Pickett's History of Alabama - Chapter 33 - The Arrest of Aaron Burr in Alabama

====================================================================
     USGENWEB ARCHIVES NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing
         free information on the Internet, data may be used by
         non-commercial entities, as long as this message
         remains on all copied material. These electronic
         pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit
         or for presentation by other persons or organizations.

         Persons or organizations desiring to use this material
         for purposes other than stated above must obtain the
         written consent of the file contributor.

         The submitter has given permission to the USGenWeb Archives
         to store the file permanently for free access.

         This file was contributed for use in the USGenWeb
         Archives by:  William C. Bell  bell@comsats.net.pk

This file was originally donated to Carol Middleton's Among The Creeks
======================================================================

                 Albert James Pickett: HISTORY OF ALABAMA.
                  (Kindly contributed by William C. Bell)
       ______________________________________________________________
     
                              CHAPTER XXXIII.
                                      
                    THE ARREST OF AARON BURR IN ALABAMA.
                                      
   July 11 1804: Aaron Burr--a descendant of learned ancestry, a native
   of New Jersey, a graduate of Princeton, a whig colonel of the
   Revolution, a lawyer of ability, a leading member of the New York
   Legislature, a State's Attorney-General, a Senator of the United
   States, a Vice-President of the Union--at length found himself
   nominated by the republican party of New York as a candidate for the
   office of Governor of that State. Among his most formidable enemies
   was Alexander Hamilton, whom he not long after killed in a duel. Mar.
   4 1805: The tide of public opinion set strongly against him in
   consequence of this unfortunate affair, and he was swept into exile
   upon the seacoast of Carolina. He, however, returned to Washington,
   and presided over the Senate until the expiration of his term of
   office as Vice-President.
   
   A warrant for the killing of Hamilton, in the hands of the officers of
   justice, prevented Burr from returning to New York. He had likewise
   become unpopular with the friends of Jefferson, with whom he had been
   a close competitor for the Presidency. Of course he had no friends
   among the prominent federalists, against whom he had always acted.
   These things combined to make him long for brighter prospects in the
   Southwest. In 1805 he traveled through Kentucky and Tennessee,
   enjoying the society of Clay and Jackson, besides that of many other
   distinguished persons. From January until August of the following year
   his hours were passed in Washington and Philadelphia, consumed in
   revolving schemes, the consummation of which he believed would elevate
   him above his fallen condition.
   
   Burr had purchased a portion of the lands granted by the King of Spain
   to Baron Bastrop, which lay between the Sabine and Natchitoches. His
   designs appear to have been the colonization of these lands, the
   expulsion of the Spaniards, the conquest of Texas, and, ultimately, of
   Mexico. To effect these things it was necessary to raise a large armed
   force in the West. He believed, also, that a war would soon ensue
   between the United States and Spain, and he expected, in that event,
   to co-operate with General Wilkinson, who had charge of the Western
   and Southern army. Upon his death-bed Burr denied that he had any
   intention of dismembering the Union, and, as he had then arrived at
   the age of eighty, and outlived both his descendants and his
   reputation, it would seem that there was no inducement to conceal any
   act of his life.
   
