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History's Hinge - 'Ain Jalut

[Baja Bush Pilot]

Pirate and Patriot

"He left a corsair?s name to other times,
Linked one virtue to a thousand crimes."

-- Lord Byron



has been called "The Corsair," "The Buccaneer," "The King of Barataria," "The Terror of the Gulf," "The Hero of New Orleans". At three separate times, U.S. presidents have condemned, exonerated and again condemned his actions. He is known for his piracy in the Gulf of Mexico, and lauded for his heroism in the Battle of New Orleans. Each personae seems to balance the other. He hated being called "pirate," for, as he saw it, he was a "privateer" serving an economic purpose in an economically frugal time in a new country that needed to economize. When he at last sailed away from American shores, he felt betrayed by a country that didn?t understand the difference.

He was Jean Lafitte.

From the Gulf of Mexico through a vast uncharted maze of waterways to New Orleans, his name was legend even in his day. Entrepreneur and astute diplomat, he took an island-full of bloodied seafarers, rovers and fishermen and turned them into an organization of buccaneers, smugglers and wholesalers. From the ships they plundered off the Caribbean Coast and in the Atlantic he and his "crew of a thousand men" kept a constant cargo of black-marketed and very necessary provisions (including Negro slaves, a very important "commodity" to the early South) moving through the Mississippi Delta to help feed and clothe a part of the nation that the government overlooked. As a result, he won the praise of the local rich and poor alike.

He never attacked an American ship. A man without a country, he nevertheless respected the constitution of American ideals and hoped that what he called his "kingdom by the sea" might someday meld into like ideals.

His self-made kingdom, from the Gulf of Mexico through the villages and plantations to and including New Orleans, was a part of an untamed wilderness that came as part of the package called the Louisiana Purchase of 1803. This delta was a new and lusty territory, overgrown with willows and wildlife. Within its miles and miles of marshlands a man could get lost and wander until he maddened and died of starvation. Unlike anything the government knew; the topography, coupled by its habitation of misunderstood Cajuns and Creoles, confused and perplexed Washington decision makers. Much more, overcome with other, deepening international problems, the nation more or less abandoned this wetland with its foreign cultures to fend for itself. Lafitte?s commerce of merchandise -- of cloths and linens, spices and trinkets, furniture and utensils -- sold at discount prices, avoiding high tariffs, to the grateful citizens of New Orleans. In short, Lafitte?s piratical methods, despite their negative connotation, proved to be a survival factor for what was to become a major American city.

And then came a new territorial governor who decided that it was not conventional to let an outsider -- let alone a notorious pirate -- become a part of the blossoming American texture. Harassment and imprisonment followed, even destruction of Lafitte?s Valhalla. But, the governor and the rest of burgeoning America were to learn that Lafitte?s importance to this new territory meant much more to him than his own personal prosperity. When men were needed to keep New Orleans and the entire Mississippi River from enemy hands, Lafitte -- despite the chastisement and near ruination he faced from American mediators -- stepped forward to defend them.

Many stories have been told of Lafitte. To quote author Jack C. Ramsay, Jr. from his excellent and concise Jean Laffite, Prince of Pirates, "Some considered him a rapacious rogue, a man of unmitigated violence. Others, many of whom were young women, regarded him as a charming person. He was seductive, perhaps deceptive, but always elegantly gracious."

He writes that contemporaries described "(Lafitte) as ?graceful and elegant in manners...accomplished in conversation.? And yet this was the man who was often described in very different terms as the ?Prince of Pirates? or the ?ferocious? head of ?desperadoes.?"

Lord Byron sketched a poem about him even in his day. Countless books have been written about his adventures. He has inspired many moves, the finest being Cecil B. DeMille?s classic, The Buccaneer. There is a national park named after him, and along the Mississippi below New Orleans sits the City of Jean Lafitte. To some, however, he is still a pirate.

But -- pirate, thief, swordsman, businessman or savior, Lafitte?s legend grows. Complex in nature, shrouded in mystery, and often painted in splashes of color, he lives on in the role of auspicious hero.

 
 
Out of Nowhere

 
 

"Life is made up of marble and mud."

-- Nathaniel Hawthorne

These central elements are known about Jean Lafitte?s earliest years of industry in New Orleans: that between 1803 and 1814 he owned and operated a vast ring of smugglers who transported, under his direction, merchandise of all kinds to the city from his stronghold on Grande Terre, an island in Barataria Bay at the mouth of the Mississippi River; these goods were sold to both retailers in quantity and to independent consumers either at a number of markets within the city or at various designated spots south of it; his older brother Pierre served as his able-bodied chief lieutenant, ensuring timely deliveries to clients; both brothers also provided slaves to cotton and sugar cane planters along the Mississippi at prices greatly reduced below those charged by appointed government "flesh traders"; and that Jean, more the charmer, was often seen in the company of the territorial gentry who considered him not a criminal but a businessman.

But, where Jean (and Pierre) Lafitte were born -- and when -- as well as many other personal facts, continue to remain a mystery almost 200 years later. "We know some of the deeds they performed," says Robert Tallant in The Pirate Lafitte and the Battle of New Orleans. "We know all the important ones. We know many details of their character. Yet we do not really know...where they came from before they appeared in New Orleans."

Testimonies from those who knew Jean Lafitte and who have recorded what he himself said about his background all differ. Most tend to agree he was born between 1778-1780. As to his place of origin, depending upon the source, the Lafittes were natives of either France, Spain, St. Dominique, Haiti, or elsewhere. He had told some associates that he had fought with Napoleon?s army; others that he was the son of French aristocrats who died on the guillotine; yet others that he was a refugee from Spanish rule in the Caribbean isles. All these variations point to a man who, for reasons of his own, seemed to purposely create and sustain a mystique.

The nearest that one might come to determining Lafitte?s history would be by examining the credence of those variables that have come to light. For instance, as pertaining to his birthplace, there are a few identified documents existing today that state, in his own hand, a homeland; they range from Bayonne, Brest, Marseilles and St. Malo in France; Orduna in Spain, and, says Ramsay, "one curious work, published in 1825, (which) gave Westchester, New York, as Jean?s place of birth".

All of these, while possible, are not probable when considering one very important fact: his ability to design and navigate, by instinct, several channels of transportation through the miles and miles of brain-boggling marshland and bayous which comprise the Southern Mississippi Delta. This indicates that he did not stem from some exotic land far off, but probably grew up in the French-heavy bayou country of southern Louisiana. People who have spent years in the region have claimed they would not venture too far into the puzzlework of cypress and moss lest they never find their way home. And yet Lafitte had, according to testimony on file, "a more accurate knowledge of every inlet from the Gulf than any other man". So widespread was he identified with this knowledge that when England decided to attack New Orleans in 1814, and hunted for a source to lead its army through the tricky swamps to the "back door of New Orleans," all roads of investigation led to Lafitte?s name.

 
Lafitte Brothers' Blacksmith Shop by E.H. Suydam
Ramsay believes that, "During his youth, Jean visited the wetlands of New Orleans, explored the bayous, the inlets, the waterways and the illusionary islands. He knew the area?s isolation, its potential..."

Lafitte?s presence in town first became apparent around 1803 when he and brother Pierre opened a blacksmith forge on the Rue de St. Phillippe. (The smithy was, as it turned out, merely a cover, which served as a depot where the brothers Lafitte took orders for goods recently "confiscated" from ships at sea.) For men who were supposed to have been new to a city, they too-quickly learned its unique, stylish habits and customs, too-quickly understood its sometimes curious laws, too-quickly learned the angles, and too-quickly ingratiated themselves with the local merchandise retailers and bankers, as well as the aristocracy. In the latter company, the Lafittes, especially Jean, found pleasant and fitting company. He was a well-read, well-dressed, very cultured gentleman for his young age (he was purportedly only 24 in 1803) who spoke four languages (English, French, Italian and Spanish) fluently and could discuss the venues of politics and policies of New Orleans better than members of its founding families. With his obviously French accent and decorum, Jean Lafitte melded well into the Creole and Acadian cultures -- cultures he obviously knew as a native.

Even the surname Lafitte mandates some investigation. The name was and is common in French-speaking areas of the world. Of the variance of places Jean Lafitte hinted as a location of ancestry, perhaps the one that has a semblance of truth was the French-controlled St. Dominique, from where, records indicate, Lafitte families did migrate to Louisiana in the latter half of the 1700s. On those records are the surnames Lafitte, Lafette. La Fite and other similarities. However, confusing the issue more so is the fact that Jean habitually signed his name spelled Laffite (two Fs, one T). Author Stanley Clisby Arthur in Old New Orleans points to several bills of sale extant today that support this. This particular version is novel and, therefore, almost his own invention probably employed to protect his real familial name. But, because the spelling he chose was overlooked by historians, and he is known in the books by the more orthodox Lafitte, this report will not break the tradition.
 
 
 
Barataria

 
 

"In the days of d?Arraguette,
He Ho   He Ho!
It was the good old times.
You ruled the world with a switch --
He Ho   He Ho!"

-- Old French Creole song Anonymous

Jean Lafitte was, by degree, a pirate. Under his thumb were a fleet of fifty sailing vessels and an army of buccaneers based in Barataria Bay who sailed the southern waters for plunder, bringing back riches and spoils of every kind to sell for a price. The ships they raped at sea, mostly Spanish ships, harvested boundless booty -- furniture, clothing, the latest silks, crinolines and finest embroideries, dinnerware, objects d?arte, wines and cheeses, even medicines -- destined for other places before being detoured. And slaves. The bay, where the Mississippi spills out to the azure Gulf of Mexico, was a scene of constant incoming and outgoing schooners, sloops, corsairs and brigantines homebound with or seaward for the merchandise they sought. In the silver of dawn and the purple of twilight, one could see the silhouettes of full masts squared and triangular against the tropical horizon.

Barataria, with its three islands -- Grande Terre, Grande Isle and Cheniere Caminada -- all occupied by Lafitte?s brigands, was literally a fortress; no ship could pass into or out of the Mississippi without having to squeeze past this trio of islands. Out toward the awesome Gulf of Mexico Lafitte?s siege guns aimed -- oiled, packed and ready -- to literally sink any interference from the waters.

Lafitte?s operations were centered on Grande Terre, an island almost level with the sea, where around 1808 he constructed a great brick two-story house facing the open sea. When not in New Orleans, he could be found here among its luxurious decor gathered for himself from the vast quantities of stolen treasures. In his comfortable office, whose wide arched doors invited the scent of chamomile, he and his lieutenants planned upcoming forays into the shipping lanes, choosing which waterways might proffer this season?s best takes. Or he might be seen relaxed in his red-cloth hammock, strumming his mandolin, singing a favorite Creole ballad:

"Z?aurtes qu?a do moin, ca yon bonheur;

Et moin va di, ca yon peine:

D?amour quand porte a chaine,

Adieu, courri tout bonheur!

Pauvre piti? Mamzelle Zizi!"

 
Lafitte's home on Grande Terre by E.H. Suydam
Often, Lafitte entertained on his verandah, shaded by palms. His guests were either a large-eyed mistress from town or a local planter, but they were usually a group of businessmen come down from New Orleans to plan deliveries of goods or slaves. After a sumptuous supper prepared by a league of servants, Lafitte would take his guests on a tour of his warehouse, which stood behind his estate; if they were planters in need of labor, he conducted them on a tour of the barracoons, the quarters for the slaves awaiting sale.

It is important that we pause here to consider the practice of slavery, as pertaining to those times. While the idea of slavery abhors those of us in the 20th Century, it was in the early 1800s a very accepted custom. Men who plied in the transferring of slaves and who dealt in their exchange at auctions thought of themselves, in the mores of the day, as providers of a necessary way of life.Some of Lafitte?s clients were, in fact, clergy who bought slaves to work the monastery grounds in Louisiana and the vegetable gardens adjacent to the Ursuline Convent in New Orleans. (Lafitte purchased his slaves from traders in Cuba for $300 each, then sold them at $1,200 in New Orleans, still below the government price.) Of his personal treatment to this human chattel, Lafitte was known for treating his slaves kindly.

Barataria Bay -- or simply Barataria, as Lafitte called his colony, named after the mythical land sought by Cervantes? Don Quixote -- was a Garden of Eden. The principle island, Grande Terre, was a combination of sandy beach and palm trees, of lush oaks and oleander, of lagoons and marshes, of shifting tides and foaming waves. Its deep-blue waters were loaded with speckled trout, popano, blackdrum and flounder, shrimp and crab. Brown pelicans strutted its beaches and flapped their wings in tune to the to the drumbeat of roaring surf. In some areas shoreside, thick oaks protected inhabitant from the gales of winds that tended to blow in before a storm. Dangers of hurricane were prevalent during the months from June through October, and often certain parts of the island found itself under several feet of sea after a fierce tropical downpour.

Inaccessible from the Louisiana coast except by sea craft, Grande Terre and its outlying islands had always provided a refuge for criminals; Blackbeard the Pirate hid there from the British Navy in 1718. It is believed that Lafitte conceived the idea for establishing his base of operations on Grande Terre around 1808. Up until that time, the Lafitte brothers? business was less complex: Jean managed the merchandising in New Orleans, setting up contacts to establish outlets for their goods, while Pierre, a more experienced seaman, oversaw the pirating efforts asea. But, the excessive customs taxes charged to move their trade down the Mississippi were depleting their income. As well, governmental tariffs on slaves had skyrocketed and the plantation owners they served were bemoaning the high costs. It soon dawned on Lafitte that if he could contract his seamen to land their ships outside the coast, what could prevent him from smuggling their goods as well as the "black ivory" across the bay in barges and skiffs then inland through the swamps and bayous he knew so well?

Realizing that if he and Pierre attempted such a move they couldn?t remain completely invisible; an army would be needed to discourage governmental counteraction. In a bold move, Jean invited all members of his contracted ships -- those seamen he had hired to bring in the wares -- to make their home on the island with him. It would be, he told them, their essential quarters. Some of them, he knew, had already settled there with their women and were praising the freedom of isolation it offered.

The kingdom of Barataria was born, 1,000 men strong -- privateers and pirates and ship?s carpenters and ship?s cooks and sail makers and sail riggers and gunners and navigators.

Overnight, Grande Terre animated with the hordes who found a "dry dock" for their revels. They were wandering spirits from across the globe who had shunned their native France, Italy, Portugal, Carribea, Germany, Russia and other countries. With their wives or island mistresses, they set up cottages under palmetto-thatched roofs and reveled between excursions to sea. For their pleasure, Lafitte appointed a cafe with European cuisine and a gambling den on the island, and imported whores from the city to staff a brothel. However, so that the festivities would not run amok -- so that the piratical Adams with their Eves would not bite too deeply into the core of the forbidden apples -- Lafitte and his lieutenants (those long-term comrades he knew best) created a code of "civil laws" for this Eden: Any man molesting an innocent woman would be sent adrift. Thieves would be lashed. Those found guilty of murdering a fellow Baratarian would be hanged. On the same taken, any sailor losing an arm or a limb in active service would be reimbursed in gold; the families of any man killed at sea would be well provided for.

