WILKINSON, JAMES (1757-1825). An American soldier, horn in Benedict, Md., of Eng lish ancestry. He was privately tutored and studied medicine in Philadelphia (1773-75). In September, 1775, he enlisted in the American Army, joining the army before Boston; the fol lowing yea• lie was made captain and led a com pany joining Arnold at La Chine in the invasion of Canada. He became a colonel, served on the staff of General Gates. and was pro moted by the latter to be deputy adjutant-general of the Army of the Northern Department. He served with some distinction through the Sara toga campaign, and was delegated to bear to Con gress the news of the surrender of Burgoyne. Ile \ vas brevetted brigadier-Lieneral in November, 1777; was implicated in the Conway Cabal (q.v.) : acted as secretary to the Board of War frffin January to March, 1778: and in .1nly, 1779, was made clothier-general of the Continental Army. He resigned in 1781, and in 1784 re moved to Kentucky, where he soon came to exert considerable influence. Ile played a conspicuous part in the early polities of that State; and oven went so feu• as to intrigue with the Spaniards in Louisiana for the absorption of the Wet,tern coun try by Spain. Ile was, however, spokesman for but a small coterie of politicians and adven turers, his motive being largely selfish. For the ride he played Ile received valuable trade conces sions with Louisiana—Ito had come to be the larg est tobacco dealer• in the West—and a pension from the Spanish Government. His treasonable conduct being unknnw-n, he was appointed lieu tenant-colonel in 1791, and served with ability in the Indian wars of the West, notably in An thony Wayne's campaign. In Starch, 1792, he was appointed brigadier-general, and in 1790 suc ceeded Wayne as commander-in-chief of the army. In 1505, after the acquisition of Louisiana and its division into two Territories, he was ap pointed by Jefferson Governor of Upper Louisiana with his capital at Saint Louis. At this time he was already engaged with Aaron Burr in a scheme to• the conquest of Mexico. During 1S06, under cover of the Spanish excitement. this scheme took shape, but Wilkinson, seeing the opportunity of driving a double bargain, turned traitor, de nouncing the expedition to the President, and applying to the Viceroy of Mexico for money to compensate him for having saved that kingdom to Spain. llis treachery and guilty conduct,
however, were clearly exposed to some people and be narrowly escaped indictment along with Burr at Richmond in 1807. Wilkinson's period of impunity was ended. On December 31, 1807, John Randolph introduced a resolution in Con gress to inquire into the conduct of Brigadier General James Wilkinson "in relation to his hav ing, at an• time, while in the service of the States, corruptly received money from Spain o• its agents." He was exonerated, but of his guilt Randolph was certain, and early in 1810 two committees in Congress took up charges against the General. On December 25, 1811, he was again acquitted, and resumed command of the army. In March, 1813, during the second war with Great Britain, he was raised to the rank of major-general and placed in command of the Canada Expedition, but, proving incapable, he was superseded in 1814, and in November a court martial was ordered for his trial on charges of neglect of duty, drunkenness, conduct unbecom an officer, and of countenancing and encour aging disobedience of orders. In 1815 he was again acquitted, and was honorably discharged from the service. He removed to Mexico City and took a small part in some of the revolution ary movements then afflicting that country. His • last years were spent in trying to collect from Mexico a large sum of money due himself and some of his friends for munitions and arms. He was a brave officer, a fluent speaker, and a ready but rather grandiose writer. Since his death materials have been brought to light which show him to have been a consianmate intriguer, barren of honor and shamelessly corrupt. He published: The Aaron Burr Conspiracy Exposed (1808) ; and a partially reliable work, Memoirs of My Omen Times (1816 ) , which was left incomplete. For accounts of his Western intrigues, consult: Gayarr6, Spanish Dominion in Louisiana (New York, 1S54) ; Roosevelt, Winning of the West, vol. iii. (ib., 1894) ; Green, Time S pan iSh Con spiracy (Cincinnati, 1891) : Daniel Clark, Proofs of the Corruption of Gen. James Wilkinson (1809) ; and McCaleb, The Aaron Burr Con spiracy (New York, 1903).