Historical memoir of the war in West Florida and Louisiana in 1814-15. With an atlas ... written originally in French, and translated ... by H. P. Nugent

Front matter

HISTORICAL MEMOIR OF THE WAR i_ WEST FLORIDA AND LOUISIANA, Maj? GtL Anbrew Jackson Cntertre/ acocn/inq tp (set as Ctmare/j HISTORICAL MEMOIR OF THE WAR IN WEST FLORIDA AND LOUISIANA in 1814-15. WITH AN ATLAS. BY MAJOR A. LACARRIERE LATOUR, Principal Engineer in the late Seventh Military District United States' Army. WRITTEN ORIGINALLY IN FRENCH, AND TRANSLATED FOR THE AUTHOR, BY H. P. NUGENT, ESQ. Bis Tusci Hutulos egere ad caslra reve_sos, Bis rejecti armis respectant terga tegentes. Turbati fugiunt Rutuli Disjectique duces, desolatique manipli, Tuta petunt.. Virg. PHILADELPHIA: PUBLISHED BY JOHN CONKAD AND CO J. Maxwell, printer. 1816. DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA, to wit: BE IT REMEMBERED, That on the sixth day ofMarch, in the fortieth year of the independence of the United States of America, A. D. 1816, Arsene Lacarrieri Latoiir, of the said district, hath deposited in this office the title Oa Book, the^ight whereof he claims as Author, in the words following, to wit: Historical Memoir of the war in West Florida and Louisiana in 1814-15. with an Atlas.

By major A. Lacarriere Latour, principal engineer in the late seventh military district United States' army. Written originally in French, and translated for the author, by H. P. Nugent, esqr. Bis Tusci Rutulos egere ad castra reversos, Bis rejecti armis respectant terga tegentes. Turbati fugiunt Rutuli — Disjeclique duces, desolatique manipli, Tuta petunt. ' Virg. In conformity to the act of congresses the United States, entitled, "An act for the encouragement of learning, by securing the copies of maps, charts, and books to the authors and proprietors of such copies during the times there in mentioned." And also to the act, entitled, " An act supplementary to an act, entitled, " An act for the encouragement of learning, by securing the copies of maps, charts, and books, to the authors and proprietors of such copies during the times therein mentioned, and extending the benefits there of to the arts of designing, engraving, and etehing historical and other prints."

DAVID CALDWELL, Clerk of the District of Pennsylvania. TO MAJ. GEN. ANDREW JACKSON. Sir, Allow me to offer you the following pages, in which I have endeavoured to record the events of that memorable campaign which preserved our country from conquest and desolation. The voice of the whole nation has spared me the task of showing how much of these important results are due to the energy, ability and courage of a single man. Receive, sir, with this inadequate tribute to your high merits, the assurance of respect and devotion with which I have the honour to be, Sir, Your most obedient and humble servant, A. LACARRIERE LATOUR. JVew Orleans, August 16, 1815. b

Preface

. The immense debt of Great Britain, and the ex penses of a war carried on for nearly twenty years with hardly any intermission, having exhausted the or dinary sources of her riches, while the war continued to rage with greater fury than ever, she found herself com pelled to create new resources to enable her to perse vere in the arduous struggle in which she was engaged. For this purpose the rights of neutral nations, founded on the principles of natural equity, established for many ages by the unanimous consent of civilized nations, and secured by the faith of a long succession of treaties, were openly violated by the English government, which, prompted by its inordinate ambition, wished to appro priate to itself the lives and fortunes of their peaceable citizens. To accomplish this purpose, it became ne cessary to set aside those principles which, until then, had been universally acknowledged, and to substitute new political axioms in their stead.

By the mere ar bitrary declaration of the British cabinet, the right of blockade was extended over the most extensive coasts, which all the maritime power of the world combined

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. could not have blockaded with effect. ' The obsolete right of searching neutral ships for enemy's property, this absurd remnant of the barbarous jurisprudence of the dark ages, justly rejected by the more enlightened policy of later times, was revived and enforced with in- * The pretended right of blockade never appeared in so ridi culous a light as immediately after the departure of the emperor Napoleon from the island of Elba. It was then strongly surmiseda and not without some probability, that the British government had connived at his escape, and to refute this charge, lord Liverpool was compelled to declare in the house of lords, on the 7th of April, 1815, (seethe newspapers of the times) that the whole British navy would be insufficient to blockade the island of Elba; it is true, he added the qualifying sentence: so as to prevent the escape of an individual who chose to leave it.

