USA > Ohio > History of Ohio; the rise and progress of an American state, Volume Three > Part 15
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kronor, wia at the capture of Louisburg in Peter Hurt, another ancestor, was Chief Justice the Superior Court of Comlectitut and one of the graduates of Harvard College, Another, Samuel I Bredsalad from Harvard m 1697 and became bead of the faunos Grammar. School at Charlesto Musacourtb. And still another, John Burr, M the franon of this school system of Connect Narde Burr's Liuhies commenced early in before lie was two years old, he had lost father, mot and grandparents, and thus orphaned and a lun with his little sister, was taken to raise by made Timothy Edwards. This uncle was a And ebony Puritan, living always in the Valley the Shadow of Death, and thus, in the formal period of bis life, young Burr, deprived of the of a mother and the warm companionship of a f grew up in an atmosphere of coldness, inapprecia and formality The frank and impulsive spirit boyhood wak absent and he became old befor time. Much of the defective character of his mam can be attributed to his barren child life.
The ample state of his father furnished him education, and ut the age of sixteen he gradu with honor from Princeton. For a year after
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graduation he was considering his future and his profession. The name of Burr was a familiar one in the Presbyterianism of New England and the young man was expected to follow in the ministerial footsteps of his revered and distinguished father and grand- father. But the philosophy of the French was much in vogue in those days, and it had its evil influence on young Burr. Nevertheless, in the autumn of 1774, he entered Dr. Bellamy's theological school at Beth- lehem, Connecticut. His doubts followed him, and here, in the quiet retreats of Faith, he fought the fight which many a man before and since has fought. He came out of it, a confirmed skeptic. Faith was killed, and he lost the sheet anchor of his life. Thenceforth, all things were to be decided by the sole standards of human expediency and personal knowledge.
He turned to the law and became the student of Tappan Reeve, who had married his pretty sister Sallie; but it was only for a few months. The guns of the farmers at Lexington called him to the impending Revolution and casting his law books aside, he went to Boston to join the Continental army.
His career in the army was a marvel. Burr had all the requisites of a soldier. He had bravery, intelli- gence and military instinct. When he reached Boston, Washington had planned an expedition, to be led by General Arnold against Quebec. Burr had enlisted in the ranks, but for this expedition armed and equipped a company at his own expense and was commissioned captain-and this at nineteen. Through six hundred miles of Maine wilderness, snow and ice, marched this gallant band of six hundred Americans.
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Arriving at Quebec, it was necessary to get word to General Montgomery, who was at Montreal, one hundred and twenty miles distant, with his army. Burr was made messenger to announce to General Montgomery the arrival of General Arnold's expedi- tion, and to urge his co-operation in the attack on Quebec. Disguised in the garb of a priest, the young captain, at the end of a lonesome and perilous journey, delivered his message to General Montgomery, who was so pleased with his bravery that he attached him to his staff with the rank of captain.
Quebec was attacked in a blinding snowstorm. Montgomery led the assault; by his side were Captain Burr and two other aides, an orderly sergeant and a guide. The object of attack was a blockhouse from which the British fled in surprise. One artillery- man, however, turned back and discharged his cannon loaded with grapeshot. That shot killed General Montgomery and his entire advance party, save Burr and the guide. It likewise lost Canada to the Ameri- cans. The troops, seeing their commander fall, were chilled with fear and fled.
Then this happened, according to Reverend Samuel Spring, who was the chaplain of the Arnold expedition: "It was a heavy storm, Montgomery had fallen, the British troops were advancing toward the dead body and little Burr was hastening from the fire of the enemy, up to his knees in snow, with Montgomery's body on his shoulders. Some forty yards he staggered under his burden, and then was obliged to drop it to avoid capture by the enemy. That night," continues the chaplain, "it was moonlight and the snow
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lay thick upon the ground. The captain stole from camp, and passing our pickets, he approached the battlefield and commenced crawling and running among the dead, whenever the moon was partially obscured by clouds, all the time keeping up a strict search till he found the body of Montgomery, which he placed upon his back, and the beardless boy, stag- gering under his heavy load, succeeded at last in bring- ing the body of his general to our camp. He appeared to me like some guardian angel of the dead, and I can never forget him."
