Map the West
Thomas Hart Benton was a powerful senator from Missouri with an ego as big as his vision of a continental nation. Self-righteous and singular of purpose Benton possessed a violent temper. His gift of oratory singled him out for a mover and shaker in congress; but his vision of a continental United States was just that, a vision. Realizing that vision would take settlement. Settlement in the vast wilds west of the Mississippi. The west would have to be explored, mapped and then sold to settlement. But How?
The unlikely answer to that question came as a shot from Cupid’s little bow. Benton’s fifteen year old daughter Jessie fell in love with a charming dandy on the Washington social scene, one John C. Fremont. A man of dubious lineage, Fremont used his charm to build social mobility among the Washington elite. He was sufficiently connected to win appointment to the prestigious Army Corps of Topographical Engineers by patronage. Appointments to the Corps at the time were generally reserved to those at the top of their West Point class. Fremont was neither.
Senator Benton vehemently opposed his daughter’s romantic attachment to young Fremont. Jessie possessed a stubborn streak sufficient to match her Father’s iron will. When she and Fremont eloped, the senator found himself defeated. Fremont became family in the Benton home. His only redeeming graces were his topographical engineering appointment and the fact he shared the senator’s expansionist vision. His son-in-law could then provide a pragmatic balm to the senator’s wounded ego. He’d put him to work.
Senator Benton succeeded in having Fremont assigned to survey the Oregon Trail. The expedition intended to map a Trans-Mississippi route to the west and to bring back sufficient description so as to make western expansion appealing to prospective settlers in the east. Fremont had all the abilities needed to sell the promise of the west to the American people. He’d need help to carry out the serious work of exploration.
Next Week: Exploration
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Ride easy,
Paul
The unlikely answer to that question came as a shot from Cupid’s little bow. Benton’s fifteen year old daughter Jessie fell in love with a charming dandy on the Washington social scene, one John C. Fremont. A man of dubious lineage, Fremont used his charm to build social mobility among the Washington elite. He was sufficiently connected to win appointment to the prestigious Army Corps of Topographical Engineers by patronage. Appointments to the Corps at the time were generally reserved to those at the top of their West Point class. Fremont was neither.
Senator Benton vehemently opposed his daughter’s romantic attachment to young Fremont. Jessie possessed a stubborn streak sufficient to match her Father’s iron will. When she and Fremont eloped, the senator found himself defeated. Fremont became family in the Benton home. His only redeeming graces were his topographical engineering appointment and the fact he shared the senator’s expansionist vision. His son-in-law could then provide a pragmatic balm to the senator’s wounded ego. He’d put him to work.
Senator Benton succeeded in having Fremont assigned to survey the Oregon Trail. The expedition intended to map a Trans-Mississippi route to the west and to bring back sufficient description so as to make western expansion appealing to prospective settlers in the east. Fremont had all the abilities needed to sell the promise of the west to the American people. He’d need help to carry out the serious work of exploration.
Next Week: Exploration
RETURN TO FACEBOOK TO COMMENT
Ride easy,
Paul
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Jean
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Jul 16, 2017 03:08AM
Read a historical novel years ago called Dream West. A very good read.
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