General Randolph B. Marcy, whose insightful observations were first published in 1888, offers a profound account of the astonishing transformation of our American frontier. His half-century of service in the United States Army provided a unique vantage point, witnessing the rapid reclamation of Western territories and the dramatic shift from wilderness to thriving communities. This narrative, deeply rooted in personal experience, illuminates the monumental undertaking of Western expansion.
Marcy’s career involved extensive explorations, marked by arduous marches and severe privations, leading him into the most remote regions. These adventures provide invaluable insights into the topographical, agricultural, and socio-political landscape of a critical period in American history.
Early Encounters: Wisconsin and the Mississippi
Marcy’s military service began in Wisconsin, a territory then an uncultivated wilderness. His station at Green Bay offered only narrow Indian trails for navigation, as no roads existed. West of Lake Michigan, the country was a vast primeval forest, with Milwaukee’s nascent settlement boasting only Solomon Juneau’s trading post.
During his early years, Western settlements did not extend beyond the Mississippi River. A vital cordon of military posts protected pioneers from Native American incursions, a protection Marcy believed was essential for pushing settlement westward. By 1838, he visited Fort Snelling, Minnesota, a solitary outpost near the future sites of St. Paul and Minneapolis, where no white habitation then existed. His journey south along the Mississippi revealed a landscape largely devoid of settlers, a stark contrast to the flourishing towns that would later line its banks.
Mapping the Southwest: Indian Territory and New Routes
In 1848, Marcy served in the Indian Territory among the Choctaw, Chickasaw, Creek, and Cherokee. These tribes, numbering around 50,000, had, through missionary efforts, largely embraced agriculture, establishing churches, schools, and productive farms, including cotton plantations. Their reservations, spanning 300 by 200 miles, were fertile and well-watered.
In 1849, Marcy escorted emigrants from Arkansas to New Mexico en route to California. Their 820-mile journey from Fort Smith led them through dense forests, across the Great Plains, and along the Canadian River Valley, through largely unexplored, arid terrain to Santa Fe. Here, they discovered no direct wagon route to California, contrary to Washington’s misapprehension, necessitating a 300-mile detour via the Gila route.
Recognizing the need for better access, Marcy undertook to find a practicable wagon route back to Arkansas. With a Comanche guide, he marked an excellent 904-mile road from Donna Anna on the Rio Grande to Fort Smith, with 500 miles traversing unexplored country. This route, now paralleled by the Texas Pacific Railway, crossed fertile regions of Texas but then transitioned into largely sterile land through New Mexico and Arizona, suitable primarily for grazing.
The Illusion of Agricultural Abundance in the West
Despite the completion of transcontinental railroads, General Marcy noted a common misconception regarding the agricultural potential of the interior West. Many believed these territories could become rich grain-producing states. However, his extensive observations across the Rocky Mountain chain revealed a vast belt of elevated, arid tablelands, stretching from latitude 31 to 45 and longitude 100 to 120. Here, infrequent summer rains meant crops rarely succeeded without artificial irrigation. The scarcity of permanent water sources limited irrigation to narrow river bottoms or mountain-fed ditches. Woodlands were sparse, confined to cottonwood fringes along waterways and pine in the mountains; suitable hardwood was virtually nonexistent. Marcy concluded that expanding Western frontier settlements for agricultural purposes beyond Texas, Missouri, Kansas, and Nebraska was fallacious, a point underscored by New Mexico’s stagnant cultivation despite centuries of occupation.
Exploring the Red River and Facing Mormon Resistance
In 1852, Marcy explored the Red River of Louisiana to its sources, a journey previously unrecorded. While the lower river meandered through productive, timbered alluvial lands yielding abundant crops without irrigation, his upstream expedition revealed a drastic change. The river emerged from the great Llano Estacado through a 500-foot-deep canyon, carrying bitter water due to immense gypsum deposits, identified as one of the world’s largest. Beyond this, the water became pure.
A significant challenge arose in 1857 during the Utah Expedition. Marcy’s regiment was ordered to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, to Utah to enforce U.S. laws against the Mormons. Their arduous march, beginning July 22, averaged only 14 miles daily. Upon reaching the Rocky Mountains, severe cold and heavy snow caused hundreds of cattle to perish, forcing a winter halt at Fort Bridger, Wyoming, 150 miles short of Salt Lake City. The Mormons demonstrated fierce hostility, destroying supply trains and fortifying mountain passes. Brigham Young’s disciple, Heber Kimball, notably expressed vehement hatred for the U.S. President and boasted of having ‘wives enough to whip out that army.’ This formidable opposition, coupled with the brutal winter, narrowly averted a sanguinary conflict.
Survival in the Rocky Mountain Winter
With most winter supplies lost, General Johnston dispatched Marcy to New Mexico for provisions. On November 24, Marcy led an expedition of forty men and sixty-six pack-mules from Fort Bridger. Initially, they found ample grass and little snow, but the snow-covered Rocky Mountains loomed ahead. A band of Digger Ute Indians warned against continuing, predicting six feet of snow and certain peril, advising them to winter or turn back. Undeterred, they pressed on.
Soon, the snow became five feet deep, dry and light, making upright walking impossible. Men resorted to crawling in single file to pack the snow for the mules. This grueling pace yielded only three or four miles a day. Provisions eventually ran out. Their starving mules, subsisting only on bitter pine leaves, began to die, yet their carcasses provided the men’s only sustenance for fifteen days. Enduring without sugar, tea, coffee, salt, or tobacco, the expedition faced extreme deprivation, with the absence of salt and tobacco being particularly agonizing, a testament to the brutal realities of frontier life.
Conclusion: A Legacy of Resilience on the American Frontier
General Randolph B. Marcy’s half-century of service offers a compelling chronicle of America’s Western expansion. From charting the unmapped territories and navigating treacherous mountain passes to observing the cultural evolution of Native American tribes and confronting the stark agricultural realities of the arid West, his memoirs provide an unparalleled perspective on frontier life. His accounts underscore the resilience, determination, and immense sacrifices made during an era when the American frontier was dynamically reshaped, forever altering the course of the nation’s history. Marcy’s legacy is one of courage and perseverance in the face of the untamed wilderness.
