Jean Lafitte and Pirate Treasure

by Kathleen Y'Barbo

Growing up on the Texas Gulf Coast, the shrimp came right off the boat to our dinner table, and the beach was just down the road. Many summer days were spent wading in the warm water of the Gulf of Mexico or looking up and down the sandy shore for sand dollars or sea shells to bring home. And then there were the tales of pirate treasure left behind by the mysterious pirate Jean Lafitte.

Depending on who is telling the story, Jean Lafitte was  born in one of several regions in France or in
the French colony of Sant-Domingue (present-day Haiti). Most biographers agree that his was a seafaring childhood as one of six children. Some would argue that much of his early years were spent in the marshland and bayous of South Louisiana, though it is thought that this was claimed due to Lafitte's almost encyclopedic knowledge of the area later in life. Details beyond these are sparse, but it is widely agreed based on records at the time that Jean Lafitte was living and working in New Orleans by 1806. Many say his arrival was much sooner. Few doubt that he was the captain of a network of men, called Barataians, who preyed on vessels and hid away their ill-gotten gains in the bayous.

Whenever the date, the purpose of his presence in New Orleans was much more obvious. Lafitte and his brothers captained vessels that brought goods into the city, and thanks to the Embargo Act of 1807, these were often goods sold on the flourishing black market rather than in reputable stores. Based in the Barataria region, Lafitte was able to navigate marshes and keep ahead of anyone who might be in pursuit. Later, during the War of 1812, the Lafitte brothers used their ability to procure items on the black market to aid the battle against the British by providing flint for muskets that would otherwise have been useless.

Public opinion of the Lafitte brothers waxed and waned in the ensuing years, and finally under pressure from authorities he once aided, Jean Lafitte sailed off to make his new home in on Galveston Island in a colony he called Campeche. As if to taunt anyone who dared to come against him, he built a home that stood above the others on the island and then had it tinted a brilliant crimson color. Though almost 200 years old, the remains of that red house, called Maison Rouge, still stands at 1417 Harborside Drive in contrast to the modern city and port that grew up around it.

Rumors circulated that Lafitte was up to his old tricks of pirating vessels and hiding the spoils just as he had done while based in Barataria. In 1821, the United States Navy ousted him from the island and sent his men off to sail other waters. Some say he was wounded at sea several years later. Others disagree and claim that Lafitte lived to a ripe old age in some undisclosed foreign country. Just as his early years are shrouded in mystery, so are his later years.

Perhaps because of the air of mystery surrounding the enigmatic pirate, stories circulated of treasures buried by Lafitte and his Baratarians, treasures that were lost or forgotten over the years. With hurricanes pounding the coast every few years, it isn't hard to understand why a marker might be moved or the signs that were so obvious when something was hidden are obscured or obliterated. Certainly many generations of treasure hunters have searched, and it is likely that many more will continue to do just that. All it takes is for a few pieces of eight or gold doubloons to be detected under a few layers of Texas sand or Louisiana bayou mud and the hunt is on again.

So, what do you think? Is there buried treasure along the Gulf Coast?

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Want to read more about treasure hunting? Like stories of Southern romance with a dash of steampunk? Perhaps you have a preference for handsome Pinkertons who dabble in the latest inventions? Millie's Treasure, the second book in The Secret Lives of Will Tucker series, releases August 1. See the trailer for this Romantic Times Top Pick here: Millie's Treasure.

Bestselling author Kathleen Y’Barbo is a multiple Carol Award and RITA nominee of forty-five novels with almost two million copies of her books in print in the US and abroad. A Romantic Times Top Pick recipient of her novels, Kathleen is a proud military wife and an expatriate Texan cheering on her beloved Texas Aggies from north of the Red River. To find out more about Kathleen or connect with her through social media, check out her website at www.kathleenybarbo.com.

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The Miraculous Defeat of the British at Fort McHenry and a Book Giveaway!

AND THE WINNER IS KAYM!!!!!  Congratulations to Kay! And thank you all for entering!!!

I had the privilege of traveling to Baltimore, Maryland while doing research for my series, Surrender to Destiny, a romantic War of 1812 trilogy set in that fair city. Having already read so much about it, I walked around the port district in complete awe, imagining my characters walking

down those same cobblestone streets! For those of you who don't know much about this war, believe me, it's fascinating. In particular, the miracles that occurred over and over again. Against all odds, this fledgling American nation with a ragtag army and barely a navy defeated the most powerful military and navy forces of the day and sent them running for home! Only God could preform such a feat.

Another miracle occurred while I was in Baltimore. It so happened that on the EXACT day I was there, they were having a War of 1812 reenactment at Fort McHenry. This was not planned. I had no idea it was happening until I got there!  Cool huh?  Here are some pictures I took and if you don't know what happened that night, here's a summary of how this tiny fort, along with Baltimore's militia, defeated the British troops on land and sea and sent them packing for home.

At noon on September 11, 1814, the British fleet sailed to the mouth of the Patapsco River and anchored off North Point, just fourteen miles from Baltimore. Arrogantly spurred on by their successful march into Washington DC three weeks earlier, the British planned to attack the “Nest of Pirates,” as they called the city, from both land and sea. Early in the morning on September 13, while British troops advanced on land from North Point toward Baltimore, five bomb ships and several other war ships maneuvered into a semi-circle two miles from Fort McHenry. Just after dawn, the bombing commenced.

Major Armistead, commander of the fort, would later estimate that in the next twenty-five hours, the British would hurl between 1500 and 1800 exploding shells at them. A few never hit their mark, but most exploded directly over the fort, showering destruction on the defenders. One bomb exploded on the southwest bastion, destroying a twenty-four-pounder, killing Lieutenant Levi Claggett, and wounding several men. Soon after, another shell crashed through the roof of the gunpowder

magazine. By the grace of God, it did not ignite. Major Armistead soon ordered the barrels of powder removed and stored elsewhere.

While the British land invasion was failing due to the courage and preparation of Baltimore’s militia, the bombardment of Fort McHenry continued throughout the long night. Finally at 7:00 a.m. on September 14, the shelling ceased, and the British fleet withdrew. Major Armistead immediately brought down the dripping storm flag that flew over the fort and hoisted in its place the forty-two by thirty foot flag sewn by Mary Pickersgill, the action accompanied by the fort’s band playing Yankee Doodle.

Eight miles away, aboard an American truce ship, Sir Francis Scott Key, overcome with emotion 

at the sight of the flag, penned what would become our national anthem, The Star-Spangled Banner Miraculously, Baltimore successfully defended itself against an attack by the greatest military and naval power on earth. The humiliating defeat suffered by the British changed the course of the war, and three months later, on Christmas eve, Britain made peace with the United States at Ghent. In Baltimore, the Niles Weekly Register announced the news with the headline: “Long live the Republic! All hail! Last asylum of oppressed humanity!”

May it ever be so!

You  also might be interested in reading the last stanza of the Star Spangled Banner.

Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved home and the war's desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heav'n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust."
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

I'm GIVING AWAY a copy of SURRENDER THE DAWN,  the last book in my Surrender to Destiny Trilogy, aromantic adventurous tale of privateers that ends with the victory at Fort McHenry. To enter, please leave a comment with your email address.