General James Wilkinson

James Wilkinson is an enigma as a United States historical figure. The product of a lower landed gentry family in Calvert County, Maryland, he ascended in military rank rapidly after the outbreak of the American Revolution. General Horatio Gates was one of the youth's mentors, and also came to know Wilkinson's treachery firsthand. My e-book looks at James Wilkinson after the American colonies gained their independence. He was an impatient man and he soon became bored with being a member of the Pennsylvania legislature. After marrying into the wealthy Biddle family of Philadelphia he moved on to Kentucky. From there he entered land speculation and a door opened for him to become involved in other schemes that hurt the young nation. Unlike Benedict Arnold and Aaron Burr, two of his friends, he was able to elude prosecution for his misdeeds. James Wilkinson continued to shape events in America even after becoming an agent of the Spanish government.