Beschreibung:

Fremont, Bvt. Capt. J.C. Report of the Exploring Expedition to the Rocky Mountains in the Year 1842, and to Oregon and North California in the Years 1843-'44. Washington: Senate edition, 1845, first edition, Gales and Seaton, printers. 8vo, brown embossed cloth, 693pp. Five maps, three of them folding, including large 54.5 x 32.75 in. map in pocket built into rear cover. Also includes many plates of fossils, biological specimens and scenery. John C. Fremont (1813-1890) was the illegitimate child of a wealthy Virginia socialite and her French immigrant tutor. Through hard work and education, he overcame this social handicap and eventually married the daughter of Senator Thomas Hart Benton After a period being a teacher aboard the USS Natchez, Fremont was appointed 2nd Lieut. of the Corps of Topographical Engineers, and participated in several surveying expeditions to the western territories of North America, first as assistant, and eventually leading his own surveys. This volume documents the first two of which he was the lead explorer, although others would follow. During the Mexican War, he participated in the conquest of California and would become its first military governor, then one of its first two Senators. An unsuccessful run for President in 1856 left him in the army, including a controversial term as commander of the Department of the West. He served in the Civil War. Like many other former Civil War generals, he went into the railroad business after the war, but that was short-lived. He served as governor of the Arizona Territory from 1878 to 1881 before retiring to Staten Island, where he died, forgotten, in 1890. A classic of American exploration. Provenance: Property from the Collection of Dr. Fred E. Schwab Condition: Wear and bumping to corners, and head and foot of spine. Minor foxing. Small separations of pocket map at folds. Previous owner's bookplate on front (Edwin Stanton Fickes) and penciled on tp. Overall a fine copy.