But when we consider the manner in which Napoleon sailed from that island, with several armed vessels, and a considerable body of troops, who will not laugh at the blockading pretensions of Great Britain, if it is true, as lord Liverpool clearly meant to intimate, that the whole British navy was insufficient to prevent such an escape from a small island? Mathematical truth is not to be looked for in the speeches of British ministers; the blockade of the port of Rochefort by a sin gle squadron, which afterwards so effectually prevented the same individual from escaping, even in an open boat, is an incontestible proof of lord Liverpool's exaggeration; but it is not the less true, that his assertion, exaggerated as it is, will ever remain the most cutting satire against the absurd claims of his government on the subject of blockade.

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. creased severity, and the right of pressing seamen on board of neutral vessels was claimed as a consequence of the same principle, while, by a further extension of the rights of belligerents, the trade of neutrals with the colonial possession of enemies, was at times entirely prohibited, and at others partially tolerated, by decrees which the belligerent government could construe at plea sure, and which only served to allure the unwary, and secure a certain prey to the hungry swarm of British cruisers. Thus the plunder of neutrals, and the im pressment of their seamen, were erected into a system, the true principles of which could only be discovered from its effects. The United States of America, whose industrious citizens carried .on a regular and immense commerce with all the nations of the globe, which had long ex cited the jealousy of their powerful rival, experienced more than any other nation the pernicious effects of the new system, conceived and executed by this over bearing state; and indeed it appeared to have been es tablished principally with a view to check their com mercial pursuits.

The American vessels were plundered, detained, or confiscated. The mariners were im pressed upon the most frivolous pretences, put on board the ships of war of His Britannic majesty, and subject ed to the most rigorous treatment, in order to compel them to shed their blood in a cause in which they were X

PREFACE.

. not interested. On the high seas, in neutral har bours, upon the coasts, and even in the waters exclu sively subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, the American seamen were seized by the petty officers of the British navy, who constituted themselves judges, de facto, of the most sacred prerogatives of man, and from the mere similarity of names, or, as their caprice dictated, transformed a free citizen into a slave, without regard to the place of his birth, or to the natural and unalienable right, that all men have to choose their country. The sacred flag of the government itself was no longer a sufficient protection; the sanctuary of a ship of war was violated — freemen were dragged by force and carried away, in savage triumph, from an American frigate sailing quietly, in the midst of a profound peace; — the most ignominious punish ment -But I forbear. — This unheard of outrage, which then, for the first time, astonished the world, has been since sufficiently avenged.

The American government at first only opposed to these enormous violations of the law of nations mild and conciliating representations, and pacific measures, which produced only some partial and momentary dis avowals and reparations. With the humane view of saving the country from the horrors of war, and in hopes of inducing England to adopt principles of equity and moderation, by making her government perceive

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. XI that the people of America would never submit to measures so tyrannical and degrading, the national legislature resolved to interdict every sort of foreign com merce, and laid an embargo on all the ports of the United States. This measure received the approbation of the whole nation. The citizens no longer deceived them selves with respect to the views and motives of the Bri tish government. They preferred submitting for a time to the inconveniences which the stagnation of commerce would naturally produce, to seeing their country ex posed to endless humiliations, or compelled to engage in a war, the effects of which could not be calculated. For it was believed by many, that the constitution of the United States was only suited for a state of peace, and that war would infallibly produce a dissolution of the union.

These considerations were weighty, and might well induce a nation to pause before it involved itself in a contest which seemed to threaten such a fatal issue. — The embargo was then a wise measure, as there appeared no alternative between it and war. Indeed it is probable that if it had been continued, we mi^ht have avoided a recourse to arms, and compelled Great Britain to return to the practice, if not to the principles of ju-tice. But it was not so ordered, and after little more than one year the embargo was removed. Let us throw a

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. patriotic veil over the causes which produced this un expected step. It does not belong to me to inquire into its expediency or its motives. Such an inquiry is entirely foreign to the purposes of this work. As it was to be expected, the resumption of maritime com merce was followed by a renewal of spoliations on the part of Great Britain, who mistook our patience for weakness, and ascribed to timidity and other unworthy motives, a conduct which merely arose from an earnest and laudable desire to preserve peace, and avoid the effusion of human blood. Far from foreseeing the pri vations and hardships to which the people of America would submit, and the exertions which they were capable of making, if driven to extremity, Britain, blind ed by her pride, saw in the removal of the embargo nothing else than the result of an inordinate thirst for maritime commerce, and an effeminate attachment to the luxuries with which she had been in the habit of supplying us.

