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Frémont: Explorer For A Restless Nation
1985 University of Nevada Press jumbo trade paperback, Ferol Egan (Sand in a The Paiute Indian War of 1860). Between 1842 and 1853, John C. Fremont led five expeditions across the trans-Mississippi West. While the success of his early journeys gained him acclaim as a national hero, his later missions ended in tragedy and ultimately a court-martial. Historian Ferol Egan focuses on Fremont’s explorations, providing a vivid portrait of a courageous man in an emerging young nation. - Amazon
620 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1977
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May 9, 2012
Some have fine books thrust upon them, and I am one of those fortunates. Frémont:Explorer for a Restless Nation isn’t new. Ferol Egan originally published it in 1977, but it deserves more play than it’s received. It also, from my own perspective, makes a nice pairing with the Kit Carson biography by Hampton Sides, Blood and Thunder I read earlier in the year (See the Writer Working January 29 entry.). Carson was a key player in Frémont’s explorations, and the two got along famously.
I admit I wasn’t much interested in reading a biography of John Charles Frémont. I figured I knew enough and it wasn’t all that good so why bother. Despite the fact that within short compass from my keyboard lie a city, a major boulevard, and a high school named after him--not to mention that he named the Golden Gate the Golden Gate, though I guess he did it in Greek (Chrysē Pylē)--I considered him more of a glory seeker than a true pioneer. I thought he derived fame and advantage more from his favored position as the son-in-law of a powerful eminent-domain-obsessed senator (Thomas Hart Benton of Missouri) and from the brilliance and beauty of his wife, Jessie, than from his own abilities or initiative. My prejudice was based on some facts.
One of his five expeditions of exploration took place near the start of the Mexican-American war. He was officially an army officer (Lt. Colonel), but was trained and engaged for surveying and science, not for combat. Yet he inserted himself and his “army” of mountain men and irregulars into California affairs at a time when the golden state was part of a foreign country with whom the U.S. was not at war. He made a bit of a mess of things here for a while. Then there was a foolhardy midwinter expedition into the San Juan Mountains in which ten men died and one or two were perhaps at least partially eaten (not by or with the sanction of or in the presence of John Charles). Later on, as a real army officer during the early days of the civil war, he issued an emancipation proclamation for Missouri without consulting Lincoln or gaining his approval, a move which might have driven border states like KY and Maryland into the confederacy. Jessie went straight to an irritated and president to plead his case on that one. He bought 40, 000 acres around Mariposa, just outside of Yosemite, and took a fortune in gold out of it, but managed to squander most of the proceeds. And, I confess as well, that my prejudice was reinforced by a tawdry TV miniseries (of which I watched only a portion) starring the soap opera actor Richard Chamberlain.
But you can know a lot and still be ignorant, and after reading Egan’s book and now declare that Frémont deserves every honor he received and more. Every street, school, and city that bears his name should wear its label proudly. Not that he wasn’t every bit as arrogant and ambitious and reckless as I always thought. He certainly was. But he was also a passionate and meticulous scientist, a public servant with big ideas and huge visions who dared big and risked hugely to pursue them. He was also something of a writer. How many authors can claim that their congressional reports turned into best sellers? The reports of Frémont’s first two expeditions into the west became just that, and they functioned as guide books for thousands of wagon trains over the years as well as adding mountains to the knowledge of western flora, fauna, and geography. He didn’t blaze the trails he described in the reports (never claimed he did), but he codified and focused the knowledge of them, provided precision of direction, altitude (despite primitive, broken, lost instruments), soil, and weather beyond the world of legend and tall tales that had been all the existing information. You’d think that would have been enough of a career, but not for J.C.
He was court-martialed and convicted for some of his actions in the California turmoil. However, though his egotistical overreaching played a major role in his difficulties, the true fountainhead of his problems was his naiveté as he tried to steer a safe course in the power struggle between General Kearny and Commodore Stockton during the U.S. conquest of California. He’d found his way over raging rivers and through freezing blizzards, but the politics of this situation was too much for him to navigate. His trial and conviction was, it seems to me, as much a political procedure and verdict as a legal or military one. The jury found him guilt of mutiny (possible death penalty) and a number of lesser charges, but recommended that the president pardon him. In other words, they couldn’t officially countenance his refusal to obey an official order, even though he was caught between contradictory, mutually exclusive, orders from feuding commanders. However, they apparently didn’t think he should be punished.
