A REVOLUTIONARY VETERAN.
TAPPING REEVE--JAMES GOULD--COLONEL BENJAMIN TALMADGE--THE EXECUTION OF
MAJOR ANDRE--CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON--A BREACH OF DISCIPLINE--BURR AND
HAMILTON--MARGARET MONCRIEF--COWLES MEADE.
Fifty years ago, the only law-school in the United States was taught by
Tapping Reeve and James Gould, at Litchfield, Connecticut. The young
men of the South, destined for the profession of law, usually commenced
their studies in the office of some eminent practitioner at home, and,
after a year or so spent in reading the elementary authors, they
finished by attending the lectures at this school. A course of lectures
occupied a year. Then they were considered prepared to commence the
practice.
Many of the young men of Georgia, at that day, received their education
at the North. Most of those who selected law as a profession, finished
at the school in Litchfield. Few remain in life at this day who
graduated there. Thomas Flornoy and Nicholas Ware were among the first,
who read law there, who were natives of Georgia. William Cumming
succeeded them. Then followed L.Q.C. Lamar, William C. Dawson, Thaddeus
Goode Holt, and many others of less distinction, all of whom are gone
save Judge Holt, who remains a monument and a memory of the class and
character of the Bar of Georgia fifty years ago, when talent and
unspotted integrity characterized its members universally, and when the
private lives and public conduct of lawyers were a withering rebuke to
the reiterated slanders upon the profession--when Crawford, Berrien,
Harris, Cobb, Longstreet, the brothers Campbell, and a host of others,
shed lustre upon it.
1820 was spent by the writer at the law-school at Litchfield, in
company with William Crawford Banks, Hopkins Holsey, Samuel W. Oliver,
and James Clark, from Georgia. All are in the grave except Clark, who,
like the writer, lives in withered age. His career has been a
successful and honorable one, and I trust a happy one.
During this probation it was my fortune to form many acquaintances
among the young and the old whom I met there, and from them to learn
much, especially from the old. At that time there resided in the
pleasant little village, Governor Oliver Wolcott, Benjamin Talmadge,
and my distinguished preceptors, Tapping Reeve and James Gould.
Colonel Benjamin Talmadge was a distinguished officer in the American
army of the Revolution, and was a favorite aide of Washington. It was
he who was charged with the painful duty of superintending the
execution of Major Andre, who suffered as a spy. He was a tall,
venerable man, and though cumbered with years, when I knew him, was
active and energetic in attending to his business. The first time I
ever met him, he was standing in front of his yard-gate, shaping a
gate-pin with a small hatchet, which he used as a knife, to reduce it
to the desired size and form. One end he held in his left hand; the
other he rested against the trunk of a sycamore-tree, which grew near
by and shaded the sidewalk. I knew his character and his services. As I
approached him, my feelings were sublimated with the presence of a man
who had been the aide to and confidant of George Washington. He was
neatly attired in gray small-clothes. His white hair was carefully
combed over the bald portion of his head, as, hatless, he pursued his
work. His position was fronting me, and I caught his brilliant gray
eyes as he looked up from his work to know who was passing.
Involuntarily I stopped, and, lifting my hat from my head, bowed
respectfully to him, and passed him uncovered, as he returned my
salutation with that ease and dignity characteristic of the gentleman
of the old school. To-day that towering, manly form is present to my
view, as it stood before me then. He inquired of Judge Gould, his
immediate neighbor, who I was, and was pleased to mention my respectful
demeanor toward him. My reply, when told of this, was: "I should have
despised myself, could I have acted otherwise toward one so eminent,
and who was the confidential friend of Washington." This was reported
to the venerable colonel, who showed his appreciation of my conduct by
extending to me many kindnesses during my stay in the village.
By his own hearth-stone I have listened with eager interest to the
narration of Andre's capture and execution. He was opposed, with
Alexander Hamilton, to the hanging of Andre, and always contended that
it was not clearly established that he had come into the American lines
as a spy. Andre, when captured, wore his uniform under an overcoat,
which concealed it, and the papers found on his person only proved that
he sought to deliver them to Arnold. The day before his execution he
solemnly declared his only object was an interview with Arnold, or,
should he fail in this, to contrive to send him the papers which had
been found upon him. When he knew the commander-in-chief had refused
him clemency, through Colonel Talmadge he appealed to Washington to let
him be shot, and die a soldier's death--not to permit him to perish as
a felon upon the gallows. Colonel Talmadge, when he stated this wish to
him, assured him it would be granted. Every effort was made, by his
officers and aides, to induce the granting of the request, but in vain.
