Editing Whiskey Rebellion (section)

=== Aftermath ===
The insurrection collapsed as the federal army marched west into western Pennsylvania in October 1794. The army encountered no resistance.{{sfn|Crytzer|2023|p=140}}

Upon arriving in Western Pennsylvania, Lee prepared to arrest rebel leaders.  With little regard for due process, troops carried out raids on the night of November 13, breaking into houses and rousing suspects from their beds. No distinction was made between rebels and witnesses.{{sfn|Crytzer|2023|p=150}} Captives were driven, in their nightclothes and barefoot, over muddy roads and streams, to be held in floorless animal pens and basements. Some had their health ruined, and at least one died.{{sfn|Slaughter|1986|p=218}}{{sfn|Crytzer|2023|pp=150, 154}} The night was remembered locally as "the Dreadful Night" for years.{{sfn|Crytzer|2023|p=149}} About 150 persons were arrested.{{sfn|Crytzer|2023|p=156}}{{sfn|Slaughter|1986|p=218}}

Immediately before the arrests "...{{nbsp}}as many as 2,000 of [the rebels]...had fled into the mountains, beyond the reach of the militia. It was a great disappointment to Hamilton, who had hoped to bring rebel leaders such as David Bradford to trial in Philadelphia...and possibly see them hanged for [[treason]]. Instead, when the militia at last turned back, out of all the suspects they had seized a mere twenty were selected to serve as examples, They were at worst bit players in the uprising, but they were better than nothing."{{sfn|Craughwell|Phelps|2008}}

The captured participants and the Federal militia arrived in Philadelphia on Christmas Day. Some artillery was fired and church bells were heard as "...{{nbsp}}&nbsp;a huge throng lined Broad Street to cheer the troops and mock the rebels&nbsp;... [Presley]  Neville said he 'could not help feeling sorry for them. The captured rebels were paraded down Broad Street being 'humiliated, bedraggled, [and] half-starved&nbsp;{{nbsp}}...' "{{sfn|Craughwell|Phelps|2008}}

Other accounts describe the indictment of 24 men for high [[treason]].{{sfn |Ifft |1985 |p=172}} Most of the accused had eluded capture, so only ten men stood trial for treason in federal court.{{sfn |Ifft |1985 |p=172}} Of these, only Philip Wigle{{refn|Sources show a variety of spellings for his surname, including Vigol and Wigal.{{sfn |Slaughter |1986 |pp=290–91}}<ref>{{cite book|first1=Thomas J. |last1=Craughwell|first2=M. William |last2=Phelps|title=Failures of the Presidents: From the Whiskey Rebellion and War of 1812 to the Bay of Pigs and War in Iraq|date=2008|publisher=Fair Winds Press|page=[https://archive.org/details/failuresofpresid00crau/page/22 22]|url=https://archive.org/details/failuresofpresid00crau|url-access=registration |isbn=978-1-61673-431-2}}</ref>}} and John Mitchell were convicted. Wigle had beaten up a tax collector and burned his house; Mitchell was a simpleton who had been convinced by David Bradford to rob the U.S. mail. These, the only two convicted of treason and sentenced to death by hanging, were later [[List of people pardoned or granted clemency by the President of the United States#George Washington|pardoned by President Washington]].{{sfn|Craughwell|Phelps|2008}}{{sfn |Slaughter |1986 |p=219}}{{sfn |Hogeland |2006 |p=238}}{{sfn |Ifft |1985 |p=176}} Pennsylvania state courts were more successful in prosecuting lawbreakers, securing numerous convictions for assault and rioting.{{sfn |Ifft |1985 |pp=175–76}}

In his seventh State of the Union Address, Washington explained his decision to pardon Mitchell and Wigle. Hamilton and John Jay drafted the address, as they had others, before Washington made the final edit:-

"The misled have abandoned their errors," he stated. "For though I shall always think it a sacred duty to exercise with firmness and energy the constitutional powers with which I am vested, yet it appears to me no less consistent with the public good than it is with my personal feelings to mingle in the operations of Government every degree of moderation and tenderness which the national justice, dignity, and safety may permit."<ref>{{Cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fYGyAwAAQBAJ&q=%22my+personal+feelings+to+mingle+in+the+operations+of+Government%22&pg=PA390 | title=The Writings of George Washington from the Original Manuscript Sources 1745-1799 Volume 34 October 11, 1794-March 29, 1796| isbn=9781623764449| last1=Fitzpatrick| first1=John C.| date=January 1939| publisher=Best Books on}}</ref><ref>"The Writings of George Washington from the Original Manuscript Sources 1745"</ref>

While violent opposition to the whiskey tax ended, opposition to the tax continued. Most distillers in nearby Kentucky were found to be all but impossible to tax—in the next six years, over 175 distillers from Kentucky were convicted of violating the tax law.<ref>Rorabaugh, W. J. (1979). ''The Alcoholic Republic: An American Tradition''. Oxford University Press. p. 53.</ref> Numerous examples of resistance are recorded in court documents and newspaper accounts.<ref>Howlett, Leon (2012). ''The Kentucky Bourbon Experience: A Visual Tour of Kentucky's Bourbon Distilleries''. p. 7.</ref> Opponents of internal taxes rallied around the candidacy of [[Thomas Jefferson]] and helped him defeat President [[John Adams]] in the [[1800 United States presidential election|election of 1800]]. By 1802, Congress repealed the distilled spirits excise tax and all other internal Federal taxes. Until the [[War of 1812]], the Federal government would rely solely on import tariffs for revenue, which quickly grew with the Nation's expanding foreign trade.<ref name="Hoover">{{cite web | title = The Whiskey Rebellion | first = Michael | last = Hoover | publisher = Regulations & Rulings Division, Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, US Department of the Treasury | url = https://www.ttb.gov/public_info/whisky_rebellion.shtml#8 | access-date = February 17, 2017 }} (no date) {{PD-notice}}</ref>