David Meriwether (April 10, 1755 – November 16, 1822) was a United States (U.S.) Congressional Representative from the state of Georgia.

U.S. congressman The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

James Meriwether James Meriwether (1789–1854) was a United States Representative and lawyer from Georgia. His father was David Meriwether and his nephew was James Archibald Meriwether. Early years and education Meriwether was born near Washington, Georgia, Wi ...

was his son.

Early years

David Meriwether was born at "Clover Fields" (home of the Meriwether family), near

Charlottesville Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is the county seat of Albemarle County, which surrounds the city, though the two are separate legal entities. It is named after Queen Cha ...

in the Virginia Colony, on April 10, 1755. During his early years in Virginia, Meriwether developed a personal friendship with

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 18 ...

who was a plantation neighbor of the family. Some time later, Jefferson hired one of Meriwether's cousins,

Meriwether Lewis Meriwether Lewis (August 18, 1774 – October 11, 1809) was an American explorer, soldier, politician, and public administrator, best known for his role as the leader of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, also known as the Corps of Discovery, with ...

as his personal secretary, before eventually commissioning the young

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

to undertake the

exploration Exploration refers to the historical practice of discovering remote lands. It is studied by geographers and historians. Two major eras of exploration occurred in human history: one of convergence, and one of divergence. The first, covering most ...

of the newly acquired

Louisiana Purchase The Louisiana Purchase (french: Vente de la Louisiane, translation=Sale of Louisiana) was the acquisition of the territory of Louisiana by the United States from the French First Republic in 1803. In return for fifteen million dollars, or app ...

along with William Clark.

Military service

David Meriwether joined the

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies (the Thirteen Colonies) in the Revolutionary-era United States. It was formed by the Second Continental Congress after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, and was establis ...

in 1776 during the Revolutionary War. He fought in the

Battle of Trenton The Battle of Trenton was a small but pivotal American Revolutionary War battle on the morning of December 26, 1776, in Trenton, New Jersey. After General George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American m ...

(1776),

Battle of Brandywine The Battle of Brandywine, also known as the Battle of Brandywine Creek, was fought between the American Continental Army of General George Washington and the British Army of General Sir William Howe on September 11, 1777, as part of the Ame ...

(1777), and the

Battle of Monmouth The Battle of Monmouth, also known as the Battle of Monmouth Court House, was fought near Monmouth Court House in modern-day Freehold Borough, New Jersey on June 28, 1778, during the American Revolutionary War. It pitted the Continental Army, co ...

(1778). Upon joining troops from his native state of Virginia, he was commissioned a lieutenant in

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

on May 15, 1779. Shortly thereafter, the Virginia troops marched south, to participate in the

Siege of Savannah The siege of Savannah or the Second Battle of Savannah was an encounter of the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783) in 1779. The year before, the city of Savannah, Georgia, had been captured by a British expeditionary corps under Lieutenan ...

. During the march from Virginia to the outskirts of Savannah, Meriwether's column passed through Wilkes County. In his diary, he remarked that the countryside in that area of Georgia was particularly pleasing. In the subsequent Siege of Savannah, Meriwether was captured by the British and was

paroled Parole (also known as provisional release or supervised release) is a form of early release of a prison inmate where the prisoner agrees to abide by certain behavioral conditions, including checking-in with their designated parole officers, or ...

shortly thereafter. Following his parole, Meriwether returned to Wilkes County, where he married Frances Wingfield. They eventually had seven sons and one daughter. Meriwether continued to serve in the Army through the end of the war in 1783. In 1785, the couple settled in Wilkes County, where Meriwether had been granted land for his service in the Continental Army. During this period, his occupation was that of "planter". On September 21, 1797, Meriwether was commissioned a

brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

in the

Georgia militia The Georgia Militia existed from 1733 to 1879. It was originally planned by General James Oglethorpe prior to the founding of the Province of Georgia, the British colony that would become the U.S. state of Georgia. One reason for the founding of th ...

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Jared Irwin Jared Irwin (1750 – March 1, 1818) served twice as elected Governor of Georgia (1796–1798) and (1806–1809). He first was elected to office as a reformer based on public outrage about the Yazoo land scandal. He signed a bill that nullifi ...

. In 1804, the family moved to

Clarke County Clarke County may refer to: ;Places *One of five counties in the United States: **Clarke County, Alabama **Clarke County, Georgia **Clarke County, Iowa **Clarke County, Mississippi **Clarke County, Virginia * Clarke County, New South Wales, in Aust ...

, near the city of

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

, where the General resided for the rest of his life.

Political office

Meriwether was the Wilkes County Tax Collector in the year 1794, before being elected to the

Georgia House of Representatives The Georgia House of Representatives is the lower house of the Georgia General Assembly (the state legislature) of the U.S. state of Georgia. There are currently 180 elected members. Republicans have had a majority in the chamber since 2005. T ...

where he served as

speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** In ...

from 1797 until 1800. He was then elected as a Jeffersonian to the

7th United States Congress The 7th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1801, ...

to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of

Benjamin Taliaferro Benjamin Taliaferro ( ; 1750 – September 3, 1821) was a politician and United States Representative from Georgia. He had served in the Revolutionary War, reaching the rank of captain. An attorney, he was later appointed as a judge of the coun ...

and was reelected to the

8th 8 (eight) is the natural number following 7 and preceding 9. In mathematics 8 is: * a composite number, its proper divisors being , , and . It is twice 4 or four times 2. * a power of two, being 2 (two cubed), and is the first number of t ...

and

9th 9 (nine) is the natural number following and preceding . Evolution of the Arabic digit In the beginning, various Indians wrote a digit 9 similar in shape to the modern closing question mark without the bottom dot. The Kshatrapa, Andhra and ...

Congresses. His time in federal office spanned from December 6, 1802, to March 3, 1807. He did not run for reelection in 1806 to the 10th Congress and retired to his plantation near

Athens, Georgia Athens, officially Athens–Clarke County, is a consolidated city-county and college town in the U.S. state of Georgia. Athens lies about northeast of downtown Atlanta, and is a satellite city of the capital. The University of Georgia, the sta ...

. After his congressional service, Meriwether was appointed a commissioner to the Creek Indians in 1804 and repeatedly reappointed to treat with other tribes. Meriwether served as a

Presidential Elector The United States Electoral College is the group of presidential electors required by the Constitution to form every four years for the sole purpose of appointing the president and vice president. Each state and the District of Columbia appo ...

from Georgia in the election cycles of 1817 and 1821.

Death and legacy

David Meriwether died near Athens, Georgia on November 16, 1822, and was buried in the private burial ground on his plantation. He is the namesake of

Meriwether County, Georgia Meriwether County is a county located in the west central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 20,613. The county seat is Greenville, home of the Meriwether County Courthouse. The county was formed on ...

References

External links