Thomas Jefferson Papers

To Thomas Jefferson from Henry Dearborn, 21 May 1803

From Henry Dearborn

[21 May 1803]

Sir

I enclose Govr. Claiborns letter on the subject of a Brigadier Genl. may it not be prudent to consult Govr. Claiborn on the effect which the appointment of his brother as Majr. Genl. would probably have in the Territory, previous to making any appointment of Genl. officers.

H. Dearborn

RC (DLC); undated; endorsed by TJ as received from the War Department on 21 May 1803 and “Brigadr. Genl. for Missipi” and so recorded in SJL. Enclosure not found.

Claiborne had previously recommended his brother, Ferdinand L. Claiborne, a former captain in the U.S. Army, to be surveyor general of the Mississippi Territory (Heitman, Dictionary description begins Francis B. Heitman, comp., Historical Register and Dictionary of the United States Army, Washington, D.C., 1903, 2 vols. description ends , 1:302; Dunbar Rowland, Encyclopedia of Mississippi History, 2 vols. [Madison, Wis., 1907], 1:423–4; Vol. 39:158–9).

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