James Wilkinson

James Wilkinson (March 24, 1757 – December 28, 1825) was an American soldier and statesman, who was associated with several scandals and controversies. He served in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, but was twice compelled to resign. He was twice the Commanding General of the United States Army, appointed first Governor of the Louisiana Territory in 1805, and commanded two unsuccessful campaigns in the St. Lawrence theater during the War of 1812. After his death, he was discovered to have been a paid agent of the Spanish Crown.

Personal life
James Wilkinson was born about three miles (5 km) northeast of Benedict, Maryland, on a farm south of Hunting Creek. His grandfather had been sufficiently wealthy to buy Stoakley Manor in Calvert County. The family felt that even though their property was smaller, they still fell in with a higher social class. James grew up with the idea that "the image of respectability excused the reality of betrayal." His father, Joseph Wilkinson, inherited the property but, by that time, the family was in debt. In 1764, Stoakley Manor was broken up and sold. His older brother, Joseph, inherited the property after his father died and, as the second son, James was left with nothing. However, his father left with the last words of “My son, if you ever put up with an insult, I will disinherit you.” Andro Linklater argues that this upbringing led to James’ aggressive reaction towards insults of his behavior.

James Wilkinson received his early education from a private tutor, funded by his grandmother; his study of medicine in Philadelphia at the University of Pennsylvania was interrupted by the American Revolution.

Wilkinson married Ann Biddle of the Biddle family on November 12, 1778 in Philadelphia. Wilkinson's marriage to the dynamic Biddle only helped his career as a politician and general. They had four children, including John (1780–1796), James Biddle (c. 1783 – September 17, 1813) and Joseph Biddle (1785-1865).

After Ann's death on February 23, 1807, he married Celeste Laveau Trudeau on March 5, 1810, with whom he had three children: twin girls Stephanie and Theofannie, born January 1816, and a son Theodore, born 1819. Theofannie, his favorite, died in early 1822.

Dying on December 28, 1825 at the age of 68, he was buried in Mexico City, Mexico.

Revolutionary War actions
Wilkinson first served in Thompson's Pennsylvania rifle battalion, 1775–76, and was commissioned a captain in September 1775. He served as an aide to Nathanael Greene during the Siege of Boston, participated in the placing of guns on the Dorchester Heights in March 1776, and following the British abandonment of Boston, went with the rest of the Continental Army to New York where he left Greene's staff and was given command of an infantry company.

Sent to Canada as part of the reinforcements for Benedict Arnold's army besieging Quebec, he arrived just in time to witness the arrival of 8,000 British reinforcements under General John Burgoyne which precipitated the collapse of the American effort in Canada. He became aide to Arnold just prior to the final retreat and left Canada with Arnold on the very last boat out. Shortly thereafter, he left Arnold's service and became an aide to General Horatio Gates in August 1776.

When Gates sent him to Congress with official dispatches about the victory at the Battle of Saratoga, Wilkinson kept Congress waiting while he attended to personal affairs. When he finally showed up, he embellished his own role in the victory, and was brevetted as a brigadier general and appointed to the newly created board of war. The promotion over more senior colonels caused an uproar among Continental officers, especially because Wilkinson's gossiping seemed to indicate he was a participant in the Conway Cabal, a conspiracy to replace George Washington with Horatio Gates as commander-in-chief. Gates soon had enough of Wilkinson, and the young officer was compelled to resign in March 1778. On July 29, 1779, Congress appointed him clothier general of the Army, but he resigned on March 27, 1781 due to his "lack of aptitude for the job."

Kentucky ventures
After his resignation from the Continental Army, Wilkinson reluctantly became a brigadier general in the Pennsylvania militia in 1782 and also a state assemblyman in 1783, due to the wishes of George Washington. He moved to the Kentucky District in 1784 and was active there in efforts to achieve independence from Virginia.

In April 1787, Wilkinson took a highly controversial trip to New Orleans, which was a colony of Spain. At that time, Americans were allowed to trade on the Mississippi River, but they had to pay a hefty tariff. Wilkinson met with Spanish Governor Esteban Rodríguez Miró and managed to convince him to allow Kentucky to have a trading monopoly on the river; in return he promised to promote Spanish interests in the west. On August 22, 1787, Wilkinson signed an expatriation declaration and swore allegiance to the King of Spain to satisfy his own commercial needs. The “Spanish Conspiracy,” as it is known, was initiated by Wilkinson’s “First Memorial,” a 7,500-word report written before he left New Orleans for Charleston, South Carolina, from New Orleans, to the Spanish concerning the “political future of western settlers” and to convince Spain to “admit us [Kentuckians] under protection as vassals”. This was encoded with myriad symbols, numbers, and letters that was decoded via a complex English-Spanish cipher code-named “Number 13,” which became the basis for his pseudonym, “Agent 13”.

