Kit Carson and the American Frontier

Born in December of 1809, Kit Carson left his Missouri home at the tender age of 16, becoming a mountain man and fur trapper in the untamed American West.

In the 1830s he accompanied Ewing Young on an expedition into Mexican California, before heading into the Rocky Mountains on repeated fur-trapping expeditions, where he lived among and married into the Arapaho and Cheyenne tribes.

Kit Carson Guides John Fremont

In the 1840s, Carson achieved national fame when he was hired as a guide by John Fremont, who mapped the Oregon Trail to assist and encourage pioneers on their journey west.

Under Fremont’s command, Carson participated in the conquest of California from Mexico at the beginning of the Mexican-American War, again rising to national acclaim when he walked fifteen miles barefoot to fetch re-enforcements from San Diego after the disastrous Battle of San Pasqual.

During the 1850s, Carson was appointed as an Indian Agent to the Ute and Jicarilla Apaches, and when the Civil War broke out, he helped eliminate a Confederate threat in New Mexico.

Carson also led forces during the Indian Wars, suppressing the Navajo, Mescalero Apache, Kiowa and Comanche tribes by destroying their food sources.

Later, he was brevetted a Brigadier General and took command of Fort Garland, Colorado, until declining health forced him to retire from military Life.

After his death in 1868 from an aortic aneurysm, during the late 19th century, Kit Carson became a legendary symbol of America’s frontier experience, after he was canonized in countless dime store novels and Hollywood movies. In recent years, Carson has also become a symbol of the American nation’s mistreatment of its indigenous peoples.