"And never in my life," said Colonel Talmadge, "have I had imposed upon
me so painful a duty as communicating this fact to the young and
gallant officer. He saw my embarrassment and feelings, and, rising from
his seat, said: 'Colonel, I thank you for the generous interest you
have taken in my case. It has proved of no avail; yet I am none the
less grateful.' He paused a moment, when he continued: 'It is hard to
die, and to die thus. My time is short, and I must employ it in writing
to my family, and must request that you will see my letters forwarded
to headquarters.' I promised; when he extended his hand, and, grasping
mine, asked: 'Is this our last parting, or shall I see you to-morrow?'
I told him it had been made my duty to superintend his execution. 'We
will part at the grave,' he said, and, covering his face with his
hands, sank, sobbing, into his chair.
"I went away sorrowing, and spent a sleepless night. When the hour had
arrived, I waited on him in his prison, and found him cool and prepared
for the sacrifice. We both felt too much for words, and there was
little said. I remember he asked me to procure his watch, which had
been taken from him, if possible, and send it to headquarters. He
desired his family to have it."
"Did you ever get it?" I asked.
The colonel bit his lip in shame for him who had it, and only answered:
"Never."
"The grave was prepared near the gallows, and the open coffin was by
it. As Andre approached, he saw it, and a shudder ran through his
frame. Turning to me, he said: 'I am to be buried there. One more
request, colonel. Mark it; so that when this cruel conflict shall have
ended, my friends may find it!' He then shook hands with me, and, with
unfaltering steps, went to the scaffold."
I heard this narrative many times, and with its ending the white
kerchief about the old man's neck was loosed, and the moisture from his
eyes told that the feelings as well as the memory of that day still
survived. He would a moment after continue: "Washington was a stern
man--he was a hard man--slow to form opinions or resolutions; but once
formed, there was no power under heaven to move him. He never formed
either until his judgment was convinced of the right. There was less of
impulse in his nature than in that of any man I ever knew. I served by
his side for years, and I never saw the least manifestation of passion
or surprise. He received the information of Arnold's treachery with the
same apparent indifference that he would an orderly's report; and with
the same indifference of manner signed the death-warrant of Andre.
"This indifference was marked with a natural sternness, which forbid
all familiarity to all men. Even Colonel Hamilton, who was naturally
facetious, never ventured, during his long service, the slightest
intimacy. Hamilton, whom he esteemed above all men, and to whom he gave
his entire confidence, always observed in his private intercourse, as
in his public, the strictest etiquette. This cool sternness was natural
to him, and its influence was overwhelming. The humblest and the
highest felt it alike; inspiring a respectful awe, commanding a
dignified demeanor. He was best beloved at a distance, because the
qualities of the man were only present, and these were purer and more
lofty than those given to any other man. There is no character of
ancient or modern times so consistent as that of Washington. He was
always cool, always slow, always sincere. There is no act of his life
evincing the influence of prejudice. He decided all matters upon
evidence, and the unbiased character of his mind enabled him
impartially to weigh this evidence, and the great strength of his
judgment to analyze and apply it. He seemed to understand men
instinctively, and if he was ever deceived in any of those in close
association with him, it was Tom Jefferson. Burr had not been on his
staff ten days before he understood him perfectly, and he very soon got
rid of him. Of all the officers of the Continental army, General Greene
was his favorite; and he was right, for Greene was a great military
man--far superior to Washington himself, and none knew it better than
he. I remember to have heard him say that Greene was the only man in
the army who could retrieve the mistakes of Gates and save the Southern
country. The result verified the statement.
"Washington's lenity never extended to the excusing of any palpable
neglect of duty. The strict regularity of his own private character was
carried into everything connected with his public duties. However much
he esteemed any man, it was for his worth in his especial position, and
not because of any peculiarity of bearing or properties of heart. That
he appreciated the higher qualities of the heart, is certainly
true--but for what they were worth always--and neither quality of head
or heart created a prejudice which would lead him to excuse any neglect
of duty or laxity of morals. He was not without heart, but it was slow
to be moved, and never so moved as to warp or obscure his judgment, or
influence the discharge of his duty.
