Abstract The Thomas Hart Benton letters (1846-1852) contain correspondence from Benton. In the first letter, Benton suggests that the one to two thousand Americans who were in Northern Mexico be taken in with Col. Kearney's troops and used to protect the Santa Fe route. In the second, Benton thanks Professor Lubin for recommending Great Basin be renamed after Benton's son-in-law, the explorer John C. Fremont.