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[Aaron Burr]. Isaac Shelby Document Signed as Governor of Kentucky. ...
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Description
[Aaron Burr]. Isaac Shelby Document Signed as Governor of Kentucky. Four pages of a bifolium, 8" x 9.75", Kentucky; February 17, 1816. Deposition of Samuel Brown in a Frankin County, Kentucky court case regarding General John Adair's involvement in Aaron Burr's conspiracy to take control of Spanish territories. Signed, "Isaac Shelby."The first and fifth governor of Kentucky, Shelby built a long career serving the state both politically and militarily. Shelby served in Lord Dunmore's War, the Revolutionary War, and the War of 1812. As a soldier, he is most remembered for leading the Kentucky militia during the Battle of the Thames, for which his valiant service earned him a Congressional Gold Medal. Following America's independence from Britain, Shelby served as governor from 1792 to 1796 before effectively retiring from public service. When the War of 1812 broke out, Kentucky residents convinced Shelby to come out of retirement and lead the state through the tumultuous conflict. Shelby signed this deposition in the last few months of his second gubernatorial term.
The deposition offered here was part of an inquiry into General John Adair, a renowned Kentucky militia commander and governor from 1820 to 1824. Although the charges against Adair were not stated, Brown offered testimony regarding Adair's role in the infamous Aaron Burr conspiracy. Brown testifies, in part, that "he never had any knowledge of any expedition or preparation for that purpose, against the Spanish provinces or the United States or its dependencies under the control or management of Aaron Burr or any other person connected with him except from public prints & general rumour [sic]. The Plaintiff [John Adair] did inform this deponent, as well as he recollects that he was invited by Genl Wilkinson to join him in an expedition against the Spanish Provinces to be carried on under the authority of the United States & that on his annual at Nashville he learned that the Defendant abandoned the project."
In February 1807, Burr was arrested on charges of treason after allegedly attempting to establish an independent country in the Texas territory of Mexico. One of his key conspirators included General James Wilkinson, mentioned in the proceedings above, who was the governor of the Louisiana Territory at the time of the controversy. Wilkinson had a history of attempting to consolidate his own rule and had tried to separate Kentucky and Tennessee from the United States during the 1780s.
Condition: Creased along folds with separations. Tears along the folds on the right margins of the bifolium. Toned with minor staining throughout. Seal intact.
Provenance: From the Private Collection of a Mississippi Gentleman.
Auction Info
2023 September 21 Historical Manuscripts Signature® Auction #6272 (go to Auction Home page)
Auction Dates
September, 2023
21st
Thursday
Bids + Registered Phone Bidders: 11
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