The Pirates Laffite

by William C. Davis

53. New Orleans, Louisiana Gazette, April 12, 1810.

  54. Edward Livingston to James Madison, Oct. 24, 1814, James Madison Papers, Library of Congress, states that privateers had "for four years past brought their prizes to the Bay of Barataría in this State." Latour, Memoir, pp. 14–15, 16, agrees on the four-year duration. Felipe Fatio to José Cienfüegos, May 24, 1817, Legajo 1900, AGI-Newberry, also in Harris Gaylord Warren, "Documents Relating to the Establishment of Privateers at Galveston, 1816–1817," Louisiana Historical Quarterly, XXI (October 1938), p. 15, states that the Laffites started their Barataría operation in 1810.

  55. Walker Gilbert to Thomas Williams, January 20, 1810, Entry 1627, RG 36, NA.

  56. Robert C. Vogel, "Jean Laffite, the Baratarians, and the Historical Geography of Piracy in the Gulf of Mexico," Gulf Coast Historical Review, V (Spring 1990), pp. 72–73n.

  57. Latour, Memoir; pp. 14–15, 16.

  58. Albert Gallatin to Thomas H. Williams, May 5, 1810, Letters to and from the Collector at New Orleans, La., October 11, 1803–April 11, 1833, M-178, General Records of the Department of the Treasury, RG 56, NA.

  59. C. Pettibone to Thomas Wilhams, May 23, 1810, Entry 1627, RG 36, NA.

  60. Morphy to Williams, May 11, 1810, Entry 1627, RG 36, NA.

  61. Bollaert, "Lafitte," p. 436. John Smith Kendall claims that Vincent Gambi was the first bos at Barataria, and that he appointed agents including the Laffites in New Orleans to arrange disposal of goods. He offers no supporting evidence, nor is there any. Kendall, "The Huntsmen of Black Ivory," pp. 13, 14.

  62. Pierre Laffite and A. Robin to J. N. B. D'Abnour, June 12, 1810, Narcissus Broutin, Vol. 23, item 352; Andre Robin and Laffite to George Mayer, June 16, 1810, Vol. 23, item 361; Robin and Pierre Laffite to Simon Croise, June 20, 18x0, Vol. 23, item 96; Pierre Laffite and Robin to Etienne LaFebre, June 27, 1810, Vol. 23, item 377; Robin and Pierre Laffite to Francois Charles, July 11, 1810, Vol. 23, item 397; Robin and Pierre Laffite to Laure Freres, July 19, 1810, Vol. 23, item 419; Andre Robin and Pierre Laffite to Marie Lafore-strie, July 19, 1810, Vol. 22, item 420; Pierre Laffite to Paul Martin and Paul Savoie, August 24, 1810, Vol. 23, item 475; Robin and Pierre Laffite to Nicholas Godefroy Oliver, September 19, 1810, Vol. 23, item 525, NONA.

  63. Pierre Laffite to Jean del Puerto, February 22, 1810, Pierre Pedesclaux, Vol. 60, p. 78; Pierre Laffite and A. Robin, March 3, 1810, Narcissus Broutin, Vol. 22, item 126; Pierre Laffite to Arnaud Bauvais, March 16, 1810, Narcissus Broutin, Vol. 22, item 157; Pierre Laffite and Andre Robin to Ursuline Convent, March 17, 1810, Narcissus Broutin, Vol. 22, item 161; Andre Robin and Pierre Laffite to Etienne Rousset, March 20, 1810, Narcissus Broutin, Vol. 22, item 170, NONA.

  64. Andre Robin to Pierre Laffite and Fois Pouche, April 18, 1810, Narcissus Broutin, Vol. 22, item 231; William Liddle to Pierre Laffite and Andre Robin, May 23, 1810, Michele De Armas, Vol. 3, item 144, NONA.

