Jessie and Her Pathfinder, part 3
In Missouri, when Fremont issued a limited emancipation proclamation that freed slaves of Missouri citizens fighting for the Confederacy he ran into trouble with the government. He was also accused of incompetence in managing his troops resulting in President Lincoln canceling Fremont’s commission. It was rumored that the true reason Fremont’s commission was canceled was that Lincoln considered him a re-election threat.
Back once more in California, events went from bad to worse for the Fremonts. Control of Las Mariposas was passed from Fremont’s control, resulting in far less money than he or Jessie had anticipated. Then an investment in a railroad that was yet to be financed fell apart. It was now 1867 and the Fremonts were nearly broke. This was when Jessie began writing for the New York Ledger. She received little money for her efforts and called her writing her “pastime” to save John Charles’ feelings. Jessie’s help with their income did not realize even enough money for them to pay their taxes and Fremont sunk deep into a depression. But brighter times were to come.
Fremont was appointed territorial governor of Arizona in 1878 and the Fremonts saw four years of security. At the end of John Charles’ term of governor the family moved to Los Angeles. Together, John and Jessie published Fremont’s Memoirs of My Life. Fremont was restored to his former rank of Major General in 1890 but the life that Jessie had shared with her Pathfinder came to a close two months later when John Charles died. It was said that “Jessie was lost without John—he was her life.”
After her husband’s death, Jessie Benton Fremont lived a quiet life, writing articles, books, and her memoirs. At the age of 78, in 1902, Jessie left this difficult world to be with her Pathfinder.
To learn more on the Internet about John Charles and Jessie Benton Fremont please see:
The California State Military Museum http://www.militarymuseum.org/fremont.ht...
John Charles Fremont http://www.enetis.net/~surveyor/nshof/fr...
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The sources for this article are:
Gilbert, Bill. The Trailblazers: The Old West. Time-Life Books, Alexandria, Virginia, 1973.
Schubert, Frank N. Vanguard of Expansion: Army Engineers in the Trans-Mississippi West, 1819-1879. Historical Division, Office of Administrative Services, Office of the Chief of Engineers, Washington, D.C., no date given.
Seagraves, Anne. High-Spirited Women of the
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