Memoirs Of Aaron Burr, Volume 1, Matthew L. Davis [book club suggestions .txt] 📗

A Strong Body Of Militia Were

Stationed To Defend It. They Were In The Habit Of Exciting In The Camp

False Alarms; And The Main Body, In Consequence, Was Frequently Put In

Motion. When Not Put In Motion, They Were Greatly Disturbed,

Especially At Night. These Alarms Generally Resulted From The Want Of

A Rigid Discipline. General Mcdougall Was At Valley Forge, And

Exceedingly Annoyed. Of Burr, As A Disciplinarian And A Soldier, He

Entertained A High Opinion; And Recommended To Washington That He

Withdraw From This Detachment Burr'S Seniors, As Officers, And Give

Him The Command Of The Post, Which Was Accordingly Done. Colonel Burr

Immediately Commenced A Rigid System Of Police, Visiting Every Night,

And At All Hours Of The Night, The Sentinels; Changing Their Position,

&C. During The Day He Kept The Troops Under A Constant Drill. The

Rigour Of This Service Was Not Adapted To The Habits Of Militia, Who

Had Been Accustomed To Pass, In Camp, A Life Of Idleness, And To Act

As Suited Their Individual Whims And Caprices. A Portion Of The Most

Worthless Became Restless, And Were Determined To Rid Themselves Of

Such A Commander.

 

 

Colonel Burr Was Notified Of The Contemplated Mutiny, In Which He

Would Probably Fall A Victim. He Ordered The Detachment To Be Formed

That Night (It Being A Cold, Bright Moonlight), And Secretly Directed

That All Their Cartridges Should Be Drawn, So That There Should Not Be

A Loaded Musket On The Ground. He Provided Himself With A Good And

Well-Sharpened Sabre. He Knew All The Principal Mutineers. He Marched

Along The Line, Eying The Men Closely. When He Came Opposite To One Of

The Most Daring Of The Ringleaders, The Soldier Advanced A Step, And

Levelled His Musket At Colonel Burr, Calling Out--"Now Is Your Time,

My Boys." Burr, Being Well Prepared And In Readiness, Anticipating An

Assault, With A Celerity For Which He Was Remarkable, Smote The Arm Of

The Mutineer Above The Elbow, And Nearly Severed It From His Body,

Ordering Him, At The Same Time, To Take And Keep His Place In The

Line. In A Few Minutes The Men Were Dismissed, And The Arm Of The

Mutineer Was Next Day Amputated. No More Was Heard Of The Mutiny; Nor

Were There Afterwards, During Colonel Bun'S Command, Any False Alarms.

This Soldier Belonged To Wayne'S Brigade; And Some Of The Officers

Talked Of Having Colonel Burr Arrested, And Tried By A Court-Martial,

For The Act; But The Threat Was Never Carried Into Execution.

 

 

That Colonel Burr Joined The Army At White Marsh, And Was There In

Command Of His Regiment, The Following Application And Order Will

Show:--

Chapter VIII (From Lieutenant Robert Hunter To Gabriel Furman) Pg 105

Near White Marsh, Nov., 1777.

 

 

Sir,

 

 

The Papers And Clothing Of The Companies Which Have Lately Joined

Malcolm'S Regiment Are At Bethlem. The Papers Are Now Wanted; And

Several Of The Officers Cannot Appear Decent Until They Receive Other

Clothes: For These Reasons I Would Ask Your Indulgence For Leave Of

Absence, For Two Subalterns, Six Days. Their Presence Is Not

Particularly Necessary With Their Companies.

 

 

Respectfully Your Ob'T Serv'T,

 

 

A. Burr.

 

 

Hon. General Conway.

Chapter VIII (This Application General Conway Returns) Pg 106

This Application General Conway Returns, With The Following

Endorsement:--

 

 

Colonel Burr Is Master To Send Such Officers As He Thinks Requisite,

In Order To Procure The Papers Wanted, And The Clothes For The Use Of

The Regiment.

 

 

T. Conway.

 

 

While The Army Was At Valley Forge, In The Winter Of 1777-78, The

Difficulties Between General Washington And General Gates, And Their

Respective Friends, Became, In A Great Measure, Matter Of Publicity.

At This Period There Were Two Parties Among The Officers. Washington

Had His Warm Friends And Supporters. Lee And Gates Had Theirs.

