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Bibliographic Essay
- University of Nevada Press
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Bibliographic Essay A BmLIOCBAPBY in the normal sense has not been included in that the basic information consulted for this biography can be found in the notes. All the primary and secondary sources used would make a sizable book. However, there are trails for readers who wish to follow the exploration of the transMississippi West and the acquisition of Oregon and California. Two earlier biographies of John Charles Fremont contain notes and indications of sources that were as complete as the authors could make them at that time. Frederick S. Dellanbaugh, Fremont and '49 (New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1914), and Allan Nevins, Fremont: Pathmarker of the West (New York: Longmans, Green and Company, 1939 and 1955) are pioneer attempts to capture the life of Fremont. Both hooks are limited in that the authors did not have all the material which has become available. An extensive bibliography of the events surrounding Fremont's five major expeditions can be found in a remarkable work of documentary scholarship by Donald Jackson and Mary Lee Spence, The Expeditions of John Charles Fremont (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1970 and 1973), Vols. I and 2, and the supplement: Proceedings of the Court-Martial. The third volume of this study will cover Fremont's Travels from 1848 to 1854. This chronological collection of annotated materials forms a backbone for any writer who wishes to capture the essence of Fremont's life and times. This author admits a great debt to the thorough scholarship of Donald Jackson and Mary Lee Spence. The key manuscript collections dealing with John Charles Fremont are to be found in The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley; the California State Library, Sacramento, California; and the Henry E. Huntington Library and Art Gallery, San Marino, California. As for government documents , these are available from the National Archives and the Library of Congress. Many of these have been reprinted and annotated in the works of Jackson and Spence. Other sources for primary material about Fremont and his times can be found in the collections of the California Historical Society, San Francisco, California; the Society of California Pioneers, San Francisco, California; the Yale Western Americana Collection, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut ; the Southwest Museum, Los Angeles, California; and the Missouri BIBLIOGRAPHIC ESSAY Historical Society, St. Louis, Missouri. In many cases, materials from these institutions have appeared in edited and annotated articles and hooks. Some of the important documents from The Bancroft Library and the Huntington Library have been published. For me, two published versions of original material in the Huntington Library were very helpful: Fort Sutter Papers, edited by Seymour Dunbar (New York: The DeVinne Press, 1921); and Frbmmt's Fourth Expedition: A Documentary Account of the Disaster of I848-1849, edited by LeRoy R. Hafen and Ann W. Hafen (Glendale, California: The Arthur H. Clark Company, 1960). The early work of Hubert Howe Bancroft in his seven volume History of California is vital for any scholar. But Bancroft was anti-Fremont, and his study reBects that attitude. A clear picture of the various activities in California before, during, and after the conquest can be found in the outstanding work of one man: George P. Hammond., editor, The Larkin Papers, 10 vols. (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1951--64). A major reference work for all scholars of the American West is the classic by Henry R. Wagner and Charles L. Camp, The Plains and the Rockies: A Bibliography of Original Narratives of Travel, Exploration and Adventure r800-1865. A fourth and greatly expanded edition of this hook was completed by the late Charles L. Camp, and I had the opportunity of reading it before it was sent to the printers. The book is scheduled for publication by John Howell-Books of San Francisco. The published works of John Charles Fremont are extremely valuable to any biographer. His government reports were done with a master's touch and maintain their freshness. His Memoirs are vital for the early years of his life: but since only one volume was printed, the story is not complete. Jessie Benton Fremont's articles and books add another dimension to her husband's life. However, she had a Bair for drama, and her works must be used with care. The bulk of unpublished material by John Charles and Jessie Benton Fremont is in The Bancroft Library. Here, there are manuscripts, letters, and papers. In general, this collection can be found in the Fremont Papers. Included among the manuscripts...