1898 John Fremont Stamp

On June 17,1898, the U.S. Post Office issued a set of nine commemorative stamps to mark the Trans-Mississippi Exposition, held from June 1 to November 1 that year in Omaha, Nebraska. Originally, the stamps were supposed to have been printed in two colors, but because of the need to print revenue stamps to finance the Spanish-American War, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing decided to print in single colors.

The 5-cent stamp in the set shows John C. Fremont holding an American flag atop the summit of a mountain, along with the caption "Fremont on Rocky Mountains." The engraved stamp was printed in dark blue.

The explorer and U.S. soldier was born in Savannah, Ga. Educated at Charleston College, Fremont surveyed the Carolina mountains as an officer in the Army Topographical Corps. In the 1840s and early '50s, he explored the West. In 1856, Fremont became the first presidential candidate of the new Republican Party. He carried 11 states but lost the election. During the Civil War, Fremont served as a Union Army officer. Later, he served as governor of the Arizona Territory. Fremont died on July 13, 1890 in New York City at age 76.

In addition to the 1898 stamp, Fremont has been portrayed on a 29-cent stamp as one of 20 different subjects on the 1994 "Legends of the West" sheet of stamps. He also was shown in the 1998 reissue of the 1898 Trans-Mississippi Exposition series -- in which each stamp was printed in two colors as originally intended.

(c) Carl Vinson Institute of Government, The University of Georgia

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