Zebulon Montgomery Pike (January 5, 1779 – April 27, 1813) was an American brigadier general and explorer for whom Pikes Peak in Colorado is named. As a U.S. Army officer he led two expeditions through the Louisiana Purchase territory, first in 1805–1806 to reconnoiter the upper northern reaches of the Mississippi River, and then in 1806–1807 to explore the southwest to the fringes of the northern Spanish-colonial settlements of New Mexico and Texas. Pike's expeditions coincided with other Jeffersonian expeditions, including the Lewis and Clark Expedition and the Red River Expedition in 1806.

Pike's second expedition crossed the Rocky Mountains into what is now southern Colorado, which resulted in his capture by the Spanish colonial authorities near Santa Fe, who then sent Pike and his men to Chihuahua (present-day Mexico) for interrogation. Later in 1807, Pike and some of his men were escorted by the Spanish through Texas and released near U.S. territory in early Louisiana.

In 1810, Pike published an account of his expeditions, a book so popular that it was translated into several languages for publication in Europe. He later achieved the rank of brigadier general in the United States Army, and served in the War of 1812 until he was killed in April 1813 by an explosion at a gunpowder magazine outside the British colonial capital of Upper Canada during the Battle of York.

Early and family life

Early life and education

Pike was born on January 5, 1779, in Lamington, New Jersey. He was the son of Isabella (Brown) and Zebulon Pike, and followed in the footsteps of his father, who had begun his own career in the military service of the United States in 1775 at the beginning of the American Revolutionary War. Through his father, he was a direct descendant of Robert Pike, who was famous being an opponent of the Salem witchcraft prosecutions of 1692.

Zebulon Pike Jr. grew to adulthood with his family at a series of outposts in Ohio and Illinois—the United States' northwestern frontier at the time. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant of infantry in 1799 and promoted to first lieutenant later that same year.

Marriage and family

Pike married his cousin Clarissa Harlow Brown in 1801. They had one child who survived to adulthood, Clarissa Brown Pike, who later married President William Henry Harrison's son, John Cleves Symmes Harrison. They had four other children who died before reaching adulthood. He was the great-granduncle of Medal of Honor recipient Emory Jenison Pike.

Military career

Pike's military career included working on logistics and payroll at a series of frontier posts, including Fort Belle Fontaine near today's St. Louis. General-in-Chief James Wilkinson of the United States Army was appointed as the first Governor of the Upper Louisiana Territory by third President Thomas Jefferson, becoming Pike's mentor while headquartered there.

In 1796, Pike shadowed the expedition of General Georges Henri Victor Collot, a Royal, then Imperial French Army officer who had been tasked to tour the Mississippi frontier and draw maps that France might use if it were to try and seize the lightly settled heartland territory of the Mississippi River valley basin from the nascent United States further to the East. Beginning July 15, 1806, Pike led what became known as the "Pike Expedition".

In early November 1806, Pike and his team sighted and tried to climb to the summit of the peak later named after him (Pikes Peak). They made it as far as Mt. Rosa, located southeast of Pikes Peak, before giving up the ascent in waist-deep snow. They had already gone almost two days without food.

They then continued south, searching for the Red River of the South's headwaters, and built a fort for shelter during the winter. However, they had crossed the border, whether through confusion or deliberation. Royal Spanish authorities captured Pike and some of his party on February 26, 1807.

Pike and his men were taken to the old colonial capital of Santa Fe of the Royal Spanish province of New Mexico and on further south to the Chihuahua City capital of Chihuahua province, and presented to Commandant General Salcedo, who was governor of the state. Pike was treated well and invited to formal social dinners but still not quite given the treatment of a visiting diplomatic dignitary, and his men were kept prisoner. Salcedo housed Pike with Juan Pedro Walker, a cartographer who also acted as an interpreter. Walker transcribed and translated Pike's confiscated documents, including his journal. Spanish authorities feared the spread of both their democracy and Protestant Christian sects that might undermine their rule.

During this time, Pike had access to various maps of the southwest and New Spain, and especially learned about colonial Mexico's increasing discontentment with Royal Spanish rule. Spain filed official protests with the United States about Pike's exploring expedition, but since the nations were not at war (and the Kingdom of Spain was rebelling against Napoleon Bonaparte's older brother, who was put in place to rule Spain and was also fighting Great Britain in the Peninsular War), Commandant Salcedo released the American military men. The Spanish escorted Pike and most of his men back north, releasing them at the Louisiana border on July 1, 1807.

War of 1812

Pike was promoted to the rank of captain during the southwestern expedition. In 1811, Pike fought with the 4th Infantry Regiment at the Battle of Tippecanoe under General (and future ninth President) William Henry Harrison. He was promoted to colonel of the 15th Infantry Regiment in July 1812. Pike's military career also included service as deputy quartermaster-general in New Orleans and inspector general during the later part of the War of 1812.

