Plan of the English Turn 1814 #watercolorwednesday

Plan of the English Turn 1814 #watercolorwednesday

Barthélémy Lafon drew this map of English Turn in 1814.

english turn

English Turn 1814

“Plan of the English Turn” by Barthélémy Lafon, 1769-1820. This section of Mississippi River is just south of its connection with the Intracoastal Waterway.

The Turn gets its name from what Mike Scott, in his article for Da Paper, called “the single biggest con in New Orleans history.” While that sounds like a bold claim, he’s right:

THEN: For months, they had seen only native Americans. So French explorer Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne — better known as Bienville, the man who would go on to found New Orleans — was understandably piqued when, in late summer 1699, he and his men rounded a bend in the Mississippi River just below present-day New Orleans to find moored there an English corvette, the Carolina Galley, loaded with 10 cannons and dozens of settlers. Bienville, with five men in two bark canoes, paddled over and informed the English captain, Louis Bond, that the area already had been claimed for France, which he said was ready to defend it with fortifications established upstream. It was a total and absolute lie, but Bond bought Bienville’s bluff, turned around and sailed away. From that moment, that bend in the river became known as “English Turn.”

And we all know, the English were rarely popular in New Orleans until maybe World War I.

The mapmaker

Barthélémy Lafon was a Frenchmen who came to New Orleans around 1790. With skills as an architect, surveyor, and urban planner, Lafon found employment in the then-Spanish colony. English Turn, as Scott notes, got its name ninety years earlier. So, Lafon merely documented the settlements downriver. He didn’t play a role in the legend. Lafon was responsible for many developments in early-American New Orleans, including plans for what is now the Lower Garden District. He served as Deputy Surveyor under Claiborne’s territorial government from 1806-180i.

One of Lafon’s most-recognized designs is the Vincent Rillieux house on Rue Royale. That house became the residence of chess champion Paul Morphy, and is now Brennan’s Restaurant.

This watercolor map is a public domain document in the THNOC collection.

 

Key to Victory

Key to Victory

“Key to Victory” was published in the 7-January-1968 of the Dixie Roto Magazine.

key to victory

“Deep in Dixie” was a regular series in the Dixie Roto, the Sunday magazine insert in the Times-Picayune. It’s no surprise that the edition that came out the day before the commemoration of the Battle of New Orleans would be an 1815 vignette. Here’s the piece (image of the page at the bottom):

That raw, cloudy morning of Jan. 3, 1815, found Major General Andrew Jackson pacing the floor in his headquarters at McCarty Plantation, a few miles below New Orleans.

Jackson was worried, and with good reason: Farther down, across the broad plains of Chalmette, 10,000 enemy soldiers crack the British troops under the command of Sir Edward Michael Pakenham, were massing for a crushing assault against New Orleans.

To repulse the British–who were trained in the traditional European military style–Jackson had managed to muster a little more than 4,000 men, mostly civilians who had become soldiers only in the sense that they would defend the city to the finish.

Adding to the hard-pressed general’s frustration was a late report from his naval commander, Daniel T. Patterson: Fort St. Philip, 50 miles above the mouth of the Mississippi River, was in dire need of cannon and shot. The British had blockaded the river’s mouth–and would be firing into New Orleans within a week, unless they were stopped by Patterson’s men at the fort.

Jackson fumed. Even if his 4,000 men beat back the crack British regulars, New Orleans could still be taken from the river. Fort St. Philip was a key position. It alone kept the British out of the upper river.

The British, however, had placed batteries in a commanding position between New Orleans and Fort St. Philip. The fort might be cut off from its supplies.

The general pondered. Suddenly, his flinty eyes sparkled. He whirled and snapped to an aide: “Get back to New Orleans–and bring me Captain Shreve.”

The aide clattered away to the city. Within an hour, 29-year-old Henry Miller Shreve stood before Jackson.

One month prior, Shreve had received orders from the War Department to transport sorely needed ordanance and ammunition from Pittsburgh to New Orleans.

Shreve’s steamboat, the 80-foot sternwheeler Enterprise, made the 2,000-mile trip in 14 days. When he arrived in New Orleans, there was great rejoicing in the city, and he was sent back upriver to town down three keelboats loaded with small arms. Again he made this trip in lightning time. Then he set about working the Enterprise back and forth from New Orleans to Jackson’s campsite.

Now, the peppery Jackson eyed the young captain sternly: “Captain Shreve,” said Jackson curtly, “I understand that you are a young man who always does what he undertakes. Can you pass the british batteries commanding the river and transport supplies to Fort St. Philip?”

Shreve thought fast. “I can do it, General,” he said, “but only if you give me my own time.”

