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Excerpt from General Stephen W. Kearny and the Conquest of California (1846-7): A Paper Read Before the Historical Society of Southern California, February 6, 1911 Who was the conqueror Of California? The question appears to be Simple enough to admit of a ready answer, but in reality it is a poser - at least for any one who is not satisfied to accept tradi tion unsupported by historic facts. The title rests, it may be said safely, among three men: John C. Fremont, Robert F. Stockton, and Stephen W. Kearny, all of whom contributed by their services, in varying degrees, to add the domain to the United States. Which one most nearly deserves the title, or whether it can be justly bestowed On one to the exclusion Of the other two, presents an interesting problem. F remont, with probably the least merit, made the deepest impression on the public. His name became a household word throughout the country as well as in California. To this day, indeed, the chief historic feature in the Old-time California town is invariably Fremont's Headquarters. Only Washington Seems to have had more abiding places, but then of course he had many more campaigns and battles to his credit. 'fremont was an active campaigner, in the sense that he covered much ground, but he did not happen to do much fighting. It may be news to many that he was never in a single battle on California soil. Yet on the strength of his claim to be regarded as the conqueror he was the first United States senator elected by the new State of Cali fornia, and the first candidate for president nominated by the new Republican Party. It has been Said, perhaps too harshly, that in most ways he was a man of no great ability, but he seems to have approached genius in his faculty for self-advancement. Commodore Stockton, whose claim to the title was asserted with equal vigor, and who sought to monopolize all the credit for the conquest, was only partially successful in his efforts. He, too, became a senator, for a short while, but his party chose Buchanan instead of him to run for president against Fremont. Although the Commodore has almost passed out of the popular mind he has remained in the histories. The writers thereof took him pretty much at his own estimation and have handed him down as the chief figure in the conquest. In California, of course, where an important city bears his name, he is by no means forgotten. A11 in all, he may be said to have fared reasonably well. Neither popular tradition, however. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works."

This bibliography differs from the previous publications in this series since it concerns a specific time in American history, the Mexican War period from 1835 to 1850. From a military standpoint, the victorious efforts of American military forces can be considered as the proving ground for the Army and the Navy that emerged during the Civil War. The annexation of Texas and the acquisition of lands from Mexico predestined both the expansion of the United States to the Pacific and the conflict which divided brother from brother. This bibliography lists pertinent materials to be found in the Military History Research Collection related to this part of American history and is not intended to be a definite listing of bibliographic references on the period.

Volume 1 of Kit Carson Days shows Carson running away from his Missouri home at age fifteen in 1826. He joins a caravan headed toward Santa Fe and in the coming years shuttles between poverty and prosperity as a wrangler, teamster, and trapper. He lives all over the unplotted West, helping to open trails, harvesting fur, befriending mountain men, and fighting and trading with Indians. Carson’s reputation grows after John C. Frémont engages him as guide in 1842. He proves indispensable to the Pathfinder in three expeditions and plays a part in the Bear Flag Rebellion. The first volume is an encyclopedia of activity in the West during the first part of the nineteenth century, bringing into play such figures as Ewing Young, William Ashley, Jim Bridger, Jedediah Smith, Thomas Fitzpatrick, Hugh Glass, John Colter, William Sublette, Marcus and Narcissa Whitman, William Bent, Stephen Kearny, President James K. Polk, John Sutter, and Nathaniel Wyeth. This revised edition includes vivid chapters on the mountain man, his character, habits, clothing, and equipment. Volume 2 begins with Carson carrying the news of the conquest of California across the country to Washington, D.C., stopping en route to see his wife in Taos, New Mexico. The older Carson consolidates his fame as a courier, scout, soldier, and Indian agent. Americans, avid for newfound gold, turn to him as an authority on trail lore, and the government recognizes his usefulness in dealing with “the Indian problem.” Carson is seen against the larger background of incessant warfare in the Southwest after midcentury. He fights the Kiowas at Adobe Walls, chases the Apaches, and forces the Navajos into the Bosque Redondo. He fights in the Civil War and retires at fifty-eight—but dies two years later in 1868.