His life and death remain as mysterious as the swamps and bayous of Barataria. Governor Claiborne of Louisiana once offered a $500 reward to anyone who captured Jean Laffite; Laffitte offered a counter reward of $5,000 to anyone who captured the governor. It also mentions reports of larger sums of the treasure being buried in the appropriately-named small town of Lafitte, Louisiana. on Grand Terre. Later United States President James Madison pardoned him and his men for their acts of piracy. There are Tensions were high during this time between the United States and Great Britain, creating the War of 1812 and forcing the United States to be on edge about who they could and could not trust. Official Blog of Pelican State Credit Union. Lafitte conducted most of his business aboard his ship, The Pride, where he also lived. Some accounts say Within a short period, Lafitte's men abandoned their ships, set several on fire, and fled the area. [7] His elder brother Pierre became a privateer; he may have operated from Saint-Domingue, which frequently issued letters of marque. It was stuck in the crack of the stairs. This story first appeared in a local newspaper in the 1920s from an unnamed source and has no basis in fact. Guests could've been able to enter Laffite's crypt near the Haunted Mansion. THE LEGACY OF JEAN LAFITTE IN SOUTHWEST LOUISIANA By W. T. Block Reprinted from TRUE WEST, Dec., 1979, p. 26ff; . In 1966, Louisiana authorized a state park to be established at the present site of the Barataria Preserve. But the treasure is in my best belief to be in Galveston. The United States made the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. A $27 million treasure supposedly lies buried on Pelican Island. "Jean Laffite Revealed". The Temple was located just North of what is today Little Lake, in Lafittes time it was Little Lake Barataria, where Bayou Perot and Bayou Rigolets meet. [69] With Spanish permission, Lafitte returned to Galveston, promising to make weekly reports of his activities.[70]. scrambling to find answers. The ship's kitchen stove was found intact. In 1817, Jean founded a new colony on Galveston Island named Campeche. The family thinks this could be a clue as to where the actual treasure is. Experts with . chagrin of the locals that helped drain the swamp, there was no trace of the Laflin said he himself was a descendant of Jean Lafitte and had found the book in a trunk he had inherited. [58] On December 19, the state legislature passed a resolution recommending a full pardon for all of the former residents at Barataria. Officials released the smugglers after they posted bail, and they disappeared and refused to return for a trial. It's okay, because we're here to bust them! [67] By early 1817, other revolutionaries had begun to congregate at Galveston, hoping to make it their base to wrest Mexico from Spanish control. JEAN LAFITTE (1778 DEC 27 - 1823 . My grandfathers mother lived next to his mother and we were told of the storys on where some was at. times as a smuggler and privateer, he became very wealthy. History suggests there is a possibility that hidden treasuresgold coins, doubloons, precious jewelryare somewhere beneath the surface just waiting to be found! In later years, he was described as having "a more accurate knowledge of every inlet from the Gulf than any other man". Radford, Victor and the Pirate: A Story of New Orleans During the War of 1812, Childcraft (Vol. Lost Gold Of Jean Lafitte is the 4th episode in Season 5 of Expedition Unknown. It was cloudy with low visibility. The Mystery of the Final Years of Jean Lafitte . From there, he raided foreign ships in the Gulf of Mexico. [99], Ramsay compares the numerous legends related to the life and death of Jean Lafitte to those about King Arthur and Robin Hood. [101] Lafitte is rumored to have buried treasure at many locations, including Galveston and sites along coastal Louisiana, such as Contraband Bayou in Lake Charles. He landed ships at Grand Terre and Cheniere, and then brought the merchandise to The Temple to be auctioned. By 1812 Lafitte was the leader of the Baratarians with headquarters on Grand Terre, a barrier island in the Gulf of Mexico near Grand Isle. He withdrew his battered troops and ended French involvement in North America, selling the US what became known as the Louisiana Purchase in 1803: French-claimed lands west of the Mississippi River. Jean Laffite, Laffite also spelled Lafitte, (born 1780?, Francedied 1825? Britain maintained a powerful navy, but the United States had little naval power. Date of Birth - Death c. 1780-unknown. This story was told to me several years ago by a man in his 80 s Back in 1940 or 41 two men hired to clean up around what is said to be Lafittes red house disapeared after a few days. He fled New Orleans to Lake Pontchartrain. He refused to allow anyone else to see the original documents until 1969, when he sold them to a professional document dealer. . [44], Captain Nicholas Lockyer, the commander of the Sophie, had been ordered to contact the "Commandant at Barataria". By 1810 he was in Louisiana with his older brother Pierre. There's Lafitte's Treasure Casino right off the Grand Coteau exit on I-49; Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve Acadian-Cultural Center and the Lafitte Oaks on Jefferson Island, where the pirate is said to have buried some of his treasure. Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop is named after him. 5 , Mexican outpost further south along the Gulf Coast, Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve, Sam Houston Regional Library and Research Center, List of people pardoned or granted clemency by the president of the United States, "FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS: GENERAL QUESTIONS", "Jean Laffite as a Father | Historia Obscura", "The Legend of Jean LaFoote Advertising Week 360 AW360", "Cinnamon Crunch (Cap'n Crunch) Cereal | MrBreakfast.com", "Then and Now: Lafitte's Anchor at Disneyland Park", "20 Things You May Not Know About Disneyland's Pirates of the Caribbean Ride", "History and a Behind the Scenes Look at the Pirates of the Caribbean Attraction in Disneyland", "Why is the Name Jean Lafitte Everywhere at Disneyland", History of the second war between the United States of America and Great Britain: declared by act of Congress, the 18th of June, 1812, and concluded by peace, the 15th of February, 1815, Jean Lafitte: Gentleman Pirate of New Orleans, "Jean LaFitte's piratical topsail schooner", History, photos and movies about Jean Lafitte, Paris Declaration Respecting Maritime Law, Jim Hawkins and the Curse of Treasure Island, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jean_Lafitte&oldid=1142807831, Recipients of American presidential pardons, Pages using embedded infobox templates with the title parameter, All articles with specifically marked weasel-worded phrases, Articles with specifically marked weasel-worded phrases from July 2018, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, pirate, privateer, spy, naval artillery officer, slave trader. [50], Lafitte committed himself and his men for any defensive measures needed by New Orleans. The business was so profitable because Lafitte was selling smuggled, foreign goods to the people of New Orleans. After Jean's reported death in the mid-1820s, the widowed Catiche took up with Feliciano Ramos. Stories of the buried treasure of Jean Lafitte can be found all over the state of Louisiana. Thus, on August 13, 1814, Captain Nicholas Lockyer of the British ship Sophie sailed on that mission. [85] Almost half of the combined crew refused to sail as pirates; Lafitte allowed them to leave aboard his largest ship, the brig General Victoria. there were treasure legends, and the most common story is that Lafitte stranded a ship, a Spanish ship with gold, in Matagorda Bay in Corpus and was taking it to St. Louis on some wagon trains over roads that don . Due to escalating violence from the Haitian Revolution, in early 1803 Pierre boarded a refugee ship for New Orleans. Many of the Baratarians settled in New Orleans or in the Barataria area and some of their descendants still live there today. This article provides images of newspapers from 1921, and one column in particular that talks about Lafittes treasure. Its well known about the boat company started with silver found near Lake Salvador. Later, in return for a legal pardon, Laffite and his fleet helped General Andrew Jackson during the Battle of New Orleans to defend the city during the War of 1812. [62], Patterson praised the Barataria men who served on one of the US Navy ships, and whose skill with artillery was greater than their British counterparts. mystery afoot! [60], On December 23, advance units of the British fleet reached the Mississippi River. . [81]. [74], In less than a year, Lafitte's colony grew to 100200 men and several women. A statue dedicated to the pirate Jean Lafitte can be found next to the water by the fishing boats In February 1823, the infamous pirate Jean Lafitte, severely wounded from an encounter with Spanish warships, sailed his schooner General Santander westward from the coast of Cuba into oblivion. The Laffites subsequently became spies for the Spanish during the Mexican War of Independence. In her children's story, Victor and the Pirate: A Story of New Orleans During the War of 1812 (1947), Ruby Lorraine Radford features a fictional child who encourages Lafitte to defend New Orleans. Captain Campbell became a farmer and remained so until his death in 1856. In 1812, several Baratarians including both Pierre and Jean Lafitte were captured but jumped bail. Their patrols and interventions reduced the number of active pirates in the region. Founded in 1805 by the infamous pirate Jean Lafitte, the legendary Lafitte Trading Company is dedicated to preserving New Orleans' rich pirate history, culture & traditions. Here, there would be lots of different activities for the kids. I a month there. Lafitte was horribly excited by the result of this trial. [97][Note 3] The Gaceta de Cartagena and the Gaceta de Colombia carried obituaries that noted, "the loss of this brave naval officer is moving. [19] When Claiborne returned to office, he was relatively quiet on the subject. Rogers