"Mrs. Washington was less amiable than her husband, and at times would
sadly tax his patience--she never forgot that she was wealthy when she
married him, and would sometimes allude to it in no very pleasant
manner to her husband; who, notwithstanding, bore with her with
remarkable patience. I do not remember ever to have seen General
Washington laugh; sometimes a faint smile would tinge his features; but
very soon they returned to the sedateness and gravity of expression
common to them; and though they rarely brightened with a smile, they
were never deformed with a frown. There was in their expression a
fixity indicative of his character, a purpose settled and unalterable.
Of all the men I have ever known, Washington was the only one who never
descended from the stilts of his dignity, or relaxed the austerity of
his bearing. It has been said that he swore at General Charles Lee at
the battle of Brandywine--I could never have it authenticated. He asked
excitedly of General Lee, by what ill-timed mistake the disaster had
occurred, which was forcing his retreat. Lee was a passionate, bad man,
and disliked to serve under Washington's command. He had served with
distinction in the British army in Europe, and felt, in adopting the
cause of the colonies, he should have been proffered the chief command.
There had been an intrigue at Philadelphia, headed by Dr. Rush, aided
by others, to prejudice Congress against the commander-in-chief, to
have him displaced, that Lee might succeed him. If Washington was aware
of this, it never escaped him to any of his military family; and
certainly never influenced his conduct toward Lee--for he had
confidence in his military abilities, and always gave him the position
where the most honor was to be won. Lee's reply to Washington was
violent, profane, and insolent. He said to General Lafayette that his
reply was: 'No man can boast of possessing more of that damned rascally
virtue than yourself.' He was arrested, court-martialed, and by its
decision, suspended for one year from command. He never returned to the
service, but retired to the interior of Virginia, and lived in great
seclusion until his death.
"Toward the young officers Washington was more indulgent than to the
older and more experienced. He would not see the smaller improprieties
of conduct in these, unless brought officially to his notice. Then they
were uniformly punished. He frequently counselled and advised them, but
was ever severe toward intemperance, with old and young.
"Upon one occasion, a certain Maryland colonel came suddenly and quite
unexpectedly upon the General, who was taking a walk. The colonel
attempted to salute, but in doing so, disclosed his inebriety. 'You are
intoxicated, sir,' said the General, with a humorous twinkle of the
eye. The colonel replied: 'I am glad you informed me, General; I will
go to my quarters before I make an ass of myself;' turned and walked
away. Without the slightest movement of feature the General continued
his walk. Nothing more was heard of it until the battle of Monmouth, in
which the colonel distinguished himself. The day after, in going the
grand-rounds, he approached the colonel, and remarked: 'Your gallantry
of yesterday excuses your late breach of discipline;' and saluting him,
passed on.
"In a conversation over the mess-table, at West Point, some severe
remarks upon the conduct of Washington, in hanging Andre, escaped
Hamilton. He said, warmly, that it was cruelly unjust, and would
assuredly sully the future fame of the General; that he felt aggrieved
that the ardent solicitations of his staff, and most of the
field-officers, in the unfortunate young man's behalf, had been so
little regarded. These remarks reached the ears of the General. We were
not aware of this, until some weeks subsequently he summoned his staff
to his presence, and stated the fact.
"'You will remember, gentlemen, that Captain Asgill, who was a
prisoner, and sentenced, by lot, to die, in retaliation for the
coldblooded murder of Captain Hale, by the orders of a British officer.
You, and many of the officers of the army, interceded to save his life.
His execution was, in consequence, respited. The heart-rending appeal
of his mother and sisters, communicated to me in letters from those
high-bred and accomplished women, determined me to lenity in his case,
and he was pardoned. Immediately upon the heels of this pardon comes an
intrigue to seduce from his duty and allegiance a major-general,
distinguished for services and capacity; and Major Andre is the
instrument to carry out this intrigue--to communicate their plans to
the traitor, and to consummate the arrangement. These plans were to
seize, treacherously, the person of the general commanding the American
forces, and carry him a prisoner to the enemy's headquarters. Lenity to
this man would have been a high crime against Congress, the army, and
the country, which could not have been justified. I regretted the
necessity as much as any of you; but mine was the responsibility, not
yours. Its being a painful duty did not make it less a duty. Not mine
alone, but the safety of the army depended upon the discharge of this
duty--a duty recognized by all nations in civilized warfare. I felt it
such; I discharged it, and am satisfied with it. I hope I am superior
to any apprehension of future censure for a faithful discharge of an
imperative duty.' Waving his hand, he bade us 'Good evening.'
