16. See letter in the National Intelligencer, Jan. 16, 1807.
17. See John Ross to Peter Ross, Jan. 18, 1807, in Special Collections, University of Virginia Libraries, Charlottesville, Va.
18. For the transformation of Burr’s reputation to “rascal, villain, thief and highway robber,” see “Extract of the Letter from West Chester (K[entucky]),” dated Jan. 8, 1807, in National Intelligencer, Feb. 2, 1807; see also “Armistice,” American Citizen, Jan. 27, 1807.
19. For the publication of Burr’s letter to Cowles Mead, see National Intelligencer, Mar. 6, 1807; and American Citizen, Mar. 12, 1807; see also criticism of Wilkinson (“military despotism in New Orleans”) in the Mississippi Messenger, Jan. 20, 1807, reprinted in Third Annual Report of the Directors of the Department of Archives and History of the State of Mississippi, 99.
20. See “Edward Livingston’s Address to the Public,” New Orleans, Dec. 30, in National Intelligencer, Feb. 9 and 13, 1807; John Smith’s deposition, taken in Chillicothe, Ohio, Feb. 12, in the National Intelligencer, Feb. 27, 1807. For John Adair, see report on his letter from Wilkinson, inviting him to come to New Orleans and join Adair in the conquest of the Spanish territories; and for his criticism of Wilkinson, which he prepared on Mar. 1, 1807, see National Intelligencer, Feb. 23, Mar. 4, 1807; see also McCaleb, The Aaron Burr Conspiracy, 249–50.
21. Abernethy, Burr Conspiracy, 196.
22. Bradley Chapin, The American Law of Treason: Revolutionary and Early National Origins (Seattle, 1964), 101–03.
23. See proceedings of the House of Representatives, Feb. 18, in Washington Federalist, Feb. 21, 1807.
24. For Eaton’s first account of Burr’s conspiracy, see American Citizen, Dec. 5, 1806, and National Intelligencer, Dec. 5, 1806, both reprinted from the Boston Repertory. For articles contending that Eaton’s disclosure made it “impossible not to believe Burr’s guilt,” see National Intelligencer, Jan. 23, Mar. 13, 1807, American Citizen, Jan. 24, Mar. 19, Morning Chronicle, Mar. 21, 1807, and a defense of Eaton in the Washington Federalist, Feb. 28, 1807. For the publication of Eaton’s deposition from the Bollman and Swartwout trial, see Washington Federalist, Jan. 31, Feb. 4, 1807; see also Matthew Livingston Davis to William Van Ness, Feb. 11, 1807, in Miscellaneous Manuscripts, Matthew Livingston Davis, New-York Historical Society, New York, N.Y.
25. For Jefferson’s “Message” and the accompanying documents, see National Intelligencer, Jan. 23, Jan. 28, 1807; broadside, “Message of the President of the United States, Containing a Development of the Conspiracy,” Jan. 28, 1807 (Washington City), in Special Collections, University Virginia Library, Charlottesville, Va.; and John Adams to Benjamin Rush, Feb. 2, 1807, in Schultz and Adair, eds., The Spur of Fame, 76.
26. See Thomas Jefferson to Governor Edward Tiffin, Feb. 2, 1807, and Thomas Jefferson to General James Wilkinson, Feb. 3, 1807, in Lipscomb and Bergh, eds., The Writings of Thomas Jefferson, XI: 146–50.
27. See Thomas Jefferson to William B. Giles, Apr. 20, 1807, and Thomas Jefferson to George Hay, May 26, Aug. 20, 1807, in ibid., XI: 188, 209, 341.
28. See “Thomas Jefferson: Memorandum of a Conversation with Burr [Apr. 15, 1806],” in Kline, ed., Burr Papers, II: 962.
29. See The Examination of Col. Aaron Burr, 3; “John Wickham (1763–1839),” in Richmond Portraits: In an Exhibition of Makers of Richmond, 1737–1860 (Richmond, Va., 1949), 206–07; Ruth Doumlele, “Treasonable Doubt: Aaron Burr on Trial,” Richmond, Mar. 1995; and Mary Newton Standard, Richmond: Its People and Its Story (Philadelphia, 1923), 98.
