^alel)ni WITH •"WOGRAPHY OF THE AUTHOR, Q^^ GRACE KING LIl TOGET P, I B L I O G R A P H Y BY WM. BEER, LIBRARIAN NEW ORLEANS PUBLIC LIBRARY, HER WITH AN EXHAUvSTlVE INDEX. FOURTH EDITION. IN FOUR VOLUMES. vol.. IV. NEW ORLEANS: F. F. Hansell & Bro.. Ltd. 1903. Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1S66. SY CHARLES GAYARRE, In the Clerk's office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern District of New York- PRESS OP THE L. GRAHAM 00., LTD., 715-717 PERDIDO STREET, NEW ORLEANS, LA. CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. Cession op Louisiana to the United States. — 1803-1804. Effects of the Cession — FooHngs of the Inhabitants — Organization of the Territory — ^Powers of Governor Claiborne — Act of Congress about Slav ery — Laussat's Dispatch — His Views and Predictions — Affrays and Tu mults — Unpopularity of the Cession — Secession of the Western States — The Louisiana Jjank — Condition of the Militia — Public Meet ings — Insurrection above Manchac — Kemper and his Followers — Oj)po8ition to the Government — Judicial Organization — Adootion of Laws — Governor Claiborne Sworn into Office — Spanish In trigues — A Political Pamphlet — Popular Excitement— Governor Clai borne's Vindication — Two Hundred Frenchmen Ordered Away— Garcia and Morgan — Arrest of Garcia — Casa Calvo's Complaints — Claiborne's Answers — Importation of Slaves — First Legislative Assembly — Belief in Re-cession — The Yellow Fever — Prevention of Yellow Fever — De bates in Congress — Reflections on the Debates .... CHAPTER II. Govehnoh Claiborne's Administbation. — 1805. Petition of the Louisianians — John Randolph's Report — Congressional Legislation — Claiborne to Madison — New Territorial Government — Grants of Land by Morales — Casa Calvo and his Body-Quard — Quarrels between Morales and Casa Calvo — Desired Departure of the Spaniards J — Increase of Spanish Armaments — Apprehensions of Spanish Hostili ties — Suspected Spanish Agents — Aaron Burr Arrives in New Orleans — Claiborne's Secret Correspondence — The Spaniards Unwilling to De part — Claiborne's Remonstrances — Claiborne and Casa Calvo — Depart ure of Casa Calvo — Casa Calvo Goes to Texas — Claiborne Prepares for War — Suspicious Movements of Casa Calvo — Claiborne Asks for Rein forcements—Organization of the Militia — Negotiations with Spain — Pinckney and Cevallos — Monroe Sent to Spain — France Unfavorable to the U. S. — Negotiations with Spain — Ultimatum of the United States (iii) IV OONTEWTS. — Negotiations with Spain at an End — Attacks Against Claiborne — Claiborne's Self-Vindication — Claiborne not on a Bed of Roses — New Orleans Incorporated— Religious Quarrels — Claiborne and his Enemies — Sauvt', Destrfihan, and Derbigny — Claiborne's Report to Madison — Important Manuscript Found — The Ursuline Nuns put on the Stage — Meeting of the Legislature— Claiborne's Message — Father Walsh and Father Antonio— A Schism among the Catholics — The Fortifications of New Orleans — Claiborne and Land Titles^List of the Public Buildings —Conflict of Civil and Military Authority — Condition of tho Judioiaiy, 5S CHAPTER III. GoYERNOB Claiborne's Administration. — 1800. Military Resources of the Territory — Secretary Graham to Madison — The Spaniards still Linger in Louisiana — Claiborne's Alarms -Tho Mulatto Corps — Claiborne to Casa Calvo — Battalion of Orleans Volunteers — In difference to the Right of Suffrage — Expulsion of Morales— Expulsion of Casa Calvo — High Charges in Louisiana — Internal Improvements — Claiborne on Education — Increase of Troops Required — Hostile Acts of the Spaniards — John Randolph and Claiborne — Regulations on Citizen ship — Governor Claiborne's Veto — Claiborne's Opinion of tho Natives — Another Veto by Claiborne — Claiborne and the French Consul — Ele& lion of D. Clarke to Congress — Emigration from Louisiana — Causes of Discontent — Claiborne and the Lady Abbess — Judicial Decision on Al legiance — Celebration of the Fourth of July — Claiborne ond General Herrera — Claiborne's Military Measures — Arrival of Wilkinson — Father Antoine Suspected — Father Antoine Swears Allegiance— Claiborne's Conflicting Opinions — Claiborne's Despondency — Wilkinson Donouncos Uiirr — Daniel Clarko Suspected — Commotion in Now Orleans — Cliii- boriio and Martial Law — Wilkinson and Martial Law — Cluiborno and tho Embargo — Proposed Impressment of Sailors — Wilkinson and Aaron Burr — Claiborne and Wilkinson Disagree — Cowles Meade on Burr — Arrest of Citizens — Swartwout and Ogden — Claiborne and Judge Work man — The Embargo Repealed. . . . . . .132 CHAPTER IV. GOVBRNOE CLAniBORNE'S ADMINISTBATION.— 1807-1808. Wrest of Workman and Kerr — Suspicious Movements of Folch — Clai borne to Cowles Meade — The Legislature and Wilkinson — Arrest ol Aaron Burr — Claiborne on the Plans of Burr — Claiborne and the Ha beas Corpus — Military Interference with Slavery — Claiborne and the Batture— Edward Livingston and the Batture— Kiots about the Batture Claim -Claiborne and the Rioters — Proceedings of the Rioters — Gover nor Claiborne on the Judiciary— The President and the Batture— Clai borne's Instructions to a Judge — Demolition of Fort St. Louis — Digest i.f Civil Law— Circular to Militia Oiiicers— Riots and Disturbances— CONTENTS. . V Claiborne on the Civil Law — Reflections on the Civil Law — Proceedings in Courts — Aversion to Militia Duty — Negroes Running Away to Texas. . . . . .174 CHAPTER V. Claiborne's Administration. — 1809-1810. Claiborne on Public Schools — Criminal Jurisprudence and Punishments — Claiborne on Foreign Relations — Surrender of Runaway Negroes — Arrival of United States Troops — Violent Feuds in Pointe Coupee — Admission into the Union Demanded — -Census of Inhabitants — Oppo sition to State Govecument — French Emigration from Cuba — Claiborne and the French Emigrants — Claiborne Checking Immigration — ^ Arrival of too Many Strangers — Sickness Among the U. S. Troops — Mortality Among the U. S. Troops — Encouragement to Domestic Industry— The Yellow Fever and Health Laws — Necessity of Public Education— Clai borne on Public Appointments — Hostility of Claiborne Increasing — Claiborne's Noble Letter — Smuggling of Slaves and Merchandise — Heroism of Louis Grandprd — A Declaration of Independence — Conven- vention of West Florida — West Florida Annexed — The President's Proclamation — Instructions to Claiborne — Address to the Floridians — Great Britain's Protest — New Parishes Formed. .... 204 CHAPTER VI. Clalbobne's Administration. — 1811-1812. Debates in Congress — Mr. Miller's Speech — Mr. Rhea's Speech— Josi ah Quincy's Speech — Poindexter's Speech — Mr. Gold's Speech — A Conven tion Called — Conditions of Admission as a State — Insurrection of Ne groes — The Negroes Defeated — Livingston and Fulton — Meeting of the State Convention — ^Speech of Poydras — Proceedings of- the Con vention — The Constitution of Louisiana 344 CHAPTER VII. Administbation op Governor Clalbornb. — 1813-1813. Debates in Congress — Enlargement of the State — State Government Organized — War with Great Britain — Aversion for Public Life — A Want of Men for Offices — A number of Resignations — Madison's Inaugural Address — The Smugglers of Baratario — Danger of Indian Hostilities — -Conflagrations and Overflows — F. X. Martin on the Con stitution — Credit of U. S. Impaired — ^Inadequate Protection from the U. S. — The Militia to be called out — Judicial Decision on the Batture — Massacres by the Indians — Claiborne's Indian Talk — Proclamation Against Smugglers — John and Pierre Lafitte — Deeds of the Bucca neers — The Baratarians — Anxieties of the Public Mind. . . . 278 VI • CONTENTS. CHAPTER VIII. Ci-AiuouNii'a Administbation.— 1814. Effects of War— Suggested Ameliorations —Too Much Legislation — The Baratarians — F. X. Martin on the Constitution — Projectod Invasion of T(3xaH— llwiulHltliin on tho MiliUa— InHuborillnutioii of tho Mllitiu— Dungoiot'a Civil War— Cluiborno anil tlio Mllltla-- Unpopniurlty of Mlllllii- Duty T-'I'liii MlllHii llorruclory- Kiiiliirul Hu(jiil(ilHoii llijuclud— Cluiborno on the Pruss— Clalbornu's Appeal — Danger of Invasion In creasing — Claiborne to be impeached — Peace with tho Creeks — Louisi ana's Destiny — The Free Men of Color — Claiborne's Military Orders — English Proclamation — British Colonel Nicholls — Colonel NichoUs to his Troops — Claiborne's Apprehensions — Claiborne to General Jack son — Claiborne to the Louisianians— Public Meeting— Patriotic Reso lutions — Committee's Address to Louisianians — Claiborne to Mayor Qirod — Attack on Fort Bowyer — The British Repulsed — General Jack son's Proclamation — Jackson to the Colored Men — Colonel Nicholls to John Lafitte — Sii W. H. Percy to John Lafitte — John Lafitte and British Emissaries — John Laflttu to Blanque — John Lafitte to Clai borne — Pierre Lafitte to Blanque — Expeditions against the Baratarians — CJlaiborno on the Colored Men — Claiborne trusts the Louisianians — Claiborne on Smuggling — Smuggling no Crime — Sympathy for Smug glers — Jackson and the Spaniards — Pensacola Taken — the French Con sul Insulted — Extra Session of the Legislature — Claiborne to the Legis lature — Call for the Whole Militia — Claiborne on the Legislature. . 808 CHAPTER IX. Governor Claiborne's Administration. — 1814. The Banks Suspend Payment — Arrival of General Jackson — General Jack son's Character^Defenceless Condition of the State — Jackson's Prepa^ rations — Importance of Louisiana — General Jackson's Oath — Clai borne's Military Claims — Clairborne to the Senate — Literature in Louisiana — Approach of the British — Debates in the Legislature — Louaillier's Report — Action of the Legislature ^Effects of Jackson's Presence — Battle on Lake Borgne — Federal Neglect of Louisiana — Claiborne's Pithy Message— Martial Law Proclaimed -Jackson's Address to the Citizens — Jackson's Military Measures — Savary, tho Colored Man — Jackson's Address to the Militia — Jackson's Military Orders — Services of Lafitte Accepted — A Stay Law Enacted — Arrival of Ten- nesseeans — Feelings in New Orleans— Forces of the Invaders — Bayou Bienvenu— The Fishermen's Village — Treachery of Fishermen— Land ing of the British — Jackson Marching — Skirmishes with the Enemy — Attack by the Carolina — Attack by General Jackson — Battle of the 33d of December — Jackson's Report — General D. Morgan's Corps — Excite ment in New Orleans — Reflections — United as One Man. . . 879 CONTENTS. Vll CHAPTER X. Governor Claibobne's Administration. — 1814^1815. Preparations of the British — Cutting of the Levee — The Carolina Blown up — Attack of the 38th of December — Death of Colonel Henderson — The Congreve Rockets — Artillery Duel — Effective Firing from the Louisiana — Americans Strengthening their Lines — British Black Troops — The Rifle and the Dirty Shirts — Our Mode of Warfare — Cannonade on the 31st. of December — Battle of the 1st of Januarys-British Redoubts — Movements of the Enemy — Arrival of the Kentuckians — The Women of Louisiana — Arrival of British Reinforcements — Description of our Lines — Admirable Behaviour of Our Troops — Full Preparations on Both Sides— Battle of the 8th of January — Comments on the Battle — Marshal Soult's Opinion — Military Commentaries — Tribute to Our Troops — Sympathy for the Wounded — Colored Nurses of New Orleans — Incapa city of General D. Morgan — Condition of Morgan's Troops — The Ken tuckians Demoralized — Mayor Arnaud's Command — Defeat of General Morgan — Kentuckians Justifying Themselves — Colonel Thornton's Expedition — Thornton Not Arriving in Time — Jackson to Morgan's Defeated Troops — General Humbert — Condition of Morgan's Troops — Suspension of Hostilities — Attack on Fort St. Philip — Evacuation of the British Army — Retreat of the British — Jackson visits the British Camp — Jackson Orders a Thanksgiving — Jackson to his Army — The Results Obtained — Compliments to the Baratarians — General Jackson's Report — Report of a Court-Martial — Reception of Jackson in Now Or-- leans — Address of Abb(5 Dubourg — Jackson's Answer to Dubourg. . 441 CHAPTER XI. Govebnob Claibobne's Administbation. — 1815 Tackson Displeased with Claiborne — Surrender of Fort Bowyer — Admiral Cochrane's Complaint — General Keane's Sword — Abducted Negroes Claimed — British Infatuation — Abducted Slaves Claimed — Arbitration of Russia — Historic Contrast — Major Lacoste and his Slaves — British Love of Plunder — Booty and Beauty — Jackson and the Legislature — Jackson's Answer to the Legislature — Claiborne's Answer to tho Legis lature — Colonel Fortior's Testimony — Abncr Duncan's Testimony — Major Davezac's Testimony — Colonel Declouet's Testimony — Character of Declouet — Guichard's Testimony — The Committee of Investigation — No Thanks Voted to Jackson — General Coffee to the Legislature- Jackson to the Mayor of New Orleans — Reflections — Skipwith to Jack son — Thibodaux to Skipwith — Blanque's Letter to the Citizens — Reflec tions. 511 CHAPTER XII. Claibobne's Administration. — 1815. Jackson's Quarrel with the French in New Orleans — Jackson's Address to VIU CONTENTS. the Militia — General Jackson and the French — Louaillier's Publication — Arrest of Louaillier — Arrest of Judge Hall — Firmness of Duplessis — Arrest of Dick and Hollander — The Militia Disbanded — Jackson on Popularity — Claiborne and Jackson on Bad Terms — Claiborne to Mazu- reau — Claiborne to Jackson — Large Meetings of Citizens — Livingston's Inconsistencies — Trial of Louaillier — Jackson on Martial Ijaw — Martial Law Revoked — Jackson's Farewell Address — The Uniform Companies to Jackson — Jackson to the Uniform Companies — Trial of General Jackson — Jackson's Noble Speech — Jackson's Violent Temper — Federal Compliments to Louisiana — The President's Pardon Proclamation — Claiborne Vindicating Himself— Washington's Advice. . . . 678 SUPPLEMENTAL CHAPTER. 1816—1861. Death of Governor Claiborne — Governor James Villerd — Governor T. Boil ing Robertson — Governor Henry Johnson — Governor Peter Derbigny — Governor A. B. Roman — Governor E. D. White — Governor A. B. Ro man — Governor Alexander Mouton — Governor Isaac Johnson — Govern or Joseph Walker — Governor P. 0. Hebert — Governor Robert C. Wick- liffe — Governor T. 0. Moore — The Doom of Louisiana. . . . 632 HISTORY OF LOUISIANA, AMERICAN DOMINATION. CHAPTER I. SESSION OP LOUISIANA TO THE UNITED STATES — FORMATION OP THE TERRITORIAL GOVERNMENT OP ORLEANS — FEELINGS OF THE IN HABITANTS — DEBATES IN CONGRESS. 1803—1804. On the 20fch of December, 1803, the colony of Louisi ana had passed from the domination of Spain into that of the United States of America, to which it was deliv ered by France after a short possession of twenty days, as I have related in a former work.* Its inhabitants, of French or Spanish descent, and almost all the foreigners who resided in the province, either permanently or tem porarily, were discontented and gloomy. To them the change of government, or nationalitj'^, was extremely dis tasteful, for reasons as various as the habits, tastes, pre judices, passions, disappointments and hopes of each indi vidual. A few Americans, who were almost lost in the vast numei'ical superiority of the rest of the population, and who had just expectations to profit, in every way, by the great event of the cession, were alone to feel and to manifest any degree of exultation. The immediate * History of Louisiana, Spanish Domination. Redfield, Publisher. New rork, 1854. 1 2 EFFECTS OF THE CESSION. [1804, effect of that cession was to vest all the powers of the defunct government (a sort of Gallic and Spanish hybrid) in Governor Claiborne, until Congress should legislate on the organization of the government of the new terri tory. Thus this officer, as he informed the inhabitants in a set proclamation, had suddenly become the Governor- General and the Intendaut of Louisiana, uniting in his person all the autliority severally possessed l)y those two functionaries under the despotic government of Spain. Well might he be astonished at the strange position in which he was placed ; for he, a republican magistrate, found himself transformed into an absolute proconsul, in whom centered all the executive, judicial and legislative authority lately exercised, in their respective capacity, by the superseded Spanish dignitaries. Moreover, he was to wield those extraordinary powers in maintaining and enforcing the laws and municipal regulations of Spain, which were to remain in vigor until modified by the Government of the United States, and of which he was entirely ignorant. Not only were they unknown to him, but they were written in a language with which he was not acquainted, and thcjy were thoroughly impregna ted with a spirit completely foreign to his inclinations — to the atmosphere in which he was born and had grown up to manhood — and to the very moral and political training of his mind. Besides, he was to construe and to execute those laws in their application or adjustment to the wants of a population of which he knew nothing. These were circumstances which could not but startle him by their novelty, and by the danger with which they were fraught. Surely it is not to be wondered at, if the colo nists looked at their new ruler with a jealous eye, and if they awaited with nervous apprehension the course which he was to pursue. He himself must have felt that his situation was such as to require that he should 1804.] FEELINGS OE THE INHABITANTS. 3 tax to the utmost all the knowledge, talent, sagacity, prudence and firmness which he might possess, and that no time was to be lost in his giving a decided manifesta; fcion of his being gifted with these qualifications. His first measure was to organize the judiciary, and he established, on the 30th of December, 1803, a Court of Pleas, composed of seven justices. Their civil juris diction was limited to cases not exceeding in value three thousand dollars, with the right of appeal to the Govern or, when the amount in litigation rose above five hun dred dollars. That tribunal was also vested with juris diction over all criminal cases in which the punishment did not exceed two hundred dollars and sixty days' im prisonment. Each of those seven justices was clothed, individually, with summary jurisdiction over all debts under one hundred dollars, reserving to the parties an appeal to the Court of Pleas, that is, to the seven jus tices, sitting together in one court. In confirmation of what I have written on the discoii' tent existing among those whose allegiance was now to be claimed by the United States, I quote Judge Martin's views on the same subject, as expressed in his History of Louisiana. "The people of Louisiana, especially in New Orleans,"' says this learned jurist, who came to the territory shortly after the cession, "were greatly dissat isfied at the new order of things. They complained that the person whom Congress had sent to preside over them was an utter stranger to their laws, manners and lan guage ; and had no personal interest in the prosperity of the country — that he was incessantly surrounded by new comers fi'ora the United States, to whom he gave a deci ded preference over the Creoles and European French in the distribution of offices — ^that in the new Court ot i'leas, most of the judges of which were ignorant of the laws and language of the country, proceedings were car i ORGANIZATION OF THE TEBEITOET. [1804. ried on in the English language, which Claiborne had lately attempted to introduce in the proceedings of the municipal body, and that the suitors were in an equally disadvantageous situation in the Court of the Last Ee- sort, in which he sat as sole judge, not attended, as the Spanish Governors were, by a legal adviser. That the errors in which he could not but help falling* were without redress. They urged that, under the former government, an appeal lay from the Governor's decision to the Captain-General of Cuba, from thence to the Royal Audience in that island, and in many cases from thence to the Council of the Indies at Madrid." Thus Claiborne was at the same time the Governor, the intend aut and the supreme judge of Louisiana. There could not be under the sun a more perfect despotism. It is true that this state of things did not last beyond the time which was strictly necessary for Congress to modify it. On the 26th of March, 1804, an act was passed to organize the newly acquired province, and to divide it into two parts : the one called "-Territory of Orleans," and the other " District of Louisiana," and their executive, judicial and legislative organization was provided for.f But that act was so framed that it proved to be a fresh source of discontent, instead of a healing ointment on festering wounds. The severing of Louisiana into two distinct fragments turned out to be a very unpopular measure, and was keenly resented by tlie old population. It had always been a unit in the hands of France and Spain. Now that it was Telieved from the burden of its colonial vassalage, and was prom ised the speedy possession of sovereignty, it should not have been afflicted, in the opinion of the Louisianians, with * Considering that he was administering Spanish laws, which he hardly coiniirehendcd. -j- See the Appendix. 1804.'! POWERS OF GOVERNOR CLAIBORNE. 5 this odious partition, which was evidently destined, they thought, to diminish their importance, and to retard the advent of that sovereignty which had become the object of their desires. They maintained that Congress had no right to curtail Louisiana of the magnificent proportions which it possessed when ceded, and that it was with those proportions, and not in a state of mutilation, that it was to be received into the Confederacy, as soon as possible, according to the very terms of the treaty of cession. The Louisianians, who had objected to the immense power possessed by Claiborne as Governor, intendaut and judge in the last resort, did not think that a suffi cient guarantee had been given to them by the slight change made in the recent act of Congress for the organi zation of the Territory. Thus, by that act, the Supreme Court had been made to consist of three judges, it is true, but one of them was sufficient to constitute the court; so that, according to cii'cumstances, the change might amount only to this : that one man, called " Judge," could dispossess them of their property, tarnish their honor, and hang them at will, instead of the man for merly called " Governor." There was another feature in that act which was ex ceedingly unpalatable. It was the prohibition to import slaves, except by those American citizens who should come to settle in good faith in the Territory, with such slaves as they owned in their former domicile. This was looked upon as a blow purposely aimed at the old inhabi tants, who, by such legislation, were deprived of the means of increasing that manual labor which was so much needed for the development of their resources. It may not be amiss to state that a Convention " for pro. moting the abolition of slavery and improving the con dition of the African race," had assembled at Philadel 6 ACT OF CONGRESS ABOUT SLAVERY. [1804 phia on the 13th of January, and had called, through "resolutions," submitted to Congress on the 26th of that month, the attention of that body " to the utility and propriety of passing such laws as should prohibit the importation of slaves into the Territory of Orleans." They appealed to the solemn declaration made by the United States, that "all men were born free and equal," and hence they argued, "that our Government could not authorize man to enslave unoffending man," Such was their language. They also urged other magnilo quent considerations which have become familiar to the American mind, from the persevering zeal with which they have ever since been pressed into the service of ambitious demagogues, or of praiseworthy patriots and philanthropists, according to the different views taken of the subject by their respective friends and supporters. Be it as it may, on this occasion, the importation of slaves was j»artially prohibited in conformity with the wishes of the petitioners against slavery. The Louisian ians were greatly mortified. They thought that it was an encouragement to further interference, and some pre dicted that it was but an entering-wedge. There was also in that act a provision which excited the ire of the former colonists. It was one which de clared that certain concessions of lands made by the Spanish Government were " null and void." This was considered as a demonstration of hostility, and as a threatening indication that something else would soon he forthcoming in violation of what the Louisianians believed to be their rights and privileges. An intense anxiety was produced by the authority granted to the President of the United States to appoint " Registers and Recorders of Land Titles," who were to receive and to record all titles acquired under the Spanish and French Governments, and also commissioned to take J '^04,] laussat's DISPATCH. 7 cognizance of all claims to land, and to decide on them ill a summary way, and with such proceedings as they might deem best to adopt — which proceedings and decis ions were to be reported to the Secretary of the Treas ury, and laid before Congress for their final judgment. The people thought that this was a complicated machin ery to dispossess them of all their broad and fertile acres. They trembled at the consequences which they foresaw — such as arbitrary spoliations, or ruinous litiga tion, with an endless train of troubles and vexations which were dolefully predicted to them by those who pretended to read the dark pages of futurity. Such was the state of feelings which prevailed among the former subjects of Spain and France, when the Colo nial Prefect Laussat, who had been the agent of France in delivering the territory to the United States, and who had remained in it several months after the cession, de parted for the island of Martinique, not without having addressed to his Government some interesting observa tions, which show that he sagaciously appreciated, to a certain extent at least, some of the results which were to follow from the cession, at no distant time. " The Ameri cans," he said, "have given fifteen millions of dollars for Louisiana ; they would have given fifty, rather than not possess it. They will receive one million of dollars for duties at the custom-house in New Orleans during the present year,— a sum exceeding the interest of the money they have paid for the acquisition, without taking into consideration the value of the very great quantity of va cant lands. As to the twelve years during which our vessels are to be received on the footing of national ones, they present but an illusive prospect, considering the war,* and the impossibility of our being able to enter into competition with their merchantmen. Besides, all will • Tlio war of Franco with England, -^ 8 HIS VIEWS AND PREDICTIONS. [1804 in a short time turn to the advantage of Englisli manu factures, on account of the great facility which this place will exclusively enjoy, from its situation, to supply the Spanish colonies as far as the Equator, In a few years, the country, as far as Rio Bravo, will be in a state of cul tivation. New Orleans will then have a population of about thirty to fifty thousand souls ; and the new ter ritory will produce sugar enough for the supply of North America and part of Europe, Let us not blind ourselves ; in a few years the existing prejudices will be worn off; the inhabitants will graduallj^ become Americans by the introduction of native Americans and Englishmen — a system already begun. Many of the present inhabitants will leave the country in disgust ; those who have large fortunes will retire to the mother-country ; a great pro portion will remove into the Spanish settlements, and the remaining few will be lost among the new-comers. Should no fortunate amelioration of political events inter vene, what a magnificent New France have we lost ! Thf Creoles and French established here unite in favor of France, and cannot be persuaded that the convention for the cession of Louisiana is anything but a political trick ; they think that it will return under the dominion of France."* It is important to remark, for the better understanding of the history of Louisiana, in its future develo])ments, that the representative of France seemed to admit the possibilitj' of what he mysteriously and quaintly called " the intervention of a fortunate amelio ration of political events," by which the territory which his country had reluctantly relinquished might be recov ered, and that the Creoles and the European French re maining in that territory thought that the cession was a "political trick," and that they, would return "undei the dominion of France." * Martia'a History of Louisiana, 2d vol., p. 244. 1804,] laussat's DlSPA'l'Cn. 9 Before his departure, Laussat caused to be distributed among such of the inhabitants of Louisiana as had shown themselves most zealous in favor of the French Govern ment, as a feeble testimonial of the satisfaction and good will of that Government, seven hundred and sixty-five pounds of powder, which, " being French," he said," was much appreciated by the inhabitants, who are ardent sportsmen."* In another dispatch, he gives the most graphic descrip tion of the condition in which he leaves the ceded prov ince, and comments hai'shly on the organization of the territorial government, which was to go into operation on the 1st of October, in compliance with the act of Con gress passed on the 26th of March, He also reflects in no measured terms on the blunders which he attributes to the agents of the new proprietors of Louisiana, in taking possession of their magnificent acquisition. " The Louisianians," he writes, " have seen themselves, with much regret, rejected for the second time from the bosom of their mother-country. At first, on their being made aware of that event, their interpretations of the cession and their comments on it showed but too clearly the extreme bitterness of their discontent. In this dis position they were secretly encouraged by the Spaniards, who, besides, were marvelously assisted by the natural antipathy which the Louisianians entertain for the Americans. "Nevertheless, on the approach of the change of domi nation, partly From the love of novelty, partly from the hope of those advantages which were depicted to them, and perhaps also from a forced resignation to a fate which they could not avoid, they had become tolerably well disposed toward passing under the Government of the United States. • Chasseurs passionn^s. See the Appendix. 10 AFFRAYS AND TUMULTS. [180*' " But hardly had the agents of that Government taken the reins in hand, when they accumulated errors on er rors, and blunders on blunders. I will refrain from enumerating them in detail to Your Excellency, Citizeii Minister, but I vrill only, in a few words, mention the leading characteristics of their administration, such as the ' sudden introduction of the English language, which hardly anybody understands, into the daily exercise of public authority, and in the most important acts of private life — the affrays and tumults resulting from the struggle for pre-eminence, and the preference shown for American over French dances at public balls — the invasion of bayonets into the halls of amusement and the closing of the balls — the active participation of the American General and of the Governor in those quarrels — the inconsiderate proceedings which ensued — the revolt ing partiality exhibited in favor of native Americans or of Englishmen, both in the audiences granted by the author. itieKS and in the judgments rendered — the marked sub stitution of American to Creole majorities in all adminis trative and judicial bodies — the arbitrary mixture of old usages with new ones, under tlic pretext of a change of domination — the intemperate speeches — the injurious precautions — the bad advisers* — ^the scandalous orgies — ^the savage manners and habits — the wretched appoint ments to office — what more shall I say. Citizen Minister ? It was hardly possible that the Government of the United States should have a worse beginning, and that it should have sent two meuf more. deficient in the proper requi sites to conciliate the hearts of the Louisianians. The first, with estimable qualities as a private man, has little intellect, J a good deal of awkwardness, and is extremely beneath the position in which he has been placed. The * Mauvais entourage. f Governor Claiborne and Gdneral Wilkinson. i Peu de moyens et beaucoup de gaucheria [1804. UNPOPULARITY OF THE CESSION. 11 iiecoiid, who has been long known * here in the most unfavorable manner, is a rattle-headed fellow, full of odd fantasies,! He is frequently drunk, and has com mitted a hundred inconsistent and impertinent acts. Neither the one nor the other understands one word of French, or Spanish, They have, on all occasions, and without the slightest circumspection, shocked the habits, the prejudices and the natural dispositions of the inhab itants of this country. The gazettes of Philadelphia have lately published, I do not know by what mistake, a confidential dispatch of Govei'nor Claiborne to President Jefferson, in which he speaks of the Louisianians as of ignorant but kindly disposed beings, in the treatment of whom everything could be dared with impunity, and who, unable to appreciate the value of the American institutions, are not susceptible of self-government. "As if it were to drive them into extiemities, copies of the late act of Congress to organize the Territory have recently been brought to their perusal Your Excellency might hear on all sides the utterance of such sentiments as these : 'Is it in this way that we are secured tlie benefits that were to result to us from the cession of Louisiana by France ? Ai'e these the liberties of which she seemed to have guarantied to us the pres ervation by an express clause of the treaty ? Is it thus that she calls us to the enjoyment of the rights, advan tages and immunities of citizens of the United States?'" Laussat further speaks of the excitement as being so intense, that, at night, placards, in which insurrection was openly preached, were put up at all the corners of the streets. Crowds gathered round and copied them, pre venting also their being torn away. Even public officers who attempted it were driven off. In the country, par- "¦ Connu ici de longue main sous de vUains rapports. f Un brise raison & boutades. 12 laussat's dispatch, 1804.1 ticularly in the districts of the Attakapas and of the 0])elousas, which were the most populous, and which, says Laussat, " had always distinguished themselves by their ardent love for France," the' dispositions which were manifested were not more favorable. " I contented myself," continues Laussat, " with observing everything in silence, or if I was provoked into breaking it at all, I did so by speaking in favor of the treaty of cession, and by representing that henceforth it would be impossible to do away with such an act. It is what the Louisian ians absolutely refuse to be convinced of. They com placently feed on the idea that the First Consul has merely yielded to temporary circumstances, but that when peace shall come, and when he shall have humbled the insolence of Great Britain, he will recede from the treaty of cession. They arrange tliis political question in their own way, and they firmly adhere to what they have thus settled in their own minds. They make no concealment of it ; they have expressed on the subject their sentiments to me, and also to the Governor, and to the American General " With regard to myself, Citizen Minister, I am very far from having such a belief. It is a dream, which I do not rank among the things which are possible. I think on the contrary, that Louisiana being once emancipated from her colonial fetters, it would be unnatural to expect that she should ever willingly resume them and give up her new position." He then asserts that the animosity which prevailed at the time against the Government of the United States would soon die away, unless unskillfully kept alive by the faults of the Administration. " These people,'' he added, " are naturally gentle and docile, although touchy, proud and brave. Besides, they are few in number, and scattered about, without experience, and 1804.] laussat's dispatch. 13 without any^ rallying-point. The Spanish GoVtjrnment made it its policy to keep them entirely disconnected with public affairs, which it has accustomed them to consider with indifference, and even with a sort of abne gation. The Louisianians will not for a long time re cover from such a training, and in the mean while they will gradually make up their minds to their change of circumstances, because, although their new chiefs should go astray and commit blunders, yet there are advan tages inherent to the Constitution and to the situation of the United States, of whi(;h it is impossible to pre vent these people from experiencing the salutary in fluence. "But, on the other side, if this country is entirely abandoned to the impulsion which will be given to it, I consider it from this time as no longer existing for France. The Americans in general detest us. Those amongst them who have the least of English nature in them, are more English than French, notwithstanding their hypocritical and pompous protestations. There is ' not a day on which they have not proved it to me here. Add to this disposition on their part the temptations offered them by the resources of English commerce. There is no doubt that Louisiana is a vast field which England will work to its own profit This probable turn of affaii's might be counteracted by the innate attachment and the natural sympathy of the Louisianians for France, but one of the most prompt effects of the change of domination will be a complete revolution in the elements composing the population of this country. In less than ten years the greater portion of what is now considered as private property will have changed hands. Cause will be given to the old colonists to be disgusted with their new condition ; they will be set aside, expropriated and expelled. The Government 14 secession of the western states, [1804, of tho United States is not blind to the fact that Lower Louisiana is the key which answers for the security of their finest and most extensive possessions. They will have no rest until they shall have succeeded, either by open force, or by secret and skillful contrivances, in put ting that key in the hands of full-hearted and full- blooded Americans, " If our Govei-nment should ever look back to this country, it should be, in my opinion, only with a view of entirely detaching the Western States from the rest of the Confederacy. Such a scheme, far from being ex travagant, would have, on the contrary, innumerable chances of success. Time alone will one day bring on this scission. But what is important for the French Re public is, that this scission be operated under the pro tection of France, and whilst generations of Frenchmen and French spirit retain their ascendency in these regions. The consequences of such a revolution would then turn infinitely to the advantage of our nation, and Louisiana, in such a state of political independence and filial alli ance, would be to France of a far more inestimable value than the most important colonies," To those who may become familiar with what I have related in my work on the "Spanish Domination in Louisiana," and in the preceding pages, and with what I shall recite in the sequel of this history, the famous Bui-r conspiracy, which was to convulse the public mind two years after, and which has remained to this day a mooted mystery, may not appear an altogether baseless fabric. General Wilkinson, who was destined to act in it a conspicuous part, and who had been commissioned, jointly with Claiborne, to take possession of Louisiana, departed a short time after Laussat, and sailed for New York, leaving the few companies of the United States troops which he had brought with him, distributed at 1804.] THE LOUISIAIirA BANK. 16 the following points : New Orleans, Natchitoches, Pointe Coupee and Fort Adams. Nothing is more apt to produce discontent in any community than the want of a circulating medium ; and where discontent exists from any other sources, nothing is more powerful in contributing to bring it to its climax than this very cause. So it was in Louisiana at that time. The distress in the province had become very great from the scarcity of money. The flow of silver from Vera Cruz, which was so refreshing under the Spanish Government, had ceased with the change of do minion, and Spain showed no prompt disposition to re deem a large quantity of paper which she had set afloat in the late colony under the name of "liberanzas," and which had fallen into considerable depreciation. It be came necessary to find a remedy for the evil, and Clai borne sought it in the establishment of a bank styled " The Louisiana Bank," with a capital which was sus ceptible of extension to two millions of dollars. Were the people pleased ? Not in the least. On the contrary, this measure excited lively apprehensions. A Bank! Such an institution was entirely new to them. Many thought that it would turn out to be nothing else but legalized robbery. Was it not to issue paper money, and had they not already greatly suffered from the deprecia tion of French and Spanish paper ? What better results could be expected from American paper 1 They believed it to be the renewal of what the " assignats" had been in the worst times of the French Republic, Hence the general impression was, that the country would be ulti mately ruined, rather than benefited, by the newly de vised plan of relief The militia, which was quite a respectable corps under the Spanish Government — which Laussat had partially, and with considerable difficulty, succeeded in keeping 16 condition of the militia, [1804, together — and which Claiborne had been attempting to retain in existence, had at last become entirely disorgan ized. On the other hand, most of the individuals who were flocking from all parts of the United States, had eagerly formed themselves into companies of various de nominations, under the cheerfully granted patronage of Claiborne, who hoped that it would stimulate some of the natives to enroll themselves. But such was not the case. They stood apart, and looked with sullen displeas ure on the new military associations, of which they were keenly jealous. Resenting the conduct of the late colonists, the Americans showed perhaps a want of policy in parading, more than was necessary, through the streets of New Orleans, with ostentatious display, and with what was thought to be an expression of defiance. The dissatisfaction was increased, a more marked estrange ment from the new order of things ensued, and a line still more distinct was drawn between the two populations. But these causes of discontent paled before those which arose from the 4th section of the act providing for the temporary government of the Territory of Orleans. By that section they were flatly denied any participa tion whatever in that government, as the members of their Legislative Council were to be annually selected by the President, and as all the other civil and military officers were to be appointed either by the President or by the Governor, who were authorized to choose them, if they should deem it advisable, from among those who had resided only one year in the province, and who were therefore utter strangers to the old. population.* Thus it is seen that Congress was then very far from suspect ing that there could exist any sovereignty whatever in * As to the Legislative Council, that body could not even take the initiativii In legislation, but was only to deliberate on such subjects as might he laid be fore them by Claiborne. 1804.] PUBLIC MEETINGS. 17 territories, not even that squattei* sovereignty which has since become so famous in the vocabulary of politicians. At last, the dissatisfaction rose to such a pitch that it manifested itself in open and public acts. In the name of some of the most influential merchants of the city and of the wealthiest and. most respected planters in its neighborhood, a public meeting was called for the 1st of June, in which it was unanimously determined to apply to Congress for the repeal of so much of their late act as related to the partition of Louisiana and the re striction on the importation of slaves. It was further resolved to ask for the immediate admission of Louisiana, in its original entirety, into the Union, in accordance with what was deemed the obvious intention of the treaty of cession. A committee was appointed to prepare and submit to the next public meeting the draft of a memo rial to Congress. That committee was composed of Jones and Livingston, Americans, Pitot, a Frenchman, and Petit, a Creole. The second meeting, which was held in the beginning of July, was much more numerous than the first, and an enthusiastic approval was given to the- report of the committee. Twelve individuals were cho sen to circulate copies of it in the parishes and to pro cure the signatures of the most notable inhabitants, without forgetting, at the same time, to collect voluntary contributions for paying the expenses of the deputies who were to be sent to Washington City with their list of grievances and their memorial for redress. The last and third meeting took place on the 18th of July. A deputation of three was resolved upon, and its members were : Derbigny and Sauve, European French, and Des- trehan, a native of Louisiana. It is evident that, in this choice, the Louisianians were guided more by their sense of outraged dignity and violated rights, than by prudential considerations of policy.. Violent prejudices 2 18 INSURRECTION ABOVE MANCHAO, [1804 were to be removed ; and in order to obtain this object; three deputies, with French habits, French minds and a French tongue, could not be called a judicious selection. In the mean time, if the inhabitants below Manchac and on the right bank of the Mississippi, were adverse to the change which had taken place in their destinies by the transfer of their allegiance from the French flag to the flag of the United States, the population of that dis trict included in the present parishes of West and East Feliciana and of East Baton Rouge, being of English descent, and composed of settlers who had originally come from the old Thirteen States, were extremely anxious for annexation to the kindred race from which they had b»en severed, as Spain still retained possession of the territory in which they lived, and refused to ac knowledge that it was comprehended within the cession. They were incensed at the omission, on the part of the commissioners of the United States, to claim them as an integral portion of the recent acquisition, and at theii' abstaining to enforce that claim by physical means if necessary. In the hope of giving a pretext for an inter vention in their behalf, or under the belief that they could achieve for themselves the liberation which they desired, they raised the standard of revolt against the Spanish authorities ; they assembled to the number of about two hundred men, and resolved to attack the Spanish fort at Baton Rouge. But it was an ill-con certed scheme; some disagreement took place among the leaders, who had to give up the enterprise, and who took refuge across the line in the Mississippi ter- ritory. Such of their followers as relied for protection on their obscurity, or insignificancy, returned peacefully to tlieir respective homes.* * T'he repression of this insurrection cost the Spanish Government a pretty Bonsidorable outlay. As soon as the news reached Pensacola, Governor Folcli 1804.] KEMPER AND HIS FOLLOWERS. 1^ This insurrection had been preceded by one which had been headed by Kemper, one of the most redoubtable enemies of the Spaniards. To compel the release of some of his friends imprisoned by the Government which he hated, he had seized the persons of Don Vincente Pintado, a militia captain, and of the Alcalde Juan Ocono, and was threatening to attack the fort at Baton Rouge. Order was restored without blood shed by the prudence and firmness of the ex-governor of Louisiana, Marquis of Casa Calvo, who was still lingering in the territory, and who sent troops and an armed vessel to the seat of these disturbances.* On the 1st of October, the territorial government which had been decreed by the act of Congress of the 26th of March, went into operation, with Clairborne as Governor, and Brown as Secretaiy. Bore, Bellechasse, Oantrelle, Clark, De Buys, Dow, Jones, Kenner, Morgan, Poydras, Roman, Watkins and Wikoff had been appointed members of the Legislative Council by the President. Duponceau, a Frenchman, who subsequently obtained great celebrity in Philadelphia as a jurist, Kii'by, and Prevost, a stepson, I believe, of Vice-President Aaron Burr, were appointed Judges of the Superior Court. D. Hall, an Englishman by birth, was commissioned District Judge of the United States, with Mahlon Dickens as District Attorney, and Lebreton D'Orgenoy as Marshal, Duponceau declined, Kirby died, and Prevost opened the first territorial court, alone, on the 9th of November. departed at the head of 150 men, of infantry and cavalry, and soon reached Bayou Manchac through the lakes. But he found that tranquillity had been restored by the efforts of Governor Grandpre. (See the dispatch of Intendaut Morales to Miguel Cayetano Soler, one of the Spanish ministers, dated New Or leans, Sept. 26th, 1804, and also the same to the same, October 81st, 1804 State Archives, Baton Rouge.) * Morales to Cayetano Soler, 19th August, 1804. State Archives at Baton Rouge. 20 OPPOSITION to the government, [1804, Bon'i, Bellechasse, Jones and Clark had been the loader i of the opposition which had arisen in the territory ; they had acted the most conspicuous part in the meetings of the inhabitants ; they had been the most zealous in stim ulating their fellow-citizens to remonstrate against the form of government which had been forced upon them ; they could not, therefore, with any consistency, aid in establishing that very government against which they had protested, and they declined accepting the proffered seats in the Legislative Council. On the 8th of October, Jones wrote on the subject to Governor Claiborne a very spirited letter, in which he said : " I cannot accept of any office under a law of which I have, from the beginning, so openly expressed my disapprobation, and which, for the happiness of my fellow-citizens, forgive me if I add, for the honor of my native country, I ardently wish to be annulled. " When calm reflection shall have taken the place of passion and of party spirit, I flatter myself that my con duct on the present occasion will be approved. I was born an American. I glory in the name. In defence of that happy land which gave me birth my life and my fortune shall always be staked, but I cannot consent, for any consideration, to do an act which I think subversive of the rights and liberties of my fellow-citizens." This refusal to take their seats, on the part of these gentlemen, had considerable influence on the other mem bers, who held back in dubious suspense, without declin ing, but without accepting. Two months nearly elapsed, and no council could be formed, notwithstanding the incessant efforts of Claiborne to soothe and conciliate the refractory tempers he had to deal with. What was to be done in this perplexing emergency ? It happened that the President, not knowing the first names of the persons whom he had selected, had contented himself 1804,] JUDICIAL ORGANIZATION. 21 with designating them by their surnames, and had sent blank commissions to be filled on the spot. Claiborne, thinking himself authorized by the necessity of the case, and anxious to avoid the mischief which would have resulted from fui'ther delay, assumed the responsibility of appointing Dorciere, Flood, Mather and Pollock in the place of the four gentlemen who had declined the President's appointment.* In this way a mere quorum was obtained on the 4th of December.f The Territory was divided by this Legislative Council into twelve counties, with an Inferior Court for each, composed of one judge, and the practice therein was pro vided for, as well as in the Superior Court. Suits were to be instituted by a petition in the form of a bill in chancery. These words, " A bill in Chancery," grated strangely on the ears of the old inhabitants of Louisiana. What was meant by chancery ? What was a bill in chancery? The attempt to enlighten them on the subject would have been ludicrously futile; hardly any one would have understood the explanation, and no ex planation or instruction was sought, or given. The definition of crimes and the mode of prosecution in crim inal cases, according to the common law of England, * Martin's History of Louisiana, p. 252, 2d vol. f Julien Poydras, of Pointe Coupee, one of the most influential and wealthiest men in the Territory, had greatly contributed by his efforts to the formation of the Council. In his letter of acceptance to Claiborne he had used this lan guage : " The President of the United States having appointed me a coun cilor, I conceive it a duty to accept. If those who have great interest in the country should decline serving it when called upon, their conduct would be unwarrantable. I could offer many plausible excuses, such as age, insufliciency of talents, self-interest, &c. But in so doing I should not act the part of a patriot. A beginning must be made ; we must be initiated into the sacred duties of freemen and the practices of liberty." This reasoning, however, had no iuflunnce on Cantrelle, who also refused a seat in the Council. Commenting on the course ])uvRued by Poydras, Governor Claiborne said : " His acceptance is a fortunate occuircnce, and his conduct and reasoning form a happy contrast to the part acted by Jones, Clark and others." 22 ADOPTION OF LAWS, [1804 were adopted, and were not more intelligible to the people. Common Law 1 What was it ? They were told that it was " unwritten law." Unwritten law ! That, indeed, was something new under the sun for those who had always been governed by precise laws, regulations and or dinances ! How could law be unwritten 1 Where was it to be found ? They were answered, it was " that law which draws its binding force from immemorial usage and universal reception in England." Is it to be wondered at if they shook theirs heads in utter bewilderment ? But when it was added, for a clearer elucidation of the matter, that they might, if they pleased, take it to be " a body of rules, principles and customs, which derived their authority and sanctity from their filtration for centuries through the thick strata of successive British generations, and which, originating in natural justice and equity, or local customs, were only to be evidenced by the records of judicial decisions scattered through hundreds of vol umes written in a language which they did not compre hend, the only distinct impression which such an expla nation left on their minds was, tliat the common law was the most unfathomable of all laws, and some mysterious and complicated engine of oppression, which would cer tainly be used to their detriment. They much better understood the provision which was made for the in spection of flour, pork and beef They also understood the charter of incorporation which was given to the city of New Orleans, and other acts relating to the formation of a public library and to the establishment of naviga tion and insurance companies. The creation of a uni versity, which was intrusted with the locating of schools in each county, was also within their comprehension ; but as no appropriation of funds was made for those seminaries of learning, the people were sadly puzzled to discover how the views of the Legislature were to be 1804.] GOVERNOR CLAIBORNE. 23 carried into execution for the education of their children. Some may have thought that the " Common Law," in its amplitude, had provided for the statutory omission, and that some relief for the projected schools might be found in a " chancery bill." But vain was the hope, if it ever existed ; and this first attempt to educate the population proved an absolute failure. The Council adjourned in February, 1805, after having appointed a committee to prepare a civil and a criminal code, with the assistance of two professional men, for whose remuneration five thousand dollars were appro priated. A moderate remuneration for such a work, if worthily done 1 After this sketch of the proceedings of the Council, it will not be out of place to make a rapid review of the acts of the Governor. As before stated, the new terri torial organization went into operation on the 1st of October, and Claiborne was sworn into office* on the 3d of that month, by Pitot, mayor of the city. On that very day, giving information of the fact to Mr. Madison, Secretary of State, he said, " Mr. Brown, Secretary of the Territory, is at Natchez, and does not propose adventur ing into New Orleans until about the close of this month ; and I think this is a very wise precaution, for the city is not yet free from that dreadful scourge, the yellow fever," In the proclamation which he issued a few days after, to convene the Legislature, he used this language : "In the course of my late administration, which, from a variety of circumstances, was accompanied with peculiar difficul ties, 1 received fi'om the officers, civil and military, a zealous and able co-operation in all measures for the public good, and from the people in general an indul gence and support which encouraged harmony and in- * Claiborne's dispatch to Madison, on the Bd of October, 1804, 24 SPANISH INTRIGUES. [1804, sured the supremacy of the law." This document must have been very acceptable to the Louisianians, for it put them in possession of a direct official contradiction, proceeding from the best and most authentic source, of those offensive suppositions and apprehensions which had been entertained against them by that Congress who had voted the odious territorial organization to which they were to be subjected after the 1st of Oc tober. Ou the 1 8th of August, Mr. Madison had written to Claiborne* that the contin^ance and conduct of the Spanish officers at New Orleans justlj-- excited attention ; that, in every view, it was desirable that those foreign ers should be no longer in a situation to affront the au thority of the United States, or to mingle by their in trigues in the affairs of the Territory ; and that the 1st of October, the day fixed for the inauguration of the ter ritorial government, would be an epoch which might bo used for letting it to be understood that their stay, so much beyond the right and the occasion for it, was not seen with approbation, leaving the mode and man ner of the intimation to the discreet judgment of the Governor. In answer to this communication, Claiborne wrote on the 5th of October : " There is no doubt with me but that the Spanish officers encourage the discon tents which arise here," and on the 9th he hastenedf to communicate to the Marquis of Casa Calvo the instruc tions he had received from the Secretary of State in re lation to his desired departure and that of his followers. An able pamphlet,;}; written in French, and entitled * state Archives at Baton Rouge. ] State Papers at Baton Rouge. 1f Esquisse de la situation politique et civile de la Louisiane depuis le 30 Noviiinbre 1808 jusqu'au ler Octobre 1804, par un Louisianais. Diverse interei luiscentur majnia Luctu. Virg. .SLiieid. A la Nouvelle Orleans, de I'imprimoria 3u 'I'elegraphe, cliez Beleui'gey et Ronard, rue Bourbon. 1804,] A POLITICAL PAMPHLET, 25 " A Sketch of the Political and Civil Situation of Louisi ana from the 30th of November, 1803, to the 1st of Oc tober, 1804, by a Louisianian," had been widely circula ted, and had produced so great a sensation, that Claiborne thought it of sufficient importance to make it the subject of a special communication to Mr. Madison. This pamphlet contained an almost complete review of all the grieveances of which the Louisianians complained, and the tone of moderation and conviction in which it was conceived added to its force and effect. It attacked unsparingly the conduct of the American Government and some of the acts of Claiborne. But, at the same time, it spoke respectfully of that magistrate's character, and rendered unequivocal justice to his integrity and to the purity of his intentions. This is the more lemarka- ble, from the fact that the excitement then prevailing among all the c'.asses of that population for whose peru sal it was intended had been carried to its utmost point of intensity. Claiborne's communication* to Madison is an elaborate vindication of himself against the charges specified in the pamphlet, and if not a refutation, it is at least a positive denial of many of. the assertions con tained in it, and in a document of which, however, he was ignorant, — that is, the dispatch of Laussat to the French Government on the state of the late colony, and which is inserted in the preceding pages. Claiborne's defence seems imbued with the spirit of a man who is conscious of having done nothing but what was right; and in perusing it, the reader can hardly refrain from coming to the conclusion that the Governor, whether correct or not in his views, was at least in earnest, and believed every line which he wrote. On the 19th of October, as an instance of the inflam- * Claiborne to Madison, 10th of October, 1804, p. 8 of the Executive JournaJ at Baton Rouge, vol. 1. 26 POPULAR EXCITEMENT, [1804. mable temper of the population, Claiborne informed Madison that a private affair —the caning of a French man in the street by an Englishman — had nearly pro duced a very serious affray, in which the Americans had sided with the Englishman, and the French or those of French extraction with his adversary, "This city," he said, "requires a strict police; the inhabitants are of various descriptions, many highly respectable, and some of them very degenerate. Great exertions have been made (and with too much success) to foment differences between the native Americans and the native Louisian ians — every incident is laid hold of to widen the breach, and to excite jealousy and confusion — the in trigues of certain late emigrants from France, and some of the satellites of the Spanish Government, have tended considerably to heighten the discontents in this quarter. Everything in my power has been done to counteract these intrigues, but with little success. The fact is, that the affections of many of the Louisian ians for their mother-country are warm, and others seem attached to the Spanish Government. I have to complain also of some of the native Americans ; they are rash, and very imprudent. The newspaper publications likewise add to my embarrassments ; they give inquietude to the Louisianians and trouble to me. The present state of things here mortifies me excessively, but I hope that good order will be preserved, and harmony soon restored. These objects shall constitute my first and greatest cares." Another of his communications to the Secretary of State at Washington, dated on the 26th of the same month, contains these sagacious observations : " Although there has been much discontent manifested in New Orleans and its vicinity, yet I do not believe that the disaffection is of a serious nature, or that it is ex tensive. That some difficulty should attend the intro 1804.] GOVERNOR OLAIBORNe's VINDICATION, 27 duction of American government and laws, was to have been expected. On every change of dominion, discon tents, more or less, invariably ensue ; and, when we take into view the various and rapid transitions and transfers which have taken place in this territory, we may indeed felicitate ourselves on the great share of good order which has been preserved. The most arbitrary govern ments find advocates, and the most unprincipled despot is seldom without friends. When despotism reigns, silence (produced by fear) is received as the test of con tentment, and a tame submission to injustice as proof of the public sanction. Had an administration, rigid, coercive and unjust, been introduced into the ceded terri tory, under the authority of the United States, I am per suaded there would have been less murmuring, and a delusive appearance of popular approbation. But und^r a mild and just government, which admits of freedom of speech and of opinion, the man, indeed, must be little acquainted with human nature who would expect to find in Louisiana union in expression and sentiment." On the next day, in another communication which he intended to be in justification of his course of adminis tration, he observed ; " My object has been to avail the public of the services of the well-informed and deserving citizens, and as there are many native Americans of this description residing in Louisiana, it ought not to be a matter of surprise that some of them should have re ceived offices. The ancient Louisianians hold as many appointments as their numbers and qualifications entitle them to, and therefore they ought not to complain." On the 3d of November, Claiborne received the in formation that a vessel, with near two hundred French men on board, who had been prisoners of war to the British Government, but who had successfully risen against their captors on the high seas, had entered the 28 TWO HUNDRED FUENCIIMEN ORDERED AWAY, 18M Mississipi)i, with the design of coming up to New Or leans with their prize.* He immediately wrote to Capt. Samuel Davis : " If this statement be con-ect, no refuge or shelter can be given in any port of this Territory to the said vessel, and she must depart as soon as possible. You will therefore proceed immediately to Plaquemine, where you will find that vessel detained, and ascertain how far the statement made to me be true. If you find that the vessel is a prize, or that she was captured in the manner described, you will hand the letter herein in closed to the person who shall appear to have command of said vessel, and urge her immediate departure." On the same day, giving infofmation of this fact to Madison, he said : " I determined that, under the treaty, it would be improper to permit this vessel to find an asylum here, and I was further convinced that the sudden arrival of so many Frenchmen in this city (whose habits and situation are not, probably, calculated to render them ustiful members of society) might disturb the harmony of our community." But Claiborne's intentions were completely defeated. The two hundred Frenchmen who had captured the vessel had no idea of going back to sea in her, and many of them deserted her and found their way to the city. Finally, she and her cargo were seized by the U. S. Marshal at the request of British claimants, and the case had to be adjudicated upon by judicial authority. As to those Frenchmen who had thus made their escape, (Jlaiborne wrote to Madison, " that they had already proved themselves unworthy members of society, and that he was therefore the more desirous to prevent the men remaining on board from landing." f The arrival of those two hundred Frenchmen with * Claiborne to Davis, 3d November, 1804, j). 21, Executive Journal, vol. 1. f Claiborne to Madison, 15th Nov., 1804, p. 27. Do. 1804,] GARCIA AND MORGAN. 20 the vessel " Hero," which they had captured, to the great contentment of the Louisianians, who had no friendly feelings for the English, had produced some degree of agitation, which was greatly increased by another in cident. On the 15th of November, the Sheriff, Louis .Kerr, had received an order from the Superior Court to hold to bail Captain Manuel Garcia, a Spanish officer, at the suit of D. B. Morgan, in the sum of six hundred dollars and upward. Morgan was a native citizen of the United States, and had been for some time past em ployed as a surveyor for Spain in West Florida. For some cause or' other he had been arrested by the Spanish authorities on Spanish ground, and with the property in his possession had been put on board of a Spanish galley commanded by Garcia and bound to Pensacola. On her way down the lakes, the galley anchored at the mouth of Bayou St. John, from which Morgan made his escape to New Orleans. On his arrival, he applied to Folch, the Governor of Florida, who was then in New Orleans on his way to Pensacola, in order to obtain the restoration of his property, which was detained on board of the galley. But his application not having been at tended to, Morgan had recourse to judicial process against Garcia, who also happened to have come to the city, and against whom a writ was issued. This Spanish officer, on his being waited upon by the Sheriff, refused to be taken into his custody, or in lieu thereof, to give bail, although several gentlemen offered to go security for him. He declined their services, on the ground that such were his orders from his superior officers, and de clared that he would submit only to force. He requested. however, the Sheriff to await the arrival of Governor Folch, whom he had sent for and expected every moment 'I'o this the Sheriff ga\e his assent ; but Governor Folch, being confined to his room by indisposition, sent his son, 30 ARREST OF GARCIA. [1804 who directed Captain Garcia not to give bail, and to resist by force any attempt to remove him from the house in which he was. This youth was excited, and in giving these orders, used some intemperate language. By this time the room in which this scene took place had become crowded, principally by Spaniards, many of whom were armed. The Sheriff was about ordering in a few men whom he had left in the street, when he was entreated to desist a few minutes longer, and to see Governor Claiborne, the Marquis of Casa Calvo and Governor Folch, between whom it was presumed that this affaii" could be amicably arranged, on the plea that, in virtue of Governor Claiborne's permission to the Spanish officers generallj'" to pass through the ceded territory fi'om Baton Rouge to Pensacola, Captain Garcia thought himself protected by the law of nations and the good faith of the American Government from arrest. Leaving Garcia in the hands of his friends, the Sheriff called on Judge Prevost, and related to him the circumstances of the case. The Judge's stern answer was, that the writ must be executed, or that the Sheriff would have to abide the consequences of its non-execution. This officer, therefore, had nothing else to do but to obey, and on his way back to Garcia's house, being informed that a large concourse of people, at least two hundred in number, had gathered round it in a state of great excitement, he thought it advisable to add to his constabulary escort the reinforcement of a corporal and three men whom he took from the guard house. But on his making his appearance where Garcia was, swords were drawn by his opponents, and he found himself too weak to effect the arrest which he had contemplated. Finally, Garcia surrendered to a detachr" ment of the United States troops commanded by Lieu- tenant Wilson.* * L. Kerr's report to Claiborne. 17th Nov., 1804. Executive Jour., p. 29, vol. I 1804,] OASA OALVO'S COMPLAINTS, 31 The Spanish authorities were much excited by this outrage, as they considered it, and the Marquis of Casa Calvo wrote to Governor Claiborne a letter, in which he expressed his feelings of indignation, and maintained that Captain Garcia could not be made liable on Amer ican territory for what he had done by the command of his superiors in the Spanish dominions, Claiborne was no less irritated by the tone assumed toward him, and returned, on the 16th of November, this spirited an swer to Casa Calvo : " I have read with respectful atten tion your Excellency's letter of this evening, and in reply I have only to state, that the Spanish officer you allude to is in arrest in virtue of a process regularly issuing from the Superior Court of this territory. Upon what grounds it may have been issued, or how far it may have been irregular, it is not within my province to inquire. The powers of the Judiciary are derived immediately from the General Government of the United States, The court is independent, and not subject to my control. If the arrest of the officer be illegal, the court will cer tainly direct his liberation on a proper application to that effect. T cannot perceive in this transaction any just cause for the agitation which has been discovered on the part of your Excellency, and of Governor Folch, In a verbal message to me from your Excellency, expres sions are conveyed derogatory to the Government which I represent, as well as personally offensive to me, and I learn with regret that Governor Folch has used Ian guage equally exceptionable. .Your Excellency can easily conceive my feelings on receiving such communi cations. No threats of this nature, you may be assured, ?can induce me to swerve from my duty ; and permit me to add, that the power does not exist which can sTiahe the authority of my country over this territory." A long correspondence ensued on the subject between ^^ORRINGTON LIBRARY 32 Claiborne's answers. [I8O4 Casa Calvo and Claiborne, and it was at last agreed to leave the case in the , hands of the judiciary, as appears by a communication of the 22d of November, in which Claiborne said to Casa Calvo : " I learn with pleasure that you are at last convinced that the affair of Captain Gar cia is placed on the only footing which the existing laws of this territory can admit of. How far my permission for Governor Folch and suite to pass by this route to Pensacola entitles Captain Garcia to exemption from ar rest, is matter for the consideration of the court, and on this question there is no doubt but the decision will be a proper one." But as soon as one difficulty was settled another would spring up, and Claiborne was never allowed to enjoy long any degree of undisturbed tranquillity. Thus he had hardly got rid of the Garcia controversy, when another arose between him and Casa Calvo, in conse quence of his refusing to carry into execution certain judgments which had been rendered against certain in dividuals by the Spanish authorities. Casa Calvo bit terly complained of this refusal, which nuide it impossi ble for him to collect " the arrears of the king's revenue." At last Claiborne put an .end to it by addressing to the Marquis this final note on the subject : " A mere acquaint ance* with the laws of the United States, sir, would be sufficient to inform you that they will suffer no judgment to be executed, but those rendered in their own courts ; that in those courts foreign judgments, however respect able the tribunal which rendered them, are only evi dence, and require the confirmation of an American judgment before any execution can flow therefrom, I have therefore only to add, that in all cases of this na- ture, the courts of this Territory are open to you, and * Claiborne to Casa Calvo, 2ad of November, 1804. Executivf) Journal, pasri 89. vol.1. 1804,] IMPORTATION OF SLAVES. 33 arc vested with the power (no longer in my hands) of redressing any grievances which you may have occasion to complain of" Another source of tribulati(ra to Claiborne was the necessity of soon preventing altogether that slave-trade to which the ancient population was accustomed, and which could not continue under the new regime. It was a task which, had he been so disposed, it would have been impossible, for the present, to perform strictly and effectu ally, Negroes were daily smuggled into the Territory through the Spanish possessions, by the Avay of the lakes, Borgne, Pontchartrain and Maurepas, to the districts of East Baton Rouge and Feliciana, and also through the innumerable bayous which empty into Barataria Bay and other sea outlets. At the North, Claiborne was ac cused of conniving at the trade, and he had to defend himself against the accusation. In a communication* of the 25th of November to the President, he says : " The late admission of foreign negroes has also been a subject of complaint against me. The Searcher of all hearts knows how little I desire to see another of that wretched race set his foot on the shores of America, and how from my heart I detest the rapacity that would transport them to us. But, on this point, the people here were united as one man. There seemed to be but one sentiment throughout the province. They must import more slaves, or the country was ruined forever. The most respectable characteie could not, even in ray pres ence, suppress the agitation of their temper, when a check to that trade was suggested. Under such circum stances, it was not for me, without the authority of pre \'ious law, or the instructions of my government, to pro hibit the importation." * Page 48, vol. 1, Executive Joumal. 3 34 FIRST LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY. [1804 On the 27th of No\' ember, the peace of New Orleans was disturbed by a quarrel between the city militia and the troops of the United States, arising from a feeling of jealousy which had sprung up between them, and Claiborne was again called upon to settle this difficulty, on a formal complaint laid before him by the City Coundl against Lieutenant Wilson, the same who had arrested Captain Garcia. A court-martial had to be convened, which took cognizance of the charges brought by the city authorities against the lieutenant, and the affair was finally settled, not without leaving, however, some ill blood fermenting on both sides. The new Legislative Council, which it had been so difficult to form, met on the Jth of December, as before stated, and Claiborne addressed to them an appropriate message on that important occasion, which was the harbinger in Louisiana of the era of self-government by the people. He particularly recommended to them the subject of education : " Let exertions then be made," he said, " to rear up our children in the paths of science and vu'tue, and to impress upon their tender hearts a love of civil and i-eligious liberty. Among the several States of the Union an ingenuous emulation happily prevails, in encouraging literature and literary institutions, and some of these are making rapid strides toward rivaling the proudest establishments of Europe. In this sen- tiuKiut, so favorable to the general good, you, gentle men, I am certain, will not hesitate to join." Shortly after this paragraph comes this passage, which, no doubt, was designed to quiet some anxiety then existing among the clergy, as to their position under the new order of things : " As connected with the education of youth," he remarks, " every constitutional encournge- ment should be given to ministers of the Gospel. Re ligion exalts a nation, whilst sin is the reproach of any 1804.] BELIEF IN EE-OESSION. 35 people. It prepares us for those vicissitudes ^vhich so often checker human life. It deprives even misfortune of her victory. It invites to harmony and good-will in this world, and affords a guaranty for happiness here after." This was certainly very acceptable io the religious-minded part of the community, but any [)olitical body, attempting to act on such a recom mendation from the Executive, and to determine what kind of constitutional encouragement, under our institu tions, can be given by legislation to ministers of the Gospel, would probably find the subject fraught with considerable difficulties. It is a- curious fact that, when thus going through the solemnity of opening, with commendable dignity and with apparent reliance on those he addressed, the first Legislative Assembly in Louisiana, Claiborne was aware that there was among the population very little faith in the duration of the system of government which he was gravely introducing to their supposed grateful accept ance. This is proved by his communication of the 11th of December to Madison :* " The President's Message,' he says, " has been translated into the French language, and I will take care to have it circulated among the people. It will tend to remove an impression which has heretofore contributed greatly to embarrass the local ad ministration, to wit — that the country west of the Mis sissippi would certainly be re-ceded to Spain, and perhaps the whole of Louisiana. So general has been this im pression, particularly as it relates to the country west of the Mississippi, that many citizens have been fearful of accepting any employment under the American gov ernment, or even manifesting a respect therefor, lest at a future time it might lessen them in the esteem of * Page 65, Executive Journal, vol. 1. 36 THE YELLOW FEVER, [1804. Spanish officers. This opinion as to re-cession has been greatly encouraged by the Marquis of Casa Calvo and Governor Folch, who are really so uninfoi-med of the strength of the United States, as to suppose that the Spanish monarch could readily acquire and maintain possession of Louisiana, and I doubt not but they have made such representations to their court." The yellow fever had, in the autumn of this year, been very fatal in New Orleans, and in-connection with other remarks on this subject, Claiborne, in a message to the Legislative Council, on the 14th of December, had called the attention of that body to a plan devised by Jefferson to prevent the recurrence of such a calamity. Referring to the probable growth of New Orleans, the President said : " The position of New Orleans certainly destines it to be the greatest city the world has ever seen. There is no spot on the globe to which the prod uce of so great an extent of fertile country must ne cessarily come. It is three times greater than that on the eastern side of the AUeghanies, which is to be divided among all the seaport towns of the Atlantic States. In the middle and northern parts of Europe, where the sun rarely shines, they may safely build cities in solid blocks without generating disease ; but under the cloudless ekies of America, where there is so constant an accu mulation of heat, men cannot be piled on one another with impunity. Accordingly, we find this disease con fined to the solid-built parts of our towns, and the parts on the water- side, where there is most matter for putrefaction, but rarely extending into the thin-built parts of the towns, and never into-the country. In these latter places it cannot be communicated. In order to catch it, you must go into the local atmosphere where it prevails. Is not this, then, a strong indication that we ought not to contend with the laws of nature, but 1804,] PREVENTION OF JELLOW FEVER, 37 should decide at once that all our cities shall be thfn- built ?" After these introductory observations, the President expressed the opinion that, in building cities in the United States, the people should take the checker-board for their plan, leaving the white squares open and un built forever and planted with trees. "As it is proba ble,"* he observed to Claiborne, " that New Orleans must soon be enlarged, I inclose you this same plan for con sideration. I have great confidence that, however the yellow fever may prevail in the old part of the town, it would not be communicated in that part which should be built on this plan, because this would be like the thin- built parts of our towns, where experience has taught us that a person may carry it after catching it in its local region, but can never communicate it out of that. Having very sincerely at heart that the prosperity of New Or leans should be unchecked, and great faith, founded, I think, on experience, in the effect of this mode of build ing against a disorder which is such a scourge to our close- built cities, I could not deny myself the communication of the plan, leaving it to you to bring it into real exist ence, if those more interested should think as favorably of it as I do. For beauty, pleasure, and convenience, it would certainly be eminent." It must be apparent to all those who may look at the map of the city of New Orleans as it stands at this time, in 1859, that thus far, in its ever progressive enlargement, the plan recommend ed by Jefferson has met with very little attention. Toward the end of December, the elements of discord which had distracted the country^ seemed to come to a temporary truce, and to be disposed to allow the expiring year to make in peace its exit from the stage ; for Clai * Executive Journal, voL 1, page 66. 38 PREVENTION OF YELLOW FEVER, [1804 borne wrote to Madison on the 31st : " I have* never witnessed more good order than at present pervades this city, and, as far as I can learn, the whole Territory, I discover also, with great pleasure, the existence of afriend- ly understanding between the modern and the ancient Louisianians. The winter amusements have commenced for several weeks ; the two descriptions of citizens meet frequently at the theatre, at the balls and other places of public amusement, and pass their time in perfect har mony, A great anxiety exists here to learn the fate of the memorial to Congress. The importation of negroes continues to be a favorite object with the Louisianians; and I believe the privilege of electing one branch of the Legislature would give very general satisfaction. Imme diate admission into the Union is not expected by the reflecting part of ujciety, nor do I think there are many who desire it." But this roseate hue, which had spread over the horizon, flattering Claiborne with halcyon days was soon to give way to the darkening shades of a stormy sky. Claiborne had suffered himself to be blinded by a pleasing delusion. The discontent which was rankling in many hearts was too deep and too bitter to be soothed by the occasional amenities of social intercourse in the public places to which he refers. That discontent arose from feelings which were proof against the fascinations of the ball-room, the attractions of theatrical perform ances, the bewitching influence of musical entertain ments, or the sparkling bowls of the festive board. It Avas hardly possible that it should have been otherwise ; for if the act of Congress, dividing Louisiana into two territories, and providing for the temporary government thereof, had excited the indignation of its inhabitants, and if Bor6, Bellechasse, Jones, Cantrelle and Clark, Executive journal, vol. 1, page 61. i804.] DEBATES IN CONGRESS. 39 when refusing to take their seats in the newly appointed Legislative Council, and to aid in carrying into execution " an act " which they had proclaimed to be an infringe ment of the rights and dignity of those to whom it was to be applied, had been approved by the immense ma jority of their fellow-citizens, it is due to them to say that the debates in Congress, on the discussion of that very act, had been of such a natui'e as to wound their just susceptibilities. Many members of that body, who had opposed its passage, had taken of it the same view in which it presented itself to the people of Louisiana. In relation to the power vested in the Governor "to con vene and prorogue the Legislative Council, whenever he might deem it expedient," Mr. Leib, in the House of Representatives, had said " that it made that body the most dependent in the United States ; and that, when the power of prorogation vested in the Governor was duly considered, it seemed to him that the people of the Territory would be much better without such a body. It was a royal appendage." .... Not only did Mr. Gregg agree with Mr. Leib, as to the objectionable feature that gentleman had pointed out, but he was also opposed to the power given to the Presi dent to appoint the members of the Council. "It was a burlesque. How was the President to know anything of theii- qualifications ? From whom was he to derive that information except from the Governor ? And why, therefore, should not that officer himself be at once the appointing power ?" Mr. Varnum was of opinion that they were establishing a kind of government hitherto unknown in the United States. "Why not make pro vision for the election of a legislative body by the peo ple ? Policy, justice, propriety^ and the obligations of the treaty of cession required it at their hands." Mr, Elliot declared that, " to authorize the President to appoint the 40 DEBATES IN CONGRESS. [1804. members of the Legislative Council, was neither consist ent with the spirit of the Constitution, nor with the treaty." " It is extremely difficult," said in reply Mr. Eustis of Massachusetts," to foi-m any system of government for this Territory consonant with our ideas of civil liberty under the Constitution of the United States. Before we determine the principle on which the Council is to be formed, it is necessary distinctly to understand the genius, the manners, the disposition and the state of the people to be governed. The treaty has been resorted to by mj colleague, to show that they^ are entitled to elect their own Legislature, It says : The inhabitants of the, ceded territory shall be incorporated in the Union of the United States, and admitted as soon as possible, according to the principles of the Federal Constitution, to the enjoy ment of all the rights, advantages and immunities of citizens of the United States. Are the people of Louisiana admitted into the Union at this time, or not, with all the rights of citizens of the United States ? If they are so admitted, they are undoubtedly entitled to all the rights of citizens of the United States, If not, there remains another inquiry : Are they qualified from habit, and from the circumstances in which they are placed, to exercise those high privileges ? If they are both entitled and qualified to enjoy them, we can have no hesitation in pronouncing the bill grounded on a wrong principle, and that it ought to be rejected. But I do not consider the subject in this light. The people are, in my opinion, unprepared for, and undesirous of, exercising the elective franchise. The first object of the Government is to hold the country. Hoav? By protecting the people in all their rights, and by administering the Government in such a manner as to prevent any disagreement among them— to use ft<3 otiier term. Suppose the people called 1804.] DEBATES IN CONGRESS. 41 upon to choose those who are to make laws for them selves, does the information we possess justify the belief that this privilege could be so exercised as to conduce to the peace, hap[)iuess and tranquillity of the country ? I apprehend not. " According to this bill, the Governor and Council are to make the laws. Suppose the Council is in session and the Governor possesses no po^er to prorogue them. Suppose they should engage in acts subversive of their relation to the United States, would not this power be of essential utility? It appears to me indis pensably necessary that a vein of authority should ascend to the Government of the United States, until the people of the territory are admitted to the full enjoyment of State rights. From that knowledge of this people which I have been able to acquire, I have formed an opinion that authority should be constantly exercised over them, without severity, but in such a manner as to secure the rights of the United States and the peace of the country. " The government laid down in this bill is certainly a new thing in the United States ; but the people of that country differ materially from the citizens of the United States. I speak of the character of the people at the piesent time. When they shall be better acquainted with the principles of our Government, and shall have been desirous of participating in our privileges, it will be full time to extend to them the elective franchise. Have not the House been informed from an authentic source, since the cession, that the provisions of our insti tutions are inapplicable to them ? If so, why attempt, in pursuit of a vain theory, to extend political institu tions to them for which they are not prepared ? I am one of those who believe that the principles of civil liberty cannot suddenly be engrafted on a people ac- sustomed to a regime of a directly opposite hue. The 42 DEBATES IN CONGRESS, [1804. approa(;h of such a people to liberty must be gradual. I believe them at present totally unqualified to exercise it. If this opinion be erroneous, then the principles of this bill are unfounded ; if, on the contrary, this opinion is sound, it results that neither the power given to the President to appoint the members of the Council, nor to the Governor to prorogue them, are unsafe, or un necessary. " The extension of the elective franchise may be con sidered by the people of Louisiana a burden instead of a benefit. I have understood that there is none of that equality among them which exists in the United States ; grades are there more highly marked, and they may deem it rather a matter of oppression to extend to them the privilege which we deem inestimable, and with the value of which we have been long familiar, " Before we decide this principle, it is absolutely nec essary to consider the rela+;oi: jf these people to the United States, I conpfdja. them, as standing in nearly the same relation to us as if they were a conquered country. By the treaty they are, it is true, entitled to the enjoyment of all the rights, advantages and immu nities of citizens of the United States, and to be incoi'- porated into the Union as soon as possible, according to the principles of the Federal Constitution — but can they be admitted now ? Are they at this moment so admitted ? If not, they are not entitled to these rights ; but if they were, I should doubt the propriety of extending to them what might be misused, " It is very natural and honorable to gentlemen o liberal minds to be desirous of extending to these peopife the privilege enjoyed by our own citizens ; but sentiments' of this kind, however liberal and praiseworthy, may be carried in the face of facts, and may operate injuriously on those they are intended to benefit, Upon the whole, 1804.] DEBATES IK CONGRESS. 43 as the bill only purports to provide for a temporary government, and as, in the course of a year, we shall have more information respecting the country, when it will be in our power, in case such information shall justify it, to extend all the privileges which gentlemen seem so de sirous to grant, I hope the Committee will not agree to strike out this section." Mr. Lyon said in reply, that the bill contained many traits which were exceedingly disgusting to him. "I think," he continued, "that these people have a right, by nature and by treaty, to have some concern in their own government; and although they may not be entirely qualified for self-government, and we may not be willing to put them on the same footing with the people of a free and independent state, I know of no reasons why they may not be allowed, by their representatives, to come be fore the Governor in an organized way, with an expres sion of their wishes and of their wants, and to propose for his adoption laws which they may think fitting and salutary for their country, I am not ready to say with Mr. Leib, the gentleman from Pennsylvania, that I wish to take from the Governor the power of convening and proroguing the Legislative Assembly or Council, I am willing, for the present, that he should have that power, as well as an unqualified negative on their bills. In that case, how can the representatives of that people injure our government ? It is the business of the Governor, appointed by the President, to watch over them for the interest of the nation. His power will be ample for the protection of that interest. When they ask his assent to those things that are fitting and proper, he will give it, I hope ; when they ask it for those things which are not fitting or proper, he will, no doubt, refuse it ; and if they should at any time become troublesome, he will prorogue them, and tell them to go home about their 44 DEBATES IN CONGRESS. [1804 business. I cannot refuse these people the humble boon, the pitiful specimen of liberty which consists in laying before the Governor, by their representatives, for his consent, the bills they wish passed into laws for their local accommodation and for their satisfaction with re spect to their rights and their property ; neither would I mock their feelings by a Legislative Council appointed by tho President. I do not think it fits his character. IIow is he to divine who it is best to appoint ? I would as soon compliment Bonaparte with that power. I dare say he is better acquainted with the people there. But. the gentleman from Massachusetts seems to think these people are not desirous of exercising the power of elect ing their Legislative representatives. If that is the case, do we not owe something on this score to principle — to consistency — to the national honor pledged by treaty ? If there is danger on that score (which I am pretty cer tain there is not), let the government be so , organized that it can go on without the representatives of those districts who neglect or refuse to elect." " But the most ludicrous idea I have heard expressed on the subject is, that these people must be kept in sla very until they are taught to think and behave like free men. Establish the government proposed, it is said, and let them learn under that to enjoy the rights and benefits of freemen. I wonder how much longer this probation ary slavery it to last, in order to bring about the pur pose proposed ? For my part, I believe they have had it longer than has done them any good. I really wish to know how much longer this apprenticeship is to continue, and what are the symptoms by which we are to know when slaves are fitted to be freemen." Mr. Lucas seemed to have taken up the strange idea that the United States were bound by the treaty of ces sion, only to secure to the people of Louisiana as large a 1804.] DEBATES IN CONGRESS, 45 portion of liberty, and as full an enjoyment of their rights, as they would have been permitted to possess, had they remained under the Government of France or Spain. " But the United States," he said, " had done more than they were bound. For instance, the privi lege of the Habeas Corpus had been extended to the in habitants of the Territory — a privilege which they had never possessed when they were connected either with France or Spain. An argument was drawn from the treaty, that these people are to be admitted to the absolute enjoyment of the rights of citizens ; but gentlemen would not deny that the time when, and the circumstan ces under which this provision of the treat}'' was to be carried into effect, were submitted to the decision of Congress. It has been remarked, that this bill estab lishes elementary principles of government never previ- ously introduced in the organization of any Territory of the United States, Granting the tmth of this observa tion, it must be allowed that the United States had never had devolved upon them the obligation of making pro vision for the government of any people under such circumstances. Legislators must not rest on theory, but must raise their political structures on the basis of the moral and intellectual state of the people for whom they are to be made. He did not wish to reflect on the in habitants of Louisiana, but he would say that they were not prepared for a government like that of the United States. They had been governed by Spanish officers, exercising authority according to their whim, which was supported by military force, and it could not be maintained that a people thus inui'ed to despotism were prepared on a sudden to receive the principles of our government. It was questionable whether there was in Europe a nation to whom these principles would be so advantageous as they were to us. 46 DEBATES IN OONQUESB, [1804r " It should be recollected by gentlemen who so stren uously advocated the abstract principle of right, that the people of Louisiana had not been consulted in the act of cession to this country, but had been transferred by a bargain made over their heads. As a proof that this act had not been received with approbation by them, it must be borne in mind, that, when they saw the American flag hoisted in the room of the French, they shed tears. Was it not a proof that they were not so friendly to our government as some gentlemen imagined ? He was per suaded that the people of the Mississippi Territory would not have acted in this manner. There is no doubt but that after they shall have experienced the blessings of a free government, they will wonder at their having shed tears on this occasion ; but they must, in the first instance, feel those blessings," Mr. Macon's first objection to the bill was, that it cre ated a species of government unknown to the laws of the United States. " I believe," he added, " that the territorial government, as established by the ordinance of the old Congress, is the best adapted to the circum stances of the people of Louisiana, and that it may be so modified as best to promote their convenience. The people residing in the Mississippi Territory are now un der this kind of government. Is it not likely that the people of Louisiana will expect the same form of govern ment and laws with their neighbors ; and is it not de sirable for the general peace and happiness that there should be a correspondence between them ? If they are as ignorant as some gentlemen represent them (and of this I know nothing), will they not expect the same grade of government with the inhabitants of the Mississippi Teri'itory, with whom they will have a constant inter course ? Although the Mississippians lived previously under the Spanish Government, when formed into a Ter 1804,] DEBATES IN CONGRESS. 47 ritory, no inconvenience resulted from having granted to them the privileges which we desire to extend to Louisi ana. It is said, in reply to this observation, that a large number of inhabitants of that Territory were Americans. It is true that many of them were native Americans, but some also were Spanish. "The simple question is, what kind of government is better fitted to this people ? It is extremely difficult to legislate for a people with whose habits and customs we are unacquainted. I, for one, declare myself unacquainted with them ; nor would I, in fixing the government, un less for the safety of the Union, do an act capable of disgusting the people for whom it is adopted. It will be a good policy to avoid whatever is calculated to dis gust them. My opinion is that they will be bettei satisfied ' with an old-established form of government, than with a new one. Why ? Because they have seen it established in the adjacent Territory of Mississippi, and know the manner in which it operates. If there are bad men in Louisiana, will anything be more easy than to disgust the people against the General Govern ment, by showing that they have given one kind of gov ernment to the people of the Mississippi Territory, and a different kind to them? In my mind, it is sound policy to give them no cause of complaint. We ought to show them that we consider them one people." Mr. Campbell was very energetic in his denunciations of the bill. " On examination," said he, " it vsdll appear that it really establishes a complete despotism ; that it does not evince a single trait of liberty ; that it does not confer one single right to which they are entitled under the treaty ; that it does not extend to them the benefits of the Federal Constitution, or declare when, hereafter, they shall receive them. I believe it will, on investi gation, be found difficult to separate liberty from the 48 DEBATES IN CONGRESS. [1804 right of self-government ; and hence arises the question now to be decided, whether we shall countenance the principle of governing by despotic systems of govern ment, or support the principle that they are entitled to be governed by laws made by themselves, and to ex pect that they shall, in due time, receive all the benefits of citizens of the United States under the Constitution. "By section 4, all legislative power is vested in a Governor and thirteen Councilors appointed by the President. The people have no share in their choice. The members of the Council are only to aid the Gov ernor; they have no right to make laws themselves. The words of the section are : " ' lite Governor, by and with the advice and consent of said Legislative Coundl, or of a 'majority of thetn, shall have power to alter, modify, or repeal the laws which may be in force at the convmencement of this act.'' " That is, the Governor makes the laws by and with the advice of the Council. They are not to deliberate on what shall be law; but he, like some ancient po tentates, is to suggest to them what, in his opinion, is proper to be law. This is the proper construction of this section, or I do not understand it. He is to make ; they are not to make the laws, and submit them for his approbation. He makes them, and asks his creatures whether they will agree or not to them. I hope that we are not prepared to establish such a system as this, " If then the proposed system be despotic, it is proper in the next place to inquire why it is erected over the people of Louisiana ? Is their condition such as not to qualify- them for the enjoyment of any of the blessings of liberty? Are they blind to the difference between liberty and slavery ? Are they insensible to the differ ence of laws made by themselves, and of laws made by others ? We have no evidence that this is the case. If 1804] DEBATES IN CONGRESS. 49 we retrace the progress of liberty among other nations, I would ask gentlemen where they find reason for the opinion that the people of Ijouisiana are unfitted for the enjoyment of its blessings ? They will find that it has, in many cases, arisen among people far less enlightened. I trust, therefore, we shall not determine that, because the people of that country have not investigated the full value of free government, they are not qualified to enjoy any freedom. I ask gentlemen to point out, when they talk of the abuse of the elective franchise, a solitary instance where the people have abused the rights they acquired under it. They will find it hard to point one. Whereas I ask them for a single instance, in the annals of mankind, where despotism has not been abused. This they will find it difficult to adduce. One principle cannot be denied : when power is vested ^ in the people, they exercise it for their own benefit, and to the best of their skill. They have no object in abus ing it ; for they are to be the first victims of its im proper exercise. I ask them, where is the danger of placing in the hands of the peoj)le the right of choosing those who are to regulate thoir own internal concerns ? Surely, when gentlemen depicted the great danger of this investiture of power, they did not consider that the very act before us subjects all laws to the control of Congress, and that in all cases wherein Congress shall negative them, they will have no validity. Where, then, is the danger ? Will it be injurious to the United States that the Legislature of the territory, chosen by the people, should make laws for their own accommodation, without prejudice to the Union ? It cannot. I feel surprised when I hear gentlemen say, ' We ought to be cautious in giving power, lest it should be used in oppo sition to the interests of the Union.' How can this be, when this Government has the appointment of aU the 4 60 DEBATES IN CONGRESS. [1804 officers, and particularly the Governor and judges, and when to the Legislature is only confided the manage ment of internal concerns, when they have no authority to form connections with foreign powers, or to foi'in any coalition with their neighbors, in opposition to the measures of the General Government ? If the people are already hostile to the United States, it is evident that it is not tho severity of despotism that will make them friendly. I ask, how are we to account for this change in our deportment toward them ? Not long since, these people were congratulated on their releasement from a despotic government, and were invited into the arms of a government ready to extend to them all the bless ings of self-government. Now, we are about to damp all their hopes, and to send forth a few creatures to lash them with despotism and to make all their laws. We go further. We do not even hold forth the idea that, on a future day, they shall make their own laws. Oui language is, if, notwithstanding the despotism we extend over you, you patiently bear youi- chains like good sub jects, we may withdraw them, and let you govern your selves. If this is not the language of gentlemen, I do not comprehend it. " It is stated by a gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr Eustis) that it is difficult to form a government for such a people; and that it is necessary previously to consider the habits and manners of the people to be governed, I am sorry, at this enlightened day of the world, to hear arguments in favor of despotism, so often used before. How does a despot govern his subjects ? He tells them and makes them believe that they are ignorant, and unqualified to govern themselves. Considering their ignorance, he tells them he does them a favor by govern ing them, and that they have nothing to do but to obey. This is the (loctrine on which monarchy and despotisnc 1804.] DEBATES IK CONGRESS. 51 rose. In proportion as it prevails, despotism prevails; and in proportion as it is destroyed, the principle of lib erty prevails. Let us not say that the people are too ignorant to govern themselves. No, give them an op portunity, and they will acquire knowledge, at' least sufficient to make a proper choice of those best qualified to superintend their public concerns. This will act as a stimulus to those who expect to be chosen, to make them selves qualified. But I never knew before this day, that for a people to be fit for the enjoyment of liberty, they must, for a certain time, be under the scourge of despot ism. "The same gentleman inquii'es. In case the elective franchise shall be withheld, what hold have we on the people of Louisiana ? This inquiry is readily answered. We shall have power to repeal all laws they make ; and a governor appointed by us will have the nomination of all military and civil officers who administer the govern ment. If this is not a hold and a check upon them, I know not what it is. While examining this point, it may not be improper to inquire what is the best way of making these people most attached to the United States ; and whether that end will be answered by denying them all libert}', and by making a radical difference between their government and that of territories similarly situ ated with themselves ? Let me for once observe, that it is the true policy of this Government to conciliate the people to us, to our manners and laws, to show them that, considering them as a part of the Union, they have the right to expect the enjoyment of privileges unknown to them before, instead of disappointing their hopes and compelling them to serve a long quarantine before they are admitted to a participation of those rights which we ourselves possess. " It has been intimated that these people are unfit to 52 DEBATES IN CONGRESS. [1804 govern themselves; but I am acquainted with no in formation that warrants this inference. I believe that information of a different nature derived from other gentlemen is more to be relied on, because those who give it are better informed. As to their interests, I can not conceive what can have rendered them so different from those of the Mississippi Territory. They Avere once the same people and under the same governmen-*;, and they cannot have since become unfit for self-govern ment. The best information assures me that a consider able proportion of the population is composed of Amer ican citizens, amounting, perhaps, to one-fourth or one- fifth of the whole. There are in it, also, many British subjects, not so ignorant as to be entirely insensible to the benefits of a free government, "Is there, too, anything in the Spanish Government whose effects are so degrading as to disqualify a man from enjoying freedom ? If this were the case, it would ha\e been an argument against accepting the counti-y at all. Have we not, however, understood that this great measure has been effected with a double view of accom modating the United States, and benefiting the people of Louisiana, by extending to them the advantages of a free government ? Shall we consider ourselves at liberty to baiter them, to view them as cattle, and govern them as such ? I hope not. " One idea relied on by gentlemen is worthy of noticje. It takes for granted that the people do not wish for a free government. I ask gentlemen if they are really serious in this remark ? If they are, the argument will be conclusive in giving them, if they choose, an absolute despotism. In that case, if we knew it were the desire of the people to have a king, whatever might have been our opinions of the benefits of liberty, it would be our duty to give them one. Gentlemen cannot think so, noi 1804.] DEBATES IN CONGRESS, 53 would they suffer the United States to degrade theii character by such an act. I conceive the United States bound to give them a republican form of government, and to consider, therefore, not what they may desire, but what will suit their ultimate interest, while it promotes the interest of America at large. One gentleman ob serves that we ought to consider the people of Louisiana as totally distinct from, and as not possessed of any sim ilar habits with ourselves. I trust, however, we shall con sider them as a part of the human species. I believe the gentleman will find the human character the same in dif ferent parts of the globe. If this principle had been pursued, liberty had never flourished ; if the people had never enjoyed liberty till they were ripe for it, how many ages of darkness would have passed away? But the fact is, the people suffer oppression to an astonishing degree — despotism grinds them till human nature can endure no more, and then they break their chains in a revolt. I therefore can see no force in the argument of waiting till they are ripe for liberty. How ripe ? If they have never tasted its benefits, how can they know them ? I trust, therefore, that we shall extend to them the same rights as are enjoyed by the other Territories, and that it shall not be said that we have met to make laws for a people whom we have called our friends and brothers, different from the laws which we have made for ourselves." Mr. Jackson succeeded Mr. Campbell on the fioor, and was proceeding to attack the bill on the same grounds with his predecessors on his side of the question, and was objecting to certain injurious reflections cast on the peo ple of Louisiana by Huger of South Carolina, who had intimated that, in his opinion, the Louisianians were no better than negroes, and consequently were to be treated as that degraded race, when he was interrupted by 54 DEBATES IN CONGRESS, 1 1804 Mr. Huger, who explained that his meaning was not such as the gentleman's language implied, and declared that he had spoken barely by way of comparison, to show that nothing was more dangerous than to pass from the ex treme of slavery to perfect liberty. " I will not pretend to say, " resumed Mr. Jackson, " that I accurately comprehend the meaning of the gentleman. His words were : they ought to be loohed upon as a certain portion of peoph among us and Vreated as such. If he did not allude to slaves," I do not know to whom he did allude. But as he says he did not. allude to them, I will avoid an}' remark that maj' implicate him in such an allusion." When Mr. Jackson took his seat, up started Mr. Hol land. " Gentlemen maintain," he said, " that if we deny the people of Louisiana the right of self-government, we deny them everything. But before they are permitted to make laws, ought they not to understand what law is ? If we give power to these people, will they not choose persons as ignorant as themselves ? It is a fact that many of the most respectable characters in Louisi ana conceive the principle of self-government a mere bub ble, and they will not consider themselves aggrieved if it is not extended to them. Does the history of nations show that all men are capable of self-government ? No such thing. It shows that none but an enlightened and virtuous people are capable of it ; and if the people of Louisiana are not sufficiently enlightened, they are not prepared to receive it. For what are they prepared? To remain in a passive state, and to receive the blessings of good laws ; and receiving these, they have no reason to complain." Many more members of the House of Representatives than those whose names are here mentioned took their share in these debates. The subject was also fully dis 1804,] REFLECTIONS ON THE 1)EBATES, 56 3ussed in the Senate, and Congress, after tho most lengthy deliberations, voted by a large majority for the passage of the bill, which, however, had been strongly opposed in that body, and with as vehement language as could be desired by the Louisianians, to whom it was so objectionable. These debates, and their final result, it must be admitted, were of a character to wound deeply the just suscepti bilities of the people of Louisiana, and to keep up that excitement of which I have already related some of the baleful effects. Huger, of South Carolina, a gentleman of French descent, had been understood to say on the floor of the Capitol, notwithstanding his subsequent ex planations of a retractive nature, that the French of Louisiana were hardly above the standard of a certain portion of the population of the United States, which was, with propriety, deprived of all political rights. Another, without going so far, had said that they ought to be treated as a conquered people. Many had main tained that it was impossible to suppose that a popula tion long subjected to the debasing governments of France and Spain were fit subjects to be intrusted with the dangerous possession of libertj'-, without a gradual training and a slow process of emancipation. The whole length and breadth of the debate was narrowed down to this question : " Are the people of Louisiana capable of self -govern!) lent f' " If they are, and if we are convi'iced of it," said the warmest advocates of the bill, "we give it up ; for we admit that it establishes a form of govern ment hitherto unknown to us, and at variance Avith our other institutions. We admit that it would be an infamous act of tyranny if applied to any other people, but we are persuaded that it is demanded by the neces sities of the case." This was avowedly the basis on which stood " the bill to organize the government of the Territory 56 REFLECTIONS ON THE DEBATES. [1804 of Orleans, and that bill, notwithstanding the extraordi nary features which it Avas admitted to possess, was A'oted a laAV by an immense majority in Congress — which laAv was readily sanctioned by the President of the Uni ted States. Thus the Louisianians, a few months after they had been delivered to the warm embraces and paternal protection of that great Republic which invited all mankind to the enjoyment of liberty, had the intense mortification of being branded, before the whole world, with a solemn official declaration that they were incapa ble of self-government — a declaration which derived an additional humiliating pungency from the circumstance that it Avas made by a democratic Congress, and promul gated by Thomas Jefterson, that great apostle of univer sal liberty, and the immortal author of that celebrt^ted document in which all men are proclaimed to be born. ' free and equal.' " These debates, of which I have here given a short abridgment, deserve to be studied with care, and possess much interest, particularly when taken in connection with the projected annexation of Mexico, Cuba, Nica ragua and other Territories, and Avith the probable ex pansion of the protection, if not of the government, of the United States, over nations Avhose vitality is threatened with destruction, and who, it is believed, are destined to seek shelter under the strong eagle wing of their co lossal neighbor. It will also be remarked that no one, in those days, seems to have imagined that there could exist any degree of sovereignty, not even squatter sovereignty, in the people of a territory of the United States, and that the introduction and advocacy of a doctrine which was destined in after years to assume proportions of great magnitude in the politics of the country, would then have probably been looked upon, how 1804.] REFLECTIONS ON THE DEBATES. 