Babb Refugee Diss

FRENCH REFUGEES FROM SAINT DOMINGUE TO THE SOUTHERN
UNITED STATES: 1791-1610
A Dissertation Presented to the Graduate Faculty

of the University of Virginia in Candidacy for the Degree
of Doctor of Philosophy
B5V
"
Winston Ci^Babb
B.
A. Furman University
M. A. University of Virginia
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
ABSTRACT.
FRENCH REFUGEES FROM SAIliT DOMINGUE TO THE SOUTHERN

UNITED STATES: 1791-1810
This study traces the French refugees from the West Indies,
chiefly Saint Domingue, who fled the revolutionary uprisings
to the southern part of the United States.
In two decades
after 1791, 15,000 to SO,000 Frenchmen came into the South.

This is a careful estimate which includes whites, Negroes, and
mulattoes.
at all.
Records on them are incomplete or were never made
Most refugees remained where they landed and consti
tuted a significant element in these cities.
They were a cross-
section of French colonials in culture, wealth, and ability.

They fled so hastily that they brought virtually no possessions
except a few slaves who voluntarily accompanied their masters.
These Frenchmen found a warm welcome.
grants from towns,
Private charity,
states, and even the federal government
assisted them until they could earn a living.
Some refugees
hired out their slaves; others opened schools where they taught
dancing, music, languages, fencing, and the other subjects
usually offered in the schools of that das'-; some became pro
prietors of shops, theatres,
gambling houses.
eating places,
cabarets, and
In general, outside Louisiana the refugees
rarely rose above the lower middle class.

In Louisiana the French colonials became successful planters
who introduced and developed the sugar industry.
They were
numerous enough to take an active part in politics and a wider

variety*of occupations" (even including piracy).
The arrival of the refugees brought niany problems for the

officials of both the United States and the French governments*,
Their demands and the fancied danger of these Royalist refugees
contributed to the passage of the Alien and Sedition Acts and
the agitation of the XYZ affair.
The Santo Domingan revolution profoundly influenced the attitude
of the United States toward slavery,,
Slaves and mulattoes from' Santo
Domingo did promote slave revolts in the South and for a generation
American whites attributed all revolts to Santo Domingans.
The refugees were almost all Roman Catholics who strengthened
existing churches or started new congregations.
They founded schools
and colleges in which they served as administrators and teachers.

Paradoxically the Catholic refugees were also Freemasons who brought
their lodges which remained active in the United States.
In cultural matters the refugees made their deepest mark.
In
schools, theatres, and concerts they introduced a distinctively French

element to American fine arts.
The refugees brought an Old World
courtesy and charm, which resulted in a polishing of the manners

of Americans.
A renaissance of dueling, a change in dress, and a
new emphasis on the culinary arts may be assigned to the French in

fluence.
These changes are most noticeable and lasting in Louisiana
as a part of the Creole culture.

As a group, these small, dark, handsome, gay, and worldly
refugees were highly interesting and attractive to Americans.
French culture was more generally understood and appreciated
in the last quarter of the eighteenth century by Americans

than in any other period of our history.
At first refugees intermarried and congregated in French
sections.
Soon, however, assimilation began through schools
and business contacts and the French disappeared as a separate

group.
This Americanisation was longer delayed in Louisiana
where the assimilation was started, by the V/ar of 1812 and the
Confederate War virtually completed the process by destroying
the wealth of the landed, aristocratic Creoles.
The refugees introduced many French traits and brought a
new and hardy spirit.
The full effect of their coming is not
subject of measurement with scientific accuracy, but it was a

leaven and to it may be credited many charming elements in the
culture of the Old South.
CONTENTS
Page
I
II
III
IV
V
VI
VII
VIII
IX
X
XI
Santo Domingo
The Revolution in Saint Domingue
22
The Refugees in Cuba
45
Local Reception of the Refugeesin the

United States
54
The Federal Governments Aid to the

Refugees
Si
The Refugees and the French Government
$9
The Economic Adjustment of the Refugees
107
The Santo Domingans in Theatre and

Opera
202
The Santo Domingans and Negro Slave

Rebellions
219
The Refugees and the Catholic Church

in the United States
250
Refugee Contributions to American
Education
XII
XIII
XIV
XV
266
The Santo Domingan Refugees and American