30. The Examination of Col. Aaron Burr, 3–5.
31. Ibid., 6–7.
32. See “The Deposition of William Eaton,” Washington Federalist, Jan. 31, 1807; also The Life of the Late Gen. William Eaton (Brookfield, Mass., 1813), 397–98.
33. The Life of the Late Gen. William Eaton, 399.
34. “The Deposition of William Eaton, Esq. (concluded),” Washington Federalist, Feb. 4, 1807; The Life of the Late Gen. William Eaton, 401–03.
35. The Examination of Col. Aaron Burr, 15; Brown, ed., William Plumer’s Memorandum, 542; American Citizen, Dec. 5, 1806.
36. See Edwards, Barbary General, 100, 175–80, 224, 231, 238–49.
37. See William Eaton to Stephen Bradley, Mar. 18, 1808 and Eaton to Bradley [1808], in Papers of William Eaton, 1764–1811, Huntington Library, Pasadena, Calif. See also The Life of the Late Gen. William Eaton, 53–54; Edwards, Barbary General, 54–56.
38. Eaton persisted in believing that Burr’s conspiracy was gaining momentum in the winter of 1806–07, when the president and others in Washington felt it was “blasted.” Here, again, is another indication of his tendency to misconstrue the facts and exaggerate his own importance in saving the country—see William Eaton to Amos A. Brewster, Feb. 5, 1807, in the Papers of William Eaton. And for Eaton’s obsession with honor, accusations of his disordered fancy, and his drinking and gambling problems, see The Life of the Late Gen. William Eaton, 44, 46, 229, 408–10, 428; and Edwards, Barbary General, 254. Reports of Eaton’s drunkenness circulated in December 1806. John Quincy Adams showed a letter from his wife in Boston, noting that Eaton “was frequently in a state of intoxication—that the better sort of people avoided him.” See Brown, ed., William Plumer’s Memorandum, 542, 550; for a similar view of Burr’s known discretion, see National Intelligencer, Dec. 5, 1805.
39. The Examination of Col. Aaron Burr, 6–8.
40. Ibid., 9–10.
41. Ibid., 12–13.
42. Ibid., 13–14.
43. Ibid., 14–15.
44. Ibid., 17, 20.
45. Ibid., 23.
46. Ibid.
47. Ibid., 24.
48. Ibid., 24–28.
49. See notice of death of Mrs. Rebecca Hay, wife of George Hay, on Mar. 21, in Richmond Inquirer, Mar. 24, 1807.
50. The Examination of Col. Aaron Burr, 32.
51. Ibid., 33–34.
52. Ibid., 34–35.
53. Ibid., 35.
54. Ibid., 38.
55. See Thomas Jefferson to James Bowdoin, Apr. 2, 1807, Thomas Jefferson to William B. Giles, Apr. 20, 1807, and Thomas Jefferson to W. C. C. Claiborne, Feb. 3, 1807, in Lipscomb and Bergh, eds., The Writings of Thomas Jefferson, XI: 151, 186–87.
56. See Thomas Jefferson to James Bowdoin, Apr. 2, 1807, and Thomas Jefferson to William B. Giles, Apr. 20, 1807, in ibid., XI: 186–87; Malone, Jefferson the President: The Second Term, 80–81, 86–88; and Brown, Agents of Manifest Destiny, 3–5. Though Burr and Miranda never worked together, they did share some of the same backers, such as John Swartwout of New York. Burr went out of his way to make sure that he had no connection with Miranda; he later denied having any ill feelings for him, but it is clear that Miranda disliked Burr. Even so, Burr made no attempt to befriend the rival filibusterer. See AB to Jeremy Bentham, Oct. 16, 1811, in Kline, ed, Burr Papers, II: 948, 1134–35.
57. Andrew Burstein, Jefferson’s Secrets: Death and Desire at Monticello (New York, 2005), 212–13, 216–17.
58. Thomas Jefferson to William B. Giles, Apr. 20, 1807, in Lipscomb and Bergh, eds., The Writings of Thomas Jefferson, IX: 188–90; for the dinner, see the Richmond Enquirer, Apr. 10, 28, 1807.