Jackson scowled. Time was scarce. In recent campaigns against the Creek Indians, he had often been hampered by contractors who took too much time and too few risks. Was this serious and seemingly capable young riverboat captain just another of these?

“How much time do you require,” he asked.

“Twenty-four hours, General.”

Jackson nodded his assent–and turned to other pressing matters.

By that afternoon, Shreve had loaded the desperately needed supplies aboard the Enterprise. He then fastened cotton bales to the sides of his boat with iron hooks. He hoped the bales would act as a shield against British gunshot. He muffled the sterm paddle wheel with sackcloth.

By the time night fell, Shreve had steamed away from New Orleans and concealed himself along the riverbank–out of sight or hearing of British sentries.

Near midnight, a dense fog loomed up and concealed the Enterprise. As the wily young captain had expected, it was made to order for the task ahead of him. He ordered a slow head of steam and eased the boat into the river. Slowly, almost drifting, the riverboat slipped down toward the deadly guns. The crewmen held their breath. Nobody moved.

Silently, the riverboat passed the batteries. Apparently, it was neither seen nor heard. Not a shot was fired.

When Shreve was certain he was out of range, he ordered full steam. The enterprise fairly flew down the swift current. The riverboat reached Fort St. Philip early the next morning. Cheering garrison troops gratefully unloaded the precious supplies.

But for Shreve, the job was only half finished. He still had to run the Britisn guns on his return trip. In order to reach them at night, he left the fort immediately.

However, there was no mantle of fog to offer concealment. Only the swiftest action could surprise the British gunners–and give the captain the few minutes he needed to pass out of range.

Shreve seized his chance. “Steam her up boys,” he cried. “We’re going through.”

The Enterprise punched into the current. She went barreling toward the menacing guns. Cannon flashes cut through the darkness. Booming reverberated over the water. Shot screamed around the boat. Fortunately for Shreve and his crew, the cotton bales worked. Shots hitting them bounced into the river. “Steam, boys, steam,” cried the captain.

With the boiler near the bursting point, the Enterprise drove away from the guns. Shot fell behind her–and she was in the clear.

The steamboat was met in New Orleans by loud cheering. Shreve had accomplished what had seemed almost impossible.

Later, with the big British only a day away, Shreve presented himself to General Jackson. The general sent him to help him man a gun on the American battle line. There, on Jan 8, the riverboat captain served with distinction.

On the following day, the guns of Fort S. Philip beat back a British attempt to pass upriver.

After the American victory, Shreve’s steamboat helped ferry British prisoners in the Gulf.

Later, the resourceful captain helped perfect steamboat travel on the Mississippi, and he opened the Red River to steamboat traffic.

In 1835, Capt. Shreve made a permanent name in history by founding the city of Shreveport. The Young man who proved himself to be so capable in the service of General Jackson later became one of the great river pilots in America.

–Submitted by John H. Mutter, Covington, La.

key to victory

Cutting Out Lake Borgne

Cutting Out Lake Borgne

Cutting out Lake Borgne – American defense delayed the British.

cutting out lake borgne

Cutting out Lake Borgne

“British and American Gunboats in Action on Lake Borgne, 14 December 1814.” This painting by Thomas L. Hornbrook depicts the “cutting out expedition” of the Royal Navy on five gunboats of the United States Navy. The Americans defended New Orleans by patrolling Lake Borgne. The Royal Navy cleared the lake of opposition in order to land troops. This action cleared the way for the epic Battle of New Orleans, January 8, 1815.

Landing the troops

cutting out lake borgne

“93rd Highlanders with 7th and 43rd Regiments at the Battle of New Orleans” by Don Troiani

Before the British Army could approach New Orleans from downriver in January, 1815, the troops needed to depart the ships that transported them from Europe. Vice Admiral Sir Alexander Cochrane commanded the Royal Navy squadron in the Gulf. He operated from HMS Tonnant, 74. Large warships such as Tonnant could not enter Lake Borgne. They required deeper water. So, Cochrane sent small craft in. He gave command of all the small boats in his squadron to Nicholas Lockyer, Master and Commander of HMS Sophie, 18, a brig-of-war. Lockyer assembled the boats and moved into Lake Borgne.

Boarding operations

cutting out lake borgne

Gunboat similar to the five American vessels guarding Lake Borgne.

Boarding naval ships and vessels is an ancient tactic of war. By the Napoleonic period, “cutting out” a ship or ships developed into complex movement. One of the most well-known cutting-out maneuvers was the recovery of HMS Hermione, on 25-October-1799, at Puerto Cabello, Venezuela. Author C.S. Forester used the story of the Hermione for much of the tale of Horatio Hornblower’s time on the fictional HMS Renown in his novel Lieutenant Hornblower.

