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 this collection are available online.