After retiring from the army, he suffered most
severely from ill health--that ill health was, in a great degree,
produced by the fatigues and exposure on the 27th and 28th of June,
1779, at the battle of Monmouth. His constitution was feeble, and had
been shattered by his unparalleled vigilance in the winter of 1778-79,
while commanding the advanced post in Westchester. But the battle of
Monmouth seemed to have given it the finishing stroke.
The letters of Judge Paterson and Colonel Troup afford the best
evidence of his ill health, and of their affectionate devotion to him
as friends. They are given at some length, because they present rare
and extraordinary examples of fidelity in friendship. Both these
gentlemen preceded Colonel Burr to the tomb. Both continued to
respect, to esteem, and to love him, to their last hour. Their
character requires no panegyric. Colonel Troup lived until the year
1832. In manhood, for more than half a century, he venerated Colonel
Burr for his genius, his talents, his chivalry, his intrepidity of
character, his disinterestedness, his generosity. He deplored his
weaknesses, and abhorred his vices. But when he viewed the whole man,
from youth to more than threescore and ten years, he loved and
respected him. Both these distinguished citizens, as politicians, were
opposed to Colonel Burr from the year 1788 until the close of their
lives.
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