Search results
Mar 6, 2014 · Almost 200 years ago, privateer-smuggler Jean Laffite became a hero because he did something most people wouldn’t have done: in the face of extreme adversity, he had helped save New Orleans for the Americans, even though United States officers had destroyed his home base and seized his property a few months earlier.
Laffite is believed to have been born either in Biarritz, in the French Basque Country, France, or the French colony of Saint-Domingue in the Caribbean. By 1805, Laffite was operating a warehouse in New Orleans to help distribute the goods smuggled by his brother Pierre Lafitte.
Apr 26, 2020 · The common understanding is Jean and Pierre Lafitte used a blacksmith shop as the legitimate front for their smuggling operations in New Orleans. The building which claims to be that very blacksmith shop is still standing in the French Quarter and is currently operating as a bar.
- Benito Cereno
- Jean Lafitte Becomes A Pirate Commander
- The War of 1812
- From Pirate to Patriot
- A Finale Shrouded in Mystery
As is true of so many elusive characters of his time, the details on Lafitte’s background are ambiguous. By some accounts, he was born in the French colony of San Domingo, which is now Haiti. By others, he was born Jewish in Bordeaux, France. But most sources agree that he was likely born between 1780 and 1782. How many siblings exactly Lafitte had...
In 1814, the British courted Lafitte and the Barataria pirates to join them in their fight against America and aid in an attack on New Orleans. They offered the pirates land and a full pardon for their crimes should they join them. The British also offered Lafitte 30,000 British pounds or the equivalent of $2 million today to convince his followers...
While U.S. forces hunted down Jean Lafitte and his men, they also contended with the imminent threat of a British invasion. In December 1814, a battle at Lake Borgne resulted in the capture of five American gunboats filled with armaments and several boats of prisoners. Ten American soldiers were killed while 35 others were wounded. Finally, General...
Jean Lafitte relocated with 500 of his men to Galveston Island in Mexico in 1816. Within two years, Lafitte rebuilt the Baratarians’ operations, capturing goods and smuggling them into the U.S. The new colony at Galveston, which Lafitte dubbed Campeche, survived through eviction threats from the U.S. Army and a massive hurricane that devastated the...
- Natasha Ishak
When men were needed to keep New Orleans and the entire Mississippi River from enemy hands, Lafitte despite the chastisement and near ruination he faced from American mediators stepped forward to defend them.
Once New Orleans was secured, the British planned to move the army upriver and "act in concert" with British forces in Canada, as Laffite later recalled, "to shove the Americans into the...
People also ask
How did Jean Lafitte contribute to the Battle of New Orleans?
Why did Jean Laffite become a hero?
Was Jean Lafitte a pirate?
What happened to Jean Lafitte?
What happened to the Lafitte brothers?
Where did Jean Lafitte live?
Sep 22, 2020 · Lafitte was associated with the three original sites of the park: he roamed the streets of New Orleans’ French Quarter, navigated the swamps of the Barataria Preserve, and helped the Americans win the Battle of New Orleans at Chalmette Battlefield.