  65. New Orleans, Daily Picayune, August 20, 1871. This account of Laffite from "a venerable citizen of New Orleans" who cannot be identified, and who claimed to have boarded with Jean at the time, was originally written in 1863. It seems reliable, allowing for some romanticization after the lapse of half a century, and where details are verifiable, the writer has them correct. His physical description of Jean matches Glasscock's 1809 portrait perfectly. The author also states that Laffite was a Bordeaux native and for several years kept a store on Royal Street, one of the earliest examples of the persistent assertion that the Laffites maintained a town warehouse or store on Royal. The source also claimed that Jean was fluent in several languages, while it is apparent that he had to use translators for documents in English and Spanish, though his conversational English was fairly good and better than Pierre's.

  66. United States and William Carter vs. Louis Aury, Case #0376, United States vs. Louis Aury, Case #0377, NAFW.

  67. Jacques Gueron et al. report on Privateer Schooner William, June 4, 1810, Protest, May 29, 1810, Entry 1627, RG, NA; Order for Bond, June 26, 1810, Verdict, July 18, 1810, United States vs. Guillaume, Minutes, II, pp. 224, 232–33, M-1082, RG 21, NA.

  68. Libel of Vicente Dordoigaite, n.d., Vicente Dordoigaite vs. ElBolador, Case #0419; Deposition of Vincente Dordoigaite, August 28, 1810, United States vs. certain slaves late of the cargo of the Spanish brig El Bolador, Case #0391, NAFW.

  69. Thomas Boiling Robertson, Proclamation, September 6, 1810, Charles E. A. Gayarre, The Story of Jean and Pierre Lafitte, The Pirate-Patriots (New Orleans, 1938), p. 47.

  70. New Orleans, Louisiana Gazette, September 13, 1810.

  71. Order for Bond, August 28, 1810, Minutes, II, p. 253, Warrant, September 14, 1810, p. 255, Vincent Dordoigiate vs. Michel Brouard, M-1082, RG 21, NA.

  72. Act 276, October 28, 1807, Book 1, p. 220, Conveyance Records, Ascension Parish Courthouse, Donaldsonville, LA.

  73. Deposition of Pierre Laffite, September 23, 1810, P. N. Paillet vs. L. Bourdier, Case #0399; Deposition of Pierre Laffite, n.d. [September 28, 1810], United States vs. Pierre Laffite, Case #0574, NAFW.

  74. Arrest order, October 11, 1810, Peter N. Paillet vs. L. Bourdier, Case #0399, NAFW.

  75. Claim, October 2, 1810, P. N. Paillet vs. L. Bourdier, Case #0399, NAFW.

  76. Synopses #0392, 0393, 0394, 0395, September 7, 1810, Works Project Administration, Synopses of Cases in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana Cases #1 to #30001806–1831 (Baton Rouge, 1941), p. 46.

  77. A Summary Statement of Money and Property taken out of Spanish vessels, November 16, 1818, M59, RG 59, NA.

  78. Affidavit of Mr. Peter Lafite, Marshal, September 20, 1810, P. N. Paillet vs. L. Bourdier, Case #0399, NAFW.

  79. Admittedly, the dating of Pierre's affliction is inductive. The only way in many instances to distinguish between a Pierre or Jean Laffite document and others by men of the same name is the unique double f single t spelling used by the brothers, as well as by their signatures. In the case of Pierre, not a single document has been found with this double f single t spelling in the signature that does not match his signature. The same is the case with Jean, though a couple of his later signatures do not in all respects match his earlier ones.

  Of the dozens of Pierre's signatures available up to September 23, 1810, without exception all are precisely the same, his name written large and boldly, spelled in full, with a lavish rubric, and decorative elements added at either side. The December 22, 1810, slave sale cited hereafter he did not sign at all, which was unusual for him. From March 12, 1811, onward he invariably shortened his given name to "Per" in his signatures, and after March 21 dropped the decorative elements at the sides, reduced the rubric, and overall wrote with a weaker and more diminutive hand, though it is still unquestionably his signature, with the same letter formation and the same lifting of the pen between the second f and the i. It is a dramatic change, turning a once-forceful signature into something rather meek.