   Summer 1806: Burr again made his appearance in the western country,
   where his plausibility captivated the people, who made active
   preparations to carry out his designs. Boats were constructed and
   stored with provisions and concealed arms. General Wilkinson was
   suspected of having countenanced his enterprise. Rumors had reached
   President Jefferson that Burr was raising troops for the purpose of
   dismembering the Union. Dec. 6 1806: He caused him to be arrested at
   Lexington, where Clay appeared in his defence. Burr was discharged,
   for the want of sufficient evidence to convict him. Then, descending
   the Cumberland river, and the Mississippi, with thirteen boats and
   sixty men, he was met, some miles above Natchez, by Colonel F. L.
   Claiborne, whom the Governor of the Mississippi Territory, influenced
   by the proclamations of Jefferson, had despatched, at the head of a
   detachment of two hundred and seventy-five men, for the purpose of
   arresting him. Jan. 1807: Burr surrendered his boats and men, and
   proceeded, with Claiborne, to the town of Washington, once more a
   prisoner of the United States. The people, generally, sympathized with
   him, and thought him much wronged. He was honored with balls and
   parties in Adams county. He found no difficulty in giving bonds, in
   the sum of ten thousand dollars, for his appearance at court. When it
   convened he appeared, with his counsel, and demanded a release from
   his bonds, as the Attorney-General stated that he was satisfied his
   offenses did not come within the jurisdiction of Mississippi, and
   insisted on his being sent to a competent tribunal. The motion of the
   Attorney-General was sustained, and Burr's application for a discharge
   was overruled by the Judges. The next morning the prisoner did not
   make his appearance in the court room, and it was soon ascertained
   that he had fled. A troop of cavalry was despatched in pursuit of him,
   while the governor distributed proclamations over the country, which
   promised a reward of two thousand dollars for his apprehension. His
   destination was unknown.
   
     During a cold night in February, two young men--Nicholas Perkins, a
     lawyer, and Thomas Malone, clerk of the court--were sitting in
     their cabin, in the village of Wakefield, Washington county,
     Alabama. Before them was a backgammon board, and they were absorbed
     in the playing of that game. The hour was ten o'clock. The distant
     tramp of horses arrested their attention Two travellers presently
     rode up to the door, one of whom inquired for the tavern. It was
     pointed out to him, and then he asked the road to Colonel Hinson's.
     Perkins informed him that the rout e lay over difficult paths, the
     place was seven miles distant, and a dangerous creek intervened.
     The fire, being replenished with pine, now threw a light in the
     face of the traveller who pronounced these questions. His
     countenance appeared to Perkins exceedingly interesting. His eyes
     sparkled like diamonds, while he sat upon his splendid horse,
     caparisoned with a fine saddle and new hilsters. His dres was that
     of a plain farmer, but beneath his coarse pantaloons protruded a
     pair of exquisitely shaped boots. His striking features, with the
     strange mixture of his apparel, arouised the suspicions of Perkins,
     and, no sooner had the two travelers ridden from the door, then he
     said to Malone, with the most earnest gesticulation, "That is Aaron
     Burr. I have read a description of him in the proclamation. I
     cannot be mistaken. Let us follow him to Hinson's, and take
     measures for his arrest." Malone declined to accompany him,
     remonsrtaing, at the same time, upon the folly of pursuing a
     traveler, at such a late hour of the night, and, upon the basis of
     the merest conjecture. Perkins now rushed to the cabin of Theodore
     Brightwell, the sheriff, and awoke him. Feb 18 1807: Presently
     these men were seen riding off with a rapid pace. The night was
     bitten cold, and the pine trees of the forest sadly moaned.
     
     The travelers strangely made their way to the residence of Hinson,
     where they arrived about half past eleven o'clock. The moon had
     just risen, and enabled the lady of the house, whose husband was
     absent, to see that they were travelers, by their saddle-bags and
     tin cups, as she timidly peered through a small window. She made no
     answer to their "halloo," but quetly closed the window. The
     strangers alighted and went into the kitchen, where a cheerful fire
     was yet burning. Perkins and the sheriff soon came in sight of the
     house. The former, recollecting that he had already been seen at
     Wakefield. thought it polite to remain in the woods, until
     Brightwell could go in the house, make the necessary discoveries,
     and return to him. Mrs. Hinson was a relative of the sheriff, and,
     recognizing his voice, felt relieved by his appearance from the
     fears she had felt in consequence of the strangers having come at
     such a late hour of the night. Brightwell repaired to the kitchen
     and discovered one of these men sitting by the fire, with his head
     down, while a handkerchief partially concealed his face. His
     companion had gone to the stable to assist a negro in taking care
     of the horses. It was not long before they went into the main
     building, where the hostess had hastily prepared supper. While the
     elder traveler was eating, he engaged her in a sprightly
     conversation, in which he often thanked her for her kindness. At
     the same time he cast the keenest glances at the sheriff, who stood
     before the fire, evidently with the endeavor to read his thoughts
     and intentions. After he had finished his supper he arose from the
     table, bowed to the lady, walked back to the kitchen and took his
     seat by the fire. Mrs. Hinson then turned to his companion, and
     said, "Have I not, sir, the honor of entertaining Colonel Burr, the
     gentleman who has just walked out?" He gave her no answer, but rose
     from the table, much embarrassed, and also repaired to the kitchen.
     Her question had been prompted by Brightwell. Feb 19 1807: In the
     morning, after breakfast, the elder traveler sought an interview
     with the lady, took occasion again to thank her for the hospitable
     attentions, regretted the absence of her husband, inquired the
     route to Pensacola, and rode off with his companion.
     