was a member of Jean Lafitte's pirate crew in 1812. [44], McWilliam brought two letters in his packet for Lafitte: one, under the seal of King George III, offered Lafitte and his forces British citizenship and land grants in the British colonies in the Americas (by then, these consisted of islands in the Caribbean and territory in Upper and Lower Canada). North of Tatum, in the middle of the woods, lies . Jean had taken the helm of a band of pirates when the U.S. found itself at war with . wrong move on Lafittes mason rouge. The judge ruled that Patterson should get the customary share of profits from the goods that had already been sold, but he did not settle the ownership of the ships. Most of Jean Lafitte's life remains shrouded in mystery, including his name. Lafittes image changed from pirate to patriot during the War of 1812. The couple had six children, including at least three daughters. the naval operations and common routes of port ships in the Mississippi River [88] In October or November 1821, Lafitte's ship was ambushed as he attempted to ransom a recent prize. As JeanLafitte.net explains, in 1948, a man named John Andrechyne Laflin went to the Missouri Historical Society with a document called The Journal of Jean Lafitte, which he claimed was the authentic memoir and scrapbook of the famed pirate. In 1812, the United States and the United Kingdom went to war. So next time you're walking past the . (Ramsay (1996), pp. Suzanne Johnson features a living Lafitte in her urban fantasy series, Jean Laffite is a character in the historical fiction novel Ashes & Ecstasy by Catherine Hart, Published March 1st 2000 by Leisure Books (first published November 1st 1985), In the 1960s and 70s a barefoot cartoon pirate named, Lafitte: the pirate of the Gulf a book from 1836, This page was last edited on 4 March 2023, at 13:45. It's not known who her father was. After his three children were grown, Lafitte fell sick in his 50s. [99], Davis writes that Lafitte's death prevented his becoming obsolete; by 1825 piracy had been essentially eradicated in the Gulf of Mexico, and "the new world of the Gulf simply had no room for [his] kind. This would later be used to his great advantage. 2001-11-18 04:00:00 PDT Wallisville, Texas -- Using a machete, Anahuac Jack hacks through branches . "Ladies and gentlemen, meet Jean Lafitte. She placed Pierre to be raised by extended family elsewhere in Louisiana. On February 13, he escaped, likely with outside help. Jean Lafitte (c. 1780 - c. 1823) was a French pirate and privateer who operated in the Gulf of Mexico in the early 19th century. Lafitte se rvla un alli prcieux pour les tats-Unis lors de la . The story claimed that American Revolutionary War naval hero John Paul Jones was the uncle of Jean Lafitte and Napoleon Bonaparte and that the two were cousins. Uninterested in exports from New Orleans, customs agents rarely checked the accuracy of the manifests. Most of his men had believed that Lafitte had a valid privateering commission although there was confusion as to which country had issued it. Louisiana State University alumnus (Geaux Tigers), fanatic of all things sports, pugs, and Star Wars, and teller of the occasional dad joke. Lafittes final resting place is unknown. Around the same time it became illegal to bring slaves from Africa into Louisiana; it later became illegal to import slaves into the rest of the United States. The marker was erected in 1965 by the Texas Historical Commission. [28] The residents of New Orleans were grateful to the Lafittes for providing them with luxuries otherwise prevented from importing by the embargo. [117] Most historians now believe the Lafitte journal to be a forgery. that is. [116] Many researchers noticed a similarity between John Laflin's handwriting and the writing in the journal. 2. [61] The British began advancing upon the American lines on December 28, but were repulsed by an artillery crew manned by two of Lafitte's former lieutenants, Renato Beluche and Dominique Youx. during the Battle of New Orleans. In 1814, the U.S. sent a naval force to invade Lafittes fleet and was mostly successful, seizing many of Lafittes comrades and ships. After Napoleons exile to St. Helena by the English in 1815, the story says Lafitte put a double in his place and smuggled him into the United States, but that Napoleon died on the trip. $130,000 of Jean Lafitte's treasure is thought to be buried near Bolivar Point. . The men working for Lafitte were called Baratarians because the waterways they used for smuggling were located in an area called Barataria (the Barataria Preserve of Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve is located in this area). He and his older brother Pierre spelled their last name Laffite, but English language documents of the time used "Lafitte".This has become the common spelling in the United States, including places named after him. In 1978, Congress created Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve, combining Chalmette National Historical Park (established in 1938) with the Louisiana state park and authorizing a visitor center in the French Quarter.