  It has generally been accepted that Pierre suffered a stroke in 1812, due to the statement of two examining physicians on August 10, 1814, that "about two years ago" Laffite had experienced "an apoplectic fit" (Opinion of Drs. Lewis Heerman and William Flood with regard to the health of said Lafitte, August 10, 1814, United States vs. Pierre Laffite, Case #0574, NAFW). However, the sudden change in Pierre's signature is almost certainly an artifact of an attack that came much earlier. Though the examiners in 1814 said that it was his left side that suffered the palsy, a stroke could have affected his writing even if he were right-handed. On March 12, 1811, he for the first time signed himself as "Per Laffite," though it was still rather bold, and still with rubric and ornaments. Just nine days later, on March 21, 1811, he commenced the diminutive and unornamented signature that he used in almost all surviving documents for the rest of his life. Given his failure to sign the December 22, 1810, document at all, it seems reasonable to conclude that his attack came prior to that date. Interestingly, without explaining his rationale, Saxon, Lafitte, p. 32, also concludes that Pierre suffere
d the attack in 1810.

  80. Robin and Pierre Laffite to Lauve Freret, December 22, 1810, Narcissus Broutin, Vol. 23, item 651, NONA.

  81. Pierre Laffite to Charles Lusson, March 12, 1811, Turner's Acts, Book 2K, p. 177, Clerk of Court's Office, Ascension Parish Courthouse, Donaldsonville, LA.

  FIVE

  1. John Innerarity to John Forbes, November 29, 1810, Heloise Cruzat Papers, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL.

  2. James D. Richardson, comp., A Compilation of the Messages and Papers of the Presidents 1789–1897 (Washington, 1900), I, pp. 480–81.

  3. Innerarity to Forbes, November 29, 1810, Cruzat Papers, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL.

  4. Henry Toulmin to Innerarity, November 26, December 13, 1810, Greenslade Papers, University of Florida.

  5. Isidro A. Beluche Mora, "Privateers of Cartagena," Louisiana Historical Quarterly, XXXIX (January 1956), pp. 74–75, 79.

  6. Daniel T. Patterson vs. the General Bolivar, Case #0760, NAFW. Faye, Aury, p. 92, asserts with no evidence that in the winter of 1810–11, when it was learned in New Orleans that privateer commissions were available from Cartagena, the privateers formed something called the "Barataria Association" with the Laffites as its agents. This is surely nothing more than imagination.

  7. Kendall, "The Huntsmen of Black Ivory," pp. 10–11; Latour, Historical Memoir, pp. 12–13, 15.

  8. Blas Moran to Diego Morphy, August 22, 1810, Srs. Llano y Regato to Morphy, December 7, 1810, Legajo 1836, AGI-Newberry.

  9. Juan B. Bernaberr to Robert Smith, October 4, 1810, RG 59, M-50, NA.

  10. New Orleans, Louisiana Gazette, September 24, 1810.

  11. On October 27, 1810, just days or weeks before Pierre's stroke, Adelaide Maseleri, the free mulatto from San Domingue who could have been the mother of Eugene Laffite if there was such a person, gave birth to a daughter named Marie Josephe in New Orleans. It has long been assumed that she was the daughter of Pierre Laffite, thanks to the statement in her baptismal record that her parents were "Pierre [Lafitte], native of Bayonne in France, and Adelaide Maseleri, resident of the parish of St. Louis of Jeremie on Santo Domingo, both residents of this city." (Charles E. Nolan and Dorenda Dupont, eds., Sacramental Records of the Roman Catholic Church of the Archdiocese of New Orleans, Volume 10, 1810—1812 [New Orleans, 1995], p. 254.)

  There are immediate contradictions here, however. First, every other contemporary record for which Pierre Laffite was demonstrably present to declare his birthplace states that he came from Bordeaux, not Bayonne. Second, this baptismal record appears in a book to be used exclusively for white births. Only five other records of Adelaide Maseleri have been found, all notarial records, and they show her to be a free woman of color, making the baptismal record of her daughter in the white record book inexplicable.