59. Thomas Jefferson to William B. Giles, Apr. 20, 1807, in Lipscomb and Bergh, eds., The Writings of Thomas Jefferson, IX: 190–91.
60. Albert J. Beveridge, The Life of John Marshall, 3 vols. (Boston, 1919), III: 390–93.
61. AB to Theodosia Alston, May 15, 1807, in Davis, ed., Memoirs of Aaron Burr, II: 406.
62. Paul S. Clarkson and R. Samuel Jett, Luther Martin of Maryland (Baltimore, 1970), 246–47; Thomas Jefferson to George Hay, June 19, 1807, in Lipscomb and Bergh, eds., The Writings of Thomas Jefferson, XI: 235.
63. “Alexander McRae (1765–1840),” in Richmond Portraits, 113. On Wirt, see Andrew Burstein, America’s
Jubilee, 34–37; William Wirt, Letters of the British Spy (Richmond, 1832; Chapel Hill, N.C., 1970), 135, 142, 183; and John Kennedy, Memoirs of the Life of William Wirt (Philadelphia, 1850), 140; and Fillmore Norfleet, Saint-Mémin in Virginia: Portraits and Biographies (Richmond, Va., 1943), 38, 135.
64. David Robertson, Report of the Trials of Colonel Aaron Burr, 2 vols. (Philadelphia, 1808; New York, 1969), I: 31–43; and Burr to Theodosia Burr Alston, May 15, 1807, in Davis, ed., Memoirs of Aaron Burr, II: 405.
65. For the political composition of the jury, see AB to Theodosia Burr Alston, May 15, 1807, in Davis, ed., Memoirs of Aaron Burr, II: 405.
66. AB to Theodosia Burr Alston, Apr. 26, 1807, in ibid.; Robertson, Report of the Trials of Colonel Aaron Burr, I: 46–47.
67. For Wickham throwing the affidavit, see “Statement of Miles Seloen,” James Wickham Papers, Special Collections, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Va.; Robertson, Report of the Trials of Colonel Aaron Burr, I: 50–66. There were even bets taken on whether Burr would abscond; see Washington Irving to James K. Paulding, June 22, 1807, in Pierre M. Irving, The Life and Letters of Washington Irving (New York, 1862), I: 194.
68. Robertson, Report of the Trials of Colonel Aaron Burr, I: 67, 69–76.
69. Ibid., I: 58–62.
70. Ibid., I: 77–78.
71. Ibid., I: 78.
72. AB to Theodosia Burr Alston, June 3, 1807, in Davis, ed., Memoirs of Aaron Burr, II: 406; Robertson, Report of the Trials of Colonel Aaron Burr, I: 111.
73. Robertson, Report of the Trials of Colonel Aaron Burr, I: 115–16, 119, 122.
74. Ibid., I: 128.
75. Ibid., I: 128–129.
76. Ibid., I: 138–39, 144.
77. Ibid., I: 146.
78. Ibid.
79. Ibid., I: 155–57, 159–60.
80. Ibid., I: 169–70.
81. Ibid., I: 177–89; Thomas Jefferson to George Hay, June 19, 1807, in Lipscomb and Bergh, eds., The Writings of Thomas Jefferson, XI: 235–36; Simon, What a Nation, 242.
82. AB to Theodosia Burr Alston, June 18, 1807, in Davis, ed., Memoirs of Aaron Burr, I: 406–07; Robertson, Report of the Trials of Colonel Aaron Burr, I: 190.
83. Malone, Jefferson the President: The Second Term, 269–271; Abernethy, Burr Conspiracy, 196; Thomas Jefferson to George Hay, May 20, 1807, in Lipscomb and Bergh, eds., The Writings of Thomas Jefferson, XI: 205. For Bollman’s later statement to the newspapers, see National Intelligencer, July 22, 1807.