 

 

Colonel Burr Was Of The Latter. The Merits Of The Question Will Not Be

Discussed; And The Subject Will Only Be Referred To So Far As Burr Is

Concerned.

 

 

In The Spring Of 1776, At The Request Of The Commander-In-Chief, Burr

Joined His Military Family For A Short Space Of Time, But Soon Became

Dissatisfied And Retired. On The 29Th Of August, 1776, The American

Army Retreated From Long Island. This Retreat Burr Had Pressed Upon

Putnam, Mifflin, And Others. In His Letter To T. Edwards, [2] Dated

The 10Th Of August, Nearly _Three Weeks_ Before It Took Place, He

Says: "They (The British) Are To Come Through The Sound, And Thus

Invest Us By The North And East Rivers. They Are Then To Land On Both

Sides Of The Island, Join Their Forces, And Draw A Line Across, _Which

Will Hem Us In, And Totally Cut Off All Communication, After Which

They Will Have Their Own Fun._"

Chapter VIII (This Application General Conway Returns) Pg 107

During The Night Of The Retreat, Burr Was Actively Engaged Aiding

Mcdougall In The Embarcation Of The Troops At Brooklyn; And, From A

Personal Knowledge Of The Localities Of It And The Adjacent Places, He

Imagined That He Had Rendered Some Service. It Has Been Shown That, By

His Intrepidity And Perseverance In The Retreat From New-York, He

Rescued From Impending Danger The Brigade Of General Silliman. In

Neither Of These Cases Was His Conduct Noticed By The

Commander-In-Chief, Either In General Orders Or Otherwise. Young,

Ardent, Ambitious, And Of A Fiery Temperament, He Thought That Justice

Was Not Done To His Efforts, And Construed These, With Other Minor

Occurrences About The Same Time, Into Acts Of Hostility Towards Him.

In September, 1776, Therefore, His Prejudices Against General

Washington Became Fixed And Unchangeable; And To The Latest Hour Of

His Life He Recurred To The Retreat From Long Island, And From The

City Of New-York, With Acrimonious Feelings Towards The

Commander-In-Chief. Whatever May Be Said To The Contrary, As Early As

This Period Those Prejudices Were Formed And Confirmed. That General

Washington Placed No Confidence In Burr, And That, For Some Reason, He

Was Exceedingly Hostile Towards Him, Is Equally Certain. Whether His

Hostility Commenced At This Period Is Matter Of More Uncertainty.

Events Already Noticed Demonstrate That The General Considered Him An

Intrepid, Efficient, And Vigilant Officer.

 

 

Thus, In 1777, Burr Was The Friend Of Lee And Gates In Opposition To

General Washington. In The Beginning Of January, 1778, It Was Reported

To Burr That Lord Stirling Had Made Some Remarks Respecting The Manner

In Which The Colonel Had Contributed To Arrange The Rank Of His

(Burr'S) Subaltern Officers. Lord Stirling At This Time Commanded The

Division. It Will Be Recollected That, A Few Weeks Previous, Colonel

Burr Had Proposed To The Commander-In-Chief An Enterprise Against

Staten Island, Which Was Rejected; But, Immediately After, It Was

Unsuccessfully Attempted By Lord Stirling. The Difficulty, Therefore,

In Fact, Between These Gentlemen, Grew Out Of The Latter Circumstance.

On The 7Th Of January, 1778, Burr Addressed Lord Stirling, Requesting

An Explanation, Which Was Promptly Given In The Following Note, And

Thus The Matter Terminated.

Chapter VIII (This Application General Conway Returns) Pg 108

Camp, January 8Th, 1778.

 

 

Sir,

 

 

The Receipt Of Your Letter Of Yesterday'S Date Not A Little Surprised

Me, For I Can Assure You That I Have Never Made Use Of A Word In

Censure Of Yourself, Or Of The Court You Mention. I Some Days Ago

Ordered A Return To Be Brought In Of The Names And Rank Of The

Officers Of The Division, Independent Of What The Two Courts Were

Doing, And Desired Major Monroe [3] To Direct The Brigade-Majors To

Make Them Out As Soon As Possible: From This, I Suppose, Some Mistake

Has Arose, Which I Will Call Upon Major Stagg To Explain.

 

 

I Am,

 

 

Your Most Obedient Humble Servant,

 

 

Stirling.

 

 

Lieutenant-Colonel Burr.

Footnote Pg 109

 

 

 

1. See Chapter Vii.

Footnote Pg 110

 

 

2. See Chapter Vii.