An Artist in Treason: The Extraordinary Double Life of General James Wilkinson
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The outward expression of this inward absorption is my own responsibility, but for their deeply valued contributions to the churning of ideas, I would like to thank Paul Houlton, Alan Smith, Lyn Cole, Professor Tom Schmiedeler, and Philip Evans. Finally, but primarily, for the love and support of my wife, Marie-Louise, throughout the entire autogamic process I am eternally grateful.
APPENDIX 1
AGENT 13’S ACCOUNT
The real record of payments made to James Wilkinson was kept by his Spanish handlers. As printed by Jacobs in Tarnished Warrior, it reads as follows:
STATEMENT OF WILKINSON’S ACCOUNT
Pension from 1st January 89 to 1st January 96 14000
to so much advanced by advice of Carondelet & Gayoso to
retard, disjoint and defeat the mediated irruption of
General Clark in La. 8640
Credit 22640
Received from Miró 7000
Received from Carondelet by La Cassagne 4000
Received from Carondelet by Collins 6000
17000
Of the taken credited
L[a] C[assagne] has paid 2600
Collins has paid 2500
the balance is disipated [sic] or fraudently applyd [sic]
A true account upon honour W.
Ingeniously, Jacobs points out that the difference between what Wilkinson was due and what he had been paid was $5,640. Jacobs argues that when Carondelet sent Power north with $9,640, it was to pay Wilkinson the difference plus $4,000 representing two years’ unpaid salary.
APPENDIX 2
JAMES WILKINSON’S CODE
In 1929, Lieutenant Mark Rhoads of the U.S. Army’s Signal Corps, and soon to be the first instructor employed by the army’s cryptanalysis training section, the Signal Intelligence School, undertook to analyze the ciphers used by James Wilkinson. He started with ciphered messages sent to New Orleans, most of which were already decoded, and worked back to find out what ciphering method had been used. Rhoads learned that, in addition to the basic cipher based on dictionaries, Wilkinson added complications of his own— substitution codes, doubled ciphering, and arbitrary transposition of symbols and letters. His notes are preserved in the Library of Congress files.
A code refers to the substitution of specific words in the original plain text with an arbitrary and predetermined set of words or symbols—e.g., the president was represented by O, the vice president by . A cipher refers to the substitution of the plain text with words, numerals, or other symbols selected according to a predetermined rule. A code is necessarily limited to the previously selected words. A cipher is as elastic as an alphabet.
Wilkinson’s most commonly used code was based on the 1800 edition of John Entick’s The New Spelling Dictionary. The coded text appeared as numbers separated by a decimal point. The digits up to the decimal point indicated the page of the dictionary; the digits after the point indicated the number of the word on the page; e.g., 261.37 stood for page 261, word on line 37; thus “able” = 2.18; “yourself” = . (Since there were two columns on each page of Entick’s dictionary, the second column was indicated by two lines over the first digit after the decimal point; no marking meant the first column.)
This code was relatively easy to compose; Wilkinson’s reports were long and chatty, spread over up to thirty pages, suggesting that he could easily remember the code for most words. It was also relatively simple to decode. As Rhoads himself pointed out, a quick study of the coded text revealed the maximum number of pages in the book, and the maximum number of lines. From this, it would have been possible to deduce the volume being used, a task made easier by the supposition that the likeliest choice was a dictionary or encyclopedia that had all the words needed. Accordingly Wilkinson also used substitution ciphers based on a keyword such as CUBA. This also produced a ciphered text in digits, following the rules below:
This required each letter to be ciphered in relation to the keyword. The first letter was taken from the first column, second from the second, and for a word of more than four letters, the substitution continued with the fifth letter from the first column, etc. Each letter was separated by a comma, each word by a period. Thus “bare” would be 26, 7, 18, 5. The keyword could be changed according to a predetermined order from paragraph to paragraph. Wilkinson’s preference for ornate, polysyllabic words led him to select long keywords such as NORTHUMBERLANDSHIRE.
Finally, very sensitive information was coded replacing individual letters for arbitrarily selected substitutes, but repeated the process several times: e.g., A=K=N= I; N =A=R= - .