After this baptism of fire, Captain Burr resigned his commission to General Arnold, and proceeded to New York. The story of Burr's valor before Quebec was in every Continental camp, and he was greeted as a hero by all who met him. General Washington invited him to join his personal staff with the rank of major. The offer was accepted, and Burr became a member of Washington's military family. On close observation and contact the great General did not "warm up" to the young major. There was something in his character that forced suspicion. The distrust and dislike were mutual. He afterwards became aide-de-camp to General Putnam, then a colonel in command of a regiment. His record was good at Valley Forge and Monmouth; but his inherent love of intrigue and his hatred of Washington drew him into the Gates-Conway conspiracy. The purpose of the plot was to remove the head of the army and supplant him with General Gates. The scheme failed in disgrace.
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After four years of service in the army, on account of broken health, Burr resigned. He left a record for unquestioned bravery, untiring service and brilliant success. All his associates willingly granted this, but he lacked their comradeship and confidence. He was an insufferable egotist on military matters, exclusive and overbearing with his fellow officers, and, while with General Washington, took a great part of the patient leader's time telling how to conduct the war. Yet it must be said of this young man, who was a captain at nineteen and a colonel at twenty- two, that no duty in field or camp was ever assigned to him that he did not perform with consummate skill and fidelity.
On his return to civil life he took up the study of law, and was admitted to the bar in 1782. After eighteen months of successful practice at Albany, he moved to New York. Here, with Alexander Hamilton as his only rival, he stood at the head of his profession. Both of these young men had such social standing and professional success, that no others approached them. Burr's name and lineage were an open sesame to every drawing room in New York, and Hamilton had married into the family of General Schuyler, an old and aristocratic house. Besides, both had won their spurs in the service of their country. Notwithstanding their professional rivalry, they were friends, and freely and cordially expressed admiration for each other. The rivalries of the bar are always generous, and in no other walk of life is success and ability more quickly or more freely recognized than by competitors in the legal profession. There is
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no mean spirit of envy to destroy or undervalue real merit. So long as Burr and Hamilton were rivals in their profession alone, there was an absence of unfriendliness in their relations. But when they became leaders of their respective political parties, and when their ambitions clashed, there arose a fierce and relentless warfare that only ended on the tragic field of Weehawken.
For fifteen years Aaron Burr was the powerful leader of the Republican party of the State of New York. During this period he was the one strong opponent of Federalism led by Alexander Hamilton, and served as a Representative at Albany, Attorney General of the State, United States Senator and Vice- President. The election of Burr to the United States Senate over General Philip Schuyler, Hamilton's father-in-law, marked the beginning of the era of bad feeling between the two leaders.
In the Senate Burr's career was highly honorable and he occupied a position of commanding leadership; so much so that in the Presidential election of 1796 he received thirty electoral votes. In that of 1800 he and Jefferson each had seventy-three votes, and the choice devolved upon the House of Representatives. The contest was long and bitter. In this crisis he again showed a high sense of honor. He declined to make any trades with the Federalists to secure the election. Not so with Jefferson; he willingly made the necessary agreements and was elected. McMas- ter in his History of the American People (Vol. II, 525) summarizes the intrigue thus: "James Bayard, of Delaware, was the Federal chief. At the opening
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of the contest he first made sure of the doubtful votes, and, holding the result of the election in his hand, began to consider the fitness of giving it to Burr. It was expected that Burr would pledge himself to Federal measures in return for Federal support. He would not; and Bayard, aided by Hamilton, spent all his energies in persuading the Federalists to make Jefferson their choice. The task was a hard one. Caucus after caucus was held, only to break up in discord and confusion. The final arrangement was in consequence of assurances from Jefferson that the wishes of the Federalists corresponded with his own; that he would preserve the navy; that he would maintain the public credit; that he would not remove any of the host of petty office-holders merely because they had, in the late campaign, been faithful to the Federal cause. The price settled, the Federal members from Maryland, Delaware and Vermont cast blank ballots, and the Republicans secured ten states."