Like any businessman operating a quality enterprise, he demanded order and respect. He ordained himself captain and insisted that his leagues treat him as bos, French for the American word it sounds exactly like. The Rights of Citizenship he offered his Baratarians were a blend of moral ethics and pirate code. As long as they performed their duties -- as plunderers, smugglers, gunners -- and as long as they served him and the Baratarian oath of loyalty -- to him and each other -- the inhabitants could live there as long as they wanted.

Its was tropical magnificence and inspired the unconventionality in the senses. At dusk it was at it most beautiful: the blush of the reddish sun wrapping it in its glow, the calming metronome of the waves, the carraw of the gulls on the beach, the bleat of the hornpipes on ships' decks announcing low tide.

Lafitte?s lieutenants were a colorful and leathery lot of stalwarts who managed their own crew and were seasoned veterans of warfare in the sea lanes of the world. These included two former members of Napoleon?s navy, Renato Beluche and Dominique Youx. The latter, who it was said adored his bos, was a squarely built, eagle-faced pirate from Santo Domingo known among his peers for his artillery expertise. He had a blistering sense of humor and, it was said, was the only man from whom Lafitte would take sarcasm. There was also Louis Chighizola, whose nose was half gone, slashed from an earlier duel, and the chronically pouting Vincent Gambi. Because the Baratarians lived under a strict "one-for-all, all-for-one" structure of gain, each of these lieutenants upon their return from plundering would equally share with his peers all monies obtained, monies that each lieutenant would then divvy up further among his respective crew or invest in maintenance of his vessel.

The siege guns Lafitte set up around Grande Terre were there for show. He could laugh at the suggestion of any threats to dismantle his operations. Louisiana, being a new territory of the United States, did not have an army of sufficient size to protect its coast, muchtheless have the audacity to attack him. Besides, they were technically not pirates. Being men of the open sea, open to allegiance to whomever patronized them, Lafitte?s buccaneers contracted out under "letters of marque" issued by Cartagena, a Spanish republic of Columbia fighting for its independence from the mother country. :Because these letters of marque were, by definition, licenses issued by any country or recognized domain to freelance soldiers of fortune allowing them to destroy its enemies? ships by proxy in times of conflict, Lafitte and his crew were, in all actuality, privateers. (Letters of writ, considered legal and binding in the 18th and early 19th centuries, were respected as valid. In fact, the 13 colonies practiced this industry during the American Revolution when they had virtually no navy in which to combat England.)

Baratarians flew the banner of Cartagena on their island and above the crow?s net on their ships, giving them what New Orleans? late commentator and historian Mel Leavitt called "the legal pretext for plundering Spanish shipping."

Lafitte?s men never attacked an American ship; it was their captain?s orders. It was Bible. "Attack an American ship and die," he proclaimed. One reason is obvious: to sink a vessel belonging to the United States would bring its wrath upon Barataria. But, another reason was less selfish. Lafitte enjoyed the freedom of speech and open opportunities offered here, opportunities that didn?t exist in other countries.

It is known that one of his men, hungry for the gold bullion he heard was on board, defied Lafitte, ransacked an outgoing American ship -- and died. His punishment of hanging discouraged other such attempts. However, being bos meant accepting the penalties for crimes his men sometimes made. The mistake committed by this particular insurgent would eventually come back to haunt Lafitte evermore.
 
 
 
The Bayous

 
 

"Audacity, more audacity, and always audacity!"

-- Georges Jacques Danton

The transportation system that Jean Lafitte designed through the near 40-miles of swamps and bayous to New Orleans attests to his enterprise and ingenuity. He produced a series of ingress routes through what is even today an otherwise impenetrable mass of jungle flora, fauna and pests. Its murky waters are floored by quicksand and undertows, walled by the low-hanging moss of cypress and tall marsh grass that blinds a traveler?s path and from whose density a cottonmouth can strike at any given turn, and surrounded with alligators, lizards, mosquitoes, armadillos, rodents and a hundred other natural dangers to the human flesh

As beautiful as it can be deadly, the blue-green aura of this jungle could lead even the most confident man astray and make direction-keeping impossible, even with a compass. The sunlight rarely permeates; late afternoons and evenings, a wanderer could drift into a stupor lulled by its natural symphony of croaking frog, caterwaul of a dozen or so species of birds and the humming whirr of the wind that eddies and reverberates to play over and over again.

But, Lafitte knew the swamps, the marshes, the bayous; he knew what it could do to a man And he knew its benefits. The American soldiery, quartered in a number of small forts up and down the Mississippi River, most of them from other climates, would never be able to stop his commercial routes, let alone find him and his goods, in this ever-hot, ever-muggy prehistoric jungle.

According to journalist Mel Leavitt, Lafitte "organized a superb transportation system, widening waterways and digging canals. His gigantic barges, one-hundred-feet long, were hewn from raw cypress trunks and shuttled back and forth almost daily to New Orleans, loaded with men and merchandise".

Just below the city, the barges were unloaded and the supplies assigned to canoe-like boats called pirogues; in them they were hurried into New Orleans. The final routes on the trip were the Bayou St. John, the tiny lakes and other open waterways beyond the U.S. customs stations. On their banks, the freight was again unloaded, inventoried and placed on flatbeds and in tarpaulined wagons for delivery to the shop owners awaiting them. Through this process, avoiding the tariffs, Lafitte was able to monopolize the lion?s share of trade commerce.

But, entrepreneurial Lafitte wasn?t content. He believed not only in quality but in efficiency and expeditiousness. The trip by water, if the weather did not cooperate, could take as much as a week from Barataria to New Orleans. Delays could leave stores? shelves empty, medicines in want, the foodstuffs rotten; if the barge carried slaves, plantation harvests could face jeopardy.

To correct these misadventures to everyone?s appeal, the clever Lafitte created one of this country?s first and most successful retail outlets. Here, the wanting public could come to browse, to shop, to buy an endless contraband at exorbitantly reduced prices and take the treasures home in their conveyances that very afternoon.

Requiring a place accessible to the general public, Lafitte, after careful consideration with brother Pierre, chose an ideal spot. Within the bayous were "islands" or chenieres -- both large and small --:girthed by dense oak; because of their elevation, they often caught the seashells that floated in from the Gulf and, to that extent, their ground was carpeted with these shells. The largest of these was a well-known, very reachable one, halfway between New Orleans and Barataria Bay, referred to as "The Temple." It derived its name from the fact that hundreds of years earlier local Indians used it as a sacrificial altar.

Boldly, Lafitte advertised his market days on billboards and posters set up throughout New Orleans:

COME ONE! COME ALL!

TO JEAN LAFITTE?S

BAZAAR & SLAVE AUCTION

TOMORROW

AT THE TEMPLE

== FOR YOUR DELIGHT ==-

CLOTHING GEMS & KNICK-KNACKS

FROM THE SEVEN SEAS

And the public came. In droves. They partook of the sales, grabbing armloads- full of paraphernalia. Often, while their men loitered near the slave platforms to share the canisters of Cuban stogies and chewing snuff, wives balanced sun parasols over their heads while cradling imported fineries to their bosoms; the finer ladies brought a score of servants along to carry the day?s purchases for them. Children enjoyed the sugar cane pralines and taffies boiled by the pirates? mistresses on site and given away free. Lafitte was always sure to be on hand himself to relate with the men and charm their females

An existing letter from a gentleman named A.L. Lacour reads: "The most respectable inhabitants of the state purchase smuggled goods from J. Lafitte in Barataria..."

Lafitte had become a household world. Everyone knew his name. Including Governor Claiborne, one of the few to chagrin it..
 
More...

 http://www.crimelibrary.com/gangsters_outlaws/cops_others/lafitte/1.html



 
 

[Bart]

Jean Lafitte

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 This article is about the pirate. For the town named after him, see Jean Lafitte, Louisiana.
Jean Lafitte (1780? - 1826?), was a famous pirate in the Gulf of Mexico in the early 19th century.



Biography

   Lafitte was a colorful character who lived much of his life outside the law, and a number of details about his life are obscure. He was said to have been born in France. Though well known in history and folklore, both his origins and demise are uncertain. The accuracy of some accounts of his life are open to doubt, and an autobiographical journal is suspected of being a forgery by some historians. His father was said to be French and his mother either a Spaniard, or Sephardi. His mother's family allegedly fled from Spain to France in 1765 after his maternal grandfather was put to death for Judaism.

   (From the above dawing of Lafitte, it does appear that he could well be half Jewish. Nor does it seem to be out of character for him to admit via the journal to such. It further seems unreasonable and for an American to make such a claim. Such would have been unpopular in the era, perhaps unprecedented. Further indications are his marriage. Bart)

   In his alleged journal, Lafitte describes childhood in the home of his Jewish grandmother, who was full of stories about the family's escape from the Inquisition. Raised in a kosher Jewish household, Lafitte later married Christiana Levine, from a Jewish family in Denmark.

   Along with his 'crew of a thousand men', Lafitte sometimes receives credit for helping defend Louisiana from the British in the War of 1812, with his nautical raids along the Gulf of Mexico.

(Allegedly, The (British) next series of letters offered Lafitte himself a commission in the Royal Navy -- plus lands and money untold -- if he and his colony of buccaneers would lead the English forces through the swamps and assist in their attack on New Orleans. A final letter, the most directly written, promised to destroy his colony at Barataria if he declined their offer.)

   Jean and his older brother Pierre Lafitte established their own "Kingdom of Barataria" in the swamps and bayous near New Orleans after the Louisiana Purchase of 1803. He claimed to command more than 3,000 men and provided them as troops for the Battle of New Orleans in 1815, greatly assisting Andrew Jackson in repulsing the British attack. Lafitte reportedly conducted his operations in the historic New Orleans French Quarter. General Jackson was informed of Lafitte's gallant exploits at the Battle of New Orleans by Colonel Ellis P. Bean, who then recruited Lafitte to support the Mexican Republican movement.

   Of the two brothers, Jean was the most familiar with the naval aspects of their enterprise, while Pierre was more often involved with the commercial aspects. Pierre lived in New Orleans or at least maintained his household there (with his mulato lover who bore him a very large family). Jean spent the majority of his time in Barataria managing the daily hands on business of outfitting privateers and arranging the smuggling of stolen goods. The most prized "good" was invariably slaves, especially after the outlawing of the slave trade in the United States.

   After being run out of New Orleans around 1817, Lafitte relocated to the island of Galveston, Texas establishing another "kingdom" he named "Campeche". In Galveston, Lafitte either purchased or set his claim to a lavishly furnished mansion used by French pirate Louis-Michel Aury, which he named "Maison Rouge". The building's upper level was converted into a fortress where a cannon commanding Galveston harbor were placed. Around 1820, Lafitte reportedly married Madeline Regaud, possibly the widow or daughter of a French colonist who had died during an ill-fated expedition to Galveston.

   In 1821, the schooner USS Enterprise was sent to Galveston to remove Lafitte's presence from the Gulf after one of the pirate's captains attacked an American merchant ship. Lafitte agreed to leave the island without a fight, and in 1821 or 1822 departed on his flagship, the Pride, burning his fortress and settlements and reportedly taking immense amounts of treasure with him. All that remains of Maison Rouge is the foundation, located at 1417 Avenue A near the Galveston wharf.

   While the Lafitte brothers were engaged in running the Galveston operation, one client they worked with considerably in the slave smuggling trade was James Bowie. The Lafittes were selling slaves at a dollar a pound, and Bowie would buy them at the Lafittes rate, then get around the American laws against slave trading by reporting his purchased slaves as having been found in the possession of smugglers. The law at the time allowed Bowie to collect a fee on the "recovered" slaves, and he would then re-buy the slaves (essentially a "slave laundering" act) and then resell them to prospective buyers.

Lafitte's disappearance

   Jean Lafitte's birth and death is a myserious and unknown as his exact birth and mother. After his departure from Galveston, Jean Lafitte was for a brief time a true pirate. Operating without any letter of marque, which would have legalized his small fleet as being in the employ of one of the newly independent nations of central and particularly South America, he broke what had been a cardinal rule of his and attacked American as well as Spanish shipping. An American fleet nearly cornered him several times near Cuba and Hispanola, but each time, often with the assistance of local authorities, he managed to escape.

   Finally he made his way to the newly independent republic of Venezuela where he received a commission and letter of marque to act as a privateer for the new county. However, within a few months a pair of sloops, most likely in Spanish employ, lured his ship into an engagement in which he was mortally wounded. He died in his cabin off shore of Panama.

Lafitte's journal

   The authenticity of the Lafitte Journal is hotly debated among Lafitte scholars, with some accepting the manuscript and others denouncing it as a forgery. The problem of authenticating the diary is confounded by the scarcity of genuine documents in Lafitte's handwriting for comparison. The most reliable genuine Lafitte documents are two short manuscripts from the library collection of Republic of Texas president Mirabeau B. Lamar, which are currently held by the Texas State Archives.

   Paper tests confirm that the Journal is written on paper from the 19th century, though no consensus exists about authenticity among the small number of handwriting experts who have studied the document. The original manuscript was purchased by Texas Governor Price Daniel in the 1970s and is on display at the Sam Houston Regional Library and Research Center in Liberty, Texas. Translated versions of the journal have been in print since the 1950s.

   Among other things, this diary would demonstrate that Jean Lafitte was Jewish, through descent from his maternal grandmother Zora Nadrimal. Harold I. Sharfman in Jews on the Frontier: An account of Jewish Pioneers and Settlers in Early America, accepted that Lafitte was of Jewish descent. The family were Marranos who converted under pressure to Roman Catholicism in the 14th century, but continued to practice Judaism secretly. In 1765, Jean's grandmother, Maria Zola, fled with her mother from Spain to France to escape the Spanish Inquisition.

   Maria Zola's husband, Abhorad (Jean's grandfather), was put to death by the Inquisition for "judaizing." (Sharfman, Harold I., Jews on the Frontier, Henry Regnery Company, Chicago. 1977. pp. 132-145). Recent scholars recognize Lafitte as a corsair or buccaneer who operated with Letters of Marque to legitimize his commerce raiding. As such, technically, Jean Lafitte was not a pirate in the true sense of the word[citation needed].

Folklore

   Lafitte claimed never to have plundered an American vessel, and though he engaged in the contraband slave trade, he is accounted a great romantic figure in Louisiana. The mystery surrounding Lafitte has only inflated the legends attached to his name. Lafitte was said to be a master mariner; according to one legend he was once caught in a tropical storm off the coast of North Galveston and steered his ship to safety by riding the storm surge over Galveston island and into the harbor. Lafitte's lost treasure has acquired a lore of its own as it, like his death, was never accounted for. He reportedly maintained several stashes of plundered gold and jewelry in the vast system of marshes, swamps, and bayous located around Barrataria Bay.

   One such legend places the treasure somewhere on the property of Destrehan Plantation, and Lafitte's spirit walks the plantation on nights of full moons to guide someone to the treasure's location. Other rumors suggest that Lafitte's treasure sank with his ship, the Pride, either near Galveston or in the Gulf of Mexico where some believe it went down during an 1826 hurricane.

   His legend was perpetuated in Cecil B. DeMille's classic film The Buccaneer and its 1958 remake, and even by a poem of Byron:

He left a corsair?s name to other times,
Linked with one virtue, and a thousand crimes[citation needed].

