FREMONT
FREMONT
she found a beautiful home. Her eldest son,
John Charles, was a graduate of the U.S. naval
academy, 1873, and couiiiianded a torpedo boat in
the war with Spain, IStty ; her second son, Francis
Preston, was graduated' at the U.S. military
academy in 1874, reached the rank of captain
in the 3d U.S. infantry, April 36, 1898. and was
assistant adjutant-general with the rank of cap-
tain in the volunteer army, 1898. Jlrs. Frfimont
wrote: Story of the Guard (18G3) ; .1 Year of Ame7--
ican Travel (1878); Souvenir.'i of My Time (1887);
Far West Sketches (1888); The Will and the Way
Stories (1889); and contributed to periodicals.
She died in Los Angele.s, Cal., Dec. 27, 1903.
FREMONT, John Charles, soldier, was born in Savannah, Ga., Jan. 1, 1813; son of John Charles and Anne Beverley (Whiting) Fre- mont. His father was a native of France and a teacher of the French language, and his mother, who met and married her husband in Norfolk, was a Vir- ginian by birth and ancestry and had in- herited a considerable property. In 1818 Mr. Frfiniont died, leaving his widow with thi'ee infant children to care for. She removed to Chaideston, S.C, and John Charles en- tered the junior class of the College of Charleston m 1828, ■where he displayed an especial aptitude for mathematics, but because of disregard for a point of discipline he was expelled by the faculty before completing his course. He then engaged as teacher in a private familj' and also in con- ducting an evening school. He was a teacher of mathematics on board the U.S. sloop-of-war Natchez, 1833-35, dui-ing a cruise, and on return- ing to Charleston was given his A.B. degi'ee by the College of Charleston in 1836. He then passed examination as professor of mathematics by the U.S. navy and was appointed to the frigate Independence. He changed his plans, however, and became an assistant to Capt. W. G. Williams of the U.S. topographical engineers in surveying a railroad from Charleston to Cincin- nati, his chief work being through the mountains of North Carolina and Tennessee Completing this work in 1837 he took part with Captain Williams in an expedition against the Cherokee Indians in the mountain region of Georgia, North Carolina and Tennessee. In 1838 he as sisted Jean Nicliolas Nicollet in exploring, for the U.S. war department, the country north of
the Missouri river and while so engaged he was
commissioned bj' President Van Buren 2d lieu-
tenant in the topographical engineer corps, July
7, 1838. In 184U he made his report of the survey,
personally visiting Washington for the purpose.
At this time he met Jessie, daughter of Senator
Thomas H. Benton of Missouri, and an attach-
ment sprang up between the two that caused the
senator to request that the yomig lieutenant be
sent back to the northwest to survey the Des
Moines river; and his daughter, at the time only
fifteen j'ears old, was sent to school. Friimont
rapidly completed his task and renewed his suit
the next j'ear. Failing to obtain the consent of
the senator, the young couple were married Oct.
19, 1841. A reconciliation was brought about
and Colonel Benton obtained for his son-inlaw
coimnand of an expedition to make a survey
beyond the Rocky mountains by the south pass.
He left Washington, May 3, 1843, and in four
months had care-
fully examined the
south pass, explored
the Wind River
mountains and as-
cended 13,.j70 feet
above tide water, to
the top of what
became known as
Fremont's peak.
His report, submit-
ted to the 27th con-
gress, 1843—13, was a
revelation to the
world in the geogra-
phy of the great
west, recounting
suffering from liard -
ship in travel and dangers from the savages, into
whose country he ventured; and won for the
leader a reputation as an able, courageous and
discriminating explorer. Tlie celebrated trapper
and explorer, Kit Carson, accompanied this ex-
pedition. In May, 1843, Fr6mont set out with
thirty-nine men to ex]5lore the region beyond the
Rocky mountains and to mark out a path to the
Pacific. On Sept. 6, 1843, after travelling over
1700 miles, he cjime in view of the Great Salt
Lake and after surveying it continued his
journej', exploring the upper tributaries of the
Columbia river and descending the valley of that
river to Fort Vancouver. He then crossed from
the Great Basin to the California valley in the
depth of the winter, where no Indian guides would
venture to pilot them. He accomplished the task
in forty daj-s, but not without great suffering,
and early in March, 1844, reached Sutter's fort in
Sacramento, half the horses and mules having
been left dead on the route. He turned liis face
FREMONT PLANTS THE AMERICAN
FLAC ON THE HIOHEST PEAK
OF THE ROCKY MOUAITAI/JS.