57 ever sound and correct it might be, as nothing short of a monstrous heresy. Before dismissing from further consideration this bill for the organization of the ceded province of Louisiana, it may not be improper to notice a feature in it which is important in itself, but which is entitled to still greater importance from its connection with a question which perhaps overshadows every other on the political map of the country. It is that Congress, in 1804, when it passed that bill, exercised the contested power of pre venting the importation of slaves into territories, for it regulated, on that memorable occasion, the slave-trade between the slave States and a slave Territory. To give that act its due weight, one must recollect that it Avas sanctioned by Thomas Jefferson, and by that party which had lately defeated the Federal party, and' had proclaimed itself pledged to a strict construction of the Constitution, and to an uncompromising opposition to the assumption of powers not exj)ressly delegated to the General Gov ernment. Should the. adversaries of slavery, as it exists in some of the States of our Confederacy, ever obtain the ascendency in both Houses of Congress, it is prob able that they will attempt to legislate on the slave- trade between the States, and that this act to organize the Territory of Orleans in 1804, will afford a precedent of which they will avail themselves with that pertinacity of purpose and that fanatical vigor of intellect they have ever displayed in assailing that institution, which the South considers as its A'^ery life-blood and the indispen sable condition of its existence, and also as the very breath and essence of its prosperity. CHAPTER II. GOVEENOR Claiborne's administration. 1805. On the 4th of January, 1805, the petition of "the. merchants, planters, and other inhabitants of Louisiana," signed by Destrehan, Sauve and Derbigny, their dele gates, had been read and referred in the Senate of the United States. It was an able review of the grounds upon which rested the organization of the territorial government, which was declared to be oppressive and degrading. " Misrepresented and insulted," said the Delegates, " it cannot be deemed improper to show how groundless* are the calumnies which represent us in a state of degradation, unfit to receive the boon of freedom. How far any supposed incapacity to direct the affairs of our own country would release the United States from their obligation to confer upon us the rights of citizen ship, or upon what principle they are to become the judges of that capacity, might, we believe, fairl}' be questioned ; for we have surely become not less fit for the task since the hignature of the treaty than we wei'e before that period ; and that no such incapacity was then supposed to exisi;, is evident from the terms of that in strument, which declares that we are to be admitted as soon as possible according to the principles of the Con * Annals of Congress, 8th C, 2d S. Gales & Seaton, page 1601. (68) 1806,] PETITION OF THE LOUISIANIANS. 59 stitution. If the United States, then, may postpone the performance of this engagement until, in their opinion, it may be proper to perform it, of what validity is the compact ; or can that be called one, of Avhich the per formance depends only on the will of the contracting party ? . " To deprive us of our right of election, we have been represented as too ignorant to exercise it with wisdom, and too turbulent to enjoy it with safety. Sunk in ig norance, effeminated by luxury, debased by oppression, we were, it was said, incapable of appreciating a free constitution, if it were given, or feeling the deprivation if it were denied. The sentiments which were excited by this humiliating picture may be imagined, but cannot be expressed consistent with the respect we owe to your Honorable Body. " We could not imagine what had produced the idea of our effeminacy and profusion ; and the laborious planter^ at his frugal meal, heard with a smile of bitterness and contempt the descriptions published at Washington of his opulence and luxury. " As to the degree of information diffused through the country, we humbly request that some more correct evidence may be produced than the superficial remarks that have been made by travelers, or residents, who neither associate with us, nor speak our language. Many of us are native citizens of the United States, who have participated in that kind of knowledge which is there spread among the people ; the others generallj^ are men who will not suffer by comparison with the population of any other colony. Some disadvantages as to education in the higher branches of literature have lately attended us, OAviug to the difficulty of procuring it, but the original settlement of the province was marked by cir cumstances peculiarly favorable in this respect. It was 60 PETITION OF THE LOUISIANIANS, 1 1805. made at no distant date, at a period when science had obtained a great degree of perfection, and from a country in which it flourished; many individuals possessing property and rank Avhich suppose a liberal education, were among the first settlers ; and, perhaps, there would be no vanity in asserting that the first establishment of Louisiana might vie with that of any other in America for the respectability and information of those who com- ¦ posed it. Their descendants now respectfully call for the evidence which proves that they have so far degen erated, as to become totally incompetent to the task of legislation. " For our love of order and submission to the laws, Ave can confidently appeal to the Avhole history of our settle ment, and particularly to what has lately passed in those dangerous moments, when it was uncertain at what point our political vibrations would stop ; when national prejudice, pdrsoual interest, factious views, and ambitious design.3, might hd suppo3ed to combine for th3 interrup tion of our repose ; when, in the frequent changes to which we have been subject, the authority of one nation was weakened before the other had established its power. In those moments of crisis and danger, no insurrection disturbed, no riot disgraced us ; the voice of sedition was silent ; and before a magistrate was appointed, good morals served instead of laws, and a love of order instead of civil power. It is then as unjust to task us with tur bulence, as it is degrading to reproach us AAdth ignorance and vice." The delegates, in this memorial, energetically insisted on the rights of the inhabitants of Louisiana to be promptly admitted into the Confederacy as the citizens of a Sovereign State, and ably discussed the 3d section of the treaty of cession on which they relied in support of their pretensions. 1805.] PETITION OF THE LOUISIANIANS, 61 " The inhabitants of the ceded Territory," they ob served, " are to be incorporated into the Union of the United States. These words can in no sense be satisfied by the act in question. A territory governed in the manner it directs may be a province of the United States, but can by no construction be said to be incorporated into the Union. To be incorporated into the Union must mean to form a part of it. But to every compo nent part of the United States the Constitution has guar anteed a republican form of government, and this, as we have already shown, has no one principle of republican ism in its composition. It is, therefore, not in compliance with the letter of the treaty, and is totally inconsistent with its spirit, which certainly intends some stipulations in our favor. For if Congress may govern us as they please, what necessity was there for this clause, or how are we to be benefited by its introduction? If any doubt, however, could possibly exist on the first member of the sentence, it must vanish by a consideration of the second, which provides for our admission to the rights, privileges and immunities of citizens of the United States. But this territorial government, as we have shovm, is to tally incompatible with those rights. Without any vote in the election of our Legislature, without any check upon our Executive, without any one incident of self- government, what valuable privilege of citizenship is allowed us ? What right do we enjoy, of what immu nity can we boast, except, indeed, the degrading exemp tion fi'om the cares of legislation and the burden of public affairs?" They further argued that the words " as soon as pos sible " of the treaty, which stipulated their admission into the Union, could never be so construed as to allow Congress the right of deferring that admission indefin itely. If it might be procrastinated for two years, no 62 PETITION OF THE LOUISIANIANS. [1806. reason could be seen why it might not be postponed for twenty, or a hundred, or totally omitted. It could not be supposed that the United States had only bound themselves to admit Louisiana into the Union as soon as they should think proper, and no more ; for a treaty im plies a compact; and what compact can arise from a reservation to perform, or not to perform, as one of the parties should deem expedient? Hence they had no doubt that the words "as soon as possible" meant, as Boon as the laws necessary for the purpose could be passed. In connection with that part of the act which restrict ed the importation of slaves into the Territory, the dele gates said: "To the necessity of employing African laborers, which arises from the climate and the species of cultivation pursued in warm latitudes, is added a reason in this country peculiar to itself. The banks raised to restrain the waters of the Mississippi can only be kept in repair by those whose natural constitution and habits of labor enable them to resist the combined effects of a deleterious moisture and a degree of heat in tolerable to whites. This labor is great; it requires many hands, and it is all-important to the very existence of our country. If, therefore, this traffic is justifiable any where, it is surely in this province, where, unless it is permitted, cultivation must cease, the improvements of a century be destroyed, and the great river resume its empire over our ruined fields and demolished habita tions. " Another evil," they said, " not indeed growing out of this act, but of great moment to us, is the sudden change of language in all the public offices and adminis tration of justice. The great mass of the inhabitants ?¦.peak nothing but the French. The late government was always careful, in the selection of officers, to find 1805,] PETITION OF THE LOUISIANIANS. 63 men who possessed our own language, and with whom we could personally communicate. Their correspondence with the interior parts of the province was also carried on chiefiy in our own language. The judicial proceed ings were indeed in Spanish, but being carried on alto gether ill Avriting, ti'anslations were easily made. At present, for the slightest communication an interpreter must be procured. In more important concerns, our in terest suffers from not being fully explained. A phrase, a circumstance, seemingly of little moment, and which a person not interested in the affair will not take the trouble to translate, is frequently decisive, and produces the most important effects. That free communication so necessary to give the magistrate a knowledge of the peo ple, and to inspire them with confidence in his adminis tration, is by this means totally cut off, and the introduc tion of viva voce pleadings in the courts of justice sub jects the party who can neither understand his counsel, his judge, nor the advocate of his opponent, to embar rassments the most perplexing, and often to injuries the most serious." The delegates concluded their address in this earnest and pathetic strain : "Duly impressed, therefore, Avith a persuasion that our rights need only to be stated to be recognized and allowed; that the highest glory of a nation is a commu nication of the blessings of freedom ; and that its best reputation is derived from a sacred regard to treaties , we pray you, Representatives of the people, to consult your own fame and our happiness by a prompt attention to our prayer; Ave invoke the principles of your revolu tion, the sacred, self-evident and eternal truths on which your governments are founded ; we invoke the solemn stipulations of treaty ; we inA^oke your own professions and the glorious example of y^our fathers, and we adjure 64 JOHN Randolph's report, [1805. you to listen to the one and to follow the other, by abandoning a plan so contradictory to everything you have said, and they have taught — so fatal to out happiness and. the reputation of your country. To a generous and free people Ave ought not to urge any mo tive of interest, when those of honor and duty are so apparent ; but be assured that it is the interest of the United States to cultivate a spirit of conciliation with the inhabitants of the Territory they have acquired. Annexed to your country by the course of political events, it depends upon you to determine whether we shall pay the cold homage of reluctant subjects, or ren der the free allegiance of citizens attached to your for tunes by choice, bound to you by gratitude for the best of blessings, contributing cheerfully to your advancement to those high destinies to which honor, liberty and justice will conduct you, and defending, as we solemnly pledge ourselves to do, at the risk of fortune and life, our common constitution, country, and laws." The President, in his annual message, delivered on the 8th of November, 1804, to Congress, had called the attention of that body to the practicability of ameliorat ing the form of the territorial government of Louisiana, On the 25th of January, 1805,* John Randolph, chairman of the committee appointed to take into consideration this part of the message, and to whom had also been referred the memorial here partly recited, the original of which was in the French language, but with an English transla tion annexed to it, made a report on the subject in the House of Representatives. He said that it was only " under the torture" that the 3d article of the treaty of cession could be made to speak the language ascribed to it by the memorialists, or could countenance, for a mo- * Eighth Congress, 2d Section, p. 2014, Gales & Seaton. 1805.] JOHN Randolph's report. 65 ment, the breach of good faith which they had conceived themselves justified in exhibiting against the Govern ment. " But because," said he, " the memorialists may have appreciated too highly the rights which have been secured to them by the treaty of cession, the claim of the people of Louisiana on the wisdom and justice of Congress ought not to be thereby prejudiced. Relying on the good sense of that people to point out to them that the United States cannot have incurred a heavy debt in order to obtaih the Territory of Louisiana, mere ly with a view to the exclusive or special benefit of its inhabitants, your committee, at the same time, earnestly recommend that CA'ery indulgence, not incompatible with the interests of the Union, may be extended to them." Whereupon the committee submitted the following res olution : " Resolved, That provisions ought to be made by law, for extending to the inhabitants of Louisiana the right of self-government." The committee, before coming to this conclusion, had given permission to the delegates of the inhabitants of Louisiana to address to them such I'emarks as they might conceive to be favora ble to the elucidation of the question which was so in teresting to their constituents. Availing themselves of the privilege conceded to them, the Louisiana delegates submitted to the committee an elaborate and able argu ment in support of the views which they had taken of the rights of those whom they represented, and particu- lai'ly insisted on the injustice of " procrastinating the in corporation of the present inhabitants of Louisiana into the Union," begging the committee, at the same time, " to make some allowance for the disadvantage under Avhich they labored to express themselves in a language which was not altogether familiar to them." Notwithstanding their zeal and the ability Avhich they displayed, Derbigny, Sauve and Destrehan were not aa 5 66 CONGRESSIONAL LEGISLATION, [1805 successful in their efforts as was desired. On the 2d of March, however, an act was approved, "providing for the government of the Territory of Orleans," by Avhich the President was authorized to establish therein a gov ernment, in all respects similar to that of the Mississippi Territory, in conformity Avith the ordinances of the old Congress in 1787, except so far as related to the descent and distribution of estates, and the prohibition of slavery. As to the inhabitants of the Temtory, they were authorized, as soon as the number of its free population should reach sixty thousand souls, to form for them selves a constitution and State government, in order to be admitted into the Union upon the footing of the original States, " in all respects whatever," provided that Congress " should be at liberty, at any time prior to the admission of the inhabitants of the said Territory to the right of a separate State, to alter the boundaries thereof us they might think proper." Twenty-five representatives were to be elected by the peoj)le — which was something gained — instead of the thirteen members chosen by the President, and who iieretofore had constituted the legislative body. These representatives, who were to be elected for two years, were to be convened by the Governor in the city of New Orleans, on the 1st Monday of November, 1805. Certain qualifications as to residence and citizenship Avere required, with a fee simple estate of tAVO hundred acres of land. The upper House, to Avhicli was given the name of " Legislative Council," was composed of five members,* to be chosen by the President of the United States, with the advice and consent of the Senate, out of ten individuals selected by the House of Representa tives of tlu^ Territory. Tln-ir period of scrvie*^ Avas five * Judge Martin's Ilhslory of Louisiana, 2d vol., p. 200. 1805,] CLAIBORNE TO MADISON. 67 years, but as they could, at any time, be removed by the President, it is evident that they AVere under his control CO a considerable extent. The only (][ualification required from them was a freehold estate of five hundred acres of land. This was about the amount of modification made to the first act of territorial organization which had ex cited so much discontent, and it is evident that this modification was not sufficiently liberal to afford much (Ratification, for the little of self-government which was granted to the Louisianians carried with it so many checks and curbs, that it was a mocking shadow rather than a pleasing and substantial reality. In relation to this subject, Claiborne, on the 21st of April, thus wrote to Madison : " The law of Congress for the government of this Territory will not give gen eral satisfaction. The people had been taught to expect greater privileges, and man}' are disappointed. I believe, however, as much is given them as they can manage Avitli discretion, or as they ought to be trusted with until the limits of the ceded territory are acknowledged, the national attachments of our new brothers less Avavering, and the views and characters of some influential men here better ascertained. I particularly attend to those persons who Avere formerly in the Spanish service, and are permitted by their Government to remain in Louis iana as pensioners, or in the enjoyment of their full pay." And on the 4th of May, he said ; " The agents,* Messrs. SauA'c, Destrehan and Derbigny, are prepaiing for pub lication a pamphlet in which I fear much will be said which will tend to agitate the public mind. I have seen Messi's. Sauve and Derbigny, and find the latter much disappointed and dissatisfied For my own part, I am still coiivinc(Ml that au early introduction of the • Executive Journal, 2d vol., p. 145. 68 NEW TERRITORIAL GOVERNMENT. [1806 entire representative system in Louisiana would be a hazardous experiment." So anxious was he, however, to do away with that general feeling of discontent, that, in a circular addressed to the sheriffs of the Territory on the 9th of May, he says : " I am fully aware that many parts of your duty will be unpleasant, and may subject you to the ill-will of those who may, through your public agency, be made to feel the energy of the law. But there is a manner of discharging an unpleasant duty which never fails to soften resentment, and most generally begets the friendship of those with whom we act, I will only recommend the observance at all times of the utmost equanimity of temper and politeness of conduct," Claiborne had been reappointed Governor ; Graham had been appointed Secretary, and Sprigg and Mathews Judges of the Superior Court, with Prevost, who was already on the bench. On the 4th of November, the House of Representatives met in New Orleans, and selected the ten individuals out of whom the President of the United States was to form a Legislative Council for the Territory, Their choice fell on Bellechasse, Bouligny, D'Ennemours, Derbigny, Destrehan, Gurley, Jones, Macarty, Sauv6 and Viller^, The President selected Bellechasse, Destrehan, Macarty, Sauv6 and Jones, thereby giving ample satisfaction to the Louisianians, as he had thus allowed the Creole ele ment to preponderate in that important Itody. On the same day, when the act " further providing for the government of the Territory of Orleans" became a law, the President approved another act, " for ascertain ing and adjusting the titles and claims to lands within the Territory of Orleans, and the District of Louisiana." This act was a Godsend to the lawyers, who, to the dis may of the litigation-hating population of Louisiana,, were flocking from all quarters to settle in its bosom, and 1805.] GRANTS OF LAND BY MORALES, 69 who eagerly tendered their services to those who were in need of their assistance. The act above alluded to applied only to the confir mation of such grants or sales of land as had been made by the Spanish and French Governments in territories of which they were in actual possession. In the mean time, Morales, whose presence in New Orleans was so obnox ious to the Government of the United States, on account of his continuing to exercise his functions of Spanish Intendaut on American territory, and particularly on account of his numerous grants, and sales of land in that part of West Florida claimed as included in the acquisition of Louisiana, and against which the act of the 2d of March was aimed, had been in vain endeavoring to retire to Pensacola, wherein he conceived himself en titled to carry on his functions of Intendaut. But Folch, the Governor of Florida, hated Morales, and denied his pretensions. Morales appealed to the Captain-General of Cuba, who decided in his favor, and cited orders of the king in support of his opinion. But Folch, who seems to haA^e been 'countenanced by the Marquis of Casa Irujo, the Spanish Minister to the United Sates, disregarded the alleged orders from the King, and set at defiance the Captain-General. He sent Don Jos6 de Clouet with a detachment of troops, with which he was to watch Morales at Dauphine Island and Mobile Point, and arrest him on his way^ to Florida. The Governor further instructed * the officer in command of fort Bar rancas, at Pensacola, to imprison Morales in that fortress, should he succeed in eluding the grasp of De Clouet, and arrive at the spot where his presence was not desired. He also threatened Carlos Grandpr^, Governor of the Baton Rouge district, to deprive him of his command, if ?Dispatch of Morales, New Orleans, 9th November, 1805, to Don Miguel Cayetano Soler, Ministro de Hacienda, Madrid. ^0 GRANTS OF LAND BY MORALES. [1805 he recognized Morales as Intendaut. All that he con tented himself to do for the relief of that officer, Avas to offer him, as an asylum for himself and his employees, the fort of Mobile, Avhere he would be permitted to de posit his archives. Yielding to the complaints of the Government of the United States, the Marquis of Casa Irujo, the minister sent to thein by Spain, had remonstrated with Intendaut Morales on the concessions and sales of land which he was daily making in the Territory in dispute between the two governments, and had advised him to suspend his proceedings. On the 20th of December, Morales, who still styled himself " Intendaut of Louisiana," wrote from New Orleans a dispatch to Casa IrujOj in which he said that, by virtue of the royal ordinance of the 22nd of October, 1798, concerning the Spanish Colo nial intendencies, he possessed the exclusive power, freely and without any interference from any authorit}' in America, however exalted, to make concessions, grants, distributions, and sales of land as he might think best conducive to the interest of his Majesty, which both of them had so much at heart ; therefore, that he could, without giving any just cause of offence, refuse to have any communication with the minister on the subject, but that, as he was convinced that the minister did not in tend to assume an authority to which he could have no pretensions, but was merely volunteering advice with the l)est of motives, he,* Morales, would not hesitate to make known to him the reasons why he pursued the course which he had adopted. " In a ministerial dispatch of the 20th of last Febru ary, 1805,"f says Morales, " I was informed that the * Archives of State, Baton Rouge. Extracts from the Archives of Indies iu SeviUe. ¦|- Antes y en el interim que se (;tc'ctua la cesion 6 traspaso de su soborauia —Ministerial Dispatch. 1805,] GRANTS OF LAND BY MORALES. 71 King e.\])ecte(] that I should draw from this braiwli oj revenm {the mde of lands), vnth my v^ell-hnoivn zeal, all the profits of lohich it was susceptible for the royal treds- ury^ He then alludes to several other communica tions, from which it clearly results, that the KingAvished him to make for the royal exchequer as much money as he could out of the public lands in the ceded provin ces, whilst they were yet in a " state of transit from one government to another. Such instructions were, cer tainly, unworthy of the royal majesty, as it could hardly be denied that the}" were of a fraudulent character. In another passage of the same dispatch, he says to Casa Irujo,* that it would be good policy to encourage the idea th^t all that part of West Florida, including the District of Baton Rouge, as far as the western bank of the Rio Perdido, in which he had been making large sales of land, would be finally abandoned to the United States, because without the prevalence of such an idea, and if it was believed that Spain would retain posses sion of that territory, the lands would become valueless. "Not only," says the shrewd and money-making Intend aut, " it would be expedient to allow this belief (creencia) to circulate, but it would be still more profit able to persuade the people that, when the cession shall be allowed to take place, Spain, before making it, will take care to stipulate for the confirmation of all the sales or grants of land previously made by her officers in all the ceded territories, and will thereby secure her former colonists against the hard conditions imposed on them by Congress in the above recited Act of the 2nd * Si, Sefior Marques, como hombre puedo equivocarme en mi juicio, poro vivo en la creencia de que el memento que se pretenda persuader es errada la do (luola Florida Occidental portonecertl a los Bstados-Unidos, y que el Hoy la conservani como parte integrante do sua dominios, en el mismo momonto debe ntminciarso k sacar utilitad alguna do bus tlcrras. Certainly, a very poor compliment paid by the Intendant to his master. 72 GRANTS OF LAND BY MORALES. [180fii of March, with regard to the verification and settlement of land claims in the Territory of Orleans and District of Louisiana.* In this very interesting dispatch,f he begs leave to call the attention of the Marquis of Casa Irujo to the fact, that all the sales and concessions of land made by the Governors, or other Spanish authorities in Louisiana, during thirty years, did not bring a maravedi into the royal exchequer, and he boastingly remarks that, whilst his jurisdiction as Intendant was questioned, and whilst he was awaiting to be re-clothed with the powers apper taining to his office, he had skillftilly availed himself of the circumstances offered by the cession of Louisiana, which, of course, gave immediate value to what had hitherto possessed none whatever, and had succeeded in putting into the King's coffers fifty thousand dollars — a sum which would have been much greater, he affirmed, if he had not been counteracted and checked by Clai borne, the American Governor, and by the Spanish Gov ernor Folch, who ruled at Pensacola, The Intendant concludes his dispatch in these words : "The royal treasury has not had to disburse anything in relation to those lands, because the purchasers assum ed the expenses of survey and all other costs, which have not been inconsiderable, and which, therefore, may be looked upon as a part of the product of those sales. This sum ought to be considered (to use acommon.saying) * Para que las ventas y concesiones hechas por el Gobierno EspaHol no queden sujetas 4 las duras condiciones que puso el Congreso en su acto, 6 decreto de 2 de Marso de este ano para arreglar y verificar los titulos y preten- clones de los poseedores de tierras en el territorio de Orleans y distrito de la Luisiana. f Yo causante de que la intondencia fuose roiiitegrada en lo quo lo corres- poudia, aprovechando de la circonstancia que ofrecii la cesion do la Luisiana , he conseguido hayan entrado en cajas Reales mas de cincuenta mil pesoa Habri sido muoho mas sin los embarazoa del Gobierno Americano y del com mandante Folch. 1806,] GRANTS OF LAND BX MORALES. 78 as a windfall. Had it not been believed that the Ter ritory of Baton Rouge would become a possession of the United States, its inhabitants being accustomed to get lands without paying a cent for them, it would have been impossible to obtain from that source any funds for the royal treasury ; and nevertheless, the way in which 1 managed it is criticised — which management consisted in secretly circulating the report that Spain would soon part with that Territory ; obstacles and embarrassments are thrown in my way by those who should protect me, with a view to prevent me from obtaining all the results which I should get without such opposition ; and, finally, indefatigable efforts are used to diminish my merits in these transactions, and weaken the credit which I should be entitled to claim, thus rendering painful to me what should have been a cause of gratulation. This is, how ever, the fate of the man who thinks of nothing but tho strict accomplishment of his duties ; but, fortunately, if I do not succeed in putting down the false charges brought against me, one consolation shall never be wanting, and it is that which I shall draw from my conscience."* It must not be forgotten, whilst reading this curious dis patch, that when the Intendant was thus secretly circu lating the report that Spain would soon abandon the * .... La Real Hacienda no ha tenido desombolso alguno, pues los com- pradores hah satisfecho los gastos de apeo, mcdida, &c., que han side do bas- tau to consecuencia, y que pueden considerarse parte del producto de las tierras. Dicha buma, como se dice vulgarmente, debe mirarse caida del cielo. Sin la creencia q>ie el Territorio de Baton Rouge iba & ser possesion de los Estados- Unidos, cstando como estahan acostumbrados estos habitantes & conseguir tier ras sin deacmbolso, nada habria producido este ramo de Real Hacienda, y <1 pesar de ello, se critica mi manejo, .se me poneu obstaculos y embarazos por los que deben protegerme, para que no consega todo lo que sin tales inconvenienteg habria logrado, y por ultimo sei practican diligencias y establecen recursos para diminuir el merito, y aun para que me produzca pena y desagradolo que habrA de proporcionarme satisfaciones. Disgracia grande del hombre que trabaja y se esmera en Uenar sus deberesl Pero mequedo el recurso do que si mis des cargos.no fueron suficieutes, &c. 74 OAflA CALVO AND HIS BODY-GUARD. [1805, district of Baton Rouge, the Spanish Government was loudly and bitterly complaining of the grasping and un just arrogance of the United States in claiming it as comprehended within the ceded Territory. Thus Morales was still lingering in New Orleans, much to the annoyance of Claiborne, As to the Marquis of Casa Calvo, he was preparing to make an excursion through the colonial provinces of Spain in the neighbor hood of the United States as far as Chihuahua ; and the remainder of the Spanish troops had at last been removed to Pensacola, The intended departure of the Marquis was a great relief to Claiborne and to others, to whom his presence had been very unacceptable. The Spanish guard which Caso Calvo retained about his person had been an object of complaint. Claiborne had reciuested him to dispense with that unnecessary display, and that officer having acceded to it, Claiborne had written to him a note, on the 4th of January, to thank him for hav ing complied with his wishes. " The existence of }'our guard," said he, "was not considered an object of serious concern, since I was well assured that your Excellency would disapprove and repress any interference on their part with the citizens. But, as complaints Avere made, I thought that it would conduce to harmony to have your guard withdrawn from the streets. The protection due to your Excellency is prescribed by our laws, and every officer of this government will be hapjiy to render it." * The imjiortance attached b}' the complainants to the Marquis's guard can hardly be conceived, and the bom bastic Resolutions which were introduced in the City Council on this subject by a member of that body, be come almost ludicrous, when contrasted with the naked fact, that those Spanish troops which were represented * Executive Journal, p. 03, vol. 1. 1805.] QUARRELS BETAVEEN MORALES AND CASA CALVO. 75 in tliow Resolutions "as dangerous to the [)eace of the city and to the sovereignty of the United States," con sisted only of a corporal and four men posted at the dwelling of the Marquis.* Another cause of annoyance to Claiborne was the rival ry and hatred existing between the ex-Intendant Morales and the ex-Governor Casa Calvo, whilst they remained in Louisiana to wind up the affairs of the King of Spain. In their conflicts, they constantly appealed to the Amer ican governor, who, of course, declined all interference, and had even to check them whenever they pretended to exercise any authority over matters which, by the change of soA^ereignty, had been withdrawn from their jurisdic tion. Claiborne f also complained more than once, that Edward Livingston and Daniel Clark, moved by their hostility to him and by dangerous political views, " had injured the interest and character of the Government in the Territory." These two gentlemen seem to have sided with the Spanish authorities in their quarrels, and their interference was a source of infinite mortification and irritation to the American Governor. As to the Marquis of Casa Calvo, Claiborne seems, nevertheless, to have en tertained a favorable opinion of him, for he says : " I find no difficulty in transacting business with the Marquis. He possesses a great share of Spanish pride, and a warm, irritable temper, which sometimes betrays him into im- prudencies, but his disposition is generous and accom modating, and his general deportment that of a gentle man." His relations, however, Avith Governor Folch of Florida do not appear to have been of the same pleasant character. "Of Governor Folch," J he remarked, "I can not speak as faAforably, He has more temper than * Claiborne to Madison, 5th Juno, 1805, Executive Journal, p. 04, vol. 1. f Claiborne to Madison, 19th January, 1805, Executive Journal, p. 70, vol 1. j Claiborne to Madison, B.^ecutive Journal, p. 114, vol. 1. 76 DESIRED DEPARTURE OF THE SPANIARDS, [1805 discretion, more genius than judgment, and his general conduct is far from being conciliatory." On the 10th of February, the Spanish officers, although notified that their presence in the Territory was unpala table, clung, under various pretences, and with a sort of mysterious and inexplicable fondness, to the province AA'hich their government had ceded to France, and France to the United States. "It seems the evacuation is not yet completed," wrote Governor Claiborne, * " and that several Spanish officers continue in this city ; some have been permitted to retire on half -pay." As to the Mar quis of Casa Calvo, his plea for remaining was, f that " he expected shortly to be employed in defining the boundary line between the United States and the Mexican posses sions." In the mean time, war had broken out between Spain and England, and the news of that war, together with the opening of the port of Havana to neutral ves sels, { had greatly benefited the commerce of New Or leans. The levee became crowded with flour and salted provisions, red wines and dry goods destined for exporta tion. Nevertheless, the Spaniards gave great uneasiness to Governor Claiborne. Their forces in Pensacola and West Florida amounted to nine hundred effective men ; besides, two hundred were stationed at Baton Rouge, about eighty at Mobile, and according to common report, the number of the troops in Texas had been considerably augmented. At the Bay of St, Bernard they had been erecting a fort, and the coast was studded with their gar risons. It was even believed that, at a point distant only two hundred and forty miles from the mouth of the Sabine, they had concentrated two thousand troops,§ * Claiborne to Madison, Executive Journal, p. 88, vol. 1. -}• Claiborne to Madison, Executive Joumal, p. 102, vol. 1. ^ Claiborne to Madison, Executive Journal, p. 95, vol. 1. § Claiborne to Madison, Executive Journal, vol. 1, page 118. 1805.] LNOREASE OF SPAJNISH ARMAMENTS. 77 What made it worse, was the impression generally spread among the population, " that they Avere shortly to fall again under the dominion of Spain ;" and the Spanish officers in Louisiana and in Pensacola took frequent occa sions to remark, "that West and East Florida would be given in exchange for the territory west of the Missis sippi ; and that on no other condition would the cession be made." * These reports of the increase of the Spanish armaments induced Claiborne to demand explanations of the Marquis of Casa Calvo. At the interview which took place, Clai borne said, " that the President had been desirous that, pending the negotiations between the two governments, the present state of things should not be innovated on by either party, and particularly that no ncAv positions, or augmentations of military force, should take place on either side, within the territory claimed by both eastward of the Mississippi ; that the President was anxious that the existing differences should be amicably adjusted, and entertained strong hopes that such would be the result.'' The Marquis replied, " that the forces of his Catholic Majesty had not been augmented at Baton Rouge, Mobile, or Pensacola, in any other manner than by con centrating at these places the troops which had been withdrawn from the various parts of Louisiana now iii possession of the United States." They finally parted f from each other with reciprocal assurances of personal consideration, and of their great solicitude for the pres ervation of a good understanding between their two nations." This interview had taken place on the 19th of April. On the 21st, Casa Calvo called on Claiborne, and in the course of conversation, expressed his surprise * Claiborne to Madison, 5th April, 1805, Executive Journal, vol. 1, page 120. f Claiborne to Madison, 19th April, 1805. Ex. Jour., p. 124, vol. 1. 78 APPREHENSIONS OF SPANISH HOSTILITIES. [1805 at the desire of the American Government to extend their limits. " He introduced," said Claiborne,* " the old hackneyed argument that a republican form of govern ment could not long exist over extensive territories. He, however, seemed to think that the issue of the mission f would be favorable to the wishes of the Presi dent. There is no doubt but the great object of the Spanish Government will be to limit the possessions of the United States westwardly by the Mississippi, and to attain which, East and West Florida and other considera- .*Jii)ns would cheerfully be offered. I form this opinion from my various conversations with the Marquis, Avith txovernor Folch, and other Spanish officers. Indeed, many persons here yet believe that the country west of the Mississippi will be ceded to Spain. The Marquis, in his ])rlvate conversations, encourages such ojiinions, and until tlie issue of Mr. Monroe's mission is known, the Louis ianians will not consider their political destiny as fixed. I have ahvays told }'ou that the foreign agents here saAv with pleasure, and secretly countenanced, the discontents of the people, and I am persuaded that they have been mentioned to the Court of Spain as evidences of the favorable impressions which the former masters of Louisiana had left behind them. Fearing that these discontents would tend to encourage Spain in her pre tensions to West Florida, and to lessen the interest which Fiance might otherwise take in effecting an accommoda tion and thus embarrass our administration, T saw with regi-et and surj)rise the unnatural part which three or four apostate Americans of talents were acting here. But there are men whose hearts are so organized, that no consideration, not even the interest of their country. would induce them to forego the pleasure of gratifying * Claiborne to Madison, p. 128. Ex. Jour., vol. 1. f Mr. Moiiroi^'s Spci'ial Mission to Spain. 1805,] SUSPECTED SPANISH AGENTS. 79 their personal resentment, and there are others iu whose breast a spirit of avarice and self-aggrandizement has acquired such an ascendency as to have stifled every honest emotion. But it is unnecessary to enlarge further on this head. In every community there are degenerate characters, and it affords me consolation to assure you that the great body of the Americans here are useful, \vorthy members of society, and faithful to the interest of theii' country. I can add with like sincerity that the Louisianians, generally speaking, are a virtuous, amiable people, and will, in a short time, become zealous sup porters of the American Union." In the mean time, whilst Claiborne was thus looking round to guard against danger from foreign and intesthie foes, the noAvs which he frequently received from two individuals in the Western District of Louisiana, who had his entire confidence, Dr. Sif)ley and Captain Turner, Avere far from being of an encouraging character. Captain Turner was persuaded that Spanish agents had endeav ored to alienate the affections of certain Indian tribes from the United States, and had soured the minds of the people of Natchitoches against the American Government, im pressing them, at the same time, with the belief that Louisiana, or at least that part of it Avhicli lay west of the Mississippi, would shortly return under the dominion of Spain. Turner's statements to Claiborne were con firmed by Dr. Sibley. Both united in informing him " that the intrigues of the priests at Natchitoches had had an injurious tendency, inasmuch as they had weak ened the allegiance of the citizens by giving currency to an o])iiiion that they VA'ould soon become Spanish sub jects, and excited hatred against the American Govern ment by re])i'esentingthat it afforded no protection to re ligion, and that an association with infidels (meaning the Americans) Avould dishonor the memory of their ances- 80 AARON BURR ARRIVES IN NEW ORLEANS, [1805 tors, who had lived and died in the true faith. " A character calling himself the bishop of one of the interior provinces of Mexico," says Claiborne,* " lately made a visit to Natchitoches, He traveled with great dispatch ftnd in much pomp. He appeared to be a man of great literature and of considerable address. He kept a joumal, and took the latitude of many places through which he jiassed. Ilis inquiries as to the geographical situation of Louisiana were minute, and from his general conduct it would seem that his visit was rather with political than religious views. The bishop was received by tho Commandant at Natchitoches with respectful attention, and after resting a few days in the vicinity of that post, took his departure for the city of Mexico, to which place there is said to be from Natchitoches a plain direct road, . that can be traveled with facility at any season of the year." When such was the state of things on the frontiers of Texas, large sums of silver were coming to New Orleans from Vera Cruz, consigned to the Marquis of Casa Calvo, ostensibly for the payment of pensions to Spanish officers allowed to reside in Louisiana, and to meet the expenses which the Marquis might have to incur as Commissioner of Limits,f At this conjuncture of affairs, Aaron Burr, on whose broAA" the result of his duel with Hamilton seems to have put the seal of Cain's curse and fate, arrived in Louisiana with letters of introduction from Wilkinson, the pensioner and the tool of Spain, who, " to expedite his voyage, had fitted out for him an elegant barge, sails, colors and ten oars, with a sergeant and ten able, faith ful hands," J and who wrote to Daniel Clarke that " that great and honorable man would communicate to him * Claiborni) to Madison, 6th June, 1805. Ex. Journal, vol. 1, p. 176. •j- Claiborne to Madison, 15th June, 1805. Ex. Journal, vol. 1, p. 187. i Purton's Life of Burr, p. 391. New York, eleventh edition, 1858. 1805. J AARON BURR IN NEW ORLEANS. 81 many things improper to letter, and which he Avould not say to any other," * Claiborne alludes to this event with remarkable laconism in a letter addressed to Madison on the 26th of June, 1805 : "Col, Burr," says he, "arrived in this city on this evening" — ^and he only returns to the subject to say, in a letter of the 14th of July to Jefferson : " Col, Burr continued in this city ten or twelve days, and Avas received Avitli polite attention. He has departed for St. Louis, and proposes to return to New Orleans in October next." • Purton, his late biographer, writes that Burr was received everywhere in that city as tlie great man, and was " invited by Governor Claiborne to a grand dinner, given to him, and which was attended by as distinguished a company as New Orleans could assemble." f Whether Burr swelled the number of those " dangerous Americans who sympathized with the Spaniards," and of whom Governor Claiborne complains, does not appear, but it is to be presumed that the " great . man,''^ the friend and prot6ge of Wilkinson at the time, could not but have giA'-en to the Spaniards some satisfac tory intimation of what had brought him to New Orleans, or Wilkinson, their pensioner and spy, would not have countenanced him so openly in those critical circumstances, when so many dark intrigues were evi dently on foot. Whatever they were, it seems that Clai borne's apprehensions had recently been much allayed, for, on the 27th of July, he wrote to Madison that the police of the city having become Aigilant, and the civil authorities throughout the province being thoroughly organized, he could no longer see any necessity for the stationing of regular troops in the interior of the colony. " In this city," said he, " one company might be usefully employed as a guard for the public property, but a * Purton's Life of Burr, p. 393. \ Do. do., page 393. i Olaiborno to Madison, Ex. Journal, vol. 1, page 217. 6 82 Claiborne's secret correspondence. [1805. greater number appears to be unnecessary. The strengthening of the forts at Plaquemines, or the erecting of a new fort at some strong position on the Mississippi below NcAV Orleans, I consider an object worthy the attention of the administration, and in this way a part of the troops now here might be well employed, I think, and others might with propriety be sent to some frontiei post. To guard, however, against difficulties Avith Spain, it might be advisable to haA'-e a regular force so posted as to enable them to act Avith promptitude and effect, as well in attacking the Floridas as in defending this city, and I know of no position more eligible than Fort Adams." But it is worthy of notice, that during the sojourn of Burr in New Orleans, from the 26th of June to the 1 Jth of July, it was determined at Washington that there was a sufficient cause for a secret correspondence between Claiborne and the Department of State, and to accom plish that purpose, a cipher was sent to the GoA-ernor, who acknowledged the receipt thereof on the 12th of August, What had happened, and what was it which it was deemed proper to conceal from the public eye, from that time to the present day ? Nothing is left here for us to explore but the unsafe field of conjecture ; and the, circumstantial evidence of probabilities is to be accepted, instead of the positive information derived from well-as certained facts. It is but too often that the historian, when consulting official documents, discovers that there are secret ones which will never meet his eye, and with out which the events which he investigates cannot be thoroughly sifted and fully appreciated. However secure Claiborne seemed to be at this time, and however gratified he might have been by the dispo sition shown by Casa Calvo to oblige the American Gov ernment on several occasions — such, for instance, as the 1805,] XHE SPANIARDS UNWILLING TO DEPART, 83 granting of passports to an Aniorican exploring expedi tion, which, under the command of Dunbar, was to go up Red River into the Spanish Provinces — and such as the surrender of slaves who had run away from the Natchi toches District into Texas — still he had not ceased to be exceedingly anxious that the Spanish officers should re move out of the Territory, But not only did those offi cers seem to forget the invitation to depart, which they had received on the 9th of October, 1804, but they even objected to being taxed, with the rest of the citizens, for slaves and other property which they had in the Terri tory. To their remonstrances ou the subject Claiborne replied : " For myself," he said in a letter to Casa Calvo, " I cannot see Avith what propriet}' the individuals gen erally claiming to be officers of Spain, and who reside in this Territory, can claim any exemption from the muni cipal laws. How far your Excellency, and the gentlemen attached to your family, to whom I am disposed to pay every attention in my power, may be entitled to any pecu liar exemption from the operation of the municipal laws of this Territory, is a question on which I sha I solicit the opinion of the Secretary of State of the United States." He also availed himself of this occasion to re mind the Marquis that, by the treaty of the 30th of April, 1803, a period was prescribed within which tho forces of his Catholic Majesty should be withdrawn from the ceded Territory. " Subsequently to the expiration of that period," said he, " your Excellency was urged to direct the departure of certain officers who had contin ued in the Territory so long beyond the right and the oc casion for it. But they, nevertheless, remain stationary, and the circumstance furnishes ground to believe that some of them contemplate a permanent residence," Com menting on the subject in a dispatch to Madison* dated * Executive Journal, vol. 1, p. 280. 84 Claiborne's remonstrances. [1805 August 7th, 1805, Claiborne observed : "You, no doubt, will be surprised to see so many foreign officers in the city. The fact is, that they are wedded to Louisiana, and necessity alone will induce them to depart." But Casa Calvo had winning ways, and there was a charm in his deportment which mollified Claiborne, and almost compelled him, notwithstanding his complaints, to show great forbearance to the Spanish officers. This is dem onstrated by the letter* which, on the 14th of August, he wrote to Casa Calvo : " Permit me to assure your Excellency of the satisfaction I have had in the various communications which have occasionally passed between us. There is a frankness and sincerity in your letters which entitle them to high consideration on my part. Therefore, although I have complained, and not without cause, of the great delay of the Spanish authorities in this Territory beyond the time prescribed for their de parture, I have, nevertheless, been disposed to make great allowance for the difficulties which you have sug gested, and am fully persuaded of the disposition of y^our Excellency to execute, as far as may depend upon your agency, with promptitude and in good faith, the stipula tions of the treaty." Not Avithstan ding these pleasant relations, and the fa vorable dispositions existing between these two officers, the report of the retrocession to Spain of the country west of the Mississippi was gaining so much ground, that Claiborne, becoming uhirmed at the consequences which might follow, called ou the Marquis, and asked him if he knew on what authority this report was circulated. The Marquis answered in the negative, and added that he understood that the negociations had been suspend-ed in Spain, and that Mr. Monroe had left Madrid. He further said, that the Minister of State, Cevallos, had in * Executive Joumal, vol, 1, j). 241. 1805.] CLAIBORNE AND OASA CALVO, 85 formed him (Casa Cah'o) that the desire of the Court of Spain was to make the Mississippi the boundary, and that their expectation Avas to obtain this object in due time. " The Marquis," said Claiborne to Madison,* " de livered himself in the French language. From my im perfect knoAvledge of French, it is possible that I may have misunderstood some of his expressions, but I am sm'e I gave you the substance of what he said. The prospects of a retrocession of the west bank of the Mis sissippi is now, and has always been, the theme of the Spanish officers who remain in the Territory, and many citizens seem to vicAV it as an event likely to happen ; an impression which I greatly regret, since it tends to lessen their confidence iu the American Government, and to cherish a Spanish party among us. Next, therefore, to a final adjustment of limits with the Spanish Govern ment, I most desire to see every Spanish officer removed from the ceded Territory. There must cei'tainly be a poAver existing somcAvhere vested, to cause, to be exe cuted the clause in the treaty which directs the Spanish forces to be withdrawn within three months from the ceded Territory, and I should be pleased to have it hint ed to me that, in my character as commissioner or Gov ernor, I could, on this occasion, take, if necessary, com pulsory measures." The Government of the United States, however, had not, so far, shown itself disposed to pursue such a course, and Claiborne, on the 20th of August, departed from New Orleans,! on a journey to several of the counties of the Territory. In undertaking this excursion, he had tAVO objects in view : the one was to benefit his much- impaired health ; and the other, to assist personally in * Executive Journal, vol. 1, p. 258. f Executive Journal, vol. 1, p. 258. 86 departure of casa calvo, [1806, organizing the militia — an object of the utmost i mport- aiice, considering the hostile attitude which the Govern ments of Spain and of the United States had taken toward each other. On the 26th, Claiborne arrived at Baton Rouge, and partook of the hospitality of the Spanish Governor, Don Carlos de Grandpre^. " I was introduced," wrote Claiborne to Madison,* " into a fort where the Governor has resided for several months, from an apprehension that Kemper and his associates still meditated an attack against his government. The fort of Baton Rouge has lately been repaired, but the works are ill-constructed, and could not be defended from assault by a less number than one thousand men ; the seat has also been injudiciously selected, for it is commanded by ground not more than a quarter of a mile distant." On his return to New Orleans, Clai borne informed Madison f " that he had found every thing tranquil, and did not apprehend any event in which the people of the Territory would take an agency which would subject the government to embarrass ments," But he added, " that a rupture between the United States and Spain was esteemed here as highly probable, and excited much anxiety," At last, on the 15th of October, the Marquis of Casa Calvo departed from New Orleans, in accordance with a previous notice which he had given to Claiborne, explanatory of his intentions, which were — to pass through Bayou Lafourche and the Bayou T6che to the sea,X and thence to the mouth of the Sabine, which he proposed to ascend as far as the old Post of Adais, In making this excursion, the Marquis stated that he had two objects in view : the one to enjoy the * Executive Joumal, vol. 1, p. 254. \ Do. Vol. 1, p. 261. Dispatch of the 5th October, 1805. i Do. Vol. 1, p. 255. DiBpatch of Uio 14th October, 1805. 1805.] OASA CALVO GOES TO TEXAS. 87 amusement of hunting ; the other, to acquire some geo graphical knowledge of the country, and in particular, to ascertain the latitude of the Post of Adais, and to make an examination for some stone posts, which were said to have been deposited somewhere in its vicinity, and immediately on the line which was formerly estab lished between the French and Spanish possessions west of the Mississippi. " I expressed to the Marquis a wish,'' wrote Claiborne, " that, on his arrival at the Post of Adais, he should be joined by an American officer from the garrison of Natchitoches, who should witness his proceedings, and make report to me thereof. To which proposition the Marquis having assented. Captain Turner, who speaks the French language, has been se lected to accompany him." One of the instructions to Turner was to ascertain the longitude and latitude ot several points in the country to be visited, and also the line of demarcation which had formerly existed be tween the Spanish and French Territories, He was further requested to collect whatever other information might be useful for the Government, " although it did not come within his instructions."* On the 24th of October, Claiborne's apprehensions of an attack on Louisiana from the Spaniards had become much- keener, and were founded on infoi-mation which he had lately received, and which he thought correct. Thus he believed that four hundred Spanish troops had recently arrived at Pensacola, and that a larger number was daily expected ; that three hundred men had been ordered to Baton Rouge, and that eight hundred had been posted in Texas, near the frontiers of Louisiana. He was well assured that a Spanish agent had contract- Bd for the delivery at Mobile of four thousand barrels ot * Executive Journal, daiborne to Turner, 14th October. Vol. 1, p. 264. 88 CLAIBORNE PREPARES FOR WAR, [1805. flour, and that the same agent, not being enabled to procure by contract the delivery of four thousand pairs of shoes at the same point, had purchased a quantity of leather. So convinced was- Claiborne of impending daup-er, that he wrote to Robert Williams, Governor of the Mississippi Territory, to give him timely notice of th(! coming storm.* "T am persuaded," says he, "that the Spanish agents in our vicinity calculate on an im mediate rupture, and that they are making all the prep arations which their means permit, to commence the Avar in this quarter with advantage. Until, therefore, ¦•ve have information of an amicable settlement of differ ences, or some strong assurances that hostilities Avill not be resorted to, permit me to advise that you remain at your post. I well know that, if you Avere to depart for North Carolina, and any difficulties should arise in your absence, you would be extremely mortified, and, there fore, although I strongly hope that peace may with honor be preserved, yet, as war may speedily commence, I should regret your absence from a position where you might be among the liist to partake of the danger and the glory of defending om- country." These were noble sentiments, and Claiborne proceeded to act in accordance with them, by providing himself and his friend, the Governor of Mississippi, with that weapon which every brave hand longs to grasp, when laurels are to be won ; for he concludes the communication, fi*om which I have made the preceding extract, with these words : — " I have purchased for you an elegant sword ; it is similar to one I have purchased for myself, and is said to be the kind of small-arms at present worn by the generals in France." On the 30th of October, Claiborne was confimied in * Claiborne to Williams, 24th October, Executive Journal, vol. 1, p. 276. 1805,] SUSPICIOUS MOVEMENTS OF CASA CALVO, -89 his apprehensions of a rupture between Spain and the United States. A governor-general of the province of Texas had arrived at San Antonio, and as he was a brig adier-general and was said to possess military talent, the fact was looked upon as not Avithout signification. Be sides, a fort had been erected on the Trinity River, and occupied by a garrison of two hundred men, the greater part cavalry. "The conduct of the Spaniards in this quarter," wrote Claiborne to Dearborn, Secretary of War, "is highly exceptionable, and manifests a hostile disposition." At the same time, heavy duties were lev ied by the Spanish authorities in Mobile on all American vessels navigating up the Tombigbee River from the ocean. Claiborne strongly lemonstrated in a * communi cation to Governor Folch against the vexations thus in flicted, and which were calculated to weaken the good understanding which should have existed between the two nations. He further complained of the considerable annaments of the Spaniards, and demanded explanations on the subject, considering, said he, "that negotiations between our respective governments are still in train." Claiborne kept his eyes always vigilantly open on Florida and Texas, and was somewhat solicitous about the movements of Casa Calvo in the latter territory. New Orleans was fruitful in reports on the subject. It Avas generally believed that the Marquis had taken Avith him a considerable sum of money. Some said that he was to meet on the frontiers of Texas three thousand troops, of which he was to take the command ; others that he was engaged in sowing discontent among the people of the western part of Louisiana ; many were under the impression that the money carried away by the Marquis was destined to conciliate the Indians to the » Executive Journal, page 282, vol. 1^— Dispatch of the 81st Oct., 1805. 90 CLALBORNB ASKS FOR REINFORCEMENTS, [1806 Spanish interest in case of a rupture with the United States. There were some who suspected that all these objects together were within the compass of his journey. Various, indeed, were the conjectures,* and the news Avhich Claiborne received ft-om time to time was not such as to quiet the excitement of the public .mind, " Some troops," Avrote Dr, Sibley to him, " have arrived at Nacogdoches — it is said two hundred ; and it is like wise said they are going to fortify, in a short time, within five or six leagues of Natchitoches, Considering the attachment to them of their militia, and the contrary toward us of our militia, they are stronger than we are, counting numbers." In such an emergency, Claiborne hastened to. write to Madison : f " The regular troops here are few in number, nor can I rely with certainty on the body of the militia. I believe that many of the Cre oles of the country would be faithful to the American Government, but perhaps a majority of them would re main neutral, and I am inclined to think that most of the Frenchmen, and all the Spaniards who reside here, in the event of war, would favor the Spanish interest. These are my impressions, and I deem it a duty to im part them to you." After having given this information, Claiborne urged the sending of reinfoi >.ements to him as soon as possible. He advised that Forts St. John and Plaquemines be re paired and placed in a state of defence ; that the troops at Fort Adams be rem. ved to Pointe Couple; and that the troops in New Or eans, leaving only a necessary guard for the public stores and barracks, be posted at Fort St. John, and above and below the city of New Oi leans at suitable positions, not more than six miles dis tant from the city. He thought that, by these measures, » Executive Joumal, Claiborne to Madison, 6th November, vol. 1 p 285 t Executive Joumal, vol. 1, page 285. 1805,] ORGANIZATION OF THE MILITIA, 91 the passage of a hostile army by way of the lakes, or from Baton Rouge, or from the mouth of the river, might be opposed, and that, in this manner, " various rallying- points would be presented for the patriotic citizens of the militia." The vigilance of Claiborne continued to rise in proportion Avith the increase of danger, and, on the 7th of November,* he wrote to the Secretary of War: " I have no doubt but that we have a few Spanish sol diers in this city, who have disguised their outward garb. The inclosed deposition Avill give some informa tion concerning them ; their movements will be watch ed, and such measures adopted as their conduct tnay justify." When hostilities were thus within the range of prob abilities, Claiborne felt himself compelled to give much attention to the organization of the militia. Conspicu ous among the diffeient corps Avas the battalion of Or leans, which was composed of Americans, and of Creoles of Louisiana, who, wrote Claiborne f to Madison, " pos sess a great share of military ardor." But Graham, the Secretary of the Territory, seems to have had but an indif ferent opinion of the efficacy of the militia. In a com munication to the Secretary of War at Washington he said : J " My own opinion is that it is not, nor ever will be, equal to the defence of the Territory. The climate, the nature of the country, Avhich does not admit of a thick population, and above all, the number of negroes, will CA^er make this a feeble part of the Union, even if the Cre oles should be tempted to shoulder their muskets and feel as Americans. In this city there are some volunteer corps which might, I believe, be depended upon, and no doubt, in case of an emergency, others might be raised, but these * Executive Journal, vol. 1, p. 289. f Executive Journal, vol. 1, p. 291. j Executive Journal, vol. 2, p. 19, 26th December, 1805. 92 NEGOTIATIONS WITH SPAIN. [1805. would consist of men who could not leave the city for any length of time," After having taken a view of what was occurring be tween the Spaniards and Americans in Louisiana, and in the neighboring provinces, it is proper now to examine the course pursued by the two governments at Madrid and Washington. On the 4th September, 1803, Casa Irujo, the Spanish Minister at Washington, had protested in the name of his Government against the cession of Louis iana to the United States ; * but, on the 10th of Feb ruary, 1804, he had informed the Government of the United States that he had received orders to declare that his Catholic Majesty " had thought fit to renounce his opposition to the alienation of Louisiana made by France, notwithstanding the solid reasons on which it was found ed, thereby giving a new proof of his benevolence and friendship towarops in garrison, from all of which I calculate that we could not draw in a few days more than five hundred men fit for seiwice. In making this estimate, it is far 124 SECRETARY GRAHAM TO MADISON. [1800 from my intention to insinuate that there are not many among the natives, and some among the French, who would join us ; but, at present, it is impossible for me to fbrm anything like a conjecture how many would do so. From what I hear, and from what I see, I am in duced to think that the prevailing disposition among these tAVO classes of people is to remain neutral, in case of a war between Spain and the United States. Yet 1 believe this disposition would be more or less general according to the measures pursued by the Americans here. If we show a determination to resist any attack that may be made, many of them, I calculate, Avill join us — some from principle, and more fi'om a conviction that we must ultimately succeed. But if we do not form a rallying-point for them, they will, I believe, do nothing themselves'. Under this impression, the Mayor and myself are endeavoring to draw all our country men into a military association for the defence of the city, if it should be attacked by the Spanish forces now on our western and eastern frontiers This association will be put into no regular form until the re turn of the Governor. He will then give it that which seems to him most proper. The object of it is to draw out, under, the exigency of the moment, and to put in military array, men who would not otherwise subject themselves to the inconvenience of doing military duty. The expedient will answer but for a time, and I fear but for a very short time ; for the Spanish forces are increas ing in our neighborhood, and might, even with their present number, if they are brave, bear down any oppo sition we could make. This is, at least, the prevailing opinion, and the very circumstance of its being so is alarming, for we have few men here who would take what they supposed to be the weakest side. To save their property would be the great object of nearly all, 1806.] THE SPANIARDS STILL LINGER IN LOUISIANA ^ 125 and to take arms on the weakest side might be supposed as the readiest means of losing it. The peculiar circum stances attending the mulatto corps will require much delicacy of management, I have, therefore, thought it most prudent not to say anything to them until the Governor's return." Claiborne's return was not long delayed, for he arrived on the 5th of January, and he informed Madison, on the 7th, that he had long regretted* the prolonged residence of the Marquis of Casa CalA'o and other Spanish officers in the Territory, because their intrigues weakened the attachment of our citizens to their government, engender ed discontent, and were made the ground for belief that the country west of the Mississippi would speedily re turn to Spain. He added that, for these reasons, he received with pleasure the official communication of the President's determination to urge them to a final depart ure, and he gave the assurance that he Avould endeavor to convey this order in the same spirit with which it was sent to him, so as to leave no room for discussion. But the Marquis was still absent, and some uncertainty prevailed as to the place where he might be found. "In the course of to-morrow," wrote Claiborne, " I will en deavor to obtain correct information on this point, and will communicate to the Marquis, by express, the order for his departure. I think it best that the Marcjuis should not again visit this city. It is not probable that the order for the departure of the Spanish officers will ex cite any commotion in the interior of the Territory, or that it would occasion regret to other persons than the connec tions of the individuals concerned. But in New Orleans there are many adherents to the Spanish interestj a few of respectable standing in society, but for the most part * Executive Journal, p. 27, vol. 8. 126 olaiborite's alarms. [1806. composed of characters well suited for mischievous and wicked enterprises, I do not believe that, under exist ing circumstances, the Marquis would encourage acts of violence and hostility ; but as his influence here is con siderable, and might, if used on the occasion, give rise to a commotion which could not be checked without blood shed, I have thought it prudent early to apprise him of the President's orders. I shall, indeed, be sorry if the excursion of the Marquis should have subjected me to the smallest share of censure. I did not suppose that his real oVvjects Avere unfriendly to the United States, nor did I accredit assurances to the contrary, which he so readily gave me. But as I doubted my authority to prevent his excursion, I thought it best to state no objections to it," Claiborne's visit to several of the counties of the Terri tory had been attended AAdth satisfactory results. Some of the civil authorities, whose regular action had been impeded, had been again set in motion, and gave fair promise to answer the Governor's expectations. He had commissioned many militia officers ; he had given on the land laws such explanations as were suited to check the rising discontent ; and he had made success ful efforts, as he believed, to attach the citizens to the Government of the United States, He was not, how ever, without considerable alarm ; for, on the 8th, he informed the Department of State* that, in the present - crisis of affairs, the regular troops in the Territory were too few in number to giA^e confidence to the well-dispos ed citizens, or to deter the treacherous from forming mischievous machinations. " The Louisianians," he said, " are a timid people, and so little acquainted are they Avith the strength of the United States, that the issue of * Executive Joumal, p. 80, ToL S. 1806.] THE MULATTO CORPS. 127 a contest with Spain is esteemed by them as doubtful, and, therefore, they (or many of them) would probably be disposed to remain neutral, as the surest means of preserving their property. If war should be deemed inevitable, I esteem it my duty to suggest the propriety of raising and organizing a respectable corps of horse. The country west of tho Mississippi is interspersed with immense prairies, and an army could not act to advantage in that quarter without the support of cavalry. " With respect to the Mulatto corps in this city, to which Mr. Graham alluded in his communication, I am, indeed, at a loss to know what policy is best to pursue. Their organization during the late temporary govern ment was not liked by the ancient Louisianians, nor were there wanting j^jnericans who, with a view to my injury, reprobated the proceeding, both by speaking and writing. Indeed, so much Avas said on the subject, that the late Legislative Council thought it pi-udent to take no notice of the Mulatto corps in the General Militia Law. This neglect has soured them considerably with the American Government, and it is questionabh how far they would, in time of danger, prove faithful to the American standard, I shall, however, procure a census of the free people of color who reside in and near this citj\ Those capable of bearing arms may probably amount to about five hundred, and, while proper exertions shall be made to conciliate the good- Avill of all, I have little doubt' but that those among them who possess property and a fair reputation will, in any event, prove faithful in their allegiance." On the 10th of January, Claiborne dispatched Capt. Ross in search of the Marquis of Casa Calvo, with a letter informing tlie Marquis that the President of the United States had dii'ected him and aU other persons holding com- 128 CLAIBORNE TO CASA CALVO. [1806. missions from, or retained in the service of, his Catholic Majesty, to quit the Territory of Orleans as soon as possible. He further informed the Marquis that this proceeding had been resorted to as a measure of pre caution, rendered the more expedient from the rejection by Spain of the proposals submitted by the Envoy- Extraordinary of the United States for an amicable adjustment of existing differences — from the reinforce ments lately landed at Pensacola — ^from similar move ments on our western frontier — and from the recent acts of aggression committed by the Spanish troops in that quarter. " I repeat to your Excellency," said Claiborne, " that this is only a measure of precaution dictated by the circumstances of the times, and not intended as an act of offence toward your nation, or of rigor against yourself and the other gentlemen attached to the ser vice of his Catholic Majesty. " In making this communication to your Excellency, it may be proper further to inform you, that you have never been accredited by the President of the United States as a Commissioner of Limits ; that no proposal has been made on the part of Spain for setting such a commission on foot, nor indeed can it be considered as necessary, so long as the present difference of opinion continues respecting the lines to be run." The next day, the 11th, he communicated a similar order to Intendant Morales, who was then in New Or leans, and who immediately remonstrated against the enforcement of such a measure. But Claiborne replied, that he had no power to deviate from his instructions, and that if his Catholic Majesty wished an accredited agent to reside at New Orleans, the proper channel of application would be, through his Minister, to the Pres ident of the United States. Claiborne was determined this time to get rid, cost Avhat may, of the presence of 1806,] BATTALION OF GR LEANS VOLUNTEERS. 129 these dangerous guests, and even instructed Major Porter, who was in command of Fort Claiborne, in the District of Natchitoches, to use force, if necessary, to prevent the return of Casa Calvo, should that officer attempt, as was expected, to pass through that section of the Territory on his way back to New Orleans.* Under such circumstances, and when it was still a matter of doubt how the Spanish officers Avould take this abrupt dismissal from the Territory, where they were lingering with such persevering and mysterious fondness, Claiborne learned, with great displeasure, that General Wilkinson had given a special order to detach one full conij)any from New Orleans to Fort Adams. The regular troops in the city did not exceed two hun dred and eighty men at the time, including officers, and of these about sixty were on the sick-list. To with draw a whole company from such a small effective force was, therefore, a matter of considerable importance.f Claiborne requested Colonel Freeman, the commanding officer in New Orleans, to suspend the execution of Wilkinson's order. But the Colonel refused, on the ground that he had no such discretionary power. In a case of emergency, Claiborne Avould, therefore, have had to rely chiefly on the militia, which was far from having yet a proper organization, Avith the exception of the Battalion of Orleans Volunteers, represented by Clai borne as composed J of " active, gallant young men, who possessed much military ardor, and who would, if the occasion required it, support with firmness the interest and honor of their country," He also wrote to Madi son : " The native citizens of the United States who reside in this city have of late manifested a great share * Executive Journal, p. 40, vol. 3. \ Executive Journal, p. 43, vol. 8. j Executive Journal, p. 43. 9 130 INDIFFERENCE TO THE RIGHT OF SUFFRAGE. [1806. of military ardor, and I perceive with satisfaction that a true spirit of patriotism animates many of the young Creoles." * But he did not express himself so favorably as to the interest taken by the population in the exer cise of their right of suffrage; for he thought proper to call the attention of Madison to the " great degree of political apathy" which- had prevailed in the community in relation to an election for the House of Representa tives, which had been held on the 21st of January. Perhaps this indifference shoAvn to the Government which had been lately implanted in Louisiana was, to some degree, due to the apprehension ou the part of many of displeasing the Spanish authorities still present, by appearing to harmonize with the new possessors of the soil, and to appreciate their institutions ; for it must not be forgotten that, in the opinion of many, the cession of Louisiana was far from being irrevocably settled. Hence Claiborne spared no effort to accelerate the de parture of these agents of the Government of Spain. Morales, who was anxious to remain where he was, had alleged to Claiborne, as a reason for the delay he solicit ed, that he was expecting from the Viceroy of Mexico a large sum of money, about four hundred thousand dol lars, to pay the debts of his Catholic Majesty to certain citizens of the Territory, which could not be done in his absence. This was intended as a strong argument, from which much was to be hoped ; but Claiborne met it in these words : " Should, sir, the money arrive here before a Spanish agent is accredited in this city liy the Presl dent of the United States, I shall lose no time in for warding to }'0u at Pensacola a blank passport, in which you may insert the name of such person as you may think proper to vest Avith authority to receive it, and to • Executive Journal, p. 46. 1806.1 EXPULSION OF MORALES. 131 liquidate and discharge the aforesaid debt." This was not all ; and Claiborne, not trusting entirely to the force of his logic to produce on the stubborn pertinacity of Morales the effect which he desired, added this signif icant paragraph : " I esteem it a duty to remind you that the departure from this Territory of yourself and the gentlemen attached to your department will be expected in the course of the present month." This was allowing very little breathing-time to Morales ; for this note was dated on the 25th of January, and to it was annexed a. passport couched in the most courteous terms.* It was no longer possible for the Intendant to expostulate, and, on the 1st of February, he departed for Pensacola. Thus the obnoxious Intendant had at last been driven out. There remained the lordly Casa Calvo to be also dismissed without delay. Claiborne was anxious to have done with this unpleasant duty ; the more so, that every day something occurred Avhicli rendered more desirable the complete absence of all Spanish influence in the Ter ritory. For instance, on the 29th of January, Stephen, a free black man, had appeared before Claiborne and declared on oath that the j/ccple of color had been tampered Avith, and that some of them Avere devoted to the Spanish interest, which declaration Claiborne believed to be true.f Stephen's.information was also corroborated by that of a white man called Horatio Gerel, which was not without effect on Claiborne's mind, although he did not credit, on the whole, the statement of the deponent. Fortunately, Claiborne's anxiety Avas relieved by the arrival of Casa Calvo, on the evening of the 4th of Feb ruary. The Marquis had come from Nacogdoches, through Natchitoches, but without having met with Captain Ross. On the 6th, Claiborne hastened to express * Executive Joumal, p. 49, vol. 3. f Executive Journal, p. 53, vol 8. 132 EXPULSION OF OASA CALVO, [1806. to him, as politely as possible, " the wish that his depart ure might not be delayed beyond a few days." The Marquis was shocked, and remonstrated ; but Claiborne replied that he could not doubt, nor could discuss, the propriety of the orders of the President of the United States ; that they served as a rule for his conduct ; and that on the present occasion, the only duty devolving upon him was to see them executed. Wherefore he re quired that the Marquis and all other persons holding commissions from, or retained in the service of, his Catholic Majesty, should quit the Territory of Orleans as soon as possible, and he " tendered such services as might be in his power to facilitate their embarkation." The Marquis was far from being pacified by the urbane tone of this communication. He retorted that he looked on the treatment inflicted on him as a shameful act of A'iolence, and an insult to the King his master. " On the contrary," replied Claiborne, on the 11th of February, " the residence of so many Spanish officers in this Territory having been permitted by the President, so long beyond the time prescribed by treaty for their departure, is a proof of his respect for his Cath6lic Majesty, and of his liberal indulgence toward those employed in his serAdce ; an indulgence which, I am sorry to perceive, is not suffi- ciefttly appreciated by all who experience it." Then followed a request that the Marquis should depart on or before the 15th day of the present month, with all the officers of Spain remaining in the Territory, The next day, the 12th, he sent to the Marquis a passport, inclosed in a short note, expressing " his best wishes for the health and happiness of the nobleman whose presence had become so unacceptable." Casa Calvo, like Morales, felt that he could no longer tarry, and departed on the day fixed by (Jlaiborne, but full of wrath and indignation. On the 13th of February, Claiborne informed Jefferson 1806.] HIGH CHARGES IN LOUISIANA. 133 that the public sentiment, if he was not greatly mistaken, had of late undergone a change highly favorable to tho American Government. " The natives of Louisiana," he said, " are for the most part attached to the Government of the United States, and I am persuaded that most of the men of property would, in the event of war, rally around the American standard," Toward the close of this month, Claiborne rendered to Albert Gallatin, Secretai-y of the Treasury, an account of his expenses, with his remarks and comments on the subject, among which is a passage depicting a state of things which has continued to this day : " You will probably be surprised at the high charge of printing for the Executive Depart ment ; but it is only in unison with every other charge for public or private services in the city ; and if my ex penditure should wear the aspect of extravagance, I pray you to attribute it to the character of the place where I reside, and not to the want of a disposition, on my part, to bring my disbursements within the limits of a prudent economy." The dismissal of Morales and Casa Calvo from New Orleans gave new fuel to the already existing hostility of the Spaniards to the Americans, and that hostility showed itself repeatedly, in different ways, whenever the opportunity occurred. Thus, on the 15th of March, Claiborne was informed that, for the future, the mail of the United States would not be permitted by Governor Folch, of Florida, to pass either by land or by water through that part of the dominions of his Catholic Majes ty ; that the fortifications of Mobile were undergoing repairs, and that the Spaniards were at work among the nu merous tribes of the Choctaws, AAdth the hope, in case of need, to induce them to join in a Avar against the United States, This information excited the apprehensions of Claiborne, and, on the 18th of March, he* wrote to the " Executive Journal, p. 87, vol. 8, 134 INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS. [1806. President : " The presence of a res])ectable force is es sential to the safety of New Orleans. I suppose that, at this time, there cannot be less than two millions of dol lars in this city, which, together with the merchandise in the numerous private warehouses, would furnish a rich booty for a successful enemy." According to a proclamation of the Governor concern ing an early session of the Legislature, that body met on the 24th of March. Claiborne, in his message, congrat ulated them on the prosperous condition of the Territory, Avhose interests were committed to their care, " The late Legislati\'e Council," he said, " did much for the preservation of order in society, and for the advancement of the general weal; but much as that assembly did, still much is left for the present Legislature to accom plish In the infancy of our political career, we should consider our laws as experi ments, and they should undergo such improvements as reason and experience may suggest." He then recom mended a revision of the judiciary system, certain im provements to be made in the criminal code, the estab lishment of a penitentiary with solitary confinement, the creation of work-houses for vagrants, houses of correction for the dissolute, houses of refuge for the destitute, and provisions for the trial of slaves by summary process. He also called the attention of the Legislature to the necessity of facilitating the means of internal commercial intercourse, and of improving navigation on those water courses which led from the counties of Attakapas and Opelousas to the river Mississippi. The want of that proper care which should have been b'istowed on roads and levees Avas commented upon, and legislative interfer ence demanded. As to the important subject of educa tion, he said, " It is with regret I have to inform you that the law passed by the Legislative Council, entitled 1806.] CLAIBORNE ON EDUCATION. 135 'An Act to establish a University in the Territory of Orleans,' does not promise to advance the interest of literature with the rapidity Avhich was contemplated, , The doctrine which prevailed in an ancient Republic of Greece, with respect to their youth, is one which, in my opinion, ought always to be cherished by a free people. The youth should be considered as the property of the State, their welfare should consti tute a primary care of the Government, and those in power should esteem it an incumbent duty to make such pro visions for the improvement of the minds and morals of the rising generation as will enable them to appreciate the blessings of self-government, and to preserve those rights which are destined for their inheritance. I am one of those who admire the plan adopted by some of the States of the American Union : that of establishing a school in every neighborhood, and supporting it by a general tax on the society. I should, indeed, be happy to see a similar policy pursued in this Territory, and a tax which would bear alike on every individual, in pro portion to his wealth, IcAded for the purpose." He en larged on the necessity of organizing the militia in the most effective manner, which was of importance at all times, but more particularly " at a period when the Uni ted' States were experiencing from foreign powers inju ries which, if not promptly redressed, must be avenged.'' He wound up with recommending an increase of taxes to meet the expenses of the new Government. On the 27th of March, Claiborne wrote to Madison ; " I am anxious to learn the real state of affairs between the United States and foreign nations, and particularly so as it relates to Spain. The, free navigation of the Mobile by American vessels is still prohibited, and our fellow-citizens on the Tombigbee are experiencing there from the most serious inconveniences ; their articles of ex- 136 INCREASE OF TROOPS REQUIRED, [1806. portation are of no value, and many of the necessaries of life, which were hitherto received by the Mobile, are in great scarcity ; in short, sir, if the present state of things should continue for six months longer, the settle ment would be ruined, and perhaps abandoned. The American citizens on the Tombigbee have entered into an agreement not to traffic, or to have any intercourse Avith the Spaniards, so long as the ft'ce navigation of the Mobile is denied. But this agreement only proves the spirit and patriotism of our fellow citizens ; it will pro duce no injury on their oppressors." Commenting on this state of things, he drew the inference from passing events, and from those which "were expected, that Amer ican interests required that there should be at least twelve hundred troops in the Territory of Orleans. " The presence of such a force," he remarked, " would not only deter the Spanish agents in our vicinity from ven turing on acts which are calculated to irritate, but, Avhat is infinitely of more consequence, it would give our new fellow-citizens a confidence in the American Government which, I am sorry to say, many of them, at this time, do not possess. I have labored to infuse among the people here a martial spirit, and to keep up a degree of military ardor, but I perceive, with regret, that the spirit Avhich was for awhile roused is declining, and that a general apathy is prevailing. The native Americans declare that the Government neglects them, and the ancient Louisianians, seeing no military preparations, are impressed Avith an opinion that the United States are either unable, or un willing, to contend with the power of Spain." Claiborne was not without reasons for desu-ing a re inforcement. The news from Natchitoches were of an unpleasant nature.* Spanish troops, to the number of • Executive Joumal, p. i04, vol. 3. 1800,] IIOS'l'ILE ACTS OF THE SPANIARDS. 137 four hundred, accompanied by some Indians, had assem bled on the Sabine, threatening to advance, and to re sume the same position near to Natchitoches from which a small Spanish guard had lately been driven by Captain Turner, under the orders of Major Porter. This move ment on the part of the Spaniards had excited much alarm ou the western frontier, and should they perse vere in their design, it was doubted whether it would be in the power of Major Porter to oppose them Avith success,, inasmuch as his force did not exceed two hun dred effective men. Major Porter, however, was not intimidated by this hostile demonstration, and had sta tioned* a company of infantry in advance of Natchito ches, and within the limits assigned by the Spanish agents to the province of Texas, Meanwhile, Governor Folch, of Florida, being under the impression that a war between the United States and Spain was a probable event, and that France would not AdcAv, without concern, a contest in which the interest of her ally was involved, wrote to Mr, Desforgues, the French Consul at New Orleans, and advised the imme diate transportation to Mobile of a park of artillery be longing to France, and still remaining in the Territory. Mr, Desforgues refused to conform to the wishes of Gov ernor Folch, and replied that he would not deliver the artillery, either to the agents of Spain, or of the United States, without the orders of his Government. He con fidentially communicated this correspondence to Gov ernor Claiborne, to convince him of his disposition to act a just and candid part toward the United States, and he expressed the hope that it would also be received as an evidence of his confidence in the Governor, and of his personal esteem for him.f * Executive Journal, page 110, vol. 3, f Executive Journal, p. 110, vol. 2. Claiborne to Madison, 8th of April, 1808. 138 JOILN RANDOLPH AND CLAIBORNE, [1806. To the mortification of Claiborne, the Territorial Legis lature, which he had convened in an extraordinary session, made* but little progress in the dispatch of business. " The ancient Louisianians," said he in a communication to Jefferson, " are greatly jealous of the native Ameri cans who are in the House of Representatives, nor are there wanting some designing malcontents out of office and confidence, who have recourse to every expedient to disseminate the seeds of distrust and discontent, I am at present on excellent terms with the two Houses of Assembly, but I fear this good understanding Avill not continue throughout the session ; many laws will be offered for my approbation, and my duty will compel me to reject several. Then commences a jealousy of the Executive, and the base intriguers will spare no pains to widen the breach." On the 16th of April, Claiborne was much gratified at being informed that the Spanish force had been with drawn from the Sabine, and that the orders to cross that river and establish a post near Natchitoches Avere countermanded by the Governor-General of Texas. But, at the same time, he was much annoyed by an attack made against him in Congress by John Randolph, who, with his usual acerbity of temper, accused his administration of being marked Avith weakness and im becility. Commenting on this attack in a letter to Madison, dated 29th of April,f he said : " The corre spondent of Mr. Randolph has made him to speak in language the reverse of truth: This Government is not an imbecile one ! it is sufficiently strong for all good purposes ! I ask Mr. Randolph and his friend to pro duce proof of its imbecility. I ask if the laws are not enforced ? if personal rights are not secured and good * Executive Joumal, p. 118, vol. 2. t Executive Journal, p. 119, vol 2. IROO.J REGULATlONo ON CITIZENSHIP. 139 order preserved? I do not know, nor do I believe, that the Government is odious. If there are persons who would have preferred another system, it does not follow that the present one deserves their odium. With regard to the discontents of the people, I by no means consider them as general or as serious as is represented. That the Louisianians haA'e a great partiality for France as their mother country ; that former habits had attached many of them to the Spanish system of government, and that the intrigues of a few artful, designing men had promoted discontent and occasioned me much trouble, are facts of which I have long apprised you ; but so far from admitting that the Louisianians are prepared to receive with open ai-ms an invader, I am impressed with an opinion that, in the event of war, many of the Creoles of the country would be found faithful to the United States, Perhaps a disposition to remain neutral might become prevalent, as the surest means of preserving their property," Some difficulties having arisen as to the evidences of citizenship and 'the enjoyment of the rights which it conferred, Claiborn(j issued, on the 30th of April, a circular to the notaries public and the clerks of the Superior Court, who then were empowered to receive testimony on the subject, in which he informed them that the Governor, for the future, would give a certificate of citizenship to no person who should not prove his right to the same by his OAvn oath and that of two citizens of the Territory — which citizens should either be the owners of real property within the same, or engaged in some particular business which promised a continuance of their residence in the Territory, They were instructed to notify this regulation to persons claiming citizenship, and to call their special attention to the fact that care would be taken to detect such per- 140 GOVERNOR Claiborne's veto. [I8O6. son as might depose falsely touching the claim of cit izenship for himself or others, and to bring him to that punishment Avhich the law prescribes for the crime of perjury.* Those disagreements which Claiborne had foreseen as destined to arise between the Legislature and himself, were not slow in making their appearance. An act had been passed " to establish certain conditions neces sary to be a member of either house of the Legislature of the Territory of Orleans." Claiborne vetoed the bill, on the gi'ound that its operation would be revolution ary, and that it would deprive of their seats several members of the present Legislature. " It seems to me," said he, " that a member possessed of the qualifications required by the ordinance for our Government has a right to continue his functions during the period of which he was elected ; and that a law which shall im pose other qualifications than those pointed out in the ordinance cannot be constitutional, unless its operation shall be prospective, and not permitted to affect the sitting members." This was on the 2d of May. On the 8th, he inclosed to Madison a copy of the bill, with a copy of the message in which he had expressed his disapprobation of it, and remarked: "The ancient Louisianians in the Legislature are impatient of control, and will illy receive a check from the Executive author ity, but I must do my duty, and shall, on every occa sion, act the part which my judgment approves. By pursuing this course, I may present my enemies fresh materials to work upon, and render myself unpopular, but my conscience will be tranquil, and I shall sleep the better at night." On the 14th he added :t "The Territorial Legislature will, I fear, do little good during * Executive Journal, p. 121, vol. 3. t Executive Joumal, p. 136, vol. 3. 1806.J Claiborne's opinion of the natives. 141 the present session. They are divided, and one party — the strongest — seems to be greatly influenced by a fcAV men in this city, whose politics and views are, in my opinion, in opposition to the interests of the United States." He resumed the subject in a communication of the 16th of May, in these words: " The difference in language and the jealousy which exists between the ancient and modern Louisianians are great barriers to the introduction of that harmony and mutual confi dence which I so much desire " There are, no doubt, several minor causes of discontent in this quarter ; but the most fruitful sources are the in troduction of the English languages in our courts of justice — the judicial system generally — and particularly the trial by jury — and the admission of attorneys. The pride as well as the convenience of the Louisianians are opposed to any innovation on their language ; the trial by jury is by many considered as odious, and the lawyers as serious nuisances " When our disputes with Spain are adjusted, and the citizens induced to think that their political destiny is fixed ; when the English language is generally spoken, and a knowledge of the principles of the American Government diffused, then I shall be disappointed, if the Louisianians should not be among the most zealous and virtuous members of our Republic. But, at the present crisis, and with the present population, disturbed by the intrigues of adventurers — unprincipled adven turers from every country — it is not in the pOwer of any man to put down distrust and dissatisfaction." A fcAV days after, on the 26th of May, he vetoed another bill, entitled "An Act declaring the laws Avhich continue to be in force in the Territory of Orleans, and the authors Avhich may be recurred to as authorities 142 ANOTHER VETO BY CLAIBORNE, [1806. within the same." He had previously notified the De partment of State at Washington of the course which he had intended to pursue, saying, " This measure was prob ably supported by some of the French lawyers, and has become a favorite one with the nmjority of the two Houses. Its rejection will, therefore, excite perhaps some discontent ; " and he denounced Daniel Clarke and Evan Jones as being among the intriguers who were the most active in opposing him. "The first, from disappoint ment," he said, " is greatly soured Avith the General Ad ministration ; and the latter, from principle, is inimical to the General Government. They both cordially unite in doing the Governor here all the injury in their power."* These two gentlemen were wealthy and influential mem bers of the old population of Louisiana, among which they had long resided ; therefore they easily proved to be no despicable thorns in Claiborne's political ribs. Claiborne's veto of this last bill produced almost a com motion, Destr6han, Sauv6 and Bellechasse, members of the Council, resigned in disgust ; but, influenced by the entreaties of Claiborne, Bellechasse withdrew his resig nation. The Council itself had passed a Resolution proposing a dissolution of the General Assembly, and assigning as one of their reasons for advocating such a measui-e, " that the Governor had rejected, and continues to reject, their best laws." In a communication to Madison sent on the same day he vetoed the bill, Claiborne used the folloAving language : " I consider the bill in question as improper, and it was my duty, therefore, to reject it. If, by the ordinance and laws of Congress, the civil law is recognized, the bill was useless. The Judges of the Superior Court can deter mine the authorities on Avhich to rely. Their selection * Executive Journal, p. 183, vol. 3. 1806.] CLAIBORNE AND THE FRENCH CONSUL, ; 43 would likely be more judicious than any which the leg islature could make. I profess myself uninformed of the merits of the bill, and to know not the consequences which might flow from it. In any event, I thought it but right to disapprove the measure." But was it not a very improper stretch of authority on the part of Clai borne to reject a bill, when " he professed himself un informed of its merits," and thus to defeat a measure which he stated to be " a great favorite" with the representatives of the people? It is not astonishing, therefore, that he found himself the object of harsh censure, and that he produced a great deal of irritation. Whilst the two Houses were in a state of violent ex citement, and discussing the propriety of pronouncing their own dissolution as a political body, a storm arose from another quarter. The French Consul and the French citizens were infuriated by an attack made in one of the newspapers of the city on their beloved Emperor, Napoleon I. ; and the Consul, Mr. Desforgues, addressed a formal complaint to Claiborne on the subject. The Governor very properly replied, that the Government had no power over the press ; that its licentiousness was seen and regretted, but that a remedy had not yet been devised ; that it was not in his power to take any measure on the occasion -; that the Judiciary of the county could alone interfere ; and that the French Consul should apply to the District Attorney, Mr. Brown, for advice. " Mr. Desforgues," wrote* Claiborne to Madison, " was greatly irritated, and, among many ob servations, stated that the French citizens would haA'e risen in mass, and massacred the printer, had it not been for his interference, I thanked him for his good intentions, but assured him that there was no necessity for his in- * Executive Joumal, p. 138, vol, 8. 144 ELECTION OF D. OLARKE TO CONGRESS, [1806. terference, since the Government was adequate to the preservation of order, and to the protection of its citizens from violence. I fear Mr. Desforgues is a violent man, and that he is intriguing Avith the Louisianians. . Hia movements, however, shall not escape my observation." Claiborne hastened to lay before the President of the United States- the resignations of Destrehan and Sauv6, accompanied with this observation : " The services of an ancient Louisianian in the Legislature cannot Avith cer tainty be calculated on. Few are disposed to make any sacrifice of private interest for the public good." These harsh words, into which Claiborne was betrayed, not withstanding his gentle and kind nature, show that he had permitted himself to be goaded into some degree of resentment. What had contributed to increase his vexations was the election to Congress, as a Delegate, of Daniel Clarke, his personal enemy, which took place about that time. But, on the 28th of May, daiborne had the satisfaction to inform Madison that the House of Representatives had rejected the resolution of the Council to cease -all legislation, and that both Houses " were conducting business with dispatch and con cord." * This dispatch and concord did not prevent the issuing of an addi-ess to the people of the Territory, which was signed by certain members of the Legislative Council and of the House of Rcspresentatives, and which reflect ed on the course pursued by Claiborne toward the Legislature, The Governor sent a copy of it to Madi son, saying: "Thatf this publication will raise the popular sentiment in favor of the signers is, perhaps. probable ; but I am persuaded its effects will soon pass away. For myself, I only regret the proceeding on ac- • Executive Journal, p. 153, vol. 2. t Executive Joumal, p. 168, vol. 2, 8d June, 1806. 1800.] EMIGRATION FROM LOUISIANA. 145 count of the precedent. An appeal to the people in this way tends to bring the constituted authorities into disrepute, and may lead to anarchy." On the 7th of June, the Legislature adjourned. " The last seven days of the session," said Claiborne to Madison, " the Legis lature transacted much business, and separated in har mony. The most perfect good order prevails, and the people seem to take but little interest in the proceed ings of their representatives." Several discontented members of the House of Representatives had also re signed after the example of Sauve and Destrehan, such as Joseph Landry, for the County of Acadia ; S. Oroizet, for the County of Pointe Coupee ; Louis Fonteneau, for the County of Opelousas; and Claiborne had to issue his proclamation for new elections. In relation to the County of Opelousas, Claiborne was informed that a considerable emigration was about to take place fi'om that county to the Spanish settlement on the River Trinity,* where great encouragement Avas given to settlers. He gave notice of the fact to Madi son in a letter of the 15th of June. " I am informed," said he, " that the ancient inhabitants of Louisiana are much dissatisfied with our judicial system ; that the trial by jury is not approved ; and that the lawyers are execrated. It is not in my poAver to remove this cause of dissatisfaction. I never admired the system of county courts. The old plan of commandants was, in my opin ion, best suited to the present state of the Territory ; but the Legislative Council preferred the immediate in troduction of a judiciary on American principles — and I reluctantly acquiesced in the measure The conduct of the lawyers in the interior counties is a source of great discontent. They are said to be extrav agant in their charges ; to encourage litigation ; and to * Executive Joumal, p. 188, vol. 8. 10 146 CAUSES OF DISCONTENT. [1806 speculate on the distresses of their clients. I fear there is too much truth in this statement Among the emigrants to this Territory there is a description of people which I consider the greatest pests that can afflict any honest society. They are those avaricious speculators who go about with a little ready cash to seek whom they may devour. Some of these hungry parasites have, I am told, fastened on the labors of those ancient Louisianians who have emigrated, and are about to emigi'ate to Trinity. It is probable that many per sons will also emigrate to the Trinity from the counties of Natchitoches and Rapides. They are dissatisfied with our court system, fear taxation, and ai'e made to believe by Spanish partisans that their fortune Avill be benefited by a removal." Another cause of dissatisfaction was, that, at the sales of property taken under execution, the sheriffs them selves were frequently the purchasers. To put an end to this evil, Claiborne had to issue a monitor}' circular to these officers.* Under the preceding Governments of France and Spain, the Governor of the province of Louisiana, being the representative of the King, was looked upon as the fountain of honor, the seat of justice, the shield of pro tection on every occasion, and the general and supreme redresser of all wrongs. This impression could not be easily effaced from the mind of the population ; hence Claiborne was annoyed by constant appeals to the power which he was supposed to possess. It has been already related that, in the preceding }'^ear, a comedy had been acted on the New Orleans stage, which had wounded the feelings of the Ursuline Nuns, They had complained to Claiborne, and the offence having been re- » Executive Joumal, p. 185, vol. 3, 18th June, 1806. 1806.] CLAIBORNE AND THE LADY ABBESS, 147 peated this year, they again had turned to the Governor to screen them against the derision and ridicule which was aimed at their religious order, Claiborne's ansAver is given here as completing an episode, which is illusti'a- tive of the feelings, manners, and tone of the epoch. Such details, apparently trifling, have been too much neglected by historians, as unworthy of the dignity of their subject. Would not a letter from a Roman Consul to the High Priestess of the Vestals be interesting, if it made us better acquainted with the social life of that age ? Battles and great political convulsions are gen erally the main featui'es to be found in the historical portrait of a nation, but there are small lineaments which should not be omitted to complete its physiog nomy. Claiborne's answer to the Lady Abbess must, therefore, be received as one of those light touches of the painter's brush which he deems necessary to the finishing of his work. That answer ran thus : " Holy Sister, the representations at the theatre of which you complain are to me sources of regret ; and I beg you to be assured that all my influence will a second time be used with the Mayor of this city (to whom more prop erly belongs the duty of checking the abuses of the stage) to prevent a repetition of those exceptionable pieces, I am sorry that these representations should have given affliction to the community over which you preside. They may have amused the thoughtless, but cannot, I am sure, be approved by the reflecting part of society. The sacred objects of your Order, the amiable characters which compose it, and the usefulness of their temporal cares cannot fail to command the esteem and confidence of the good and virtuous. I pray you, holy sister, to receive the assurances of my great respect and sincere friendship." At this time an event took place which is worthy of 148 JUDICIAL DECISION ON ALLEGIANCE. [1806 notice, in consequence of a (piestion which arose in tlu- trial, and of the decision thereon by the Superior Court. An inhabitant of the Territory, a Spaniard by birth, Avas arraigned on the charge of m urder.