Upon returning to Kentucky in February 1788, Wilkinson vigorously opposed the new U.S. Constitution. Kentucky had very nearly achieved statehood under the old Articles of Confederation, and there was widespread disappointment when this was delayed because of the new constitution.

Leading up to Kentucky's seventh convention regarding separation from Virginia in November 1788, Wilkinson attempted to gauge the support for Kentucky to seek union with Spain. Wilkinson was not an extremely honorable man, but his ability to win people over with his charm and sincerity got him elected committee chair at the convention. He advocated for Kentucky to seek independence from Virginia first, and then to consider joining the Union of states as a second step. For many, joining the Union was conditional upon the Union negotiating free navigation on the Mississippi with Spain, a contentious point which many Kentuckians doubted the eastern states would act upon.

Unable to gather enough support for his position at the convention, Wilkinson then approached Miró with a proposal. His intention was to grant them 60,000 acres (243 km²) in the Yazoo lands at the junction of the Yazoo River and the Mississippi (near present-day Vicksburg, Mississippi). The land was to be payment for Wilkinson's efforts on behalf of Spain and also to serve as a refuge in the event he and his supporters had to flee from the United States. Wilkinson asked for and received a pension of $7,000 from Miro and also requested pensions on behalf of several prominent Kentuckians, including: Harry Innes, Benjamin Sebastian, John Brown, Caleb Wallace, Benjamin Logan, Isaac Shelby, George Muter, George Nicholas, and even Humphrey Marshall (who at one time was a bitter rival of Wilkinson's).

However, by 1788 Wilkinson had apparently lost the support of officials in the Spanish mainland. Miro was not to grant any of the proposed pensions and was forbidden from giving money to support a revolution in Kentucky. Furthermore, Wilkinson continued to secretly receive funds from Spain for many years.

Second military career
In the Northwest Indian War, Colonel Wilkinson led a force of Kentucky volunteers against American Indians at Ouiatenon in May 1791. He commanded a follow-up raid that autumn, highlighted by the Battle of Kenapacomaqua. In October he received a commission to the U.S. Army as lieutenant colonel, commandant of the 2nd U.S. Infantry.

Rivalry with Wayne
When the United States government formed the Legion of the United States, President Washington was faced with the decision of who to name as its General. The two major candidates for this promotion were James Wilkinson and Anthony Wayne. In the end, the cabinet chose Wayne due to Wilkinson's suspected involvement with the Spanish government. The cabinet promoted Wilkinson to Brigadier General as a consolation prize, since Washington was aware of Wilkinson’s fragile ego. Wilkinson developed a jealousy towards Wayne, but maintained an ostensible respect towards the General. However, upon Wilkinson’s refusal of an invitation to Wayne’s Christmas Party, he developed a full-fledged hatred for Wilkinson, deeming that refusal as an act of disrespect. For example, Wayne had led the legion army against the Native Americans in the Battle of Fallen Timbers in August 1794. This battle was a huge victory for the United States, yet Wilkinson had criticized the General’s actions during the battle simply to antagonize Wayne. Wilkinson proceeded to file formal complaints against the General and his decisions to the President. Upon finding out about the complaints against him, Wayne decided to fight back, launching an investigation into Wilkinson’s history with the Spanish. During all of this time, Wilkinson had renewed his secret alliance with the Spanish government (through the Governor of Louisiana Carondelet), alerting them to the actions of both the US and the French occupancy in North America. When Spanish couriers were intercepted carrying Wilkinson’s payments from the Spanish, Wayne’s suspicions were confirmed and attempted to court martial Wilkinson for his treachery. However, Wayne developed a stomach ulcer and died on December 15, 1796. Despite his nearly confirmed treason, upon Wayne’s death, the President promoted Wilkinson to Major General of the Legion Army.

Quasi-war with France
Wilkinson was transferred to the southern frontier in 1798. During the Quasi-War crisis of the late 1790s between France and the United States, he was given the third place in the United States Army behind George Washington and Alexander Hamilton. Among other duties, he was charged by Hamilton with establishing a "Reserve Corps" of United States troops in the lower Ohio Valley who would seize the lower Mississippi River Valley and New Orleans in the event of war with France and her ally Spain. Despite the end of the crisis in mid-1800 and the fall of Hamilton from power, Wilkinson for unknown reasons continued the plan for the establishment of the base which he named "Cantonment Wilkinson" after himself. Located in southern Illinois, the base operated from January 1801 to late 1802 before finally being abandoned. Archaeologists from Southern Illinois University have recently located the remains of this base, which is producing much previously unknown information regarding the daily lives and artifacts of the frontier army.

