USA > Louisiana > Louisiana : its history as a French colony. Third series of lectures > Part 22
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27
* Sin abandonar dicho cuidado, fué a visitar al gobernador frances con todo el cuerpo de oficiales nuestros.
300
AUBRY'S ANSWER.
event. No attorney general could have drawn a more precise and more fatal indictment. He concludes in these words : " I will communicate to your Excellency all the decrees, memorials, and other pieces of iniquity which were fabricated in those times of disturbances and disorders. I will deliver into your hands all the protests which I made against such injustices. My con- duct shall be laid bare before the most equitable and the most enlightened of judges. His approbation, which I dare flatter myself to deserve, will be the greatest honor and the handsomest reward which I can ever receive." This communication, which is a model of humility and servility, does not redound to the credit of Aubry. Far from interceding in favor of his unfortunate fellow citizens, far from endeavouring to palliate their guilt, which he could have done without deviating from truth, he arraigns them with bitter asperity, and, certainly, is answerable, to a considerable degree, for the shedding of the blood of those he had accused with such violence. If he had contented himself with this brief answer : "The King of France, my master, appointed me governor of this colony, and I cannot believe that the King of Spain wishes to convert me into a common informer," he, perhaps, would have stood higher in the estimation of O'Reilly himself, and, undoubtedly at least, in that of posterity.
On receiving Aubry's communication, O'Reilly's mind was immediately made up. On the next day, the 21st, he communicated to Aubry, at eight o'clock in the morning, the orders of his catholic majesty to arrest and bring to trial, in accordance with the laws, the chiefs of the revolution. Aubry, in one of his despatches, says that he never suspected before that O'Reilly had been invested with any such powers. The Spanish Governor, without loss of time, whilst Aubry was with him, drew .
301
ARREST OF THE INSURGENT LEADERS.
to his house, under different pretexts, nine of the lead- ers of the late insurrection, and had three others, of an inferior rank, arrested in the town hall. They were Nicolas Chauvin de Lafrenière, Jean Baptiste de Noyan, Joseph Villere, Pierre Caresse, Pierre Marquis, Joseph Milhet, Jean Milhet, Joseph Petit, Balthasar de Masan, Julien Jerome Doucet, Pierre Poupet, and Hardy de Boisblanc. When they were all in his presence, and Aubry standing by, he thus addressed them : " Gentle- men, the Spanish nation is respected and venerated all over the globe. Louisiana seems to be the only coun- try which is not aware of it, and which is deficient in the respect due to that nation. His Catholic Majesty is much displeased at the violence which was lately exer- cised in this province, and at the offence which was committed against his governor, his officers and his troops. He has been irritated by the writings which have been printed, and which revile his government and the Spanish nation. He orders me to have arrested and tried, according to the laws of the kingdom, the authors of these excesses and of all these deeds of violence."
After having read to them the orders of his Catholic Majesty, which prescribed to him the course he was pursuing, he added : " Gentlemen, I regret to say, that you are accused of being the authors of the late insur- rection. I therefore arrest you in the. King's namc. My earnest wish is, that you may prove your innocence, and that I may soon set you free again. Here are your judges (pointing to some officers who were in the room). They are as equitable as they are learned, and they will listen to your defence .* The only part which I shall take in the trial will be, to favor you as much as I may
* Dijó que S. F. no tomaria otra parte en esta causa (cuyos jueces estaban alli presentes, y les hizd ver), que la que fuese conducente a favorecerlos, y que deseaba que todos pudiesen justificar, plenamente su conducta.
-
302
ARREST OF THE INSURGENT LEADERS.
be permitted. In the mean time, all your property, ac- cording to the custom of Spain, with regard to prison- ers of state, shall be sequestered. But you may rest assured that you shall be treated as well as possible, in the places where you shall be respectively confined. As to your wives and children, be persuaded that I shall grant them all the assistance of which they may stand in need. In relation to the sequestration of your estates and effects, a faithful inventory shall be made of them, and I invite each of you now to appoint whom he pleases, to be present on his behalf, at that inventory, and every person so appointed by you shall also counter- sign the inventory of your papers."
