James Wilkinson James Wilkinson ( March 24 , 1757 – December 28 , 1825 ) was an American soldier and statesman , who was associated with several scandals and controversies . He served in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War , but was twice compelled to resign . He was twice the Commanding General of the United States Army , appointed first Governor of the Louisiana Territory in 1805 , and commanded two unsuccessful campaigns in the St . Lawrence theater during the War of 1812 . After his death , he was discovered to have been a paid agent of the Spanish Crown . Personal life . James Wilkinson was born about three miles ( 5 km ) northeast of Benedict , Maryland , on a farm south of Hunting Creek . His grandfather had been sufficiently wealthy to buy Stoakley Manor in Calvert County . The family felt that even though their property was smaller , they still fell in with a higher social class . James grew up with the idea that " the image of respectability excused the reality of betrayal . " His father , Joseph Wilkinson , inherited the property but , by that time , the family was in debt . In 1764 , Stoakley Manor was broken up and sold . His older brother , Joseph , inherited the property after his father died and , as the second son , James was left with nothing . However , his father left with the last words of “ My son , if you ever put up with an insult , I will disinherit you . ” Andro Linklater argues that this upbringing led to James ’ aggressive reaction towards insults of his behavior . James Wilkinson received his early education from a private tutor , funded by his grandmother ; his study of medicine in Philadelphia at the University of Pennsylvania was interrupted by the American Revolution . Wilkinson married Ann Biddle of the Biddle family on November 12 , 1778 in Philadelphia . Wilkinson ' s marriage to the dynamic Biddle only helped his career as a politician and general . They had four children , including John ( 1780 – 1796 ) , James Biddle ( c . 1783 – September 17 , 1813 ) and Joseph Biddle ( 1785 - 1865 ) . After Ann ' s death on February 23 , 1807 , he married Celeste Laveau Trudeau on March 5 , 1810 , with whom he had three children : twin girls Stephanie and Theofannie , born January 1816 , and a son Theodore , born 1819 . Theofannie , his favorite , died in early 1822 . Dying on December 28 , 1825 at the age of 68 , he was buried in Mexico City , Mexico . Revolutionary War actions . Wilkinson first served in Thompson ' s Pennsylvania rifle battalion , 1775 – 76 , and was commissioned a captain in September 1775 . He served as an aide to Nathanael Greene during the Siege of Boston , participated in the placing of guns on the Dorchester Heights in March 1776 , and following the British abandonment of Boston , went with the rest of the Continental Army to New York where he left Greene ' s staff and was given command of an infantry company . Sent to Canada as part of the reinforcements for Benedict Arnold ' s army besieging Quebec , he arrived just in time to witness the arrival of 8 , 000 British reinforcements under General John Burgoyne which precipitated the collapse of the American effort in Canada . He became aide to Arnold just prior to the final retreat and left Canada with Arnold on the very last boat out . Shortly thereafter , he left Arnold ' s service and became an aide to General Horatio Gates in August 1776 . When Gates sent him to Congress with official dispatches about the victory at the Battle of Saratoga , Wilkinson kept Congress waiting while he attended to personal affairs . When he finally showed up , he embellished his own role in the victory , and was brevet ted as a brigadier general and appointed to the newly created board of war . The promotion over more senior colonels caused an uproar among Continental officers , especially because Wilkinson ' s gossiping seemed to indicate he was a participant in the Conway Cabal , a conspiracy to replace George Washington with Horatio Gates as commander - in - chief . Gates soon had enough of Wilkinson , and the young officer was compelled to resign in March 1778 . On July 29 , 1779 , Congress appointed him clothier general of the Army , but he resigned on March 27 , 1781 due to his " lack of aptitude for the job . " Kentucky ventures . After his resignation from the Continental Army , Wilkinson reluctantly became a brigadier general in the Pennsylvania militia in 1782 and also a state assemblyman in 1783 , due to the wishes of George Washington . He moved to the Kentucky District in 1784 and was active there in efforts to achieve independence from Virginia . In April 1787 , Wilkinson took a highly controversial trip to New Orleans , which was a colony of Spain . At that time , Americans were allowed to trade on the Mississippi River , but they had to pay a hefty tariff . Wilkinson met with Spanish Governor Esteban Rodríguez Miró and managed to convince him to allow Kentucky to have