Burr Conspiracy - Aftermath

Aftermath

Aaron Burr, his prospects for a political career squashed, left the United States for a self-imposed exile in Europe until 1811. Burr first traveled to England in 1808 an attempt to gain support for a revolution in Mexico. He was ordered out of the country, so he traveled to France to ask for the support of Napoleon. He was denied and found himself too poor to pay his way home. Finally, in 1811, he was able to sail back to the United States on a French ship.

Upon returning to the United States, he assumed the surname of "Edwards" and returned to New York to resume his law practice. He remarried, to the widow of Stephen Jumel, but she left him after four months due to his land speculations reducing her finances. Historians attribute his self-imposed exile and using a different surname in part to escape from his creditors, as he was deeply in debt. Burr died on September 14, 1836, the same day that his divorce from his wife was granted.

Following his involvement with Burr, James Wilkinson was twice investigated by Congress on issues related to the West. Following an unsuccessful court-martial ordered by President James Madison in 1811, he was allowed to return to his military command in New Orleans. During the War of 1812, he was posted to Canada where his only major offensive, a campaign against Montreal, was unsuccessful. He was discharged from active service. Wilkinson died in Mexico on December 28, 1825.

When the conspiracy was uncovered, Harman Blennerhassett's mansion and island were occupied and allegedly plundered by members of the Virginia Militia. He fled with his family, but he was twice arrested. The second time he was held in prison until the conclusion of Burr's trial, when the latter was acquitted. Blennerhassett went to Mississippi, where he became a cotton planter. Later he moved with his family to Canada, where he practiced law and lived in Montreal. Late in life, Blennerhassett returned to his native Ireland, where he died on February 2, 1831.