He paused for an answer ; and the unfortunate prison- ers, after they had somewhat recovered from the first shock they had felt at such a proceeding, gave, accord- ing to O'Reilly's invitation, the names of those who were to represent them, and a list of those names was made on the spot. "Now, gentlemen," resumed O'Reilly, " please to deliver up your swords." Whilst this scene was acting, the whole house had been surrounded by troops, and the rooms had been filling up with grena- diers. One of O'Reilly's aids received the swords of the prisoners, and some officers of grenadiers cour- teously taking, one the right and the other the left arm of every prisoner, placed them between two companies of grenadiers, and thus, arm in arm, conducted them to their places of confinement, where they were all sepa- rated from each other. Some were put in the frigate in which O'Reilly had come, some in two of the other ves- sels, and the rest in a well-guarded house. It was ordered that they should be interrogated, that their depo- sitions be taken down in writing, and that they be allowed all the conveniences they might want, provided they be not permitted to communicate with each other, nor with
303
DEATH OF VILLERE.
any body else. On rendering an account of this event to the French Ministry, Aubry said : " I have the honor to forward to you a list of the small number of those whom the General was indispensably obliged to have arrested. This proves his generosity and the kindness of his heart, considering that there are many others whose criminal conduct would have justified their being treated in the same manner."
With regard to Villere, it seems that he had been the only one who had prepared to fly with his family and negroes, when he had heard of the arrival of the Spa- niards. His plan was to retire to Manchac, under the protection of the English flag. But, either being deceived, as some say, by a letter from Aubry, who pledged him- self for his safety, or believing, when he was informed of the kind reception made to his associates in the late revolution, that it was not the intention of the Spanish Government to act with rigor, he gave up his original design and came to town from the German coast, to pre- sent himself to the General and ascertain the true state of things. He was one of those who were confined in the frigate. Being of an exceedingly violent temper, this sudden blasting of his hopes threw him,* as the Spanish official report says, into such a fit of frenzy, that he died raving mad, on the day of his arrest. Bossu, in his work on Louisiana, gives a different version, but he is so fanciful in all his relations of pretended facts, that he is hardly to be believed. Judge Martin, in his history of Louisiana, gives a third version, and says : " He (Villere) was immediately conveyed on board of a frigate that lay at the levee. On hearing of this, his lady, a grand-daughter of De Lachaise, the former com- missary general and ordonnateur, hastened to the city. As her boat approached the frigate it was hailed and
* Murió al 1º dia de su prision, de terror y enojo, y antes perdió el juicio.
304
DEATH OF VILLERÉ.
ordered away. She made herself known, and solicited · admission to her husband, but was answered she could not see him, as the captain was on shore and had left orders that no communication should be allowed with the prisoner. Villere recognized his wife's voice, and insisted on being permitted to see her. On this being refused, a struggle ensued, in which he fell, pierced by the bayonets of his guards. His bloody shirt thrown into the boat announced to the lady that she had ceased . to be a wife ; and a sailor cut the rope that fastened the boat to the frigate." This atrocity of the bloody shirt is not probable. It is not mentioned in the official French despatches, which I have seen, and rests only on popular tradition, which delights in tales of similar ex- aggeration. It has, no doubt, been preserved and handed down, on account of the dramatic effect which it pro- duces, and which has made it acceptable to the imagina- tion.
It is impossible to describe the terror which the arrest of these men and the death of Villeré scattered far and wide. They were so, much identified with the whole population, their personal friends were so numerous, their family connections so extensive, that the misfortune which had befallen them could not but produce a general desolation. Besides, every one trembled for his own life, or for the safety of others, and many, in secret, began to make immediate preparations to fly to the Eng- lish. In New Orleans, the doors of the majority of the houses were closed, and the inhabitants deserted the streets, which resounded only with the heavy tramp of the patrolling Spaniards. On the 22d of August, the day following the arrest of Lafrenière and his compa- nions, O'Reilly, in order to dissipate the fears which agi- tated the population, had this proclamation posted up at the public square and at the corner of every street :
305
O'REILLY'S PROCLAMATION.
" IN THE NAME OF THE KING,
" We, Alexander O'Reilly, Commander of Benfayan, in the order of Alcantara, Major General and Inspector General of the armies of his Catholic Majesty, Captain General and Governor of the Province of Louisiana, in virtue of his Catholic Majesty's orders, and of the pow- ers with which we are invested, declare to all the inhabit- ants of the Province of Louisiana, that, whatever just cause past events may have given his Majesty, to make them feel his indignation, yet his Majesty's intention is, to listen only to the inspirations of his royal clemency, because he is persuaded that the inhabitants of Loui- siana would not have committed the offence of which they are guilty, if they had not been seduced by the intrigues of some ambitious, fanatic, and evil-minded men, who had the temerity to make a criminal use of the ignorance and excessive credulity of their fellow-citi- zens. These men alone will answer for their crimes, and will be judged in accordance with the laws.
