James H. Carson (1821 – 1853), a Second Sergeant in the US Army, boarded the U.S. Lexington with his regiment and set sail for California in 1846. After passing through Rio de Janeiro and Cape Horn, Carson reached Monterey, California in January 1847. When gold was discovered, many members of the regiment deserted, and eventually Carson did the same. By all accounts, Carson found luck in the mine, and although the exact amount is questionable, he was certainly remembered, as Carson Creek and the hamlet of Carson Hill were named for him. Carson's most noted work, "Early Recollections of the Mines" (1852), documents this time in Carson's life.