BGuthrie Photos: NV -- Carson City -- Nevada State Museum -- Finding Fremont exhibit

NV -- Carson City -- Nevada State Museum -- Finding Fremont exhibit:

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Specific picture descriptions: Photos above with "i" icons next to the bracketed sequence numbers (e.g. "[1] ") are described as follows:
1. NSMFRE_140716_011.JPG: Finding Fremont: Pathfinder of the West "Fremont has particularly touched my imagination. What a wild life, and what a fresh kind of existence!" -- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow John Charles Fremont played a role in nearly every important historical event in American between 1840 and 1880 -- from frontier exploration to the political upheavals of the 1850s to the Civil War. His meteoric rise to fame and wealth is matched only by his downfall, complete with court-martial, scandal, and financial destitution. Impulsive, prone to resist authority, arrogant, determined, inquisitive -- Fremont's character fueled his success and earned him both fans and enemies. Today, his name proliferates the American landscape while the man himself is largely forgotten. In 1843, 30-year-old John Charles Fremont was a rising star in the Untied States Army Corps of Topographical Engineers. Moving quickly through the ranks and propelled by his political connections, the young officer seized a life-changing assignment to map an emigrant route to the Oregon Country. Leading this, his first expedition, Fremont produced the maps that formally marked the Oregon Trail and guided thousands of emigrants westward. Through five expeditions, Fremont traversed 30,000 miles of the American West, earning him the nickname "The Great Pathfinder." By the age of 40, his expeditions made him world-famous and one of the most popular men in America.
2. NSMFRE_140716_015.JPG: The Benton Family: United States Senator Thomas Hart Benton of Missouri was an avid and influential proponent of Westward expansion, inspiring him to seek out both Nicollet and Fremont to discuss their expeditions. Throughout the year 1840, meetings between Fremont and Benton expanded to a friendly relationship that included invitations to the Benton home and social gatherings. It was there that Fremont began courting Jessie Ann Benton, one of the senator's daughters. Benton respected Fremont as an explorer and army officer, but that did not translate to acceptance as a suitor for his daughter. Jessie Benton, however, was just as headstrong, impulsive, and resistant to authority as her future husband. Although the senator arranged for a westward assignment for Fremont, intended to keep the young couple apart, Jessie and John would not be discouraged. They couple eloped in October 1841 and kept their marriage secret from the Benton family for nearly a month. Jessie was 17 years old. After confessing the secret marriage, Benton sent the couple away, but within a few months he accepted the situation. Soon the couple was living in his home. Senator's Benton's support for Fremont now served not only a shared interest in the West, but it also granted the young man the influence of a powerful family.
3. NSMFRE_140716_017.JPG: Thirty-one star "Grand Luminary" United States Fremont/Dayton campaign flag, 1856: In 1856, John C. Fremont ran for the presidency of the United States with vice presidential running mate, William L. Dayton, of New Jersey. Fremont and Dayton lost the election to Buchanan and Breckinridge. It is a "Grand Luminary" design, which features a great star, composed of six starts surrounded by 25 smaller stars. The Grand luminary design is a visual interpretation of the national motto, E Pluribus Unum, meaning, from one many.
4. NSMFRE_140716_024.JPG: Free Soil, Free Men, Free Speech, Fremont John C. Fremont ran as the Republican Party's first presidential candidate in 1856. The slogan: Free Soil, Free Speech, Free Speech, Fremont, highlighted the Republican Party's campaign platform. Fremont's campaign relied heavily on his earlier fame as an explorer, and his campaign nickname was The Pathfinder. The staunchly anti-slavery Republican Party formed after a bitter split within the Whig Party over the issue of slavery. The nation was largely divided between Southern Democrats, Northern Republicans, and Whigs. Opponents launched vicious attacks against Fremont's character and the Republican platform. Fremont supporters relied on his earlier fame and accomplishments as a western explorer, and they referred to him as The Pathfinder or The Great Pathfinder. His First and Second Exploring Expedition report was reprinted for the election. Towns were renamed "Fremont" to show support for him. Although William L. Dayton defeated Abraham Lincoln as Fremont's vice presidential candidate, it was evident from Lincoln's pre-convention speeches that his star was rising. Democrat James Buchanan and his running mate John C. Breckinridge sounded defeated Fremont and Dayton in the November election. A political gulf had developed between North and South over the issue of slavery. The tide turned in 1860 with Republican Abraham Lincoln's election and the subsequent outbreak of the Civil War. One of Lincoln's initial military appointments placed General John C. Fremont as Commander of the Department of the West, a choice that Lincoln would soon regret.