NOTES
INTRODUCTION: A TEST OF LOYALTY
The pivotal test of General James Wilkinson’s ( JW) uncertain loyalties received considerable publicity at Aaron Burr’s trials in the summer of 1807. Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Cushing’s sworn affidavit was presented in court; see T. Carpenter’s The Trial of Colonel Aaron Burr on an Indictment of Treason, and reprinted in JW’s Burr’s Conspiracy exposed and General Wilkinson vindicated against the slanders of his enemies on that important occasion. JW’s own reactions were recorded in Burr’s Conspiracy. The widespread belief that he was in the pay of Spain, a “Spanish pensioner,” provided the basis of Burr’s defense. In their words, “General Wilkinson had an interest with the king of Spain.”
CHAPTER 1: THE PENNILESS ARISTOCRAT
The main sources for colonial Maryland’s aristocratic and tobacco culture are Aubrey C. Land’s rather old-fashioned Colonial Maryland— A History (Kraus International); Trevor Burnard’s Creole Gentlemen: The Maryland Elite, 1691–1776 (New York and London: Routledge, 2002); and Arthur Pierce Middleton’s Tobacco Coast: A Maritime History of Chesapeake Bay in the Colonial Era (Newport, VA: Mariners’ Museum, 1953). The background of JW’s ancestry and upbringing is taken from his Memoirs and from his two earlier biographies; James R. Jacobs’s meticulously researched Tarnished Warrior: Major-General James Wilkinson; and Thomas R. Hay and M. R. Werner’s Admirable Trumpeter: A Biography of General James Wilkinson. None of these sources refer to the near bankruptcy of Joseph Wilkinson. Evidence for this appears in the colonial probate records in the Maryland State Archives, Liber 52, 54, and 86 with relevant folios; in Calvert County tax assessments for 1783, MSA 1437; and in genealogical records of the Wilkinson and Heighe families.
8 “these bold and indigent strangers”: Quoted in The Conquest of the Old Southwest by Archibald Henderson (New York: Century, 1920).
8 “The Manners of Maryland are somewhat peculiar”: John Adams diary, November 21, 1777, Adams Family Papers (AFP), Massachusetts Historical Society, (digital) www.masshist.org/digitaladams/aea.
10 “The last words my father spoke to me”: Memoirs, 1:7–9.
12 For colonial Philadelphia, see The Private City: Philadelphia in Three Periods of Its Growth by Sam Bass Warner, Jr. (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1987).
12 “These inclinations were seconded” and JW’s time in Philadelphia: Memoirs, 1:11–13.
13 “The Rage Militaire”: quoted in Margaret Wheeler Willard, ed., Letters on the American Revolution, 1774–1776 (Boston, 1925).
CHAPTER 2: CITIZENS AND SOLDIERS
The rivalry between supporters of militia and professional soldiers in the Revolutionary War has been the subject of extensive research. I have consulted the following: Lawrence D. Cress’s Citizens in Arms:The Army and the Militia in American Society to the War of 1812 (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1982), and his chapter “Reassessing American Military Requirements, 1783–1807” in Against All Enemies: Interpretations of American Military History from Colonial Times to the Present, edited by Kenneth J. Hagan and William R. Roberts (Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1986); Ricardo A. Herrera, “Self-Governance and the American Citizen as Soldier, 1775– 1861,” Journal of Military History 65, no. 1 ( January 2001); Paul David Nelson, “Citizen Soldiers or Regulars: The Views of American General Officers on the Military Establishment, 1775–1781,” Military Affairs 43,
no. 3 (October 1979); William B. Skelton, “The Confederation’s Regulars: A Social Profile of Enlisted Service in America’s First Standing Army,” William and Mary Quarterly, 3rd ser., 46, no. 4 (October 1989); and Skelton’s “Social Roots of the American Military Profession: The Officer Corps of America’s First Peacetime Army, 1784–1789,” Journal of Military History 54, no. 4 (October 1990).
15 “the familiarity which prevailed”: Memoirs, 1:33–34.
16 “no Dependence can be put on the Militia”: General George Washington to John Hancock, July 10, 1775.
16 “When I look to the consequences of it”: Quoted in The Correspondence of King George the Third from 1760 to December 1783, ed. John Fortescue (London: Frank Cass & Co., 1967).
