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William Gilpin (governor)
Encyclopedia
William Gilpin was a 19th century U.S.
explorer, politician, land speculator, and futurist writer about the American West. He served as military officer in the United States Army
during several wars, accompanied John C. Frémont
on his second expedition through the West, and was instrumental in the formation of the government of the Oregon Territory
. As a politician and writer, he was an inveterate believer in Manifest Destiny
and was a visionary booster of new settlement to the West, helping lay the groundwork in his writings for a modern theory of the succession of civilization
s. He served as the first governor of the Colorado Territory
, where his administration was consumed largely with the defense of the new territory in the early days of the American Civil War
and was brought down after only one year by scandalous financial dealings. After the demise of his political career, he made a large fortune as a land speculator in New Mexico
, although his dealings were questionable and possibly illegal. Gilpin County, Colorado
is named for him.
to a wealthy family of Quakers. He was educated by private tutors and studied abroad in England
before attending the University of Pennsylvania
, from which he graduated in 1833. He later attended West Point
but dropped out after eight months. Despite this, he received a commission as second lieutenant in the United States Army and served in the Seminole Wars
. He also served as a recruiter in Missouri
. While in Missouri, he became attracted to opportunities on the frontier
and to the idea of westward expansion of the nation. After leaving the Army in 1838, he moved to St. Louis
where he became a newspaper
editor and opened a law
practice. After three years in St. Louis, he moved across the state to Independence
, where he interacted with emigrants about to embark on the Oregon Trail
.
. While passing through the region of present-day Colorado
, he encountered evidence of placer
gold
in the region, but the information would go unused for at least another decade. When the party reached Walla Walla
in the Oregon Country
, Gilpin continued westward on his own while Frémont continued on to California
. At the time, the Oregon Country was under joint administration by the United States and the United Kingdom
, but in practical terms it was controlled by the Hudson's Bay Company
at Fort Vancouver
. Gilpin settled among the growing community of U.S. settlers in the Willamette Valley
and became active in the organization of a provisional government. At the landmark convention at Champoeg
, he helped draft a petition requesting support for the provisional government from the United States Congress
Gilpin himself was charged with carrying the Willamette petition back east. On his way back through Missouri, he helped publicize the Pacific Northwest
and stir up "Oregon fever". He delivered the petition to Congress in 1845, then wrote memoirs of his travels in the Pacific Northwest to emphasize its potential for trade and settlement.
in the successful bloodless campaign to capture New Mexico
. He was considered to have served with distinction in the campaign and was later given command of a volunteer force to protect the Santa Fe Trail
against attacks by Native Americans
.
After the end of the war in 1848, he returned to Missouri and resumed his law practice. He made an unsuccessful attempt at a political career while in Missouri as well. In 1859, Gilpin's early intuition about gold in Colorado proved correct, and the region suddenly became the target for thousands of eager and hopeful prospectors in the ensuing Colorado Gold Rush
. That year, Gilpin published a futurist history of the region, called The Central Gold Region, in which he wrote, "the destiny of the American people is to subdue the continent". In the book he predicted that the Mississippi River
valley would become the center of western civilization with the new settlement of Denver
as its capital, based partly on its location near the 40th parallel north
. In the book, Gilpin envisioned that all the great cities of the world along that latitude
would eventually be linked by railroad lines, and proposed a rail line over the Bering Strait
connecting North America
and Asia
. Throughout his career in politics, Gilpin was a strong believer that the American West would not only be settled, but that it would eventually hold an enormous population. He was a particularly strong advocate of the now-debunked climatological
theory of "Rain follows the plow
", which held that settlement in the arid lands of the West would actually increase rainfall in the region, making it as fertile and green as the Eastern United States.
prompted Gilpin to join the Republican Party
, putting him at odds with many citizens of Missouri. His political alignment with the new administration of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln
was rewarded in 1861 when Lincoln appointed him governor of the newly formed Territory of Colorado. His selection over the local favorite William Larimer came as a surprise to many, and was motivated in part by the fact that Gilpin was backed by the Governor of Missouri
, a slave state
that Lincoln was eager to keep in the Union
.
The US Government's Official Register for 1861 lists Gilpin as both Governor of Colorado (at a salary of $1,500 a year) and as governor and ex officio superintendent of the Indian Office's Colorado Superintendency ($2,500 a year).
sympathizers within the territory, the possibility of a Confederate invasion from outside the territory, and the looming tensions with Native Americans
(in particular the Arapaho
and Cheyenne
) in the wake of the withdraw of U.S. Army troops in the region for other duties.
