a

States. This duty could no longer be deferred, and Lieut. (now General) Smith was despatched with two letters (of the 20th and 21st) pretty well calculated to balance each other. In the former of these, the General states, that he had received information 'through several channels, so direct and confidential, that he can'not doubt the facts;' that an association, extending from NewYork, &c. to the Mississippi, has been formed, with the design to 'levy and rendezvous 8 or 10,000 men in New-Orleans, at a very 'near period; and from thence, with the co-operation of a naval armament, to carry an expedition against Vera Cruz.' If this was calculated to rouse and alarm the Government, and quicken it into measures of activity and prevention, that of the following day, tended to moderate these feelings; for then, his 'belief' begins to stagger;' he has doubts of the reality' of the danger, and is not only uninformed of the prime mover and ultimate objects of this daring enterprise, but ignorant of the foundation on which it rests, of the means by which it is to be supported, and whether any immediate or collateral protection, internal or external, is expected.' It will be readily perceived, that after such a declaration, the General could not hazard the transmission of Burr's letter, nor even mention his name; and, that his messenger might not be less prudent or delicate on this head, than himself, an oath of secrecy was cautiously administered!

His next despatch was of the 12th of November, and committed to an elderly gentleman, who was nearly two months on the road. The reason for selecting such a courier, was certainly alarming; for he was the only person' in the country, to whom ' he could venture to confide the important commission.' The other contents of this epistle, were such as might be expected from this exordium. My doubts have ceased.'dIt is indeed a deep, dark, and wide spread conspiracy; embracing the young and 'the old, the democrat and the federalist, the native and the fo'reigner, the patriot of '76 and the exotic of yesterday, the opu

a Burr's letter was received on the 9th. It was the 22d, in the evening, before Mr. Smith set out for Washington.

b This declaration is made after he received Burr's letter, and after the whole operation of pumping young Swartwout is finished. Read again, that letter and Swartwout's verbal supplement, and suppress, if you can, your astonishment at the intrepidity of our General.

c See Wilkinson's letter to Mr. Jefferson, 12th Nov. 1806. Vol. II. Appendix, No. 100.

d No doubt they had. He had now been at Natchez, to recover the letter he had written to Burr from Natchitoches, and had satisfied himself, that, though a great man, this crusader was a bad calculator. The after game (to himself) became the more interesting. This lay in putting "the puddle in a storm," in quelling an insurrection of forty singing and dancing masters, and in purging New-Orleans of malecontents and factionists.

6

⚫lent and the needy, the ins and the outs, and I fear it will re'ceive a strong support in New-Orleans, from a quarter little sus'pected.'a In this deplorable state of things; in the midst of this general defection, it must have been very consoling to the President to hear, that though the means were greatly deficient-yet nothing should be omitted, which could be accomplished by indefatigable industry, incessant vigilance, and hardy courage; and as to the General himself, that, in such a cause, he would glory in giv*ing his life to the service of his country.' But the General adds, to insure the triumph of Government over its enemies, I am 'obliged to resort to political finesse and military stratagem. I * must hold out false colours, conceal my designs, and cheat my ad' versaries into a state of security, so that when I do strike, it may 'be with more force and effect." 6 But,' (this but' is a great qualifier of indiscreet engagements,) independently of considerations of policy, my personal safety will require the most profound reserve, ⚫ till the last moment of indecision." It was, perhaps, a branch of this policy, to keep back the ciphered letter of Col. Burr; for he does not even now trust the President with a sight of it. But the pantomime was soon to have an end. Burr had failed to collect a force, formidable either from numbers or character; his Eastern detachments had arrived, but did not exceed forty men. His choice spirits were assembled, but were found to consist of 'dancing masters, singing masters, schoolmasters, and doctors. On the 12th of December, they were routed from Blenherhasset's Island, by the approach of a sheriff and his posse of constables, and embarking in five boats, and in some hurry, floated down the current, without notice or obstruction, till the 17th of January, when, on the invitation of Secretary Mead, they surrendered themselves and their chief to a few militia men, posted near Bayou Pierre, d without pulling a trigger, or charging a bayonet. Such was the catastrophe of this mountain in labour! It was not what the General desired or expected; it was brought on at a wrong time, and in a wrong place, and cut short the wonderful demonstrations of political finesse and military stratagem, which he had so long and so profoundly meditated for the occasion. What was possible, however, in this untoward state of things, he did; he threw off his 'equivocal exterior,'-affected, by turns, to dread an insurrection of citizens and of slaves-endeavoured to alarm and agitate the country-denounced many innocent men-deported Swartwout and

a This was what he called the Gallo-American party. See his letter of 12th November, 1806.

b See Burr's trial, Poindexter's testimony-in which he states, that this expedition had supplied the Mississippi territory "with dancing masters, singing masters, schoolmasters and doctors in abundance." p. 279.

c Idem, p. 66.

d Idem, Poindexter's testimony.

Ogden for safe keeping and trial-advertised his late great, honourable, and persecuted friend, as a conspirator and outlaw,—and declared himself, the saviour of the Republic!a

Whatever attitude we give to the General, under the evidence of the facts now detailed, he is seen to great disadvantage. Has he been honest to his public engagements? then has he deluded, ensnared and betrayed his friend. Was he secretly connected with Burr, and did he neither give up his name nor his project, till both had irretrievably fallen? then is he a traitor to his country. Whether, therefore, he was guilty or innocent of the charge brought against him, he is unworthy, alike, of public trust and private confidence.

[The other parts of this subject will be pursued in the next No.]

ARTICLE II.

A SKETCH OF THE LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES OF THE LATE HON. ALFRED MOORE; ONE OF THE ASSOCIATE JUDGES OF THE SU

PREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES. From the pen of a high judicial character of the State of North Carolina.

