The story of Burr's passing in custody through New Store, VA, on his way to Richmond for trial:
http://richmondthenandnow.com/Newspaper-Articles/Aaron-Burr.html

PLEASE CHECK OUT ELLEN WILLIAM'S ARTICLE IN THE SOUTH ALABAMIAN concerning The 200th Anniversary of The Capture of Aaron Burr:

http://www.southalabamian.com/news/2007/0215/News/082.html

Hi, Robert:
I sent you a note but apparently I had not used correct address! I will try again with the same message, but in addition, I discussed the arrest in my Alabama History Class at Huntingdon College on Tuesday.
Please let me know more your plans!

MARY ANN NEELEY

BURR OAKS- located on the campus of Jefferson College in Washington, Mississippi, these oaks are said to be the site of Aaron Burr's arraignment for treason in February of 1807

photo courtesy of http://www.vaiden.net/mead_lineage.html

Robert,

I received the Winter Issue of Alabama Heritage yesterday, No. 83, Winter 2007, published by the Univ. of Ala. Press. An article, "A Traitor in the Wilderness, The Arrest of Aaron Burr," by Aaron Welborn. is featured on p. 10 with pictures. You can probably get a copy at www.AlabamaHeritage.com

Jackie Matte

Ellen:
Please see if you can get a GPS # on the site of the capture.
With Burr, it's best not to have any opinions.[Today, you're dealing with a lot of Yankees who think he was the "NEXT COMING"]
The important thing is that he was caught here and that the only reason he was caught was due to the heroic effort of Nicholas "Bigbee" Perkins.
Don't worry about the public schools. Alabama History has been banned in all Alabama high schools for ten years so that should give you an idea of where the message of our heritage is found in the public schools.
Tonight, I'm gonna tune up this thread and send it to some newspapers in Mississippi. All the important events of THE BURR WAR
occurred in Mississippi so somebody over there might get interested. The capitol of the Mississippi Territory was Washington, Mississippi which is located about 7 miles east of Natchez. It was away from the river and had a great spring to provide fresh water so the powers that be moved the seat of government there.
Some good sources which you may be able to get from Mobile libraries:
http://www.jstor.org AARON BURR IN MISSISSIPPI The Journal of Southern History, Vol. 15, No. 1(Feb., 1949), pp. 9-21
The Burr Conspiracy by Thomas Perkins Abernathy (1954), pp. 220-235.
The Reminiscences of George Strother Gaines (1998), pp. 142-145.
JEFFERSON'S VENDETTA by Joseph Wheelan(2005), pp. 1-9.
AARON BURR: Conspiracy to Treason by Buckner F. Melton, Jr.(2002), pp.149-165.
AARON BURR: The Proud Pretender by Holmes Alexander(1937),270-279.
AARON BURR: Portrait of an Ambitious Man, 272-285.
AARON BURR: The Conspiracy and Years of Exile 1805-1836, 210-225.

THANKS FOR MAKING SOMETHING HAPPEN!
Best,
Robert Register http://robertoreg.blogspot.com


From: "Ellen" To: Subject: Aaron BurrDate: Tue, 6 Feb 2007 11:56:38 -0600
Dear Mr. Register,
Mrs. McCutcheon contacted me about your interest in a Burr article in view of the upcoming 200th anniversary of his capture here in Washington County. My publisher has already requested that I do an article/feature on Burr for our Feb. 15 edition. And she forwarded your email.
I surely agree with you that this was a "brush with history" for this local area; and one with which the local school system has not really done much, in my opinion. Are you aware that there is an old piece of tin, no longer legible at the "spot" where Burr was captured on Feb. 19, 1807. A member of our Washington County Historical Society has placed a granite marker there as well. (1995)
If you subscribe to Alabama Heritage, there is a good article on Burr in the latest, Winter issue. I found your account of the 2-4-07 trial in Washington, Mississippi Territory fascinating. None of the sources I contacted gave that information. I assume you do mean, Washington County, Mississippi Territory (as several counties were eventually carved out of that large area)?
The more I read of Burr, the more sympathetic I find myself becoming. He and Hamilton disagreed over monetary systems; and time may prove Burr correct on that.
So many questions about Burr cannot be answered because of his papers being lost in the shipwreck off the coast of NC when his daughter was carrying them with her.
Regards,
Ellen Williams

KM:

I really appreciate you meeting with me today to discuss the possibility of your paper publishing an article this month commemorating the 200th anniversary of the capture of Aaron Burr on Monday, February 19, 2007.

