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an ACADIAN EXILE article
Cultures
of Acadiana |
Lafayette (LA) Daily Advertiser, March 30, 1999
Acadians fought with Spanish in American Revolution
by Jim Bradshaw
The Battle of New Orleans was fought during the War of 1812 because the British had the idea that if they could capture New Orleans and the Mississippi River, they could attack the fledgling United States from its unprotected backside.
It wasn't a new idea. They had the same thought during the American Revolution, and they might have accomplished it then except that a Spanish governor, with the help of a handful of Acadians and Indians (including Attakapas from south Louisiana) put a latch on that back door.
That's why in St. Martinville today the famed Evangeline statue overlooks a monument erected by the Daughters of the American Revolution in memory of French Acadians who fought for Spain against the British in the cause of the Americans.
Spain had its own motives, and the Acadians were willing partners. They had just arrived in Louisiana with vivid memories of their mistreatment at the hands of the British. Spain wanted to protect its territory east of the Mississippi River, and Spain also wanted to get back Florida, which was ceded to Great Britain in 1763. The Spanish never really liked that idea.
Spain formally entered the war on May 8, 1779, and Gov. Bernardo de Galvez immediately made plans to attack British settlements in Louisiana and along the Gulf coast. He collected supplies, pulled together a fleet of gunboats and transport ships from those available in Louisiana, and wrote to Havana and other Spanish outposts for reinforcement. He was ready to begin his maneuvers in mid-August built a hurricane struck New Orleans on Aug. 18 and sank every boat in Galvez' little battle fleet.
Undaunted, the governor began rebuilding his force. He gathered boats from other posts. Four ships were raised from the bottom of the Mississippi and refitted. More supplies and munitions were brought in.
Galvez' little army set out on the afternoon of Aug. 27. It included 170 veteran soldiers, 330 recruits who had been sent from Mexico, 60 Louisiana militiamen, and a handful of other assorted troops. All told there were 667 men, described by Galvez as "of all sorts, nationalities, and colors, but without a single engineer, and with the artillery officer very sick."
The governor collected another 720 volunteers as he marched through the German and Acadian settlements upriver from New Orleans. Many of these volunteers were Acadians, and 120 of them were Indians.
Fort Bute on Bayou Manchac was Galvez' first target. It was lightly guarded and fell quickly. After a few days of rest, the troops moved on to Baton Rouge, which was about 15 miles upriver. The fort there was much stronger than Fort Bute, defended by 375 men. So Galvez used a trick. He sent his Spanish troops up the river to block reinforcements that might come from another British outpost at Natchez. Meanwhile, he pretended to prepare for an attack from one direction while really intending to come from the other. The British fell for the ruse and aimed their artillery at an empty forest.
The fight was brisk and short. The British surrendered at Baton Rouge, and the garrison at Natchez gave up without a fight shortly afterward.
Galvez then turned his attention to English forts in East Florida. Fort Charlotte at Mobile fell easily, but Fort George at Pensacola was more difficult. It took reinforcements from Cuba and several attacks before the Pensacola garrison was worn down. But a lucky shot into the fort's gunpowder supply blasted a hole in the fort's wall and the British at Pensacola also surrendered.
The Galvez campaign restored Florida to Spanish control, blocked the threat of British troops moving up the Mississippi, and forced England to use troops that could have been used to fight the Americans elsewhere.
Two of the Acadians who helped in that campaign were Amand Broussard and his brother, Claude, sons of the old guerrilla fighter Joseph (Beausoleil) Broussard. Other names found on the memorial in St. Martinville are Joseph Babin, Jean Berard, Michael Bernard, Jean-Louis Bonin, Paul Bonin, Francois Boutte, Philippe Boutte, Francois Broussard, Joseph Broussard, Silvain Broussard, Joseph Castille, Michel Doucet, Jean Ducat, Claude Duhon, Pierre Gaillard, Barthelemy Grevemberg, Francois Grevemberg, Charles Guilbeau, Francois Guilbeau, Jean-Baptiste Hebert, Joseph Hebert, Jean-Baptiste La Bauve, Amant Landry, Simon LeBleu, Jaques Lepine, Pierre Nezat, Marin Prejean, Joseph Prevost, Firmin Robichaux , Amant Thibaudeau, Oliviere Thibaudeau, Paul Trahan, Joseph Wilse, Phillippe Wilse, and Antoine Patin.