The imminent threats facing the territory prompted Gilpin to act quickly without receiving authorization from the federal government. He appointed a territorial military staff and, despite having no funds for military purposes, he began to solicit volunteers for a military regiment
. Without funds, he took the daring step of issuing $375,000 in drafts on the federal treasury
, with the expectation that the federal government would honor them later. He later claimed that he had received verbal authorization from Lincoln before leaving for Colorado.
At first, most of the merchants and citizens of the territory were willing to follow Gilpin's campaign, but doubt began to spread through the territory after rumors from Washington, DC confirmed that the federal government did not intend to validate the drafts. By the summer of 1861, many of the citizens of the territory were in uproar, a petition
s were circulated calling for Gilpin's removal from office. The campaign against him was fostered by the anger of William N. Byers, the powerful editor of the Rocky Mountain News
, whose newspaper had been bypassed in favor of rival in the awarding of the territorial printing contract. Under attack in his own state, Gilpin went to Washington to plead his case for the validation of the drafts. Despite the controversial, the funds already raised from the drafts allowed the creation of the 1st Colorado Volunteers
, which were widely derided as "Gilpin's Pet Lambs". The regiment trained in the summer and fall of 1861 at Camp Weld near Denver.
The mustering and training of the regiment proved to be highly useful when the Confederates launched an invasion northward through the New Mexico Territory
in the spring of 1862. The invasion (now called the New Mexico Campaign
to reflect its abortive nature) had as its aim the seizure of the mineral-rich Colorado Territory and eventually California. The volunteer regiment raised by Gilpin's efforts played a critical role in the campaign, routing the Texans
at the Battle of Glorieta Pass
, which became known as the "Gettysburg
of the West".
Despite the enormous success of the regiment, the territory was mired in financial problems caused by the fact that Gilpin's drafts had tied up most of the circulating currency without any resolution regarding their validation. Eventually the federal treasury settled the drafts after being presented with itemized statements by the holders of the drafts. The resolution came too late for Gilpin, however, who was removed from the governorship of the territory by Lincoln in April 1862 and replaced by John Evans
.
land grant (often referred to as the Sangre de Cristo
Land Grant on the east slopes of the mountains) in southeast Colorado for about 4 cents an acre ($41,000). Gilpin and his investors then tried to evict residents on the property. Litigation over the property continues to this day. He was also one of the early owners of the Luis Maria Baca Grant No. 4
.
He died in 1894 in Denver, Colorado
following being run over by a horse and buggy and was buried in Mount Olivet Cemetery in Jefferson County, Colorado
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
explorer, politician, land speculator, and futurist writer about the American West. He served as military officer in the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
during several wars, accompanied John C. Frémont
John C. Frémont
John Charles Frémont , was an American military officer, explorer, and the first candidate of the anti-slavery Republican Party for the office of President of the United States. During the 1840s, that era's penny press accorded Frémont the sobriquet The Pathfinder...
on his second expedition through the West, and was instrumental in the formation of the government of the Oregon Territory
Oregon Territory
The Territory of Oregon was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from August 14, 1848, until February 14, 1859, when the southwestern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Oregon. Originally claimed by several countries , the region was...
. As a politician and writer, he was an inveterate believer in Manifest Destiny
Manifest Destiny
Manifest Destiny was the 19th century American belief that the United States was destined to expand across the continent. It was used by Democrat-Republicans in the 1840s to justify the war with Mexico; the concept was denounced by Whigs, and fell into disuse after the mid-19th century.Advocates of...
and was a visionary booster of new settlement to the West, helping lay the groundwork in his writings for a modern theory of the succession of civilization
Civilization
Civilization is a sometimes controversial term that has been used in several related ways. Primarily, the term has been used to refer to the material and instrumental side of human cultures that are complex in terms of technology, science, and division of labor. Such civilizations are generally...
s. He served as the first governor of the Colorado Territory
Colorado Territory
The Territory of Colorado was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from February 28, 1861, until August 1, 1876, when it was admitted to the Union as the State of Colorado....
, where his administration was consumed largely with the defense of the new territory in the early days of the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
and was brought down after only one year by scandalous financial dealings. After the demise of his political career, he made a large fortune as a land speculator in New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
, although his dealings were questionable and possibly illegal. Gilpin County, Colorado
Gilpin County, Colorado
Gilpin County is the second least extensive of the 64 counties of the State of Colorado of the United States. Gilpin County was named after Colonel William Gilpin, the first Governor of the Territory of Colorado. The county population was 4,757 at U.S. Census 2000. The county seat is Central City...
is named for him.
