USA > Florida > The purchase of Florida; its history and diplomacy > Part 14
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busters, pirates, and others of like ilk. Taking advantage of the confusion in Spain and the difficulties in the other provinces these people determined to seize the opportunity to set up a free government - which meant simply substi- tuting their own misrule for that of Spain. In the spring of 1810 they issued a call for a convention which with the consent of the governor, Don Carlos Debault Delassus, met at St. John's Plains in July. Delegates from San Feliciana, Baton Rouge, St. Helena, and Tauchipaho responded to the call.
The settlers were, generally speaking, divided into three classes. One, mostly the people of New Feliciana, wanted an independent government; another faction insisted that the province should support Ferdinand VII: but the largest number sought annexation to the United States, in which they were stoutly supported by the press of Tennessee and Kentucky. It was argued by these papers that if the United States did not take West Florida, Eng- land would. In that event the people of Kentucky and Tennessee and the territories of Indiana, Mississippi, and Louisiana would never tolerate being cut off from access to the Gulf of Mexico and trade on the Atlantic. Those desiring a separate government issued a manifesto, - a combination of queer political philosophy and grandilo- quent literature, - a blending of our Declaration of In- dependence and constitution with certain other features making it radically different.
This innovation proved too bold and when the con- vention reassembled after a short adjournment, the dele- gates merely suggested a few reforms which Delassus promised to put into execution. They recommended a pro- visional government in the name of Spain; courts of jus- tice modeled after those of the United States, a militia, the naturalization of aliens and a printing press under the control of the judiciary. Such a scheme was manifestly
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unsatisfactory to both those who favored annexation to the United States and those who, with greater temerity, wished to take their place in the world as an independent nation - in short these two factions vowed they would never submit to such a government as the one proposed, and soon they had a declaration of independence, a state, a constitution, a lone-star flag, a standing army of one hundred and four men and a president of their own. Philemon Thomas, an American, was ordered by the con- vention to take the Spanish fort at Baton Rouge. Rapidly getting together a motley crowd of boatmen, Thomas moved upon the fort which was garrisoned by about twenty half-sick, incapacitated men under the command of Louis Grandpré. Storming the works, the insurgents captured the town taking prisoner, among others, Governor Delas- sus.
The convention thereupon declared West Florida a free and independent state and instructed John Rhea, its president, to offer terms of annexation to the United States ; West Florida should be admitted into the Union as a state or territory with the power to govern itself, or at least as part of Orleans; it should be recognized as having full title to its public lands and that one hundred thousand dollars should be loaned to it by the United States. 1
The requests of the revolutionary party were refused and Madison replied to their offer of annexation by a pro- clamation taking possession of territory in the name of the United States, by virtue of the treaty of 1803, and an- nexing it to Orleans. An order was drawn up addressed to the governor of Orleans to carry out the terms of the proclamation. Spain and Great Britain, at that time allies, protested strongly against Madison's course. Claiborne was directed to hold a consultation with the governor of Mis- sissippi and the commander of the troops, and proceed im-
1. American Papers, Foreign Affairs, Vol. III. p. 395.
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mediately to West Florida and take possession as far as the Perdido River. This done, he was to organize the govern- ment, mark out parish limits, set up parish courts, organize militia, and take other necessary steps to secure to the people the "peaceful enjoyment of their lives, property, and religion." By the first of December, Claiborne was scattering copies of the president's proclamation broadcast through the towns and hamlets of West Florida much to the indignation of the newly chosen governor, Fulwar Skipwith, who pompously declared that his dignity had been insulted, that a copy of the proclamation should have been brought to him before being thus indiscriminately scat- tered among the people. Then he took the mirth pro- voking course of recalling Philemon Thomas from a pro- jected assault upon Mobile, shutting himself up in the fort at Baton Rouge and defying Governor Claiborne to do his worst.
Colonel Pike was ordered at the head of a force to proceed by land to Mobile, and the commander of sev- eral of Jefferson's famous gunboats was directed to pro- ceed from New Orleans to the same point. Claiborne hastened to Francisville. There, raising the American flag, he addressed the people. He was followed on the program by General Thomas who delivered a passionate harangue. The United States he declared had refused as- sistance and protection when it was needed, and now, when it was unnecessary, sought to force it on them; the claim of the United States to West Florida was bad in law and morals; Madison's proclamation he characterized as a declaration of war; his oration, if we may thus term an harangue delivered amidst such settings, he concluded by theatrically announcing his determination of hastening to Baton Rouge and on the ruins of that fort giving up his life, if need be, for the sake of his country. The challenge was accepted; the troops were recalled from Mobile ; gun-
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boats were ordered from New Orleans and in forty-eight hours Claiborne was in Baton Rouge and the United States flag was flying over the city. Trouble ensued. The mal- contents tore down the stars and stripes and in its stead ran up the lone-star flag. Providentially the troops and gunboats appeared and those disposed to create trouble quickly subsided. Even the fort quietly surrendered and there were no ruins and no generals immolated on the altar of patriotism. In the other sections even less opposition was offered to the American occupation and by the close of the year we were in possession of the districts of Baton Rouge, New Feliciana, St. Helena, St. Ferdinand and Tauchipaho.
