which actually converted Kentucky tobacco into Mexican dollars, they could not conceal their curiosity, their astonishment, perhaps their envy; and, as was natural enough, the less they were able to explain the magic, the more they yielded to conjectures, dishonourable to the magician. The popular belief on this subject, was, that Wilkinson had sold himself to Spain, and was particularly engaged in the project of severing the Western country from the Union.a But being then a mere trader in politics, as well as in tobacco; sustaining no public character, and professing the intention of eventually making himself a Spanish subject, his supposed defection was not seriously regarded.c It has been remarked, that men, brought up to any trade or profession, are apt to carry with them, ideas connected with that particular walk. Our hero accordingly delighted in surprises, and in drawing forth by turns the admiration and the pity of society. He had on this occasion, as we have seen, excited the former in a high degree, and the moment had now arrived, in which, full effect might be given to the latter; for, in the midst of these golden dreams, he became a bankrupt !d and discovering, that his talents were not commercial, resumed the sword of his country, and publicly abjured all farther connexion with trade and with Miro. Nor would the sincerity of this declaration have been doubted, by either friends or enemies, had it not been pointedly and repeatedly contradicted by appearances. These were such, that in 1795, Wayne, (then commander in chief of the Legion,) suspected his integrity;e in 1796, Washington instituted a secret inquiry into his conduct; and in 1798, so general was the belief of his being a pensioner of Spain, that "scarcely a man arrived from the Mississippi, who did not bring the report along with him." Yet, extraordinary as it may appear, it was ten years after this date, before a public inquiry of any kind, was instituted by the Government;h and thirteen years, before the charges growing out of this belief, were formally investigated by a Military court. The pressure upon Mr. Madison, could not, however, a See a pamphlet of I. H. Davies, Esq. Attorney General of Kentucky, and his correspondence with Mr. Jefferson. "I find," says he, "that in the conven"tion of 1788, at Danville, he [Wilkinson] rose and proposed a separation and "union with Spain, to that body; he was supported by- -the senator, but "the proposition was so badly received, that it was dropped." b Vol. II. p. 112. c Idem. And letter to Mr. Jefferson, of the 29th March, 1806. d His creditors heard nothing of the damaged tobacco, which he had stored in New-Orleans in 1789 or 1790, and which covered so many subsequent remittances, made to him by the Spanish Government. e See Appendix No. 29. Vol. II. g President Adams's letter, Vol. II. p. 154. f Idem No. 28. h Court of Inquiry, reported 4th July, 1808. i Court Martial sat in 1811. a be longer resisted; he was obliged to yield to the impulse of public opinion: a Court Martial was accordingly organized, and our immaculate author brought to the bar, on charges of corruption, conspiracy and treason! We shall take a look at each, and examine particularly the evidence by which the General rebuts them. Of Corruption.-On the part of the prosecution it was alleged, that the General had received sundry large sums of money from the Spanish Government, corruptly, between the months of December 1789 and December 1803, making a total of $31,973. On the part of the accused, it was admitted, that he had received from the Spanish Government, before and during the year 1789, more than $80,000, and subsequently, other large sums: but this he justified on the ground of his having a right so to do;-these payments being, as he said, the proceeds of a quantity of tobacco brought to New-Orleans, and stored there before he re-entered the army. In support of this justification, he exhibits an account current between himself and Governor Miro, dated in the year 1796, and signed "Gilbert Leonard;" by which it appears, that all the money paid to Wilkinson after December 1791, arose from the sale of damaged tobacco to the Spanish Governor. Now, as this tobacco turns out to be a sort of miraculous cruise, ever ready to supply the General's wants when they became pressing, we must be permitted to inspect it, or rather the account with which it is connected, pretty closely. We ask then, are the parties such as give it a character of authenticity—and is it from Miro and Wilkinson, and their disciplined agents Nolan and Leonard, that we are to expect a full and faithful exposition of transactions, requiring the double veil of cyphers and hieroglyphics? Have we even sufficient evidence of its genuineness? Is it really what it purports to be,-the work of this Gilbert Leonard? Is it in his handwriting? No: Has he signed it? No: Does it profess to be any thing more than the copy of an account current rendered by him? No: And in whose handwriting is this copy? In that of the protegé Nolan; and how is even his handwriting certified? By one Evans, before a magistrate of the name of Brooks, whose signature, residence and authority are not authenticated at all!b These facts certainly go far to discredit this extraordinary document, on which the General substantially rests his whole defence; but there are others, which, combined with these, leave it not the shadow of credibility. 1st. While the General was under examination before a committee of Congress, no one heard a syllable of this account current. It had survived the wreck of his papers in 1793, but was a See the sentence of the Court Martial, Vol. II. p. 566. b See Vol. II. p. 119. "too important to his defence," to be trusted to that body! Important indeed we allow it to be, for on examining the subsequent uses made of it, we find it figuring before two military courts, for very different and even opposite purposes: In 1808, he offers it to the Court of Inquiry, as proof that the damaged tobacco in question, was deposited in New-Orleans in 1789; and it does satisfy the court on that head: but Clark's pamphlet appearing the next year, and cutting up this pretence by the roots, and showing from the commercial books of Clark and Rees, (partners of Wilkinson,) that, on the 5th day of September 1789, he had not one ounce of tobacco, good or bad, in the market of New-Orleans; and by his own letters, that his next remittances in that article, were not made before June 1790, our author saw the necessity of manoeuvering his dates, and accommodating them to this new state of things, and hence it was, that this very account-current, three years afterwards, was again brought forward to satisfy the Court Martial, that his damaged tobacco was deposited, not in '89, but in 1790! Now, had this important account-current been genuine, had it really been in the handwriting of the deceased Nolan, made in 1796, and unaltered in words, figures, &c. it is evident, that it could not have been so twisted, as at different times, and before different courts, to have established positions, directly contradicting each other. The conclusion is inevitable;-either, the account was false, ab initio; or, to suit all the phases of the General's fortunes, it was so changed, as entirely to destroy its credibility. 2d. Still, this extraordinary document was not without its use. It served the important purpose of fixing the day, when the last cent of the General's miraculous fund, according to his own acknowledgment, was exhausted, and of course, foreclosed him from ever again drawing upon it. Yet, reader, hear the testimonynot of Daniel Clark-not of Thomas Power-not of Seth Hunt, &c. but of Isaac Briggs;-the only man in the Mississippi Territory, whom the General thought worthy of trust.a It is in the following memorable words;-"But General," says Briggs-on meeting him in 1806-"what about the Spanish money? I have "heard that thou receivedst, previous to thy departure from New"Orleans, in the Spring of 1804, from Spanish officers, about "$10,000 of a late Mexican coinage, in Campeachy bags." "It is "a fact," replied the General "I did receive about that sum, of a "late Mexican coinage, in Campeachy bags, and from Spanish "officers and what then? It was due to me on account of former "mercantile contracts." "b So then-another touch at the tobacco; -a little more of the Spanish; and, to cover it, the old story of a See Appendix, document 100. Vol. II. b See document 59. Vol. II. former contracts-Nolan's account-current, notwithstanding! And how does the General escape the force of this testimony? Does he attempt, according to his usual method, to discredit the witness? No. Does he sturdily deny the alleged acknowledgment? No: even his impudence fails him on this occasion; he admits, that the statement is substantially true, but hints, that it was all a joke-a mere quiz upon the Quaker!a Well might the Court Martial find the evidence such as tended to excite unfavourable suspicions of his views, in his connexion with the Spanish authorities! Well might the General himself exclaim, that the odium thus excited, would descend with him to the grave! Of Conspiracy and Treason.-Some men possess, in an eminent degree, the art of making "the worse appear the better reason;" but by what obliquity of mind, of conduct, or of character is it, that in the General, this quality is reversed, and that the best things, under his management, become suspected? What more sacred, than the rights of the West? Yet mark, how at his touch, they wither and taint. The trade of a whole people, becomes a subject of barter! the boon he solicits for them, is turned into a job for himself! A firkin of butter cannot find its way to market, but by a passport from him, and-what would excite laughter, if it did not awaken suspicion-the invoice of this slippery cargo, is the subject of a despatch to the Spanish Governor, and is written in cyphers! Again: the universal consent of mankind, bestows upon him, who by defeating treason, has served, perhaps saved his country, the highest honours of the Commonwealth. To these, Gen. Wilkinson thinks himself justly entitled, and often and loudly proclaims his own merit;-but why is it, that in him, these high pretensions never fail to excite a smile or a sneer? Because his conduct on that occasion, induced a very general belief of a double treason; that he first listened to the tempter, and conspired against his country;-that he ultimately weighed the danger, and betrayed his friend and associate. Let us trace the causes of these humiliating effects. The friendship between Burr and Wilkinson was kindled during the war of the revolution, amidst scenes of suffering, of danger, and of glory, and was continued, perhaps increased, (but in ordinary forms,) until the winter of 1800; when becoming more extended, serious and intimate, a cypher was devised to give security to its communications; and-to make assurance doubly sure-a few hieroglyphics were superadded. Having passed the winter of 1804 together at Washington, they parted in the spring, to meet again and soon, on the great theatre of the West. At the rapids of the Ohio, our author recollected, that it was a See document 59. Vol. II. 66 66 16 the wish of his friend, to be known to Gen. Adair of Kentucky; and a letter to that gentleman was accordingly written: "I was "to have introduced," he says, " my friend Burr to you, but in this I "failed, by accident. He understands your merits, and reckons on you. Prepare to visit me, and I will tell you all. We must "have a peep at the unknown world beyond me."a Eight days afterwards the friends met at Fort Massac. The Colonel had great locomotive faculties, and had already traversed Kentucky and Tennessee, and was now literally on the wing for New-Orleans, the principal avenue to that unknown world at which the General was so eager to have a peep. A letter to Daniel Clark, (then an intimate friend of the Gen.) might be useful, and was given. "This will be delivered to you by Col. Burr, whose worth you "well know how to estimate. If the persecutions of a great and "honourable man can give title to generous attention, he has "claims to all your civilities and all your services. You cannot oblige me more than by such conduct; and I pledge my life to you, it will not be misapplied. To him I refer you for many things improper to letter, and which he will not say to any other." What Burr communicated at New-Orleans is not told, but about the middle of September, we find him at St. Louis, communicating so freely to the General himself, as apparently to awaken his sense of duty. I feared,' he says, that ambition and revenge were leading him astray.' And what, under this solemn impression, was the conduct of the commander of the army and the Governor of the Province? A curious one, truly. To a member of the cabinet, he denounces Burr 'as about something, whether external ' or internal, he could not discover; but thinks they ought to keep 'an eye upon him;' while to Gen. Harrison, he recommends him warmly, as the representative of the Indiana Territory, in ConIf you ask what is the important boon which I so earnestly crave? I will say to you, return the bearer to the councils "of our country; where his talents and abilities are all important, "at the present moment. But how is this to be done? By your "fiat-let Mr. Parke adhere to his profession; convene your "Solomons, and let them return him [Col. Burr] to Congress.' gress. 66 We pause for a moment, to consider the character of these three extraordinary letters. They are all strongly marked by the General's characteristical love of mystery. In that to Adair, he says - Burr knows your merit and reckons upon you. Meet me and 'you shall know all. We must have a peep at the unknown world.' Burr's project could not have been characterized in fewer or better words: the Spanish provinces the object,—and military merit like Adair's, the means. But the General says, a Vol. II. p. 288. |