     Perkins remained at his post in the woods, shivering with cold, and
     wondering why Brightwell did not return to him. His patience at
     length became exhausted, and, believing the person he was pursuing
     to be really Burr, he mounted his horse, and rode rapidly to the
     house of Joseph Bates, Sr., at Nannahubba Bluff. Procuring from
     that gentleman a negro and a canoe, he paddled down the river, and
     arrived at Fort Stoddart at the breaking of day. Rushing into the
     fort, and acquainting Captain Edward P. Gaines with his suspicions,
     the latter made instant preparations to take the road. After a
     hasty breakfast, about the rising of the sun, Gaines, placing
     himself at the head of a file of mounted soldiers, rode off with
     Perkins. About nine o'clock that morning they met the two
     mysterious travelers, on the descent of a hill, near a wolf pen, at
     the distance of two miles from the residence of Hinson. The
     following conversation immediately ensued:
     
     Gaines--I presume, sir, I have the honor of addressing Colonel
     Burr.
     
     Stranger--I am a traveler in the country, and do not recognize your
     right to ask such a question.
     
     Gaines--I arrest you at the instance of the Federal Government.
     
     Stranger--By what authority do you arrest a traveler upon the
     highway, on his own private business?
     
     Gaines--I am an officer of the army. I hold in my hands the
     proclamations of the President and the Governor, directing your
     arrest.
     
     Stranger--You are a young man, and may not be aware of the
     responsibilities which result from arresting travelers.
     
     Gaines--I am aware of the responsibilities, but I know my duty.
     
     The stranger now became exceedingly animated, and with much
     eloquence and force denounced these proclamations as documents
     which had emanated in malevolent feeling, without any just
     foundation, and endeavored again to frighten the young officer from
     discharging his duty, by ingeniously animadverting upon the great
     liabilities which he was about to assume. But Gaines sternly
     replied, "My mind is made up. You must accompany me to Fort
     Stoddart, where you shall be treated with all the respect due the
     ex-Vice-President of the United States, so long as you make no
     attempt to escape from me." The stranger for a moment gazed at him
     with earnestness, apparently surprised at the unusual firmness
     which the young officer exhibited. He then assented, by a gentle
     motion of his head, wheeled his horse around, and took the road to
     the fort, riding by the side of the captain. His traveling
     companion rode back toward Wakefield with Brightwell, the sheriff,
     who was in company with the two travelers when they were met by
     Gaines.*
     
     * It remains a mystery to this day why Brightwell did not keep his
     promise with Perkins, and I can only account for it by supposing
     that he became fascinated with Colonel Burr, was sorry that he had
     sought to arrest him, and was now conducting him to Mrs. Carson's
     ferry, upon the Tombigby, on the route to Pensacola. Burr had seen
     Colonel Hinson at Natchez, who had invited him to his house should
     he ever pass that way. When he escaped from Natchez he was
     secreted, from time to time, at the houses of his friends, and he
     was hastening to Hinson's with whom he had intended to pass a week.
     But when he found him absent, and himself discovered by Brightwell,
     who probably informed him of the intentions of Perkins, he
     determined to fly to Pensacola, and there take a ship for Europe.
     He intended to enlist wealthy and influential persons, both in
     England and France, in the scheme of making the conquest of the
     North American Spanish posessions, now that he had so signally
     failed to accomplish it in the United States.
     
     The party reached the fort in the evening, and Colonel Burr, being
     conducted to his room, took his dinner alone. Late in the night, he
     heard a groan in an adjoining room. He arose from a table, at which
     he was reading, opened the door, entered the room, and approached
     the bedside of Geo. S. Gaines, the brother of the commandant, who
     was sick. He was kind to the sufferer, felt of his pulse, said he
     had traveled much and knew something of medicine, and offered his
     services. They now entered into an agreeable conversation. Burr
     asked the Choctaw factor many questions about the Indians and their
     commerce. The next day he appeared at the dinner table, and was
     introduced to the wife of the commandant, who was the daughter of
     Judge Harry Toulmin. In the evening, he played chess with that
     accomplished lady, and, during his confinement at the fort, was
     often her competitor in that intricate game. Every night he sought
     the company of the invalid, who became exceedingly attached to him,
     and who felt deep regret on account of the downfall of so
     interesting and so distinguished a character. Often and often did
     the good heart of George S. Gaines grieve over the adversities and
     trials of this remarkable man, as they discoursed together. In all
     their conversations, maintained every night, the impenetrable Burr
     never once alluded to the designs which he had failed to carry out,
     to his present arrest, or to his future plans.
     
     About the period of March 5 1807: In the meantime, Captain Gaines
     had been untiring in his exertions to fit out an expedition for the
     conveyance of his distinguished prisoner to the federal city. At
     length he placed Burr in a boat, along with a file of soldiers, and
     he was rowed up the Alabama river and then into Lake Tensaw.
     Passing some houses on the banks, several ladies wept upon seeing
     the ex-Vice-President a prisoner, and one of them named a son for
     him. Everywhere in the Southwest the ladies were attached to the
     man, and suffered their feelings to become enlisted in behalf of
     his unfortunate enterprises. It is a prominent and noble trait in
     the female character to admire a man of daring and generous
     impulses, and to pity and defend him in his adversities! *
     
     * Burr was not only popular with the ladies, but the most prominent
     men in the Southwest favored his enterprise, as they had long been
     anxious for the expulsion of the Spaniards.
     
     About the period of March 6 1807:Arriving at the Boat Yard, Burr
     disembarked and was delivered to the guard which was so long to be
     with him in dangers and fatigues. It consisted of Colonel Nicholas
     Perkins, of Tennessee, who had, as we have seen, been the cause of
     his arrest, Thomas Malone, formerly a clerk About the in the land
     office at Raleigh, North Carolina, but who, period of at this
     period, was a clerk of the court of Washington county, Alabama,
     Henry B. Slade, of North Carolina, John Mills, a native of Alabama,
     John Henry, of Tennessee, two brothers, named McCormack, of
     Kentucky, and two federal soldiers. With the exception of the two
     soldiers, Perkins had chosen these men on account of the confidence
     which he reposed in their honor, energy and fidelity. He had been
     placed over them by Captain Gaines, who entertained a high opinion
     of his bravery and capacity. Perkins took his men aside and
     obtained from them the most solemn pledge that they would not
     suffer the prisoner to influence them in any manner in his behalf;
     to avoid which, they promised to converse as little as possible
     with him upon the whole route to Washington. The character of Burr
     for making strong impressions in his favor upon the human mind was
     well known to Perkins.
     
     When the prisoner fled from the Natchez settlements he assumed a
     disguised dress. He was still attired in it. It consisted of coarse
     pantaloons, made of homespun of a copperas dye, and a roundabout of
     inferior drab cloth, while his hat was a flapping, wide-brimmed
     beaver, which had in times past been white, but now presented a
     variety of dingy colors. When the guard was ready to depart he
     mounted the same elegant hors which he rode when arrested. He
     bestrode him most gracefully flashed his large dark eyes upon the
     many bystanders, audibly bade them farewell, and departed.* Perkins
     and his men were well provided with large pistols, which they
     carried in holsters, while the two soldiers had muskets. They left
     the Boat Yard, a quarter of a mile from which the terrible massacre
     of Fort Mims afterwards occurred, and, pursuing the Indian path,
     encamped the first night in the lower part of the present county of
     Monroe. The only tent taken along was pitched for Burr, and under
     it he lay the first night by large fires, which threw a glare over
     the dismal woods. All night his ears were saluted with the fierce
     and disagreeable howling of wolves. In the wilds of Alabama, in a
     small tent, reposed this remarkable man, surrounded by a guard, and
     without a solitary friend or congenial spirit. He was a prisoner of
     the United States, for whose liberties he had fought; and an exile
     from New York, whose statutes and institutions bore the impress of
     his mind. Death had deprived him of his accomplished wife, his only
     child was on the distant coast of Carolina, his professional
     pursuits were abandoned, his fortune swept from him, the
     magnificent scheme of the conquest of Mexico defeated, and he was
     harassed from one end of the Union to the other. All these things
     were sufficient to weigh down an ordinary being and hurry him to
     the grave. Burr, however, was no common man. In the morning he rose
     with a cheerful face, and fell into traveling order, along with the
     taciturn and watchful persons who had charge of him.
     
     * Many persons who saw Burr in Alabama have told me that his eyes
     were peculiarly brilliant, and, to use the comparison of Malone,
     "they looked like stars."
     
     1807: Although guarded with vigilance, he was treated with respect
     and kindness, and his few wants were gratified. The trail, like all
     Indian highways, was narrow, which required the guard to march in
     single file, with Burr in the middle of the line. The route lay
     about eight miles south of the present city of Montgomery, then an
     Indian town called Econchate.* Passing by the residence of "Old
     Milly," who, as we have seen, lived upon the creek in Montgomery
     county, which still bears her name, Perkins employed her husband, a
     mulatto named Evans, to conduct the guard across Line Creek,
     Cubahatchee and Calabee, all of which they were forced to swim. It
     was a perilous and fatiguing march, and for days the rain descended
     in chilling torrents upon these unsheltered horsemen, collecting in
     deep and rapid rivulets at every point. Hundreds of Indians, too,
     thronged the trail, and the party might have been killed in one
     moment. But the fearless Perkins bore on his distinguished
     prisoner, amid angry elements and human foes. In the journey
     through Alabama the guard always slept in the woods, near swamps of
     reed, upon which the belled and hobbled horses fed during the
     night. After breakfast, it was their custom again to mount their
     horses and march on, with a silence which was sometimes broken by a
     remark about the weather, the creeks or the Indians. Burr sat
     firmly in the saddle, was always on the alert, and was a most
     excellent rider. Although drenched for hours with cold and clammy
     rain, and at night extended upon a thin pallet, on the bare ground,
     after having accomplished a ride of forty miles each day, yet, in
     the whole distance to Richmond, this remarkable man was never heard
     to complain that he was sick, or even fatigued. At the
     Chattahoochie was a crossing place, owned by an Indian named
     Marshall, where the effects of the expedition were carried over the
     river in canoes, by the sides of which the horses swam. In this
     manner they passed the Flint and Ockmulgee. Arriving at Fort
     Wilkinson, on the Oconee, Perkins entered the first ferry-boat
     which he had seen upon the whole route, and, a few miles beyond the
     river, was sheltered by the first roof--a house of entertainment,
     kept by one Bevin.
     
     * Econchate means Red Ground.
     
     March 1807: While breakfast was in a state of preparation, and the
     guard were quietly sitting before a large fire, the publican began
     a series of questions; and learning that the party were from the
     "Bigby settlement," he immediately fell upon the fruitful theme of
     "Aaron Burr, the traitor." He asked if he had not been arrested--if
     he was not a very bad man--and if every one was not afraid of him.
     Perkins and the rest of the guard, much annoyed and embarrassed,
     hung down their heads, and made no reply. Burr, who was sitting in
     a corner near the fire, majestically raised his head, and flashing
     his fiery eye upon Bevin, said:
     
     "I am Aaron Burr; what is it you want with me?"
     