* The counsel for the prisoner demanded, in conformity with the principles of common law, a jury composed in part of his countrymen. It was conceded that the prisoner was an inhabitant of Louisiana at the period of the cession to the United States, and was still an inhabitant thereof; but, inasmuch as he had not taken the oath of allegiance to the United States, it was contended that he was, in fact, an alien, and a subject of the King of Spain. " I am happy, how ever," wrote Claiborne to Madison, "to inform you that the demand was not acceded to by the court ; and al though the judges did not give in detail their reasons for rejecting the claim of the prisoner, yet it was understood to be the opinion of the court, that all persons who re sided here at the period of the cession, and did not with draw from the province with the Spanish or French au thorities, could not otherwise be considered than as citi zens of the United States. I rejoice at the decision, since it has removed from my mind a cause of some in quietude. Certain American lawyers Avho are settled here have doubted whether the" people could be con sidered as American citizens, until they had taken the oath of allegiance to the United States, or could be con victed of treason, should they enter the armies of a ]:)Ower at war with the United States. I always thought this opinion erroneous. It seemed to me that the allegiance of the inhabitants of the ceded Territory to Spain and France having ceased, it must, of necessity, attach to the power that protected them. I never considered the ad ministration of the oath as a necessary measuie. But * Executive Journal, p. 194, vol. 2. 1806.] CELEBRATION OF THE FOUIiTH OF JULY. 149 since lawyers of some eminence professed to entertain a contrary doctrine, I am happy to find my opinion sup ported by a decision of the Supreme Court." It is wor thy of remark, that this decision supports the course pur sued by General O'Reilly, in 1769, toward those who rebelled against the Spanish authorities after the cession of Louisiana by France, and who, when put on their trial, excepted to the jurisdiction of the court, on the ground that they Avere French subjects — which excep tion was overruled by O'Reilly.* On the oth of July, Claiborne informed the Secretary of War that, on the celebration of the 4th, the citizens of New Orleans had exhibited a degree of patriotism which had afforded him much pleasure. " All the stoi'es of the city,'' said he, " Avere closed by order of the City Council, and the inhabitants generally suspended their usual avo cations. High Mass was performed in the forenoon at the churches, and a 7^ Deu/m sung at night ; a new trage dy, called 'Washington, or the Liberty of the New World,' was performed, and much applauded by a nu merous audience, consisting, for the most part, of ancient Louisianians. The tragedy being finished, the company repaired to the public ball-room, and the evening was closed with dancing. As was usual, federal salutes were fired from the forts, and the Battalion of Orleans Volun teers paraded on the occasion. From these particulars you will observe that the American feeling is not in exile from this Territory, There are, indeed, some ancient prejudices which it is difficult to remove, and there are some local parties encouraged by a few designing men, whose native language is English — which, in some meas ure, stifles the germ of patriotism ; but I persuade myself that the time is not far distant when the Louisiau- * Gayarre's History of Louisiana. French Domination, p. 338, vol. 8. 150 CLAIBORNE AND GENERAL HERRERA. [1806 ians generally will be zealous members of our Repub lic." In the beginning of July, Claiborne departed from NcAV Orleans, partly to avoid a residence in the city dur ing tho sickly season, and partly to attend in person to the better organization and disciplining of the militia in the several counties of the Territory. Whilst in the County of Attakapas, on the 29th of July, he learned that the Spaniards were again making threatening de monstrations on the Sabine. This intelligence induced him to journey, through the County of Opelousas, to Natchez, where he might be better able to provide for any emergency of danger which might arise. There he was informed, on the 17th of August, that a consid erable Spanish force had actually crossed the Sabine,* and had advanced Avithin a few miles of Natchitoches, to Bayou Pierre, where they contemplated establishing a garrison. In consequence of this information, Clai borne, after having had an interview Avith Cowles Meade, Governor of the Mississippi Territory, and obtained from him a promise of assistance in case of need, departed im mediately for the County of Rapides, on his way to Natchitoches, where, on the 26th of August, he addressed to Herrera, the commander of the Spanish force, a long letter, in which he complained of several acts of hostility committed by the Spaniards, and, among others, of this recent violation of a Territory which he hoped to have seen respected as neutral ground, at least pending the negotiations between their respective Governments for an amicable adjustment of the limits of Louisiana, Her rera, as a matter of course, demurred to this accusation, and defended, to the best of his argumentative powers, the course which he, or the other Spanish authorities, • Executive Joumal, p. 338, vol. 8, 1806.] CLAIBORNE AND GENERAL HERREBA. 151 had pursued. In the mean time,* Claiborne wrote to the Secretary of War: "I have found the Americana who are settled in the frontier counties devoted to the country, and solicitous to be called into service. I am sorry, however, to add, that the same de gree of patriotism does not exist among the French part of our society ; many of the ancient Louisianians are still attached to the Spanish Government, and others are so fully impressed with an opinion that the United States are unable to resist the mighty power of Spain, that, in the event of war, they would probably be disposed to take a neutral stand, as the safest course." Whilst Herrera and Claiborne were thus occupying an almost hostile position to each other, the Spanish General was attacked with a dangerous illness. Clai borne, having been apprised that he was destitute of medical attendance, sent him Doctor Hayward, on the 2d of September, with a kind note, expressing his wishes for the speedy recovery of his health, and tendering such other friendly civilities as might be in the power of the American Governor.f This act of high-toned courtesy on the part of Claiborne produced the most favorable impression on the proud-spirited and sensitive Spaniards. Herrera's sicknfess, however, suspended for awhile all ne gotiations, and matters stood still. In the mean time, Claiborne was strengthening himself, by calling the mi litia to the assistance of the troops which, under Colonel Gushing, were in front of the Spaniards. The Governor had required one hundred men of the County of Rapides ; two hundred and fifteen offered their services, and among them a number of the ancient Louisianians — " a circum stance,'' said Claiborne, " which affords me singular sat isfaction." Claiborne wished to take the offensive against * Executive Joumal, p. 240. Dispatch of the 38th of August, 1806. f Executive Journal, p. 353, vol. 2. 152 Claiborne's military measures, [isoo the Spaniards, but Colonel Gushing objected, on the ground that this would be contrary to the instructions which had been left with him by General Wilkinson, who was then absent. Claiborne was somewhat nettled at this inactivity of the regular troops, and thus wrote to CoAvles Meade, the Secretary and acting Governor of the Mississippi Territory : " Perhaps the inactivity of our troops in this quarter may not have been improper — perhaps our dispute with Spain may at this time be Hmicably and honorably adjusted, and if so, we shall, all rejoice that blood was not shed ; but my present impres sion is, that ' all is not rights I know not Avhom to cen sure, but it seems to me that there is wrong some where."* Seeing that there was not any probability of active operations, and thinking that his presence was unnecessary, as the Spaniards, instead of advancing, had fallen back to a place where they seemed disposed to remain quiet, Claiborne departed for the County of Rapides, to urge in person the organization of those rein forcements and the sending of those supplies which Colonel Gushing rnight ultimately want. There, having heard of the arrival of General Wilkinson at Natchez, he determined to remain, in the expectation of seeing him on his way to Natchitoches. Whilst sojourning at the spot where he was awaiting Wilkinson, he corrected the false impression which he had given the Secretary of War in relation to the French part of the population of Natchitoches.f " On my arrival at Natchitoches," he said, " I was led to believe that the French inhabitants w^\'% very generally disaffected ; but my present impres sion is very different. I do now believe that, if an op portunity offers, many of them will evince their fidelity to the Government." * Executive Journal, p. 369, vol. 3. Dispatch of the 9th of September. f Executive Journal, p. 878, vol. 2. Dispatch of the 15tli of September. 1800.] ARRIVAL OF WILKINSON. 153 Wilkinson arrived on the 19th of September, at the place where Claiborne was expecting him, and immedi ately addressed the Governor in writing, to ascertain the number of militia who could be relied on from the Ter ritory, in case of a conflict with the Spaniards. Clai borne replied that he could not promise the support of more than four hundred men, officers included.* "You will recollect," said he, " the extent of this frontier, and, in deed, the vulnerable position of the whole Territory. I am unwilling, therefore, to draw to any one point a large portion of my militia, lest, by doing so, I should invite at tack in some other quarter." On the 22d, Claiborne departed for the County of Opelousas, in order to or ganize and stimulate its militia. There he found an unwillingness on the part of the ancient population to furnish volunteers as he desired. This feeling greatly exasperated those Americans who had settled in that re gion, and the excitement became so intense that Clai borne thought proper to address Judge Collins on this subject in a written communication, in which he said : " The reluctance of the ancient Louisianians to rally at the call of their country is seen and regretted, but I pray that this conduct may not occasion reproach from the native Americans, but, on the contrary, that they may continue to extend toward them every act of civility and kindness. I am disposed to make great allowances for the unwillingness of the Louisianians to enter, at this crisis, into the service of the United States. They have been educated in a belief that the Spanish monarchy was the most powerful on earth ; and many of them are im pressed with an opinion that the United States will fall an easy prey to the Spanish arms. Hence arises theii neutral stand, as the surest means of safety to their j)er- * Executive Joumal, p. 283, vol. 8. 154 FATHER ANTOINE SUSPECTED. [1806. sons and property. There are other excuses which may be made for the recent conduct of some of the Louisian ians, but it is unnecessary to recite them. I am per suaded of your disposition to cultivate harmony, and I am sure that by your example and precept you Avill dis courage any proceedings which might lead to disunion, or what I should consider the greatest calamity that could befall the Territory."* Claiborne returned to New Orleans on the evening of the 6th of October, and on the 8th he informed the Sec retary of War that the number of militia from the fron tier counties, who had marched for Natchitoches, exceed ed five hundred men, and that a detachment of one hundred regulars, having in charge such military stores as could be obtained, and might be required by General Wilkinson, would set out in a few days. " But, " added he, " there is in this city a degree of apathy, at the pres ent moment, which mortifies and astonishes me ; and some of the native Americans act and discourse as if perfect security everywhere prevailed I fear the ancient Louisianians of New Orleans are not disposed to support with firmness the American cause ; I do not believe they would fight against us ; but my present impression is, that they are not inclined to rally under the American standard. We have a Spanish priest here who is a very dangerous man ; he rebelled against the Superiors of his own church, and wpuld even rebel, I am persuaded, against this Government, when ever a fit occasion may serve. This man was once sent away by the Spanish authorities for seditious practices, and I am inclined to think that I should be justifiable, should I do so likewise This, seditious priest is a Father Antoine; he is a great favorite of the Louisiana ladies' * Executive Joiimal, dispatch of the 34th of September, p. 396, vol. 3. 1806.] FATHER ANTOINE SWEARS ALLEGIANCE, 155 has married many of them, and christened all their chil dren ; he is by some citizens esteemed an accomplished hypocrite, has great influence Avith the people of color, and, report says, embraces every opportunity to render them discontented under the American Government."* Claiborne, in consequence of these apprehensions, re quested the Catholic priest to attend at the Government House, and in the presence of the Mayor of the city, and of Colonel Bellechasse, of the Legislative Council, men tioned to him the reports which were afloat concerning his conduct. The priest listened to them with much humility and solemnly affii-rned his innocence, avow ing his determination to support the Government and to promote good order. "I, nevertheless, thought it proper,'' wrote Claiborne, " to administer to him the oath of allegiance, and shall cause his conduct to be carefully observed," He then added, with his usual good-nature, as if it were to mitigate the effect of his harsh suspicions : " The priest declared the reports to have originated in the malice of his enemies. The division in the Catholic Church has excited many malignant passions, and it is not improbable that some injustice has been done to this individual." f Whilst the Spaniards were so troublesome on the fron tiers of Texas, they were remarkably quiet at Baton Rouge, Mobile and Pensacola. Was it a preconcerted plan, and was it their intention to draw all the American forces far to the West ? Even at Mobile favorable concessions to American trade had been made. The intractable Governor Folch was no longer in the way. In conse quence of a triumph which his rival Morales had obtained over him in an appeal to the Captain-General of Cuba, he had given up, for the present, the Government of • Executive Journal, p. 805, vol. 3. Claibome to Secretary of War, Oct. 8. f Executive Joumal, p. 810, vol. 3. 156 Claiborne's conflicting opinions. [1800 Pensacola, and it had dcA'olved upon Colonel Howard, an Irish gentleman of talents, who had long been in the service of Spain, and who showed himself much more conciliating than Folch, in relation to the navigation of the Mobile River by the Americans, Claiborne's correspondence with the General Govern ment shows how changeful were his impressions, and con sequently how wavering he was in the expression of his opinions. This Avas due to his proneness to listen to rumors and accusations. He seemed constantly to forget that there was a very strong and very natural jealousy between the ancient Louisianians and the new-comers, who were anxious to get the ascendancy in a territory which they considered their exclusive property by purchase, and where they were impatient to implant their laws and habits, with all their ideas and views in ethics, re ligion and politics. That class of men looked with ex treme displeasure in many cases, and, in others, with considerable resentment, at the resistance offered by the old population, who, on their side, considered the native Americans as unprincipled intruders, coming to de prive them of their language, their religion, their lands, their time-honored legislation, their manners and cus toms — in fact, everything they held dear and sacred. Hence accusations and recriminations on both sides, par ticularly from many active, restless, and not overscrupu lous Americans, who flocked to this new field of enterprise Avhich had opened to them, and where they hoped to secure wealth and political power. Claiborne was constantly permitting himself to share in suspicions that drew from him assertions, or opinions, which he was afterward obli ged to retract. Thus, in relation to the organization of the Attakapas militia, which soon held itself in readiness to march, at a moment's warning, to the seat of the ex pected confiict, he wrote to the Secretary of War on the 1806,] ci,aiborne's conflicting opinions. 157 12th of October: "I had feared that some difficulty would be experienced in executing my orders, but I am agreeably disappointed. The citizens discovered a great share of patriotism, and avoAved their determination to defend with their lives their country. Whatever ma}- be the local discontent of the Louisianians, I begin now to think that they will generally rally at the call of GoA-^ernment. When I first went to Natchitoches, I did distrust the fidelity of the Louisianians in that quarter ; and, indeed, CA'ery American residing there, Avith whom I conversed, agreed in opinion that the French part of the society was generally disaffected, but I trust we shall all be disappointed." Again, on another occasion, he had complained of the apathy and want of patriotism in New Orleans, and, on the 17th of October,* he said to the Secretary of War : " I hasten to announce to you the patriotism of the citizens of New Orleans and its vicinity. At a muster, this morning, of the 1st, 2d and 4th Regi ments of militia, every officer, non-commissioned officer and private present, made a voluntary tender of their ser vices for the defence of the Territory generally, and more particularly for the defence of the city. This display of patriotism affords me much satisfaction, and has rendered this among the happiest of my life." He also called, with much commendation, the attention of the Secretary of War to the patriotic address made to the militia on that occasion by Colonels Bellechasse and Macarty, But, on the 7th of November, Claiborne's faith in the Louisianians had again been shaken. A relapse had occurred, and the chronic old fever of suspicion had fastened upon his mind with renovated vigor. The militia had not turned out as he had expected. He was CA'en in bad humor with the uatiA'e Americans. As ap- * Executive Journal, p. 814, vol. 8. 158 Claiborne's conflicting opinions. [I8O6, peared by information received frqm General Wilkinson, the Concordia Militia had failed to repair to their post. "I know not," says Claiborne, "how to account for the delinquency. Concordia is settled exclusively by Amer icans." * As to those constant objects of distrust and jealousy — the Louisianians — ^he adds : "You will observe that the General places but little confidence in the French who are settled at Natchitoches ; perhaps I may be too sanguine in my expectations ; but I continue to think that those of the Louisianians who are not for us, will not be against us. I do believe they Avill be inclined to take a neutral stand," As to the city militia, he remarked that their late conduct in tendering their military serAdces had perhaps made on his mind a more favorable impression than it deserved. "I find," said he, "that their enthusiasm has in a great measure passed away, and the society here is now generally engaged in what seems to be a primary object — the acquisition of wealth. Indeed, the love of money seems to be the predominant passion ; and that virtue called patriotism finds but few votaries, I never theless continue of the opinion that a great majority of the Louisianians, I mean the natives of the country, would resist any invader. But I haA'e not equal confi dence in all the foreigners who are settled in this Ter ritory, On the contrary, from a part of these we have everything to fear. A fcAV days since, we had news of peace in Europe, and immediately some of the French men among us began to speak of the probability of Bonaparte's ag§in taking possession of Louisiana, and . of the facility with which it might be accomplished, , , , At present, the Louisianians do not appear to be un- fiiendly to the Government ; but I have, on other occa- * Executive Journal, p. 839, vol. 8. 1806.] OLAEBORNb's DESPONDENCY. 159 sions, Avitnessed the facility with which designing men could lead them astray." On the 15th of November, Claiborne was still in a state of despondency. " Everything is tranquil," he Avrote to Wilkinson from New Orleans ; " the body of the citizens lately discovered some share of patriotism ; but the accustomed apathy of the country again pre vails, and I begin to despair of making the militia an efficient force." On the 25th, he said to the Secretar}' of War : " You are apprised * of the difficulty of or ganizing and disciplining the militia of any country , but the peculiar situation of this Territory has rendered it here an Herculean task How far the militia generally are attached to the United States, and would, in the hour of peril, rally around our stand ard, must be left to time and events to prove. But ray opinion as to the native Louisianians has always been the same ; a majority are well disposed, and were it not for the calumnies of some Frenchmen who are among us, and the intrigues of a few ambitious, unprincipled men, whose native language is English, I do believe that the Louisianians would be very soon the most zealous and faithful members of our Republic. But until a knowl edge of the American Government, laws, and character, is more generally diffused among the peoj:)le, you cannot with certainty count upon their fidelity. Ambitious, unprincipled men have acquired confidence in this quarter, and Avill, I fear, for some time, maintain their influence." On the 25th of November, General Wilkinson ar rived in New Orleans, after having made with tho Spaniards on the Sabine arrangements AA'hich secured the United States against hostilities in that quarter, * Executive Journal, p. 340, vol. 9. 160 WILKINSON DENOUNCES BURR. [1806 But before this event occurred, and Avhilst he Avas con fronting the Spaniards, apparently with many chances of a speed}' collision, Samuel Swartwout, an emissary of Burr, had arrived at the General's camp on the 8th of October, and had delivered to him a confidential letter — such a letter as conspirators only send to accom plices.* Wilkinson received .Swartwout with great favor, and detained him until the 18th, when that emissary departed for New Orleans. On the 21st of October, Wilkinson deterrained to denounce Burr. Forthwith he dispatched a raessenger, Avho arrived in Washington on the 25th of No\ember, and deliA:ered to the President the dispatches with which he had been intrusted. On the 27 th, Jefferson issued his faraous proclamation, Avhich made known to the country the traitoi'(uis enterprise afoot, and nipped it in the bud.f What were Wilkinson's reflections, or what Avere his secret acts and dealings between the 8th and the 21st of October, which was the time he ostensibly took to de liberate on the course he had to joursue, it is impossible to ascertain. But it is well known that, after the send ing of his denunciatory dispatch to the President on the 21st, he, on the 29th, sent a written message to the Spanish Commander-in-Chief, in which he proposed that, without yielding any pretension, ceding a right, or in terfering with discussions which belonged to their supe riors, the state of things existing at the delivery of the province to the United States should be restored, by the withdrawal of the troops of both Governments from the advanced posts they occupied to those of Nacog doches and Natchitoches respectively,;}: The Spaniards, who had been thus far so intractable, suddenly became * Purton's Life of Aaron Burr, p. 426j vol. 3. f Purton's Life of Aaron Burr, p. 432. i Martin's History of Louisiana, p. 371, voL 3. 1806,] DANIEL CLARKE SUSPECTED. 161 ver}' accommodating, and accepted the propositions. Having patched up this kind of truce, Wilkinson had hurried doAvn to New Orleans, The time had come for Claiborne to be seriously alarmed, and with better cause than had ever been given him by the Spaniards. He was advised from scA'eral respectable quarters that the Union of the States was seriously menaced, that the storm would probably break out in New Orleans, and that in this plot, headed by the notorious Vice-President, Aaron Burr, thousands were engaged. * In expressing his alarm to the Secre tary of State on this subject, Claiborne said : " If this be the object of the conspirators, the delegate to Con gress from this Temtory, Daniel Clarke, is one of the leaders. He has often said that the Union could not last, and that, had he children, he would impress early on their minds the expediency of a separation between the Atlantic and Western States. Dr. John Watkins and Mr. J. W. Gurley have heard these sentiments expressed by that gentleman.'''' But, a few days after, he took back this charge against Clarke in these Avords : " Upon further inquir}', I flnd nothing to justify an opin ion that he is a party in the existing conspiracy , . , . In a late conversation with Dr. Watkins, he informs me that since the election of Mr, Clarke to Congress, he has heard him deliver some patriotic sentiments, and his former sentiments the Doctor now seems to attribute mx)re to the impulse of some momentary passion than to deliberate reflection. It is due to justice to acquaint you of these particulars ; and justice I will render to every man — even my greatest enemy," f After having had a conference Avith Wilkinson to devise the means which it might become necessary to adopt "to support the * Executive Journal, p. 347, vol. 3. f Executive Joumal, p. 853, voL 3, 6th Dec, 1806. 11 162 COMMOTION IN NEW ORLEANS, [1800. honor and welfare of the country," he informed Madison " that he had no doubt that a conspiracy was formed highly injurious to the interest of the United States, and that characters of high standing were concerned in it, although he was not yet advised of the particulars." Meanwhile, the City of New Orleans had been suddenly thrown into the wildest state of eixcitement and pertur bation. The cry was, that Burr was coming down with a large force to take possession of it, with a variety of designs attributed to him, which were multiplied or magnified by fear, and which became of a moi'e alarming character, as they were conveyed from lip to lip, after having passed through heated imaginations which added more vivid colors to the original tale of invasion, Clai borne requested Captain Shaw, of the United States Navy, to have all the force under his command ready for immediate service * to meet the threatening danger. That force consisted of two bomb-ketches and four gun boats. Wilkinson went to work in great haste to repair the old fortifications, and even " contemplated picketing in the city." f On the 5th of December, Claiborne wrote to Madison : " If General Wilkinson is not greatly deceived, the safety Of the Territory is seriously menaced. From the firmness and the bravery of the army and navy on this station much may be expect ed ; buL c^z regards the support which the militia may render, I cannot hazard an opinion I have had so many proofs of the influence of unprincipled men, and the prevalence of wicked political prin ciples, that I know not in what portion of the militia to confide. General Wilkinson tells me that he had here tofore received hints of a Mexican expedition, and from the characters who, it seems, are the leaders of the pres- * Executive Joumal, p. 349, vol. 3. t Executive Joumal, Dispatch 4th Dec, 1806, p. 860, vol. 8. 1806.] CLAIBORNE AND MARTIAL LAW, 163 ent plot, but had attached no consequence to their con versations, under an impression that, unless sanctioned by the Government, no^nen of reputation and talents could seriously contemplate an object of the kind." Claiborne's embarrassments were increased by the ab sence of instructions, or even of information of any kind from the General Government, for he had received no official communication from Washington since July. On the 5th of December he sent a messenger to the General Government with dispatches, which he declared to be of " very great importance," and he recommended to the messenger that " he should mention to no one the ob jects of his journey, or the place of his destination, as this reserve might be essential to his safety," * On the 6th, Claiborne was startled by Wilkinson's demand that he, the Governor, should proclaim martial law. The reasons which Wilkinson assigned for it were ex pressed iu his usually florid, and characteristic style. " The dangers," said he, " which impend over this city and menace the laws and GoA'ernment of the United States from an unauthorized and formidable association must be successfully opposed at this point, or tho fair fabric of our independence, purchased by the best blood of our country, will be prostrated, and the Goddess of Liberty vrill take her flight from this globe forever." " Under circumstances so imperious, extraordinary measures must be resorted to, and the ordinary forms of OUT civil institutions must, for a short period, }deld to the strong arm of military law. *" Having exposed to you, without reserve, the authen tic grounds on which I found my apprehensions, you can readily comprehend the high, solemn and important considerations by which I am moved, when I most ear- * Executive Joumal, p. 857, vol. 8. 164 WILKINSON AND MARTIAL LAW, [1806 nestly entreat you to proclaim martial law over this city its ports and precincts. For unless I am authorized tc repress the seditious and arrest the disaffected, and to call the resources of the place into active operation, the defects of my force may expose me to be overwhelmed by numbers ; and the cause and the place will be lost. The idea you offered me this raorning of calling forth the militia and taking a position for the protection of your territory above is utterly inadmissible, because you could not for a moment Avithstand the desperation and superiority of numbers opposed to you, and the brigands, provoked by the opposition, might resort to the dread ful expedient of exciting a revolt of the negroes. If we divide our force, we shall be beaten in detail. We must therefore condense it here, and, in concert with our water- craft, rest our main defence at this point," Whilst waiting for Claiborne's answer, Wilkinson, among his other military preparations, made arrange ments with the French Consul to receive possession of the French artillery remaining in the Territory, as soon as its value should be estimated, and informed Claiborne that he had received such intelligence as induced him to believe that Burr would be at Natchez on the 20th of • December, with two thousand men. On the 7th, Wil kinson renewed his application to Claiborne for the pro claiming of martial law, saying : " I believe I have been l)etrayed, and therefore shall abandon the idea of tem porizing or concealment, the moment after I have secured two persons now in this city. Our measures must be taken with promptitude and decision, regardless of other consequences or considerations than the public safety, for I apprehend Burr, with his rebellious bands, may soou be at hand."* * Bzecutive Joumal, p. 863, vol, 8. 1806,] CLAIBORNE AND THE EMBARGO, 165 Although "having entire confidence in the firmness and patriotism of General Wilkinson, and although dis posed most cordially to co-operate with him," Claiborne refused acceding to his request to proclaim martial law, on the ground that, preparatory to the adoptioii of such a measure, the suspension of the Writ of Habeas Corpus would be necessary, and that this.high prerogative could alone be exercised by the Territorial Legislature, which Avas not then in session. But, at the same time, he de clared that, if the danger should augment, and if the privilege of the Habeas Corpus should, by impeding the arrest of the suspected, be found to favor the escape of the guilty, it was probable that he should, by proclama tion, " direct its suspension, and plead in justification the necessity of the case," On the 9th, the members of the New Orleans Chamber of Commerce met, on request, at the Government House, Paul Lanusse being in the chair as President, and Richard Relf as Secretary, The}' were apprised by Wilkinson and Claiborne of the just causes existing for the apprehension of danger, and they Avere asked to furnish sailors to man the small American fleet which was on the station. Whereupon it was unani mously agreed that a general and immediate embargo of the shipping in port be recommended to the Governor, as the best means of obtaining the desired effect. Clai borne acted without delay in conformity with this rec ommendation, and orders were issued that no vessel, without the permission of Claiborne, or Wilkinson, should depart from New Orleans. At the same time, several thousand dollars were subscribed by the merchants to supply with clothes and other necessaries the sailors who should enter the service of the United States.* When the merchants were thus shoAving so much patriotism at * Executive Joumal, pp. 870, 871, voL 8. 166 PROPOSED IMPRESSMENT OF SAILORS. [1806, the cost of so great a sacrifice of private interest, they learned with extreme surprise that Wilkinson insisted on enlisting their sailors for six months, which would have completely paralyzed all commercial operations for that length of, time. Why an enlistment for six months? Why an embargo for six months ? What necessity could there be for it ? The danger, if it existed, could only be momentary ; a coup de main Avas all that could be appre hended; and therefore no reasons could be discovered by the merchants in justification of Wilkinson's extraor dinary pretensions, which would h.'ive subjected them to immense losses, if not to utter ruin. Claiborne was of their opinion, and expostulated with Wilkinson, " I learn," he AATote to the General, " that the term of ser vice is the greatest obstacle. It is proposed to enlist the sailors for six months ; this length of time is objected to. Do you not think that two months, unless sooner dis charged, would answer our objects ? I am sorry you should think me wanting in decision," continued he, " to assist Captain Shaw in obtaining men, I have author ized an embargo — an act of authority which can alone be exercised legally by the General Government, and this act of mine, I fear, the Collector will not long sub mit to, lest, by^ Avithholding clearances, he may subject himself to personal actions,"* But Wilkinson was not a man to care much for Clai borne's scruples. Sailors having refused to enlist for six months, he called, in person on Claiborne to request "an impressment" — from which high-handed measure Claiborne shrunk. " I submit it to your cool reflection," he said to Wilkinson, " whether at this time I could be . justifiable in compelling men by force to enter the ser vice. Many good-disposed citizens do not appear tc * Executive Joumal, p. 878, 1806,] WILKINSON AND AARON BURR, 167 think the danger considerable, and there are others who (perhaps from wicked intentions) endeavor to turn oui preparations into ridicule." On the 15th of December, Wilkinson sent to Claiborne a communication, in Avhich he attempted to meet his objections and answer his questions, particularly as to the length of time for which the seamen should ))e engaged. " It is my opin ion," he said, " that the men should be engaged for the shortest peiiod consistent with the public safety ; but, as I believe Mr. Burr's conspiracy is more profound and widely spread than his numerous agents, friends and well-wishers here will admit, I think the contract should be so qualified as to insure the service of the seamen until his machinations are destroyed in the Western States, or his attempt has been defeated in this quarter; and, for this purpose, I would propose that they should be shipped without any specification of service — to resist the attack of Aaron Burr and his laAvless banditti from the Ohio River against the Territory, the laws and goA'- ernment of the United States "It is my cool and deliberate judgment, from my knowledge of Burr's character and desperation, and from the tenor of the information you have received, and the apparent toleration and su])j)ort Avhich he receives in Kentucky and Tennessee, that we have reached an ex tremity in our public affairs, which Avill not only justify, but which imperiously demands, the partial and mo mentary dispensation of the ordinary course of our civil institutions, to preserve the sanctuary of public liberty from total dilapidation. I believe it to be wise and just to inflict temporary privations for permanent security, and that justice being previously done to the seamen, they should be compelled to serve the country Avhich o-ave them birth and gives them protection, on the very liberal terms which are proffered to them. Give 168 CLAIBORNE AND WILKINSON DISAGREE. [1800. me leave, and in three hours our vessels shall be manned, " Having put my life and character in opposition to the flagitious entei-prise of one of the ablest men of our country, supported by a crowd of coequals, ceremony- would be unseasonable and punctilio unprofitable. I therefore speak from my heart when I declare, that I verily believe you are sincerely desirous to co-operate with me in all my measui'es, but pardon the honest candor Avhich circumstances require and my situation demands, when I observe that, with the most upright and honest intention, you suffer yourself to be unduly biased by the solicitations of the timid, the capricious, or the wicked, who approach you and harass you with their criticisms on subjects which they do not understand, and with their opposition to measures which they do not comprehend, or which, understanding, they are desirous to prevent, or to defeat. What Avill our alertness im port, without force and energy to support it ? And can we be prepared without means ? Shall our reverence for our civil institutions produce their annihilation, or shall we lose the house because we will not break the windows ?" But, notAvithstanding Wilkinson's pressing solicitations, Claiborne still continued to refuse to order the impress ment of the sailors, the suspension of the writ of Habeas Corpus, the declaration of martial law, and the arrest of suspected persons. lie said that he knew of no pre cedent for it in any State of the Union, or in any of its Territoi ies, and added, " the Judiciai-y of the Territory, having exclusive cognizance of offences, is the only tribunal to which I can refer you, nor can any acts of mine arrest, or suspend their poAvers," Whilst Claiborne and Wilkinson were thus on terms of friendly disagreement as to these measures, the former received from the Acting Governor, Cowles Meade, of 1806.] ' COWLES MEADE ON BURR. 169 Mississippi, a letter in which he said, " We want arms and ammunition ; we have men, and those men are patriots. But, sir, we are badly provided. I can only promise to make the stand and fight the battle of Leonidas. Burr may come — and he is no doubt des perate — but treason is seldom associated Avith genei'ous courage, or real bravery. Should he pass us, your fate will depend on the General, not on the Colonel, If I stop Burr, this may hold the General in his allegiance to the United States, But if Burr passes this Territory with two thousand men, I have no doubt but the Gen eral will be your worst enemy. Be on your guard against the wily General. He is not much better than Catiline. Consider him a traitor, and act as if certain thereof. You may save yourself by it." * Wilkinson, having acquired the conviction that he could not drive Claiborne into joining him in those arbitrary measures which he meditated, determined to act without him, and assumed responsibilities which Avere justified, m his opinion, by the imminence of tho danger which he imagined to exist. On the 7th of December, he had dispatched Lieutenant Swann, of the army, to Jamaica, Avith a letter to the officer commanding the British naval force on that station, informing him of Burr's plans, and of the circulation of a report that tho aid of a British naval armament had been either promised, or applied tor, and warning him and all British officers that their interference, or any co-operation on their part, would be considered as highly injurious to the United States, and as affecting the present amicable relations between the tAVO nations. The communication concluded with the ex pression of a hope that the British Government would lefra'n from any interference or co-operation, and prevent Ex. Jour., p.83 ;, vol. 2. Cowles Meade to Claiborne, 24th December, 1806. 170 ARREST OF CITIZENS. [1806, any individual from affording aid to the conspirators. This communication seeined to take the British officers by surprise. Admiral Drake stiffly observed iu reply that, fi'om the style and manner in Avhich the communi cation had been made, he hardly knew how to answer it, but declared that he availed himself of this oppor tunity to assure Wilkinson that British ships of war would never be employed in any improper service.* Ou Sunday, the 14th of December, Dr. Erick Bollman, a German, who had acquired some celebrity for his attempt to liberate Lafayette from his prison of Olmutz, had been arrested by order of Wilkinson and confined in some unknown place. On the evening of the follow ing day, a writ of Habeas Corpus was sued for on his behalf before Sprigg, one of the Judges of the Superior Court. Sprigg declined acting until he could consult his colleague, Mathews, But Mathews was nowhere to be found. On the 16th, however, the writ was ob tained ; but Bollman had, in the mean time, been put on board of a vessel and sent down the river. On the same day, application was made to Workman, the Judge of the County of Orleans, for a writ of Habeas Corpus in favor of two men, Ogden and Swartwout, who had been arrested, a few days before, by order of Wilkinson, at Fort Adams, and who had arrived at New Orleans on board of a bomb-ketch of the United States, where they were detained. Workman granted the writ Avithout hesitation, and called on Claiborne for support. But the Governor refused to interfere.f The alarm, and even the terror which prevailed in the city, where everybody feared for his OAvn' personal safety, was such, that no boat could be procured to take the officer of the Court on board of the k^tch, which was * Martin's History of Louisiana; pp. 235 and 277, vol. 8. t MarUn's History of Louisiana, p. 280, vol. 2. *806.] SWARTWOUT AND OGDEN. l7l lying in the middle of the river. It was only on the next day that, for the tempting consideration of a large sum of money, for the j)ayment of which the Judge pledged the responsibility of the county, a boat was obtained. The writ being at last served, Captain Shaw stated, in his return to it, that Swartwout was no longer in his liands, but produced Ogden, who was liberated. As to Wilkinson, on Avhom a writ of Habeas Corpus had also been served in relation to Bollman, he replied, on the 18th, that he took on himself all responsibility for the arrest of Bollman, charged with misprision of treason against the Government of the United States, and that " he would act with the same energy, without regard to standing or station, against all individuals who might be discovered as participants in Burr's lawless combination.". This return Avas afterward amended by an averment that, at the time of the service of the writ, Bollman was not in the power or possession of Wilkinson.* -Hardly had Ogden been liberated when he was again arrested, together Avith another individual named Alex ander. On the application of Livingston, Judge Work man issued writs of Habeas Corpus for both prisoners. Instead of a return in due form, Wilkinson sent a Avritten message to Workman, begging him to accept his return, such as it was, to the Superior Court, as applicable " to the two traitors who were the subjects of the writs." Where upon, Livingston, obtained a rule on Wilkinson to make a further and more explicit return to the Avrits, or show cause why an attachment should not issue against him.f Judge Workman, before acting, made a second applica tion to Claiborne, to ascertain whether he would assist the Court in the execution of its decree against Wilkin son. But that appeal was ineffectual, although backed *•. Martin's History of Louisiana, p. 280, vol. 3. f Martin's History of Louisiana, p. 281, vol. 3, 172 CLAIBORNE AND JUDGE WORKMAN. [1806 by Judge Hall and Judge Mathews. On tho 26th, Wilkinson having refused to modify his forraer return, Livingston moved for an attachment against him. Before granting it. Judge Workman applied for the third time to Claiborne, addressing him in writing, and officially — in which communication he observed that a common case would not require the step he was taking in his judicial capacity, but that, on this extraordinary occa sion, he deemed it his duty, before any order fi'ora his tribunal was attempted to be enforced against a man who had all the regular forces of the United States at his command, and, in pursuance of the promulgated will of the Governor, a great part of the armed force of the Territory, to ask whether the Executive had the ability to enforce the decree of the Court, and, if he had, whe ther he would deem it expedient to do so. " Not only the conduct and power of Wilkinson," said the Judge, " but various other circumstances, peculiar to our present situation, the alarm excited in the public mind, the de scription and character of a large part of the population of the country, might render it dangerous, in the liighest degree, to adopt the method, usual in ordinary cases, of calling to the aid of the Sheriff the posse comitatus, unless it were done with the assurance of being support ed by the Governor in an efficient manner." Thus pressed, the Governor wrote a note to Wilkinson, advis ing him to yield to the ciAdl authorities. But the Gen eral peremptorily refused ; and Claiborne declining to employ force against him. Workman resigned,* on the ground that the Court and its officers should no longer remain exposed to the contempt or insults of a man whom they were unable to punish or resist. This was acknowledging the fact that Wilkinson was supreme * Martin's History of Louisiana, p. 384, vol. 8. 1806.] THE EMBARGO REPEALED. 173 dictator, and that henceforth his will was to be the law. In consequence, the general alarm was daily becoming more intense in the city, when, on the 31st of December, Claiborne recalled, greatly to the satisfaction of the merchants, the order which he had granted on the 9th, at the request of Wilkinson, to prevent the departui-e of vessels fi'om New Orleans. In the mean time, on the 2d of this month (December) the President had sent his annual message to Congress, in which, speaking of the inhabitants of the Ten-itories of Mississippi and Oi'leans, he said, " I inform you with great pleasure of the promptitude with which the in habitants of those Territories have tendered their ser vices in defence of their country. It has done honor to themselves, entitled them to the confidence of their fel low-citizens in every part of the Union, and must strengthen the general determination to protect them efficaciously under aU circumstances which may occur." CHAPTER IV. GOVERNOR Claiborne's administration — doings op aaron burb AND AVILKINSON. 1807—1808. Much to the satisfaction of the people of New Orleans in these exciting times, the Legislature met in that city on the 12th of January. Two days after, General Adair arrived from Tennessee, passing through the Choctaw Territory, and was the first to herald his own arrival, which took everybody by surprise. He reported that Colonel Burr, attended by a servant only, would be in New Orleans in three days,* Whatever were the inten tions of Adair, he had not much time left him to execute them. In the afternoon of his arrival, whilst he was resting from his journey, the hotel where he had stopped was surrounded by one hundred and twenty men of the United States troops, comraanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Kingsbury, accompanied by one of Wilkinson's aids. General Adair was dragged from the dining-table, and conducted to headquarters, where he was put in confine ment, to be shipped as soon as the opportunity should present itselff Strong patrols paraded through the streets, and several other persons were arrested, among Avhom were Workman, Kerr and Bradford, The com motion produced in the city may easily be imagined. * Claiborne's communication to several members of Congress, p. 3, Exeeu tive Journal, vol. 8. f Martin's History, p. 234, vol. 3. (174) 1807.] ARREST OF WORKMAN AISTD KERR. 175 Wilkinson, however, ordered Bradford to be released without further delay, and, on the following day. Work man and Kerr were discharged on a writ of Habeas Cor pus granted by the District Court of the United States. On the 15th, Claiborne communicated these facts offi cially to the Legislature, and said : " The state of things here for some time past has been most unpleasant ; the judges are greatly dissatisfied, and there are^ many per sons who much censure the General, and also myself for not opposing his measures Avith force. There are others again, perhaps a majority of the inhabitants of the city, who applauded the measures pursued, and think them such as could alone insure the general safety. For my self, I believe the General is actuated by a sincere dis position to serve the best interest of his country ; but his zeal, I fear, has carried him too far "My apprehensions of Mr, Burr and his associates have, in a great measure, subsided ; but the security I now feel may be attributed to the preparations which have been made here to meet danger. My impressions are strong that there are many dissatisfied persona in this city. There are a few citizens whom I believe to be unjustly implicated — others to whom a charge of im prudence alone ought, probably in truth, to attach ; but there is good reason to suppose that some persons here (fi-om whose standing in society a contrary course was expected) meditated much mischief. They, however, are now unable to produce any," On the 19th of January, the Governor sent to General Wilkinson a long communication, in which he submitted to him his plans to secure the complete protectum of New Orleans.* "From the influence of the President's proclamation," he said, " and of the present friendly dis- * Executive Joumal, p. 6, vol. 8. 176 SUSPICIOUS MOVEMENTS OF FOLCH. [1807. position toward the General Government of the people of Kentucky and Ohio, as manifested by some late pro ceedings of their Legislatures, united with the prepara tions for offence and defence in this city, my impressions are that Colonel Burr Avill not descend the Mississippi in considerable force It seems to me that Colonel Burr, abandoning (from necessity) the idea of moving in force, may endeavor to introduce into this city and its vicinity (unobserved and as private ad venturers) a number of partisans for the purpose of car rying the place by surprise. In this event, the regula tions herein proposed must prove salutary." . It is a remarkable fact that, at this critical conjuncture. Governor Folch, who had always been so inimical to the Americans, happened to arrive from Pensacola at the mouth of Bayou St. John, Avith four hundred men, osten sibly on his way to Baton Rouge, and wrote to Clai borne to obtain permission to proceed to New Orleans with the officers of his suite, and hence to continue his route to his place of destination, Claiborne replied : " I am sorry to oppose any obstacle to your Excellency's desires, but in the present state of affairs in this Territo ry, and to avoid all causes for rumors which, although unfounded, may add to that agitation in the public mind which has been occasioned by the news, this mo ment received, of the arrival of Burr and his associates in the Mississippi Territory, I am constrained to request that your Excellency would continue your vo}'age by water."* On the same day, Claiborne and Wilkinson wrote jointly to the acting Governor of the Territory of Missis sippi, Cowles Meade, in these terms: "Understanding * Executive Joumal, p. 10, vol. 8. 1807.] JLAIBORNE TO COWLES MEADE. 177 that Aaron Burr has taken post within the Territory over which you preside, we cannot but express our soli citude, lest his pretensions to innocence, and the arts which he may employ to delude and sedAice our fellow-citizens from their duty to tlieir country, may be partially suc cessful. We rely with confldence on your exertions to seize the arch-conspirator, and having done so, permit us to suggest for your consideration the expediency of plac ing him without delay on board one of our armed ves sels in the river, with an order to the officers to descend Avith him to this city. Otherwise, if his followers are as numerous as they are represented to be, it is probable it may not be in your power to bring him to trial. We take this occasion to advise you confidentially to keep a strict eye upon the Spaniards. Governor Folch is proceeding to Baton Rouge with four hundred men." On the 22d of January, the LegislatiA'e Council, in their response to the message by which the Governor had opened their session, said : "It is indeed difficult to belicA'e that, in the bosom of a Government the most free that exists on earth, plots, the success of which must be fatal to liberty, should have been formed. If, however, it be true that the ambitious and depraved men who have conceived such criminal projects haA'e found proselytes, the Legislative Council are convinced that it is not amongst the ancient inhabitants of this Territory, and that, notwithstanding the dissatisfaction which they once^ manifested openly when they thought themselves aggrieved, there is no perfidy, no treason to be apprehended from.them by the General Government. If they do not yet possess all the privileges enjoyed by the American citizen, they already set so much value on the rights which have been granted to them, that their late privation of those rights" in the present stormy cir cumstances have created among them the most serious 12 178 THE LEGISLATURE AND WILKINSON, [1807. alarms." The Council thus alluded to the high-handed measures lately enforced by General Wilkinson, and to his arbitrary arrest of citizens who were under the sagk of those civil authorities Avhich military power had at tempted to supersede. A more marked tone of discon tent pervaded the address which the House of Repre sentatives sent to Claiborne on the 26th of the same month : " With regard to the extraoidinary meas ures," they said, " which have taken place for some tune past in this Territory, although your Excellency has not thought proper to reveal to the Legislature the reasons Avhich have led to them, }et this House considers it as a sacred duty which they owe to themsehes and their fellow-citizens, fully to investigate those measures and the motives which have induced them, and to represent the same to the Congress of the United States." Claiborne thus commented on these two addresses in a communication to the Secretary of State :* " You will perceive by these two documents that the Legislature partakes in a great measure of that agitation which at present pervades the public mind, and that, although the measures lately pursued here, with a Aiew to the public safety, are not openly censured, yet they are not approved. We, however, are assured of the fidelity of the ancient Louisianians to the United States, and of their attachment to the General Government. For my self, I believe that this declaration is correct so far as relates to a majority of the ancient Louisianians, and perhaps the whole, so far as to exempt them fi-om all participation in Burr's conspiracy, but of that portion of our society whose native language is English, I cannot speak so favorably. Of the patriotism of many I have had abundant proofs; but there are others (and the * Executive Journal, p. 19, vol. 8. ^^^'^•'\ ARREST OF AARON BURR. 179 number, I fear, is not inconsiderable) who, I verily be lieve, would rhost cordially have supported the views of Burr," In the mean time, the news reached New Orleans that Burr had been arrested at Natchez, and had given bond for his appearance before the Territorial Court at its next term. Claiborne expressed again on this occasion his apprehension that the issue of the trial would be "most unfortunate." He said:f " His acquittal will probably ensue, and this dangerous man will be left to continue (undisturbed) in this remote and exposed quar ter his wicked intrigues against the Government of his country. I find that in Natchez also, as in this city, a considerable hue and cry is raised about the violation of the Constitution of the United States, I am persuad ed that many good citizens complain from the very best motives, and AAdth full conviction that there is just cause ; but among the most clamorous are men who, I have some reason to believe, Avould not regret a dismember ment of the Union, or withhold their aid in the subver sion of the Government and laws. These men, however, are now most proftise in their professions of attachment to constitutional rights, and many good people hang around them with the same affection as if they really possessed the merits of a Hampden or a Sydney." On the 10th of Februarv, Claiborne received a letter from John Graham, the Secretary of the Territory of Or leans, written from Frankfort in Kentucky, in which he was informed that Blannerhasset (made immortal by a celebrated passage in Wirt's speech on the trial of Aaron Burr), who had gone down the Ohio with about two hundi'ed men and twenty boats, had proposed, in Sep tember, 1806, to one of Graham's friends, in Avhose verac- * The history of his subsequent trial and acquittal at Richmond in Virginia is well known. 180 CLAIBORNE ON THE PLANS OF BURR. [1807. ity the fullest confidence was to be placed, to join him, Blannerhasset, and Colonel Burr, in a plan to bring about a dissolution of the Union, and that, after pointing out the advantages which would result to leading men from the erection of a separate government on this side of the AUeghanies, and after observing that the people were ripe for such a measuie, he had said that their plan would be to go with an armed force to Ncav Orleans, to seize that place, and after getting the money in the banks, the military stores and French artillery which had been left there, to force the country into a separation from the Atlantic States by operating on its commerce.* " My solemn belief is," wrote Claibome to the Gov ernor of the Territory of Mississippi, " that the seizure of this city and her riches was the primary object of the conspirators, and the dismemberment of the Union the ultimate end of the leaders. I believe the horrible plot has been promoted by foreign influence ; that Spain has furnished Burr Avith his pecuniary means; that the agents of that power in our vicinity were advised of his movements, and that the late events on the Sabine were intended to draw the attention of our Government from the real point of attack. The expedition to Mexico I believe to have been suggested by the a/rch leader, with a view of covering the real design, and inducing men (whose hearts would have revolted at the idea of arming against their country) to receive his orders. You will have seen by the Kentucky papers a disclosure of thp project of the Spanish Court, in 1797, to sever the Western from the Atlantic States, and the means which wei-e proposed to effect it. In 1797, the Spanish Court desired to narrow the Western limits of the United States; in 1807, her object is the same; and to accom * Executive Journal, p. 23, voL 3. 1807.] CLAIBORNE AND 'THE HABEAS CORPUS. 181 plish it, she endeavors to excite among us intestine divisions." "Under these impressions," continued he, "I do not consider the danger as passed ; and Avhile it becomes us to guard against the arts of domestic traitors, we should also watch with care the movements of our Spanish neighbors." * Apprehending such dangers, Claiborne sent a message to the Territorial Legislature, recommending to their consideration the expediency of suspending the privilege of the writ of Habeas Corpus. He immediately inform ed the Secretary of State, at Washington, of the ste|;) he had taken, and said to him :f " If I can acquire posses sion of Burr, Blannerhasset, or Tyler, I shall take means to convey them to the City of Washington, for it is there that these great offenders will probably meet the pun ishment they deserve. The trial of Burr at Natchez Avill determine in his acquittal, and I shall be disap pointed if (as was the case in Kentucky) the jury do not eulogize his conduct." Ten days later, returning to the subject, he wrote to the same functionary :J " I have good reason to believe that Irujo, the Spanish Minister, under an impression that Burr's sole object was a divis ion of the American Union, did give countenance and aid to tlie traitor. I am told by a person attached to the Spanish service that Irujo, early in the last year, ad vised the Governors of Havana, Pensacola and Baton Rouge of the designs of Burr, and that Folch and Grand pre were advised to place at the disposition of Burr such cannon, muskets, and ammunition as they could conve niently spare. My informer gives it as hi.s opinion that, had Burr appeared before Baton Rouge three weeks ago_ * Executive Journal, p. 24, vol. 3. -|- Executive Journal, p. 25. I Executive Journal, p. 27. 182 CLAIBORNE AND THE HABEAS CORPUS. [1807. the fort would immediately have been surrendered to him; but that Irujo's last dispatches had given great alarm to the Spanish agents, and had put them upon their guard against the traitorous adventurers." Much to the mortification of Claiborne, the Territorial Legislature I'efused to suspend, or to put under any re striction whatever, the Avrit of Habeas Corpus, on the fjround that it would be a violation of the Federal Con- stitution. On the 3d of March, howcA'^er, he was reliev ed by the ncAvs that Burr, who had fled from the Ten i- tory of Mississippi, had been again arrested near Fort Stoddard, in Alabama, by Lieutenant Gaines. But he retained a considerable degree of alarm as to the effect which his course of action might have produced on many influential men in the United States, whose opposition or animadversion, he was notwillin,gto encounter — among others, Andrew Jackson, since so famous, to Avhom he wrote on the 31st of March: "Doctor Claiborne can also state the reasons which influenced my conduct during the late interesting crisis. I have been the more solicitous to advise the Doctor of particulars, in order that he might the more readily assure my friends of Tennessee that the purest motives of honest patriotism continue to direct all my acts." * He was particularly solicitous about justifying his application to the Legislature for the suspension of the writ of Habeas Corpus, and thus attempted to conciliate the approbation of Andrew Jackson, whose future im portance he seems to have foreseen : " The inclosed paper will furnish you with copies of the addresses and answers referred to in my last letter, as also a copy of my message of the 10th of February to the Legislature, recommending a suspension of the writ of Habeas Cor- * Executive Journal, p. 48, vol. 3. 1807.] CLAIBORNE AND THE HABEAS CORPUS. 183 pus. This message Avill probably draw down upon me the censure of some whose good opinion I am solicitous to retain, but the man who (regardless of personal con sequences) will not do that which his judgment ap proves, is uiiAvorthy of confidence, either public, or private. You should judge of my conduct by the mag nitude of the danger as it appeared to me, not as it has turned out to be. Thus keep this consideration in view, and I am fully persuaded that you will be among those of my friends who will not condemn me. With respect to the expediency of suspending the Habeas Corpus at the period the message was communicated, and with re gard to the powers of the Legislature to do so, I have no doubt. The judges, however, and the District At torney, Mr. BroAvn, say, they have examined the ordinance by Avhich the Territory is governed, and unite in opinion that the Legislature thereof has not the power to suspend the writ of Habeas Corpus. But, if the gentlemen had carried- their researches a little fur ther, and examined also the Constitution of the United States, I am inclined to think that their opinion AA-ould have been otherwise. The Ordinance was passed in 1787 ;, its language is: Tliat the people shall always be entitled to the privilege of the writ of Habeas Corpus and the trial by jury. It is therefore conceded that, until the Constitution was adopted and became the su preme law of the land, the power nowhere existed to suspend the Habeas Corpus in the North-western Terri tory. But the Constitution declares that the Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended except in times of rebellion, or danger of invasix)n. Here then a power to suspend is recognized, nor is it among those poAvers exclusively delegated to Congress, or prohibited to the States • hev^o it follows that (by the amendments to the Constitution^ the power is reserved to the States. If a State, there 184 MILITARY INTERFERENCE WITH SLAVERY. [1807. fore, can suspend the Habeas Corpus, I contend that a Territorial Legislature can do likewise, for their powers extend to all the rightful subjects of legislation, and those are rightful which the supreme law of the land (the Constitution) recognizes." It is evident from what precedes that there was in those days an approximation to that doctrine of Territorial embryo Sovereignty, which has lately been the subject of so much discussion. Clai borne addressed also a letter of the same import to George Poindexter, whose approbation of his course he was desirous to obtain in the Burr conspiracy. On the 2nd of April, Claibome forwarded to the Secretary of the Treasury a list of the public buildings, and lots owned or claimed in New Orleans by the United States.* lie added, that he would endeavor to procure a sur vey of the lots, accompanied with a drawing which would show their situation, and that he would forward the same in due time. The excitement produced by Burr's conspiracy and by the arrests made by the military power in New Orleans was beginning to subside, when the same power soon gave rise again to a great deal of discontent, which came very near generating tumults and disorder. Sever al gun-boats of the United States were anchored in the Mississippi, opposite to New Orleans, and near to the western bank. On the 4th of July, a planter in their vicinity was correcting a female slave, whose cries being heard by the officers and crews of the gun-boats, three of the young officers, accompanied by a few sailors, entered the planter's inclosure, and released b}' force his slave. The effect produced in the community by such an act may easily be supposed, and the public efferves- • Executive Joumal, p. 47, vol. 8. 1807.J EDWARD LIVINGSTON AUD THE BATTURE. 185 cence could, at first, hardly be kept down, but fortun ately, the appeals made to the sober judgment of the people prevailed against passion, and the case Avas calm ly submitted to the investigation and decision of a court of justice. New Orleans, in those days, was never long in a state of quietude, and it was soon again thrown into commo tion. Edward Livingston, a native of New York, a man who had speedily risen to be at the head of the bar of New Orleans, and whose acknowledged talents, coupled with his supposed rapacity, gave great uneasiness to the community at the time, early after his airival in the Territory had become concerned in the purchase of a parcel of ground fronting the upper suburb of New Orleans, and commonly called the Batture — a piece of land of com paratively recent alluvial formation. It had been occu pied as a common by the city for many years previous, and the title which the city had to it was, in the opinion of the inhabitants, unquestionable. It had happened, however, that Livingston had prosecuted with success his claim, and, in pursuance of a decree of the Superior Court of the Territory, the plaintiff had been put in possession by the sheriff. A few days afterwards, Liv ingston employed a number of negroes to commence the " digging of a canal " which he projected to make in a part of the land decreed to him by the court, but the citizens assembled in considerable force and drove him off. On the day folloAving, Livingston went again to the land in question with a view of exercising his rights of OAvnership, but was again opposed by the citizens. These events had taken place during a temporary ab sence of Claiborne from the city. On his return, which was on the 1st of September, he found the public mind in a great state of agitation. Livingston immediately claimed the Governor's interference in his favor, and the 186 CLAIBORNE AND THE BATTURE. [1807. City Council, on the other hand, passed a Resolution re questing that functionary to lose no time in taking measures to prosecute the claim of the United States to the Batture, which was considered by the Council as indisputable. " I must confess," wrote Claiborne to the Secretary of State, on the 3d of September,* " that I feel much em barrassed what course to pursue. The opposition on the part of the people to a decision of the court is in itself so improper, and furnishes a precedent so dangerous to good order, that it cannot be countenanced. But the opposition on the present occasion is so general, that I feel myself compelled to resort to measures the most con ciliatory, as the only means of avoiding still greater tumult, and, perhaps, bloodshed. For myself, I have t:upposed that the court was in error in awarding the property in question to the plaintiff. My opinion is, that the title is in the United States, but the court., probably, are better acquainted than m}'self with the merits of the case, Mr. Brown, the attorney for the United States, was one of Mr, Livingston's counsel in the cause, and may feel a delicacy in. prosecuting the claim of the United States, but, under existing circum stances, I have esteemed it my duty to urge his doing so." " The assembly of the people on the Battii/re was un lawful, and the opposition to Mr. Livingston and his negroes may be considered as a riot — an offense properly cognizable by our courts, and as they are open, I see no real necessity for Executive interference, unless, indeed, I should think proper to issue a proclamation advisl^^ the people to desist from further opposition to Mr. Liv ingston's claim, and warning them of the consequences * Executive Journal, page 103, vol. 3, 1807,] RIOTS ABOUT THE BATTURE CLAIM. 187 —a ineasure much desired by the claimant — but I have as yet declined doing so for several reasons, one of which is, it might make an impression in the United States that the people were disposed for insurrection, which is not true. " In my next letter I will acquaint you more particu larly with the merits of the Batture case. It is indeed a question highly interesting to the inhabitants of this city. From it (the batture) has been taken all the earth for constructing the Levee that protects New Or leans from the inundations of the riA'er. It has also furnished the earth used in public and private buildings and for improving the streets," " In high water the Batture is entirely covered. If reclaimed, it is feared the current of the Mississippi will in some measure change its course, which will not only prove injurious to the navigation, but may occasion depredations on the levees of the city, or those in its vicinity." In the meantime Livingston had instituted civil actions against the most prominent citizens who had opposed his taking possession of the Battm'e. But still the people retained that possession, and, on the 15th of September, the Governor went in person to persuade the mout of the course Avhich they were pursuing. At noon of that day, ten or tAvelve white laborers, employed by Livingston who seemed determined not to shrink before any exhibi tion of popular fury, began to work on the Batture. At 4 o'clock, the sound of a drum was heard in the streets, the excited citizens rushed out of their houses, and col lected to the number of several hundred, most of them being natives of Louisiana, or France. Being early ad- A'ised by the sheriff of the assemblage of the people, and in consequence of the sheriffs apprehension that the pub lic peace would be greatly disturbed, the Governor re- 188 CLAIBORNE AND THE RIOTERS. [1807 oaired to the spot, and addressed the multitude in these words : " Permit me, fellow-citizens, to claim your at tention, and, as your governor and your friend, to submit to your consideration a few observations : " Whatever may be the redress desired, believe me, the mode you have adopted is improper. It cannot possibly avail you, and, if you persist in it, will injm-e yourselves and your cause. " It is the duty of us all to yield submission to the laws. The Superior Court of this Territory has i>ro- nounced this Batture to be the property of Mr. John Gravier, and he, Mr. Livingston, (who claims under Gra- vier) has been put peaceably in possession thereof by the sheriff'. The Supreme Court derives its authority fi'om the government of the United States, and its de crees must therefore be obeyed. " It is no less my duty than sincere desire to promote by all the means in my power, the interests of my fel low-citizens. To the President of the United States who expects from me a faithful relation of whatever concerns the Avelfare of this Territory, I have already transmitted such information as I could obtain relative to the con flicting claims to the Batture, nor will I omit laying be fore him such further representations on the subject as may be furnished me. The decision of the Supreme Court is for the present conclusive ; it does not preclude (in my opinion) all further inquiry as to the right of property to the Batture. But such inquiry must be commenced and conducted in submission to the Govern ment and conformably to the laws. " I have come among you singly and with confidence. I look to yourselves for support ; we must all aid in the preservation of good order. I am per.suaded that no individual in this assembly could wish to raise his arm against the Government, and when, fellow-citizens, your 1807.] PROCEEDINGS OF THE. RIOTERS. 189 Chief Magistrate unites to a command an earnest en treaty that you should forthwith retire in peace to your respective homes, no one, I am certain, will be found in opposition." * The Governor was received and heard with respectful attention. After this discourse. Colonel Macarty, who stood near him, proceeded to state the serious uneasiness which the decision of the Court had excited ; the long and undisturbed possession of the Batture by the city, as well under the French as the Spanish Government ; and the great injury Avhich would result to the inhabitants if the land should be built upon and improved," The Governor replied !' that the decision of the Court could not be controlled by him, that its authority was sanc tioned by tho GoA'ernment, and that its decrees must not be opposed by the people." A person in the crowd ob served, " And in the mean time no work must be done on the Batture." Many voices exclaimed, " That is the general wish." Claiborne took the occasion to observe, " That the American Government was wise and just — that it was a government of laws and not of men — that the laAVS reigned and the citizens must be subservient thereto — that he was ready and desirous to transmit to the Government such representations as should be fur nished him relative to the conflicting claims to the Bat ture." Colonel Bellechasse, another influential man, who also stood near Claiborne, stated in a concise manner his reasons for believing the Batture to be the property of the public. He expressed his readiness to go to Pensa cola in search of documents to prove that the Batture had always been considered by the Spanish Government as Spanish property — and asked whether the Governor had any objection to the people nominating an agent to carry * Executive Joumal. vol. 8, page 110. 190 GOVERNOR CLAIBORNE ON THE JUDICIARY, [1807 to the President of the United States a statement of their o'rievances. " None," ansAvered the Governor, " provided the representation should be respectful." " Will you re commend our agent to the President ?" was the immediate inquiry. Claiborne assured the crowd that he would, provided the agent should be a man of respectability, and Colonel Macarty was then chosen by universal ac clamation. It being noAV understood that the whole management of the affair was left to Colonel Macarty, the citizens withdrew in peace to their respective homes. Claiborne, in relation to this popular excitement, dur ing which he had behaved with commendable forbear ance and judgment, addressed these reflections to Mr. Madison, the Secretary of State : " It is deemed a mis fortune that the Superior Court of the Territory should be a court of dernier resort. T wish not to reflect upon our Territorial Judges. But I do think that the citizens can justly claim of Congress provision for appeals, in certain cases, from the Court of this Territory to the Supreme Court of the United States, or if this be con sidered improper, that a High Court of Appeals, with official powers for this and the adjoining Territory, be created by laAV. In these two Territories suits of immense importance are frequently brought, involving many intricate questions of law, and in the determina tion of which all Judges may sometimes err." But whilst the case was pending before the Federal Govern ment, Livingston had quietly taken possession of the Batture, and in the month of NoA'ember was making improvements on it. In the month of December, war rumors became cunent in New Orleans, and a collision was daily expected be tween the United States and England, on the questions of impressment of sailors, the right of search, and the protection claimed to be afforded by the American flag 1807. 1 CLAIBORNE ON THE JUDICIARY, 191 to those vessels which sailed under it. Claiborne wrote to Madison, strongly approving the course of the admin istration in resisting the pretensions of Great Britain, and said : " I consider the Louisianians very generally as being avoU affected to the Government, but, in the event of an English war, they Avill with enthusiasm rally round our standard." During this year, Claiborne, in the exercise of certain prerogatives which he thought belonged to the Execu tive, had come into conflict with the judiciary. He seemed to have felt it keenly, and thus addressed the Secretary of State : " In cases of collision between the judiciary and the Executive, where the former shall ev idence a manifest disposition to embarrass the Executive. and to prevent the execution of a law enacted by the Territorial Legislature, must the Executive yield implicit obedience to the judiciary, or is he authorized to take measui'es to carry (the opinion of the judges notwith standing) the Avill of the Legislature into effect ? Your opihion, sir, on this subject will be thankfully received." The inquiry was a curious one, and it would have been interesting to see the ansAver of Madison, but it has not been my good fortune to lay my hands on that docu ment. On the 29th of December, 1807, Claiborne wrote to the Secretary of State : " General Moreau is expected here in a few days. For myself, I attach no suspicion t(? the movements of that great but unfortunate man, etc.. General Dayton is on his way hither, and Bollman is said to be near the city. I fear we shall have ' so many choice spirits' among us during the winter, that it will be -found expedient to order to New Orleans a greater number of regular troops." 1808. On the meeting of the Territorial Legislature, Claiborne, on the 18th of January, said to them in the 192 THE PRESIDENT AND THE BATTURE. [1808. annual Executive Message with which the sessions of such bodies are generally opened : " A University has been established by law, Imt is left to the precarious support of private bounty. In behalf of so valuable an institution, the liberality of the citizens was with confi dence appealed to, but without the smallest success." He advised the Legislature to provide for this neglect, and he recomra ended also the establishing of one or more free schools in each parish, under the direction of a board of trustees.* On the 24th (January), Claiborne received a commu nication from the President of the United States in rela tion to the Batture, which was taken possession of, in obedience to received instructions, by the Marshal of the , United States. Many of the Americans, among whom Livingston had many partisans, affected to cen sure severely the orders of. the Federal Executive, but the Louisianians, on the contrary, were much gratified, and the Legislature passed a vote of thanks to the Pres ident. The Batture became a source of an endless and protean litigation Avhich occupies a conspicuous place in the annals of our jurisprudence. From the beginning of the organization of the Terri torial Government the Louisianians had been restive under the obligation of paying taxes to which they were not accustomed, and the Legislative Council, addressing Claiborne on his late message, made these observations : " The Council has learned with pleasure that the actual impositions are more than sufficient to defray the public expenses. The people of Louisiana, formerly accustomed to pay none apparently, felt the establishment of taxes as a great hardship, and would probably see the aug mentation of them with concern." * Executive Joumal, p. 151, vol. 8. 1808,] Claiborne's instructions to a judge, 193 On appointing one of his own kinsmen to office. Major Richard Claiborne, the Governor sent him written in structions which do equal credit to the mind and heart of their author.* " You are about entering" said he, on an arduous task. The duties which your office en joins require reflection and attention rather than labor. The members of a community are more concerned in the jurisprudence of a country than perhaps in any other part of the Government. The business transacted in courts, of justice comes home to every man's feelings and fireside, and the petty contests and domestic broils which arise in a Adllage or neighborhood excite more interest than all the differences of whatever kind in Avhich the rest of the world may be engaged. , , , , " Recollect that the people among whom you are going to reside differ from those with whom you have been accustomed to associate — differ from each other. The population of that, as well as of every other,. part of this Territory, is composed of Creoles, Europeans and emi grant citizens of the United States, all of them adhering to the peculiar prejudices acquired in their respective countries. Perhaps among materials so jarring and dis cordant it may be difficult to preserve harmony and mutual good-will. But to this end all your efforts must tend. Exert yourself to render them satisfied with each other — satisfied with yourself Mildness in the admin istration of the laws, a general acquiescence in their re ceived and usual habitfc', are of the most essential im portance. Where principle is not concerned, indulge even their follies and prejudices. As this, on the one hand, will exempt you from a charge of fastidiousness, so on the other, it will insure respect and consideration, when you shall find it necessary to act in opposition to their wishes. * Executive Journal, p. 106, vol. 3. 13 194 DEMOLITION OF FORT 8T. LOUIS. [1808. " In deciding upon the rights and liberties of the citi zens, let your conduct be marked with deliberation and firmness, eradicate from your bosom, as far as the falli bility of our nature will allow, those passions and pre possessions often unjust in private life, but always fraught with ruin and misery when influencing our pub lie acts. CultiA'ate a general acquaintance with the peo pie, instruct them in the principles of our Constitution and inculcate an attachment to the Union. Be yourself on your guard, and warn them aga,inst the designs of base men who pervade the Territory in all directions, poisoning the community with false and malignant state ments, and industriously fomenting distrust and dissat isfaction toward the American Government." In the month of March, the City Council requested the Governor to consent to the demolishing of Fort St. Louis and the filling up of the trenches surrounding it, "inasmuch as it impeded the communication betAA'een the town and the suburb St. Mary, and the trenches were receptacles of stagnant water and of all manner of filth which engender disease —and the further request was that the materials of said fort be left at the disposal of the Council for the use of the city." Claiborne con sented to the first part of the request, but ordered that the materials of the demolished fort be left at the dispo sal of the military agent of the United States who would employ them elsewhere for public uses.* Claiborne informed the Secretary of State, on the 14th of March, that the Legislature of the Territory was still in session, but that " they had done little, and were not likely to do more ;" that New Orleans, the seat of fac tion and intrigue, was illy calculated for the residence of the legislative body, and th:it a " resolution" had passed * Executive Joumal, p. 181, vol. 8. 1808.] DIGEST OF CIVIL LAW. 195 the House of Representatives to remove the seat of gov- srnment to a little village on the Mississippi, about one hundred miles above the city, but that he feared the measure would not be approved by the Council. On the 31st of March the Legislature adjourned, after haA-ing adopted a Digest of the civil laws then in force in the Territory of Orleans, with alterations and amend ments adapted to the present form of Government. It had been prepared by Moreau Lislet and Brown, two distinguished members of the bar, who had been ap pointed, in 1805, to that effect. "This work," wrote Claiborne to Madison, " will be of infinite service to the magistrates and the citizens. Heretofore a knowledge of the laws by which we were governed was extremely confined. The lawyers who avowed themselves to be civilians told the judges what the law was, and the citizens, in the most common transactions of life, needed the aid of counsel; but this state of insecurity and uncertainty will, for the future, be in a great measure remedied." His approbation, however, was far from being un qualified, for he added : " I see much to admire in the Civil Law ; but there are some principles which ought to yield to the Common Law doctrine. Indeed it has been with me a favorite policy to assimilate as much as possi ble the laws and usages of this Territory to those of the States generally, but the work of innovation could not be pursued hastily, nor with safety, until the existing laws were fully presented to our view." Considering the probability of a war betAveen the United States and Great Britain, the Federal Govern ment thought of erecting fortifications to protect the entrance of the Mississippi, and consulted Claiborne (jii the subject, " Calculate," said he to the Secretary of War, " the expense of a similar work in any State of the 196 CIRCULAR TO MILrTIA OFFICERS. [1808 Union, and then make an addition of fifty per cent., and you will fall far short of the real expenditure at Plaque- mine. A work at the English Turn is desirable. The Fort at Plaquemine may, with a leading breeze and un der cover of the night, be passed. But, under no cir cumstances, could a vessel evade a battery at the Eng lish Tui'n." By this time the celebrated " embargo measure," adopt ed by the United States in consequence of their foreign unfriendly relations, was in full operation, and Claiborne, in addressing the President of the United States on that subject, said : " The provisions of the new Embargo Act are calculated to giA^e efficacy to a measure the most dignified and the most salutary which, under existing circumstances, could have been resorted to, for, as you have well observed, in replying to the Columbian Order of New York : There can be no question in a mind truly American, whether it is best to send our citizens and p7'operty into certain captivity and wage war for their recovery, or to keep th&m at homey The militia of the Territory had relapsed into a state of great inactivity and indifference, which was particu larly to be regretted at a time of apprehended collisions with foreign nations. To rouse the Louisianians fi'om their apathy and revive their military ardor, Claiborne bethought himself of sending a circular to all the officers who were in command of regiments. It was a spirited address, and invited all those who were subject to militia duty, to repair Avith pleasure and promptitude to the field of exercise, " for,." said he, " without some previous military discipline and knowledge of tactics, a band of citizen-soldiers, however courageous and patri otic, are illy calculated to combat Avith success veteran armies. This Territory, from its peculiar local situa tion, is exposed on all sides to perilous casualties, and in 1808,] RIOTS AND DISTURBANCES. 197 the first nioments of danger, whether from within, or without, Ave must depend upon ourselves for the means of defence. Adequate succor would most unquestion ably be promptly afforded from the Western and At lantic States, but, in our remote and isolated position, it behooves us to be prepared to resist the first onset." In the beginning of August, there were' again in New Orleans several riots and disturbances which gave some anxiety to Claiborne, They consisted in serious affrays between the American sailors and the French, Spaniards and Italians of the same class. They appeared on the Levee in battle array, and had skirmishes which were severe, and in which considerable damage was done to life and limb. Many supposed that the foreign sailors had been stimulated to this quarrel with a view of covering a more dangerous conspiracy. The Mayor even designated to the Governor a person supposed to be in the pay of a foreign government, who had in the city a complete company of men ready to obey his orders. At one time the situation of the city became really alarming,* and Claiborne wrote to Colonel Sparks, who was in command of the United States troops in the Mis sissippi Territory, to have additional companies of regu lars sent down to New Orleans. These disturbances had happened during the absence of Claiborne, who had been on a visit to the County of Opelousas. He speedily returned, and, on the 31st of August, he wrote to the Secretary of State that the city was quiet, " but," said he, " we have, however, to lament the residence among us, and particularly in this city; of a number of aban doned individuals who render the greatest vigilance on the part of the police essential to the general safety. Among those indivdduals are many persons who have • Executive Journal, p. 883, voL 8. 19b CLAIBORNE ON THE CIVIL LAW. [1808. deserted the service of Spain, or fled from tiie punish ment which awaited their crimes." The " Digest of the Civil LaAVs" having at last been printed and being ready for delivery, Claiborne sent a copy of it to every Parish Judge, Avith this circular, dated on the 2id of October :* " Previous to the receipt of this letter, there will have been delivered to you a copy of the ' Digest of the Civil Laws.' It being under stood by our courts of justice that the principles of the civil law (except in criminal cases) were in force through out the Territory, it became expedient to place them before the public. Heretofore, few citizens had a knowl edge of the civil law. It was spread over innumerable volumes, and was for the most part written in a language which few could read. The uncertainty of the law was a source of great embarrassment, not only to private in dividuals, but to the magistrate who was to administer it. By the adoption of the digest one desirable object is at least effected. The laws are rendered more certain, and, if in their operation they should be found unjust, the Legislature will, I am persuaded, lose no time in making the necessary amendments. " Indispensable as (under existing circumstances) has been the adoption of the ' Digest,' it will, nevertheless, (I suspect) be much censured by many native citizens of the United States who reside in the Territory. From principle and habit they are attached to that system of jurisprudence prevailing in the several States under which themseh'es and their fathers were reared. For myself, I am free to declare the pleasure it AA'ould give me to see the laws of Orleans assimilated to those of the States generally, not only from a conviction that such laws are for the most part wise and just, but from the * Executive Joumal, p. 803, vol. 8. 1808.1 CLAIBORNE ON THE CIVIL LAW. Id's opinion I entertain that in a country Avhere a unity of government and interests exists, it is highly desirable to introduce throughout the same laws and customs. We ought to recollect, however, the peculiar circumstances in which Louisiana is placed, nor ought we to be un mindful of the respect due the sentiments and wishes of the ancient Louisianians who compose so great a propor tion of the population. Educated in a belief of the ex cellencies of the civil law, the Louisianians have hitherto been unwilling to part with them, and, while we feel ourselves the force of habit and prejudice, Ave should not be surprised at the attachment which the old inhabi tants manifest for many of their former customs and local institutions. The general introduction, therefore, into this Territory of the American laws must be the effect of time ; the work of innovation must progress slowly and cautiously, or otherAvise much inconvenience will ensue, and serious discontents will arise among a people who have the strongest claims upon the justice and the liberality of the jAmerican Government. " I fear you will continue to experience difficulty in the faithful discharge of your official duties. The aver sion of the ancient Louisianians to our courts of justice, and particularly their dislike of lawyers, the mutual jealousy between the French and American population, together with the great dislike of the latter to the prin ciples of the civil law (which will for the present be your guide) cannot faU to render your situation unpleasant. But I must pray you to persevere in your honest en deavors to render the Government acceptable to the people, and to administer the laws with justice and in mercy." In relation to the adoption of the " Digest of Laws" by the Territorial Legislature, Judge Martin, whose opinion on the subject is entitled to so much authority, remarlcs 200 REFLECTIONS ON THE OIA'IL LAW. [1808 in his History of Louisiana :* " Although the Napoleon Code was promulgated in 1804, no copy of it had as yet reached New Orleans ; and Moreau Lislet and Brown availed themseh'es of the project of that work, the ar rangement of which they adopted, and, mutatis mutanMs, literally transcribed a considerable portion of it. Their conduct was certainly praiseworthy ; for, although the project is necessarily much more imperfect than the code, it was far superior to anything that any two individuals could have produced early enough to answer the expec- tatiops of those Avho employed them. Their labor would have been much more beneficial to the people than it has proved, if the Legislature to whom it was submitted had given it their sanction as a system, in tended to stand by itself, and be construed by its own context, by repealing all former laws on matters acted upon in this Digest. " Anterior laws were repealed so far only as they were contrarj'^ to, or irreconcilable with, any of the provisions of the new. This would have been the case, if it had not been expressed. " In practice, the work was used as an incomplete di gest of existing statutes which still retained their em pire ; and their exceptions and modifications were held to affect several clauses by which former principles were absolutely stated. Thus the people found a decoy in what was held out as a beacon. "The Fuero Viejo, Fuero Juzgo, Partidas, Recopila- ciones, Leyes de las Indias, Autos accordados and Royal Schedules remained parts of the written law of the Ter ritory, when not repealed expressly, or by a necessary implication. " Of these musty laws the copies were extremely rare. * Martin's History of Louisiana, p. 391, vol. 8. '808.] PROCEEDINGS IN COURTS. 201 A complete collection of them was in the hands of no one, and of very many of them, not a single copy existed in the province. "To explain them, Spanish commentators were con sulted, and the corpus juris civilis and its own commen tators were resorted to ; and to eke out any deficiency, the lawyers who came from France or Hispaniola, read Pothier, D'Aguesseau, Dumoulin, etc, " Courts of Justice were furnished with interpreters of the French, Spanish and English languages. These translated the evidence and the charge of the court when neces.sary, but not the arguments of the counsel. The case was often opened in the English language, and then the jurymen who did not understand the counsel were indulged with leave to Avithdraw from the box into the gallery. The defence being in French, they were recall ed, and the indulgence shown to them was enjoyed by their companions who were strangers to that language. All went together into the jury-room — each contending the argument he had listened to was conclusive, and they finally agreed on a verdict in the best manner the}' could." ! In the month of November, the community of Pointe Coupee, an important settlement, had gradually become so divided into parties, and the jealousy between the American and Creole population had become so intense, that Claiborne endeavored to allay the excitement. His appointment, as sheriff, of an individual named Pe- trony had been a cause of great discontent to the Amer icans, or rather to the " modern Louisianians," as Clai bome called them in contradistinction to the " ancient Louisianians." In the hope of restoring harmony, Clai borne wrote in the following strain to Charles Morgan, one of the most promjnent citizens of Pointe Coupee : " As relates to the Sheriff, Mr. Petrony, I can only say 202 AVERSION TO MILITIA DUl'Y. [1808 that he cainc well recommended to me, as a man of hon esty, probity and good demeanor. The circumstance of his not having been born * an American' is not consid ered an objection to him. I certainly feel for m}- coun trymen, the native citizens of the United States, a sincere and ardent attachment, nor is it possible for me, in any situation, or under any circumstances, to be unjust to ward them. But, in my official character, I can ac knowledge no other distinction between the inhabitants of the Territory who, by birth, or the treaty of cession, are entitled to the rights of citizenship, than personal merit. In making appointments, therefore, I have been desirous to select the most worthy and the most capable, keeping in view the expediency of dividing the offices as near as may be between the ancient and modern Louisi anians, as one means of lessening the existing jealousy and distrust between these two descriptions of citizens." This occurrence shows a state of feeling which was almost universal in the Territory. Lb uno disce omnes. A quota of militia having been required of the Terri tory by the President of the United States, which were preparing for an anticipated war, Claiborne wrote to the Secretary of State on the 27th of December: "I hope and believe that the number called for may be obtained by voluntary enlistment; but I nevertheless perceive a reluctance on the occasion, which mortifies me exceed ingly. It arises, on the part of the Creoles, from an ap prehension that they may probably bo ordered out of the Territory, and on the part of the native Americans, fi'om a fear lest they may be placed under the command of officers of the regular army ; and these impressions are much encouraged by the opinions and discourse of a wretched, discontented faction (composed principally of the partisans of Burr) which has so long infested this Territory." 1S08,] NEGROES RUNNING AWAY TO TEXAS. "^ 203 Kvcv since the cession of Louisiana to the United Statcf^, great losses had been experienced by the inhab itants of those parts of the Territory which bordered on Spanish possessions, and principally on Texas, in conse quence of the frequent flight of negroes who ran away from their masters, and resorted to the protection of a foreign flag, under which they were induced to believe that their condition would be improved. This had given rise, every year, to a long correspondence between Clai borne and the Spanish Governors, but no satisfactory result had been obtained, so that the discontent in Lou isiana grew every day greater .as to this state of things, and, on the 14th of December, Doctor Sibley, of Natchito ches, wrote to Governor Claiborne : " Nothing important has occurred here lately since the desertion of about thirty negroes; things cannot long remain in this state; it Avould be better (the people say) for them to be under the Government of Spain than thus situated. How long their allegiance to our GoA'ernment will remain without protection, I know not. The negroes were furnished with Spanish cockades at Nacogdoches, a dance given them, and since they have been marched off to the Trin ity River, singing 'Long live Ferdinand the Seventh.'" CHAPTER V. Claiborne's administration — arrival of many emigrants prom st. domingo — terrible epidemic among the u. s. troops — port baton rouge taken by insurgents — the state of avest florida — negroes smuggled into louisiana — annexation op west florida to the united states. 1809—1810. As time progressed and the prospect of war increased, Claiborne became more anxious about the organization of the militia, and, in a coinmunication sent to the Secre tary of State on the 1st of January, he expressed his views on the subject as foUoAVS : " The. militia here is an inefficient force. My best and incessant exertions to introduce order and discipline have been attended with but little success. They are, moreover, badly armed, and, indeed, in case of an attack, the negroes are so numerous in the settlements on the Mississippi, that it might be dangerous to draw a considerable detachment of militia to any one point. I have no reason to believe that the great body of the people of the Temtory are otherwise than friendly to the j^erican Government. I do fear, however, that unless supported by a strong regular force, they would not, in case of attack, manifest that patriotic ardor in defence of the country which is essential to its preservation. You are not uninformed of the very hete rogeneous mass of which the society in New Orleans is composed. England has her partisans ; Ferdinand the Seventh some faithful subjects ; Bonaparte his admirers ; (204) 1809.] CLAIBORNE ON PUBLIC SCHOOLS. 205 and there is a fourth description of men commonly called Burrites, who would join any standard which Avould promise rapine and plunder. There are, nevertheless, many virtuous citizens, in whose honesty and patriotism 1 fully confide, and with a respectable regular force around which to rally, the}- would prove themselves worthy of reliance in the hour of danger. " New Orleans could not afford to an European power the booty which was found at Copenhagen ; but in these rapacious days, the vast sums of money known to be de posited in the two banks of this city, together with the quantity of cotton, etc, here stored, may present a lure too tempting to be resisted ! " Returning to the subject, he said to the Secretary of War on the 10th of .January :* "In order to comply with the President's late requisition, I have given orders for a draft. In New Orleans no companies have yet volunteered their services. This circumstance mortifies me exceedingly. But I still flatter myself that, in the interior, more patriotism may be displayed." The Legislature of the Territory having resumed their annual sessions, Claiborne, when informed that they were ready to proceed to business, sent his message on the 14th of January, In that document he informed them, with regret, that the act to provide for the means ot establishing public schools in the parishes of the Territo ry, which they had passed at their last session, Avas not likely to produce the desired effect ; that, in the Parish of Pointe Coupee, provi&ion had been made for the sup port of tAVO or more public schools, but that the other parishes did not seem disposed to imitate so worthy an example. "I have observed with pleasure," said he, • Executive Joumal, p. 26, vol. 4 206 CRIMINAL JURISPRUDENCE AND PUNISHMENTS, [1809. " that schools for private instmction have of late greatly increased, and that fathers of families seem impressed with the importance of educating their offspring. The instruction of our children in the various branches of science should be accompanied with every effort to instill into their minds principles of morality ; to cherish their virtuous propensities ; to inspire them with ardent pa triotism, and with that spirit of laudable emulation, which ' seeks the esteem of posterity for good a/ad virtuous actions^ Youth thus reared into life become the pride of their parents, the ornaments of society, and the pillars of their country's glory.'' Passing to another subject of considerable importance, he observed, " Your criminal jurisprudence requires rcAds- ion. Punishments are not proportioned to crimes, and, in some cases, offenders are imprisoned for life, Avhose reformation might probably be effected by a less rigor ous suffering. The jail of New Orleans is the common receptacle for convicts sentenced to hard labor. But no means being pointed out for their employment, these un fortunate victims of the law herd together in idleness, until their vices become contagious. Their support, moreover, is a serious charge upon the Ti-easury, so much so that a view to political economy has had an influence in pardoning offenders whose claims for mercy were very doubtful. For these and other considerations, which will readily occur, you will be convinced of the expedi ency of erecting a Penitentiary House, and of prescribing such niles for its internal police as may be best calculat ed to reclaim the wicked and dissolute,"* Referring to the hostile attitude taken by foreign pow ers against the United States, Claiborne thus stimulated the patriotism of the Legislature : " At this epoch, when * Executive Journal, p. 37, vol. 4. 1809.] CLAIBORNE ON FOREIGN RKLATI0N8. 207 what are termed the civilized nations of Europe vie in acts of atrocity with the piratical States of Barbary, a people, to hope for safety, must be armed and united. The Government of the United States has made repeated efforts to restore an amicable intercourse vrith England and France, Nothing has been demanded of the bellig erents which the immutable principles of justice did not sanction ; no conduct of theirs was objected to but such as was in violation of our rights as a free and in dependent people. The language of remonstrance and complaint has been exhausted, and our wrongs remain unredressed. There seems to be no alternative but war, or a continuance of the embargo. Advert to the history of the American nation from the commencement of its existence to the present day ! What triumphs have been achieved ! What examples of fortitude, of firmness, of prudence have been afforded ! A national character ac quired by the blood of heroes, and maintained by the wisdom of illustrious statesmen, must and will be pre served. Our honor will never be sullied by receiving the commands of France; nor our independence pros trated by paying tribute to Great Britain. The embargo imposes privations, which a magnanimous people will cheerfully bear. It may be the means of avoiding still greater ills. But, howcA'er things may eventuate, whether in inevitable war, or honorable peace, the good citizens of this Territory will unite hand and heart in the sup port of the Government and in the defence of their country." In their reply, the Legislature said to Claiborne : " Tell the Federal Government that the Louisianians, proud to belong to the great family, are ready to vie in zeal, in efforts and in sacrifices for the defence of their country."* * Executive Joumal, p. 43, vol. 4. 208 SURRENDER OF RUNAWAY NEGROES.' [1809, In transmitting these sentiments to the Secretary of State, Claiborne observed : " This answer may be considered as conveying the political sentiments of the great majority of the people of the Territory. Indeed, Sir, the Louis ianians are becoming every day more attached to the American Government, and I am persuaded that, when the occasion serves, they will prove themselves worthy members of the American family, I have nevertheless to regret the residence among us of some foreigners, faithful friends of England, of Spain and of France, and the existence also of a faction in New Orleans (the rem nants of Burrism) whose object is to embarrass the ad ministration and to excite discontents,'' In the mean time. Governor Claiborne succeeded at last in obtaining from Salcedo, the Governor of Texas, the surrender of some of the negroes who had fled to that province. This circumstance, being calculated to prevent the recurrence of an evil which had been of so long duration, gave great satisfaction in Louisiana. Clai borne assured Salcedo that a like conduct would be pur sued in relation to such slaves as might fly from their Spanish masters and take refuge in the Territory of Or leans, and he informed him that, in order that no diffi culty whatever might arise, the Legislature had enacted a special law on the subject, a copy of which he trans mitted to him. "Your Excellency," said he to Salcedo, " will recognize (I trust) in the provisions of this law those just and liberal principles which should always characterize the intercourse between neighboring and friendly governments." Julian Poydras, a very wealthy planter of Pointe Coup6e, who was avowedly friendly to the general and local administration, was, much to Claiborne's gratifica tion, elected by the Territorial Legislature a delegate to Congress for the ensuing two years. This was the more 1809,] ARRIVAL OF UNITED STATES TROOPS, 209 satisfactory to Claiborne from the fact of there being in New Orleans a pretty strong party opposed to him, and to all his friends and supporters. On the 13th of Feb ruary, Claiborne had informed the Federal Government that there AA'as in the city a base faction, composed prin cipally of Burrites and Englishmen, Avho were making every exertion to excite disunion and disorder. " A pa per called La Lanterne Magigue^'' said he, " is devoted to their views, and I much fear that, among a people (like the Louisianians) Avho are still for the most part strangers to oui' government, laAvs and language, the li belous publications which wickedly appear against the government and its officers Avill make some unfavorable impressions. The Legislature, however, are almost unanimous in approving the measures of Government, and I am happy to add that, without the city of Ncav Orleans, little or no dissatisfaction is expressed." On the 26th of March, New Orleans was becoming croAvded with United States troops. More than fourteen hundred of them were then in the city, and several hun dred more had entered at the Balize. General Wilkin son, their commander, was daily expected from the North. The number soon amounted to about two thousand, and the public Barracks not being sufficient for their accom modation, many of the companies were comfortably, but expensively, quartered in different parts of the city. In the month of April, Claiborne Avent up to the Par ish of Pointe Coup6e with the view of allaying a feud between the Parish Judge, Dormenon, and L'Abbe Les- pinasse, the Parish priest, which had divided the citizens into two factions greatly embittered against each other, and almost disposed to engage in a petty civil war. These two leaders of the two contending parties were both Frenchmen by birth. The former was supported by Poydras, the delegate elect to Congress, and a major- 14 210 VIOLENT FEUDS IN POINTE COUPEE. [1800 ity of the planters of the Parish. The latter was patroii; ized by a few respectable Creole families, by almost all the women, and by some native Americans who had re cently emigrated to the Parish. The Judge and his par tisans wished the removal of the Parish Priest; the Abbe and his fiiends desired the dismissal of the Judge. " My powers," said Claiborne to the Secretary of State, " did not permit me to act in either case, and my incli nation led me to take no other notice of the dispute than to advise all parties to preserve good order, and to add that any breach of the public peace would be noticed by the ciAdl authority. The Sheriff of the District is said to be so friendly to the Judge as to evidence great partiality in the selection of jurors, and a great clamor has been raised against him. This cause of complaint, which I believe to be not altogether unfounded, shall be removed so soon as I can find a capable and honest man, indiffer ent to both parties, willing to accept the office. I should be at no Iobs to select an individual from among the citi zens of Pointe Coup6e, both honest and capable. But they haA'e so generally taken part in this contest, that it Avill be advisable to appoint as sheriff some person who has not heretofore resided in the Parish." This incident, insignificant in itself, but not an exceptional one, is de serving of notice, as illustrating the curious social condi tion then existing in the Territory, In such a social condition, Claiborne had soon found out that, among his manifold duties, the most delicate and disagreeable was that of appointing to office. He in formed the President that, to conciliate the population generally, and indeed to be just to the old inhabitants, he was bound to fill a portion of the offices of honor and profit with those whose native language was French, " But," said he to the Secretai-y of State, " this policy is much censured by some of my fellow-citizens, and 1800.] ADMISSION INTO THE UNION DEMANDED. 