-4734. |
|---|---|
| ↑2 | Available at archive.org/details/catalogusplanta00conggoog/. |
| ↑3 | Letters of the Lewis and Clark Expedition with Related Documents: 1783–1854, ed. Donald Jackson (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1978), 354n1; “Gotthilf_Heinrich_Ernst_Muhlenberg”, Wikipedia, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gotthilf_Heinrich_Ernst_Muhlenberg accessed 5 January 2026. |
Experience the Lewis and Clark Trail
The Lewis and Clark Trail Experience—our sister site at lewisandclark.travel—connects the world to people and places on the Lewis and Clark Trail.
Discover More
- The Lewis and Clark Expedition: Day by Day by Gary E. Moulton (University of Nebraska Press, 2018). The story in prose, 14 May 1804–23 September 1806.
- The Lewis and Clark Journals: An American Epic of Discovery (abridged) by Gary E. Moulton (University of Nebraska Press, 2003). Selected journal excerpts, 14 May 1804–23 September 1806.
- The Lewis and Clark Journals. by Gary E. Moulton (University of Nebraska Press, 1983–2001). The complete story in 13 volumes.
This site is provided as a public service by the
Lewis and Clark Trail Alliance
with additional funding from the following:
