A prize witness for the prosecution was Sergeant Jacob Dunbaugh, a member of Captain Bissell’s command at Fort Massac when the Burr expedition passed there. Dunbaugh testified that Burr invited him to join the expedition and go down the river, for which purpose Captain Bissell gave him a furlough of twenty days. After the expedition had left Bayou Pierre he said he saw Colonel Burr and another man go to the bow of the boat and set to work with an ax, augur, and saw, chopping and sawing. According to Dunbaugh two bundles of arms tied up with cords were sunk. On being questioned he estimated the arms at from forty to forty-three stands. He said he also saw pistols, swords, blunderbusses, fusees, and tomahawks. Dunbaugh testified further that, after Captain Bissell had given him leave to go with the expedition, Colonel Burr had called him into his cabin and asked him if he could persuade ten or twelve of the best men in the garrison to go along. He protested that he had repelled any such suggestion. On further questioning it was brought out that what the Sergeant meant to convey was that Colonel Burr wanted the men to desert. The reason for the alleged sinking of the arms was in order to hide them from the Mississippi authorities when they made a search of the boats. Dunbaugh said one man had been delegated to take out a hogshead of potatoes with which to fill an arms box to make it look like a box of potatoes. The arms, he declared, suspended by cords, were down so deep that the boat could not get to within fifty yards of the shore. Dunbaugh’s evidence was the strongest that yet had been given to show the military aspects of the expedition. But it lost much of its force when, under cross-examination, the Sergeant confessed that he had overstayed his twenty-day furlough, had been arrested and found guilty of desertion and imprisoned, and that he had written to General Wilkinson promising him that if he were released he would be in New Orleans in three days, presumably to do the General’s bidding in the trial. More impressive because of its source was the evidence of Alexander Henderson, a respected citizen of Wood County. Mr. Henderson described a visit from Mr. and Mrs. Blennerhassett who mentioned to him the advantages to be gained by the West in separating from the Union. The Blennerhassetts had remained for dinner and after the meal was over Harman enlarged on the same theme in the presence of Alexander and his brother John. He told them, said Alexander, that New Orleans was to be seized, and that artillery to the number of fifty pieces belonging to the French was to be commandeered. “Did you understand whether he said anything for Mr. Jefferson?” asked Mr. Wirt, evidently with an end to refreshing the witness’s memory. Alexander replied that “Mr. Blennerhassett said that if Mr. Jefferson was any way impertinent that Colonel Burr would tie him neck and heels and throw him into the Potomac.”