The Burr Conspiracy: Uncovering the Story of an Early American Crisis

727 Pages·2017·9.244 MB·English

by  James E. Lewis Jr.

�e
BUR R
CONSPIR ACY

THE
BUR R
CONSPI R ACY
UNCOVERING THE STORY
EARLY AMERICAN CRISIS
of an
JAMES E. LEWIS JR.
Princeton University Press
Princeton and Oxford
Copyright © 2017 by Princeton University Press
Published by Princeton University Press, 41 William Street,
Princeton, New Jersey 08540
In the United Kingdom: Princeton University Press,
6 Oxford Street, Woodstock, Oxfordshire OX20 1TR
press.princeton.edu
Jacket art: Aaron Burr meeting with a small band of armed men in
Tennessee during his mysterious expedition of 1806. Line engraving, nineteenth
century. Courtesy of Granger Historical Picture Archive/NYC Collections.
Jacket art by Jennifer Heuer
Endpapers: [Aaron Burr] to [James Wilkinson], [ca. 22–29 July 1806],
Aaron Burr Letters, Everett D. Graff Collection of Americana.
Courtesy of Newberry Library, Chicago, Ill.
All Rights Reserved
Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data
Names: Lewis, James E., 1964– author.
Title: The Burr Conspiracy : uncovering the story of an early
American crisis / James E. Lewis Jr.
Description: Princeton : Princeton University Press, 2017. |
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2017009890 | ISBN 9780691177168 (hardcover : alk. paper)
Subjects: LCSH: Burr Conspiracy, 1805– 1807. | Burr, Aaron, 1756- 1836.
| Burr, Aaron, 1756– 1836— Trials, litigation, etc.
Classification: LCC E334 .L49 2017 | DDC 973.4/8— dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017009890
British Library Cataloging- in- Publication Data is available
This book has been composed in Adobe Caslon Pro
Printed on acid- free paper. ∞
Printed in the United States of America
1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2
For Charlene,
my co- conspirator in all things

CONTENTS
Introduction | 1
Chapter 1. So Many Stories: The Circulation of
Information in the Early Republic | 15
First Interlude. A Crisis in the Cabinet | 43
Chapter 2. Lexington and Frankfort, Kentucky:
July through December 1806 | 55
Chapter 3. Guilt beyond Question:
The Narrative of Thomas Jefferson | 86
Chapter 4. The Threat to the Union | 118
Second Interlude. The Crime on Blennerhassett Island | 148
Chapter 5. The Enterprise Commenced:
The Cipher Letter as a Narrative | 167
Chapter 6. New Orleans, Orleans Territory:
November 1806 through May 1807 | 209
Chapter 7. The Threat to the Republic | 246
Third Interlude. The Arrest of Aaron Burr | 272
Chapter 8. Richmond, Virginia:
March through October 1807 | 291
viii | Contents
Chapter 9. “Who Is Blennerhassett?”:
The Narrative of William Wirt | 339
Chapter 10. The Conflict over Burr’s Followers | 369
Fourth Interlude. A “Rising” in Baltimore | 393
Chapter 11. Final Accounts of the Burr Conspiracy | 411
Conclusion | 457
Acknowledgments | 463
Abbreviations | 467
Notes | 471
Primary Source Bibliography | 643
Secondary Source Bibliography | 675
Illustrations Credits | 699
Index | 701
�e
BUR R
CONSPIR ACY