Read Online The California Gold Rush and the Coming of the Civil War by Leonard L. Richards - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Leonard L. Richards
Ads: Link
join him in the battle against Claiborne F. Jackson, Calhoun, and other “disunionists.” 13
Thus, at the time that Jessie Benton Frémont made her trip west, her father was in deep political trouble. He was barely hanging on to his Senate seat. He would lose it the following year.
Also in trouble was Jessie’s husband, John C. Frémont. That, too, was partly her father’s doing. Among her father’s beliefs was that the best route to the Pacific was straight west from St. Louis, overland through the Rockies, following roughly the 38th parallel. To prove that the 38th parallel route was workable even in bad weather, he had dispatched his son-in-law to map a trail late in the year, just before the snows fell, on October 21, 1848.
By this time, Frémont had become the nation’s most famous explorer, rated by the popular press far above Lewis and Clark, almost on the same level as Columbus. Much had already been written about the first thirty-six years of his life, his slender wiry frame, his dashing good looks, his daring, and his resourcefulness. While much of it was hyperbole, Frémont undoubtedly had come a long way since his Savannah boyhood. The illegitimate son of a Virginia patrician woman who had run away from her elderly husband and taken up with a French émigré teacher, he had been raised in genteel poverty by his mother. Well aware of his origins, he grew up to be a restless loner, a proud and reserved man who was austere in his personal habits, rigorously self-disciplined, eager to prove himself, and unwilling to always play by the rules imposed from above. 14
Frémont’s disdain for authority got him into serious trouble more than once. At the same time, however, he owed much of his success to men of power. A prominent lawyer, John W. Mitchell, sponsored his early education. He got into the College of Charleston but was thrown out for poor attendance. Then an eminent South Carolina politician, Joel R. Poinsett, came to his aid. Poinsett secured a position for Frémont as a math instructor on the USS
Natchez
and then a commission in the U.S. Topographical Corps surveying a route for the Charleston, Louisville, and Cincinnati railroad. Later, as secretary of state, Poinsett arranged for Frémont to assist the eminent French explorer Joseph N. Nicollet in surveying the region between the upper Mississippi and Missouri rivers. Several months later, Frémont was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army Corps of Topographical Engineers. Two successive expeditions with Nicollet provided Frémont with wilderness experience and helped him become a first-rate topographer, skilled in describing fauna, flora, soil, and water resources.
Working with Nicollet also brought Frémont in contact with Thomas Hart Benton. Not only was Benton a staunch advocate of western expansion; he was also the chair of the Senate Committee on Military Affairs and thus in a position to help the two topographical engineers. Thanks to his interest in their work, the senator repeatedly invited the young lieutenant to his C Street home. One evening he gave Frémont the task of escorting his oldest daughter, Eliza, to a concert at Miss English’s boarding school in Georgetown. That evening Frémont became entranced with the second of Benton’s four daughters, sixteen-year-old Jessie, who attended the same school.
Jessie Benton by no means shared Frémont’s hardscrabble background. Her upbringing had always been one of comfort. Nor did she share his reserved, often brooding temperament. She was far more open, optimistic, and outgoing. Like him, however, she tended to be impetuous and headstrong. 15
That proved decisive. As the romance blossomed, her parents tried to stop it. They wanted their daughter to marry up in society, not down. They set up all sorts of roadblocks to keep their daughter from seeing Frémont. All failed. Without their approval—indeed, against their wishes—the couple eloped. No
Thus, at the time that Jessie Benton Frémont made her trip west, her father was in deep political trouble. He was barely hanging on to his Senate seat. He would lose it the following year.
Also in trouble was Jessie’s husband, John C. Frémont. That, too, was partly her father’s doing. Among her father’s beliefs was that the best route to the Pacific was straight west from St. Louis, overland through the Rockies, following roughly the 38th parallel. To prove that the 38th parallel route was workable even in bad weather, he had dispatched his son-in-law to map a trail late in the year, just before the snows fell, on October 21, 1848.
By this time, Frémont had become the nation’s most famous explorer, rated by the popular press far above Lewis and Clark, almost on the same level as Columbus. Much had already been written about the first thirty-six years of his life, his slender wiry frame, his dashing good looks, his daring, and his resourcefulness. While much of it was hyperbole, Frémont undoubtedly had come a long way since his Savannah boyhood. The illegitimate son of a Virginia patrician woman who had run away from her elderly husband and taken up with a French émigré teacher, he had been raised in genteel poverty by his mother. Well aware of his origins, he grew up to be a restless loner, a proud and reserved man who was austere in his personal habits, rigorously self-disciplined, eager to prove himself, and unwilling to always play by the rules imposed from above. 14
Frémont’s disdain for authority got him into serious trouble more than once. At the same time, however, he owed much of his success to men of power. A prominent lawyer, John W. Mitchell, sponsored his early education. He got into the College of Charleston but was thrown out for poor attendance. Then an eminent South Carolina politician, Joel R. Poinsett, came to his aid. Poinsett secured a position for Frémont as a math instructor on the USS
Natchez
and then a commission in the U.S. Topographical Corps surveying a route for the Charleston, Louisville, and Cincinnati railroad. Later, as secretary of state, Poinsett arranged for Frémont to assist the eminent French explorer Joseph N. Nicollet in surveying the region between the upper Mississippi and Missouri rivers. Several months later, Frémont was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army Corps of Topographical Engineers. Two successive expeditions with Nicollet provided Frémont with wilderness experience and helped him become a first-rate topographer, skilled in describing fauna, flora, soil, and water resources.
Working with Nicollet also brought Frémont in contact with Thomas Hart Benton. Not only was Benton a staunch advocate of western expansion; he was also the chair of the Senate Committee on Military Affairs and thus in a position to help the two topographical engineers. Thanks to his interest in their work, the senator repeatedly invited the young lieutenant to his C Street home. One evening he gave Frémont the task of escorting his oldest daughter, Eliza, to a concert at Miss English’s boarding school in Georgetown. That evening Frémont became entranced with the second of Benton’s four daughters, sixteen-year-old Jessie, who attended the same school.
Jessie Benton by no means shared Frémont’s hardscrabble background. Her upbringing had always been one of comfort. Nor did she share his reserved, often brooding temperament. She was far more open, optimistic, and outgoing. Like him, however, she tended to be impetuous and headstrong. 15
That proved decisive. As the romance blossomed, her parents tried to stop it. They wanted their daughter to marry up in society, not down. They set up all sorts of roadblocks to keep their daughter from seeing Frémont. All failed. Without their approval—indeed, against their wishes—the couple eloped. No
Similar Books