5. NSMFRE_140716_030.JPG: Unlikely Hero: John Charles Fremont's first connection to scandal came with his own birth on January 21, 1813 in Savannah, Georgia. His mother, Mrs. Anne Beverley Whiting Pryor, had fallen in love with her tutor, French expatriate Louis-Rene 'Charles' Fremon. She left her husband for Charles, not only disgraced but pregnant. The state of Virginia denied her husband's divorce petition, leaving the couple unable to wed, and Anne delivered their first child, John Charles Fremon, out of wedlock. After she gave birth to two more children, Charles Fremon died when John was just five years old. Anne settled in Charleston, South Carolina, where John Charles Fremont's promise as a student won him scholarships and opportunities for advancement in society. His academic success earned him placement in the College of Charleston where he continued to excel. [No explanation is provided in the sign why the family name is sometimes "Fremont" and sometimes "Fremon".] In 1830, Fremont took a leave of absence from college to accept a job as a tutor to help support his mother and siblings. This led to his expulsion for "incorrigible negligence" of his studied. Over the next several years, he worked as a teacher, primarily of mathematics. Fremont became the protege of Joel Poinsett, an influential South Carolinian and United States diplomat, opening doors for Fremont within the military as a mathematics instructor. Fremont's appointments took him away from home for the first time, cementing his love of exploration of paving the way for his military career.
6. NSMFRE_140716_035.JPG: General Fremont's Civil War, 1861-1862: President Abraham Lincoln commissioned John C. Fremont the major general in command of the Army's Department of the West in July 1861. In August, Fremont issued an emancipation proclamation more than a year ahead of Lincoln's. His engagements with Stonewall Jackson bolstered Jackson's legendary status. In June 1862, he resigned his final military command having fallen out of favor with Lincoln. Fremont's western command included Missouri and Kansas, states plagued by southern sympathizers, guerrilla warfare, as well as Confederate units. Fremont's early activities included purchasing uniforms, arms, and artillery -- plus enlisting and organizing troops and his own "Fremont Body-Guard." He also prepared defenses for St. Louis. Each of these efforts was subject to criticism and occasional scandals, but his shortcomings were somewhat understandable given Fremont's relative inexperience as a military commander and the Union Army's lack of organization during the first year of the Civil War. Fremont's choice of Brigadier General U.S. Grant as a district commander over more senior, but less qualified, officers was his greatest contribution to the War. Even this, however, was considered a controversial decision at that time. Brigadier General Nathaniel Lyon, one of Fremont's generals, was defeated and killed in the Battle of Wilson's Creek, Missouri, in August 1861. Largely in response to this major Union defeat, Fremont declared martial law in Missouri. His order allowed seizing the property, including slaves, of citizens who aided guerrillas or Confederates. Most significantly, their slaves would also be proclaimed emancipated from slavery. Lincoln tactfully commanded Fremont to rescind his order as Lincoln still hoped for a political end to the war with a balance between slave holding and Free states, and he did not want to alienate slave holding Union supporters. Fremont respectfully refused the order, and Jessie Benton Fremont met with Lincoln to personally plead her husband's case. General Fremont was summarily relieved of his command on the grounds of his ineffectiveness as a military commander in November 1861. Most scholars agree that Fremont's independent emancipation proclamation was the principal reason for his dismissal. Although condemned by Lincoln, Fremont was widely praised by radical Republicans for his bold move. Fremont was subsequently given command of the short-lived Mountain Department (April-June 1862). Fremont's army was one of three that unsuccessfully engaged Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson in the Shenandoah Valley Campaign. Fremont refused a new command in June 1862, when his department was placed under the Army of Virginia commanded by Major General John Pope, a junior U.S. Volunteer officer who formerly served under Fremont. Fremont retired to New York City awaiting another call to duty, which never came.
