On the Trail of the Treasonous - Prelude
Prelude & Introduction
The Unveiling of Canadian History, Volume 5
‘On the Trail of the Treasonous’
Prelude
At the start of the American Revolution, many young people would step forward to become ‘patriots’ in the War for Independence.
With the birth of the new nation came a new generation of Americans, born during the early years of that War, who would, in their turn, be called upon to step forward and also to become ‘patriots’ – to preserve the Union against the treasonous plot of a traitor, Aaron Burr.
This is a story of some of those ‘unsung’ heroes,
Joseph Daveiss (1774 – 1811),
William Claiborne (1775 – 1817),
Cowles Mead (1776 – 1844),
and of an awakening of the ‘Spirit of Seventy Six’
[painting of the Spirit of Seventy Six, by Archibald MacNeal Willard (1875)]
It has been said that the best way to stop a conspiracy of treason, is to expose it to the light of public opinion. The trial of Aaron Burr exposed his treason to view of the entire nation, even if it could not be proven in its court.
This trial only took place because of the arrest of Burr and his co-conspirators by General Wilkinson – Burr’s treason was physically stopped by the United States Army!
This action of the United States Army was only possible because of the President’s Proclamation to alert the nation of the danger to the Union. This Proclamation became possible because of the report of Burr’s treason to the President in the letter of General Wilkinson. This switching of Wilkinson’s allegiance away from Burr and towards the Union was possible because of the efforts of US Attorney Joseph Daveiss, and other ‘unsung heroes’ who stepped up to work to save the Union from treason.
One can only imagine what would have happened if not for these ‘unsung heroes’. Without causing this change in Wilkinson, it is most probable that a war between Spain and the United States would have been started somewhere along the undefined border between Louisiana and Texas, along the Sabine river. With that small American frontier army busily engaged against the Spanish forces, it is most probable that Burr and his small armed band of conspirators would have been able to rally support to seize New Orleans, and probably to attack Spanish West Florida.
With the United States at war with Spain, and with Burr’s forces marching against Spanish territory, it is most probable that the population of the western states would have been drawn into supporting Burr’s plan, due to the anti-Spanish sentiment at that time.
With a declaration of war between Spain and the United States, it is probable that a change in British Empire policy would have occurred, possibly to the point of assisting Burr with Britain’s navy in a probable attack on Spanish Mexico. At this point, it is probable that the second part of Burr’s treason, the separation of Louisiana and the Western States from the rest of the Union, would have been launched – with Aaron Burr, James Wilkinson and Andrew Jackson, acting like the three witches in ‘Macbeth’, stirring a cauldron of trouble, treason and secession. And the intricacies, twists and turns, plots and sub-plots, all stirred together would leave one with too many possible outcomes to imagine further. Except that is not what happened.
As Governor Claiborne said “every citizen of the United States has a country, because he partakes of the Sovereignty; when that Country therefore should demand support, the Spirit of Seventy Six will be awakened.” Somehow, when the sovereignty of the Republic is in danger, this ‘spirit of seventy six’ can awaken the minds and hearts of the American citizens to act to defend its independence. But what is this ‘spirit of seventy six’ that could cause someone, without thoughts of reward or advancement, to voluntarily pledge one’s life, fortune and sacred honor?
In contemporary terms, this courage to do what one believes is right, is referred to as our ‘cultural confidence’.
In a speech to the China Writers Association on November 30th 2016, President Xi Jinping discussed this idea of ‘cultural confidence’, that “Culture is the soul of both a country and a nation. History and reality have proven that a nation which abandons or betrays its own history and culture cannot prosper, and is likely to end in tragedy. Confidence in culture is basic, deep-rooted, and reaches far and wide; it is a force that is more fundamental, stable and persistent. Increasing confidence in our own culture is critical to the prospects of our country, to our cultural security, and to the independence of our national character”.
Many citizens in the ‘so-called’ western nations today have lost their cultural confidence, and the government ‘managers’ of those nations try vainly to justify their arrogant behavior by appealing, with simple sound bites, to words like ‘freedom’ and ‘democracy’ – words that can have no meaning without expressing the spirit of what they once stood for in our cultural history, something that our ‘managers’ cannot and dare not express. And so, we have lost the spirit of our cultural confidence, and are weakened in our battles against the Empire’s narrative.