AMONG the eminent men, whose great qualities have been developed and brought into action by the revolution, few have a stronger claim to the admiration and gratitude of posterity, than ALFRED MOORE—the subject of this memoir.

Descent from a line of illustrious ancestors, is creditable only to a man who has found in their merits an incentive to an honourable course of life, and has thence felt himself pledged to the scrupulous discharge of every duty, and the anxious cultivation of every virtue. But to him who has passed through life, in the neglect of the high obligations which he owes to his country and fellow citizens, a distinguished lineage is an added opprobrium; the virtues of his ancestors, throw his own vices into stronger relief, and we all deplore the contamination of a name, long revered amongst men for the benefits it had conferred on the human race.-With a full conviction that the life of Mr. Justice Moore will bear a comparison with that of any of his ancestors, we may mention that he was descended from an ancient Irish family, of which the Marquis of Drogheda is the present head; his great grand-father, the first of the family who came to America, was appointed Governor of Carolina in 1705, and discharged that trust, in periods of great civil contention, with singular prudence and reputation; his grandfather was a general officer in the British service; and his father was one of the king's judges for the province of North Carolina,

a See Memoirs, Vol. II. p. 339.

where the subject of this memoir was born, the 21st of May,

1755.

At an early period, young Moore was sent to Boston for his education; and on the arrival of the British troops there in 1768, he attracted the notice of a Captain Fordyce, a man of fine taste and acquirements, who became much attached to the youth, and offered to procure him an ensigncy in the army. This he declined, but under the instructions of his friend, he learnt the elements of military science, and furnished himself with a variety of knowledge, which highly qualified him for the stormy period in which he was destined to live.

At the beginning of the revolution, he was appointed a CAPTAIN in the first North Carolina regiment of the line; marched to the southward, where he served with reputation; and was on duty in Charleston, when the memorable attack was made on fort Moultrie. Possessing the ardour of patriotism, from a deep conviction of the justice of the cause in which he had engaged, and endowed with an active and intelligent mind sustained by a fearless heart, there is every reason to believe that he would have attained a high rank in the line of life which he had chosen. But the peculiar misfortunes of his family, forced him to retrace his steps, and hasten back to the protection of the females and children of his connexions, whom death had bereaved of their defenders. Within a very short period, his brother Maurice was killed at Brunswick, and his brother-in-law, General Nash, at Germantown; his father, and also his uncle, General Moore, died-the latter while on his march to join the army of Washington. The families of all these citizens were left in the utmost danger; exposed to the fury of a disaffected populace, and in the continual dread of an insurrection of the slaves.

When the British landed at Wilmington, Captain Moore left his family, consisting of a wife and two small children, and put himself in the ranks of the militia. He harassed the enemy by his persevering activity, and made the raw troops by whom he was accompanied, so formidable, that he became the peculiar object of Major Craig's* resentment and rage. A party sent to his plantation, took away all that was moveable of his property, and despoiled what they could not plunder. Thus reduced to poverty, and singled out for the direst vengeance which his enemy could inflict, -his fortitude remained unshaken, his virtue triumphed over every difficulty; and accident soon presented him with an opportunity of displaying towards that enemy, an example of magnanimity, which it is refreshing to the mind to remember and to record.

After the battle of Guilford, Captain Moore with other officers. was detached to obstruct the march of Lord Cornwallis; and for

* Sir James H. Craig-subsequently, Governor general of Canada. VOL. I.

this purpose, five hundred men of the Brunswick militia were directed to be put under his command; but he could muster only three men! With the aid of these, he had destroyed several bridges, and was in the act of setting fire to that on Hood's Creek, when suddenly the enemy under Craig, made their appearance. A thick swamp through which the creek ran, furnished the small party with a place of retreat,-whence they observed the enemy, who halted about two hundred yards from the bridge, for the purpose of cooking. The officer advanced towards the bridge to reconnoitre, and when within gun shot, one of Captain Moore's men (by whom the officer was recognised to be Major Craig) presented his rifle, and would inevitably have destroyed him, but for the prompt interference of his captain. "I cannot," said he, "consent to kill the wretch from behind a tree-it so much resembles assassination. Gladly would I meet him in the field with half his number, but it would degrade us to the level of himself, thus to imitate his savage mode of warfare."

Great exertions were made by Major Craig, to capture or kill the captain; and when at length all his efforts had been unavailing, he conveyed an offer to Captain Moore, for the restoration of his property, if he would return home and remain inactive. The answer which he promptly returned, was, "Tell your commander that I cannot be corrupted into indifference for my country; that I will struggle in her defence as long as I can get five men to march with me.'

His sufferings during the whole of that gloomy period, while the British were in possession of Wilmington, may be better conceived than described. Without any pecuniary resources, sometimes without food, and almost destitute of covering; torn from a beloved family, with whom he could not even communicate-yet not a complaint of personal hardship was heard to escape him ; every subordinate feeling was lost and absorbed in a sentiment of exalted patriotism.

The return of peace, restored him to his family, but his affluent fortune was irrevocably gone; nor had he more than the means of present subsistence. In this situation the general assembly of North Carolina, by whom his merits and misfortunes had been well known, conferred on him the office of ATTORNEY GENERAL. This was done with a view to alleviate, in an honourable way, his immediate wants, and before he had even studied the law. His country would have been munificent, had it been rich; but there was no money in circulation-the taxes were paid in produce, and the first two years' salary of the attorney general was discharged in homespun and provisions. Ten pounds, indeed, were levied upon a whole county, to enable him to ride the circuit.

He devoted himself to the profession of the law with a zeal