Fremont planting the American standard on the Rocky Mountains. John Charles Fr矇mont (January 21, 1813 - July 13, 1890) was an American military officer, explorer, and the first candidate of the anti-slavery Republican Party for the office of President of the United States. He retired from the military and moved to the new territory California, after leading a fourth expedition which cost ten lives seeking a rail route over the mountains around the 38th parallel in the winter of 1849.He became one of the first two Senators elected from the new state in 1850. During the Civil War he was given command of the armies in the west but made hasty decisions, and was consequently relieved of his command (fired, court martial, presidential pardon). In 1866 Fr矇mont briefly owned the Pacific Railroad, but it was repossessed by the state of Missouri after he was unable to pay the second installment on his purchase. From 1878-81 he was governor of the Arizona Territory. He died in 1890 of peritonitis. Fr矇mont remains controversial, impetuous, and contradictory for arguing scholars. Some regard him as a military hero of significant accomplishment, while others view him as a failure who repeatedly defeated his own best purposes.