James A. Bayard, who conducted these negotiations, was a Federalist of high standing, and as the sole representative of the State of Delaware in the Congress of 1800, he possessed the power at any moment of deciding the contest. He testified in a deposition under oath afterwards, in 1806, as to his part in the intrigue. He had endeavored, unsuccessfully, to se- cure promises from Burr for the Presidency. Bayard acted as the Federal whip, and during the contest reported regularly to Alexander Hamilton, who in- sisted on his voting for Jefferson from the start. This he refused to do. He preferred Burr, and voted for him until he had made the deal with Jefferson,
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then all his efforts were directed to that end. In a letter written to Hamilton after the election (The Works of Alexander Hamilton, Vol. VI, 524) he said: "The means existed of electing Burr, but this required his co-operation. By deceiving one man (a great block head), and tempting two (not incorruptible), he might have secured a majority of the states. He will never have another chance of being President of the United States."
Thus it was that Thomas Jefferson acquired the Presidency, and Aaron Burr became Vice-President. It is one of the strange perversities of man's nature, that when he has wronged his fellow, it is followed by a feeling of hatred for his victim. From the day Jefferson became President he was the secret enemy of Burr. He regarded the Vice-President as his rival in the leadership of the Republican party, and a possible candidate for the Presidency in 1804. And he had a right to so view it, for Burr was powerful with the country, was a man of commanding talents, and above all had the fatal gift of organizing men into action. In New York the great Republican clans of the Clintons and the Livingstons were jealous of Burr. Thus three powerful factions in his own party combined against him, the Virginians led by Jefferson and the New York insurgents.
This conspiracy to eliminate Burr from political life is thus described by Henry Adams in his "History of the United States": "In the face of all this prov- ocation, the vice-president behaved with studied caution and reserve. Never in the history of the United States did so powerful a combination of rival
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politicians unite to break down a single man as that which arrayed itself against Burr, for, as the hostile circle gathered around him, he could plainly see not only Jefferson, Madison and the whole Virginia legion, with Duane and his Aurora at their heels; not only DeWitt Clinton and his whole family, with Cheatham and his Watchtower by their side; but strangest of all companions-Alexander Hamilton himself joining hands with his own bitterest enemies to complete the ring."
In the political controversies of this period, bitter and deadly feelings of hate took the place of honest partisanship. Men's passions boiled over; there was a moral breaking down of all the nobler instincts of charity and fair play. The Federalists firmly believed that Jefferson and his followers would destroy the government, and the Republicans were equally certain that Hamilton was in favor of a monarchy. Both feared and hated Burr. He was regarded as an intruder, an interloper between the houses of Jefferson and Clinton, and as an unprincipled prof- ligate by Hamilton and the Schuyler dynasty.
In these tumultuous conflicts the duel was the court of last resort, and nowhere did it flourish from 1800 to 1804 more flagrantly than in New York among the friends of Burr and Hamilton. In 1801 Hamilton's eldest son, a youth of twenty, fell in a political duel. John Swartout, a Burr lieutenant, and DeWitt Clinton fought in 1802. The next year Clinton was challenged by Senator Jonathan Dayton, another of Burr's friends, but the affair was amicably arranged. Rob- ert Swartout fought with Richard Riker, a Clinton
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upporter, who served as second to Clinton in his uel with John Swartout. In this affair Riker was adly wounded. Then Coleman of the Evening Post hallenged Cheetham, editor of the American Citizen, he Clinton organ. But Cheetham was a coward nd had his friends patch up the dispute. As a result Captain Thompson, who was a loud opponent of Burr, hallenged Coleman and fell mortally wounded. Thus id political fury lead men of education, honor and umanity to forget all the better elements of their ature.
