John Williams Gunnison (1812-1853).
Battery Gunnison, which was completed in 1905, was originally named for John Williams Gunnison. Gunnison was an explorer and soldier. He graduated from West Point in 1837, and began his military career in Florida. He explored unknown areas in Florida until poor health led him to leave the region. He then explored the Great Lakes region for the Army between 1841 and 1849.
In the spring of 1849 he became second-in-command of the Howard Stansbury expedition to explore the Great Salt Lake Region. He remained there for two years, and completed the book The Mormons or Latter-Day Saints, in the Valley of the Great Salt Lake: A History of Their Rise and Progress, Peculiar Doctrines, Present Condition. After the writing of this book, he returned to the Great Lakes region.
In May of 1853 he received orders to take charge of an expedition to survey a route for a railroad between the 38th and 39th parallels. His journey took him through the Tomichi Valley of Colorado, where the town of Gunnison is named in his honor. After crossing the valley, his team encountered the Black Canyon, and had to turn south to get around it. The team began to speed up surveying before weather forced them to retreat, and split into two groups. On the morning of October 26, 1853, Gunnison and the 11 men in his party were attacked by a band of Pahvants (Ute). In the resulting massacre, Gunnison and seven others were killed.
