VOL. 3 WEST BATON ROUGE. SATURDAY, AUGUST 28, 1858. NO 35.

1T SUJGAR PLANTER,IM SEIDSREs EVERY SATURDAY MORNING

H:ENRY J. HiYAMS

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'mm

Baton Rouge.-A Sketch.

TBY CV DP. 1.

We wish to prescot our radoers with a

ahetch of past events, intimately connec-

:i'd with the early history of Baton..Rouge. We have no chainr to literay

ihIeri•, and wish it understood, that wewrite, not for the- vain glory of bringingoiseilf into paubli notice, 'but to throwso•• e ray. of <igght upon a subject, which•s3 to this dayP remained buried in utter lrkness, and covered with: a veil of

ystLeywhich has been removed onlyenougto difgure thh truth and show

it in a wrog • light. And yt it is im-portant Iat the people of liPton Rougeshould know of-thes• events,: for theyfoir a partof their own h'istory. I al-lude to th:eeirly history and f':undationof Diton Roge; to the Revolution whichdeliveredit om the yoke. of Spain.

.The are the poits, whice in this sketchJ-ropose placing before the public; to

j mnost stress where it is required, andto depit them with all the fidelity ofiparrtial historinanlMost persons have received from hear-at very erroneous iiupressioni of the

ivents whieh have taken pl•ce in theearly history of B.ton Rouge. 'Ihesub-

"ect has seemed to them, of tpo minutean importance, to give it their'attention,

a .bear deep investigation. There-fore; they have not taken to t selveshe trouble to, inquire into factiobt have

4aken pnblio opinion as the iiii ard oftheir owe opinioni, aid hy so g, they

rred with the public. A natien shouldknow its origin and early hist oryj That ihoidl-b first study of a cit ierd Thefirstb placed in the hands fIa child

•i•ild be the history of its tie land.e sai applies to cities and 4orpora-

i s It i a small body g with- t

inalarger oine. =Each membneriof that ISfshou:ld know all thing o nected e

wit the existence of the pi m e calls ts homeb as: the child, its origin *1t riistodry of its parentsi v

W ,ilt say to ourreadert at such ewe bas e gleaned and I ed be

relthem in relation to thee e l history t,fiton gouge, are true and ndenia- c

Our statements can be eli d upon Port, for we have them froln relia ce

Seat oity, gand have taken spine pains aor the most correct fibi mation tlng;tbhe "atter in queStio . The

-irich we have advai.Bde in our cGmemarive, of the capture of Baton Rouge ti

eao s, can be testifi id to byitve .•sto that event. Fifty years o

h e laped ~since the uilding` 'ehouse of Baton R fo

Sacourse fd that h tnry w

ta marid posipti tleog tproihe has ha d many hi h tstn pa osperity 'buti of l yeeas Ma haave .at lsat en te hi! G saddalsr, inordert o ikeep orti age. of progrea t siaidtl mto

al am a t ice a itained .

itthe masd rbiiekit1satasfxotrop ua t Ask of

Sropolis - of tlSonutb. But that catas-trophe cannot occur. New Oika n hasfor over a century, stood on her sandyfoundations, the. Queen, not of the Adriatiatic, but of the Swamps. Her stee-ples and minarets have, to this day,reared their lofty and proud heads farhe above the -moss.coverd cypresses of thes' surrounding-marshes, and they will con-

c

tinue

to.stand,

like

beacons

in the

wil-

derness, where the hand of man hase" erected them. However, commercial

e fame is not the only fame, which can bereaped by3a-city. By her position; Bat-on Rouge mz.y, one day, become theSebastopol of the Mississippi valley--a the Dardanelles of our inland naviga-tion. She has ever been a military post.That post a•.y grow in strength and im-portance as circumstances may diu':teWe must not hope that our country willever ~rem•ain an' open unfortified land,and safe from all foreign invasion. Wecannot hope never to have enemies tofear, adverse neighbors, against the en-croachments of whom to guard. No,the time will come when we will needand require fortifications for our ownprotection. When we will, like the Ro-.mans, have to defend our altars againstbarbarous hordes of HIuns and Vandals,that will-pour down upon us from their Ideserts, led on to pillage by some yet Iunborn ATTI.A. When these dark agesshall come-and come they will-then imay we look torward to the future.gran.-eur of Baton Rouge. We care very lit. ttle•fosr what others think, our opinion is ithat our city stands as good a chance as cany other on the face of our country, to aarrive at fame and greatness. If