The closest thing I have to a primary source is Albert J. Pickett's 1847 conversation with George S. Gaines. Eventually I would like to examine letters and transcripts found in the Library of Congress' Burr Manuscripts. I also need to examine a number of 1807 newspaper articles.

The following chronology gives you an idea of the importance of this February 1807 event which occurred near where you now reside; an area which at the time was called "the wildest and most isolated place in the whole of the United States."

1) On Friday, February 4, 1807, a federal grand jury in Washington, Mississippi Territory returned no indictment for treason or anything else against Aaron Burr.

2) Federal Judge Romney ordered Burr to appear in court and Burr did not show. Judge Rodney ordered Burr's bail forfeited.

Silas Dinsmoor [his name appears on the historic marker at St. Stephens Masonic Lodge #9] is quoted as writing, "We are all in a flurry here, hourly expecting Colonel Burr and all Kentucky and half of Tennessee at his [back] to punish General Wilkinson, set the negroes free, Rob the banks and take Mexico. Come and help me laugh at the fun."

3) Fearing military arrest, court martial and firing squad, Burr jumped bail and became a fugitive. On Sunday, February 6, 1807, Mississippi Territory Governor Williams issued a proclamation describing Burr as a fugitive and offering $2000 for his capture.

4) At about 11 P. M. on Friday night, February 18, Major Robert Ashley and a disguised Burr arrived at Nicholas "Bigbee" Perkins' cabin near Wakefield [near present-day Sunflower]. The visitors interrupted a game of backgammon Perkins was playing with Thomas Malone [Malone is also mentioned on the St. Stephens Masonic Lodge #9 historic marker]. The visitors asked for directions to Colonel Hinson's place located 7 miles south of Wakefield.


Nicholas "Bigbee" Perkins, II (1779-1848)http://www.tnportraits.org/30217-perkins.htm

5) Suspecting that his mysterious visitor is Aaron Burr, Perkins goes to Sheriff Thomas Brightwell's house and wakes him up. The two men proceed by horseback to Col. Hinson's.

6) Sheriff Brightwell & Perkins are invited inside by Mrs. Hinson where they meet the strangers.
Perkins goes outside to wait for Brightwell who does not come out. Because Brightwell does not return, Perkins proceeds to Ft. Stoddert. According to George S. Gaines, Perkins rode his horse 15 miles that night to Mr. Joe Bates' place on Nannahubba Bluff. Bates let Perkins have a slave and a canoe. Perkins and the slave canoe 8 or 9 miles down the river to Ft. Stoddert.

7) Perkins tells Lt. E.P. Gaines about Burr and after breakfast they and a group of 4 or 5 soldiers head north toward Hinson's place. On that Saturday, February 19 afternoon Gaines arrests Burr near McIntosh Bluff.

8) On March 5, 1807, Perkins and eight others accompany Burr on his 1500 mile trip to Washington, D.C. The party consisted of Colonel Nicholas Perkins, of Tennessee, who had, as we have seen, been the cause of his arrest; Thomas Malone, formerly a clerk in the land office at Raleigh, North Carolina, but who, at this period, was a clerk of the court of Washington County, Alabama; Henry B. Slade, of North Carolina; John Mills, a native of Alabama; John Henry, of Tennessee; two brothers, named Mc- Cormack, of Kentucky, and two federal soldiers. http://www.mindspring.com/~mchs/herald/burr.htm

9) On Thursday, March 26, the party delivers Burr to the authorities in Richmond, Virginia. They averaged about 30 miles per day.

Here's a good article on the Web http://www.mindspring.com/~mchs/herald/burr.htm
and you can find other sources at http://atlasofalabama.blogspot.com

Any assistance you can give in sharing this story with others will be appreciated.

Best,
Robert Register http://robertoreg.blogspot.com


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