Existing comment:
The Central Route:
In 1860, a relay system of horses began to carry mail across the 1,966-mile-long "central route" between St. Joseph, Missouri, and Sacramento, California. This privately owned service would become known as the Pony Express.
The Pony Express solved an urgent problem for the US government. In the late 1850s political tensions had increased between North and South over slavery and other issues. The government feared losing control over mail along the Southern Route and contact with gold-rich California. To ensure Union control over cargo and mail carried between East and West, a route outside the Southern states was needed. |