Other references to Lafitte

Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve in Louisiana is named for him.

Lafitte, Louisiana is the name of a Cajun fishing village and tourist spot on Bayou Barataria, and Chalmette, Louisiana has a street named after the pirate.

Lafitte is also the subject of the Contraband Days festival of Lake Charles, Louisiana, held during the first two weeks of May to celebrate rumors of buried treasure in Lake Charles and Contraband Bayou. The festival features a band of actors portraying Lafitte and his pirates, who sail into the city's namesake lake and capture the city's mayor, forcing him to walk the plank. No such event is known to have occurred, although there are unsubstantiated legends that Lafitte hid treasure in the area of the lake.
Carl Ouellet played a rendition of him in the World Wrestling Federation.

 External links

On the life of Lafitte

The Pirates Lafitte: The Treacherous World of the Corsairs of the Gulf

Jean Lafitte: Gentleman Pirate of New Orleans ? full-length book at CrimeLibrary.Com

Lafitte, the Louisiana Pirate and Patriot ? biography in the Louisiana Historical Quarterly

Jean Lafitte Chapter from Yoakum's History of Texas, 1855

Searching for the Real Jean Lafitte

The Legacy of Jean Lafitte in southwest Louisiana

The Jewish pirate

Other sites

Laffite Society

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Lafitte"

[Bart]

THE LIFE OF LAFITTE, THE FAMOUS PIRATE OF THE GULF OF MEXICO

   With a History of the Pirates of Barrataria--and an account of their volunteering for the defence of New Orleans; and their daring intrepidity under General Jackson, during the battle of the 8th of January, 1815. For which important service they were pardoned by President Madison.

   Jean Lafitte, was born at St. Maloes in France, in 1781, and went to sea at the age of thirteen; after several voyages in Europe, and to the coast of Africa, he was appointed mate of a French East Indiaman, bound to Madras. On the outward passage they encountered a heavy gale off the Cape of Good Hope, which sprung the mainmast and otherwise injured the ship, which determined the captain to bear up for the Mauritius, where he arrived in safety; a quarrel having taken place on the passage out between Lafitte and the captain, he abandoned the ship and refused to continue the voyage.

   Several privateers were at this time fitting out at this island, and Lafitte was appointed captain of one of these vessels; after a cruise during which he robbed the vessels of other nations, besides those of England, and thus committing piracy, he stopped at the Seychelles, and took in a load of slaves for the Mauritius; but being chased by an English frigate as far north as the equator, he found himself in a very awkward condition; not having provisions enough on board his ship to carry him back to the French Colony.

   He therefore conceived the bold project of proceeding to the Bay of Bengal, in order to get provisions from on board some English ships. In his ship of two hundred tons, with only two guns and twenty-six men, he attacked and took an English armed schooner with a numerous crew. After putting nineteen of his own crew on board the schooner, he took the command of her and proceeded to cruise upon the coast of Bengal. He there fell in with the Pagoda, a vessel belonging to the English East India Company, armed with twenty-six twelve pounders and manned with one hundred and fifty men.

   Expecting that the enemy would take him for a pilot of the Ganges, he manoeuvred accordingly. The Pagoda manifested no suspicions, whereupon he suddenly darted with his brave followers upon her decks, overturned all who opposed them, and speedily took the ship. After a very successful cruise he arrived safe at the Mauritius, and took the command of La Confiance of twenty-six guns and two hundred and fifty men, and sailed for the coast of British India. Off the Sand Heads in October, 1807, Lafitte fell in with the Queen East Indiaman, with a crew of near four hundred men, and carrying forty guns; he conceived the bold project of getting possession of her.

   Never was there beheld a more unequal conflict; even the height of the vessel compared to the feeble privateer augmented the chances against Lafitte; but the difficulty and danger far from discouraging this intrepid sailor, acted as an additional spur to his brilliant valor. After electrifying his crew with a few words of hope and ardor, he manoeuvred and ran on board of the enemy. In this position he received a broadside when close too; but he expected this, and made his men lay flat upon the deck. After the first fire they all rose, and from the yards and tops, threw bombs and grenades into the forecastle of the Indiaman.

   This sudden and unforeseen attack caused a great havoc. In an instant, death and terror made them abandon a part of the vessel near the mizen-mast. Lafitte, who observed every thing, seized the decisive moment, beat to arms, and forty of his crew prepared to board, with pistols in their hands and daggers held between their teeth. As soon as they got on deck, they rushed upon the affrighted crowd, who retreated to the steerage, and endeavored to defend themselves there. Lafitte thereupon ordered a second division to board, which he headed himself; the captain of the Indiaman was killed, and all were swept away in a moment.

   Lafitte caused a gun to be loaded with grape, which he pointed towards the place where the crowd was assembled, threatening to exterminate them. The English deeming resistance fruitless, surrendered, and Lafitte hastened to put a stop to the slaughter. This exploit, hitherto unparalleled, resounded through India, and the name of Lafitte became the terror of English commerce in these latitudes.

   As British vessels now traversed the Indian Ocean under strong convoys, game became scarce, and Lafitte determined to visit France; and after doubling the Cape of Good Hope, he coasted up to the Gulf of Guinea, and in the Bight of Benin, took two valuable prizes loaded with gold dust, ivory, and Palm Oil; with this booty he reached St. Maloes in safety.

   After a short stay at his native place he fitted out a brigantine, mounting twenty guns and one hundred and fifty men, and sailed for Gaudaloupe; amongst the West India Islands, he made several valuable prizes; but during his absence on a cruise the island having been taken by the British, he proceeded to Carthagena, and from thence to Barrataria.

   After this period, the conduct of Lafitte at Barrataria does not appear to be characterized by the audacity and boldness of his former career; but he had amassed immense sums of booty, and as he was obliged to have dealings with the merchants of the United States, and the West Indies, who frequently owed him large sums, and the cautious dealings necessary to found and conduct a colony of Pirates and Smugglers in the very teeth of a civilized nation, obliged Lafitte to cloak as much as possible his real character.

   As we have said before, at the period of the taking of Gaudaloupe by the British, most of the privateers commissioned by the government of that island, and which were then on a cruise, not being able to return to any of the West India Islands, made for Barrataria, there to take in a supply of water and provisions, recruit the health of their crews, and dispose of their prizes, which could not be admitted into any of the ports of the United States, we being at that time in peace with Great Britain.

   Most of the commissions granted to privateers by the French government at Gaudaloupe, having expired sometime after the declaration of the independence of Carthagena, many of the privateers repaired to that port, for the purpose of obtaining from the new government commissions for cruising against Spanish vessels. Having duly obtained their commissions, they in a manner blockaded for a long time all the ports belonging to the royalists, and made numerous captives, which they carried into Barrataria. Under this denomination is comprised part of the coast of Louisiana to the west of the mouths of the Mississippi, comprehended between Bastien bay on the east, and the mouths of the river or bayou la Fourche on the west.

   Not far from the sea are lakes called the great and little lakes of Barrataria, communicating with one another by several large bayous with a great number of branches. There is also the island of Barrataria, at the extremity of which is a place called the Temple, which denomination it owes to several mounds of shells thrown up there by the Indians. The name of Barrataria is also given to a large basin which extends the whole length of the cypress swamps, from the Gulf of Mexico to three miles above New Orleans.

   These waters disembogue into the gulf by two entrances of the bayou Barrataria, between which lies an island called Grand Terre, six miles in length, and from two to three miles in breadth, running parallel with the coast. In the western entrance is the great pass of Barrataria, which has from nine to ten feet of water. Within this pass about two leagues from the open sea, lies the only secure harbor on the coast, and accordingly this was the harbor frequented by the Pirates, so well known by the name of Barratarians.

   At Grand Terre, the privateers publicly made sale by auction, of the cargoes of their prizes. From all parts of Lower Louisiana, people resorted to Barrataria, without being at all solicitous to conceal the object of their journey. The most respectable inhabitants of the state, especially those living in the country, were in the habit of purchasing smuggled goods coming from Barrataria.

   The government of the United States sent an expedition under Commodore Patterson, to disperse the settlement of marauders at Barrataria; the following is an extract of his letter to the secretary of war.

   Sir--I have the honor to inform you that I departed from this city on the 11th June, accompanied by Col. Ross, with a detachment of seventy of the 44th regiment of infantry. On the 12th, reached the schooner Carolina, of Plaquemine, and formed a junction with the gun vessels at the Balize on the 13th, sailed from the southwest pass on the evening of the 15th, and at half past 8 o'clock, A.M. on the 16th, made the Island of Barrataria, and discovered a number of vessels in the harbor, some of which shewed Carthagenian colors.

   At 2 o'clock, perceived the pirates forming their vessels, ten in number, including prizes, into a line of battle near the entrance of the harbor, and making every preparation to offer me battle. At 10 o'clock, wind light and variable, formed the order of battle with six gun boats and the Sea Horse tender, mounting one six pounder and fifteen men, and a launch mounting one twelve pound carronade; the schooner Carolina, drawing too much water to cross the bar.

   At half past 10 o'clock, perceived several smokes along the coasts as signals, and at the same time a white flag hoisted on board a schooner at the fort, an American flag at the mainmast head and a Carthagenian flag (under which the pirates cruise) at her topping lift; replied with a white flag at my main; at 11 o'clock, discovered that the pirates had fired two of their best schooners; hauled down my white flag and made the signal for battle; hoisting with a large white flag bearing the words "Pardon for Deserters"; having heard there was a number on shore from the army and navy.

    At a quarter past 11 o'clock, two gun boats grounded and were passed agreeably to my previous orders, by the other four which entered the harbor, manned by my barge and the boats belonging to the grounded vessels, and proceeded in to my great disappointment. I perceived that the pirates abandoned their vessels, and were flying in all directions. I immediately sent the launch and two barges with small boats in pursuit of them.

   At meridian, took possession of all their vessels in the harbor consisting of six schooners and one felucca, cruisers, and prizes of the pirates, one brig, a prize, and two armed schooners under the Carthagenian flag, both in the line of battle, with the armed vessels of the pirates, and apparently with an intention to aid them in any resistance they might make against me, as their crews were at quarters, tompions out of their guns, and matches lighted. Col. Ross at the same time landed, and with his command took possession of their establishment on shore, consisting of about forty houses of different sizes, badly constructed, and thatched with palmetto leaves.

   When I perceived the enemy forming their vessels into a line of battle I felt confident from their number and very advantageous position, and their number of men, that they would have fought me; their not doing so I regret; for had they, I should have been enabled more effectually to destroy or make prisoners of them and their leaders; but it is a subject of great satisfaction to me, to have effected the object of my enterprise, without the loss of a man.

   The enemy had mounted on their vessels twenty pieces of cannon of different calibre; and as I have since learnt, from eight hundred, to one thousand men of all nations and colors.

   Early in the morning of the 20th, the Carolina at anchor, about five miles distant, made the signal of a "strange sail in sight to eastward"; immediately after she weighed anchor, and gave chase the strange sail, standing for Grand Terre, with all sail; at half past 8 o'clock, the chase hauled her wind off shore to escape; sent acting Lieut. Spedding with four boats manned and armed to prevent her passing the harbor; at 9 o'clock A.M., the chase fired upon the Carolina, which was returned; each vessel continued firing during the chase, when their long guns could reach. At 10 o'clock, the chase grounded outside of the bar, at which time the Carolina was from the shoalness of the water obliged to haul her wind off shore and give up the chase; opened a fire upon the chase across the island from the gun vessels.

   At half past 10 o'clock, she hauled down her colors and was taken possession of. She proved to be the armed schooner Gen. Boliver; by grounding she broke both her rudder pintles and made water; took from her her armament, consisting of one long brass eighteen pounder, one long brass six pounder, two twelve pounders, small arms, &c., and twenty-one packages of dry goods. On the afternoon of the 23d, got underway with the whole squadron, in all seventeen vessels, but during the night one escaped, and the next day arrived at New Orleans with my whole squadron.

   At different times the English had sought to attack the pirates at Barrataria, in hopes of taking their prizes, and even their armed vessels. Of these attempts of the British, suffice it to instance that of June 23d, 1813, when two privateers being at anchor off Cat Island, a British sloop of war anchored at the entrance of the pass, and sent her boats to endeavor to take the privateers; but they were repulsed with considerable loss.

   Such was the state of affairs, when on the 2d Sept., 1814, there appeared an armed brig on the coast opposite the pass. She fired a gun at a vessel about to enter, and forced her to run aground; she then tacked and shortly after came to an anchor at the entrance of the pass. It was not easy to understand the intentions of this vessel, who, having commenced with hostilities on her first appearance now seemed to announce an amicable disposition.

   Mr. Lafitte then went off in a boat to examine her, venturing so far that he could not escape from the pinnace sent from the brig, and making towards the shore, bearing British colors and a flag of truce. In this pinnace were two naval officers. One was Capt. Lockyer, commander of the brig. The first question they asked was, where was Mr. Lafitte? he not choosing to make himself known to them, replied that the person they inquired for was on shore.

   They then delivered to him a packet directed to Mr. Lafitte, Barrataria, requesting him to take particular care of it, and to deliver it into Mr. Lafitte's hands. He prevailed on them to make for the shore, and as soon as they got near enough to be in his power, he made himself known, recommending to them at the same time to conceal the business on which they had come. Upwards of two hundred persons lined the shore, and it was a general cry amongst the crews of the privateers at Grand Terre, that those British officers should be made prisoners and sent to New Orleans as spies.

   It was with much difficulty that Lafitte dissuaded the multitude from this intent, and led the officers in safety to his dwelling. He thought very prudently that the papers contained in the packet might be of importance towards the safety of the country and that the officers if well watched could obtain no intelligence that might turn to the detriment of Louisiana. He now examined the contents of the packet, in which he found a proclamation addressed by Col. Edward Nichalls, in the service of his Brittanic Majesty, and commander of the land forces on the coast of Florida, to the inhabitants of Louisiana.

   A letter from the same to Mr. Lafitte, the commander of Barrataria; an official letter from the honorable W.H. Percy, captain of the sloop of war Hermes, directed to Lafitte. When he had perused these letters, Capt. Lockyer enlarged on the subject of them and proposed to him to enter into the service of his Brittanic Majesty with the rank of post captain and to receive the command of a 44 gun frigate.

   Also all those under his command, or over whom he had sufficient influence. He was also offered thirty thousand dollars, payable at Pensacola, and urged him not to let slip this opportunity of acquiring fortune and consideration. On Lafitte's requiring a few days to reflect upon these proposals, Capt. Lockyer observed to him that no reflection could be necessary, respecting proposals that obviously precluded hesitation, as he was a Frenchman and proscribed by the American government.

   But to all his splendid promises and daring insinuations, Lafitte replied that in a few days he would give a final answer; his object in this procrastination being to gain time to inform the officers of the state government of this nefarious project. Having occasion to go to some distance for a short time, the persons who had proposed to send the British officers prisoners to New Orleans, went and seized them in his absence, and confined both them and the crew of the pinnace, in a secure place, leaving a guard at the door.

