John C. Frémont, known as The Pathfinder, was a major explorer of the American West, the first Republican candidate for president, a Major General in the Civil War, a millionaire speculator, and Governor of the Arizona Territory.
Born in Savannah, Georgia, 21 January 1813 as the bastard son of an adulterous South Carolina plantocratic wife and a French Canadian interloper, the dashing Frémont obtained his opportunities for greatness mostly because he seduced the daughter of one of the most powerful men in the American government, Senator Thomas Hart Benton from Missouri, who finally accepted him as a son-in-law and a partner in his plans for Manifest Destiny. Those plans led Frémont, a surveyor with only a political appointment in the army and no military training, guided by the great
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Citation: Canfield, Douglas J. "John Charles Frémont". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 08 January 2001 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=1608, accessed 21 November 2024.]
