Site-Wide Activity

J-Hanna commented on the post, The Spy Who Led the British to the Back Door of New Orleans in 1814 11 years, 4 months ago

Interesting history lesson, and genealogy one as well.

Pam Keyes wrote a new post 11 years, 5 months ago

Because he was multilingual and adept at spying, the 23-year-old Capt. Robert Cavendish Spencer, an ancestor of the current British royal family, was one of the most valuable assets the British forces had […]

Aya Katz commented on the post, The Last Battle of Chalmette 11 years, 5 months ago

This was a very enjoyable read, giving a glimpse into the politics of the day. I found it especially amusing that Story felt that anyone opposing his plan might be an “alien-hearted American.” Did he perhaps mean […]

Pam Keyes wrote a new post 11 years, 5 months ago

The last battle of Chalmette was fought by genteel ladies wielding fountain pens, not swords, in 1935 as the site of the US triumph over the British was in the process of becoming a national historical park. […]

Governor commented on the post, An Interview with Pam Keyes about Jean Laffite 11 years, 5 months ago

Hi, Theo. The original French language Journal of Jean Laffite, together with accompanying documents, is owned by the Sam Houston Regional Library in Liberty, Texas. I got my photocopy from them. I do not know of […]

Pam Keyes wrote a new post 11 years, 5 months ago

American Commodore Daniel T. Patterson made the single biggest mistake of the Louisiana portion of the War of 1812 when he deployed almost all of his naval force to patrol and spy along the coastal area of […]

Pam Keyes commented on the post, Eyewitness Report of Jean Laffite at Chalmette Battlefield 11 years, 5 months ago

Yes, I wish the author of the account would have signed his letter, but his note that Butler also was aware of the fact of Laffite’s service is significant.

Aya Katz commented on the post, Eyewitness Report of Jean Laffite at Chalmette Battlefield 11 years, 5 months ago

I’m glad you found this proof from a contemporary who was there. It should take care of any doubts anyone may have entertained during the current spate of revisionism. It also fits in with what the Journal of Jean […]

Pam Keyes wrote a new post 11 years, 5 months ago

Much has been made this past year over just exactly where Jean Laffite was during the battles against the British in December, 1814, and Jan. 1815, particularly regarding Jackson’s line at Chalmette. Here is what […]

Pam Keyes commented on the post, The Saga of Melita and the Patterson-Ross Raid at Barataria 11 years, 5 months ago

ADDENDA: There is a fascinating postscript to the story of the Melita, as after writing this article, I discovered the name of the ship was among the vessels Jean Laffite said were his, in the Journal of Jean […]

Pam Keyes wrote a new post 11 years, 5 months ago

A series of unfortunate events plagued Joseph Martinot, supercargo of the Carthagenian merchant schooner Melita. First, he had been stymied in his attempt to enter the Mississippi and arrive at New Orleans by […]

Pam Keyes wrote a new post 11 years, 6 months ago

Capt. Nicholas Lockyer of HMS Sophie was furious when he gave the order to weigh anchor just off Grande Terre island on Sept. 4, 1814. He and his fellow British officers had been released a couple of hours […]

Aya Katz commented on the post, Andrew Jackson's Fine and the Place of Martial Law in American Politics 11 years, 6 months ago

That’s an interesting observation. So from the standpoint of a disinformation campaign it worked.

Aya Katz commented on the post, Andrew Jackson's Fine and the Place of Martial Law in American Politics 11 years, 6 months ago

Thanks, Pam, for providing the extra information of why it was that the entry of spies into the city could not be prevented by the imposition of martial law. The flints and powder provided by the Laffites were […]

Aya Katz wrote a new post 11 years, 6 months ago

Andrew Jackson resented mightily the fine imposed on him by Judge Dominick Hall in New Orleans in 1815 for contempt of court. At the very end of his life, with death approaching, Jackson campaigned for […]

Pam Keyes commented on the post, Cobbett the Body-Snatcher, or What Happened to Thomas Paine's Corpse 11 years, 6 months ago

How fascinating! But if the graveyard of the church has been cleared, where did all those burials go? They would have been re-interred elsewhere, right? The mystery continues, but I hope Paine’s bones did finally […]

Pam Keyes wrote a new post 11 years, 7 months ago

Even before Thomas Paine had died, at least one of his “friends” had designs on acquiring his skull.

John Wesley Jarvis, an artist who was a close associate of the author of “Common Sense,” asked Paine […]

J-Hanna replied 10 years, 7 months ago

Wow, a bit macabre, but he would not be the first historical person to not have his body buried, or should I say exhumed.

Pam Keyes wrote a new post 11 years, 7 months ago

Some eight thousand times a day, six days a week, pressmen cranked the heavy wooden press of the Weekly Aurora newspaper of Philadelphia. They were printing platens of tiny type on the Aurora’s […]

Governor wrote a new post 11 years, 8 months ago

There will be a talk about the effect of the changing laws about privateering on the career of Jean Laffite October 14, 2014 at 6 pm at the Laffite Society Meeting at the Meridian Towers in Galveston, […]

Pam Keyes wrote a new post 11 years, 8 months ago

Get your travel plans ready now for the Third Annual Battle of New Orleans Historical Symposium slated Jan. 9 and 10, 2015, at Nunez Community College Auditorium at Chalmette, La., near the Jean Lafitte […]