   The British officers sent for Lafitte; but he, fearing an insurrection of the crews of the privateers, thought it advisable not to see them until he had first persuaded their captains and officers to desist from the measures on which they seemed bent. With this view he represented to the latter that, besides the infamy that would attach to them if they treated as prisoners people who had come with a flag of truce, they would lose the opportunity of discovering the projects of the British against Louisiana.

   Early the next morning Lafitte caused them to be released from their confinement and saw them safe on board their pinnace, apologizing the detention. He now wrote to Capt. Lockyer the following letter.
 

To CAPTAIN LOCKYER.

Barrataria, 4th Sept. 1814.

   Sir--The confusion which prevailed in our camp yesterday and this morning, and of which you have a complete knowledge, has prevented me from answering in a precise manner to the object of your mission; nor even at this moment can I give you all the satisfaction that you desire; however, if you could grant me a fortnight, I would be entirely at your disposal at the end of that time.

   This delay is indispensable to enable me to put my affairs in order. You may communicate with me by sending a boat to the eastern point of the pass, where I will be found. You have inspired me with more confidence than the admiral, your superior officer, could have done himself; with you alone, I wish to deal, and from you also I will claim, in due time the reward of the services, which I may render to you. Yours, &c.

J. LAFITTE.
 

   His object in writing that letter was, by appearing disposed to accede to their proposals, to give time to communicate the affair to the officers of the state government, and to receive from them instructions how to act, under circumstances so critical and important to the country. He accordingly wrote on the 4th September to Mr. Blanque, one of the representatives of the state, sending him all the papers delivered to him by the British officers with a letter addressed to his excellency, Gov. Claiborne of the state of Louisiana.
 

To Gov. CLAIBORNE.

Barrataria, Sept. 4th, 1814.

   Sir--In the firm persuasion that the choice made of you to fill the office of first magistrate of this state, was dictated by the esteem of your fellow citizens, and was conferred on merit, I confidently address you on an affair on which may depend the safety of this country. I offer to you to restore to this state several citizens, who perhaps in your eyes have lost that sacred title. I offer you them, however, such as you could wish to find them, ready to exert their utmost efforts in defence of the country. This point of Louisiana, which I occupy, is of great importance in the present crisis. I tender my services to defend it; and the only reward I ask is that a stop be put to the proscription against me and my adherents, by an act of oblivion, for all that has been done hitherto.

   I am the stray sheep wishing to return to the fold. If you are thoroughly acquainted with the nature of my offences, I should appear to you much less guilty, and still worthy to discharge the duties of a good citizen. I have never sailed under any flag but that of the republic of Carthagena, and my vessels are perfectly regular in that respect. If I could have brought my lawful prizes into the ports of this state, I should not have employed the illicit means that have caused me to be proscribed.

   I decline saying more on the subject, until I have the honor of your excellency's answer, which I am persuaded can be dictated only by wisdom. Should your answer not be favorable to my ardent desires, I declare to you that I will instantly leave the country, to avoid the imputation of having cooperated towards an invasion on this point, which cannot fail to take place, and to rest secure in the acquittal of my conscience.

I have the honor to be

your excellency's, &c.

J. LAFITTE.
 

   The contents of these letters do honor to Lafitte's judgment, and evince his sincere attachment to the American cause. On the receipt of this packet from Lafitte, Mr. Blanque immediately laid its contents before the governor, who convened the committee of defence lately formed of which he was president; and Mr. Rancher the bearer of Lafitte's packet, was sent back with a verbal answer to desire Lafitte to take no steps until it should be determined what was expedient to be done; the message also contained an assurance that, in the meantime no steps should be taken against him for his past offences against the laws of the United States.

   At the expiration of the time agreed on with Captain Lockyer, his ship appeared again on the coast with two others, and continued standing off and on before the pass for several days. But he pretended not to perceive the return of the sloop of war, who tired of waiting to no purpose put out to sea and disappeared.

   Lafitte having received a guarantee from General Jackson for his safe passage from Barrataria to New Orleans and back, he proceeded forthwith to the city where he had an interview with Gov. Claiborne and the General. After the usual formalities and courtesies had taken place between these gentlemen, Lafitte addressed the Governor of Louisiana nearly as follows. I have offered to defend for you that part of Louisiana I now hold. But not as an outlaw, would I be its defender.

   In that confidence, with which you have inspired me, I offer to restore to the state many citizens, now under my command. As I have remarked before, the point I occupy is of great importance in the present crisis. I tender not only my own services to defend it, but those of all I command; and the only reward I ask, is, that a stop be put to the proscription against me and my adherents, by an act of oblivion for all that has been done hitherto.

   "My dear sir," said the Governor, who together with General Jackson, was impressed with admiration of his sentiments, "your praiseworthy wishes shall be laid before the council of the state, and I will confer with my August friend here present, upon this important affair, and send you an answer to-morrow." At Lafitte withdrew, the General said farewell; when we meet again, I trust it will be in the ranks of the American army. The result of the conference was the issuing the following order.

   The Governor of Louisiana, informed that many individuals implicated in the offences heretofore committed against the United States at Barrataria, express a willingness at the present crisis to enroll themselves and march against the enemy.

   He does hereby invite them to join the standard of the United States and is authorised to say, should their conduct in the field meet the approbation of the Major General, that that officer will unite with the governor in a request to the president of the United States, to extend to each and every individual, so marching and acting, a free and full pardon.

   These general orders were placed in the hands of Lafitte, who circulated them among his dispersed followers, most of whom readily embraced the conditions of pardon they held out. In a few days many brave men and skillful artillerists, whose services contributed greatly to the safety of the invaded state, flocked to the standard of the United States, and by their conduct, received the highest approbation of General Jackson.
 

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

A PROCLAMATION.

   "Among the many evils produced by the wars, which, with little intermission, have afflicted Europe, and extended their ravages into other quarters of the globe, for a period exceeding twenty years, the dispersion of a considerable portion of the inhabitants of different countries, in sorrow and in want, has not been the least injurious to human happiness, nor the least severe in the trial of human virtue.

   "It had been long ascertained that many foreigners, flying from the dangers of their own home, and that some citizens, forgetful of their duty, had co-operated in forming an establishment on the island of Barrataria, near the mouth of the river Mississippi, for the purpose of a clandestine and lawless trade. The government of the United States caused the establishment to be broken up and destroyed; and, having obtained the means of designating the offenders of every description, it only remained to answer the demands of justice by inflicting an exemplary punishment.

   "But it has since been represented that the offenders have manifested a sincere penitence; that they have abandoned the prosecution of the worst cause for the support of the best, and, particularly, that they have exhibited, in the defence of New Orleans, unequivocal traits of courage and fidelity. Offenders, who have refused to become the associates of the enemy in the war, upon the most seducing terms of invitation; and who have aided to repel his hostile invasion of the territory of the United States, can no longer be considered as objects of punishment, but as objects of a generous forgiveness.

   "It has therefore been seen, with great satisfaction, that the General Assembly of the State of Louisiana earnestly recommend those offenders to the benefit of a full pardon; And in compliance with that recommendation, as well as in consideration of all the other extraordinary circumstances in the case, I, James Madison, President of the United States of America, do issue this proclamation, hereby granting, publishing and declaring, a free and full pardon of all offences committed in violation of any act or acts of the Congress of the said United States, touching the revenue, trade and navigation thereof, or touching the intercourse and commerce of the United States with foreign nations, at any time before the eighth day of January, in the present year one thousand eight hundred and fifteen, by any person or persons whatsoever, being inhabitants of New Orleans and the adjacent country, or being inhabitants of the said island of Barrataria, and the places adjacent; Provided, that every person, claiming the benefit of this full pardon, in order to entitle himself thereto, shall produce a certificate in writing from the governor of the State of Louisiana, stating that such person has aided in the defence of New Orleans and the adjacent country, during the invasion thereof as aforesaid.

   "And I do hereby further authorize and direct all suits, indictments, and prosecutions, for fines, penalties, and forfeitures, against any person or persons, who shall be entitled to the benefit of this full pardon, forthwith to be stayed, discontinued and released: All civil officers are hereby required, according to the duties of their respective stations, to carry this proclamation into immediate and faithful execution.

   "Done at the City of Washington, the sixth day of February, in the year one thousand eight hundred and fifteen, and of the independence of the United States the thirty-ninth.

"By the President,

"JAMES MADISON

"JAMES MONROE,

"Acting Secretary of State."

   The morning of the eighth of January, was ushered in with the discharge of rockets, the sound of cannon, and the cheers of the British soldiers advancing to the attack. The Americans, behind the breastwork, awaited in calm intrepidity their approach. The enemy advanced in close column of sixty men in front, shouldering their muskets and carrying fascines and ladders.

   A storm of rockets preceded them, and an incessant fire opened from the battery, which commanded the advanced column. The musketry and rifles from the Kentuckians and Tennesseans, joined the fire of the artillery, and in a few moments was heard along the line a ceaseless, rolling fire, whose tremendous noise resembled the continued reverberation of thunder.

   One of these guns, a twenty-four pounder, placed upon the breastwork in the third embrasure from the river, drew, from the fatal skill and activity with which it was managed, even in the heat of battle, the admiration of both Americans and British; and became one of the points most dreaded by the advancing foe.

   Here was stationed Lafitte and his lieutenant Dominique and a large band of his men, who during the continuance of the battle, fought with unparalleled bravery. The British already had been twice driven back in the utmost confusion, with the loss of their commander-in-chief, and two general officers.

   Two other batteries were manned by the Barratarians, who served their pieces with the steadiness and precision of veteran gunners. In the first attack of the enemy, a column pushed forward between the levee and river; and so precipitate was their charge that the outposts were forced to retire, closely pressed by the enemy. Before the batteries could meet the charge, clearing the ditch, they gained the redoubt through the embrasures, leaping over the parapet, and overwhelming by their superior force the small party stationed there.

   Lafitte, who was commanding in conjunction with his officers, at one of the guns, no sooner saw the bold movement of the enemy, than calling a few of his best men by his side, he sprung forward to the point of danger, and clearing the breastwork of the entrenchments, leaped, cutlass in hand, into the midst of the enemy, followed by a score of his men, who in many a hard fought battle upon his own deck, had been well tried.

   Astonished at the intrepidity which could lead men to leave their entrenchments and meet them hand to hand, and pressed by the suddenness of the charge, which was made with the recklessness, skill and rapidity of practised boarders bounding upon the deck of an enemy's vessel, they began to give way, while one after another, two British officers fell before the cutlass of the pirate, as they were bravely encouraging their men.

   All the energies of the British were now concentrated to scale the breastwork, which one daring officer had already mounted. While Lafitte and his followers, seconding a gallant band of volunteer riflemen, formed a phalanx which they in vain assayed to penetrate.

   The British finding it impossible to take the city and the havoc in their ranks being dreadful, made a precipitate retreat, leaving the field covered with their dead and wounded.

   General Jackson, in his correspondence with the secretary of war did not fail to notice the conduct of the "Corsairs of Barrataria," who were, as we have already seen, employed in the artillery service. In the course of the campaign they proved, in an unequivocal manner, that they had been misjudged by the enemy, who a short time previous to the invasion of Louisiana, had hoped to enlist them in his cause.

   Many of them were killed or wounded in the defence of the country. Their zeal, their courage, and their skill, were remarked by the whole army, who could no longer consider such brave men as criminals. In a few days peace was declared between Great Britain and the United States.

   The piratical establishment of Barrataria having been broken up and Lafitte not being content with leading an honest, peaceful life, procured some fast sailing vessels, and with a great number of his followers, proceeded to Galvezton Bay, in Texas, during the year 1819; where he received a commission from General Long; and had five vessels generally cruising and about 300 men. Two open boats bearing commissions from General Humbert, of Galvezton, having robbed a plantation on the Marmento river, of negroes, money, &c., were captured in the Sabine river, by the boats of the United States schooner Lynx.

   One of the men was hung by Lafitte, who dreaded the vengeance of the American government. The Lynx also captured one of his schooners, and her prize that had been for a length of time smuggling in the Carmento. One of his cruisers, named the Jupiter, returned safe to Galvezton after a short cruise with a valuable cargo, principally specie; she was the first vessel that sailed under the authority of Texas.

   The American government well knowing that where Lafitte was, piracy and smuggling would be the order of the day, sent a vessel of war to cruise in the Gulf of Mexico, and scour the coasts of Texas. Lafitte having been appointed governor of Galvezton and one of the cruisers being stationed off the port to watch his motions, it so annoyed him that he wrote the following letter to her commander, Lieutenant Madison.
 

To the commandant of the American cruiser, off the port of Galvezton.

   Sir--I am convinced that you are a cruiser of the navy, ordered by your government. I have therefore deemed it proper to inquire into the cause of your living before this port without communicating your intention. I shall by this message inform you, that the port of Galvezton belongs to and is in the possession of the republic of Texas, and was made a port of entry the 9th October last.

   And whereas the supreme congress of said republic have thought proper to appoint me as governor of this place, in consequence of which, if you have any demands on said government, or persons belonging to or residing in the same, you will please to send an officer with such demands, whom you may be assured will be treated with the greatest politeness, and receive every satisfaction required. But if you are ordered, or should attempt to enter this port in a hostile manner, my oath and duty to the government compels me to rebut your intentions at the expense of my life.

   To prove to you my intentions towards the welfare and harmony of your government I send enclosed the declaration of several prisoners, who were taken in custody yesterday, and by a court of inquiry appointed for that purpose, were found guilty of robbing the inhabitants of the United States of a number of slaves and specie. The gentlemen bearing this message will give you any reasonable information relating to this place, that may be required.

Yours, &c.

J. LAFITTE.
 

   About this time one Mitchell, who had formerly belonged to Lafitte's gang, collected upwards of one hundred and fifty desperadoes and fortified himself on an island near Barrataria, with several pieces of cannon; and swore that he and all his comrades would perish within their trenches before they would surrender to any man.   

   Four of this gang having gone to New Orleans on a frolic, information was given to the city watch, and the house surrounded, when the whole four with cocked pistols in both hands sallied out and marched through the crowd which made way for them and no person dared to make an attempt to arrest them.

   The United States cutter, Alabama, on her way to the station off the mouth of the Mississippi, captured a piratical schooner belonging to Lafitte; she carried two guns and twenty-five men, and was fitted out at New Orleans, and commanded by one of Lafitte's lieutenants, named Le Fage; the schooner had a prize in company and being hailed by the cutter, poured into her a volley of musketry; the cutter then opened upon the privateer and a smart action ensued which terminated in favor of the cutter, which had four men wounded and two of them dangerously; but the pirate had six men killed; both vessels were captured and brought into the bayou St. John. An expedition was now sent to dislodge Mitchell and his comrades from the island he had taken possession of; after coming to anchor, a summons was sent for him to surrender, which was answered by a brisk cannonade from his breastwork.

   The vessels were warped close in shore; and the boats manned and sent on shore whilst the vessels opened upon the pirates; the boat's crews landed under a galling fire of grape shot and formed in the most undaunted manner; and although a severe loss was sustained they entered the breastwork at the point of the bayonet; after a desperate fight the pirates gave way, many were taken prisoners but Mitchell and the greatest part escaped to the cypress swamps where it was impossible to arrest them.