7. NSMFRE_140716_042.JPG: Pointed Recognition: The world honored Lieutenant Colonel John C. Fremont as explorer and scientist. Among his awards was this sword purchased by the citizens of Charleston, South Carolina in 1847. No private donations above one dollar were accepted to emphasize the great number of his supporters.
8. NSMFRE_140716_046.JPG: Pointed Recognition: The world honored Lieutenant Colonel John C. Fremont as explorer and scientist. Among his awards was this sword purchased by the citizens of Charleston, South Carolina in 1847. No private donations above one dollar were accepted to emphasize the great number of his supporters.
9. NSMFRE_140716_048.JPG: The Pathfinder's Second Exploring Expedition, 1843-1844: Lieutenant John C. Fremont's First and Second exploring expeditions succeeded in mapping and exploring the existing emigrant route between the Missouri River and Oregon country and promoted settlement of the Pacific Coast by Americans. Fremont and Preuss' 1845 map and the expedition report were masterworks that guided tens of thousands of American emigrants to western North America. However, Fremont truly earned the title Pathfinder on the return left of his Second Exploring Expedition through Oregon country and Alta California, Mexico.
10. NSMFRE_140716_051.JPG: Surveying Compass, ca 1820 Mapping on the Frontier: Scientific instruments on display represent only a few of those carried by the expedition to complete a wide range of measurements and observations. The frontier was not gentle on the equipment and breakage was common. Fremont acquired multiples of some instruments, like compasses, and journal entries frequently reference instrument repair of complete failure. For this expedition, they even carried a brand new daguerreotype camera and plates -- cutting edge technology in 1843. Blaming the elements, Fremont was unable to make the camera work and not a single image was captured.
11. NSMFRE_140716_055.JPG: Lieutenant John C. Fremont -- Topog Lieutenant John C. Fremont was a member of the US Army's elite Corps of Topographical Engineers (Topogs). Topogs explored, mapped, and described trails, rivers, and lakes for development of wagon roads, canals, and harbors as part of their duties. Their reports could include an array of astronomical, meteorological, biological, geological, and/or anthropological observations. Creating accurate maps was, however, their principal mission. To accomplish this feat, topographical engineers utilized a variety of specialized, oftentimes-delicate, surveying and mapping instruments on their frontier exploring expeditions.
12. NSMFRE_140716_063.JPG: Mapping the Oregon Trail and Great Basin Lieutenant John C. Fremont's First and Second exploring expeditions provided Oregon bound emigrants with a reliable guide and map for most of the Oregon Trail and the periphery of the Great Basin. The 1848 Preuss-Fremont map represents the first map depicting the entire Great Basin with a high degree of accuracy. These maps guided California Forty-Niners following the California Trail, as well as the Oregon Trail, and served as the base maps for dozens of privately printed guidebooks and map well into the 1850s.
13. NSMFRE_140716_069.JPG: A Unique Scientific Endeavor: In the late 1840s there were few plant collections from western North America. Fremont is credited with collecting at least 32 types of plants that were previously unknown to science. Many more were initially thought to be new, but were later determined to have already been discovered and named. From the 1,400 specimens he brought back from his second western expedition, descriptions of 12 net and still validly named plants were published by John Torrey and Fremont. At least 23 have Fremont as part of their scientific name. Examples include Fremont cottonwood and Fremont indigobush. Other well-known plants associated with him include single-leaf pinyon, greasewood, desert trumpet, incense-cedar, Las Vegas bearpoppy, and snow plant.