Politics
2S4
Characteristics of the Refugees
325
The Number of the Refugees
370
The Contribution of the Santo Domingans
3S 5
Bibliography
40S
INTRODUCTION
The purpose of this study is to trace the French ref

ugees from the West Indies, chiefly Santo Domingo, who fled
during the French Revolutionary uprisings to the southern
part of the United States.
The flights began as early as
1791 and continued for the better part of two decades as the
Revolution turned into a series of race wars between whites,
mulattoes, and Negroes which were complicated by the Napole
onic struggles in Europe and by various Spanish and English
expeditions to the islands.
Some refugees came direct while
others spent varying periods of time in a Spanish or English

colony before reaching one of the four major southern ports:
Baltimore, Norfolk, Charleston, or New Orleans.
The cream
of the French colonials in culture, wealth, and ability as

well as the artisans and slaves, people of all shades of
color from the black bora in Africa to the Paris-born white
noble of France, landed virtually penniless in an alien
land where they were forced to make an entirely new life.
Fleeing bloody massacres they came by thousands to meet in
most instances a warm welcome and financial assistance from
Americans and Spaniards.
Some of the refugees stayed where they landed; others
moved to different parts of the country; some returned, to
their later sorrow, to the islands to try to regain their
lost property; and some eventually made their way back to

France.
Probably the majority stayed in America where they
eventually lost their separate identity through intermar

riage with the French people already here or with Americans
of other nationalities in the melting pot of the growing
republic.
But they constituted a significant number in the
port cities where they congregated and their culture, their

manners, their professional and business abilities, their
gracious way of living made a lasting impression on their
foster home.
Reproduced with permission o f the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
CHAPTER ONE
SANTO DOMINGO
A brief review of the conditions under which the

West Indians lived before they became refugees will help
to show what they brought with them to this continent.
The majority of the refugees came from the western half of
the island known as Santo Domingo or Haiti.
Originally
discovered by Columbus and named by him Hispaniola, it was

the first European colony founded in America.'1' After a
hundred and twenty years England and France came in, with
the French gaining the western third of the island by the
Treaty of Ryswick in 1697 2
The name Haiti, an Indian
word meaning "Land of Mountain," referred to the whole is

land; the French used Saint Domingue for their part; the
Spanish titled their portion Santo Domingo: and the Ameri
cans and English used Santo Domingo to designate the whole
island.^
An unusual group of early white settlers of Santo Do-
1 Louis Elie Moreau de St. Mery, Description Topographique. Physique. Civile. Politique et hlstorique de' la
partie Espagnoie de l flie' Saint-Domingue (Philadelphia.
2 James G. Leyburn, The Haitian People (New Haven,
1914), p 14
3
p. ix.
Ralph Komgold, Citizen Toussaint (Boston, 1944)
mingo and of the island of Tortuga just off the northern

coast were buccaneers, so called from their habit of cur
ing meat over small fires on spits termed boucans by the
Indians.
These men were Europeans of various nationali
ties who lived originally as cattlemen until they were so

harrassed by the Spanish that they became pirates and
took the name "Brethren of the Coast."4
it was here that
piracy first made its home in the West Indies and here al
so that the colonial system of eighteenth century Europe
flowered to its richest splendor.
The Spanish part of the island was the geographically
larger eastern end, with land and resources just as rich
as the more valuable French possessions which were better
developed.
By the Peace of Basle in 1795 France gained pos
session of the entire island.5
By the middle of the eight
eenth century many French nobles needing money had formed

alliances with the purse-proud planters of Saint Domingue.
A large number of them had come to the island to live and
constituted a squirearchy of Gallic proprietors living on
large plantations.D
4 Harold Palmer Davis, Black Democracy. The Story of

Haiti (New York, 1936), pp. 1*7, !$
5 Francois Barbe-Marbois, The History of Louisiana,
trans. W. B. Lawrence, (Philadelphia, 1^30), P- 161.
Komgold, Toussaint. p. 12.
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The Great Northern Plain surrounding the capital city

of Cap Franâis was the most fertile and highly developed
of the three provinces into which the colony was divided.
Here the huge irrigated fields produced fabulous amounts
of sugar cane, coffee, and cocoa.?
The traveler Robin
called it ncette superbe reine des colonies, l'orgueil des