Service under President Jefferson
Wilkinson remained senior officer of the United States Army under President Thomas Jefferson. Along with Governor William C. C. Claiborne, Wilkinson shared the honor of taking possession of the Louisiana Purchase on behalf of the United States in 1803. At this time, Wilkinson renewed his treasonous relationship with Spanish colonial officials, offering advice to them on how to contain American expansion in exchange for the restoration of his pension. Among other things, Wilkinson tipped off the Spanish to the object of the Lewis and Clark expedition.

Connections with Aaron Burr
In 1804-05, he exchanged communications with Aaron Burr regarding Burr's conspiracy to set up an independent nation in the west. Some embittered associates (more specifically, Jefferson’s cabinet members) later claimed that Wilkinson was the mastermind behind the plot of which Burr was accused. Others, namely author Theodore Crackel, play devil’s (Wilkinson’s) advocate, supporting Wilkinson’s innocence and proclaiming his role as the scapegoat for Aaron Burr’s reputation. (Crackel, Mr. Jefferson's Army, 132). In 1805, following the Louisiana Purchase, President Thomas Jefferson appointed Wilkinson governor of the northern Louisiana territory despite his high-ranking position in the military. This was unusual: Jefferson had given Wilkinson a startling amount of power and authority. Wilkinson then sent Zebulon Pike on expeditions to the Southwest in 1805 and 1806 to discover the source of the Mississippi River.

He was removed from office after being publicly criticized for heavy-handed administration and abuse of power. Noting the lack of support for his new nation with Burr, Wilkinson revealed Burr's plans to Jefferson, and later, had his own troops arrest Col. Burr. Wilkinson testified at Burr's trial, arousing public accusation against him and two congressional inquiries of his private ventures and intrigues. This information drove President James Madison to order his court-martial in 1811. He was found not guilty on December 25, 1811.

War of 1812
Wilkinson was commissioned a major general in the War of 1812. In March 1813, Wilkinson led the American force that occupied Mobile in Spanish West Florida. He was then assigned to the St. Lawrence River theater of war, following Henry Dearborn's reassignment. Wilkinson engaged in two failed campaigns (the Battle of Crysler's Farm and the second Battle of Lacolle Mills (1814). He was then relieved from active service, but was cleared by a military inquiry. In 1816, Wilkinson published Memoirs of My Own Times, in a final attempt to clear his name.

Last Years
In 1821 Wilkinson visited Mexico in pursuit of a Texas land grant. While awaiting government approval of his Texas scheme, Wilkinson died in Mexico City, where he was buried.

Wilkinson's involvement with the Spanish (Agent 13), although widely suspected in his own day, was not proven until 1854, with Louisiana historian Charles Gayarré's publication of the American general's correspondence with Rodríguez Miró, the Spanish governor of Louisiana. Other historians would subsequently add to the catalog of Wilkinson's treasonous activities.

According to Burr biographer David O. Stewart, Wilkinson was severely condemned in print by New York Governor Theodore Roosevelt, some 65 years after the general's misdeeds, with this judgment: "In all our history, there is no more despicable character."

Legacy

 * Historian Robert Leckie characterized him as "a general who never won a battle or lost a court-martial."
 * Historian Frederick Jackson Turner called Wilkinson "the most consummate artist in treason that the nation ever possessed."
 * George Rogers Clark biographer Temple Bodley said of Wilkinson, "He had considerable military talent, but used it only for his own gain."
 * Frankfort, Kentucky's downtown was created from land owned by Wilkinson. He designed their layout and a major boulevard is named in his honor.
 * Wilkinson County, Georgia, is named for Wilkinson. A Georgia historic marker on the courthouse square gives a brief biography of the General and states he is the namesake for the county.
 * Wilkinson appears as a major character in the novel To the Ends of the Earth: The Last Journey of Lewis and Clark, by Frances Hunter (2006 - ISBN 0-9777636-2-5), in which he draws explorer Meriwether Lewis into a conspiracy to separate the western territories from the United States.
 * Wilkinson also appears as a major character in Janice Holt Giles's novel The Land Beyond the Mountains which deals extensively with Wilkinson's participation in the issue of Kentucky statehood.
 * Wilkinson County, Mississippi is named for General Wilkinson, as well. It was there in the Old Natchez District that Wilkinson spent much of his time allegedly plotting the Burr Conspiracy, as Fort Adams (then a major U.S. Army post, located in present day Wilkinson County) was the most south-westerly point in the United States and the last stop on the Mississippi River before entering Spanish territory. It was also from these environs that Burr recruited his would-be revolutionaries, most notable amongst them a young Philip Nolan, famously remembered as "the man without a country" in literature and history.
 * Wilkinson was an avid supporter of the military's short hair codes. So much so that Wilkinson was attempting to prosecute Colonel Thomas Butler, a veteran of both the Revolution and the Indian wars, for keeping his long hair. Colonel Butler died before the trials closed. He never did cut his long, braided queue prior to his death.