  A further complication comes in another extant record of Adelaide Maseleri, when on October 26, 1811, Pierre Laffite sold a slave to "Adelaide Masclari" (Narcissus Broutin, Vol. 26, item 451, NONA). This is definitely Pierre Laffite, signing himself on the document by his now-distinctive "Per Laffite" signature. Almost a year to the day after the birth of Marie Josephe, Pierre Laffite sold Adelaide a twenty-year-old woman for whom he charged only $50, while on this day Laffite sold another twenty-year-old slave woman to another buyer for $350 (Pierre Laffite to Clarisse Julien, October 26, 1811, Narcissus Broutin, Vol. 26, item 452, NONA). Several factors could explain the seeming discrepancy, including the condition and health of the slaves, or their skills, but the enormous difference in price suggests that Adelaide got a preferential rate because Laffite was the child's father.

  The evidence of his long relationship with Marie Louisa Villard is clear. Of course, Pierre could have had more than one relationship, or simply a brief liaison with Adelaide. However, other factors mitigate against this. For one thing, Marie Josephe Lafitte simply disappears from the record after her baptism, and Adelaide Maseleri herself disappears after 1812. Signatures do not appear in the baptismal archives, so it is not possible to identify or disqualify Pierre Laffite by that means.

  All things considered, it seems most probable that Marie Josephe's father was another Pierre Lafitte then living in New Orleans and that the smuggler Pierre Laffite's sale of a slave to Adelaide was merely coincidence, since many of the buyers of his slaves were from the free colored community. Similar coincidences abound, including two intermarried Laffite-Ramos families, one of them connected to Jean and Pierre and the other not. And a Maseleri witnessed the baptism of one of Pierre's grandchildren. However, in the mulatto society of the time, concentrated in the Faubourg Marigny section of town, such a close association might not be unusual. There were a host of free black Maseleris under some forty variant spellings.

  12. New Orleans, Louisiana Gazette, December 20, 1811.

  13. William St. Marc vs. Lafitte and Garidel, Case #3117, City Court Suit Records, NOPL.

  14. Payment on note, December 29, 1810, Guilledon Cadet vs. Bellurgey, Robin, Pierre Lafitte, and William St. Marc, Case #2560, City Court Suit Records; Judgement, December 19, 1811, Jeane Baptiste Bellestre vs. William St. Marc, Pierre Lafitte et al., Case #2745, Orleans Territory Superior Court Suit Records, NOPL.

  15. Babb, French Refugees, p. 231.

  16. Shaw to Hamilton, January 18, 1811, Area File of the Naval Collection, 1775–1910, Area 8, M-625, NA.

  17. James H. Dorman, "The Persistent Specter: Slave Rebellion in Territorial Louisiana," Louisiana History, XVIII (Fall 1977), pp. 394–99.

  18. Inventory of the criminal cases tried by Orleans County Court (1805–1807) and City Court (1807–1812), NOPL.

  19. Shaw to Hamilton, January 18, 1811, Area File of the Naval Collection, 1775–1910, Area 8, M-625, NA.

  20. Dorman, "Persistent Specter," pp. 400–1.

  21. John Smith Kendall, "Shadow Over the City," Louisiana Historical Quarterly, XXII (January 1939), pp. 144–46, says without citing any authority that slaves introduced into Louisiana by the Baratarians may have been behind the January 18x1 uprising. He goes on to claim that Claiborne's subsequent investigation concluded that this was the case, and as a result the governor determined to stop the Baratarians. In fact, Claiborne's investigation came to no such conclusion. See also John W. Monette, History of the Discovery and Settlement of the Valley of the Mississippi (New York, 1846), II, p. 491, for a roughly current assumption that Laffite slaves were involved.

  22. Nolan and Dupont, eds., Sacramental Records of the Roman Catholic Church of the Archdiocese of New Orleans, Volume 10, 1810–1812, p. 254. The page on which the baptism of Jean Baptiste Laffite was entered is now missing from the original book, having been torn out. The entry can be reconstructed only from the extant index, which indicates that the child was colored, places the date of baptism as May 20, 1811, and the mother as a "De Villars." Villard is often misstated as Villar and Villars in the records, though this is not conclusive. As will appear in the final chapter, descendants of Pierre and Marie did vandalize another book in the Sacramental Archives to remove a reference to Marie being colored, and if this entry dealt with a child of theirs, then the motive to remove this page would have been the same.

