USA > Louisiana > Historical memoirs of Louisiana, from the first settlement of the colony to the departure of Governor O'Reilly in 1770; > Part 16
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Thus terminated the inhuman tragedy, which in one short moment consecrated the blood of the first martyrs to liberty on the continent of North America.
The martyrdom of Lafreniere was a serious blow to the cause of liberty in Louisiana. The welfare of his country was ever dear to him, and he was always ready to make any sacrifices for its happiness. He had ever manifested an attachment to a republican form of government, and had always supported those men and those measures which he believed most friendly to republican principles. His eloquence was rich and copious, lofty and dignified, and his mind was stored with the treasures of ancient and modern lore. As an orator and statesman, ho was fitted for the management of the weightiest concerns ; and as an advocate, he was profoundly versed in Roman, French, and Spanish law.
In his manners he was courteous and elegant, affable and warm, dignified and modest, uniting the attainments of a scholar with the deportment of a gentleman. As a patriot and legislator of tried integrity, he was the idol of his countrymen.
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"But, here is a general officer, of whose reputation you are not ignorant, an Irishman by birth, who has attained the rank of lieutenant-general only by his services in the French armies; he solemnly promises you the good-will of his sovereign, if possession is given freely. Would you excite the anger of this monarch by conduct at variance with duty, reason and comnon sense ? :
" Another motive, too, should stifle all resentment. France has just beheld with emotion your patriotic efforts ; all Europe, admiring your firmness, has beheld with surprise your wise, and moderate conduct ; all eyes are now upon you. Will you, in a moment of excitement and impetuosity, tarnish the glory you have won? Hitherto they have beheld in you Frenchmen attached to their prince, burning with a desire to remain under his sway ; even the Spaniard could not without injustice regard you otherwise. But now, when the king's orders require us to receive a new régime ; now that the Spaniards are come to take authentic possession, and destroy, by a conduct far different from Ulloa's, the prejudices which you have conceived against the Spanish government, why oppose their entrance ? When criminal in the eyes of the world, regarded as rebels and sedi- tious men, all will, unmoved, behold the most frightful evils overwhelm you ; and your ashes, which you would fain mingle · with the land of France, will not be bedewed by the tears of the noble-hearted Frenchinen, whose sympathy you excite.
". Do not, fellow-citizens, belie the favorable opinion con- ceived of your moderation. Let all France, secing us obey the orders of our king, cry out in transports,-' Distance does not change a Frenchman's heart; the immense space of ocean can- not weaken the attachment they have for the king, and the respect they owe his orders.' State interest requires us to be Spaniards. To lose the honorable title of Frenchmen, to re -.
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nounce our native land, is a sacrifice which France now requires of us, and for which noble hearts will applaud us. We may anticipate all from a beneficent prince, of the same blood as our own king; let us listen to the promises of his re- presentative, and endeavor to deserve their execution by a submissive and respectful conduct."
Here, Lafrenière ceased to speak. The deepest silence prevailed while he spoke, but soon a general murmur arose amid the assembly. Such as a storm brings on, opposing minds produce-a sullen noise that leaves the traveler in doubt as to the future. Thus varied opinions produced a hum in the assembly, in which it was impossible to say what advice would prevail. The majority, however, convinced by reason and the words of Lafrenière, pronounced with that fire and persua- sive air which graced every syllable, leaned to moderation. Then the attorney-general resumed, and soon he alone was heard.
" My noble fellow-citizens! I see with the greatest satisfaction the effect produced on your hearts by the representations which my love for you has dictated, and my zeal for your interests inspired. The same sentiments animate and enlighten me; hear what they inspire. One single difficulty keeps some in suspense ; they fear the anger of the Spanish king for the expulsion of Ulloa, and behold in O'Reilly the instrument not of his goodness, but of his vengeance.
"" Away with such a fear! The general's word should dispel this; and, were it well founded, we cannot appease him by meeting him in arms. On the contrary, let us show him all the submission and respect we owe his master. Do not wait for him to come and receive the solemn oath ; let us bear it to him ; let us depute some one of our citizens, and let O'Reilly
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judge what Ulloa would have met, had his conduct been con- formable to justice, reason and duty.