But beyond the Pearl, conditions were even worse. Here, for years, there had been no pretense of enforcing law or preserving order. The character of the people of that section was even more hopeless than those of West Florida. Now had come their opportunity. They sought a government of their own with themselves as officials. Under the command of Reuben Kemper they proceeded against Mobile. At first repelled by the Spanish, the in- surgents returned to the attack. So exhausted and dis- gusted was Governor Folch at the neglect of his own government that in a letter to Robert Smith, our secre- tary of state, he offered to give up both Floridas to the United States if assistance did not arrive from Havana or Vera Cruz before January 1, 1811. This letter did not reach Washington until the first of January but imme- diately upon its arrival Madison sent it to Congress with a secret message. He asked a declaration from that body that the United States could not, without concern, see the Floridas pass from the ownership of Spain to that of any other foreign power ; and he requested authority to take possession of the province with the consent of the Spanish officials.
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The senate was already in secret session considering a bill on West Florida. A committee to which had been referred that portion of the president's message relating to that province had reported a resolution declaring all the region south of the Mississippi Territory, east of the Mis- sissippi River and west of the Perdido, to be part of the territory of Orleans; other sections of the bill related to claims and titles to land. The discussion was bitter and prolonged and the arguments presented varied and novel. The proclamation was unconstitutional and illegal as an act of legislation and a declaration of war ; an act of legis- lation in that it joined the province to a territory of the United States and gave Claiborne governmental authority over it; a declaration of war in that it directed the occupa- tion of the country by a military force. The remnants of the Federalist party were particularly bitter in their char- acterization of the course of the administration. With the battle taunt of French influence they eloquently dilated upon the respectful treatment of Spain when an ally of France and enemy of England, and compared it with the high-handed treatment of her now that she was the ally of England and the enemy of France. That it was a piece of robbery was their final judgment. The Republicans tak- ing the negative declared that the proclamation was not an act of legislation and that the president had not assumed a war power; Florida was rightfully ours and its occupa- tion was an act of prudence and necessity ; the Federalists, they delared, were Anglophiles who had never been able to free themselves of the English influence.
In the midst of the debate, congress received the secret message accompanied by the letters of Governor Folch. A fortnight later Madison attached his signature to a bill and a joint resolution. The resolution declared that in view of the situation of Spain and her American colonies and the influence which Florida must ever exert
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on the peace, tranquillity, and commerce of the United States this country must view with grave alarm any act by which any part of that province might pass into the hands of a foreign power ; that a due regard for our own national safety made it necessary to occupy the territory ; the occu- pation, however, should be temporary and subject to future negotiation. The bill which they passed was based on the letter of Governor Folch and authorized the president to receive and hold Florida east of the Perdido River, if the local authorities were willing to deliver it up or if any for- eign power attempted to occupy it. The president was authorized, if necessary, to use the army and navy and expend one hundred thousand dollars. He was further empowered to set up a temporary government and vest the civil, military, and judicial powers in such persons as he might see fit.1 Madison, in conformity with this resolu- tion, appointed General George Matthews and Colonel John McKee commissioners to carry out the law and ordered their instructions immediately prepared.
While the United States claimed all the territory from the Mississippi to the Perdido her authority did not extend to the Mobile and it is doubtful if she was recognized be- yond the Pearl. To the Pearl even, congress was not ready to enforce its authority and by the act granting the people of Orleans the power to frame a constitution and seek admission as a state, the Mississippi, the Iber- ville, Lake Maurepas, Lake Pontchartrain, and the Gulf of Mexico were made the eastern boundary of the state of Louisiana.
There has been much discussion among historians on the right of the United States thus to seize West Florida. Jefferson who consistently followed, and urged upon Mad- ison, the policy of using the intrigues and combinations
1. Before adjournment an act was passed forbidding the promul- gation of this resolution and law before the end of the next session of congress.
