Carson, Christopher "Kit"
Born December 24, 1809
Madison County, Kentucky
Died May 23, 1868
Colorado
Frontiersman and guide
Kit Carson was "a symbol of the daring and intelligence by which the frontier was being extended."
Thelma S. Guild and Harvey L. Carter in Kit Carson: A Pattern for Heroes
The ultimate frontiersman, Kit Carson spent his career on the edge of the American frontier, exploring, taming, and conquering it. Guts and determination turned Carson from an illiterate runaway into a brigadier general. Fortunate to be friends with one of the greatest promoters of the American West, John C. Frémont (1813–1890; see entry), Carson was a humble man whose amazing exploits would become known to the world—in embellished form—and make him a national hero.
Growing Up on the Frontier
Christopher "Kit" Carson was born on December 24, 1809, in Madison County, Kentucky, the third son of Lindsay and Rebecca Carson. The family soon moved to Howard County, Missouri, which was considered the frontier at the time. Carson remembered in his autobiography that "for two or three years after our arrival, we had to remain forted and it was necessary to have men stationed at the extremities of the fields for the protection of those that were laboring." As a boy, Carson thrived on the frontier, learning to shoot, hunt, and protect himself.
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