"I offer to go alone and bear your homage and your oath. If Spanish vengeance has marked out any head, it is mine. I first raised my voice against an unjust and usurping man. I will go and offer the Spaniards this head, whose sacrifice will cost me little, especially if at that price I can procure the hap- piness and tranquillity of my fellow-citizens."
This address, where patriotism was upheld by enthusiasm, made, as we may expect, a deep impression. All hastened to show Lafrenière the public gratitude, and every one wished to meet the danger, if any, and share it with him.
His friends wished to divert him from an apparently rash step. The Spaniards, they knew, undoubtedly considered Lafrenière as the cause of Ulloa's expulsion ; if their anger con- tinued, could they pardon him? The representations of his friends, the tears of his wife, nothing could retain him. All felt the risk he ran, but in spite of that they had a kind of con- fidence in O'Reilly's promises.
Let us here draw Lafreniere's portrait. The part he has played in the course of these events will give more interest to what I have to say of this extraordinary man. I shall describe him from the accounts of his countrymen.
M. Lafrenière, of Canadian origin, was born in Louisi- ana, and son of a councilor in the Supreme Council. He had been educated in France, where he followed his father's pro- fession. Returning to Louisiana he was employed in the council, and rose to the rank of attorney-general, at an age when most men are commencing the profession he had em- braced. In this position he assumed a prominent part in colo- nial affairs. He possessed a lively imagination, and all the ardor and intrepidity which lead to great deeds.
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. Speaking with that assurance which a manly and nervous eloquence inspires, and which commands all hearts, he com- bined with this advantage a noble figure, a majestic port, an open countenance and an elevated stature. To paint a warrior, you might have taken the towering form, the manly bearing, the fiery eye, the dark and masculine complexion of Lafre- nière for a model. 1
To these exterior advantages he joined a great fund of gene- rosity and sensibility ; he was charitable, liberal to prodigality, a zealous patriot, ostentatious, giving dignity to all he did, popu- lar, affable and good. He owed all these qualities to nature, but not his faults. He would have been the wonder of his age, if the vivacity of his character and the fire of his imagination had been tempered at an age when it is so necessary to check them. He would, perhaps, have been the admiration of Europe, if his superior talents had been better directed, and an immoderate self-love not tarnished their lustre. To this defect, perhaps, so hardly pardoned, Lafrenière owed the host of enemies whom we shall see rushing on him ; perhaps, too, it is part of the fatality incident to merit, to be always the ob- ject of jealousy and criticism. Yet, it is conceded that most of those who deposed against this great man, had been loaded by him with favors, and owed him life and property.
But let us return to the deputation of the colonists .* La- frenière, in spite of all that could be said to him, went to meet O'Reilly, accompanied by a planter and a merchant. The general received them with marks of the greatest good-will ; he seemed flattered by the step, and in their presence repeated the promises made to Aubry. He prayed those gentlemen to assure the colonists of his desire to contribute to their happi- ness and repose. Bidding adieu to Lafrenière, as the latter
* This deputation consisted of Lafreniere, Marquis and Milhet.
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1 . took his leave, he said: "Your conduct has been misrepre- sented at Madrid, but at a distance objects take a different form from what they really have. I see that you have done your duty ; rest assured that nothing will happen to you. I wished to be your friend." And so saying, he grasped his hand.
The deputies scarcely knew how to reply to such warm greetings, so astonished and delighted were they. They hasted back to reassure their families, who had meanwhile been in the greatest alarm. The account of their reception by the general was the subject of public admiration, and the city soon echoed with praises of O'Reilly; and his conduct to the planters, during three weeks which he spent in the river, increased the esteem of all for him.
Some sensible men, however, saw through this deceptive exterior. They felt that his politeness to Lafrenière was only a lure to draw into his nets the men on whom Spanish anger was to fall, for no one believed that Lafrenière would fall alone. They did not believe that, merely to take posses- sion of the province of Louisiana, Spain would have sent a lieutenant-general and 3,000 men. All this preparation denoted something less pacific than was pretended. "O'Reilly," said they, "is too politie to arrest Lafrenière before establishing his authority ; that would be revealing his design. He wishes victims at any price, and then the others would have escaped ; for that act of severity would have exposed him to the risk of seeing all the colonists take refuge on English soil."
