Memoirs of My Life and Times

Explorer, soldier and presidential hopeful; John Charles Fremont was a remarkable man.

Born into obscurity, Fremont rose to become one of the most influential figures of nineteenth century America.

He fought as a major in the Mexican–American War, became one of the first two U.S. senators elected from the new state of California, and was also the first candidate of the Republican Party for the office of President of the United States.

Yet, he was also one of the most prominent explorers of the West, earning the nickname, The Pathfinder.

Following on from Lewis and Clark, Zebulon Pike, Peter Skene Ogden and Jeddiah Smith, Fremont set off into the vast unknown of the West, building on and adding to the work of earlier pathfinders to expand knowledge of this region.

Fremont’s Memoirs of My Life and Times is his personal account of his five journeys into the wild lands of the West and is one of the most remarkable accounts of nineteenth century exploration ever recorded. John Charles Fremont’s memoirs were originally published in 1887, three years before Fremont passed away.