John C. Frémont

Biography

John C. Frémont — known as 'The Pathfinder' — was the most celebrated American explorer of his generation when the Mexican-American War began. His daring surveys of the Oregon Trail and Rocky Mountains in the early 1840s had made him a national hero. In 1845, Frémont led a third survey expedition into Mexican-controlled California ostensibly for scientific purposes. When war broke out, Frémont's presence in California with a well-armed party of sixty mountain men proved conveniently decisive. He encouraged the Bear Flag Revolt of California settlers in June 1846 — a chaotic uprising that declared a short-lived California Republic — and then merged his command with Commodore Stockton's naval forces to conquer California. The military governorship of California that followed ended in disaster when Frémont refused orders from General Stephen Kearny, who had marched overland to take command. Court-martialed for mutiny and insubordination, Frémont was convicted but pardoned by President Polk — a pardon Frémont refused to accept, resigning his commission instead. He later became California's first U.S. senator and the first Republican presidential candidate in 1856.