The European wars of the early part of the nineteenth century, the
consequent passage of the Embargo Act by the Congress of the United
States, and the act prohibiting the importation of slaves after the
year 1808, all conspired to bring about a great volume of clandestine
trade at the ports of the United States. This trade was especially
active along the shores of the Gulf of Mexico. Here resorted the
privateer and the smuggler, the one to dispose of his booty, the other
to receive it and to distribute it.
The labyrinthine waters of lower Louisiana were the smugglers’
paradise. Here they could carry on their business almost without fear
of detection. Just prior to the War of 1812, a flourishing
establishment of this kind sprang up on the island of Grand Terre, some
sixty miles west of the mouth of the Mississippi, under the management
of the two brothers Lafitte, Jean and Pierre, former blacksmiths of New
Orleans. At first, the brothers were mere agents and distributors for
the privateers who resorted to Grand Terre, but they soon got vessels
for themselves, and began privateering on their own account. Letters of
marque and reprisal were granted to them by the Republic of Cartagena,
erstwhile a colony of Spain, and with this authority they went forth
with other Robin Hoods of the sea to ravage and to plunder. They soon
grew immensely wealthy and their business became so extensive as to
almost paralyze the legitimate trade of New Orleans.
The governor of Louisiana, on being appealed to by the merchants of the
city, issued several proclamations against “pirates and smugglers,” who
were bringing disgrace and ignominy upon the state, ordering them to
disperse and threatening dire punishment in case of their refusal to do
so. When his fulminations went unheeded, he offered a reward of five
hundred dollars for the capture of Jean Lafitte, now become the leader
of the smugglers. Lafitte promptly responded by offering fifteen
thousand dollars for the capture of the governor. The merchants then
appealed to the United States government for protection, and Commodore
Patterson was sent with a fleet to break up the Grand Terre
establishment. This he succeeded in doing, taking a number of prisoners
and much valuable merchandise. The brothers Lafitte, with the greater
number of their followers, fled to the woods and so escaped capture.
Shortly after this event, when the battle of New Orleans was impending,
we find Jean Lafitte, who seems to have cherished no animosity for his
summary ejectment from Grand Terre, informing the United States
authorities of the plans and movements of the British fleet, and
offering his aid in defending the city. At first declined, the
proffered assistance was later accepted by General Jackson, and Lafitte
with several of his lieutenants fought with conspicuous bravery in the
memorable battle of January 8, 1815. In his report of the battle,
General Jackson spoke in the highest terms of these “gentlemen,” and
recommended that they be pardoned for any offences they might have
committed against the laws of the United States. This recommendation
was promptly acted upon by President Madison, who issued a full and
free pardon to Jean Lafitte and such of his men as participated in the
battle.
With the close of the war, Othello’s occupation was gone, and Lafitte
returned to his old practices of privateering and smuggling. This time
he established his headquarters on Galveston Island, then uninhabited,
where he built a fort and a town which he called Campeachy. His
followers at one time numbered fully one thousand men, and these he
ruled with a rod of iron. He became very wealthy and lived in lordly
style. The “Red House,” Lafitte’s residence, so called on account of
its color, was the scene of many princely entertainments given in honor
of distinguished visitors. Colonel James Gaines, who was on the island
in 1819, states that while he was there several rich prizes were
brought into port, and that Spanish doubloons were as “plentiful as
biscuits.”
Though Lafitte claimed to make war only on Spanish commerce, he showed
little squeamishness in attacking vessels of other nations when no
Spaniard was in sight. In 1820 an American vessel was captured and
plundered and then sunk in Matagorda Bay. This act spelled the ruin of
Campeachy. Early the next year the United States Government dispatched
a man-of-war to break up the establishment. Lafitte went out to meet
the captain, conducted him to Red House, and entertained him in a
magnificent manner, in the meantime trying to persuade him from
executing his orders. But the captain was not to be influenced by
blandishments or money. His orders were peremptory. Lafitte must leave
the island. Bowing to the inevitable, Lafitte convoked his followers,
supplied them with money, and dismissed them from his service. Then,
with a chosen few, in his favorite vessel, the Pride, he sailed away
from Galveston forever.