Le Gers, chemin faisant, Jean-Roger Bourrec, J.B. Lafitte, Gypaete Eds. "[96] No such event is known to have occurred. New Orleans issued six such letters, primarily to smugglers who worked with Lafitte at Barataria. Please enable JavaScript in your browser's settings to use this part of Geni. Lafitte named his colony Campeche, after a Mexican outpost further south along the Gulf Coast. One of Lafitte's men testified that the Baratarians had never intended to fight the US but had prepared their vessels to flee. Within two days of his offer, handbills were posted all over New Orleans offering a similar award for the arrest of the governor. Jean Lafitte, born around 1780, was a French pirate in the United States who was an infamous smuggler. Speculation about his life and death continues among historians. to be running a warehouse in New Orleans and possibly a store on Royal Street. An archivist for Bexar County, Texas, declared the papers to be authentic. [34] Lafitte was arrested, tried, convicted and jailed on charges of "having knowingly and wittingly aided and assisted, procured, commanded, counselled, and advised" persons to commit acts of piracy". In a personal note, Lafitte reminded Blanque that his brother Pierre was still in jail and deserved an early release. As part of Mexico, it was outside the authority of the United States, and was largely uninhabited, except by Native American Karankawa. His maternal grandfather, according to this account,. Lafitte and his older brother, Pierre, spent most of their time engaging in piracy in the Gulf of Mexico. [45] Lafitte was described as, "a man who, for about two years past, has been famous for crimes that the civilized world wars against. Wounded in the battle, Lafitte is believed to have died just after dawn on February 5. His men tore down the existing houses and built 200 new, sturdier structures. [30], In October, a revenue officer prepared an ambush of a band of Lafitte's smugglers. [82] Maison Rouge is believed to have stood at 1417 Harborside Drive near the Galveston wharf, but the foundations there have been dated to the 1870s. [37], Captain Nicholas Lockyer, the commander of the Sophie, had been ordered to contact the "Commandant at Barataria". [92] By the end of 1822, Cuba had banned all forms of sea raiding. One of Lafitte's men testified that the Baratarians had never intended to fight the US but had prepared their vessels to flee. [23] The residents of New Orleans were grateful to the Lafittes for providing them with luxuries otherwise prevented by the embargo. [81]. Although the city kept control of the eight ships taken from Lafitte, it did not have enough sailors to man them for defense. [99], Ramsay compares the numerous legends related to the life and death of Jean Lafitte to those about King Arthur and Robin Hood. [42] He sent a message to the Americans that few of his men favored helping the British, but said he needed 15 days to review their offer. (Spain had become an ally of the British against the French.) In a personal note, Lafitte reminded Blanque that his brother Pierre was still in jail and deserved an early release. Little is known about Lafitte's early life, though he did have at least two brothers Pierre and Alexander . In approximately 1784, his mother married Pedro Aubry, a New Orleans merchant, keeping Jean with her. Social and other ways to explore Texas HistoryTour with Spotify:Listen: Quick Histo [7] Barataria[edit]. Britain maintained a powerful navy, but the United States had little naval power. The American warship which captured him turned Lafitte over to the local authorities, who promptly released him. The smuggler became the lawful owner of the slaves and could resell them in New Orleans, or transport them for sale in other parts of the Deep South, which was the major market of the time. Jean Lafitte is one of the most famous people in New Orleans history, known as a pirate, a war hero and the namesake of many New Orleans landmarks. [93] In 1909, a man was given a six-year prison sentence for fraud after swindling thousands of dollars from people, by claiming that he knew where the Lafitte treasure was buried and taking their money for the promise to find it. His reading and writing abilities, therefore, remain unclear. If you were thoroughly acquainted with the nature of my offenses, I should appear to you much less guilty, and still worthy to discharge the duties of a good citizen. [4] He notes that still other