16 “never desired to see better soldiers”: Quoted in Nelson, “Citizen Soldiers or Regulars.”
16 “A Standing Army, however necessary”: Samuel Adams to James Warren, January 7, 1776, Warren-Adams Letters, I.
16 “Our troops are animated”: Address of the Continental Congress to “The Inhabitants of the Colonies,” February 13, 1776, JCC.
17 “Men may speculate as they will”: Washington to John Banester, April 21, 1778, Writings of George Washington.
17 “The regiment was ordered for muster”: Memoirs, 1:34–35.
18 Grover court- martial: Washington to John Hancock, president of Congress, May 5, 1776, JCC.
19 For Benedict Arnold’s reputation, see Willard S. Randall’s Benedict Arnold, Patriot and Traitor.
20 “We are now in a sweet situation”: JW to General Nathanael Greene, May 24, 1776, Memoirs, 1:43–44.
20 “Captn Wilkinson . . . is truly alarming”: Washington to John Hancock, June 7, 1776, JCC.
20 “Captn Wilkinson’s Conjectures were not realized”: General Schuyler to Washington, June 10, 1776, JCC.
20 JW’s relationship with Arnold: Memoirs, 1:46–49.
21 JW and General Sullivan: Ibid., 1:51–59.
22 “a Gentleman who I have always esteemed as a friend”: General Wayne to James Wilkinson, June 16, 1792, quoted in Nelson, Anthony Wayne, Soldier of the Early Republic.
CHAPTER 3: WOOING GENERAL GATES
The first volume of JW’s memoirs provides the story of his relationship with General Horatio Gates. Despite JW’s unreliability, the depth of his feeling for Gates is unmistakable. For Gates’s character and career, see Nelson, General Horatio Gates: A Biography, and his “Legacy of Controversy: Gates, Schuyler, and Arnold at Saratoga, 1777.”
24 “my dear General’s affectionate friend”: JW to Gates, June 10, 1776, Memoirs, vol. 1.
24 “an old granny looking fellow”: Quoted in Nelson’s “Legacy of Controversy.”
25 “the intrepid, generous, friendly, upright, Honest man”: JW to Varick, quoted in James R. Jacobs, Tarnished Warrior.
26 “the first officer in Military knowledge”: Washington to Jack Washington, March 5, 1776, GWP.
26 “a certain great man is damnably deficient”: Lee to Gates, December 13, 1776, Memoirs, 1:108.
27 General Lee’s capture: Memoirs, 1:101–10.
27 JW’s account of the battle of Trenton: Memoirs, 1:125–31; also Ferling, Almost a Miracle.
29 Evidence of the interest Washington took in Wilkinson’s career appears in a letter from William Fitzhugh, Washington’s neighbor and friend: “With respect to Wilkinson, who I verily believe is a young Fellow of Great Merrit, I will Endeavor, as you are Pleas’d to Advise, to get Him Provided for in The Battalions to be rais’d Here.” Fitzhugh to Washington, October 17, 1776.
29 The diatribes against the militia: Quoted in Nelson, “Citizen Soldiers or Regulars.” 30 For the reorganization of the Continental Army, see Cress, Citizens in Arms, and Wright, Continental Army.
30 “to remedy his polite manners”: Memoirs, 1:156. Washington would have attached him to a regiment commanded by the notoriously rough-tempered Nathanael Guest had JW not protested, so Hartley represented the soft option.
31 Every recorded word written about Ann Biddle makes her sound adorable— adventurous, tenderhearted, generous- spirited—just as Peale painted her. For John Biddle and the Indian King, see Earle, “The Taverns of Colonial Philadelphia”; for other members of the family, see Hay, “Letters of Mrs. Ann Biddle Wilkinson,” and Radbill, “Quaker Patriots: The Leadership of Owen Biddle and John Lacey.”
CHAPTER 4: THE TRIUMPH OF SARATOGA
In addition to Nelson, General Horatio Gates, and his “Legacy of Controversy,” sources used include Wright, Continental Army; Upham, “Burgoyne’s Great Mistake,” and Hudleston’s Gentleman Johnny Burgoyne.
33 “My young heart leaped with joy”: Memoirs, 1:154.
