On the trail of Jean Lafitte
Written: Feb 02 '00 (Updated Jan 23 '02)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Fascinating history
Cons: none noted
The Bottom Line: America has always loved scoundrels, and pirate Jean Lafitte was one of the most charming scoundrels in the romantic history of early Louisiana.
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| Howard_Creech's Full Review: Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve |
When the war of 1812 started, it was the United States first real test as a nation. The U. S. was the newest country on the planet, and the world’s only democracy. Rapid expansion had made the U. S. one of the largest countries in the world. Unfortunately the great majority of that territory was unexplored and populated by Indians, fur traders, scoundrels, and outlaws none of whom paid taxes or took America’s claim to the territory very seriously. The U. S. had no standing army and only a tiny navy.
The British saw the War of 1812 as an opportunity to regain their American colonies (lost in 1781) and add the heart of the continent and the city of New Orleans to their holdings. Napoleon had sold the vast Louisiana wilderness to the U. S. to help finance his war with Britain in 1803. The capture of New Orleans would give the British complete control of the huge Mississippi River watershed, making, the capture of New Orleans a major tactical priority. The city had been in American hands for less than a dozen years, had virtually no defenses, and was separated from the rest of the country by hundreds of miles of wilderness and Spanish colonial possessions.
The U. S. Government sent famous Indian fighter Andrew Jackson to New Orleans to prepare the city’s defenses against certain British attack. Jackson had a handful of poorly supplied and undisciplined Kentucky and Tennessee riflemen and a ragtag band of Creoles, local merchants, and slaves to defend the city against the cream of Britain’s Royal Army. The British fleet, standing off the mouth of river, just seventy miles from the city, had a force of between 12,000 and 15,000 troops (many of them battle proven in the wars against Napoleon). The Redcoats were disciplined, well supplied, and outnumbered the Americans by a margin of more than four to one.
One of New Orleans most enduring legends is the story of how Jean Lafitte, the pirate, helped save the city from defeat by the British during the war of 1812. Outnumbered, outgunned, and short of supplies, Andrew Jackson made a deal with Lafitte and his pirate hordes. Provide weapons, gunpowder, and supplies and join the battle on the American side. If the U. S. won the battle the pirates would be pardoned for their past crimes. The battle was a glorious victory for Jackson with more than 2,000 British troops killed (including the Redcoat’s Commanding General) to only 71 Americans dead. The Chalmette Battlefield (where the battle took place) is located less than 10 miles from the French Quarter on St. Bernard Hwy in Chalmette, LA
At the corner of Bourbon and St. Peter Streets in the French Quarter is Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop. This ancient building is one of the oldest in New Orleans, having escaped the devastating fires that destroyed much of New Orleans at the close of the 18th century. Lafitte operated a blacksmith shop here as respectable front that allowed him to sell his plundered treasures to New Orleans most prominent citizens. Today the building houses a dark, quiet, friendly neighborhood bar. Lafitte’s right hand man Dominique You is buried in the St. Louis Cemetery at the edge of the French Quarter.
Just north of New Orleans, across the river from Donaldsonville, is Lafitte's Landing. Built in 1797 this raised Creole cottage was Lafitte’s sales outlet on the Mississippi River. Today the building is a popular restaurant well worth the trip up the River Road. The real seat of Lafitte's power however was in the lawless swamps to the south of New Orleans.
The Barataria unit of the Jean Lafitte National Historical Park consists of 8,600 acres of swamp, freshwater marsh, and blackwater bayous, all that is left of the savage wilderness that protected Lafitte and his pirates from the authorities. From the visitors center (which is raised above the swamp on pilings) a walkway meanders through the swamp to nearby Bayou Coquille. Little remains of the empire that Lafitte carved out of the swamps, but many of the people whom you see in the small towns nearby (especially Lafitte) are direct descendants of Lafitte and his pirate crews.