F r a n c a i s ."^
jn 1739 there were 793 sugar manufactures,
3150 indigo plantations, 739 cotton, and 3117 coffee planta

tions, 2 distilleries and a lesser number of other indus
tries.^
Over 700 ships called yearly at the French colony
of Saint Domingue to handle its commerce, which had in 1739

a value of 461,343,673 livres of exports and 255 ,372 ,2^2
livres of imports.
In that year, 515 French and 2063 for
eign ships touched at the colony to carry away 572,000,000

pounds of raw sugar and 253 *000,000 pounds of coffee, syrup,
indigo, and cotton.
At least two-thirds of France1s for
eign trade was with this one colony.10
Included in its im-
7 T. L. Stoddard, The French Revolution in Santo Do

mingo (Boston, 1914), pp. 6,7.
"
3 Claude C. Robin, Voyages dans L Tinterieur de la
Louisiane. de la Floride Occidental. et dans Les lies de
la Martinique et de Saint-Domingue Pendant les annes 1802.
Id03. 1304. 1305. 1806 '(Paris. W ) , I. p. 247.
*
9
Ibid.. I, p. 295.
10 Philippe Ludovic Sciout, "La Revolution a Saint Do

mingue. Les Commissionaires Sonthonax et Polverel," Revue
des Questions Historiques LXIV (1&93), p. 399, quotedin
Sli.jah Wilson Lyon. Louisiana in French Diplomacy 1759 IGOA
(Norman, Oklahoma, 1934), p. 193*
ports were 100,000 barrels of flour and 130,000 casks of

claret.11
In supplying half of Europe with sugar, coffee,
and cotton its exports were about equal to those of the en

tire United States at that time, and the two largest cities,
Cap Frangais and Port Republicain (Port-au-Prince) were
nearly the size of New York.I2
In 1790, the number of
slaves Imported totaled 30,000 with an average value of six

ty pounds each.^
All this activity was carried on under
the Pacte Coloniale in a rigid mercantilist pattern which

was relaxed in 1767 to a modified Free Port system with the
cities of Saint-Lucie and Mole Saint Nicholas designated
as ports to which foreigners could bring lumber, rice, live
stock, and vegetables since the island had to be fed from
the outside.^
During the eighteenth century, trade, legal and other
wise, between the English North American colonies and
French Saint Domingue constituted one of the most important
factors in colonial life and development, nwhile in the
11 Charleston, S. C., City Gazette and Daily Advertiser,

November 20, 1795*
12
Korngold, Toussaint. p x.
13 Bryan Edwards, History. Civil and Commercial of the

British Colonies in the West Indies (3Rd. Ed.. London. l601).
ttl, p. 220 .
14 Mary Truedley, "The United States and Santo Do
mingo 17S9-1S66," Journal of Race Development. VII (1916-17),
P* 93
critical last decade of that century, when American his

tory was almost synonymous with the record of foreign af
fairs, the interaction of the two countries upon each oth
er did much to change the destiny of each.15
Jefferson,
in a report to Washington dated December 23, 1791* esti

mated our exports to the French islands in the Caribbean
at $ 3 ,284,656 and imports from them at $ 1 ,913 ,212 .*^
The influence of this prosperous French colony was
felt with even greater force in the development of more
backward Louisiana.
Its well-worked-out plantation system
was the pattern which the latter colony copied.
On the
trading route from France, most ships called first at Cap

Fran<?ais before going on to New Orleans, and a considerable
exchange of ideas and goods resulted, with Santo Domingo
supplying animals, plants and perhaps above all the ideas
and technique in the business of plantation agriculture.!?
Louisiana in turn supplied subsistence crops for her more
specialized neighbor.
This richest of French colonies had a population on
15
Ibid.. p. 83.
16 Jefferson Papers. Vol 68 MS. in Library of Congress.

Quoted in Charles C. Tansill, The United States and Santo
Domingo (Baltimore, 1938), p. T '
17 Lauren C. Post, Domestic Animals and Plants of
French Louisiana as Mentioned in Literature with reference
to Sources, Varieties and Uses. Louisiana Historical Quar12 , XVI (October, 1933), p. 55o.
the eve of the Revolution which is given in various esti

mates as approximately 600,000.
Hazard indicates that
455.000 Negroes were employed on the plantations and in

the small scale industries.^
Other estimates give from
36.000 to 50,000 whites and about 25,000 free persons of

color in the French colony, and a total of 100,000, of whom
30.000 were slaves, in the Spanish portion. ^-9 The census
of 17SS was not accurate as planters gave an incorrect num
ber of slaves to avoid a head tax.
The Intendant Barbe-
Marbois estimated 35,500 whites, 26,600 free persons of

color, and 400,000 slaves.
More&u de Saint-Mery gives
39.000 whites, 27,500 free persons of color, and 452,000

slaves as his estimate.
on
The wealth of these French colonials was proverbial.

