John Fremont’s 100 Days

The first book-length study of John Frémont’s time in Missouri written since the Civil War, revealing the story of the first enslaved person ever set free by military order of the United States and exploring six campaigns in the Trans-Mississippi theater. For one hundred days in 1861, John Frémont was the general in charge of the United States Army’s Western Department, an enormous territory that included the state of Illinois and all the states—and prospective states—that lay west of Illinois to the Rockies. Frémont arrived at his St. Louis headquarters in late July, setting into motion three tumultuous months that would see him declare martial law, emancipate two enslaved men, and give rise to one of the Civil War’s most respected figures, Ulysses S. Grant. At the heart of Gregory Wolk’s John Frémont’s 100 Days: Clashes and Convictions in Civil War Missouri are the military campaigns and battles that took place in the state while Frémont was in command, including at Wilson’s Creek, as well as the campaigns that resulted in the battles of Lexington and Fredericktown. The book culminates in the stunning cavalry charge made by Major Charles Zagonyi in Springfield in October 1861, an ultimately tragic and unnecessary affair brought on by a combination of hubris and political backstabbing. Also central to John Frémont’s 100 Days are members of the Blair family, influential men who had the ear of President Abraham Lincoln. Although they were responsible for Fremont’s rise to power, their allegiance quickly turned. John Frémont’s wife, Jessie Benton Blair—an intelligent, passionate defender of her husband and of equal rights for enslaved persons—was another driving force behind many of Frémont’s most consequential actions. The theme running through it all is the battle for emancipation. This remarkable story will appeal to Civil War enthusiasts and general readers alike.