"General Washington, upon all important movements, sought the opinions
of his staff, as well as those of the general officers of his command.
This was not for want of reliance upon his own judgment, but from a
desire to see the matter through every light in which it could be
presented. These opinions were not unfrequently asked in writing. They
were always carefully studied, and due weight given to them, especially
when they differed from his own. His mind was eminently analytical, and
always free from prejudice, and to these facts is to be attributed the
almost universal correctness of his judgment upon all subjects which he
had examined. With regard to men, I never knew him to ask another's
opinion; nor was he ever the man to give utterance to his own, unless
it became necessary as a duty. I knew, from the time I entered his
military family, of his high appreciation of Hamilton's abilities; and
the frequent concurrence of opinion between them sometimes (and
especially with those not entirely acquainted with him) induced a
belief that Hamilton formed his opinions, or, as Arnold once expressed
it, was his thinker. Yet there were many occasions upon which they
differed, and widely differed; and never did Washington surrender his
own opinion and adopt that of Hamilton. I never thought the feelings of
Washington toward him were more than respect for his exalted abilities.
I do not believe a kinder or more social attachment ever was felt by
him, and I am positively sure these were the feelings of Hamilton for
Washington.
"His respect for the abilities of Colonel Burr was quite as exalted as
for those of Hamilton; but he had no confidence in his honesty or
truth, and, consequently, very soon got rid of him. Burr's liaison with
Margaret Moncrief destroyed entirely the little regard left for him in
the mind of Washington. I asked Colonel Talmadge if Burr and Hamilton
ever were friends. They were very close friends apparently; but it was
palpable that each entertained a jealousy of the other, however much
they strove to conceal it. They were both ambitious, and felt the way
to preferment was through the favor of the commander-in-chief. Burr was
the more sensitive and the more impulsive of the two. They knew the
abilities of each other, and they knew these were highly appreciated by
the General; and at the moment when this jealousy was likely to
interfere with this friendship, Burr left the position of aide to the
General. He knew he had forfeited the confidence of Washington, and he
figured in the army very little after this. The rivalry, however, did
not cease here, nor did the secret enmity in their hearts die. The
world is not aware of the true cause of the hatred between them, and it
may never be.
"You are aware," continued the colonel, "that your preceptor, Judge
Reeve, is the brother-in-law of Colonel Burr. If I speak freely of him,
it is because I know him, and because you seem curious to pry into
these secret histories of national men. It is not to be repeated to
offend Judge Reeve, or disturb our relations as friends; for we are
such, and have been for fifty years.
"Colonel Burr has ever been remarkable for abilities from his boyhood.
Reeve and the celebrated Samuel Lathrop Mitchell were his classmates,
and agree that he had no equal in college. They were educated at
Princeton. Burr showed not only talent, but application, and a most
burning ambition. He showed, too, that he was already unscrupulous in
the use of means to accomplish his object. There are stories told of
his college-life very discreditable to his fame. He was as remarkable
in his features as in his mind. His capacious forehead, aquiline nose,
and piercingly brilliant eyes, black as night, with a large, flexible
mouth, Grecian in form, made him extremely handsome as a youth. His
manners were natural and elegant, and his conversational powers
unequalled. They are so to-day. Think of these gifts in a man
uninfluenced by principle, and only obedient to the warmer passions. He
ever shunned collective society, and seemed (for the time, at least)
totally absorbed by one or two only. The eloquence of manner, as the
persuasion of words, was in him transcendent. The whispered sophisms of
his genius burned into the heart, and it was remarked of him, by one
wise and discreet, that he could, in fewer words, win the sympathy and
start to tears a female auditor, than any preacher in the land. From
boyhood he seemed to have the key to every heart he desired to unlock.
Fatal gift! and terribly fatal did it prove to many a victim, and
especially to that gifted but frail girl--Margaret Moncrief.
