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Military Governor John C. Frémont Defends Supply Claims to Secretary of War - Fantastic California Content
Military Governor John C. Frémont Defends Supply Claims to Secretary of War - Fantastic California Content
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Military Governor John C. Frémont Defends Supply Claims to Secretary of War - Fantastic California Content

In this interesting letter to Secretary of War William L. Marcy, John C. Frémont defends contracts he made while serving briefly as military governor of California in 1847. He insisted that "Policy as well as Justice" required that the federal government pay the claims of those who supplied the agents of the government with necessary supplies.

JOHN C. FRÉMONT, Fair Copy of Letter Signed, to William L. Marcy, May 19, 1848, Washington, D.C. Copy made ca. 1875 by John V. Furey, Assistant Quartermaster, U.S. Army. 22 pp., 8.125" x 12.5". Attached at top with rivets; general toning; expected folds; very good.

Excerpts
"The contract with Celis was a good one for the United States, & entered into by him as an act of friendship to the United States. He was a wealthy Mexican gentleman of California, remained neutral during the war, & lent the money & furnished the cattle to me as Governor, & ought to be faithfully repaid, with thanks for his friendly aid. The cattle are kept by Mr. Stearns without expense to the United States, to secure the parties concerned from loss." (pp9-10)

"This shows that the Proclamation assuming the government of California was not printed at Monterey until the 5th. of March, & that even then it was not sent to me. In the meantime, I had fulfilled the duties of Governor under the commission of Commodore Stockton; & the question now is, whether my contract as such shall be complied with?" (pp12-13)

"My situation in California was difficult & arduous—3000 miles distant—without money—carrying on military operations—administering a civil government—getting supplies & small loans on the best terms possible—& actually getting supplies & loans from the conquered inhabitants, as an act of friendship to the United States. Myself & my staff officers know every transaction—authenticated many before I was brought away from the country, & would have authenticated all just demands if I had remained, & they would have been paid, by orders of Commodore Stockton, if he had remained, out of naval funds as he paid other expenses of the conquest." (p19)

"Policy as well as Justice requires these claims to be now paid with the least possible delay." (p22)

Historical Background
At the end of his third expedition, western explorer John C. Frémont promised American settlers in Mexican California that his military force would protect them in case of war with Mexico. Mexican officials ordered Frémont and his men to leave, and Frémont reluctantly left for Oregon Territory, along the way killing hundreds of Native Americans in what became known as the Sacramento River massacre.

After a few weeks in Oregon, Frémont's force returned to California, where they were joined by American settlers in resisting Mexican authority. After the U.S. Navy Pacific Squadron seized Monterey, Commodore Robert F. Stockton replaced John D. Sloat in command of the Squadron, and Stockton appointed Frémont a major in command of the California Battalion, which captured both Los Angeles and Santa Barbara.

In December 1846, U.S. Brigadier General Stephen W. Kearney arrived in California from New Mexico with orders from President James K. Polk to march into California and, if he subdued it, to establish a civil government. Kearny led his small force in the disastrous Battle of San Pasqual, where he lost one-fifth of his men and suffered a serious lance wound. He and Stockton disputed who had control over military forces in California. Frémont accepted the surrender of the last Mexican governor of California with the signing of the Treaty of Cahuenga on January 13, 1847. Three days later, Commodore Stockton appointed Frémont military governor of California. Kearny ordered Frémont to join his military dragoons, but Frémont refused, believing he was under the authority of Commodore Stockton, who had left Los Angeles. Frémont had few funds to function as military governor and made contracts with local citizens for needed supplies.

In mid-February, Commanding General Winfield Scott sent specific orders giving Kearny the authority to be military governor of California, but Kearny did not inform Frémont of these orders. Frémont delayed obeying Kearny's orders, hoping for instructions from Washington that would make him military governor. His California Battalion also refused to join the U.S. Army. When Kearny sent Col. Richard B. Mason to Los Angeles to inspect and give Frémont further orders, Frémont challenged Mason to a duel. Kearny rode to Los Angeles, denied Frémont's request to join troops in Mexico, and sent him with Kearny's army back east. When they arrived at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, Frémont was arrested and charged with mutiny, disobedience of orders, and military misconduct. The resulting court-martial acquitted Frémont of mutiny but found him guilty on January 31, 1848, of disobedience and military misconduct. President James K. Polk approved the court's decision but commuted Frémont's sentence of dishonorable discharge and reinstated him in the U.S. Army because of his services. In response, Frémont resigned his commission in protest. He remained popular with much of the American public, who thought his arrest and court-martial were unjustified.

John C. Frémont (1813-1890) was born in Savannah, Georgia, to a married woman and her French-Canadian tutor, who had fled from her husband in Virginia. When his father died in 1818, his mother raised him and his siblings in Charleston, South Carolina. He attended Charleston College from 1829 to 1831 but was expelled for irregular attendance. He taught mathematics aboard a U.S. Navy sloop in 1833 and then joined the U.S. Topographical Corps. His experiences in the Carolina and Georgia mountains increased his desire to become an explorer. He accompanied French explorer Joseph Nicollet in explorations of the lands between the Mississippi and Missouri rivers, where he honed his topographical skills. In 1841, he eloped with and married Jessie Benton, the teenage daughter of Senator Thomas Hart Benton of Missouri. His new father-in-law provided the political patronage to support three expeditions into the American West from 1842 to 1845, earning him the nickname, "the Pathfinder." He briefly served as military governor of California in 1847 before being court-martialed. Although reinstated by President James K. Polk, Frémont resigned in protest and settled in California, where he purchased seventy square miles in the Sierra foothills. When gold was discovered on his property, he became a wealthy man. From September 1850 to March 1851, he served as one of California's first U.S. Senators as a Free Soil Democrat. In 1856, he was the first presidential candidate of the new Republican Party. He carried eleven states but lost the election to Democratic candidate James Buchanan. In 1861, President Abraham Lincoln appointed Frémont as a major general and commander of the Department of the West. In August 1861, Frémont issued a proclamation placing Missouri under martial law and emancipating slaves of rebels. President Lincoln revoked Frémont's emancipation order and removed him from command in November. In March, Lincoln placed Frémont in command of the Mountain Department in western Virginia and eastern Kentucky, but after three months he withdrew from service rather than join the Army of Virginia under General John Pope. After losing much of his wealth in the Panic of 1873, Frémont served as territorial governor of Arizona from 1878 to 1881, then resigned to relative poverty in New York City. Three months before his death, he was reappointed as a major general and added to the Army's retired list, qualifying him for a pension.

William L. Marcy (1786-1857) was born in Massachusetts and graduated from Brown University in 1808. He studied law in Troy, New York, and gained admission to the bar in 1811. He served in the militia during the War of 1812, rising to the rank of lieutenant colonel. He became a leader in the Albany Regency, a group of Democratic politicians who controlled New York from 1821 to 1838, and served as state comptroller (1823-1829) and associate justice of the New York Supreme Court (1829-1831). He served as a U.S. Senator from 1831 to 1833 but resigned to serve as governor of New York over three terms from 1833 to 1838. President James K. Polk appointed Marcy as his Secretary of War, a position he held from 1845 to 1849. He then returned to the practice of law in New York. President Franklin Pierce appointed him as Secretary of State, a position he held from 1853 to 1857, during which he negotiated the Gadsden Purchase from Mexico.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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