Westward with Fremont: The Story of Solomon Carvalho

In 1853, Solomon Nunes Carvalho, proud descendant of a Sephardic Jewish family, accepted the invitation of Col. John Charles Fremont to accompany him on his fifth expedition of discovery through the Rockies to the Pacific Ocean. As the photographer and artist of the Fremont expedition, Carvalho provided the visual proof that the northern route through the Rockies could be used for the railroad that was being planned to link East and West. Fremont required this evidence to foil those who favored a route through the southern slaveholding states.

Carvalho performed exceedingly well under extreme stress and danger. His photographs document the scenery and the Indian tribes that lived in the area between modern Kansas and Utah. His interest in science helped the colonel in recording the topography of the region and its meteorology. The paths of Carvalho and Fremont crossed again when the latter became the first Republican candidate for the presidency. To help the colonel, Carvalho published a book with an account of the expedition that ultimately became a best seller.

Carvalho retained the pioneering instinct for the rest of his life, even in his later business career. He remains an honored figure in the history of the United States, typifying those who have served both the country at large and the Jewish community.

Westward with Fremont tells the exciting story of one of the great legendary figures in American Jewish history.

Sophie Greenspan (1906–90) was national president of the Junior Hadassah of Canada before she moved by herself to Palestine in 1938. In Israel she did secretarial work for David Ben Gurion and Beryl Katzenelson, and she was the first English-language broadcaster for the underground Voice of Israel. Greenspan, her husband, and their two children eventually moved to Los Angeles in 1948, where she worked as a teacher and principal for Jewish day schools. She is also the author of Masada Shall Not Fall Again.