Background
His father, Lindsey Carson, fought in the American Revolution (1775–83), a war in which the American colonies fought to win their independence from Great Britain.
frontiersman Guide Indian agent United States army officer mountain man
His father, Lindsey Carson, fought in the American Revolution (1775–83), a war in which the American colonies fought to win their independence from Great Britain.
When Kit was just nine years old, his father was killed in a tragic accident. It is doubtful that Carson received much of a formal education, because he remained nearly illiterate, or unable to read and write, his entire life.
He first gained fame as a distinguishedguide for explorers in the western frontier, when America had a love affair with the untamed land west of the Mississippi River.
At the age of fourteen he became an apprentice (a person who works for someone with a specific skill in order to learn that skill) to a saddlemaker.
Carson's career in the West spanned the years from 1825 to 1868, a period of rapid national expansion, exploration, and settlement.
In August 1829 he gained invaluable experience after joining a trapping partybound for California.
With Fitzpatrick's men, Carson headed north into the rugged central Rocky Mountains.
For the next ten years, Carson worked as a trapper all over western America in what is today known as Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana.
In 1842 Carson's fate arrived by steamboat when explorer John C. Frémont landed in St. Louis.
Frémont came to St. Louis looking to hire the well-known guide Andrew S. Drips to lead his expedition to the Wind River in Wyoming.
Unable to find Drips, Frémont chose Carson instead.
The timing could not have been better for Frémont—or for Carson.
Although many of Carson's adventures would become wildly exaggerated, no one could deny his contributions to the settling of the American West.
In 1846 Carson served in California with Frémont at the outbreak of the Mexican War (a war fought between Mexico and the United States from 1846 until 1848 that resulted in U. S. ownership of much of the area that is now known as the American Southwest, which had formerly been part of Mexico).
During this time his duties were quite dangerous, as he carried dispatches, or messages, between command posts in enemy territory.
When Carson was sent to Washington with dispatches, he was stopped by General Stephen W. Kearny (1794–1848) in New Mexico.
Kearny ordered Carson to lead his troops west to California.
At the battle of San Pascual (1846), with Kearny's tired men losing the battle, Carson, along with two others, was able to slip through enemy lines to call for reinforcements.
Although Kearny's men were unable to take San Pascual, the reinforced army soon captured San Diego, San Gabriel, and Los Angeles, California, in rapid succession.
However, the Senate rejected this appointment, and Carson returned to Taos.
By 1849 Carson had settled near Taos to farm and do occasional scouting for army units fighting hostile tribes.
In 1854 he becamethe agent for several southwestern tribes.
Carson disagreed with many of Meriwether's policies and thought that Native Americans were being treated unfairly.
In 1856 their conflicts boiled over when Meriwether suspended Carson.
Meriwether later arrested Carson, charging him with disobedience and cowardice.
Carson soon apologized and got his job back working as an agent.
With the outbreak of the Civil War (1861–65), Carson left his position with Indian Affairs and was soon appointed a lieutenant colonel commanding the First New Mexico Volunteer Regiment.
During the war, Carson fought against invading Confederates (soldiers from the southern states) at the battle of Val Verde.
Carson also directed successful campaigns against the Apache and Navajo from 1862 until 1864.
For the next two years Carson held assignments in the West until he left the army in 1867.
In 1868 Carson was appointed superintendent of Indian affairs for the Colorado Territory.
He never had a chance to work in this position.
For years, Carson worked to keep peace and to ensure fair treatment of Native Americans. While working for the Office of Indian Affairs, Carson often clashed with his superior, Territorial Governor David Meriwether.
In 1836 Carson married an Arapaho Indian woman.
The couple had two children, only one of whom a daughter survived.
After his first wife died, Carson married a Cheyenne woman.
The marriage did not last, and Carson took his daughter to St. Louis, Missouri, to further her education.
For the next eight years, Carson split his time between his daughter in St. Louis and his trapping duties in Taos, New Mexico.