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Jean Laffite, War Hero An excerpt from the book "JEAN LAFFITE, THE LOUISIANA BUCCANEER" by Nola Mae Ross One
of the little known facts about Jean Laffite is his heroic part in the Battle of
New Orleans. General Andrew Jackson, who led the Battle of New Orleans in
the War of 1812, wrote a letter to Jean Laffite after the war ended, saying,
“I have had frequent occasions to avail myself of your activity and
zeal for the service. I consider you, Sir, as one of those to whom the country is
most indebted for the victory of the Battle of New Orleans.
I feel great pleasure in giving this testimony of your worth and to add
the sincere assurance of my private friendship and high esteem of you.” Major
Arsene Lacarriere Latour, a close friend of Jean Laffite and principal military
engineer for General Andrew Jackson, wrote memoirs containing an excellent
description of the pirate’s part in the Battle of New Orleans.
He says that Jean Laffite tried to warn the Washington governmental
leaders that the British were planning to attack the U.S. from the Gulf of
Mexico, coming up the back side of New Orleans. But they ignored him. Laffite
had witnessed several attempts of the British to invade New Orleans through his
headquarters in Barataria, south of New Orleans.
“Several British Ships of War remain on the coast within sight of our
Baratarians,” he stated in his message to Washington. Later
when he did not hear back from them, he wrote, “My warning messages were
either ignored or more probably never reached the officers for whom they were
destined”. On
Sept. 2, 1814 British officers named Captain Nicholas Lockyer and Captain
McWilliams came to Laffite’s headquarters in Barataria, waving a flag of
truce. Laffite invited them ashore.
They gave him a letter from a higher officer containing a bribe.
“If you (Laffite) will help the British cause in taking back the United
States you shall have the rank of Captain and lands will be given to you. Your
property shall be guaranteed to you, your persons protected.
In return for which I ask you to cease all hostility against Spain or the
allies of Great Britain. Your ships
and vessels will be placed under the British Commanding Officer but I guarantee
you will get their fair value.” Lafitte
sent a copy of the letter to Governor William Claiborne in New Orleans. He, too, ignored Laffite. Jane Lucas de Grummond, noted
scholar and professor at LSU, wrote in her book THE BARATARIANS AND THE BATTLE
OF New Orleans, “Governor
Claiborne was blind when opportunity knocked.
He had a real opportunity for fame if he’d given Laffite fair
hearing.” Jane de Grummond went
on to describe the part the Laffite Baratarians played in the Battle of New
Orleans and then added, “Most accounts of the Battle of New Orleans tell of
the activities of the Tennessee, Kentucky and Mississippi militia and give them
the main credit for driving out the British. The Baratarians, when mentioned at
all, are disposed of briefly. These
records do not show the truth! That
victory would not have been possible without the Baratarian privateers.” General
Andrew Jackson accepted Laffite’s help with the Battle of New Orleans, and in
return was supplied with maps, gunpowder, flints and cannons. Most important,
the privateers supplied experienced artillerists who could handle any kind of
cannon. They were also expert
sailors and could handle the American warships.
Jackson soon came to rely on suggestions from the experienced buccaneer.
Laffite knew men and he knew the strategy of the swampland.
He was also an expert at stealth battles, which the British did not
understand. He knew when and where
to build levees and barricades and which part of the swamp would hold them.
General
Jackson was heard to remark, “I wish I had 500 such men as the Baratarians.
I would have no misgivings of the result.”
Once when the American gunboat, “The Louisiana”, became stranded on a
mud bar, with the British breathing down its neck, a large group of Baratarians
jumped into some smaller boats, rowed out and fastened ropes to “The
Louisiana”. Then they took their
places in the smaller boats and began rowing in unison.
Soon the gunboat came off her nest and managed to move far enough away so
that British fire could not harm her. On January 18, 1815, the last of the British soldiers stole away and left the Louisiana shores, bringing an end to the war and the victory to America. Laffite received many commendations for his help in this battle. However very few historians ever took the chance to tell Laffite’s story about his heroism in the Battle of New Orleans.
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