To secret and personal services in the Mexican War under special engagement with President Polk, commencing from the 18th of June, 1846, when I left Washington City in the employment of the Government until I got back in February, 1849, being two years and eight months of time and extending to Santafe, Chihuahua, and Durango. …
In America, the war between Great Britain and France was known as the “French and Indian War.” It was decided by the victory of Wolf on the plains of Abraham in 1759. Montreal fell, in 1760, and the campaign that year convinced France that she was defeated in America. On the 15th of July, 1761, …
The first successful venture to Santa Fe over the Santa Fe Trail was made by Captain William Becknell. With him, according to Gregg, were “four trusty companions.” They left Arrow Rock, on the Missouri, near Franklin, but in Saline County, September 1, 1821. On the 13th of November they met a troop of Mexican soldiers, …
In 1849, Captain Howard Stansbury was sent out to make an exploration and survey of the Great Salt Lake. The initial point of his expedition was Fort Leavenworth. He left the fort on the 31st of May, 1849, with eighteen men, five wagons, and forty-six horses and mules. A Mr. Sackett joined the party. He …
The town of Franklin, in Howard County, Missouri, was opposite the present City of Boonville. In 1828, the entire site of the town was washed into the Missouri River. It was the cradle of the Santa Fe trade, and for some years it was the eastern terminus of the Santa Fe Trail. As population spread …
It is necessary to notice here the work of one J. V. Brower, who some years ago came into Kansas and pretended to fix beyond question the exact spots visited by Coronado. He published three books on the transactions of Coronado. He made maps of Quivira and the adjacent country of Harahey. On these maps …
The French were ever seeking to develop trade with the Indians, and when commercial relations were established they were fostered and closely guarded. As early as 1718, Sieur Presle, now supposed to have been a stockholder in the Company of the Indies, had suggested that Etienne Venyard Sieur de Bourgmont be sent to arrange trade …
The best authorities on the subject of the Oregon Trail are the publications of the Government. It is not possible to set out here all those consulted in the preparation of this chapterspace will not permit it. Explorations and Surveys for a Railroad Route from the Mississippi River to the Pacific OceanWar Department. Twelve volumes …
The principal authorities on the Spanish explorations of Kansas are: George Parker Winship, in The 14th Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology, 1896. Hubert Howe Bancroft in the History of Arizona and New Mexico, 1889. Spanish Explorations in the Southern United States, edited by Frederick W. Hodge, 1907. Spanish Explorations in the Southwest, edited …
One of the most important stations on the Santa Fe Trail, as originally located, was Bent’s Fort. It was situated on the Arkansas River in what is now Bent County, Colorado. It is deemed necessary to give some account of it because of the fact that it was the largest post on the trail and …
