Baldwin to reenact capture of Burr

Two centuries ago, one of the stranger episodes in U.S. history came to an end in the wilds of southwest Alabama when a disguised fugitive — former Vice President Aaron Burr — was captured while trying to flee the country.

Those events will be reenacted and commemorated March 15 as part of Baldwin County’s upcoming bicentennial.

Burr was taken into custody Feb. 20, 1807, on the road to the community of New Wakefield in what is now Washington County. On March 6, he was transferred by boat to Boatyard Lake in present-day Baldwin County. There, he was turned over to Capt. Nicholas Perkins of Tennessee and the men who would escort him to Richmond, Va., to stand trial on federal charges of treason.

Baldwin to reenact capture of Burr