Early life
Gilpin was born near Wilmington, DelawareWilmington, Delaware
Wilmington is the largest city in the state of Delaware, United States, and is located at the confluence of the Christina River and Brandywine Creek, near where the Christina flows into the Delaware River. It is the county seat of New Castle County and one of the major cities in the Delaware Valley...
to a wealthy family of Quakers. He was educated by private tutors and studied abroad in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
before attending the University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
, from which he graduated in 1833. He later attended West Point
United States Military Academy
The United States Military Academy at West Point is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located at West Point, New York. The academy sits on scenic high ground overlooking the Hudson River, north of New York City...
but dropped out after eight months. Despite this, he received a commission as second lieutenant in the United States Army and served in the Seminole Wars
Seminole Wars
The Seminole Wars, also known as the Florida Wars, were three conflicts in Florida between the Seminole — the collective name given to the amalgamation of various groups of native Americans and Black people who settled in Florida in the early 18th century — and the United States Army...
. He also served as a recruiter in Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
. While in Missouri, he became attracted to opportunities on the frontier
Frontier
A frontier is a political and geographical term referring to areas near or beyond a boundary. 'Frontier' was absorbed into English from French in the 15th century, with the meaning "borderland"--the region of a country that fronts on another country .The use of "frontier" to mean "a region at the...
and to the idea of westward expansion of the nation. After leaving the Army in 1838, he moved to St. Louis
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
where he became a newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
editor and opened a law
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
practice. After three years in St. Louis, he moved across the state to Independence
Independence, Missouri
Independence is the fourth largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri, and is contained within the counties of Jackson and Clay. It is part of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area...
, where he interacted with emigrants about to embark on the Oregon Trail
Oregon Trail
The Oregon Trail is a historic east-west wagon route that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon and locations in between.After 1840 steam-powered riverboats and steamboats traversing up and down the Ohio, Mississippi and Missouri rivers sped settlement and development in the flat...
.
Pacific Northwest
In 1843 he encountered John C. Frémont along the Santa Fe Trail and embarked westward with Frémont on his expedition to find a route over the continental divideContinental divide
A continental divide is a drainage divide on a continent such that the drainage basin on one side of the divide feeds into one ocean or sea, and the basin on the other side either feeds into a different ocean or sea, or else is endorheic, not connected to the open sea...
. While passing through the region of present-day Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
, he encountered evidence of placer
Placer mining
Placer mining is the mining of alluvial deposits for minerals. This may be done by open-pit or by various surface excavating equipment or tunneling equipment....
gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
in the region, but the information would go unused for at least another decade. When the party reached Walla Walla
Walla Walla, Washington
Walla Walla is the largest city in and the county seat of Walla Walla County, Washington, United States. The population was 31,731 at the 2010 census...
in the Oregon Country
Oregon Country
The Oregon Country was a predominantly American term referring to a disputed ownership region of the Pacific Northwest of North America. The region was occupied by British and French Canadian fur traders from before 1810, and American settlers from the mid-1830s, with its coastal areas north from...
, Gilpin continued westward on his own while Frémont continued on to California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. At the time, the Oregon Country was under joint administration by the United States and the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, but in practical terms it was controlled by the Hudson's Bay Company
Hudson's Bay Company
The Hudson's Bay Company , abbreviated HBC, or "The Bay" is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and one of the oldest in the world. A fur trading business for much of its existence, today Hudson's Bay Company owns and operates retail stores throughout Canada...
at Fort Vancouver
Fort Vancouver
Fort Vancouver was a 19th century fur trading outpost along the Columbia River that served as the headquarters of the Hudson's Bay Company in the company's Columbia District...
. Gilpin settled among the growing community of U.S. settlers in the Willamette Valley
Willamette Valley
The Willamette Valley is the most populated region in the state of Oregon of the United States. Located in the state's northwest, the region is surrounded by tall mountain ranges to the east, west and south and the valley's floor is broad, flat and fertile because of Ice Age conditions...
and became active in the organization of a provisional government. At the landmark convention at Champoeg
Champoeg, Oregon
Champoeg is a former town in the U.S. state of Oregon. Now a ghost town, it was an important settlement in the Willamette Valley in the early 1840s. It is positioned halfway between Oregon City and Salem and the site of the first provisional government of the Oregon Country...
