Captain John Williams Gunnison
Explorer, Surveyor, Topographical Engineer
1812 - 1853
GUNNISON
AMBROTYPE
THIS
HISTORICAL DISCOVERY HAS BEEN SOLD. WE ARE PROUD TO ANNOUNCE THAT ITS NEW AND PERMANENT HOME
IS THE COLORADO HISTORICAL SOCIETY IN DENVER, COLORADO!
Captain John Williams Gunnison was
considered one of the last great explorers of the vast American West, and is
often placed in the honored ranks of Zebulon Pike, Stephen H. Long, and John
Charles Fremont.
Parents: Samuel and Elizabeth Gunnison
Birthplace: Goshen, Sullivan County, New Hampshire
Date: November 11, 1812.
As soon as he was able to pick up a pail, John Williams helped
his father work the family farm near the Sunapee Mountains. Age eighteen
(1831), he was sent 30 miles away to attend Hopkinton Academy. Two years
later, in 1833, he attended the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.
Gunnison's record at West Point was impressive. He was
noted as being energetic, an outstanding student, dutiful, dedicated to his
work, appreciated by teachers and students alike, and a natural leader -- all
significant qualities that would interact and define his later life. He
graduated from West Point in June 1837 second in a class of fifty.
July 1837: Gunnison received his first commission, that of
Second Lieutenant; and soon thereafter, was stationed at Point Comfort,
Virginia.
November 1837: Gunnison was ordered to active duty in Florida
as an Ordinance Officer; here, he began his career as an explorer and surveyor,
journeying over uncharted lakes and rivers, looking for waterways suitable for
transporting the U.S. Military.
February 1838: Gunnison was transferred to the Corps of
Topographical Engineers.
August 15, 1841: Lieutenant John Williams Gunnison married
Martha A. Delony of St. Mary's, Georgia.
June 1841: Gunnison was assigned to the survey of the boundary
between Wisconsin and Michigan.
1842: Gunnison was involved with the survey of Lake Michigan.
1844 - 1845: Gunnison was in Washington, D.C., assisting with
the cartography of his previous Michigan surveys.
1845 - 1846: Gunnison became interested in the village of
Grand Rapids, Michigan, and purchased property there.
May 9, 1846: Gunnison was promoted to First Lieutenant,
Topographical Engineers.
1847 - 1848: Gunnison and his division prepared to join
the war with Mexico, but were not called upon.
April 1849: Gunnison was ordered to St. Louis, Missouri to
become a part of an expedition to Ft. Hall in the Rocky Mountains; to survey a
new route to the Mormon settlement in the Utah Territory; also, to obtain data
on the Valley of the Great Salt Lake. This expedition was commanded by
Captain Howard Stansbury.
Summer 1849: Stansbury Expedition begins, travels from Ft.
Leavenworth to Ft. Kearney, then to Ft. Laramie, then to Ft. Bridger, and then
Lieutenant Gunnison led part of the explorers to Salt Lake City. Gunnison
explored and surveyed Utah Lake and vicinity. Severe weather conditions of
fall and winter keep Gunnison in Salt Lake City area until August 1850.
While there, Gunnison also studied religious doctrines and practices of Mormon
Church.
September 1850: Gunnison returned to Ft. Bridger.
January 1851: Gunnison traveled to Washington, D.C. to assist
with the cartography and publication of the journals of the Stansbury
Expedition.
1852: Publication of EXPLORATION AND SURVEY OF THE VALLEY
OF THE GREAT SALT LAKE OF UTAH, Including A Reconnoissance of New Route Through
the Rocky Mountains. By Howard Stansbury, Captain Corps Topographical
Engineers, U.S. Army, printed by order of the Senate of the United States.
Philadelphia: Lippincott, Grambo & Co.
1852: Lippincott, Grambo & Co., of Philadelphia published,
THE MORMONS, OR LATTER-DAY SAINTS, IN THE VALLEY OF THE GREAT SALT LAKE: A
History of Their Rise and Progress, Peculiar Doctrines, Present Condition, and
Prospects, derived from Personal Observation, during a Residence Among Them,
by Lieutenant J.W. Gunnison, of the Topographical Engineers.
_____________________
"John W. Gunnison, who had
been promoted to the rank of Captain on March 23, 1853, was a trained soldier
and engineer who had traversed the western country in 1849 - 1850, making a
survey of 2,000 miles ... his experience and training made him a desirable
leader, and the Secretary of War selected him to head the railroad survey
...." Mumey, Page 32, JOHN WILLIAMS GUNNISON, 1955
____________________
Military superiors regarded Gunnison
as a "gallant officer, conservative and brilliant, and one who placed the
interest of his country above all ambitions. This background made him
well-suited for the great task of exploring the wilderness country of the West
...." Page 34, Mumey.
