To James Madison from John B. C. Lucas, 26 January 1815
From John B. C. Lucas
City of Washington Janry 26 1815
Sir,
Being an inhabitant of the territory of Missouri and its insulated and dispersed population rendering it accessible and weak at all points, Considering the in roads which our ennmies have made and are making about Mackinack prairie du chien and New orleans; my anxiety rises in proportion to the Crisis. The judicious selection of field officers to Command the force which is intended to defend the territory is all important.
Although I am not particularly acquainted with Characters, yet it happens that I am able to vouch for the particular fitness of one: I am informed that Capt. Andrew Henry of Washington County Missouri territory, is recommanded for a majority in the Corps of rangers.1 Permit me, Sir, to join in the recommandation and to assure you that he is eminently qualifyed for Such a Situation. I am Sir Most respectfully your very humble svt.
John B.C. Lucas
RC (DNA: RG 94, Letters Received, filed under “Henry”).
1. Andrew Henry (ca. 1775–1833), a native of Pennsylvania, had moved by 1803 to Upper Louisiana, where he pursued lead mining. In 1809 he became a partner in the recently established St. Louis Missouri Fur Company, along with Pierre Chouteau, William Clark, and others. He spent the next two years on fur-hunting expeditions, one of which he led across the Rocky Mountains with moderate financial success for the firm. After 1811, however, he left the fur trade, returned briefly to lead mining, served as a major in the territorial militia during the War of 1812, and then turned to farming. In 1821 he became the field agent for the fur-trading Ashley and Henry Company, which primarily at his behest altered the standard business model of the trade by emphasizing trapping over trading, not using a fortified trading post, and contracting with independent trappers rather than hiring employees. He led trapping expeditions as far west as the Bighorn River in 1823 but withdrew from the firm after returning to St. Louis the following year (Christensen et al., Dictionary of Missouri Biography, 396–97).