Nevertheless, in spite of Mr. Wickham’s concern, sureties were found and Colonel Burr was released for his appearance at the next meeting of the Court of Appeals for the Virginia District on May 22. In the initial skirmish the prosecution had met with a setback. The prisoner was not to be treated as a man who had tried to destroy the nation and who might still be dangerous if permitted to roam at large. From the White House the proceedings in Richmond were being closely watched. Details were reported as fast as messengers on horseback could carry dispatches from Attorney Hay to President Jefferson. The President was hardly surprised at the direction events were taking. The Chief Justice had been a thorn in the flesh from the moment Mr. Jefferson took office. His latest ruling was strictly according to form. Well, some day he would overstep the mark. The President must be on the alert to seize the opportunity when that day came. _Chapter_ IV To Thomas Jefferson and John Marshall history has assigned positions in the first rank of the nation’s great men. Their backgrounds show a remarkable similarity. Both were Virginians, Jefferson being twelve years senior to Marshall. Both were the sons of frontiersmen, Peter Jefferson having established himself in Albemarle County and Thomas Marshall in Fauquier County, a short distance to the north, when those counties were still outposts of the Virginia colony. Both were tall and loose-jointed, but where Marshall was dark, Jefferson was sandy-haired and freckled. Jefferson’s indifference to dress matched that of Marshall. They were, according to Virginia’s intricate way of determining relationship, “third cousins once removed,” being descended through their mothers from the famous William Randolph and Mary Isham. Both were educated to the law and both were students of Virginia’s most distinguished law teacher, Chancellor George Wythe, though Marshall’s instruction under him was only for a few weeks. In short there was every reason why these two highly gifted Virginia cousins should share the same attitudes and prejudices and hold the same opinions on the great issues of the day. But fate had decreed otherwise. Early in their relationship distrust and antagonism developed. Marshall’s biographer Beveridge traces it to the harsh days of the American Revolution. The Marshalls, father and son, were warriors who volunteered their services on the outbreak of hostilities. They fought at Great Bridge, the first engagement of the Revolution on Virginia soil. They later were present at the battles of Brandywine and Germantown. John was at Valley Forge and by then promoted to captain. According to all accounts he was a shining light in that winter of gloom, spreading good cheer through the camp and idolized by his men. In the next campaign he fought at Monmouth and Stony Point.