211 made a cause of opposition to my administration. You will find inclosed a list of the most important civil and military officers of the Government, and in which are noticed the several places of nativity. From this list you will find that, if there is any favoritism, it is'towa/rd native Americans^ The Legislature, in their last session, had adopted a memorial to Congress, the object of which wq.s to obtain the early admission of the Teri'itory into the Union as a member of the Confederacy, on the same footing with the original States. This memorial was transmitted by Claiborne to the Secretary of State at Washington on the 18th of May, but with a letter which he wrote in opposition to their wishes, and which is too interesting a document not to be reproduced here at length.* " I am not from principle," said he, "an advocate for Territorial systems of goA'ernment, nor during my agency in their administration have I experienced so much satis faction, as to have created a personal bias in their favor ; but it really seems to me that the system, as it relates to this District, cannot yet be done away Avithout hazarding the interest of the United States, and the welfare of this community. I can bear testimony to the good intentions and amiable character of a majority of the inhabitants, to their industrious habits, to their obedience to the laws, and growing attachment to the American Govern ment ; but they nevertheless are not pre2>ared for self- government to the extent solicited by the Legislature, The Government of the Territory in its present shape is with some difficulty administered ; and as much power has been vested in the people as is, for the present, likely to be used with discretion. Our population is a mixed one, and composed of very discordant materials ; the mass of * Executive Journal, p, 82, vol. 4, 212 CENSUS OF INHABITANTS, [1809 the inhabitants still entertain strong prejudices in favor of their ancient laws and usages, and, should the imme diate control of the General Government over this Ter ritory be withdrawn, those great principles of jurispru dence, so much admired in the United States, would not meet here that patronage which the general interest would require, " In 1806, a census of the inhabitants of this Territory was taken, and I believe with great accuracy. There were then 52,998 souls, of which 23,574 were slaves, and 3,355 free people of color, leaving a white population of 26,069 ; of these at least 13,500 are natives of Louisiana, for the most part descendants of the French ; about 3,500 natives of the United States, and the residue, Europeans generally, including the native French, Spaniards,English, Germans and Irish. " I have no document which enables me to state with certainty the number of the several descriptions of persons composing the Avhite population. But the above is, I am sure, very near coi'rect. Since the year 1806, the emigration has not been considerable ; it may have given us an increase of between three and four thousand free persons, two- thirds of whom are native Americans, But it is understood that many of the unfortunate people lately banished from Cuba Avill seek an asylum in this Territory, and that, in a few weeks, the French popula tion may receive an addition of several thousand. " The memorial met with considerable opposition in the House of Representatives, and, on its final passage, the votes were eleven in the affirmative and seven in the negative. I much doubt whether, if a question as to the early reception of the Territory into the Union as a State Avas submitted to the people, there would be found a majority in its favor. Of one fact I am assured — that a great majority of the native citizens of the United States 1809.] OPPOSITION TO STATE GOVERNMENT. 213 residing here are against the measure, as are also many of the native Louisianians, I Avas the other day in con versation on the subject with a very resj)ectable and influential planter, and, among other objections to the prayer of the memorial, he stated that the time was ill- cliosen / that when the Spanish possessions in our vicinity were on the eve of a revolution, and we knew not in what manner the United States, and this Territory in particular, might be affected by tlie war now raging, the period tvas not favorable for organizing a State Government : that tlie taxes already imposed by the Territorial autliorities were as great as the people could conveniently meet, and that no change was for tlie present desirable, which would be accompanied with an accumulation of expenses. He noticed, also, tJie negligence of his fellow-citizens in making use of the privilege already conferred on them, and doubt ed whether they were yet sufficiently informed on political matters to conduct a State Government. These remarks were just. The time is indeed illy chosen. There is, moreover, a want of information among the body of the people ; the rights of the citizen are not generally un derstood, and his duties (more particularly political) often neglected. The apathy which prevails at our elec tions has been remarkable. In counties where there are more than two hundred voters there are instances of persons being returned as Representatives to the General Assembly by a lesser number than thirty suffrages, and hitherto it has seldom happened that, at any election, however contested, a majority of the voters have attend ed the polls. " On transmitting a copy of this memorial to the De partment of State, I have to regret, Sir, that my senti ments as to its object should not accord with those of a majority of the members of the Legislative Council and House of Representatives, for whose integrity of char- 214 FRENCH EMIGRATION PROM CUBA, [1809. acter I feel the highest respect, and in whose good in tentions I fully confide. But whilst my judgment assures me that it would at this time be inexpedient to admit this Territory into the Union as a member State, I should be wanting in duty were I not to suggest the necessity of amending the ordinance of Congress of 1787, which has been extended to the Territory of Orleans, and more specially as relates to our Supreme Judiciary, I believe, also, that an increase of the members of the Legislative . Council * would meet the interest and wishes of the citizens." The revolution of St. Domingo had caused a French emigration into the island of Cuba, and the ruthless in vasion of Spain by France was the cause of another exodus of those same refugees, who sought in Louisiana an asylum Avhich was denied them in the country Avhere they had become objects of hatred and suspicion. In the month of June, many of those emigrants had already arrived in New Orleans, some with their slaves and with what ever other property they could bring Avith them, and others utterly destitute. The negroes, having been intro duced in violation of law, were seized, but it was thought to be one of those hard cases Avhen humanity required that the law should be permitted to sleep, or at least that it should not be strictly and rigorously enforced. It was supposed that Congress, being appealed to, would, from sympathy for the fugitives, modify the law so as to per mit them to retain what was with most of them their only means of securing a livelihood in their new home, and would not deprive those who had been twice the victims of an adverse fate, of the few remaining Avrecks of their former fortunes. Acting in conformity with this spirit of compassion, and in anticipation of the * They were only five in number. J 809,] FRENCH EMIGRATION FROM CUBA. 215 expected course to be pursued by the Federal Govern ment, Claiborne wrote to the Mayor of Ncav Orleans : " The Collector of the District of Orleans having re quested me by a letter bearing date on this day, 19th of June, to name some persons to whom he may deliver, conformably to the provisions of tlie act of Congress, passed on the 'id day of March, 1807, to prohibit the im portation of slaves, certain negroes arriving here from Cuba, I must beg you to have the goodness to receive the same, and to place them in the possession of their respective owners, provided they previously enter into bond, with sufficient security to the Governor of the Territory and his successors in office, with a condition that the negroes so placed in their possession shall be held subject, and, at all times after ten days' notice, be forthcoming at the office of the Mayor of the City of New Orleans, there to abide such further and other dis positions as the Governor of the Territory of Orleans, or his successors in office, or the President and Con gress of the United States may think proper to make or direct. ........' " In the event that there be any persons, claiming ne groes, Avho cannot give the security required, you will then be pleased to hire the negroes to some citizen who will give the necessary surety for their delivery at your office as aforesaid, and to pay over the proceeds of the hire to the respective oAvners." Two days after, Claiborne communicated to the Secre tary of State what he had done in this matter, and said, " I am not certain, Sir, that the temporary disposition I have made of these poor people will, upon investigation, be found correct. The letter of the law may not have been adhered to. But, under all circumstances, I trust the measures I have already directed Avdll be approved. The 216 FRENCH EMIGRATION FROM CUBA. [1809. case is a peculiar one. It was not anticipated by the Govtirnment, and may not perhaps be considered as fully proviiied for under the acts of Congress. The emigration of the French from Cuba was compulsory, and their mis fortunes, under the general law of nations, recommend them to the greatest indulgence. An accredited agent of the United States, the Consul of St. Yago, had more over encouraged them to hope, as appears fi'oni his letter to me, that in their peculiar situation, the Government, as regards the slaves, 'may have the power and the inclina tion to grant them so'tne relief from the precise rigor of established statutes, and in this expectation they entered the waters of the Mississippi. Of the Avretched condition of these unfortunate exiles I am well assured. The en closed petition from them is calculated to awake the sympathy of all who can feel for ju'iv ate distress. " The vessels coming from Cuba with slaves are all under seizure, and detained to the great loss of the owners. These vessels are American and Spanish bottoms, and I have been assured by the several captains, that had not the feelings of humanity induced them, of their own accord, to bring away the exiled French, the Spanish authorities would have forced them to do so, " Several other vessels from St. Yago have entered at the Balize with jiassengers, but I am not informed of their numbers. The French already arrived here are represented, for the most part, to be men of fair charac ters and industrious habits. The great majority of the people of color, emigrating hither, are women and chil dren; and the negroes who have been introduced are said to consist of faithful domestics, who have adhered to their masters in all the vicissitudes of their fortunes, and of a i'ew Africans purchased by the French during their resi dence in Cuba." These emigrants, Avhose sufferings entitled them to so 1809. J CLAIBORNE AND THE FRENCH EMIGRANTS. 217 much sympathy, and even to indulgence, if they had ' needed it, for impropriety of behavior, for persistency in defective habits, or for the conspicuousness of morals not entirely free from blame, did not find favor, however, with some of those at whose doors they were knocking for hospitable reception. For, on the 18th of July, Claiborne wrote to the Secretary of State : " Considerable exertions have been made and are now making, through the medium of a paper called the New Orleans Gazette, to excite prejudices against those unfortunate strangers, and to impress society with an opinion that my conduct in relation to them and their slaves has been in direct opposition to the laws and the best interests of the United States, According to the newspaper writers, . those strangers are, very generally, men of the basest character, who, for the last few years, have committed many wanton and cruel depredations on the commerce of the United States, and their stay in the Territory Avould endanger its peace and safety. " For myself. Sir, I would have prefeiTcd that the space in our, community which these emigrants have filled, had been occupied by native citizens of the United States. But I really see no cause for that uneasiness and alarm Avhich have been expressed. There are, doubtless, among them some worthless individuals. But, upon inqiiiry, I find that the great majority are men of fair reputations and industrious habits, who deserve a greater portion of happiness than has heretofore been allotted to them. As regards myself, the newspaper abuse is a matter of no consequence. Assured of the rectitude of my conduct, and that the President will not condemn me unheard, I bid defiance to ray enemies. But as re gards the strangers whom misfortune has thrown upon our shores, I am sorry to find them so much abused ; it can only tend to lessen the giatituJe for the asylum 218 CLAIBORNE AND THIS FRENCH EMIGRANTS. [1809, afforded them. There are, certainly, many excellent Americans who are dissatisfied with so considerable a foreign population. But the persons the most noisy on the occasion are those who participate in all the Spanish and English resentment against the French nation, and of whose breasts prejudice has taken such complete pos session as to extinguish all sense of feeling" for private distress." * Notwithstanding the hostility shown to them by a portion of the population of Louisiana, the flooc f emi grants had continued to pour iii, and on the 18th or July, their number amounted to 5,754, of whom 1,798 were Avhite people, 1977 free colored and black, and 1,979 slaves.- Referring to this subject, Claiborne said to the Secre tary of State on the 29th of July : " These trials," (allud- ' ing to the trials of some Frenchmen on the charge of piracy,) and the newspaper publications in which the refu gees fi-om Cuba are represented as the basest of men, and dangerous to the tranquillity of the territory, have pro duced here a gretit share of agitation. The foreign Frenchmen residing among us take great interest in fa vor of their countrymen, and the sympathies of the Cre oles of the country (the descendants of the French), seem also to be much excited. The native Americans apd the English of our society, on the contrary, with some few exceptions, appear to be prejudiced against these stran gers, and express great dissatisfaction that an asylum in this territory Avas afforded them. I have endea vored to impress reflecting men with the propriety of observing moderation in their language and conduct. But we have here many warm, rash individuals, whose imprudent expressions aid considerably the views of a * KiMullfo louniul, p 118, vol, 4. 1«09.] CLAIBORNJC CHECKING IMMIGRATION. 219 few base characters whose sole object is to produce con fusion, and who seize on every opportunity to bring into contact the discordant materials of which this commu nity is composed."* Although strong]}' sympathizing with the French re fugees, Claiborne thought it prudent to check that kind of immigration, and wrote as follows to Mr. Anderson, the American Consul at Havana, " The refugees from Cuba who have arrived in this territory have experien ced the most friendly hospitality. But their number is becoming so considerable as to embarrass our own citizens, and I fear they will not be enabled much longer to supply, as fully as they would wish, the wants of these unfortunate strangers. You will, therefore, render a ser Adce to such of the French as may not have departed from Cuba, by advising them to seek an asylum in some other district of the United States. " As regards the people of color who have arri\'ed here from Cuba, the women and children haA'e been re ceived, but the males above the age of fifteen have, in pursuance of the Territorial Law, been ordered to de part. I must request you, Sir, to make known this cir cumstance, and also to discourage free people of color, of every description, from emigrating to the Territory of Orleans. We haA'e already a much gi-eater proportion of that description than comports with the general interest." He addressed the same letter to Maurice Rogers, United States Consul at St. Yago de Cuba. But the colored peo ple who had been ordered to depart contrived to evade the order, and remained in New Orleans, Avhere they have left a numerous posterity. Even others of the same class subsequently arrived, and, notAvithstanding a show of opposition, were permitted to glide into a quiet residence in the territory. * Executive Journal, p 121, vol. 4. 220 ARRIVAL OF TOO MANY STRANGERS. [1809. The perturbed state of the world at that time was the cause that many individuals whose condition became unsettled were looking round for places where they could better their fortunes, and not a fcAV of them were daily arriving in New Orleans from almost every quar ter of the horizon which embraced the civilized portion of the earth, and particularly fi'om Jamaica, Guadeloupe, and the other West India Islands. British aggressions and conquests' in those regions had disposed many of their French inhabitants to seek for refuge elsewhere. " At all times," said Claiborne to the Secretary of State, on the 4th of November, "the utmost vigilance on the part of the officers of Government in this Territory is essen tial, but it is particularly so at the present period, when so many strangers are daily arriA'ing among us, of whom many are of doubtful character and of desperate for tunes, and many, probably, would become willing in struments in the hands of those unprincipled, intriguing individuals who would wish to disturb the peace and union of the American States, That there are such in dividuals in this territory I, have long since known, and I have no reason to believe that their hostility to the interests of the United States has in the least abated," In consequence of the steady tide of emigration which was flowing towards Louisiana, chiefly from the shores of San Domingo, Cuba, Jamaica, and Guadeloupe, house rent in New Orleans and the price of provisions had become so extravagantly high that, in tho month of No vember, families who had but limited resources began to find them drawing to an end, and the number of the poor and destitute were daily augmenting.* It has already been stated that, in the month of May, about two thousand troops of the United States had * Executive Joumal, p. 167, vol. 4. 1809,] SICKNESS AMONG THE U. S. TROOPS. 22] been concentrated in New Orleans. General Wilkins-oii. Avho Avas their commander, had arrived in that city fiom the North, on the 19th of April, after having stopped at Havana and Pensacola. Immediately after his return, he reconnoitered the country around New Orleans in search of a spot from which the troops might readily be brought into action in case of an attack, and Avherc they might in the meanwhile enjoy as much health afld comfort as the climate would allow. His choice fell on an elevated piece of ground on the left bank of the Mis sissippi, about eight miles below the city, near the point where the road leading to the settlements of Terre aux Boeufs leaves that which runs along the riA'er. A large detachment was sent to Terre aux Boeufs to make the necess-ai-y preparations, and the rest of the troops gradu ally followed. On the 13th of May, seven hundred non commissioned officers and privates had assembled at that spot.* They had hardly been three weeks encamped, when the most peremptory order from the department of war was received by Wilkinson, directing him to embark his whole force iraraediately, leaving only sufficient garri sons at New Orleans and Fort St. Philip, and to proceed to higher grounds in the rear of Fort Adams and of Natchez, and by an equal division of his men to form an encampment at those localities.f From the difficulty of procuring boats and from other circumstances, the troops did not begin to ascend the river before the 15th of September. Their progress lasted forty-seven days, during which, out of nine hun dred and thirty-five men who embarked six hundred and thirty-eight were sick, and two hundred and forty died. * Martin's Histery of Iiouisiana, p. 294, vol. 2. f Martin's History of Louisiana, p. 295, vol. 3. 222 MORTALITY AMONG THE U. S. TROOPS. [1810 It is sad to relate that, of the nineteen hundred and fifty-three regulars who had been sent to New Orleans seven hundred and ninety-five died, and one hundred and sixty-six deserted, so that the total loss was almost one- half of the Avhole. The greatest sickness was in the month of August, when fiA'e hundred and sixty-three men were on the sick list.* This disaster produced a profound sensation in the [Jnited States, and a great clamor arose against Wilkin- son, who had already been so long suspected of being in the pay of Spain, and to whose misconduct his opponents attributed what had happened on this occasion. So loua was the hue and cry against him, that James Madison, Avho had succeeded Jefferson as President of the United States, thought pi'oper to call him to the seat of GoA'ern ment to justify himself, and General Wade Hampton Avas appointed to take the command in his place. 1810. Claiborne, in the annual message which he de livered at the opening of the session of the Legislature, in January, 1810, complimented them on the ncAV-born interest wliich the people of the Territory had exhibited in the recent elections for members of their body. " Their indifference on former occasions," he said, " to the right of suffrage was cause for serious concern. It was apprehended that such apathy would in the end prove injurious to their best interests. But, by the recent re turns from the several counties, it is apparent that the body of the people are becoming sensible of the import ance of the elective franchise and that its exercise is justly considered to be a duty." He further observed, that the embarrassments to commerce necessarily result ing from the contlition of the foreign relations of the United States having diminished the value of most of * Martin's History of Louisiana, p. 396, vol. 3. 1810.] ENCOURAGEMENT TO DOMESTIC INDUSTRY. 223 the surplus i)roductions of the Territory, and augmented considerably the price of all articles of foreign importa tion, therefore ,the strongest considerations of interest in vited the Louisianians to the exercise of a prudent econ omy, and to seize on a moment so auspicious as the pres ent, to encourage domestic manufactures and to lessen their dependence on a foreign market for articles of ne cessity and comfort. " It is submitted to you," he said, " whether some leg islative encouragement may be advisable. To what ex tent you can best determine. But, were only an honor able premium awarded for the samples of cotton and Avoollen cloths exhibited from the different Parishes, it could not fail to produce a laudable emulation, I haA'e observed in the prairies of Attakapas and Opelousas some flocks of sheep whose fleece appeared to me to be of good quality. The improvement of the breed of that useful animal is an advisable object. In climates not very dissimilar to that of this territory he is reared to advantage, and I am persuaded that, with due care, his welfare will be equally sure in our extensive western prairies. The Merino sheep, whose wool is held in such high estimation, were a few years since imported into the Atlantic States, and promise to contribute greatly to their real wealth and convenience. I submit, therefore, to the legislature the expediency of introducing into this territory, at the public expense, as many of that improv ed breed as may be sufficient to make the experiment how far the climate is adapted to their prosperity. The great and necessary consumption of woollen manufactures , in this territory makes it important that we should early resort to means to acquire at home those supplies which Ave, so sparingly, and at so enhanced a price, receive from abroad, and of which resource, it is probable, we may soon in a greater degree be deprived." !J24 THE YELLOW FEVER AND HEALTH LAWS. [1810, In relation to the administration of justice he judic iously said : " There are, doubtless, necessary amend ments which may occur to you, but I trust they will not be numerous. A disposition for frequent change of judicial systems should not be encouraged; it often proves injurious. Multiply your laws and they become less known — the more uncertain — and the citizen finds it better to endure, than to seek a redress for griev ances." In consequence of the frequent ravages of the Yellow- fever, particularly in the autumn of the past year, he recommended to the Legislature the policy of making " some general health laws which should enforce cleanli ness, and subject the shipping entering the Mississippi to those quarantine regulations which at other places had proved salutary.* In a communication to the Secretary of the Treasury, bearing date, January 17, Claiborne recommended that Congress be iuA'ited to make some appropriation to sup port, under the direction of the Territorial Legislature, the establishment of public schools in the Territory of Orleans. " I am sorry," he said. " to observe that the education of the youths of this district has been, and is still, greatly neglected ; nor do I expect ever to see as liberal an appropriation for public schools as the present state of this society demands, unless Congress shall deem them objects worthy their patronage. Donations have been made, I believe, by Congress, to most of the Terri tories, vidth a view to the encouragement of education, and I am persuaded a like generosity will be observed toward the Territory of Orleans. The donation I re commend would enable the Tarritorial Legislature im mediately to establish seminaries of learning in the sev • Executive Journal, p. 219, vol. 4. 1810.] NECESSITY OF PUBLIC EDUCATION. 225 eral counties, AA'here the children of the native Louisiani ans and the native Americans, of the native French men and the native Spaniards, how inhabiting this Ter ritory, might be instructed in useful knoAvledge, and the effects of AA'hose early intercourse and friendship Avould probably be such as to induce the rising generation to consider themselves one people, and no longer to feel that jealousy and Avant of confidence which exists among their fathers."* This jealousy and this want of confidence of which Claiborne complains was a stumbling block in the way of his administi'ation, and proved to him a constant source of trouble and anxiety, as may be seen from his dispatch of the 23d of January to the Secretary of State, to whom he expiessed his sentiments in these terms: " To give general satisfaction to the inhabitants of this Territory, among the several descriptions of Avhich so much jealousy and dislike exists, I have found impracti cable. My sole object is now, and ever has been, to be just to them all, and to conciliate as much as possible the minds of the ancient inhabitants of the Territory to the American Government. As one means of doing so, I have occasionally invited them, in common with the native citizens of the United States, to partake in the administration of the local government. I have had no reason to regret this policy, and I hope and believe that it is approved by the President of the United States. The ancient inhabitants (I mean the natives of Louisiana, or those who were settled here previous to the cession),, possess a great share of the wealth of the District, and of course pay a very cc^-'Merable proportion of the Ter ritorial tax. To exclude tJaei, ^r-om a participation in the affairs of the Territory would, to auj +hp, least of it, be an act of injustice. * Executive Journal, p. 233, vol. 4 15 .226 CLAIBORNE ON PUBLIC APPOINTMENTS. [1810. " From the list of appointments enclosed you will find that, next to the native Americans, the natives of Loui siana enjoy the greatest share of my patronage. Men who were born in this country, and where also their fathers are entombed, I never can treat as aliens. But my mode of thinking and acting has made me some bit ter enemies. Not an office is created, or becomes vacant, but the number of my foes increases, and if ray choice should happen to fall on a citizen whose natiA'C language is French, I am immediately charged Avith being too friendly to French interests." Claiborne also informed the General Government that, as long as the Floridas should remain in the possession of a foreign power, all the laAVS prohibiting the importa tion of slaves would be evaded. "It is confidently re ported," he said, " that two or three vessels have latel}' sailed from Pensacola for the Coast of Africa, and design to return with a cargo of negroes. These will be carried to the rich settlement of Baton Rouge,' and such as cannot be sold there will probably be conveyed across the Mis sissippi and disposed of in the Territory of Orleans."* I have already mentioned that Wade Hampton had succeeded General Wilkinson in his military command. Claiborne, in a note of the 27th of January, suggested to him the expediency of leaving at NeAV Orleans, as a gar rison, three or four complete companies, " because," as he remarked, " you are doubtless advised of the very hete rogeneous mass of which the society in NeAV Orleans is composed, and that Ave have among us men of every na tion and character. Heretofore, nothing has occurred to threaten the i^ublic peace. But with a population so mix ed, and becoming more so every day by the press of emi gration from Cuba and elscAvhere, I must confess I am not • Executive Journal, p. 237, vol. 4- 1 810. J ¦ HOSTILITY TO CLAIBORNE INCREASING, 227 without apprehensions that disorders and disturbances may arise. The free-men of color, in and near New Or leans (including those recently arrived from Cuba), capa ble of carrying arms, cannot be less than eight hundred. Theu' conduct has hitherto been correct. But in a coun try like this, where the negro population is so consider able, they should be carefully watched. Until the militia of the Territory is lendered an efficient force, I should be sorry to see less than three or four companies of regular troops in New Orleans, or in its vicinity. I have not been wanting in efforts to better the condition of the militia. But many obstacles are iu my way." It is remarkable, that the antagonisra' which in the Legislature of Louisiana has so long existed between the representatives of New Orleans and its vicinity, and those of the rest of the country, had a conteraporaneous origin with the forraation of the Territorial Government ; for, on the 17th of February, Claiborne informed the Secretary of State that " the Territorial Legislature was still in ses sion ; that a great difference of opinion had arisen be tween the merabers from the Western counties and those from NeAV Orleans and its vicinity, and that the parties were so nearly divided, that few, if any, laws of general concern would probably pass." In the mean time, the opposition to Claiborne's ad- rainistration was becoraing raore intense on the part of his enemies, and the Attorney-General of the Territory thought it his duty to institute judicial proceedings against a virulent libel which had been published against the Executive. On being informed of it, the Governor wrote a very noble letter to the Attoi-ney-General, re questing him to stop the prosecution. "An officer whose hands and motives are pure," he said, " has noth ing to fear from newspaper detraction, or the invectives of angry and deluded individuals. My conduct in life is 228 Claiborne's noble letter, [isio, the best answer I can return to my enemies. It is be fore the public, and has secured, and will, I am certain, continue to secure me the esteem and confidence of that portion of society whose approbation is desirable to an honest man, " The lie of the day gives me no concern. Neglected calumny soon expires ; notice it, and you gratify your calumniators ; prosecute it, and it acquires consequence ; punish it, and you enlist in its favor the public sympa thy. The liberty of the press is all important to a fi-ee people ; but its licentiousness in the United States has become a curse to my country. It destroys all the ben efit Avhich its liberty woidd otherwise produce. The press, in former days, kept bad men in check ; but in these times its denunciations afford no evidence of de merit, for we all know that they are directed as well against the virtuous as the wicked. Judicial interference is not, in my opinion, the best means of putting down that licentiousness. It can alone be effectually done by the people themselves. When they shall think proper to withdraw their patronage from the vehicles of slander, and not until then, will the libelers of the laws of the Government, its officers, and honest citizens, disappear."* In the month of May, Claiborne, having obtained leave of absence, departed from New Orleans for Baltimore, and the Government was left in the hands of Th. Boiling Robertson, the Secretary of the Territory, On the 6th of September, Robertson issued the follow ing circular to all those whom it might concern in the Territory : " You have no doubt heard of the late intro duction of African slaves among us. Two cargoes haA'e been already smuggled into this Territory by the way of Barataria and Lafourche, and I am fully convinced * Executive Joumal, p. 253, vol. 4 1810,] SMUGGLING OF SLAVES AND MERCHANDISE. 229 from a variety of circumstances which have come to my knowledge, that an extensive and well laid plati exists to evade or to defeat the operation of the laws of the United States on that subject. The open and daring course which is now pursued by a set of brigands who infest our coast, and overrun our country, is calculated to excite the strongest indignation in the breast of every man who feels the slightest respect for the wise and pol itic institutions under which we live. At this moment, upwards of one hundred slaves are held by some of our own citizens in the very teeth of the most positive laws, and notwithstanding every exertion Avhich has been made, so general seeras to be the disposition to aid in the concealment, that but faint hopes are entertained of detecting the parties and bringing them to punishment. Confiding in your zeal, I have thought it advisable to state to you ray impressions on this all-important sub ject, and to call upon you to use all the means in your power to give efficacy to a system of law founded on the purest principles of humanity and the soundest views of enlightened policy." It is true that, for sorae considerable time before offi cial notice was taken of the fact, smuggling had been carried on to some extent in relation to Africans, and as to every other sort of merchandize, to an immense amount, not only through Barataria and Lafourche, but also through Bayou Teche in Attakapas. In the neighborhood of Bayou Sara and in the adja cent country there was a large settlement of native Americans, wto resolved to avail themselves of the impo- tency to AA'hich Spain was reduced by its war Avith France, and to secure their political independence. Dur ing the summer, having obtained the assistance of their countrymen who dwelt near them in the contiguous counties of the Territory of Mississippi, they suddenly 230 HEROISM OF LOUIS GRANDPRi.. [1810, flew to aruxS, embodied themselves into a small army of insurgents, and marched on Baton Rouge, In the fort which commanded the toAvn, Delassus, the Spanish Gov ernor of the district, used to reside, but he was absent at the time, and the fort had been left in charge of a youth, Louis Grandpre, the son of Carlos de Grandpre, the former Governor. Grandpr6 had under him only a score or two of old soldiers, most of whom were cripples, and the fort itself was in such a condition, that it would have been deemed incapable of defence by any military man. The forces by which Grandpr^ was attacked were so overwhelming, that he ought to have surrendered rather than attempt an impossibility and fruitlessly ex pose his own life and that of the corporal's guard he had with him, but he had received no instructions to meet the case, and lie chivalrously thought tliat he was not, under any circumstances whatever, to give up what had been intrusted, for safe keeping, to his fidelity and honor. Therefore, when summoned by the insurgents to lower his flag, he resolved to die, and replied in the negative. The result was not long delayed ; a loud shout of mu tual encouragement on the side of the Americans, a sim ultaneous rush, and they went pell-mell into the fort. They had been met, sword in hand, but by one single man, and he alone perished. It was Grandpr6 who had thus hopelessly confi'onted his multitudinous foes. There waS no defence made except by him, and it is to be re gretted that his enemies, being hundreds to one, had not the magnanimity, or the opportunity, to spare the life of this young hero. The insurgents, soon after their success, had a Convention which purported to be composed of the representatives of the people of West Florida, and the}' issued a decla ration of independence, in which they solemnly made known to the world that the several districts constitu 1810,] A DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE, 231 ting the province of West Florida, had assumed the rank, then and hereafter, of a free and independent State. It is remarkable that in this document, in which they give their reasons for operating this revolution, they shoAV no hostility to Spain, but, on the contrary, take care to record " the fidelity with which they had professed and maintained allegiance to their legitimate sovereign, while any hope remained of receiving from him protec tion for their propert}' and their lives." They seem to have been solicitous to proclaim that they had not taken ai-ras against their King, for whom they professed to have always entertained an inviolable attachment, which had also extended to Spain as the parent country, whilst so much as a sliadow of legitimate authority remained, to be exercised over them. Here is this curious document, signed by John Rhea, President of the Convention, and AndrcAV Steele, Secretar}', on the 26th day of Seji- teinber : " By the Representatives of the people of West Florida, in Convention assembled : "A Declaration. " It is known to the world with how much fidelity the good people of this Territory have professed and main tained allegiance to their legitimate Sovereign, while any hope remained of receiving from hira protection for their property and their lives. " Without raaking any unnecessary innovation in the established principles of the Governraent, we had volun tarily adopted certain regulations, in concert with our First Magistrate, for the express purpose of preserving this Territory, and showing our attachraent to the Gov ernment which had heretofore protected us. This com pact, Avhich was entered into with good faith on our part, will forever remain an honorable testimony of our 232 A DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. [1810, upright intentions and inviolable fidelity to our King and parent country, while so much as a shadow of legitimate authority remained to be exercised over us. We sought only a speedy remedy for such evils as seeined to en danger our existence and prosperity, and were encour aged by our Governor with solemn promises of assistance and co-operation. But those measures which were in tended for our preservation he has endeavored to pervert into an engine of destruction, by encouraging, in the most perfidious manner, the violation of ordinances sanctioned and established by himself as the law of the land. " Being thus left without any hope of protection from the mother country, betrayed by a magistrate whose duty it was to have provided for the safety and tranquillity of the people and Government committed to his charge, and exposed to all the evils of a state of anarchy, Avhich we have so long endeavored to avert, it becomes our duty to provide for our oaa'u security, as a free and inde pendent State, absolved from all allegiance to a Govern raent which no longer protects us. " We, therefore, the Representatives aforesaid, ajDpeal- iug to the Supreme Ruler of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do solemnly publish and declare the several districts composing this Territory of West Flor ida to be a free and independent State ; and that they have a right to institute for themselves such form of government as they may think conducive to their safety and happiness; to form treaties; to establish commerce; to provide for their common defence ; and to do all acts which may, of right, be done by a sovereign and inde pendent nation; at the same time declaring all acts, within the said Territ6ry of West Florida, after this date, by any. tribunals or authorities not deriving their powers from the people, agreeably to the provisions es tablished by this Convention, to be null and void ; and 1810.] CONVENTION OF WEST FLORIDA, 233 calling upon all foreign nations to respect this our dec laration, acknowledging our indej)endence, and giving us such aid as may be consistent with the laws and usages of nations."* This declaration of independence was transmitted to the President of the United States with the utmost speed, through Governor Holmes, of the Mississip])i Territory, and on the 10th of October, John Rhea, the President of the West Florida Convention, addressed the follow ing comraunication to the Secretary of State at Wash ington, in which he prayed for the annexation of that District to the United States, and took the opportunity to claim, in full ownership, on behalf of the Common wealth of West Florida, all the unlocated lands within its limits, to AA'hich he pretended that they were entitled on several grounds, and partictda/rly as a rewa/rd for liaving vjrested the government and country from Spain at the risk of tlieir lives and fortunes. " The Convention of the State of Florida," said Rhea to Robert Smith, Secretary of State, on the 10th of Oc tober, " have already transmitted an official copy of their act of independence, through His Excellency Governor Holmes, to the President of the United States, accom panied with the expression of their hope and desire that this Comraonwealth may be immediately acknowledged and protected by the Government of the United States, as an integral part of the American Union. On a sub ject so interesting to the community represented by us, it is necessary that we should have the most direct and unequivocal assurances of the views and wishes of the American Governraent without delay, since our weak and unprotected situation will oblige us to look to sorae foreign Government for support, should it be refused to * Annals of Congress, by Gales & Seaton, Appendix, p. 1254, 11th Congress, 3d Session. 234 CONVENTION OF WEST FLORIDA, [1810. US by the country which we have considered as our parent State. "We therefore make this direct appeal through you to the President and General Government of the Ameri can States, to solicit that imraediate protection to which we consider ourselves entitled ; and, to obtain a speedy and favorable decision, we offer the following considera tions : 1st. The Government of the United States, in their instructions to the Envoys Extraordinary at Paris, in March, 1806, authorized the purchase of East Florida, directing them at the same time to engage France to in tercede with the Cabinet of Spain to relinquish (any claim to the Territory which now forms this Common wealth. 2d. In all diplomatic correspondence with American ministers abroad, the Government of the United States have spoken of West Florida as a part of the Louisiana cession. They have legislated for the country as a part of their own territory, and have de ferred to take possession of it, in expectation that Spain might be induced to relinquish her claim by amicable negotiation. Sd. The American Government has already refused to accredit any minister from the Spanish Junta, which body was certainly more legally organized as the representatiA'e of the sovereignty, than that now called the Regency of Spain. Therefore, the United States can not but regard any force or authority emanating from them, with an intention to subjugate us, as they would an invasion of their territory by a foreign enemy. ' 4th. The Emperor of France has invited Spanish Americans to declare their independence rather than to remain in subjection to the old Spanish Government ; therefore, an acknoAvledgraent of our independence by the United States could not be coraplained of by France, or involve the American Government in any contest with that power. 5th. Neither can it afford any just cause of 1810.] WEST FLORIDA ANNEXED. 235 complaint to Great Britain, although she be the ally of Spain, that the United States should acknowledge and support our independence, as this measure was necessary to save the country from falling into the hands of the French exiles from the Island of Cuba, and other parti sans of Bonaparte, who are the eternal enemies of Great Britain. " Should the United States be induced by these, or any other considerations, to acknowledge our claims to their protection as an integral part of their territory, or otherwise, Ave feel it our duty to claim for our constitu ents an immediate admission into the Union as an inde pendent State, or as a Territory of the United States, with permission to establish our own form of government or to be united Avith one of the neighboring Territories or a part of onq, of them, in such manner as to form a State. Should it be thought proper to annex us to one of the neighboring Territories, or a part of one of them, the inhabitants of this Commonwealth would prefer be ing annexed to the Island of Orleans ; and, in the mean- Avhile, until a State government should be established, that they should be governed by the ordinances already enacted by this Convention, and by their further regu lations hereafter. "The claim which we have to the soil or unlocated lands within this Comraonwealth will not, it is presuraed, he contested by the United States, as they have tacitly acquiesced in the claim of France, or Spain, for seven years ; and the restrictions of the several erabargo and non-intercourse laws raight fairly be construed, if not as a relinquishment of their claim, yet as at least sufficient to entitle the people of this Comraonwealth (who have wrested the Government and country from Spain iat the risk of their lives and fortunes) to all the unlocated lands. It Avill strike the American Government that the 236 THE president's PROCLAMATION. [1810l moneys arising from the sales of these lands, applied as they will be to improving the internal communications of the country, opening canals, etc., will, in fact, be add ing to the prosperity and strength of the Federal Union. To fulfill Avith good faith our promises and engagements to the inhabitants of this country, it will be our duty to stipulate for an unqualified pardon for all deserters now residing within this Commonwealth, together with an exemption from further service in the army or navy of the United States."* In consequence of these events, the President of the United States resolved to take immediate possession of the District of West Florida, and, on the 27th of Octo ber, issued this proclamation : "Whereas the Territory south of the Mississippi Territory, and eastward of the River Mississippi, and extending to the River Perdido, of which possession was not delivered to the United States, in pursuance of the treaty concluded at Paris on the 30th of April, 1803, has, at all times, as is well known, been considered and claimed by them as being within the colony of Louis iana, conveyed by the said treaty, in the same extent that it had in the hands of Spain, and that it had when France originally possessed it ; " And whereas the acquiescence of the United States in the temporary continuance of the said Territory under the Spanish authority, was not the result of any distrust of their title, as has been particularly evinced by the general tenor of their laAVS, and by the distinction made in the application of those laws between that Territory and foreign countries, but was occasioned by their con ciliatory views, and by a confidence in the justice of their cause, and in the success of candid discussion » Annals Df Congress, p. 1253, 11th Congress, 3d Congress. J 81 O.J THE president's PROCLAMATION. 237 and amicable negotiation AAdth a just and friendly power ; "And whereas a satisfactory adjustment, too long delayed, without the fault of the United States, has for some time been entirely suspended by events over whjcli they had no control ; and whereas a crisis has at length arrived subversive of the order of things under the Spanish authorities, whereby a failure of the United States to take the said Territor}' into its possession may lead to events ultimately contravening the views of both parties, whilst in the mean time the tranquillity and security of our adjoining Territories are endangered, and new facilities given to violators of our revenue and commercial laws, and of those prohibiting the introduc tion of slaves ; ' ' Considering, moreoA'er, that under these peculiar and imperative circumstances, a forbearance on the part of the United States to occupy the Territory in ques tion, and thereby guard against the confusions and con tingencies which threaten it, raight be construed into a dereliction of their title, or an insensibility to the im portance of ~ the stake: considering that, in the hands of the United States, it will not cease to be a subject of fair and friendly negotiation and adjustment : consider ing, finally, that the acts of Congress, though contem plating a present possession by a foreign authority, have contemplated also an eventual possession of the said Territory by the United States, and are accordingly so framed as, in that case, to extend in their operation to the same : " Now, be it known, that I, James Madison, President of the United States of America, in pursuance of these weighty and urgent considerations, have deemed it right o,nd I'cquisite that possession should be taken of the said TeiTitory in the name and behalf of the United 23» INSTRUCTIONS TO CLAIBORNE. [1810. States W. C. C. Claiborne, Governor of the Orleans Territory, of which the said Territory is to be taken as part, Avill accordingly proceed to execute the same, and to exercise over the said Territory the authorities and functions legally appertaining to his office. And the- good people inhabiting the same are invited and enjoin ed to pay due respect to him in that character, to be obedient to the laAvs, to maintain order, to cherish harmony, and in every manner to conduct themselves as peaceable citizens, under full assurance that they will be protected in the enjoyment of their liberty, property, and religion." On the same day, the Secretary of State sent the following instructions to Claiborne :* " As the district, the possession of which you are di rected to take, is to be considered as making part of the Territory of Orleans, you will, after taking possession, lose no time in proceeding to organize the militia ; to prescribe the bounds of parishes; to establish parish courts ; and finally, to do whatever your legal powers, applicable to the case, will Avarrant, and may be calcu lated to maintain order ; to secure to the inhabitants the peaceable enjoyment of their liberty, property, and re ligion ; and to place them, as far as may be, on the same footing with the inhabitants of the other districts under your authority. As far as your powers may be inade quate to these and other requisite objects, the Legisla ture of Orleans, which it is understood will soon be in session, will have an opportunity of raaking further pro visions for thera, more especially for giving, by law, to the inhabitants of the said Territory, a just share in the representation in the General Assembly; it beuig de sirable that the interval of this privation should not be * Annals of Congress, by Gales & Seaton, p. 1256, 11th Congress, 3d Se» eion. 1810.J ADDRESS TO TIIE FLORIDIANS. 239 prolonged beyond the unavoidable necessity of the case. "If, contrary to expectation, the occupation of this Territory on the part of the United States should be opposed by force, the commanding officer of the regular troops on the Mississippi will have orders from the Secretary of War to afford you, upon your application, the requisite aid; and should an additional force be deemed necessary, you will draw from the Orleans Ten-i- tory, as wOl Governor Holmes from the Mississippi Territory, militia in such numbers and in such propor tions from your respective territories, as you and Gov ernor Holmes raay deera proper. Should, however, any particular place, however small, remain in possession of a Spanish force, you will not proceed to employ force against it, but you AviU make imraediate report thereof to this Department. " You will avail yourself of the first favorable oppor tunities that may occur to transmit to the several gov ernors of the Spanish provinces in the neighborhood copies of the President's proclamation, with accom{)any- ing letters of a conciliatory tendency." The same functionary, on the 15th of NoA'ember, sent to Governor Holmes the view which the Federal Gov ernment took of the claims of the inhabitants of West Florida to the unlocated lands in that district. " To re press," he said, "the unreasonable expectations therein indicated in relation to the vacant land in that Territory, it is deemed proper to lose no time in communicating to you and to Governor Claiborne the sentiments of the President on the subject. " The right of the United States to the Territory of West Florida, as far as the River Perdido, was fairly acquired by purchase, and has been formally ratified by treat}'. The delivering of possession has, indeed, been 240 ADDRESS TO THE FLORIDIANS, [1810. deferred, and the procrastination has been heretofore acquiesced in by this Government, from a hope, partially indulged, that amicable negotiation would accomplish the equitable purpose of the United States. But this delay, Avhich proceeded only from the forbearance of the United States to enforce a legitimate and well-known claim, could not impair the legality of their title ; nor could any change in the internal state of things, with out their sanction, however brought about, vary their right. It remains, of course, as perfect as it was before the interposition of the Convention. And the people of West Florida must not for a moment be misled by the expectation that the United States will surrender, for their exclusive benefit, what had been purchased with the treasure and for the benefit of the whole. The vacant land of this Territory, thrown into common stock with all the other vacant land of the Union, will be a property in common, for the national uses of all the peo ple of the United States. The comraunity of interests upon which this Government invariably acts, the liberal policy which it has uniformly displayed toAvard the people of these Territories (a part of which policy has ever been a just regard to honest settlers), will, never theless, be a sufficient pledge to the inhabitants of West Florida for the early and continued attention of the Federal Legislature to their situation and their wants." The Secretary of State further requested Governor Holraes to keep in mind, and to inform the memorial ists, "that the President could not recognize in the Convention of West Florida any independent authority whatever to propose, or to form a compact Avith the United States." England, who was then the faithful ally of Spain, and who was engaged with her in that gigantic and ever memorable national struggle known as the " Peninsular 181 O.J GREAT Britain's protest. 241 War," remonstrated against the course piu'sued by the United States in relation to West Florida. " I deem it incumbent upon me," said Mr. Morier, Great Britain's representative at Washington, to the Secretary of State, on the 15th of December, "consider ing the strict and close alliance which subsists between His Majesty's government and that of Spain, to express to the Governraent of the United States, through you, the deep regret with which I have seen that part of the President's message to Congress, in which the determina tion of this Government to take possession of West Florida is avowed. " Without presuming to discuss the validity of the. title of the United States to West Florida (a title which is manifestly doubtful, since, according to the President's proclamation, it is left open to discussion, but which has, nevertheless, been brought forward as one of the pleas to justify the occupation of that province), may it not be asked why that province could not have been as fairly a subject of negotiation and adjustment in the hands of the Spaniards, who possess the actual sovereignty there, as in the hands of the Americans, who, to obtain posses sion, must begin by committing an act of hostility toward Spain ? " But it may be said that the Spanish forces in Mexico, in Cuba, or at Pensacola, are unequal to quell the rebel lious association of a band of desperadoes who are known here by the contemptuous appellation of land-jobbers. Allowing as much, (which you will agree with me, sir, is allowing a great deal,) would it not have been worthy of the generosity of a free nation like this, bearing, as it doubtless does, a respect for the rights of a gallant people at this moment engaged in a noble struggle for its libert}' — would it not haA'e been an act, on the part of this country, dictated by the sacred ties of good neigh- 16 242 GREAT Britain's protest, [isio, borhood and friendship which exist between it and Spain, to have simply offered its assistance to crush the common enemy of both, rather than to have made such interference the pretext for wresting a province from a friendly Power, and that in the time of her adversity ? " For, allow me, Sir, to inquire how can the declaration in the President's proclamation, that, in the hands of the United States, that Territory will not cease to be a subject of fair and friendly adjustment, be made to accord with the declaration in his Message to Congress, (iraplying permanent possession,) of the adoption of that people into the bosom of the American family ? " The act, consequently, of sending a force to West Florida to secure by arras what was before a subject of friendly negotiation, cannot, I ranch fear, under any pal liation, be considered other than as an act of open hos tility against Spain. " While, therefore, it is impossible to disguise the deep and lively interest which His Majesty takes in every thing that relates to Spain, which Avould, I am convinced, induce hira to mediate between Sj^iain and the United States on any point of controversy which may exist be tween them, with the utmost impartiality and good-will toward both parties, I think it due to the sincere Avish of His Majesty to maintain unimpaired the fiiendship which at this moment happily exists between Great Britain and the United States, to say that such are the ties by which His Majesty is bound to Spain, that he cannot see with indifference any attack upon her interests in America. And as I have no doubt that the Govern ment of the United States will attribute this represen tation to the most conciliatory motives, I am induced to request, in answer to it, such explanation on the subject, as will at once convince his Majesty's Governraent of the pacific disposition of the United States toward his Maj 1810.] NEW PARISHES FORMED, 243 esty's allies the Spaniards, and Avill remove the contrary impression, Avhich, I fear, the President's Message is likely to make," * Acting in conformity with his instructions, Claiborne had hastened to Natchez ; and, putting himself at the head of a corps of militia, he marched to St, Francisville in the District of West Florida, where, on the 7th of De cember, he hoisted the fiag of the United States wi-^hout opposition, and, in their behalf, took formal possession of the country. The inhabitants cheerfully submitted to his authority, and the State of West Florida ceased its ephemeral existence. It was annexed to the Territory of Orleans by a special proclamation, and, by subsequent ones, Claiborne instituted in this new part of the Terri tory the parishes of Feliciana, East Baton Rouge, St. Helena, St. Tammany, Biloxi and Pascagoula. From a census taken, this year, by the Marshal of the United States, according to Congressional legislation, it appeal's that the population of the Territory of Orleans, without counting that of these new parishes, amounted to seven ty-six thousand five hundred and fifty-six souls. * Annals of Congress by Gales & Seaton, p. 1261. 11th Congress, 3d see- don. CHAPTER' VL Claiborne's administration — proposed admission of Louisiana into the union — violent opposition — debates in congress — JOSIAH quincy's SPEECH — INSURRECTION OP NEGROES — ADOP TION OP A STATE CONSTITUTION, 1811—1812, The course pursued by the President in relation to West Florida was as warmly approved by many, as it was bitterly censured by sorae, in the Congress of the United States, " If ray recollection is accurate," said an orator in the Senate, who spoke in favor of the admin istration,* " all parties had agreed we ought to have the country. They only differed as to the mode of acquir ing it. The President, influenced by that policy which has hitherto guided the present administration, of avoid ing raaking this nation a party in the present European Avar, in the exercise of the discretionary power vested in him by the act of Congress passed on the 24th of Feb ruary, 1804, which had solemnly asserted our right to this Territory, and authorized the President to take pos session of it, and establish a port of entry on the Mobile, whenever he should deem it expedient, did not think proper to seize upon it by force, but to wait for the oc currence of events to throw it into our hands without a struggle. The expediency of taking possession of this Territory cannot, it appears to me, admit of a doubt. If the President had refused or hesitated to meet the wishes * Annals of Congress. Gales & Seaton, p. 40, 11th Congress, 3d Session. (244) 1811,] DEBATES IN CONGRESS. 245 of the people of West Florida, by extending to thera the protection of the Araerican Governraent, and if they had sought security in the arms of a foreign Power, what should Ave have heard ? He Avould haA'e been charged with imbecility, and fear of incurring responsibility. He would have been denounced as unworthy of the station his country had assigned to him. Let it be remeraber- ed that the Orleans Territory is our most vulnerable part — remote from our physical force — a climate more fatal to our people than the sword of a victorious enem}' — and that an enemy in possession of West Florida can with great facility cut off New Orleans frora the upper Country. If the fortunate moraent had not been seized, this province would have fallen into the hands of a for eign poAver; or, if tirae had been given for intrigue to mature itself, another Burr-plot would probably have risen from the ashes of the first, raore formidable to the integrity of this empire. Burr, like Archimedes, fancied that if he had a place to stand upon — a place beyond the jurisdiction of the United States to rally his folloAvers, he could overturn the Government. He has, it is true, fled from the frowns of an indignant country, but he was not alone. Let an opportunity be afforded, and a thousand Burrs would throw off the mask and point their arms against the Federal Union." Referring to the President's proclamation, which has afready been recorded in the pages of this Histor}', another orator opposed to the administration exclaimed : " This proclamation is not only a declaration of war, but it is an act of legislation, too. It annexes the territory in question to the Orleans Territory : it creates a Gov ernor ; it enacts laws, and appropriates money ; it gives the Governor of the Orieans TeiTitory all the authorities and functions over this particular territory which he po,'^- sesses by virtue of his office as Governor of the forraer." 246 DEBATES IN CONGRESS. [1811. After having argued that the President had no power under the Constitution to issue that proclaraation, he said : " What has Spain recently done to provoke this act of aggression upon her territory ? What new offence has she given the United States ? Is it her determina tion to resist the usurpation of France, or is it, that she has lately sent a minister to express her friendly dispo sition to treat with you for both the Floridas, and pay what she owes us for spoliations ? Do you calculate that France will conquer Spain ? This, in my humble opinion, she will not do. France is not now contending with an ai-med soldiery, but she fights an armed people — a people struggling for their liberty, their religion, and their laws, and resolved not to survive them. With such a cause, and such a resolution, neither France nor the combined powers of the earth can subdue them. What ai'e to be the consequences of this measure — a measure adopted at a time particularly calculated to excite the resentment of Spain and her allies — at a time when that nation is pressed on all sides by its enemy, when its strength is prostrated, when it bleeds at every pore and is alraost in the act of fainting ? What are we to ex pect but its indignation and retaliation ?" He concluded his remarks as follows : " The honorable gentleman from Kentucky has told us that Europe is now in a state of barbarism, and has emphatically ask ed : Are we to sit here and cavil about questions of right f What if Europe has become barbarous ? Is that a rea son why Americans should become so too — ^why we should depart from the great system of conduct which has been the pride, the safety and the boast of our coun try — of faith — of justice — of peace ? Is this a reason why we should violate our treaty with Spain — not one of those barbarous powers — but one of the victims of those powers? Is this a reason why we should commit 1811.J MR. miller's SPEECH. 247 an act of injustice and violence toward a people who have proffered you their friendship ? Is this a reason why Ave should embroil the nation in war?" Notwithstanding this acrimonious opposition, the Pres ident Avas firmly sustained by a large majorit}'. On the 4th of January, the House of Representatives in Congress assembled, having r&solved itself into a Com mittee of the Whole on the Bill for admitting the Terri tory of Orleans into the Union as an independent and sov ereign State ; lengthy discussions ensued, and a violent opposition was made to the Bill on constitutional grounds, and on grounds of policy. It was maintained, among many other reasons given, that the Territory of Orleans was not within the liraits of the United States when the Constitution Avas adopted, and therefore could not be in corporated into the Union of those States ; that the popu lation ¦ of the Territory was not sufficiently nuraerous ; and besides, that it was not American in its feelings. "Without intimating," said Mr. Miller, "how far this last consideration may have influence on ray raind, under the circurastances in which that country has been lately placed, I cannot, however, but reraark that it is natural for raan to carry his feelings and pi'ejudices about him. I Avns born in Virginia, and I have not yet lost sorae of my Virginia feelings, notwithstanding an absence of fif teen years, and I cannot see why we should expect the people of New Orleans to act and feel differently from other people, raore particularly when the French nation is towering so far above the other nations of the earth. They will have a sacred pride in their glory, they will have some attachments, to what extent I cannot say. But, inasmuch as Ave know that, if we send Paddy to Paris, Paddy he will come back, the idea is certainly not unworthy of our consideration. "The bill on your table has another feature of some 248 MR. uhea's speech, 1811, \v(!ight with me in relation to its policy. You propose to do them a favor by granting thera admission to the rank of the other States before they can legally demand it, and, at the same time, you propose terras beyond which they cannot go. This resembles very much a polite in vitation to walk in, but under an injunction to see that your feet are well cleaned, and your toes turned out. It is a niggardly sort of policy that 1 am sorry to see en grafted in the bill. If you design to be liberal, be so ; do not destroy your liberality by an ungenerous senti ment. " Again, there are objections to the bill as presented, that render it impossible for me to give it ray sanction. It will be seen that the bill proposes to annex that por tion of West Florida in dispute between this and the Spanish Governraent, to the State to be formed out of the Territory of Orleans. The President has declared to the AAorld that this portion of the country, in our hands, shall be subject to mutual arrangements hereafter to be entered into between the two governments. But, once annex it to a State, and the power to negotiate ceases. What power have we to negotiate about the territory of any of the States ? We have none." Mr. Rhea, of Tennessee, observed in reply : " It has been with extreme regret that I have heard so often, and upon so many former occasions, as well as in the present debate, the charges of French influence and disaftection to this Governraent, made either in express terms, or else intelligibly insinuated, against the people of New Orleans. Suffer me to ask where are the evidences to support these iraputations ? Certainly not before the House. Gentlemen may have received from extraneous sources such irapressions on their own minds. But if we examine the history of these people since their con nection with us, abundant testimony will be found, not 1811.] JOSIAH quincy's SPEECH. 249 only to exonerate them from the charge of disaffection, but to demonstrate their fidelity to the American Gov ernment. When, on the acquisition of that country, the most radical innovations upon its laws, customs, usages, and civil proceedings were introduced, these people peace ably subraitted, without any syraptora of insurgency. When they saw many of their dearest rights endangered, or prosti'ated by new and imprudent modes of judicial proceedings, and by the chicanery of desperate adventur ers, they made no unlawful appeals for redress." On the 14th of January, the subject was resumed in the House of Representatives, and met Avith the same unrelenting opposition. Josiah Quincy, one of the fa- A'orite sons of Massachusetts, and one of the ablest and most influential men of that State, rose, and thus gave vent to his feelings, with more than his usual emphasis of manner : " I address you, Mr. Speaker, Avith an anxiety and distress of mind with me wholly unprecedented. The friends of this bill seem to consider it as the exer cise of a common poAver — as an ordinary affair — a mere municipal regulation, Avhich they expect to see pass with out other questions than those concerning details. But, Sir, the principle of this bill materially affects the liber ties and rights of the whole people of the United States. To me, it appears that it would justify a revolution in this country ; and that, in no great length of time, it may j»roduce it. When I see the zeal and perseverance Avith which this bill has been urged along its parliamentary path, when I know the local interests and associated projects which corabine to promote its success, all oppo sition to it seems . painfully unavailing. I am almost tempted to leave, without a struggle, my country to its fafie. But while there is life, there is hope. So long as the fatal shaft has not yet been sped, if Heaven so wills 250 JOSIAH quincy's speech. [1811 it, the bow may be broken, and the vigor of the mischief- meditating arm withered. " If there be a man in this House, or nation, who cher ishes the Constitution under which we are assembled, as the chief stay of his hope, as the light which is destined to gladden his noonday, and to soften even the gloom of the grave, by the jn'ospect it sheds over his children, I fiill not behind him in such sentiments. I yield to no man in attachraent to this Constitution, in veneration for the sages Avho laid its foundation, in devotion to those principles which form its cement and constitute its pro portions. What then must be my feelings — Avhat ought to be the feelings of a man cherishing such sentiments, when he sees an act contemplated which lays ruin at the root of all these hopes ; when he sees a principle of action about to be usurped, before the operation of which the bonds of this Constitution are no more thaii flax before the fire, or stubble before the whirlwind ? When this bill passes, such an act is done, and such a principle usurped. "There is a great rule of human conduct, which he who honestly observes,, cannot err widely from the path of his sought duty. It is, to be very scrupulous concerning the principles you select as the test of your rights and obli gations ; to be very faithful in noticing the result of their application ; and to be very fearless in tracing and expos ing their imraediate effects and distant consequencea Un der the sanction of this rule of conduct, I am compelled to declare it as my deliberate opinion, t\io.t,if this bill passes, the bonds of the Union are virtually dissolved ; that the States which compose it are free from their moral obliga tions, and that, as it will be the right of all, so it will be the duty of some, definitely to prepare for a sejMration, amicably if they can, violently 'if they must.'' Mr. Quincy was here interrupted and called to ordei 1811.] JOSIAH quincy's SPEECH. 251 by Mr. Poindexter, the delegate from Mississippi, but with a loud voice, and more accentuated intonations, he repeated the remarks which he had made ; he justified and A'indicated their pi-opriety and correctness ; and, to save all misapprehension, and secure their being preserved for ever, he fearlessly committed thera to writing and hand ed the paper to the Clerk of the House. This language and the other features of this incident, extraordinary as they were, produced only a little confu sion, according to the report of the debates.* Mr. Poindexter required the decision of the Chair whether it was consistent with the propriety of debate to use such expressions. He said it was radically wrong for any raeraber to use arguments going to dissolve the Governraent, and tumble their body itself into dust and ashes. The question he wished to propound to the Chair was this : " Whether it be competent in any member of this House to invite any portion of the people to insur rection, and, of course, to a dissolution of the Union ?'' " And I," replied Mr. Quincy, " will make this question : Is it not the dut}' of a member to state the consequences of a measure which appears injurious to him ? And the more pregnant the measure is Avith evil, is not the duty of stating it the more imperious ?" The Speaker decided that a great latitude in debate was generally allowed ; and that, b}' way of argument against the bill, the first part of the gentleman's observation was admissible ; but that the latter member of the sentence, that it would be the duty of some, States to prepai'e for a separation, am icably if they can, violently if they must, was contrary to the order of debate. Mr. Quincy having appealed from this decision, and required the yeas and nays on the appeal, the decision of the Chair was roA'ersed, and, therefore, the observations * Annals of Congress, Gales & Seaton, p. 535, lltli Congress, 3d Session, 252 JOSIAH quincy's SPEECH. [1811. of the orator declared to be in order. With a face beam ing with satisfaction, and with an exulting tone and manner, he resumed his speech, in the course of which he said : " The bill which is now proposed to be passed has this assumed principle for its basis — that the three branches of this National Government, without recur rence to Conventions of the people in the States, or to the Legislatures of the States, are authorized to admit ncAV partners to a share of the political power, in countries out of the original liraits of the United States. Now, this assumed principle I maintain to be altogether with out any sanction in the Constitution. I declare it to be an atrocious and manifest usurpation of power; of a na ture dissolving, according to undeniable principles of moral law, the obligations of our national compact ; and leading to all the awful consequences which flow fi'om such a state of things, " Touching the general nature of the instrument called the Constitution of the United States, there is no obscu rity — it has no fabled descent, like the Palladium of ancient Troy from the heavens. Its origin is not confu sed by the mists of time, or hidden by the darkness of past unexplored ages ; it is the fabric of our day. Sorae noAV living had a share in its construction — all of us stood by and saw the rising of the edifice. There can be no doubt about its nature. It is a political compact. By whom, and about what ? The preamble to the in strument will answer these questions. " We, the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure doniestic tranquillity, provide for the common defence, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do oi-dain and establish this Constituticn for the United States. "It is, we, the people of the United States, for ourselves 1811.] JOSLAlH quincy's SPEECH. 253 amd out posterity, not for the people of Louisiana, nor for the people of New Orleans, or of Canada. None of these enter into the scope of the instrument. It embra ces only the United States of America. Who those are, it may seem strange in this place to inquire. But truly, our imaginations have, of late, been so accustomed to wander after new settlements to the very end of the earth, that it will not be time ill-spent to inquire what this phrase means, and what it includes. These are not terms adopted at hazard ; they have reference to a state of things existing anterior to the Constitution. " As the introduction of a new associate in political power implies, necessarily, a new division of power, and a consequent diminution of the relative proportions of the former proprietors of it, there can, certainly, be noth ing raore obvious than that, frora the general nature of the instrument, no power can result to diminish, and give aAvay to strangers, any proportion of the rights of the original partners. If such a power exist, it must be found, then, in the particular provisions of the Consti tution. ,...,.... " Have the three branches of the Government a right, at will, to weaken and outweigh the influence respec tively secured to each State in this compact, by introduc ing, at pleasure, new partners situate beyond the old limits of the United States ? The question has no rela tion merely to New Orleans. The great objection is to the principle of the bill. If this bill be admitted, the whole space of Louisiana, greater, it is said, than the whole extent of the old United States, will be a mighty theatre in Avhich this Government assumes the right of exercising this unparalleled power ; and it will be ; there is no concealment ; it is intended to be exercised. Nor 254 JOSIAH quincy's speech, [1811. will it stop until the very name and nature of the old partners be overwhelmed by ncAV-comers into the Con federacy, The question goes to the very root of the power and influence of the present members of this Union. .,,,..... " This is not so much a question concerning the exer cise of sovereignty, as it is who shall be sovereign — whether the proprietors of the old United States shall manage their own affairs in their OAvn way, or whether they, and their Constitution, and their political rights, shall be trampled under foot by foreigners, introduced through a breach of the Constitution. The proportion of the political weight of each sovereign State constitut ing this Union depends upon the number of the States which have a voice under the compact. This number the Constitution perraits us to multiply at pleasure with in the limits of the original United States, observing only the expressed limitations in the Constitution. But when, in order to increase your powers of augmenting this number, you pass the old limits, you are guilty of a vio lation of the Constitution in a fundamental point, and in one also Avhich is totally inconsistent with the intent of the contract, and the safety of the States which estab lished the association. What is the practical difference to the old partners, whether they hold their liberties at the will of a master, or whether, by admitting exterior States on an equal footing with the original States, ar biters are constituted, who, by availing theraselves of the contrariety of interests and views which in such a con federacy necessarily will arise, hold the balance araong the parties which exist and govern us, by throwing themseh'es into the scale most conformable to their pur poses ? But the last is the raore galling, as we carry the chain iu the name and garb of freemen. 1811.] JOSIAH quincy's SPEECH. 255 " But, says the gentleraan from Tennessee (Mr. Rhea), these people have been seven years citizens of the United States. I deny it. As citizens of NeAV Orleans, or of Louisiana, they never have been, and by the mode pro posed they never Avill be, citizens of the United States. They may be girt upon us for the moment, but no real ceraent can grow from such an association. What the real situation of the inhabitants of these foreign coun tries is, I shall have occasion to shoAv presently. But, says the same gentleman, if 1 have a farm., have L not a right to purchase anothsr farm in my neighborhood, and settle my sons upon it, and in time admit them to a share in the management of my hx)useliold? Doubtless, Sir. But are these cases parallel ? Are the three branches of this Government owners of the farm called the United States ? T thank Heaven that they are not. I hold my life, liberty, and propeity, and the people of the State from which I have the honor to be a representative, hold theirs, by a better tenure than any this National Govern ment can give. Sir, (addressing the speaker,) I know your virtue, and I thank the Great Giver of every good gift, that neither the gentleman from Tennessee, nor his comrades, nor any, nor all the members of this house, nor of the other branch of the Legislature, nor the good gentleman who lives in the palace yonder, nor all com bined, can touch these my essential rights, and those of my friends and constituents, except in a limited and pre scribed form. No. We hold them by the laws, customs, and principles of the Comraonwealth of Massachusetts. Behind her ample shield we find refuge, and feel safety. I beg gentlemen not to act upon the princij)le that the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is their farm. " But the gentleraan adds : What shall we do if we do not admit the people of Louisiana into our Union — our children are settling that country ? Sir, it is no concern 256 JOSIAH quincy's speech. [1811, of mine what he does. Because his children have run wild and uncovered in the woods, is that a reason foi hira to break into my house, or the houses of my friends, to filch our children's clothes, in order to clothe his chil dren's nakedness? This Constitution ncA'er was, and never can be strained, to lap over all the Avilderness of the West, without essentially affecting both the rights and convenience of its real proprietors. It Avas never constructed to forra a covering for the inhabitants of the Missouri, and the Red River country ; and whenever it is attempted to be stretched over them, it will rend asunder. I have done with this part of my argument. It rests upon this fundamental principle, that the pro portion of political power subject to the internal modi fications permitted by the Constitution, is an inalienable, essential, intangible right. When it is touched, the fab ric is annihilated. For on the preservation of these proportions depend our rights and liberties. " The debates on the Constitution will show that the effect of the slave vote upon the political influence of this part of the country, and the anticipated variation of the weight of power to the West, were subjects of great jealousy to some of the best patriots in the North ern and Eastern States. Suppose then that it had been distinctly foreseen that, in addition to the effect of this weight, the whole population of a world beyond the Mississippi was to be brought into this and the other branch of the Legislature, to form our laws, control our rights, and decide our destiny ; can it be pretended that the patriots of that day would for one moment have listened to it ? They were not madmen. They had not taken degrees at the hospital of idiocy. They knew the nature of man, and the effect of his combinations in political societies. They knew that when the weight 1811.] JOSIAH quincy's SPEECH. 257 of particular sections of a confederacy was greatly un equal, the resulting power would be abused ; that it AA'as not in the nature of raan to exercise it with moder ation. The very extravagance of the intended use is a conclusive evidence against the possibility of the grant of such a power as is here proposed. Why, Sir, I have already heard of six States, and some say there will be, at no great distance of time, more ; I have also heard that the mouth of the Ohio will be far to the East of the centre of the contemplated empire. If the bill is passed, the prin ciple is recognized. Ad the rest are mere questions of ex pediency. It is impossible that such a power be granted. It was not for those men that our fathers fought ; it was not for thera this Constitution was adopted. You have no authority to throw the rights and liberties and prop erty of this people into a hotch-pot with the wild men on the Missouri, nor with the mixed, though more re spectable race of Anglo-Hi spano-Gallo- Americans who bask on the sands at the mouth of the Mississippi. I make no objection to them from the want of moral qual ities, or political light. The inhabitants of Ncav Or leans are, I suppose, like those of all other countries, some good, some bad, sorae indifferent. " I will add only a few words in relation to the moral and political consequences of usurping that power. I have said that it Avould be a virtual dissolution of the Union ; and gentlemen express great sensibility at the expression. The true source of terror is not the dec laration I have made, but the deed you propose. Is there a moral principle of public law better settled, or more conformable to the plain suggestions of reason, than that the violation of a contract by one of the parties may be considered as exempting the other from its obli gations? Suppose, in priA'ate life, thirteen form a part- 17 258 JOSIAH quincy's speech, L1811 nership, and ten of thera undertake to admit a new partner without the concurrence of the other three, would it not be at their option to abandon the partner ship after so palpable an infringement of their rights ? How much more in the political partnership, where the admission of new associates, without previous authority, is so pregnant with obvious dangers and evils ? Again, it is settled as a. principle of morals, among writers on public law, that no person can be obliged beyond his intent at the time of the contract. Now, who believes, who dares assert that it was the intention of the people, when they adopted this Constitution, to assign eventu ally to New Orleans and Louisiana a portion of their political power, and to invest all the people those exten sive regions might hereafter contain, with an authority over themselves and their descendants? When you throw the weight of Louisiana into the scale, you de stroy the political equipoise contemplated at the time of forming the contract, " Do you suppose the people of the Northern and Atlantic States will, or ought to, look on with patience and see Representatives and Senators from Red River and Missouri, pouring theraselves upon this and the other floor, raanaging the concerns of a seaboard fifteen hundred railes at least from their residence, and having a preponderancy in councils, into which, constitutionall}', they could never have been admitted ? I have no hesi tation upon this point. They neither will see it, nor ought to see it, with content. It is the part of a wise man to foresee danger, and to hide himself This great usurj)ation which creeps into this House under the plau.sible appearance of giving content to that important ]>oint. New Orleans, starts up a gigantic power to con trol the nation, ...... 1811-J JOSIAH quincy's SPEECH. 259 " New States are intended to be formed beyond the Mississippi. There is no limit to men's imaginations on this subject, short of California and Columbia River. When I said that the bill would justify a revolution, and would produce it, I spoke of its principle and its practical consequences. To that principle and those consequences I would call the attention of this House and nation. If it be about to introduce a condition of things absolutely insupportable, it becomes, wise and honest men to anticipate the evil, and to Avarn and pre pare the people against the event. The extension of this principle to the States contemplated beyond the Mississippi, cannot, will not, ought not to be borne ; and the sooner the people contemplate the tinavoidable result, the better ; the more likely that convulsions may be prevented ; the more hope that the evils may be palliated, or removed. " What is ti'is liberty, of which so much is said ? Is it to walk about this earth, to breathe this air, and to partake of the common . blessings of God's providence? The beasts of the field and the birds of the air unite with us in such privileges as these. But man boasts a purer and more ethereal temperature. His mind grasps in its view the past and the future, as Avell as the present. We, live not for ourselves alone. That which we call liberty, is that principle on which the essential security of our political condition depends. It resi\lts from the limitations of our political system prescribed iu the Constitution. These limitations, so long as they are faithfully observed, maintain order, peace and safety. When they are violated in essential particulars, all the concurrent spheres of authority rush against each oth^r, and disorder, derangement and convulsions art;, sooner or later, the necessary consequences. "With respect to this love of' our Union, concerning 260 JOSlAH QUINCSr's SPEECH. [1811. which so much sensibility is expressed, I have no feai about analyzing its nature. There is in it nothing of mystery. It depends upon the qualities of that Union, and it results from its effects upon our, and our coun try's, happiness. It is valued for that sober certainty of waking bliss which it enables us to realize. It grows out of the affections, and has not, and cannot .be madey to have, anything universal in its nature. Sir, I confess it; the first public love of ray heart is the Coramon- Avealth of Massachusetts. There is my fireside ; there are the tombs of ray ancestors. " Lo-w lies that land, yet blest with fruitful stores, Strong are her sons, though rocky are her shores ; And none, ah 1 none, so lovely to my sight, Of all the lands which Heaven o'erspreads with light." " The love of this Union grows out of ray attachraent to my native soil, and is rooted in it. I cherish it be cause it affords the best external hope of her peace, her prosperity, her independence. I oppose this bill from no aniraosity to the people of New Orleans, but frora the deep conviction that it contains a principle incompatible I with the liberties and safety of my country, I have no concealment of ray opinion. The bill, if it passes, is a death-blow to the Constitution, It may afterward linger; but, lingering, its fate will at no very distant period be consumraated." Mr. Poindexter, in reply, maintained the constitution ality of the bill in all its bearings and features. As to its expediency, or policy, he observed : " But it is said that the rights of State sovereignty ought to be with held from the people of the Territory of Orleans, be cause a majority of the population is composed of emi grants fi'oin J^>ance, and the descendants of Frenchmen , that among these, there exists a predominant attach- 1811.] poindexter's SPEECH. 261 ment to the government of France. I shall not attemjit to controvert the fact, that there are individuals of wealth and influence in that Territory, who from early habits and education have imbibed a strong predilection for French laws, customs and manners. No lapse of tirae, no change of situation, can obliterate the irapres sions which the raind receives from early precept and ex ample. Is it to be expected that a people whose laws and usages, from time imraemorial, have been raateriall}' different from those which constitute the rule of con duct in this country, and whose ignorance of our politi cal institutions results from the very nature of the gov ernraent under which they have lived, can suddenly transfer their affections from that system of jurispru dence which has been handed down from their ancestors, to a government whose laws they do not understand, either in theory, or in practice ? Such a transition can not be reconciled without the aid of practical experience, by which the blessings of our free Constitution are demonstrated in the security which it affords to the life, liberty and property of the citizen. How far the origi nal inhabitants of Louisiana are liable to the charge of French partiality, I am not prepared to say ; but believe thera to be an orderly class of society — well disposed toward the Government of the United States. Those who manifest the greatest regard for France are to be found amongst the emigrants, whose views and expecta tions carry thera beyond the simplicity of a republican form of government. But while I admit the existence of French influence in that quarter of the Union to a certain extent, I cannot raake it the basis on which to justify a refusal to eraancipate the great body of the people from the trammels of territorial vassalage, ' From the influence of France nothing need be feared. 262 poindexter's speech. [isii. The distance by which we ar(i Ht^jiarated from that great PoAver is a sufficient guarantee that no attempt will be made on her part to subvert our authority in Louisiana. France is-not in a situation to assail us, if such a dispo sition existed in her ruler. The Avant of naval power Avill, ibr many years to corae, form an insuperable barrier to the introduction of a French array into the United States, But the people of the Territory of Orleans can never be prevailed on to comrait their destinies to an adventurer ; they enjoy, not only the necessary coraforts, but the luxuries of life in abundance ; their increasing wealth furnishes a certain pledge of future greatness. The Government of which they now form a component part, though in many particulars different frora that in whose laws they have been educated, exerapts them from the desolating storm which carries misery and distress into every region of the whole world ; and under the auspices of our mild and salutary Constitution, they may repose in full confidence that their political connection will not depend on the whim or caprice of the tyrants of Europe. It cannot be forgotten that, in the situation of colonies, they were bought and sold like herds of cattle, at the will of foreign nations, without regard to their feelings or wishes. With these insuperable ties on the allegiance of the people of the Teiritory of Orleans, I consider it an act both of justice and policy to receive them as brothers in the groat American family." In relation to Josiah Quincy's threats of a dissolution of the Union, Mr. Poindexter said : " On all the great questions which have been discussed in this House for four years, a war with England and a separation of the Western States from the Union have been constantly thrown in the way to obstnict the measures of the Ad ministration. Why these subjects have gone hand in hand, I leave gentlemen AA'ho are in the secret to expiais. 1811-j MR. gold's speech. 203 It ought not 1,0 be forgotten that, on a proposition to re peal the embargo, at a time when its effects were sevei'ely felt both in Great Britain and her colonies, the gentleman from Massachusetts told us that the people of New Eng land were prepared for insurrection and revolt, unless that measure of resistance to the aggressing belligerents was relinquished ; and, contemporaneously with these opinions uttered on the floor of the House of Represent atives, the British Minister, resident in the United States, made a confidential communication to his Government, in which a dissolution of the Union was deemed a prob able event, should the commercial embarrassraents of this country continue. Frora whom that Minister received his information, no gentleman acquainted with the history of that transaction can doubt." Mr. Gold sided with Josiah Quincy in the main points of his arguments, and even justified the language which that distinguished member of the House had used, when recommending a dissolution of the Union, should the Bill pass. He said : " In the Parliament of Great Britain, a country so often stigmatized on this floor, will be found examples of free debate fully equal in ardency, vehe mence and invective to all that fell from the eloquent member from Massachusetts, We have there witnessed the old Earl Chatham, at a crisis all important to the British Empire (the commencement of the great contest for American rights), sounding the alarm at the measures of administration; pronoun(ung the war in America founded in wrong and injustice, and arraigning the knoAvn favorite measures of the King in a strain of angry and terrible invective that can scarce find its parallel in the English language. Shall this House, in all the fullness of freedom secured by the Constitution, be afraid to follow such examples ? It is here. Sir, on this floor, that free debate is consecrated, Llere different 264 A CONVENTION CALLED. [1811. opinions are to mingle in conflict. To repress this fi'ce- dom, would touch the vital principles of the Constitution." After animated debates prolonged through many sit tings of the House, the Bill passed at last by a vote of 77 yeas to 36 nays, and was approved by the President on the 20th of February, By that act of Congress, all free white male citizens of the United States, who had arrived at the age of twenty-one years, and had resided within the said Territory at least one year previous to the day of election, and had paid a territorial, county, or district, or parish tax ; and all persons having in other respects the legal qualifications to vote for Representatives in the General Assembly of the said Territory, were authorized to choose Representatives to form a Conven tion — which Representatives were to be apportioned amongst the several counties, districts, and parishes in the said Territory of Orleans, in such manner as the Legislature thereof should direct. The number of Rep resentatives could not exceed sixty. The election for those RepresentatiA'Cs was to take place on the 3d Mon day of September, and the members of the Convention were authorized to determine by a majority of the whole number elected, whether it was expedient or not, at that time, to foi-ra a Constitution and a ' State Governraent ; and, in case of a vote in the affirmative, then the Con vention was, in like manner,. to declare that it adopted the Constitution of £he United States, whereupon the Convention was authorized to form a Constitution and a State Government for the people of said TeiTitory. The conditions annexed to this grant of authority were : That the Constitution should be republican, and consistent with the Constitution of the United States ; that it should contain the fundamental principles of civil and religious liberty ; that it should secure to the citizen the trial by jury in all criminal cases, and the privilege 1811-J CONDITIONS OF ADMISSION AS A STATE. iO'.y of tho writ of Habeas Corpus conformable to the provis- ions of the Constitution of the United States ; that the laws enacted by the new State should be promulgated, and all its records of every description preserved, and its judicial and legislative written proceedings conducted, in the language in Avhich the laws and the judicial and legislative proceedings of the United States were pub lished and conducted ; that the said Convention should provide by an ordinance, irrevocable without the consent of the United States, that the people inhabiting the said Territory agreed and declared that they forever disclaimed all right or title to the waste or unappropriated lands lying within the said TeiT'itory ; that the same should be and should remain at the sole and entire disposition of the United States ; that each and every tract of land sold by Congress should remain exempt from any tax laid by order or under the authority of the State for any purpose Avhatever, for the term of five years from and after the respective days of the sales thereof ; that the lands belonging to citizens of the United States residing without the said State should never be taxed higher than the lands belonging to persons residing therein ; and that no taxes should be imposed on lands the prop erty of the United States ; and that the River Missis sippi, and the navigable rivers and waters leading into the same, or into the Gulf of Mexico, should be comraon highways and forever free, as well to the inhabitants of the said State as to other citizens of the United States, without any tax, duty, impost, or toll therefor, imposed by the said State. The 4th Section of the Act declared that, in case the Constitution for the State to be created should not be disapproved by Congress at their next session, the said State should be admitted into the Union upon the same footing Avith the original States. 266 INSURRECTION OF NEGROES. [1811. It was provided in the 5th and last Section, that five per cent, of the net proceeds of the sales of the lands of the United States after the first day of January, should be applied to laying out and constructing public roads and levees in the said State, as its Legislature might di- rect.* The Territorial Legislature had met early in January, ijut had been prorogued by the Governor until the fourth Monday of the month, on account of an insurrection of negroes which had broken out in the Parish of St. John the Baptist, on the left bank of the Mississippi, about thirty-six miles above the city of New Orleans. They marched along the river toward the city, diA'ided into companies, each under an officer, Avith beat of drums and flags displayed, compelling the blacks they met to join their disorderly crew, and before they could be checked, they set Are to the houses of four or five plantations.f Most of the planters, being apprised by their own slaves of the coming danger, had fled with their families. One of thera, naraed Trepagnier, contented himself with sending to a place of safety his wife and children, but, deaf to their entreaties, remained at home for the protec tion of his property. Having provided himself with several foAvlingpieces which he loaded with buck-shot, and having taken his stand on a high circular gallery wliich belted his house, and from which he could see at a distance, he awaited calmly the coming of his foes. In a short time. Bacchanalian shouts announced their ap proach, and they turaultuously raade their appearance at the front gate which led to the planter's residence. But at the sight of the double-baireled gun which was leveled at thera, and which they knew to be in the hands of a most expert shot, they waA'cred, lacked self-sacrific " See the Act itself, in the Appendix. f Martin's History of Louisiana, p. 300, vol. 8. 1811.] THE NEGROES DEFEATED. 2()7 ing devotion to accomplish their end, and finally passed on, after having vented their disappointed wrath in fear ful shrieks and demoniacal gesticulations. Shaking at the planter their fists, and whatever weapons they had, they swore soon to come back for the purpose of cutting his throat. They were about five hundred, and one sin gle man, well armed, kept them at bay. This incident, among many others, shoAVS how little that population is to be dreaded, when confronted by the superior race to whose care Providence has intrusted their protection and gradual ciAdlization. The raisguided negroes, who had been deluded into this foolish attempt at gaining a position in society, which, for the welfare of their own race, will CA'er be de nied to it in the Southern States of North America, as long as their white population is not annihilated or subjugated, were soon encompassed by a strong body of militia, backed by regulars under Major Milton, Avho had come down from Baton Rouge, and General Hamp ton, who had hastened up with those under his command in New Orleans. To attack was to rout the blacks; they fled in every direction with Avild cries of despair, leaving sixty-six dead bodies on the field. Most of the prisoners were hung on the spot ; sixteen were sent to the city for trial. The fugitiA'es had taken sheltei' in the neighboring SAvamps, where they could be pursued but with extreme difficulty. Many of them, hoAvever, had been dangerously wounded, and every day corpses were discovered by the pursuers. The wretches sent to New Orleans were immediately tried and convicted. As it Avas intended to make a warning example of them, their heads Avere placed on high poles above and below the city, along the river,* as far as the plantation on Avhich the revolt began. The ghastly sight spread terror far • Martin's History of Louisiana, p. 301 , rol. 2. 26.S LIVINGSTON AND FULTON. [l&H- and Avide, and fiirther to insure tranquillity and to quiet alarm, a part of the regular forces and of the militia re mained on duty in the neighborhood for a considerable time. The Territorial Legislature, before its adjournment, had received official information of the passage of the act to enable the people of the Territory to form a Constitu tion and State Government, preparatory to the admission of the new State into the Union. Congress having not as yet acted on that part of the President's proclamation which had annexed to the Ter ritory of Orleans that portion of West Florida of which possession had been taken a few months before, its in habitants were not authorized to elect members of the Convention for framing the Constitution, The Legislature, without loss of time, proceeded to the apportionment of the future members of the Convention araong the Parishes, and made provision for the necessary expenses of election. It then adjourned in the latter part of April, after having passed several important acts, among others, one establishing two banks, the Planters' Bank and the Bank of Orleans, which institutions were thought to be called for by the expiration of the charter of the Bank of the United States. Another raore important act was passed — more import ant in consequence of the discovery which had led to the passage of the act — granting to Livingston and Fulton the sole and exclusive right and privilege to build, con struct, raake, use, eraploy and navigate boats, vessels and water-crafts, urged or propelled through water by fire or steara, in all the creeks, rivers, bays and waters what soever, within the jurisdiction of the Temtory, during eighteen years from the first of January, 1812. On the 4th of November, the Convention met in New Orleans, and after having elected Le Breton D'Orgenois 1811.] MEETING OF TIIE STATE CONVENTION. 269 president j9ro tempore, adjourned to the 18th of the same month, when, on its meeting again, Julien Poydras was elected president, and Eligius Fromentin secretary. On taking the chair, the President returned his thanks to the assembly for the honor it had conferred on hira, and then expatiated in a somewhat dithyrambic style ou the happiness which the Louisianians Avere to expect from a popular government and from their incorporation into the Union, as members of a sovereign State. " Yes, gentlemen, I again repeat it," he said, " and ever with new enthusiasm, this goA'ernment is the most perfect that the human mind has hitherto framed. It is that which has the most effectually, by wise and impar tial laAVS emanating frora its Constitution, secured even to the loAvest of its members personal safety, the ])eace- able possession of his property, the free exercise of his faculties, of his talents and of his industry, the sacred rights of con,science, and above all, that right perhaps the most important of all, I mean the right of freely thinking, speaking and writing, without which liberty itself would soon proA'e an illusion. "Is it not the summit of political felicity to be able to adopt the Constitution of the United States, as our birth right in our quality of Americans ? Can there be anything on earth more flattering, more advantageous, than to see ourseh'es placed in the rank, and become the equals, of all the free and flourishing States of this astonishing Confederation, Avliich is now the admiration of the uni verse, and will perhaps one day become the model of all na tions ? They are henceforth our friends and our brothers ; they stretch forth their arms to us, and invite us to enjoy in common with them all the advantages of liberty, A\'hich they so gloriously acquired by triuraphing over their enemies .at the expense of their blood, of all the privations and of all the sacrifices which the love of coun- 270 SPEECH OF POYDRAS. [1811. try iraperiously requires from virtuous citizens, as the in dispensable pledges of their heroic devotedness to liberty. " We are now presented with that liberty after which Ave have panted from the raoment of our being erected into a Territory, and to obtain which we have never ceased to implore the justice of Congress, which has, at length, yielded to oui" entreaties, being well informed of our grievances, moved by our just complaints, and struck with the mui'raurs forced from us by that abject slavery into which we had been plunged by that execrable Ter ritorial Governraent, that monstrosity in the annals of a free people, which it ought never to have been suffered to disfigure, and from which it ought to be forever effaced. ......... " Let us hail our emancipation from that odious servi tude which has cost us so dear ; let us hail it, I say, with transports of gratitude, with that sensibility of soul, those emotions, those throbbings of the heart, felt by a naviga tor when, after haA'ing been the sport of adverse winds, tempest tost, fatigued, harassed, and on the point of perishing from want, he enters the port which is the ob ject of his wishes and the hope of his fortune," A less enthusiastic orator than Mr, Poydras might perhaps have discovered, on reflection, that he had per mitted himself to be carried away by his imagination, and that his speech was not as compact in logic as it was florid in words. For instance : how could he in reality be so extravagantly enaraored of a political system which had forced upon him and Louisiana " an abject slavery, an execrable Territorial Government, a mon strosity in the annals of a free people ?" Would not a more astute statesman than Mr. Poydras have come to the conclusion that the nation, which, on the threshold of its existence, was, as it enemies pretended, intoxicated 1811,] PROCEEDINGS OF THE CONVENTION, 271 with self-love, with the incense which it burned in self- adoration on its domestic altars, and with the gorgeous prospect of its present and future prosperity, would not in the course of time, according to all probabilities, find within itself a moral or religious principle sufficiently strong to prevent popular majorities from inflicting in tolerable oppressions on minorities ? Would not that statesman have inferred that the nation which had per petrated such abominations as are described by Mr, Poy dras, could not, if these political crimes were true, be the " astonishing confederation" which he had eulogised in a preceding paragraph, and did not deserve to be the "admiration of the universe? Would he not have drawn the inevitable deduction that the nation which, in the beginning of its career, had forgotten the com- mandments of God, and trampled on the rights of man, if the denunciations of the- epoch are to be believed, would probabl}' improve in iniquit}' as it grew older in the possession and lust of irresponsible and ever-expand ing power, and that it Avas not, therefore, destined by Providence " to become the model of nations ?" Let the sentiments entertained and expressed by Louisiana, in 1861, answer these questions. rt is now to be hoped by every patriot that, taught by the dire lessons of the past, the Government of the United States, raade raore powerful by the late intestine war, will, by an enlightened, just and magnanimous adminis tration, ever deserve the universal love of the people, and that no well-founded discontent will ever threaten its existence in the future, in consequence of such viola tions of the Federal compact as were the cause of delug ing the country in blood. On the next day, Mr. Watkins laid before the Conven tion a Resolution declaring it to be expedient, in the name of the people of the Territory of Orleans, that .said 272 PROCEEDINGS OF THE CONVENTION. [1811. Territory be erected into a sovereign and independent State, under the conditions and according to the provis ions of the Act of Congress to enable the people of the Territory to adopt a Constitution and State Government, as also for the admission of the said State into the Union on the same footing with the original States, and that said Convention shall proceed fortliAvith to form a Con stitution and State Government. In the course of the debate on this Resolution, Messrs. Guichard, Blanque, Bernard Marigny, Le Breton D'Or genois, James Brown, Watkins, and Thomas Urquhart spoke in favor of it ; and against it, Messrs. Destrehan, Alexander Porter, Morgan and Hubbard. It was finally adopted by a large majority. Those who voted in the negative were : Jean Noel Destrehan, James Dunlap, Andrew Goforth, Billy Hubbard, D. B, Morgan, Alex- der Porter and James Thibodeau,* On the 23d of November, the Convention elected by ballot a comraittee of seven raembers for the purpose of preparing and laying before the Assembly the plan of a Constitution. These members were : Magruder, Brown, Blanque, Bry, Destrehan, Johnson and Oantrelle. Des trehan having been one of those opposed to the forma tion of a Constitution and State Government, it is sorae- Avhat surprising that he should have been selected to be a raeraber of this committee. In six days the commit tee had accomplished their Avork, and, on the 29th, had laid before the Convention the fruit of their labors. 1812. On the 13th of January, 1812, the Convention passed to the third reading of the Preamble of the Con stitution, Avhich defined the limits of the State. A mo tion was made to add to that preamble the following amendment: "That the limits of the State may be so * See the Journal of tho Convention on record in the office of the Secretary of State at Baton Rouge. 1811.] PROCEEDINGS OF THE CONVENTION. 