Introduction

Senator Sprague wrote to John Brown Francis after receiving word that Thomas Dorr, the “supreme dictator,” had disbanded his forces and fled the state. Sprague related a heated exchange that he had with President Tyler about the necessity of sending federal troops to Rhode Island. Sprague ardently believed that Tyler should have released a statement pledging full support to Governor Samuel Ward King. Tyler eventually did agree to send Secretary of War John Spencer to Rhode Island, but by the time Spencer arrived, Dorr’s forces had disbanded and many of his followers were wallowing in prison.