"So generous an act on the part of his Majesty must be a pledge to him that his new subjects will endeavor, every day of their lives, to deserve, by their fidelity, zeal and obedience, the pardon and protection which he grants them from this moment." This proclama- tion made more than one breast breathe freely, and diminished, to some degree, the feeling of terror which had been produced by the events of the preceding day.
On the 23d, O'Reilly issued a proclamation, inviting the inhabitants of the town and its vicinity to appear before him, at his house, on the 26th, at seven o'clock in the morning, to take their solemn oath of vassalage and fealty to the new sovereign. Those of the inhabit- ants who resided in distant settlements were informed that, on certain days to be fixed hereafter, and before
20
306
ARREST OF FOUCAULT.
certain officers to be appointed for this special purpose, they would have to appear in their turn, and to go through the same ceremony. O'Reilly also wrote to Aubry a letter, in which he told him, that he had perused the original of the document entitled : " Memorial of the planters, merchants, and other inhabitants of Louisiana, on the event of the 29th of October, 1768, which was found in the possession of the printer Braud, with an order signed by the Commissary Foucault, authorizing the publication ; that he considered this document as a libel injurious in the highest degree to the authority of the King, and derogatory to the respect due to his royal person ; that it was defamatory of the Spanish nation ; and that Foucault's crime being fully proved by his sig- nature, there could remain no doubt but that he was one of the chiefs of the late insurrection, and one of the principal authors of the excesses committed against Don Antonio de Ulloa and the government of his Catho- lic Majesty, wherefore he begged Governor Aubry to have Foucault arrested with the greatest precaution and promptitude, in order that the most unfaithful and cri- minal conduct of that officer being investigated, both he, O'Reilly, and Aubry, should be able to lay before their respective sovereigns full copies of the proceed- ings of the trial to which he would be submitted. This request took Aubry by surprise ; but he complied with it readily, although he says : that it caused him a great deal of grief. He sent Major de Grand-maison, Cap- tain de Lamazelière, and Adjutant Major Aubert, to arrest Foucault, in the name of the King of France, in the house where this Commissary resided, and which was to be his prison. There, with the approbation of O'Reilly, he was guarded by a French detachment and two officers, whom Aubry made personally responsible for the safe keeping of the prisoner. As a measure of
-
307
CEREMONY OF SWEARING ALLEGIANCE.
precaution, Foucault's guard was to be changed every day. Grand-Maison, assisted by Lamazelière and Au- bert, and in the presence of Bobé, the Marine Comp- troller, put the seals on Foucault's papers. Bobé was appointed by Aubry to fulfil the functions of Foucault. " I told him," says Aubry to the French Government, " that I would hold him answerable for all the harm that he might do, although I think that he is incapable of doing wrong, because he is an honest man, and has always blamed the conduct of his superior." (Foucault.
On the 25th, O'Reilly was engaged in issuing several provisional decrees, in relation to securing immediately the faithful and prompt administration of justice, and chose from among the inhabitants, those who were re- puted the most intelligent and honest, to call them to the discharge of those judicial functions, which the good of the country required.
On the 26th, the ceremony of taking the oath of alle- giance was performed, as it had been prescribed. It began with the clergy, to whom precedence was allowed, and so on, through all the classes of the population. "This ceremony," wrote Aubry, "was conducted with much order and dignity. I presented to the General every corps, company, or corporation, according to its rank. The General explained to them, in a loud voice, all the obligations to which they would be subjected by their oath; he told them that they were fully and entirely free to take, or not to take it; that those who should not be disposed to assume such an engagement, were the masters of their own decision, and that he would give them all the time and all the necessary facilities to arrange their affairs, and to retire to their country. Al- most all the inhabitants took the oath with zeal, and I dare assert that they will, henceforth, be as faithful sub-
-
308
PROCEEDINGS WITH RESPECT TO FOUCAULT.
jects to his Catholic Majesty, as they were to the most Christian King. After the ceremony was over, I ap- proached the Spanish Governor with the whole body of the French officers, and I told him that we deemed it a compliment and an honor, to serve under the orders of so distinguished a general as he was ; that we were ready to shed our blood for the service of the King of Spain, just as willingly as for the King of France ; and that, in so doing, we would merely execute the will of the King, our master, which was all that we wished. He was completely satisfied with this demonstration, and an- swered us in the most obliging manner."
On the 27th, the Acadians and Germans who, although they had made all possible haste to reach New Orleans on the 26th, had not been able to accomplish their ob- ject, were admitted to take their oath of allegiance, and were immediately sent back to their rural occupations.
