Who Was Jean Laffite?
In its earliest years, Galveston was dominated by a man whose name was so synonymous with pirating that his economic impact on the times is only overshadowed by his legend. That man was Jean Laffite—the most notorious pirate on the entire Gulf Coast.
Laffite received a Letter of Marque from Cartagena, Colombia. Jean and his brother, Pierre, made it their life’s work as privateers to loot any vessel flying the flag of Spain, their “declared” enemy. At the time, Colombia, like Mexico, was seeking independence from Spain, and Colombian agents granted daring and colorful filibusters like Jean Laffite the authority to rob, plunder, and otherwise disrupt the Spanish shipping in exchange for part of the loot.
The Move to Galveston Island
The Laffite brothers sailed with their own private force of seven ships into the harbor at Galveston Bay and took control over the base of another pirating warlord. Galveston became Laffite’s base of operations for several years and was the first permanent settlement on the island. Laffite named the settlement Campeche after a prominent Mexican port on the Yucatan Peninsula. The little village contained huts for the pirates, a large slave market, boarding houses for visiting buyers, a shipyard, saloons, stores, gambling houses, and Laffite’s own mansion, known as the “Maison Rouge.” The remains of Laffite’s Maison Rouge are not visible. The remnants of a later structure are still visible above the ruins, near the foot of present day 15th street and Harborside Drive in Galveston.
Late in the summer of 1818, the commerce of Galveston came to an abrupt halt. A powerful hurricane decimated the island, destroying all of the housing and virtually all of the buildings, leaving the community in ruins. The entire island was under water during the storm. After the water receded only piles of debris, splintered ships, and mounds of corpses remained in Campeche. Almost half of the inhabitants died in the storm. While this stronghold was eventually rebuilt, the town became only a shadow of its former self.
Laffite stayed on Galveston Island and continued raiding operations under the flag of the Mexican juntas. Although Laffite was well liked by his men and had a gift for charming his adversaries, in many ways he was the equivalent of a nineteenth-century Mafia don. But he was not immune to the federal crackdown on organized pirating, even to the extent that he operated largely outside of the U.S. After one of Laffite’s ships attacked an American vessel, the United States Navy forced the privateer to abandon his operation on the Gulf Coast.
Laffite readied his three remaining ships, held a huge party for his pirates with wine and whiskey and then burned his settlement of Campeche to the ground. Laffite left Galveston Island in 1820. Having lost any authority for privateering under the Colombian or Mexican flags, on the following morning the pirate sailed his small fleet into the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico, never again returning to the Texas Gulf Coast.
-By James P Bevill, from The Paper Republic, The Struggle for Money, Credit and Independence in the Republic of Texas.
The War of 1812
The Laffite’s involvement in the War of 1812 made him somewhat of an American hero, as Laffite offered his men and arms to Gen. Andrew Jackson, helping to turn the tide in the battle of New Orleans. As the guns fell silent and the city returned to normal, the Laffite brother’s long standing reputation as pirates became socially embarrassing—even in New Orleans!
Frequently Asked Questions
When were Jean and Pierre Laffite born?
No authenticated record of Jean Laffite’s birth has been found, but it is generally believed that he was born sometime around 1780. When he applied for a French privateer commission in 1813 he claimed to be 32 years old; Pierre was believed to be about 40 in 1816. Their contemporaries nearly always distinguished between the two Laffite brothers as “the elder” and “the younger” and there is abundant documentary evidence that Pierre was the older of the two. Pierre Laffite’s death is well documented: he perished on the northern coast of the Yucatan peninsula in the fall of 1821. Jean Laffite disappeared into the “fog of history” after he escaped from prison in Puerto Principe, Cuba, in February, 1822. Reports of his death in a sea-fight in the Gulf of Honduras in 1823 have not yet been confirmed by primary sources. There are no confirmed “sightings” after the early 1820’s.