   A large quantity of dry goods and specie together with other booty was taken. Twenty of the pirates were taken and brought to New Orleans, and tried before Judge Hall, of the Circuit Court of the United States, sixteen were brought in guilty; and after the Judge had finished pronouncing sentence of death upon the hardened wretches, several of them cried out in open court, Murder--by God.

   Accounts of these transactions having reached Lafitte, he plainly perceived there was a determination to sweep all his cruisers from the sea; and a war of extermination appeared to be waged against him.

   In a fit of desperation he procured a large and fast sailing brigantine mounting sixteen guns and having selected a crew of one hundred and sixty men he started without any commission as a regular pirate determined to rob all nations and neither to give or receive quarter.

   A British sloop of war which was cruising in the Gulf of Mexico, having heard that Lafitte himself was at sea, kept a sharp look out from the mast head; when one morning as an officer was sweeping the horizon with his glass he discovered a long dark looking vessel, low in the water, but having very tall masts, with sails white as the driven snow.

   As the sloop of war had the weather gage of the pirate and could outsail her before the wind, she set her studding sails and crowded every inch of canvass in chase; as soon as Lafitte ascertained the character of his opponent, he ordered the awnings to be furled and set his big square-sail and shot rapidly through the water; but as the breeze freshened the sloop of war came up rapidly with the pirate, who, finding no chance of escaping, determined to sell his life as dearly as possible; the guns were cast loose and the shot handed up; and a fire opened upon the ship which killed a number of men and carried away her foretopmast, but she reserved her fire until within cable's distance of the pirate; when she fired a general discharge from her broadside, and a volley of small arms; the broadside was too much elevated to hit the low hull of the brigantine, but was not without effect; the foretopmast fell, the jaws of the main gaff were severed and a large proportion of the rigging came rattling down on deck; ten of the pirates were killed, but Lafitte remained unhurt.

   The sloop of war entered her men over the starboard bow and a terrific contest with pistols and cutlasses ensued; Lafitte received two wounds at this time which disabled him, a grape shot broke the bone of his right leg and he received a cut in the abdomen, but his crew fought like tigers and the deck was ankle deep with blood and gore; the captain of the boarders received such a tremendous blow on the head from the butt end of a musket, as stretched him senseless on the deck near Lafitte, who raised his dagger to stab him to the heart.

   But the tide of his existence was ebbing like a torrent, his brain was giddy, his aim faltered and the point descended in the Captain's right thigh; dragging away the blade with the last convulsive energy of a death struggle, he lacerated the wound. Again the reeking steel was upheld, and Lafitte placed his left hand near the Captain's heart, to make his aim more sure; again the dizziness of dissolution spread over his sight, down came the dagger into the captain's left thigh and Lafitte was a corpse.

   The upper deck was cleared, and the boarders rushed below on the main deck to complete their conquest. Here the slaughter was dreadful, till the pirates called out for quarter, and the carnage ceased; all the pirates that surrendered were taken to Jamaica and tried before the Admiralty court where sixteen were condemned to die, six were subsequently pardoned and ten executed.

   Thus perished Lafitte, a man superior in talent, in knowledge of his profession, in courage, and moreover in physical strength; but unfortunately his reckless career was marked with crimes of the darkest dye.

   

[Baja Bush Pilot]

Outstanding story!  Best pirate tale yet.

[Solomon]

Oyster-shuckers in Barataria Canning Company in Biloxi. February 1911 photograph by Lewis Wickes Hines. Courtesy Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, Call no. LC-DIG-nclc-00822

Barataria Basin
The Barataria Basin is an irregularly shaped area bounded on each side by a distributary ridge formed by the present and a former channel of the Mississippi River. A chain of barrier islands separates the basin from the Gulf of Mexico. In the northern half of the basin, which is segregated by the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway (GIWW), several large lakes occupy the sump position approximately half-way between the ridges. The southern half of the basin consists of tidally influenced marshes connected to a large bay system behind the barrier islands. The basin contains 152,120 acres of swamp, 173,320 acres of fresh marsh, 59,490 acres of intermediate marsh, 102,720 acres of brackish marsh, and 133,600 acres of saline marsh.






Whiskey Island


Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop, the oldest bar in America (1772)

[Bart]

" A British sloop of war which was cruising in the Gulf of Mexico, having heard that Lafitte himself was at sea, kept a sharp look out from the mast head..."

One has to wonder if this, the only version of Lafitte's death that I have heard account of, is true. So many ships are named in these tales so often, yet this British sloop is not. A prize of Lafitte's stature would give some bragging rights to those who killed him. If he sailed from New Orleans with all his loot, that would have been a considerable sum of note that ought to have been recorded. Also the deaths of his crew at Jamaica. I get the impression from all else I have read about Lafitte that Americans do not want to hear or know if he was actually killed. Will we ever know?

- Bart

[Administration]

Bart,

If true, then there will be records of the naval action and subsequent court session in Jamaica.

Here is another account of the ending, which is very different:


JEAN LAFITTE: GENTLEMAN PIRATE OF NEW ORLEANS
Galveston

A fleet of eight ships left Barataria Bay in April of 1817. Its crews didn?t look back. Many of his original colony, including brother Pierre and Dominique Youx, followed Lafitte in search of a new port of call. They still called him bos.

They first docked in Santo Domingo, hoping to re-ingratiate themselves with the smugglers there in hopes of returning to the profession they knew best. But, the Hispanically-inclined government still remembered and resented the way the Baratarians had picked on its ships. They were told to leave.

Realizing it would be much the same throughout the Caribbean, they returned to the Gulf and settled on the deserted Galveston Island off Texas. Galveston was also owned by Spain, but Mexico, of which Texas was a province, was fighting for its independence. In return for being allowed to remain on the isle, Lafitte accepted a privateering commission from the Mexican revolutionaries to attack as many Spanish ships as possible. The booty would be his. It was like old times again.

Galveston -- Lafitte called it Campeche, its original name -- greatly resembled Grande Terre. His experience in settling up a smuggling operation engendered Lafitte to make lucrative contracts on the east coast of Texas through which he could transport his contraband inland to growing towns that required provisioning. One of his slave runners was a young adventurer and mercenary named James Bowie who would later reach hero status after dying at the Battle of the Alamo.

On Campeche, Lafitte built a fine, two-story brick haven called Maison Rouge (Red House) after the color he painted it. Half home, half fort, it offered excellent living quarters and rooms in which to entertain business partners, as well as a barracks for his men. Cannon barrels protruded from its upper portholes over the Gulf. Around it sprang the warehouses of trade, a slave quarters, cattle pens, taverns and frame cottages of his crew.

Lyle Saxon gives an excellent description of the village at its most active. "More buccaneers arrived, bringing their women with them; an ever-increasing number of traders came to the settlement; and there was a constant infusion of men of all nations -- gamblers, thieves, murderers and other criminals who joined Lafitte?s colony in order to escape punishment for crimes committed within the borders of the United States. Numerous rich prizes were brought in, including several captured slavers loaded with Africans. ?Doubloons,? says one writer, ?were as plentiful as biscuits.?"

But, Campeche was not to last. The reasons were many.

For one, Lafitte had blundered in allowing too many fugitives-from-the-law to penetrate his new colony. These were not of the sea-worthy kind he was used to dealing with; these men were not of his kin; they were opportunists who felt no vested interest in Galveston (nor to anything or anyone) as had the Baratarians on Grand Terre. He had trouble controlling their behavior and had to endure constant interference and investigation from both Mexican and U.S. officials pursuing their trails. Campeche was always under scrutiny. Many of his old-time faithfuls such as Beluche or Dominique Youx, not approving of this climate of circumstances, left for other parts.

As well, the Karankawa Indians, who lived on the island long before the white man, proved meddlesome and even hostile. They were forever raiding Lafitte?s properties, killing his men.

In late 1818, a great hurricane struck the island killing hundreds of men, flattening the settlement, sinking the fleet, washing contraband to sea. It was a devastatingly financial setback

Still, all of these could have been overcome. But, in the end, it was Lafitte?s pirating activity that brought about his undoing. Continuing to harass Spanish ships for Mexico, he insisted everthemore that he was and had always been a privateer making a living off the liberties allowed in a letter of marque bestowed by a patron country. But, the nation now eyed a new diplomacy of peace. The only thing that stood in its way of developing a friendship with Spain was the constant harassment of Spanish ships by buccaneers anchored off the American coast. President Madison issued an all-out war on piracy. Lafitte had to go.

In late 1820, the USS Enterprise docked in Campeche Bay. On board was a designated naval diplomat, Lieutenant Larry Kearney, who, in speaking for President Madison, ordered Lafitte to abandon Galveston Island. For months, Lafitte stalled. But, a subsequent visit by Kearney, accompanied this time by a war fleet on a May day in 1821, produced a single command: Get off the island now or be blown to smithereens. This time, the island?s chief graciously consented.

"That night," writes Robert Tallant, "Lafitte set fire to Campeche. Men aboard the USS Enterprise saw it burst into flames...When they went to shore at dawn they found only ashes and rubble. The ships of Lafitte were gone..."

Lafitte, at this point, returns to the oblivion from whence he came. Where he traveled, where he wound up, where or when he died, is mystery. There are, of course, many conjectures. There is strong evidence he sailed to and settled in, at least for a while, Charleston, South Carolina. Some writers say he fought with Bolivar?s rebels against the South American nationalists. Other suppositions place him ahead of a band of pirates in Santo Domingo or dying of a plague at age 47 on the Isle de Las Mujeres near Yucatan.

The site of his burial continues to lure researchers and would-be archaeologists.

"Today, Baratarians cherish the fantasy that the Gentleman Pirate is buried in an unmarked grave along the bayou that runs through the village of Lafitte," says New Orleans writer Mel Leavitt. Concluding, tongue in cheek, he adds, "He rests, some say, next to the unmarked graves of Napoleon Bonaparte and John Paul Jones. ?Around here,? say the natives, ?Lafitte?s buried in everybody?s backyard.?"

The book, Louisiana - A Narrative History by Edwin Adams Davis cites a rather new and surprising theory that spots Lafitte?s final years in America?s Midwest. Claimants say he married in Charleston, moved west with his wife, bore children and died in Alton, Illinois on May 5,1854. A supposed letter written in 1833 to his brother in law indicates a bitter man. It reads: "I saved the Union from the Octopus, but the city of Washington remains deaf and dumb. I have received eulogies, but not recompense -- not even a wooden medal."

One thing is certain. When Jean Lafitte left America he did so failing to understand why the nation he trusted never trusted him. He would say it over and over again: "I am not a pirate-- I am a corsair, a privateer!" But in the end he may have found solace, somewhere out there in the only country that had never disappointed him. The sea.


BOOKS:

Albright, Harry New Orleans -- The Battle of the Bayous. NY: Hippocrene Books, 1990

Arthur Stanley Clisby Old New Orleans. Gretna, LA: Pelican Publishing Co., 1990.

Davis, Edwin Adams Louisiana: A Narratiive History. Baton Rouge: Clantor?s Publishers, 1971.

Huber, Leonard V. New Orleans - A Pictorial History. NY: American Legacy Press, 1981.

Huber, Leonard V, New Orleans As It Was In 1814-15. Louisiana Landmarks Society, Samuel Wilson Jr. Publication Fund, 1989.

Landry, Stuart O. Dueling in Old New Orleans. New Orleans: Harmonson Publisher 1950,

Ramsay, Jr., Jack C. Jean Laffite, Prince of Pirates. Austin: Eakin Press, 1996.

Rogers, Dale P. Cheniere Caminada: Buried at Sea. Thibodaux, LA: Copyright Dale P. Rogers, 1981.

Saxon, Lyle Lafitte the Pirate. Gretna, LA: Pelican Publishing Co., 1989.

Saxon, Lyle; Tallant, Robert; Dryer, Edward Gumbo Ya-Ya - A Collection of Louisiana Folk Tales. NY: Bonanza Books, 1975.

Stanforth, Deirdre & Reens, Louis Romantic New Orleans. NY: The Viking Press, 1977.

Tallant, Robert The Pirate Lafitte and the Battle of New Orleans. Gretna, LA: Pelican Publishing Co., 1998.

PAMPHLET:

Jean Lafitte Barataria Preserve. National Historical Park and Preserve, U.S. Dept. of the Interior, 1999.

[Solomon]

LAFITTE, THE LOUISIANA PIRATE AND PATRIOT

A Paper by Hon. Gaspar Cusachs,
President of the Louisiana Historical Society
and Read by him before the Society
December 20, 1919.

So many demands are made on the Louisiana History Society for information concerning the career and death of Lafitte that I have compiled this sketch from various sources and to some extent from De Bow's Review. James Dunwody Brownson De Bow, who was born in 1820, began his literary career in the Southern Quarterly Review, published in Charleston, South Carolina. His contributions were generally of a historical, statistical or political nature. His articles on the Northern Pacific, California and Oregon and on the Oregon Question attracted much attention and became the subject of debate in the French Chamber of Deputies. Forstall, Gayarr? and Dimitry sympathized in De Bow's "progress and public spirit" and with these he became one of the founders of the Louisiana Historical Society and, afterwards, a member of the New Orleans Academy of Sciences. His Review was founded about 1845. De Bow contemplated writing a history of Louisiana, and with that view collected historical notes. When he abandoned this idea he published this collected matter through several numbers of his Review, which continued until the end of 1867. The Sketch of Lafitte taken from the Review of 1851, is the most complete ever written of a man who combined in his person the accomplishments of a gentleman with the daring and barbaric instincts of the corsair. Patriot, pirate, smuggler and warrior, there is no character to compare with him except that of Robin Hood, whom he surpassed in audacity and success. The fabulous treasures accumulated by him were squandered or were bountifully distributed, or were hidden away deep in the earth or in the sea marshes. At the junction of the Rigolets and Bayou Sauvage Lafitte built a platform or wharf on which to unload his merchandise and booty. There it remained for inspection by his purchasers.

Jean Lafitte, "The Terror of the Gulf of Mexico," was a Frenchman and born at St. Malo, about the year 1781.a He was tall, finely formed, and in his pleasant moods was always agreeable and p419interesting. When conversing upon a serious subject, he would stand for hours with one eye shut; at such times, his appearance was harsh.

From his earliest boyhood, he loved to "play with old ocean's hoary locks"; and long before he had reached the age of manhood, he had made several voyages to different seaports of Africa and Europe. With a suavity of manners and apparent gentlemanly disposition, combined with a majestic deportment, and undoubted courage, he swayed the boisterous passions of those rude, untutored tars, of whom he was the associate and chief. He was universally esteemed and respected by all his crew. They were taught to admit his commanding mien, his firmness, his courage, his magnanimity and professional skill.