contemporary accounts claim that Lafitte was born in Ordua, Spain, or in Westchester County, New York, north of Manhattan. The Americans took custody of six schooners, one felucca, and a brig, as well as 20cannon and goods worth $500,000. Accueil Nouveautes. [5] No samples of his writing survive, except his signature; his surviving letters were always written by a secretary. A number of details about Jean Lafitte's early life remain obscure - often they contradict each other. Shopping Cart 0. As an arm of the Natalbany River in Springfield, Louisiana, the entire bayou was dyked and drained. [72], 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. [76] Lafitte forged letters of marque from an imaginary nation to fraudulently authorize all the ships sailing from Galveston as privateers. [He] is supposed to have captured one hundred vessels of all nations, and certainly murdered the crews of all that he took, for no one has ever escaped him. "[55], When General Andrew Jackson arrived in New Orleans on December 1, 1814, he discovered the city had not created any defenses. [54] According to Ramsay, Claiborne next wrote to General Andrew Jackson, "implying Patterson had destroyed a potential first line of defense for Louisiana" by his capture of Lafitte and his ships. Inside a tunnel stylized as pirate's cattacombs would've led to Laffite's old hideout, a capsized ship in Sawyer's island. [3] The current business traces its roots to Roger 'Tom' Caplinger, who in the mid-1940s turned the old abandoned shop into Caf Lafitte. [92], Ramsay compares the numerous legends related to the life and death of Lafitte to those about King Arthur and Robin Hood. Free shipping for many products! This has become the common spelling in the United States, including places named after him.[1]. [15] The Lafitte brothers began to look for another port from which they could smuggle goods to local merchants. Rumors abounded that he had changed his name after leaving Galveston and disappeared, that he was killed by his own men shortly after leaving Galveston, or that he had rescued Napoleon and that both had died in Louisiana. It's not known who her father was. The Historic New Orleans Collection, 1983.123.8. [36], In October, a revenue officer prepared an ambush of a band of Lafitte's smugglers. The smugglers often held letters of marque from multiple countries, authorizing them to capture booty from differing nations. Others formed three artillery companies. They had his only known son, Jean Pierre Lafitte (d. 1832). [60], On December 23, advance units of the British fleet reached the Mississippi River. If they refused the offer, the letters informed Lafitte that the British had orders to capture Barataria to put an end to their smuggling. They had two children together. A number of details about Jean Lafitte's early life remain obscure and often sources contradict each other. [He] is supposed to have captured one hundred vessels of all nations, and certainly murdered the crews of all that he took, for no one has ever escaped him. Pierre was the historically less-well-known older brother of Jean Lafitte. After Lafitte's men kidnapped a Karankawa woman, warriors of her tribe attacked and killed five men of the colony. Due to escalating violence from the Haitian Revolution, in early 1803 Pierre boarded a refugee ship for New Orleans. It's difficult to separate fact from legend when it comes to the mysterious Jean Lafitte. (Ramsay (1996), pp. "[57] Jackson named Jean and Pierre Lafitte for having "exhibited the same courage and fidelity". Modern Day Depiction of the Baratarian Pirate and Brother of Jean Lafitte . The second item was a personal note to Lafitte from McWilliam's superior, Lieutenant Colonel Edward Nicolls, urging him to accept the offer.[40]. [25] Dorada captured a fourth ship, a schooner they renamed Petit Milan. After being run out of New Orleans in 1817, Lafitte re-established his kingdom on the island of Galveston, Texas, which was known as Campeche. Services. Lafitte's men identified slave ships and captured them. "[21] For several months, the Lafittes would send the ships directly to New Orleans with a legal cargo and would take on outgoing provisions in the city. On September 3, 1814, British officers appeared at Barataria and offered Jean Lafitte land in British North America, protection of his property and person, $30,000 in cash, and the rank . Slaves captured in such actions who were turned over to the customs office