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of Napoleon to obtain Florida and even Cuba for the Unit- ed States, was anxious to "maintain in Europe a correct opinion of our political morality." He believed that the documentary history would prove the conscientiousness of the United States. The question of title to West Florida arose in the case of Foster and Elam against the United States, but the supreme court, without deciding on the merits as to what had passed by that convention, held that it was bound by the legislative construction that the ter- ritory passed to the United States by the treaty of Paris of 1803. 1
The course of the United States called forth a bitter protest from the Spanish representative at Washington, Juan B. Bernabue. He complained that French emissaries were permitted to stop in the United States contrary to the neutrality laws at the very time that France was con- fiscating American vessels; that these French emissaries moreover were charged to stir up revolution in the Span- ish territories. On the other hand Spain allowed Amer- ican vessels to trade freely in her ports; had assisted the United States in her revolutionary war, and was the first to send an accredited agent to this government. "Spain, notwithstanding this conduct," wrote Bernabue, "is treated by the United States as an enemy, her frontiers in this quarter of the world are invaded without any other reason or motive being assigned saving the convenience of the acquisition of those territories to the views and interests of the invaders, or perhaps because it has been presumed that Spain, who has dared to face and arrest the progress of the most formidable power in the world, is in such a state of weakness as not to be able to defend her rights whenever they may be violated and infringed in the most
1. Vol. II, Peters, p. 253.
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open manner."1 Complaint was also made that the in- surrections in West Florida, Buenos Ayres, and Caraccas were publicly favored, that a consul had been appointed who resided at and exercised his consular functions among the rebels at Caraccas permitting a considerable re- mittance of arms and ammunition from the United States to the provinces in rebellion; further, that agents and emissaries of these revolting colonies were admitted to this country ; and that French cruisers were tolerated in our ports and those of Joseph Bonaparte were permitted to cruise against the commerce of Spain. In short, concluded Bernabue, the Spanish troubles in this hemisphere were largely due to the fact that the United States did not re- strain her "factious citizens."
To General Matthews and Colonel McKee were sent instructions for carrying into effect the provisions of the act of congress relative to that portion of the Floridas east of the River Perdido. The purpose of the United States was to take possession of East Florida for fear that, in the present chaotic condition of Spanish affairs, some foreign power might seize it. The country was to be held subject to future diplomatic negotiations. The commissioners were directed to proceed immediately to that province "concealing from general observation the trust
. with that discretion which the delicacy and importance of the undertaking required."
Did Governor Folch or the local authority seem in- clined to surrender in an amicable manner, General Matthews was to accept his abdication in behalf of the United States and if the Spanish officials should insist on a stipulation for the future re-delivery of the country, such a demand should be complied with. Thus much for an "amicable surrender." "Should there be room," writes
1. Juan B. Bernabue to Secretary of State, Vol. II. Spanish Min- Isters to Secretary of State.
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Robert Smith, "to entertain a suspicion of an existing de- sign of any foreign power to occupy the country in ques- tion you are to keep yourselves on the alert and, on the first undoubted manifestation of the approach of a force for that purpose, you will exercise with promptness and vigor the powers with which you are invested by the pres- ident to pre-occupy by force the territory to the entire exclusion of any armament that may be advancing to take possession of it."1 These instructions at the present day seem extraordinary.
Hastening to St. Mary's, a small place on the Amer- ican side of the line, Matthews encountered a condition of affairs which, as he construed his instructions, demanded that immediate possession be taken on the plea of self- preservation. The river was alive with British shipping engaged in smuggling goods into the United States in manifest violation of the non-importation law. Amelia Island which was situated at the mouth of the St. Mary's River just off. the coast of Florida, was a notorious re- sort of smugglers. Fernandina, the Spanish town on the island, was merely an entrepot for their illicit trade. Span- ish authority existed there more in fiction than in fact. No law of any kind was in force.
After making diligent inquiries, Matthews concluded that to obtain quiet possession was impossible. The profits of the illegal traffic were far too alluring to be thus tamely surrendered. Inferring that the country was to be taken at all events, he recommended the employment of force. The course of West Florida furnished to his mind a suit- able criterion. The people of East Florida should be en- couraged to revolt, declare the province independent, and then apply for annexation to the United States. Two hundred stand of arms and fifty horsemen's swords would
1. Vol. XVI, Domestic Letters, p. 1. Robert Smith to Gen. George Matthews and Col. John McKee, Jan. 26, 1811.
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be necessary and he would guarantee that they reached the people without in any manner compromising the Unit- ed States. These suggestions were more fully enlarged upon to Senator William H. Crawford of Georgia and by him communicated to President Madison. Mistaking silence for consent Matthews began to organize the revolu- tion. In the order of General Eustis, a hint had been given to create a new local authority friendly to the Unit- ed States. For this the conditions were ripe. Adventur- ous spirits - the stuff of which filibusters are made --- abounded along the St. Mary's. It was familiarly termed the "jumping place" of criminals and desperate characters from Georgia and Florida. 'The "moccazin boys" were even then making their slave and cattle stealing raids into the Indian country. Outlawry was everywhere the dom- inent influence. The weak Spanish government could of- fer no effective protection to the planters in the northeast. Many of the nominal subjects of Spain were disaffected, first among whom was General John McIntosh, an ideal leader for such a revolution as the one contemplated. After his release from Moro Castle he had returned to Florida, gathered together his former adherents and quit the pro- vince after wreaking vengeance by destroying a small Span- ish post at the Cow Ford, and some Spanish boats near the site of Jacksonville. By 1811 he had become a man of im- portance on the lower St. John's. He owned large num- bers of negroes, horses, and boats and was extensively en- gaged in cutting pine timber under a lucrative contract. The insurrection was acomplished through his influence under the protection of General Matthews. He devoted all his property to the "sacred" cause under the guarantee by Matthews that the United States would make good any loss he might suffer. The two other leading agents there were the postmaster at St. Mary's and the United States deputy marshal.