84. AB to Theodosia Burr Alston, June 18, 1807, in Davis, ed., Memoirs of Aaron Burr, II: 407; Robertson, Report of the Trials of Colonel Aaron Burr, I: 190–91, 193.
85. Robertson, Report of the Trials of Colonel Aaron Burr, I, 196.
86. Jacobs, Tarnished Warrior, 213; AB to Theodosia Burr Alston, June 18, 1807, in Davis, ed., Memoirs of Aaron Burr, II: 406; Beveridge, John Marshall, III: 456.
87. James Wilkinson to Thomas Jefferson, June 17, 1807, in The Papers of Thomas Jefferson, Library of Congress.
88. Washington Irving to James Paulding, June 22, 1807, in Irving, ed., The Life and Letters of Washington Irving, I: 194–95.
89. On Brummell, see Ellen Moers, The Dandy: Brummell to Beerholm (London, 1960), 17–19; on the “effortless effort,” see Anne Hollander, Sex and Suits (New York, 1994), 92, 100; and see Rhonda K. Garelick, Rising Star: Dandyism, Gender, and Performance in the Fin de Siècle (Princeton, N. J., 1998), 6, 19, 21.
90. John Randolph to Joseph H. Nicholson, June 25, 1807, in McColley, ed., John Randolph, 147; Abernethy, Burr Conspiracy, 239; and Kline, ed., Burr Papers, II: 1036–37. Rumors circulated that Wilkinson was almost indicted for treason, but a juryman who wrote to the Virginia Gazette claimed that he was almost indicted for misprision of treason. See the National Intelligencer, Aug. 3, 1807.
91. John Randolph to Joseph H. Nicholson, June 25, 1807, in McColley, ed., John Randolph, 147.
92. Abernethy, Burr Conspiracy, 240; Beveridge, John Marshall, III: 458, 462, 465.
93. Robertson, Report of the Trials of Colonel Aaron Burr, I: 306, 330.
94. See ibid., I: 83, 85, 311, 351–52. For the original indictment, see Aaron Burr Papers, Miscellaneous Manuscripts Collection, Library of Congress; and AB to Theodosia Burr Alston, June 24, 1807, in Davis, ed., Memoirs of Aaron Burr, II: 408.
95. Robertson, Report of the Trials of Colonel Aaron Burr, I: 312, 351.
96. Ibid., I: 357–59; Abernethy, Burr Conspiracy, 242; AB to Theodosia Burr Alston, June 30, 1807, in Davis, ed., Memoirs of Aaron Burr, II: 409. For Wirt’s mother-in-law, see “Mrs. Robert Gamble,” in Richmond Portraits, 74–75; Washington Irving to Miss Mary Fairlie, July 7, 1807, in Irving, The Life and Letters of Washington Irving, I: 201–02; Fitch, ed., Breaking with Burr, 22; and article reprinted from the Aurora in the National Intelligencer, July 22, 1807.
97. See Andrew Jackson to William Preston Anderson, June 16, 1807, and Andrew Jackson to Daniel Smith, Nov. 28, 1807, in Moser et al., eds., The Papers of Andrew Jackson, II: 164–65, 176; and George Hay to Thomas Jefferson, June 14, 1807, in The Papers of Thomas Jefferson, Library of Congress.
98. For the rumors of Wilkinson stealing Swartwout’s watch—a story Swartwout himself circulated—see William Allen [Jr.] to William Allen, Mar. 9, 1807, in “Letters of William Henry Allen, 1800–1813,” Huntington Quarterly I (Jan. 1938): 204–05. And for his published insults, see the American Citizen, Oct. 30, 1807; Fitch, ed., Breaking with Burr, 169; and Abernethy, Burr Conspiracy, 243.
99. For Alston’s letter to the governor, see National Intelligencer, Feb. 25, 1807, and his pamphlet, A Short Review of the Late Proceedings at New Orleans; and some remarks upon the bill for the suspension of Habeas Corpus, which passed the Senate of the United States, during the last session of Congress; in two letters to the Printer. By Agrestis (S.C., 1807); and see Schachner, Aaron Burr, 426.