President Polk issued the pardon, and Frémont went on with his life. He served a short term as one of California’s first senators, garnering plenty of resentment for his anti-slavery views and legislation, and these ideals kept him from being elected for a full term. I’d always thought his 1856 run for the presidency was a gimmicky thrust for glory, but he was a sincere abolitionist (though born and raised in the south) and dared to join the Republicans even though his powerful father-in-law (also an abolitionist) could not bring himself to break his democratic ties to support his son-in-law. Frémont probably lost to Buchanan because of a third party’s drawing votes away from him, but he helped pave the way for Lincoln’s candidacy in 1860. It was a bitter and dirty campaign, and he was swift-boated to a degree John Kerry never dreamed of:
He’d been born out of wedlock (true, though there were extenuating circumstances aplenty.); he was a Catholic (untrue, and it mattered then, but how do you stop the rumors? He and Jessie had eloped and been married by a priest, after all); he’d been brutal to the California Indians (True enough, and Egan pulls no punches about the cruel treatment he--and especially Carson--sometimes dished out, but by the standards of the day, they were not exceptionally harsh, and who cared at the time except for political purposes? Sound familiar?) And so on.
Then there was yet another expedition, a fifth--the guy just couldn’t stop--designed to prove that a railroad could be built across the Rockies. He did prove those mountains could be crossed in midwinter and nearly died doing it. Somehow, he remained a millionaire through all this, owned some of the most beautiful land in San Francisco (Now named Fort Mason, ironically, after one of the officers who was instrumental in his court martial conviction.), which was seized during the war and for which he was never compensated. Then there was some time spent abroad (thrown in jail in England for a time by English investors who had never repaid by the government for vouchers that Military Governor Frémont had signed in California years past.) Then there was a mansion in New York. Then there was investment in a railroad. In between there were the deaths of two infant daughters. Then there was poverty. Then there was a small pension. Then there was peritonitis and death at 77 in 1902. Jessie lived with daughter Lily in Los Angeles for seventeen more years.
Two significant and worthy lives, lived largely in celebrity and position, true, lived large for personal gain, yes, but lived also for the good of society and for posterity. And we--posterity--are better off for their work.
I admit I wasn’t much interested in reading a biography of John Charles Frémont. I figured I knew enough and it wasn’t all that good so why bother. Despite the fact that within short compass from my keyboard lie a city, a major boulevard, and a high school named after him--not to mention that he named the Golden Gate the Golden Gate, though I guess he did it in Greek (Chrysē Pylē)--I considered him more of a glory seeker than a true pioneer. I thought he derived fame and advantage more from his favored position as the son-in-law of a powerful eminent-domain-obsessed senator (Thomas Hart Benton of Missouri) and from the brilliance and beauty of his wife, Jessie, than from his own abilities or initiative. My prejudice was based on some facts.
One of his five expeditions of exploration took place near the start of the Mexican-American war. He was officially an army officer (Lt. Colonel), but was trained and engaged for surveying and science, not for combat. Yet he inserted himself and his “army” of mountain men and irregulars into California affairs at a time when the golden state was part of a foreign country with whom the U.S. was not at war. He made a bit of a mess of things here for a while. Then there was a foolhardy midwinter expedition into the San Juan Mountains in which ten men died and one or two were perhaps at least partially eaten (not by or with the sanction of or in the presence of John Charles). Later on, as a real army officer during the early days of the civil war, he issued an emancipation proclamation for Missouri without consulting Lincoln or gaining his approval, a move which might have driven border states like KY and Maryland into the confederacy. Jessie went straight to an irritated and president to plead his case on that one. He bought 40, 000 acres around Mariposa, just outside of Yosemite, and took a fortune in gold out of it, but managed to squander most of the proceeds. And, I confess as well, that my prejudice was reinforced by a tawdry TV miniseries (of which I watched only a portion) starring the soap opera actor Richard Chamberlain.