"Margaret Moncrief was the daughter of an officer of the British army,
and had been left with that old veteran, Putnam, after this officer was
a prisoner of war. Hamilton formed an attachment for her, and Burr,
more from vanity than any other feeling, determined to win her away
from him. She was, for her sex, as remarkable as Burr for his; her
education was very superior, her reading as extensive as most
professional men, and entirely out of the line of ordinary female
reading; she was familiar with the entire range of science--her person
in form was perfect, in features exquisitely beautiful. She, too,
possessed the art to steal away the affections of any one around whom
she threw her spell. Apparently unconscious of her natural gifts, she
displayed them without reserve, and so artlessly, as to lure and
beguile almost to frenzy such temperaments as those of Burr and
Hamilton. Never before had Burr met his equal, and his vanity and
ambition were equally stimulated to triumph in her conquest, and ere he
was aware of it, what had been commenced in levity, had become a
passion which held him in chains. The sequel was the ruin of both. Here
commenced the heart-hatred which terminated in the duel and the death
of Hamilton.
"I know there was a romantic story, that gained credit with many, that
the influence of Miss Moncrief had corrupted Burr, and that she was
acting as a spy, and from Burr obtained all the information she desired
of the movements of the American army. Such was the credit attached to
this story, that General Putnam was questioned rather closely on the
subject of the intercourse between them. It was his opinion that it was
without foundation, and that it was simply a love affair. It was also
stated, and this Hamilton credited, that Burr was preparing to leave
the country with the lady, and there were some circumstances which
seemed to warrant such suspicion. To this day, there are ladies who
were at that time in communication with Miss Moncrief, who mention that
every preparation had been made, that her wardrobe had been removed
from her apartment, and that it was carried to those of Colonel Burr,
and that they had been turned back in the harbor by a sentry-boat, when
striving with a solitary oarsman to reach a British man-of-war, in the
lower harbor of the bay of New York. There was never any proof of this,
however, and I imagine it was only a gossiping story of Madame Rumor.
"Of the sincerity of the attachment on the part of the lady, her
subsequent confessions are the only proof; and at the time of making
these confessions, such was her position that little credit could be
given them. But that Colonel Burr was ever seriously attached to her,
those who knew him best scarcely believed. Men of his character rarely,
if ever, have serious and sincere attachment for any woman. To gratify
his vanity he would court the affections of any woman whose beauty and
accomplishments had attracted him. It was always for base purposes Burr
professed love. Such men too frequently win upon the regards of women,
and occupy high and enviable positions in female society; but their
love is diffusive, and for the individual only for a time. In truth,
they are incapable of a deep and sincere affection. The suspicion of
woman's purity forbids an abiding love; it is a momentary passion, and
not an elevated and enduring sentiment--not the embalming with the
heart's riches a pure and innocent being who yields everything to love.
"Colonel Burr was an indifferent husband toward one of the most
accomplished and lovable women I ever knew, and who was devoted to him,
and whose heart he broke. She was the widow of a British officer named
Provost, I believe, who died in the West Indies; and a more deserving
woman, or one more lovely, never went to the arms of a _roué_, to be
kissed and killed.
"Burr hated Washington, and united himself politically with his
enemies. There was a close political intimacy between him and
Jefferson, but never anything like confidence. In their party they were
rivals; and after the election which made Jefferson President, there
was no semblance of intimacy or friendship between them.
"Burr believed he was really elected President, and that Jefferson had
defrauded him in the count of the ballots. He was disappointed and
dissatisfied with his position and with his party, and immediately
commenced an intrigue to separate the Western States from the Union,
and on the west of the mountains and along the waters of the
Mississippi to establish a separate government, where he hoped to fill
the measure of his ambition, and destroy the power of the Union--thus
at the same time to crush both the Federal and Republican parties, for
now he hated both alike.
"Hamilton had been his early rival; he had, as he believed, destroyed
him with Washington, and that he had been mainly instrumental in
defeating him with Jefferson for the Presidency. There can be no doubt
of the fact, that Jefferson had been voted for by the colleges for
President, and Burr for Vice-President; but they were not so designated
on the ballots. They received an equal number of votes, and had to be
elected, owing to a defect in the law at that time, by the House. The
balloting continued several days. There were sixteen States, and each
received eight. Jefferson was especially obnoxious to the hatred of the
Federal party; Burr, though belonging to the Republican party, less so;
and many of the leading men in Congress of the Federal party determined
to take Burr in preference. The strength of this party was mainly in
the North, and Burr was a Northern man; and they felt more might be
expected of him, from Northern interest, than from Jefferson. But the
main cause of the effort was the animosity to Jefferson. Washington was
viewed as the representative man of the Federal party. Jefferson,
though he had been a Cabinet minister in his Administration, had made
no secret of his opposition to the views of Washington; and had aided a
clerk in his department to establish a newspaper, especially to attack
Washington, and to oppose the Administration, which he did, in the most
bitter and offensive manner.