On the 28th, the Spanish troops were engaged in landing from the fleet all the ammunition, provisions, and other materials and effects, of which it had brought an ample supply. On that day, by the order of Aubry, Major de Grand-maison, with Captains Lamazelière and Trudeau, assisted by the notary Garic, and in the pre- sence of Bobé, the marine comptroller, proceeded to raise the seals which had been affixed in Foucault's house, and to inventory all the papers relative to his office, and which were to be handed to Bobe, his suc- cessor. "I had also ordered the same officer," wrote Aubry, " to require of Foucault a declaration under oath, of all the moveable and immoveable property he owned in the colony. It appears from his own showing that he owns little or nothing, and has a heavy amount of debts, both in France and in this colony."
Although the preceding operations had given much occupation to General O'Reilly, he did not neglect to
309
LETTER FROM AUBRY.
inform himself minutely of all the wants of the colony. He despatched messengers to all the distant settlements, to convey official intelligence of his arrival, and of his having taken formal possession of the province, and to authorize their commanders, to receive the oath of alle- giance of all the inhabitants residing within their juris- diction. He requested them also to make known to him what they desired, to supply the necessities of their respective posts.
"His intention," wrote Aubry, "is to introduce no innovations, but those which may be absolutely neces- sary. He will maintain and cause to be executed all the wise and useful regulations which the government, on account of its weakness, had not been able to en- force for several years back. He will keep in force the Black Code, which, he thinks, contains excellent provi- sions, not only with regard to the discipline which it establishes among the negroes, but also in relation to the moderation which it prescribes to masters, in the treatment of their slaves. This has infinitely pleased the inhabitants. I have the honor to transmit to you the ordinance, which he has issued on this subject.
" Finally, after so many disturbances and disorders, which had so long desolated this colony, it is surprising that the mere presence of one individual should, in so short a time, have restored good order, peace and tran- quillity. Had it been the good fortune of this province that General O'Reilly had arrived sooner, it would never have seen all the calamities from which it has suffered. With the exception of a small number of families, which are in a state of consternation, on account of what has so justly befallen some of their members, who have been ar- rested, all the rest of the colonists are quiet and satisfied. They are grateful to his Catholic Majesty for having sent them a governor, who listens with kindness to those
310
FOUCAULT SENT TO FRANCE.
who have any business with him, and who, although re- spected and feared, is not the less loved for his genc- rosity, his magnanimity, and his equity, of which all of us feel the effects. He will make the happiness of this colony."
On the 5th of October, Aubry, at the request of O'Reilly, proceeded to the interrogation of Foucault, who declined answering, on the ground that whatever he had done, was in his official capacity of commissary of the King of France and in his name, that to his government alone he was answerable, and that, as he had not seen any order of arrest issued against him by his most Christian Majesty, he protested against the decrees of which he was the object, and excepted to the jurisdiction of any Spanish tribunal, for acts which he had done officially, in the name of the King of France, and on his behalf. Several attempts were made to induce him to undergo an examination, but he remained obstinately silent on those occasions. He merely said that he was willing to stand his trial in France, and he repeatedly asked to be sent thither. Upon consideration, it was thought proper to comply with his request, and, on the 14th of October, he was embarked for France, where, on his arrival, he was thrown into the Bastile.
Speaking of Foucault, in a letter written to the Mar- quis of Grimaldi, O'Reilly says: "He is a conceited and narrow minded man, who has cheated a host of people here, as it is demonstrated by the amount of debts which he leaves." Indeed it appears from Fou- cault's own statement of his. affairs, that his debts ex- ceeded his worldly goods by twenty-seven thousand dol- lars, which was a pretty considerable sum at that epoch. The schedule of his debts proves that he had even pos- sessed the art of duping those, whose destruction or ex- pulsion from the colony he had aimed at; for the Span-
311
RELEASE OF BRAUD.
ish Contador, Don Estevan Gayarre, is put down for $780, on the list of his private creditors.
Braud had also been arrested, for having printed the memorial of the planters, merchants, &c. of Louisiana on the event of the 29th of October, 1768. But he pleaded in justification that, as the King's printer, he was bound, by the tenure of his office, to print all that was sent to him by the King's commissary, and- he showed Foucault's signature, at the bottom of the manu- script which he had published. This defence was ad- mitted as good, and he was set free.
This was the prelude to the great trial which was soon to begin, and which, ending with the shedding of the blood of men who were loved and respected, what- ever their faults may have been, left a deep and indelible impression in the annals of the colony.
..
SEVENTH LECTURE.