, he helped draft a petition requesting support for the provisional government from the United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
Gilpin himself was charged with carrying the Willamette petition back east. On his way back through Missouri, he helped publicize the Pacific Northwest
Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest is a region in northwestern North America, bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains on the east. Definitions of the region vary and there is no commonly agreed upon boundary, even among Pacific Northwesterners. A common concept of the...
and stir up "Oregon fever". He delivered the petition to Congress in 1845, then wrote memoirs of his travels in the Pacific Northwest to emphasize its potential for trade and settlement.
The Central Gold Region
During the Mexican-American War, he received a commission as Major and marched to Chihuahua CityChihuahua, Chihuahua
The city of Chihuahua is the state capital of the Mexican state of Chihuahua. It has a population of about 825,327. The predominant activity is industry, including domestic heavy, light industries, consumer goods production, and to a smaller extent maquiladoras.-History:It has been said that the...
in the successful bloodless campaign to capture New Mexico
Santa Fe de Nuevo México
Santa Fe de Nuevo México was a province of New Spain and later Mexico that existed from the late 16th century up through the mid-19th century. It was centered on the upper valley of the Rio Grande , in an area that included most of the present-day U.S. state of New Mexico...
. He was considered to have served with distinction in the campaign and was later given command of a volunteer force to protect the Santa Fe Trail
Santa Fe Trail
The Santa Fe Trail was a 19th-century transportation route through central North America that connected Missouri with Santa Fe, New Mexico. Pioneered in 1822 by William Becknell, it served as a vital commercial and military highway until the introduction of the railroad to Santa Fe in 1880...
against attacks by Native Americans
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
.
After the end of the war in 1848, he returned to Missouri and resumed his law practice. He made an unsuccessful attempt at a political career while in Missouri as well. In 1859, Gilpin's early intuition about gold in Colorado proved correct, and the region suddenly became the target for thousands of eager and hopeful prospectors in the ensuing Colorado Gold Rush
Colorado Gold Rush
The Pike's Peak Gold Rush was the boom in gold prospecting and mining in the Pike's Peak Country of western Kansas Territory and southwestern Nebraska Territory of the United States that began in July 1858 and lasted until roughly the creation of the Colorado Territory on February 28, 1861...
. That year, Gilpin published a futurist history of the region, called The Central Gold Region, in which he wrote, "the destiny of the American people is to subdue the continent". In the book he predicted that the Mississippi River
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
valley would become the center of western civilization with the new settlement of Denver
Denver, Colorado
The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...
as its capital, based partly on its location near the 40th parallel north
40th parallel north
The 40th parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 40 degrees north of the Earth's equatorial plane. It crosses Europe, the Mediterranean Sea, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, North America, and the Atlantic Ocean....
. In the book, Gilpin envisioned that all the great cities of the world along that latitude
Latitude
In geography, the latitude of a location on the Earth is the angular distance of that location south or north of the Equator. The latitude is an angle, and is usually measured in degrees . The equator has a latitude of 0°, the North pole has a latitude of 90° north , and the South pole has a...
would eventually be linked by railroad lines, and proposed a rail line over the Bering Strait
Bering Strait
The Bering Strait , known to natives as Imakpik, is a sea strait between Cape Dezhnev, Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Russia, the easternmost point of the Asian continent and Cape Prince of Wales, Alaska, USA, the westernmost point of the North American continent, with latitude of about 65°40'N,...
connecting North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
and Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
. Throughout his career in politics, Gilpin was a strong believer that the American West would not only be settled, but that it would eventually hold an enormous population. He was a particularly strong advocate of the now-debunked climatological
Climatology
Climatology is the study of climate, scientifically defined as weather conditions averaged over a period of time, and is a branch of the atmospheric sciences...
theory of "Rain follows the plow
Rain follows the plow
Rain follows the plow is the conventional name for a now-discredited theory of climatology that was popular throughout the American West and Australia during the late 19th century. The phrase was employed as a summation of the theory by Charles Dana Wilber:God speed the plow......
", which held that settlement in the arid lands of the West would actually increase rainfall in the region, making it as fertile and green as the Eastern United States.