"Jefferson was an unscrupulous man--a man of wonderful intellect and
vast attainments, but entirely unprincipled. This editor and clerk of
Jefferson's, sent daily to the President two copies of his paper,
filled with the vilest abuse of him personally, and of his
Administration. Much of this was, doubtless, written by Jefferson
himself. This supposition is the more to be relied on from the fact
that Washington remonstrated with Jefferson upon the matter, and
requested the removal of the offending clerk, which was refused by
Jefferson. His declining to remove Jefferson himself, is conclusive of
the considerate forbearance of this truly great man. These were reasons
operating upon the minds and feelings of those men who had not only
sustained Washington through the Revolution, but had stood to the
support of his Administration, and who concurred with him in political
opinion and principle.
"Mr. Adams had made this party unpopular by the course pursued by him
in conducting the Government. The Alien Law, and the Sedition Law,
which obtained his signature, (though I know he was opposed personally
to both,) and the prosecutions which arose, especially under the
latter, were very offensive, and entirely at variance with the spirit
of our people, and indeed of the age, and had so damaged the Federal
party, as to render it odious to a large majority of the people.
"The more considerate of the party believed in the election of
Burr--the Southern and Northern Democracy would become divided.
Jefferson was known to be specially the favorite of this party, South,
and would naturally oppose, himself, and lead his party in opposition
to the Administration of Burr, and the Federal party, uniting in his
support, with the Republicans, North, would ultimately succeed in
recovering the control of the Government. During the ballotings this
was fully discussed in the secret meetings of the Federalists. The
balloting continued from the 11th to the 17th of February, and only
eight States could be carried for Mr. Jefferson, six for Burr, and two
were divided. It was supposed Hamilton's influence would be given to
Burr, and he was sent for, but to the astonishment of his political
friends, it was thrown in opposition to Burr. This influenced those
controlling the vote of the divided States. Burr had entered heartily
into the scheme of defeating Jefferson. Had Hamilton co-operated with
his party, there is now no telling what might have been the future
political destiny of the country. Burr was sworn in as Vice-President,
and there is no doubt but that the will of the people was substantially
carried out.
"The restlessness of Burr was manifested; he seemed to retire from the
active participation in politics which had previously been his
habit--still, however, adhering to the Republican party, and opposing
strenuously every view or opinion advanced by Hamilton. Burr did not
take his seat as presiding officer of the Senate, and in February,
after the election of Jefferson, Hillhouse was chosen to fill his place
_pro tem._ After the inauguration of Jefferson, Abraham Baldwin was
elected to preside as President _pro tem._ of the Senate. It had not
then become the habit of the Vice-President to preside over the Senate;
nor was it the custom for the Vice-President to remain at the seat of
Government during the sessions of Congress. Burr, disgusted with the
Republican party, ceased to act with it, and went to New York. Here he
resumed the practice of law. He was never considered a deeply read
lawyer, nor was he comparable with his rival, Hamilton, in debate, or
as an advocate at the Bar. He was adroit and quick, and was rather a
quibbler than a great lawyer.
"You ask me if I thought, or think, he ever deserted the Republican
party in heart? I answer, no; for I do not think he ever had any
well-defined political or moral principle, and was influenced always by
what he deemed would subserve his own ambitious views; and you ask me,
if I ever thought him a great man? Men greatly differ, as you will find
as you grow older, and become better acquainted with mankind, as to
what constitutes a great man. I think Colonel Burr's talents were
eminently military, and he might, in command, have shown himself a
great general. His mind was sufficiently strong to make him respectable
in any profession he might have chosen; but his proclivity, mentally,
was for arms--he loved to direct and control. In very early life he
showed much skill and tact as an officer in the Canadian campaign; but
he wanted those moral traits which give dignity and decision to
character, and confidence to the public mind. His vacillation of
opinion, as well as of conduct, was convincing proof that he acted
without principle, and was influenced by his own selfish views. Man, to
be great, must act always from principle. Principle, like truth, is a
straight edge, will admit of no obliquity, is always the same, and
under all circumstances: conduct squared by principle, and sustained by
truth, inspires respect and confidence, and these attributes, though
they may and do belong to very ordinary minds, are nevertheless great
essentials to the most powerful in making greatness. Great grasp of
intellect, fixity of purpose, strong will, high aims, and incorruptible
moral purity, make a great man. They are rare combinations, but they
are sometimes found in one man--they certainly were not in Colonel
Burr. A great general, a great statesman, a, great poet, a great
astronomer, may be without morals; and he is consequently not a great
man. My young friend, a great man is the rarest creation of Almighty
God. Time has produced few. Washington, perhaps, approaches the
standard nearest, of modern men; but he was selfish to some extent.
