It is quite certain that Napoleon is buried in Paris and that Jones, who died in 1792, is buried at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. [8], Biographer William C. Davis suggests a different childhood for Lafitte. What if these stories are factual? He and another treasure hunter named Dan Beckingham found 4.5 million dollars worth of gold in the shallow waters of Florida. Lafitte decided to warn American authorities and offered to help defend New Orleans in exchange for a pardon for his men. . This article provides images of newspapers from 1921, and one column in particular that talks about Lafittes treasure. They married and had two sons together, Jules Jean and Glenn Henri. Catiche became pregnant and gave birth to their son, Jean Pierre, on November 4, 1815. One of the men was found living in east Texas where he had bought a farm. [51], On September 23, Patterson and his fleet, including the eight captured ships, began the return trip to New Orleans. Many of the Baratarians settled in New Orleans or in the Barataria area and some of their descendants still live there today. "[55], When General Andrew Jackson arrived in New Orleans on December 1, 1814, he discovered the city had not created any defenses. Lafitte, a one-time resident of Louisiana and privateer, is believed by some to Most of the people were locals, from Lafourche Parish, the southern part, mainly Cut Off and Larose and the Gheens area, and also from the Des Allemands location. Lafitte attempted to take what appeared to be two Spanish merchant vessels on the night of February 4. Jean was sent to Galveston Island, a part of Spanish Texas that served as the home base of Louis-Michel Aury, a French privateer who claimed to be a Mexican revolutionary. He vowed his intention to make indiscriminate war upon all God . [82] Lafitte reportedly took immense amounts of treasure with him, and was accompanied by his mulatta mistress[who?] He was a reserved man and remained largely . To this day, LA At this time an English captain offered Lafitte $30,000 and a commission to help the British attack New Orleans. [42], Following the charges of November 10, 1812, and subsequent arrest and jailing of his brother Pierre, Jean Lafitte operated the piracy and smuggling business. Back in 1915, a city worker in New Orleans found a chest that was filled with over 1,500 . that the treasure was on board one of Lafittes vessels and sank to the ocean [20] As the schooner did not have an official commission from a national government, its captain was considered a pirate operating illegally. Lafitte was granted a commission and given a new ship, a 43-ton schooner named General Santander in honor to Vice-President General Francisco de Paula Santander. Mystery and legend surround the life of Jean Lafi tte. Although the city kept control of the eight ships taken from Lafitte, it did not have enough sailors to man them for defense. says that a swamp in the Natalbany River in Springfield, Louisiana, was drained [102] Ramsay believes that over time, almost "every foot of Grande Isle has been spaded for pirate gold". Several times customs officials and soldiers tried to capture Lafi tte in the swamps, but they were usually captured, wounded, or killed by the Baratarians. The park was given the mission of preserving the natural and cultural resources of Louisianas Mississippi River delta region. Believing that the Americans would eventually prevail in the war against Britain, Lafitte thought he could more easily defeat the US revenue officers than he could the British Navy. By 1810, their new port had become very successful; the Laffites had a profitable smuggling operation and also started to engage in piracy. Jean Lafitte was a French pirate and privateer who operated in the Gulf of Mexico in the early 19th century. By 1806, several "Captain Lafitte"s operated in New Orleans; [] He was nursed back to health by Emma Hortense Mortimer. Lost Gold Of Jean Lafitte is the 4th episode in Season 5 of Expedition Unknown. jean lafitte shipwreck found. 419 Decatur St [94] For the first time, Lafitte was legally authorized to take Spanish ships. What books would you recommend about this pirate? The American warship which captured him turned Lafitte over to the local authorities, who promptly released him. An 1802 newspaper ad mentioned a blacksmith named Lafi tte, but no first name was given and the shop was not at the corner of Bourbon and St. Phillip streets where the business known as Jean Lafi ttes Blacksmith Shop stands today. [62], Patterson praised the Barataria men who served on one of the US Navy ships, and whose skill with artillery was greater than their British counterparts. Many from the area have taken artifacts from there, including coin. Very little is known about Laffite, and speculation about his life and death continues among historians. . Could it be that there were multiple burial locations The Spanish ships were heavily armed privateers or warships and returned heavy fire. He heads off to a plantation (as a legend says that . During his life he acted as a soldier, sailor, diplomat, merchant, and much more, demonstrating natural gifts for leadership.[14]. [99] In 1843, Mirabeau B. Lamar investigated many of the Lafitte stories and concluded that, while there were no authentic records of death, Lafitte was likely dead. Merchants and planters were eager to buy the goods and slaves Lafitte smuggled into south Louisiana. [48] Lafitte had copies of the letters sent to Jean Blanque, a member of the state legislature who had invested in the Barataria operation. instead of just one? He and his elder brother, Pierre, spelled their last name Laffite, but English-language documents of the time used "Lafitte", and this is the commonly seen spelling in the United States, including for places named for him. In 1978, Congress created Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve, combining Chalmette National Historical Park (established in 1938) with the Louisiana state park and authorizing a visitor center in the French Quarter. He requested approval to raise a militia company to "disperse those desperate