Jean Laffite, the pirate, is occasionally confused with Jean Lafitte, father and son, of New Orleans. Lafitte pere came to Louisiana in the 1760’s and settled in New Orleans, where he was a respected merchant. In 1777 he married Isabelle Roche. . Their son, baptized Jean on February 7, 1779, was a mariner and immigrated to the French West Indies before the Louisiana Purchase. The Lafitte home was located at 3 Chartres St. and they had a small plantation in what is now Audubon Park. Old Jean Lafitte died in New Orleans on September 25, 1789, and is buried in Saint Louis Cemetery No. 1; Isabelle died in 1806. Their son Jean appears to have died in a storm at sea around 1817–[Vogel.]
Where were the Laffite brothers born?
Until conclusive proof of the Laffite brothers’ nativity is produced the identities of their parents and siblings cannot be determined. French genealogists have, however, found documents which suggest that Pierre and Jean may have been born in Bordeaux (in 1772 and 1782, respectively), the sons of Antoine Laffite, a rope maker, and Guillemette Chataigne. Unfortunately, their names are common in that part of the world and researchers are still busy sorting out the various Pierre and Jean Laffites– [Vogel.] The names of the children born to this couple, in whom we are interested, are:
A. Pierre Laffite born 12 April, 1772 B. Alexandre Laffite born 6 May, 1774 C. Jean Laffite born 15 August, 1782 (This information is presented and discussed in: Suduiraut, Bertrand Guillot, “Laffite, Brothers & Co., Buccaneers, or the Impossible Quest” Généalogie et Historie de la Caraibe. No. 82 (May, 1996), pp., 1618-1620. Also published in The Laffite Society Chronicles, Vol. III, Number 1(January, 1997). The presence of Alexandre raises the interesting possibility that this person may be Dominique (aka Frederic) You- Youx.–Ed.]
Was he ever married?
Probably, but no record of a marriage has been found either in France or America. None of Laffite’s contemporaries mentioned him having a wife or family in Louisiana–[Vogel.]
Did he have any children?
Possibly, but we do not have documentary proof of any children, legitimate or natural. An 1818 document in the Papeles de Cuba contains an allusion to Eugene, the teenaged son of Pierre Laffite– [Vogel.]
What is the correct spelling of Jean's surname?
The Laffite brothers signed their names Laffite, using a variant of the common French spelling. Their surname is commonly rendered Lafitte in documents written in English; Spanish documents sometimes use Lafit or Lafita. The Laffite brothers of Barataria are occasionally confused with members of the Laffitte family who were colonial-period pioneers in the area around Natchitoches, Louisiana–[Vogel.]
What does "Laffite" mean?
The Laffite brothers signed their names Laffite, using a variant of the common French spelling. Their surname is commonly rendered Lafitte in documents written in English; Spanish documents sometimes use Lafit or Lafita. The Laffite brothers of Barataria are occasionally confused with members of the Laffitte family who were colonial-period pioneers in the area around Natchitoches, Louisiana–[Vogel.]
Is the name Laffite copyrighted?
No–and one shudders to think what would happen if such a thing were to happen–[Vogel.] [A name cannot be copyrighted. In some instances a name can be registered as a Trademark–Ed.]
What kind of man was Jean Laffite?
Very few of those who knew him wrote down their impressions of the man’s character or personality traits–much of what was “remembered” about him later on was embellished, distorted, or wholly fabricated. Nowadays, we would probably call someone like him a “gangster” or “soldier of fortune” –[Vogel,] [He has been described as tall with regular features–one person said he had small hands and feet.
He was almost always described as a gracious host, polite and gentlemanly. He was basically a businessman and not a blood-thirsty pirate as he is portrayed in movies and pulp literature. He may have engaged in piracy after his sojourn at Galveston, but before he left there he was basically a privateer-businessman who seldom went to sea. He was apparently a strict disciplinarian.–Ed.]