The Walsh family owned 12,000 slaves valued at 100,000
pounds; one plantation belonging to the Marquis de Choiseul
measured nine by.twenty-seven miles; the Comte de Vaudreuil
in a letter stated that he hoped for an income of 15,000
pounds a year.
21
Some planters were worth 2,225,000 li-
l Samuel Hazard, Santo Domingo. Past and Present.

(New York, 1#73), Appendix p. 474*
19 Charleston, S. C., City Gazette and Daily Adver
tiser. Hovember 20, 1795; Leyburn, Haitian People, p. 1&:
Timothy Flint, The History and Geography of the Mississip
pi Yallev. (Boston, 1^33), II, p. 187.
20
Quoted in Stoddard, French Revolution, p. 9.
21 Carl Ludwig Lokke, "The LeClerc Instructions,"

Journal of Negro History. X (January, 1925) pp.796, 797 .
10
vres22 and the physician, Doctor Afrthaud, brother-in-law

of Moreau de Saint-Mery, stated his worth at 630,000 li
vres.
Alexandre de Beauhamais, husband of Napoleon^
first wife, had a revenue of 40,000 livres and many Santo

Domingans had over 100,000 a year.2^
Perhaps the most striking feature of life there was
a "prodigal luxury; dining a la creole for example, meant
"with profusion."2^
Some planters lived in Cap Francais,
the Paris of the New World.
This city with its eight or
nine hundred houses of brick and stone containing at least

S ,000 free inhabitants and over 12,000 slaves, would have
ranked for beauty -among the cities of the second class in
any part of Europe.2^
Here were to be seen large windows
fronting on the street in the Spanish manner, protected by

wrought-iron grilles, each house with a gallery fronting on
the court which contained a garden.2^
When these planters
went back to France, so prodigally did they live that

"Creole" meant to France what "Nabob" did to England, the
mm mm m mm m mt
on tm
22 Blanche Maurel, "Une Societe.de Pensee a SaintDomingue: Le *Cercle des Philadelphes*au Cap Francais
Franco American Review. II (Winter 193#). p . 161.
23
Stoddard, French Revolution, p. 30.
24
Ibid.. p. 30.
25
Edwards, West Indies. Ill, p. 159*
26
Robin, Voyages. I, pp. 252, 253.
11
perfect example of the wealthy man.2?
Most of these
grands blancs lived on their plantations; those growing

coffee lived in the hills and the rest on the magnifi
cent plains.
Here, enclosed by hedges and dwelling in
fine homes, the masters lived like sovereigns who ruled

over their slaves with despotic power.
All in all, it
was one of the most enviable parts of the earth for those
who were in the proper caste.
As one traveler remarked
in the 1730s "the flourishing state of trade and the

prosperity of its inhabitants were without parallel per
haps in the world; for here there were no poor, I may say,
either white or black. . .
There were no beggars in
the streets and no poor-houses in the
cities.
23
Thus the period of this study opens in 17$9 with a

resident white population of about 40,000 at the very
pinnacle of material prosperity, guarding its race su
premacy against a large caste of half-breeds who cooper
ated with the whites only to exploit a half million black
27
Stoddard, French Revolution, p. 3 6 .
23 Samuel G. Perkins, "Sketches of St. Domingo from

January 1735 to December 1794, written by a Resident Mer
chant at the Request of a Friend, December 1335, Charles
C. Perkins, Editor, Proceedings of Massachusetts Histor
ical Society. II (April, 1836), pp. 307, 308.
12
s l a v e s .
This white minority of not more than one-fif
teenth of the population was a "microcosm of contemporary