We will now proceed to give a synop. csis of the events which will be- developed Iin our sketchb in

Our readers all know the 'history of ILouisiana. Her first explorers and set- vtiers, and the frequent changes of doni- 1+inion--changes which have so long check- S

ed her prosperity, smothered her growth tiand kept her vast territories in a state of It]comparative barbarism until the dayshone when the American eagle exten-ded- over them his protecting- wing andsoared on high above their majestic for-ests, surveying at a glance, the course ofthe mighty father of waters, and his ex-tonsive valley, destined under his care. tobecome the centre of wealth and of civ-ilization. That brilliant destiny has beenfulfiled. - The boundless wilderness hasbeen conbi rted into populous, wealthyand -fourishing states. Great cities haverisen where formerly stood untroddenforests. Desert wastes have given placeto fairmsand opulent plantations. Theplow has: tore open, the bosom of the,earth and forced it to yield its treasuresto the labor of man. Manufactures giveemploymeit to thousands of .men in thevery, spots- where the child of naturesang his war and death songs.-And, steam, lending its powerful agencyto the genius of FuLToZr, has tamed -the

current of the Mississippi; andlforeed itsproud-waves to roll in bondage and re-cognise the supremacy of man. Nowwhere theaIndian canoe plied timidly'.the .great steamboat moves majestically'on"' the broad: bosom of the- river, and'conveys from place'to place the produc.tions of the land. .,Such are the changeswhich have taken place and which, we,owe to the lights of:civili~ation.

Alreadyextenaive colonies had beenfounied in different.. parts of the nev tworld. 'The Engish had settled. the 4

,Eastern coast of the Northern continent. 1Coaii had `conquered the Empire of •Mexico, and Pxiz ao in South A'merica,had -rerndered` his name odious by his tcru~lties to the Incas and their subjects, '

when i'o N }-si LON landed in 1518, t

on the coast of Florida.` Hejfound not tthe object of his e searches, which was 'a s rig, whose wate s gave manSereal yoth. 'After hinm aaRR D DEn )ozo explored the 'vast regions which c

isow had left; He< died on the banks;of the hMisisippi, bavig Saccomplished inothing forhiis country. ; He is,hhowever,

- the first white man whose eye scanneds the course of the Father of Waters. In

y 167'8, a galiant Frencliman, by the name1 of LASALLS, started with a small party

of French and Canadians, from theFrench possessions in Canada, in search

r of the Mississippi. Having found thee river, he followed its course until nearits mouth, on his journey, he was, how-

- ever, killed by one of his men, and theprospects of founding a French -settle-ment on the banks of the Mississippi,died with the daring adventurer. Check-ed in his career by the hand of death,LASALLE has the glory of having takenpossession of the country, he explored inthe name of the King of France, andgiving it the name of Louisiana, ThisTerritory of Louisiana extended from thefrontiers of Canada, to the Gulf of Mexi-co. Bounded on the East by the Britishpossessions of the Atlantic coast; its west-ern limits were lost in the solitudes of theFar West.

The- Territory was named and taken.possession of, but that was all. Theapathy of the French Government ne-glected her Americin possessions, thefact is, that America was in some degreeneglected by all the nations of Europe,and it was in a great measure peopledby those, who driven from their countryby religious fanaticism, fled the perse-cutions of intolerance and sought a landin which they might enjoy liberty of con-science. Thus America has always beenthe home of the oppressed. It was onlyin the year 1699, that the French suc- Iceeded in establishing a colony in Louisi. tana. In that year a -settlement wasformed on the coast bf the Gulf of Mexi- tco by IravisLLtE who establishing the Ihead of the colony at Biloxi Bay, com-menced lhe exploration of the country. ain 1718, BIENsILLS, a brother of Inst (VILL., laid the foundlations of New Or- eleans. Theevent has proven that he uwas judicious in the selection of a. loca- rtion whereon to build the metropolis of t`the South. A prophetic genius seemed ttto have directed him and revealed to chim the great destinies Whichlawaited vthe city of which he laid the corner tistone. fi

