was stationed on the northwest frontier, at Fort Dearborn (Chicago). There he met and married Maria Kinzie, a daughter of John Kinzie, considered the city's first permanent white resident. He served in the infantry for 11 years, and was promoted to captain of the 1st U.S. Dragoons in 1833.

He resigned from the army in July 1836 and moved to Illinois, where he worked as a real