Letter of William C.C. Claiborne to James Madison

With the French fighting their European neighbors, Napoleon Bonaparte had elected to sell the United States the Louisiana Territory, a large swath of land from the Mississippi River west. Anxious to develop the region into a major trading source, Secretary of State James Madison dispatched William C.C. Claiborne to explore and set up a provincial government in New Orleans in the winter of 1803. Claiborne wrote to Madison frequently, keeping him abreast of the situation surrounding the newly acquired city, particularly regarding its defensibility as there was a fear of counterattack from Spain from the lands of modern-day Mexico and Texas. In this letter, Claiborne is discussing the nature of the government and the provincial forces left by the previous leaders. In particular, he mentions his growing concern about Black militias that had been authorized by the French government.