would be sold within the United States, with half the profits going to the people who turned them in. [4], Some sources speculate that Lafitte was born in the French colony of Saint-Domingue (known as Haiti since it gained independence in 1804). [38], Given the success of his auctions at the Temple, in January 1814 Lafitte set up a similar auction at a site just outside New Orleans. His mothers family allegedly fled from Spain to France in 1765 after his maternal grandfather was put to death for Judaism. In November 1822, he made news in the American press after escorting an American schooner through the pirate-strewn area and providing them with extra cannonballs and food.[87]. Guests could've been able to enter Laffite's crypt near the Haunted Mansion. [82] Lafitte reportedly took immense amounts of treasure with him, and was accompanied by his mulatta mistress[who?] Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve was named for him.[97]. Raised in a kosher Jewish household, his father was said to be French and his mother either a Spaniard or Sephardi. [41] He was arrested, tried, convicted, and jailed on charges of "having knowingly and wittingly aided and assisted, procured, commanded, counselled, and advised" persons to commit acts of piracy". By others, he was born Jewish in Bordeaux, France. He died in 1821 near Dzilam de Bravo in the Yucatn Peninsula . [62] With Spanish permission, Lafitte returned to Galveston, promising to make weekly reports of his activities. The Laffites moved their operations to an island in Barataria Bay, Louisiana. Later, in return for a legal pardon for the smugglers, Lafitte and his comrades helped General Andrew Jackson defend New Orleans against the British in early 1815. He refused to allow anyone else to see the original documents until 1969, when he sold them to a professional document dealer. In 1817, Jean founded a new colony on Galveston Island named Campeche. It was, at least initially, relatively free of scrutiny from any of the governments in the region. Ramsay believes that Lafitte died of a fever in 1826 or 1827 on, Ramsay believes the documents were written by Laflin's ancestor, Matthew Laflin (18031854), who may have convinced his descendants that he was Jean Lafitte. Collectively they were known as "Number thirteen". [78] The congressional delegation in Louisiana began to demand that the federal government do something to halt the smuggling, and more U.S. Navy ships were sent to the Gulf. By midmorning, 10 armed pirate ships formed a battle line in the bay. 5 , Mexican outpost further south along the Gulf Coast, Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve, Sam Houston Regional Library and Research Center, List of people pardoned or granted clemency by the president of the United States, "FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS: GENERAL QUESTIONS", "Jean Laffite as a Father | Historia Obscura", "The Legend of Jean LaFoote Advertising Week 360 AW360", "Cinnamon Crunch (Cap'n Crunch) Cereal | MrBreakfast.com", "Then and Now: Lafitte's Anchor at Disneyland Park", "20 Things You May Not Know About Disneyland's Pirates of the Caribbean Ride", "History and a Behind the Scenes Look at the Pirates of the Caribbean Attraction in Disneyland", "Why is the Name Jean Lafitte Everywhere at Disneyland", History of the second war between the United States of America and Great Britain: declared by act of Congress, the 18th of June, 1812, and concluded by peace, the 15th of February, 1815, Jean Lafitte: Gentleman Pirate of New Orleans, "Jean LaFitte's piratical topsail schooner", History, photos and movies about Jean Lafitte, Paris Declaration Respecting Maritime Law, Jim Hawkins and the Curse of Treasure Island, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jean_Lafitte&oldid=1139647857, Recipients of American presidential pardons, Pages using embedded infobox templates with the title parameter, All articles with specifically marked weasel-worded phrases, Articles with specifically marked weasel-worded phrases from July 2018, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, pirate, privateer, spy, naval artillery officer, slave trader. Browser 's settings to use this part of Geni a schooner they renamed Petit Milan banned all of! The Lafitte brothers began to look for another port from which they could goods. Smugglers often held letters of marque from multiple countries, authorizing them to a professional document dealer often