The cutting out of the Hermione is typical of this type of operation. The British rowed into Puerto Cabello at night, boarded the Hermione (re-named Santa Cecilia by the Spanish), and sailed her out of the harbor after a bloody fight.

Daylight Action

cutting out lake borgne

Map of the Battle of Lake Borgne, from The Pictorial Field Book of the War of 1812, Benson Lossing.

The capture of the American “mosquito squadron” in Lake Borgne did not follow the typical pattern for a cutting-out. Lockyer moved on the American vessels with forty launches and barges, each armed with a gun. Those guns ranged in size from twelve to twenty-four pounders. He also sent in two launches with “long guns” capable of more accurate fire from a distance. These boats, along with three unarmed gigs carried a force of 980 sailors and marines into Lake Borgne.

Lockyer’s boats rowed for 36 hours to approach the American positions. Once there, he ordered them to line up across the lake, then advance in the daylight.

Imagine being Lieutenant David ap Catsby Jones, USN, seeing a line of over forty armed boats approaching! Jones ordered his five gunboats, along with the USS Alligator and USS Sea Horse, to engage. The British engaged the two larger ships separately. The bulk of Lockyer’s boats swarmed the gunboats. A boat from HMS Tonnant captured one of the gunboats. The British turned the guns of that vessel on the other American gunboats, who in turned surrendered.

Aftermath

While the Battle of Lake Borgne wasn’t the Hornblower-style action, it still was a cutting out. None of the main British navel force engaged the enemy. The British captured the American gunboats and the USS Alligator. The crew of the USS Sea Horse beached their vessel and burned it.

The Battle of Lake Borgne was an unqualified British victory. Lockyer accomplished his objective. The British cleared the lake. This enabled the army to land and move on New Orleans. The action did buy time for the Americans, however. By delaying the troop landings, the Americans strengthened their positions below New Orleans. The British opted to wait for the arrival of their new commander, Major General Sir Edward Pakenham.

Twelve Months New Orleans October

Twelve Months New Orleans October

Twelve Months New Orleans October, continuing the series by Enrique Alferez

twelve months new orleans october

Twelve Months New Orleans October

This image is the ninth in a series of images by Enrique Alferez, published by Michael Higgins as “The Twelve Months of New Orleans.” Higgins published the illustrations in 1940. The image features Jean Lafitte.

Enrique Alferez

Alferez was born in Northern Mexico on May 4, 1901. He studied at the Art Institute of Chicago from 1927 to 1929. He came to New Orleans in 1929. Alferez made New Orleans his home. He took advantage of various Works Progress Administration grants in the late 1930s. Alferez created a number of sculptures in the metro area, particularly in New Orleans City Park. Additionally, he designed the large fountain in front of Shushan Airport (now New Orleans Lakefront Airport.

Alferez drew and painted, as well as sculpting. So, he included many New Orleans landmarks in the “Twelve Months” booklet.

Twelve Months

Twelve Months New Orleans January

The title/cover page of the booklet says:

The
Twelve Months
of
New Orleans

A set of 12 Romantic
Lithographic Prints
In COLORS
Displaying 60 local subjects
drawn direct on the plate
with pen, brush, and crayon
by
Enrique Alferez

Printed and published by Michael Higgins
at 303 North Peters St
NEW ORLEANS

October’s Lithograph

Lafitte the Hero is the theme of October’s illustrations.

The Corners

Top Left: Stand by to board! Lafitte the pirate maneuvers a ship, approaching his prey. The captain of the other vessel weighs his options. Fight, flight, or surrender! Flight likely isn’t an option at this point. Fight? A pirate crew? Risky. The border features ropes and a pulley from a ship’s mast.

Top Right: City Life. A group of men surround a table. The two towards the center gesture, but why? Is this a spirited conversation? An argument leading to a demand of satisfaction? Excitement over a card game? City life in the early 19th century enabled the Lafitte brothers to sell smuggled goods and develop customers. The floral border contrasts with the rough ropes of the ships.

Bottom Left: Bayou Barataria. Lafitte established a base along Barataria Bay. This location afforded good access to the Gulf of Mexico. The bay provided security for smuggling. Barataria Bay presented challenges to the US Navy, when they wanted to shut down the operations. The border displays an arm holding a torch.

Bottom Right: The Blacksmith Shop. While the Lafittes didn’t own the Blacksmith Shop at the corner of Bourbon and St. Phillip, it made a good meeting place. A potential customer avoided entertaining smugglers and pirates in their home. A trip to the blacksmith offered cover. The anchor and chain of the corner’s border presents the sea-captain connection to the shop.