Governor of Colorado
In the early 1860s the crisis in KansasBleeding Kansas
Bleeding Kansas, Bloody Kansas or the Border War, was a series of violent events, involving anti-slavery Free-Staters and pro-slavery "Border Ruffian" elements, that took place in the Kansas Territory and the western frontier towns of the U.S. state of Missouri roughly between 1854 and 1858...
prompted Gilpin to join the Republican Party
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
, putting him at odds with many citizens of Missouri. His political alignment with the new administration of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
was rewarded in 1861 when Lincoln appointed him governor of the newly formed Territory of Colorado. His selection over the local favorite William Larimer came as a surprise to many, and was motivated in part by the fact that Gilpin was backed by the Governor of Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
, a slave state
Slave state
In the United States of America prior to the American Civil War, a slave state was a U.S. state in which slavery was legal, whereas a free state was one in which slavery was either prohibited from its entry into the Union or eliminated over time...
that Lincoln was eager to keep in the Union
Union (American Civil War)
During the American Civil War, the Union was a name used to refer to the federal government of the United States, which was supported by the twenty free states and five border slave states. It was opposed by 11 southern slave states that had declared a secession to join together to form the...
.
The US Government's Official Register for 1861 lists Gilpin as both Governor of Colorado (at a salary of $1,500 a year) and as governor and ex officio superintendent of the Indian Office's Colorado Superintendency ($2,500 a year).
American Civil War
Governor Gilpin left Missouri and arrived in Denver City on May 29, 1861, to cheering crowds. Despite his warm reception, his administration and governor was plagued with difficulties from the outset. The territory had been organized at the start of the Civil War and faced a complex set of possible threats, including ConfederateConfederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
sympathizers within the territory, the possibility of a Confederate invasion from outside the territory, and the looming tensions with Native Americans
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
(in particular the Arapaho
Arapaho
The Arapaho are a tribe of Native Americans historically living on the eastern plains of Colorado and Wyoming. They were close allies of the Cheyenne tribe and loosely aligned with the Sioux. Arapaho is an Algonquian language closely related to Gros Ventre, whose people are seen as an early...
and Cheyenne
Cheyenne
Cheyenne are a Native American people of the Great Plains, who are of the Algonquian language family. The Cheyenne Nation is composed of two united tribes, the Só'taeo'o and the Tsétsêhéstâhese .The Cheyenne are thought to have branched off other tribes of Algonquian stock inhabiting lands...
) in the wake of the withdraw of U.S. Army troops in the region for other duties.
The imminent threats facing the territory prompted Gilpin to act quickly without receiving authorization from the federal government. He appointed a territorial military staff and, despite having no funds for military purposes, he began to solicit volunteers for a military regiment
Regiment
A regiment is a major tactical military unit, composed of variable numbers of batteries, squadrons or battalions, commanded by a colonel or lieutenant colonel...
. Without funds, he took the daring step of issuing $375,000 in drafts on the federal treasury
Treasurer of the United States
The Treasurer of the United States is an official in the United States Department of the Treasury that was originally charged with the receipt and custody of government funds, though many of these functions have been taken over by different bureaus of the Department of the Treasury...
, with the expectation that the federal government would honor them later. He later claimed that he had received verbal authorization from Lincoln before leaving for Colorado.
At first, most of the merchants and citizens of the territory were willing to follow Gilpin's campaign, but doubt began to spread through the territory after rumors from Washington, DC confirmed that the federal government did not intend to validate the drafts. By the summer of 1861, many of the citizens of the territory were in uproar, a petition
Petition
A petition is a request to do something, most commonly addressed to a government official or public entity. Petitions to a deity are a form of prayer....
s were circulated calling for Gilpin's removal from office. The campaign against him was fostered by the anger of William N. Byers, the powerful editor of the Rocky Mountain News
Rocky Mountain News
The Rocky Mountain News was a daily newspaper published in Denver, Colorado, United States from April 23, 1859, until February 27, 2009. It was owned by the E. W. Scripps Company from 1926 until its closing. As of March 2006, the Monday-Friday circulation was 255,427...
, whose newspaper had been bypassed in favor of rival in the awarding of the territorial printing contract. Under attack in his own state, Gilpin went to Washington to plead his case for the validation of the drafts. Despite the controversial, the funds already raised from the drafts allowed the creation of the 1st Colorado Volunteers
1st Colorado Volunteers
The 1st Colorado Volunteers was a volunteer infantry regiment of the United States Army formed in the Colorado Territory in 1861 and active in the American West in the late 19th century.-History:...
, which were widely derided as "Gilpin's Pet Lambs". The regiment trained in the summer and fall of 1861 at Camp Weld near Denver.
