Lewis was born in Albemarle County, Virginia, his family being neighbors to Jefferson. Like Jefferson he was a planter, a Republican (different than the modern political party), and a deist. He became an admiring protege of Jefferson long before the expedition, and was serving as paymaster of the First Infantry Regiment of the U.S. Army when Jefferson recruited him as his private corresponsence secretary at the White House on February 3, 1801. Lewis arrived on April 1, 1801 and settled in the East Room.
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