New Orleans wealthiest citizens made regular trips to Grand Terre Island and the giant Indian Shell Mound known as the "Temple" where booty plundered on the high seas was auctioned to the highest bidder. Lafitte and his men were pardoned for their courage and support in the Battle of New Orleans but old habits die-hard and the pirates were unable to remain on the right side of the law. Jean Lafitte had to flee New Orleans for Lake Charles and later Galveston, TX.
When Lafitte left New Orleans he was on the lookout for a new refuge that would provide everything he’d had to give up when he abandoned Barataria. Lake Charles in the western corner of the state was perfect. Close to New Orleans and the Spanish ports in Texas and Mexico, the pirates had prime victims close at hand and the vast and unexplored coastal marshes, with their serpentine waterways, were as difficult to penetrate as the swamps surrounding Barateria. Lafitte had a ready market for his plunder, and the society of the largely French community of Charlie’s Lake.
Lafitte managed to alienate himself very quickly by having an affair with the wife of the town’s founder, namesake, and most prominent citizen. Charles Sallier was so outraged at his wife Carolyn’s infidelity that he shot her in a fit of jealous rage. Overcome with remorse Sallier turned the pistol on himself and died on the spot from a self-inflicted wound. The bullet meant to kill Carolyn passed through her hand and struck a large amethyst brooch hanging directly over her heart. Lafitte had to leave town in a hurry and stories still circulate that he buried tons of treasure in the coastal marshes south of Lake Charles. Carolyn Sallier withdrew from society and spent the rest of her days living in seclusion in a tiny cabin on the shore of the lake named for her husband.
What happened to Jean Lafitte? His ghost may still float over the dark waters of Calcasieu, guarding his buried gold and jewels. Legend has it that some of the contraband from the hundreds of ships plundered by Lafitte still remains in the area today. Lafitte resurfaced briefly in Galveston, Texas but soon disappeared again. Stories suggest that he died in Illinois, that he retired in the Yucatan jungles of Southern Mexico, and that he quietly returned to New Orleans and lived out the rest of life a very wealthy man. The Sallier family reputedly still has the bullet damaged amethyst brooch, and Lafitte’s treasure has never been found.
If you enjoyed reading this Louisiana travel review, please read my other Louisiana travel reviews:
New Orleans
Off the Beaten Path in New Orleans
http://www.epinions.com/trvl-review-1C6C-B84F727-39485E6B-prod2
New Orleans With an Attitude
http://www.epinions.com/trvl-review-27B-148CC64-3888A033-bd1
Louisiana Highway One
Exploring Louisiana’s Enchanted Backroads
http://www.epinions.com/trvl-review-23C0-71FABF8-395BAC56-prod2
Traveling back in Time
http://www.epinions.com/trvl-review-55C9-1846C465-39691684-prod5
Into the Cajun Heartland
http://www.epinions.com/trvl-review-206C-260B35E8-398C54E8-prod5
Cajun Country
A Pilgrimage to the Musical Heart of Louisiana
http://www.epinions.com/content_51310136964
A South Louisiana Journey
http://www.epinions.com/content_43274440324
Evangeline Parish, Real Cajun Country
http://www.epinions.com/trvl-review-4AE2-BA4E605-39229E55-prod4
A Quick Tour of Cajun Country
http://www.epinions.com/trvl-review-3AF1-245F61E-38970F4B-prod2
Rendevous Des Cajuns
http://www.epinions.com/trvl-review-42C-C0FA2A-38874480-bd1
Florida Parishes
St. Francisville the Capital of English Louisiana
http://www.epinions.com/trvl-review-1B91-51748AE-391D72B3-prod6
Southwest Louisiana
Creole Nature Trail
http://www.epinions.com/trvl-review-69F8-47FAB2-388DE015-bd3
Just “cut’n’paste” the URL into your browser’s address window
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
Howard_Creech
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Member: Howard Creech
Location: Louisville, KY
Reviews written: 334
Trusted by: 1276 members
About Me:
Photographer/Writer fascinated by Movies, Music, Books, American Diner Food, History, "Popular Culture", and Travel.
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