The story of Aaron Burr has been treated exhaustively by many writers in many ways. Oddly enough, aside from the stenographic report of the proceedings and a small volume which appeared nearly a century ago, there seems to have been no work dealing alone with the subject of Burr’s trial in Richmond, Virginia, in the spring and summer of 1807, on charges of treason against the United States and high misdemeanor. Yet this marked the climax of Burr’s public career and the presence of a former Vice-President of the United States as the accused, charged with such serious crimes, of the Chief Justice of the United States on the bench, and of distinguished leaders of the bar represented both in the prosecution and defense made this the most dramatic case in the history of American jurisprudence.

It is true there is likely to be no better account of the trial than that of Albert J. Beveridge, on whom this author has leaned heavily in feeling his way through legal technicalities and to whom he makes grateful acknowledgment. This scholarly treatment, however, is buried in the middle of Senator Beveridge’s life of John Marshall where it cannot attract the attention it deserves from a larger audience both because of the trial’s historical importance and its human and spectacular qualities. It was with the idea of reaching the general reader that this work, striving for historical accuracy but relieved of confusing technicalities, was undertaken. For valuable assistance in its preparation thanks are due the staffs of the Virginia Historical Society and the Valentine Museum, of Richmond; of the Enoch Pratt Free Library, the Peabody Library and the Maryland Historical Society, of Baltimore; and of the manuscript room of the Library of Congress. I am indebted to my wife, Rosamond Randall Beirne, for her patience and encouragement over the years the work was in progress and for the many hours of research she devoted to it; and to my sister, Lisa Beirne Leake, who made available her library rich in material on old Richmond. Mention should be made of the courtesy of Mr. John S. Stanley, former president of the Maryland State Bar Association, and of Mr. Douglas H. Gordon, also of that Association, in providing copies of their papers respectively on Luther Martin and John Marshall; and of Mr. Henry G. Alsberg, chief editor of Hastings House, for revealing notes on General Wilkinson.

For answering specific questions thanks are due Judge Brockenbrough Lamb, of the Chancery Court of Richmond, Mr. Arthur W. Machen Jr., of the Maryland Bar, and Mr. Walkley E. Johnson, Clerk of the United States Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. The last named gentlemen, however, did not see the manuscript and are not responsible for any technical errors that may appear in it.

FRANCIS F. BEIRNE