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John C. Fremont

John C. Fremont
Attribution
Mathew Brady Studio, active 1844 - 1894
Sitter
John Charles Frémont, 21 Jan 1813 - 13 Jul 1890
Date
1861
Type
Photographic Negative
Medium
Glass plate collodion negative
Dimensions
Plate: 8.8 × 5.9 × 0.2 cm (3 7/16 × 2 5/16 × 1/16")
Topic
Interior
Weapon\Sword
Personal Attribute\Facial Hair\Mustache
Personal Attribute\Facial Hair\Beard
Architecture\Column
Costume\Dress Accessory\Button\Brass
John Charles Frémont: Male
John Charles Frémont: Politics and Government\Presidential candidate
John Charles Frémont: Natural Resource Occupations\Explorer
John Charles Frémont: Military and Intelligence\Army\Officer\Civil War\Union Army
John Charles Frémont: Politics and Government\US Senator\California
John Charles Frémont: Politics and Government\Governor\California
John Charles Frémont: Military and Intelligence\Army\Officer\Major General
Portrait
Place
United States\New York\Kings\New York
Credit Line
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; Frederick Hill Meserve Collection
Restrictions & Rights
CC0
Object number
NPG.81.M93
Exhibition Label
Savannah, Georgia
At the outset of the Civil War, President Lincoln appointed former explorer John C. Frémont major general to command the Department of the West, headquartered in St. Louis. Frémont assumed that post in July 1861, but his subsequent refusal to retract a proclamation to confiscate the property of rebel Missourians and free those they had enslaved cost him the president’s confidence and his western command. This episode made Frémont a favorite among radical, antislavery Republicans, who pressured Lincoln to restore him to duty.
Assigned to a new command in Virginia in the spring of 1862, he was outmatched by Confederate General “Stonewall” Jackson and later resigned his command rather than serve under General John Pope. Nominated by anti-Lincoln Republicans as their candidate for president in 1864, Frémont withdrew from the contest when a committee of administration loyalists convinced him that his candidacy could open the door to a Democratic victory in November.
Savannah, Georgia
A principios de la guerra de Secesión, el presidente Lincoln nombró al antiguo explorador John C. Frémont teniente general para que comandara el Departamento del Oeste, cuyos cuarteles generales se encontraban en St. Louis. Frémont asumió este cargo en julio de 1861, pero su posterior negativa a retractarse de una proclamación para confiscar las propiedades de los rebeldes de Missouri y liberar a aquellos a quienes habían esclavizado le costó la confianza del presidente y su comando del oeste. Este incidente convirtió a Frémont en el favorito de los republicanos radicales antiesclavistas, que presionaron a Lincoln para que volviera a incorporarlo al ejército.
Asignado a un nuevo comando en Virginia en la primavera de 1862, fue derrotado por el general confederado “Stonewall” Jackson y, más tarde, dimitió de su puesto antes que servir bajo las órdenes del general John Pope. Nominado como candidato a presidente en 1864 por los republicanos opositores a Lincoln, Frémont se retiró de la contienda cuando un comité fiel al gobierno lo convenció de que su candidatura podría abrir las puertas a una victoria democrática en noviembre.
Collection Description
The Frederick Hill Meserve Collection comprises more than five thousand Civil War-era portrait negatives from the Mathew Brady photography studio in New York City. The collection, which the National Portrait Gallery acquired in 1981, includes portraits of generals, politicians, diplomats, painters, and performers. It also contains depictions of “Human Curiosities” at P. T. Barnum’s American Museum in New York City, that, although highly exploitative, help to document the historical representations of disability in the United States.
La Colección Frederick Hill Meserve contiene más de 5,000 negativos de retratos de la época de la Guerra Civil provenientes del estudio fotográfico de Mathew Brady en la ciudad de Nueva York. Adquirida por la National Portrait Gallery en 1981, la colección incluye retratos de militares, políticos, diplomáticos y artistas. También contiene imágenes de “curiosidades humanas” exhibidas en el American Museum de P.T. Barnum en Nueva York. Estas últimas, a pesar de su índole degradante, nos ayudan a documentar la representación histórica de las personas discapacitadas en EE.UU.
Data Source
National Portrait Gallery
Location
Currently not on view