Tag: Grande Terre
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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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The British Visit to Laffite: A Study of Events 200 Years Later
When Commander Nicholas Lockyer sailed in HMS Sophie from Pensacola towards Jean Laffite’s Grande Terre encampment on Sept. 1, 1814, he already knew that the Baratarian privateer base might soon be blown to bits, and that the Sophie would not be the instrument of that destruction, despite his written orders to that effect from his…
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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…
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Daniel Todd Patterson’s Secret Visits to Dauphin Island in 1814
Daniel Todd Patterson, commander of the New Orleans Station, made a curious visit to New Orleans notary John Lynd in late summer 1814 to record a document testifying to his continued assistance with an unnamed stranded ship at Dauphin Island, not far from Mobile. He said in the document that he was assisting the ship…