Tag: Baratarians
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Eyewitness Pension Record Testimonies Place Jean Laffite at Battle of New Orleans
Privateer-smuggler Jean Laffite’s active service at the Battle of New Orleans on Gen. Andrew Jackson’s line is firmly verified by eyewitness testimonies found in newly digitized pension records of the National Archives at Washington, D.C. The documentation is part of the lengthy official correspondence widows of Baratarian veterans of the battle had with authorities of…
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John Dick’s Letter To Monroe Honoring the Baratarians
John Dick, US District Attorney for Louisiana in 1815, was a man with a conscience, a strong devotion to what was fair and just, even when it conflicted with an earlier opinion that he had fostered. He had a keen sense of respect for those who had earned special consideration, like the Laffites and…
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The Saga of Melita and the Patterson-Ross Raid at Barataria
A series of unfortunate events plagued Joseph Martinot, supercargo of the Carthagenian merchant schooner Melita. First, he had been stymied in his attempt to enter the Mississippi and arrive at New Orleans by the presence of the British blockade near the Balize; then, off the coast of Louisiana to the westward of the Balize, he…
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Andrew Jackson’s Fine and the Place of Martial Law in American Politics
Andrew Jackson resented mightily the fine imposed on him by Judge Dominick Hall in New Orleans in 1815 for contempt of court. At the very end of his life, with death approaching, Jackson campaigned for the return of the thousand dollar fine through an act of Congress, and his efforts were rewarded. “He viewed…
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The Short-Lived Military Camp on Grande Terre
Even people who are well versed in Louisiana history probably never have heard of Camp Celestine. The pretty name makes it sound like a Girl Scout gathering place, but in reality it was a failed military post on the marshy dunes of Grande Terre island during May through June of 1813. British ships had…