  23. In the index to Turner's Acts, Book 2K, p. 179, Ascension Parish Clerk of Court, Donaldsonville, Blaze Lacosts/Lacaste is referenced as selling a plantation on the left bank of the Lafourche to Pierre Laffite on February 20, 1811. However, the actual act shows the sale being to the same Louis Bourdier from whom Laffite recovered contraband slaves the previous September. It is perhaps only a coincidence, and it is possible that the indexer at the time saw "Lacaste" and read it as "Laffite." The next month, on March 4, 1812, Louis Bourdier was unable to pay a debt of $327.50 on a one-year note. Protest, Act Book 1, p. 236, West Feliciana Parish Courthouse, St. Francisville, LA. The fact that Bourdier was buying and selling property on the Lafourche in this period raises the possibility that he was a smuggling associate of the Laffites.

  24. Gilbert to Williams, January 6, 1811, E
ntry 1627, RG 36, NA.

  25. L. B. Many to Williams, May 28, 1811, Ibid.

  26. John Shaw to Paul Hamilton, March 15, 1811, Area File of the Naval Collection, 1775–1910, Area 8, M-625, NA.

  27. Shaw to Hamilton, June 7, 1811, Ibid.

  28. Vestiges of the Laffite presence on Grand Isle remain, though mostly in lore and legend rather than confirmable association. In 1900 a spot on the north coast in the middle of the island was called Laffite's Cove, and inland a few hundred yards was a wooded spot called Laffite's Meeting Place on a tourist map. This may be today's Laffite's Woods. There was also the home of Nez Coupe, who claimed to be one of Laffite's men, on the island in later years. This was the man also known as Chighizola, and his descendants are there today.

  29. Robert Vogel, "Jean Laffite, the Baratarians, and the Historical Geography of Piracy in the Gulf of Mexico," Gulf Coast Historical Review, V (Spring 1990), pp. 64–65.

  30. Laffite to Charles Lusson, March 12, Turner's Acts, Book 2K, p. 177, Clerk of Court's Office, Ascension Parish Courthouse, Donaldsonville, LA; Laffite to Charles Lusson, March 12, 1811, Notary Narcissus Broutin, Vol. 24, item 176; Laffite and Robin to Jean Baptiste Deblanc, March 29, 1811, Vol. 24, item 74; Laffite to Arnaud Beauvais, March 21, 1811, Vol. 25, item 109; Laffite and Robin to Vincent Fornaud and St. Ville Ternaut, March 23, 1811, Vol. 25, item 114; Laffite and Robin to Jean Baptiste Chichon, March 30, 1811, Vol. 25, item 122; Laffite and Robin to Manette Foucher, April 1, 1811, Vol. 25, item 133; Laffite to Cesar LeBreton des Chapelle, April 5, 1811, Vol. 25, item 144; Laffite to Balthazar Dusnan, April 5, 1811, Vol. 25, item 145; Laffite and Robin to Louis LeBreton des Chapelle, April 19, 1811, Vol. 25, item 178, NONA.

  31. Laffite to François Honoré, June 13, 1811, Stephen De Quinones, Vol. 13, item 214; Laffite to Adelaide Masclary, October 26, 1811, Notary Narcissus Broutin, Vol. 26, item 451; Laffite to Clarisse Julien, October 26, 1811, Vol. 26, item 452; Laffite to François Doriocourt, October 29, 1811, Michele DeArmas, Vol. 6, item 506; Laffite and Robin to Andre Candolle, November 23, 1811, Notary Narcissus Broutin, Vol. 23, item 619; Laffite to Dame Marmillon, December 11, 1811, Notary Pierre Pedesclaux, Vol. 63, item 505; Laffite to Françoise Haydel, December 11, 1811, Vol. 63, item 505, NONA.