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James Wilkinson (March 24, 1757 – December 28, 1825) was an American soldier and statesman, who was associated with several scandals and controversies. He served in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, but he was twice compelled to resign. He was twice the Senior Officer of the U.S. Army, appointed to be the first Governor of the Louisiana Territory in 1805, and commanded two unsuccessful campaigns in the St. Lawrence River theater during the War of 1812. After his death, he was discovered to have been a paid agent of the Spanish crown. ==Personal life== James Wilkinson was born about three miles (5 km) northeast of Benedict, Maryland, on a farm south of Hunting Creek. His grandfather had been sufficiently wealthy to buy a large property known as Stoakley Manor in Calvert County. The family felt that even though their property was smaller, they still fell in with a higher social class. James grew up with the idea that "the image of respectability excused the reality of betrayal". His father, Joseph Wilkinson, inherited the property but, by that time, the family was in debt. In 1764, Stoakley Manor was broken up and sold. His older brother, Joseph, inherited the property after his father died and, as the second son, James was left with nothing. Historian Andro Linklater argued that his upbringing led to James' aggressive reaction towards insults of his behavior.〔 His father had left with the last words of "My son, if you ever put up with an insult, I will disinherit you." Wilkinson received his early education from a private tutor, funded by his grandmother; his study of medicine in Philadelphia at the University of Pennsylvania was interrupted by the American Revolutionary War. Wilkinson married Ann Biddle of the prominent Biddle family of Philadelphia on November 12, 1778 in Philadelphia. Wilkinson's marriage to the dynamic Biddle helped him develop his career as a politician and general. They had four sons,〔 including John (1780–1796), James Biddle (c. 1783 – September 17, 1813), Joseph Biddle (1789–1865), and Walter (born 1791). James and Walter both served as Captains in the US Army. After Ann's death on February 23, 1807,〔〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition Online )〕 he married Celestine Laveau Trudeau, daughter of New Orleans' 1812 mayor Charles Laveau Trudeau, on March 5, 1810, with whom he had three children: twin girls Stephanie and Theofannie, born January 1816, and a son Theodore, born 1819. Theofannie, his favorite, died in early 1822. General Wilkinson died on December 28, 1825, at the age of 68. He was buried in Mexico City, Mexico.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「James Wilkinson」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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