33 “I would to God, gentlemen could for once know their own minds”: Ibid.
34 “John Burgoyne wagers”: Quoted in Frothingham, Washington: Commander- in-chief. 34 “The perfidy of mankind”: Memoirs, 1:172.
34 “It wrung my heart”: Ibid., 1:174–75. Gates’s order, issued on May 24, 1777, read in full, “Colonel James Wilkinson is appointed deputy adjutant- general to the army in the northen department; all orders written or verbal coming from him are to be considered as the orders of the general in chief.” Schuyler read a copy of JW’s letter to Gates and commented, “I admire warmth and affection in young gentlemen of your age . . . I hope you may find cause to give me a share of the regard you now bear General Gates.”
35 “these Mortals must be led and not drove”: Horatio Gates to Joseph Trumbull of Connecticut, quoted in Nelson, “Citizen Soldiers or Regulars.”
35 “Gates’ arrival raised us as if by magic”: Udney Hay to Governor Clinton, August 13, 1777, quoted in Nelson, “Legacy of Controversy.”
36 “He has great merit”: General St. Clair to Gates, quoted in Memoirs, 1:352.
36 “His conduct . . . endeared him to me”: Matthew Lyon, deposition to Ezekiel Bacon’s committee of the House of Representatives, 1811, ibid., 3:341.
37 “Such an explosion of fire I had never heard”: James Phinney Baxter, The British Invasion from the North: The Campaigns of General Carleton and Burgoyne with the Journal of Lieut. William Digby (Albany, NY: Munsell’s, 1887).
37 The battle of Freeman’s Farm: Memoirs, 1:263–66. JW’s account places him at the center of events from the days before the battle when he purportedly took out the reconnaissance party that found Burgoyne’s army and selected Bemis Heights as a strongpoint for Gates’s force. During the fighting at Freeman’s Farm, he also claimed to have gone to the battleground in person and strengthened the morale of the commanders Henry Dearborn and Daniel Morgan, the latter having been reduced to tears. Without corroboration it is impossible to know what degree of credibility, if any, should be attached to these claims. However, the angry accusation of Richard Varick, Arnold’s staff officer, confirms that JW’s intervention was responsible for effectively removing Arnold from his command.
39 “he is an old gamester”: October 4, 1777, Gates to Governor George Clinton, quoted in Nelson, “Legacy of Controversy.”
39 “Our cannon were surrounded”: Baxter, British Invasion.
40 “the likeliest young man I ever saw”: Lyon to Thomas Jefferson, August 12, 1802, TJP.
40 JW’s leading role in the negotiations for Burgoyne’s surrender are described in Memoirs, 1:290–317, and largely substantiated by Nelson and Hudleston. Burgoyne’s ascription of failure to “the fortune of war” rather than his own inadequacy was characteristic.
43 JW blamed his illness on “the strong excitements produced by the important scenes in which I had been engaged”: Ibid., 1:321.
CHAPTER 5: BETRAYING GENERAL GATES
Necessarily JW’s private quarrel with Gates is told without corroboration. But his role in the betrayal of the Conway cabal was very public, fully documented in the George Washington Papers, and both the Journals of the Continental Congress and the Letters of Delegates to Congress.
44 “The standing corps which I have seen are disciplined�
�: John Burgoyne, A State of the Expedition from Canada (London, 1780).
44 “to Coax, to wheedle and even to Lye”: Schuyler to Washington, November 22, 1776, quoted in Randall, Benedict Arnold, Patriot and Traitor.
44 “We can allow a certain Citizen to be wise”: John Adams to Abigail Adams, October 26, 1777, AFP.
44 “From a well-regulated militia we have nothing to fear”: John Hancock, 1774, quoted in Kohn, Eagle and Sword.
45 “We want you in different places”: James Lovell to Gates, November 22, 1777, quoted in June Lloyd’s “BeWare of Your Board of War,” Pennsylvania Historical Society, Pennsylvania Legacies, November 2008.
45 “The northern army has shown us”: Benjamin Rush (anonymously) to Patrick Henry, January 12, 1778, Letters of Benjamin Rush, vol. 1, ed. L. H. Butterfield (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1951).