Was Dominique You (Youx) a brother of Jean Laffite?
Many years after the fact, the merchant Vincent Nolte wrote in his memoirs Fifty Years in Both Hemispheres [New York, 1854]) that the Laffites and You were brothers, a claim that cannot be substantiated. When Nolte wrote his book, Laffite and You had recently become celebrities. Dominique You (a.k.a. Frederick Youx) was an important corsair in his own right. He was born in France around 1772 and died in New Orleans in 1830. He was in St. Dominique (modern Haiti) in 1800 and emigrated from that place to Santo Domingo (the Spanish side of the island) in 1803–he was probably a member of the unsuccessful French military expedition to Haiti in 1802-1804.
His name first appears as a privateer in 1804 and he lived in Baracoa, Cuba, for some time before coming to Louisiana circa 1810. Court documents strongly suggest that he was an independent operator rather than a follower of the Laffite brothers–[Vogel.] [See answer to question 3 above.
Some members of the Laffite Society believe he was a brother and was involved in the Laffite operations at least at certain times. John Oliver, who was present when the Patterson-Ross raid took place, gave testimony in court that Dominique was present, that he was not in charge of a vessel but was a commander under Laffite. Laffite commissioned him to take charge of Barataria whereupon Laffite left the scene. More research is needed to arrive at a definitive answer– Ed.]
Is it true that the Laffite and Bonaparte families were friends?
There is no credible evidence that a familial link existed between Jean Laffite and Napoleon Bonaparte. This legend appears to have originated in southern Louisiana during the late nineteenth century and eventually found its way into the public domain through the writings of Lyle Saxon and others–[Vogel.]
Is it true that oil companies are now paying royalties to Laffite descendents?
There are persistent rumors that Jean Laffite was known by several aliases including the surnames Billot and Boutte. Members of these families have received royalty payments and some of them believe they receive them because their ancestor was Jean Laffite. No hard evidence to back up these claims has been presented.–[R. Dale Olson.]
Who Was Jean Laffite?
In its earliest years, Galveston was dominated by a man whose name was so synonymous with pirating that his economic impact on the times is only overshadowed by his legend. That man was Jean Laffite—the most notorious pirate on the entire Gulf Coast.
Laffite received a Letter of Marque from Cartagena, Colombia. Jean and his brother, Pierre, made it their life’s work as privateers to loot any vessel flying the flag of Spain, their “declared” enemy. At the time, Colombia, like Mexico, was seeking independence from Spain, and Colombian agents granted daring and colorful filibusters like Jean Laffite the authority to rob, plunder, and otherwise disrupt the Spanish shipping in exchange for part of the loot.
The Move to
Galveston Island
The Laffite brothers sailed with their own private force of seven ships into the harbor at Galveston Bay and took control over the base of another pirating warlord. Galveston became Laffite’s base of operations for several years and was the first permanent settlement on the island. Laffite named the settlement Campeche after a prominent Mexican port on the Yucatan Peninsula. The little village contained huts for the pirates, a large slave market, boarding houses for visiting buyers, a shipyard, saloons, stores, gambling houses, and Laffite’s own mansion, known as the “Maison Rouge.” The remains of Laffite’s Maison Rouge are not visible. The remnants of a later structure are still visible above the ruins, near the foot of present day 15th street and Harborside Drive in Galveston.
Late in the summer of 1818, the commerce of Galveston came to an abrupt halt. A powerful hurricane decimated the island, destroying all of the housing and virtually all of the buildings, leaving the community in ruins. The entire island was under water during the storm. After the water receded only piles of debris, splintered ships, and mounds of corpses remained in Campeche. Almost half of the inhabitants died in the storm. While this stronghold was eventually rebuilt, the town became only a shadow of its former self.