273 enlarged as to embrace that portion of the country situ ated south of the,Mississi])])i Territory, and oast of tho Mississippi River to the Perdido, known by the name of West Florida, or any part thereof, so soon as the titles to the same may be adjusted, and it may be convenient to the Government of the United States to annex it. This motion was rejected by 24 nays to 14 yeas. The nays were : J. B. Arraant, .1. D. Bellechasse, J. Blanque, Placide Bossier, James BroAvii, Michel Cantrelle, Louis DeBlanc, J. B. LeBreton D'Orgenois, M. Guichard, S. Henderson, Sebastien Hiriart, Denis DeLaronde, W. A, Maquille, D. B. Morgan, Bernard Marigny, Manuel Prud- horame, Louis Raynaud, Genesi Roussin, Frangois St, Martin, S, D. Sutton, Thomas Urquhart, James Viller6, Jones Watkins, and Samuel Winter, On the 23d of the same month, Alexander Porter, in the name of a committee appointed to draft a me morial requesting the annexation of West Florida to the new State Avhich was to be erected, and having, on a previous occasion, reported that meraorial, obtain ed leave to lay before the Convention certain sup- pleracntal paragraphs, A motion having been raade to adopt thera, together with the original report, it was car ried by a vote of 25 in the affirmative to 12 in the nega tive. Those who voted in the negative were : J, Blan que, Michel Cantrelle, Louis DeBlanc, LeBreton D'Or genois, M, Guichard, Denis DeLaronde, Bernard Marigny, M. Prudhomme, Louis Raynaud, Genesi Roussin, Thom as Urquhart, and J. Villere. These members had voted on the 13th against the proposition to enlarge the limits of the State, and were, therefore, consistent on this occa sion. J. B. Armant, D. Bellechasse and Placide Bossier, who had opposed the extension of the limits of the State, seem to have been absent when the question of the adop tion of the meraorial came before the Convention, foi 18 274 PROCEEDINGS OF THE CONVENTION. [1811. their votes are not recorded ; and James Brown, S. Hen derson, Sebastien Hiriart, W. C. Maquille, D. B. Morgan, F. St, Martin, S. D. Sutton, Jones Watkins and Samuel Winter, Avho had voted with the above-named, members of the Convention, changed side, and went to the oppo site camp, for reasons which were no doubt satisfac tory to their own minds, but which do not appear on record. The Convention having assented to all the stipulations imposed by the Federal Government as preliminary con ditions to the framing of a Constitution and State Gov ernment for the Territory of Orleans, and the Con stitution having been adopted by a unanimous vote, two delegates, Messrs. E. Fromentin and A. B. Magruder, were elected to carry to Washington City, and lay be fore the proper authorities, the Constitution, and the other acts of the Convention, Avith special instructions to urge the speedy action of Congress, and with full power to give all necessary explanations. Two thousand dol lars were allowed to each for their expenses. The Convention adjourned sine die on the 28th of Jan uary, 1812, after having adopted all the i)ro visions which were deemed expedient to carry the Constitution into practical effect, should it be approved and sanctioned by Congress. Here is the Preamble of the Constitution : * " We, the representatives of the people of all that part of the Ter ritory or country ceded under the name of Louisiana, by the treaty made at Paris, on the 30th day of April, 1803, between the United States and France, contained in the folloAving limits, to wit : beginning at the mouth of the River Sabine, thence, by a line to be drawn along the middle of said river, including all its islands, to the thirty-second degree of latitude — thence due north to • The vrhole document will -be found in the Appendix. 1811.] THE CONSTITUTION OF LOUISIANA, 275 the northernmost part of the thirty-third degree of north latitude — thence along the said parallel of latitude to the river Mississippi — thence down the said river to the river Iberville,* and from thence along the raiddle of the said river and lakes Maurepas and Pontchartrain to the Gulf of Mexico — thence bounded by the said Gulf to the place of beginning, including all islands within three leagues of the coast — in convention assembled by virtue of an act of Congress entitled : An Act to enable the people of the Territory of Orleans to form a Constitution and State Government, and for the admission of said State into the Union on an equal footing with tlie original States, and for other pwrposes ; — in order to secure to all the citizens thereof the enjoyment of the right of life, liberty and pioperty, do ordain and establish the follow ing Constitution or form of goA'ernment, and do mutually agree with each other to form ourselves into a free and independent State, by the name of the State of Louis iana," * Better known as Bayou MancluM:. CHAPTER VII. ADMINISTRATION OP GOVERNOR CLAIBORNE — ARRIVAL OP THE FIRST STEAMBOAT AT NEW ORLEANS — PART OP WEST FLORIDA ANNEXED TO LOUISIANA — DEBATES IN CONOUKSS — REMARKABLE AVEltSION IN LOUISIANA FOR PUBLIC LIFE — THE BAUA'f ARIANS. 1812—1813. On the 10th of January, an exciting event took place in New Orleans. It was the arrival from the West of the first steamboat which navigated the turbid waters of the Mississippi. Her Captain stated that he had been but two hundred and fifty-nine hours actually on the way.* This speed seemed at the tirae to be marvelous, and the whole population flocked to the river to examine the wonderful creation of the genius of man. On the 19th of March, the House of Representatives at Washington resolved itself into a Committee of the Whole, ou the Bill for the admission of Louisiana into the Union, and the extension of the laws of the United States thereto. An amendment was presented, giving four representatives in the State Legislature to that part of West Florida Avhich was proposed by the Bill to be annexed to the State now formed of the Orleans Terri tory, Mr. Johnson, who had offered the amendment, spoke in support of it, adverting to the memorial which had been presented fi'ora the Convention of Orleans, giving their decided assent to the annexation of that Teri'itory » Martin's History of Louisiana, p. 811, vol. 8. (276) 1812,] DEBATES IN CONGRESS. 277 to the State, which removed, in his opinion, the objec tions urged against authorizing this representation, Mr, Calhoun opposed the amendment, on the ground of its incorporating in the law a principle of representa tion which was in hostility Avith the provisions made concerning that subject in the Constitution of the new State. lie said that it came in conflict with the appor tionment raade by that body, Avhich alone had the power to change or modify the principle of representation ; and that body being dissolved, he advised that it should again be called together, as the only mode by which the object in contemplation could be attained. Mr. Nelson went into an argument to show that the proposed amendment was neither incompatible Avith the Constitution, nor inexpedient. The error in the reason ing of gentlemen appeared to hira to be, that Louisiana Avas considered by them as a State, which it Avas not until the bill now before the House should pass ; and in its present inchoate situation, he contended that it was com petent to Congress to annex conditions to the instru ment which made it a State. He then dwelt at some length on the urgency of the claim of the population of West Florida to a representation in the Legislature of the State, of which he maintained that they could not be constitutionally deprived. Mr. Poindexter could not conceive how a Territory could be represented iu the first Legislature of a State to Avhich it was not annexed, until the consent of the Legislature should be obtained. Mr. Nelson replied that there was yet no such body in existence as the Legislature of Louisiana, nor Avould there be until this bill passed to create it a State ; and in iidmitting the State into the Union, having alieady im posed certain conditions, Congress had the right to impose that further condition Avhioh the amendment proposed. 278 DEBATES IN CONGRESS, [1812 Mr, Johnson observed that his amendmeni: was predi cated on consent already given by the Convention ; but, if it were not, he contended that the people to be includ ed in the State ought to be actually represented. He went into a larger scope of arguraent to show that there was no difficulty in the way. Mr. Calhoun again spoke in opposition to the araend- raent. He said that it proposed to annex conditions to the people of the Territory of Orleans, on its becoming a State, when there was no political body in existence competent to accept them, as the Convention which had framed the Constitution had been dissolved ; that thi people of West Florida would be unrepresented only until the State Government should be organized ; that the interval during which they would be unrepresented Avas unavoidable, and, after all, that being so short, it was not very important. He further maintained that the proposed amendraent would be engrafting the prin ciple of Territorial Governraent on a State Government, to which it was wholly inapplicable ; that it was, in fact, assuming to make a Constitution for the people of a State, whose inalienable right it was to form a Consti tution for theipselves. Mr. Gholson spoke against the amendment in its present form, as he conceived it incompatible in many respects with the Constitution noAv offered for the con sideration of Congress. " For instance," said he, " the Constitution of Louisiana provides that the Senate of the new State shall consist of fourteen members, and this amendment adds two merabers peremptorily, which makes the number sixteen, in defiance of that Constitu tion." He then read an amendment, which he said he would propose, if the one now under consideration were not agreed to. The question being on Mr, Johnson's amendraent, it was negatived by a vote of 39 to 37. 1812.] DEBATES IN CONGRESS. 279 Mr. Gholson then proposed his amendment, which Avas to add to the bill the following proviso : " And provided, also, that the people of that portion of West Florida hereby proposed to be made a part of the State of Louisiana shall, before the election of Sena tors and a Representative to the Congress of the United States, be invested with and enjoy equal rights of rep resentation, and equal privileges in every respect, with the people of the residue of the said State," Mr, Rhea opposed the amendment, because he doubt ed the power of Congress to superadd conditions to those already made requisites to the admission of the State into the Union. There appeared to him but one way to remedy the evil, and that Avas to authorize the people of Orleans to meet again in Convention to accept the condi tions required. Mr. Clay spoke in favor of the amendment. He could see no real objection to its adoptioQ. The Con vention of Orleans had framed a Constitution for the State in conformity to the law of Congress, imposing certain conditions as preliminary. The Convention had annexed to their acceptance of these conditions another l)roposition, to wit : That the JBlorida Territory should be incorporated in that State. " Can we not," said Mr. Clay, " accept or reject this proposition ? If we accept, may Ave not do it with or without qualification ? We agree to give only a certain part instead of the whole Territory desired ; and it is proposed to do this on cer tain conditions. In alienating a whole territory, an en tire people (an exercise of one of the highest attributes of sovereignty), we are about to take care of their rights, and to secure to them the same political rights, priv ileges and immunities as are enjoyed by the people of the Territory to which it is to be annexed. If the pres ent amendment was adopted, the question hoAV these 280 DEBA'lES IN CONGRESS, [1812. rights .shall be invested by the Legislature, or by a new convention to be called for the purpose, is very properly left to the decision of those concerned." Mr. Gholson's amendment was agreed to Avithout a division.* But on the final passage of the bill, as amended, the vote stood 77 yeas to 23 nays. The Senate disagreed to the amendraent, and the bill passed in the end, through both houses, without the clause annexing West Florida, and was approved by the President on the 8th of April. The 2d section provided that, until the next general census, and apportionment of Repretentatives, the new State should be entitled to one Representative in the House of Representatives, and that all the laws of the United States, not locall}' inap plicable, should be extended to the said State, and should have the same force and effect within the same as elsewhere within the United States.f The 6th section declared that the "act of admission" should commence and be in force frora and after the 30th of April. Almcst simultaneously with the act for the admission of the State of Louisiana, another act had passed, " to enlarge the limits of the State," and was approved by the President on the 14th of April. It enacted, that in case the Legiislature of the State of Louisiana should consent thereto, all that tract of country comprehended within the following bounds, to wit : Beginning at the junction of the Iberville River, (or Bayt>u Manchac,) with the Mississippi ; thence along the middle of the Iberville, the river Amite, and of the Lakes Maurepas and Pontchartrain to the eastern mouth of the Pearl River; thence up the eastern branch of Pearl River to the thirty-first degree of North latitude; thence * Journal of Congress, Oaks & Soaton, 13th Congress, p. 1,325. f See the Appendix, for the whole act of Conoress. 1812.] ENLARGEMENT OP THE STATE. 281 along the said degree of latitude to the river Mississippi . thence down the said river to the place of beginning, shall become and form a part of the State of Louisiana, and be subject to the constitution and laws thereof, in the same manner, and for all intents and purposes, as if it had been included within the original boundaries of the said State. It further enacted, that it should be incumbent upon the Legislature of the State of Louisiana, in case they consented to the incorporation of the Territory aforesaid within their limits, at their first session, to make provis ion by law for the representation of the said Territory in the Legislature of the State, upon the principles of the Constituthra, and for securing to the people of said Territoi'y equal rights, privileges, benefits and advanta ges with those enjoyed by the people of the other parts of the State, which law .should bo liable to I'evision, mod ification and amendment by Congress, and also in the manner provided for the amendment of the State Con stitution, but should not be liable to change or amend ment by the Legislature of the State. On the 4th of August, the Legislature of Louisiana approved of, and consented to the enlargement of the limits of the State, in the manner provided for in the act of Congress above recited, and declared that the Ter ritory annexed to her " should forever be and remain a part of the State of Louisiana;" and by a subsequent act of the 25th of the same month, the Legislature granted to the annexed district three Senators and six Representatives. The annual salary of the Governor was fixed at |7,500 ; that of the Secretai7 of State at $2,500. The Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House of Representatives had each a regular salary of $2,000 a year. A I'osolution was passed by the Legislature, and ap- 282 STATE GOVERNMENT ORGANIZED. [1812. proved by the Governor on the 31st of August, declar ing it to be expedient to remo\'e the seat of government from the city of New Orleans, and directing that some place more convenient be raade choice of as the perma nent seat of goA'ernment for the State. It further pro vided for the appointraent of tAVO persons on the part of the Senate and three on the part of the House of Repre sentatives, to examine the different places designated for the seat of government, and to receive any propo sitions to be made, or donations to be offered of property in those different places, with instructions to report to the General Assembly at their next session. P. B. St. Martin was the first Speaker of the House of Representatives under the State Governraent, and Julien Poydras the first President of the Senate. W. C. C. Claiborne had been elected Governor of the State. It was the best proof of the satisfaction given by his administration under the territorial system of government, which, itself, had been an object of detesta tion to the great majority of the population. He ap pointed L. B. Macarty to the office of Secretary of State, Allan B. Magruder and Jean Noel Destrehan, who had been members of the late Convention, were elected Senators of the United States; but Destrehan having re signed before taking his seat, and during the adjourn ment of the State Legislature, the Governor appointed in his place Thomas Posey, who was little known in Louisiana, at least to the ancient population. Thomas Boiling Robertson, Avho had been Secretary of the Territory, was elected to represent the State iu the House of RepresentatiA-es at Washington. Hall, Mathews and Derbigny Avere appointed by the Governor Judges of the Su})reme Court. .Each of them had a salary of five thousand dollars. On the 18th of June, Congress had solemnly declared 1812.] WAR WITH GREAT BRITAIN. 283 to the world that war existeil betAveen the United States and Great Britain, and had empowered the President " to use the Avhole land and naval force of the United States to carry the same into effect." On the 31st of July, Claiborne, in his inaugural ad dress to the Legislature, taking into consideration the state of the country, had strenuously recommended a thorough organization of the militia, Avhich until then had been far frora effective. " A war exists," he said, " between the United Kingdoras of Great Britain and Ireland and dependencies, and the United States of America. War is not the greatest of evils — base sub mission to aggression would have been a greater curse. It Avould have entailed dishonor, cowardice, vassalage upon our posterity. The independence of America Avas the fruit of eight years of toil and of danger, and to maintain this inestimable advantage, the sword is again unsheathed. The wrongs of England have been long and seriously felt ; they are visible in the decline of our sea towns, in the ruin of our comraerce, and the languor of agriculture. The recourse to arras may increase the pressure ; but let it be recollected, that whatever sacrifice we raake, is offered on the altar of our country — a consideration which will reconcile a faithful people to every privation. The President of the United' States calculates on every aid which it is in the power of Louisiana to give, as well to mitigate the evils of war to our citizens, as to make it effectiial against the enemy. In so reasonable a request, let not our chief be disappointed. For years he labored to arrest the storm, and now that it rages in all its fury, let us endeav or to carry hira and our country safely through it. Union is iu itself a host ; it is numbers, strength and security. Let every man put himself in armor. Age itself should be prepared to advance against an invad 284 AVERSION FOR PUBLIC LIFE. [1812, ing foe. Our young men should hasten to the tented field, and tendering their services to the Government, be in readiness to march at a moment's warning to the point of attack. In such a contest, the issue cannot be doubtful. In such a cause, every American should make bare his bosom. Where justice is the standard, Heaven is the warrior's shield.''' On the 14th of August, in a message which he sent to the Legislature, he said : " On turning m}' attention to the interior of the State, I perceive with regret that, Avithin the Parishes of Feliciana, Baton Rouge, St. Helena, and St. Tammany, which have recently been annexed to Louisiana, the civil authority has become so Aveakened and relaxed, that the laws have lost much of their influence, and, in the Parish of St. Tammany in particular, are scarcely felt. I advise, therefore, that such provisions as you sliall think proper to prescribe for these parishes may be passed Avith all convenient dis patch." In those days there Avas not the same greediness for office Avliich has since become so conspicuous, and it had frequently been difficult for the President of the United States and for Governor Claiborne to find suitable men, Avilling to accept political trust, or any delegation of authority from the Government. If some were tempted into it, they soon resigned, and by their very resigna tions increased the difficulties which beset the appoint ing power. The judges, in particular, were remarkable for their readiness to return to private life, and Clai borne, in a message to the Legislature, mentions one of the causes : " The collection of taxes by the Parish Judges," he said, " has at all times been considered by them as a very unpleasant duty. It has already occa sioned several resignations, and in some instances pre- irented citizens in Avhom the public placed high confi- 1812.J A WANT OF MEN FOR OFFICES, 28.5 deuce fnnii accepting tho office of judge. I much fear that a continuation of this legulation may induce some other judges to retire, and that, at the present period, when the durability of the parish court system is so very uncertain, I shall experience difficulty in filling satisfactorily the A'acancies which exist, or such as may arise. With a view, therefore, to prevent embarrass ments, and the better to secure a punctual collection of the revenue, I suggest for consideration the expediency of providing by law for the division of the State into four or more collection districts.''* On the 2d of September, Claiborne vetoed a bill, en titled " An Act supplementary to an act to regulate the conditions and forms of the emancipation of slaves." It must have contained very extraordinary provisions, judg ing from Claiborne's objections. " It puts to hazard," remarked the Governor, "the character, the peace of mind, and even the lives of unoffending citizens, by sub jecting them to be denounced by slaA'es, to whom the bill holds out such inducement — the promise of freedom — as to expose innocence itself to accusation. In some in stances, the provisions of the bill may tend to bring offenders to"punishment. But, as I fear they might also operate to the injury and oppression of good men, I should regret to see them introduced into our code of laws." The Legislature had hardly adjourned, when Claiborne thought proper, " on considerations of public interest,'' as expressed in his proclaraation, to convene the General Assembly in extraordinary session at the seat of Govern ment, on the 23d of November, The main object was to provide by legislation for the mode of choosing electors to give their votes for a President and Vice-Pres ident of the United States on the first Wednesday in * Executive State Journal, p. 8, vol. 1. 2H6 A NUMBER OF RESIGNATIONS, [1812 December ; and the Senate and House of Representatives, in joint meeting assembled on the 30th of November, chose Julien Poydi'as, Philemon Thomas, and Stephen A. Hopkins, as electors of a President and Vice-President of the United States. Previous to the meeting of the Legislature, an unprece dented number of resignations had taken place among the Creole members of that body, for reasons which are not sufficiently authenticated to be historically recorded ; but the fact is I'emarkable. Among those who thus re fused to take their seats were : Joseph Landry, Senator elect for the County of Acadia ; Godefroy Olivier, the Rep resentative from the Parishes of Plaquemine and St. Bernard; P, B, St. Martin and J. C. Arnauld, Represent atives frora the German Coast. What is raore strange is, that Alexander Labranche and Rene Trudeau, having been elected in the place of the two last-named gentle men, resigned in their turn. Genesi Roussin and Le Breton Deschapelles also vacated their seats. All these gentlemen belonged to the elite of the ancient popula tion, and some of them had been members of the late Convention, It must therefore be presumed that they must have had very powerful reasons for the course which they pursued. It is impossible not to suppose that there was sorae serious discontent and disgust at the bottom of it, 1813, On the 4th of March, commenced the second term of Mr. Madison's re-election to the Presidency, His inaugural address on that occasion sounds as a produc tion of the present day, and, with a slight alteration in the phraseology, would be applicable to the condition of things existing in 1861, between the North and South of the disruptured Confederacy of the United States, A mere substitution of names is sufficient to suppose it deliv ered by Jefferson Davis. " From the weight and magnitude 1813, 1 MADISOn's inaugural ADDRESS. 287 of the trust reposed in me," said the re-elected Chief Magistrate, " I should be compelled to shrink, if I had less reliance ou the support of an enlightened and generous people, and felt less deeply a conviction that a war with a powerful nation, which forms a prominent feature in our situation, is stamped Avith that justice which invites the smiles of heaven on the means of conducting it to a successful termination. " May we not cherish this sentiment without presump tion, when we reflect on the characters by which this war is distinguished ? " It was not declared on the part of the United States, until it had long been raade on them in reality, though not in name; until arguments and expostulations had been exhausted; until a pcsitive declaration had been receiv ed that the wrongs provoking it would not be discon tinued; nor until this last appeal could no longer be de layed, Avithout breaking doAvn the spirit of the nation, destroying all confidence in itself and in its political in stitutions, and either perpetuating a state of disgraceful suffering, or regaining by more costly sacrifices and more severe struggles our lost rank and respect among inde pendent Powers " As the war was just in its origin, and necessary and noble in its objects, we can refiect with a proud satisfac tion that, in carrying it on, no principle of justice or honor, no usage of civilized nations, no precept of court esy or humanity, have been infringed. The war has been waged on our part with scrupulous regard to all these obligations, and in a spirit of liberality which was never surpassed. " How little has been the effect of this example on the conduct of the enemy ! " They have retained as prisoners of war, and threat- 288 madison's inaugural ADDHESS. [1813. ened to punish as traitors and deserters, persons emigrat ing without restraint to the United States ; incorporated by naturalization into our political family, and fighting under the authority of theii- adopted country, in open and honorable warfare for the maintenance of its rights and safety. Such is the avowed purpose of a Government Avhich is in the jiractice of naturalizing by thousands citizens of other countries, and not only of permitting, but compelling them to fight its battles against their native country. " They have not, it is true, taken into their own hands the hatchet and the knife devoted to indiscriminate mas sacre ; but they haA'e let loose the savages, armed Avith these cruel instruments ; haA'e allured thera into their service, and carried them to battle by their sides, eager to glut their savage thirst with the blood of the van quished, and to finish the Avork of torture and death on maimed and defenceless captives ..... " And now we find them, in further contempt of the modes of honorable Avarfare, supplying the place of a conquering force by attempts to disorganize our political society, to dismeraber our Confederated Republic. Hap pily, like others, these Avill recoil on the authors ; but they mark the degenerate counsels from which they emanate ; and if they did not belong to a series of unexarapled inconsistencies, might excite the greater wonder, as pro ceeding frora a Governraent which founded the very Avar*" in which it has been so long engaged, on a charge against the disorganizing and insurrectional policy of its adver sary. "To render the justice of the war on our part the more conspicuous, the reluctance to commence it avus fol lowed by the earliest and strongest manifestations of a * Against France. 1813.] madison's INAUGURAL ADDRESS. 289 disposition to arrest its progress. The sword was scarce ly out of the scabbard, before the enemy was apprised of the I'easonable terms on which it would be resheath- ed. Still more precise advances were repeated, and have been received in a spirit forbidding every reliance not jDlaced on the military resources of the nation. "These resources are amply sufficient to bring the war to an honorable issue. Our nation is, in number, raore than half that of the British Isles. It is composed of a brave, a free, a virtuous and an intelligent people. Our country abounds in the necessaries, the arts, and the coniforts of life. A general pro.sperity is visible in the public countenance. The means employed by the Brit ish Cabinet to undermine it have recoiled ou themselves ; have given to our national faculties a more rapid devel opment ; and draining and diverting the precious metals from British cu'culation and British A'aults, have poured thera uito those of the United States. It is a i)ropi- tious consideration, that an unavoidable war should have found this seasonable facility for the contributions re quired to support it. When the public voice called for war, all knew, and still know, that without them it could not be carried on through the period which it might last; and the patriotism, the good sense, and the manly spirit of our fellow-citizens, are pledges for the cheerfulness with which they will bear each his share of the common burden. To render the war short, and its success sure, animated and systematic exertions alone are necessary ; and the success of our arms now may long preserve our country from the necessity of another resort to them,'" On the 15th of March, Claiborne issued the following proclaraation: "Whereas, I have received information that upon, or near the shores of Lake Barataria, within the limits and jurisdiction of this State, a considerable 19 290 THE SMUGGLERS OF BARATARIA. [1813. number of banditti, composed of individuals of difl'erent nations, have armed and equipped several vessels for the avowed purpose of cruising on the high seas, and com mitting depredations and piracies on the vessels of na tions in peace with the United States, and carrying on an illicit trade in goods, wares and merchandise with the inhabitants of this State, in opposition to the laws of the United States, and to the great injury of the fair trader and of the public revenue ; and whereas there is a reasonable ground to fear that the parties thus waging lawless war will cease to respect the persons and proper ty of the good citizens of this State, I have thought proper to issue this my proclamation, hereby commanding the persons engaged as a,foresaid in such unlawful acts to cease therefrom, and forthwith to disperse and sepa rate ; and I do charge and require all officers, civil and military, in this State, each within his respective districi-, to be vigilant and active in apprehending and securing every individual engaged as aforesaid in the violation of the laAVS ; and I do caution the people of this State against holding any kind of intercourse, or being in any manner concerned, with such high offenders ; and I do also earnestly exhort each and every good citizen to af ford help, protection and support to the officers in sup pressing a combination so destructive to the interests of the United States, and of this State in particular, and to rescue Louisiana from the foul reproach which would attach to her character, should her shores afford any asylum, or her citizens countenance, to an association of individuals whose practices are so subversive of all laws, human and divine, and of whose ill-begotten treasure no man can partake, without being forever dishonored, and exposing himself to the severest punishment." This proclamation did not prevent the individuals therein mentioned from appearing daily in the streets of 1813,] DANGER OF INDIAN HOSTILITIES, 291 New Orleans, and from carrying on their trade with its citizens Avithout much danger or impediraent. There Avere other wild guests who at that time used to pay frequent visits to New Orleans. These were nu raerous bands of ChoctawSj who, when under the infiu- ence of intoxication, Avould often prove a dangerous nuisance. Several Parishes of the State, among others, those of St. Tamraany, St. Helena and Baton Rouge, were exposed to Indian depredations, and the apprehen sions of their inhabitants became so great, that several farms were abandoned, and the settlers fled to the in terior for safety. The belief that the British meditated an attack against Louisiana was daily gaining ground. It was sadly in want of arms and munitions of war, and yet the Govern ment of the United States had withdrawn from the State one Regiment of infantry of the regular troops, of which measure Claiborne iraraediately complained to James Brown and Eligius Froraeutin, who had succeed ed Magruder and Posey in the Senate of the United States, He represented to them the defenceless state of the country, and also expatiated at length on the suffer ings and losses of the planters on account of the over flows of the Mississippi, from the Parish of Concordia down to the Parish of Plaquemine inclusively. Even New Orleans had been partly inundated by a break in the levee at Kenner's plantation, some ten or twelve miles above the city. Fromentin had been appointed one of the Judges of the Supreme Court by Governor Claiborne, and had been rejected by the Senate. But shortly afterward he was elected by the united vote of both houses to the Federal Senate for the term of six years, Avhich was an ample compensation for any mortifi cation Avliich he might have felt from his defeated aspi rations to the Bench, 292 CONFLAGRATIONS AND OVERFLOWS. [1813, This overflow was not the only calamity from which New Orleans was to suffer. It was afflicted as much by fire as by water. Constant conflagrations had produced a feeling of despondency in the inhabitants, as no one was sure of a safe night's rest in his own house, which might be burned over his head before the next dawn of day. To remedy the evil, Claiborne, on the 26th of June, of fered a reward of one thousand dollars to any individual who should give such information as might lead to the discovery and punishment of these lurking incendiaries. Shortly after, a female slave, thirteen years old, having been sentenced to death on conviction of arson, under circumstances which had inclined the Governor to the granting of a reprieve, Avith a view perhaps to a final pardon, doubts were raised as to his authority to ex ercise that power, on the curious ground that slaves, not being parties to the Constitution, could not derive any benefit from that instrument. The case was referred to F. X. Martin, who was then Attorney-General, and who afterward became Chief-Justice of the State. The At torney-General replied : " That he could not find any thing in the Constitution or laws of the State which authorized the Governor to commute the punishment of any person, free or slave, and did not believe that such a power was impliedly vested in the Governor by virtue of his office " That the Governor might reprieve any person, bond or free, after conviction, till he should have an opportu nity of consulting the Senate. " The power of reprieving," said he, " is expressly given by the Constitution in cases of high treason. Hence a plausible argument might be drawn that he may in lesser offences. " But the power of pardoning must include that of reprieving ; for, during the greatest part of the year, the 1813,] f. X. MAR'ITN ON THE CONSTITUTION, 293 Senate not being in session, if the Governor cannot re prieve alone, culprits raust undergo punishment before the Senate may be consulted, unless the court will post pone the execution of their sentence till the meeting of the Senate. " It is said that slaves are not parties to the Constitu tion, and therefore cannot derive any benefit from any clause in that instrument, and the Governor, deriving the power of pardoning, and consequently that of reprieving, frora the Constitution, cannot exert it in favor of slaves. Neither is an alien party to our Constitution or laws, yet, when tried, he must be tried according to them, not from any right he has to their benefit, but because our judges have no other rule to go by, and are not authorized to proceed Avithout any rule. An alien en emy, if tried here, would be tried by a jury, would have every advantage which a citizen might claira, and, no doubt, if his case called for it, would be entitled to the clemency of the State in the mode known to the Constitution and laws. If there was not a particular raode pointed out by law for the trial of slaves, no court or judge could try thera in any other raode than that in which freemen are tried. If there be (one there is) no mode pointed out by which the Governor is to act toward them when they are the oV)ject of the clemenc} of the State, he must act toward a slave as he would toward another human being. For although, in civil cases, slaves are considered as things, in criminal cases they are considered as men," The Constitution being a new thing, to which the peo ple were unused, the different constructions put upon it by the public mind were manifold, and some of them, by their extraordinary nature, show how very little that doc ument was generally understood in the first years of its 294 CREDIT OF U. S. IMPAIRED, [1813. existence. The Constitutional question which I have cited is one of the many which were frequently mooted. On the 15th of July, Claiborne addressed to one of the Louisiana Senators in Congress, Eligius Fromentin, a letter, in which he depicted to him the neglected con dition of the State in a military point of view. "The Third United States Regiment," he said, " commenced its ascent of the Mississippi a few days since. I much fear this regiment will be considerably reduced previous to its arrival at Cincinnati. The recent overflowings of the river have left on its margin au iraraense mass of vege table matter, which, under the influence of a hot Sum mer's sun, will soon be in a state of putrefaction, and must render the atmosphere greatly insalubrious. The departure of the Third Regiment has diminished one half the regular forces in this quarter, and leaves ua much exposed, I have issued orders for holding in a state of requisition a strong detachraent of militia, tc take the field in case of insurrection, invasion, or iraminenf danger of invasion. But the arraying of this force will necessarily be attended with delay, and to the general want of discipline will be added a scarcit}' of arras, unless the loans of muskets desired can be obtained from the General Department, and speedily forwarded. "The non-payraent of the bills drawn by Colonel Shauraburgh on the Secretary of War has seriously af fected the credit of the War Departraent in this State, and will, I fear, much injure the service. Colonel Shaum- burgh's bills in many cases fell into the hands of private individuals, whora their rejection submitted to serious embarrassments. I learn also that the claims of many citizens for labor done, or materials furnished at the dif ferent fortifications, remain, for the want of funds, unliqui dated. It is not for me to inquire how far the moneys 1813.] INADEQUATE PROTECTION FROM THE U. S. 295 expended in this State under the authority of the War Departraent have been judiciously appropriated. But I sincerely regret that so many persons, relying on the credit and good faith of Governraent and its officers, should have sustained injury." One of the Louisiana Senators, James BroAvn, who had also been addi'essed on the same subject, replied in these terras : " It is Avith extreme pain that I discover that the force destined for the defence of our State, instead of be ing augmented, is daily diminishing. I have only to assure you that no pains on my part have been wanting to induce the General Government to alter its course on that head, and to afford us something like an adequate protection " So generally has our coast been menaced, so numer ous have been the calls on the Department for protection at the different points immediately threatened, and so limited are the funds assigned to that object, that the complaints of our distant State, although reiterated and enforced in the best manner I could devise, have resulted in a manner in the highest degree unsatisfactory and mortifying to me. The removal of the Third Regiment, and Avhat is raore extraordinary, its reraoval by water, ia a policy Avhich I do not approve, and against which I have directly and repeatedly reraonstrated."* Such being the defenceless condition of I;0uisiana, it became necessary to compel a speedy organization of the militia, and it Avas presumed that a draft would be resorted to, but the mere recommendation of that meas ure produced much discontent in some quarters. On the 31st of July, Claiborne addressed Colonel Placide Bossier, of Natchitoches, on the subject. He informed that officer that the Adjutant-General would inclose hira * Executive State Journal, p. 133, vol. 1. 296 THE MILITIA TO BE CALLED OUT. [1813 the commissions which he solicited, and that his exer tions to organize his regiment were confidently, relied on by the Governraent. " The war in which our country is iuA'olved," Avrote Claiborne, " rages with unabated fury, and there appears no prospect of a speedy peace. Tho Creek Indians raanifest an unfriendly disposition to ward the United States, and seven hundred warriors of that tribe, well armed, have recently crossed the Perdido. It is probable they may be met, and, I trust, driven back by the troops of the United States on that station. As a measure of precaution, which the crisis seemed to render indispensable, I have ordered a detachment of militia to be holden in readiness for actual service, and to be obtained by draft, if the same should become nec essary. A quota of this detachment has been assigned to the First Brigade, and quotas will be assigned to the several other brigades throughout the State, so soon as the regiments attached to each brigade shall be organ ized. I repeat. Sir, that this is only a raeasure of pre caution, and that the citizens composing the detachment will not be called from their homes, unless in case of in surrection, or when the public safety shall require it; and, in no event, to be marched out of the liraits of the State. Essential as this raeasure is to the public safety, it has, nevertheless, been assailed with all the bitterness of party, and is spoken of as the act of a tyrant. It consoles me, however, to know that these furious at tacks are only made by a disappointed, and, I believe, unprincipled faction in this city, against whose efforts to produce disorder the good sense of the people will, I trust, be an ample barrier, and against whose calumnies as regards myself, I oppose a life exclusively devoted to honorable pursuits." In the midst of all this war agitation, the population of New Orleans was thrown into a ferment by a decis 1813.] JUDICIAL DECISION ON THE BAMURE, 297 ion of the District Court of Louisiana in the suit of Edward Livingston against Le Breton D'Orgenois, the Marshal of the United States. The decision declared " illegal " the interference of President Jefferson in the case of the Battm'e, and directed the clairaant to be re stored to the possession of the alluvial land knoAvn under that narae. The 'Marshal refused to appeal from that decision, and the City Council of New Orleans passed a resolution Avhereby the Governor was invited to appeal in behalf of the city and the State, on the ground that the rights of both were infringed in the jiremises. In relation to this affair. Governor Claiborne wrote to the late President Jefferson : " Considering the Batture as a part of the bed of the Mississippi, and included within the port of New Orleans, I shall have recourse to our State Courts to enjoin Mr. Livingston against exercising any acts of ownership over the sarae, or in any raanner obstructing the navigation of the Missis8ip[)i, which is declared to be a great highway, and the free use of which, as well to the inhabitants of this State, as of the other States, is one of the considera tions on which Louisiana was adraitted into the Union. Mr, Livingston has found means either to neutralize, or to make active partisans of, most of the lawyers in the State, The people, however, are fortunate in receiving the support of the Attorney-General, F, X. Martin, and of Messrs. Moreau Lislet and Fielding Turner, three distinguished lawyers, and I entertain strong hopes that Ave may yet be enabled to maintain the rights of th« public," On application of the Attorney-General, James Pitot, the Parish Judge, granted an injunction, but subse quently dissolved it, on the following grounds : That, until it was shown that Mr. Li\'ingston had done sorae act to deprive the citizens of the use of the Batture, or 298 MASSACRES BY THE INDIANS. [1813. erected some works thereon which raight obstruct the navigation of the Mississippi, judicial interference would be premature and improper. "Thus. the case rests for the present," wrote Claiborne to Thomas Boiling Robert son, the representative of Louisiana in the lower House at Washington ; " nor has Mr, Livingston yet thought proper to prosecute the Mayor of New Orleans, or the inhabitants, who are in the habit of taking, as formerly, dirt from the Batture. I am extreraely desirous to have the rights of title to the Batture finally settled, but feel some difficulty as to the best manner of bringing the question fairly before our courts." In the month of September, the population of New Or leans was informed that the war with the Creek Indians Avas assuming a serious aspect, that a fort twenty-five miles from Mobile had been taktin by them, and three hundred and fifty men, women and children had been cruelly massacred. It was confidently reported that many slaves had escaped fi'om their masters to join the Indians, and it was feared also that the ChoctaAVS would soon become hostile. Hence increased vigilance was required throughout Louisiana, and Claiborne sent a circular to all the militia colonels, pressing upon them the necessity of being ready to meet all emergencies whatever; and, on the 11th of September, he dejiarted through Bayou St. John for the Parish of St. Tammany, to take measures for the safety of its inhabitants, who were much exposed to the depredations of the Indians.* From St. Tammany he proceeded to Baton Rouge by way of St, Helena, and then went to Lafourche, from which he journeyed to the Attakapas and Opelousas districts, actively engaged in raaking what preparations he could for the defence of Louisiana with the scanty materials which the State possessed at the time. He • Executive State Journal, p. 153, voL 1. 1813.] Claiborne's indian talk. 299 even Avent as far as Natchitoches, where a great many Spanish families had taken refuge from the neighboring proAdnce of Texas, which was then in a state of revolu tion. These fugitives, to the number of about twelve hundred, had crossed the Sabine in the most destitute condition, which had been generously relieved by the adjacent parishes in Louisiana. Being at Natchitoches, Claiborne availed himself of the circumstance to send, on the 18th of October, what in Indian parlance is called " a talk," to the Great Chief of the Caddo Indians. It is preserved here as a curious specimen of the figurative style which it was universally thought proper to adopt in addressing the rude war riors and primitive denizens of the wilderness : " Friend and Brother I I arrived at this port three sleeps past, and learn from our friend, Dr. Sibley, that you had only left it last month. I should rejoice to haA'e met you here, that we raight have shaken hands in friendship, and smoked and conversed under the shade of the same tree. Seven years ago, brother, we had a conference at this place, Natchitoches, and mutually promised to keep the path between our two nations white. We haAC been long in authority, and know frora experience the bless ings of peace. We will endeavor to keep the chain bright between our two nations, and the chiefs who fol low us may, I hope, so strengthen it that our children's children will live together as neighbors and friends. " Brother, the United States are like the oak of the forest — a great body with many branches. The people of the United States are composed of eighteen families. Each family has a chief; but the great beloved man of all is your father, the President, who stands in the place of the Great Washington, Our friend, Dr, Sibley, is the agent of the President, and whatever he says in his name you must receive as his own words, I have seen, 300 Claiborne's indian tale;, [1813, brother, and highly approve the * talk ' you gave out, when you were last in council at this point. The advice you have given to your own people, and to all Red Men with whom you have influence, is that of a father to his children, I hope they will hold it fast, and live in con stant peace with the white people, " Brother, seven years ago, you told me that your na tion had but one enemy, the Osages, and I am sorry to hear that you are still at war with those people. I have often heard of the Osages. In the vast hunting-grounds where the Great Spirit has placed a sufficiency of buffalo, bear and deer for all the red men, the Osages, I hear, haA'e already robbed the hunters of all nations, and their chiefs still wage war to acquire more skins. Among the white peop-C, brother, there is also a nation of Osages. Beyond the sea there lives a people, called the English, who raay really be considered white Osages. On the big water, which the Great Spirit made large enough for the use of all men, the English have already plun dered every people, and their chiefs direct the continu ance of these outrages. Many Americans, peaceably navigating the big water, had their vessels and property taken away from them, and others were compelled to serve on board of war-canoes, and made to fight against their friends and countrymen. But, brother, such inju ries could not be endured ; the hearts of the Americans have become cross; they have raised the tomahawk, and will not consent to bury it until the English are just toward them. The warriors of your father, the President, are marching into the country of our enemy, and the thunder of our great war-canoes is heard on every sea, " Brother, the English, unwilling to fight us man to man, have called upon the red people to assist them. With tongues as forked and as poisonous as a snake's, 1813.] Claiborne's indian talk. 301 they have told the Indians many lies, and raade fair promises which they will not and cannot fiilfill. Thus it is that many of the Red Men have been prevailed upon to throw away the peace- talks of their father, the Presi dent, But the Americans have the power and the will to punish all their enemies. The other day, the Creeks, when it was supposed they were only quarreling among themselves, surprised one of our forts, and spilled much innocent blood. A fly, you know, brother, raay disturb the sleeping lion ; but our warriors are now in arms against the Creeks, and it will not be in the power of their friends, the English, to shield them against our vengeance. " I don't like many words ; but there is something on ray heart which I must relate to you. I hear the Creeks have sent runners with war- talks to the Couch attas and other tribes, your neighbors, but I hope all these people will look up to you as au elder brother, and hold fast your good advice. When your father was a chief, the path from your towns to Natchitoches was clean, and if an Indian struck the people of Natchitoches, it was the same as to strike hira. You now, brother, stand in }'our father's place, I wanted, brother, to send you a token of my fi'iendship. To a chief, a man, and a warrior, nothing could be more acceptable than a sword, but a suitable one could not be obtained at this place. I ha\'e, therefore, directed that a sword be purchased at Ncav Orleans and forwarded to Dr. Sibley, who will very soon present it to you in my name. Farewell, brother ; I pray the Great Spirit to preserve you in health and happiness." The month of November had nearly elapsed, and the Baratarian band of smugglers against whom Claiborne had issued a jiroclamation on the 16th of March still continued their illegal pursuits, as if no obstacle had 302 proclamation against smugglers, [1813. been intended to be thrown in their way. Wherefore, on the 24th, he issued this second proclaraation : " Whereas," he said, " the nefarious practice of running in contraband goods which has hitherto prevailed in different parts of this State, to the great injury of the fair trader, and the diminution of the revenue of the United States, has of late much increased ; and whereas the violators of the law, emboldened by the impunity of past trespasses, no longer conceal themselves from the vieAV of the honest part of the comraunity, but, setting the Government at defiance in broad daylight, openl}' carry on their infamous traffic ; and whereas it has been officially known to me that, on the fourteenth of the last month, a quantity of contraband goods, seized by Walter Gilbert, an officer of the revenue of the Uni ted States, were forcibly taken from him in open day at no great distance from the city of New Orleans, by a party of armed men under the orders of a certain John Lafitte, who fired upon and grievously Avounded one of the assistants of the said Walter Gilbert ; and although process has issued for the apprehension of him, the said John Lafitte, yet such is the countenance and pro tection afforded him, or the terror excited by the threats of himself and his associates, that the same remains un executed : " And whereas the apathy of the good people of this State in checking practices so opposed to morality, and to the laws and interests of the United States, may im pair the fair character which Louisiana raaintains, and ought to preserve as a raeraber of the Araerican Union : " I have thought proper to issue this ray proclamation, hereby strictly charging and commanding all officers of the State, civil and military, in their respective depart ments, to be vigila'nt and active in preventing the viola tion of the laws in the premises, and in apprehending 1813.] JOHN AND PIERRE LAFITTE. 303 and securing all persons offending thei-ein ; and [ do sol emnly caution all and singular the citizens of the State against giving any kind of succor, support or counte nance to the said John Lafitte and his associates, but to be aiding and abetting in arresting him and them, and all others in like manner offending ; and do furthermore, in the narae of the State, offer a reward of five hundred dollars, which will be paid out of tho treasury to any person delivering the said John Lafitte to the Sheriff' of the Parish of Orleans, or to any other Sheriff in the State, so that the said John Lafitte may be brought to justice." The band of smugglers mentioned in this proclama tion was composed of desperate men of all nations, chiefly under the comraand of two brothers, John and Pierre Lafitte, who were originally from Bordeaux, or, according to other reports, from Bayonne, but who, emi grating frora their native country, had settled in New Orleans as blacksmiths. Tempted by the hope of making a speedier fortune than by continuing to hamraer on the anvil, they abandoned the honest trade they were en gaged in for one of a more dangerous character, but promising a life of excitement, which was probably more congenial to their temperaraent, and which held out to thera ample compensation for the perils they were to encounter. They began with being the agents of the Baratarian buccaneers in New Orleans, and ended with being their leaders, and being proclaimed outlaws by the country where they resorted for illicit purposes. On the coast of Louisiana, west of the mouth of the Mississippi, there is an island called Grande Terre, which is six miles in length and from two to three miles in breadth, running parallel with the coast. Behind that island, about six railes from the open sea, there is a se cure harbor which is reached by the great pass of Bara- 304 DEEDS OF THE BUCCANEERS. [1813. taria, in which there are from nine to ten feet of water, This harbor coraraunicated with a number of lakes, la goons, ba}'ous, sea-outlets, and canals, leading to the Mis sissippi, and which, skirted by swampy forests, and form ing a labyrinth of waters, offered a tempting field of op eration to the Robin Hoods of the sea. These men pre tended to be privateers cruising with letters of marque issued by France and the new Republic of Carthagena, to prey upon the coraraerce of Spain ; but the Avorld called them pirates, and accused them of capturing ves sels belonging to all nations, without excepting those of the United States, within whose territory they brought their prizes in violation of law. Many horrible tales were related of thera, but were stoutly denied by their friends, who were numerous and influential. The Government of the United States had attempted several expeditions against them, but of so feeble a char acter as to be necessarily abortive. Whenever any attack was meditated against the buccaneers, they seemed to be mysteriously informed of the coming danger, and in time to avoid it. On such occasions, they would break up their settlement and carry it to some unknown part of the coast ; should the new quarters be discovered and threatened, they were transported elsewhere ; and the buccaneers would invariably return to the places formerly occupied by them, as soon as evacuated by their foes. It was even ruraored, and believed by raany, that the pursuers never had any serious intention of capturing the pursued. On the 23d of June, the Eng lish tried whether they would not be raore successful than the Americans, and one of their sloops-of-war attacked two privateers which were at anchor off Cat Island. This time, the buccaneers, smugglers, or pirates, whatever be the name which they were entitled to, showed no in clination to avoid an armed collision, as they generally 1813.] THE BARATARIANS. 305 did, when threatened by the Araerican navy, but they beat off the English, who suffered considerable loss. Major A. Lacarriere Latour, who was then " Principal Engineer in the Seventh Military District of the United States," and who has published a valuable Historical Memoir, with maps, on the war in West Florida and Louisiana in 1814 and 1815, makes the following re marks on a state of things which he had seen, and on which, therefore, he was competent to pass judgment ac curately : " Social order has indeed to regret," he said, " that those men, mostly aliens, and cruising under a foreign flag, so audaciously infringed our laws as openly to raake sale of their goods on our soil ; but what is much more deplorable and equally astonishing is, that the agents of Government in this country so long toler ated such violations of our laws, or at least delayed for four years ta take effectual measures to put a stop to these laAvless practices. It cannot be pretended that the country was destitute of the raeans necessary to repress these outrages. The troops stationed at New Orleans were sufficient for that purpose, and it cannot be doubted but that a well-conducted expedition Avould have cleared our Avaters of the privateers, and a proper garrison stationed at the place they raade their harbor would have prevented their return. The species of impunity with which they Avere apparently indulged, inasmuch as no rigorous measures were resorted to against them, made the contraband trade carried on at Barataria look as if tacitly tolerated. In a word, it is ^ fact no less true than painful for me to assert, that, at Grande Terre, the privateers publicly raade sale, by auction, of the cargoes of their prizes, Frora all parts of Lower Louis iana people resorted to Barataria, without being at all solicitous to conceal the object of their journey. In the streets of Ncav Orleans it Avas usual for traders to give 20 306 . THE BARATARIANS. [1813, and receive oiders for purchasing goods at Barataria, with as little secrecy as similar orders are given for Phil adelphia or New York. The most respectable inhabitants of the State, especially those living in the country, were in the habit of purchasing smuggled goods coming from Barataria. The frequent seizures raade of those goods were but an ineff'ectual reraedy of the evil, as the great profit yielded by such parcels as escaped the vigilance of the Custora-house officers inderanifled the traders for the loss of what they had paid for the goods seized — their price being always very modei'ate, by reason of the quantity of prizes brought in, and of the impatience of the captors to turn them into money and sail on a new cruize. This traffic was at length cairied on with such scandalous notoriety, that the agents of GoA'ernment in curred very general and open reprehension ; many per sons contending that they had interested motives for conniving at such abuses, as smuggling was a source of confiscation from which they derived considerable bene fit." Such were the evils which Claiborne's last procla mation was intended to remedy. But Claiborne had on his mind far weightier consid erations than the capture of the Baratarians. The month of December had come without any of the expected as sistance from the Federal Government, the year was closing with still more threatening rumors of an aj)- proaching invasion of Louisiana, and Claiborne could not lose sight of the defenceless condition of the State of which he was the Chief Magistrate. The Federal Gov ernment Avas either deaf to his repeated entreaties for men and munitions of war, or had not the poAver to grant the desired supply. General Flournoy, who was in comraand of the United States military forces on the Mississippi, had informed the Governor that he could not con\eniently concentrate within the State more than 1813.] ANXIETIES OF THE PUBLIC MIND. 307 seven hundred men ; and, furthermore, he had even at tempted to deprive it of a part of its own internal means of defence, by haA'ing raade a requisition for one thousand militiamen to be employed in the service of the United States during six months, unless sooner dis charged. The public mind in Louisiana, at the close of the year, was therefore in a considerable state of anxiety, which Avas somewhat relieved by the news of several - victories obtained over the Indians by Generals Jackson, Floyd, and White, at the head of the Georgia and Ten nessee militia. CHAPTER VlH. Claiborne's administration — john and pierre lapi'H'e, chiefs of the baratarians— their noble conduct — preparations for war in louisiana. 1814. The Governor,' in his annual message at the opening of the session of the Legislature, on the 4th of January, 1814, made on the existing war between Great Britain and the United States remarks which are not inapplicable to the conflict destined long after to originate in the system atic oppression attempted to be enforced by the North ern and Western States against the Southern members of the Confederacy, through a long series of unconstitu tional aggiessions inspired by an inordinate love of political power and plunder, by sectional jealousies and interests, and also by an hereditary, innate, and domi neering spirit of Puritan fanaticism, " The enemy," said Claiborne, " wholly I'egardless of the dictates of justice and raoderation, shows no disposition to arrest the deso lation of war. The raediation of Russia, so readily ac cepted l)y the President of the United States, has been rejected, and the accustomed courtesy of an audience has been denied to our ambassadors. The time, however, is not distant when this repulsive deportment shall be changed, and when we shall exclaim — How the mighty has fallen ! An overruling Providence directs the destinies of nations, and moulds their conduct to His purposes. Eight-aud-thirt}- }-ears ago. Great Britain manifested a 1308) 1814-] EFFECTS OF WAR. 809 spirit of injustice similar to that which at present influ ences her councils. A policy alike wicked and absurd was avowed, and a system of violence and tyranny to ward America pursued. In cA'ery stage of oppression our fathers petitioned for redress, but their repeated peti tions were only answered by repeated injuries. Hence it was that the war of the Revolution enlisted in its sup port the hand and heart of every true American. The people willed it, and they found no difficulty in conquer ing for themselves and posterity the rich blessings of peace and independence." The Governor does not shrink from exposing to the Representatives of the jieo- ple the anticipated evils of Avar in all their horrid naked ness. He A'ividly describes the prostration of agricul ture and coraraerce. He laraents the burdens Avhich raust necessarily be inflicted on all classes of society for the support of fleets and arraies, the loss of life and the general increase of human woes, but he consoles himself and those whora he addresses with the assurance that the evil of war which he so feelingly deplores has been productive of good, by unfolding the internal resources of Louisiana, and by pointing out their use. " During a tour," he said, " which I made the past summer and fall, through the different counties of Louis iana, the loom and the wheel attracted much of my at tention, I was often within view of the one and the sound of the other. Our fair countrywomen, to me always interesting, never before appeared as much so. EveryAvhere I saw evidences of their industry and do mestic economy. The effects of such examples were obvious. Fathers of farailies haA'e retrenched their ex penses, and the young men are more inclined to indus trious pursuits. These habits will conduce no less to the Avelfare of individuals than to that of the State. The times call for private and public frugality. The 310 suggested AMELIORATIONS. [1814, existing taxes, greater than at any prior period, must necessarily be continued. The surplus revenue which, for several years, had accumulated under the late Terri torial Government, Avas all exhausted liy the donations to literary institutions, the remuneration to sufferers from the late insurrection in 1810, and the expenses incurred 1)}' the CouA'ention of Orleans. The State administration commenced at an inauspicious moment. An empty treas ury was not the greatest difficulty to encounter. The war which immediately ensued depressed commercial enterprise, and discouraged agricultural exertion ; nor was the hurricane in 1812 more destructive to the fruits of the farmer's industry than the subsequent overflow ings of the Mississippi. Hence have arisen our flnal embarrassments ; hence the difficulty which may in some parishes attend the payment of the public im posts." Among the objects recommended by the Executive to the attention of the Legislature was a revision of the system of criminal jurisprudence then in vigor. "It does not answer the end of justice," observed Claiborne, " and is attended Avith very serious expenses to the State." He took this occasion to insist on the necessity of making provisions for the employment of convicts sentenced to hard labor in such a raanner as to remu nerate the State for the charges incident to their support, or of substituting for imprisonment some immediate corporal punishment.. He also suggested to the Legisla ture, that in a government like the one which had been recently inaugurated in Louisiana, it was desirable that the people should know the laws by which they were governed. " At present," he said, " we are referred to civil, common, and statute law, and how few are there Avho can give a legal opinion upon any question of in terest ? This glorious uncertainty may suit those who 1814.] TOO MUCH legislation, 311 have leisure and inclination to profit frora the researches of civilians and reporters ; but it illy comports with the convenience of the great mass of the citizens. The stat ute laAVS have become voluminous. Acts amendatory and supplementary to former acts — in addition to, or re pealing in whole or in part, former acts, are so numerous as to confuse inquiry. It raight probably be a Avork of labor to reduce into one view the reraedy afforded for every Avrong, and the means of pursuing redres.? ; but it would not be an arduous undertaking to bring into one act all the statutes upon the same subject, and I recommend that provision be made for such a compila tion." These remarks of the ExecutiA'e show that Louisiana, on the A'ery threshold of its existence as a sovereign State, was already suff'ering from too much legislation. Then, as now, almost every member of both houses took his seat with the intention to change, raodif}', or abro gate sorae pre-existing laAV, or introduce sorae new en- actraent, either to promote, as he thought, the general welfare of the community, or to serve his own private purposes, if not those of designing men of whora he had become the tool. It seems also that, in those purer day,^ of State adolescence, bribery, corruption, and other undue influences were not unknown ; for Claiborne re quests the Legislature to inquire into and to check this " fruitful source of evil." " It ought never to be forgot ten," he said, " that a free representation forms the basi=< and greate.^t excellence of representative government, and that, Avhenever the freedom of opinion at elections is destroyed, the fairest principle of Republicanism is gone." He finally complimented the General Assembly on the improA'ements which had lately taken place in the organization of the militia. He remarked that, on the 8th of July and 6th of September last, having issued 312 THE BARATARIANS. [1814. orders for holding in readiness a di,sposable militia force to take the field at a moment's warning, the cheerfiil compliance by most of the corps was a proof of the love of country by which they were animated, and of the promptitude with Avhich they would have obeyed a further call. On the 20th of January, the Governor was informed by the United States Collector that four hundred and fifteen negroes had lately been consigned to Pierre and John Lafitte at Barataria, and that they were to be sold at public auction. The Collector requested that a strong force be organized " to defeat the purpose of these law infractors." Four days after, the news reached New Or leans that Stout, a temporary inspector of the revenue, who had been stationed by the Collector near the place called tho " Temple" at Barataria, and who had Avith him twelve men, had been attacked by John Lafitte and his companions. Stout had been killed, and two of his fol lowers dangerously Avounded ; the rest had been raade prisoners. The Collector iraraediately laid before the Gov ernor all the circumstances of this outrage, with these re marks :* " It is high time that these contrabandists, dis persed throughout the State, should be taught to respect our laws, and I hold it ni}' duty to call on your Excel lency for a force adequate to the exigency of the case." The Governor sent to the Legislature copies of the two comraunications which he had received from the Collector on the subject, with the recommendation that suitable provisions be raade to break up the establish ment of those laAvless men on the coast of Louisiana, He informed them that this duty was to be performed by the State, because the General comraanding the Fed eral troops in the district which embraced Louisiana had declared that he found it inconvenient to the service * Executive Journal. 1814,] THE BARATARIANS. 313 to withdraw at the raoment any part of thera frora the important and exposed posts which they occupied, al though he had proposed, should any militia force be em ployed, to afford such facilities in rations, camp equipage, munitions and other supplies, as might conveniently be issued from the public stores. " My present powers are doubtless competent to the ordering of a detachment of militia on this service, but I OAve it to myself and to the State to guard against even the probability of a miscarriage. For it would indeed be a melancholy occurrence, if the men to be detailed for this duty, encouraged to disobedience by the late conduct of some militia corps, should furnish evidence of the inability of the Executive to enforce, on this occa sion, the supremacy of the laws. I therefore recommend this subject to your immediate consideration." He fur ther added : " The evil requires a strong corrective. Force raust be resorted to. These lawless men can alone be operated upon by their fears and the certainty of punishment. I have not been enabled to ascertain their numbers ; by some they are estimated from one hundred to one hundred and fifty, and by others they are repre sented to be from three hundred to five hundred ; and it is added, that tlieir principal place of depot for their plunder, an island within the Lake Barataria, is defended by several pieces of cannon." " But,'' continued the Gov ernor, " so systematic is the plan (m which this daring attempt against the laAvs of our country is conducted — ¦ so numerous and bold are the followers of Lafitte, and, I grieve to say it, such is the countenance afforded hira by some of our citizens, to me unknown, that all efforts to apprehend this high offender have hitherto been baf fled." A Committee was appointed by the General As sembly to communicate with the Governor on the subject to which he had called their attention. But in the mean 314 THE BARATARIANS. [1814. time, Lafitte, with the utmost unconcern as to ultimate consequences, was in the daily habit of sending his con traband goods to Donaldson ville, situated at the junction of Bayou Lafourche with the Mississippi, and to several other points of the river, under the escort of strong de tachments of armed men, who put at defiance all inter ference with their trade.* His confidence seeras to have been Avell founded, since the Legislature, on account of the want of funds, postponed to some more opportune moraent the organization of the militar}' expedition which Claiborne had so earnestly solicited. Tirae elapsed, and the pirates of Barataria, as they were called, reraained undisturbed, but Collector Dubourg and the Governor were not discouraged by the supineness.of the Legislature of the State, or the indifference of the Federal Government. On the 2d of March, he sent again the following message to the General Assembly : " I lay before you a letter which was addressed to me on yesterday by Colonel Dubourg, the Collector for the District of Louisiana, frora which you will perceive the great and continued violations, within this State, of the non-intercourse, the erabargo, and other laws of the United States, and the necessit}' of affording to the officers of the revenue the support of an armed force whilst in the discharge of their duty. General Flournoy not deeming it prudent to withdraw, for the present, any of the regular troops under his command frora the im portant and exposed posts they occupy, the Collector of the District conceives it a duty, in conformity with in- sti'uctions from the General Government, to apply once more to the Chief Magistrate of Louisiana for such aid as will enable the officers of the revenue to fulfill their ob ligations. * Executive Journal. The pages can no longer be referred to, as they cease to be numbered. 1814.J THE BARATARIANS. .?51o " I entreat you, therefore, to furnish me with the means of co-operating, on this occasion, with promptitude and effect. It is desirable to disperse those des])erate men on Lake Barataria, Avliose piracies haA'e rendered our shores a terror to neutral flags, and diverted from New Orleans that lucrative intercourse with Vera Cruz and other neutral ports which formerly filled our Banks with the richest deposits. It is no less an object to put an end to that system of smuggling which exists to the dis grace of the State, the injury of the fair trader, and the diminution, as I am advised, of the circulating medium of this city in so great a degree as is likely to produce serious comraercial erabarrassment,s, than it is important, above all, to prevent breaches of the erabargo law, and to mar the projects of those traitors who would wish to carry supplies to the enemy. To enable me to accom plish these ends, or at least some of them, I ask for authority to raise by voluntary enlistment a force of not less than one captain, one first lieutenant, one second lieutenant, one third lieutenant, one drummer, one fifer, and one hundred privates, to serve for six months unless sooner discharged, and to be employed under the orders of the Governor in dispersing any armed association of individuals within this State, having for object the violation of the laws of the United States, and to assist the officers of the revenue in enforcing the provisions of the embargo, non-intercourse, and other acts of Congress. The officers, non-commissioned officers and privates to be entitled to the same pay, rations and emoluments as are allowed the troops of the United States, and to be subject to the rules and articles of war as prescribed by Congress. . " As this corps will be solely employed in enforcing the laws of the United States, I am persuaded the Gen- 316 THE BARATARIANS, [1814 eral Government will readily defray any expense which may attend the raising and maintaining of the same. But if in this reasonable expectation we should be dis appointed, I would advise that the corps be immediately discharged, for the present embarrassments of our treas ury will not admit of its remaining in service at the expense of the State." This message could not, and did not, produce on the General Assembly the stimulating effect which was de sired by the Executive. Most of the members of that body were aware that their constituents thought them selves much benefited by the illicit trade which the Governor wished to suppress, and they did not care to be put to the expense and trouble of collecting revenue for a Government which cOuld not make itself respected by a handful of depredators, whom it affected to look upon as the scum of the earth. The backwardness of the Legislature to act in this raatter was extreraely unpala table to Claiborne ; the raore so, because he was already much annoyed by the persevering opposition of the Sen ate to many of his appointments, and particularly in re lation to the filling up of the' vacancy on the Supreme Bench occasioned by the resignation of D. Hall, who had accepted frora the President a commission as District Judge of the United States in and for the State of Louis iana. The Governor had made five successive nomina tions to supply that vacancy, which had been rejected by the Senate. As the time for the adjournraent of that body was drawing near, the Governor thought proper to subrait to the Attorney-General, F. X. Martin, the fol- loAving questions : 1st. " Whether, in filling up a vacancy in the Supreme Court during the session of the Senate, the Governor ia not bound, according to the true intent and spirit of the Constitution, to exercise his free agency in the nominating 1814,] F. X. MARTIN ON THE CONSTITUTION. 3l7 power, and whether he ought not to resist all attempts of the Senate to infiuence or direct him in the nomina tion ? 2d. " Whether, if the Senate continue to reject every individual proposed by the Governor, until the one they wish to be appointed be presented, the vacancy raay be filled during the recess of the Legislature ? 3d, " Whether, the Supreme Court raay not be consid ered as competent to the dispatch of business, tAvo judges being present, the existence of the vacancy notwithstand ing ?" The Attorney-General, in his reply, expressed himself as not being able to conceive that a doubt might exist as to the obligation under which the Constitution had placed the Governor, to exert his free agency in the ex ercise of so important an act as the nomination of one of the chief judiciary, magistrates, and absolutely to re pel the slightest attempt from any raan, or body of men, not excepting the Senate, to influence or direct his nom ination by any other means than by affording him infor mation or advice. The Attorney-General felt no hesi tation in saying that, if it were possible that a majority of the Senate should attempt to force the Governor to nominate a person whom, in his judgment, he might consider as unfit for the office, or improper to be appoint ed, and should, for the puipose of insuring compliance to their wishes, determine on rejecting every other per son Avhom the Governor raight propose, then it would become the duty of the Governor to resist such an en croachment, because it would be a violation of the Con stitution, " The Constitution has provided," said the Attorney- General, " that judges of the Suprerae Court shall bd appointed b}' the joint act of the Governor and the Sen ate. NoAV, in the case put, were the Governor to yield 318 F. X. MARTIN ON TIIE CONSTITUTION. [1814. to the Senate, the judge would be appointed by their sole act. The Governor could not be said to have par ticipated in the appointment, if he were forced into com pliance. Neither the Governor nor the Senate can ahne appoint a judge. If the person chosen by the Governor be not agreeable to the Senate, it becomes his duty to look for another person it may approve. Likewise, if the Senate desire that the office may be filled by a per son whom the Governor disapproves, it becomes their bounden duty to abandon him, and fairly to exercise a sound judgraent on every person presented afterward, untU one agreeable both to the Governor and Senate is fallen upon. For it cannot be concluded that, because the gentleman whom the Senate imagine to be most suit able does not appear in the same light to the Governor, no appointment is to take place, or that the Governor may allow the Senate to choose alone^ The Attorney-General further said, that if such a dis agreement between the Senate and the ExecutiA'e were unfortunately persisted in, and if the Senate adjourned without adA'ising, or consenting to, a nomination, the vacancy could not be filled till the next meeting of the Senate, because the text of the Constitution is, that the Governor shall have power to fill up vacancies that may happen during the recess of the Legislature, by gramMng cominissions that shall expire at the end of the next session. " If, after he has had an opportunity of consulting the Senate," argued the Attorney-General, " the Governor were to appoint a judge, he would, by his sole act, do that which the Constitution has said should be done by the joint act of him and the Senate. He woijld annihi late the right of the Senate in the same manner as they would his, if a majority of that body were to bind themselves to reject every person proposed by him, till 1814.] PROJECTED INVASION OF TEXAS. 319 the Governor offered the one they had determined upon." Lastly, the Attorney-General believed that the Su preme Court was competent to transact business, when two judges were on the Bench, notwithstanding the va cancy of the third seat. He further stated that the three learned jurists who had filled the bench of the Supreme Court had always acted on that principle, as the Consti tution provided that two judges should forra a quorura. The official opinion of the Attorney-General failed to bring to a concert of action the two conflicting powers, and the Senate adjourned without any appointraent being made for the Supreme Court. On the 23d of March, Claiborne, having received in formation that a number of individuals within the liraits and jurisdiction of the State were engaged in raising troops, and preparing the means for a hostile incursion into the Spanish province of Texas, with a Adew of aiding in the overthrow of the Government of Spain in and over that province, and having been instructed by the Federal Government to take the necessary and proper steps to prevent any design of the kind from being car- lied into effect, issued a proclamation cautioning each and every good citizen of Louisiana, and all other per sons within the liraits and jurisdiction of the sarae, against being concerned in, or in any manner giving aid and countenance to, any such unauthorized expedition, and vvarning them of the penalties to be incurred thereby. He further sti'ictly charged and comraanded every offi cer, ciAdl and military, within the State, each in his prop er station, to be vigilant and f ctive in opposing and preventing measures so contrary to the laws, and so haz ardous to the peace and tranquillity of this and other States of the Union, and in securing and bringing to trial; judgment and punishment every such offender. This 320 REQUISITION ON THE MILITIA, [1814. proclamation put an end to the intended expedition for the present, the principal leaders of which Avere a Doctor John H. Robinson, who had been in the service of the United States Government, General Toledo, late com mander of the revolutionists in the province of Texas, and General Humbert, a Frenchman, who, having incur red the displeasure of Napoleon, had been exiled from his country, and was ready to embark in any kind of reckless adventure to better his fortune. Seven days after the issuing of this proclamation, there came out of the Executive Office a public document, in the shape of a circular to the officers of the militia, which, to be understood, requiies a short retrospect into past events. It has been stated before, that Claiborne, on the 25th of December, had issued orders to carry into exe cution a requisition raade by the President on the State of Louisiana, for the raising of an auxiliary force to be enlisted in the service of the United States. In the in terior counties of Louisiana this requisition met with no opposition. It was promptly obeyed,* and the militia of the Second Division, which included the district of Baton Rouge and the more western counties of the State, were promptly arrayed, and marched to the point of general rendezvous, the Magazine Barracks, opposite New Orleans, But in sorae of the settlements on the Missis sippi, and particularly in the city of New Orleans, which Avere embraced within the first division of the militia, a great spirit of insubordination was manifested, if Clai borne's testimony is to be taken as entirely correct, Tho people were told through the mediura of the public prints, that there was " no law to authorize, and no ne cessity to justify the requisition." The Governor was denounced as " the tyrant of the day, and resistance to his orders was advised." The public mind was greatly * Claiborne's Letter to Qen. Thomas Flournoy, March 8d, 1814. 1814.] INSUBORDINATION OF THE MILITIA. 321 agitated, and the general feeling evidently much inclined against him. " With the exception," writes Claiborne, " of three or four companies of the city militia, whose conduct met ray highest approbation, ray orders were not only disregarded, but resolutions expressive of de termined disobedience were entered into by the non-cora- raissioned officers and privates of several separate corps, and transmitted to me. It is, however, due to the corps to add, that their resolutions conveyed assurances of tlie promptitude with which they would repair to arms in case of actual invasion, and some of them expi'essed a readiness to do duty by companies within the city and suburbs under their own officers. But all protested against entering the service of the United States, either as volunteer or drafted militia." This was the language of Claiborne in March. It cer tainly expressed views and sentiments in relation to the militia very different from those contained in his mes sage to the Legislature in the beginning of January, and recorded in the preceding pages. With regard to the Legislature itself, he wrote to General Flournoy : " I had anticipated support from the Legislature of the State, and flattered myself that their sanction of the raeasure would have calmed the angry passions, and invited to harmony and subordination. But the Senate of Louisiana, in their answer to ray address to the two Houses, thought proper, in relation to the " requisition," to use a language which tended still raore to indispose the public senti ment, and a report made by a Committee of that honor able bod}', which Avent, not only to declare the requisi tion illegal and unnecessary, but indirectly to question the purity of the motive which directed ray conduct, AA'as lost merely by the casting vote of the President. In the House of Representatives, an expression of appro bation was rejected by, I believe, one vote, and although 21 322 INSUBORDINATION OF THE MILITIA. [1814 no censure direct was attempted, yet a refusal to ap prove left an impression on the public mind no less in jurious to my authority than the avowed hostility of the Senate." The arrival about this tirae at the Magazine Barracks of near four hundred of the militia of the Second Divis ion, gave Claiborne some reason to hope that so patri otic an example raight produce beneficial effects ; and on the 21st of February, he issued a proclamation renew ing the orders of the 2.'ith of December, and directing defaulters of every rank to be proceeded against in such manner as military usage and the laws might justify'. But this had no other -effect than to infiame , still more the public mind, and to draw doAvn upon him an increased mass of abuse. It was again asserted in the public jirints that there was no law, no necessity, no danger to justify such a measui'e; and the opposing of force to force, if necessary, Avas not only advised, but almost de termined on. The officers coraraanding raost of the city corps Avere asserabled with the raost conciliatory views on the part of Major-General Villere, but with no satis factory result. On the contrary, to the declaration of a positive unwillingness to obey the requisition, which, on a former occasion, had been expressed by the non-com missioned officers and priA'ates, was now added a like de termination by their several commanders, who, however, gave the most emphatic assurances of their readiness " to turn out in case of actual invasion," and who declared that, in the mean time, their men did not object to do duty by companies under the orders of militia officers within the city and suburbs, but to be relieved at short intervals. The secret of all this opposition Avas, the in- idncible repugnance of the Creole and French population to be enlisted in the service of the United States under officers not of tlieir own choosing, and their apprehension 1814.] DANGER. OF A CIVIL WAR. 323 of being sent out of the State, for which alone they Avere disposed at that tirae to shed their blood. These occurrences did not pass unnoticed by the militia stationed at the Magazine Barracks, and chiefly composed of Americans. Their officers had a meeting, and sent to Claiborne an address, in which they protest ed for themselves and their men against being mustered into the service of the United States, until his orders of the 25th of December, 1813, and 21st of February, 1814, Avere obeyed by the city militia ; and, being Avrought to a high degree of excitement, " the}' made a tender of their services to enforce obedience." This circumstance, Avhen known, produced so much irritation in the bosoms of those who were thus threatened, that it Avould have led to a civil war, and to the drenching of the streets of NeAV Orleans with blood, if Claiboruc had acted with less discretion and prudence. " It is unnecessary to say," he wrote to Flournoy, " that such tender of service was not accepted. Neither my judgraent nor my feelings approved of the raising of the arm of one citizen against his brother. The detachment of militia at the Magazine Barracks were in consequence given to understand, that against the city corps I should alone direct the force of the law, which at best was feeble, but Avould, 1 fear, in the present case, prove AvhoUy inoperative, from the un willingness of the people to co-operate ; and that, in like manner, no coercion Avoiild be used to muster the militia from the interior into the service of the United States." This determination discontented that detachment of militia to such an extent, that raore than forty raeu deserted in a single night, and Claiborne thought it prudent to discharge the rest and send thera back to their respective counties. "I shall never cease to lament," such were Claiborne's exjiressious of mournful regret to Flournoy, " that this 324 CLAIBORNE AND THE MILITIA, [1814 measure of the Government should have been wholly defeated, and b}' the very people for whose benefit it was intended, and for whose safety I believed it to have been necessary. A militia requisition is at all times un pleasant, and I had calculated on some trouble in carry ing the late one into effect. But I confess that anything like a general combination against it had not entered my mind, I am happy, hoAvever, in the belief that the great body of the militia are yet sound, and, in the event of an invasion, I persuade myself that the city corps Avould raeet the eneray with promptitude and firmness. But' what I must regret is, that they Avill not submit to such previous discipline as is certainly nece;., i.r}- to their combating with advantage. Hence, in the moment of peril, we must place our greatest reliance on the regular troops, and if the State is seriously menaced, a due re gard to its safety would urge their immediate augmenta tion. Among those who opposed your requisition for a militia military force were, doubtless, many individuals who really believed it unnecessary, illegal, and oppress ive. But there Avere others, whose opposition was more guided by personal than public considerations. I have been too long in power in Louisiana not to have attract ed the jealousy of some, the envy of others, and the ill- will of many. How far all this may have been deserv ed, is not for rae to determine. But I am not conscious of ever having Avronged an individual, or betrayed tor a moment the trust r-eposed in me. Pending the late election for Governor of Louisiana ray pretensions Avere resisted with great warmth and perseverance by several influential citizens of New Orleans. I ncA'crtheless succeeded, to the great disappointment and chagrin of my opponents. In politics as in war, the vanquished party often seek an opportunity for revenge. The present was a fit occasion. The requisition was observed 1814.] UNPOPULARITY OF MILITIA DUTY. 325 to be unpleasant to the cultivator, the mechanic and the imTchant, and my opponents found the less difficulty in bringing the public prejudices against the measure to bear against the man. I repeat. Sir, that there were individuals araong whora I had the raortification to find some of my old friends, AA'ho conscientiously believed the requisition unnecessary and oppressive. But among those Avho clamored most against it, are men whose vicAvs of ambition and personal aggrandizement I have opposed, and will continue to oppose, so long as I shall esteem those views inconsistent with the public weal. These raen ha\'e certainly succeeded in lessening rae in the confidence of a people whose approbation, next to an approving conscience, I am raost solicitous to secure. But in their efforts to injure me, I ranch fear that they have also injured a State whose safety and prosperity constituted the first and greatest objects of my care." These are the circumstances in which originated the " circular " to which I have already referred. In that document Claiborne Adndicated the authority under which he had acted; he cited the instructions he had received, and demonstrated the necessity of obedience on his part. " The direction of the national force, of which the militia constitutes the greater portion," he observed, " belongs to the General Government, The Constitution of the United States gives to Congress power to provide for calling forth the militia to execute tlie laws of the Union, suppress insurrection and re pel invasion ; for organizing, arming and disciplining such part of them as may be eraployed in the ser vice of the United States. In the exercise of this power, by an act passed on the 28th of February, 1795, it is declared that, whenever the United States shall be invaded, or be in imminent danger of invasion from any foreign nation, or Indian tribe, it shall be lawful for the 326 THE MILITIA REFRACTORY. [1814 President of the United States to call forth such numbei of the militia of the State, or States, most convenient to the place of danger, or scene of action, as he raay judge necessary to repel such invasion ; and by another act passed on the 10th of April, 1812, one hundred thou sand militia are placed at the disposition of the Presi dent for the same purposes, to be apportioned by him among the several States of the Union from the latest militia returns in the Department of War, and in cases where such returns have not l.)een made, by such other data as he shall judge equitable. Both or either of these laws authorized the late demand on the Governor of Louisiana for a thousand militia. The authority of the first act has never been questioned', and that of the second is acknowledged by almost every State and Ten i tory within the Union. A paper is, at this mo ment, before me,, which announces the march of two strc iiu,' detachments of the North Carolina and South Carolina militia to the Creek Nation, under the requisi tion of Major-General Pinckney, Is it possible that the Governors of these States, and such other Governors as have from time to time turned out their militia at the call of the President, have done right, and I alone am in error? "In 1806, when the Spaniards had crossed the Sabine, a requisition from General Wilkinson (acting under the authority of the President) on the Executive of the theu Territory of Orleans for a militia force was obeyed and, to make up the quota, a draft was ordered and en forced. Yet that requisition had no greater legal force than the late one. . . , . , . . " When it was found incompatible Avith the protection due to the other States to add to the number of regulai troops on this station, the President had reason to calcu 1814.J FEDERAL REn- siderable military importance, particularly in contribut ing to the success of the intended operations against 1814.] ATTACK ON FORT BOWYER. 349 liouisiaua.* It also coiumands that species of Archi pelago which extends in a parallel direction to Pass Marianne and Pass Christianne, affording to its possessors an exclusive control over the navigation of the coast of West Florida. This important strategical point was de fended by Fort Bowyer, which Avas but a very incomplete fortification. It Avas destitute of casemates even for the sick, the ammunition and provisions. Moreover, it was badly situated, as it was commanded by several jnounds of sand at the distance of two to three hundred yards. The garrison, under Major Lawrence, consisted of one hundred and thirty men, including officers, Avitli twenty pieces of cannon, but indifferentl}' mounted. Some oif them were on temporary platforms, and the raen Avere exposed from their knees upward. On the morning of the 12th, the enemy landed six hundred Indians and one hundred and thirty marines. In the evening, two English sloops-of-Avar and two brigs anchored Avithin six miles east of the fort. On the 13th and 14th, the forces of the eneray which were to operate on land were engaged in reconnoitering the back part of the fort, and in fortifying their own position. A few cannon-balls and shells were exchanged between the belligerents, without much effect on either side. Early on the morning of the 15th, the movements of the enemy gave clear indications of his intention to attack, and a very active communication was perceived between the ships and the troops on shore. The conflict was to be an unequal one ; for, as I have said, the Amer icans numbered only one hundred and thirty raen with twenty pieces of artillery, whilst the British forces amounted to thirteen hundred and thirty men, with ninety-two guns, ninety of which were thirty-two-pound * Lacarriere Latour's Historical Memoir, p. 31. 350 ATTACK OF FORt BOWYER. [1814. carionades. Their fleet consisted of the sloops HCrines and Caron, and of the brigs Sophia and Anaconda, under the command of Captain Percy, Major Lawrence, at this critical moment, called a council of all his officers. They unanimously agreed to raake the most obstinate and vigorous defence, and adopted the following resolution : " That in case of being, by iraperious necessity, com pelled to surrender (which could only happen in the last extremity, on the ramparts being entirely battered down, and the garrison alraost wholly destroyed, so that any further resistance would be evidently useless), no capitu lation should be agreed on, unless it had for its funda- raental article that the officers and privates should retain their arras and their private property, and that on no.. pretext should the Indians be suffered to commit any outrage on their persons or property ; and unless full assurance were giA^en thera that they would be treated as prisoners of war, according to the custom established araong civilized nations." All the officers of this Spartan band unanimously swore that in no case, nor on any pretext, would they recede from the above conditions ; and they pledged themselves to each other that, in case of the death of any of them, the survivors would still consider themselves bound to adhere to what had been resolved on." Late in the afternoon, at half-past four, the Hermes came to anchor within niusket-shot of the fort's batteries, and the other three ships took their line of battle behind her. Soon the engagement became general, and a land battery, which had been established by the eneray at seven hundred yards from the fort, opened fire against it Avith a twelve-pounder and a six-inch howitzer. It was soon silenced, however, but the firing between the ships 1814-] ATTACK ON FORT BOWYER. 351 and the fort was kept up -with great fury until halfpast five, when the English commander's flag was carried away by a cannon-ball. On observing this occurrence, Major Lawrence in stantly ordered the fire to cease, thus chivalrously paus ing for a further manifestation of the intention of the enemy, who also discontinued firing for about five min utes, at the expiration of AA'hich all doubts were removed by a broadside from one of the ships, and the hoisting up of a new flag on board of the Hermes. The fort replied with all its guns, and the battle continued for some time without any abatement, when the Hermes, having had her cable cut, was carried away by the current, and pre sented her prow to the fort, whose well-directed fire swept her deck for fifteen or twenty minutes. At the moment when the fire was most intense, the flag-staff of the fort was shot away ; but the Hermes, instead of fol lowing the example so recently set by Major Lawrence, redoubled her fire instead of suspending it, and each one of the other ships poured her broadside against the fort. When the American flag thus accidentally disappeared, the land forces, thinking that the fort was to surrender, hastily advanced toward it, with loud shrieks on the part of the Indians, but a few discharges of grape-shot sent them aAvay to seek shelter behind their sand mounds, and the star-spangled .banner soon rose up again on the edge of the parapet in a still more defiant position. Dur ing this interA'al, the Hermes, having not been able to re pair the loss of her cable, had diifted away Avith the current about a mile, when she got aground, and was set on fire and abandoned by the British. Soon after, the other ships, which had been much damaged, retired grad ually beyond the reach of our guns, and finally disap- ])eared seaward. At 11 o'clock the Herraes blew up, suddenly illumining with her explosion the late scene of 352 THE BRITISH REPULSED, [181*. that fierce contest, on which now had settled the dark ness and the repose of night. The Americans were justl}' proud of this Adctory, for its results were remarkable, considering the disparity of the forces engaged and of the impleraents of war used on the occasion. They had only twelve guns which could be brought to bear on the enemy, and these guns were worked by inexperienced men, who knew nothing of artillery serAdce, with which even sorae of their officers were far frora being farailiar. Yet they succeeded, Avith very little loss, in signally defeating an enemy whose superiority has been shown to be so striking. Only two of their guns had been silenced ; their killed did not exceed four, which was also the number of their wounded, Avhilst the British had one hundred and sixty-two raen killed and seventy wounded, losing one 28-gun ship, and hav ing the other three badly damaged. The humiliation of the enemy was complete, and made keener from the fact that Captain Percy, relying with too much pride on the number of troops and guns with which he was to attack Fort Bowyer, had openly boasted that he would take it in twenty minutes. This victory produced great elation, and was looked upon as the welcome harbinger of future triumphs. On the 21st, General Jackson issued from his headquarters at Mobile the two following proclamations — one ad dressed to the white population of Louisiana, and the other to its free colored inhabitants : "Louisianians, the base, the perfidious Britons have attempted to invade your country ; they had the temerity to attack Fort Bow yer with their incongruous horde of Indians and negro assassins ; they seemed to have forgotten that this fort was defended by free men ; they were not long indulged in their error ; the gallant Law rence, with his little Spartan band, has given them a lesson that will last for ages ; he has taught theiu what men can do, when fighting for their liberty and contending against slaves. He has 1814.] GENERAL JACKSOn's PROCLAMATION, 353 convinced Sir W, H. Percy that his companion s-in-arms are not to be conquered by proclamations, and that the strongest British bark is not invulnerable to the force of American artillery, directed by the steady, nervous arm of a freeman. " Louisianians, the proud Briton, the natural and sworn enemy of all Frenchmen, has called upon you, by proclamation, to aid hira in his tyranny, and to prostrate the holy temple of our liberty. Can Louisianians, can Frenchmen, can Americans, ever stoop to be the slaves or allies of Britain ? "The [iroud, vain-glorious boaster, Colonel Nicholls, when he addressed you, Jjouisianians and Kentuckians, had forgotten that you were the votaries of freedom, or he never would have pledged the honor of a British officer for the faithful performance of his promise to lure you from your fidelity to the government of your choice. I ask you, Louisianians, can we place any confidence in the honor of men who have courted an alliance with pirates and robbers ? Have not these noble Britons, these honorable men, Colonel Nicholls and the Honorable Captain W. H. Percy, the true representatives of their royal master, done this? Have they not made offers to the pirates of Barataria to join them and their holy cause ? And have they not d.arcd to insult you by calling on you to associate, as brethren, with them and these hellish banditti ? " Louisianians, the government of your choice is engaged in a just and honorable contest for the security of your individual and national rights. On you, a part of America, the only country on earth where every man enjoys freedom, where its blessings are alike extended to the poor and the rich, she calls to protect these rights from the invading usurpation of Britain, and she calls not in vain. I well know that every man whoso soul beats high at the proud title of freeman; that every Louisianian, either by birth or adop tion, will promptly obey the voice of his country, will rally round tlie eagle of Columbia, secure it from the pending danger, or nobly die in the last ditch in its defence. " The individual who refuses to defend his rights when called upon by his government deserves to be a slave, and must be pun ished as an enemy to his country, and a friend to her foe. " The undersigned has been intrusted with the defence of your country. On you he relies to aid in this important duty ; in this reliance he hopes not to be mistaken. He trusts in the justice of his cause and the patriotism of his countrymen. Confident thjit liny future attempt to invade our soil will be repelled as the last, he calls not upon either pirates or robbers to join him in the clorious cause." 25 354 GENERAL JAOKSON's PROCLAMATION, [1814, This document did not escape criticism. It was thought by sorae to be written in an undignified tone of anger, which had betrayed its author into the use of ep ithets both unbecoming and untrue in their application. Britons were not " slaA'es," and it was hardly possible to proclaim them to be in this degraded condition, Avithout ranking still lower the rest of mankind, with the excep tion of the Americans. The Louisianians were very un willing thus to admit constructively that they had been slaves, CA'en when living under Governments by which the liberties and rights of subjects were far raore restrict ed, than by the one which has been the boast and the glory of Great Britain since the OA'crthrow of the Stu arts. The word " slave" applied to Englishraen grated harshly, notwithstanding national antipathies, on the ears of Fi'enchmen, Spaniards and other Europeans, who constituted a nuraerous body in New Orleans, and who felt instinctively that this contemptuous expression could not strike England without glancing from her breast to their own. It might be inferred that they were at best but emancipated slaves among the free-born Americans. Hence this address was looked upon by the discontented as a poor specimen of tact and policy ; and there were others who took pleasure in railing at the assertion, so compla cently I'epeated, that the Louisianians were bound in honor to defend the Governraent of the United States, as " the Government of their choice," when it was so well known how little they h.pA been consulted on the subject, and how harshly they had been treated on their first contact with their new brethren — with that great national family into whose bosom it had been expressly stipulated that they should be admitted on a footing of equality with the other members. These censorious re marks, hoAvever, did not produce much effect on the mass of the population. But his second proclamation was 1814.] JACKSON TO THE COLORED AlEN, 3.56 considered more objectionable even by the Avell-aff'ected. It was addressed to the free colored men, and ran as follows : " Through a mistaken policy you have heretofore been deprived of a participation in the glorious struggle for national rights in which our country is engaged. This no longer shall exist. " As sons of freedom, you are now called upon to defend our most inestimable blessing. As Americans, your country looks with confidence to her adopted children for a valorous support, as a faithful return for the advantages enjoyed under her mild and equitable government. As fathers, husbands, and brothers, you are summoned to rally round the standard of the eagle, to defend all which is dear in existence. "Your country, although calling for your exertions, does not wish you to engage in her cause without amply remunerating you for the services rendered. Your intelligent minds are not to be led away by false representations. Your- love of honor would cause you to despise the man who should attempt to deceive you. In the sincerity of a soldier and the language of truth I address you. " To every noble-hearted, generous freeman — men of color, vol unteering to serve during the present contest with Great Britain, and no longer, there will be paid the same bounty in money and lands now received by the white soldiers of the United States, viz : one hundred and twenty-four dollars in money, and one hundred and sixty acres of land. The non-commissioned officers and pri vates will also be entitled to the same monthly pay and daily ra tions, and clothes, furnished to any American soldier. " On enrolling yourselves in companies, the Major-General com manding will select officers for your governraent from your white fellow-citizens. Your non-commissioned officers will be appointed from among yourselves. " Due regard will be paid to the feelings of freemen and sol diers. You will not, by being associated with white men in the same corps, be exposed to improper comparisons, or unjust sar casm. As a distinct, independent battalion, or regiment, pursuing the path of glory, you will, undivided, receive the applause and gratitude of your countrymen. " To assure you of the sincerity of my intentions and my anxie ty to engage your invaluable services to our country, I have com municited my wishes to the Governor of Louisiana, who is fully 356 JACKSON TO THE COLORED MEN, [1814 infoi'ined as to the manner of enrollment, and will give you every necessary information on the subject of this address." This proclamation was looked upon by many as ex ceedingly objectionable, on the ground of its putting the colored men too much on a footing of equality with the Avhites. It was denied that the native raulattoes of Lou isiana were entitled to the appellation of " sons of free dom," and that the colored refugees from St, Domingo had any claim to being called the " adopted children" of the State. It Avas still more strenuously denied that they could, Avhether " natives" or " adopted children," be prop- eily designated as " Americans," — a question which was judicially raised years afterward, and which was de cided in the negatiA'c by the Supreme Court of the United States. Ea'bu those who were the best disposed toward that peculiar class of the population objected to their being raised to the dignity of being de nominated as the "fellow-citizens" and the "country men" of the white race. Claiborne had foreseen, as will be seen hereafter, the bad effect to be produced by this last proclamation, and had in vain sought to avert it by sending gentle hints on the subject to General Jackson. Whilst planning against Fort Bowyer the attack which has been described, and which was so signally defeated, the English had not been unraindful of another point from which, as alluded to in one of General Jackson's proclaraations, they had hoped to derive assistance in their contemplated invasion of Louisiana. This was the Bay of Barataria, which was known by them to be the asy lum of a large number of desperate outlaws, who were supposed to be inimical to the Government of the United States, by which they were proscribed. On the 3d of September, an English brig had anchored six railes from the Barataria Pass, and had sent ashore a flag of truce with Captain McWilliams and Captain Lockyer, of the 1814.] COLONEL NICHOLLS TO JOHN LAFITTE. 