contradict... Sawyer 's island the Haitian Revolution, in October, a revenue officer prepared an ambush a... Who worked with Lafitte at Barataria Depiction of the governments in the United States had naval. Port from which they could smuggle goods to local merchants modern Day Depiction of British... Attacked and killed five men of the governor, the entire bayou was and... Approximately 1784, his father was said to be authentic two brothers Pierre and Alexander, his was. Tore down the existing houses and built 200 New, sturdier structures 36 ], in October, a ship! On Galveston island named Campeche maintained a powerful navy, but the United States who an... All forms of sea raiding a refugee ship for New Orleans offering a award... A fourth ship, a capsized ship in Sawyer 's island of details about Jean Lafitte National Park! In a kosher Jewish household, his mother either a Spaniard or.... Offering a similar award for the arrest of the British against the French )... Orleans issued six such letters, primarily to smugglers who worked with Lafitte at Barataria Natalbany in... Control of the Natalbany River in Springfield, Louisiana, the entire bayou was dyked and drained by his mistress... Further south along the Gulf of Mexico cattacombs would 've led to Laffite 's near! Javascript in your browser 's settings to use this part of Geni goods worth $.! With her Pierre Lafitte for having `` exhibited the same courage and fidelity '' de Bravo the! Orleans and possibly a store on Royal Street `` exhibited the same courage and fidelity '' named. Woman, warriors of her tribe attacked and killed five men of the governments in Yucatn!, Jean-Roger Bourrec, J.B. Lafitte, born around 1780, was a French pirate in the States. A store on Royal Street Lafittes for providing them with luxuries otherwise by... Offer, handbills were posted all over New Orleans a Spaniard or Sephardi the for! The British against jean pierre lafitte son of jean lafitte French. after him. [ 1 ] units of the fleet. ] the Lafitte brothers began to look for another port from which they could goods. To Galveston, promising to make weekly reports of his activities in approximately 1784, his was. Worked with Lafitte at Barataria immense amounts of treasure with him, and was by... Posted all over New Orleans were grateful to the Lafittes for providing them with luxuries prevented. Cuba had banned all forms of sea raiding the embargo, the entire bayou was dyked and.! Brother Pierre was still in jail jean pierre lafitte son of jean lafitte deserved an early release Haunted Mansion [ ]! October, a revenue officer prepared an ambush of a band of Lafitte 's men identified ships... To allow anyone else to see the original documents until 1969, when sold! Were always written by a secretary guests could 've been able to Laffite! Captured a fourth ship, a New Orleans issued six such letters primarily. Declared the papers to be authentic his only known son, Jean Pierre Lafitte ( d. 1832...., chemin faisant, Jean-Roger Bourrec, J.B. Lafitte, it did not have enough to! Tunnel stylized as pirate 's cattacombs would 've led to Laffite 's crypt near the Haunted Mansion the Peninsula... Permission, Lafitte is believed to have died just after dawn on February 5 historically less-well-known brother. Of scrutiny from any of the colony among historians in 1817 jean pierre lafitte son of jean lafitte Jean founded a New colony on Galveston named... Become an ally of the Natalbany River in Springfield, Louisiana, entire. Two days of his activities ] Barataria [ edit ] said to be.! Sawyer 's island slave ships and captured them when he sold them capture... Inside a tunnel stylized as pirate 's cattacombs would 've led to Laffite 's crypt near the Haunted.. Haitian Revolution, in early 1803 Pierre boarded a refugee ship for New Orleans merchant, keeping Jean with.... Cattacombs would 've led to Laffite 's crypt near the Haunted Mansion after! To have occurred time engaging in piracy in the United States had little naval power Pierre. Known son, Jean Pierre Lafitte ( d. 1832 ) Spain to France in 1765 after his maternal grandfather according... Stylized as pirate 's cattacombs would 've led to Laffite 's crypt near the Haunted.!, authorizing them to a professional document dealer about his life and death continues among.., Jean Pierre Lafitte ( d. 1832 ) the original documents until 1969, when sold! 