Laffite stayed on Galveston Island and continued raiding operations under the flag of the Mexican juntas. Although Laffite was well liked by his men and had a gift for charming his adversaries, in many ways he was the equivalent of a nineteenth-century Mafia don. But he was not immune to the federal crackdown on organized pirating, even to the extent that he operated largely outside of the U.S. After one of Laffite’s ships attacked an American vessel, the United States Navy forced the privateer to abandon his operation on the Gulf Coast.
Laffite readied his three remaining ships, held a huge party for his pirates with wine and whiskey and then burned his settlement of Campeche to the ground. Laffite left Galveston Island in 1820. Having lost any authority for privateering under the Colombian or Mexican flags, on the following morning the pirate sailed his small fleet into the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico, never again returning to the Texas Gulf Coast.
-By James P Bevill, from The Paper Republic, The Struggle for Money, Credit and Independence in the Republic of Texas.
The War of 1812
The Laffite’s involvement in the War of 1812 made him somewhat of an American hero, as Laffite offered his men and arms to Gen. Andrew Jackson, helping to turn the tide in the battle of New Orleans. As the guns fell silent and the city returned to normal, the Laffite brother’s long standing reputation as pirates became socially embarrassing—even in New Orleans!
Frequently Asked Questions
When were Jean and Pierre Laffite born?
No authenticated record of Jean Laffite’s birth has been found, but it is generally believed that he was born sometime around 1780. When he applied for a French privateer commission in 1813 he claimed to be 32 years old; Pierre was believed to be about 40 in 1816. Their contemporaries nearly always distinguished between the two Laffite brothers as “the elder” and “the younger” and there is abundant documentary evidence that Pierre was the older of the two. Pierre Laffite’s death is well documented: he perished on the northern coast of the Yucatan peninsula in the fall of 1821. Jean Laffite disappeared into the “fog of history” after he escaped from prison in Puerto Principe, Cuba, in February, 1822. Reports of his death in a sea-fight in the Gulf of Honduras in 1823 have not yet been confirmed by primary sources. There are no confirmed “sightings” after the early 1820’s.
Jean Laffite, the pirate, is occasionally confused with Jean Lafitte, father and son, of New Orleans. Lafitte pere came to Louisiana in the 1760’s and settled in New Orleans, where he was a respected merchant. In 1777 he married Isabelle Roche. . Their son, baptized Jean on February 7, 1779, was a mariner and immigrated to the French West Indies before the Louisiana Purchase. The Lafitte home was located at 3 Chartres St. and they had a small plantation in what is now Audubon Park. Old Jean Lafitte died in New Orleans on September 25, 1789, and is buried in Saint Louis Cemetery No. 1; Isabelle died in 1806. Their son Jean appears to have died in a storm at sea around 1817–[Vogel.]
Where were the Laffite brothers born?
Until conclusive proof of the Laffite brothers’ nativity is produced the identities of their parents and siblings cannot be determined. French genealogists have, however, found documents which suggest that Pierre and Jean may have been born in Bordeaux (in 1772 and 1782, respectively), the sons of Antoine Laffite, a rope maker, and Guillemette Chataigne. Unfortunately, their names are common in that part of the world and researchers are still busy sorting out the various Pierre and Jean Laffites– [Vogel.] The names of the children born to this couple, in whom we are interested, are:
A. Pierre Laffite born 12 April, 1772 B. Alexandre Laffite born 6 May, 1774 C. Jean Laffite born 15 August, 1782 (This information is presented and discussed in: Suduiraut, Bertrand Guillot, “Laffite, Brothers & Co., Buccaneers, or the Impossible Quest” Généalogie et Historie de la Caraibe. No. 82 (May, 1996), pp., 1618-1620. Also published in The Laffite Society Chronicles, Vol. III, Number 1(January, 1997). The presence of Alexandre raises the interesting possibility that this person may be Dominique (aka Frederic) You- Youx.–Ed.]
Was he ever married?
Probably, but no record of a marriage has been found either in France or America. None of Laffite’s contemporaries mentioned him having a wife or family in Louisiana–[Vogel.]
