After being kicked out of college for “incorrigible negligence,” John C. Fremont became a member of the U. S. Topographical Corp.  The result of a wise marriage to the daughter of an influential Senator, Fremont was appointed to head expeditions charting the best routes to Washington, Oregon, California and Nevada.  His reports on the expeditions became very popular with people interested in settling the west.

            At this time, California was a possession of Mexico.  But, the United States was very interested in acquiring it.  Although a member of the army, Fremont was not considered a combat soldier.  But, in 1845, President James Polk sent Fremont on an expedition with 60-armed men.  Although outwardly another exploration, President Polk, feeling war with Mexico was inevitable, wanted a military force nearby.

            When in May of 1846 war was declared with Mexico, Fremont immediately went into California.  With news of a U. S. military force in California, Anglo-Americans started rebelling against their Mexican leaders.  On January 16, 1847 Fremont, now in Los Angeles, was appointed the Governor of California.  Although appointed by his commander, there became a dispute within military ranks, and Fremont ended up being court martialed.  Even though he was pardoned by President Polk, Fremont resigned, and returned to California.

            Still with the taste of political power from his short stint as California’s governor, Fremont ran for senator in the newly recognized state.  Then in 1856 Fremont became the Republican Party’s first Presidential candidate.  In 1878, as a 65-year-old legend, he was appointed the territorial Governor of Arizona.

            John Fremont was a much better explorer and mapper than he was a politician, for his service as a politician was like his time in college, highlighted by “incorrigible negligence.” 

It interesting how sometimes a man’s death is almost more important than his life when it comes to fame.

On January 10, 1843, Frank James was born in Clay County, Missouri. Frank was the older brother of Jesse James. Together, the two of them robbed banks, trains and even city fair ticket booths in the middle of a crowd of 10,000 people.

This happened during a time when the citizens of Missouri had a hatred for large corporate railroads and banks. Although they were anything but, some Americans began to see the James brothers as heroes, modern-day Robin Hoods who stole from the rich and gave to the poor.

When Jesse was killed for $5,000 in reward money in 1882 by one of his own gang members, Jesse achieved a reputation as a martyr in the cause of the common people against powerful interests.  One Kansas City newspaper mournfully reported his death in a story headlined, “GOODBYE JESSE.”

Frank James, on the other hand, turned himself in a few months after his brother was murdered.  Prosecutors were unable to convince juries that Frank was a criminal, and he was declared a free man after avoiding conviction at three separate trials in Missouri and Alabama.

For the next 30 years, Frank lived an honest and peaceful existence, working as a race starter at county fairs, a theater doorman, and a star attraction in traveling theater companies.  He also guided people on a tour of his and Jesse’s family farm. Frank died in 1915 at the age of 72.

Today Frank James is known best as Jesse James’ brother.  It seems sometimes a person has to leave this world in a spectacular way to receive enduring fame.

On January 7, 1901 Alfred Packer was released from prison after serving 18 years.   Why was he in prison?  Cannibalism.

Back in the 1860’s Packer was a prospector in the Rocky Mountains.   Because of the meager pickings, he supplemented his income by serving as a guide in the Utah and Colorado wilderness.

In early November 1873, Packer left Bingham Canyon, Utah, leading a party of 21 men bound for the gold fields near Breckenridge, Colorado.  After three months of difficult travel, the party staggered into the camp of the Ute Indian Chief  Ouray, near present-day Montrose, Colorado.  The Ute graciously provided the hungry and exhausted men with food and shelter.  Although the Ute advised the men to stay in the camp until spring, Packer and five other men decided to continue the journey.

Two months later, Packer arrived alone at the Los Pinos Indian Agency, looking surprisingly fit for a man who had just completed an arduous winter trek through the Rockies.  At first Packer claimed he had become separated from his five companions during a blizzard and survived on wild game.

Later Packer confessed that four men had died naturally from the extreme winter conditions and the starving survivors ate them.  When only Packer and one other man, Shannon Bell, remained alive, Bell went insane and threatened to kill Packer.  Packer said he shot Bell in self-defense and eventually ate his corpse.

Packer was tried and a jury convicted him of manslaughter.  He remained imprisoned in the Canon City penitentiary until 1901 when the Denver Post published a series of articles and editorials questioning his guilt.

After his release Alfred Packer around Littleton, Colorado, maintaining his innocence until the day he died in 1907.

On January 2, 1834 Stephen Austin was imprisoned by the Mexican government.
Prior to this Austin did his best to satisfy the rebellious Anglo-Americans in Texas. And because of problems with the Mexican Republic, Austin was forces to constantly return to Mexico City where he argued for the rights of the American colonists in Texas.

Alarmed by the growing numbers of Americans migrating to Texas and rumors the U.S. intended to annex the region, the Mexican government began to limit immigration in 1830.
The Mexican policy angered many Anglo-American colonists who already had a long list of grievances against their distant government. In 1833, a group of colonial leaders drafted a constitution that would create a new Anglo-dominated Mexican state of Texas.

Once the constitution was done, the colonial leaders directed Austin to travel to Mexico City to present it to the government along with a list of other demands. Austin conceded to the will of the people, but President Santa Ana not only refused to grant Texas independence, he threw Austin in prison on suspicion of inciting insurrection.
When he was finally released eight months later in August 1835, Austin found that the Anglo-American colonists were on the brink of rebellion. They were now demanding a Republic of Texas that would break entirely from Mexico.

Reluctantly, Austin abandoned his hope that the Anglo Texans could somehow remain a part of Mexico, and he began to prepare for war. The following year Austin helped lead the Texan rebels to victory over the Mexicans and assisted in the creation of the independent Republic of Texas. Defeated by Sam Houston in a bid for the presidency of the new nation, Austin instead took the position of secretary of state. He died in office later that year.

On December 29 in 1890, the final chapter in America’s Indian wars was written as the U.S. Cavalry killed 146 Sioux at Wounded Knee.
Throughout 1890, the U.S. government had been worrying about a Ghost Dance spiritual movement, which taught that Indians had been defeated and confined to reservations because they had angered the gods by abandoning their traditional customs.  If they practiced the Ghost Dance and rejected the ways of the white man, the gods would create the world anew and destroy all non-believers, including non-Indians.
 

The U.S. Army’s 7th cavalry surrounded a band of Ghost Dancers under the Sioux Chief Big Foot near Wounded Knee Creek and demanded they surrender their weapons.  As that was happening, a fight broke out between an Indian and a U.S. soldier and a shot was fired.  A brutal battle followed, in which it’s estimated almost 150 Indians were killed.  Nearly half of them were women and children.  The cavalry lost 25 men.