     Struck with the keenness of his look, the solemnity of his voice,
     and the dignity of his manner, Bevin stood aghast, and trembled
     like a leaf. He asked not another question of the guard, but
     quietly moved about the house, offering the most obsequious
     attentions.
     
     When Perkins reached the confines of South Carolina, he watched the
     prisoner more closely than ever, for in this State lived Colonel
     Joseph Alston--a man of talents and influence, afterwards
     governor--who had married the only daughter, and, indeed, the only
     child of Burr. Afraid that the prisoner would be rescued at some
     point in this State, he exhorted his men to renewed vigilance.
     Before entering the town, in which is situated the Court House of
     Chester District, South Carolina, he made a halt, and placed two
     men in front of Burr, two behind, and two on either side of him. In
     this manner they passed near a tavern, at the Court House, where
     many persons were standing in front of the portico, while music and
     dancing were heard in the house. Seeing the collection of men so
     near him, Burr threw himself from his horse, and exclaimed in a
     loud voice, "I am Aaron Burr, under military arrest, and claim the
     protection of the civil authroities." Perkins, with several of the
     guard, immediately dismounted, and the former ordered the prisoner
     to remount. Burr, in a most defiant manner, said, "I will not!"
     Being unwilling to shoot him, Perkins threw down his pistols, both
     of which he held in his hands, and seizing Burr around the waist
     with the grasp of a tiger, threw him into his saddle. Thomas Malone
     caught the reins of the prison's horse, slipped them over his head,
     and led the animal rapidly on, while others whipped him up from
     behind. The astonished citizens saw a party enter their village
     with a prisoner, heard him appeal to them for protection in the
     most audible and imploring manner, saw armed men immediately
     surround him and thrust him again into his saddle, and then the
     whole party vanish from their presence, before they could recover
     from their confusion. The least timidity or hesitation on the part
     of Perkins would have lost him his prisoner, for the latter was
     still popular in South Carolina.
     
     Mar. 30 1807: Far in the outskirts of the town the party halted.
     Burr was in a high state of excitement, and burst into a flood of
     tears. The kind-hearted Malone also wept, at seeing the low
     condition to which this conspicuous man was now reduced. The bold
     attempt to escape, and the irresolution of the people to whom he
     appealed, suddenly unmanned him. Perkins held a short consultation
     with some of his men, and sending Burr on the route in charge of
     the guard, with Malone in command, he went back to the village, and
     purchasing a gig overtook the party before night. Burr was placed
     in this vehicle and driven by Malone, escorted by the guard.
     Without further incident they arrived at Fredericksburg, where
     despatches from Jefferson caused them to take Burr to Richmond. The
     ladies of the latter place vied with each other in contributing to
     the comforts of the distinguished ex-Vice-President, sending him
     fruit, wine, and a variety of fine apparel. Perkins and his men
     repaired to Washington, reported to the President, and returned to
     Alabama by the distant route of Tennessee.
     
     Aaron Burr was arraigned for treason, and was tried and acquitted.
     He was then arraigned for misdemeanor, and was tried and acquitted.
     Thus ended the most expensive and extraordinary trial known to the
     country. A part of the time that he was in Richmond the Federal
     Government caused him to be confined in the upper story of the
     penitentiary, where he was permitted to enjoy the company of his
     daughter.
     
     Sailing to Europe, Burr was at first treated with great distinction
     in England. The winter of 1809 found him in Edinburgh. Residing
     some time in Sweden and Germany, he at length arrived in France,
     where Bonaparte, influenced by letters from America, conceived a
     prejudice against him so immovable that he refused him passports to
     leave the country. At length the Duke de Bassano procured him the
     necessary documents, when he sailed for America, and arrived at New
     York on the 8th of June, 1812. Here he engaged again in the
     lucrative practice of the law, living in dignified obscurity, if
     such a position could be assigned to a man of his notoriety. He
     died at Staten Island, on the 11th of September, 1836, at the
     advanced age of eighty. His body, attended by his relations and
     friends, was taken to Princeton, New Jersey, and interred among the
     graves of his ancestors.
     