The climax in this era of barbarism was reached hen Burr and Hamilton resorted to the duel to settle heir differences. We are apt to draw too fine a moral tandard in judging the principals to this unfortunate ffair. It was "an imperious custom" that demanded 's victim. The "affair of honor" was recognized y the sentiment of the time. The list of duelists makes the quiet and decent citizen of to-day shudder amazement; he will read the names of Gates, DeWitt Clinton, Randolph, Benton, Clay, Jackson, Decatur, Arnold, Walpole, Pitt, Wellington, Canning, eel, Grattan, Fox, O'Connell, Sheridan, Jeffrey, Vilkes, Disraeli, Lamartine, Thiers, and a long roll f lesser statesmen.
Hamilton himself had been connected with duelling pisodes in his lifetime; Burr was without experience. Vhen General Charles Lee slandered Washington, aurens challenged Lee and the duel was fought ith Hamilton as a second. After he left Washington's abinet, Hamilton challenged Commander Nichol- on of the navy to mortal combat, but friends pre-
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vented the meeting. In 1797 he was challenged by James Monroe who asked Burr to act as his second, but instead Burr interested himself to make peace between the parties and succeeded.
Hamilton fell mortally wounded from Burr's pistol, July II, 1804; his death followed next day.
Contrary to Burr's expectation, the result of the duel was received by the people of all parties with feelings of horror, indignation, and condemnation. His immediate friends and followers alone stood loyally by him, but they were mute and dazed amidst the universal execration heaped upon him.
Then followed the spectacle of a Vice-President of the United States fleeing from indictment and pros- ecution, for Burr was advised by his friends that safety could only be found beyond the jurisdiction of New York and New Jersey. He therefore turned southward, his objective point being the home of his daughter Theodosia near Georgetown, South Carolina. After a journey of exposure and danger, four hundred miles of it in an open boat at sea, he reached "The Oaks," the stately manor of Joseph Alston, his son-in- law. After several weeks here, he returned to Wash ington to find that he had been indicted for murder in two states-New York and New Jersey. No prosecution however, was attempted owing to his strong personal and political influence. The public indigna tion had subsided, and in a measure, a favorable reaction had set in, sufficient to thwart any legal prosecution.
At Washington he presided over the Senate with his old time grace and dignity, and at the impeach ment trial of Judge Samuel Chase, he won publi
THEODOSIA BURR ALSTON
The daughter of Aaron Burr, born in New York City in 1783 and lost at sea in January, 1813; she was one of the most highly accomplished and brilliant of American women; married, February 2, 1801, Joseph Alston, a talented young planter of South Carolina, who subsequently became Governor of that State. Mrs. Alston accompanied her father to Ohio and was an enthusiastic partner in his schemes.
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approbation because he directed it "with the dignity of an angel and the rigor of a devil." Every fortnight he dined with the President, and to outward appear- ances he had regained his standing. On March 2, 1805, Aaron Burr delivered his farewell address to the Senate, after which that body unanimously thanked him for "the impartiality, dignity and ability" with which he presided over their deliberations. Two days later he was a private citizen.
At this time there was expectancy of a war with Spain, and the people of the Ohio and Mississippi valleys were ready and anxious for it. Burr had in his mind a new field and future. He recognized that his power, influence and prestige were forever gone in the East. He was a political Ishmaelite. He wrote to his son-in-law, Joseph Alston: "Though n my former letters I did not, in express terms, inform you that I was under ostracism, yet it must have been inferred. Such is the fact. In New York I am to be disfranchised, and in New Jersey hanged. Having substantial objection to both, I shall not, or the present, hazard either, but shall seek another country." In the Southwest there was "another country." The empire of Montezuma opened a vision for conquest, and he saw in Mexico room for his life and ambitions. It was Spain's last territory n North America, and in case of war could easily De invaded and conquered. Burr lacked two essentials to the carrying out of his purposes; they were money and a base of operations from which his activities could be directed, and which would furnish justification For a Western movement.