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These reflections struck some. In vain they tried to con- vince Lafreniere that O'Reilly's favorable reception was but a dangerous snare. They reminded him of all that they had suffered from Ulloa. A hundred historical incidents were cited confirming the truth of the character imputed to the
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Spaniards. They cited him examples where promises in the name of their kings had not held good against their resent- ment, and where on all occasions an alluring exterior had pre- pared the vengeance they premeditated. But they never could make the colonists believe that duplicity and knavery could be carried to that point, and the words "M. de la Frenière- my friend,"-rose to his mind whenever they tried to open his eyes; they showed him the horrors to which he exposed his family, already branded by the Spaniards for its hostility to Ulloa's unjust plans. In vain his relatives urged him to pass over to the English territory, as O'Reilly's stay in the ' river gave every opportunity for emigration, but nothing could shake the constant firmness of the attorney-general. IIe would have deemed it a dishonor to save his life by flight, especially as his conduct furnished nothing to create the danger with which they wished to alarm him. General O'Reilly's promises made the colonists feel secure. At least it stopped the emigration of many, who, though conscious of innocence, felt nevertheless that the most prudent course was to avoid the resentment of a nation which deemed itself offended and never could pardon. But, in spite of that, a certain homage rendered to the human heart by virtuous souls banished the idea of so atrocious and infamous a piece of knavery as that which we shall see tarnishing the name of O'Reilly.
On the 17th of August, 1769, O'Reilly" appeared before New-
* DON ALEXANDER O'REILLY, the first Spanish Governor of Louisiana, was born in Ireland, about the year 1735. He entered the Spanish army at an carly age, and served with distinction in Italy, where he received a wound which lamed him for the remainder of his life.
In 1255, he obtained permission from the king to enter the Austrian army, and made two campaigns against the Prussians. In seventeen hundred and fifty- nine he volunteered in the army of France, in which he distinguished himself, and was warmly recommended by the Duke de Broglie to the King of Spain, who
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Orleans with his whole fleet; his intention was to enter it as a conquered city, with drums beating, and matches lighted ; but, on Aubry's representation, he consented to act more con- siderately. When Aubry spoke of Ulloa's expulsion, O'Reilly cut him short, saying : "The sponge has passed over that ; all · is forgotten ; let us speak no more of it." In the first moments he constantly affected to use similar language. The next day, the 18th, possession was taken with all the usual pomp and
promoted him to the rank of lieutenant-colonel, and as such he served with dis- tinetion in the war between Spain and Portugal. He was afterwards promoted to the rank of brigadier-general, and on the conclusion of the peace of seven- teen hundred and sixty-two, he was raised to the rank of major-general, in which capacity he was sent to Havana to rebuild the fortifications of that city which had been destroyed by the English.
After the expulsion of Ulloa from Louisiana, the king, apprehending much re- sistanee from the colonists, prepared a formidable expedition against that province, and gave the command of it to O'Reilly, whom he appointed governor and captain- general of the province.
He arrived at the mouth of the Mississippi with his fleet on the 24th of July, 1769. On the same day he dispatched his aid to Aubry, the French governor, to announce his arrival, and notify him that he was duly authorized to receive for- mal possession of Louisiana. At the same time he expressed a desire to main- tain a good understanding between the authorities of Spain and the colonists, but that he should put down all opposition and extend the jurisdiction of his sover- eign over the province.
On the 27th, the citizens of New Orleans sent delegates to O'Reilly to im- plore his clemeney, and on the next day they returned to the city with assurances from the governor that he should be disposed to be lenient.
On the 17th of August the Spanish armament reached the city, and on the 18th Aubry surrendered the province to O'Reilly. The governor entered upon the duties of his office with every outward respect for all classes of citizens. But, although he promised pardon to all who quietly submitted, he had resolved in his mind to punish the principal agitators of the late revolution. This deter- mination was artfully concealed until he had procured from Aubry a full report of that event, with the names of the principal actors.