men on Lake Barataria whose piracies have rendered our shores a terror to neutral flags". Jean LaFitte, that colorful character who roamed the Gulf Coast in the early 1800s was said to be many things - smuggler, pirate and patriot. "I think he realized very quickly in Galveston that it was not going to work, as evidenced by how short lived that . United States no choice but to pursue his arrest. His reading and writing abilities, therefore, remain unclear. The men working for Lafitte were called Baratarians because the waterways they used for smuggling were located in an area called Barataria (the Barataria Preserve of Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve is located in this area). The following day, Lafitte took command of the island and appointed his own officers. and the fear of being captured, Lafitte allegedly buried his treasure with the [2] Some sources say that his father was French and his mother's family had come from Spain. As part of Mexico, it was outside the authority of the United States, and was largely uninhabited, except by the Karankawa, a Native American people. Jean Lafitte A number of details about Jean Lafitte's early life remain obscure and often sources contradict each other. He was chased all over the Gulf of Mexico by the U.S. Navy, all his ships burned except for his flagship, The Pride. "Jean Laffite Revealed". Louisiana is not exclusive to rumors of the treasures whereabouts too, as times as a smuggler and privateer, he became very wealthy. well as the fortunes left on the merchant ships that he captured. He resurfaced in North Carolina under a different name, an alias. Stories of One of the pirate's captains had attacked an American merchant ship. The judge ruled that Patterson should get the customary share of profits from the goods that had already been sold, but he did not settle the ownership of the ships. In 1807 the United States outlawed trade with Great Britain and France because of the Napoleonic Wars in Europe. By clicking "Accept," you agree to the use of cookies on Pelican State of Mind. [74], In less than a year, Lafitte's colony grew to 100200 men and several women. Lafittes men did resist arrest by American federal agents and soldiers, wounding, murdering, and capturing several. Laflin said he himself was a descendant of Jean Lafitte and had found the book in a trunk he had inherited. There were no chests. The expert cannon fire of Jacksons troops, including Lafi ttes Baratarians, contributed to the American victories during the New Orleans campaign that culminated with the Battle of New Orleans on January 8,1815. Lafitte conducted most of his business aboard his ship, The Pride, where he also lived. [54] According to Ramsay, Claiborne next wrote to General Andrew Jackson, "implying Patterson had destroyed a potential first line of defense for Louisiana" by his capture of Lafitte and his ships. He said his ships would sail as pirates. In a personal note, Lafitte reminded Blanque that his brother Pierre was still in jail and deserved an early release. [84][Note 1], The remainder of the crew rejoined Lafitte, who finally acknowledged that he did not have a valid commission. are why the mystery is still such an interesting topic todaymore than 200 While his fleet took a hit, Lafitte himself managed to evade capture. Located 25 minutes from downtown New Orleans, Jean Lafitte Swamp Tours has been operating daily bayou tours since the 1980s. But remember Lafittes black dogs are still around dont go a hunting unless you are prepared to suffer the consequences. . [117] Most historians now believe the Lafitte journal to be a forgery. Louisianas Lafitte se rvla un alli prcieux pour les tats-Unis lors de la . He refused to allow anyone else to see the original documents until 1969, when he sold them to a professional document dealer. His men tore down the existing houses and built 200 new, sturdier structures. mystery afoot! New Orleans Over the next few months, the British Navy increased patrols in the Gulf of Mexico, and by August they had established a base at Pensacola. In her children's story, Victor and the Pirate: A Story of New Orleans During the War of 1812 (1947), Ruby Lorraine Radford features a fictional child who encourages Lafitte to defend New Orleans. According to one account, published in 1885, The Historical Guide to New Orleans, Jean Lafitte died of sickness on the island of Mugeres, off the Yucatan, in 1826. Merchants in New Orleans began to run out of goods to sell. After Jean's reported death in the mid-1820s, the widowed Catiche took up with Feliciano Ramos. The stairs run beside it. According to HendricksLake.com, created by author and independent researcher Gary L. Pinkerton, this is where six wagons of silver stolen by Jean Lafitte from a ship called the Santa Rosa were allegedly washed up. And where? A smuggler of epic proportions, Jean Lafitte had an army of privateers with as many as 1,000 men ultimately making him an invaluable asset for America in the War of 1812. [28] The residents of New Orleans were grateful to the Lafittes for providing them with luxuries otherwise prevented from importing by the embargo. Widely publicized, the raid was hailed by the Niles' Weekly Register as "a major conquest for the United States". It's okay, because we're here to bust them! [99], Ramsay compares the numerous legends related to the life and death of Jean Lafitte to those about King Arthur and Robin Hood. By 1812 Lafitte was the leader of the Baratarians with headquarters on Grand Terre, a barrier island in the Gulf of Mexico near Grand Isle. Later, the Acadian Cultural Center in Lafayette, the Prairie Acadian Cultural Center in Eunice, and theWetlands Acadian Cultural Center in Thibodaux were added to the park, and stories connect Lafitte with those areas too. Louisiana planters had a hard time buying enough American-born slaves to work on their everexpanding sugar and cotton plantations. Louisiana State University alumnus (Geaux Tigers), fanatic of all things sports, pugs, and Star Wars, and teller of the occasional dad joke.
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