Soon after attaining the age of majority, unchecked in his bold career, with an independent and restless spirit, his aspirations naturally looked forward to other avenues of ambition than the inglorious advocations of private life. To the chivalric spirit the ocean wave offers allurements that nothing on land can equal. There is a proud feeling, a strong temptation to tread the peopled deck of a majestic ship ? to ride, as it were, the warrior steed of the ocean, triumphant over the mountain billows, and the conflict of mighty elements. True there may be many dangers ? the mutiny ? the storm ? the wreck ? all conspire to intimidate the inexperienced youth; but he soon learns to turn the imaginary dangers to delight; and looks to the honor, the fame, that awaits on such bold achievements. The world of waters lay before him ? and he determined to seek that more congenial life upon its bosom, which had been denied him on land. Nor was it long before an opportunity was presented. A French East Indiaman, under orders for Madras, had taken her full cargo, and only awaited a favorable wind to weigh anchor. Through the influence of several respectable acquaintances and friends, he was offered the berth of chief mate, which he accepted. The vessel proceeded on her voyage, and nothing of consequence occurred till on doubling the Cape of Good Hope, she was struck by a squall, and suffered so much damage by the shock and a fire that broke out in the hold, and other accidents, that the Captain deemed it prudent to put in at the Mauritius to repair. During this period a quarrel had arisen between Lafitte and the Captain, of such an aggravated nature, that the former whose haughty spirit never brooked control, determined to abandon the ship the moment she touched port, and refused to proceed on the voyage. As soon, therefore, as the vessel landed at the Mauritius, he quitted? it in disgust, and from p420this period may be dated his illegal connection with the ocean. His restless spirit had been inflamed by the romantic exploits of the hardy buccaneers of the time, whose names and deeds had resounded over every land and sea; and he resolved to imitate, if not surpass, their most brilliant actions, and leave a fame to the future that would not soon be forgotten.

He did not remain long inactive. Several privateers were at this time fitting out at the island, the captaincy of one of which was offered Lafitte, and he accepted. She was a beautiful fast sailing vessel, and Lafitte spared no pains to make her the pride of the sea. Thus equipped, he attacked indiscriminately the weaker vessels of every nation, and though he accumulated vast sums of gold and silver, and enriched his crew, those sums were as soon squandered in profligacy and liberality; and his desires increasing with success, he resolved without hesitation, to embark in the slave-trade. While at the Seychelles, taking in a cargo of these miserable victims bound for the Mauritius, he was chased by an English man-of‑war as far north as the equator; not having sufficient provisions to carry him to the French colony, with that energy, boldness and decision for which he was remarkable, he immediately put the helm about, and made for the Bay of Bengal, with the design of replenishing his stores from some English vessel then in port. He had not lost sight of his formidable pursuer many days, before he fell in with an English armed schooner with a numerous crew; which, after a sanguinary conflict, he captured. His own ship was but two hundred tons, carrying two guns only and twenty-six men, nineteen of whom he transferred to the schooner, of which he took the command and proceeded to cruise on the coast of Bengal. He had not cruised many days on this coast, teeming as it was with rich prizes, before he fell in with the Pagoda, an English East Indiaman, carrying a battery of twenty-six twelve-pounders, and manned with one hundred and fifty men. He so manoeuvred his vessel, as to induce the enemy to believe him a Ganges pilot; and as soon as he had the weather gauge of the ship, he suddenly boarded, cutlass in hand, and put all who resisted to the sword. Lafitte transferred his command to the captured vessel, and immediately made sail for the Mauritius, where he arrived, sold both prizes, and purchased a strong, well built ship, called "La Confiance," in which he put twenty-six guns, and two hundred and fifty men. Shortly after, (in the year 1807), he sailed in her for the coast of British India; and while cruising off the Sands Heads, fell in with the "Queen" East Indiaman, pierced for forty guns, and manned with a crew of about four hundred men. All p421eyes were upon her. She moved majestic on her way, as in defiance of his inferior force, and confident of her own strength. Yet Lafitte was not to be intimidated. He determined to take her. Accordingly, he addressed a powerful speech to his men ? excited their wildest imaginations, and almost seemed to realize their most unbounded anticipations. This speech had the desired effect. Every man waved his hat and hand and cried aloud for action. The Queen bore down upon him with all the confidence of victory, and gave him a tremendous broadside, but owing to the height did but little execution. Before the commencement of the action, he had ordered his men to lay? flat upon the deck, so that the crew of the Queen, believing that they were all killed or wounded, unwarily came alongside, with intention to grapple and board. At this moment Lafitte gave a whistle, and in an instant the deck was bristling with armed men. While the smoke yet prevailed, he ordered his hands into the tops and upon the yards, whence they poured down an incessant fire of shells, bombs, and grenades into the forecastle of the Indiaman, producing such havoc and slaughter among the crew, that they were obliged to retreat. At this critical juncture he beat to arms, and placing a favorite at the head of forty of his men with pistols in hand and daggers in their clenched teeth, ordered them to board. They rushed upon the deck, driving back the panic stricken crowd, who retreated to the steerage, and attempted to maintain a position. Lafitte now followed at the head of a second division of boarders, engaged the Captain of the Indiaman, who stood in a desperate position of defence, and after a severe conflict, slew him. Still the crew of the Queen maintained their post, and fought bravely. Lafitte impatient at their obstinacy, pointed at them a swivel, surcharged with grape and canister; when seeing extermination the result of further resistance,? they surrendered. The vessel was then abandoned to plunder, and large amounts of gold and silver coin divided among the crew.

The fame of this exploit spread over the Indian seas, and struck such a panic in the British commerce, that it was in? the necessity of employing strong convoys to protect its trade. Seeing all hope of success cut off in this quarter, Lafitte concluded once more to return to his native France. On his way thither he doubled the Cape of Good Hope, and coasted along the Gulf of Guinea and the Bight of Benin. On his way he captured two valuable prizes laden with palm oil, ivory and gold dust. Arriving at St. Malo, the place of his birth, he disembarked, and shortly sold to advantage the "La Confiance," the two prizes and their valuable cargoes, and trod once p422more his native soil, opulent and renowned, where ten years previous he was scarcely known.

But he did not remain long inactive. His restless spirit, like a caged eagle, longed once more for his native element, the breeze, the battle, and the storm. Accordingly, he fitted out a brigantine, mounting twenty guns, and a crew of one hundred and fifty men, and made sail for Guadeloupe. On his way thither, and among the West India Islands, he continued the same successful career that had formerly attended his arms, captured several rich prizes which he disposed of on his arrival, and started for another cruise. While absent the English invested Guadeloupe by sea and by land, and as is well known the authorities there finally capitulated. During the blockade many privateers commissioned by the government of that island, were at sea, and after the capture, they dared not return. Lafitte was one of these, in consequence of which he sailed for Carthagena, which had but recently declared its independence of Spain. From the government of Carthagena these privateers received commissions to cruise against Spanish bottoms, and under the republican flag committed great havoc among the Spanish merchantmen trading in the Gulf of Mexico. Not being permitted to dispose of any of their prizes which were valuable and numerous, in any of the harbors or ports of the United States which were then at peace with Great Britain, and were bound to preserve the neutrality of their territory, they smuggled immense quantities of goods into New Orleans, through the inlets of Barataria, in direct violation of the revenue laws of the United States.

Under the denomination of Barataria, is comprised part of the coast of Louisiana, to the west of the mouth of the Mississippi, comprehended between Bastien Bay on the east, and the mouths of the Bayou Lafourche on the west. Adjacent to the sea are numerous lakes communicating with one another by several large bayous, with a great number of branches. Barataria Island which is formed by the largest of these bays of the same name, is situated about latitude 29?15, Longitude 92?30ʹ, and is as remarkable for the salubrity of the atmosphere, as for the superior quality of the shell fish with which the waters abound. Contiguous to the sea there is another island formed by the two arms or passes of this bay and the sea, called Grande Terre. This island is ?six miles in length, and from two to three miles in breadth, running parallel with the coast. The western entrance is called the Grande Passe, and has ?from nine to ten feet of water, through the harbor, the only secure one on the coast (formerly frequented by the pirates) and lies ?about two leagues p423from the open sea. Here amid the innumerable branches of bayous, passes, and inextricable cypress swamps, persons may lie concealed from the strictest scrutiny. In 1811, Lafitte fortified the eastern and western points of this island, and established a regular depot. Here the prizes were brought and sold to the inhabitants of the adjoining districts, who resorted to these places for the purpose of obtaining bargains in matters of trade and without being at all solicitous to conceal the object of their journey. No effective measures having been taken to expel the pirates they continued their depredations upon the Spanish commerce and sometimes ventured to attack vessels of other nations. They were generally regarded as pirates, but it is probable that most, if not all of them, were commissioned by the Carthagenian government.

But it was impossible for this state of things to continue long without being checked by the general government, and particularly by the State of Louisiana. In order more effectually to break up and destroy these establishments, which were becoming daily more formidable by their boldness and reckless disregard to all law or threats the Governor thought proper to strike at the head. Lafitte soon after his arrival at Barataria, seems to have laid aside that boldness and audacity which characterized his former career. He had amassed an immense quantity of plunder, and he was obliged to have dealings with the merchants of the United States and the West Indies, and collect debts due him from the sale of booty, he was forced to be more circumspect, and cloak as much as possible his real character. Nevertheless, he was generally known to the inhabitants of the city of New Orleans from his immediate connection, and his once having been a fencing master in that city, of great repute, which art he had learned in Bonaparte's army, where he had been a captain.

Such was the notoriety inspired by his frequent and daring depredations, that the Governor offered five hundred dollars for his head; which Lafitte on hearing, answered in retaliation, by offering fifteen thousand dollars for the head of the Governor. The Governor, seeing his authority set at defiance, ordered out a company, under the command of a captain who had formerly served under Lafitte, and authorized him to burn and destroy all the property of the buccaneers and to bring them to New Orleans for trial. But the expedition proved disastrous. Lafitte suffered them to approach his fortifications without molestation, and whilst they flattered themselves with a speedy destruction of the pirates, they heard a sound like that of a boatswain's whistle, and before they could strike a blow, found themselves surrounded by armed men of superior force p424and all avenues of retreat cut off. It was on this occasion that Lafitte showed that characteristic nobleness and generosity of his nature which glitters like a jewel in the darkness of a thousand crimes. Instead of executing the man who had come to take away his life, and destroy all that was dear to him, he loaded him with presents and suffered him to return unmolested and in safety to New Orleans. This circumstance, together with other concurrent events, proved conclusively that the pirates were not to be taken by land, and the navy of the United States was yet too feeble to effect anything of consequence by sea, and had on one occasion been actually repulsed and was obliged to retreat before the overwhelming forces of Lafitte.

In the early part of 1814 Commodore Patterson of the United States Navy, received orders from Washington to disperse or destroy the illicit establishment at Barataria. Accordingly he left New Orleans on the 11th of June of that year, accompanied by Col. Ross, with a detachment of seventy-one picked men from the Forty-fourth regiment of the United States infantry. On the 12th he reached the schooner Caroline, which had been stationed below in Plaquemines, to accompany the expedition. On the 13th he formed a juncture with the gun-boats at the Balize, sailed from the South West Pass on the evening of the 15th, and at half past eight o'clock A.M. on the 16th, made the island of Barataria. He discovered a number of vessels in the harbor, some of which displayed Carthagenian colors. After remaining in the offing several hours, he discovered the enemy forming in a line of battle with six gun-boats and Sea Horse tender, mounting one six‑pounder and fifteen men, and a launch mounting one twelve‑pound carronade. The schooner Caroline was drawing too much water to cross the bar. At half past ten o'clock he perceived several smokes along the coast as signals, and at the same time a white flag hoisted on board a schooner at the fort, an American flag at the main-mast head, and a Carthagenian flag at her topping lift. He replied by a white flag at his main. At eleven o'clock discovering that the pirates had fired two of their best schooners, he hauled down the white flag and made the signal for battle at the same time hoisting a large white flag with the motto, "PARDON TO DESERTERS." At the approach of our forces, which were diminished by two of the gun-boats grounding on the bar, the Baratarians abandoned their vessels in the most disorderly flight. A  launch and two barges were sent in pursuit of them, and though they were closely pursued, they succeeded in making their escape over the numerous bays and morasses of the adjacent district. About noon, however, that day, Commodore Patterson took possession p425of all their vessels in harbor, consisting of six fine schooners and one felucca, cruisers and prizes of the pirates, and one armed schooner under Carthagenian colors, found in company, and ready to oppose his command. Col. Ross now landed at the head of his troops, took possession of their establishment on shore, consisting of about forty houses of different sizes, badly constructed, and thatched with palmetto leaves.

Commodore Patterson, in his report to the Secretary of War, goes on to say, "When I perceived the enemy forming their vessels into a line of battle, I felt confident from their number, and from their very advantageous position that they would have fought me. Their not doing so I regret. For had they done so, I should have been enabled more effectually to destroy or make prisoners of them and their leaders; but it is a subject of great satisfaction to me to have effected the object of my enterprise without the loss of a man.

The enemy had mounted on their vessels twenty pieces of cannon of different calibre, and as I have since learned, from eight hundred to one thousand men of all nations and colors. Early in the morning of the 20th, the Caroline which was anchored off shore ?about five miles, discovered a strange sail to eastward, and immediately gave chase. The enemy stood for Grande Terre with all sail set, and at half past eight hauled her wind off shore to escape; when Lieut. Spedding was sent with four boats armed and manned to prevent her passing the harbor. At 9 o'clock A.M. the chase fired upon the Caroline, which was returned, each vessel continuing to fire when their long guns would reach. At ten o'clock the chase grounded outside the bar, and the Caroline from the shoalness of the water, was obliged to haul her wind off for the shore and give up the chase. A fire was now opened upon the chase across the island from the gun vessels, and at half past ten o'clock she struck her colors and surrendered. She proved to be the armed schooner General Bolivar, consisting of an armament of one long brass eighteen‑pounder, one long brass six‑pounder, two twelve‑pounders, small arms, etc., and twenty-one packages of dry goods. On the afternoon of the 23rd Commodore Patterson got under headway with the whole squadron, in all seventeen vessels, (one having escaped the night previous) and on the next day arrived at New Orleans.

This expedition struck a panic among the freebooters, whose operations from this time were veiled in the deepest mystery, and conducted with the utmost caution and circumspection. The British early saw the importance of this hold, and after several ineffectual overtures to induce Lafitte to espouse their cause, they attacked p426him on several occasions with the intention of taking their prizes, and even their armed vessels; but were as frequently repulsed with loss and mortification. One of these attempts was on the 23rd of June, 1813, when a British sloop anchored at the entrance of the pass, and sent out her boats to endeavor to take two privateers anchored off Cat Island, but were repulsed with considerable loss. They, however, did not despair. On the 3rd of September, 1814, an Englishman-of‑war, (Sophia), appeared off the harbor, and after firing on the inhabitants, hoisted a flag of truce. This conduct was so incomprehensible, that Lafitte set out for the ship in a small boat, to inquire the cause. When about half way between the ship and the shore, he saw a yawl let down from the stern of the ship, and make directly toward him. Suspecting treachery his first impulse was to flee ? but seeing them close upon him, he resolved to brave it out and meet them. The yawl was soon alongside, well manned, displaying at her stern the British ensign, and at her bow a flag of truce. Captain Lockyer, commander of the man-of‑war, hailed them, and asked if Lafitte was aboard, and being answered in the negative, gave him a package with instructions to guard it with great care, and to present it to Lafitte with his own hands, which he promised to perform. In the meantime, a strong inwardly current had drifted both boats near shore ? lined with upwards of two hundred men ? and Lafitte finding his opponent in his power, briefly told him, "I am he whom ye seek." As soon as landed, he conducted them to his house, amid the vociferations of his people demanding their lives upon the instant, or to send them to Jackson at New Orleans, to be hung as spies. Lafitte, whose influence and decision was greater than their indignation, dissuaded them from such rash acts, and pacified them with promises of speedy revenge. When the tumult was quelled, he opened the package which consisted of three papers, and read over their contents in silence. The first was a letter from Captain Percy, of his Majesty's sloop of war Hermes; the second was also a letter from Colonel Nicols, commander of the British land forces in Florida; the third, an inflammatory address to the Louisianians, clothed in florid eloquence and patriotic sentiment, calling on them to support the mother country.

