Description: With the cessation of the Mexican American War the US acquired new territories in the Southwest just before the discovery of gold in California and the ensuring rush to riches across the western landscape. Curiousity about the new territories, a desire for information about the gold routes, and questions of whether slavery would be allowed, or was even practicable, in the new lands led Congress to require the administration of President Zachary Taylor to provide whatever information it could about the Territories. The result is this "Message from the President of the United States" of January 1850 to the House of Representative, containing 976 pages of military correspondence, reports from Indian agents, various proclamations issued by the military after it seized control of the lands at the beginning of the Mexican War, etc during the period of late 1846-1849.. Several notable names appear as shown in the photos - correspondence from William T. Sherman, John C. Fremont future governor and Senator, Secretary of State Henry Halleck, Secretary of War Marcy, Stephen Kearny, the military governors of California, Indian agents based in Santa Fe and Salt Lake City, etc. Of particular note are quite detailled descriptions of routes from the midwest to Santa Fe, and to the Southern California gold fields, based on prior military scouting expeditions. There is also much discussion of new relationships with the missions of California, the Indians of the New Mexico Pueblos, Utah, and California, depradations committed against the Indians in alleged response to Indian attacks, routine administration of military justice, complications of foreign trade and drunken sailors (the U.S. Army took over the capitol city of Monterey, California which was a major trading port, and it goes on and on. The volume is the ultimate collection of source documents for historians to review and analyze. When the war ended by treaty in 1848 the military began the process of collecting equipment for shipment by sea to the armies back East. However, the documents describe how in many cases it was unnecessary to muster out the troops as the vast majority had deserted in the fall of 1848 to try their luck in the newly discovered gold-bearing stream valleys of California. So the book is provides first-hand accounts of military administration of the territories (one series of letters describes how the small town of San Jose had held two elections in one month, electing two separate town councils, which the military authorities had to figure out whom to deal with), the early gold rush days, and some amount of description of the natural appearance and native inhabitants of the western lands of the mid-19th century. The book was rebound in the 20th century; the boards are clean and the spine is tight. Please read the description carefully for condition before purchasing as returns will not be accepted due to condition concerns. Also, only one of the seven maps that originally accompanied this volume remains, which is a full page engraved "Plan of the Route of Major Beale" to relieve the troops in Santa Fe. The other folding maps, including the famous one showing a route to the gold are no longer with this bound volume. It remains a interesting read and a great source of original historical information for anyone with interest in Southwestern history or military operations in California. The book will be shipped via USPS with insurance. Please contact me if you have any questions regarding condition.
Price: 299 USD
Location: Chandler, Arizona
End Time: 2024-09-02T21:02:31.000Z
Shipping Cost: 10 USD
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Item Specifics
All returns accepted: ReturnsNotAccepted
Binding: Hardcover
Country/Region of Manufacture: Mexico
Year Printed: 1850