Oh, could 3BIvisLBa rise again fromthe dead ! could he awake from his longand dreamless sleep, and return to theland which he had explored ! What achange would he find! What wouldbe his astonishment in viewing that cityof New Orleans," whose ;foundations helaid. The French colony of Louisianawas however onerous to the mother coun-try. A great deal was spent yearly tomaintain the settlers who had been sentto the colony, and nothing was had inreturn. Thus far from. being a 'source ofrevenue to the government, it could notrupport itself, an depended entirely forsubsistence on the bouhty of the Frenchcrown.: It must seem to us strange thatin a land as fertile as ours, acolony pro-vided with tools and all things-necessaryfor clearing an•, illing the ground, shouldnot be able to support itself; especiallywhen the rivers abounded ,with fish, indthe forests with game of all kinds.-This will, however, be understood whenwe know that instead of turning theirattention .to agriculture, the colonistswhios sole object was to acquire riches,thoaght of nothing else but seekinggoldwhich they supposed existed in abun-dance .in the Territory, and for suchchimSras they neglected that alone whichcould be..productive of good. BesidesaIFrnchinen are not fit for settlers; theirgenius is for -war, then nothing is impos-sibh to them. But to settle new Terri-tories,' which requires perseverance ,tostand all sorts of hardchips,and indomi-table energy to conquer all obstacles,they are net fit. For t~dat the Anglo

Sazon riaceis alone hebaracterised.Such wast•the state of things in the

year 1766, when the King of Francemade to Spain and England a cession ofthe whole pr•vince of: ouiriana.. ToSpain he gave all the lands lying Westof the Mississippi, with New Orleans

.d and the island on which it is built, thatIn is that tract of land bounded North bye~ the Manchac Bayou; West by the riverty Missi ;srppi ; East by the lakes Maurepas,e Pontchartrain and Borgne, and South,h by the Gulf of Mexico, thus encircling

e New Orleans. England, the whole Ter.sr ritory East of the Mississippi, with the

v- exception of New Orleans. The inhabi.e tants of New Orleans thought, and with

-reason too, that the mother country wasi, perpetrating not only an act of injustice,c- but an outrage upon them in thus sell-

, ing them without their consent to anothern realm, as if they were no better than,n slaves. They were unwilling to pass un-d der the Spanish yoke, and raised theis standard of rebellion, not against France,

e against whom alone they ought to havebeen incensed, but against the Spanishi authorities come to take possession ofthe country; they petitioned and im-e plored the French government to take

them back like children and brethren,but in vain. When interest isat stake,3 there are no friends nor kindred. They

knew not the fable of the dog whichhaving been given away by his master,ran off and returned to him, but wasastonished at fiinding himself beaten anddriven away. When the people foundthat they could no more be Frenchsubjects, their consternation was great.-They resolved to persist in their 'esist-ance and to establish a Republican formof government; they- failed however intheir undertaking. Six of the principalleaders having suffered tlieinselves to betaken by the Spanish forces, were pub-licly executed as rebels= In their bloodthe insurrection was quelled, and thepeople were intimidated.

Abliut : this saulme t •h•, wfe the firstshout of libeity was silenced in NewOrleans and her principal citizens suffer-ed death on account of their Republicannotions, the standard of rebellion was rraised in the provinces of New England- tMore fortunate, the Americans gained ttheir independence, which afterwards se- (cured the freedom of Louisiana. -It is cworthy of notice, that about the same ttime in Boston and in New Orleans, the tfiist cry of liberty was raised. It sound- aed from Athe two, extrenmities of NorthAmerica, and was raised by French and vEnglish colonists. In 1779, Spain hay. sing, in conjuction with France, declared Ewar against England, to -aid the Ameri- ecans in their struggle fdr- Indepeodence, hDon Bsaoiino ,D • Ga1•.vi•~-•gJen Sparti gish Governor of Louisia i, narched :itagainst the fort of Baton Rouge, whichwas a strong-hold of Great Britain, inthe 'iblitudes of Louisiana; and was de-fended by a garrison of 400 men. Thfort of Baton Rduge was built during theexistence of the French colony underIBERVILLE. We ,now nothing positivewith regap to the exact period of theestaulishment of .a military post whereis now located the city ~' Baton Rouge.History is,silent on the sutect. But we.can with safety place that period in thefirst years of the colonization of Louisi-ana. by IBERVILLE and BisEvILLs. Tomaintain. the .Indian tribes in awe andsubjection, it was found necessary to erect:small forts in the most prominent po.sitions of the province. Among others,that of Baton Rouge was built.