Jean Lafitte

The central drawing for October features Jean Lafitte. The caption reads:

Jean LAFITTE, Pirate,
and his brother Pierre, worked most
months, including OCTOBER

Alferez pictures Lafitte aboard one of his ships, ordering cannon fire. He stands at the edge of the deck, as a gunner aims a cannon in the background. Flames rise behind them.

See you for the eleventh image in November.

NOTE: Apologies for October in November!

 

First Chalmette Monument

First Chalmette Monument

The First Chalmette Monument was the Grand Army of the Republic monument.

first chalmette monument

First Chalmette Monument

Photo of the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) Monument, by George François Mugnier. Undated photo, likely from the 1880s. This monument stands in the Chalmette National Cemetery, on the end closest to the river. The Latin inscription translates to, “While they are silent, they shout.” Locals referred to it as the “First Chalmette Monument.” The 1907 obelisk claimed the title “Chalmette Monument” upon its completion.

Chalmette National Cemetery

New Orleanians buried Enslaved Americans, along with troops fighting on both sides of the Southern Rebellion, as early as 1861, in Chalmette. So, in 1864, the Union Army formalized this burial ground. They designated 17.5 acres of land from the “back” of the Chalmette battlefield as a National Cemetery. Locals know this area as the “British side” of the battlefield. The British advanced to this location on 8-January-1815. Of the approximately 15,000 people buried in the cemetery, over 6,500 are unidentified. Additionally, most of these are United States Colored Troops (USCT), whose graves are marked only by numbered headstones. While most of the burials here date to the Southern Rebellion, four veterans of the 1815 battle rest here.

Grand Army of the Republic

The Grand Army of the Republic was a Union Army and Navy veterans organization, founded in 1866, at Springfield, Illinois. The organization claimed membership of 410,000 by the 1890s. Union veterans established local chapters, known as “posts” across the country, including many cities in the former rebel states. The GAR post in New Orleans funded and erected the monument in Chalmette Cemetery in 1874. It stands on the river side of the cemetery, because that side was the main entrance for years. So, over time, the levee system along the Mississippi River grew, swallowing up River Road near the cemetery.

The National Park Service took over management of both the battlefield and cemetery in 1933. They moved the entrance from the river side to the St. Bernard Highway (LA 46) side. Visitors now enter the cemetery from St. Bernard Highway, circle around the GAR monument at the other end, and exit back to the highway.

 

Pirate’s Alley Postcard

Pirate’s Alley Postcard from the early 1900s.

pirate's alley postcard

Pirate’s Alley Postcard

This Pirate’s Alley Postcard presents the New Orleans landmark from Royal Street to Chartres Street. The Newberry Library, University of Illinois, retains the original copy as part of the Curt Teich Postcard Donation. So, the card shows the corner of the St. Anthony’s Garden. The garden offers green space to those working at the St. Louis Cathedral some . The buildings on the right remain in place today. So, first floor space of these buildings contains retail shops. A man walks down the alley, approaching a gas lamp. The lamp marks the intersection of Pirate’s Alley and Cabildo Alley. A right turn into Cabildo Alley connects you to the back of the Cabildo building and St. Peter Street.

The legend of the pirates

The namesakes of the alley are the “pirates” Jean and Pierre Lafitte. Many prefer to think of them as privateers. Did they meet in the mists that creep into this alley? Finding pirates on dark night in the French Quarter? Hard to day. Pirate’s Alley separates St. Louis Cathedral from the seat of Spanish Colonial government, the Cabildo. Additionally, W.C.C. Claiborne, territorial governor of Louisiana, set up shop in the Cabildo. Officers of the United States Navy, seeking to close down the Lafitte brothers’ base in Barataria Bay, would no doubt present themselves to Claiborne to report on their progress. So, clandestine meetings between pirates and their customers right next to government offices doesn’t make sense. Fast forward to the middle of the 19th Century. New Orleans welcomes visitors as the second largest port city in the United States. So, the mystique, the lore of the pirates and the lore of the 1815 battle enticed tourists to stay around, perhaps an extra day or two, exploring the Vieux Carré, possibly down to the battlefield.

While the visual is fascinating, the more likely places for clandestine meetings between pirates would be the blacksmith shop reputed to be owned by the brothers. Other locations include the Old Absinthe House and other warehouse buildings in the city. The Lafittes supervised a number of smuggling operations. Jean moved between Barataria and New Orleans, while Pierre handled the business aspects of the operations in the city.

Today’s Alley

This Pirate’s Alley postcard scene entices the modern visitor. Turn into the alley from Rue Royale. Stop for a beverage in the bar at Cabildo Alley. Peer into the entrance of the Cabildo. You may even encounter a couple getting married, just outside the cathedral. Pirate’s Alley is a popular place to tie the knot.