| Christopher Carson | John Charles FrÉmont |
| Born Madison County, Ky., December 25, 1809. | January 21, 1813, born at Savannah, Ga. |
| Father: Lindsay (Linsey) Carson, of North Carolina and Kentucky. | Father: John Charles FrÉmont, of France and of Virginia. |
| Mother: Rebecca Robinson, of Virginia. | Mother: Anne Beverley Pryor, of Virginia. |
| Reared without education, on the Missouri frontier. | Educated by tutor and college at Charleston, S. Carolina. |
| Apprenticed to a harness-maker at Franklin, Mo.—1825. | 1833–1836—Teacher of Mathematics to Midshipmen on Sloop-of-War Natchez. |
| On the Santa FÉ Trail at Fifteen—1826. | 1836—Commissioned Professor of Mathematics in the Navy, Assigned to the Frigate Independence. |
| Interpreter and Teamster, in New Mexico and Old Mexico—1827–1829. | 1837–1838—Railroad and Army Surveyor. |
| Trapper to California—1829–1830. | 1838—Commissioned Second Lieutenant, Topographical Engineers, U. S. A. |
| Rocky Mountain Trapper—1830–1838. | 1838–1839—Government Survey of Upper Mississippi River, under J. N. Nicollet. |
| Married an Arapahoe Indian girl—1835. | 1841—Married Jessie Benton of Washington. |
| Hunter and Captain of Trappers, at Bent’s Fort and Taos—1838–1842. | 1841—Survey of Lower Des Moines River. |
| Hunter with the FrÉmont First Expedition—1842. | 1842—First Government Exploring Expedition, to the South Pass and FrÉmont’s Peak. |
| Married Josefa Jaramillo of Taos—1843. | 1843–1844—Second Government Exploring Expedition, to the Salt Lake, to the Columbia, south through California, back by the Spanish Trail and the Rocky Mountains. |
| Hunter and General Assistant with FrÉmont Second Expedition—1843–1844. | 1845—Promoted by brevet to First Lieutenant and Captain. |
| Goes to Ranching in New Mexico—1845. | 1845–1846—Third Government Exploring Expedition, across the Great Basin into Northern California. |
| Guide and General Assistant with the FrÉmont Third Expedition—1845–1846. | 1846—As Major Commands a Battalion for the Conquest of California. |
| Scout and Express Bearer under Colonel FrÉmont, Commodore Stockton and General Kearny, in the Conquest of California—1846. | 1846–1847—Military Commander and Governor of California. |
| Express Service with Despatches Across the Continent to Washington—1847–1848. | 1846—Promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel of Mounted Rifles, U. S. A. |
| Commissioned Second Lieutenant of Mounted Rifles, U. S. A., but the Commission not confirmed—1847. | 1847–1848—Court-martialed at Washington for Insubordination, Found Guilty, but Recommended for Leniency. |
| Serves on Outpost Duty in California—1847. | 1848—Resigns from Army. |
| His Express Duty of 1848 Completed, Becomes Private Citizen at Taos—1848. | 1848–1849—Fourth Exploring Expedition, into the Southern Colorado Mountains; thence Forced Back, and to California by a Southern Route. |
| Seeks ranch life in New Mexico—1849–1850. | 1849–1850—Seeks ranch life in California. |
| Scout Duty against the Indians, with Army Detachments—1850. | 1850–1851—Senator from California. |
| Overland to California with a Drove of 30,000 sheep—1853. | 1851–1853—California and Europe. |
| Government Indian Agent over Utes and Apaches, Quarters at Taos—1854–1860. | 1853–1854—Fifth Exploring Expedition, across the Great Basin of Utah and Nevada to California. |
| Scout Duty against the Indians, with Army Detachments—1854–1855. | 1856—Nominated by the Republican Party for the Presidency. Defeated by Buchanan. |
| Lieutenant-Colonel and Colonel, First New Mexican Infantry, U. S. Vols.—1861–1862. | 1861—Major-General, Department of the West, U. S. A., headquarters at St. Louis. |
| Colonel of First New Mexican Cavalry, U. S. Vols., conducting campaigns against the Apaches, Navajos and Kiowas, New Mexico and Arizona—1862–1864. | 1862—Resigns from Army, after service in Command of the Mountain Department of Virginia, Tennessee and Kentucky. |
| Military Service on the Santa FÉ Trail and Special Commissioner to treat with Cheyennes and Arapahoes—1865. | 1864—Nominated for Presidency. Withdraws. |
| Lieutenant-Colonel (Brigadier General by Brevet, for Distinguished Service) in command at Fort Garland, Colorado—1866–1867. | 1866–1878—Railroad Construction, etc. |
| Resigned from the Army, on Account of Ill Health—1867. | 1878–1882—Governor of Arizona. |
| Special Commissioner to Treat with the Utes, at Washington—1868. | 1890—Appointed Major-General, on the Retired List. |
| Died at New Fort Lyon, Colorado, May 23, 1868. | July 13, 1890, died in New York City. |
