author
Zebulon Montgomery Pike
1779–1813
Best remembered for the mountain that bears his name, this young army officer and explorer helped map the edges of the early American West. His expeditions through the Louisiana Purchase were difficult, controversial, and full of the kind of peril that makes frontier history feel immediate.
3 Audiobooks
The Expeditions of Zebulon Montgomery Pike, Volume 2 (of 3) To Headwaters of the Mississippi River Through Louisiana Territory, and in New Spain, During the Years 1805-6-7.
by Zebulon Montgomery Pike, Elliott Coues
About the author
Born in New Jersey in 1779, he followed his father into the U.S. Army and rose quickly as a capable young officer. President Thomas Jefferson chose him to lead two major expeditions after the Louisiana Purchase: one toward the upper Mississippi River in 1805–1806, and another into the Southwest in 1806–1807.
That second journey became the source of his lasting fame. While trying to explore the southern reaches of the new territory, he and his party crossed the plains, encountered Spanish authorities in present-day Colorado and New Mexico, and struggled through winter conditions near the peak later named Pikes Peak. His published account helped shape how many Americans imagined the West in the early nineteenth century.
He did not live long enough to enjoy that reputation for long. After continuing his military career, he was killed in 1813 during the War of 1812 at York, in what is now Toronto, and was later remembered as both a soldier and an explorer whose name became tied to one of the most famous landmarks in the Rockies.