John Graham, Secretary of the Mississippi Territory, who had been directed by the Government in Washington to investigate Burr’s activities in the West, was next called to the stand. He told of his meeting with Blennerhassett who, with his customary gift for blundering, at first mistook him for a friend of Colonel Burr and one who was sympathetic with the expedition. Yet he admitted that Blennerhassett had mentioned the settlement of the Washita lands as being the object. Furthermore, according to Graham, when he tried to discourage him from taking part, Blennerhassett replied that the expedition was legal, that he and Burr were familiar with the law and knew what they were doing. As for the separation of the western country from the Union, he and Burr held that it would be beneficial for the people of the West but realized that they were not yet ready for it.
Saturday, September 26, was a red letter day in the trial since it brought two colorful figures to the witness stand in the persons of General Eaton and General Wilkinson. Eaton now was permitted to include in his testimony that part of his affidavit which Judge Marshall had forbidden in the treason trial on the ground that it was irrelevant to the doings on Blennerhassett Island. The evidence was sensational enough but, having been published in the newspapers throughout the country months before, it was an old story that had lost most of its original force.
According to Eaton, in the course of their conversations in Washington during the winter of 1806, Burr told him that if he could win over the Marine Corps and secure the interest of Truxtun, Preble, and Decatur, he would turn Congress out neck and heels, assassinate the President (or what amounted to that), and declare himself the protector of an energetic government. Eaton insisted that Burr had used such expressions as “hang him,” “throw him into the Potomac,” and “send him to Carter’s Mountain.” Carter’s Mountain was that eminence overlooking the town of Charlottesville, Virginia, on whose edge lay Monticello.
In response to these boasts Eaton claimed he had observed to Burr that one solitary word would destroy him. When Burr inquired what the word was Eaton replied, “Usurper.” Burr, continued Eaton, smiled at the General’s want of confidence, quoted examples of dictators from ancient history and, if Eaton’s memory served, mentioned Caesar, Cromwell, and Bonaparte.
Yet who could believe Eaton, a mere adventurer who had not yet had time to spend the $10,000 indemnity presented to him by the Government so shockingly close to his appearance as its witness? Eaton’s blustering and braggadocio while he was hanging around during the summer waiting his summons to testify also had created an unfavorable impression in the town. The story was spread that one disgusted Richmonder had threatened to kick the Hero of Derne out of a saloon. Nevertheless Eaton’s account of Burr’s lurid boasts bore an astonishing resemblance to those the Morgans had claimed Burr had made to them, and those that Alexander Henderson had charged that Blennerhassett had made to him.
Now at last, when the proceedings were almost through, General Wilkinson was allowed to give his version of the conspiracy in open court. It was the story of Samuel Swartwout’s arrival at Wilkinson’s headquarters at Natchitoches with the cipher letter from Burr, and of Eric Bollman’s arrival at New Orleans with the duplicate. It provided a fresh opportunity for the General to present himself to that large and attentive audience in the role of the savior of his country. But the cross questioning to which he was subjected by the defense made him squirm, while the explanations he gave in reply were a major test of his ingenuity.
Had he made an erasure in the letter? Yes, he had erased the sentence “yours, postmarked 13th of May, is received.” The sentence was a clear giveaway that he had been in previous communication with Burr.
“Have you ever sworn that this was a true translation?” asked Mr. Botts.
“No, only substantially so,” was Wilkinson’s reply.
When the questioning drove him into a corner he excused his conduct on the ground that at the time he had many military duties to perform in defense of his country and was in a hurry. Besides, he had been upset by the death of his wife. No doubt there was truth in that for his devotion to her was universally acknowledged.