The mustering and training of the regiment proved to be highly useful when the Confederates launched an invasion northward through the New Mexico Territory
New Mexico Territory
thumb|right|240px|Proposed boundaries for State of New Mexico, 1850The Territory of New Mexico was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from September 9, 1850, until January 6, 1912, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of...
in the spring of 1862. The invasion (now called the New Mexico Campaign
New Mexico Campaign
The New Mexico Campaign was a military operation of the American Civil War from February to April 1862 in which Confederate Brigadier General Henry Hopkins Sibley invaded the northern New Mexico Territory in an attempt to gain control of the Southwest, including the gold fields of Colorado and the...
to reflect its abortive nature) had as its aim the seizure of the mineral-rich Colorado Territory and eventually California. The volunteer regiment raised by Gilpin's efforts played a critical role in the campaign, routing the Texans
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
at the Battle of Glorieta Pass
Battle of Glorieta Pass
The Battle of Glorieta Pass, fought from March 26 to 28, 1862 in northern New Mexico Territory, was the decisive battle of the New Mexico Campaign during the American Civil War. Dubbed the "Gettysburg of the West" by some historians, it was intended as the killer blow by Confederate forces to break...
, which became known as the "Gettysburg
Battle of Gettysburg
The Battle of Gettysburg , was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle with the largest number of casualties in the American Civil War, it is often described as the war's turning point. Union Maj. Gen. George Gordon Meade's Army of the Potomac...
of the West".
Despite the enormous success of the regiment, the territory was mired in financial problems caused by the fact that Gilpin's drafts had tied up most of the circulating currency without any resolution regarding their validation. Eventually the federal treasury settled the drafts after being presented with itemized statements by the holders of the drafts. The resolution came too late for Gilpin, however, who was removed from the governorship of the territory by Lincoln in April 1862 and replaced by John Evans
John Evans (governor)
John Evans was a U.S. politician, physician, railroad promoter, Governor of the Territory of Colorado, and namesake of Evanston, Illinois; Evans, Colorado; and Mount Evans, Colorado...
.
The Sangre de Cristo Land Grant
In 1863, Gilpin and a syndicate of foreign investors bought the 1038196 acres (4,201.4 km²) Charles H. BeaubienCharles H. Beaubien
Charles H. Beaubien , also known as Alexis Beaubien, Carlos Beaubien and Charles Trotier, was a Canadian-born American fur trader who was one of two investors who owned of northeastern New Mexico and southeastern Colorado in the Beaubien-Miranda as well as the Sangre de Cristo land grants.-Early...
land grant (often referred to as the Sangre de Cristo
Sangre de Cristo Mountains
The Sangre de Cristo Mountains are the southernmost subrange of the Rocky Mountains. They are located in southern Colorado and northern New Mexico in the United States...
Land Grant on the east slopes of the mountains) in southeast Colorado for about 4 cents an acre ($41,000). Gilpin and his investors then tried to evict residents on the property. Litigation over the property continues to this day. He was also one of the early owners of the Luis Maria Baca Grant No. 4
Luis Maria Baca Grant No. 4
The Luis Maria Baca Grant No. 4, south of Crestone, Colorado, was a large land grant made in 1860 by the United States to the heirs of the original Vegas Grandes Grant at Las Vegas, New Mexico. Title to the grant at Las Vegas was clouded by a second grant of the same land. The Baca heirs were...
.
He died in 1894 in Denver, Colorado
Denver, Colorado
The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...
following being run over by a horse and buggy and was buried in Mount Olivet Cemetery in Jefferson County, Colorado
Jefferson County, Colorado
Jefferson County , whose slogan is the "Gateway to the Rocky Mountains", is the fourth most populous of the 64 counties of the State of Colorado of the United States. Located along the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains, Jefferson County is adjacent to the west side of the state capital, Denver....
.
See also
- History of ColoradoHistory of ColoradoThe human history of Colorado extends back more than 13,000 years. The region that is today the state of Colorado was first inhabited by Native Americans...
- Law and Government of ColoradoLaw and Government of ColoradoThe Constitution of the State of Colorado provides for three branches of government: the legislative, the executive, and the judicial branches.-Sovereignty of the people:...
- List of Governors of Colorado
- Territory of Colorado
External links
- The Governors of Colorado @ Colorado.gov
- William Gilpin @ PBS.org
- University of Virginia: Untrasacted Density: William Gilpin