James F. Reed - The Donner Party

The Donner Party

In 1845 Reed decided to head west to California and organized a small group which left the Springfield area in the spring of 1846. The other members were George Donner and his brother Jacob, along with their families and hired hands. Each head of household had three wagons. In addition to two supply wagons, Reed had a particularly comfortable one made for his family to ride in, which has since become legendary. The Reeds and Donners left Springfield on April 14, 1846, and on May 19 joined a large wagon train led by William H. Russell.

While camped in Wyoming the Reeds, Donners, and several other families decided to take a new route, Hastings Cutoff, and elected George Donner captain, creating the Donner Party. They separated from the other emigrants on July 20. While crossing the desert west of the Great Salt Lake Reed was forced to abandon two of his wagons after losing nearly all his oxen. The Donner Party re-joined the California Trail near Elko, Nevada, on September 26, having taken three weeks longer than the traditional route.

On October 6, while traveling along the Humboldt River, Reed became embroiled in a quarrel between two teamsters and in the ensuing fight stabbed John Snyder to death. The other emigrants decided to banish Reed; initially he refused to accept their decision, but finally agreed to go ahead to Sutter's Fort in the Sacramento Valley for supplies. After a difficult journey, during which he nearly starved, Reed reached the fort on October 28. After two days' rest, he attempted to take provisions back to the wagon train, but deep snow blocked the way. The early onset of winter had trapped the Donner Party in the Sierra Nevada. They contrived shelter, hoping to resume their journey, but were forced to spend the winter in the mountains. They were already low on supplies and had to slaughter their oxen for food. As the winter wore on, many of the emigrants starved to death; some resorted to cannibalism.

In the meanwhile, Reed, now stuck in California, tried to organize another relief expedition but turmoil from the Mexican-American War not only disrupted his efforts but forced him to take up arms. On January 2, 1847, Reed participated in the Battle of Santa Clara. While in the area, Reed took steps to secure land for himself in Santa Clara, where he would eventually bring his family.

In early February 1847 the citizens and naval officers of San Francisco funded a rescue party. Its leader was Selim E. Woodworth, a naval officer, with Reed as his second-in-command. Reed rounded up men and supplies in the Sonoma and Napa valleys north of San Francisco Bay, then headed up into the mountains. Reed met his wife Margret, his stepdaughter Virginia, and son James Jr. coming out of the mountains. After an emotional reunion Reed and his men continued on to the camp where his remaining children, Patty and Thomas, were still stranded. Reed brought a party of emigrants from the camps, but a severe blizzard trapped them at the top of Donner Pass for two days, during which the party ran out of food. When the storm ceased, most of the refugees were too weak to continue. Reed departed with his children, but was forced to leave the others behind; a few days later, however, another rescue party arrived and brought them out.