France, since all French classes were there represented
yet different in that class relationships were greatly mod30
.ified by a tropical environment,-'
Frenchmen born in the
colony were known as Creoles and were a separate class

from European-born French who outnumbered the Creoles by
as much as three to one.
There were few if any white la
borers in the rural districts, but a small group in the

cities constituted a vicious rabble of adverturers bent on
31
making money quickly by any means which might eo&e to hand.-'
29 Note. There were actually 13 subdivisions of vary

ing percentages of black and white blood given definite names
on Santo Domingo. Mulatre, griffe, quarteron, tierceron,
metis, mameluc, etc. As used in Louisiana the terms were
slightly different. There it ran as follows:
Name
sacatra
griffe
marabon
mulatto
quarteron
metif
meamelouc
quarteron
sang-mele
Parents
Ratio of Negro Blood
griffe
& negro
mulatto
&
negro
mulatto &
griffe
white & negro,
white & mulatto
white & quarteron
white & metif
white & meamelouc
white & quarteron
7/3
3/4
5/3
1 /2
1 /4
1/3
1/16
1/32
1/64
The terms quadroon and octoroon were frequently very loosely

used. This information comes from Frederick Law Olmstead,
A Journey in the Seaboard Slave States (New York, 1&56), p. 5S 3 .
30
31
Ibid.. p. 21.
13
Among the whites there were more than two men for each wo
man and there were few marriages and even fewer children
in the middle and upper classes.
The climate was hard,
especially on the children, and the contemporary saying was

that it took "at least two generations before the race
could strike root.32
The white population included many
fortune hunters whose desire was to make a fortune and re

turn to France.
Yet among the upper class there was some of the oldest
blood of France.
This aristocratic element, living on plan
tations, was the most important group.
It officered the
militia, maintained close touch with French aristocracy

through intermarriage, sent sons to Paris for education, and
it was not uncommon for a planter to vacation for six months
in France.
These grands blanes. wtaller than the average
Frenchman, handsome and romantic looking, dark-eyed, ebony

haired, olive skinned," possessed of feline grace, were
known to be generous
and open handed.33
this French colony there

roads.
In the whole of
were no public houses on the high
The traveler was made a guest at one plantation and
then provided with a
carriage and driver to take him to the
next great house to be entertained lavishly, but without
32
Ibid., p. 2.
33
Korngold, Toussaint. p. 16.
14
particular ceremony, until he was ready to move on again.

One observer wrote that "in this way he arrived at the end
of his journey, free of expense, free of trouble, and de
lighted with everything he
saw.
"34
Generous, hospitable, brave, magnificent, and possessed

of ardent imagination was the Creole, but he was also vain,
cruel, voluptuous, and quarrelsome and was frequently ac
cused of indolence and frivolity.
These men were the nat
ural products of an exaggerated slave system coupled with

the manners, ideas, and amusements of a French proprietary
class.
Moreau de Saint-Mery said that the Creole children
were "corrupted in the cradle by negresss milk and vices

and their "slightest whims were flattered."35
The wives of the aristocrats were charming with their
ivory skin, dark hair and eyes, and drawling, melodious
speech.
They had a "voluptuous languor which renders them
extremely interesting and they have "acquired from the

habit of commanding their slaves an air of dignity which
adds to their charms."
Many were musical; all could dance
with a peculiar elegance; and from an education in France

they united the "French vivacity to the Creole sweetness"
and were the "most irresistible creatures the imagination
34
Perkins, "Sketches," p. 312.
35
15
can conceive."^6
They were more vain and more cruel to
their slaves than were their husbands.

The New England conscience of Samuel G. Perkins was
horrified to find that, while there were no prostitutes on
the island and a false step was rarely made by an unmarried
lady, "a married lady, who does not- make one is rare. . .
The faux pas of a married lady is so much a matter of
course, that she who has only one lover, if she retains him
long in her chains, is considered as a model of consistency
and d i s c r e t i o n . P r o b a b l y the availability and beauty of
the mulatto girls explained adequately the absence of pros
titution.
The beautiful yellow girls of Saint Domingue
were famed for their desirability throughout the Indies.

Yet there was, for many years before the Revolution, a
group interested in intellectual activity at work in the
sciences and the arts.
In 17&4 there was a Cercle des
Philadelphes which corresponded with the American Philo

sophical Society founded by Franklin in Philadelphia.
Per
haps this accounts for the name; at any rate, Benjamin
36 Mary Hassal, Secret History or The Horrors of St.