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By the spring of 1812 some two hundred of these ad- venture-seeking "patriots" were assembled near St. Mary's. Organizing themselves they announced as their purpose the establishment of republican institutions in Florida. A provisional government was formed and officers duly elec- ted. General John H. McIntosh was chosen governor or director of the republic of Florida, and Col. Ashley was named as military chief. One day in March, 1812, found them across the St. Mary's River on Florida soil, and there on a bluff six miles above Amelia Island they camped and ran up a white flag decorated with a soldier with bayonet charged and the motto "Salus populi - suprema lex."
Fernandina had been occupied as a Spanish port for three or four years and had rapidly grown to be a place of importance. During the existence of the embargo, par- ticularly, the town had flourished and as many as a hun- dred and fifty vessels might be seen at one time in her harbor. In 1812 a Spanish garrison of ten men under the command of Don José Lopez held the place. It was deemed of vital necessity to secure possession of the town.
On the fifteenth of March, Colonel Ashley sent an ultimatum to Lopez. The determination of the United States to seize East Florida had led the inhabitants to do it themselves. Therefore under the patronage and pro- tection of the United States they had taken possession of the country from the St. Mary's River to the St. John's; and now they summoned Fernandina to surrender. It is certain, beyond all peradventure, that General Matthews having determined upon the occupation of Amelia Island, used the patriot organization as a cover to effect his purpose. Nine American gunboats under the command of Hugh Campbell had come into the harbor with the avowed pur- pose of preventing smuggling and enforcing the non-im- portation law. To Commander Campbell. Lopez dispatched messengers informing him of the demands of the insur-
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gents and inquiring whether he had orders to aid them. Messengers were similarly dispatched to Major Laval who was in command of the American troops at Point Peter. Laval replied that he had no such orders, while Campbell referred the whole affair to General Matthews. General Matthews was at the time, so the commandant informed the messengers, in the camp endeavoring to persuade the troops to join the patriots.
In an interview which followed, the messengers in- formed him plainly that the patriots were Americans brought into Florida under the promise of five hundred acres of land to each of them in the event of the success of the revolution. In the eyes of Spain, they declared, it was an American invasion. After having thus delivered themselves of these expressions, for which there could be no denial, the messengers proceeded to the patriot camp and informed the commanding officer that under no circumstances would they surrender to him, but that they would treat with the United States. According to agreement all three parties, Spanish, Americans, and patriots met the next day at the patriot camp on Belle River.
The conference, however, proved barren of results and the messengers set out for Amelia Island, there to find the American gunboats drawn up in line in front of Fernandina with their guns trained upon the fort. The patriots dropped down the river in boats and Lopez, seeing the line of war ships with strings on their cables, their , guns bearing upon the town, matches lighted and flying the flag of a neutral power, but prepared to enforce the demands of the soi-disant patriots, had no alternative but to surrender. The Spanish garrison, ten strong, marched out and grounded arms, Lopez gave up his sword, McIntosh hauled down the Spanish flag and hoisted the patriot ban- ner. The articles of capitulation, entered into March 17, 1812, stipulated that within twenty-four hours after the
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capitulation the island should be surrendered to the United States and should be exempt from the operation of the non-importation law. By noon of the following day the stars and stripes were flying over the fort and a company of United States soldiers were doing garrison duty. The manner and the pretences under which this was done reflect but little credit on the United States government and the transparent sham of taking possession of the country by "patriots" supported by the United States troops was both a reproach upon our dignity and a stain upon our honor.
The patriots themselves sought other fields to conquer, other worlds to win, and, still encouraged and led by citi- zens and officers of the United States, began the march to St. Augustine. With them, it appears, went a detach- ment of United States regulars. Taking possession of old fort Moosa, about two miles distant, they invested the place. Dislodged from this site by a Spanish gunboat, they still hovered about the city and cut off all supplies. The courage and bravery of a company of negroes, led by a free black, alone saved the town from starvation. The Indians of Florida were aroused to attack the Americans and patriots, and for a year the unhappy province was scourged by these contending parties.
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