Category: American History
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Yellow Fever: Napoleon’s Most Formidable Opponent
By Pam Keyes In mid-1802, French general Victor-Emmanuel LeClerc took up his pen to write back to his superior and sighed in the dripping, humid heat of Port-au-Prince. His brother-in-law, Napoleon, thought it would be an easy mission to quash the latest slave uprising on the island of Haiti and French-controlled colony St. Domingue. After…
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Malaria – The Mystery Plague of Colonial America
Despite modern advances in medicine, there is a plague (one of many) that still haunts mankind around the globe and that is malaria. Malaria is a parasite spread by the female mosquito that affects your blood cells. Somewhere in the world, every thirty-five seconds, a child unnecessarily dies from this horrible disease. Of course today,…
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U.S.S. Wasp – War of 1812 and the H.M.S. Reindeer
It’s important for those interested in the U.S.S. Wasp and its battles, to understand that when it comes to the naming of ships, the U.S.S. Wasp was not first ship to carry that name. In fact, it was actually the fifth ship to be named the Wasp (although internet searches will sometimes refer to it…
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Impressment of American Seamen
Most lovers of naval history will already know that the British were famous or rather infamous, for the impressment of British seamen during the late eighteenth century well into the early nineteenth century. Few, however, will remember that impressment of American seamen is often cited as a major contributing factor to the War of 1812. Great…
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Commemoration of a Hero: Jean Laffite and the Battle of New Orleans
Almost 200 years ago, privateer-smuggler Jean Laffite became a hero because he did something most people wouldn’t have done: in the face of extreme adversity, he had helped save New Orleans for the Americans, even though United States officers had destroyed his home base and seized his property a few months earlier. Sometimes incorrectly regarded…
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The Meaning of Treason: United States v. Aaron Burr
Under the English common law, treason was an inexact and nebulous charge, one that could be leveled at almost anyone by association. Speaking against the government might be treason. Having friends who were traitors might be treason. A person might never have raised a hand in anger against his King or the state and yet…
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Jean Laffite’s Curious Payment of Attorney Fees for the John Andrew Whiteman Defense
Jean Laffite regularly employed attorneys in the course of his business, and legal fees were a big part of his ordinary expenses. How big a part we may never know, as we don’t have access to his ledger books. He does not usually mention attorney fees in his journal, even when recounting events that involved…