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The real object of his tour has been a subject o discussion since it occurred. It has been differently outlined by writers from the viewpoint of friend o enemy. His purposes have been described as three fold, viz .: first, to ascertain the sentiments of th people of the West upon the subject of a separation from the Atlantic States; secondly, to enlist recruits and make arrangements for a private expedition against Mexico and the Spanish provinces, in th event of a war between the United States and Spain which at that time seemed inevitable; thirdly, in th event of a failure of both of these measures, to purchas a tract of land of Baron Bastrop, lying in the Territory of Louisiana, on the Washita river. Upon this, h contemplated the establishment of a colony of intelli gent and wealthy individuals, where he might rea around him a society remarkable for its refinemen in civil and social life.
It took the "sinews of war" to equip expeditions invade foreign countries or to colonize new territory and Burr had already formed plans to raise fund from the British Government. While he was Vice President he had begun negotiations to this end with the British Minister to the United States, Anthon; Merry. On his way west, Burr met Merry in Phila delphia, and laid before him his future project. Th Minister in his correspondence to his Governmen gives in the fullest detail what he says Burr reveale to him concerning the possibilities of his wester tour. This was to the effect that the inhabitant of the newly acquired territory of Louisiana wer anxious to become independent of the United States
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that they wanted the protection of some foreign power and that they wanted to connect themselves with the Western States.
"It is clear," writes Merry, "that Mr. Burr (al- though he has not as yet confided to me the exact nature and extent of his plan) means to endeavor to be the instrument for effecting such connection. He has told me that the inhabitants of Louisiana, notwithstanding that they are almost all of French or Spanish origin, as well as those of the Western part of the United States, would, for many obvious reasons, prefer having the protection and assistance of Great Britain to the support of France; but that if his Majesty's government should not think proper to listen to his overture, application will be made to that of France, who will, he had reason to know, be eager to attend it in the most effectual manner."
To carry out this, Burr told Merry that he would require the aid of two or three British frigates and the same number of smaller vessels to be stationed at the mouth of the Mississippi river, and also a loan of about one hundred thousand pounds from the English government. These and many other things did Mr. Merry write to Lord Harrowby, March 29, 1805, after his interview with Burr. Leaving the British Minister to convey his terms and wishes to his Govern- ment, Burr, accompanied by Gabriel Shaw, proceeded to Pittsburg, at which place he arrived, April 29, and left the next day on his journey.
Under date of April 30, he thus writes from Pittsburg to his daughter Theodosia: "Arrived in good order yesterday. Find my boat and hands ready. The
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water high and weather fine. Shall set off in two hours. Have therefore no time to give any account of my journey hither. My boat is, properly speaking, a floating house, sixty feet by fourteen, containing dining room, kitchen with fireplace, and two bed- rooms; roofed from stem to stern; steps to go up, and a walk on the top the whole length; glass windows, etc. This edifice costs one hundred and thirty-three dollars, and how it can be made for that sum passes my comprehension." On the morning of May 5, he reached Marietta, which he describes as a village "containing about eighty houses; some that would be called handsome in any village on the continent. After breakfast came in several gentlemen of the town to offer me civilities and hospitalities. We have been walking several miles to see the mounds, parapets, squares, and other remains of unknown antiquity which are found in this neighborhood. I am astonished and confounded; totally unsatisfied with the conjecture of others, and unable to repose on any plausible one of my own." Marietta was a Federalist stronghold and there is no evidence nor contemporary authority that he was received with more than formal politeness. As the slayer of Ham- ilton, if there was any place in Ohio where he would fail to make an impression, it was here. He therefore made his visit one of mere curiosity and rest from a monotonous journey.
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