357 British NaA'y, as special messengers to John Lafitte and his associates. They delivered to that individual a let ter frora Colonel Nicholls, who addressed Lafitte as " The Commandant at Barataria," and in the following style : " I have arrived in the Floridas for the purpose of annoying the only enemy Great Britain has in the world, as France and England arc now fi'iends. I call ou you, with your brave followers, to enter into the service of Great Britain, in which yon shall have the rank of a captain. Lands will be given to you all, in proportion to your respective ranks, on a peace taking place, and I invite you on the following terms: Your property shall be guaranteed to you, and your persons protected — in return for which I ask you to cease all hostilities against Spain, or the allies of Great Britain — your ships and vessels to be placed under the orders of the comraanding offi cer on this station, until the commander-in-chief's pleasure is known ; but I guarantee their full value, at all events. I herewith Inclose you a copy of my proclamation to the inhabitants of Louis iana, which will, I trust, point out to you the honorable intentions of my Governraent. You may be a useful assistant to rae in for warding thera ; therefore, if you determine, lose no time. The bearer of this, Captain McWilliams, will satisfy you on any other point yon may be anxious to learn, as will Captain Lockyer, of the Sophia, who brings him to you. We have a powerful reinforce ment on its way here, and I hope to cut out some other work for the Americans than oppressing the inhabitants of Louisiana. Be expeditions in your resolves, and rely on the verity of your very htimble servant.'''' It is certainly not possible to suppose from the tone of this letter, and the offers Avhich it contains, that Colo nel Nicholls, of the British Army, would ever have dared, under any circumstances, to address such a comraunica tion to any one whom he considered as justly bearing the character of a " captain of pirates," which imputation John Lafitte had always protested against, and indig nantly repelled as a calumnious aspersion. To this letter of Colonel Nicholls were annexed the instructions given by Sir W. H. Percy, Captain of His Britannic Majesty 's ship Hermes, and senior officer in 358 SIR W. H. PERCY TO JOHN LAFITTE, [1814. the Gulf of Mexico, to Captain Lockyer, of his Majesty's sloop Sophia, In that document he applies the softest and raost guarded language to Lafitte and his compan ions, in relation to their status, and designates them as the " inhabitants of Barataria." It ran as follows : " Having understood that some British merchantmen have been detained, taken into, and sold by the inhabitants of, Barataria, I have directed Captain Lockyer to proceed to that place and in quire into the circumstances, with positive orders to demand in stant restitution, and, in case of refusal, to destroy to his utmost every vessel there, as well as to carry destruction over the whole place ; and, at the same time, I have assured him of the co-operation of all his Majesty's naval forces on this station. I trust, at the same time, that the inhabitants of Barataria, consulting their own interest, will not make it necessary to proceed to such extremities. I hold out at the same time a war instaxjtly destructive to them, and, on the other hand, should they be inclined to assist Great Britain in her just and unprovoked war against the United States, the security of their property, the blessings of the British Consti tution ; and should they be inclined to settle on this continent, lands will, at the conclusion of the war, be allotted to them in his Majesty's colonies in America. In return for all these concessions on the part of Great Britain, I expect that the directions ot their armed vessels will be put into my hands (for which they will be remunerated) — the instant cessation of hostilities against the Span ish Government, and the restitution of any undisposed property of that nation. " Should any inhabitants be inclined to volunteer their services into his Majesty's forces, either naval or military, for limited ser vice, they will be received ; and if any British subject, being at Barataria, wishes to return to his native country, he will, ou joining his Majesty's service, receive free pardon." It is evident that Sir W, H. Percy, in concert with Colonel Nicholls, did not choose to consider " the inhab. itants of Barataria" in any other light than belliger ents against Spain. It certainly did not suit his purpose to acknowledge thera as "pirates, or bandits," The British officers, on landing, met with considerable hostility from those whom they had come to visit, but 1814,] JOHN LAFITTE AND BRITISH EMISSARIES, 359 were piotected by John Lafitte, What passed between that chief of outlaws and the British emissaries is thus related by Major La Carriere Latour, who knew Lafitte l^ersonally, who serA'ed with him under the orders of General Jackson, when Lafitte's proffered assistance Avas accepted, and who may have heard frora his oavu lips all the details of that interesting interview. "When Mr, Lafitte," says Latour, " had pemsed these papers, Cap tain Lockyer enlarged on the subject of them, and pro posed to him to enter into the service of his Britannic Majesty with all those who were under his command, or over whom he had sufficient infiuence ; and likewise to lay at the disposal of the officers of his Britannic Maj esty the arraed vessels he had at Barataria, to aid in the intended attack of the fort of Mobile, He insisted much on the great advantages that would thence result to himself and his crews ; offered him the rank of Cap tain in the British service, and the sura of thirty thou sand dollars, payable at his option, in Pensacola or New Orleans, and urged him not to let slip this op]:)ortunity of acquiring fortune and consideration. On Mr. La fitte's requiring a foAV days to reflect upon these offers. Captain Lockyer observed to him that no reflection would be necessary respecting proposals that obviously precluded hesitation, as he was a Frenchman, and of com'se now a friend to Great Britain, proscribed by the American Governraent, exposed to infamy, and had a brother, at that very time, loaded with irons in the jail of New Orleans. He added that, in the British service, he would have a fair prospect of promotion ; that having such a knowledge of the country, his services would be. of the greatest importance in carrying on the operations which the British Government had planned against Lower Louisiana; that, as soon as possession was ob tained, the army Avould penetrate into the upper coun- 360 JOHN LAFITTE AND BRITISH EMISSARIES. [1814 try, and act in concert Avith the forces in Canada ; that everything was already prepared for carrying on the 'var against the Araerican Governraent in that quarter with unusual vigor ; that they were nearly sure of suc cess, expecting to find little or no opposition from the French and Spanish population of Louisiana, whose in terests, manners and customs were raore congenial Avith theirs than with those of the Americans; that, finally, the insurrection of the negroes, to whom they would offer freedom, was one of the chief raeans they intended to eraploy, being confident of its success, "To all these splendid proraises, all these ensnaring insinuations, Mr. Lafitte replied that, in a few days, he would give a final answer ; his object in this procrasti nation being to gain tirae to inform the State officers 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 their pinnace in a secure place, leaving a guard at the door. The British officers sent for Mr. Lafitte ; but he, fearing an insurrection of the crews of the privateers, thought it advisable not to see them, until he had persuaded their- captains and other officers to desist frora the measures on AA'hich they seemed bent. With this view, he represented to the latter that, besides the infamy that would attach to them, if the}' treated as prisoners persons who had come with a flag of truce, they would lose the opportunity of discovering the extent of the projects of the British against Louis iana, and learning the names of their agents in the coun try. While Mr. Lafitte was thus endeavoring to bring over his people to his sentiments, the British remained prisoners the whole night, the sloop-of-war continuing at anchor before the Pass, waiting for the return of the 1814.] JOHN LAFITTE TO BLANQUE. 361 officers. Early the next morning, Mr. Lafitte caused them to be released from their confinement, and saw thera safe aboard their pinnace, apologizing for the dis agreeable treatraent they had received, and which it had not been in his power to prevent." Immediately after the departure of the British officers, John Lafitte addressed, on the 4th of September, to John Blanque, a leading raeraber of the Legislature, a letter, in which he began with saying : " Though pro scribed by my adopted country, I Avill never let slip a,ny occasion of serving her, or of proving that she has never ceased to be dear to rae. Of this you will see here a convincing proof." He then related to Blanque what had happened, and forwarded to hira the papers which had been left in his hands by Captains Lockyer and McWilliaras, " You will see from their contents," con tinued Lafitte, "tho advantages which I might ha\'e de rived frora that kind of association." Three days later, on the 7th, he addressed to Blanque this second letter: " Sir, you will ahvays find rae eager to evince ray de votedness to the good of the country, of which I en deavored to giA'e sorae proof in ray letter of the 4th, which I raake no doubt you received. Amongst other papers that have fallen into my hands, I send you a scrap which appears to me of sufficient importance to raerit your attention.* Since the departure of the officer who carae with the flag of truce, his ship, with tAvo other ships of Avar, have reraained on the coast Avithin sight. Doubtless this point is considered as iraportant. We have hitherto kept on a respectable defensive ; if, how ever, the British attach to the possession of this place the iraportance they give us roora to suspect they do, they may employ means above our strength. I know * It was an anonymous communication from Havana, giving information of the intended operations of the enemy. 362 JOHN LAFI'TTE TO CLAIBORNE, [1814. not Avhether, in that case, proposals of intelligence with the Governraent would be out of season. It is always frora ray high opinion of }'our enlightened mind that I request you to advise rae in this affair." Within this letter was inclosed another, which was addressed, and to be delivered, to Claiborne. " In the firra persuasion," wrote the outlaw to the Chief Magis trate of the State, who had repeatedly raade every exer tion to have him captured and punished as a bandit, " 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 con fidently address you on an affair on which may depend the safety of the country. " I offer to you to restore to this State several citizens, who, perhaps in your eyes, haA'e lost that sacred title. I offer you thera, however, such as you would wish to find thera, ready to exert their utraost efforts in defence of the country. This point of Louisiana which I occupy is of great iraportance in the present crisis. I tender ray services to defend it ; and the only reward I ask is that a stop be put to the proscription against rae and ray adherents, by an act of oblivion for all that has been done hitherto. I am the stray sheep Avishing to return to the sheepfold. If you were thoroughly ac quainted 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 emplo}'ed the illicit means which 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 1814.] PIERRE LAFITTE TO BLANQUE, 363 dictated only by Avisdom. Should your answer not be favorable to ray ardent desires, I declare to you that I will instantly leave the country, to avoid the imputation of haA-ing co-operated toward an invasion on this point, which cannot fail to take place, and to rest secure in the acquittal of my own conscience," These tAVO letters of John Lafitte the younger were forwarded to their destination by Pierre Lafitte, the elder, AA'ho had found the means not to reraain long in the jail where he was incarcerated in New Orleans, and who added to the package this note to Blanque : " On ray arriA'al here, I was inforraed of all the occurrences that have taken place. I think I may justly commend my brother's conduct under such difficult circurastances, I am persuaded he could not have made a better choice than in raaking you the depositary of the papers that were sent to us, and which may be of great importance to the State, Being fully determined to follow the plan that may reconcile us with the Governraent, I herewith send you a letter directed to his Excellency the Gov ernor, which I submit to your discretion to deliver, or not, as you may think proper, I have not yet been honored Avith an answer from you. The moments are precious ; pray, send me au answer that may serve to di rect my measures in the circumstances in which I find myself." It is certainly difficult to imagine, in presence of the noble attitude taken by these two men, that, culpable as they undoubtedly were in many respects, they could be guilty of the atrocious crimes attributed to thera, and deserved the appellation of " pirates." Claiborne, to whom Blanque delivered the letters of the Baratarian chiefs, with the papers which accompanied them, submitted the whole to a council of the principal officers of the army, militia and navy, which he had con vened to deliberate on the subject. They recommended 364 EXPEDITION AGAINST THE BARATARIANS. [1814. that there be no intercourse or correspondence whatever with any of "those people." Major General Viller6 was the only one who expressed a different opinion. Gov ernor Claiborne agreed with him, but acquiesced in the decision of the majority.* Whilst the two outlaAved brothers were thus generous ly sacrificing their own private interest and the most advantageous offers, to the desire of protecting Louisiana against invasion, there was in preparation for their de struction an expedition which was carried through, not withstanding a full knoAvledge of the patriotic course they were pursuing. That expedition had been got up at the earnest instigation of Claiborne, and organized under the comraand of Commodore Patterson, and of Colonel Ross of the U. S. Army. It succeeded in com pletely breaking up the establishment of the Baratarians, and in capturing many of them. Some made their escape, and among them the two Lafittes, who fled to the German Coast, where they found friendly aid and efficient shelter. Commodore Patterson and Colonel Ross I'eturned to New Orleans with the vessels of the Baratarians and a very rich booty, which they claimed as lawful prize. On the 19th of Septeral)er, Claiborne wrote to Gen eral Jackson, inforraing him of the success of the expe dition, and of the seizure of the "ill-begotten treasures of the pirates," as they were called. He further said : " The only difficulty I have hitherto experienced in meeting the requisition has been in the city, and exclusively from some European Frenchmen, who, after giving in their adherence to Louis XVIII. have, through the French Consul, claimed exemption from the draft as French subjects. The question of exemption, however, is now under discussion before a special court of inquiry, * Martin's History of Louisiana, p. 839, vol. 3. 1814,] CLAIBORNE ON THE COLORED MEN, 365 and I am not without hopes that these ungrateful men may yet be brought to a discharge of their duties. The body of city militia begin to raanifest a proper feeling and conduct, and perform with cheerfulness patrol duty. " I have taken means to acquire information dailv frora the Pass of Chef Menteur, as also from the various Passes in the vicinity of Terre aux Boeufs. But I ara vastly so licitous about the Pass of Barataria. Excuse me for suggesting the expediency of your directing imraediate possession to be taken of Grande Ten-e, the spot frora which the pirates were recently exj)elled, and of occupy ing the place o.'tUed the 'Temple.'" The next day, he resumed the pen, to inform General Jackson that Louisiana had much to apprehend frora doraestic insurrection, and that he had every reason to believe that the eneray had been intriguing with the slaves. " In my letter of yesterday," he said, " I men tioned that many of the fugitives from Barataria had reached the city. Among them are some St. Domingo negroes of the most desperate character, and no worse than raost of their white associates." He added, that he had called the attention of the Mayor and City Council to these facts ; that he had strongly urged the necessity of adopting stringent measures ; and that the city au thorities " seemed fully impressed with the importance of the crisis." In relation to the address of General Jackson to the free people of color, dated on the 21st of September, which I have recited in the preceding pages, Governor Claiborne sent him the following observations, on the 17th of October: "The publication of your address to the free people of color is delayed a few days. An un fortunate misunderstanding between the officers of the battalion of color, which excites much interest, is the 866 CLAIBORNE ON THE COLORED MEN, [1814. subject of investigation before a court of inquiry now sitting. The difficulty wUl, I hope, soon be arranged. In the mean time, I have deemed it best to postpone giving publicity to your address, I cannot disguise from you the fact that many excellent citizens will disapprove the policy you wish to observe toward the free people of color. The battalion already organized, limited as it is, excites much distrust, and I should not be surprised if, at the ensuing Legislature, an atterapt should be raade to put it down, I raust confess that, for myself, I have no cause to lament the confidence which the Local GoA' ernment has placed in these men. Their general deport ment has been correct, and they have done nothing to create in my mind any doubt as to their fidelity. It does appear to me that, at the present crisis, these men ought to be attended to ; that it is not probable they will reraain careless and disinterested spectators of the pres ent contest, and more particularly if the war should be brought into the bos'oni of Louisiana ; but, on the con trary, that their feeling 3 and best wishes would be en listed in sorae way, and that if -we distrusted their fidelity, the eneray might the more acquire their confidence. But this mode of reasoning makes no impression upon some respectable citizens here. They think that, in putting arras in the hands of raen of color, we only add to the force of the enemy, and that nothing short of placing them in every respect upon a footing of equality with Avhite citizens (which our Constitution forbids) could conciliate their affections. To two gentlemen of influence, members of the Committee of Defence, with Avhom I con versed on last evening, your policy of raising a regiment of free men of color was suggested, with the observation that, by removing it fi'om th© State, the jealousy and distrust of the citizens would surely cease. They, how ever, seemed to think that the measure was advisable. 181 4. J CLAIBORNE ON THE. COLORED MEN, '367 provided there would be a guarantee against the return of the regiment ; but that if, at the close of the war, the individuals were to settle in Louisiana with the knowl edge of the use of arms, and that pride of destination Avhich a soldier's pursuits so naturally inspire, they would prove dangerous. Such are the sentiments of men well informed an<^ well disposed, and I transmit them for your perusal My impression is, that several companies composed of men of color may be raised upon the plan you suggest ; but I cannot say to what number. Such as are natives of Louisiana are much attached to their farailies and homes, and I ara inclined to think would not enlist during the war ; but such as have eraigrated from St, Domingo and Cuba may probably be desirous to join the army," Referring to the general condition of the public raind, he added : " A patriotic spirit pervades this State, and I observe with sincere pleasure that you possess the entire confidence of the people.'' As to Lafitte and his com panions, the attitude of hostility which they had taken toward the British, the valuable information which they had imparted to Claibome, and the offer of their services, do not seem to have softened his disposition toward them, and changed his views of their demerits ; for he thus ex pressed himself when mentioning them to General Jack son : ' Since the pirates of Barataria have been dislodged from Grande Terre, they have taken post at Last Island, near the mouth of the Lafourche.' " On the 24th of October, Claiborne wrote to Fromentin, one of the Senators for Louisiana in Congress : " I have made and am still making every possible exertion to de fend Louisiana against all attacks from within and with out. I am zealously supported by Major-Generals Villere and Thomas, and haA'e reason to be content with the patriotic spirit which pervades the State. There are, 368 CLAIBORNE TRUSTS THE LOUISIANIANS. [1814 indeed, individuals on whose friendly disposition toward the American Governraent I cannot depend, but I calcu late with certainty on the fidelity of the great mass of the population. There has unquestionably been of late a change in the public opinion, and I see with pleasure that the best inforraed citizens are pertectly convinced that the safety and welfare of Louisiana can alone be secured by an indissoluble union with the Araerican States." He addressed the Secretary of State, Mr. Monroe, in the sarae spirit, and gave him the same en couraging information, but added : " I must not, however, disguise from you the fact that Louisiana must look for permanent safety to the support of our gallant Western States." It is gratifying to see that, as time progressed, Clai borne's confidence in the people of Louisiana became better rooted in his raind, for, in a coraraunication by him to General Jackson, dated October 24, the following passage is to be found : " Your address to the Louisian ians is well received, and will make a favorable irapres- sion. A feeble atterapt has been ragde in a paper called the Louisiana Gazette to take exception to its style and manner, but I do not learn that a single worthy citizen unites in opinion with this newspaper scribbler. The natives of Louisiana are for the most part a gallant and virtuous people, and I ara proud in the belief that, in any event, they will prove faithful to the United States," As to the address of the General to the free people of color, I have already said that Claiborne had been some what startled by its tone ; that he had mildly insinuated to its author that it would be unpalatable to the white population, and that the publication of it " had been suspended for the present." The well-known temjjer of General Jackson must, however, have precluded the hope that he would change or modify his course on the subject. 1814.] CLAIBORNE ON SMUGGLING, 369 It does not seem that he proved more pliant on this occasion than on any other, for, on the 24th of October, Claiborne wrote to him : "Your address to the chosen men of color will be printed on this day, I Will use my best efforts to proraote your wishes, but I do not know with what success. I have already apprised you of the distrust which exists here against this class of people. I believe it to be ill-founded ; but its existence may, and I fear has, in some degree, indisposed them toward us. The difficulty araong the officers of the battalion of color of which I inforraed you is nearly arranged, and I con tinue to think that, in the hour of trial, they will prove a meritorious corps. Fort St, Philip, at Plaquemine, is in need, I learn, of a reinforcement. If it meets your approbation, I will detach to that post a lieutenant and forty raen of color." Certainly nothing could better prove than this proposition the real confidence which Claiborne professed to repose in the raen of color. The best way to naiTate events faithfully, and to con vey impressively a correct idea of the moral tone and of the manners of society at any particular epoch, is, in my oj)inion, to borroAV the very language of those who have described thera as witnesses, and frequently as participa tors in what they recorded. Under this irapression, I give in full the following letter addressed by Claiborne, on the 30th of October, to Mr. Rush, the Attorney-Gen eral of the United States at Washington : " You no doiibt have heard that the late expedition to Barataria had eA'entuated in the entire dispersion of the pirates and smugglers, and capture of nearly all their cruisers. It is greatly to be regretted that neither the General nor State Government had not sooner been ena bled to put down these banditti. The length of time they were permitted to continue their evil practices added much to their strength, and led the people here 24 • 370 SMUGGLING NO CRIME. [1814. to view their course as less vicious. Measures tending to the prevention of crimes can alone relieve us fi'om the distress of punishing them. Had such measures in rela tion to the offenders in question been earlier taken, we should not have to lament the frequency of their com mission. I have been at great pains to couA'ince the people of this State that smuggling was a moral ofi'ence. But in this I have only partially succeeded. There are individuals here who, in every other respect, fulfill Avith exemplary integrity all the duties devolving upon them as fathers of farailies and as citizens ; but as regards smuggling, although they raay not be personally con cerned, they attach no censure to those who are. It is the influence of education, of habit, of bad exaraple. Formerly, under the Government of Spain, smuggling in Louisiana was universally practiced from the highest to the lowest member of society. To show you the light in which it Avas then viewed, I Avill only observe that, occasionally in conversation with ladies, I have de nounced smuggling as dishonest, and very generally a reply, in substance as follows, would be returned : That is impossible, for my grandfather, or my father, or my hits- band was, um,der the Spanish Government, a great srmug- gler, amd he was always esteemed an honest man. It takes time to remove the influence of prejudice, of exam ple, of former habits. Much has already been done to reconcile the Louisianians to the Government, laws and usages of the United States, and more must yet be done to do away all traces of those improper feelings and sen timents which originated with, and were fostered under, the corrupt Government of Spain. Prosecutions are now pending in tlie District Court against several of the Bar ataria offenders, and, in the course of the investigation, it is probable that the number implicated will be very con siderable. Justice demands that the most culuable be 1814.] SYMPA'rilY FOR SMUGGLERS. 371 punished with severity. But I see no good end to be attained by raaking the penalties of the law to fall ex tensively and heavily. The example is not the less im posing, by circumscribing the number of its victims ; and the mercy which should dictate it seldom fails to make a salutary and lasting impression. Should the President think proper to instruct the Attorney for the Distiict of Louisiana to select a few of the most hardened offenders of Barataria for trial, and to forbear to prosecute all others concerned, I think such an act of clemency Avould be well received, and be attended, at the ])resent moment, with the best effects. A sympathy for these offenders is certainly more or less felt by many of the Louisianians. With some it arises from national attachment, but with most from their late trade and intercourse with them. Should the Attorney for the District be instructed not to prosecute the case of minor ofl'enders, it is desirable that such instructions be accompanied Avith the opinion of the Executive as to the offence of smuggling, and that publicity be given to the sarae. Such a document would, I am persuaded, be productive of great good. It may be I am in error. Some of my countrymen of talents and virtue think differently. But, for myself, I have always thought that as much raay be done with the Louisianians by a raild policy as with any people I e\er knew. Such unpression has always influenced my pub lic conduct. It is true I have often failed in ray objects, but a chief raagistrate, with more talents and discretion than I possess, Avho should pursue such a course of poli cy, could not fail to succeed," These are noble senti ments, and they are expressed Avith a simplicity of man ner and a modesty of feeling which reflects much honor on the raemory of Claiborne, whose benevolence and kindness of heart have already been fully established in the pages of this Histoi'y. 372 JACKSON AND THE SPANIARDS, [1814, A treaty of peace had been signed between the Creek Nation and the United States in the month of August, as ])reviously recorded in this narrative, but some of the tribes constituting that nation had refused their assent to the treaty, and continued their hostilities. They used to procure clothing, ammunition and arms from the Span iards, and sell in Pensacola the ft-uits of their depreda tions on Araerican property, Generel Jackson had de- raanded satisfaction from the Governor of Pensacola, but it had been refused. To make matters worse, the Brit ish force which, allied with six hundred Creek warriors, had lately attacked Fort Bowyer on Mobile Point, had departed from Pensacola, and, after being defeated, had rtturned to that town, whose forts were suffered to bo garrisoned by the British. Moreover, the Spanish au thorities had even arrested and imprisoned sorae Ameri can citizens who were suspected of being unfriendly to the Bi'itish Government. Mackson, thinking that these facts constituted a breach of neutrality and a violation of the laws of nations, con cluded that he was authorized to dispossess the British and their Indian allies of the shelter which they had found in Pensacola, and which they used as a base of operations. He, therefore, asserabled near Fort Mont gomery, on the River Alabama, an army of about four thousand men, composed of a detachment of regulars, of militia of Tennessee, and of a battalion of volunteer dragoons of Mississippi. On the 6th of November, this army encamped within three miles of Pensacola. General Jackson sent Major Peire* to demand that an American garrison be received in the fort St. Michael and Barrancas, until the Spanish Government could pro cure a sufficient force to enable it to maintain its neu trality against the British, who had possessed them- * Lacarriere Latour's Historical Memoir, p. 46. 1814.] PENSACOLA TAKEN. 373 selves of these fortresses, notwithstanding the remon strances and protest of the Spanish Governor, Avith the assurance on the part of the American General that his forces should be Avithdrawn as soon as a Spanish force sufficiently numerous to make itself respected should arrive. On these propositions having been refused. Major Peire declared that recourse would be had to arms. On the next day, the 7th of Noveraber, the attack was raade. The Spaniards Avere too feeble in numbers to make any effective resistance to the four thousand men who were under the control of General Jackson, and the small town of Pensacola was taken without much difficulty. It had no fortified walls, and the Amer ican column easily penetrated Avithout any opposition into the principal street, where it met a Spanish batter}' of two pieces, Avhich, having fired once, Avas carried at the point of the bayonet. Then all further resistance ceased. The loss of the Americans was eleven killed and wounderl; that of the Spaniards still less. Shortly after. Fort Mi chael surrendered, and Fort Barrancas was CAacuated, after having been partially blown up by the Spanish com mandant, who, with his men, took refuge on board of the British ships in the Bay, which departed'unmolested. The object of the expedition having been obtained, Jack son hastened to return to Mobile. Bonaparte, whose fall from the imperial throne I have already mentioned, had many enthusiastic admirers in Lou isiana, particularly among the French population, by Avhom the Bourbons were proportionately hated. When the French Consul, the Chevalier de Tousard, who had been ap pointed to that office in New Orleans by the recently es tablished Government of Louis XVIII., arrived at his post, he found that he had to overcome strong prejudices, and even decided hostility His person was insulted, and 874 'IHE FRENCH CONSUL INSULTED, [1814. violence was offered to his house, frora which the arms of the King of France, appended to its front, were taken doAvn and carried away. Some of the rioters were ap prehended, and bound to good behavior ; but the out rage having been renewed, Claiborne, on the 2d of No veraber, issued a proclamation, in which he announced that, Avhereas it was essential to the preservation of order, and especially due to the good understanding which happily existed between the government of the United States ;uid that of France, that such indecorous and unprovoked attacks and indignities should not be continued, or remain unpunished, he thought it his duty to notify the good citizens and the inhabitants of the State, that the Chevalier de Tousard was to be re spected as the accredited Consul of the King of France in Louisiana, and to recommend to the civil officers of the State to be active and vigilant in suppressing any attempt that raight be raade to ill-treat or to insult the said Consul, or to offer any violence or indignity to his dwelling. He furthermore offered a reward of two hun dred dollars for the discovery and apprehension of the person or persons who had forcibly taken and carried aAvay the arms of the sovereign of France, which the Consul, according to custom, had placed on the door of his dwelling. On the 5th, Claiborne thus wrote to General Jackson : "In this city there are several uniform militia corps of much promise, and ray impression is, that on these, with other companies of the militia, much confidence may be reposed in the raoment of trial There are indi viduals who believe otherwise ; it may be I am in error, but there certainly has been a sensible change in the public mind. There is not displayed by the people at large that enthusiastic ardor which is to be found in the Western States, but there is no symptom of opposition to 1814,] EXTRA SESSION OF THE LEGISLATURE. 375 the Government and laws. A strong hatred is raanifested toward the enemy, and a determination expressed to unite in the defence of the State. You will observe. Sir, that I speak of the people at large. I know there are some disaffected characters, and in this city there are many vagabonds, who, if the occasion served, Avould be disposed for mischief. The Legislature of the State Avill be in session on the 10th instant, and their zealous suj)- port, at this moment of danger, will confirm the Louisi anians in their present good disposition. But if, unfor tunately, a spirit an}thiiig like that which led the Legislature, the last winter, to oppose a militia requisi tion, should again prevail, I shall encounter great em- barrassraerit. But, as I have already observed, a great change in the public mind has apparently taken place; many members of the Legislature have always had American feelings and sentiments; others, Avhom I have lately seen, profess the most patriotic intentions, and all will, I hope, act a part which the crisis advises, and the surety of the country demands." On the 10th, as Claiborne had informed General Jack son, the Legislature met in extra session at the request of the Governor, who, the next day, sent them a mes sage, in which he said : " An English commander has dared to make his first call on the Louisianians, and to invite them to outrage the very ashes of their fathers, and welcome an English array on their paternal soil ! He has added insult to injury, by first inviting us to the desertion of our country, and then by supposing us capa ble of coAvardly displaying at our dwellings a foreign flag as a passport to his protection. I am. hoAv- ever, fully apprised of the profound contempt with which this base address has everywhere been received ; and in the patriotic ardor which pervades the State, I behold a pledge of its fidelity and devotion to the Amer- 376 CLAIBORNE TO THE LEGISLATURE. [1814. ican Union. This ardor, this American spirit, has been tested by the facility with which the late requisition for an auxiliary force of railitia infantry has been carried into effect." He added : " In addition to the forces now in the field, and those expected frora Tennessee and Kentucky, I shall, if the danger of invasion increases, order out the whole, or such part of the railitia as raay be deemed expedient ; but, to do so with effect, the Executive arm must be strengthened, and such funds provided as may be re quisite to procure all necessar}' supplies. In times of public danger no able-bodied citizen, when ordered into the field, should be excused from serving, either in per son, or by substitute. When our homes and families are menaced, we should not coraraute the personal ser vices of a citizen for a sura in money. The expenses incident to all movements of militia under the imrae diate authority of the State must be defrayed by the State. As these movements, on the present occasion, will have for object the common defence, the expenses will probably hereafter be reimbursed by the General Gov ernment, but the State must raake the adA'ance." The object of Claiborne in convening the Legislature Avas " to strengthen the arra of the Executive, and pro vide such fimds as raight be requisite to procure all necessary supplies." Beyond that, their services were not needed, in his opinion. Claiborne, whose views had frequently been thwarted by both Charabers, and who was not on the best of terms with either, particularly with the Senate, felt a nervous anxiety to get rid of them as soon as possible. He therefore, in his Message, gave them the folloAving hints : " To all the subjects which may come under your deliberation I recommend the most unwearied attention. The Treasury is illy calcula ted to meet the expenditures incident to a protracted ses- 1814.] CALL FOR THE WHOLE MILITIA, 377 sion, and I sincerely hope you may be enabled sptiedily to dispatch all necessary business. The times are event ful, and your early return to your respective parishes may become desirable. We are exposed to raany perils. The eneray is disposed to do us every ill, and Avill use all his raeans. We know not how soon we may be called upon to defend CA'Ciything dear to us as citizens and fathers of families. I have exacted frora the military officers throughout the State a faithful discharge of duty, and endeavored to awaken all the vigilance which the crisis demands. Your counsel and example in your re spective parishes will tend greatly to the support of measures for the public good. They will particularly invite to that harmony, mutual confidence and mutual exertion, so promotive of tranquillity within, and so es sential to our security from without." Five days later, he laid before the General Assembly an extract of a letter from Jackson, which gave positive assurance of the danger with which Louisiana was threatened. " Recent information from the most correct sources," said the General to Claiborne, " has been re ceived of an expedition of tAvelve or fifteen thousand men, sailing from Ireland early in September last, intend ed to attempt the conquest of Louisiana. You will therefore see the necessity of preparing for service, at an hour's notice, the whole body of the Louisiana militia. I rely on your patriotism and activit}', and hope not to be disappointed." On the 17th of November, Claiborne Avrote to General Jackson: "It is certainly true that the Louisianians have of late manifested the raost patriotic disposition, and that, if the spirit Avhich exists be cherished and en couraged, we have everything to hope from the majority of this population. The Legislature have not as yet done anything to damp the public ardor. But I hope 878 CLAIBORNE ON THE LEGISLATURE. [1814, this body will be justly impressed with the dangers to which we are exposed, and will warraly second all my efforts. But I fear, I much fear, they will not act with the promptitude and the energy which the crisis demands." Such language from a man Avho had been, Avithout any interruption, the Executive of Louisiana since 1803, and who was supposed to be thoroughly acquainted with its population, could not but produce a deep impression, and will explain subsequent events. About this same tirae, he expressed the same appre hensions to Governor Blount of Tennessee : " But," said he, " we shall, in any event, be made secure by those brave and determined raen who are hastening frora Ten nessee and Kentucky, I await their' arrival with much anxiety," Such was the condition of Louisiana as described in the preceding pages, when Jackson departed by land from Mobile for New Orleans, on the 21st of November. CHAPTER IX. 30VERN0R Claiborne's administration — naval engaobment on LAKE BORGNE — REFUSAL OF THE LEGISLATURE TO SUSPEND THE WRIT OF HABEAS CORPUS AND TO ADJOURN — ARRIVAL OF GENERAL JACKSON BATTLE OF THE 23d OF DECEMBER. , 1814. General Jackson arrived in New Orleans on the 1st of December.* He was emphatically the man for the occasion ; for not only did he possess military talents of the highest order, but his love of country was intense, his energy of character unsurpassed, his decision as prompt as his comprehension of exigencies was clear and rapid. He was, above all, pre-eminently gifted with that precious faculty which Nature iraparts to sorae of her favorites araong the predestinated rulers of men — ^the faculty of subjecting the minds of others to his own by that kind of magnetism which seems to emanate from an iron will. Where that man was as a chief, there could be, within the legitimate sphere of his action, but one controlling and directing power. All responsibility would be unhesitatingly assumed and raade to rest entirely on that unity of volition which he represented. Such quali fications were erainently needed for the protection of a city containing a motley population, which was without any natural elements of cohesion, and in which abounded distraction of counsel, conflicting opinions, wishes and » Claiborne's Dispatch to Monroe, December 9, 1814. (879) 380 THE BANKS SUSPEND PAYMENT, [1814. feelings, and much diffidence as to the possibility of ward ing oft' the attack with which it Avas threatened by a powerful enemy. Various measures had been discussed, but none effectively executed. Governor Claiborne, Commodore Patterson, the Military Commandant of New Orleans, and a Joint Comrnittee of both Houses of the Legislature, had frequently met on the subject, but then deliberations had led to no practical results. There was a multitude of advice and schemes, but nothing was done, whilst the population was becoming daily more excited and alarmed on hearing of the nearer approach of the enemy, "There was Avanting," says Major La carriere Latour,* in his very interesting memoir, page 53, " that concentration of power so necessary for the success of military operations. The citizens, having very little confidence in their civil or military authorities for the defence of the country, Avere filled with distrust and gloomy apprehensions. Miserable disputes on account of two different Committees of Defence, unfortunately countenanced by the presence and influence of scA'cral j)ublic officers, had driven the people to despondency ; they complained, and not without cause, that the Legis lature wasted tirae, and consumed the money of the State in idle discussions on empty formalities of election, while all their time and all the wealth which they squandered might be profitably employed in the defence of the country. Credit was annihilated ; already for several months had the Banks suspended the payment of their notes ; to supply the want of specie one and thi-ee dollar notes had been issued, and dollars had been cut as a substitute for small change. On the Banks refusing specie, the moneyed men had drawn in their funds, which * Major Lacarriere Latour was a Frenchman, and a very able officer. He was employed as Principal Engineer in the Seventh Military District of the U. S. Army. 1814.] ARRIVAL OF GENERAL JACKSON. 381 they no longer lent out without a usurious interest of three or four per cent, per month. Every one Avas dis tressed, confidence had ceased, and with it almost every species of business. Our situation seemed desperate." It Avas in these circumstances that General Jackson made his appearance. His very physiognomy prognos ticated what soul was incased within the spare but well ribbed form which had that "lean and hungry look" described by England's greatest bard as bespeaking little sleep of nights, but much of ambition, self-reliance, and impatience of control. His lip and eye denoted the raan of unyieldinfg temper, and his very hair, slightly silvered, stood erect like quills round his wrinkled broAS^, as if they scorned to bend. Sorae sneered, it is true, at what they called a military tyro, at the impromptu gen eral who had sprung out of the uncouth lawyer and the unlearned judge, who in arms had only the experience of a few months, acquired in a desultory war against wild Indians, and who was,not only without any previous training to his new profession, but also without the first rudiments of a liberal education, for he did not even know the orthography of his own native language. Such was the raan who, Avith a handful of raw railitia, was to stand in the way of the veteran troops of England, whose boast it AA'as to have triumphed over one of the greatest captains known in history. But those who entertained such distrust had hardly come in contact AAdth General Jackson, when they felt that they had to deal with a master-spirit. True, he was rough hewn from the rock, but rock he was, and of that kind of rock which Provi dence chooses to select as a fit material to use in its struc tures of human greatness. True, he had not the educa tion of a lieutenant in a European array ; but what lieu tenant, educated or not, who had the will and the remarkable military adaptation so evident in General 382 GENERAL JACKSOn's CHARACTER. [1814. Jackson's intellectual and physical organization, ever re mained a subaltern ? Much less could General Jackson fail to rise to his proper place in a country where there was so much more elbow-room, and fewer artificial ob stacles than in less favored lands. But, whatever those obstacles might have been, General Jackson would have OA'ercome them all. His will was of such an extraordi nary nature that, like Christian faith, it could alraost have accomplished prodigies and removed mountains. It is impossible to study the life of General Jackson without being convinced that this is the raost remarkable feature of his character. His will had, as it were, the force and the fixity of fate; that will carried him triumphantly through his military and civil career, and through the difficulties of private life. So intense and incessantly active this peculiar faculty was in him, that one would suppose that his mind was nothing but will — a will so lofty that it towered into sublimity. In hira it supplied the place of genius — or, rather, it was alraost genius. On many occasions, in the course of his long, eventful life, when his shattered constitution raade his physicians de spair of preserA'ing hira, he seeraed to continue to live raerely because it was his will ; and Avhen his unconquer able spirit departed frora his enfeebled and worn-out body, those Avho knew hira well raight almost have been tempted to suppose that he had not been vanquished by death, but had at last consented to repose. This man, when he took the command at New Orleans, had made up his mind to beat the English ; and, as that mind Avas so constituted that it was not susceptible of entertaining much doubt as to the, results of any of its resolves, he went to work with an innate confidence which transfused itself into the population he had been sent to protect. General Jackson arrived in New Oi'leans after a fati guing journey of eleven days through a barren and thinly 1814.] DEFENCELESS CONDITION OF THE STiiTE. 383 settled country, and yet, without II owing himself .".oy time for repose, on that very day he revicAved the bat talion of the uniform corapanies of the New Orleans rai litia, coramanded by Major Daquin. These corapanies were composed of natives of Louisiana of French descent and of Frenchmen. They were completely equipped, well drilled, and manoeuvred with admirable precision. The General Avas highly pleased, and expressed his satisfaction to the officers. The next day, true to the natural actiA'ity of his disposition and to his constant practice of seeing everything himself as far as practicable, he went to visit Fort St. Philip, in the Parish of Plaquemine, and to de- tei-raine AA'hat other parts of the River Mississippi, below New Orleans, it might be expedient to fortify. Fort St. Philip was but an indifferent fortification, which had been constructed as far down the river as the nature of the ground had permitted. On that visit to Fort St. Philip, General Jackson ordered its wooden barracks to be de molished, and several additional pieces of artillery to be raounted on its raraparts. He also ordered a thirty-two- pounder and a mortar to be put in its covered way, and two batteries to be constructed — the first, on the right bank opposite Fort St. Philip, and on the site of a former fort now entirely in ruins, called Fort Bourbon. The second battery was to be half a mile above the fort, and on the same bank. These were to be mounted with twenty-two-pounders. The latter, in particular, was iu a situation extreraely advantageous for comraanding the river, and could join its fire with that of Fort St. Philip.* On his return to New Orleans General Jackson pro ceeded to visit that part of the country which is back of * Latour's Historical Memoir, p. 65. 384 J,\CKSON's PREPARATIONS. [1814 the city, and which forms a kind of peninsula bordering on Lake Pontchartrain. At the confluence of Baj'ou Chef Menteur and Bayou Sauvage, or Gentilly, he ordered a battery to be erected. At the same time he had sent orders to Governor Claiborne to cause all the bayous leading fi-om the Gulf of Mexico and from the adjacent lakes into the interior of the country to be obstructed. In obedience to these instructions, Bayou Manchac, a Avell-known and much used outlet frora the Mississippi to Lake Pontchartrain, was closed, Avhere it meets the Mississippi a few miles below the town of Baton Rouge, and has remained closed ever since. General Jackson found that the country he had come to defend Avas in the most defenceless condition. It had a considerable extent of coast connecting with the inte rior through many water communications; and having hardly any fortified points, it was open on all sides. It had, besides, in its neighborhood the Spanish harbor of Pensacola, Avhich, until General Jackson put an end to it, had freely admitted the eneray's ships, and the greater part of whose population was hostile to the United States. For the defence of its extensive shores it had six gun-boats and a sloop-of-war, Avith Fort St, Philip on the Mississippi, and Fort Petites Coquilles on the Rigolets between Lake Borgne and Lake Pontchartrain, on the present site of Fort Pike. Both were thought incapable of standing a regular siege. The supply of arras of all sorts and of ammunition was A'ery deficient, particularly in artillery. As to mortars, there were but two ; they had been landed from bomb-ketches which had been condemned, and there were not a hundred bf)mbs of the calibre required by these mortars. Besides, from the construction of their carriages, they Avere only fit to be mounted on board of vessels, and by no means 1814.] IMPORTANCE OF LOUISIANA. 385 adapted to land-batteries. The Fort of Petites Coquil les was not finished, nor was it in a condition to make an ordinary resistance.* ¦ "Such was the inconsiderable defence," says Major Latour, "that protected the shores of Louisiana and cov ered a country that has an extent of coast of upward of eix hundred railes, and of which even a temporary pos session by an enemy might be attended with consequen ces baneful to the future prosperity of the Western States. The General Governraent might and ought to have been well inforraed of the vulnerable points of Louisiana. Accurate maps of the country on a large scale had been raade by the engineer, B. Lafon and ray- self, and delivered to General Wilkinson, who, it is pre sumable, did not fail to forward them to the Secretary of War. That part of the State in particular by which the eneray penetrated was there laid down, and, in 1813, Brigadier-General Flournoy ordered Major Lafon, the Chief Engineer of the District, to draw up an exact ac count of all the points to be fortified for, the general de fence of Louisiana. The draughts, Avhich were numerous and formed an atlas, were accompanied with very par ticular explanatory notes. That work, which reflects great credit on its author, pointed out in the most pre cise and clear raanner what was expedient to be done, in order to put the country in a state of security against all surprise. I have ahvays understood that those drafts were ordered and executed for the purpose of being sent to the then Secretary of War, to enable the Government to determine in their wisdom the points proper to be fortified. To what fatality then was it owing that Lou isiana, whose means of defence were so inadequate, which had but a scanty white population composed in a great * Latour's Jlenioir, p. 7. 25 586 IMPORTANCE OF LOUISIANA. [1814 proportion of foreigners speaking various languages, and which was so remote from any succors, though one of the keys of the Union, was so long left without the means of resisting the enemy ? I shall be told that to fortify the coast in time of peace were to incur an unnecessary expense. This position I by no means admit ; but I further observe that the war had already existed tAA'o years; and we ought to have presuraed, had positive proof been wanting, that the British, having numerous fleets, and every raeans of transporting troops to all points of the coast of the United States, would not fail to make an attempt against Louisiana — a country which already, by its prodigious and unexampled progress in the culture of the sugar-cane, had become a dangerous rival to the British Colonies. The City of New Orleans contained produce to a vast amount. The cotton crops of the State of Louisiana and the Mississippi Ter ritory, accumulated during several years, were stored in that city which was surrounded with considerable plan tations having numerous gangs of slaves. It was, in a word, the emporium of the produce of a great portion of the Western States. The Mississippi, on which it lies, receives the streams that water upward of a million of square miles, and wafts to New Orleans the annually increasing pioductions of their fertile banks. It is by the Mississippi and the rivers emptying into it, that the communication is kept up between the Western and Northern States ; and by the Mississippi and the Mis souri there will, at no distant period, be carried on with out difficulty, or with very little obstructiouj the most extensive inland navigation on the globe. " All these advantages Avere calculated to excite the cupidity of the British, and inspire them with the desire t)f getting possession of a country which, besides its terri torial wealth, insured to Avhoever might hold it, an im- '1814.] IMPORTANCE OF LOUISIANA. 387 * I mediate control over the Western States. In possessing themselves of Louisiana, the least favorable prospect of the enemy was the plunder of a very considerable quan tity of produce, the destruction of a city destined to be- corae comraercial and opulent in the highest degree, and the ruin of numerous plantations which raust one day rival in their productions those of the finest colonies of European nations. Their other prospects, less certain indeed, but in which they were not a little sanguine, were the separation of the Western States frora the rest of the Union ; the possiliility of transferring the theatre of war to the westward by the possession of the Missis sippi, and effecting a junction AA'ith their array in Cana da; and lastly, being raasters of Louisiana, to impoit by the river their various manufactures, and secure to themselves the monopoly of the fur trade." These strictures of Major Lacarriere Latour, who was an able engineer, and an eye-witness to all that happen ed in Louisiana on that critical occasion, show that the United States which, in time of peace, had treated the inhabitants of Louisiana, from the cession of that prov ince by Fiance in 1803, until its admission into the Union in 1812, with harshness and injustice, and Avith very little regard for their feelings, as I have shown in the preceding pages, had been very negligent in pro viding for theii' defence in time of war. It must be re- raerabered that several of the States, and particularly the NeAV England States, had seen its incorporation into the Union with such aversion as to threaten, in conse quence of it, a dissolution of the fundaraental compact ; and sorae of their raost distinguished Representatives in Congress had even declared that they would forever con sider it as foreign territory. One is almost tempted to su])pose that the General Government had at last adopt ed the same vicAVS, from the defenceless condition in 388 GENERAL JACKBON's OATH. [1814. which it had left an acquisition which had proved so objectionable to a powerful minority — a minority whose delegates were now assembled in Convention at Hart ford in the State of Connecticut, and threatening, if not to side with England in the present war, at least to throw e\'ery obstacle in the way of its successful prose cution. Fortunately the man who was sent for the de fence of Southern Territory was southern born. He was a native of South Carolina, and had grown to hardy manhood on the forest-clad hills of Tennessee. It is still more fortunate that he was equal to the occasion. He did not deplore, in helpless despair, the scarcity of his resources ; he did not write to his Government that he could not defend New Orleans with his limited means ; he never thought of retreating, or abandoning one inch of territory ; he saw that he had to create everything for defence, and everything he did create. In reply to timid insinuations he swore his favorite oath— that well-known oath which always escaped from his lips when he was excited or indignant. — an oath which sprang from a re ligious and not profane heart— he swore " by the Eter nal" that not one foot of the soil of Louisiana should be permanently held by the English, and he kept that oath to the letter. Governor Claiborne seeras to have fully appreciated the raerits of General Jackson, and to have been dis posed frora the beginning to co-operate zealously with him, for, on the 9th of December, a few days after (iieiie- ral Jackson's arrival, he wrote to the Secretary of State, Mr, Monroe, that the nomination of no officer to the command of the District could have been more generally approved, " nor do I know one," said he, " under whose orders in the field I would more cheertully place myself." But, added he: " iu the event of General Jackson's death, or absence from the district, it is not improbable 1814,] Claiborne's military claims. 389 that some contest may arise as to the right of command." His I'easons for apprehending the possibility of such a conflict between State and Federal authority he ex pressed as follows : " At the last Session of the Legislature of the State, by a Resolution of the two Houses I have been request ed, whenever the railitia of Louisiana was ordered into the field, to command in person. In consequence it has been and is still my determination, whenever the danger of invasion becomes irarainent, to order out the whole, or such portion of the railitia of the State as circumstances shall render necessary, and to place myself at the head. It, however, is far from my wish to interfere with the com mand of General Jackson. On the contrary, I have as sured him that, on all occasions, I would obey his orders. I, however, should be unwilling to acknowledge any other officer, either of the regular army, or of the railitia, on duty in this State, as my railitary superior, I do not know how far General Jackson may be inclined, should I take the field, to consider rae as his second, nor do I design at present to press a decision. It is not iraprob- able but the General would rather the President should deterraine the i-ank to which a Governor of a State. taking the field, was entitled, and I would rayself prefer that course. I observe that, if the newspapers are to ba accredited, Governor Tompkins of New York has been vested by the President with the command of all the forces within the State. I do not ask /or a like com mand Avithin Louisiana. It has been coraraitted to much abler hands, and I should regret a change. But, diffident as I ara of ray railitary talents, I must confess. Sir, I should, with extreme reluctance, within my own State, submit to the control of any one of the militia Generals in the service of the United States who had no greater military experience than myself, and less knowledge ol 390 CLAIBORNE TO THE SENATE. [1814. the country. I solicit, therefore, that whenever, in ca.so of invasion, or imminent danger of invasion, I should in. my character as Governor of Louisiana ord(;r out any portion of the militia and place myself at their head, General Jackson may be instructed to consider rae as second in command of the forces to be employed within this State." It is not known what repl}- the General Government ma^e to this communication. Whilst the city of New Orleans was resounding with the clash of arras and full of railitary preparations, the Governor was in vain endeavoring to fill up the seat which had been so long vacant on the bench of the Supreme Court, and to make nominations which continued to be rejected by the Senate, On the 6th, he sent in the name of the Attorney- General, Xavier Martin, but on the 9th he wrote to Senator Fromentin in Washing ton : " I do not at present know an individual who would unite a majority of the Senate. Seven members have voted for Martin, and will, I believe, be satisfied with no other person." Thus the Governor found the Senate as refractory at this session as at the preceding one ; and he did not seem to be better satisfied with the Lower House, for in the sarae letter he said : "The House of Representatives consumes much tirae in debate, and as yet the Legislature have answered no one of the ob jects for which they were called, I trust and hope, however, that they will unite in some measures which the interest and safety of the State imperiously demand." I write these lines when the State of Louisiana has been invaded by Northern troops, when a general from New England is a military dictator in New Orleans, when Louisianians are called traitors and rebels, when their property is confiscated, and all sorts of outrages are heaped upon them by the sons of sires Avho sat in the Hartford Convention, Avhere treason was meditated,, 1814.J LITERATURE IN LOUISIANA, 391 luit found not hearts bold enough to carry it into execu tion. It may not be here out of place to record what a Governor of Louisiana then thought of the purposes of that Convention. In the communication of the 9th ot December to Monroe, which I have already quoted, Claiborne said : " What is likely to result from the New England Convention? For myself, I vicAV this proceed ing with much anxiety and inquietude. It surely pre sents an alanning aspect to the friends of the Union, and will not fail to encourage the enemy to attempt the overthrow of our Government." Whilst treason was thus lurking iu more than one Northern breast, Louisiana was preparing to show that such a crime was not of Southern growth. It is, however, mortifying to a Louisianian to knoAV that a Governor of Louisiana, on the same day on. Avhich he expressed these patriotic anxieties about the fidelity of New England, felt himself justified, perhaps with too much reason, to write the folloAving lines to one David M'Gee : " As regards the literary work you contemplate, I ara assured of its usefulness, and desire its corapletion, I fear, however, that in this city and State, useful as the work would be to its inhabitants, it would not raeet with liberal encouragement. A love of letters has not yet gained an ascendency in Louisiana, and I would ad vise you to seek for your production the patronage of some one of the Northern cities." How bitter is th.- thought that this is true ! How hard it is for the vera city of the Southern historian to admit that, even in 1864, a judicious and frank adA'iser would be compelled to say to a man of letters in the language used by Clai borne in 1814: "I would advise you to seek for your production the patronage of some one of the Northern cities." On the 14th of December, Governor Claiborne laid 392 APPROACH OF THE BRITISH. [1814. before the Legislature a communication fi'om Commodore Patterson, which informed him of the approach of the enemy in considerable force, and another communication from General Jackson which requested him to hold in readiness to take the field the whole militia of the State. Accompanying these two comraunications was a message in Avhich he said : " Among the measures which our safety requires, jiermit rae to recommend the suspension for a limited time of the Writ of Habeas Corpus. This will, as the Commodore suggests, enable him to press hands for manning the vessels of the United States under his orders ; nor is there any doubt also, in case of the landing of the enemy, but it will be found expedient to enable the commander of the troops of the United States and of the railitia of the State to apprehend and secure disaffected persons." This message gave rise to warm debates in both houses of the Legislature. A State, it was admitted, could suspend the Writ of Habeas Corpus in its own courts, but could its authority extend to the Federal courts ? Besides, many entertained great doubts on the question, whether any person arrested by any of the commanding officers of the land or naval forces of the United States could be relieved on Writs of Habeas Cor pus issued by a State court. All knew that Judge Hall, who presided in the District Court of the United States, was of opinion that Congress alone had au thority to withdraw the protection of that Avrit byAvhicIi the Constitution of the United States intends that the humblest citizen shall be raade as secure in his person as if covered with a shield of divine raanufacture. All knev^ that, in 1806, General Wilkinson had treated with contempt the writs of territorial judges, but had not dared to disobey those of Hall. The firmness of that magistrate^ and his inflexibility in the discharge of Avhat 1814.J DEBATES IN THE LEGISLATURE. 393 he thought his duty, made it a matter of certainty that he would disregard the State legislation in relation to the suspension of the Writ of Habeas Corpus. Why, therefore, should the State place itself in the undignified position of legislating in vain, and of assuming an au thority which would be set at naught ? Such was the language of those who were adverse to the ineasure. General Jackson, Governor Claiborne, and many of the military, they fiirther said, are incessantly talking of sedition, disaffection, and treason. But we are better acquainted with the people of Louisiana than those who are vociferating against thera. We have corae frora the bosom of that people ; we have come from every part of the State ; we have witnessed the universal alacrity with which General Jackson's requisition for a quota of the militia hqs been complied with ; we know that our con stituents can be depended on ; we know that no State is raore free from treason, and if we suspended the Writ of Habeas Corpus, we would admit that there are grounds for the vain and injurious apprehensions entertained by those who do so much injustice to Louisiana. We re- member but too well the days when General Wilkinson, arresting and transporting whora he pleased, filled New Orleans with so much terror. Did not, in those days, the President of the United States, the illustrious Jeffer son, make application to Congress for a suspension of the Writ of Habeas Corpus, on the ground that the safety of the country was endangered by Burr's conspiracy ? Did not Congress refuse to grant what the President desired ? It is a safe precedent ; and General Jackson has no right to complain, if we refiise to hira what was refused to the President by Congress. These arguments prevailed, and both houses voted against the measure desired by General Jackson, and recommended by Goa*- ernor Claiborne. 394 louaillier's report. [1814. Louaillier, Avhose name will figure soracAvhat conspicu ously in the sequel of this History, in consequence of hia arrest by order of General Jackson, and who, at this tirae, acted as chairraan of a " Committee to whom was referred the consideration of suspending the Writ of Ha beas Corpus, in order to enable Patterson to impress sea men, reported* the recommended measure as inexpedient. The Committee thought the country aa^ouM be ill de fended by men forced into serA'ice ; and that it was bet ter to induce sailors, by the offer of ample bounties, to repair on board of the ships of the' United States, than forcibly to drag them on board, A sum of six thousand dollars was therefore placed by the Legislature at the disposal of the Comraander, to be expended in bounties, and, with a vicAV to remove from seamen the opportunity to decline entering the service of the United States by the hope of a more profitable employment on board of merchant vessels, an erabargo law was passed.f It is difficult to conceive how the sarae Legislature which had refused to suspend the Writ of Habeas Corpus, on the ground that it could not legislate on that matter for the Federal courts, did not doubt its authority to arrest the commerce of the United States by an embargo law. The adverse report made by Louaillier to Comraodore Patterson's application cannot be looked upon as having been dictated by a want of patriotism, because the sarae member of the Legislature had, as chairraan of the Com mittee of Ways and Means, made the most spirited and earnest report on the necessity of taxing all the resources of the State foi- defensive preparations. " Who has not admired," he said in that document, " the patriotic ardor which Avas displayed in the execution of the works, deemed by the principal cities of the Union and our sis- • Martin's History of Louisiana, p. 846, vol. 8. t Do., p. 846, vol. 3. 1814,] louaillier's report. 395 tor States necessary for the protection of such as could be assailed by the enemy ? The magistrates, the citizens, the officers of the General Government, raanifested tho utmost zeal to obtain the desired object ; their safety and the ignominious retreat of the eneray were the glorious result of their efforts. How does it happen that such a noble exaraple has not been followed in this part of the Union ? Ajre we so situated as to have no dangers to dread ? Is our population of such a description as to secure our tranquillity- ? Shall we always confine our selves to addresses and proclamations ? Are we always to witness the several Departments intrusted with our defence, languishing in a state of inactivity hardl}- to be excused even in the raost peaceable tiraes ? No other evidence of patriotisra is to be found than a disposition to aA'oid every expense, every fatigue ; nothing as yet has been performed. It is the duty of the Legislature to give the necessary impulse, but it is only by adopting a course entirely opposite to that which has been hither to pursued that we can hope for success. If the Legis lature adds its own indolence to that which generally prevails, we can easily foresee that,, ere long, a capitula tion, similar to that obtained by the city of Alexandria, will be the consequence of a conduct so highly culpable. " A considerable force is now assembled under the orders of General Jackson, which will speedily receive large reinforcements from the militia of the Western States, but it is nevertheless true that the principal ave nues to our capital are not in a situation to insure its preservation ; and that, unless we are determined to pro vide for its safety ourselves, unless we act with a prompt ness and energy equal to the torpor which seems to have invaded the principal branches of our Government, that force Avill only be employed in retaking this territory, which must fall an easy prey to the first efforts of an in 396 louaillier's report, [1814. vading foe. The Legislature has been convened for the purpose of supplying a fund adequate to the expenses necessary to ward oft" the dangers by which we are threatened. This is the object which avc must accom plish. Little does it matter whether this or that expend iture ought to be furnished by the Federal administra tion, or by the State Governraent ; let us not hesitate in making such as safety may require. When this- shall have been secured, then our claims to a reimbursement will be listened to." This document demonstrates the zeal which actuated this distinguished member of the Legislature, but, at the same time, considering the source from which it came, it is I singular bill of indictment against the Federal Goyern- Qcnt, against the Legislature itself and all the State authorities, as well as against the whole population. It proclaimed " that the noble example given by the prin cipal cities of the Union and our sister States had not been followed by this part of the Union ; that our popu lation was not of such a description as to secure tran quillity ; that we had confined ourselves to addresses and proclamations ; that the several Departments intrusted with our defence had been languishing in a state of in activity hardly to be excused even in the most peaceable times ; that no other evidence of patriotism was to be found than a disposition to avoid every expense, ever}- fatigue ; that nothing as yet had been performed when the enemy was already on the threshold of the country ; and that if the Legislature added its own indolence to that which generally prevailed, it was easy to foresee that, ere long, a capitulation, similar to that obtained by the city of Alexandria, would be the consequence of a conduct so highly culpable." This censorious report was adopted without any denial of the facts which had elicited such harsh comments. It was speedily followed 1814.J ACTION 3F THE LEGISLATURE. 397 by action; the Legislature sanctioned the loan of twenty thousand dollars which the Governor had effected during its recess, to provide for the defence of the State. The sum of seventeen thousand dollars* which remained in the Treasury out of that loan was directed to be ap- I)lied, under the orders of General Jackson, to procuring materials and workmen for the completion of such bat teries and other fortifications as he had directed ; and a further sura of eleA'en thousand dollars was appropriated to the same subject. Such was the condition of the country as described in Louaillier's report on the 22d of November, before the arrival of General Jackson, which took place on the 1st of December, as I have already stated. It is probable that General Jackson had heaj'd of this state of things. It is known that, from various sources, he had been in formed that the countrj Avas full of spies and traitors.f It is known that he had written to that effect to Clai borne, and that Claiborne had rei)lied : " I think with you that the country is full of spies and traitors." To this must be added Avhat Judge Martin, who was an eye-witness to all that happened at that epoch, says in his A'aluable AVork on Louisiana : "The GoA'ernor, who was not unwilling to increase his own raerit by raagnify- ing the obstacles he had to surmount,, stated in his cor respondence with Jackson every opposition he met with, and did not fail to represent every one who did not think a,s he did, as inimical to the country. Those who immediately surrounded Jackson on his arrival, with a view to enhance his reliance on them, availed themselves of every opportunity to increase his sense of danger," Is, it then to be wondered at if General Jackson, who was «in utter stranger to the population of New Orleans, came * Martin's History of l;0uisiana, p. 344, vol. 3. f Martin's History of Louisiana, j). 840, vol. 3. 398 EFFECTS OF JAOKSOn's PRESENCE, [1814, to that city AAdth a mind somewhat unfavorably preju diced, and that he should have acted as he did hereafter, on the occasion which is to be recorded in the pages of this History ? But the state of things described in Louaillier's report had changed as soon as General Jackson had set his foot on the soil of Louisiana. Indolence had given Avay to zeal and activity, distrust to confidence, confusion to order, di\-ersity of counsel and action to the sole direc tion of one controlling mind which made itself felt every where, and which gave an impulse to everything. Throughout the State, in obedience to the call of the General, the whole militia was organizing and preparing to march to any threatened point. In New Orleans and 1,1 its environs every man capable of bearing arms was already in the field, and the planters of the neighboring parishes of Plaquemine, St. Bernard, St. Charles and St. John the Baptist, had sent raore negroes than the General needed to erect his intended fortifications. In the mean time, the enemy Avas approaching and pre paring to land. The naval armaraent which protected Lakes Borgne and Pontchartrain consisted of five gun boats, with 23 guns and 182 men. To this force raust be added the schooner Seahorse with one six-pounder and fourteen raen, and the sloop Alligator, arraed with one four-pounder and manned by a crew of eight raen. This sloop acted as tender to the little fleet. On the 12th of December, the commander of this flotilla, Thomas A, C, Jones, observing that the enemy's fleet off Ship Island had increased to such a force as to render it no longer safe or prudent for him to continue on that part of the Lakes, determined to gain, as soon as possible, a station near He Malheureuse, because it would enable him tt) opj)Ose a further penetration of the enemy up the Lakes, and at the same time afford to the American gun-boats 1814.] BATTLE ON LAKE BORGNE. 399 the oppoi tunity of retreating to the Fort of Petites (Jc (]|uilles, if necessary. On the 13th, at 10 A. m., a large number of barges h^ft the English fleet, and moved toward Pass Christianne. At first, it Avas supposed that they intended to disembark troops at that place, but, as they continued their course to the westward. Commander Jones became convinced that they meditated an attack on his gun-boats. These gun-boats were aground on account of a strong westerly wind which had prevailed for several days, and which had made the Avater in the lakes uncommonly low. They were got afloat by throwing overboard all articles of weight that could be dispensed with. At last, at 3.30 p. m., the flood-tide commenced, the fleet got under way, and began to fall back toward the Rigolets ; but un fortunately, early on the morning of the 14th, the wind having died away entirelyj the vessels were compelled to anchor in the channel which exists at the west end of Ho Malheureuse. At daylight, the barges of the enemy were ascertained to be at anchor about nine miles from the Americans ; but they soon got in raotion and rapidly advanced. This flotilla consisted of forty-five launches and barges with forty-three cannon and twelve hundred men, including officers, under the command of Captain Lockyer. They had already cut off the schoon er Seahoi'se, which had been sent to Bay St. Louis to as sist in the removal of the public stores. The captain of the schooner, after having bravely and successfully re pulsed seven of the enemy's boats, which had attacked hira, and after having done thera ranch damage, had blown up his ship and destroyed the public stores. The Alligator (tender), Avhich had been separated from the gun-boats, had also been captured while endeavoring to rejoin thera. At the time when the British were pressing foi'ward 400 BATTLE ON LAKE BORGNE. [1814, with the utmost power of their well-managed oars, there continued to be a dead calm, and a strong ebb-tide vvas setting through the pass, or channel — which circumstances were unfavorable for manoeuA'ring the gun-boats. The American commander had but one alternative, which was, to put himself in the raost advantageous position he could take and give the enemy as warm a reception as possible. With this view he formed a close line abreast across the channel, anchoring each vessel by the stern with springs on the cable, and having boarding nettings triced up. Unfortunately, that line was soon broken up by the force of the current, which drove two of the gun boats about one hundred yards in adA'ance. At ten minutes before eleven, the enemy opened fire from the whole of his line, when the action became general and destructive on both sides. Jones was on board of one of the gun-boats which had been driven forward by the current. Three boats attempted to board his ship, but were repulsed with the loss of nearly CA'cry officer killed or wounded, and two boats sunk. A second attempt was made by four other boats, which shared alraost a sirailar fate. At that raoraent Captain Jones received a severe wound which compelled him to quit his deck, leaving it in charge of George Parker, master's mate, who gallant ly defended it until he also was disabled by a wound, when the enemy by his superior number OA'ercame all resistance. The guns of the prize were iraraediately turned against the other gun-boats, and the action con tinued with unabating severity until all the gun-boats fell into the hands of the assailants.* The engagement lasted an hour and a half, and does infinite credit to the American arms, considering the disparity of forces. The loss on board of the gun-boats was forty-five killed and * ( Jones's Report to Commodore Patterson. I Lockyer's to Admiral Cochrane. 1814,] FEDERAL NEGLECT OF LOUISIANA, 401 Avounded. On the side of the British it was not less than thi'ee hundred. The destruction of these gun-boats left Louisiana entirely defenceless on its waters, and per mitted the enemy to land whenever and wherever he pleased. This was almost all the naval defence which had been prepared for the protection of Louisiana by the Federal Governraent. Major Latour, whose testimo ny as a skillful officer and an actor in most of the scenes which he describes I always quote with confidence and respect, says: " Comraodore Patterson, who had served several years on the New Orleans Station, which he had coramanded from nearly the commencement of the war, was per fectly acquainted with our coast, and consequently knew what means Avere necessary to defend it. On this subject he had written at an early period, and several times since, to the Secretary of the Navy. At Tchifonctee, on the eastern shore of Lake Pontchartrain, a flat-bottomed frigate had begun to be built two years before, calcula ted for the navigation of the lakes and our coasts. She Avas to carry forty-two pieces of cannon, twenty-six of which were to be thirty-two-pounders. The building of this frigate was suspended, in consequence, I believe, of the representations of Brigadier-General Flournoy, then commanding this District. From his first taking command of the Station, Comraodore Patterson had not ceased to solicit the Governraent to authorize hira to have that frigate finished. Governor Claiborne's corre spondence with the heads of the different Departraents was also to the sarae effect ; but though ranch was prom ised, nothing was performed. It might have been thought, from the little regard that was paid to the rep resentations of the superior officers of the District and of our representatives in Congress, that Louisiana was considered as a bastard child of the American famil}' 26 402 Claiborne's pitiiy message. [1814. or that to attack her was looked upon as an impossibil ity. Yet the attack raade on us was within a hair's breadth of succeeding ; for had the enemy appeared a few weeks sooner, before General Jackson arrived in New Orleans, he might have entered the city with little or no opposition, there being no means of resisting him ; and however well-inclined the citizens were to defend themselves, it would have been impossible to prevent the taking of the cit}'." On the 15th, Claiborne informed the Legislature of the disaster which had befallen our fleet. This informa tion was accompanied with these observations : " The length of the corabat is a proof of the valor and firmness with which our gallant tars maintained the unequal contest, and leaves no doubt that, although compelled ultimately to strike, their conduct has been such as to reflect honor upon the American name and navy. The ascendency which the eneray has now acquired on the coast of the lakes increases the necessity of enlarging and corapleting our measures of defence." On the next day, Claiborne sent to the Legislature the following short and pithy message : " The moraent is certainly inauspicious for that cool and mature deliber ation which is essential to the formation of laws. The enemy menaces this capital, and we know not hoAV soon he may effect a landing. Every hand must be raised to repel him, and all our tirae should be occupied in ar ranging and corapleting our raeasures of defence. Per mit me, therefore, to suggest the propriety of adjourning the two Houses for fifteen or twenty days," This mes sage was refeiTed to a Coramittee, Avho reported that an adjournment at the present crisis was inexpedient ; that it might be highly dangerous ; that accidents might hap pen, and unforeseen cases raight occur, Avhen the inter ference of the Legislature might be necessary; that, 1814,] MARTIAL LAW PROCLAIMED. 403 should they adjourn, and the State should thereby be en dangered, they would incur the just reproaches of their constituents ; besides, that few members would have time to leave the city during so short an adjournment as the one urged upon thera, and if they did, their mileage in going and I'eturning would be such as to increase the exj)enses of the State, much more than if they remained in session, wherefore the Comraittee recommended that the members should stay at their post, ready on an emergency to contribute, as far as in them lay, to the defence of the country. These views of the Coraraittee were adopted by the Legislature, but produced an un favorable impression on General Jackson. He iraraedi ately proclairaed martial law, and issued with his char acteristic energy the following iron-clad addi'ess to the citizens of New Orleans: " The Major-General commanding has, with astonishment and regret, learned that great consternation and alarm pervade your city. It is true the enemy is on our coast and threatens an in vasion of our Territory ; hut it is equally true, with union, energy, and the approbation of Heaven, we will beat him at every point his temerity may induce him to set foot upon our soil. The Gen eral, with still greater astonishment, has heard that British emissa ries have been permitted to propagate seditious reports among you that the threatened invasion is with a view ofrestoring the country to Spjiin, from a supposition that sorae of yon Avould be willing to return to your ancient government. Believe not such incredible tales ; your government is at peace with Spain, It is the vital enemy of your country, the common enemy of mankind, the high way robber of the world that threatens you, and has sent his hire lings among you with this false report, to put you off your guard, that you may fall an easy prey to him. Then look to your liberties, your property, the chastity of your wives and daughters ; take a retrospect of the conduct of the British army at Hampton and other places, where it has entered our country ; and every bosom which glows with patriotism and virtue will be inspired with in dignation, and pant for the ariival of the hour when we shall raeet and revenge those outrages against the laws of civilization and hu mauity. 404 JACKHOn's ADDRESS TO 'THE OiriZKNS. [1814. " The General calls upon the inhabitants of the city to trace this nnfounded report to its source, and bring the propagators to con dign punishment. The rules and articles of war annex the punish- meni of death to any person holding secret Correspondence with the enemy, creating false alarm, or supplying him with provisions ; and the General announces his unalterable determination rigidly to execute the martial law in all cases which may come Avithin his province. " The safety of the District intrusted to the protection of the Gen eral must and will be maintained with the best blood of the coun try; and he is confident all good citizens will be found at their posts, with their arms in their liands, determined to dispute every inch of ground with the enemy ; and that unanimity will pervade the country generally ; but should the General be disappointed in this expectation, he will separate our enemies from our friends. Those who are not for us are against us, and will be dealt with ac cordingly." This address was signed by Thomas L. Butler, aid-de camp to the General. Fully aware of the importance of the advantage which the eneray had gained on the lakes, General Jack son lost no tirae in protecting every assailable point. He immediately ordered the battalion of men of color com manded by Major Lacoste, who raust not be supposed to be of African descent, but who was an influential plant- er of Caucasian blood, to take post with the dragoons of Feliciana and two pieces of artillery, at the confluence ^f Bayou Sauvage or Gentilly and Bayou Chef Men teur, in order to cover the road to the city on that side, and Avatch the enemy's movements. Major Lacoste was also instructed to erect a close redoubt surrounded Avith a fosse, according to a plan drawn by Major Latour in compliance Avith General Jackson's orders. To Captain Newman, who comraanded the fort of Petites Coquilles on the Rigolets, he sent these instructions : " Defend your post to the last extremity, and in case you should not be able to hold out, spike your guns, blow uj:) thf 1814.] Jackson's military measures. 405 fort, and evacuate on Post Chef Menteur," Neglecting no raeans of assistance, however apparently uniraportant, he authorized Captain Juzan to form, into corapanies all the Choctaw Indians he could collect in the environs of the city, and on the other side of Lake Pontchartrain. He sent expresses to Generals Coffee, Carroll and Thom as, who Avere on their way, to accelerate their march. He earnestly charged General Winchester, who comraand ed at Mobile, to use the greatest vigilance in protecting that locality, as the eneray might endeavor to make au attack in that quarter.* He wrote to the Secretary of War, com])laining of the neglect of the Federal Govern- 'ment in providing him with proper means of defence, but it was in no dejected, mood, and not as a prepared excuse for anticipated disaster, " Should the enemy," he wrote, " effect a landing, I will, with the help of God, do all I can to repel him." He also acquainted the Sec retary of War with the destruction of the gun-boats and with the taking of the Post of the Balize, including all the pilots, and a detachraent of troops that was there stationed. He further informed him that the troops from Tennessee and Kentucky, although expected, had not yet arrived. " But," said he, " the country shall be defended, if in the power of the physical force it con tains, with the auxiliary force ordered. We have no arms here. Will the Government order a supply? Without arras a defence cannot be made." Major La tour relates that during the summer. General Jackson, Avhile yet among the Creeks, had made a requisition of a quantity of arms, ammuniti'on, heavy cannon, balls, bombs, tfec, to be sent to New Orleans; "but such Avas the fatalit}','' observes the Major, " which hajDpeued to be attached to all the measures adopted for our defence, * Latour's Historical Memoir, p. 65. 406 SAVARY, THE COLORED MAN. [1814. that it was not till the middle of January, 1815 (after the decisive battle of the 8th had been fought), tliat a very small proportion of what had been ordered arrived at New Orleans." General Jackson had been so well pleased with the battalion of colored men under Major Lacoste, that it was thought proper to levy a new battalion of the same description. A colored man naraed Savary, who had dis tinguished hiraself in the wars of St. Doraingo, by fight ing ably and valiantly against those of his oavu race, un dertook to form a battalion of refugees from that island, who had cast their lot with the whites when they had fled to Louisiana on being ovei-powered by their eneraies. They had thus given a reraarkable proof of attachraent to the superior race for which it might haA'e been supposed that they entertained feelings of hatred and envy. Savary obtained the grade of Captain, and Avas remarkably suc cessful in his efforts to raise a company. The new bat. taliou was soon forra ed, and its coramand was intrusted to Major Daquin, of the Second Regiment of Militia, who was one of the white refugees frora St, Domingo. Michel Fortier, a native of New Orleans, and one of the wealth iest merchants of the city, Avas appointed Colonel, and took comraand of the whole corps of colored men, who, it must be understood, Avere all free. None had been taken from the slaves. Many of thom had received a certain degree of education, and some possessed consid erable property. On the 18th of December, General Jackson reviewed such of his forces as were in Ncav Orleans, and, on their being drawn up on their respective parades, the follow ing eloquent address was read to them by Edward Liv ingston, one of his aids : 1814.] JACKSOn's ADDRESS '10 THE MILITIA. 407 "To THE Embodied Militia," "Fellow-Citizens and Soldiers: "The General commanding in-chief would not do justice to the noble ardor that has .animated you in the hour of danger ; he would not do justice to his own feelings, if he suffered the example you have shown to pass without public notice. Inhabitants of an opulent and commercial town, you have, by a spontaneous elfort, shaken off the habits which are created by wealth, and shown tliat you are resolved to deserve the blessings of fortune by bravely de fending them. Long strangers to the perils of war, you have embodied yourselves to face them with the cool countenance of vet erans ; and, with motives of disunion that might operate on weak minds, you haTO forgotten the difference of language and the prej udices of national pride, and united with a cordiality that does honor to your understandings as well as to your patriotism. Na tives of the United States ! They are the oppressors of your in fant political existence, with whom you are to contend; they are the men your fathers conquered, whom you are to oppose. Descendants of Frenchmen 1 Natives of France 1 They are English, the hereditary, the eternal enemies of your ancient coun try, the invaders of that you have adopted, who are your foes, Spaniards ! remember the conduct of your allies at St. Sebastian, and recently at Pensacola, and rejoice that you have an opportunity of avenging the brutal injuries inflicted by men who dishonor the human race. " Fellow-citizens of ever j' description, remember for what and against whoni you contend — for all that can render life desir,ibl(! — for a country blessed with every gift of nature— for property, for life — for those dearer than either, your wiv^s and children — and for liberty, without Avhich country, life, property, are no longer worth possessing — as even the embraces of wives and children become a reproach to the wretch who would deprive them by his coward ice of those invaluable blessings. You are to contend for all this against an enemy whose continued effort is to deprive you of tho least of these blessings — who avows a war of vengeance and deso lation, carried on and marked by cruelty, lust, and horrors unknown to civilized nations. "Citizens of Louisiana! The General commanding-in-chief re joices to see the spirit that animates you, not only for your honor, but for your safety ; for whatever had been your conduct or wishes, his 'duty would have led, and will now lead him, to confound the citizen unmindful of his rights with the enemy he ceases to oppose. 408 JACKSON S ADDRESS TO THE MILITIA, [1814 Now leading men who know their rights, Avho are delerniliied lo defend them, he salutes you, brave Louisianians, as brethren in arms, and has now a new motive to exert all his faculties, which shall be strained to the utmost in your defence. Continue with the energy you have begun, and he promises you not only safety, but victory over the insolent enemy who insulted you by an affected doubt of your attachment to the Constitution of your country, "To THE Battalion of Uniform Companies. " When I first looked at you on the day of my arrival, I was satisfied with your appearance, and every day's inspection since has onnfirmed the opinion I then formed. Your numbers have in creased with the increase of danger, and your ardor has augmented since it was known that your post would be one of peril and honor. This is the true love of country ! You have added to it an exact discipline, and a skill in evolutions rarely attained by veterans. The state of your corps does equal honor to the skill of the officers and the attention of the men. With such defenders our country has nothing to fear. Everything I have said to the body of militia applies equally to you — you have the same sacrifices to make — you have the same country to defend, the same motive for exertion — but I should have been unjust, had I not noticed, as it deserved, the excellence of your discipline and the martjal appearance of your corps. "To THE Men of Color. " Soldiers ! From the shores of Mobile I collected you to arms ; I invited you to share in the perils and to divide the glory of your white countrymen. I expected much from you, for I was not unin formed of those qualities which must render you so formidable to an invading foe. I knew that you Avould endure hunger and thirst and all the hardships of war, I knew that you loved the land of your nativity, and that, like ourselves, you had to delend all that is most dear to man ; but you surj)ass iny hopes. I have found in you, united to those qualities, that noble enthusiasm which impels to great deeds. " Soldiers ! The President of the United States shall be informed of your conduct on the present occasion, and the voice of the Rep resentatives of the American Nation shall applaud your valor, as your General now praises your ardor. The enemy is near; his sails cover the lakes ; but the brave are united ; and if he finds ua contending among ourselves, it will be for the prize of valor,.and fame its noblest rcAvard." 1814.J JACKSOn's mhatary orders. . 409 This exceedingly complimentary address to the raen of jolor was expressed in language which, like that of the one he had sent from Mobile, did not meet with general approbation. True, the assistance of those raen was of great importance, as it was thought that six hundred of thera could be brought under arras, which was no des picable nuraber, Avhen the force we had to oppose to the enemy was so scant. But still it was deemed bad poli cy by many to address them in terms which were not in accordance with the inferiority of their social position, and which might tend to raise hopes that could never be gratified. There were some who predicted that it was a precedent of a dangerous nature. These apprehensions, in the course of time, have been strangely realized ; for these two addresses of General Jackson to the men ot color, and the use which he made of their services, were afterward seized upon by a far more barbarous foe than the English, as a pretext for putting in Louisiana the Blacks on a footing of equality with the Whites, and were even quoted as a justification for arming the slaves against their masters. There was a small fort at the mouth of Bayou St. John on Lake Pontchartrain, whose garrison had lately been reinforced by a volunteer company of light artillery. On the 18th, iraraediately after the rcA'iew, General Jackson ordered Major Plauch6, with his battalion, to take comraand at that post. To all officers commanding detachments, outposts and pickets, he gave the follow ing instructions : " On the approach of the eneray, re move out of his reach every kind of stock, horses, provis ions, etc, ; oppose the invaders at every point ; harass them by all possible means." To the people at large he said : " The Major-General, expecting that the enemy will penetrate into this district in a few days, requests of the people of Louisiana to do their duty cheerfully, 410 Jackson's military orders. [1814. and btar the fatigues incident to a state of Avar as be comes a great people," The guard of the city was com mitted to a corps of veterans and fire-enginemen under the comraand of General Labatut, They Avere to occupy the barracks, hospitals and other posts, as soon as the troops of the line and the railitia should be ordered into the field, and the following railitary regulations wore established for New Orleans and its environs : 1, Every individual entering the cit}' shall report hira self to the Adjutant-General's office, and on failure shall be arrested and held for examination. 2. None shall be permitted to leave the city, or Bayou St. John, without a passport from the General or his staff. 3. No vessel, boat or other craft shall leave the city or Bayou St. John without such passport, or that of the Comraodore. 4. The lamps of the city shall be extinguished at nine o'clock, after which, every person found in the streets, or out of his usual place of residence, without a pass, or the countersign, shall be apprehended as a spy and held for examination. Captain W, B, Carrol, the officer who had the cora mand of the navy-yard at Chefiincte, was ordered by Comraodore Patterson to cause the brig Etna to ascend the bayou, and take a station opposite the unfinished ft'igate which I have already mentioned, in order to pro tect her in case of the approach of the eneray. Captain Carrol was further ordered not to suffer any boat to leave Chefiincte for i ayou St, John without a passport, and in the event of the enemy's entering Lake Pontchartrain, not to let the mail-boat pass,* Certain offenders against the law, who were in prison, having begged to be released and to be permitted to * Latour's Historical Memoir, p. 74. 1814.] SERVICES OF LAFITTE ACCEPTED. 411 meet the invaders of their country, their request Avas granted. In relation to individuals of this description, I have already recorded in the course of this History, that John Lafitte, his brother and his companions, had offered their services against the British before the arrival of General Jackson, and had been refused. He now waited in person on the General to renew his patriotic ofters, and this time they were accepted. It must have been a highly interesting sight to witness the interview between the outlaw and the stern chief whom it was so difficult to move from any of his resolves. General Jackson had determined to have nothing to do with those he called " pirates and infamous bandits," unless it was to have them speedily hung, as he thought they richly deserved to be. He had said in an official proclamation, which was on record, " that no confidence was to be placed in the honor of men who courted an alliance with pirates and robbers," He had designated the Baratarians aM " hellish bandits.'' He had emphatically declared that, unlike " the hateful and despicable Englishmen, he would not call upon either pirates or robbers to join him in the glorious cause he had to defend." Notwithstanding all this, the two men met — Jackson and Lafitte — and Gen eral Jackson, fettered as he was by his OAvn words and acts, revised his decision, changed his mind, and hence- fortli trusted to the utmost Lafitte and his " bandits," Some of them he sent to assist in the defence of forts Petites Coquilles, St. Philip and Bayou St. John. The rest formed a corps under two of their leaders, Dominique and Beluche, and they were so far trusted by General Jackson as to be put in comraand of a portion of his ar tillery. They subsequently proved by their skill and bravery that General Jackson had been a correct judge of huraan nature on that memorable occasion. In the mean time, all judicial proceedings on the part of the 412 A STAY LAW ENACTED. [1814. LTnited States were, of course, suspended against those for whose heads rewards had been offered, and who, whatever their guilt raight be, were anxious to endeavor to atone for it by dying, if necessary, on the field of honor. At this time the Legislature, considering* that the present crisis would oblige a great number of citizens to take up arms in defence of the State and compel them to quit their homes, and thus " leave their private affairs in a state of abandonment, which might expose thera to great distress," if the Legislature should not, by raeasures adapted to the circumstances, come to their relief, en acted : " That no protest on any note, or bill of exchange, payable to or der or bearer, or on any note, bill of exchange, or obligation for the payment of money, should or could be legally made, until one hundred and twenty days after the promulgation of the act, " That, during the same sjiace of time, no property, either mova ble or immovable, belonging to successions or bankrupts, or any property seized by virtue of any execution issued by the courts of justice, or justices of the peace of the State, should be sold; pro vided that this delay should not prejudice the holders or proprie tors of the said notes, bills, obligations, or judgments, from de manding the interest which they would or might have legally de manded, if the said delay had not been granted. " That, from and after the promulgation of this act, no civil suit or action should bo commenced before any court of record or other tribunal of the State, nor should any execution issue or be proceed ed upon ; and that all proceedings in civil suits or actions, now pending before any such court or tribunal, should henceforth cease, and be suspended until the first of May, 1815. " That ho sale of lands or slaves which might be passed during the time this act was to remain in force, should have any effect to the prejudice of the rights of the creditors of the person making such sale ; provided that such creditor or creditors who might hnvo no existing lieu on such property, should, before the fiist day of ¦* Prottinble of the Act to grant delays in the cases thoroiu UKintioned, ap proved Decfinher 18, 1814. 1814.] ARRIVAL OF TENNESSEEANS. 413 June, make known to the person possessing the same the claim of demand they might have against tlie seller. " That, ibr the purpose of preserving the securities oi' creditors under the suspension of judicial proceedings, the several judges and justices of the peace of the State, having original jurisdiction, should have the power of granting writs of sequestration, in case debtors, during such suspension, should attempt to remove their personal estate and slaves out of the jurisdiction of the courts, which proj)erty might be detained under sequestration on petition filed by the creditor whose allegations should be supported by his oath, or that of his agent or attorney, provided that the debtor might replevy his estate so sequestrated, on giving bond and secu rity for the payment of any judgraent against him, or any debt to be liquidated by judgment or otherwise." On the motion of Louaillier, Avhose energy and patriot ism seemed not disposed to slumber, the Legislature appointed a Committee,* at whose disposal they placed a sum of two thousand dollars for the relief of the militia of the State, seafaring men and persons of color in the service of the United States. The Committee were in structed to invite their fellow-citizens to raake donations of woolen clothes, blankets, and such other articles as, in case of an attack, raight be useful to the Avounded. On the 19th, General Carroll arrived with a Tennessee Brigade of two thousand five hundred men, and on the next day, General Coffee, with twelve hundred rifle men frora the same State. This addition to the forces then existing in New Orleans diffused general confidence. Besides, all the measures already taken by the Com mander-in-Chief, and the wonderful activity, energy and skill which he displayed, had produced such a change that the alarra which he had reprobated in a recent proclamation, and the gloom, despondency, distrust and apathy Avhich have been described by Louaillier and others, had entirely disappeared. As a proof of this change, I can do no better than quote the language of * Martin's History of Louisiana, p. 351, vol. 2. 'J 14 FEELINGS IN NEW ORLEANS, 11814 Judge Martin, then acting as Attorney-General, and Avho afterward occupied with so rauch distinction, for more than a quarter of a century, a seat on the bench of the Supreme Court. " At this period," says this highly respectable witness, whose testiraony is entitled to so rauch weight, "the forces at New Orleans amounted to between six and seven thousand men. Every individual exempted from militia duty, on account of age, had joined one of the companies of veterans Avhich had been formed for the preservation of order. Every class of society was ani mated Avith the most ardent zeal; the young, the old, women, children, all breathed defiance to the enemy, firraly disposed to oppose to the utraost the threatened invasion. There were in the city a very great number of French subjects, who, fi'om their national character, could not have been compelled to perform railitary duty ; these men, however, with hardly any exception, vol unteered their services. The Chevalier de Tousard, Consul of France, who had distinguished himself and had lost an arm in the service of the United States dur ing the Revolutionary War, lamenting that the neutral ity of his nation did not allow him to lead his country men in New Orleans to the field, encouraged thera to flock to Jackson's standard. The people were preparing for battle as cheerfully as if for a party of pleasure ; the streets resounded with martial aii's; the several coips of militia were constantly exercising from morning to night; every bosom glowed with the feeling of national honor; everything showed that nothing was to be apprehended fi'ora disaffection, disloyalty or treason." Such is the description left us by this distinguished civilian, who himself was a participator in these scenes. Another, given by the graphic pen of a military wit ness, is no less emphatic: 1*814.] FEELINGS IN NEW ORLEANS. 415 " General Jackson had electrified all hearts," wrote Major L.a- tour : " all were sensible of the approaching danger ; but they wait ed for its presence undismayed. They knew that, in a few days, they must como to action with the enemy ; yet, calm and unalarm- ed, they pursued their usual avocations, interrupted only when they tranquilly left their homes to perform military duty at the posts assigned them. It was known that the enemy was on our coast, within a few hours' sail of the city, with a presumed force of between nine and ten thousand men ; whilst all tho forces we had yet to oppose him amounted to no more than one thousand regu lars, and from four to five thousand militia. " These circumstances were publicly known, nor could any one disguise to himself, or to others, the dangers with which we were threatened. Yet, such was the universal confidence inspired by tho activity and decision of the commander-in-chief, added to the de testation iu which the enemy was held, and the desire to punish his audacity should he presume to land, that not a single warehouse or shop was shut, nor were any goods or valuable effects removed from the city. At that period, New Orleans presented a very af fecting picture to the eyes of the patriot, and of all those whose bosoms glow with the feelings of national honor, which raise tl-e ¦mind far above the vulgar apprehension of personal danger. Tlic citizens were preparing for battle as cheerfully as if it had been for a party of pleasure, each in his vernacular tongue singing songs of victory. The streets resounded with Yankee Doodle, La. Mar seillaise, Le chant du Depart, and other martial airs, while those who had been long unaccustomed to military duty were furbishing their arms and accoutrements. Beauty applauded valor, and prom ised with her smiles to reward the toils of the brave. Though in habiting an open town, not above ten leagues from the enemy, and never till now exposed to war's alarms, the fair sex of New Or leans were animated with the ardor of their defenders, and with cheerful serenity, at the sound of the drum, presented themselves at the windows and balconies, to ai>plaud the troops going through their evolutions, and to encourage their husbands, sons, fathers and brothers to protect them frora the insults of their ferocious ene mies, and prevent a repetition of the horrors of Harapton. The several corps of militia were constantly exercising from morning till evening, and at all hours was heard the sound of drums and of military bands of music. New Orleans wore the appearance of a camp; and the greatest cheerfulness and concord prevailed araong all ranks and conditions of people. All countenances expressed n 416 FORCES OF THE INVADERS, [1814, wish to come to an engagement with the enemy, and announced a foretaste of victory," This "was a transforination indeed, and it was all due to General Jackson ! On the 20th, Governor Claiborne, in a communication addressed to our Senator in Congress, Fromentin, in which he spoke of the approaching force of the enemy, remarked : " We, however, feel ourselves secure; there is but one sentiment, one mind; and old and young are alike prepared to meet and repel the foe." The expedition against Louisiana was composed of 14,450 men, forming three divisions; Sir Edward M. Packenham was Commanderin-Chief, Major-General Samuel Gibbs comraanded the First Division, General Lambert the Second, and General Keane the Third, The fleet which had transported these large forces, and which was to aid them with its co-operation, was of proportion ate strength, under the comraand of Adrairals Cochrane, Codrington and Malcolm, These three divisions of Brit ish troops were composed of regiments which had cover ed themselves with glory on many a battle-field, and which were again, on the banks of the Mississippi, to be have with their usual gallantry, but not with such suc cess as they had met with .elsewhere. The water-course through which they penetrated into Louisiana, and which is put down in old French maps as the River St. Francis, was also called by the people of the neighborhood " Bayou des Pecheurs." By Admiral Cochrane and the otluJr British officers it is designated in their dispatches under the name of Bayou Catalan, but it is raore generally known as Bayou Bienvenu, It requires a short de scription, which I cannot give in more accurate words than in those which I shall borrow from Major Laca/r- riere Latour, 'who says : " Through this bayou run all the waters of a large basin of a 1814.J BAYOU BIENVENU. 