Domingo, in a Series of Letters Written by a Ladv at Cane
Francois to Colonel Burr. Late Vice-President of the U. S .
Principally during the Command of General Rochambeau.
(Philadelphia, 1809 ), p.
~
37
Perkins, "Sketches," p. 312.
16
Franklin was elected to membership in the Cerele. ^ The

Cercle was deistic, royalist, had a library and a botanical
garden, and published the works of its members.
Unfortu
nately, it did not survive the disaster when the island

was swept by revolution and many of its members fled pen
niless to America*
Few of the Creoles were religious and they seldom
went to mass.
Baron de Wimpffen wrote that there was
"nothing more irregular than the regular clergy of Santo

Domingo.
"59
These clergymen were an inferior group; many
were debauched and made of the sacraments "instruments of

extortion."
Their laughing and joking congregations acted
as if they were in a play
house.
40
The clergy enjoyed the
worst of reputations, no doubt well deserved, as many were

monks who had broken their vows or priests who had somehow
disgraced themselves in France and had been sent to the
colony instead of being unfrocked.
Yet the only thing which
seemed to disturb their flocks was the sympathy for the

Negroes shown by a half dozen of them.4^
36
Maurel, "Societe de Pensee." pp. 146, 149.
39
40
Ibid., p. 24
41
17
The official world was a caste of Europeans exhibiting

a cool superiority and permitting the colonials no part in
the government.
There was no municipal self-government
and no means of acquiring a political education.
The colony
had two chief officials: a governor, who was usually an old

soldier or sailor; and an intendant, a bureaucrat possessed
of interlacing authority.
Thus a hybrid civil and mili
tary adminstration exercised executive power, harsh and

arbitrary in character.
The government was probably worse
than the one existing in France at the same tirae.^
To
maintain this structure there were on hand at any given time

several thousand soldiers and sailors who were never counted
in any of the island census returns.
The bourgeoisie was made up chiefly of doctors, mer
chants, lawyers, and bankers who came from France and gener
ally represented concerns with which the planters did busi
ness.
Relations were not cordial between them and the
planters.
The largest class of whites, the petits blancs.
were scattered through the rural districts where a group

was to be found on every plantation.
There they served as
overseers, artisans, and technical advisers of various sorts.

There were a very few small farmers.43
Townsmen of the low-
42
Stoddard, French Revolution, pp. 11, 12.
43
Ibid.. p. 25.
IB
est class constituted a miscellaneous lot of ngamblers,

gaming establishment and bawdy house keepers, card sharps,
soldiers of fortune, and the operators of small shops and
taverns."
They all considered physical labor beneath the
dignity of a white m a n . ^
They were the scum of France
and Italy, noted chiefly for dissipation.

On the next lower rung of the caste system ladder
were the 25,000 to 30,000 free persons of color, the gens
de couleur. which included all non-slaves with any African
blood.
Many of these were wealthy, belonged to families
resident in the island for several generations, had been

educated in Paris, and were ambitious.
By the Code Noir
of 16S5 any free Negro was a full French citizen, but in

Saint Domingue such citizens could not hold office and had
no political rights.
There was for them no opportunity to
obtain a medical, law, or divinity degree, nor could they

do work of these professions.
Yet many of them had white
fathers and had been well educated.
They owned an es
timated one-third of the land and one-fourth of the slaves

in the French colony on the island.
Race prejudice was
great between white and mulatto on the one hand and be

tween mulatto and black on the other save for one in-
44
Komgold, Toussaint, p. IB.
19
stance.^ For a long time no prejudice was attached to the

women of color.
Their elegance and splendor gave them
great influence over the white men who in some instances

lavished fortunes on them to the intense displeasure of
the white ladies.
The latter inspired a governmental de
cree forbidding colored women to wear silk and requiring

them to wear a kerchief on their heads in public to hide
their lovely hair.
The olive beauties retaliated by shut
ting themselves in their homes and boycotting the shops.

The merchants soon caused the decree to be revoked.^
lattoes were discriminated against in the courts
Mu-
and the
presence of any Negro blood constituted an incurable stigma

never to be removed.
They were secure in person
erty and in some instances had intermarried with
and prop
the whites,
until such marriages were officially stopped by the decree

of 1733.
Probably most of the women were concubines of
white men, for with their beauty and the small number of
white women in comparison with the white men, little else
could be expected.
Likewise, they served as a necessary
link between the Negro slaves and the masters, a sort of

liaison or spy system, to keep the masters apprised of
slave talk.
Among the mulattoes there were never any recog-
45 Leyburn, Haitian People, pp. 16-13; Edwards, West

