Alexander W. Smith Letter 1857

Smith, Alexander W. (Alexander Wyly), 1861-1925

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Alexander W. Smith served under Edward Fitzgerald Beale as the wagon master during an expedition to survey a wagon road from Fort Defiance, New Mexico, through Arizona and Texas to the Colorado River. The former wagon master Gwinn Harris Heap resigned after an argument with Beale, and Smith was promoted to the position. The expedition included twenty-five camels with Arab and Turkish handlers to test their usefulness during cattle drives. The trail, now known as the Beale Wagon-Road...

Beale, Edward Fitzgerald, 1822-1893

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Edward Fitzgerald Beale (1822-1893) was a naval officer in California during the Mexican War, Superintendent of Indian Affairs for California, organizer of the U.S. Camel Corps, and brigidier-general in the California state militia. Beale was also an explorer for wagon roads and railroads in the U.S. West, owner of Rancho El Tejón (Kern County, Calif.) and Decatur House (Washington, D.C.), and served as U.S. Ambassador to Austria-Hungary. From the description of Collection related t...

Andrews, James

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