417 triangular form, eighty miles square in surface, bounded on the south by the Mississippi, on the west by New Orleans, on the north west by Bayou Sauvage or Chef Menteur, and on the east by Lake .Borgne, into which it empties. It receives the waters of several other bayous formed by those of the surrounding cypress swamps, and of innumerable little streams from the low grounds along the river. It commences behind the suburb Marigny at New Orleans, divides the triangle nearly into two equal parts from its summit to the lake which forms its basis, and runs in a southeasterly di rection. It is navigable for vessels of one hundred tons as far as the forks of the canal of Piernas' plant.ation, twelve miles frora its mouth. Its breadth is from one hundred and ten to one hundred and fifty ya,rd8, and it has six feet water on the bar at common tides, and nine feet at spring tides. Within the bar there is, for a considerable extent, sufficient water for vessels of from two to three hundred tons. Its principal branch is that which is called Bayou Mazant, which runs toward the southwest, and receives the waters of the canals of the plantations of Villere, Lacoste and La Ilonde, on which the enemy established his principal encampment. It was at the forks of the Canal Villere and Bayou Mazant that the British ascended in their pinnaces, and effected a landing." On the left bank of this Bayou Bienvenu, a mile and a half from its entrance into Lake Borgne, there was a village of Spanish and Italian fishermen, who used, through the canals which I have mentioned, to bring fish in their boats for the market of New Orleans. General Jackson, having given a general order for the obstniction of all the bayous below Manchac, was under the impres sion that the navigation of Bayou Bienvenu had been stop ped. " This important service," says Jackson to the Sec retary of War, in his Report of the 27th of December, 1814, " was committed, in the first instance, to a detachment from the Seventh Regiment, afterward to Colonel de La Ronde of the Louisiana Militia, and lastly, to make all sure, to Major-General Viller^, commanding the district between the river and the lakes, and who, being a native of the country, Avas presumed to be best acquainted with all those passes." But, from sorae unknown 27 418 I'HE fishermen's village, [1814. cause. General Jackson's intentions were defeated, and be it from the want of tirae, or of materials, or frora neg lect or oversight, it was very near producing the fall of New Orleans into the hands of the enemy. Major Vil lere, however, the son of the major-general of that name, who was stationed at his father's plantation Avith a small force, knowing that the British were hovering on Lake Borgne, sent in a boat, on the 21st, a squad of nine Avhite raen, two mulattoes and one negro, to the village of the fishermen, for the purpose of ascertaining the movements of the enemy. Unfortunately these fisher men had been bribed by the British, to whom they used to carry all the information they could pick up in New Orleans, where they were permitted to come daily and Avithout suspicion to sell their fish. Three of them had even piloted, on the 20th of December, a British captain disguised like one of them, as far as the bank of the river, whose water he boasted of having tasted with impunity on that occasion. He had thus the opportunity of making a full survey of that part of the country, and, on his report, the commander-in-chief determined to pene trate into Louisiana by Vi Here's canal, the banks of Avhich were found, at the time, to afford a firm footing for a landing-place in the prairie which skirts the lake, and a practicable highway to the river. The village of the fishermen was inhabited by about thirty raen. When the detachment sent by Major Villere arrived there on the 21st, they found only one fisherman, who was lying in bed from sickness. The rest Avere said to have gone away the day before, in pursuit of their usual avocation, but in realit}' it was to serve as pilots to the British. The commander of the detachraent ira raediately ordered a few men to proceed to some distance into the lake, and ascertain whether they could see any thing of the enemy. They reported that they had ob 1814,] XBCE fishermen's VILLAGE. 41y sei'ved nothing of a suspicious nature. A sentinel, how ever, was posted at some distance in advance of the la.st cabin toward the lake for the rest of the night, which Avas already partly spent. The sarae vigilance was ex ercised during the whole day of the 22d ; at regular in tervals, men were sent as far as two miles into the lake, and they saw nothing. Toward evening, three raen arrived in a pirogue frora Chef Menteur. They had traversed a considerable portion of the lake, and their report was that no enemy was to be seen. That night a sentinel was again posted near the mouth of the bayou iu adA'ance of the cabins. During the preceding night, the numerous dogs that Avere in the village kept up an incessant barking from some unknown cause, but during the next night not a bark was heard. The reason was, as discovered subsequently, that the fisherman who pre tended to be sick had got up and locked all the dogs iu one of the cabins. Some time after midnight the sentinel heard a noise in the direction of the lake ; he gave the alarm, and the detachment ran to their arms. At that moraent, the moon was disappearing behind the horizon, but by its last gleams they saw five barges rapidly ad vancing up the bayou with glittering bayonets and some light pieces of artillery. The disproportion of numbers was so great that they feared to fire, and retreated for concealment behind one of the cabins. As soon as the five barges had shot ahead of this cabin,* seven men of the detachraent jumped into a boat, to escape by the lake^ but they were cut off before they could push the boat frora the shore. Then they attempted Avith the rest of their companions to escape in different other ways, but they were, some at the time, and others in a few hours afterward, all made prisoners, with the exception of only * Lacarriere Latour's Historical Memoir, p. 83. 420 TREACHERY OF FISHERMEN. [1814. one, named Rey, who, after three days of uncommon fatigue, hardships and perils over trembling prairies, bayous, lagoons and canebrakes, arrived at the post of La Bertonniere on the road leading from Gentilly to Chef Menteur, too late to give timely information ; for the battle of the 23d had already been fought. Among the prisoners was the son of a respectable planter, called Ducros, He was interrogated as to the nuraber of troops in New Orleans and its euA'irons. His reply was, that there were fi'om twelve to fifteen thou sand men in New Orleans, and from three to four thou sand at the English Turn. The other prisoners agreed in the same statement, which seems to have been the re sult of a preconcerted understanding among them on the subject. The fishermen had represented the forces in New Orleans as being insignificant, but as they were men of low character, very little weight was attached to their declarations, particularly when contradicted by raore re liable testimony, according, besides, with the conjectures of the British, which were founded on what they thought strong probabilities. If this picket had been established on the shore of the lake itself) instead of its being per mitted to take more comfortable quarters at the fisher men's village on the bayou, our men would not probably have been surprised, as they would have coraraanded a full view of the lake. It is also to be regretted that Major Viller6 had not posted several intermediate pickets between the lake and his own quarters on the river. This omission Avas rendered more fatal by the unforeseen treachery of the fishermen and by the failure to obstruct the bayou according to orders. As it was, it seeras that a sort of fatality was attached to the spot, and railitated in favor of the invaders. It is due to the raeraory of that high-rainded and patriotic gentleman, Major Villerdi, 1814.] LANDING OF THE BRITISH. 421 to state that a court-martial held on the 15th of March 1815, acquitted him of all blame, although he did not choose to introduce any testiraony in his favor. At four o'clock in the raorning of the 23d, the first division of the British troops under General Keane had arrived at the raouth of Villere's . Canal, where they rested sorae hours. The forces which were destined for the attack of New Orleans had been collecting at He Aux Poix, or Pea Island, at the entrance of Pearl River, since the l7th. General Keane's division, which had thus reached the mouth of Villere's Canal on the raorning of the 23d, had sailed the day before, at 10 a. m., from He Aux Poix. From the head of this canal to the skirts of the woods which lined the rear of Major-Gen eral Villere's plantation, there was about a mile, and from the skirts of the woods to the river about two miles. At about half-past eleven in the raorning, the British troops had emerged from the woods, and a de tachraent headed by Colonel Thornton had surrounded the house of General Villere, in which was stationed a corapany of raUitia, who were all captured, with Major Villere and another of the General's sons ; but, a short time after his capture, the Major, with great presence of mind and cool intrepidity, availed himself of an opportu nity to escape, and, juraping through a window, was soon out of the reach of the eneray, who fired at him many shots as he fied, and pursued him hotly for a con siderable distance. It was during this pursuit that he is reported to have sheltered himself in the dense foliage of one of those magnificent live oaks so comraon in Louisiana, and an affecting anecdote is told of his having been compelled, with tears in his eyes, to kill at the foot of the protecting tree a favorite dog who had followed him in his flight, and who might have involuntarily betrayed his master. 422 JACKSON MARCHING. [1814 At about 2 o'clock p. m. General Jackson was in formed of the close proximity of the enemy and of the position he had taken. With his characteristic energy and clearness of perception he instantly decided to at tack Avhat he considered the vanguard of the invaders and give them no breathing-time. In half an hour after he had received the information, he had thrown forward, as far as Montreuil's plantation, one detachment of artil lery with two field-pieces, one regiment, the 7th of the line, commanded by Major Peire, and a detachment of marines. Subsequently, General Coffee, who was in comraand of the Tennessee mounted rifiemen encamped four miles above the city, the volunteer dragoons of Mississippi under Colonel Hinds, and a compaily of New Orleans rifleraen under Captain Beale, were hurried for ward in the direction of the enemy, and at 4 oclock p. m, they had taken a position on the Rodriguez Canal. At 5 o'clock, the battalion of men of color under Major Daquin, the 44th Regiment of the line under Colonel Ross, and Plauch6's battalion of uniforra corapanies, composed of the elite of the native population of the city, of French origin, and of Frenchmen who had raade it their home, came from Bayou St. John at a running pace, and traversed the city with the utmost expedition, while the windows and balconies Avere lined with Avomen, children and old men, who waved handkerchief's, bestowed cheerful tokens of encouragement with tears in their eyes, and Avarmed the hearts of the citizen soldiers with all the deraonstrations which anxious affection can suggest. Governor Claiborne Avas ordered, with the First, Second, and Fourth Regiraents of Louisiana Militia, and a volun teer corapany of horse, with Carroll's Brigade of Tennes- seeans, to take a position betAveen the Colson and Dar- cantel plantations, in the plain of Gentilly, in order to cover the city in case of au attack on the side of Chef Menteur. 1814,] SKrEMISHES WITH THE ENEMY, 423 In the mean time the British had been leisurely estab lishing their camp on the bank of the Mississippi. Out posts and pickets Avere set out ; toward the city a strong detachment was thrown out on which might fall back, in case of need, the advanced posts which had been- stationed behind fences and ditches ; and the Comraand ing General, having established his headquarters in General Viller6's house, before which he placed in battery the three sraall cannons he had brought with his division, deterrained to wait for his expected reinforcements, with his left resting on the river, and his right on the swamp and forest from which he had just emerged. About four o'clock, a picket of five mounted riflemen, belonging to the dra goons of Feliciana, Avho had been sent to reconnoitre, having approached the enemy with too rash daring, re ceived a well-directed fire of musketry from a British outpost concealed behind a fence on the boundary of Lacoste's and Laronde's plantations, by which they had one horse killed and two men wounded. Colonel Haynes, with Hinds' Mississippi troop of horse, composed of one hundred and seven men, next made his appearance ; but, not being able to proceed beyond the strong advance which the British had thrown forward on the road to the city, he could not make a correct estimate of the strength of the forces which had landed. It was then that a negro was arrested, who had been sent by the British with printed copies of a proclaraation in French and Spanish, nearly in the following lines : " Louisianians, reraain quiet in your homes ; your slaves shall be pre served to you, and your property respected. We make war only against Americans." This was signed by Ad miral Cochrane and Major-General Keane. The sarae proclamation had been stuck up on the fences all along then^ad below Laronde's plantation.* In confirma- * Lacarriere Latour's Historical Memoir, p. 91. 424 ATTACK BY THE CAROLINA, [1814 tion of their benevolent intentions for the native ])opula- tion, they had begur to make it known by every means in their power that they had on board of their fleet, as a sort of fiiends, guests, or spectators accompanying the expedition, three natives of Louisiana, then officers in the Spanish army, and whose names were Reggio, Guille- mard and Grandpr6, At about seven o'clock p, m., night having completely set in, a part of the British troops, exhausted by fatigue, had lain down in their bivouacs in perfect confidence and security ; others in the camp, and some pickets of the outposts, had lighted up large fires, at which they were cooking their suppers. At that moment a vessel made her appearance, gliding down the river with the current. She was frequently hailed by the British sen tinels, but no answer was returned. It was the United •States armed schooner Carolina, comraanded by Captain Henley, and having on board Commodore Patterson, who, in obedience to the orders of General Jackson, had hur ried from Bayou St, John, where he had been examining the batteries erecting by the navy, under Capt. Henley, His instructions were to anchor abreast of the enemy's camp and open fire upon them, whilst General Jackson should attack them on land. With the aid of sweeps and a strong scope of cable the ship sheered close ashore at the designated spot, and anchored ouietly and silftntly, whilst her manoeuvres were examined with wondering curiosity by about a hundred of unsuspecting English men who had taken her for a coramon boat plying on the Mississippi. Suddenly the stern and measured voice of coramand was heard, uttering distinctly these words : " Now, boys, give it to them for the honor of Araerica," Then the vesssel poured a heavy fire from her starboard batteries and small-arms, Avhich was returned raost spir itedly by the eneray with Congreve rockets and mus- 1814.] ATTACK BY THE CAROLINA, 425 ketry frora their whole force, when, after about forty min utes of raost incessant fire, the eneray was silenced ; but although it was too dark to see anything on shore,* the fire frora the ship was continued until nine o'clock, on what was supposed to be the enemy's left flank, whilst engaged with our troops, as I shall presently describe. No injury was done to the schooner, nor to any of her crew, whilst it is believed that the British suffered a loss of about a hundred men frora her fire. It is strange that Major-General Keane, in his report to Major-General Packenham, should have stated that "he was attacked by a large schooner and two gun-vessels, which had an chored abreast of the fires of his camp." There could be no possibility of mistaking one ship for three, partic ularly by so cool and so brave a man as Colonel Thorn ton, who, " in the most prompt and judicious manner, placed his brigade under the inward slope of the bank of the river," and by so experienced an officer as Lieuten ant-Colonel Brooke, who, "with the 4th Regiment, took shelter behind sorae buildings which were near at hand." General Keane adds: "This raovement was so rapid that the troops suffered no more than one casualty." It is fair to presume that this statement was as erroneous as that which he made concerning the number of the attacking vessels. Whilst this engagement was going on between the Carolina and the British, the land attack began as it had been preconcerted, it having been understood that the fire f^om the Carolina was to be the signal. At five o'clock. General Jackson had put hiraself at the head of all his available forces, which, he says in a dispatch to the Secretary of War, " did not exceed fifteen hur.di-ed men, with an artillery composed of only two six-pound ers," although it appears that he had in reality tAvo • Commodore Patterson's dispatch to the Secretary of the Navy. 426 ATTACK BSr GENERAL JACKSON. [1814. thousand one hundred and thirty-one raen, of whora about eighteen hundred were engaged, * At seven o'clock. General Jackson had arrived near the eneray's encampment, which he estimated at three thousand strong, drawn up in echelons half a mile on the river bank, and extending their right wing nearly to the woods. The American General iraraediately raade his dispositions to attack. He ordered General Coffee, who had about six hundred raen under his coramand, to turn the British right, Avhilst with the residue of his force he would attack his left near the river, which was his strongest position. Colonel De Laronde, the owner of the plantation on which our troops were formed, and . who therefore knew every inch of the ground, was or dered by General Jackson to accompany General Coffee as a guide. Colonel Piatt, quartermaster-general, with a company of the ScA'enth Regiment, comraanded by Lieu tenant McKlelland, was the first to drive the eneray's outposts on the high road near the river ; but the Brit ish having received reinforceraents, and being now about three hundred strong, resuraed their former position, and kept up a brisk fire of musketry against our detachment, who as briskly returned it. Colonel Pia,tt received a wound in the leg, Lieutenant McKlelland and a sergeant were killed, and a few privates wounded. In the mean time, the Seventh Regiment of the line, coming to the support of the corps thus engaged, had advanced by heads of companies, parallel to the right resting on the high road near the river, until within one hundred and fifty yards, where it formed in battalion before the eneray, with whom it instantly exchanged a very brisk and close fire.f The Forty-fourth came up at the same time, formed on the left of the Seventh, which had begun the * Latour's Historical Memoir, p. 106. f Latour's Historical Memoir, p, 96. 1814.] BATTLE OF THE 23d DECEMBER. 427 action, and, on the right of the artillery, the marines were drawn up on the river bank. The engagement now be- carae general on both sides. The enemy, seeing that he could not make our troops give way, attempted to flank us on our left about three hundred yards from the river, and the Forty-fourth, com manded by Captain Baker, had already begun to oblique to meet the flanking column of the enemy, when Major Plauche's battalion, with Major Daquin's battalion of colored raen, and a sraall nuraber of Indians under Cap tain Juzan, advanced to raeet the raoveraent of the Brit ish, with their right a little in the rear of the Forty-fourth, and their left resting on the angle of Laronde's garden. The enemy's column, which had advanced silently in the dark to flank the Forty-fourth, almost stumbled within pistol-shot on the extremity of Daquin's battalion, and instantly a well-sustained fire began, and was warraly kept up on both sides. Plauche's battalion, which was now between the Forty -fourth and Daquin's colored men, and therefore forming the centre, advanced in close col umn and deployed under the enemy's fire, which ex tended along our whole front from the bank of the river to Laronde's garden, where it formed a kind of angle or curve, on account of the attempted fianking movement. At this moment some confusion occurred, because sorae of the men of Plauche's battalion mistook the Forty- fourth for the English, and fired into thera, but the dis order was soon repaired and already were our troops, carried away by their martial enthusiasm, clamoring from rank to rank to charge with the bayonet, and al ready was Plauch^ giving the desired order, when it was counterraanded by Colonel Ross, who had the superior coramand of the two battalions, and who inopportunely came up in tirae to check this able and judicious ma noeuvre. Had it been made ; had Plauche's battalion 428 BATTLE OF THE 23d DECEMBER [1814. advanced to tho charge, observes a competent military critic,* the enemy's retreat would have been cut off on his right, and lie would have been completely sur rounded by General Coffee's brigade, which was advanc ing in his rear, by Plauche's battalion on his left, Da quin's in front, and Laronde's great hedge of orange-trees on the right ; so that most of that column would have been compelled to lay down their arms. As it was, the enemy gradually gave way, and retired in safety, favored by the darkness which was increased by a rising fog, and the sraoke which a light breeze blew full in the face of our men. The British must have retreated with the conviction that their hopes of neutrality on the part of the French and of the natiA'cs of Louisiana were en tirely frustrated, for they heard everywhere, during the engagement, the French words of command with which they had become so familiar on the European battle-fields. Whilst this was going on, our two six-pounders had been playing successfully upon the British, who attempt ed to seize them ; but the marines rushed to the rescue on the right, and a close and rapid fire from the Seventh of the line, on the left, effectually kept them off. It was, however, a critical moment, for the British attacked with their usual impetuous gallantry. But General Jackson in person, in advance of all who were near him, within pistol-shot of the enemy, in the midst of a shower of bullets, was spiriting and urging on the ma rines and the men of the Seventh. Animated by such a voice, and with such an exaraple before their eyes, our men could not but act heroically, and the enemy's charge on the artillery was repulsed with a heavy loss on his side. While such were the operations on our right. Genera] Coffee's Division on our Ifeft had attempted to execute * Latour's Memoir, p. 110. 1814.] BATTLE OF THE 23d DECEMBER. 429 the movement of flanking the enemy's right near the woods and swamp. Aj-riving at a ditch and a fence separating Laronde's plantation from Lacoste's, on his way to Villere's plantation on which Keane had estab lished his camp, and which was next to Laronde's, Gen eral Coffee ordered his riflemen to dismount, and left one hundred of thera to take care of the horses and have them ready when wanted. He then with the rest of his troops pushed forward, followed by Capt, Beale's Or leans Riflemen, and by the Mississippi dragoons under Hinds, numbering one hundred and seven raen. But this detachment of cavafry, finding that it was impossi ble for them to manoeuvre in fields cut up with ditches at very close intervals, remained drawn up on the edge of a ditch in the middle of Lacoste's plantation. Cof fee moved on rapidly after having ordered his men to advance in profound silence, and to fire without order, taking deliberate aim with their utmost skill. He knew from experience what that skill was, and what destruc tion it would produce. He briskly drove the enemy's outposts before him until he met the Eighty-fifth drawn up on Lacoste's plantation, but on the first fire of the Tennesseeans, that regiment fell back toward their camp behind an old levee near the river. About that time General Coffee discovered that 'scA'cral parties of the eneray were posted amoug Lacoste's negro huts, and ordered his men to drive them out, which was soon effected. These negro huts long exhibited evident proofs of the unerring aim of the gallant Tennesseeans, In one spot particularly were seen half a dozen marks of their balls in a diameter of four inches, which were probably all fired at the sarae object. Some British soldiers were killed or taken prisoners in endeavoring to es cape toward the woods, in a direction opposite to their camp ; " so true was it," as observed by Major 430 BATTLE OF THE 23d DECEMBER. [1814 Latour, "that the British troops were struck with con^ sternation ou being attacked in so vigorous, judicious and unexpected a manner," Captain Beale's Rifleraen, having becorae separated from Coffee's Division, ad vanced within Villere's plantation, penetrated into tha very camp of the enemy, and after having made several prisoners, were attempting to rejoin General Coffee, whose movement had been steady frora our left to our right, when unfortunately, through a mistake owing to the darkness of the night, some of these intrepid men fell among a strong body of British troops who were just arriving from the Lake, and raoving rap idly from the woods toward their camp. They took those troops for Coffee's Division, and were captured. The rest of the corapany had succeeded in retreating to our lines with several prisoners.* General Coffee's Division was now maintaining its position in front of the old levee on Lacoste's planta tion, where it continued to keep up a galling and well- directed fire on the troops it had driven toward the river, and which it thus exposed to the fire of the Caro lina. It was half after nine o'clock, and the enemy, who certainly had got the worst of the battle, finding his position, if not untenable, at least dangerous, fell back to his camp on Villere's plantation, where he passed the night under arras and without fire. General Coffee, aAvare of the retreat of the eneray, and thinking it prudent not to reraain in a position which exposed hira to the broadsides of the Carolina, when, owing to the dark ness, friends could not be distinguished frora foes, fell back also, and took a position for the night in front of Laronde's garden, on the left of the other troops. When this engageraent began on the plain extending from the river to the swamp, the second division of British troops » Latour's Memoirs, p, 99, 1814.] BATTLE OF THE 23d DECEMBER. 431 Avere arriving at the fishermen's village. They Avere disembarking, when they heard the firing Avhich an nounced to them that their first division was engaged. Admirals Cochrane and Malcolm, who were present, hurried the disembarkation of the troops, and pushed thera forAvard with such rapidity that, in less than an hour, a considerable portion of them had reached the scene of action, in which they were enabled to take an active part. Although thus reinforced, the enemy, after retreating to their camp, were very much alarmed at the prospect of being cut off from the only communica tion they had through Villere's canal with their fleet, and took every precaution to prevent such a disaster. Such were their apprehensions,* that they posted double lines of sentries, so that, in walking in a contrary direc tion, they met, and crossed each other. In this battle the British artillery consisted only of two three-pounders. They went into it with about eighteen hundred men, but with the reinforceraents Avhich they received before it was over, the British force engaged maybe estimated at two thousand five hundred men. There was little method or system observed in the course of this action, on account of the obscurity of the night and the nature of the ground, which was intersected with ditches and fences. The difficulty on the part of the combatants to ascertain their respective positions natui'ally produced a good deal of confusion. There could not be any concert of action; detachments and small bodies of men, being accidentally separated from the larger corps they belonged to, acted for themselves according to circumstances. It was a series of duels between regiments, battalions, companies, squads, and even single men. There was a great deal of hand-to- • Latour's Memoir, p, 100. 432 UA'l'lXE OF THE 23d DECEMBER. [1814. hand fighting, and much individual prowess Avas dis- [)layed. In such & melee many a lamentable mistake was made, and friends fired at friends on repeated occa sions. Major-General Keane, in his report of the 26th December to the Commander-in-Chief, Sir Edward Packenham, says, particularly in relation to the conflict between his troops and Coffee's Tennesseeans and Beale's Orleans Riflemen : " A more extraordinary conflict has perhaps never occurred ; absolutely hand-to-hand, both officers and men." He erroneously estimates Gen eral Jackson's forces in the battle at five thousand men, which may be accounted for on the ground that the British took every uniform company of the Louisiana railitia for a battalion, as each of them wore a different uniform. But another error Avhich cannot be so easily explained is, that he claimed to have remained master of the battle-field; which is not the truth. General Jackson, with much' more correctness, says in his report to the Secretary of War dated on the 27th of December i " There can be but little doubt that we should have succeeded, on that occasion, with our in ferior force, in destroying or capturing the enemy, had not a thick fog which rose about eight o'clock occasion ed some confusion araong the different corps. Fearing the consequences, under this circurastance, of the further prosecution of the night attack with troops then acting together for the first tirae, I contented rayself with lying on the field that night." The fact is that General Keane's report is written with remarkable inaccuracy, for he states that the battle began at eight and ended at twelve, whilst it is beyond doubt that it began at seven and was entirely over at half-past nine. The tirae of its duration, according to his statement, is as apocryphal as the A'ictory he clairas. The loss of the eneray in this aff'air was about four hundred. Ours was 24 killed, 1814.J Jackson's report, 433 115 wounded, officers included, and 74 prisoners — ^in all 213. The death of Colonel Lauderdale, of General Coffee's brigade of mounted riflemen, was particularly regretted. He fell at the post of honor, leaving the reputation of a brave and accomplished officer. In his official report on this battle. General -lackson uses the following language : " In this affair the whole corps under my coramand deserve the greatest credit. The best compliment I can pay to General Coffee and his brigade, is to say, they behaved as they have always done while under my command. The 1th, led by Major Peire, and the 44th, commanded by Colonel Ross, distinguished themselves. The battalion of city militia, commanded by Major Plauche, realized my anticipations, and behaved like veterans; Savary's volunteers manifested great bravery ; and the company of city riflemen, hav ing penetrated into the midst of the enemy's camp, were surround ed, and fought their way out with the greatest heroism, bringing with them a nuraber of prisoners. The two field-pieces were well served by the oflicer commanding them. "All my ofiicerB in the line did their duty, and I have every reason to be satisfied with the whole of my field and staff. Colo nels Butler and Piatt, and M.ajor Chotard, by their intrepidity, saved the artillery. Colonel Ilaynes was everywhere that duty or danger called. I was deprived of the services of one of my aids, Captain Butler, whom I was obliged to station, to his great regret, in town. Captain Reid, my other aid, and Messrs. Livingston, Duplessis and Davezac, who had volunteered their services, faced danger wherever it was to be met, and carried my orders with the utmost promptitude. Colonel De Laronde, Major Villere of the Louisiana militia. Major Latour of Engineers, having no command, volunteered their services, as did Drs. Kerr and Flood, and were of great assistance to me." A detachment of the Louisiana drafted militia, three hundred and fifty men strong, under the comraand of Brigadier-General David Morgan, was posted at the English Turn, below Villere's plantation. It was about one o'clock in the afternoon when they becarae aware of the appearance of the British on the bank of the river, 28 434 general d. morgan's corps. [1814, one hour sooner than the news reached General Jackson. The men ran to their arms, and both privates and offi cers were clamorous to be led to meet the foe. But General Morgan, in the absence of orders from head quarters, and acting under the irapression that it would be better to wait for sorae indication of what General Jackson intended to do, refused to gratify the iraportuni ties of his subordinates, whose impatience at their inac tivity increased every hour. But when they heard the roar of the artilleiy and the discharges of the musketry, it became impossible to restrain their ardor any longer, and the consent of General Morgan to their marching instantly was hailed with universal acclamation. Full of enthusiasm, they pushed forward so rapidly, that the action Avas at the hottest when they arrived at the spot where the road which leads to Terre aux Boeufs diverges from the one which runs along the bank of the riA'er, and they continued to advance, preceded by two pickets, the one on the high road, and the other in the fields near the woods. On reaching Jumonville's plantation, which preceded Villere's plantation, our pickets which were coraing up on the high road fired at a party of the enemy posted at a bridge thrown over a canal running perpendicularly to the road. The British, after having returned the fire, retired behind the canal. It Avas now half-past eleven, and the battle between Jackson's forces and Keane's had ceased for two hours. Vain efforts were made to reconnoitre, and to ascertain the strength of the enemy. The obscurity of the night was such, and the danger of falling into some arabuscade was so probable, that General Morgan ordered his battalion to take a po sition in a neighboring field, where it reraained until about three the next morning, when General Morgan held a council of war, in which it was deemed expedient by the officers, on account of their ignorance of what 1814,] GENERAL D., MOEGAn's CORPS. 435 had become of our main forces under General Jackson, to retreat to their former position at the English Turn, where they arrived early on the morning of the 24th, after fatiguing raarches through mud and darkness. Sev eral soldiers belonging to this battalion, who had just left the hospital to march against the enemy, had been obliged to remain behind from exhaustion, when the battalion retreated. At daybreak they could recon noitre to some extent, and on their return they reported that in the same field in Avhich the battalion had formed in the night, there was, within a short distance, a British corps of six hundred men,* Avho, probably thinking the Americans stronger than they were, had not dared to attack them. The discharges of artillei'y and musketry were as dis tinctly heard in New Orleans, whilst the battle Avas going on, as if the event had taken place in its suburbs Describing the condition of the city during this period of suspense and anxiety, Judge Martin, who witnessed all that occurred, who, in his History of Louisiana, does full justice to the patriotisra displayed by the State dur ing the invasion, and who treats with rauch asperity the attitude which, five days after the battle of the 23d, General Jackson assumed toward the Legislature, says : " A report was spread that Jackson, before his departure, had taken. measures and given positive orders for blowing up the mag azine and setting fire to various parts of the city, in case the British succeeded in forcing his ranks. His conduct in this respect was considered by some as an evidence of his deeming his defeat a probable event. The old inhabitants, who had great confidence in the natural obstacles which the situation of the capital presents to an invading foe, and which they thought insurmountable if proper attention was bestowed, concluded that it had been neg lected. They lamented that the protection of the city had been confided to an utter stranger to the topographv of its environs, * Latour's Memoir, p. 103. 436 EXCITEMENT IN NEW ORLEANS. [1814. and while frequent explosions of rausketry and artillery i eminded them that their sons were facing warlike soldiers, they gricAcd that the commander was an oificer who, in the beginning of the year, had hardly ever met any but an Indian enemy, and whose inexpe rience appeared demonstrated by the rash step attributed to him. The truth or falsity of the report was sought to be ascertained by an application to the oflicer left in command at the city, who de clined to admit or deny that the steps had been taken, or the order given. " A circumstance tended to present the conflagration of New Orleans as a more distressing event than that of Moscow. Tho burnhig of the houses of several planters above the city, in 1811, was remerabered, and apprehensions had been entertained that British emissaries Avould be ready, a short time before the main attack, to induce the slaves toward Baton Rouge, or Donaldson- ville, to begin the conflagration of their owners' houses, and march toward the city, spreading terror, dismay, fire and slaughter ; and a dread prevailed that Jackson's firing of the city would be taken by them for the signal at which they were to begin the havoc, even ill case their apprehensions from British emissaries were ground less. The idea of thus finding themselves with their wives, chil dren, and old men driven by the flames of their houses toward a black enemy bringing down destruction, harrowed up the minds of the inhabitants. Persons, however, who hourly came up from the field of battle, brought from time to tirae such information as gradually dispelled these alarms, and in the morning a sense of pre sent safety inB])ii'ed quite dilfcrcnt sensations, and the accounts which were received of Jackson's cool, intrepid, and soldierlike behavior excited universal admiration." If this is the truth; if General Jackson was informed, as he must have been by those who were thought to be interested in prejudicing his mind, that while he was confronting the enemy, and doing his best to save New Orleans from the direful calamity Avith which it. was threatened, his conduct Avas considered by " some" in the city " as an evidence of his deeming his defeat a probable event ;" and that the old inhabitants had come to the conclusion " that he did not know how to avail himself of the naturally insurmountable obstacles Avhich the cap- 1814.] REFLECTIONS. 437 ital offered to an invading foe ;" if they lamented that the ., protection of the city "had been confided to an utter .''stranger to the topography of its environs;" if, while fre quent explosions of musketry and artillery reminded thera that their sons aa'cic facing warlike soldiers, "they grieved that their coraraander was an officer who, in the beginning of the year, had hardly raet any but an Indian enemy, and whose inexperience appeared demonstrated by the rash step attributed to him," in ordering the burning of the city, is it not to be supposed that, in this convulsive state of terror and distrust, those who thus suffered in raind may have used imprudent expressions, and been betrayed into the uttering of sentiments liable to misconstructions, which, being reported to General Jackson with the usual exaggerations in such cases, may haA'e produced an impression that explains what he did subsequently, much to the mortification and resent- inent of those for whora it was perhaps but too natural that they should not be able to take a dispassionate vieAV of the whole question ? We raust also bear in mind that an application was made to the officer left in command of the city, at the tirae when the issue of the battle was doubtful, to ascer tain what orders the corauiander-in-chief had given him. That officer very properly refused to reply to such in quiries. Who took such an extraordinary step ? Could they be others than citizens of note and influence ? Were they members of the Legislature, although acting in an unofficial capacity ? Judge Martin does not say. What could be the object, when the battle was going on, in thus attempting to ferret out the orders left by General Jackson with the commanding officer in the city ? Was it to facilitate those orders ? Was it to obstruct them ? However patriotic or guiltless the intention Avas, the act itself AA'as highly injudicious; it was probably the mere 438 REFLECTIONS. [181*> consequence of extrerae fear. If these facts Avere report ed to General Jackson, they certainly must have pro duced an unpleasant impression, and may have revived sorae of those suspicions which he had unfortunately en tertained, and which seemed lately to have entirely died away, although he must have made a large allowance for the thoughtlessness and iraprudence of minds " har rowed up by the recollection of the burning of Moscow," by the apprehensions of a worse fate in consequence of a negro insurrection, or by the prospect of a Saragoza conflict frora street to street in New Orleans, and of the horrors which might be perpetrated by an infuriated foe. All these circumstances we shall have to take into con sideration, when we shall relate and appreciate, like an honest and truthful historian, an event which has pro duced so deep a feeling of resentraent that, to the present day, a tone of anger frequently pervades the pages of history Avhen treating of the subject. We shall ende.iv- or to divest ourself of all passion and to do sober jus tice to all parties. Well, however, might the citizens of New Orleans on the next morning .feel their alarms of the preceding night " gradually dispelled ;" well might, when rose the sun of the 24th, " a sense of safety have inspired them with quite different sensations ;" well might " the accounts which they received of Jackson's cool, intrepid and sol dierlike behavior have excited universal admiration ;" for the battle of the 23d had saved Louisiana, Jackson had accomplished all that he wanted ; he had successfully opposed his raw troops to far-famed veterans, and glo riously administered to his undisciplined and new-fledged soldiers the baptism of fire. The residt was that they now had confidence in him and in themselves. He had stunned the enemy by giving him a sudden and unex pected blow which made him reel back. He gained 1814.] REFLECTIONS, 439 time by it — the time which he needed to fortify, and re ceive reinforcements. He made the enemy believe that he was stronger than he was, caused him to hesitate, and inspired him Avith doubts and apprehensions which he did not entertain before. The British now felt that there were no despicable obstacles before thera. If General Jackson had wavered, if he had not marched to attack the foe with such well-de A'ised impetuosity, it is not im probable that at daybreak, on the 24th, the two divis ions of the British troops, having operated their junction and being five thousand strong, woujd have marched against New Orleans, Avhich was situated in an open plain without the shadow of any fortification. General Jack son could at best have brought into the field no more than an equal number of men to those of the British, who, in broad daylight, would at a glance have seen the small number of badly-arined railitia they had to con tend Avith. Most of the railitia were unprovided with bayonets, that terrible weapon wtid' the highly disci plined troops of Great Britain would have used with its usual efficacy. It is not, therefore, too rauch to say that, according to all human probabilities, the British would have won the day, and the consequences of such a disas ter can easily be appreciated. Fortunately, General Jackson gave them no such chance. He fought the battle of the 23d under circum stances which permitted hira to hope for the victory which he gained. After that victory he acted with con summate prudence. Aware of the necessity of imme diately assuming a positif)n where he might throw up intrenchments, at 4 o'clock in the morning, after having passed the night on the battle-field, he fell back about two railes nearer to the city, where he deterrained to remain encamped behind a canal known as the Rodriguez Canal, and wait there for the arrival of the expected 440 UNITED AS ONE MAN, [1814. Kentucky militia and other reinforcements. " As the safety of the city," wrote Jackson to the Secretary of War, " will depend on the fate of this army, it must not be incautiously exposed." Governor Claiborne, in the relation* which he sent of this affair to Governor Blount of Tennessee, rendennl fiill justice to the Louisianians and to the patriotic con cord which existed araong all the troops : " The enemy," he said, " suffered considerably, and, but for the darkness of the night which caused some little confusion in our ranks, the affair would have been decisive. The Ten nessee troops equal the high expectations which were formed of them. It is impossible for men to display more ]^atriotisra, firmness in battle, oi- composure under fatigue and privations. The Louisianians also deserve and will receive the highest approbation. We are united as one man, and a spirit prevails which insures our safety." » Claiborne to Gov B ount of Nashville, Dec. 30, 1814. CHAPTER X. BOVERNOR Claiborne's administration — blowing up op the CAROLINA — BATTLE OF THE 28tH OP DECEMBER — BATTLES OP THE 1st and 8th of JANUARA' — DEFEAT AND RETREAT OP THE ENEMY — PUBLIC REJOICINGS IN NEW ORLEANS. 1814—1815. (Jeneral Jackson, ou falling back two railes toward the city, left the Mississippi raounted riflemen, the Feli ciana dragoons and the Seventh Regiment of the line near Laronde's plantation, in order to watch the enemy's movements. Early on the morning after the battle, the eneray was seen to be drawn up and to have thrown forward strong detachments, as if he had expected a re newal of the late attack ; but, about eight o'clock, the British, discoA'ering no probability of such au event, broke their line and returned to their encampment, after having taken, however, all the precautions which military foresight suggested. A strong body of British troops were posted behind the principal ditch on Lacoste's plantation, and their advanced pickets covered their whole front, extending from the high road near the river to the woods and swamps. In the mean time the Araerican troops were actively engaged in widening and deepening the Rodriguez Canal. The two four-pounders which had already done such good service in the late battle were mounted, in order to comraand the high road, behind the embankment throAvu up ; and the levee which confined tho waters of the river to (44n 442 PREPARATIONS OF THE BRITISH. [1814. their channel was cut for the purpose of overfloAving the ground in front. A sufficient quantity of water Avas let in to render the road impracticable for troops,* but un fortunately this measure proved of very little efficiency, for the river suddenly subsided, and the water retired fi'ora the inundated road. The enemy, however, showed no disposition to advance, and although Major Hinds, Avith his cavalry, frequently deplo}ed in his sight, and although raany reconnoitering parties were sent forward and close to his lines, he could not be tempted out of his position. But, apparently inactive, the British were not wasting their tirae, or enjoying any unseasonable repose; they were landing more troops, artillery, stores and provisions. On the 25th, the commander-in-chief. Sir Edward Packenham, Wellington's brother-in-law, who had ac quired some military renown, and who, it Avas said, had been promised an Earl's coronet as the future rcAvard of his expected conquest of Louisiana, arrived and took comraand of the army of invasion. On the next day, the 26th, the enemy Avas employed day and night in erecting a battery near the upper line of Villere's plan tation, for the purpose of flring at the schooner Carolina, which, iraraediately after the battle of the 23d, had moved to the other side of the river, where she had been joined by the Louisiana. It was evidently of extreme importance for the British to destroy these two vessels, which otherwise, by firing at their left flank, would so effectually interfere Avith their operations against Jack son's lines, and which would be so serious an obstacle, if they deemed it expedient to cross the river ; in pre vision of which event, General Jackson had ordered a great quantity of powder stored on the right bank opposite the city to be put on board of a vessel, with * Latour's Memoir, p. 113. 1814.] CUTTING OF THE LEVEE. 443 a Anew to its transportation to Baton Rouge in case of necessity. Whilst General Jackson was giving all his attention to the strengthening of his position in front of the enemy, there came an alarming report that some British troops had landed at Chef Menteur. The report wa3 credited at first, because the prairies of that locality were at that time very dry, and sorae British sailors had been seen and pursued in thera by our soldiers. Probably to facilitate their escape, these sailors had set those prairies on fire, and given rise to this report of the landing of the eneray in that direction. Some excitement and sorae moveraents of troops were produced by this false alarra, but the truth being soon discovered, all apprehensions were dispelled. Thinking that the forces of General Morgan Avere no longer necessary at the English Turn, General Jackson ordered him to evacuate that post, to cross the river with his artillery, and to take a position opposite our lines. He also caused the levee to be cut at Jumonville's plan tation, below the British camp, as near as possible to it, and within musket-shot of the advanced sentries. If the river had continued to rise, as it promised to do, this operation would have made an island of the enemy's en- cainpraent, because trenches frora the river had been open ed in its front, as already stated, and the British Avould have been corapelled to resort to their boats, and evacu ate without being able to attack the American lines. But the river not rising as expected, this measure had the reverse of the desired result, for instead of introdu cing a sufficient quantity of water to injure the British, it let in barely the volume of water which was necessary to fill up the canals and bayous leading to Lake Borgne, and to facilitate the enemy in bringing up his heavy artillery. 444 THE CAROLINA BLOWN UP. [1814. Captain Henley, the Comraander of the Carolina, had not suffered to pass unnoticed the preparations raade to ilestroy his A'cssel, and had raade every effort to move her higher up the river and near General Jackson's camp. The wind was adverse, and the cuiTcnt was too rapid to propel the ship by warping, although the at tempt was made. At daylight on the morning of the 27th, the eneray* concentrated on the Carolina the fire of a battery of five guns, from which they threw shells and hot-shot. The vessel returned the fire with a long twelve-pounder, which was the only one on board that could reach across the river, the remainder of her bat tery being light twelve-pound carronades. The wind, being very light, rendered it impossible for her to get under way. The engageraent was ver}' short, hardly more than fifteen rainutes, the British firing with extra ordinary accuracy. Their second shot lodged in the schooner's main-hold, under her cables, and set her on fire. Finding that red-shot were passing through her cabin and store-room, which contained a considerable quantity of powder, that her bulwarks were all knocked down, that the fire was increasing, that the vessel was in a sinking condition, and expecting at every moment that she would blow up. Captain Henley, a little after sunrise, reluctantly gave orders for the crew to abandon her, which was effected with the loss of one killed and six wounded. So rapid was .the progress of the fire, that every article of clothing belonging to the officers and crew was lost, and the men had hardly got on shore when she blew up, to their extrerae mortification. The British, having accomplished this success, now directed their fire against the Louisiana, Avhich it was so iraport ant for us to preserve, as she was the only remaining armed vessel on the river, but her preservation was rendered * Henley to Commodore Patterson, Dec. 28, 1814.] ATTACK OF THE 28tH DECEMBER, 445 more difficult from the fact of her having her powder magazine above water. Fortunately her commander succeeded in having her safely towed up beyond the range of the eneray's guns. Notwithstanding our falling back to the Rodriguez Canal, our outposts had still continued to occupy La ronde's plantation, and every day saw our reconnoitering parties extending as far as the British lines. Major Hinds, with his cavalry, was constantly in the field molesting the eneray, with whose pickets and outpasts ours exchanged shots almost without interraission, and the 7th Regiraent of the line, which had been throAvn forward to support our pickets, lost no opportunity to harass the foe. But in the evening of the 27th, the British carae forward with such a superiority of force, that we had to fall back. They occupied Bienvenu's and Chalraette's plantations, and, dming the night, it was discovered that they Avere engaged in erecting sev eral batteries on the bank of the river. There was there fore every indication of an action for the next day, and our troops prepared for it with martial alacrity. Early in the morning, on the 28th, the enemy commenced hos tilities, as was anticipated, and advanced in serried col umns on the high road, driA'ing in our advanced posts."'' He was preceded by several pieces of artillery, some of Avhich played on the Louisiana, and the others ou our lines, which had only five pieces in battery. The Louis iana suffered the eneray's columns to advance a consider able distance without attempting to check them, but as soon as they had corae as near as her captain desired, she opened on thera a tremendous fire, which was briskly returned, but theu- guns were silenced by the combined fire of the Louisiana and of our lines, which soon dis mounted one of the field-pieces they had put in battery * Latour's Historical Memoir, p. 119. 446 death of colonel Henderson, [1814, on the high road. So destructive was the fire of our artillery frora the ship and from our intrenchments, that the British columns broke, dispersed, and fell back to Bienvenu's plantation, where they took shelter under sorae buildings, after having abandoned the several bat teries they had established on the bank of the river in the preceding night, and suffered a loss of two to three hun dred men. The casualties in Jackson's lines consisted of seven men killed and ten wounded. The Louisiana had but one man slightly wounded, and she was struck under her bowsprit by a red-shot, but without rauch daraage. The lives of the few men whom we lost would have been saved, if Colonel Henderson, of the Tennessee Division under Carroll, had not, in executing a manoeu vre, coraraitted an error which proved fatal to hiraself. He had been ordered by General Carroll to take a de tachment of two hundred men, and AAith that force to dislodge some of the light British troops who were posted behind a fence and a ditch, and whose fire was beginning to be a serious annoyance. His order was to file along the woods, and turn the British by moving to the left between the woods and the fence ; but instead of moving to the left, he moved to the right, leaving the fence between him and the woods. Thus covered by the fence, the enemy opened on our detachment a well-directed fire, which killed Colonel Henderson and sorae of his men, forcing the rest to fall back. In an account given of this affair to the Secretary of War, General Jackson said: " I lament that I have not the means of carrying on raore offensive operations. The Kentucky troops have not arrived, and ray effective force at this point does not exceed three thousand. Theirs raust be at least double ; both prisoners and de serters agree in the statement that seven thousand landed from their boats." 1814.] THE CONGREVE ROCKE'TS. 447 The British pretend to have intended merely a de monstration on that day, or a sort of feigned attack, to test our spirit and strength. If such was their intention, they must have been satisfied by their experiment that we were determined to defend our homes to the utmost, that our artillery was served with remarkable skill, promptitude and precision, and that their marching, de ploying and forming in order of battle, far fi'om eliciting on our part the slightest CA'idence of wavering, hesitation or intiraidation, brought out the proof that our militar}' organization was excellent, and that they had to expect the raost obstinate resistance frora the valor, patriotism and ability which defended the avenue to New Orleans. They were also much disappointed as to the effect of their Congreve rockets, which they used largely on that day. They thought that the A'ery noise which accompanies the course of those rockets through the air would strike terror into the Americans, who had never before seen that kind of missile. But they discovered that we had very soon grown accustomed to its harmless explosions, for we were not long in ascertaining that it was more formidable in sound than in anything else. The fact is that these rockets, although used with the utmost profusion, only wounded ten men and blew up two caissons during the Avhole campaign. General Jackson does not appear to have been of opinion that this affair of the 28th was a mere demon stration, as English writers affirm, for in his dispatch of the 29th to the Secretary of War he said : " Emboldened by the blowing up of the Carolina, the enemy marched his whole force the next day up the levee, in the hope of driving us from our position, and, with this view, opened upon us, at the distance of about half a mile, his bombs and rockets. He was repulsed, however, with considerable loss. Commodore Patterson, in his dispatch 448 ARTILLERY DUEL. [1814. to the Secretary of the Navy, endorses General Jackson's opinion, for his words are : " The enemy drew up his whole force, evidently with an intention of assaulting G enersl Jackson's lines, under cover of his heavy cannon ; but his cannonading being so warmly returned from the lines and ship Louisiana, caused him, I presume, to abandon his project, as he retired without making the attempt," He added that, " although the crew of tho Louisiana was composed of men of all nations (English excepted), taken from the streets of New Orleans not u fortnight before the battle, yet he had never known guns better served, or a more aniraated fire than was support ed frora her." But whatever it was, a feint, a deraonstra- tion, or an intended attack which had miscarried, the affair of the 28th turned out to be a mere artillery duel, which lasted seven hours, and which terminated glorious ly for the Americans, It was on this day, the 28th of December, toward noon, that members of the Legislature were prevented by an armed force from meeting as usual in the State House in the city, and although that interference was but momentary, and the result of error and misconstruc tion, it nevertheless produced the deepest sensation, and an excitement which, for a long time, it was found im possible to allay, whenever this event becarae a subject of discussion, or even reference. We shall postpone its consideration, in order not to interrupt the thread of military operations. Encouraged by the results of the fire kept up by the Louisiana, on the 28th, against the flank of the enemy, Comraodore Patterson, during the night of the 29th, had brought doAvn frora the New Orleans Navy Yard, and mounted in silence a twenty-four-pounder on the right bank of the river, in a position where it could most annoy the enemy when throwing up works on the levee or in 1814.] EFFECTIVE FIRING FROM 'THE LOUISIANA. 449 the fields. On the 30th, he opened upon the British with this twenty-four-pounder, which drove them frora their works, whilst the ship Louisiana was firing at the same time upon their advanced guard, who retii'ed from the levee, and sheltered theraselves behind buildings and some epaulraents which had been raised for their protection. Sorae other works of defence were erected by us on the right bank of the Mississippi ; among which was the conversion of a brick-kiln, opposite the city, on the very margin of the river, into a redoubt, of which Captain Henley, of the late Carolina, took command. A fosse tAventy-five feet wide was dug all around it, and the earth from it was used to form a very steep glacis from the summit of the wall, serving as a parapet to the brink of the fosse. A palisade extended along its whole length on the inside. This redoubt was furnished with a small powder magazine, and was mounted with two tAventy-fimr-pounders. Its battery commanded at once the high road and the river,* Back of Jackson's lines on the Rodriguez Canal, there was another canal on the Pjernas plantation, which com municated Avith Bayou Bienvenu, As it was possible for the enemy to ascend this bayou up to the mouth of the canal, and by that canal to penetrate to his rear. General Jackson had an advanced post stationed at the spot where the canal empties into the bayou, and ordered the First Regiraent of Louisiana Militia, under Colonel Dejean, to take a position in the wood on the bank of the canal, with intermediate posts to its connection Avith Bayou Bienvenu. Every day, the Louisiana dropped down to the station which she had occupied during the engagement of the * Latour's Historical Memoir, p. 125. 29 450 AMERICANS S'l'RENGTHENlNG THEIR LINES, [1814, 28th, annoyed the enemy greatly by her fire, and returned every night to a safe position up the river. Every precaution was taken to guard against any at tempt which the enemy might make to turn our left, v/hich rested on the wood and swamp. Colonel Haynes, Inspector-General, accompanied by intrepid hunters and pioneers, was kept actively engaged in reconnoitering in that direction, and in looking to the safety of our lines. On the 30th, in the morning, some reinforcements came from the Acadian coast, whither Major-General Viller6, commanding the First Division of Louisiana Militia, had been sent to forward their arrival. He made his appear ance at the head of three hundred men,. who encamped back of our lines, and he subsequently took the com mand of the troops stationed on the Piernas Canal. On that day, Major Hinds was sent reconnoitering toward the advanced posts of the enemy. He performed that duty with much intrepidity, and returned with several of his dragoons wounded. In the mean time, we were strengthening our lines with the utmost expedition, and a patriotic rivalry prevailed araong the several corps as to which of them would raake the greatest show of work done, and done skillfully ana efficiently, although they were composed of raen very few of whora were used to manual labor. Our batteries were increasing rapidly on the left, right and centre, and the centre batteries particularly, which were of heavy metal, galled the enemy Avithout discontinuance. It being discovered that he was throwing up a redoubt toward the woods, a thirty- two-pounder commanded by Lieutenant Crawley, and a twenty-four-pounder under Captain Dominique, one of the Baratarians, were directed against it with splendid efl'ect. Notwithstanding the great distance, most of the balls struck the parapet, demolishing the Avorks and killing many raen. Meanwhile, the marine battery 1814.] BRriTSH BLACK TROOPS. 451 established by Coraraodore Patterson on the right side of the river was playing with efficacy on the camp and outposts of the eneray. To raeet our ga'ling fire, the British atterapted, without rauch success, an innovation in the art of war, which was the erection on the levee of a battery with hogsheads of sugar, in front of Bien venu's house. It was evident, besides, that they were engaged in many other preparations, and deserters re ported that considerable reinforcements were expected shortly, and that heavy artillery was on the way to batter down our breastworks. From all accounts* it appears that, at that time, the British troops of the line amounted to between nine and ten thousand raen. Their hospitals were established in the buildings of Juraonville's plantation, where some black troops which they had, and which like all black troops proved of no account, were stationed ; the head quarters of the Coramander-in-Chief were in General Vil lere's house. All the horses of the neighboring planta tions had been swept into the British camp, and the best appropriated to the use of the officers of the staff. The rest served to mount a squadron of dragoons, or draw the artillery. The British extended their reconnoitering parties down the river as far as Philippon's plantation, where they established a post of black troops, which re mained there in a kind of frozen torpidity until the final evacuation of the country. It follows, of course, that all the cattle of the planters within the reach of the beef- loving and beef-eating Englishmen were entirely de- sti'oyed. These predatory excursions of the enemy were pushed with lamentable effect as far as the English Turn, and the farthest end of that section of the country known under the appellation of Terre aux Boeufs, " land of oxen," in the present parish of St. Bernard. * Latour's Memoir, p. 135. 452 THE RIFLE AND THE DIRTY SHIRTS, [1814. As there was a strong apprehension of an attempt on the part of the enemy to turn our lines on the left, great efforts were made to prolong thera as rapidly as possible into the wood, to the most impassable part of the swamp ; but fortunately the eneray seeras to have entertained a kind of salutary terror of that very wood and swamp, and had for it a very good reason. He apprehended that every tree, bush, or other place of concealment might hide frora his view the unerring Tennesseean rifle, which already had scattered death and dismay araong the Brit ish sentinels and advanced posts. Even while conflning hiraself to open fields, he had experienced that it was Avith much difficulty that he could keep sentries at some distance from his camp, without exposing them to certain death frora the unsparing Tennesseean bullet, which never missed its aim. The dress of those rifleraen consisted chief ly of a kind of brown homespun tunic, which the British called in derision a " dirty shirt," and the color of which prevented the wearer fiom being distinguished from the bushes and tall dry grass through which he crept like a snake, now in ditches, now behind fences, toward the British outposts. The Tennesseeans were fond of indulg ing in these expeditions, which they called " hunting parties," and it is related that one of thera, on such an occasion, made himself famous by killing successively three sentinels who had been posted one after the other at the sarae spot, carrying away, every time, the arms and accoutrements of these unfortunate victims, as proofs of his exploits. The British at last gave up the idea of keeping a sentinel at that fatal spot. By such daily oc currences in the open fields they were admonished not *^o hazard theraselves into the woods and swamps, on the skirts of which they never even ventured to post a single picket throughout the whole campaign ; such was the dread which they entertained of the " diity shirts !" 1814.] OUR MODE OF WARFARE. 453 They bitterly complained of this mode of warfare as being contrary to the usages of civilized nations, and as no better than assassination ; but , we shall reply to this accusation in the words of one of their most distinguished historians, who thinks that, in a war of invasion, when every man among the invaded is a soldier, and a soldier fighting for his nearest interests, when his own trees have been cut doAvn, his own corn has been burnt, his own house has been pillaged, his own relations have been killed, he cannot entertain toward the enemies of his country the same feelings with one who has suffered noth ing from thera, except perhaps the addition of a sraall sum to the taxes which he pays.* " In such circumstances," says Macaulay, " men cannot be gen erous. They have too much at stake. It is when they are, if I may so express myself, playing for love, it is when war is a mere game at chess, it is when they are contending for a remote colony, a frontier town, the honors of a flag, a salute, or a title, that' they can make fine speeches, and do good oflices to their enemies. The Black Prince waited behind the chair of his captive ; Villars inter changed repartees with Eugene ; George II. sent congratulations to Louis XV., during a war, upon occasion of his escape from the at tempt of Damien ; and these things are fine and generous, and very gratifying to the author of the Broad Stone of Honor, and all the other wise men, like hira, who think that God made the world only for the use of gentlemen. But they spring in general frora utter heartlessness. No war ought ever to be undertaken but under circumstances which render all interchange of court esy between the combatants impossible. It is a bad thing that men should hate each other, but it is far worse that they shoald contract the habit of cutting one another's throat without hatred. War is never lenient but where it is wanton ; when men are com polled to fight in self-defence, they must hate and avenge ; thia may be bad, but it is human nature, it is tho clay as it came from the hand of the potter." The Tennesseeans were the clay as it came from the hand • Macaulay's Essays, Milford's Greece, vol. 8, p. 878. 454 CANNONADIS ON THE 31 ST OF DECEMBER. [1814. of the potter. They knew nothing about the code of chivalry and the custoraary rules of conducting war ac cording to the artificial standard of European courtesy. They only knew that their country was invaded, and" that their sacred duty was to kill the invader by day or by night, as long as the foe had, arms in his hands and 'lid not sue for mere}', whether they shot at him fi'ora an arabuscade, frora behind a tree, a bush, or a parapet, or whether they raet hira, face to face and hand to hand, in the open field. Those untutored, rough-hewn and un couth patriots were right, and raay " war to the knife and the knife to the hilt " be forever the motto of every Louisianian whenever his native State shall be invaded ! The British, however, were industriously preparing to put an effectual stop to this shooting down of their sen tinels, by making a bold effort to drive Jackson out of his intrenchments, and, on the 31st, having succeeded, notwithstanding the fatal effects of our batteries, in cora pleting the redoubt which they had begun on our left near the woods, and which had been demolished once or twice, they opened a fire on our advanced posts which had been skirmishing with their own ; in consequence of which, a spirited cannonade was kept up on both sides for the greater part of the day. The Louisiana, as usual, joined her fire to that of our lines and again drove the enemy to shelter. We suffered very little fi-om this artillery encounter, Avhilst we inflicted several casualties on the enemy, among which he had to regret the loss of an officer of engineers, who Avas reconnoitering and was killed by our advanced posts. The year was closing with plain indications frora the movements of the enemy that he meditated an imraedi ate attack. When night came and when he could labor Avith comparative security, noises were heard which man ifested to us that he was Avorking at platforms and 1815.] BATTLE OF I'llE IST OF JANUARY, ^55 raounting pieces of cannon, and it was subsequently dis covered that he had, during that night, constructed two batteries behind a ditch on Chalraette's plantation, at the distance of about six hundred yards from our lines, and about three hundred yards aj)art. The one nearer to the river was about three hundred and fifty yards from its bank, Ou the morning of the first of January there was one of those dense fogs which are so comraon in that season on the banks of the Mississippi, but, at 10 o'clock, when it cleared off, the eneray opened upon us a heavy cannonade proceeding from thi-ee batteries. The one which was mounted on the road near the river, and vhich played upon our right, consisted of two twelve- pounders ; the next, acting against our centre, had eight eighteen-pounders and twenty-four pound carronades; and the last, on our left, eight pieces of cannon and car ronades — in all twenty-eight guns. The missiles which they sent Avere accompanied with innumerable Congreve rockets. The first discharges of the battery 'on the road were directed against a house in which it was known that General Jackson had established his headquarters, and where he happened to be at that moraent with his staff' and other officers. In less than ten rainutes, up ward of one hundred balls, rockets and shells struck the house, and drove everybody out of so dangerous and ex posed a situation. It is strange that, notwithstanding this sudden gush of fire and iron which swept over the house in an instant and surprised its tenants, notwith standing bricks, splinters of wood and fragraents of fur niture were flying in every direction, not a death, not a wound was inflicted. Our reply was as flerce as the enemy's attack, although we had only ten guns to op pose his twenty-eight, and for an hour a hot cannonade was steadily continued on both sides; at the exjuration 456 BATTLE OF THE IST OF JANUARY. [1816 of that time it became perceptible that the enemy's file was slackening. It was, however, still vigorously kept up ; but it was evident that ours was raore precise and effective. "Yet," says the engineer. Major Latour, " every advantage was on the side of the enemy ; his batteries presented but a narrow front and very little elevation on a spacious plain, the soil of which was from four to six feet below the level of our platforms ; his gun ners had for a target a line about one thousand j^ards long, the top of whose parapet Avas eight or nine feet higher than his platforras, whilst our guns raight be said to have only points to aim at ; and our balls could not rebound on so soft a soil. Our batteries were the prin cipal object against which the eneray's fire was directed ; but we were no less intent on deraolishing his ; for in about an hour's tirae our balls disraounted several of his guns, and when the firing ceased, the greater part of his artillery was unfit for service." It raust also be kept in raind that his artillery was more than twice ours in number ; it was, besides, well served, and was not with out doing some daraage by breaking the carriages of a twenty-four and a thirty-two pounder, with the foretrain of a twelve-pounder, and blowing up two artillery caissons. Sorae bales of cotton had been used to form the cheeks of the embrasures of our batteries, and, not withstanding the popular tradition that our breast works were lined with it, this was the only use which, on that occasion, was made of that great staple of oui country. The eneray's balls struck those bales, scattered them in all directions and set them on fire. The enemy's object seeras to have been, on that day, to silence our artillery, make a breach in our lines and carry them by storm. His troops were observed to be in readiness, drawn up in several parallel lines between the batteries, prudently taking shelter in ditches, and 1815.J liAT-TLE OF THE IST OF JANUARY. 457 Avaiting for the favorable moraent to rush to the contera plated assault. When our cotton bales were knocked down in a blaze, when our two caissons with a hundred rounds in thera blew up, a certain degree of confusion ensued. The enemy thought that the breach Avas made, and that the expected moraent had come. He suspend ed his fire at once, and the troops ranged in the ditches, with those at the batteries, gave three loud cheers ; but a simultaneous and well-directed discharge from the whole artillery of our lines dampened their enthusiasm, and informed them of the frustration of their hopes. Frora that moment the animation of the enemy's fire went on decreasing. In the mean time he had sent some platoons of sharp-shooters into the woods to ascertain if our left could be turned, but they were no match for the "hunters" of Coffee's brigade, and they soon fell back with a fuU conviction that nothing could be done in that direction. At noon his fire had becorae languid, and at one he abandoned his two batteries on our left and centre. There was but one remaining, that on the road, which, with feeble and expiring efforts, continued to throAV a few balls and rockets until three in the after noon, when it fell into an ominous silence. Then the British troops were seen retiring slowly and in apparent dejection to their camp. Whilst this artillery engagement was going on with our lines, Coraraodore Patterson did not drop doAvn the river as usual with the Louisiana, to fire at the flank of the British. He was now apprehensive of coraing withiu range of their shot, having learnt from deserters that a furnace of hot-shot was kept in constant readiness at each of their batteries to burn her;* and the guns of two marine batteries on shore being of much greater ef fect than those of the Louisiana, the crew of the shi]) Avas • Patterson to the Secretary of the Navy, January 2d, 1815. 458 BATTLE OF THE- 1st OF JANUARY. [1815. withdrawn to raan thera. The Commodore Avas particu larly desii'ous to preserve her from the hot-shot, as he deemed her of incalculable value to cover the army in case General Jackson should retire frora his present line to those which he had thrown up in his rear. With his guns on shore he kept up, however, an intense fire upon the enemy, and although the balls from the British bat teries went through his breastworks, and the shells fell in great numbers in and about his batteries, he had the good luck not to lose a single man, nor did his fire slacken a raoraent. Toward the evening the enemy called in all his outposts, as he had done after the engageraent of the 28 th ; during the night his batteries Avere dismantled, and Avith much difficulty and fatigue his guns were re moved by being dragged through mud and darkness, Avith the exception of five which had to be abandoned. On the next day, early in the morning, several parties of our men visited the deserted batteries, and witnessed the damage which had been done by our artillery. They saw pell-mell broken gun-carriages belonging to the navy, shattered carronades, barrels of powder, and a large quantity of cannon-balls and impleraents of artil lery. The enemy's loss was estimated to have been heavy ; ours was trifling in comparison, for it did not exceed thirty-four in killed and wounded, eleven of the former being persons who were going to or returning frora the camp, and who were struck on the high road behind our lines. On the day of this engagement, Major-Geiieral Thomas, commanding the Second Division of Louisiana Militia, arrived with Ave hundred men frora Baton Rouge, As many of our men were destitute of arms. General Jack son ordered the Mayor of New Orleans to make domicil iary visits in that city, in order to ascertain what arms were in the possession of individuals. 1814.] BRrriSII REDOUB'TS. 459 The enemy, although defeated in his purjxise, did not abandon the redoubt Avhich he had erected near the woods, with the intention, probably, of guarding against an attack in that direction and protecting his pickets. On the contrary, he Went zealously to work to increase its strength. That redoubt Avas of a quadrilateral form ; two embrasures were made on the sraall front opposite our lines, but forming an angle with them. Each of the lateral fronts had likewise an embrasure in the middle, and that on the back had an opening twelve feet wide, serving as an entrance and covered by a traverse within the fort. Along the intervals between the embrasures above the ground ran banquettes raised three feet for the musketry,* The parapet, which was fourteen feet thick at the base, and nine at the sumrait, had battle ments for the musketry on three aspects. A fosse from twelve to fifteen feet wide and three in depth surround ed this redoubt. Not only did the eneray retain posses sion of this fortification, but he soon began to erect another smaller redoubt in advance of this one, Avith an embrasure in each of its angles toward our lines. The British suffered considerably in constructing these works under the galling fire of our heavy guns which mowed doAvn their men. At last the officer commanding the working parties bravely stood up on the parapet, and as soon as he perceived the flash of our guns he gave a signal to his raen, who put theraselves under cover. On the 3d of January, during the night, General Jack son was inforraed that the enemy had ascended Bayou Bienvenu as far as the Piernas Canal, where he Avas landing iu considerable force. This, if true, would have been a serious movement in our rear. General Jackson immediately dispatched two hundred men of General Coffee's Brigade, with the pithy order to attack the * Latour's Memoir, p. 137. 4C0 MOVEMENTS OF THE ENEMY, [181* enemy boldly and drive hhn into the bayou. With great promptitude, these men, although it was raining heaA'ily at the tirae, and although they sank knee-deep into the mud, pushed on to the point indicated, where they found nothing but a dreary solitude whose silence was disturbed only by the croaking of frogs. General Jackson, however, thought it prudent to as certain whether there was any probability that the enemy would penetrate in that direction. In conformity with his orders, a score of active and intrepid woodsmen went down the Piernas Canal into Bayou Bienvenu as far as its junction with Bayou Mazant. occasionally climbing up trees on their banks to see if they could dis cover any enemy. When they approached* the junction of the two bayo'is they perceived that the British had established at that spot a fortified inclosure, or kind of breastwork, within which they had built magazines for stores, which were guarded by a strong detachment, and that they kept an advanced sentinel posted in a tree Avhich comraanded a view of the whole prairie and of the bayou. One raan also discovered five small vessels as cending Bayou Bienvenu, with sailors looking out fi'om the mast-head. These vessels, it seems, were on a scout ing expedition, and, as they advanced, parties would corae out of thera and set on fire the tall prairie grass, in order to drive away any huraan being to whom it might offer a place of concealment. These precautions ' taken by the enemy were looked upon as indications that he was fearful of an attack in that direction, instead of meditating one against us — which would not have been an unfounded apprehension on his part, if we had been better supplied with boats and stronger in troops. In that case, we might have surprised his post at the * Latour's Memoir, p. 140. 1814.] ARRIVAL OF THE KENTUCKIANS. 461 mouth of Villere's Canal and endangered his coramuni cation with his fleet. On the 4th of January we were highly elated at the airival of two thousand two hundred and fifty Kentuck ians, under the comraand of Major-General John Thomas and Brigadier-General John Adair, but, unfortunately, only five hundred and fifty of those raen were properly arraed. " Hardly," wrote Jackson to the Secretary of War, " one-third" of the Kentucky troops so long ex pected have arrived, and the arras they have are not fit for use." It was raore apparent than ever that the Fed eral Governraent had done nothing for the defence of Louisiana, and that so much imbecility, or neglect, was to be remedied by the genius of the Commanderin-Chief and by the patriotism of the invaded State. Both were certainly left, in a great degree, to their own resources. Not only were many of the militiamen totally unpro vided with arms, but they were also destitute even of clothing, and yet the season was inclement, and the ex posure and hardships to be incurred were of a nature to try the most robust constitution. The indefatigable Louaillier immediately obtained frora the Legislature the appropriation of a sum of money which was put at the disposal of a Comraittee for their relief, and a consider able additional sura was procured by private subscrip tion, making, with the amount voted by the Legislature, more than sixteen thousand dollars, with which blankets and woolens were purchased and distributed among the ladies of New Orleans, to be made into clothes. Within one week, twelve hundred blanket cloaks, two hundred and seventy-five waistcoats, eleven huudred and twenty- seven pairs of pantaloons, eight hundred shu-ts, four hundred and ten pairs of shoes, and a great number of mattresses, were raade up, or ])urchased ready raade, and distributed among those of our brethren in arms Avho 462 THE AVOMEN OF LOUISIANA. [1814. stood raost in need of thera. On that occasion, as during the Avhole war, the women of Louisiana pre-eminently showed that patriotism and coraplete devotion which, on such eraergencies, their sex so frequently exhibited in all ages of the Avorld. An old widow and rich inhabitant of Attakapas, named Devins Bienvenu, after sending her four sons to the defence of Ncav Orleans, wrote to Gov ernor Claiborne that she sincerely regretted having no other sons to offer to her country, but that, if her own services in the duty of taking care of the wounded should be thought useful, notwithstanding her adA'anced age she would hasten to New Orleans for that purpose.* No less enthusiastic was a Miss Sauve, then in the bloom of youthful beauty, when she replied to a British officer, made prisoner, who perraitted himself to sneer at the admiration she expressed for the Tennesseeans : "Major, 1 had rather be the wife't* of one of those hardy and coarsely clad, but brave and honest men, who have marched through a wilderness of two thousand miles to fight for the honor of their country, than wear an English coronet," These anecdotes are related as mani festations of feelings which were common to all the mothers, wives and daughters of Louisianians in the day of danger, and which, no doubt, have been bequeathed unimpaired to their present posterity. Thus far the enemy had been completely foiled, and Ave gave him no repose in the intervals of his attacks. The boom of our artillery was constantly sounding in his ears, day and night, and our balls continued to carry destruction into his ranks. Wherever a group of four or five red-coats showed themselves, thither flew missiles of death. By this incessant cannonade we gained a double advantage : we exercised our gunners, and at the ¦* Latour's Memoir, p 229, \ Alex. Walker's Lilo of Geueral Jackson, p. 185. 18.15.] ARRIVAL OF BRITISH REINFORCEMENTS. 463 same tune interrupted the works of the eneray dm'ing the day, and his rest at night. His deserters were nu raerous, and by them we learned that Major-General Lam bert had arrived with an expected reinforcement of troops, and that a general attack would shortly be made. For some days we had also observed that between the fleet and Bayou Bienvenu there was an unusually active communication. We, therefore, prepared to meet the coming conflict, which probably would be the one that would decide the fate of Louisiana. Reinforcements were sent to General Morgan on the other side of the river, and, at the confluence of the Piernas Canal and Bayou Bienvenu, a post of cavalry Avas established, to give prompt information of any occurrence in that direction. On the 6th, we learned from prisoners that the enemy was digging out Canal Villere and extending it to the river, in order to get a passage for his boats. On that day, and on the following one, there Avas raore stir and bustle in the British camp than usual. Canal Villere swarraed Avith soldiers and sailors, who, thick as bees, seemed to be dragging boats ; bodies of troops were kept in motion, exercising or reviewing ; and other prepara tions were on foot, which, even to an unmilitary eye, announced an approaching attack. To resist it, what was the condition of our lines, which were drawn within only five miles of New Orleans ? On their extremity near the river, we had an unfinished redoubt with two six-pounders, and a shallow fosse without water in con sequence of the fall of the river. The Rodriguez Canal, which had rather the appearance of a draining ditch than a canal, had been excavated, and the earth tlin^wn on the left side, where had been laid that which had been originally dug out. A parapet running along that canal had been hastily constructed, and the other side of the canal, being but little elevated above the soil, forraed a 464 DESCRIPTION OF OUR LINES. [1815, kind of glacis. To prevent the earth of the parapet from falling into the canal, it was lined with all the rails of the fences in the neighborhood. These works were done under unfavorable circumstances, by different hands, which were frequently changing in consequence of fre quent mutations in the disposition of our troops, and during incessant rain. Much regularity and system could not therefore' prevail, although there had been much good will to do right, and earnest exertions to accomplish all that could be done. Hence the parapet was in some places thicker and higher than at others, and sometimes twenty feet thick at the top, when it was only five feet high, whilst in other places the base was so narrow that it was easily perforated by the enemy's balls, although this defect was subsequently remedied. It is, therefore, Avonderful that the heavy cannonade of the 1st of Jan uary, carried on by twenty-eight pieces, did not produce a disastrous effect. The site of these lines, however, had been judiciously selected. They were established at a point where the cypress swamp which follow.s laterally the course of the river j)rojected toward its bank, and left the least inter vening space between the two, from Villere's plantation up to New Orleans. The length of these lines was about half a mile, and after penetrating sorae distance into the swamp, they turned at right angle toward the city. The breastwork of that part of the lines which ex tended through the wood and swamp was not thicker than necessary to resist musketry. It was forraed of a double row of logs,* laid one over the other, leaving a space of two feet which was filled up with earth. Along one part of the lines ran a banquette ; in some parts the height of the breastwork above the soil was hardly sufficient to cover the men. These fortifications. ¦* Latour's Memoir, p. 147. 1815,] ADMIRABLE BEHAVIOR OF OUR TROOPS. 4G5 if they deserve such a narae, were arraed with only twelve pieces of artillery of various calibre, and were to resist the attack of an army of fourteen thousand regulars, be longing to the wealthiest nation of the world, and equip ped AAdth all the completeness which was to be expected from her resources. At the left extremity of the lines near and in the swarap were the hardy Tennesseeans of Carroll's and Coffee's Brigades, and a part of the Ken- tuck}' troops. It was there that they gave, without be ing conscious of it, a memorable example of those vir tues which ought to characterize the soldier, and showed powers of endurance which surpassed theii' bravery, great as that was. There they waded in mud, knee-deep, during the day, and they slept on it at night in the bast way they could. To make their quarters still more uncom fortable, it rained most of the time ; the cold was pinch ing, and they were but indifferently proA'ided with tents. But, although their hardships were extreme in these do mains of the alligator ; although the dreary sights around them were sufficient to produce some feeling of despond ency; although the melancholy-looking cypress, hoary with the long gray moss of our Southern latitude, reared its gaunt, funereal foi-ra over their heads ; although far distant from their horae and all that Avas left there dear to the heart, yet not a word of wail, not a syllable of discontent did they utter. They showed heroic resigna tion, and even that strange kind of alacrity with which a noble heart braces up its energies to encounter uncom mon dangers or sufferings. What is here said of the Tennesseeans is applicable to all our troops. They all exhibited the same qualifications; they were equal to the emergency ; they more than met the exacting expec tations of such a man as General Jackson ; they were a unit; they felt, thought, and acted as men should, when the fire of an enemy's camp has been lighted in 80 166 FULL PREPARATIONS ON BOTH SIDES. [1815 eight of those paternal roofs where throb with anxiety the hearts of old men, women and childi'en. Hence it was that our lines, although weak in api)earance, Avere strong in reality. General Jackson was fully aware that, on the 6th, the enemy was preparing, as stated before, for a more seri ous attack than any he had yet made. But against what point was that attack to be directed ? Was it against our lines on the left side of the river, or against General Morgan on the light side ? All doubts van ished on the evening of the 7th, it having become evi dent that the enemy had made up his mind to storm our breastworks. With the aid of telescopes we discovered a number of soldiers raaking fascines and scaling-ladders • officers of the staff were riding about, and stopping at the different posts, as if they carried orders ; the artillery was in motion ; troops were marching to and fi'o ; the pickets had been increased and stationed near each other ; at sunset, the eneray's guards were reinforced, probably to cover his moveraents. When night came sounds were heard, the import of which it was not difficult to under stand. Numbers of men were evidently at work in all the batteries ; the strokes of the hamraer were loud and distinct ; and the reports of our outposts confirraed our conjectures. In our camp there was that composure which generally is the harbinger of victory, and which in our troops was the result of their confidence in their chief and in themselves. Officers and raen were ready to spring to action at the first signal, and during the night, frora tirae to time, fresh troops relieved those which had remained under arms. Our lines were de fended by three thousand two hundred men. Gen eral Jackson having detached from the four thousand he had on hand eight hundred, to guard our camp, to pro tect the Piernas Canal, and for other purposes. In frcnt 1815.] BATTLE OF 'THE 8tII JANUARY. 467 of this sraall body of railitia, and of a line of defence which would have elicited a sraile of contempt from a European military man, were drawn up from twelve to fourteen thousand of the best troops of England, sup ported by a powerful artillery. There could hardly be a more unequal contest ; but it was with no other feel ing than a sort of stern cheerfulness that our troops sur veyed this disproportion of forces. A little before daybreak on the 8th the enemy began moving toward our lines, and our outposts came in Avithout noise, reporting his advance. As soon as there was suf ficient light for observation, his position was clearly ascer tained, and he was seen to occupy about two-thirds of the space extending between the wood and the river. Immedi ately a Congreve rocket went up from the skirt of the wood. It was the signal for the attack. One of our batteries responded by a shot, and at the same raoment the British, giving three cheers, formed into a close column of about sixty men in front, and advanced in splendid order, but with too slow and measured steps, chiefly upon the bat tery comraanded by Garrigues Flaugeac, which consisted of a brass twelve-pounder, and was supported on its left by an insignificant battery with a small brass car- ronade, which could render but very little service on account of the ill condition of its carriage. These two batteries were the nearest to the wood, and against thera the main attack was evidently directed. Flaugeac's battery opened upon the advancing column an incessant fire, indifferently supported by the small carronade on its left, and more powerfully on its right, by a long brass eighteen-pound culverine and a six-pounder, com manded by Lieutenants Spotts and Chauveau, and served by gunners of the United States artillery. A shower of rockets preceded the storraing column, which was pro vided with fascines and ladders. That part of our ?n- 468 BATTLE OF THE 8tII JANUARY, [1815, trenchraents Avas defended by the Tennesseeans and Kentuckians, who shot at will with such rapidit}', that their whole line seeraed to be but one sheet of fire. So effective were the incessant discharges of the artillery and musketry, which rolled like uninterrupted peals of thunder, that the British, before they had gained much ground, gave signs of confusion. The officers were seen animating their raen, and urging them onward when they wavered. An obliq.ue raoveraent was made to avoid the terrible fire of the Flaugeac battery, from which every discharge seemed to tear open the column and sweep aAvay whole files. But new men would, each tirae, rush to fill up those fearful gaps, and the column still advanced steadily and heavily. A few platoons had even succeeded in reaching the edge of the ditch in front of our lines, when the main coluran of attack, stag gering under the irresistible fire of our batteries, broke at last after an ineffectual struggle of twenty-fiN'e min utes — some of the men dispersing, and running to take shelter among the bushes on their right, and the rest retiring to a ditch where they had been stationed when first perceived, at a distance of about four hundred yards from our lines. There the officers rallied their troops, ordered them to lay aside the heavy knapsack with which they were encumbered, and, being reinforced by troops which had been kept iu reserve, led back their battalions to renew the attack. This time, having ex perienced the nature of the fire which expected them in front, the British advanced raore rapidly, without pre tending to observe the slow parade, precision and regu larity which had been already so fatal to them. They came very near our lines, irregularly, with some confu sion, but with exemplary courage. They met, however, the same overwhelming hail-storm of grape and bullets from our artillery and rausketr}'. Sir Edward Packen 1816.] BATTLE OF THE 8'TII lANUARY. 469 hara, coraraander-in-chief, lost his life whilst gallantly leading his troops to the assault ; soon after, Major-Gen eral Gibbs was carried away from the field, mortally wounded ; then fell Major-General Keane, also severely- wounded, with a great number of officers of rank, who had assumed the most dangerous positions to encourage their subordinates. The ground was literally strewed Avith the dead and wounded. Further to advance seemed to be courting destruction for CA'ery raan. A feeling of consternation pervaded the ranks, which broke for the second tirae in the utmost confusion. In vain did the officers throw themselves in the way of the fugitives ; vain were their appeals to the sense of honor and the love of country ; vain were their threats and reproaches ; vain were the blows which they were seen to give with the flat of their swords ; the men were demoralized; and all that remained to be done was to lead them back to the ditch frora which they had come in an evil hour, and which they could not be prevailed upon to leave for a third attack. In that safe cover they reraained drawn up for the rest of the day. Whilst this was occurring on the edge of the wood, a false attack had been made in the wood itself, chiefly by some black troops ; but it was faint and languid, and easily repulsed by Coffee's Brigade. On our right near the river there had also been another false attack, con ducted with far raore A'igor by Colonel Rennie, This column had pushed on so precipitately, and had followed so closely our outposts, that they reached our unfinished redoubt before we could fire more than two discharges. To leap into the ditch, to get through the embrasures into the redoubt, to climb over the parapet, to overpower our men by superior numbers, was but the affair of an in.s.tant. Colonel Rennie, although severely wounded in the leg, attempted next, at the head of his men, to clear 470 BATTLE OP THE 8tH JANUARY, [1815. the breastwork of the intrenchments in the! rear of the redoubt, but now he had to meet the intrepid Orleans Riflemen, under Captain Beale, who had so much dis tinguished theraselves in the battle of the 23d, Colonel Rennie, however, had the honor to scale those breast works with tAvo other officers, and already waving his sword, he was shouting : " Hurra, boys, the day is ours," when he fell back a corpse into the ditch below with his two companions, who shared his noble fate ; and soon after, the redoubt was retaken from their dis heartened followers. It is fortunate that the two other attacks, particularly the main one, had not been con ducted with the sarae irapetuosity. During this attack two British batteries had kept up a Avarra engagement with some of our centre batteries, b}' which they were at last demolished. As on the Ist of January, the first discharges of the enemy's artillery had been concentrated upon the house occupied as head quarters by General Jackson. But this time he was not in it, and the only mischief done, at a prodigious ex pense of balls and shells, was the knocking down of four or five pillars of the house, and the inflicting of a con tusion on the shoulder of Major Chotard, Assistant Ad jutant-General. Commodore Patterson, on the other side of the river, had, simultaneously with our lines, opened a heavy fire on the enemy from his marine bat tery, until he was stopped by the landing of the British troops which had been sent to dislodge General Morgan. His fire proved very destructive, " as the British columns, in their advance and retreat," says the Coraraodore in his report to the Secretary of the Navy, " afforded a most advantageous opportunity for the use of grape and can ister." The battle did not last more than one hour. At half-past nine it was all over, although the cannonade between the batteries continued until two o'clock. The 1815.] BATTLE OF THE 8 III JANUARY, 47l loss of the enemy was enormous, amounting to near three thousand, which was about one-half of the number of his men supposed to be engaged. This loss will appear still more extraordinary, when it is considered that the enemy had encountered only half of our troops, as he was out of the range of the musketry of our centre, which was not even threatened during the whole engage ment. Our loss was incredibly small, not exceeding thirteen. "After his retreat, the eneray," says Major Latour, " appeared to apprehend that we should raake a sortie and attack hira in his camp. The soldiers were drawn up in the ditches in several parallel lines, and all those who had been slightly wounded, as soon as their wounds were dressed, were sent to join their corps, in order to make their number of effective men appear tho greater, and show a firra countenance." The sarae author, whose Historical Memoir on the Wat in West Florida and Louisiana in 1814-15 is so accurate and valuable a narrati\'e, makes in that work the follow ing critical commentaries on the battle of the 8th of January : " I deem it my indispensable duty to do justice to the intrepid bravery displayed in that attack by the British troops, especially by the officers. If anything was wanted toward the attack s being conducted with judgment (speaking in a general and military point of view), it was, in my opinion, that they did not in the onset sac rifice the regularity of their movements to promptitude and celer ity. The column marched on with the ordinary step, animating their courage with huzzas, instead of j)ushing on w'lth fixed bayonets au pas de charge. But it is well known that agility is not the dis tinctive quality of British troops. Their movement is in general sluggish and difficult, steady but too precise, or at least more suit able for a pitched battle, or behind intrenchments, than for an as sault. The British soldiers showed, on this occasion, that it is not without reason they are said to be deficient in agility. The enor mous load they had to carry contributed, indeed, not a little to the dif ficulty of their movement. Besides their knapsacks, usually weigh ing nearly thirty pounds, and their musket too 1. tavy by at least 472 COMMENT'S ON 'THE BATTLE, [1815. one-third, almost all of them had to carry a fascine from nine to ten i..che8 in diameter and four feet long, made of sugar-canes per tectly ripe, and consequently /^ery heavy, or a ladder from ten to twelve feet long. " The duty of impartiality, incumbent on him who relates mili tary events, obliges me to observe that the attack made on Jack son's lines by the British, on the 8th of January, must have been determined on by their Generals, without any consideration of the ground, the weather, or the difficulties to be surmounted, before they could storm lines defended by militia indeed, but by militia wiiose valor they had already witnessed, with soldiers bending under the weight of their load, when a man, unencumbered and un opposed, would, that day, have found it difficult to mount our breastwork at leisure and with circumspection, so extremely slip pery was the soil. Yet those officers had had time and abundant opportunity to observe the ground on which the troops were to act. Since their arrival on tlie banks of the Mississippi, they had sufficiently seen the effects of rainy weather, to form a^ just idea of the difficulty their troops must have experienced in climbing up our intrenchments, even had the column been suffered to advance without opposition as far as the ditch. But they were blinded by their pride. Tho vain presumption of their superiority, and their belief that the raw militia of Kentucky and Tennessee, who now for the first time had issued from their fields, could not stand before the very sight of so numerous a body of regular troops advanc ing to attack them, made them disregard the admonition of sober reason. Had they at all calculated on the possibility of resistance, they would have adopted a different plan of attack, which, how ever, I am far from thinking would have been ultimately successful. " It has been reported that divisions prevailed in a council of war, and that Admiral Coclirane combating the opinion of Gener al Packenham, who, with more judgment, Avas for making the main attack on the right bank, boasted that he would undertake to storm our lines with two thousand sailors arraed only with swords and pistols. I know not how far this report may deserve credit, but it the British commander-in-chief was so unmindful of what he owed his country, who had committed to his prudence the lives and hon ors of several thousands of his soldiers, as to yield to tho ill-judged and rash advice of tho Admiral, his memory will be loaded Avith the heavy charge of having sacrificed reason in a moment of ir ritation, though he atoned with his life for having acted contrary to ilis own judgment." 1815,] MARSHAL SOULT'S OPINION, 473 It raay not be uninteresting to know what so corape tent a judge as Marshal Soult thought of that battle. Major Davezac, who had acted on that occasion as a vol unteer aid to General Jackson, and who, raany years afterward, when Jackson was President of the United States, represented our goA'ernment in Holland, having obtained a furlough, went to Paris, where he raet Mar shal Soult, who was theu acting as Secretary of War. The old veteran expressed, in relation to the battle of the 8th of January, the keenest desire to obtain such in formation as might enable him to form a correct appre ciation of Avhat he called " a most unaccountable event," Major Davezac happened to have in his posses sion the maps and other materials which were desired, and which he accompanied with his own explanations. The Marshal's eye was soon riveted to the raap, and his finger running over its surface rested on the wood. " Sir," said he, " this raode of attack is incomprehensible. The British should have gone through that wood and flanked you. — But that was an impassable swamp. — ^You may think so ; I do not. — You do not know the nature of our swamps. — I may know more of thera than you are aware of; besides, I have learned enough frora your own lips to be satisfied that a horse could have gone through that swarap ; and where a horse passes a man can. Sir, there is no excuse for General Packenham." — Davezac maintained the contrary opinion ; a discussion ensued ; the Marshal grcAV warm, and at last, shaking his fist, an grily exclaimed : " Sir, I would have shot that blunderer for the destruction of that fine army, had he survived and been under my command. The English would have done the sarae, if he had returned horae. They are not in the habit of forgiving such things. It is well for hira that he died on the battle-field." Marshal Soult was right as to the nature of the swamp. 47 i MILITARY COMMENTARIES. [1815. It was not impassable, although the rifles of the Tennes seeans might have made it so for any body of troops who might haA'e attempted to penetrate in that direction. Alexander Walker, who, in his " Life of General Jack son," has put on record the most minute details concern ing the invasion of Louisiana by the British, after hav ing, with indefatigable industry and scrupulous zeal, consulted many of those who had been actors or eye- Avitnesses on that occasion, says : " The British made another discovery, which ingenious and quick-witted peo ple Avould have turned to better use. They found the horrible swamj), of wliich they stood in such dread that their outposts would not approach Avithin a hundred yards of its edge, and of which such marvelous stories are related of raen who sunk into it and disappeared forever from sight, quite practicable and passable for light troops." This seeras, however, not to be adraitted by the British ; for General Lambert, in his report of the 10th of January to Lord Bathurst, says " that the wood had been raade impracticable for any body of troops to pass." But if the swamp or wood was " prac ticable and passable " for light troops, and we have no doubt of it frora the information which we have received frora men well acquainted with that locality. Marshal Soult's sagacity stands fully confirmed, and his harsh militar}' comment upon the mode of attack was founded on what he considered an unjustifiable piece of folly, stiqudity or temerity. The fact is, that the British advanced against tiie American lines with the same splendid, but brainless, fool-hardy temerity which, late ly in the Crimea, drove them like madmen upon the Russian batteries, to be slaughtered and defeated. " This is magnificent," exclaimed their judicious French allies, Avhen witnessing tiiat Quixotic exhibition, " but tiiis is not w.ir." The same exclamation raight have been ut- 1816.] MILITARY COMJIENTARIES, 475 tered at the sight of the assault of Jackson's lines by thd British, in 1815. The more inexcusable were they from the fact that they had their own time to raake their prep arations for the attack on both sides of the river, and could bring all their resources into action without ira- peditnent. Speaking of their preliminary o].)erations. General Jackson, in a coraraunication to the Secretary of War, observes : " It had not been in my power to im pede these operations by a general attack. Added to other reasons, the nature of the troops under my com mand, mostly militia, rendered it too hazardous to at terapt extensive offensive movements in an open country against a numerous and well-disciplined army." In his official report of the battle, dated on the 9th of January, the General rendered full justice to the troops to which he was indebted for his success. He said : " I cannot speak sufficiently in praise of the firmness and deliberation with which ra}' whole line received the ap proach of the eneray. More could not have been ex pected frora veterans inured to war," It seems that General Jackson would have ventured out of his intrench ments in pursuit of the enemy, if he had not been checked by the disaster which befell our arras on the other side of the river, and which we shall presently relate, for he added: "The entire destruction of the eneray was now inevitable, had it not been for an unfortunate occurrence which, at this moment, took place on the other side of the river," The wisdom of such a movement on his part raust, however, appear questionable. The British, al though defeated and probably deraoralized, Avere still very superior in nurabers to our troops, and the fortune of the day might have been hazarded if we had come out of our intrenchraents. As to our casualties in the battle, amounting only to thirteen killed and wounded, a num ber which seems almost fabulous when compared to the 476 TRIBUTE TO OUR TROOPS. [1815 well-ascertained loss of at least two thousand six hun dred sustained by the eneray. General Jackson, in the sarae coraraunication to the Secretary of War, reraarked : " Such a disproportion, when we consider the number and the kind of troops engaged, must, I know, excite aston ishment, and raay not everywhere be fiilly credited ; yet I ara perfectly satisfied that the account is not exagger ated on the, one part, nor underrated on the other." Our troops had acted with intrepidity during the cora bat. When it was over, they manifested commendable dignity and magnaniraity. We quote, with pleasure, on this subject the testiraony of Major Latour, who was a foreigner, although in the service of the United States, and who raay fairly be supposed to be more impartial than a native could be. He says : "At the time of the preceding attacks, those of the 28th Decem ber and 1st of January, after our artillery had silenced that of the enemy, and forced his troops to retire, repeated huzzas from the whole of our line rent the air; the most lively demonstrations of joy were everywhere exhibited by our soldiers — a presage of the fate of the enemy in a general attack. On the 8th of January, on the contrary, no sooner was the battle over, than the roar of artil lery and musketry gave place to the most profound silence. Flush ed with victory, having just repulsed an enemy who had advanced to scatter death in their ranks, our soldiers saw, in the numerous corpses that strewed the plain, only the unfortunate victims of war, in the wounded and prisoners whom they hastened to attend, only suffering and unhappy men, and in their vanquished enemies brave men worthy a better cause. Elated with their success, but (>\ cipowcred by the feelings of a generous sympathy for those mis erable victims of the ambition of their masters, they disdained to insult the unfortunate by an untimely exultation, and cautiously avoided any expression of joy, lest they should wound the feelings of those whom the chance of battle had placed in their hands. In the midst of the horrors of war, humanity dwells with delightful comidacency on the recital of such noble traits; they soothe the lii'iirl, under the pressure of adversity, and divert the mind from the conleniplatioii of ills which we can neither avoid nor .entirely remedy." 1815.] SYMPATHY FOR TIIE WOUNDED. 