As soon as Captain Lockyer perceived that Lafitte had finished reading the packages, conjecturing from his silence and looks that some doubts hung heavy on his mind, and knowing that no time was to be lost and no effort left untried, he regarded Lafitte with an anxious eye, and pushing up his point, spoke forcibly of the advantage, the fame, the glory, that would attend his decision in their favor; and as p427a further inducement, offered him the sum of thirty thousand pounds, to be paid as soon as he set foot at Pensacola. Lafitte hesitated but Captain Lockyer pressing his reasons, endeavored at once to bring his mind to a decision, which when once formed, he knew was irrevocable. He further offered him the rank of Post Captain in the British Navy, the command of a frigate, and the pardon for all past offenses. To such a man as Lafitte, in whom ambition, self aggrandizement and fame, were the predominant elements such offers might seem irresistible; but he had greater and nobler aims in view. He therefore demanded a few days for consideration, and though they remonstrated against delay with all the eloquence and persuasive language that might swerve his intent, he abruptly left them, and retired at a distance to avoid further repetition of argument, which if he had considered a moment, might have induced him to adopt a different course.

While absent, his men rushed upon Captain Lockyer and the other officer, and secured them as prisoners. As soon as Lafitte was informed of this outrage, he assembled his people by torchlight, and addressing them in an eloquent manner, showed the disgrace of violating the laws of hospitality, the total disregard to the flag of truce, and that by their mistaken policy they would lose forever the only favorable opportunity of discovering what were the enemy's intentions against the southern detachment of the American army. After this harangue, they were persuaded to let Lafitte act as he judged proper; and on the following morning he released the prisoners, and apologized for their incarceration. On the 4th of September, 1814, Lafitte wrote to Captain Lockyer, who was still cruising off the place, that he would require two weeks for consideration, and would at that time give him a definite answer; but that, all things considered, he thought he should accept his offer. On the same day he despatched another letter to Mr. Blanque of the Louisiana House of Representatives, inclosing all the papers the British officer had given him, as also a letter to Governor Claiborne, recapitulating the offers of the enemy, and showing, in strong language, the importance of the hold he occupied, and that it was both his desire and the desire of his men to enlist in the American cause, provided, the act of oblivion for all past offences be granted them. Those letters and papers were delivered by Mr. Blanque to the Governor, who immediately laid them before the Committee of Safety and Defence, over which he presided. The result was that Mr. Raucher, Lafitte's messenger, was sent back with instructions to Lafitte to take no final steps until the Committee could act and decide upon his proposition, p428and that in the meantime he should remain under the protection of the government.

The two weeks having elapsed, Captain Lockyer again appeared in the offing; but Lafitte took no notice of the signals, and as soon as he disappeared ? having received a passport from General Jackson ? he embarked for New Orleans. He was taken to the Governor's reception room, and found him and General Jackson there alone. They both welcomed him with cordiality, and expressed their personal wishes that his request should be acceded to, and undertook to use their influence in the Council of State to that effect. When about to depart, the old hero grasped his hand with emotion, and as he reached the door, said, "Farewell ? I trust the next time we meet will be in the ranks of the American army."

The Committee of Defence was convened, the papers were laid before it, and Lafitte's proposition was accepted. The Governor, hereupon issued his proclamation, inviting the Baratarians to join the standard of the United States, and was authorized to say, that, should their conduct in the field meet with the approbation of the Major General, that officer will unite with the Governor in a request to the President of the United States, to extend to each and every individual, so acting, a full pardon. Thus general orders were placed in the hands of Lafitte, who circulated them among his dispersed followers, most of whom readily embraced the conditions, and flocked to the standard of the United States. Lafitte's elder brother, who had previously been apprehended by the American authorities, and thrown into prison in New Orleans, was released, and permitted to join his companions.

The movements and operations of General Jackson in defence of New Orleans, are too well known to need repetition in this place. From the intelligence received, it was evident that the British fleet would make an effort to co-operate with the troops already landed. To prevent this, the forts on the river were strongly fortified, and filled with brave men to resist an attack in that direction. Major Reynolds and Captain Lafitte were ordered to put the passes of Barataria and Bayou Lafourche in the best possible state of defence, lest the enemy should by these entries, unite with its forces on the east side of the river, and attack Jackson's line on the flank and rear. This was accordingly done. Some of Lafitte's men were retained at Fort St. Philip, others were sent to the Fort of Petites Coquilles, and the Bayou St. John.

After these arrangements? had been effected, from the 22nd of December to the 1st of January, the British were actively preparing p429to execute their designs, and several engagements took place; but nothing decisive was effected on either side. At length the ever memorable eighth dawned upon the plains of Chalmette. The mists of night were slowly melting away before the light of the winter morn. The awakening murmurs of the Camp arose, and the banners streamed and flapped along the breastwork, behind which stood the American army, waiting the signal of action. Suddenly, dark masses of the enemy were seen at the distance of ?nine hundred yards, moving rapidly across the plain, sublime and appalling enough to quicken the pulsations of the stoutest heart. Instantly a tremendous fire was opened on them from the batteries; but undaunted by the danger, the veterans pressed steadily forward amid a fearful carnage, making the earth smoke and thunder as they came, closing up their front as one after another fell, and only pausing when they reached the slippery edge of the glacis. Here it was found that the scaling ladders and fascines had been forgotten, and a halt occurred until? they could be sent for and brought up. Along the whole range of the breastwork rolled a fierce devouring fire, emptying the saddles of those brave horsemen with fearful rapidity, and strewing the earth with the bodies of riders and steeds together. Unable to withstand the deadly fire of the American rifles, the enemy fell back in disorder from the foot of the parapet. At this crisis, amid the confusion of his bravest troops, Packenham, with a dauntless courage, galloped up, and dashing himself at the head of the 44th regiment, rallied his men and cheered them on, with uncovered head, to the very foot of the glacis. While cheering on his troops, a ball struck him, and he fell mortally wounded. Appalled by this sight, his brave troops recoiled. But their officers calling to remembrance the terrific assault of Badajos,? brought them once again to the attack. With desperate but unavailing courage, they strove to force their way over the ditch and up the fatal entrenchments; but the rifles of the Americans met them at every step, and mowed them down in columns. Again and again did those splendid squadrons wheel to reform, and charge with deafening shouts, while their nodding plumes and glittering bayonets, like forests of steel, gleamed through the smoke of battle.

Led on by the gallant Keane, the Southern Highlanders, who had faced death in many a well fought field, continued to press on, notwithstanding the tempest of grape and shot which swept the plain. But that same wasting fire received them. The bulwarks of the American army seemed girded with fire, so rapid and constant were the discharges. At the head of his gallant troops fell the intrepid p430Keane. Burning to avenge the death of their commanders, the Highlanders rushed forward with inextinguishable fury. The whole plain was filled with marching squadrons of horse, galloping wildly, while the thunder of cannon and fierce rattle of musketry, amid which now and then was heard the blast of a thousand trumpets and the strains of martial music, filled the air. Still the veterans of the Peninsula pressed on, mounting on each other's shoulders to gain a foothold in the works, where they fought with the ferocity of frantic lions, mad with pain, rage and despair. Few, however, reached this point, and those who clambered up the entrenchments were bayoneted as they appeared. Three times the enemy advanced to the assault, and three times was he driven back in wild disorder.

The smoke of battle was rolling furiously over the host, and all seemed confusion and chaos in their ranks. The plain was already encumbered with two thousand dead and wounded, and the charging squadrons fell so fast that a rampart of dead bodies was soon formed around them. Along the whole length of the breastwork burst forth one incessant sheet of flame, and as fast as the heads of the columns appeared, they melted away before their murderous cannonade.

During the engagement the voice of Lafitte was heard along the lines, encouraging his men to action. He had been stationed at one of the important embrasures under the edge of the Mississippi, with Dominique, his countryman, as second in command. The French are among the first artillerists in the world, and these were some of the best of them. On that memorable day they achieved those brilliant feats of daring and valor worthy of their former fame. From their two batteries poured a terrific fire, which mowed down the ranks of the enemy like the harvest before the scythe of the reaper. In the heat of the engagement, a portion of the British troops, borne away by an irresistible ardor, and frantic with rage, rushed within the outposts, forcing a small party there to retreat. Before the batteries could be brought to bear, the enemy advanced with loud shouts of triumph at their brief success. In an instant Lafitte charged upon them with his men, outside the breastwork, which they had not yet gained, and dashing among the disordered ranks, raged like a lion amid his prey. He cut down two of the officers in command with his own arm, and his men with the rapidity of lightning, brandishing their sabres, burst through the thinned ranks of the enemy, who, appalled by the suddenness and efficacy of the movement, retired in confusion and dismay. At places where the fiercest struggles had been made, the dead were piled in heaps. Finding that victory was hopeless, General Lambert, on whom the command now devolved, p431gave orders to retreat, and fell back in great confusion. Thus closed one of the most sanguinary battles on record. The national pride was gratified not only in the preservation of the city, but in the reflection that its brave defenders had met and overthrown the conquerors of Peninsular Europe.

General Jackson, in his official report to the Secretary of War, did not fail to commend the gallant exploits and chivalrous daring of the brave band of Baratarians; and in consequence, President Madison, after peace, issued a proclamation, granting full pardon to all those who had been engaged in the defence of New Orleans.

Lafitte, restored to respectability, might have lived to an honorable old age, esteemed and respected by all around him. He traded awhile in and about New Orleans, but soon became dissatisfied and impatient of the restraints of civilization. His soul was as free as his native element, and he pined once more for the field of action, where his armament might ride in watchfulness over the world of waters, beneath the meteor flag that floats over every sea and fans every shore.

As early as 1812, he built a small village upon the site of the present city of Galveston, his own house being two stories and well furnished. All others were one story, and of a plainer construction. They procured their building materials from New Orleans, with which place they kept up a regular intercourse and commerce. In fact Lafitte boasted that he had made half of the merchants of that city rich. About the year 1819 the Governor of Galveston, a Mexican General, by the name of Longe, gave him a commission for the several vessels which he owned in partnership with those whom he had always retained in his employ; and Gen. Humbert, the subsequent governor, also gave him a commission for smaller boats, which he had constructed with a view of running far up the inland rivers. It is believed from this time that he kept up a regular life of robbing, smuggling and piracy, though he uniformly alleged that his depredations were committed alone on vessels sailing under the Spanish flag. Two of these boats having robbed a plantation on the Mermento river, belonging to an American citizen, were captured by the boats of the United States schooner Lynx, mounting five guns. Lafitte, to propitiate the government, hung at his yard-arm one of the men engaged in the affair, and disclaimed the intimation of having given such orders, or sanctioned their proceeding. Shortly after, however, the Lynx captured two of his vessels, discovered in smuggling along our coast; and it was now evident, that he must have had some previous knowledge of these acts, and have been an accomplice in the transaction.

p432 Nevertheless he carried on his depredations with great secrecy and in a short time amassed immense sums of money, which were carried to the wild and uninhabited islands along the southern coast of Louisiana, and divided among the crew. Twenty thousand dollars concealed in kegs was discovered a few years ago on Caillou, by an individual named Wagner, (in company with six others), who was murdered by his comrades, and the treasure carried off, but nothing since has ever been heard of them. Gold bars, of great value, have since been discovered among the islands of Barataria, and it is probable that great treasures may be elsewhere concealed, for these pirates were all rich, and Lafitte is said to have spent sixty thousand dollars in fashionable society, during a short stay at Washington City.

About this time the Texas revolution burst forth, and many signal battles were fought on land and sea, until the lone star of the republic rose in refulgent beauty on the horizon of nations. Foremost in the cause of freedom was Lafitte. He commanded the "Jupiter," one of his own cruisers, the first vessel ever chartered by the new government, and by the very terror of his name, spread panic and dismay among the enemy. He was rewarded for his gallant services by being appointed governor of Galveston, a post of honor and distinction. Not long after, an American ship was boarded near our coast, and rifled of a large amount of specie; and the Jupiter having arrived at Galveston with a great amount of that commodity on board, Lafitte was immediately suspected, and one of our men of war, under Lieut. Madison, received orders to cruise off the coast, and vigilantly watch his manoeuvres. Lafitte became highly exasperated at this proceeding, and addressed a letter to the Commander, demanding by what authority he continued to lie before that port of which he was governor. The Commander made no reply, but still continued to keep a strict look-out and watch the operations of Lafitte, who burning with indignation, resolved to set his authority at defiance.

In the great storm of 1818, he lost many men and four vessels, three of which were foundered at sea, and one went ashore on Virginia point, on the opposite side of the bay. In consequence of which accident, he sent Lafage to New Orleans, to have built a new schooner which when finished and manned, mounted two guns as her heavy ordnance, and a crew of fifty men. As soon as their vessel was launched, Lafage took command and made a short cruise, in which he captured a vessel, and was proceeding with her under flowing sheets, to Lafitte's station, when he was met by the United States p433cutter, Alabama, on her way to the Mississippi. The cutter, suspecting the character of the schooner, bore down and hailed her, but was answered by a tremendous volley of gun-shot, which cut her rigging and seriously disabled six of her crew. A desperate action ensued, and Lafage, after losing the greater part of his bravest men, surrendered. The vessel and her prize were brought into our port at Bayou St. John, and the captured crew taken in irons to New Orleans, where at the next session of the Circuit Court of the United States, they were tried, condemned and executed.

Lafitte was highly exasperated at the result of this trial; he seemed to think that the whole world was against him, and resolved therefore to wage an indiscriminate war against all mankind. He had lately received a commission in the navy of the Colombian republic, and selling all his vessels, avowed his intention of my enlisting in the service. But he was secretly planning other great schemes. He called together his scattered crew, and with the proceeds of the sale of his vessels, bought a stout, large, fast-sailing brigantine, on which he placed an armament of sixteen guns, and a crew of one hundred and sixteen men.? Thus equipped, he went forth like an evil spirit to war against the world.

