Gilpin, William
Gilpin, William,
1813–94, U.S. army officer, politician, and businessman, b. Philadelphia, grad. Univ. of Pennsylvania, 1833. He dropped out of West Point, but joined the army (1836) and fought in the Seminole War. In 1838 he moved to St. Louis, editing a newspaper and practicing law before joining (1843) John C. FrémontFrémont, John Charles,1813–90, American explorer, soldier, and political leader, b. Savannah, Ga. He taught mathematics to U.S. naval cadets, then became an assistant on a surveying expedition (1838–39) between the upper Mississippi River and the Missouri.
..... Click the link for more information. 's expedition to the Pacific Northwest, where Gilpin helped organize the Oregon Territory's government. He fought in the Mexican War (1846–48), retiring as a lieutenant colonel, and returned to Missouri and the law. After gold was discovered in Colorado, Gilpin's Central Gold Region (1859) linked manifest destinymanifest destiny,
belief held by many Americans in the 1840s that the United States was destined to expand across the continent, by force, as used against Native Americans, if necessary.
..... Click the link for more information. with the greater Mississippi Valley and promoted Denver as its principal city. Appointed (1861) the first territorial governor of Colorado, he organized the 1st Colorado Volunteers, which fought off a Confederate invasion, but the financial disarray he created by acting without authorization led to his removal from office (1862). He later made a fortune in land speculation.