But you can know a lot and still be ignorant, and after reading Egan’s book and now declare that Frémont deserves every honor he received and more. Every street, school, and city that bears his name should wear its label proudly. Not that he wasn’t every bit as arrogant and ambitious and reckless as I always thought. He certainly was. But he was also a passionate and meticulous scientist, a public servant with big ideas and huge visions who dared big and risked hugely to pursue them. He was also something of a writer. How many authors can claim that their congressional reports turned into best sellers? The reports of Frémont’s first two expeditions into the west became just that, and they functioned as guide books for thousands of wagon trains over the years as well as adding mountains to the knowledge of western flora, fauna, and geography. He didn’t blaze the trails he described in the reports (never claimed he did), but he codified and focused the knowledge of them, provided precision of direction, altitude (despite primitive, broken, lost instruments), soil, and weather beyond the world of legend and tall tales that had been all the existing information. You’d think that would have been enough of a career, but not for J.C.
He was court-martialed and convicted for some of his actions in the California turmoil. However, though his egotistical overreaching played a major role in his difficulties, the true fountainhead of his problems was his naiveté as he tried to steer a safe course in the power struggle between General Kearny and Commodore Stockton during the U.S. conquest of California. He’d found his way over raging rivers and through freezing blizzards, but the politics of this situation was too much for him to navigate. His trial and conviction was, it seems to me, as much a political procedure and verdict as a legal or military one. The jury found him guilt of mutiny (possible death penalty) and a number of lesser charges, but recommended that the president pardon him. In other words, they couldn’t officially countenance his refusal to obey an official order, even though he was caught between contradictory, mutually exclusive, orders from feuding commanders. However, they apparently didn’t think he should be punished.
President Polk issued the pardon, and Frémont went on with his life. He served a short term as one of California’s first senators, garnering plenty of resentment for his anti-slavery views and legislation, and these ideals kept him from being elected for a full term. I’d always thought his 1856 run for the presidency was a gimmicky thrust for glory, but he was a sincere abolitionist (though born and raised in the south) and dared to join the Republicans even though his powerful father-in-law (also an abolitionist) could not bring himself to break his democratic ties to support his son-in-law. Frémont probably lost to Buchanan because of a third party’s drawing votes away from him, but he helped pave the way for Lincoln’s candidacy in 1860. It was a bitter and dirty campaign, and he was swift-boated to a degree John Kerry never dreamed of:
He’d been born out of wedlock (true, though there were extenuating circumstances aplenty.); he was a Catholic (untrue, and it mattered then, but how do you stop the rumors? He and Jessie had eloped and been married by a priest, after all); he’d been brutal to the California Indians (True enough, and Egan pulls no punches about the cruel treatment he--and especially Carson--sometimes dished out, but by the standards of the day, they were not exceptionally harsh, and who cared at the time except for political purposes? Sound familiar?) And so on.
Then there was yet another expedition, a fifth--the guy just couldn’t stop--designed to prove that a railroad could be built across the Rockies. He did prove those mountains could be crossed in midwinter and nearly died doing it. Somehow, he remained a millionaire through all this, owned some of the most beautiful land in San Francisco (Now named Fort Mason, ironically, after one of the officers who was instrumental in his court martial conviction.), which was seized during the war and for which he was never compensated. Then there was some time spent abroad (thrown in jail in England for a time by English investors who had never repaid by the government for vouchers that Military Governor Frémont had signed in California years past.) Then there was a mansion in New York. Then there was investment in a railroad. In between there were the deaths of two infant daughters. Then there was poverty. Then there was a small pension. Then there was peritonitis and death at 77 in 1902. Jessie lived with daughter Lily in Los Angeles for seventeen more years.
Two significant and worthy lives, lived largely in celebrity and position, true, lived large for personal gain, yes, but lived also for the good of society and for posterity. And we--posterity--are better off for their work.
July 7, 2025
Engaging history if, like me, you are a sucker for the natural, political, or exploratory history of the American West. The book is definitely focused on his earlier exploratory years with more cursory coverage of his run for president and Civil War general years. I'd say the physical book could have used several more maps in addition to just the one. Fremont wasn't always referred to by his last name, which I found slightly confusing. The section of early California political history during the Mexican-American War was a little hard to follow given the numerous different parties involved.
Especially fun to finally finish the book while camping in the San Juan mountains, which Fremont thought he could cross in winter, which seems like an obviously terrible idea.
