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 ( , 1:302; Dunbar Rowland, Encyclopedia of Mississippi History, 2 vols. [Madison, Wis., 1907], 1:423–4; Vol. 39:158–9).