." It is very essential," said O'Reilly, " that I should know who is the person who wrote and circulated the documents entitled, 'Decree of the Council,' and a 'Memorial of the Inhabitants of Louisiana on the event of the 29th of October, 1760,' because all the articles of said documents claim my special attention. I shall put entire faith in your revelations, and I again beg you not to omit any circumstance relative to men and things in what concerns said revolution." On receiving Aubry's communication he immediately made up his mind how to act.
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ceremony, and at the same instant Aubry, by virtue of his powers from the French king, absolved the colonists from their oath of allegiance to him. During the week and the following one, O'Reilly received the free oath of all who chose to become Spaniards.
Hitherto nothing had shown the knavish plots ascribed to O'Reilly. Could he arrest and punish men whose innocence he proclaimed every time he received an oath of allegiance ?
On the next day, the 21st, he communicated to Aubry the orders of his Catholic majesty to arrest and bring to trial, in accordance with the laws of Spain, the chiefs of the revolution. Under various pretexts, O'Reilly drew to his house nine of the chiefs which had been named by Aubry in his dispatch, and had three others arrested in the city-hall. After reading to them the orders of his Catholic majesty, he had them arrested in the king's name, and put them upon their trial for high treason.
On the 23d, he issued a proclamation inviting the colonists to appear before him on the 26th, to take the oath of allegiance to his Catholic majesty.
The victims of his cruelty enjoyed but a short respite between conviction and the execution of their sentence. O'Reilly remained inexorable to the carnest entreaties of the inhabitants, to suspend the sentence of death until the royal clemency could be implored.
He now proceeded to abolish the laws of France, and substitute those of Spain. On the 21st of November, he issued his proclamation for the abolition of the Superior Council, which he alleged had been deeply implicated in the for- mer treasonable movements against Spanish authority.
In place of the Superior Council be established the Cabildo, which was a high court and a legislative council, at which the governor presided. In its judicial capacity, it exercised only appellate jurisdiction, in appeals carried up from the Alcalde courts.
He ordered a set of instructions to be prepared for the regulation and proceed- ings in civil and criminal cases, to be conducted in the courts agreeably to the laws and usages of Castile and the Indies. A commandant, with the rank of captain, was appointed for each parish, with authority to exercise a mixed, civil and military jurisdiction.
The Spanish language was henceforth inade the tongue in which the judi- cial records throughout the province were kept and the proceedings conducted. The Spanish authority and laws were not substituted for the French laies and customs, The black code (code noir) which had been previously in use in the. colony, was modified and re-enacted, for the protection and government of the- slaves. Foreigners were prohibited from passing through the province without passports from the governor, and the colonists were prevented from trading with
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These reflections increased the feeling of security in those who were warned of prisons and punishment. Yet, on the 21st of August, O'Reilly arrested, as state prisoners, de la Frenière, the attorney-general; De Mazan, a captain in the French service, a knight of St. Louis, of a very ancient provinçal house; Le Marquis, also a knight of St. Louis, commanding the troops of the Swiss regiment of Aleve; Hardy de Boisblanc, a councilor; Caresse; the two Milliets, father and son; Poupet, the elder, and Petit, merchants; Braud, * the king's printer; Doucet, a lawyer,
the American colonies. Many of the local regulations and ordinances were par- ticularly oppressive. The colonists were at first permitted to emigrate, and many availed themselves of this privilege. O'Reilly finding, however, that the province was losing many of its valuable citizens, he annulled this privilege, and refused to issue any more passports. The province was soon, however, relieved from fur- ther anxiety of O'Reilly's vengeance, and at the end of a year he was superseded by Don Antonio Maria Bucarelly, as Captain-General of Louisiana.
O'Reilly now returned to Spain. Although he excited jealousies and an- tipathies by the course he adopted while in Louisiana, yet within a few years documents have come to light which go to prove not only his original powers, but the approbation of the Court of Spain of all his proceedings. (See Appendix.) It appears by these the king ordered him to proceed to Louisiana, take formal possession, chastise the ringleaders, and annex the province to his dominions. He proceeds to ratify and confirm all that had been done by O'Reilly, and that as relates to the administration of justice, a special tribunal was to be created, to which all appeals were to go, and from it to the council at Seville O'Reilly made a detailed report of his proceedings to his government, which has never been made public in extenso, but which was approved of by the council and chamber of the Indies, to whom it was referred.
