Item #22496 Message of the President of the United States, Communicating the Proceedings of the Court Martial in the Trial of Lieutenant Colonel Fremont
Message of the President of the United States, Communicating the Proceedings of the Court Martial in the Trial of Lieutenant Colonel Fremont

Message of the President of the United States, Communicating the Proceedings of the Court Martial in the Trial of Lieutenant Colonel Fremont

Washington: 1848.

First Edition. Hardcover. Near fine. 30th Congress, 1st Session. Senate Executive Document 33. 447 p, bound in recent three-quarter leather and marbled boards. Fine. In mid-June 1846, Fremont helped to instigate the Bear Flag Revolt against Mexican authorities by American settlers in California's Sacramento Valley. Fremont's commanding officer, Brigadier General S.W. Kearney, ordered Fremont to cease his activities, but Fremont refused and was promptly court-martialed. In his defense, Fremont claimed that he had launched the revolt upon discovering that Mexico was on the eve of transferring California to England. The trial lasted from November 1847 to January 1848. Fremont was found guilty of mutiny and other charges, and sentenced to dismissal from the service. Cowan 91: "The charges were mutiny, disobedience of the lawful commands of his superior officer, and conduct to the prejudice of good order and military discipline....He was found guilty, and the sentence was dismissal. President Polk accepted the findings (except that relating to mutiny), but remitted the penalty, ordering Fremont to retain his sword and report for duty. Fremont, however, refused to accept the executive clemency and resigned." Decker 24: 122: “Fremont’s court-martial was the outcome of his refusal to recognize the authority of Gen. Kearney during the military conquest of California.” This was one of the most celebrated trials of the era, in part because Fremont's father-in-law, Senator T.H. Benton, threw himself with indiscreet energy into the quarrel. A few years later Fremont would be the first candidate for President nominated by the newly-formed Republican Party. Howes F369. Graff 1432. Sabin 25840. Cowan p.91.

Item #22496

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