As little she foresaw how much she would have to suffer before she discovered her mis take — how much of her treasure was to be spent, and of her blood was to be spilt, before she should be taught to know the spirit and perseverance of a nation which she affected to view with contempt. At last the repe tition of injuries filled the measure of American long animity, and war was solemnly declared by the United States, on the 18th of June, 1812. So little premedi-

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. tated was this measure — so much was it produced by a sudden burst of the national indignation, that no preparations had been made to support the dreadful contest that was now about to take place. Our military es tablishment was hardly sufficient to afford garrisons for the most exposed points of our widely -extended fron tier — the numerous ports upon our sea-board were left exposed, unguarded and unfortified, and our ma rine consisted only of a few ships of war. But the bravery and energy of our citizens promised abundant resources for our military operations on the land side, and the skill and martial ardour of our seamen, and particularly their excellent commanders, presaged cer tain and glorious triumphs on the ocean. The riches of an immense soil, and the activity and patriotism of its inhabitants, gave a sufficient pledge to the government to justify the reliance which they had placed on the aid and co-operation of the nation, which, on another and ever-memorable occasion, had proved to the world that there are no sacrifices that it is not ready to make in support of its independence, and in the defence of its just rights.

Thus the United States were forced into a war which they had not provoked; — America took up arms in support of her rights, and for the preservation of her national honour, with a firm determination not lay them down until the object should be attained. Provic

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. dence blessed our efforts, and our arms were crowned with the most brilliant triumphs over those of our ene my. The army and navy exhibited a noble rivalship of zeal, devotion, and glory. In the one Lawrence, Bainbridge, Decatur, Perry, M'Donough, Porter; — in the other Pike, Scott, Brown, Jackson, and many more, proved to the enemy, and to the world, that we possessed resolution to defend our rights, and power to avenge our injuries. The relation of these various exploits is the proper province of history. An abler pen than mine will one day consecrate to posterity this monument of American fame. My humble task has been to collect a part of the materials that may serve to erect it, and which I offer in the present work. The volume which I present to the public is de voted to the relation of the campaign of the end of 1814 and beginning of 1815: that is to say, from the first ar rival of the British forces on the coast of Louisiana, in September, until the total evacuation, in consequence of the treaty of peace, including a period of about seven months.

During that space of time, particularly from the 14th of December to the 19th of January, events of the highest importance succeeded each other with ra pidity; but it was in the short period, from the 23d of December, the day of the landing of the British troops.

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. XV to the memorable 8th of January, that the American arms acquired that lustre which no time can efface. Nee poterit tempus, nee edax abolere vetustas. The preparations which the British government had made for the conquest of Louisiana were immense. So certain were they of complete success, that a full set of officers, for the administration of civil government, from the judge down to the tide-waiter, had embarked on board of the squadron with the military force. The British speculators, who are always found in the train of military expeditions, had freighted a part of the transports for conveying the expected booty, which they estimated beforehand at more than fourteen millions of dollars. The British government well knew that they could not keep Louisiana, even if they should obtain the possession of it.

They were not ignorant that the western states could pour down, if necessary, one hundred thousand men to repel the invaders; they therefore could only rely on a momentary occupation, which they hoped, nevertheless, to prolong sufficiently to give them time to pillage and lay waste the country. Therefore they had neglected no means of securing the plunder which they expected to make. Such, indeed, was their certainty of success that it was not thought necessary in Europe to conceal the object of the expedition. At Bordeaux, at the time of the embarkation of the troops, the conquest of Louisiana was publicly spoken of as an

PREFACE.

. enterprize that could not fail of succeeding, and the British officers spoke of that campaign as of a party of pleasure, in which there was to be neither difficulty nor danger. It is even asserted, (though I will not vouch for the truth of the assertion) that the prime minister of Great Britain, lord Castlereagh, being at Paris when the news of the capture of Washington arrived there, boasted publicly that New Orleans and Louisiana would soon be in the power of his countrymen.* Yet this formidable expedition had already sailed from Europe when its precise object and destination were not known in America. It will be seen, in the course of this me moir, that about the beginning of December, the great est part of the British force had arrived on our coast, when general Jackson had hardly sufficient time to make the first preparations for defence.