Indies, III, pp. 9-12.
46
Hassal, Secret History, p. 73.
20
nized leaders before the Revolution.
Moreau says they were
lazy, pleasure loving, kind, but not possessed of leader

s hip.^
The color line was severely drawn, "passing" was not
permitted, and probably in this color line lies the key to
the extremely bloody revolution in Saint Domingue.
Color
discrimination worked to the same degree between mulatto

and Negro.
The free persons of color owned slaves, but a
free black Negro never owned a mulatto slave even though

perhaps ten per cent of the slaves had some white blood. A
mulatto preferred death to being owned by a black.
As
slaves,mulattoes were not field hands, but rather worked

as waiters, household servants, fishermen, or as employees
in the mercantile trades.
Among the slaves were represented some thirty different
African tribes and most of them were imported as they did
not reproduce rapidly enough to meet the ever increasing
demand for laborers.
By 17&9 nearly one million Negroes had
been brought in, over 40^000 having been imported in the

single year 17&7 when ninety-two ships were employed ex
clusively in the slave tra d e . ^
The household slaves were
usually selected from native born slaves who looked down up

on the field hands who spoke in their African jargon.
47
Quoted in Stoddard, French Revolution, p. 4$.
4#
The
21
slaves born in Santo Domingo were frequently called Creole

Negroes while those born in Africa were designated as
"brute Negroes."
There was a great number of these house
hold slaves, for a planters social standing depended, in

part at least, on the number of servants.
Hence* many were
used where only one or two might have sufficed to do the

actual work of any particular task.
The climate was favorable, but the work was hard, so
that the death rate among the field hands ran two and onehalf per cent above their prolific birth rate of eight per
cent.
Accordingly, on their books planters amortized a
slave in seven
years.
^9
Even so, the slaves were generally
happy and constantly sang and danced, arts which they must
have learned from their very beginning in their mothers*
wombs.
Their "orchestra consisted of two drums, one short
and one long, both made of hollow logs covered at the end
with goat or sheep skins.
other.
In tempo one was faster than the
The slave was, in fact, a grown-up child, quarrel
some, boasting, and superstitious.
Only force made him
work and the whip was behind an iron discipline.
But their
strength, ungovernable passions, and great numbers made them

extremely dangerous.
Underneath this paradise of natures
bounty there was fear on both sides of the color line.5
49
Komgold, Toussaint. pp. 3 3 , 3 4 .
50
Stoddard, French Revolution. p. 54*
22
CHAPTER TWO
THE REVOLUTION IN SAINT DOMINGUE
A detailed history of the revolutions in Santo Do

mingo is beyond the scope of this work, though some ac
count will be needed to show how it was that refugees came
to the United States in every year of the period 1791-1309,
and also to give an understanding of the conditions in
which these refugees found themselves upon their arrival
here.
The events of the various revolutions have been
carefully recorded by historians.-*- The first revolution

was produced by the Creoles aiming to secure representa
tion in the National Assembly in Paris; the second occurred
when the mulattoes tried to secure membership in the colo
nial assemblies; the third was
a general uprising of the
slaves.
The
mulattoes and
slaves joined forces and by 1792
were in
full
possession of
theFrench colony.
seem to
fall
roughly into fourperiods: 1739-1793 the down
The events
fall of white supremacy, 1793-;l300 the period of black

ascendency under Toussaint L'Ouverture, 1300-1303 the at
tempt to restore white rule, and 1303-1309 the consolida
tion of black rule and the recognition of the new black gov-
1 The best short account in English is T. L. Stoddard,

The French Revolution in Santo Domingo (Boston, 1941) which
has been used extensively by the writer in preparation of
this chapter.
23
o
ernment.
The revolution of Saint Domingue began in France with

its immediate causes in the National Assembly and in the
Society known as Les Amis des Noirs from which it spread
through the agency of the free mulattoes in Paris to the
colony.^
in February, 17&3, Brissot de Warville founded
Les Amis des Noirs. When the news of this organization

reached Saint Domingue, it caused a tremendous sensation.
As early as January, 17&9, the mulattoes grew restive and
before the end of the year the tricolor was being worn wide
ly and several lynchings had occurred.
The intendant
Barbe-Marbois and some of the other officials fled and the

tide of emigration had begun.^
In France, by the time the Estates General met, preju
dice was already manifest against the slave-holding whites
of Saint Domingue.
Under the guidance of Les Amis des
Noirs the mulattoes resident in Paris were becoming active