In 1774, he was placed in command of the great expedition which was sent against Algiers. The unfortunate result of this expedition rather lowered him in the estimation of the Spanish nation, although the king remained true to him. He was afterwards appointed Governor of Cadiz, where he exhibited all the talents of a great administrator. He fell into disfavor on the death of Charles III. Subsequently he was appointed to the command of the army of the Pyrenees, and while on his way to join it, he died suddenly, at an advanced age. Some of his descendants now reside in Cuba. "O'Reilly," says Michaud, " had always been an object of malignant envy, and had many enemies, whom the flexibility of his temper, and the soft influence of his conciliating manners, could not reconcile to his advancement in a uation proverbially proud and suspicious of foreigners."
+ Braud was arrested for having printed the memorial of the planters, &c., on the event of the 20th of October, 1768. He pleaded in justification, that as
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and Villere, captain in the militia. The last was on the point of passing to the English side with all his property, when a letter from Aubry enjoined him to repair to the capital to confer with O'Reilly, and pledged his honor that nothing should be done to him. Villeré hesitated, but on the word of honor of a French commander, his desire of displaying his obedience to the last triumphed over his well-founded conviction of the Spanish governor's knavery. He came to the city, was in- stantly arrested and led on board a frigate. "Traitors," he cried, "you durst not declare your odious projects. If you have the courage you parade so vauntingly, give me my liberty, let me choose two hundred of my countrymen, turn your-three thousand on us, and if a single Spaniard escapes, call . us infamous; cowards; but you deceive yourselves if you hope to feast your cruel and savage eyes on the spectacle of my death-Villeré was not made to die on a scaffold." With these words he tried to break through the guard, but the officer stopped him and gave him a kick in the stomach, which stretched him senseless on the ground, while a soldier gave him a bayonet thrust in the thigh. He fell, foaming with rage and fury. In this frightful state he lay three days, and died in despair at being baffled in his revenge.
None could be braver than Villere *. Canadian by origin, he had all, valor, fortitude and freedom of mind; violent and fiery, but frank, loyal and firm in his resolves. He was of good size, well made, his step firm, his look bold and martial, his devotion to his king rather a phrensy than a form of patriotism. Had all the colonists thought as he did; had they
king's printer, he was bound to print all that was sent to him by the king's com- missary, and he showed Foucault's signature. at the bottom of the manuscript which he had published. This defence being admitted good, he was released.
* Some of the descendants of this brave man and distinguished patriot are now living in Louisiana, holding high official position.
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had his firm resolve, I doubt whether a single Spaniard would ever have reached New-Orleans. He had a genius for war, and was the chief elect of the Acadians and Germans in case of a rupture, and under his orders that brave body would have been invincible. I regret to leave a man of his mould; French patriots must strew laurels over his grave. Let us return to the other prisoners ; and, to judge O'Reilly better, let us sec the means he took to arrest them.
He was aware of the influence possessed over the public by the men he intended to arrest ; he feared that, by acting openly, · he might excite an outbreak, and therefore to secure those whom he wished to arrest, he acted thus : " On the evening of the 20th of August, he summoned the colonels of the two regiments that he had brought to his residence. "Sir," said he, to the colonel of the Lisbon regiment, "your grenadiers have a name for man- · œuvring well. I should like to test it; those of the other regiment will also arm, and to encourage them, you need only join the first four companies of cach regiment. " Let the rest remain in their quarters, ready to march when ordered; ren- dezvous here to-morrow morning at eleven." The next morn- ing O'Reilly sent his aids-de-camp for those he wished to arrest, and as they entered made them sit down, speaking with the greatest affability, and left them under the impression that his design was to confer on the affairs of the colony. He amused them in this way till the grenadiers and other compa- nies, with fixed bayonets, had surrounded. the government house. He then called successively the gentlemen named above, sent them into an adjoining room, where their swords were demanded, and whence a guard accompanied them to the prison prepared for them.
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