As the teacher and poet, John Milton, has tried to show us, in order to regain paradise, we have to have a truthful and scientific understanding of evil, and then we could know how we lost paradise. Free will, says Milton, is not about choosing right from wrong, but it is about deciding whether or not to accept the grace of God. Free will is not so much about we do, as it is about knowing our ‘intention’ for doing it.
That ‘spirit of seventy six’ is the cultural confidence that will shape and form the independence of the American character in its defence against the tragedy of empire. Hopefully, by studying here the fight against the evil and treason of Aaron Burr, we might better regain our cultural confidence.
Introduction
The British Empire’s plan to use controlled native ‘Indian’ attacks on the American western colonial frontier, to stop America’s manifest destiny of becoming a ‘continental republic’, began in earnest in June 1776, shortly before the Declaration of Independence was signed and announced to the world on the 4th of July.
1. On June 1st 1776, 78 ships arrived at Quebec – by June 16th British troops had retaken Montreal & by June 17th had retaken Fort St. Jean. The American Northern Army had to retreat from Canada.
2. From June 8th to 15th 1776, a general meeting of the Kentucky settlers was held at Harrodsburg where they elected two delegates that they wished to represent them in the Virginia General Assembly and to seek the creation of a new county. (Virginia created Kentucky County on December 31st 1776)
3. From June 17th to 28th 1776, Henry Hamilton, British Lieutenant-Governor and Superintendent of Indian Affairs at Fort Detroit, held a council with the Ottawa, Huron, Chippewa, Potawatomi, Miami, Shawnee and Delaware ‘Indian nations’, to gain their support for the British policy of sending out war parties and ‘making a diversion on the frontiers of Virginia and Pennsylvania by parties of Indians’.
So began the British Indian Department’s strategy, from the British Dominion of Canada – in imitation of the earlier French Jesuit policy – to stop the establishment of a continental republic of America. This British Empire strategy was continued until it was de-railed due to patriot General Anthony Wayne’s decisive victory at the Battle of Fallen Timbers in 1794 – until the Louisiana Purchase and the launch of the historic Lewis and Clark expedition on July 4th 1803.
The British Empire’s reaction to the news of that expedition that had the potential to expand the commerce of the United States to the Pacific ocean, and the potential to consolidate its control over the western fur trade away from the British Empire’s Hudson Bay Company, and the potential to open up direct American trade with China, was to change the British’s Empire’s strategy of using their British ‘Indian-manipulation’ Department to a strategy of fostering internal dissension into parties and factions for secession – to break apart the Union.
This coincided with the beginnings of the Essex Junto’s treasonous plot, with Aaron Burr, to effect a secession of the northern states from the Union in an alliance with British North America [i.e. Canada].
Introductory Note: In response to a question regarding why this story is important, it was made clear to me that it’s of the utmost importance to study the history of Burr’s treason and also the opinions of Chief Justice John Marshall in Burr’s treason trial, so that the constitutional distinction between ‘treason’ and ‘conspiracy to commit treason’ may be understood. According to the Constitution of the United States of America (Article III, section 3) “Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort.” So that way, when preparing future legal indictments against ‘managers’ of the Deep State, we don’t want to make the mistake that was made by President Jefferson and the prosecution in the Burr trial – because, while we may not be able to prove ‘treason’, we may be capable of proving ‘conspiracy to commit treason’ - a high misdemeanor.
[next week - chapter 1 - Canada and the Threat of Northern Secession]
For those who may wish to support my continuing work on ‘The Unveiling of Canadian History’, you may purchase my books, that are available as PDFs and Paperback (on Amazon) at the Canadian Patriot Review :
Volume 1 – The Approaching Conflict, 1753 – 1774.
Volume 2 – Forlorn Hope – Quebec and Nova Scotia, and the War for Independence, 1775 – 1785.
Volume 3 – The Storming of Hell – the War for the Territory Northwest of the Ohio, 1786 – 1796.
And hopefully,
Volume 4 – Ireland, Haiti, and Louisiana – the Idea of a Continental Republic, 1797 – 1804,
may also appear in print, in the near future, while I continue to work on :
Volume 5 – On the Trail of the Treasonous, 1804 - 1814.
Sir you are a true gem! I’m buying all of your books. Just purchased the SHADOW…..
Too bad nobody stopped Alexander Hamilton.