Wilkinson, James, 1757-1825

James Wilkinson was born on March 24, 1757, near Benedict, Charles County, Maryland, to Joseph Wilkinson and Alethea Heighe. He married twice, first to Ann Biddle on November 12, 1778, and together they had four sons. After Ann’s death in 1807, he married Celestine Laveau Trudeau on March 5, 1810, and together they had three children. Wilkinson served in the Revolutionary War and served under Benedict Arnold. Later he served under Gen. Horatio Gates, was involved in the Conway Cabal against George Washington, was involved with Aaron Burr’s plot to invade Mexico and create a sovereign land, was governor of the Louisiana Territory, was appointed as the US Envoy to Mexico, and four decades after his death in Mexico City, was revealed to have been a well paid spy for the Spanish Crown. He died on December 28, 1825.

Mentioned in these documents

[Letter from Elizabeth Upshur Teackle to her husband, Littleton Dennis Teackle, December 2, 1813]

Letter from Elizabeth Upshur Teackle to her husband, Littleton D. Teackle. She writes about major general James Wilkinson's defeat at the Battle of Crysler's Farm. She mentions visiting John Done's family. She asks about their bank petition and the possibility of sending their daughter to a boarding school.