"After Colonel Burr's return to New York, he was nominated by the
Federal party for Governor of the State; this was the first open
announcement of his having deserted the Republican party. Hamilton
threw all his influence against him, and he was defeated. This defeat
sublimated his hatred for Hamilton. He made an excuse of certain words
Hamilton had used in relation to him for challenging him. They met, and
Hamilton fell. The death of Hamilton overthrew the little remaining
popularity left to Burr. The nation, the world, turned upon him, and he
became desperate.
"Burr's term as Vice-President terminated on the fourth of March, 1805.
The odium which attached to his name found universal utterance after
the duel. It was not simply the killing of Hamilton; this merely gave
occasion for the outburst of public indignation. His private character
had always been bad. As a member of the Legislature, he had so
conducted himself as to excite general suspicion of his integrity. His
desertion of the party elevating him to the Vice-Presidency, and
lending himself to the opposition party to defeat the clearly expressed
views of his own party, all combined to make him extremely odious to
the populace.
"In the canvass for the Presidency, he had been mainly instrumental in
carrying the State of New York for the Republican party. In this he had
triumphed over Hamilton; but in the more recent contest for Governor of
the State, he found that the Republican party adhered to principle, and
refused to be controlled by him, repudiating his every advance; and
learned, also, that the Federal party would not unite in accepting him.
Defeated on every side, in all his views, and mainly through the
instrumentality of Hamilton, he determined, after killing his rival, if
possible, to destroy the Government.
"There was nothing unfair, or out of the ordinary method of conducting
such affairs, in this duel. Hamilton's eldest son, but a little while
before, had been slain, in a duel, on the very spot where his father
fell, and the event created little or no excitement; and when Burr saw
himself met with universal scorn, he knew it was the eruption of an
accumulated hatred toward himself, and that all his ambition for future
preferment and power was at an end. Immediately he left for the West,
and commenced an abortive effort to break up the Union.
"The Allegheny Mountains opposed, at that time, an obstacle to free
communication with the East. The States west were politically weak,
and, supposing their interests were neglected by Congress, were
restless and dissatisfied. This was especially true of Western
Pennsylvania. There were very many young and ambitious men in all the
Western States and Territories. Tennessee, Kentucky, and Ohio were
rapidly populating from the Eastern and Middle States. Their commercial
communication with the East was attended with so many difficulties as
to force it almost entirely to New Orleans.
"Geographically, it seemed that the valley of the Mississippi was, by
nature, formed for one nation. The soil and climate promised to
enterprise and industry untold wealth. The territorial dimensions were
fabulous. The restless and oppressed multitudes of overstocked Europe
had already commenced an emigration to the United States, which
promised to increase to such an amount as would soon fill up, to a
great extent, this expanded and promising region. The Mississippi
furnished an outlet to the ocean, and a navigation, uninterrupted
throughout the year, for thousands of miles, and New Orleans, a market
for every surplus product. Burr saw all this, and determined to effect
its separation from the Union, and there to establish a new empire,
which should, ere long, control the destinies of the continent. It was
the conception of genius and daring, but required an administrative
ability which he had not, to consummate this conception. He
miscalculated his material. The people of the West were vastly more
intelligent than he had supposed them. They were not so simple as to
receive his views, and blindly adopt and act upon them. They canvassed
them, and concluded for themselves. At Pittsburgh he found a number of
adventurous young men (who had nothing to lose, and who were ripe for
any enterprise which promised fame or fortune,) to unite with him.