Without fearing to be accused of flattery, we may justly call him (under God) the saviour of Louisiana: for, in the space of a few days, with discordant and heterogeneous ele ments, he created and organized the little army which succeeded so well in humbling the British pride. It is true, that the love of country, the hatred of England, the desire of avenging the outrages which we had suf fered from that haughty power, fired every heart; — but all this would have availed nothing without the energy of the commander-in-chief: which will appear so much * Niles's Historical Register, vol. vii. p. 389.

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. XVII the more extraordinary, when it is considered that he was constantly sick during this memorable campaign, so much so that' he was on the point of being obliged to resign his command. Although his body was ready to sink under the weight of sickness, fatigue, and con tinual watching, his mind, nevertheless, never lost for a moment that energy which he knew so well how to communicate to all that surrounded him. To obstacles, which to others would have appeared insurmountable — to the want of the most indispensable supplies for the army, he opposed the most constant perseverance, until he succeeded either in obtaining what was required, or in creating supplementary resources. I have already said, that the energy manifested by general Jackson spread, as it were, by contagion, and communicated itself to the whole army. 1 shall add, that there was nothing which those who composed it did not feel themselves capable of performing, if he or dered it to be done; it was enough that he expressed a wish, or threw out the slightest intimation, and imme diately a crowd of volunteers offered themselves to carry his views into execution.

Such perfect harmony — so entire and reciprocal a confidence between the troops and their commander, could not fail to produce the hap piest effects. Therefore, although our army was, as I have already observed, composed of heterogeneous ele ments, of men speaking different languages, and brought

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. up in different habits, the most perfect union and har mony never ceased for a moment to prevail in our camp. No one can better than myself bear testimony to the good understanding that reigned among our troops. In the course of the labours at the fortifications, which were erected under my direction, I had occasion to employ soldiers in fatigue duty, who were drafted by detachments from each of the several corps. These men were kept hard at work even to the middle of the night, and by that means lost the little portion of sleep which they could have snatched in the interval of their military duties. I was almost constantly with them, superintending their labours; but I may truly say, that I never heard among them the least murmur of discontent, nor saw the least sign of impatience. Nay, more, soar-fifths of our army were composed of militia-men or volunteers, who, it might be supposed, would with difficulty have submitted to the severe discipline of a camp, and of course would often have incurred punishment; yet nothing of the kind took place; and I solemnly declare, that not the smallest military punishment was inflicted.

This is a fact respecting which I defy contradiction in the most formal manner. What, then, was the cause of this miracle? The love of country, the love of liberty. It was the consciousness of the dignity of man — it was the noblest of feelings, which pervaded and fired the souls of our defenders — which made them

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. XIX bear patiently with their sufferings, because the country required it of them. They felt that they ought to resist an enemy who had come to invade and to subdue their country; — they knew that their wives, their children, their nearest and dearest friends were but a few miles behind their encampment, who, but for their exertions, would inevitably become the victims and the prey of a licentious soldiery. A noble city and a rich territory looked up to them for protection; those whom their con duct was to save or devote to perdition, were in sight, extending to them their supplicating hands. Here was a scene to elicit the most latent sparks of courage. What wonder, then, that it had so powerful an effect on the minds of American soldiers — of Louisianian patriots! Every one of those brave men felt the honour and im portance of his station, and exulted in the thought of being the defender of his fellow citizens, and the avenger of his country's wrongs.

Such are the men, who will always be found, by those who may again pre sume to insult a free nation, determined to maintain and preserve her rights. I have in this work endeavoured to relate in de tail, with the utmost exactness and precision, the prin cipal events which took place in the course of this campaign. I have related facts as I myself saw them, or as they were told me by credible eye-witnesses. I do not believe, that through the whole of this narrative I have XX

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. swerved from the truth in a single instance; if, how ever, by one of those unavoidable mistakes to which every man is subject, I have involuntarily mis-stated, or omitted to state, any material circumstance, I shall be ready to acknowledge my error whenever it shall be pointed out to me. I therefore invite those of my rea ders, who may observe any error in my narrative, to be so good as to inform me of it, that I may correct it in a subsequent edition. Although several documents contained in the Ap pendix have been already published, I have nevertheless thought proper to insert them as necessary parts of the whole, and as the vouchers of the facts which I have related. I might, indeed, have reduced some of them to the form of an extract, but they would thereby have lost something of their original character. Some might, perhaps, have doubted their authenticity. I therefore preferred giving them entire. OF THE WAR IN WEST FLORIDA AND LOUISIANA.