Pike commanded the advance guard of an American force which was defeated—primarily because of the poor planning and half-hearted effort of his commander, Henry Dearborn—at the first Battle of Lacolle Mills in November 1812. Pike was promoted to brigadier general in March 1813. Along with General Jacob Brown, Pike departed from the newly fortified rural military outpost of Sackets Harbor, on the New York shore of Lake Ontario, for what became his last military campaign. On this expedition, Pike commanded combat troops in the successful attack on York (now Toronto) on April 27, 1813. Pike was mortally wounded and died, along with numerous other American troops, by flying rocks and other debris when the withdrawing British garrison blew up its ammunition magazine as Pike's troops approached Fort York. His body was brought by ship back to Sackets Harbor, where his remains were buried at the Military Cemetery.

Confiscated papers

The Spanish authorities confiscated some of Pike's papers, which were not recovered by the United States from Mexico until the 20th century. Pike wrote an account of his expeditions, some of which had to be recreated from memory, which was published in 1810 as The expeditions of Zebulon Montgomery Pike to Headwaters of the Mississippi River, through Louisiana Territory, and in New Spain, during the Years 1805–6–7. These journals and maps gave Americans important information about trade opportunities along with the blueprints for the Santa Fe Trail. It was popular and was later translated into Dutch, French, and German editions. It became popular reading for all American explorers who followed him in the 19th century.

Pike's capture by the Spanish and travel through the Southwest gave Pike insight into the region. For example, he described the politics in Chihuahua, which led to the Mexican independence movement, and described trade conditions in the Spanish territories of New Mexico and Chihuahua.

In some eastern regions of North America, a tradition or legend pervades often referred to as The Lost City of Palanor or Zebulon's Gift which has been attributed to Pike's journals. The myth, said to be derived from a missing portion of Pike's confiscated journals, is usually told in two segments. The first sequence involves Pike's unlikely acquisition of a great treasure. The second is a description of Pike's discovery of the lost city "Palanor," said to be built by pre-Columbian European settlers, and his decision to hide the treasure there. Pike's Peak remains the second most visited mountain in the world. Pike's expedition route of approximately 3,664 miles is maintained to this day by the Pike National Trail Association.

Pike was honored in 1901 by General William Jackson Palmer with a marble statue placed near the main entrance of the Antlers Hotel.  Pike was later honored in 1926 with a bronze medallion portrait placed in the pavilion at Tahama Spring (named after Pike's Dakota guide, Chief Tahama) in Monument Valley Park, Colorado Springs. For over two hundred years, historians have debated whether Pike was truly an explorer, or if he was a spy.

  • Pikes Peak
  • Zebulon Pike Lake Reservoir in Morrison County, Minnesota

Communities

  • Pike County in:
  • Alabama
  • Arkansas
  • Georgia and its county seat Zebulon
  • Illinois
  • Indiana
  • Kentucky
  • Mississippi
  • Missouri
  • Ohio
  • Pennsylvania
  • Pike, New York
  • Piketon, Ohio
  • Pikeville, Kentucky
  • Pikesville, Kentucky (historic)
  • Pikeville, Tennessee
  • Pikesville, Maryland
  • Pike Bay Township, Cass County, Minnesota
  • Pike Creek Township, Morrison County, Minnesota
  • Pike Township, Marion County, Indiana
  • Pike Township, Wyoming County, New York
  • Pike Township, Stark County, Ohio
  • Zebulon, Kentucky

Other

  • Pike National Forest in Colorado
  • Pikes Peak Marathon in Colorado
  • Pikes Peak State Park in Clayton County, Iowa
  • Pike Trail League, Kansas high school activities league
  • Pike Valley School District, Kansas School District, U.S.D. 426
  • General Zebulon Pike Lock and Dam No. 11 in Dubuque, Iowa
  • SRAM's RockShox division, whose R&D department is headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colorado have produced at least two shocks the Zeb and the Pike named after Zebulon
  • Zebulon Ice, a Colorado Department of Transportation snowplow, in a winning name submitted by a Colorado child as part of a 2021 contest.

Notes and references

Further reading

  • National Park Service biography
  • Santa Fe Trail Research
  • "Butler County connections to the Mexican War" Hamilton Journal-News Hamilton, Ohio
  • Pike's Explorations – related to Pike's journey to find the source of the Mississippi River and the building of his fort in what is now Morrison County, Minnesota
  • Pike's Menagerie – the animals Pike and his men encountered in central Minnesota
  • Was Pike a Failure? – an examination of the often-heard critique of Pike's Mississippi River expedition
  • Zebulon Pike and the Blue Mountain – The award-winning film produced with the help of Pike Historian W. Eugene Hollon, the U.S. Army, the Smithsonian, and the National Archives about the explorer's time in what is now Colorado. Winner CINE Golden Eagle award and Certificate of Commendation from the American Association for State and Local History. Narrated by Burgess Meredith.