When thtiipportion of Louisiana wasceded to Great Britain, the fort was takenpossession of and garrisoned by theBritish. As we have before said, whenin 1g,9 Spain had in conjunction withFrance, declared war against England,Doif BasiaD0no D GiLvaz, Governor ofLouisiana, marched against- the" fort ofBaton Rouge, which was defended by abody af men under command of Cd.Dixox. He seems to have regarded thefort as the key-stone of the province. Hetherefore, on hearing the news that warhad been~declaredl, marced immediatelyupon thatposition, hoping that by storm-ing it; he would reider himself master ofthe whole provi•i •,_ . . -

GILVEZ having arrived in sight of thefort, beseiged it, setting his camp a little

et to the southward of the spot now filledy by square No. 2, between North Bou&le

yr vard and Convention street. There stoods, then, at that place, an Indian mound,

h which has been nearly washed away. Itg can however still be seen in diminutive

r- proportions in the yard of the beer sa-loon, on corner of Boulevard and Re-

i" pentanoe street. As a skilful Generalh who takes advantage of the ground onis which he is to offer battle, GALvZz pitch.

a, ed his tent behind the hillock, and-marek

I- ing it answer as a breastwork, he erectedShis batteries on .its brow.

: On the 23d of September, 1779, hisfirst gui' as -fired. That was a signal

e for a general attack, GALvia himselftouched olff the first gun. The matchc which he used on the occasion, is nowin possession of the author; a preciousrelic of the past, it has come down toposterity to testify to the heroic deeds ofother days. At the given signal, GAt-vaz's batteries opened oh the folt, anda moment after, the hill was envelopedin smoke, The.guns of the fort replied,however, in a voice of thunder, and keptup a brisk cannonade, which had verylittle effect, scarcely injuring the Spani.ards, who under cover of their mound,di. cted their balls with safety, anibat-ter d the unprotected walls of the fort.After a vigorous r esistance, seeing thathe could hold out nolonger, Col. DUxoNlowered the colors of England, and ask.ed for a capitulation. It was gi'nted oncondition that several other forts in theprovince should also be evacuated bytheir English garrisons, after which thevanquished left the fo•t-with the honorsof war, and abandoned the whole prowince to Spaint

Thbiittle of Baton Rouge was a de-cisive blow to the power of England inLouisiana; it forever drove the Britishout of the province. We can call :it arevolutionary battle, for it was'foaght inthe cause of the United provinces bytheir allies, and against their enemy,--GALVEL appointed Don, PDRao FvaoTcozmmandant of the fort; and= returnedto New Orleans, from thence to marchto the conquest of Florida, which hesoon after accomplished;-

In the year 1795, Spain, by a treatywith the United States,.. recognized thesway of Congress over all the TerritoryEast of the Mississippi, whic:h had b.enceded by France to England; keepinghowev, to herself the Floridas, and thegrant she had received from France. Butin 1.801, she gave up to BosetrAaRgtheTerritory of, Louisiana as she had -re-ceived it from France.. The great Em-peror sold it to the United States, know.id• that -- under the protection of thatinfant Republic alone, it coulld prosperand develop its resources. Through theveil of the future, his piercing eyem as-ured the immensity of grandeur whichunder the sun of liberty awaited that iland. r

nr..l k~ rla, riwn.,However after these different conces-sions, Spain still remained in possessionof the Floridas, Pensacola, Mobile andBaton Rouge acknowledged her away.-West F:orida extended West as fai asthe river Mississippi, but there it formedonly a small strip of land, bounded onthe South by the river Iberville, or Man-chac Bayou, and on the North by the31st degree of North latitude; 'whichnow forms the boundary line betweedthe States of Louisiusa and Missiosippi.That portion of West Florida whichbordered on the Mississippi, was goveried by Don COALOs GaANDR;X, lieutbcol.in, the service of his Catholic Majesty.the seat of government being the f 'rt ofBaton Rouge. Mr. 'GRANDPIs having,in 1808, goae to Cuba, where lie died,the chief command of the plare was- lftto Mr. DsLASzna,~ ia panhih offieer..-

