Jefferson and the Gun-Men: How the West Was Almost Lost

"Just three decades after the revolution that gave birth to the United States, another insurgency was already brewing, this time led by a charming - and treacherous - Aaron Burr. The former vice president had determined that if he could not be master of his nation, he would instead become emperor of the Louisiana Territory. Working with the powerful commander of the U.S. Army, General James Wilkinson, Burr instigated a plot to seize not only Louisiana, but all of Mexico.

This nefarious plot even included the hapless Zebulon M. Pike." "Jefferson and the Gun-men is the story of this scheme. Montgomery portrays a time when the wildest plots and the most grandiose dreams thrived as schemers, revolutionaries, black-guards, and braggarts conspired to create a new country. In this race to capture the heart of a new frontier, Montgomery finds a young nation just beginning to imagine itself and understand its destiny."--BOOK JACKET.