To Be Where Duty Calls: The Correspondence of Lt. Col. Greenlief Dearborn, 1812-1846

Greenlief Dearborn was born into a military tradition. His father had fought in the American Revolution, and his great-uncle Henry would go on to be Secretary of War under Thomas Jefferson and the senior general during the War of 1812. When war with England appeared imminent in 1812, Greenlief obtained a commission as a Second Lieutenant in the Corps of Artillery, thus beginning a career that would last more than three decades. Transferred to the Infantry in 1821, he spent most of his career dealing with Native Americans, both in Florida during the Second Seminole War, and on the Northern Plains as the nation expanded westward.

Yet Dearborn was more than just a soldier. Above all, he was a devoted family man who wrote numerous letters to his wife and children in Maine while stationed at remote frontier outposts. The heart of this book is a collection of more than 120 letters his wife had saved and later transcribed as a remembrance for his daughters. The letters are a unique window into the hardships and joys of a man whowas always ready to be where duty called.

John & Mary Lou Missall have written extensively on the Seminole Wars, including academic non-fiction, biography, and award-winning novels.