   With the private character of Burr, we conceive we have nothing to do,
   except to add that we believe him to have been a most profligate and
   licentious man. When the world put him down--when he received nothing
   but abuse and ingratitude from those who once sycophantically
   surrounded him, and whom he had helped to offices of honor and
   profit--when he was shunned by his old companions in arms, not invited
   into the society of the refined, but was pointed at, in walking
   Broadway, as the murderer and the traitor--he became disheartened and
   soured; and, being without those religious feelings which sustain the
   most unfortunate, he threw off every restraint, and gave a loose rein
   to sentiments always unprincipled, and to passions always strong.*
   
   * In relation to Burr's arrest in Alabama, and his journey through the
   wilderness, I conversed with Mr. Thomas Malone, one of his guard; with
   Mrs. Hinson, now Mrs. Sturdevant, at whose house Burr passed the night
   when he was discovered, with Mr. George S. Gaines. who was at Fort
   Stoddart when he was brought there; and with Mrs. Howse, who saw him
   when they were conducting him up Lake Tensaw. I also corresponded with
   Major-General Gaines, and have his testimony. All these witnesses are
   reputable, and as respectable as any persons in Alabama. On the
   subject of Burr's early life, and of his operations in the Western
   country, I consulted Memoirs of Aaron Burr, by M. L. Davis, the
   various American State Papers, Clarke's Proofs of the Corruption of
   Wilkinson; Memoirs of Wilkinson, by himself; Familiar Letters upon
   Public Characters, and many other works.
   
   One of the gravest facts proved against Burr, at his trial at
   Richmond, upon the evidence of General Wilkinson, was that the
   prisoner, in a letter written to him in cipher, "avowed his design of
   seizing upon Baton Rouge, as a preliminary measure, and, afterwards,
   extending his conquests into the Spanish provinces." Admitting this to
   be true, it did not prove that he intended to dismember the Union. Our
   readers have already seen that the Federal Government, and the people
   of the Southwest, desired the expulsion of the Spaniards from the
   Baton Rouge district, which was a part of the purchase from Napoleon,
   when he sold us Louisiana; and hereafter, it will be seen that these
   Spaniards were driven from the Baton Rouge district only three years
   after Burr's trial, when the governor of it, Colonel Grandpre, was
   killed. In the citizens of the Southwest, who accomplished this end,
   it was not held to be treason--but Burr, for merely contemplating it,
   was tried for that crime. It was not considered treason, when
   President Jackson allowed hundreds of people of the Southwest to be
   shipped from Mobile and New Orleans, with arms in their hands, who
   presently landed upon the coast of Texas, and took that country from
   the Spaniards--but, for similar designs, Aaron Burr was hunted down,
   thrown into prison, and tried for treason. The impartial reader must
   arrive at the conclusion that the faults of Burr, in a political and
   public capacity, were not such as ought really to have placed that
   odium upon him which still attaches to his name. One of the great
   secrets of his political misfortunes lay in the prejudices and
   malevolence of politicians and fanatics. Somebody heard General
   Washington say that "Burr was a dangerous man;" thereupon the world
   set him down as a "dangerous man." He killed Hamilton in a duel,
   because Hamilton abused him; thereupon the world said he was a
   "murderer. " He was a formidable rival of Jefferson in the contest for
   the Presidency; thereupon a majority of the republican party said he
   was a political scoundrel. He had always opposed the federal party;
   for that reason the federal party hated him with exceeding bitterness.
   A blundering, extravagant man, named Herman Blannerhassett, sought
   Burr while he was in the West, eagerly enlisted in his schemes, and
   invited him to his house; thereupon William Wirt said, in his
   prosecuting speech, that Burr "was the serpent who entered the garden
   of Eden."
   
   We do not wish to be considered as the defender of Aaron Burr. We do
   not admire his character, or that of many of his distinguished
   contemporaries who assailed him. But, as a historian, we are expected
   to write the truth, even if that truth is unpalatable to the
   prejudices of the age.
     _________________________________________________________________