Did he have any children?
Possibly, but we do not have documentary proof of any children, legitimate or natural. An 1818 document in the Papeles de Cuba contains an allusion to Eugene, the teenaged son of Pierre Laffite– [Vogel.]
What is the correct spelling of Jean's surname?
The Laffite brothers signed their names Laffite, using a variant of the common French spelling. Their surname is commonly rendered Lafitte in documents written in English; Spanish documents sometimes use Lafit or Lafita. The Laffite brothers of Barataria are occasionally confused with members of the Laffitte family who were colonial-period pioneers in the area around Natchitoches, Louisiana–[Vogel.]
What does "Laffite" mean?
The Laffite brothers signed their names Laffite, using a variant of the common French spelling. Their surname is commonly rendered Lafitte in documents written in English; Spanish documents sometimes use Lafit or Lafita. The Laffite brothers of Barataria are occasionally confused with members of the Laffitte family who were colonial-period pioneers in the area around Natchitoches, Louisiana–[Vogel.]
Is the name Laffite copyrighted?
No–and one shudders to think what would happen if such a thing were to happen–[Vogel.] [A name cannot be copyrighted. In some instances a name can be registered as a Trademark–Ed.]
What kind of man was Jean Laffite?
Very few of those who knew him wrote down their impressions of the man’s character or personality traits–much of what was “remembered” about him later on was embellished, distorted, or wholly fabricated. Nowadays, we would probably call someone like him a “gangster” or “soldier of fortune” –[Vogel,] [He has been described as tall with regular features–one person said he had small hands and feet.
He was almost always described as a gracious host, polite and gentlemanly. He was basically a businessman and not a blood-thirsty pirate as he is portrayed in movies and pulp literature. He may have engaged in piracy after his sojourn at Galveston, but before he left there he was basically a privateer-businessman who seldom went to sea. He was apparently a strict disciplinarian.–Ed.]
Was Dominique You (Youx) a brother of Jean Laffite?
Many years after the fact, the merchant Vincent Nolte wrote in his memoirs Fifty Years in Both Hemispheres [New York, 1854]) that the Laffites and You were brothers, a claim that cannot be substantiated. When Nolte wrote his book, Laffite and You had recently become celebrities. Dominique You (a.k.a. Frederick Youx) was an important corsair in his own right. He was born in France around 1772 and died in New Orleans in 1830. He was in St. Dominique (modern Haiti) in 1800 and emigrated from that place to Santo Domingo (the Spanish side of the island) in 1803–he was probably a member of the unsuccessful French military expedition to Haiti in 1802-1804.
His name first appears as a privateer in 1804 and he lived in Baracoa, Cuba, for some time before coming to Louisiana circa 1810. Court documents strongly suggest that he was an independent operator rather than a follower of the Laffite brothers–[Vogel.] [See answer to question 3 above.
Some members of the Laffite Society believe he was a brother and was involved in the Laffite operations at least at certain times. John Oliver, who was present when the Patterson-Ross raid took place, gave testimony in court that Dominique was present, that he was not in charge of a vessel but was a commander under Laffite. Laffite commissioned him to take charge of Barataria whereupon Laffite left the scene. More research is needed to arrive at a definitive answer– Ed.]
Is it true that the Laffite and Bonaparte families were friends?
There is no credible evidence that a familial link existed between Jean Laffite and Napoleon Bonaparte. This legend appears to have originated in southern Louisiana during the late nineteenth century and eventually found its way into the public domain through the writings of Lyle Saxon and others–[Vogel.]
Is it true that oil companies are now paying royalties to Laffite descendents?
There are persistent rumors that Jean Laffite was known by several aliases including the surnames Billot and Boutte. Members of these families have received royalty payments and some of them believe they receive them because their ancestor was Jean Laffite. No hard evidence to back up these claims has been presented.–[R. Dale Olson.]