During the War with Mexico, President James K. Polk authorized a battalion of men of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Mormon Battalion became famous for having marched from Council Bluffs, Iowa, to San Diego, California. This is considered to be the longest march of foot soldiers in history. They were armed, but never had to fight in the war. What motivated President Polk to call up this battalion from what was then the out-cast Mormons camped out in Iowa territory? The War Letter answers that question. The War Letter is not about the Mormon Battalion but is the story of Jesse Carter Little during a critical period of his life. Between August 1845 and October 1846, he worked diligently to find help for the emigration of the Latter-day Saints as requested by President Brigham Young. The manuscript history of Brigham Young and other diaries and journals provide a more detailed record of the times and Little's involvement with his friends and associates. The Diary of James K. Polk, President of the United States, reveals information about Polk's activities during this time and his decision to help the Latter-day Saints as influenced by Jesse's appeal. It is presented as a novel but most of the happenings and characters in the story represent those dealings and people mentioned by Little in his letters. The story of Jesse Carter Little's efforts to help the Latter-day Saint emigration to the west is not well known today. This book is written to show Jesse's critical role in working with other prominent men of the time -- Thomas L. Kane, Amos Kendall, and President James K. Polk, to bring about the means to provide for the Saints to cross the plains. The author hopes that a new understanding will surface as people read The War Letter. Jesse Carter Little, was born on 26 September 1815, in Belmont, Waldo, Maine. He was the son of Thomas Little and Relief White, and was a descendant of Scottish families who had come to America in the early 18th century from Northern Ireland. He and his wife, Eliza Greenwood French, were married on 29 September 1840 in Peterborough, Hillsboro, New Hampshire. They were baptized members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by Eli P. Maginn 3 April 1842 in Peterborough. Jesse was ordained a High Priest on 17 April 1845. Upon departure of the Latter-day Saints from Nauvoo, Illinois, he was appointed President of the Eastern and Middle States Mission on 20 January 1846 and asked to use every means possible to help the Saints to emigrate while also keeping up the organization of the branches. Jesse lobbied influential men in Washington City from 21 May until 9 July 1846, asking for help for the Latter-day Saints. On 1 June 1846 he wrote a letter to President Polk saying that if he could not get help for the Mormons, he would cross the "trackless ocean" for help. He called his letter "a war letter". This letter prompted President Polk to write a letter on 3 June authorizing Colonel Kearney to recruit the Mormon Battalion. Jesse Little emigrated to the Great Salt Lake Valley in 185. He became a member of the Presiding Bishopric of the Church as second counselor to Bishop Hunter in 1856. He traveled to the east several times as an agent of the church. In October 1874 he was released as a counselor to Bishop Hunter. He was a ready defender of the causes of the veterans of the Mormon Battalion all his life and believed that it had performed a key part in providing means for the Saints to emigrate. He died in Salt Lake City on 26 December 1893 at the age of 78.
Bob Little is a native of California. He has loved writing stories since he was a teenager. He has published six books. Four he wrote and two he illustrated. He wrote and published The War Letter, Jesse Carter Little and the Creation of the Mormon Battalion First Edition in 2007, published Mother Goose in a Bathysphere By Elaine Little, in 2008, and The Story of Cat by Betty Werner, both of which he illustrated, published a full length novel called The Enoch Probe in 2013 and two books of short stories: Doctor Guillotine's Nightmare and Other Short Stories in 2014 and The Mysterious Doll and More Short Stories in 2015. He will publish a complete biography in 2017 called Building Zion, The Life of Jesse Carter Little. Bob received a Bachelor of Arts degree in art with a minor in journalism in 1972 and Master of Arts degree from California State University, Sacramento, in 1979. He studied landscape painting privately with Harold M. Ward and portraiture with Abe Nussbaum. His classes at local colleges included drawing with Wayne Thiebaud, color and design and illustration with Amalia Fischback, and portraiture with Tarmo Pasto. His paintings are in private collections of friends in California, Utah and Idaho. While working for the California National Guard he honed his skills as a writer, researcher and artist. His work has received national recognition. One of his national achievements was a booklet called Care Comics. He served as an administrator from 1958 to 1980 and as a graphic artist for The State Military Department from 1980 to 1993 when he retired. Since his retirement, he and his wife Carla have served as missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Puerto Rico, Brazil, Spain and Salt Lake City. He has also served as Bishop of his local Ward. He has four daughters and one son. He and his wife live in Sacramento, California.