But his eventful career was drawing to a close. A British sloop-of‑war, cruising in the Gulf of Mexico, having heard of his intentions, kept a sharp look-out from the mast-head, with the hope of meeting him. One morning as an officer was sweeping the horizon with his glass, he discovered in the dim distance a suspicious looking sail, and immediately orders were given to make chase. As the sloop-of‑war had the weather-gauge of the pirate, and could outsail her before the wind, she set her studding sails and crowded every inch of canvas. Lafitte, as soon as he ascertained the character of his opponent, furled his awnings, set his big square sail, and shot rapidly through the water. But the breeze freshening, the sloop continued to gain upon him, when finding escape impossible, he opened fire upon the ship, killing a number of men, and carrying away her fore-topmast. The man-of‑war reserved her fire until close in with the brigantine, when she poured into her a broadside and a volley of small arms. The broad-side was too much elevated to hit the low hull of the brigantine, but did considerable execution among her rigging and crew, ten of whom were killed. At this juncture, the English came up and boarded her over the starboard bow. A terrible conflict now ensued.

Above the storm of battle, Lafitte's stern voice was heard and his red arm, streaming with gore, and grasping a shattered blade, p434was seen in the darkest of the conflict. The blood now ran in torrents from the scuppers and dyed the waters with a crimson stain. At light Lafitte fell, wounded desperately in two places. A ball had? broken the bone of his right leg, a cutlass wound has penetrated his stomach. The Commander of the boarders was researched senseless on the deck close by Lafitte, and the desperate pirate, beholding his victim within his grasp, raised himself with difficulty and pain, dagger in hand, to slay the unconscious man. He threw his clotted locks aside, and drew his hand across his brow, to clear his sight of blood and mist, and raised the glittering blade above the heart of the dying man. But his brain was dizzy, his aim unsure, and the dagger descending, pierced the thigh of his powerless foe, and Lafitte fell back exhausted to the deck. Again reviving, with the convulsive grasp of death he essayed again to plunge the dagger to the heart of the foe, but as he held it over his breast, the effort to strike burst asunder the slender ligament of life ? and Lafitte was no more.

Still the action raged with unabated fury: but so superior was the force of the assailants, that victory was no longer doubtful; yet so desperately had they been met that of a crew of one hundred and sixty,? but sixteen survived the conflict. These were taken to Jamaica, and at a subsequent sitting of the Court of Admiralty, they were all condemned to death; ten, however, only were executed, the remaining six having been pardoned by the British government.

Thus fell Lafitte, a man superior in talent, in knowledge of his profession, in courage, and in physical strength. His memory is justly cherished by the Americans, for he rendered them great service in the perilous field; and there are many who believe him to be alive at this day, no authentic account of his death ever having been published. But the proceedings of the court, and testimony of the witnesses place this beyond a doubt, and, however dear his memory may be to some, we must not forget, that the road of honor was open to him; that he forsook its pleasant and peaceful enjoyments; in a word, all that might endear the remembrance of man on earth ? to leave a career written in blood ?

"A corsair's name to other times,
Linked with one virtue, and a thousand crimes."

The author of this biographical sketch of Lafitte, the "Corsair of the Gulf," assures us in a letter that it is "compiled from various sources ? from individuals what have known and served under him, p435from an old number of the Galveston Civilian, from a note to Byron's Corsair, Frost's History, from public documents, letters, proclamations, and the most generally received accounts of his life and exploits in the books of pirates." ? (Ed.)

"Barataria, 4th September, 18?

"To Captain Lockyer:

"Sir ? The confusion which prevailed in our camp yesterday and this morning, and of which you have a complete knowledge, has prevented me from answering in a precise manner to the object of your mission; nor even at this time can I give you all the satisfaction that you desire; however, if you grant me a fortnight, I would be entirely at your disposal at the end of that time. This delay is indispensable to enable me to put my affairs in order. You may communicate with me by sending a boat at the eastern point of the pass, where I will be found. You have inspired me with more confidence than the admiral, your superior officer, and from you also I will claim in due time the reward of the services I may render you."

"Yours, &c.,

Signed: "J. Lafitte."

"Barataria, September 4,

"To Governor Claiborne:

"Sir ? In the firm persuasion that the choice made of you to fill the office of first magistrate of this State, was dictated by the esteem of your fellow citizens and was conferred on merit, I confidently address you on an affair on which may depend the safety of this country. I offer you to restore to this State several citizens who, perhaps, in your eyes have lost their title. I offer you them, however, such as you would wish to find them, ready to exert their utmost efforts in defence of the country. This point of Louisiana which I now occupy is of great importance in the present crisis. I tender my services to defend it; and the only reward I ask is that a stop be put to the proscription against me and my adherents by an act of oblivion, for all that has been done hitherto. I am the stray sheep wishing to return to the fold. If you are thoroughly acquainted with the nature of my offences, I should appear to you much less guilty, and still worthy to discharge the duties of a good citizen. I have never sailed under any flag but that of the republic of Carthagena, and my vessels are perfectly regular in that respect. If I could have brought my lawful prizes into the ports of this State, I should not have employed the p436illicit means that have caused me to be proscribed. I decline saying more on the subject, until I have the honor of your Excellency's answer, which, I am persuaded can only be dictated by wisdom. Should you not answer favorably to my ardent desires, I declare to you that I will instantly leave the country, to avoid the imputation of having co-operated towards an invasion on this point, which cannot fail to take place, and rest assured in the acquittal of my conscience.

"I have the honor to be, your Excellency, &c.,

Signed: "J. Lafitte."
The President's Proclamation.

"Among the many evils produced by the war, which, with little intermission, have afflicted Europe, and extended their ravages into other quarters of the globe for a period exceeding twenty years, the dispersion of a considerable portion of the inhabitants of different countries in sorrow and in want, has not been the least injurious to human happiness, nor the least severe trial of human virtue.

"It has been long ascertained that many foreigners, flying from the danger of their own home, and that some citizens, forgetful of their duty, have co-operated in forming an establishment on the island of Barataria, near the mouth of the river Mississippi, for the purpose of a clandestine and lawless trade; the government of the United States caused the establishment to be broken up and destroyed; and having obtained the means of designating the offenders of every description, it only remained to answer the demands of justice by inflicting an exemplary punishment.

"But it has since been represented that the offenders have manifested a sincere penitence; that they have abandoned the prosecution of the worst cause for the support of the best, and, particularly, that they have exhibited, in the defence of New Orleans, unequivocal traits of courage and fidelity. Offenders, who have refused to become the associates of the enemy in the war, upon the most seducing terms of invitation; and who have aided to repel his hostile invasion of the territory of the United States, can no longer be considered as objects of punishment, but as objects of a generous forgiveness.

"It has, therefore, been seen, with great satisfaction, that the General Assembly of the State of Louisiana earnestly recommend those offenders to the benefit of a full pardon; and in compliance with that recommendation, as well as in consideration of all the other extraordinary circumstances of the case, I, (James Madison), President p437of the United States of America, do issue this proclamation, hereby granting, publishing and declaring, a free and full pardon of all offences committed in violation of any act or acts of the Congress of the said United States, touching the revenue trade and navigation thereof, or touching the intercourse or commerce of the United States with foreign nations at any time before the eight day of January, in the present year, one thousand eight hundred and fifteen, by any person or persons whatever, being inhabitants of New Orleans and the adjacent country, during the invasion thereof as aforesaid.

"And I do hereby further authorize and direct all suits, indictments and prosecutions for fines, penalties and forfeitures against any person or persons, who shall be entitled to the benefit of this full pardon, forthwith to be stayed, discontinued and repealed: All civil officers are hereby required, according to the duties of their respective stations, to carry this proclamation into immediate and faithful execution.

"Done at the City of Washington, the sixth day of February, in the year one thousand eight hundred and fifteen, and of the Independence of the United States the thirty-ninth.

"By the President,

Signed: "James Madison."

"James Monroe, Acting Secretary of State."

"To the Commander of the American Cruiser off the Port of Galveston:

"Sir ? I am convinced that you are a cruiser of the navy, ordered by your government, I have therefore deemed it proper to inquire your intention. I shall by this message inform you, that the port of Galveston belongs to, and is in possession of the republic of Texas, and was made a port of entry the 9th of October last. And whereas the Supreme Congress have thought proper to appoint me as governor of this place, in consequence of which, if you have any demands on said government, or persons belonging to or residing in the same, you will please to send an officer with such demands, whom you may be assured, will be treated with the greatest politeness, and receive every satisfaction required. But if you are ordered, or should you attempt to enter this port in a hostile manner, my oath and my duty to the government compels me to rebut your intentions at the expense of my life.

p438 "To prove to you my intentions towards the welfare and harmony of your government, I send enclosed the declarations of several prisoners, who were taken into custody yesterday, and by a court of inquiry appointed for that purpose, were found guilty of robbing the inhabitants of the United States of a number of slaves and specie. The gentlemen bearing this message will give you any reasonable information relating to this place, that may be required.

"Yours, &c.,

Signed: "J. Lafitte."

[Bart]

Bart,

If true, then there will be records of the naval action and subsequent court session in Jamaica.

My thoughts exactly. Of all the books written on the subject, you would think that at least one author would have checked that source and reported the results. So how does one go about getting Court of Admiralty records of Jamaica, and the naval action? Those records would need to be subsequent to 1818.

- Bart

[Solomon]

THE BATTLE OF NEW ORLEANS
New Orleans, 1815
Herbert Morton Stoops

In a few days peace was declared between Great Britain and the United States.
- THE LIFE OF LAFITTE, THE FAMOUS PIRATE OF THE GULF OF MEXICO

As this battle was one of the major events in the history of the USA, I am surprised that the author has made such a fundamental error.

Battle of New Orleans
Both nations had agreed to peace but the news had not reached Louisiana.

I was taught that as a child.

This raises the question of what else is fiction in the account.

Solomon

[Bart]

How does gold get "all over" a divers suit? Someone please explain the process. I really expected better from National Geographic.

- Bart

Clues to Pirate Gold Unearthed in Florida, Treasure Hunters Claim
Willie Drye in Fowler's Bluff, Florida
for National Geographic News

March 15, 2007

   Treasure hunters digging on a remote bluff overlooking Florida's Suwannee River claim they have found tantalizing evidence that pirate gold might be at the bottom of a muddy, 13-foot (4-meter) hole. ( Either they have found evidence or they haven't, there is no might be when the claims below are considered.-Bart)

(I just love this new treasure locating device, it's identification features, discrimination, and all the latest advances of science and electronics combined in one gorgeous fire engine red unit.- Bart)

   "We've found mahogany wood samples, flecks of gold, and gold all over the diver's dive suit [after diving in the hole]," said Tommy Todd, a St. Petersburg landscaper who owns the property being excavated.

   Workers drilling at the site said they also found a sheet of gold wrapped around the drill bit when they withdrew it. Todd was not immediately able to show evidence of these finds. "We know there's something down there," he said. (millions of people 'know' there is 'something/gold' in the hole on Oak Island also.-Bart)

   Todd and his partners, whom he declined to name, may be closing in on a treasure that?according to local lore?was buried in the area some 200 years ago by Jean LaFitte (sic).

   LaFitte roamed the Gulf of Mexico in the early 19th century as a smuggler and privateer, though he reportedly described himself an entrepreneur and defender of American freedom.

   The spot near Fowler's Bluff, about 15 miles (24 kilometers) upriver from where the Suwannee meets the Gulf, was a likely hangout for LaFitte and such notorious colleagues as Jose Gaspar, Billy "Bowlegs" Rogers, and Black Caesar (see map of the Suwannee River).

   Todd thinks LaFitte may have left treasure chests on the property. "We're close to it," Todd said. "There are some interesting things going on. Our goal is to wrap up this year."

Excavations "For Years and Years"

   Whatever might be at the bottom of the hole, pulling it out will be tricky. Beneath the mushy, silt-laden soil lies a "Swiss cheese honeycomb" of limestone, Todd said.

   If there is treasure down there, it's slowly settling deeper, Todd said. The earlier drilling may have burst the treasure chest and scattered its contents into the ooze, he added. (Which one is it? Either it is in the ooze or it is sinking into the limestone (?), you can't have it both ways. Unless of course you expect to sell the property later this year when no treasure is found.-Bart)

   The property is several hundred feet from where three or four previous excavations were made. Until 2000 that land was owned by Bill Wise, who operated a small waterfront bar there.

   Having heard the lore of LaFitte's gold, Wise and a Baptist minister used a metal detector to make several futile searches for the treasure. Wise sold the property in 2000, in part because he grew tired of treasure seekers knocking on his door.

   He told National Geographic News he didn't really expect to find buried loot on his former property.

   "It was a good advertisement thing for the bar, but I never put much faith in [finding the treasure]," he said. "I knew all these people had been trying for years and years."

Hidden in Gainesville Mansion?

   The stories of previous searches are shrouded in legend and secrecy, but at least one early treasure hunter, a sawmill operator named Emmett Baird, may have struck gold on the land Wise once owned. In June 1945 The Saturday Evening Post published a story about the lore of the Suwannee's pirate gold.

   In 1897, the story said, a dying old man whom Baird had befriended gave him a map that prompted Baird and his business partner to hasten down to the Suwannee. After three months of excavations at Fowler's Bluff, Baird announced that he was abandoning the dig.

   But his behavior led some to believe that he may have pulled something out of the hole. Baird soon began investing in businesses in Gainesville, including a bank and a hardware store that became one of the largest in Florida (see map of Florida).

   In 1900 he also bought one of Gainesville's finest mansions. Speculation that Baird had used LaFitte's treasure to make these investments swirled around him for the rest of his life. So did stories that he'd hidden some of the gold on his Gainesville property.

   Today Baird's home is a bed-and-breakfast owned by Cindy and Joe Montaldo. Like Bill Wise at Fowler's Bluff, they've had people knocking on their door asking about LaFitte's treasure.

   One such visitor was the home's previous owner, who told the couple that he had searched the house for the legendary gold. He claimed that he and a friend had scanned one of the fireplaces with a metal detector, and the device "went crazy," Cindy Montaldo said.

"He and his friend looked at each other, then they both started destroying the fireplace," she said. All they found, however, was a large piece of scrap iron that had been used in constructing the fireplace.

Lost Lore

   The Montaldos bought the house in 1990 and began extensive renovations that included removing all the old walls. They didn't find any treasure. Local historian Melanie Barr told the couple that she'd found nothing to substantiate the story that Baird had bought the house with pirate's treasure.

   Even Baird's descendants are divided on the treasure tale, with one group saying he found treasure and another saying he didn't. The world may never know whether Emmett Baird hauled a fortune away from the Suwannee, or whether Jean LaFitte ever left anything there at all.

   But Tommy Todd said he hopes to announce the results of his treasure search by this fall. "It's time for those damn pirates to give it up," Todd said.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/03/070315-pirate-treasure.html

[Solomon]

Oh what a jolly tale. 

Sounds exactly like a modern version of that Joseph Smith 'treasure slipping away' motif. Pirate treasure huh? But not Kidd? 

As you say, Bart, a hint of Oak Island. 

Solomon

[Bart]

I too was a bit surprised that more famous pirates were not named as possibilities, regardless of whether they lived in that age, ever came near Fla., or any other known facts. It means they are getting smarter maybe? We will have to be on out toes so we don't get 'taken' by this new breed of sophisticates.

I especially enjoyed this one... "the device "went crazy," Cindy Montaldo said. "He and his friend looked at each other, then they both started destroying the fireplace," she said. All they found, however, was a large piece of scrap iron that had been used in constructing the fireplace. "

Apparently it was too steep of an investment to get a unit with discrimination.


- Bart