Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1857-01-26
STAR.
COL. AARON BURR IN BALTIMORE.
[From the Baltimore Clipper

Extracts from a forthcoming work Of the
Hon John Barney on "Men and Things of
the Past, have been freely circulated in va
rlous journals of the country, some of which
reflect iDjuriously upon the character Of our
city 1t is but ordinary justice that the truth
should be made manifest, particularly in regard
to that portion of the work which relates to
certain circumstances said to have transpired
whilst Colonel Burr was in Baltimore, after
his trial fer high treason at Richmond. The
work is somewhat pungont in its style, but
calculated to interest the general reader, if
| from no other reason than a mere love of Cos
sip, and will no doubt have a great run, not
withstanding its many errors
As history, ancient and medern-and the
book is condensed history Of an age, an i'm
| portant AGES seldom exempt from a due
share Of the fabulous, it is not reasonable to
expect that the general "reminiscences of any
individual, Of half a century or more, should
| be free from its due share of this ordinary
| tincture This may be truly said without
| charging the author with design of deceiving
| the public.
1t is true, as related in the "Sketches.''
that volunteer corps, in full feather"
| having been apprised that the celebrated
| Colonel Burr was being regaled by a number
OF his loving friends at the mansion of Luther
| Martin, Esq a well-k known, learned and higt-
| ly eminent jurist, and distinguished and fear
less advocate ofthe American Revolution, that
| corps was induced to pay him what they be.
ileved to be well Inherited compliment, which,
as Mr.. Barney, in fact, publicly, since charged
him with 'vilainy, treachery and treasonH-
they honestly believed him to have merited,
although from combination Of causes he was
| legally acquitted.
| The idea, however, that this compliment
was designed to raise mob, or infiict person
al injury upon Col. b., or any one else, is mere
ehimera, then existing only in the dreamy,
| Obtuscated imaginatiOns of his loving friends
There are many hundreds of persons yet Iiy.
ing among cur citizens who recollect the affair,
besides some ten or fifteen survivors of the
volunteer corps-and l hazard nothing in
| aVerring that no living testimony can be ad-
| duced beyond that of the feasted if any other
than Mr.. u. survive, who ever entertained
design OF raising mob for any purpose or
| even heard Of any term uttered which indi
GATED design of intended violence in any form
The corps simply paid Col 3 tie compliment,
retired to their quarters in good order, dis
missed, and that was the end of the affair, so
TAR as they or any portion of our citizens-out
| doors-were concerned. They had formed an
unfavorable opinion of Col. Burr's political
character, and in this they were, as body,
only largely in advance Of the author of the
sketches; harmlessly expressing il, with
out the use of any epithets such as have been
literally bestowed upon him in the work refer
red to.
| Nothing proves more conclusively the neces-
| sity OF receiving these "reminiscences of fftu
years, cum grGnO salts, than the statement Of
the author that Col. Burr rose from the din
ner table, threw up the window, gratefully
| and gracefully bowed to volunteer company
in full feather, arith baHd of music, which
cheered him with lively air, and he grace.
| fully accepted the distinguished honor confer
red upon him Faugh!
In the first place. bands Ofmusic were not
then In vogue L recollect well the difficulty
Of obtaining even drum and fife, and such
alone constituted the band when days Of pa
| rade approached, and the proprietor of the
former refused to beat the sheepskin for less
| than three dollars for an afternoons service,
alleging in note, that Mo0Sick qras a
Sc1ce GrtEEeL "
| Let the reader, however, pause and reflect
| for moment after reading the present quota
| tiOns and reconcile to himself the idea that
Col Burr, an active, distinguished and gal.
liant officer of the revolution, who, from the
necessity of his position must have been per-
fectly acquainted with all the beats, (of the
| drum) frem the simple "call for water to the
=" reveille, peas upon trencher, roast beef"
&C., &c, down to the "tattoO' aye that Col
Burr should raise window and gracefully
| listen to such a salute. No officer or common
| cOAuAOA NhA pOcciOIg &c VI lutSo USdlS,
| ard IS there were many royal TogUeS in the
country during the struggle for independence,
| their march into and ont of the American
camp must have frequently greeted Col BIS
ears without giving nim offence. Yet, heaven
save the ma-k-he gratefully aud gracefully
listened 10 this band of music"-tte lonely
hollow drum and car piercing fife-and dig
| norantly" accepted the compliment as dis
| tiDguished honor conferred upon hin" until Mr
Hughes touched bis arm and said, "Colone!,
they arc playing tho rogue's march with
| charged bayonetS," when he 80 withdrew from
the window, which was closed and the nyEne
circulated Col Burr mistaking the "rogue's
march" for complimentary "natton0k air, s"
and 'tehGrge bayonetS" for the ''present
Grms' The idea is supremely absurd
Admitting the possible but not probable fact
that Col b was ignorant of the beats of the
| drum, he certainly never before bowed to a
compliment of charged bayonets," and this
he could not avoid seeing unless the wine had
previously circulated very freely The
| Mr.. Hughes spoken of was no doubt Christie
pher Hughes, jr Esq the accomplished di-
| plOmatic agent under President j. Q. Adams's
| administration to the court of Stockholm.
| That gentleman-and he was such cvsry inch
was then but youth, and had probably
not finished his studies, or left the Office of his
| patron. the honorable r. G. Harper, ESQ :,
and was probably as ignorant Of the beats of
drums as he was subsequently distinguished
as an American minister at foreign court,
and hence it is by no means likely he should
have reminded Col Burr Of his error in TAX
ing the rogues' march as high compliment.
| Mr.. Barney and the writer are old acquain-
| tances-whOm he will no doubt promptly rec
| ognize-and appear to have some regard for
each other He might have been aided in his
"reminiscences on this special point, and per-
haps have presented no less piquant sketch
of the Burr affair in Baltimore, if he had
availed himself of the recollection of adjunct
testimony, and particularly from such as had
participated in the affair. 1 will afford him
paragraph, resting upon good authority, which
in future editions Of his works he may substi-
tute for that ridiculous and absurd TRADE at
tributed TO Col. Burr, here commented upon
| When the corps arrived in front of Mr. Mar
tins house and the music commenced the sa-
lutte, Mr.. NJ. threw up the sash and called
Colonel Burr to receive the supposed cOmpli-
ment-the honorable salute of volunteer
corps The Colonel exclaimed, damnable
compliment-the Rogue's March, Mr.: ID
Il.