Summary Information

Title: James Wilkinson Papers
Collection Number: DAR.1937.09
Creator: Smith, Samuel Harrison, 1772-1845
Creator: Wilkinson, James, 1757-1825

Collection Dates: 1790-1818
Extent: 0.42 linear feet (1 box)

Language: English

Abstract:

The papers contain correspondence to and from James Wilkinson, governor of the Louisiana Territory, high ranking official in the United States Army, and informant of, and suspected co-conspirator in the Aaron Burr conspiracy. Also included in the collection is a copy of a letter from Andrew Jackson to the governor of New Orleans, William C. C. Claiborne, and a letter written by Harman Blennerhassett, a plotter in the Burr conspiracy. Of note is the official document Wilkinson writes as commander in chief of the United States Army to Manuel Antonio Cordero y Bustamante, governor of Coahuila and acting governor of Texas, Wilkinson's dispatch of Lieutenant Zebulon Pike to explore and chart the new frontier. Digital reproductions of the collection are available electronically by following the respective "Digitized Folder Contents" links within the finding aid.