To Thomas Jefferson from Henry Dearborn, 8 January 1805
From Henry Dearborn
[8 Jan. 1805]
Sir—
I do not consider any Territorial Govr. as having any direction of the factories or trading houses unless by perticular and special directions from the Presidt. of the U.S.
I think that Govr. Harrison has incorrect ideas as to the command of the regular Troops in Louisiana, for although the law gives the respective Commandants the command of the regular Troops in their respective Districts, it does not give any new authority to the Govr. over the regular Troops.—Govr. Harrison is undoubtedly intitld to an additional compensation for his services as Govr. of Louisiana, but if Detroit & uper Louisiana shall be made each a Teritory, his services will be very much diminished, in future
H.D
RC (DLC); undated; endorsed by TJ as received from the War Department on 8 Jan. 1805 and “Govr. Harrison” and so recorded in SJL.
Dearborn may have been referring to a letter of 29 Nov. 1804 from William Henry Harrison, received by the War Department on 4 Jan. but not found. The department register recorded that it concerned Major James Bruff, the U.S. military commander at St. Louis. Bruff had previously objected to Harrison’s interference with his military prerogatives (DNA: RG 107, RLRMS; TJ to Dearborn, 16 Dec. 1804).