A STATE TRIAL IN 1769, AND ONE IN 1851-INDICTMENT AND ARGUMENTS PRE- SENTED BY THE ATTORNEY-GENERAL DON FELIX DEL REY AGAINST LAFRENIERE AND THE OTHER CONSPIRATORS-THEIR DEFENCE-REFLECTIONS ON THE RIGHT WHICH THE COLONISTS HAD TO RESIST THE CESSION-QUOTATIONS FROM VATTEL'S LAW OF NATIONS-JUDGMENT AGAINST THE ACCUSED SOME OF THEM ARE SENTENCED TO THE GALLOWS, AND OTHERS TO IMPRISONMENT-VALY EFFORTS TO OBTALY A RESPITE FROM O'REILLY-O'REILLY DISPOSED TO CONNIVE AT THE FLIGHT OF NOYAN, WHO REFUSES TO AVAIL HIMSELF OF THIS FAVORABLE CIRCUM- STANCE-WANT OF A WHITE HANGMAN IN THE COLONY-ANECDOTE OF THE BLACK, JEANNOT, TO WHOM THESE FUNCTIONS WERE TENDERED-FOR WANT OF A WHITE MAN, AS PUBLIC EXECUTIONER, THE ACCUSED, WHO WERE SENTENCED TO BE HUNG, ARE SHOT-THE MEMORIAL OF THE PLANTERS, MERCHANTS, AND OTHER INHABIT- ANTS OF LOUISIANA ON THE EVENT OF THE 29TH OF OCTOBER, 1768, IS BURNT ON THE PUBLIC SQUARE-THE SON OF MASAN GOES TO SPAIN, AND THROWS HIMSELF AT THE FEET OF THE KING-HE OBTAINS THE PARDON OF HIS FATHER AND OF THE CTHIER PRISONERS-AUBRY, ON HIS RETURN TO FRANCE, IS SHIPWRECKED AND LOST-ANECDOTES OF THE SLAVES ARTUS AND CUPIDO THEIR HEROIC ANSWER TO O'REILLY-O'REILLY'S DESPATCH TO GRIMALDI, IN RELATION TO THE TRIAL, THE JUDGMENT AND ITS EXECUTION-AUBRY'S LETTER ON THE SAME SUBJECT-REFLEC- TIONS ON THE COURSE PURSUED BY O'REILLY-AN ANECDOTE OF CARDINAL RICHELIEU AND DE THOU, APPLIED TO O'REILLY-SEQUESTRATION AND CONFISCA- TION OF THE PROPERTY OF THE CULPRITS-COSTS OF THE TRIAL-INVENTORY OF SAID PROPERTY-DESCRIPTION OF THE FURNITURE OF THE WEALTHIEST HOUSES IN LOUISIANA, 1769-SPARTAN SIMPLICITY -DESCRIPTION OF THE DWELLINGS, MAN- NERS, AND CUSTOMS OF THE COLONISTS AT THE TIME-CENSUS OF THE COLONY-ITS COMMERCE, AGRICULTURE, AND FINANCES-FINAL REFLECTIONS.
IF twelve among the most distinguished citizens of Louisiana were now brought to trial for high treason, as they were in 1769, it would require no effort of the imagination to conceive and portray the scenes, that would be the natural consequences of such an event. What an excitement there would be through the broad length and breadth of the land ! What an array of
313
A STATE TRIAL.
friends, family connexions, wealth, talent, and social influence, rushing to the rescue! What passionate dis- cussions in every place of public resort, and in the sanc- tuary of every man's household! Could that queen of the mind, to whom none so high as not to do her reverence, and none so low as to be beyond the reach of her care and power, could the press remain impassive, when subjected to the thousand currents of electricity that would play upon her ! Would she not, like a mir- ror, be compelled to reflect the passions of the multi- tude around, and be exposed, under the pressure of the moment, to be broken and divided into fragments, repre- senting perhaps the antagonistical images of prosecution and defence ? Would she not, on one side, echo the hue and cry of hatred or prejudice, and, on the other, would she not repeat the pathetic or argumentative lan- guage of justification ? Or, if soaring above the fields of contention, she rose up to the pure atmosphere of impartiality, would she not, like the eagle, look down with eager impatience at her quarry, and could she sup- press the shrill cry of exultation, at sight of the rich food prepared for her craving appetite ? But, whatever might be the scenes acted and the persons in play, it would be on the broad theatre of the most unlimited freedom, in the cheering and illuminating light of the glorious sun of publicity, and under the scrutinizing eye of the whole civilized world.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.