477 This chivalrous delicacy was not the only honorable feeling exhibited in our ranks. As soon as the wrecks of the retreating British columns had disappeared, as soon as the fire of our musketry had ceased, and whilst our artillery was still firing at intervals at the enemy's batteries, or at scattered })lato()ns that lingered in the Avoods, some of our men, touched Avith pity at the sight of so many of the wounded British soldiers who strewed the field, and whose groans of agony and cry for Avater made so strong an appeal to their humanity, rushed out of our intrenchments to offer thera all the assistance in their power. In those bleeding bodies, stretched help less on the ground, they no longer saw enemies, but fel low-beings in distress, toward whorn their hearts melted with corapassiou. Warra expressions of applause came from our ranks, when we saw our soldiers staggering under the weight of the wounded whora they were en deavoring to carry on their backs within our lines. At that raoraent, to our intense indignation, the British troops who were in the ditch in front of our lines fired at these generous raen, killing and wounding sorae of them. They fell, but, regardless of that inexplicable outrage and of the danger to which they were exposed, the rest continued to fulfill their mission of charity, in the evening of the 8th the inhabitants of New Orleans witnessed the arrival of a long train of wounded prisoners, whose number amounted to about four hun dred, Iraraediately a large quantity of lint and old linen for dressing their wounds, of raattresses and pillows and other articles for their corafort, were furnished by private contributions. All kinds of refreshments and every attendance which their situation required were liberally provided by the spontaneous action of our citizens. The colored women of New Orleans have ac quired an honorable reputation for the skillful nurses ¦178 COLORED NURSES OF NEW ORLEANS, [1815. they supply during those fatal epidemics which have so often desolated that city. On this occasion, several of them tendered their services gratuitously, and deserved the lasting gratitude of the numerous wounded whom they attended with the most humane disinterestedness. But our triumph was not without its alloy, and we Avere soon reminded that there is but one step from ex ultation to hurailiation. In the raidst of the paeans sung in his honor, the Roman triurapher Avas corapelled to listen to words of censure, reproach, or adraonition, in order that he should not forget his human fragility. Without the apprehension or the recollection of blame, praise would lose its attraction or its value. The one sets off the other, and both have an equally useftil mis sion to perform. We must, therefore^ resign ourself with a good grace to the painful necessity of admitting and recording the sad truth, that a shameful panic took place on the right side of the river, when Colonel Thorn ton attacked General Morgan's lines, almost at the same time when General Packenham, with the main body of his troops, Avas assaulting Jackson's intrenchments. We shall console ourself with the reflection that raore than once two armies, inured to perils and used to glorious deeds, have been known suddenly to run away from each other, as if obeying, by a sort of tacit understanding, the same reciprocal impulse of the most intense and unac countable fear. The ancients attributed it to some super natural cause — to the influence of some god or other. This excuse, however, we shall not plead, but we shall give others which may be received in extenuation of what cannot be justified. The Spaniards shrewdly say : " Such a man was brave on such a day," thereby admit ting that on another day, or on another occasion, the same man may appear in a different light. This is human nature. The lion hiraself is known at tiraes tc 1815.] INCAPACITY OF GENERAL D, MORGAN 479 put his tail between his legs and run like a whipped cur After this preamble, and after having taken delight in showing how very brave aa'c Avere on the left side of the Mississippi, we shall, Avith candor, proceed to relate how it was that we were not equally so on the other side of that river. We have said before that General Morgan had, ac cording to orders, after the battle of the 23d of Decem ber, crossed the river and taken a position almost oppo site Jackson's lines. He was a worthy man in his private character, brave personally, but an incompetent officer. He showed his incapacity at once by the very choice of the spot which he -selected to raake a stand against the eneray. It was behind a canal, it is true, but there were other canals; and this one vvas at a point where the c}'press swarap recedes frora the Mississippi more than at any other for miles, and leaves the largest space between itself and the river. Jackson had done the very reverse on the other side, but his example was not followed. It was therefore the most injudicious ground that could be selected. Behind that old canal, however, Morgan established his line of defence, two hundred yards in length, leaving more than eighteen hundred yards unprotected, and offering no other obsta cle to the enemy than this canal or ditch. On his two hundred yards of breastwork were raounted three pieces of artillery. The weakness of this position was evident, for it raight easily have been foreseen that the enemy, coming up the high road near the river, and finding these fortifications in his front, would not butt his head against thera, when he could avoid them by obliquing to the left toward the wood. The Second Regiment of Louisiana Militia, under the command of Colonel Zenon Cavelier, presenting an efl'ective force of one hundred and seventy-six men, had been sent, on the 4th of Jaiiu 480 CONDITION OF MORGAN's TROOPS. [1815 ary, to reinforce Morgan. On their arrival they received unfavorable impressions from the nature of the means of resistance which were in the course of preparation. In the evening of the 6th, the First Regiment of Militia under Colonel Dejean quitted the position it occupied on the Piernas Canal and crossed the river. Although a detachment of the Sixth Militia Regiraent was added to it, the whole force did not exceed one hundred and ten. Those who were arraed were ill -armed, and the rest had no arras at all.* The arrival of these raen, in such a condition, could not have the effect of giving much re lief to the well-founded apprehensions already enter tained by the regiment of Zenon Cavelier. These two skeletons of regiraents, when' looking at each other's meagre proportions, did not feel much encouraged. Anybody who is acquainted in the slightest degree with the population of Louisiana will not doubt that those raen were brave and patriotic, but was it not natural that they should have felt soraewhat despondent, when brought into contact with those who were already under the comraand of General Morgan, and whom they found either lamenting the incapacity of their leader, or mak ing it a subject of joke or ridicule ? Is it to be wondered at if the}' fi'aternized in grumbling, in railing, and in vague apprehensions of sorae approaching catastrophe ? It was a bad preparation for meeting the enemy. Three railes in advance of Morgan's lines. Major Arnaud had been stationed Avith one hundred raen to prevent the British fi'om landing; fifteen of thera had no arms at all, and the rest only fowling-pieces. These men thought that they were required to do what was impossible , that they could accomplish no good; that they would be uselessly sacrificed ; and that this was another proof * Latour's Historical Memoir, p. IflP 1815.] THE KENTUCKIANS DEMORALIZED. 481 of a want of common sense in their General. They be came demoralized. In the evening of the 7th, both General Jackson and General Morgan were informed that the eneray would cross on the next raorning. There was therefore no surprise produced by that raoveraent, as stated in some of the British accounts written by officers who did not know that their intention had been detected by the Americans. On receiving this information. General Jackson ordered five hundred Kentuckians under Colo nel Davis to join General Morgan. When at four o'clock in the raorning they arrived at the place of their destination, after having undergone much fatigue on their march, and some vexatious delay on account of the difficulty of procuring suitable means of transpoita- tion across the riA'er, they were reduced to one-half. What had becorae of the other half? Is it possible, as alleged in their favor, that they had remained behind because spent with fatigue and faint from the want of food ? But, on the whole day of the 7th, they were in a camp full of provisions. How is it possible, therefore, to 8upi)08e that they did not receive their usual rations ? This supposition being rejected as not probable, and there being no proof to the contrary, it remains that they were without food only from the evening of the 7th to the morning of the 8th. Was that enough to make them "physically faint?" Granting that they marched eight or ten railes in darkness, and on rauddy roads, and that the crossing of the iiA'er was attended with difficulties, was that enough to justify robust men inured to hardships of all kinds in pretending that they were "spent with fatigue?" Granting that raany of thera Avere without arras, was this circumstance sufficient to indue J (hem to leave their ranks, without waiting to the last for the arms to which they were entitled, and 31 482 MAYOR arnaud's COMMAND. [1815 Avithout which they could not be expected to raeet the eneray ? The inference must be that these men, for some cause or other which we do not know, were not ani mated with a proper spirit when they left their camp, and experience has proved that nothing is more conta gious in armies than moral infirraities. The one-half who continued their march to Morgan's lines must have arrived there greatly deraoraliiied by the desertion of their corapanions. They probably were discontented and moody ; it is reported that they looked ragged, jaded, dirty, unsoldierlike, and very much like men dis posed to run away on the first favorable opportunity. Unfortunately, and to make matters worse, they were to co-operate chiefly with, troops whose language they did not understand, and with whom they could iiot sympa thize. A mutual distrust ensued. It must be adraitted that there could hardly be a raore heterogeneous crowd than this badly-armed mob, assembled on that occasion under the command of General Morgan, If General Jackson had been there, his strong will raight have welded into a compact, solid and harmonious mass these discordant and jarring elements. He would, at least, have inspired a confldence which did not exist, and that would have gone a great way toward insuring success. As if these had 'not been sufficient causes to produce demoralization. General Morgan continued to order move ments which increased the distrust of his troops as to his capacit}-. For instance, as soon as the Kentuckians arrived, after the heavy and fatiguing night's march of which they coraplained so rauch, he ordered them, in the state of exhaustion and inanition in which they pretended to be, to move beyond his lines and join Arnaud's com raand in advance. They obeyed, it is said, without murraur, but much doubting, probably, the propriety of such an order. They soon raet Arnaud's one hundred 1S16,] DEFEAT OF GENERAL MORGAN, 483 men, who, not deeming themselves strong enough to prevent the British frora landing, were hastily retreating. This detachment, and the Kentuckians who numbered about two hundred effective raen, were raade to draw up in aline between the river and the swamp — the Kentuckians near the river, and the Louisiana Militia on their right, in the direction of the swamp. If these three hundred men had been posted; behind the levee, at the spot where the British landed, they might have been of good service. But what cduld be the object in thus posting them a short distance in advance of our fortified lines, not as outposts,' it seeras, but as a presuraed effective obstacle in the way of the eneray? As outposts, they were too many, for they constituted half of Morgan's force, and as a resisting body they were too weak. These badly equipped, badly! organized, and badly. disciplined militia men could not reasonably be thought capable of coping effectively, in an open field, with the much superior force of veteran regulars who were expected. Why this division of our little array — one-half behind the breastworks, and the other half about a mile in front ? Why expose them to further demoralization by subjecting them to certain defeat, and then trust to the chance of rallying them, when under hot pursuit, behind our fortifications in their rear ? These thoughts probably occurred to thera, and A^fere not of a nature to allay those instinctive appre hensions which they seem to have entertained before. As to Arnaud's men, who had thought themselves unne cessarily placed in a very perilous position, they did not draw much comfort from the reinforcement which had been sent them. " Surely," they may be presumed to have said to each other, " if these are the ragamuffins who are to help us in beating the British in an open plain, we had better take care of ourselves." " Verily," probably said the Kentuckians, " if this handful of 484 DEFEAT OF GENERAL MORGAN. [1815. frightened Creoles is our only assistance, we are in a bad Avay." What was the consequence ? Colonel Thornton, who had landed at the head of* six hundred men, soon made his appearance, accompanied by several gun-boats which hugged the bank of the river as they ascended. The enemy attacked briskly our extended line established behind an unfortified canal, whilst his gunboats poured grape-shot into our flank. The Kentuckians, although thrown into sorae confusion, answered with two or three well-directed volleys. Just at this critical moment, when sorae hesitation or wavering had begun to manifest itself. General Morgan had the unlucky inspiration to order a retreat. The order was communicated in English by one of Morgan's aids : " What is it ?" said in French one in Arnaud's command, who did not understand the lan guage used. A voice replied : " The General says, ' sauve qui peut,'" which may be translated thus: the Devil take the hindmost. Upon this, Arnaud's detachraent broke and fled to the wood, and the Kentuckians, seeing thera selves abandoned, fell back in much disorder to our breastworks, where they were posted to the right of the Louisiana regiments. Certainly it can be no injustice to the commanderin-chief. General Morgan, to hold him responsible for the manner in which his troops were again stationed, to meet the advancing coluran of the enemy. Davis' Kentuckians were placed alongside of that part of the canal which Avas not fortified, and at such a distance from each other that they looked like a long line of sentinels. Besides, a large space Avas left unoccupied between them and the Louisiana militia on their left. On the high road, in front of our breastworks, soor. appeared the British, advancing rapidly to profit by the * Colonel Thornton's Official Report, 8th of January, 1815. 181 5.J DEFEAT OF GENERAL MORGAN. 48& advantage which they had already obtained. Our artil lery played upon them with effect, and our musketry had begun to open its fire, when Colonel Thornton saw at one glance the weakness of our position. He fell back, and making an oblique raoveraent to the left, h( sent a coluran to penetrate through the gap in our cen . tre, and another toward the wood to turn and envelop the sparsely scattered Kentuckians, At the sight of this manceuvre the Kentuckians broke, and no exertions on the part of their officers and of General Morgan could rally them. " Confidence had vanished," says Major La tour, " and with it all spirit of resistance." Well might confidence have vanished, if it had ever existed, for the most robust faith would not have been proof against the perpetration of such a series of blunders ! Our right was turned, and between it and our Louisiana railitia and artillery, in a few minutes, there was nothing but a broad space left vacant by the flight of the Kentuck ians. The Louisianians and the artillery continued to flre as long as possible. At last the cannon was spiked, and the First and Second Regiments of Louisiana Militia retreated in tolerable order on the high road. Comrao dore Patterson, finding hiraself deserted by the force he had relied upon to protect his raarine battery, was cora pelled, " raost reluctantly and with inexpressible pain," to abandon it, having only thirty raen under his cora mand, including officers. He took time, however, to destroy his ararauuition and spike his cannon. In his report to the Secretary of the Navy he is very severe on the Kentuckians. When the attack had begun, he had ordered his guns to be turned in their embrasures, and so pointed as to protect General Morgan's right wing : " Whose linos," saye he, " not extending to tho swarap, and being weakly manned, I apprehended the enemy's outflanking him on • hat wing ; which order was promptly executed, under a heavy and 486 DEFEAT OF GENERAL MORGAN. [1816. well-directed fire of shot and shells from the enemy on the opposite bank of the river. At this time, the enemy's force had approach ed General Morgan's lines under the cover of a shower of rockets, and charged in spite of the fire from the twelve-pounder and field- pieces mounted on the lines,' as before stated; when, in a few minutes, I had the extreme mortification and chagrin to observe General Morgan's right wing, composed of the Kentucky militia, comraanded by Major Davis, abandon their breastwork and flying in a raost shameful and dastardly manner, almost without a shot ; which disgraceful example, after firing a few rounds, was soon fol lowed by the whole of General Morgan's command, notwithstanding every exertion was made by him, his staff" and several officers of the city militia, to keep them to their posts. By the great exertions of those officers a short stand was eflTeoted on the field, when a dis charge of rockets from the enemy caused them again to retreat, in such a manner that no efforts could stop them." We deem it an act of justice to correct an error com mitted by Com.modore Patterson, who must have been blinded by his indignation. The Kentuckians Avere not behind any " breastworks ;" they were, on the contrary, totally unprotected by any kind of fortifications, unless that name be given to the canal behind which they stood. General Jackson in his report to the Secretary of War, dated on the 9th of January, also censures the conduct of the Kentuckians: "What is strange and difficult to account for," he says, "at the very moment when the. entire discomfiture of the enemy was looked for with a confidence amounting to certainty, the Kentucky rein forcements, in whora so rauch reliance had been placed, ingloriously fled, drawing after thera, by their example, the remainder of the forces, and thus yielding to the enemy that most formidable position." Whatever was the guilt of the Kentuckians, it must be admitted that General Jackson was not correct in hia statement " that they occujjied a most formidable posi tion." W6 have shown that it was anything but that. He must also have been under some extraordinary delusiou 1815,] KENTUCKIANS JUSTIFYING THEMSELVES. 487 when he asserted that the Kentuckians fled at the mo ment " when the entire discomfiture of the eneray was looked upon with a confidence approaching to certainty." The British on the right side of the river, and in their attack on Morgan's lines, never were, for a moment, threatened with the slightest discomfiture. The State of Kentucky never forgave the charge which General Jackson had thus officially recorded against her sons, and she subseq^uently never failed to oppose hira with the bitterest hostility throughout his political career. In extenuation of that charge, the Kentuckians had replied : " We were Ul-armed ; we had been on our feet for twenty-four hours, during which time we had hardly tasted food ; the cartridges we had were too large for our pieces ; on our arrival before day, after a hard march of several miles, partly through the mud, with out being allowed a moment's rest, we were ordered to advance a mile further. Having obeyed without a murmur, we found our selves within view of the enemy, on whom we fired several volleys, mainta'lning t^at position, which was none of the best, until, being outflanked on our right, and cannonaded with grape-shot from the barges on our left, we were forced to retreat on Morgan's line, where we were ordered to take a position ak)ng a canal, uncovered and extended on a front of three hundred yards, our left separa ted from the other troops by an unguarded space of ground, and our right covered by a paltry detachment of sixteen men, Stationed two hundred yards from us ; a vast plain, ofiering no manner ol shelter, lying in our rear. We were turned on the right and cut off" on the left. In so precarious a situation, how could we avoid giving way ?" This is the manner in which they attempted to ex plain what General Jackson had said was " strange and difficult to account for." Admitting as true these allegations; and giving to the plea of the Kentuckians in their own defence all the force which they might have desired, it is impossible to free them altogether from the sharae of having fled in 488 COLONEL Thornton's expedi'tion. [1815. the wildest affright, without even attempting anything like an orderly retreat. So extreme was their panic that some of thera ran eleven miles without stopping, and with the raost extraordinary speed, to a spot up the river, where they found sorae means of crossing it. When safely on the other side, at the distance of six miles above New Orleans, they ran pell-mell into the court-yard of the planter whose lands fronted the river, clamoring for food, and vociferating that the American army was annihilated. They still seemed as if they were under the influence of terror, and becarae coraposed only after having obtained the food they desired. Considering the feebleness and short duration of our defence, the loss of the eneray was very reraarkable. It araounted to one hundred and twenty raen killed and wounded — more than one-sixth of his whole force — which shows the extraordinary accuracy of our fire, and what might haA'e been done under an abler leader than General Morgan, Our loss was one man killed and five wounded. For the expedition intrusted to Colonel Thornton the British had needed boats. Those boats had to be drag ged through Canal Viller6, which had been lately ex tended to the river with so much labor. It was an op eration of much difficulty ; some of the boats stuck fa,st in the muddy bed of the canal, and those which reached the Mississippi were not sufficient to carry the whole force which it was intended to throw on the other side of that river. Hence it was curtailed down to one-third of its original nuraber, and, on account of the delays ex perienced, it could not proceed until eight hours after the time appointed.* This destroyed the ensemble of the plan of attack. The current was strong, and the diffi culty of keeping the boats together was so great, that * Colonel Thornton's Report, 8th January. 1815.] THORNTON NOT AUBIVmCl IN TIME, 489 Colonel Thornton only reached his destination by day break instead of the early ]>art of the night as expected, and by the time his troops had disembarked on the right side of the river, he perceived that the attack had begun on the left side. He did not, therefore, arrive in time to prevent oui' batteries from pouring, in the beginning of the battle, a destructive enfilading fire on the British columns who were advancing against Jackson's lines, and when he became master of Morgan's position, we were completely victorious in the plains of Chalraette. It was the only success obtained by the invaders on the soil of Louisiana. Colonel Thornton clairaed to have captured a great abundance of provisions, a large store of all sorts of ararauuition, sixteen pieces of ordnance, and the colors of a regiraent. " Our prisoners," about thirty in nuraber, he says in his report, " agree in stating that the force under General Morgan was frora fifteen hundred to two thousand raen." If the prisoners agreed in such a statement, they agreed in a misrepresentation ; General Morgan's force was not rauch greater than six hundred men. " This unfortunate rout," wrote Jackson to the Secre tary of War, " had totally changed the aspect of affairs. The enemy now occupied a position from which they raight annoy us without hazard, and by means of which they might have been able to defeat, in a great measure, the effects of our success on this side of the river. It became, therefore, an object of the first consequence to dislodge him as soon as possible." He iraraediately is sued this stirring and appropriate address to the troops stationed on the right bank of the Mississippi: " 'While by the blessing of Heaven directing the valor of the troops under my command, one of the most brilliant victories in the annals of the Avar was obtained by my immediate command, no words can express the mortification I feel at witnessing the 490 JACKSON TO morgan's defeated corps, [1815, scene exhibited on the opposite bank, I will spare your feelings and my own by entering into no detail on the subject ; to all who re flect, it must be a source of eternal regret that a few moments' ex ertion of that courage you certainly possess, was alone wanting to have rendered your success more complete than that of your fellow- citizens in this camp, by the defeat of the detachment which was rash enough to cross the river to attack you," This passage is in accordance Avith the irapression under which he was, and which we have shown to have been erroneous, when he wrote to the Secretary of War that the Kentuckians had fled at the time that the en tire discomfiture of the enemy was looked for with a con fidence amounting to certainty, " To what cause," proceeds the General to ask, " was the aban- , donment of your lines owing ? To fear ? No I You are the countrymen, the friends, the brothers of those who have secured to themselves by their courage the gratitude of their country, who have been prodigal of their blood in its defence, and who are stran gers to any other fear than that of disgrace. To disaffection to our glorious cause? No! my countrymen; your General does justice to the pure sentiments by which you are inspired. How then could brave men, firm in the cause in which they were enrolled, neglect their first duty, and abandon tho post committed to their care ?" The answer which the General gives to his OAvn inter rogatories confirms the view which we took of the causes of that disaster, and which he attributes " to the want of discipline, the want of order, a total disregard to obedience, and a spirit of insubordination, not less de structive than cowardice itself" WTiilst thus upbraiding the troops for their want of discipline and order, for their disregard to obedience, and their spirit of insubor dination, he could scarcely, in the same breath, comment on the deficiencies of their officers, and particular, ly on the incapacity exhibited by General Morgan. This v/ould have Aveakened the effect he intended to produce ; but 1815.] JAOKSON TO MORGAn's TROOPS. 491 we shall show that he was not unaware of the existence of that evil, although he probably did not think it prop er to take notice of it in his address. He sternly tells our men, however, that the causes which led to their late disaster must be eradicated, or that he must cease to comraand : " I desire to be distinctly understood," he says, " that every breach of orders, all want of discipline, every inattention to duty will be seriously and promptly punished, in order that the attentive officers and good soldiers may not be exposed to the disgrace and danger which the negligence of a few may produce. Soldiers ! you want only the will, in order to emulate the glory of your fel low-citizens on this bank of the river. You have the same motives for action, the same interest, the same country to protect, and you have an additional interest from, past events, to wipe off the stain on your honor, and show what, no doubt, is the fact, that you will not be inferior in the day of trial to any of your countrymen." After having aniraated them by this powerful appeal to their manhood, he gives them this salutary lesson, which we hope will be forever remembered in our Southern armies : " But remember that, without obe dience, without order, without discipline, all your efforts are vain, and the brave man, inattentive to his duty, is worth little more to his country than the coward who deserts her in the hour of danger." This sententious truth, so tersely expressed, and coming from such a source, should be inscribed on the flag of every regiraent. " Pri vate opinions," he continues, " as to the competency of officers must not be indulged, and still less expressed. It is impossible that the measures of those who coramand should satisfy aU who are bound to obey, and one of the most dangerous faults in a soldier is a disposition to criticise and blame the orders and characters of his supe riors." This may be sound doctrine, but how will it work in its practical application? Was there CA'er a 492 JACKSON TO morgan's troops. [1816. body of intelligent soldiers, particularly if they were veterans and had the experience of war, who ever refrained from indulging in having their " private opinion" as to the competency of their officers ? Can it be otherwise ? We think not. It is impossible for a general at the head of an army not to reveal his capacity or incapacity in a few days. Men in front of danger have a keen instinct. No captain ever could handle an array with credit to himself, without possessing the confidence of that array, and that confidence will ever be the result of "opinion," There had been no " insubordination, no want of order and discipline" in our camp on the left side of the Mississippi, General Jackson had had nothing to apprehend on the battle-field from the criticism of his soldiers. Why ? Be cause they believed in him, and they believed in him because they had seen him at work, and they had judged the workman accordingly. It is, probably, because every soldier under General Morgan and General Jackson had entertained a " private opinion" as to the competency of his commander, that one army fought gloriously, and the other fled precipitately. The General wound up his address with much military tact, and with a kind of tender consideration for the feelings of those for whom it was intended : " Soldiers," ho said, " I know that many of you have done your duty, and I trust, in my next address, I shall have no reason to make any exceptions. _ Officers, I have tho fullest confidence that you will enforce obedience to your commands, and, above all, that by subordination in your different grades, you will set the example of it to your men ; and that, hereafter, the army of the right will yield to none in the essential qualities which characterize good soldiers ; and that they will earn their share of those honors and rewards which their country will prepare for its deliverers.' After having issued this address, General Jackson deemed it expedient to put an able officer at the head of 18,16.] GENERAL HIjMBERT. 493 the defeated troops on the right side of the Mississippi. He ordered Humbert, a French General who had been ex iled frora his country on account of his extrerae republican ideas, and who had tendered his services against the in vaders of Louisiana, to cross the river and recover the ground which we had lost. "I," said Jackson, "expect you, General, to repulse the eneray, cost what it may." " I will ; you may rely on it," replied Humbert, delighted with an order which suited exactly the well-known temerity of his natural disposition. The occasion was so urgent, and Humbert was in such haste to drive the British into the river, that he neglected or forgot to ask General Japkson for his Avritten authority. On his ar rival, this led to unpleasant discussions, which produced delay. General Morgan appeared inclined, at first, to receive as sufficient evidence the word of General Hurabert, and ready to accept his assistance, if not to serve under him in a subordinate capacity, but finally demurred to it by the advice and on the representations of sorae of his officers. " General Humbert," they remarked, " may be a very able man, but he is an unnaturalized foreigner. We think that none but an Araerican should comraand Araericans. Are we to admit that we have no native military talent among us to lead us to victory in the defence of our country ? This foreigner clairas to have the right to ask of you four hundred raen. It is derogatory to our national character, and a personal affront to you. It iraplies that you are believed to be incapable of repairing the disaster which has lately befallen your arras, and there is a great want of generosity, to say the least of it, in not alloAving you the opportunity, by striking another blow at the enemy, to regain what you may have lost in military reputation. It is hardly possible that General Jackson intended thus to lacerate your feelings. Such an order should have been in writing. General Humbert may 494 GENERAL HUMBERT. [1816. have misconstrued his mission," Others were indignant at General Humbert's Avord being doubted : " General Jackson could not have supposed such a thing, and there fore had not, in the hurry of the moraent, taken time to reduce his order to writing. The mere fact of General Jackson's telling Humbert to demand 400. men was a proof of his being intended as Comraander-in- Chief. Was such a man, who had risen to his grade, step by step, from the lowest ranks, by the valor he had dis played in so many battles, to be under the command of a raw militia general? The appointraent of Humbert was no doubt intended by General Jackson, not only as a compliraent to that distinguished foreigner, who had shown such zeal in our cause, but also as an act of kindly consideration for the feelings of General Morgan, who ought to be proud to serve under such a leader. ' General Morgan might have complained with some reason, if his comraand had been transferred to some other militia dignitary like himself, of no higher rank and of no greater distinction. General Jackson had probably vicAved it in that light, and had therefore shown his usual delicate tact, when sending to General Moi'gan a veteran known in history as the hero of Castle- bar, To such a man, coraing to his assistance, General Morgan should feel that he ought to tender the coraraand, even if it had not been given by General Jackson. French, English, Spanish, and other troops had more than once been coramanded by foreigners. Why should Americans be raore sensitive?" Thus reasoned those who favored General Humbert.' But General Humbert was " displeased and went off," writes Colonel Shauraburgh to Governor Claiborne. There seeras, indeed, to have been sorae cause for confu sion as to who was to coraraand on that day on the right side of the river, for General Jackson had sent the foi- 1815.J CONDITION OF MORGAN'S TROOPS. 495 lowing note to Claiborne : " I have sent you all the re- inforceraent that I can spare, or that I have arms for. The enemy on the other side is not more than five hun dred strong. They must be destroyed 1" This reinforce ment was but feeble in nuraber, and not in a condition to do ranch service. The raen had passed the preceding night under arms, had fought the whole uiorning, and then marched four railes from Jackson's camp to New Orleans in the rain and shivering frora cold. Some had no arras at all, and the arras and ararauuition of the rest were wet. In this condition they were to be hurriedly transported on the other side of the river, and to march four other miles before meeting the enemy. " In fact," says Colonel Shauraburgh, the Governor's aid, " they were not fit for a new corabat for that day." The Goa-- ernor took it for granted that he was to cross the river and take the coraraand iraraediately over Morgan. In the raean tirae he ordered Shauraburgh to pro ceed to Morgan's lines, consult with him, and " see AA'hat could be done." Shauraburgh found Morgan's coramand " greatly scattered, disheartened and discon tented." He spoke to several of the raen, and, on his reprobating their conduct, they replied : " Give us officers and we will fight better."* General Morgan, on being shown Jackson's characteristic note to Claiborne, in which it was eraphaficaUy said, tlie enemy must be de stroyed, thought that it could not be executed, and, " in deed, by the looks of things, I thought so too," observes Shauraburgh, Governor Claiborne arrived, noticed the " unpleasant situation of the troops," and, after consulting with Morgan and his subordinate officers, came to the sarae conclusions. Under these circurastances, he deter mined to make a " true statement" to General Jack.son on the subject, and recrossed the river for that purpose, • Executive Journal, Shaumburgh's communication to Claiborne. 496 SUSPENSION OF HOSTILITIES. [1815. Fortunatel}' the British retired, and returned to their camp on the other side, thus saving us from the neces sity of an attack. Immediately after the retreat of the enemy our troops reoccupied their forraer position, and went to work with such zeal, that Coraraodore Patterson, on the 13th of January, wrote to the Secretary of the Navy: " Our present situation is now so strong, that there is nothing to apprehend should the eneray make another atterapt on this side." On the raorning of the 9th, General Jackson granted a suspension of arms to bury the dead, at the request of General Lambert, who had assumed the command of the British army. A touching scene occurred when we de livered the bodies of the three officers who had been killed on our breastworks. Colonel Rennie, in particu lar, must have been an object of love and admiration to his raen ; for those brave soldiers shed tears when tak ing possession of his lifeless forra. Some knelt and kissed his corpse ; they called the dead " father," and showed all the depth of filial grief. Those of our men who witnessed this honorable exhibition of feeling were so moved, that they deplored the dire necessity of the loss they had inflicted on an eneray. When this raourn- ful duty of giving sepulture to the dead had been per formed, our artillery resuraed its fire, and gave no rest to the British carap, into which the balls of our heavy pieces fell with great accuracy. . Coraraodore Patterson sent to Lake Borgne, through Bayou St, John and the Rigolets, six arraed boats, which captured several trans ports, made a good raany prisoners, and annoyed the eneray. On the 15th, several of our most experienced officers thought they saw in the British carap unraistak- able indications of a conteraplated retreat, and on that same day^ their conjectures were confirmed by the report of a deserter. On the l7th. General Lambert proposed 1815.] ATTACK ON FORT ST. PHILIP. 497 to draw up a cartel of prisoners, which was accepted, and on the next day we delivered ta the British sixty- three of their prisoners in return for the same number of our men, leaving in our hands an excess of several hundred. The British had intended to send into the Mississippi some armed vessels, to co-operate with their land forces in the subjugation of Louisiana. But this object it was impossible to accomplish without first taking posses sion of Fort St. Philip, which prohibited their entrance into the river. Early on the morning of the 8th, Major Overton, who had the coraraand of the fort, was advised of the approach of the eneray, and on the 9th there hove in sight two bomb-vessels, cue sloop, one brig, and one schooner. They anchored two and a quarter railes be low the fort, and two barges were sent apparently for the purpose of sounding Avithin a mile and a half of the fort. At this moment our water battery opened upon them, and its Avell-directed shot caused a precipi tate retreat. Shortly after, the eneray opened their fire frora four sea-raortars, at a distance which was beyond the reach of any of our pieces, and it continued with lit tle interruption until the l7th. Occasionally our bat teries replied with great vivacity, particularly when tho vessels showed any disposition to change their position, and make a forward movement. On the evening of the l7th, we succeeded in having a heavy mortar in readi ness, which opened upon them with so rauch effect, that they eA'idently becarae disordered frora that moraent, and at daylight on the 18th they commenced their retreat. Our loss was uncoraraonly small, although the shot of the eneray had scarcely left ten feet of the fort untouch ed ; it amounted to tAvo killed and seven wounded. " The officers and soldiers," says Major Overton in his report to Commodore Patterson, " although nine days 498 EVACUATION OF THE BRITISH ARMY. [1815, and nights under arras in the different batteries, and notwithstanding the consequent fatigue and loss of sleep, have manifested the greatest firmness and the most zeal ous warmth to be at the enemy," This failure to pass the fort, or to take it, probably contributed to strengthen General Larabert's deterraination to evacuate. On the raorning of the 19th an unusual quietness was observed to prevail in the British carap. Was it evacu ated ? But how could it be ? There, as before, were the huts standing, the flags strearaing to the breeze, the sen tinels posted as usual. Telescopes were put in requisi tion, but those who used them differed in their conclu sions. The majority thought that the enemy was still in possession of his camp. The veteran Humbert Avas consulted. His reply was positive : the enemy had evacuated. " How can you be so certain. General ? " said Jackson. Humbert pointed at a crow which was in a state of unnatural proximity to one of the sentries. Evidj.itly there could be no life in those pretended cus todians of the approaches to the British camp, notwith standing their British uniforms and their glittering muskets. They were mere images; the hunted and wounded lion had fled during the night. Fearful of some stratagem, General Jackson, in order to ascertain the real state of things, was ordering out a reconnoitering party, when a flag of truce came with a letter from Gen eral Lambert, informing General Jackson that the British army had evacuated its position on the Mississippi, and had, for the present, relinquished all undertaking against New Orleans and its vicinity. He further recommended to the humanity and generosity of General Jackson some wounded men whom he had been compelled to leave. There was no attempt raade on our part to harass the enemy, " because such was the situation of the ground which he abandoned," said Jackson in his dispatch of 1816.] . RETREAT OF THE BRITISH. 499 the 19th of January to the Secretary of War, " and that through Avhich he retired, protected by canals, redoubts and intrenchraents on his right, and the river on his left, that I could not, without encountering a risk which true policy did not seera to require or authorize, annoy hira rauch on his retreat. We took only eight prison ers." General Larabert, in his dispatch of the 28th of Jan uary to Earl Bathurst, says " that he effected his retreat without raolestation ; that all the sick and wounded, Avith the exception of eighty whom it was considered dangerous to remove, with all the field artillery, ammu nition, hospital and other stores of every description, which had been landed on a very large scale, were all brought away ; and that nothing fell into the hands of the Americans, excepting six iron eighteen-pounders mounted on sea-carriages, and two carronades." We say fourteen instead of eight pieces of artillery, but we admit, as General Larabert avers, " that they were i'en dered perfectly unserviceable." G eneral Lambert further informs his Lordship that only four men were reported absent on the next morning after his retreat ; " and these," he adds, " must have been left behind, and must have fallen into the han^5 nor raore characteristic of his love for Jbis country ; that the conduct of Declouet had been extravagant, and his declarations full of inconsistencies, contradictions and absurdities ; that he had yielded to chimerical appre hensions, and to that miserable mania which some, peo ple have of seeking to make theraselves iraportant near those who are in power, of pretending to penetrate into the minds of men and envenoming their words ; that Governor Claiborne had sent no raessage to General Jackson in relation to any intended capitulation on the part of the Legislature ; that, if the order he had received had eraanated from the General, nothing ought to have in duced him to execute them ; that the Committee had seen with extreme surprise the course pursued by him ; that his paramount duties were those he had assumed toward the State and her Constitution ; and that it was evident that he could not obey those orders AAdthout violating the oath he had taken to support that Constitution, This Report was presented and unanimously adopted on the 6th of February. On the same day. Governor Claiborne transraitted to the Legis.ature the folloAving letter, which he had re ceived frora General Jackson :* " SiE : The Legislature of your State being on the eve of closing their labors, it is necessary, as much for the honor of the members of that body, as for the interest of those whose defence is intrust ed to me, that I should take cognizance of the different testimo nies and other documents which have been collected by the Com mittee instructed to investigate the causes of proceedings, which, on the 28th of Deceraber, had a tendency to produce an accusation of treason against that body. If so grave an accusation has been unjustly brought by any one of the officers of my army, he must be immediately prosecuted, and the innocence of every member of the Assembly whom he has so shamefully calumniated must be * Having failed to procure the original in English 1 am again compelled te retranslate from a French translation. 556 NO THANKS VOTED TO JAOKSON. [1815 made public. On the other hand, if this denunciation can bo justified by proofs against such of the members as it may concern, it is equally necessary that they should be prosecuted without de lay, in order that the guilty may be punished and the innocent sheltered against any suspicion. Were it possible for me to obtain all that part of the proceedings of the General Assembly which relates to this matter, I might perhaps cease to find myself under the necessity of making an inquest which now seems to me ex ceedingly important." The Legislature iraraediately voted that a copy of this Report, and of the documents annexed to it be trans mitted to General Jackson by the Secretary of the Senate, and adjourned sine die. It does not appear that, after receiving that copy. General Jackson thought it advisable to take further action in the matter. That adjournment had not taken place without voting thanks to all those who had in the slightest degree con tributed to the defence of the State, except General Jackson. A Resolution to present him with a sabre of the value of $800, as a testimonial of gratitude on the part of the State, had passed the House of Representa tives, but had been rejected by the Senate. Yet that very same Legislature had, on the 1st of December, 1814, voted thanks to General Jackson for the "great and important services " which he had rendered out of the State ! His subsequent services in the State, which were incomparably greater and more important, they chose to pass over in silence ! We had adopted the popular impression that this remarkable silence had been observed by the Legislature in consequence of the offen sive orders issued against that body on the 28th of De cember, but on examination we soon discovered our error ; for instead of being blamed, he was, as we have shown, unanimously praised and approved for the mes sage which he had sent to Claiborne on that occasion.* * See page 664. 1815.] GENERAL COFFEE TO THE LEGISLATURE. ss*? Why, therefore, was the name of the savior of Louis iana so strikingly omitted in those resolutions of thanks which embraced the names of Generals Coffee, Carroll, Thomas, Adair, and others rauch less conspicuous than the Coraraander-in-Chief ? We cannot but feel that it is 1 curious subject of inquiry. General Coffee, in his reply, took notice of that glaring oraission : " To know," he said, " that we have contributed in any degree to the preservation of our country, is to myself and the brave men under my immediate command a source of the most pleasing reflection. To have received so flattering and distinguished a testimonial of our services adds to the pleasure which that consciousness alone would have afforded. "While we indulge the pleasing emotions that are thus pro duced, we should be guilty of great injustice, as well to merit as to our own feelings, if we withheld from the Comraander-in-Chief, to whose wisdom and exertions we are so much indebted for our success, the expression of our highest admiration and applause. To his firmness, his skill, his gallantry, to that confidence and una nimity among all ranks produced by those qualities, we must chiefly ascribe the splendid victories in which we esteem it a happiness and an honor to have borne a part." This was an indirect but keen rebuke. We cannot but think that it would have better coraported Avith the dignity of the Legislature to have shown a proper sense of the services of General Jackson, and, at the same time, expressed the censure or disapprobation which they might have thought that any of his acts deserved. As it is, we are left to our conjectures. Can it be per mitted to suppose that, whilst they solemnly acquitted him of all blame, and even lauded him for the propriety of his. raessage to Claiborne on the 28th, they secretiy nourished feelings of resentraent ? Was it because they believed that the General had not sufficiently appreciated the zeal of the Louisianians in the defence of their country ? The pages of this History establish that his heart was full of gratitude for their patriotic co-opera 558 JACKSON TO THE MAYOR OF NEW ORLEANS. [1815 tion in every possible way, and that he had expressed it in energetic and beautiful language in raore than one official docuraent. Even a few days before the adjourn raent of the Legislature he had written, on the 27th of January, to Nicolas Girod, the Mayor of New Orleans, the following letter, which ought to have removed any such impression, if it had ever existed in the mind of anybody : " SiE : Deeply impressed since my arrival with the unanimity and patriotic z'eal displayed by the citizens over whom you so worthily preside, I should be inexcusable if any other occupation than that of providing for their defence had prevented my public acknowl edgments of their merits. I pray you now to communicate to the inhabitants of your respectable city the exalted sense I entertain of their patriotism, love of order, and attachment to the principles of our excellent Constitution. The courage they have shown in a period of no common danger, and the fortitude with which they have rejected all the apprehensions which the vicinity of the enemy was calculated to produce, were not more to be admired than their humane attention to our own sick and wounded, as well as those of that description among the prisoners. The liberality with which their representatives in the City Council provided for the families of those who were in the field evinced an enlightened humanity, and was productive of the most beneficial effects. Seldom in any com munity has so much cause been given for deserved praise ; while the young were in the field and arrested the progress of the foe, the aged watched over the city, and maintained its internal peace ; and even the softer sex encouraged their husbands and brothers to re main at the post of danger and duty. Not content with exerting for the noblest jiurpose that powerful influence Avhich is given them by nature (and which in your country women is rendered irresisti ble by accomplishments and beauty), they showed themselves capa ble of higher efforts, and, actuated by humanity and patriotism, they clothed by their own labor, and protected from the inclemency of the season, the men who had marched from a distant State U guard them from insults. In the name of those brave raen, I beg you. Sir, to convey to them the tribute of our admiration and thanks ; assure them that the distant wives and daughters of those whom they have succored will remember them in their prayers , and that, for myself, no circumstance of this important campaign 1815.] REFLECTIONS, 569 touches me with more exquisite pleasure than that T have been ena bled to lead back to thera, with so few exceptions, the husbands, brothers, and other relatives of whom such women only are worthy. " I anticipate, Sir, with great satisfaction, the period when the final departure of the enemy will enable you to resume the ordina ry functions of your oflice, and restore the citizens to their usual occupations — they have merited the blessings of peace by bravely facing the dangers of war, " I should be nngrateful or insensible, if I did not acknowledge the marks of confidence and affectionate attachment with which I have personally been honored by your citizens; a confidence which has enabled me with greater success to direct the measures for their defence; an attachment which I sincerely reciprocate, and which I shall carry with me to the grave, " For yourself, Mr. Mayor, I pray you to accept ray thanks for the very great zeal, integrity, and diligence with which you have conducted the arduous department of the police committed to your care, and the promptitude with which every requisition for the pub lic service has been carried into effect. "Connected ¦with the United States, your city must become the greatest emporium of commerce that the world has known. In the hands of any other power it can be nothing but a wretched colony. May your citizens always be as sensible of this groat truth as they have shown themselves at present ; may they always make equal efforts to preserve this important connection, and may you. Sir, long live to witijess the prosperity, wealth and happiness that will then inevitably characterize the great sea-port of the Western world," Certainly, this eloquent tribute to the raerits of the citizens of New Orleans raust have raore than surpassed the expectations of the raost exacting. To some other cause, therefore, than the want of a just appreciation of the Louisianians on the part of General Jackson, must the feelings of the Legislature against hira be attributed. Can such deep resentment have been produced by so trifling a cause as General Jackson's answer to a com munication by Claiborne in relation to the discharge of some of the militia from military duty ? " Applications 560 REFLECTIONS. [1815. being hourly addressed to rae," wrote Claiborne to Jack son on the 31st of January, " by the militia officers of the State to learn the disposition to be made of the various detachments noAV at this place, and finding a wish very general on the part of the citizens to return to their respective homes, I take the liberty to ask whether, in your judgraent, the services of tun whole, or what part of the railitia of the State now in the service of the United States, can be dispensed with, and at what period." Major Butler answered in the narae of Jack son : " The* Major-General requests me to announce to you that, as long as the enemy shall be within six hours' sail of New Orleans, no part of the militia shall be dis missed ; and that they should not apply for it under sucn circumstances." This correspondence was, on the same day, laid before the Legislature by Claiborne, but we do not feel justified in looking to this refusal for the explana tion which we desire, as the effect would be too dispro portionate to the cause ; and yet we do not find anything else on record to which we might turn for a solution of the difficulty. In the absence of any positive evidence, we shall resort, as we have already said, to conjectures founded on what we believe to be logical and impartial deductions. We have seen, in the course of this History, that there had been no harmonious concert of action between the Governor and the Legislature, and that this officer, even before Jackson had set his foot on the soil of Louisiana, had, in his correspondence with hira, used language which showed his apprehensions that the Legislature would do raore harra than good during the irapending crisis. For this reason, perhaps, if not for others, Jack son and Claiborne, as soon as Louisiana had bfen actually invaded, had desired the adjournraent of that body. * A retranslatiou from a French translation. 1816,] REFLECTIONS, 561 Besides, it was thought both by Jackson and Claiborne that the eneray being within six miles of the capital, the presence of the merabers of the General Assembly would be more useful in the field in front of the invaders than in the halls of legislation. Such had been the opinion of several of the members theraselves, who had left their seats and had rejiaired to the carap of General Jackson. The raajority, however, had decided otherwise, and soon discovered that their decision had been disapproved, not only by the Chief Magistrate of the State, not only by the Federal Coraraander-in-Chief, to whora their defence had been intrusted, but also by a considerable portion of the public and of the array. It is not in the nature of raan to feel araiably toward those by whora he sus pects that he is censured. Hence a degree of restive sensitiveness on the part of sorae of thera, as strikingly evinced in the interview betAveen Guichard and Declouet, when the propriety of their raotives for not adjourning seeraed to be questioned. It must be recollected that one of their reasons* for continuing in session Avas, " that contingencies might happen and unforeseen cases raight occur, when the interference of the Legislature raight be necessary." Could it be a matter of astonishment, had those who were dissatisfied with the refusal of the Legis lature to adjourn, whispered that there was sorae definite and dark purpose concealed under the vague raeaning of these words ? Martial laAV had been proclaimed ; the guns of the enemy Avere thundering at the gates of the besieged city. What could be those " contingencies," what could be those " unforeseen cases" which might re quire the " interference" of the Legislature ? Interference in what ? interference with whom in such critical tiraes ? Was not everything in the hands of the Comraander-in- Chief? Hence unfounded suspicions may have arisen; See page 402. 36 562 REFLECTIONS. [1815. they raay have been expressed, or guessed at ; and the consequence was sorae soreness on the part of the Legis lature, who thought theraselves unjustly treated. Such was the state of things when, on the 23d, during the battle, or shortly before, it was reported that General Jackson, if defeated, would destroy the city. It created great consternation;* the lamentations Avere loud ; the censure of. General Jackson's defensive measures was un sparing ; the doubts as to his capacity for coraraand were not concealed ; and the cry that he was conducting war after the Russian or Barbarian fashion was raised. Ap plication was made to Major Butler, who had been left in command of the city, to know the truth of the report ; he refused to admit or to deny it ; this increased the alarm. It is not unnatural to imagine that some of the members of the Legislature, witnessing the terror of many of theu- constituents, and perhaps trembling for the safety of their families and property in the. midst of a general conflagration, may have blamed the supposed determination of General Jackson, and that their expres sions of censure or dissent may have been spread among the public in a distorted sense, and reported with exag gerations to General Jackson, engendering feelings of an unpleasant nature. We fancy that we can trace up to the refusal to adjourn and to the report that the city was to be destroyed in case of a disaster to the American arms, the origin of the mutual distrust and estrangement which sprang up between General Jackson and the Legislature, In a letter written nine years after, on the 22d of March, 1824, General Jackson said : " When I left the city and marched against the enemy on the night of the 23d of December, 1814, 1 was obliged to leave one of my aids in command, having no other confidential officer that could * See pp. 435, 486. 1815.] SKIPWITH TO JACKSON, 563 be spared from command. A few days after, Mr. Skipwith, in per son, applied to ray Aid to be informed what would be my conduct, if driven from my lines of defence, and compelled to retreat through New Orleans — whether I would leave the supplies for the enemy or destroy them? As reported by my Aid to me, he wanted this information for the Assembly, that, in case my intention was to destroy them, they might make terms with the enemy. Obtaining no satisfaction from my Aid, a Committee of three waited on rae for satisfaction on this subject. To them I replied : ' If I thought the hair of my head knew my thoughts, I would cut it off or burn it' — to return to their honorable body, and to say to thera from me, that if I was to be so unfortunate as to be diiven from the lines I then occupied, and compelled to retreat through New Orleans, they would have a warm session of it." SkipAvith, who was President of the Senate in 1815, noticed these charges by publishing the following ad dress to General Jackson : " It was on one of the nights about the time alluded to by Major Butler, that, returning from patrol duty from the grand round of the city, in passing, and seeing lights in the house of Mrs. F— , an old and much respected acquaintance of mine, and a great ad mirer of yours, I called in to pay her my respects, and found with her another very interesting lady, Mrs. E , who, in the course of her conversation, mentioned a report, as circulated in the city, and I think she said, by sorae Kentuckians just from your lines of defence, that, if forced, you would destroy rather than see the city fall into the hands of the eneray. A day or two after, at the request of the railitary council of the City Guard, of which I was a member, I waited on Major Butler concerning a citizen under arrest, and not directly or indirectly charged with anything concerning that report ; and being asked by him, ' if there was anything new in the city,' I remember replying that such was the report ' among wo men.' Conscious, General, of having, through life, treated the names and characters of married ladies with the most scrupulous caution and respect, I cannot believe that I mentioned the names of the two ladies, between whom I heard the report ; and never having, at any time, attached to it myself either belief or import ance, I could not have made it a subject of serious communication to the Senate, to the Military Council, or to any raeraber of them, mdividually, I am willing, therefore, to rest the truth of my as- 564 THIBODAUX TO SKIPWITH, [1815 eertions, in repelling this most slanderous and bolstered charge of yours, and consequently its utter falsehood, as far as it criminates ray conduct and views, on the testimony not only of the remaining individuals who composed the Senate and the Military Council, but on the testimony of any two or three remaining individuals in society, who were eye-witnesses of my conduct at the invasion of New Orleans, .and whose oaths would be respected by a well-com posed jury of their vicinity. " I may well, then. Sir, pronounce this last charge of yours to be false, utterly false, as applying to me individually, or to the Senate over which I presided, or to the Military Council of which I was a member, aud deny that the most distant hint, or wish, was ever expressed in any of their deliberations, or in private, by any one of their members with my knoAvledge, or within my hearing, ' to make terms with the enemy.' And more false, if possible, is it still, that the Legislature should, with my consent or connivance, depute a Committee to wait on you on that subject, or on any other during the invasion, in which I had any agency, that was not founded, in my humble estimation at least, on principles of patri otism and honor. I may, therefore, hope to find indulgence in every honest breast for having expressed, in some degree, the pro found contempt which this charge so justly merits, and which it is impossible for rae, with life, to cease to feel." On reading Skipwith's letter to General Jackson, Thi bodaux, who was a raeraber of the Senate at the tirae, and a raan of great political influence, addressed to Skip with a coraraunication, in which he said that the notori ously ungenerous and unraerited accusation which had been cast upon the whole Legislature of Louisiana, and particularly upon the Senate, by General Jackson, was, in his hurable opinion, such as ought to be taken up and repelled with the indignation it really deserves. " This charge," he added, " was not laid upon you alone, but' it embraces the whole Senate. Could you not, Sir, as being then the President of that honorable body, could you not, with propriety, call upon the merabers who were sitting with you, and prevail upon them to join in clearing, through the sarae medium that was made use of, those shameful stains with which that body was stigma tized ? And would it not be but fair if this infamous calumny re- 1816.] THIBODAUX TO SKIPWITH. 565 coiled toward its source and against its very author? A supine silence appears to operate on the part of the members of the Gen eral Assembly as a conviction of the truth of the accusation ; and this opinion, as you may know yourself, is circulating in the public by the exertions of the General's friends. I beg leave to be ex cused for attempting to suggest the right course you have to foi-. low. Those are the dictates of a heart indignantly offended at the r.asli attack of Ihe General, and, although it does not fall u[)oii me directly (for you will recollect I was on active service), it rebounds upon me very heavily, aud wounds rae to the very heart's core." Without attempting to reconcile the conflicting asser tions of Major Butler and General Jackson, with the de- negations of Skipwith and Thibodeau, we think that we have now sufficient light before us to review understand- ingly the extraordinary proceedings which took place on the 28th of December, and to discover the cause of the secret feeling of hostility existing b(!tween the Legisla ture and General Jackson. After much reflection and patient examination we have come to the gratifying con clusion that the Legislature of the State, including all its merabers, and, among others, those influential leaders, Blanque, Marigny and Guichard, whose names are men tioned in the testimony of Declouet and other witnesses before the Coramittee of Investigation, acted Avith unde- viating patriotism, and that, after the arrival of General Jackson, they had, as a body and individually, done all that could be expected of them to secure the defence of the State. Blanque, in particular, had, on the 15th of De cember, introduced into the House of Representatives this short spirited address to the citizens of the State of Louisiana, which had been enthusiastically adopted : " Your country is in danger ; the eneray is at your doors ; the frontiers of the State arc invaded. Your country expects of you the greatest eflbrts to- repulse the bold enemy who threatens to penetrate, in a few days, to the very hearth-stones of your homes , the safety of your own persons, that of your property, of your 566 blanque's letter to the citizens, [181b. wives and children, yet depends on you. Rush to arms, fellow- citizens, enlist promptly under the banner of General Jackson, of that brave chief who is to command you ; give him all your confi dence ; the successes he has already obtained assure you that to march under his standards is to march to victory. There is no longer any alternative ; dear fellow-citizens, we must defend our selves ; we must conquer, or we must be trampled under the feet of a cruel and implacable enemy, whose known excesses will be as nothing when compared with those which he will perpetrate iu our unfortunate country. To arras ! Let us precipitate ourselves upon the eneray ; let us save from his cruelty, from his barbarous out rages all that is dear to us, all that can bind us to life. Your Rep resentatives have supplied the Executive with all the pecuniary means which he required of them for the defence of the State, and they will give you the exa,mi^le of the devotion which they expect of you." It was to Blanque that Lafitte had appealed when he wished to offer his services and those of his companions to the State, and it was because he knew the undoubted devotion of that gentleman to the cause which he, La fitte, desired to be perraitted to erabrace. We say with a feeling of legitimate pride, that after having made the most minute researches, we have not been able to discover the slightest proof that the Legislature ever entertained treasonable purposes, or that any mem ber of that body ever thought of " making terms AAith the enemy," as long as all the raeans of the raost obsti nate defence should not have been exhausted. But, at the same tirae, it is not equally demonstrated to us that there Avere not many merabers of the Legislature in fa vor of capitulating, when capitulation could have been honorably made, rather than destroying New Orleans and exposing its numerous population to all the horrors which would haA'C been the consequences of such an act. They may have thought that the destruction of that city would not have answered the sarae purpose which had been obtained by the conflagration of Moscow, be- ^^^^•] REFLECTIONS, ,567 cause it would have been done under different cucura- stances. It is probable that, entertaining such views, and whilst in a .state of excitement which was but too natural, on witnessing the agonies of terror which pre vailed in New Orleans when the uncontradicted report spread that the city was to be set on fire in case of a de feat, some of thera, by words or actions which Avere mis construed, gave rise to those suspicions which we have found existing against them to an extraordinary extent, as we shall show. That one man, that Declouet should have been visionary and should have taken as realities the dreams of his OAvn over heated imagination, we ad mit to be possible ; but it seems to us totally inexplica ble that the same delusion should have been shared by so many others, if there had not been some grounds for its existence. If the refusal to adjourn had not been interpreted in a manner as injurious to the Legislature as represented by Declouet, if those suspicious nocturnal meetings, those secret sessions with which he taxed them when addressing the very head of one of the Houses, had never been held, how comes this drearaer to have obtain ed such credit with Duncan, a distinguished raeraber of the New Orleans Bar and an Aid to General Jackson, when he was understood to accuse the Legislature of treason? Would Duncan have been throAvn into a vio lent state of agitation ? Would he have given faith to such a charge, would he have adraitted the possibility of such an event, had he not been disposed to it by sorae thing antecedent ? In a raatter of this iraportance, would General Jackson have acted on a mere verbal message delivered to his Aid by a militia Colonel whose name he, Jackson, did not even know at. the tirae ? Would he not have scouted at so startling an intelligence brought to hira in this loose raanner, if he had had fuU confidence IU the Legislature ? Would he have ordered to make 568 REFLECTIONS. [1816 strict inquiry into a fact which he would have thought impossible, and which he did not believe ? Would he have empowci-ed the Governor, whora he understood to b*; the accuser of the Legislature, to becorae also their judge, to pass sentence on their guilt, and to " blow them up," if he had not been laboriag under a degree of indignant excitement which blinded his reason, and wh'teh shows that he did not altogether discredit, as he pretended, the probability of the event ? Are we not warranted in believing that we interpret correctly the state of his mind on that occasion when we take into consideration his letter of the 22d March, 1824, which informs us of what occurred between the President of the Senate and But ler, and between a Coraraittee of the Legislature and hiraself in relation to their "making teiTus Avith the enemy ?" Colonel Fortier, Governor Claiborne's Aid, a native of the State, a raan of extensive faraily connections, who had friends and relations in that Legislature, does not shoAV any astonishment at the wonderful message of which Duncan is the bearer. He transmits it Avithout doubts, remarks or coraraents of any kind, as far as we know. The Governor is startled, it is time, as we are inforraed, but consents to execute, in clear violation of his official oath, and against those whom it was his duty to protect, the mere verbal order of a Federal officer, which might have been altered or modified in passing through the lips of two different persons — and what an order ! to prevent by force the meeting of the Representatives of that sovereign State of which he was the Chief Magis trate ! Could anything so monstrous have happened without foundation ; and, if that foundation was laid in eiTor, was there not soraething plausible, or haAing the color of truth, for that error or delusion to stand upon ? General Labatut, a State officer, who coraraanded the 1816,] REFLECTIONS. 5(59 corps of veterans to whora the guard of the city hat been intrusted, receives the Governor's mandate to" close the doors of the State Hou.se, and to fire at the members of the Legislature if they attempt to meet notwithstand ing his prohibition, and he obeys Avith aslittie hesitation as if he had been commanded to pass a revievv according to law ; he obeys it as readily as Harrison and Worsley, when, at the beck of Cromwell, they caused the British Parliament to be thrust out of doors by a file of muske teers. If there had not been something in the public mind against that guiltiess but unfortunate Legislature, would Labatut, the kindest and raildest of mt-n, a re spectable and peaceful merchant of the city, have accept ed the responsibility of a measure, for which there w(!re then but two precedents in history? Would he have shoAvn the unreasoning obedience of a janissary ? Would the Governor himself, who did not leave behind him the reputation of a rash man, and whose desire for popularit}- was said to be the weak part of his character, have dared to justify that measure in a special message to the Legislature — in which he said "he had pursued the course which prudence and duty required ?"* Would he, whora his very fiiends accused of shrinking too much frora taking responsibilities, have assumed one of this frightful magnitude without feeling sure that there was a condition of things existing which would shelter him from all consequences ? Would he have boldly told the Legislature themselves, " that so rauch suspected were their intentions by the public, that had they met on the 28th there might have been a popular commotion wliich he could not have repressed ? " If these facts had not been true, or had been even doubtful, would he have ventured to assert thera in an official docuraent destined for publication ? Would not the Legislature, betAveen * See page 541. 570 REFLECTIONS. [1815, whom and him there never had existed any very good understanding, have turned upon hira and crushed him for iuA'cntions of so calumnious a nature ? Would they not have arraigned the Governor at their bar ? Would they not have insisted upon a retractation ? Would they have permitted his coraraunication to have reraain ed unexplained, unanswered, on their records, as an eternal proof of their tacit assent to the truth of his declarations ? Can we admit that mere slanderous de- nunciation.s, without at least some superficial appearances of fact to rest upon, would have produced among the people such a state of distrust of the Legislature as is de scribed by the Governor — a Legislature composed, almcst without an exception, of men of high social positions, and whose personal infiuence throughout the State must have been greater than that of their calumniators? It is commonly said, in familiar parlance, that there never is smoke without fire. On this occasion, as there was no little smoke, there must have been sorae sparks of fire. The truth was, Ave suspect, as we have already said, that thei'e were sorae raembers of the Legislature who, after having exhausted all means of defence, and after having made all the necessary efforts to repulse the enemy fi-om New Orleans, were in favor of a capitulation, if it could be raade honorably, rather than of destroying the city, because they considered that destruction would have no ])ractical and advantageous results, and would would be a " mere sacrifice to military pride." We are confirmed in coming to this conclusion by the following language which we find in the Report of the Committee of Inquest : " It is glorious, no doubt, for citizens to bury themselves under the ruins of their city rather than surrender it to the eneray ; but that raan never was reputed a traitor who, no longer -able to resist a bar barous and triumphant enemy, has sought, by an hou- 1815.] REFLECTIONS. 571 orable capitulation, to preserve for his children the roof under which they were born." Such raay have been the dominant idea in the raind of raore than one of the members of the Legislature. Accordingly, those whose views agreed on the subject may have met to consult together and attempt to devise some means, legal in their opinion, by which they might prevent the calamity they dreaded. They raight have considered it as one of those " contingencies and unforeseen cases which they said raight arise and raight require the interference of the Legislature," and to raeet which they had refused to ad journ, when desired to do so by Claiborne and Jackson. Those raerabers raay, in an informal Avay, have sent a Com mittee to wait on General Jackson, to know his real in tentions, as he mentions in his letter of the 22d of May, 1824 ; and as this may not have been done in any of their regular sessions, either public or secret, according to official fbrm.s, but in one of those iriegular meetings which are frequently preparatory to legislative action, it is not astonishing if no record was kept of such pro ceedings in their journals. Their object may have been to capitulate after a disaster, and the public, alarmed at what may have appeared to be indications or syraptoras of disaffection, agitated by the reports of secret sessions, rais- construing ambiguous expressions, exaggerating the im port of hasty words of passion or vague threats, may- have supposed that the intention of the suspected mem bers was to capitulate before a disaster — which was very materially different. Hence the public excitement; hence the strange declaration of Claiborne to the Legis lature : " If you had met on the 28th of December, there probably would have been a popular comrabtion which it raight have been irapossible to repress." Although there raight have existed, and, according to Claiborne's positiA'e and official declarations, there did 672 REFLECTIONS. [1815. exist, among the public considerable apprehensions that the Legislature entertained some mischievous purposes of capitulation, whilst our forces were still confronting defiantly the enemy, and although these apprehensions can be easily conceived, because in days of great and irarai nent danger the raasses seldom reason and are carried away by impulses, yet we do not belieA'e that General Jackson anticipated any such action on the part of the Legislature, because something like a.bsolute impossibility would have stood in their way. It was evident that as long as his army remained intact between New Orleans and the eneray, the Legislature, if unpatriotic and ill- disposed, could not treat Avith the eneray without his consent, even if they had possessed the competent au thority. But he probably kncAV that he was bitterly censured for his supposed intention to destroy the city, rather than allow the British to take possession of it ; he may have believed in a disposition, on the part of certain memliers of the Legislature, to attempt to ft-us- trate that design in case of a disaster to his army ; and he may have looked upon it in a very different light frora what they did. They thought, as expressed in the Re port of the Coraraittee of Inquest, that it was no treason. He raay have thought it was. He raay have thought that, as Comraander-in-Chief of the forces of the United States, he was the sole authority to decide whether or not the destruction of New Orleans was a militar}' necessity ; that he was in duty bound to assume that responsibility; and that actual resistance to any of his military measures would be treason. Although the members of the Legis lature Avho raay have been opposed to what was called making war "after the Russian fashion," may not have l:»een able to agree to any feasible plan to prcA'ent Jack son from carrying into execution his supposed detennina tion to imitate in New Orleans the confiagration of Moscow, 1816.] REFLECTIONS. 573 yet their intention may have been known at headquarters, and they may have been looked upon as contingent traitors. Otherwise, how carae Jackson to send them this stern message : " Tell them that if I am so unfor tunate as to be driven from the lines I now occupy, and corapelled to retreat through New Orleans, they will have a warra session of it ?" Certainly, this was not the fi-iendly language of confidence and esteera ; it rather sounded like the warning threat of angry distrust. If such a raessage was sent and carried to its destination, it exi^lains that secret state of feeling which prevented any vote of thanks to General Jackson, although he was publicly acquitted of all improper interference with the Legislature on the 28th of December, and even praised by that body for the discretion and patriotism which he exhibited on that occasion. If the deductions which Ave have drawn frora the facts we have stated are not correct, we do not see how it is possible to account, in any rational way, for the mysterious historical anomaly which we have recorded. We regret that the Legislature, at the time, did not act Avith a foresight, a firmness and a dignity which would have redounded to their credit, and would have freed them from uuAVorthy suspicions. We think that, if they had attached any iraportance to the report that General Jackson intended to reduce New Orleans to ashes in case he retreated through that city, they raight with propriety, in one of their public sessions, have appointed a Coramittee to ascertain what truth there was in it, in order, not to " raake terms with the enemy," but to provide for the removal of the nuraerous woraen, children, and old men whom New Orleans contained, and to make an-angeraents to procure for them food and shelter in the interior of the country ; they raight have represented chat such had been the precautions taken ir 574 REFLECTIONS. [1815. Russia, and that Moscow had been deserted by its popu lation before it was burned. We believe that this would have been a legitiraate interference, and would not have been looked upon by Jackson as exceeding their proper sphere of action. We are under the impression that, whilst assuring the General that they were still disposed to co-operate with him as they had previously done, to the full extent of the resources of the State, aud ready to make every sacrifice Avhich patriotism might require, and Avhilst disclaiming all idea of entering into any conflict with the exercise of his military authority, and leaving with hira all the unrestrained responsibili ties of his acts as Commander-in-Chief, they might have remonstrated with hira on his deterraination to destroy New Orleans, as not being in their opinion an imperious necessity of defence, and as a measure which would have inflicted on the community incalculable losses and sufferings without adequate results. Such a course, which would have threatened no resistance to what he raight ulti raately decide, would have entitled thera to his respect and confidence, to the coramendation of the world, and raight have strengthened their rights to claim afterward from the United States a full compensation for the wanton destruction of their property. Such proceed ings, held openly, in broad daylight, conducted with raoderation and with the deference due to him who was intrusted with the defence of the State, might, if it could not have prevented the dreaded calamity, have put it beyond the power of their enemies to misrepresent tlieir intentions. Much as we admire General Jackson, we cannot coin cide with the Legislature in coraraending him for the " prudence, patriotisra and propriety " of his raessage to Claiborne on the 28th of Deceraber — a message Avhich he sent on the mere information of a militia colonel 1814.] REFLECTIONS. 575 whose narae he did not even know at the tirae. The General understood the Governor to accuse the Legisla- .ture of treason, and what was his order? "Tell the Governor to raake strict inquiry into the subject ; and, if true, to blow thera up,"— which meant : tell the Gov ernor that I empoAver hira to decide if his own accusa tion is well founded, and in that case to apply the penalty which I decree— "blow thera up." We suspect that Duncan, who was a lawyer, and understood the rights of the accused, Avas struck Avith the raonstrosity of the order of which he was the bearer. He well knew that if the raerabers of the Legislature were guilty of treason, if they had committed any overt act, they might be arrested, but that they Avere entitled to trial, and that the Governor of the State was not the competent tribu nal before which that trial could take place. He kucAv very well that if, on the other hand, they had not com mitted any overt act, but merely meditated treason, they might be prevented from carrying their j)ui'poses into execution, but that they could not be punished for a mere intention. Hence his changing of the order, ac cording to all probabilities, and his raerely " requesting the Governor to prevent the Legislature from meeting in order to ward off the anticipated evil,"* We cannot but remeraber that General Jackson, Avhen he gave his celebrated order, had received the inforraa tion which provoked.it, within the hearing of his troop? and in the midst of a battle, and we are willing, there fore, to raake ample allowances for the circumstances in which he Avas placed. Nevertheless, we think that the Legislature ougnt to have protested in suitable terms against his message to Claiborne, as being wrong in itself and as establishing a dangerous precedent, and that, at the same time, they ought to have had the raag- * See Duncan's Testimony, Journal of the Legislature. 67tJ REFLECTIONS. [1815 naniraity and justice to vote hira thanks and the proper testimonials of gratitude he was entitled to for his raili tary services. We think that, on receiving coraraunica tion of Jackson's letter to Claiborne, on the 6th of Feb ruary, in which he expressed the opinion that it was " as rauch for the honor of the raerabers of the Legislature as for the interest of those whose defence was intrusted to hira," that he should proceed to an investigation of the causes which had led to an accusation of treason against their body, they ought to have shown their grati fication at his determination, and instead of contenting theraselves Avith coldly sending to him a copy of the pro ceedings of their Committee, they ought to have ex pressed the wish that he should go on with his own in vestigation, in order, as he said, " that if any officer of his ai-my had unjustly bi'ought such an accusation, he should be punished as he deserved, and the innocence of the calumniated be made raanifest ; and on the other hand, if the charges were well founded against sorae merabers of the Legislature, that they should be prose cuted, and the rest sheltered against further suspicion." They might have raade their position still stronger by appointing a Coramittee to join and assist him in his in vestigation. If such an attitude had been taken by them, they would not have made themselves liable to Thibodeau's reproach in his letter to Skipwith : " that a supine silence appears to operate on the part of the merabers of the General Asserably as a conviction of the truth of the accusation," We think that the mild censure which the Legislature passed on Governor Claiborne for his blind and uncon stitutional obedience to Jackson on the 28th was not sufficient. We think that they ought to have demanded of hira full and satisfactory explanations about the con tents of his communication to them, of the 4th of Jan- 1815.1 REFLEOTIONS. 677 nary ; we think that they ought to have appointed a Comraittee to inquire into the causes of the suspicions which, according to the Governor's assertions, had taken such root in the public raind as to work injuriously to their character and their usefulness as Representatives of the people, and which had prevailed to such an ex tent that, "had they raet on the 28th, a popular commo tion might have taken place," It would also have been necessary to have had it explained why they had been made more obnoxious on that day than on any other. If the Legislature had pursued such a course, they could not haA'e been exposed to any painful suspicions; or those suspicions, if they had existed, would have been instantly removed ; and we should have been spared the mortification, after the lapse of half a century, of de fending their raeraory against unfounded charges of guilt, whilst at the same time admitting, with what we believe to be a becoming irapartiality, that those charges seera to have originated in their want of prudence, firra- ness and dignity on an occasion which required a jiidi cious exercise of those qualities. »7 (3HAPTER XIL Claiborne's administration, Jackson's quaerel with the fuench in new Orleans — hh OUDEllS them out OP THE CITY WITH THEIR CONSUL — PAMPH LET OP LOUAILLIER — HIS ARREST — JUDGE HALL, HOLLANDER AND DICK ALSO ARRESTED — CONFLICT BETWEEN JACKSON AND CLAIBORNE — LOUAILLIEr'S TRIAL — HIS ACQUITTAL — RELEASE OP JUDGE HALL — TRIAL OP GENERAL JACKSON — HIS DEPART URE, 1815, The Legislature had adjourned on the 6th of Februa ry, with full confidence that Louisiana was free from danger ; this impression was shared in by the people, and j)articularly by the railitia, who, unused to the hard- 8hij)s and irksome discipline of camp life, were anxious to resume those industrious and profitable pui'suits from which they derived their support, and the comforts with which they surrounded their families. The fall of Fort Bowyer they considered as of no iraportance, and as the last expiring effort of the eneray. Ruraors that a treaty of peace had been signed between the United States and Great Britain were also rife and generally credited. This circumstance increased the impatience of the militia to be relieved fi'om railitary duty. So excited the pub lic became on the subject, that Jackson thought proper. on the 19th of February, to issue the following address: " FlLI,LOW-CITIZli;NS AND SOLDIERS : " The fiag-vesscl which was sent to the enemy's fleet has re turned, and brings with it intelligence, extracted from a London (6'78) 1816.] JACKSOn's ADDRESS TO THE MILITIA* 579 paper, that, on the 24th of December, articles of peace were signed at Ghent, by the American Commissioners and those of her Brit annic Majesty. " We must not be thrown into false security by hopes that raay be delusive. It is by holding out such that an artful and insidious enemy too often seeks to accomplish what the utmost exertion of his strength will not enable him to effect. To put you ofi" your guard and attack you by surprise, is the natural expedient of one who, having experienced the superiority of your arms, still hopes to overcome you by stratagem. Though young in the trade of war, it is not by such artifices that he will deceive us. " Peace, whenever it shall be re-est.ablished on fair and honorable tei-ms, is an event in which both nations ought to rejoice ; but whether the Articles which are said to have been signed for its res toration will be approved by those whose province it is to give to them their final confirmation, is yet uncertain. Until they shall be ratified by the Prince Regent and the President of the United States, peace, though so much desired, inay be still distant. When that shall be done, the happy intelligence will be publicly and speedily announced. In the mean time, every motive that can op erate on men who love their country, and are determined not to lose it, calls upon us for increased vigilance and exertion. " If peace be near at hand, the days of our watchfulness, of our toils, and onr privations, 'will be proportionably few ; if it be dis tant, we shall at any rate hasten its arrival by being constantly and everywhere prepared for war. " Whatever be the designs of the enemy, we must be ready to meet thera. Should he have the temerity to assail us again, we will once raore drive hira ignominiously from our shore; if he places his hopes of success on stratagem, our watchfulness will disappoint hira; if on an exertion of his strength, we have proved how successfully that can be resisted. " It is true Fort Bowyer has fallen, but it must and will be speed ily regained. We will expel the invader from every spot of our soil, and teach him, if he hopes for conquest, how vain it is to seek it in a land of freedom." These admonitions, although very proper and pre sented in an impressive manner, failed to produce the intended effect. The tide was ebbing fast in another direction fi'om the one in which General Jackson wished it to run. The railitia, as long as they thought that there 680 GENERAL JACKSON AND THE FRENCH, [1815. was a necessity for their being in arms, were all enthusi asm and patriotism ; they had been heroes when the country required it; now they wanted to be, as speedily as possible, farraers, merchants, brokers, mechanics, law yers, doctors, anything else than a soldier. They were burning to be at home with their wives and children, far away from the tap of the drum, luxuriating, however, iu the recollection of past perils and the consciousness of having done their duty. On the 22d, a Gazette of Charleston was received in New Orleans, announcing that the Treaty of Peace had been ratified by the British Governraent, This intelligence swelled to overflowing the joy which was filling up every heart, and the claraor for the disbanding of the railitia, or the greater nuraber of thera, became louder and louder. The French, who, with the approbation of their consul, Tousard, for they had not nieeded his instigation, had flocked to one raan around the standard of the country they resided in, and had contributed so eff'ectually to its defence, now that the}' thought their services no longer a matter of abso lute necessity, now that they had enjoyed the satisfac tion of seeing their hereditary foe fly utterly discomfited before them, were anxious to resume theu- independence. In the presence of the hated British flag they had forgot ten that their own Government had become friendly to that of Great Britain ; they had ceased to be Frenchmen ; they had scorned to claim themselves aliens in order to avoid bearing arms ; they had becorae Araericans to fight the veterans of Wellington ; but this object being once ac complished, they were J^'renchmen again, and as such, they asserted thefr right to leave our ranks as freely as they had entered them, A number of them obtained certificates frora Tousard as to their national character, which they presented to General Jackson by whom they were countersigned and the bearers permitted to be dis- 1816.] GENEllAL JACKSON AND THE FRENCH. 581 charged. But, in a few days, so many of these certificates were issued, that Jackson suspected them of being im properly granted by Tousard. Remonstrances were raade to the Consul, his replies or explanations were not deeraed satisfactory, and, on the last day of February, General Jackson published a General Order, commanding all the French subjects to retire into the interior, to a distance not nearer than Baton Rouge. This measure was stated in the Order to have becorae indispensable by the frequent applications for discharges. The tirae al lowed to leave the city was short ; it did not exceed three days, after which, the French reraaining in the city were to be registered and reraain subject to his fur ther orders. Tousard iraraediately applied to the Gov ernor for the protection of the French subjects. His answer was, that the Executive of Louisiana had no con trol over the acts of the federal officer comraanding the military district within which it was inclosed, " Wheth er or not," he said, " the rights secured by treaties and the laws of nations to the subjects of His Christian Maj esty residing within this State are violated by the Gen eral Order of which you complain, is a question not for rae to deterraine. It properly belongs to the judicial power, and there can be no doubt but, on proper application, it will interpose its authority in such raanner as justice and the laAvs shall prescribe." Tousard was, perhaps, preparing to act according to Claiborne's advice, when Jackson, considering that the French Consul was inter fering with his authority as Military Coraraander, order ed hira out of the city, which order was instantly obeyed. The French, who were already exasperated, thinking that such a treatment offered to their Consul was a national insult, were fired with indignation, and they talked and acted as people who are in such a state of feeling usu- allv do. Was this the return for all their services tend- 582 GENERAL JACKSON AND THE FRENCH, [1816. ered spontaneously and greedily accepted ? Those who were blinded by passion even asserted that Jackson could have done nothing without the French, and that he had been guided entirely by French officers in all his meas ures of defence. Were not the fortifications planned by Lafon, Latour and others ? Was not Captain St. Geme of the dismounted dragoons, always at his elbow, and sug gesting all his railitary movements ? Had not Flaugeac, Beluche, Dominique and Lafitte won the battle of the 8th of January with their artill ery ? General Jackson, if they were to be believed, could not comraand a company ; he was even ignorant of the very terms used in military science. The saving of New Orleans, if not due to the French, was certainly not due to the capacity of General Jackson, but to the arrant stupidity of the British, who, if they had actelaced in a dilerama of his own making, and whichever alternative he takes, it works to his injury. It seems to us we may be permitted to say in conclusion, that credu lity itself could not admit the proposition that persuasive evidence of the cessation of war, and belief in the necessity of such a violent ineasure as the prevention of the exercise of judicial power by a legitimate tribunal, could exist at the same time in the defendant's mind. We are compelled, therefore, to attribute the arbitrary proceedings of the defendant, not to his conviction of their neces sity, but to the indulged infirmity of an obstinate and morbidly irascible temperament, and to the unyielding pride of a man natu rally impatient of the least show of opposition to his will." We regret to record, that General Jackson so far forgot what was due to his personal dignity and to his national reputation, as to allow himself to be persuaded to resort to a petty quibble, in order to avert the judg ment of the Court. He was made to asseverate that his intention had been to imprison Dorainick A. Hall, and not the cT'udge. Dick coolly referred him to the affidavit of his own Aid, Duplessis, the Marshal of the Court, '815,] JACKSOn's NOBLE SPEECH. 625 Avho swore to his ha\'iug used these words: "I have shopped the Judge." The case was closed, and sentence remained to be passed. The Court said that it was becoraing to raanifest raoderation in the punishment of the defendant for the want of it ; and that, in consideration of the services the General had rendered to his country, imprisonment should raake no part of the sentence, which was limited to a fine of one thousand dollars and costs. It Avas in stantly discharged, and the General, on his coraing out of the court-house, entered his carriage ; the horses were removed, and the people enthusiastically dragged it to the Exchange Coffee House, where he addressed a large crowd in a manner worthy of himself, "I have," he said, " during the invasion, exerted every one of ray facul ties for the defence and preservation of the Constitution and the laws. On this day, I have been called on to subrait to their operation under circurastances which many persons might have thought sufficient to justify resistance. Considering obedience to the laws, even when Ave think them unjustly applied, as the first duty of the citizen, I did not hesitate to comply with the sentence you have heard pronounced, and I entreat you to remera ber the exaraple I have given you of respectful subrais- sion to the adrainistration of justice." The citizens in sisted on refunding to him the amount of the fine he had paid, on the ground that they considered it their own debt ; but he peremptorily refused. A reaction had taken place in favor of General Jack son, even araong his most violent opponents, on account of the propriety and nobility of his late deportment. It would have been well for hira to have perraitted things to remain as they stood ; but, either guided by sorae malignant adviser, or goaded by the rashness of his own teraper, he published, a few days after, in one of the 40 626 Jackson's violent temper, [1815. journals of New Orleans, the ansAver he had offered to the District Court, preceded liy an exordium,* in which he complained that the Court had refused to hear it. He added, that the Judge " had indulged himself, on his route to Bayou Sara when driven out of the city, in manifesting apprehensions as to the fate of the country, equally disgraceful to hiraself, and injurious to the in terest and safety of the State," and concluded : '' Should Judge Hall deny this stateraent, the General is prepared to prove it fully and satisfactorily." This provocation and this reopening of the conflict . did not reraain long unnoticed, and the foUoAving piece appeared in answer : " It is stated in the introductory remarks of General Jackson, that, on the Judge's route to Bayou Sara, he manifested apprehen sions as to the safety of the country, disgraceful to himself and injurious to the State. Judge Hall knows full well how easy it is for one with the influence and patronage of General Jackson to procure certificates and affidavits. He knows that men, usurping authority, have their delators and spies ; and that, in the sunshine of imperial or dictatorial power, swarms of miserable creatures are easily generated from the surrounding corruption, and rapidly changed into the shape of buzzing informers. Notwithstanding which. Judge Hall declares, that on his route to Bayou Sara, he uttered no sentiment disgraceful to himself, or injurious to the State. He calls upon General Jackson to furnish that full and satisfactory evidence of his assertion which he says he is enabled to do," The General probably discovered, but too late for his honor, that he had iraprudently taken a position which he could not sustain ; for he reraained silent, and thus left all the advantage with his adversary. It raust have been to hira a source of deep hurailiation to retire frora the conflict which he had invited, without i-edeeming the word which he had pledged with such solemnity. It * Martin's History of Louisiana, p. 425, vol. 3. 1815.] FEDERAL COMPLIMENTS TO LOUISIANA, 627 gratified the malice of his eneraies, and it raortified his friends. He soon after departed frora the theatre of his glory. We now disraiss hira from the pages of this History, after having represented his acts and character with those lights and shades which appertain to them, and obserA'ed that strict irapartiality of truth which we have considered as our sacred duty. He lived to be twice elected President of the United States, and to exercise over the destinies of his country an influence which was still felt long after he had descended into the grave. He would have saved hiraself from many diffi culties and painful struggles, if the iron bar, to Avhich his indomitable will was compared, had been lined with silk or velvet, and if he had not neglected those arts of conciliation which are not incompatible with the utmost firmness of purpose and rectitude of conscience. But he always preferred to break through, than to go round, any obstacle. Such as he Avas, however, he comraand ed raore than any other man ever did the instinctive sym pathies of that vigorous, restless, thoroughly democratic commonwealth among which his lot had been cast, and whatever his faults were, his country remembers only his virtues, his patriotisra and his glory. The following Resolutions, corapliraentary to the peo ple of Louisiana, and of New Orleans in particular, Avere unaniraously adopted by Congress : ' " Resolved, That Congress entertain a high sense of the patriot ism, fidelity, zeal, aud courage with which the people of the State of Louisiana promptly and unanimously stepped forth, under cir cumstances of imminent danger from a powerful invading army, in defence of all the individual, social, and political rights held dear to man. Congress declare and proclaim that the brave Louisianians deserve well of the whole people of the United States. " Resolved, That Congress entertain a high sense of the gene rosity, benevolence, and humanity displayed by the people of New 628 THE president's pardon PROCLAMATION, [1816 Orleans, in voluntarily offering the best accommodations in theii power, and giving the kindest attention to the wounded, not only ot our own array, but also to the wounded prisoners of the van quished foe," The President of the United States issued a proclaraa tion declaring " a free and fiill pardon " of all offences committed in violation of any act or acts of Congress touching the revenue, trade and navigation of the United States, or touching the intercourse and comraerce of the United States with foreign nations, at any time before the 8th of January, in the year eighteen hundred and fifteen, by any person or persons whatsoever, being in habitants of New Orleans and the adjacent country, or being inhabitants of the Island of Barataria and the places adjacent, in the State of Louisiana, " It had been long ascertained," said the President, " 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 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 estab lishment 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 exem plary punishment, " But it has since been represented that the offenders have mani fested a sincere repentance, that they have abandoned the prosecu tion of the worst cause for the support of the best, and, particu larly, that they have exhibited in the defence of New Orleans unequivocal traits of courage and fidelity. Offenders, who have refused to becorae the associates of the enemy in 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." Befi)i'e the end of the Spring, Louisiana, which had been so recently in a condition of tumultuous agitation, 181.5.] CLAIBORNE VINDICATING HIMSELF. 629 had r<;turned to the unruffied calmness of a state of pro found peace. There were hardly any traces left of the late invasion, save angry discussions which Avould occa sionally arise in relation to those raisunderstandings which had existed between General Jackson, the Legis lature, the Governor, Judge Hall and other prominent individuals. It was the remaining, but subsiding turbu lence of the waters, after the storra had swept away. Claiborne had been severely blaraed by sorae for hav ing put the whole militia of the State under the com raand of a Federal officer, and for having thereby made of her Executive a nullity for the protection of her citi zens. At the next session of the Legislature, he noticed this charge in these terms, in his annual message : "It is known to you, gentlemen, that, on the requisition of Major-General Jackson, acting under the authority of the Presi dent, I did, in the late great emergency, order into the service of the Union the militia of this State, and that, during the continu ance of such service, the whole remained out of my control. I am aware that my conduct in this respect, together with subsequent events, in which I either had, or was supposed to have had, an agency, has become the subject of much severe animadversion. It is not easy to limit the influence of calumny and misrepresenta tion, and, therefore, it is very probable that impressions to my in jury may have been effected. But, if there is an honest man in this State, or elsewhere, who supposes that I would shrink from the investigation of any charge which could be exhibited, or apprehend aught from the result of such investigation, he little knows how strongly I am fortified in consciou-n rectitude. As regards our militia, the total number was no more than equal, with the succor received in time from the sister States, to repel the invasion. This militia were badly armed, and destitute of camp equipage and munitions of war. Funds to procure these necessary supplies were not at my disposal, much less had I the means of providing for their transportation, subsistence and pay. To have retained the comraand, I must have declined obedience to the call, and, in that case, all the expenditures on account of our railitia raust have been defrayed by the State, conformably to the principles established by the War Department, as I then, and do still, understand them. (330 CLAIBORNE VINDICATING HIMSELF. [1815. But, by meeting the requisition, these expenditures devolved upon the United States. Ilenco a part of the militia have been paid off, and I shall be disappointed if the claims of the rest are not soon discharged with all the good faith which characterizes the General Government. A call on an individual State for its quota of any number of a required force, apportioned under the orders of the President among the several States, is a comraon occurrence. An obedience to it would ahvays be considered by rae as a duty im posed by the Constitution and laws. A demand on a State for its whole force can seldom happen. It perhaps never will be made on a State strong in population and rich in resources. Should it occur, the Governor, finding himself enabled, in any emergency, to movehis militia with dispatch and effect, may be permitted to deliber ate, before he gives up the whole of that force intrusted to him for the maintenance, within his own State, of good order and the supremacy of the law. But I was without any ground for hesita tion ; and the more readily placed our whole militia in the service of the United States, under a conviction that they would, in con sequence, be brought to the field with more promptitude and effi cacy. For such individual distress of feeling as may have resulted, I find an ample recompense in the triumphs of my country, to which the people of the State where I have long presided so greatly aided." Availing hiraself of this opportunity to express his views in relation to the perturbation in New Orleans that had been produced by the course which General Jackson had deeraed proper to pursue, after the retreat of the invaders, the Governor further said : " Great as is the cause for patriotic exultation, on the glorious defence of the country, grateful as wo must all feel for the rescue of this cajjital from capture, rapine, and perhaps conflagration, I shall never cease to regret that it was accompanied and succeeded by the prostration of a part of our laws and civil authorities. I know this is justified on the plea of necessity, and apparently to the satisfaction of the nation. I cannot suppose that any opinions of mine will in the least affect the public sentiment. They would probably have no other tendency than to raise the angry passions of the intolerant of the prevailing faith. But I shall not hesitate to say, that if, at any time, I listened to the doctrine of doing evil, that good might come out of it, and that the end justifies the means, I 1815.] WASHLNGTOn's ADVICE. 631 am now convinced that the admission of this principle into affairs of State must prove invasive of the rights and destructive to the happiness of a free people. Yes, gentlemen, my experience in Louisiana has taught me how to reverence the sage advice of the great Washington, when he urges his countrymen to respect the authority of the laws, and cautions them to resist the spirit of inno vation, however specious the pretext, and to permit no change by usurpa tion ; for although this, says this illustrious patriot, may in one in stance be the instrument of good, it is the customary weapon by which. free governments are destroyed. The precedent must always greatly counterbalance in permanent evil any partial or transient benefit which theuse can at any time yield." The annual messages of our Governors, for some time after the formation of the State, used to be responded to, as the speech from the throne, on the opening of the sessions of the British Parliaraent, calls for an address frora that body. This usage has since been discontinued. ' On this occasion, in reply to that part of the Governor's message in which he alluded to the violent measures pursued by General Jackson, the House of Representa tives said : " Great indeed is the cause for patriotic exultation in the glorious defence of this country, and the rescue of this capital frora the manifold dangers with which it Avas menaced. To Heaven, to the hero who led our forces, and to the brave men compo,sing them, we owe the greatest gratitude ; and where there is so rauch to adraire, we are not disposed to dwell upon wme deeds which we pam,not approved SUPPLEMENTAL CHAPTER. 1816—1861. 1816. With the preceding Chapter closes the detailed histo y of Louisiana. From that time until the epoch when she, in company with several of her sister States of the South, declared the Federa Union at an end, and resumed, as an independent Sovereign, tiie powers which she had delegated, her annals ceased to be marked by any of those striking events which commonly give attraction to the pages of history. Her life, as a Comraonwealth, was on the whole but a quiet, ever-swelling stream of uninterrupted prosper ity, save occasionally by those epidemics to which her climate is subject, by the overflowing of her grand river, by tho imprudence of commercial speculations, the abuse of credit, the too great emission of paper money, and the unwise expansion and contraction of banking operations, which always I'csult in a fatal crisis that is invariably felt in all the arteries and sinews of the social body. But Louisiana hardly halted in her march to wealth and power, not withstanding these temporary calamities and these agricultural, commercial and financial reverses, which were soon forgotten, and hardly left any traces of their passage under the luxuriant development of her unbounded resources, which speedily cov ered these ruins with the rich mantle of their tropical vegeta tion. Notwithstanding Federal injustices or neglects and sectional jealousies, her magnificent city of New Orleans, the emporium of a mighty trade, was annually visited by a thousand ships ; her broad fields, teeming with exiibeiant fertility, continued to be the scenes of Arcadian felicity, and the homes of all her inhabitants the ever remembered seats of cordial and refined hospitality. Disdaining too long to resent, in her generous imprudence, the constant attacks of her enemies against one of her internal institu tions, she concentrated her attention and her energies on the arae- lioriition of her Legislation, on the building of railroads, the exca vating of canals, the erection of charitable and educational institu tions, the establishment of a system of public schools, and the (633) 1816,] JEATH OF GOVERNOR CLAIBORNE. 633 complete development of her vast resources by State action, or by assisting the individual enterprise of her citizens. A minute record of those domestic events and industrial efforts would hardly be of sufficient interest to most readers, and would compel us to exceed the liraits which we have prescribed- to this work. We shall, therefore, content ourself with taking only a general view of the progressive condition of the State from the end of Governor Claiborne's adrainistration to the time when she withdrew from the Federal Union. The administration of Governor Claiborne drew to a close with the year 1816. When the Legislature raet in Noveraber, Clai borne corapliraented them on the fortunate results of the restora tion of peace. He said " that its auspicious influence on agricul ture, commerce, and indeed all the pursuits of civil life, was sensi bly felt." He warmed up at the prospect of uninterrupted pros perity which he saw looming up for the State. " The press of migration to our peaceful shores," he observed, "the preference shown by the unhappy exile to this favored land, assure rae that, elsewhere, raan cannot find i.i-'i 9m