User:ElijahBorges/Jean Lafitte

British offer
**TEXT IN BOLD HAS BEEN EDITED IN**

Following the charges of November 10, 1812, subsequent arrest and while Pierre was jailed, Jean operated the piracy and smuggling business. Over the next few months, the British Navy increased patrols in the Gulf of Mexico, and by August they had established a base at Pensacola. On September 3, 1814, the British ship HMS Sophie fired on a pirate ship returning to Barataria. Lafitte's ship grounded in shallow water where the larger British ship could not follow. The British raised a white flag and launched a small dinghy with several officers. Lafitte and several of his men rowed to meet them halfway.

Captain Nicholas Lockyer, the commander of the Sophie, had been ordered to contact the "Commandant at Barataria". He was accompanied by a Royal Marine infantry Captain, John McWilliam, who had been given a package to deliver to Lafitte. The Baratarians invited the British officers to row to their island. When they had disembarked and were surrounded by his men, Lafitte identified himself to them. Many of the smugglers wanted to lynch the Britons, but Lafitte intervened and placed guards outside his home to ensure their protection.

McWilliam brought two letters in his packet for Lafitte: one, under the seal of King George III, offered Lafitte and his forces British citizenship and land grants in the British colonies in the Americas if they promised to assist in the naval fight against the United States and to return any recent property that had been captured from Spanish ships. (Spain having become an ally of the British against the French.) If they refused the offer, the letters informed him that the British had orders to capture Barataria to put an end to their smuggling. The second item was a personal note to Lafitte from McWilliam's superior, Lieutenant Colonel Edward Nicolls, urging him to accept the offer.

Believing that the U.S. would eventually prevail in the war against Great Britain, Lafitte thought he could more easily defeat the US revenue officers than he could the British navy. He had also been told in August that American officials were planning an assault on Barataria with forces under the command of Commodore Daniel Patterson. They feared that Lafitte and his men might side with the British.

Lafitte tried to convince the Americans that they had nothing to fear from him. He sent a message to the Americans that few of his men favored helping the British, but said he needed 15 days to review their offer. Lafitte had copies of the letters sent to Jean Blanque, a member of the state legislature who had invested in the Barataria operation. '''This was the first definite indication of the British's intent to invade Louisiana, specifically New Orleans. It was because of this that the Americans had advance notice of the British invasion. This gave the Americans more time to prepare for an invasion, albeit them being low on necessary munitions and supplies.''' In a personal note, Lafitte reminded Blanque that his brother Pierre was still in jail and deserved an early release. Lafitte added a note to Governor Claiborne, saying,"I am the stray sheep, wishing to return to the sheepfold ... If you were thoroughly acquainted with the nature of my offenses, I should appear to you much less guilty, and still worthy to discharge the duties of a good citizen."Lafitte committed himself and his men for any defensive measures needed by New Orleans. Within two days of Lafitte's notes, Pierre "escaped" from jail.