that Burr had a "treasonable design" and that he assembled men for the purpose of furthering his treasonous aim.

Virginia House of Delegates in Richmond, scene of the Burr Trial

The prosecution called its first witness, General William Eaton. Eaton testified to a conversation that he had in Washington with Burr during the winter of 1805-6:

I listened to Colonel Burr's mode of indemnity; and as I had by this time begun to suspect that the military expedition he had on foot was unlawful, I permitted him to believe myself resigned to his influence that I might understand the extent and motive of his arrangements. Colonel Burr now laid open his project of revolutionizing the territory west of the Allegheny, establishing an independent empire there; New Orleans to be the capital,and he himself to be the chief; organizing a military force on the waters of the Mississippi, and carrying conquest to Mexico.

Other prosecution witnesses testified as to Burr's ambitious plans. Commodore Truxton said Burr "intended to attack Vera Cruz and Mexico, give liberty to an enslaved world, and establish an independent Government in Mexico." Harman Blennerhassett's gardener, Peter Taylor, described for the jury a conversation he had with Blennerhassett:

[H]e made a sudden pause, and said, "I will tell you what, Peter, we are going to take Mexico, one of the finest and richest places in the whole world." He said that Colonel Burr would be the king of Mexico, and Mrs. Alston, daughter of Colonel Burr, was to be the queen of Mexico whenever Colonel Burr died. He