Zebulon Montgomery Pike was an American brigadier general and explorer. Pikes Peak in Colorado is named after Zebulon Pike. He was a United States Army captain in 1806 to 1807. Pike also led the Pike Expedition. During the pike expedition, he was sent out to explore and document the southern Louisiana territory and to find where the headwaters of the Red River were, during which he recorded the discovery of what later was called Pikes Peak. The Pike Expedition traveled through Colorado because his party confused their location which then led them to be captured by the Spanish, who sent Pike and his men to Chihuahua, Mexico. They were released later in 1807 at the border of Louisiana. In 1810, Zebulon Pike published an account of his expeditions, and later achieved the rank of brigadier general in the Army, serving during the War of 1812. He was taken down during the Battle of York. Pike was born during the Revolutionary War on January 5, 1779 near Lamington, in Somerset County, New Jersey. Pike followed his father’s, …show more content…
They had one daughter together named, Clarissa Brown Pike, which was named after her mother, and later married John Cleves Symmes Harrison, one of the sons of President William Henry Harrison. Zebulon Pike then went off into the military, and was commissioned as a second lieutenant of infantry in 1799, and was then promoted to first lieutenant later that same year. Pike’s military career included working on payroll and logistics at a series of frontier posts, including Fort Bellefontaine. General James Wilkinson became his mentor. In 1805, Wilkinson ordered Pike to find the source of the Mississippi River, so Pike then traveled into northern Louisiana Territory which was newly purchased from France. 100 some years later, France released official records showing General Wilkinson received personal trade concessions and could be labeled a spy for Spain at the