100. Robertson, Report of the Trials of Colonel Aaron Burr, I: 361–62, 382, 397, 420–23.
101. Ibid., I: 430, 436–40.
102. Ibid., 447–49.
103. Ibid., 447–48.
104. Ibid., I: 449–50; and see “The Examination of Col. Aaron Burr,” 6, and Brown, Manhood and Politics, 80, 88.
105. Robertson, Report of the Trials of Colonel Aaron Burr, I: 452, 454, 462.
106. Ibid., I: 472.
107. Ibid., I: 474–76, 482–83.
108. Fitch, ed., Breaking with Burr, 14; and Edwards, Barbary General, 254–55.
109. See Suzanne B. Geissler, “The Commodore Goes to Court,” Naval History 11 (1997): 32–35; AB to Charles Biddle, Apr. 18, 1807, in Kline, ed., Burr Papers, II: 1030–31.
110. Robertson, Report of the Trials of Colonel Aaron Burr, I: 486–89. Truxton’s views were known before the treason trial, appearing in a published excerpt of a letter from Truxton to Burr’s son-in-law, Joseph Alston; see National Intelligencer, Apr. 15, 1807.
111. Robertson, Report of the Trials of Colonel Aaron Burr, I: 486, 488–91.
112. Ibid., I: 492–94.
113. Ibid., I: 494–95.
114. William H. Sanford, ed., The Blennerhassett Papers, embodying the Private Journal of Harman Blennerhassett, and the hitherto unpublished correspondence of Burr, Alston, Comfort Tyler, Devereaux, Dayton, Adair, Miro, Emmett, Theodosia Burr Alston, Mrs. Blennerhassett, and others, their contemporaries; developing the purposes and aims of those engaged in the attempted Wilkinson and Burr Revolution; embracing also the first account of the “Spanish Association of Kentucky,” and Memoir of Blennerhassett. (Cincinnati, 1891), 252; Theodosia Burr Alston to AB, Dec. 5, 1808, in Van Doren, ed., Correspondence of Aaron Burr and his Daughter Theodosia, 270.
115. Robertson, Report of the Trials of Colonel Aaron Burr, I: 372; Sanford, ed., The Blennerhassett Papers, 317, 323; and see The Amorous Intrigues and Adventures of Aaron Burr (New York, 1861), 99.
116. The militia did more than destroy property; they demanded that the black servants wait on them. Margaret and her children, who were still in the house, described the uncouth militiamen as transforming themselves into lords and masters. See William H. Sanford, The Life of Harman Blennerhassett (Cincinnati, 1850), 46–47; and Swick, An Island Called Eden, 22–23, 25, 28, 41, 43. That the attack on the island was seen as a class war was echoed by members of Burr’s expedition. Silas Brown, who was one of Burr’s recruits, explained that—on the night of Dec. 10—the men did “not flee from the hand of Justice, but to escape the hands of the infamous Ruffians, Kenhaway Mobs and Robbers.” He further stated that since the “Kanahawa [sic] Militia and Wood County Mobs were to be at the Island early the next morning for the purpose of exhibiting their True Patriotism and taking us with force and arms—it was thought expedient to be out of their way, and, if possible, not to engage in any contest with such a low, mean set of beings.” See Silas Brown to his Cousin, Mar. 7, 1807, and Silas Brown to Ephraim Brown, Oct. 26, 1807, in The Aaron Burr Expedition: Letters to Ephraim Brown from Silas Brown, 1805–1815 (Mansfield, Ohio, 19__), 7, 20.
117. Robertson, Report of the Trials of Colonel Aaron Burr, I: 497–98, 501–03, 505; see also Eaton’s deposition, in Prentiss, The Life of the Late Gen. William Eaton, 399. This also explains why prosecutor Hay was upset when Eaton omitted from his testimony the account of overthrowing the government in Washington. He wanted the jurors to see the similarity between Eaton’s and the Morgans’ testimony. Wirt later asserted that the Morgans’ testimony confirmed Eaton’s—see Robertson, Report of the Trials of Colonel Aaron Burr, I: 476, II: 58.
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