"He found Henry Clay in Kentucky, and Andrew Jackson in Tennessee,
young, enterprising, and full of spirit and talent. He supposed them to
be the men he sought, and approached both, cautiously revealing his
views; but, to his astonishment, the grievances of the West had not so
warped their patriotism as to dispose them to engage in any schemes
which threatened the dismemberment of the Union. Clay listened and
temporized, but never, for a moment, yielded assent. Jackson, more
ardent, and a military man by nature, was carried away with the idea
for a time. He was well acquainted with the people of the West, and
especially with the population on the Lower Mississippi, and was the
man who recommended Burr to make first a descent upon Mexico, as I have
been confidentially informed, and sincerely believe. I have also been
informed that he dissuaded Burr from any attempt to excite a war of the
West with the East; but first to make Mexico secure, which they and
Wilkinson believed would be an easy matter. It was when Burr, having
abandoned his first enterprise, descended the Mississippi, that he was
arrested. This arrest was made by the acting Governor of Mississippi,
and at some point in that Territory, where Jackson had a store or
trading establishment. He was, with three of his aides, on his way to
meet Wilkinson, for the purpose of arranging matters. He escaped, and
finding things prepared for his interception, he made his way across
the country; but was finally arrested, on the Tombigbee, by an officer
of the United States army. When on his trial at Richmond, Jackson went
there, and was found on the street haranguing the people in Burr's
favor, and denouncing the prosecution and the President. Subsequently,
however, he denounced Burr, and pretended that he had deceived him.
Humphrey Marshall, Pope, Grundy, and Whitesides united with Clay in
condemning the entire scheme. There was a crazy Irishman, an
adventurer, named Blannerhasset, residing on the Ohio, who at once
entered into his views, embarked all his fortune in the enterprise,
and, with Burr, was ruined. He was tried for treason, and acquitted.
Soon after, he left the country, and remained away for many years,
returning to find himself a stranger, and almost forgotten."
Some months subsequent to this conversation, Colonel Burr came up from
New York to visit his brother-in-law, Judge Reeve, and an opportunity
was thus afforded me to see and converse with him; but no allusion was
made to the past of his own life, save an account of some suffering he
underwent in the Canadian campaign, with General Montgomery. He had
contracted, he said, a rheumatism in his ankle, during the winter he
was in Canada, and that he had occasional attacks now, never having
entirely recovered. He was not disposed to talk, and still he seemed
pleased at the attentions received from the young gentlemen who visited
him occasionally during his short stay. I do not remember ever having
seen him on the street, or in the company of any one, except some of
the young men who were reading with Judge Reeve. Some years after this,
I met Colonel Burr in the city of New York, and spent an evening with
him. At this time he alluded to his trip down the Mississippi, and made
inquiry after several persons whom he had known. There were then living
three men who, as his aides, had accompanied him upon his expedition. I
knew the fact, and expected he would allude to them, but he did not. He
seemed to desire to know more of those who had been active in procuring
his arrest.
It was Cowles Mead (who was acting Governor of the Territory of
Mississippi at the time) who arrested Burr at Bruensburgh, a small
hamlet on the banks of the Mississippi, immediately below the mouth of
the Bayou Pierre. "Mead," he said, "was a great admirer of Jefferson,
because, I suppose, when he had been unseated by the contestant of his
election, (a Mr. Spaulding,) Jefferson, to appease his wounded
feelings, had appointed him secretary to the Mississippi Territory. He
was a vain man of very small mind, and full of the importance of his
official station." I remarked that he was a brother-in-law of mine. "I
was not aware of that, but I am sure you are too well acquainted with
the truth of the statement to be offended at my stating it." I
remarked: "Colonel, I am thoroughly acquainted with General Mead, and
equally as well acquainted with all the circumstances connected with
your acquaintance with him. The adventure of Bruensburgh has been,
through life, a favorite theme with the General, and I doubt if there
is living a man who ever knew the General a month, who has not heard
the story repeated a dozen times." He dryly remarked: "I should have
supposed the episode to that affair would have restrained him from its
narration;" and the conversation ceased.
I shall have much more to say of these two in a future chapter. At
this time Colonel Burr was old and slightly bent, very unlike what he
was when I first met him; still his eyes and nose, brow and mouth,
wore the same expression they did fifteen years before. About the
mouth and eye there was a sinister expression, and he had a habit of
looking furtively out of the corner of his eye at you, when you did
not suppose he was giving any attention to you.