Towards that epoah, a village was be-ginning to spri"g u•p around the for[.-Some of the first houses had been built,and some of them still are standing.-One, perhaps the finest built, is the housenow situated on the corner of Repent-ance and Convention ..street, opposite

d Mr. WALLER's oflfi. It was the. an-ieon of Gov. GRA•U•as, and atHtlie time

was considered a magnificent building.In the meantime, a spirit of dissatss-

faction was fomented against the un-popular government of Mr. DELASevz.The whole Territory of Louisiana hadbeen annexed,.to the United State; andI the inhabitants of the District of BatonBouge, with those' of the neighboringTerritory of Missi$spi, jealous to seethat while the whole Territory added toStfe United States enjoyed the privilegesof liberty, this District of Baton Rouge

iconmprised in the Territory of Florida,I yet pined under the yoke of Spain.--f That spirit of dissatisfaction was en-couraged, gome thinkby secret agentsof the Federal Government. By themthe flame was fed. In this state of things,a number of the disatisfied from differ-Sent-parts of the District in conjunctionwith a party of men from the frontiersof Mississippi, assembled at St. Francis-i

ville, to the numberof one hundred;, 6a•n;having put Gen. Pasass ox TaoMA4 attheir head, raeolved to march agaiasit thefort of Baton Rouge. The fqrt then,was falling in ruins. In that state thedefense of it was:neglected by the caresless DELAiUz.' It was garrisoned by abody of fifteen men,, under command ofLouis GRAinPaI, son of Gov. GRANL.PRE, and then aged twenty-three years.

The Spaniards seemed in great security,they did not think that the inhabitantsof the District would dare to attempt tocarry the fort. Itwas that security whichproved fatal to them, and ensured thesuccess of the Americans designs.

On the niglt of the 23d of. Septem.ber, 1810, thirty.one years after the forthad surrendered to GALVEZ, and on thesame inemorab!leday; Gen. Taois at.44B head of his mounted riflemen, arrivedat th fort in-order to put his designsinto execution. ,Tho coincidence bereis strange, and w•rthy of notice. The23d of September being the :anniversaary of the two captures of Baton Rouge.U: Under cover of night, the besieging

party rode up to lhe fort. Tihe seutry

:imumdisaly gave the alarm; nd GRan.

ris at once rallied around him his littleband, resolved -to conquer or die, at hispost. HEewas summoned, o surrender,but ike L0aomnAs, he apswersd,s " o•oand take us." Nootone-of hi gauis waerloaded. He knew it, and therefore couldonly return the fire of his u3usquetry.-.-To resist, was folly, yet he thought thatto surrender wouyl construed as, cow.ardice. ,,As we Lai: already said, thefort was in a delapidatqedondition--thegates were broken dewn;id in the wallswere openings large enough foria horse-man to ride through. By nhe light ofthe moon, the Americans galloped up tothe openings, and as they were aboutentering, GRANwDra gave the order tofire. A discharge from the Americanrifles responded to the fire of the fort,and our young hero fell, .covered withwounds, as though almost every shothad been aimed at his breast. With hisfall, the fire of the fort ceased and Bato,Rouge was taken.

An American by the name of FASnx,Lu., who knew GLAAnPRS, raid hiim

from the grouiid toeonvey him trid thebattle-field, but while in his arms, Gawrm•xa.s received a another bullet in the spinewhich proved mortal, and he die4ooafter, In the engagement, not auir giSpaniard was either: killed or wounded,which, in our opinion, series to piov.that every shot must have.been aimed att$*h ill-fated GaNDPafr.

If GRasNDPRe fought and died like Ls-otiDAs,5 he commanded not to Spartana,nor were his enemies Persians. H. did'a'l that a brave man could do,; and thatwas to die at the p•st of houor. Evenhis enemies mourned his fall and assistedin conveying his mortal remains to theirlastresting plic'. Hse wtt uiried in th#Cadtholic Church of this city, sad not aston manstiks the spot, whera, in neglect,slumber the ashes of the hero. No in-'

concluded in our next issue.