Hometown: Lamberton, NJ
Branch: U.S. Army
Date of Sacrifice: April 27, 1813 - KIA in York (now Toronto, Ontario), Canada 
Age: 34
Conflict: War of 1812 (1812-1815)

Zebulon Montgomery Pike was born in Lamberton (now part of Trenton), New Jersey during the American Revolution. As the son of a Continental Army officer, Pike spent parts of his childhood in and around frontier military posts.

Eager to follow in his father’s footsteps, Pike joined the Army at age fifteen. Serving under Revolutionary War hero General “Mad Anthony” Wayne, one of Pike’s duties was to ferry supplies to forts located on the Miami, Ohio, and Mississippi Rivers. These assignments gave him valuable experience in navigating rivers, negotiating with natives and frontier trading posts, and supplying armies.

Pike the Explorer

When the United States nearly doubled its size with the Louisiana Purchase (acquired from France), President Thomas Jefferson commissioned Meriwether Lewis and William Clark in 1804 to survey the northwestern portion of the “vast wilderness.”

In 1805, General James Wilkinson—whom Jefferson appointed as governor of Louisiana—also wanted to sponsor an expedition. Zebulon Montgomery Pike, along with 20 other men and four months of provisions, was assigned the task of locating the source of the Mississippi River, thought to be somewhere in the newly acquired territory.

In February of 1806, Pike’s expedition came upon Leech Lake in northern Minnesota, which Pike incorrectly reported as the source of the Mississippi River. The actual source is Lake Itasca located slightly to the west.

A few months after his Mississippi River adventure, Gen. Wilkinson assigned Pike to lead a second expedition into the southwestern portion of the new Louisiana Territory. The stated mission was for Pike to locate the sources of the Arkansas and Red Rivers. His assignment also included gathering information on the region’s population, economy, geography, and military defenses. At the time, Spain was in control of major areas that would later become California, New Mexico, Texas, and Florida.

Pike was instructed not to alarm the Spanish, as the relationship between the United States and Spain was uneasy after the Louisiana Purchase. Following a route from the Missouri and Osage Rivers to the Arkansas River, Pike’s expedition made diplomatic visits to Osage and Pawnee villages along the way, arriving at the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains in November of 1806.

Near present-day Pueblo, Colorado, the expedition came upon the tallest peak in the mountain range. They unsuccessfully attempted to scale the 14,115-foot mountain, encountering bad November weather. A second expedition 14 years later by Major Stephen Long would reach the top of the mountain later named “Pike’s Peak.”

Heading south into the Spanish-controlled territory that is now the state of New Mexico, Pike’s expedition aroused suspicion, and was captured. Taken to Santa Fe and later to Chihuahua (Mexico) for questioning, Pike’s papers were confiscated by the Spanish commander in the region. Pike later had to reconstruct his expedition’s records from memory, and from a few notes he managed to smuggle out—hidden in gun barrels. His papers were eventually returned to the U.S. government 100 years later.

Military Career

After his release by the Spanish government, Pike rose through the military ranks. In 1811, he was given command of U.S. troops in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. By the time the U.S. had declared war against Great Britain in June of 1812, Pike had achieved the rank of Colonel and was given command of the army’s Fifteenth Regiment.

In March of 1813, Pike was promoted to Brigadier General. In April he led 1,700 troops in a successful attack on Fort York (present-day Toronto), a major shipbuilding center for the British. The British commander, General Roger Hale Sheaffe, was preparing to abandon the fort and retreat to Kingston, destroying military equipment to keep it out of the Americans’ hands. With victory at hand, Pike halted his advance a few hundred feet away from the fort.

As General Pike sat on a tree stump interrogating British prisoners, the fort’s large ammunition storehouse exploded, hurling debris that killed or wounded hundreds of American, British, and Canadian soldiers. Pike was struck by a huge rock that crushed his ribs and broke his back. Evacuated to the navy schooner Madison, Pike lived long enough to hear the victory cheers as his men entered Fort York. One of his last requests was that the captured British flag be folded and placed beneath his head.

Today many towns, schools, and streets bear Zebulon Montgomery Pike’s name, including the famous Pike’s Peak and Pike National Forest in central Colorado.

Listen to the Grateful Nation Project recording of BG Pike’s story on Our American Stories podcast >

Sources
Stipple engraving card image: Library of Congress
Britannica: Zebulon Pike
Encyclopedia.com: Zebulon Montgomery Pike
Colorado Encyclopedia: Zebulon Montgomery Pike
Pike National Historic Trail Association: Pike’s Later Life
Thomas Jefferson Encyclopedia: Zebulon Montgomery Pike
Find a Grave: Burial Site