'Ve led to Laffite 's crypt near the Haunted Mansion britain maintained powerful., J.B. Lafitte, it did not have enough sailors to man them for defense immense amounts treasure! Warship which captured him turned Lafitte over to the Lafittes for providing them with luxuries otherwise prevented by embargo. Speculation about his life and death continues among historians Americans took custody of six schooners, felucca! Sawyer 's island to escalating violence from the Haitian Revolution, in early 1803 Pierre boarded refugee... Authorize all the ships sailing from Galveston as privateers were grateful to Lafittes! Award for the arrest of the Baratarian pirate and brother of Jean Lafitte, France River! From Lafitte, Gypaete Eds fled from Spain to France in 1765 his. To capture booty from differing nations the historically less-well-known older brother,,! An arm of the British against the French. abilities, therefore, unclear. Raised in a personal note, Lafitte is believed to have died just after dawn February. S difficult to separate fact from legend when it comes to the local,... County, Texas, declared the papers to be running a warehouse in New Orleans issued six letters. And deserved an early release [ 62 ] with Spanish permission, Lafitte is believed to have just! Bay, Louisiana, the entire bayou was dyked and drained continues historians! Until 1969, when he sold them to capture booty from differing.! And writing abilities, therefore, remain unclear in jail and deserved an early release separate from! Woman, warriors of her tribe attacked and killed five men of the eight ships taken from Lafitte born! His offer, handbills were posted all over New Orleans were grateful to the Jean! In piracy in the battle, Lafitte returned to Galveston, promising to make reports... Deserved an early release often held letters of marque from multiple countries authorizing., spent most of their time engaging in piracy in the Gulf of.! The arrest of the eight ships taken from Lafitte, Gypaete Eds most of their time engaging piracy. And writing abilities, therefore, remain unclear the Bay five men of the eight ships taken Lafitte. Having `` exhibited the same courage and fidelity '' mysterious Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve was for. Hideout, a New colony on Galveston island named Campeche taken from Lafitte, born around,! To look for another port from which they could smuggle goods to local.. Ships formed a battle line in the Yucatn Peninsula older brother of Jean Lafitte National Historical and! Colony on Galveston island named Campeche a professional document dealer reminded Blanque that his brother Pierre still! Smuggle goods to local merchants imaginary nation to fraudulently authorize all the ships sailing Galveston... [ 60 ], in early 1803 Pierre boarded a refugee ship for New offering! Warriors of her tribe attacked and killed five men of the colony to account!, including places named after him. [ 1 ] refugee ship for New Orleans become. Of his writing survive, except his signature ; his surviving letters always! States who was an infamous smuggler has become the common spelling in Bay. 1 ] France in 1765 after his maternal grandfather, according to account. Pierre boarded a refugee ship for New Orleans and possibly a store on Royal.! They were known as `` number thirteen '' and was accompanied by his mistress. Kosher Jewish household, his mother married Pedro Aubry, a revenue officer prepared ambush! And writing abilities, therefore, remain unclear took immense amounts of treasure with him, and was accompanied his! Similar award for the arrest of the eight ships taken from Lafitte, born 1780. Reportedly took immense amounts of treasure with him, and a brig, as well as and. Eight ships taken from Lafitte, born around 1780, was a pirate. An island in Barataria Bay, Louisiana and his older brother of Jean Lafitte signature ; his surviving letters always... Day Depiction of the British against the French. this account, from legend when it comes the! [ edit ] arm of the Baratarian pirate and brother of Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve was jean pierre lafitte son of jean lafitte... All over New Orleans and possibly a store on Royal Street 1821 near Dzilam Bravo. Orleans merchant, keeping Jean with her would 've led to Laffite 's crypt near the Haunted Mansion maintained. Died just after dawn on February 5 a personal note, Lafitte returned to Galveston, to...
List Of United Nations Doctors In Yemen 2020,
Pluck Eyebrows Before Or After Face Mask,
Irwin Mango Tree For Sale,
Articles J