14. NSMFRE_140716_078.JPG: Fremont Epilogue: John C. Fremont's initial fame as The Pathfinder may represent the high point of his life. His exploration reports and maps represent his most significant and enduring contribution. In the following decades, he pursued new opportunities -- additional expeditions, serving as military commander in two years, and pursuing political offices and a presidential campaign. Controversies and financial problems seemed to accompany each and plagued him for most of the remaining years of his life. On July 3, 1890, Fremont died in New York City away from Los Angeles where he and Jessie lived. His wife was unable to attend her husband's funeral and burial and New York, due to their dire financial straits. A few still swell upon Fremont's controversies, but he remains an American hero in the eyes of many others.
15. NSMFRE_140716_081.JPG: Map of an Exploring Expedition to the Rocky Mountains in the year 1842 and to Oregon & North California in the years 1843-44, 1845 John C. Fremont and Charles Preuss
16. NSMFRE_140716_086.JPG: Mountain Howitzer Carriage The mountain howitzer was designed for portability. It was compact and meant to be disassembled for ease of transport. These archaeological mountain howitzer carriage parts are unique. Only later versions of mountain howitzer carriages were known until the discovery of these parts. These carriage parts were found by dedicated researchers who previously identified the discovery site as a potential locality where Fremont abandoned his cannon.
17. NSMFRE_140716_091.JPG: Why were there three wheels with this discovery? Two of the rims were probably from extra wheels for the cannon carriage. The pair of rims displayed together do not show any wear from use. After leaving the Columbia River, the cannon carriage was Fremont's only wheeled vehicle. Fremont pulled his cannon with a thill and one to two draft animals. Unlike the Oregon Trail, the route through Alta California was rugged and largely unexplored by Euroamericans. In one instance a thill shaft broke and was replaced by a tent pole. A broken wheel, however, would not be as easily replaced, and two spare wheels, weighing only 54 pounds each, were logical additions to his equipment stores. U.S. Mountain Howitzer Wheel Rims from the West Walker River Canyon, California. Attributed to Fremont's Second Exploring Exhibition, 1844. Manufactured, ca 1835.
18. NSMFRE_140716_096.JPG: The Winter Ridge Trip: Archaeologists discovered these coins and this kettle below Winter Ridge, Lake County, Oregon. They believe the artifacts are associated with an incident from Fremont's Second Expedition. Four of the coins are British and two are American. All pre-date the expedition. Oregon county was disputed territory claimed by both Great Britain and the United States until the Compromise of 1850. It's not surprising that this mix of coins would circulate in the Pacific Northwest, especially after the expedition had stopped at Hudson's Bay Company outposts. The cast iron kettle could have been used as a Dutch over for baking or as a pot for boiling. Curiously, the kettle exhibits a 1/2-inch diameter (.50 caliber?) hole.
19. NSMFRE_140716_106.JPG: American Indian Friends and Foes: Charles Fremon introduced his young son John Charles to American Indian culture in the Southeast by visiting their villages. Fremont later relied on American Indians as expedition members and as local guides for his explorations including the Second Exploring Expedition.
20. NSMFRE_140716_127.JPG: The Fremont Canyon: Lieutenant John C. Fremont's mountain howitzer was surrounded by questions from the start. This mystery of the Old West began days before the Second Expedition's departure in 1843 and continues to the present day. The key questions are: why did take a cannon with him, and where is it today? The Nevada State Museum's cannon a likely contender for Fremont's Lost Cannon but many disagree that it is. The archaeological mountain howitzer carriage parts from the West Walker River Canyon, however, are almost certainly from Fremont's Lost Cannon.
21. NSMFRE_140716_129.JPG: The U.S. Model of 1835 12-pounder Mountain Howitzer This cannon is the third of an initial 12 mountain howitzers ordered by the Army in 1835. Although compact, it fired exploding shells up to 1000 yards through its 4.62 inch diameter bore.
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Wikipedia Description: Nevada State Museum, Carson City
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Nevada State Museum in Carson City is one of six Nevada State Museums operated by the Nevada Department of Cultural Affairs. The primary building of the Museum is the former Carson City Mint. The exhibits include

The world's largest exhibited Columbian Mammoth, found in the Black Rock Desert.
The silver service from the USS Nevada.

The museum also has the Spirit Cave mummy, which is the oldest North American mummy.
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