New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1854-08-21

rived safely, after having experienced what
Charley called Sc boisterous weather. TKnick-
erbocker for August.
MILITARY CHARACTER OF AARON BURR.
The literary taste of Aaron Burr is acknowl
edged to have been Of high order The natu-
raj acuteness Of his mind was highly favorable
to success in all subjects pertaining to bellies
lettres. With most retentiye memory, and an
Imagination easily excited, he spent several
months after leaving the college halls of Prince
ton in reading the history Of the most renowned
military characters; and to his plastic mind
the military hero became the beau ideal of his
sonl-an all.pervading principle Under the
influence Of this tutelary genius, the first gun
tired at Lexington, 17l5, electrified his ardent
mind with the eager anticipation of gaining
laurels on the field Of Mars. Tt had been his
purpose to enter at once on the study of the
law, but his youthful soul was filed with images
too highly colored to allow for moment the
thought Of applying to the drudgery of profess
sional life. He applied to his guardian for per-
mission to join the continental army His
slender frame, delicate to fault, the indulgence
with which he had ever been treated, and the
effemlnating influence of q students life, all
urged upon his guardian the propriety Of de-
nial, In his own mind he had already passed
&C the Rubicon," and expostulation was useless.
He hastened to Charleston, boy Of twenty, and
presented himself as q volunteer-not in the
cause of his country SO much as the field, where
glorious distinction might be gained He soon
found that the American troops, disorderly and
undisciplined as they were at this early period,
laid no claim to the character of such an army
! as his fancy had spread out before him.
Finding no place for personal distinction in the
regular army, ne was eager to join the detaeh-
ment under Arnold, the object of which was to
march across the unbroken wilderness, to CO.
operate with General Montgomery in an attack
upon Quebec Again kind friends interposed,
representing the certain destruction that await
| ed mere STRIPPING, in a wild march of more
| than thirty days, at period of the year. when
the severity of q northern winter might natu-
rally be anticipated. But his abstemiousness
In the vulgar indulgences of eating and drink
ing, practieed in College to enable him to ac-
complish his ambitious purposes carried him
| triumphantly through an enterprise, before
which Napoleon's celebrated passage of the Alps
| dwindles into insignifcance. In this protracted
march young Burr exhibited the quality of en-
darance beyond what his friends deemed
possible.
No less worthy of admiration was the sagacity
which he displayed in pioneering the way from
the head waters of the Kennebec to the neigh
borhood of Quebec, to inform General Mont
gonlery of the approaching expedition. The
possibility of capturing Quebec, and the conse-
quent renown, excited his youthful energies to
the utmost; and he nightly explored the sur
rounding localities, until no point of approach
was to him unknown. As aid to Montgomery
in the action in which this brave General fell
he put forth mighty effort; but the plan o
| attack, decided on against the wishes of Burr
was not feasible, and after the retreat from tn,
city, he was glad to abandon a corps in whose
commander he reposed no confidence, and ht
pressed his way southwark, unattended, to-
wards the theatre of war During this solitary
march his sagacity and penetration were mor'
than a match for the red man himself, and h
passed unharmed through a region that proyet
fatal to many.
His manly bearing in the northern campaigl
had reached the ears of the Commander in
Chief, who sent a message to Col. Burr, on hi
way homeward, inviting him to join his g house
hold establishment" In the honorable eapaeit
of 60 one of his Aids" Had Burr's moral char
aeter been equal to his incipient military re
nown, his fortune now would have been secured
but Washington scanned the principles of hi
young Aid-de-camp, and saw that moral virtu
was wanting Failing to gain the fellowship Q
the chief, and disliking the inactivity of tn
station allotted him, he sought more activ
position under General Putnam, with the hop
that his restless ambition might find seme fel
of action commensurate with his lofty aspira
tion. His prowess was soon put to the test, an
his military resources were displayed to grea
advantage in the memorable retreat of IL
American army from New York to Whiteplain
It is no disparagement to any other officer
say, that one regiment at least owes its safet
to the energy and skill of Col Burr on tha
occasion. u
We now approach period in Burr's militar
career in which his genius shone most eonspieu
ously. The command of the outposts in West
chester county was assigned him, and, as if b
magic, the disorder and confusion which ha
disgraeed the American troops in border war
fare we're dispelled, and the plundering an
marauding habits of the soldiery we're represse
by a will that was lndomitable, aided by an ey
that seemed omnisiciept.
Private property on ssthe neutral ground
became as safe as in the best-governed commu
mites, Even the common soldiers saw the supe
riority of their condition to what it had bee
1 amid riot and misrule, and they were abun
4; dantly satisfied with the regular supply mete
. out to them, compared with the occasional SUI
felt which the plundering system afforded.
The resources of this energetic officer SCENE
r well nigh miraculous in preserving his sentinel
I from the enemy's sharp-shooters, and terrify
i ing the foe, that had become emboldened b
the pnsillanimity of his predecessor to carr
off their plumber in full view of the patriot van
guard. .zz-s ...=-
The great secret of his success was his unti1
ing watchfulness, that did not allow him to slee
0 without visiting in person all the outposts, an
: seeing with his own eyes that his command
e we're literally executed To carry out this pla
: was a severe trial on constitution natural
9 slender, as it often required ride on horsebac
i OF twenty to thirty miles, while most officer
e and priyates, too, were locked in the embrace
J sleep. Integrity the most uncompromising, an
is probity beyond suspicion, could not have dor
1t more 10 elevate the American cause in the eyt
1t of the British troops than was effected by Colon
y Burr during the campaign.
i The whole region from Jersey City to Sutfesn
! and from New York to Peekskill, witnessed h
l activity in ferreting out and thwartir tl
plans of the enemy, In contemplating this POI