Especially fun to finally finish the book while camping in the San Juan mountains, which Fremont thought he could cross in winter, which seems like an obviously terrible idea.
Read
October 16, 2021An amazing book wonderfully written. It reads like a novel but I have checked the facts and it's true.Other biographies of Fremont have fallen short, and his historical reputation needs much more attention. Like Hamilton before the musical, he has fallen into neglect. Read this boo, learn and you will love it.
March 22, 2025
Exhausting in style and detail. Fremont was heroic and his life and travels worth the challenging read.
This is another book where a good editor would have compressed five hundred pages to under 350 while retaining the story.
This is another book where a good editor would have compressed five hundred pages to under 350 while retaining the story.
October 25, 2016
Well-written and very informative. Especially interesting to me since so much of the story occurs around the area where I live and in areas that I have recently visited.
As is so often the case with people's lives, JCF had some remarkable highlights and achievements, as well as some dramatic failings and challenges. The devotion and strength of his wife, Jessie, is impressive. Of note also are all the political connections that allowed JCF to undertake his five explorations, and the many political intricacies that complicated his life.
JCF was anti-slavery (which created problems for him with some of his California constituents), but he also at times could turn away from brutal retaliations against others whom he felt deserved punishment. On the whole, he was a major influence in the fulfillment of Manifest Destiny and was responsible for mapping much of the West. His writings provided more opportunities for the success of American pioneers, to the detriment of the Native Americans.
His interactions with the Native Americans was mixed: at times friendly and cooperative, at times threatening, at times savage and deadly.
Some interesting facts: JCF and his wife owned the land which became Fort Mason. The land was taken away by the US Federal Government to build the fort and the Fremonts were not compensated. JCF and Jessie owned most of Mariposa surrounding area. JCF gave the opening to the SF bay the name "Golden Gate" and he also owned Alcatraz. He was one of the first senators and, for a short time, was appointed as the first governor. There are numerous "Fremont Peaks" named after him.
As is so often the case with people's lives, JCF had some remarkable highlights and achievements, as well as some dramatic failings and challenges. The devotion and strength of his wife, Jessie, is impressive. Of note also are all the political connections that allowed JCF to undertake his five explorations, and the many political intricacies that complicated his life.
JCF was anti-slavery (which created problems for him with some of his California constituents), but he also at times could turn away from brutal retaliations against others whom he felt deserved punishment. On the whole, he was a major influence in the fulfillment of Manifest Destiny and was responsible for mapping much of the West. His writings provided more opportunities for the success of American pioneers, to the detriment of the Native Americans.
His interactions with the Native Americans was mixed: at times friendly and cooperative, at times threatening, at times savage and deadly.
Some interesting facts: JCF and his wife owned the land which became Fort Mason. The land was taken away by the US Federal Government to build the fort and the Fremonts were not compensated. JCF and Jessie owned most of Mariposa surrounding area. JCF gave the opening to the SF bay the name "Golden Gate" and he also owned Alcatraz. He was one of the first senators and, for a short time, was appointed as the first governor. There are numerous "Fremont Peaks" named after him.
October 23, 2012
Understanding the history of the West involves knowing about explorations that followed the Lewis & Clark trek and the subsequent journeys of mountain men. After leading two expeditions into the West in 1843 to 1844, John C. Fr�mont http://www.longcamp.com/proc.html became a national hero. His travels led to published reports of the successful journeys into relatively unknown regions; surveying, mapping, and describing the Rockies, the Great Basin, the route to Oregon, and the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Ferol Egan's biography provides an unvarnished view of Fr�mont, his courtship and marriage to Jesse Benton, his relationship with political powerhouse and father-in-law, Thomas Hart Benton, all of his five expeditions, and his rise and fall from public acclaim. (lj)
February 9, 2015
I read this quite some time ago, but it is still a book I come back to over and over. I can open it to any page and entertain myself for hours reading true accounts of exploration. Just last night I reread the account of Fremont's group being lost in the pogonip in northern Nevada and their first encounter with the Pyramid Lake Paiute people. This book is a must-have for anyone who loves the history of our country, particularly those who love western history.
March 30, 2013
A true American hero
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews