Dates
Biography
Christopher Houston "Kit" Carson (1809-1868) was an American mountain man and fur trapper, wilderness guide, Indian agent, and American Army officer.
Kit Carson was born December 24, 1809 in Richmond, Kentucky to Captain Lindsay Carson and Rebecca Robinson Carson. When Kit was 1, his family moved to Boon's Lick, Missouri. At age 16 he left home in Missouri and became a mountain man and trapper in the West. From 1829 to 1841, Kit trapped beavers along the Rocky Mountains. During these years he lived among and married into the Arapaho and Cheyenne tribes. In 1842 Kit was hired by the famous explorer John C. Fremont to guide him through the Rocky Mountains. In 1846 he joined the Mexican-American war as a scout and courier. During this time Kit was celebrated for his coast-to-coast journey, carrying news of conflict from California to Washington, DC. During the 1850s Kit was appointed as the Indian Agent to the Ute and Jicarilla Apaches. When the Civil War began in 1861, Carson was made Colonel of the New Mexico Volunteer Regiment. On March 13, 1865, he was brevetted Brigadier General for, "gallantry in the battle of Valverde, and for distinguished services in New Mexico". In 1866 Kit was given command of Fort Garland, Colorado. In 1867 Kit resigned due to poor health. Kit Carson died of an aortic aneurysm on May 23, 1868 in Fort Lyon, Colorado. He is buried in Taos, New Mexico, next to his third wife Josefa Jaramillo.
Citation:
FamilySearch, via WWW, June 20, 2024 (Christopher Houston "Kit" Carson; b. 1809 in Richmond Kentucky; parents Captain Lindsay Carson and Rebeca Robinson; moved to Boon's Lick, Missouri; left home at age 16 to become a mountain man and trapper; 1829-1841, trapped beavers along the Rocky Mountains; lived among and married into the Arapaho and Cheyenne tribes; 1842, hired by John C. Fremont as a guide; 1846, celebrated for his coast-to-coast journey from California to Washington DC; appointed Indian agent to the Ute and Jicarilla Apaches; 1861, made Colonel of New Mexico Volunteer Regiment; March 13, 1865, brevetted Brigadier General for, "gallantry in the battle of Valverde, and for distinguished services in New Mexico"; 1866, given command of Fort Garland, Colorado; 1867, resigned due to poor health; May 23, 1868, died of an aortic aneurysm in Fort Lyon, Colorado; buried in Taos, New Mexico, next to third wife Josefa Jaramillo)
Found in 1 Collection or Record:
Collection — Box 1: [Barcode: 31197232537388]
Identifier: Vault MSS 513
Scope and Contents
Correspondence, military dispatches, a deed, a Taos County Resolution, and two payment vouchers. Nine of these items are personal in nature and are addressed to Carson from friends and family members. The remaining thirty-five letters are concerned with and document Indian affairs. They include instructions from superiors, official correspondence regarding military actions during the American Civil War in the West. They document aspects of the Jicarilla War of 1854-55, the Mescalero...
Dates:
1854-1867
