Officers and soldiers of the War 1814-1815. from N. O., La., Picayune, August 23, 1908.
Interesting manuscript discovered that gives New Details—Roster of the famous Battalion of Orleans Volunteers.It contains many names still prominent in this State—Credit given to the intrepid Corsairs under the command of Lafitte.
One of the episodes of the battle of New Orleans is narrated in a manuscript in the possession of Mr. J. B. Pelletier, the Bourbon Street collector of antiques. The document treats of the part taken in the brief yet decisive combat against the British invaders by the Battalion of Orleans Volunteers, and gives a full roster of officers and men. It also comments on the valor, splendid appearance and patriotic service of the soldiers, and mentions, in special manner, the bravery of Lafitte, the buccaneer, and his intrepid French sailors, who helped Jackson, with their artillery, in repulsing the enemy. There are some kind appreciations of the battalion of colored freemen, whose intrepidity is commended. The manuscript is wholly written in French, and is supposed to have been drafted by L. M. Raynaud, Adjutant of the Battalion of Orleans Volunteers. The translation is as follows: Roster of the Battalion
of
The Volunteers of Orleans
Which Took Such a Glorious
Part in the Defense of
New Orleans Against
the English
In December, 1814, and January, 1815. The Battalion of Orleans Volunteers distinguished itself by [134] its bravery and patriotism during the invasion of Louisiana by the English Army in 1814 and 1815, participated in all the skirmishes and in the final battle, and by its discipline and the promptness of the maneuvers turned the tide of fortune in favor of the American arms, in the bloody fight of the 28th to 30th December, 1814, and the combats of Jan. I and 8, and aided in the entire defeat of that powerful and numerous British Army that had dreamed, in advance, the conquest of this country and the acquisition of the wealth it possessed. ‘That splendid body of Volunteers of Orleans, clad in brilliant uniforms, and perfectly disciplined, was composed, for the most part, of men who had seen war in Europe as French soldiers. The noble conduct of those brave strangers was the more commendable for the reason that they were not compelled to take arms in defense of Louisiana, notwithstanding the proclamation of martial law by General Jackson, December 14th. It was, therefore, with generous spontaneity that these French warriors offered their services to General Jackson in spite of the French Consul, who would have resorted to the plea of neutrality, his government being at that time at peace with Great Britain.’ (Note by the translator: This statement of the narrator is greatly at variance with the account given by Martin in his ‘History of Louisiana,’ which shows the French Consul in an entirely different light, and instead of speaking of him as a quasi-enemy, states that he had taken part in the Revolutionary War on the side of the Americans. Martin says: ‘There were in the city a very great number of French subjects, who, from their national character, could not have been compelled to perform military duty; these men, however, with hardly any exception, volunteered their services. The Chevalier de Touzac, the Consul of France, who had distinguished himself and lost an arm in the service of the United States during the Revolutionary War, lamenting that the neutrality of his nation did not allow him to lead his countrymen in New Orleans to the field, encouraged them to flock to Jackson's standard.’）
The narrative continued.
The battalion of free colored men from San Domingo, which was under command of Major Louis D'Aquin, subject to the [135] orders of Colonel J. B. Plauche, had an adjutant Major Louis Chatry, and for captain, Bayou Savary. It numbered 260 men, divided into four companies, as follows: One company of grenadiers, one company of chasseurs, and two of ordinary infantry. That colored battalion was posted at the left of the Orleans Volunteers the night of December 23, and shared all its perils during the invasion. The colored Louisiana Battalion, composed of free men of color, was commanded by Major Pierre Lacoste, under orders of Colonel J. B. Plauche, and had as adjutant, Major Fauche Colson, and was composed of five companies, of which one was grenadiers and another chasseurs, and a band of music, a total of 382 men. That colored battalion having been detailed at Chef Menteuf, could not participate in the preliminary skirmishes, and reached the fortified camp on the 29th of December and was posted between the Orleans Volunteers and the San Domingo Battalion.The Orleans Riflemen.
‘This company was commanded by Captain Beale. It was an active participant in the bloody nocturnal engagement of December 23, and numbered seventy-eight men. Not wishing to join the Orleans Volunteers, but preferring to retain its independence of partisan company, the corps of Orleans Riflemen followed a company of Tennesseans that had just arrived, under command of a general of militia named Coffee, who proposed surprising the right wing of the British Army, and failed in the attempt, losing part of the attacking column. Captain Beale fared very ill. His company was ambushed by the enemy and most of his men were killed or taken prisoners, except eighteen who escaped in the darkness and spent all of the next day wandering in the marshes and reached the American camp the succeeding night, almost perishing from hunger and lassitude.’ The newspapers of the North are censured for having published that the militiamen from Tennessee and Kentucky fought in all the engagements. “The truth is,” says the narrator,that those soldiers reached New Orleans on the fifth day of January, 1815, two weeks after the first skirmish, and that the Orleans Volunteers, the colored [136] battalions, and the French corsairs faced the British army, day and night, and bore the brunt of the successive attacks of the enemy. The militiamen from upriver were in the big battle of January 8th; so that the principal share of the glory must be given to the brave men, who were constantly occupied since December in fighting for their country. Louisianians should not forget that Major H. de St. Geme is justly entitled to the distinction of having saved this country from the enemy. His services and his feats of arms were invaluable, and it was the Major who directed the work of making a fortified camp which proved our salvation.
The French Corsairs.
The Orleans Volunteers received most valuable aid on December 29, when the crews of the corsair vessels, and their officers offered their services to commandants Plauche and de St. Geme. General Jackson was greatly pleased at that unexpected re-enforcement, because he was not only short of men, but needed artillery. He engaged the Frenchmen as artillerists, and they immediately erected formidable batteries along the line of defense, and those valorous men served their guns with such coolness, activity, and promptitude that they silenced and dismantled all the English pieces, of whatever caliber, and cannon and cannoneers were seen to fly high into the air. It is but just to pay a tribute to the bravery of those intrepid sailors, who aided, so effectively, in saving our country from the enemy. The American nation owes them a debt of eternal gratitude. Two strong detachments of the corsairs were sent, the one to Fort Plaquemines and the other to Fort Coquilles, and they victoriously defended the forts against the British fleet, and compelled the enemy's ships to retire. The leaders of those intrepid French sailors, who by their valor were like the famous filibusters of the time of Louis XIV, were: Captains J. Beluche and Dominique You, and Jean Lafitte, who commanded the detachments of artillery in the fortified camp; Captains J. Lajau, La Maison and Colson, at Fort St. Philip, and J. L. Songy, P. Liquet and Pierre Lafitte, at Fort Coquilles.[137] （Fort St. Phillip is on the Mississippi River, below the city of New Orleans, and Fort Coquilles was on the Rigolets, between Lake Borgne and Lake Pontchartrain, on the present site of Fort Pike.)
