James Wilkerson - Traitor for the Spanish Crown

James Wilkerson roused fellow Kentuckians against Congress in 1787 and headed for New Orleans.  He met with the Spanish governor Esteban Miro in charge of New Orleans.  Miro granted Wilkerson trading privileges at the port in exchange for Wilkerson's oath of allegiance and his vow to sew dissent among his frontiersmen.

A change in Spanish policy abruptly opened New Orleans, allowing American traders entry with payment of a 15% duty on goods.  Washington's answer to maintaining allegiance in the West was to purchase the loyalty of the area's chief troublemakers rather than risk their continued plotting against the United States.

Wilkerson suddenly became a lieutenant colonel in the United States Army.  He eventually became a general (it was much easier to become a general back then) and as a general continued to sell his loyalties to the highest bidder.  He served in the Continental Army during the American Revolution, but he was twice compelled to resign. He was twice the Senior Officer of the US Army, appointed to be the first Governor of the Louisiana Territory in 1805, and commanded two unsuccessful campaigns along the St. Lawrence River  during the War of 1812.  After his death, he was discovered to have been a paid agent for the Spanish crown.  In other words - a traitor along with Benedict Arnold.  It just took a lot longer to discover that fact!
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On this Day in Pioneer History: "On November 19, 1863, at the dedication of a military cemetery at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, during the American Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln delivers one of the most memorable speeches in American history. In just 272 words, Lincoln brilliantly and movingly reminded a war-weary public why the Union had to fight, and win, the Civil War."