Jessie Benton Fremont

A favorite of President Andrew Jackson and the daughter of Senator Thomas Hart Benton of Missouri, Jessie Benton was acquainted with the famous from childhood. When the vivacious belle met John C. Fremont, "the handsomest young man who ever walked the streets of Washington", love bloomed. Always passionately devoted to the controversial explorer, soldier, and politician, Jessie bore John five children, maintained a family life, charmed and campaigned on his behalf, and helped him write the popular reports of his western trailblazing. These pages, filled with public figures such as Kit Carson and Abraham Lincoln, present a lively and fearless woman.

"This biography merits the adjective definitive. . . . is a book at once distinguished and engaging.''-New York Times"[Nevins] has . . . raised biography to the level of literature."-Christian Science Monitor. "If this is not Frémont, it is as near to him as anyone is likely to get."-Books. "A contribution of first-rate significance to the history of the United States in the nineteenth century."-Springfield Republican.One of the most controversial and romantic figures in American history, John C. .Frémont experienced a dizzying succession of public triumphs and humiliations. He made his name exploring the West, surveying, mapping, and describing the Rockies, the Great Basin, and Oregon country. Allan Nevins gives Frémont full credit for his achievements as a topographer, soldier, and politician while noting how often his rashness attracted enemies and led to his downfall: to a court-martial for disobeying orders during the Bear Flag Rebellion, to a disastrous winter expedition in the San Juan Mountains, to his defeat as the first presidential candidate of the Republican party, to the loss of his Civil War command. Through sickness and health, poverty and wealth, his wife, the vivacious Jessie Benton Frémont, stood by him. Their enduring romance occupies much more than the background in this absorbing story of his life.The dean of American historians, Allan Nevins won the Pulitzer Prize for his biographies of Grover Cleveland and Hamilton Fish.

For more information, including a full list of entries, a generous selection of sample entries, and more, visit the Women During the Civil War website.Women During the Civil War: An Encyclopedia is the first A-Z reference work to offer a panoramic presentation of the contributions, achievements, and personal stories of American women during one of the most turbulent eras of the nation's history. Incorporating the most recent scholarship as well as excerpts from diaries, letters, newspapers, and other primary source documents, this Encyclopedia encompasses the wartime experiences of famous and lesser-known women of all ethnic groups and social backgrounds throughout the United States during the Civil War era.