February 19, 1807

Captain Edmund P. Gaines arrested former U.S. Vice President Aaron Burr in Washington County. Charged by Thomas Jefferson for threatening to conquer Spanish territory in North America, Burr was arrested by Gaines while traveling to a ferry on the Tombigbee River after Burr was identified late the night before by Nicholas Perkins. Gaines held Burr at nearby Fort Stoddert for the rest of the month until he was escorted to Richmond, Va., where he was tried and acquitted of treason. While Burr was never convicted of any crime, he fled to Europe to escape his creditors and continued unsuccessfully to solicit funds for conquering Spanish territory.

Read more at Encyclopedia of Alabama.

Aaron Burr, c. 1836. (Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division)

For more on Alabama’s Bicentennial, visit Alabama 200.