a trading monopoly on the river ; in return he promised to promote Spanish interests in the west . On August 22 , 1787 , Wilkinson signed an expatriation declaration and swore allegiance to the King of Spain to satisfy his own commercial needs . The “ Spanish Conspiracy , ” as it is known , was initiated by Wilkinson ’ s “ First Memorial , ” a 7 , 500 - word report written before he left New Orleans for Charleston , South Carolina , from New Orleans , to the Spanish concerning the “ political future of western settlers ” and to convince Spain to “ admit us [ Kentuckians ] under protection as vassals ” . This was encoded with myriad symbols , numbers , and letters that was decoded via a complex English - Spanish cipher code - named “ Number 13 , ” which became the basis for his pseudonym , “ Agent 13 ” . Upon returning to Kentucky in February 1788 , Wilkinson vigorously opposed the new U . S . Constitution . Kentucky had very nearly achieved statehood under the old Articles of Confederation , and there was widespread disappointment when this was delayed because of the new constitution . Leading up to Kentucky ' s seventh convention regarding separation from Virginia in November 1788 , Wilkinson attempted to gauge the support for Kentucky to seek union with Spain . Wilkinson was not an extremely honorable man , but his ability to win people over with his charm and sincerity got him elected committee chair at the convention . He advocated for Kentucky to seek independence from Virginia first , and then to consider joining the Union of states as a second step . For many , joining the Union was conditional upon the Union negotiating free navigation on the Mississippi with Spain , a contentious point which many Kentuckians doubted the eastern states would act upon . Unable to gather enough support for his position at the convention , Wilkinson then approached Miró with a proposal . His intention was to grant them 60 , 000 acres ( 243 km² ) in the Yazoo lands at the junction of the Yazoo River and the Mississippi ( near present - day Vicksburg , Mississippi ) . The land was to be payment for Wilkinson ' s efforts on behalf of Spain and also to serve as a refuge in the event he and his supporters had to flee from the United States . Wilkinson asked for and received a pension of $ 7 , 000 from Miro and also requested pensions on behalf of several prominent Kentuckians , including : Harry Innes , Benjamin Sebastian , John Brown , Caleb Wallace , Benjamin Logan , Isaac Shelby , George Muter , George Nicholas , and even Humphrey Marshall ( who at one time was a bitter rival of Wilkinson ' s ) . However , by 1788 Wilkinson had apparently lost the support of officials in the Spanish mainland . Miro was not to grant any of the proposed pensions and was forbidden from giving money to support a revolution in Kentucky . Furthermore , Wilkinson continued to secretly receive funds from Spain for many years . Second military career . In the Northwest Indian War , Colonel Wilkinson led a force of Kentucky volunteers against American Indians at Ouiatenon in May 1791 . He commanded a follow - up raid that autumn , highlighted by the Battle of Kenapacomaqua . In October he received a commission to the U . S . Army as lieutenant colonel , commandant of the 2nd U . S . Infantry . Rivalry with Wayne . When the United States government formed the Legion of the United States , President Washington was faced with the decision of who to name as its General . The two major candidates for this promotion were James Wilkinson and Anthony Wayne . In the end , the cabinet chose Wayne due to Wilkinson ' s suspected involvement with the Spanish government . The cabinet promoted Wilkinson to Brigadier General as a consolation prize , since Washington was aware of Wilkinson ’ s fragile ego . Wilkinson developed a jealousy towards Wayne , but maintained an ostensible respect towards the General . However , upon Wilkinson ’ s refusal of an invitation to Wayne ’ s Christmas Party , he developed a full - fledged hatred for Wilkinson , deeming that refusal as an act of disrespect . For example , Wayne had led the legion army against the Native Americans in the Battle of Fallen Timbers in August 1794 . This battle was a huge victory for the United States , yet Wilkinson had criticized the General ’ s actions during the battle simply to antagonize Wayne . Wilkinson proceeded to file formal complaints against the General and his decisions to the President . Upon finding out about the complaints against him , Wayne decided to fight back , launching an investigation into Wilkinson ’ s history with the Spanish . During all of this time , Wilkinson had renewed his secret alliance with the Spanish government ( through the Governor of Louisiana Carondelet ) , alerting them to the actions of both the US and the French occupancy in North America . When Spanish couriers were intercepted carrying Wilkinson ’ s payments from the Spanish , Wayne ’ s suspicions were confirmed and attempted to court martial Wilkinson for his treachery . However , Wayne developed a stomach ulcer and died on December 15 , 1796 . Despite his nearly confirmed treason , upon Wayne ’ s death , the President promoted Wilkinson to Major General of the Legion Army . Quasi - war with France . Wilkinson was transferred to the southern frontier in 1798 . During the Quasi - War crisis of the late 1790s between France and the United States , he was given the third place in the United States Army behind George Washington and Alexander Hamilton . Among other duties , he was charged by Hamilton with establishing a " Reserve Corps " of United States troops in the lower Ohio Valley who would seize the lower Mississippi River Valley and New Orleans in the event of war with France and her ally Spain . Despite the end of the crisis in mid - 1800 and the fall of Hamilton from power , Wilkinson for unknown reasons continued the plan for the establishment of the base which he named " Cantonment Wilkinson " after himself . Located in southern Illinois , the base operated from January 1801 to late 1802 before finally being abandoned . Archaeologists from Southern Illinois University have recently located the remains of this base , which is producing much previously unknown information regarding the daily lives and artifacts of the frontier army . Service under President Jefferson . Wilkinson remained senior officer of the United States Army under President Thomas Jefferson . Along with Governor William C . C . Claiborne , Wilkinson shared the honor of taking possession of the Louisiana Purchase on behalf of the United States in 1803 . At this time , Wilkinson renewed his treasonous relationship with Spanish colonial officials , offering advice to them on how to contain American expansion in exchange for the restoration of his pension . Among other things , Wilkinson tipped off the Spanish to the object of the Lewis and Clark expedition . Connections with Aaron Burr . In 1804 - 05 , he exchanged communications with Aaron Burr regarding Burr ' s conspiracy to set up an independent nation in the west . Some embittered associates ( more specifically , Jefferson ’ s cabinet members ) later claimed that Wilkinson was the mastermind behind the plot of which Burr was accused . Others , namely author Theodore Crackel , play devil ’ s ( Wilkinson ’ s ) advocate , supporting Wilkinson ’ s innocence and proclaiming his role as the scapegoat for Aaron Burr ’ s reputation . ( Crackel , Mr . Jefferson ' s Army , 132 ) . In 1805 , following the Louisiana Purchase , President Thomas Jefferson appointed Wilkinson governor of the northern Louisiana territory despite his high - ranking position in the military . This was unusual : Jefferson had given Wilkinson a startling amount of power and authority . Wilkinson then sent Zebulon Pike on expeditions to the Southwest in 1805 and 1806 to discover the source of the Mississippi River . He was removed from office after being publicly criticized for heavy - handed administration and abuse of power . Noting the lack of support for his new nation with Burr , Wilkinson revealed Burr ' s plans to Jefferson , and later , had his own troops arrest Col . Burr . Wilkinson testified at Burr ' s trial , arousing public accusation against him and two congressional inquiries of his private ventures and intrigues . This information drove President James Madison to order his court - martial in 1811 . He was found not guilty on December 25 , 1811 . War of 1812 . Wilkinson was commissioned a major general in the War of 1812 . In March 1813 , Wilkinson led the American force that occupied Mobile in Spanish West Florida . He was then assigned to the St . Lawrence River theater of war , following Henry Dearborn ' s reassignment . Wilkinson engaged in two failed campaigns ( the Battle of Crysler ' s Farm and the second Battle of Lacolle Mills ( 1814 ) . He was then relieved from active service , but was cleared by a military inquiry . In 1816 , Wilkinson published " Memoirs of My Own Times " , in a final attempt to clear his name . Last Years . In 1821 Wilkinson visited Mexico in pursuit of a Texas land grant . While awaiting government approval of his Texas scheme , Wilkinson died in Mexico City , where he was buried . Wilkinson ' s involvement with the Spanish ( Agent 13 ) , although widely suspected in his own day , was not proven until 1854 , with Louisiana historian Charles Gayarré ' s publication of the American general ' s correspondence with Rodríguez Miró , the Spanish governor of Louisiana . Other historians would subsequently add to the catalog of Wilkinson ' s treasonous activities . According to Burr biographer David O . Stewart , Wilkinson was severely condemned in print by New York Governor Theodore Roosevelt , some 65 years after the general ' s misdeeds , with this judgment : " In all our history , there is no more despicable character . "