________________________
June 1853: Captain Gunnison, while still in Washington, D.C.,
specifically requested staff for the Explorations and Surveys to Ascertain the
Most Practicable and Economical Route for a Railroad from the Mississippi River
to the Pacific Ocean -- the proposed "Transcontinental Railroad."
_____________________
Among the staff were: Lieutenant E.G. Beckwith, 2nd in Command
R.H. Kern, topographer and artist
J.A. Snyder, assistant topographer
Sheppard Homans, astronomer
F. Creutzfeldt, botanist
Dr. James Schiel, surgeon and geologist
Charles Tapin, wagonmaster
____________________
Summer 1853: expedition began along the Santa Fe Trail
October 26, 1853: Gunnison and part of his exploratory team
were in a camp they had established between the Sevier River and Sevier Lake
when they were massacred by Pahvant Indians. Captain Gunnison, R.H. Kern,
F. Creutzfeldt, William Potter, and privates Caulfield, Liptrott, Merhkeens, and
John Bellows were all among those killed.
1855: Reports of Explorations and Surveys, to
Ascertain the Most Practicable and Economical Route for a Railroad from the
Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean, Volume II, by Gunnison, Captain J.
W. And Lieutenant E. G. Beckwith, F.W. Lander, Captain John Pope, Lieutenant
John G. Parke, Colonel W.H. Emory., Illustrated by R.H.Kern, J.M.Stanley,
published by Beverly Tucker, Washington.
_________________________________
The ambrotype -- exhibited at the top of
this page -- of Captain John Williams Gunnison is the only one known.
According to a Gunnison News-Champion article, dated
April 27, 1903, a half-tone image was made from this ambrotype so the image
could be displayed on the newspaper's front page. The caption under that
half-tone image reads: "Fascinating Romance of the Famous United States
Army Officer From Whom Our Gunnison Country was Named. Only Portrait in
Existance (sic) ...." At the time this Gunnison News-Champion article
was written, this ambrotype was already distinguished as being the one and only
known. It was in the possession of A.R. Gunnison, a brother of the famous
and respected Captain. A.R. Gunnison, at that time, lived in San
Francisco, California. (Further provenance on this ambrotype will be
provided to the purchaser.)
___________________________
The ambrotype - process was
invented by Frederick Scott Archer and Peter Fry in the early 1850s. An ambrotype
is a direct positive, made by under-exposing collodion on a glass negative,
bleaching it, and then placing a black background - usually black velvet,
occasionally varnish - behind it. The ambrotype - process gained popularity
because it required less time-exposure; production was less costly and required
less time (no printing was required); the perspective of the final product
depending on which side the backing material was placed; and, unlike daguerreotypes,
ambrotypes could be viewed from any angle.
_______________________________________
CONDITION OF AMBROTYPE:
Photograph: The photograph is a gelatin silver image in a
collodion (cellulose nitrate) binder. There is some apparent hand-coloring. The
image is on the back of the glass, and a black varnish has been applied over the
image side of the glass. In transmitted light this varnish has a warm, dark
reddish-brown color, suggesting it may contain asphaltum. The varnish has also
been applied over the original paper tapes at the edges, which hold the two
pieces of glass (cover glass and ambrotype glass) together. There does not
appear to be any additional material or layer between the two pieces of glass.
Case: The ambrotype is in a half-case, the cover component
missing. The case is a typical wood construction covered with leather. The
leather has a stamped floral design on the back. There is a brass component in
the right side which is one half of the case catch. The inside of the case has
red velvet components at the edges and a brown paper back, on which is written
in pencil "Steele". Other case components include a brass mat with an
oval opening and a shallow stamped border in a floral design; and three pieces
(top, right and left) of the brass foil preserver.
Dimensions:
Case: 4 ¾" high X 3 ¼" wide X 3/8"
deep.
Glass package: 4 ¼" high X 2 ¾" wide X just shy of ¼"
deep
This ambrotype has been professionally stabilized and
conserved.
_______________________________
To view an enlarged image of the item that interests you, click on the
picture to the left of the description. If there is no image, contact us,
and we'll email you digital photographs to help you make your purchase.
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any discrepancy within 24 hours of receipt and arrange to have your purchase
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