in demanding more rights for themselves and their kinsmen
in the colonies.* Universal liberty in France was turning
whites against mulattoes.
The Creoles of the colony turned
Treudley, United States and Santo Domingo,n p. 9S.
Perkins, "Sketches of St. Domingo, pp. 309, 310.
Stoddard, French Revolution, pp. 90-91.
Edwards, West Indies. Ill, p. 19.
24
Royalist, choosing war and death rather than having to share

power with a nbastard despicable race.1*^
Then, when the
Declaration of the Rights of Man arrived in Saint Domingue

in September, 17&9, a fresh wave of alarm ran through the
colony; this time the fear was of the slaves as well as of
the mulattoes.
By November addresses by mulattoes began
to appear, demanding their rights under the Declaration.

The response of the whites was to lynch the authors as fury
now mingled with fear.
A new colonial assembly convened April 15, 1790, at

Saint-Marc asserting for itself the supreme authority in
the island, but this move proved ineffective as the whites
divided in the ensuing disputes.
In October, Jacques Oge,
son of a white planter and a mulatto, who had been sent to

Paris for education, returned to Saint Domingue by way of
Charleston, South Carolina.
He led an insurrection of some
1200 mulattoes in the northern province, but was defeated by

the whites and fled to Spanish territory.
Upon extradition
he was tried and executed in March, 1791, while the other

leaders of the movement were broken on the wheel.
In the
words of Mirabeau, the whites of the island ttwere sleeping

on the margin of Vesuvius, and the first jets of the volcano
6 Henry Adams, History of the United States of America

During the Administrations of Jefferson and Madison INew
forF, r
9
C
)
---------------------
7
Stoddard, French Revolution, p. 95*
25
were not sufficient to awaken t-hem.^

Even though this first revolt had been incited directly
from Paris, the French National Assembly refused to touch
the color line until the Decree of May, 1791, declared all
persons born free (including persons of color) to be citi
zens of France possessed of all political rights.
In fact,
in March, 1791, two ships of the line arrived at Port-auPrince bringing two battalions of the regiments of Artois
q
and Normandy to maintain order .7
News of the hated Decree
reached the colony in June, 1791, to be rightly interpreted

as symbolic of the defeat of the colonial views.
The ex
citable populace rose in what Stoddard described as a

"delirium of furious resistance" and called a general as
sembly to meet at Le Cap in August.
Slave rebellions had
been negligible until 1791, though provocation in the form

of cruel treatment had been present for years.
Now the
revolutionary spirit penetrated to the blacks and on the

night of August 22, 1791, slaves rose on the Turpin and
Flaville plantations soon to be joined by others until the
whole plain around Cap Franpais was aflame.
In the words of
one historian who witnessed many of the events in the island,

Upwards of 100,000 savage people habituated to barbarities
Perkins, "Sketches of St. Domingo," pp. 316-313.
26
of Africa, avail themselves of the silence and obscurity

of the night and fall on the peaceful and unsuspicious
planters, like so many famished tygers thirsting for hu
man b l o o d . T h e
disaffection among the Negroes, kept
secret from the whites until that night, was spread by the
great Voodoo cult, which accounts for the obscurity then
and since as to how the whole affair was organized and
carried out.
White men were killed and their women fre
quently violated upon the still warm bodies of their male

relatives.^
Pillars of smoke, enlivened by a lurid glow
here and there, covered the great north plain which soon
resembled a waste of blood and ashes.
Within two months 220
sugar, 600 coffee, and 200 cotton and indigo plantations

ceased to exist, while an estimated 200 whites and 10,000
blacks perished.
12
Similar occurrences continued for a pe
riod of several years with both England and Spain interven

ing in hope of conquest.
Meanwhile several expeditions
coming out from France failed to subdue the rebels.

The whites fled to safety behind the walls of Cap
Fran<?ais or to block-houses and fortified camps which they
maintained as strong points until the collapse of the whites
10
Ibid.. Ill, p. 67.
11
Stoddard, French Revolution, pp. 129, 130.
12
27
in 1793
Some emigrated to the other islands of the West
Indies or to the United States; others went even to England

seeking aid.
Few could get away early, for the colonial
General Assembly placed an embargo on vessels and even

passed a decree that any person with money deposited on a
ship must bring it ashore within twenty-four hours or it
would be given to the public treasury.^
The only exception
was one vessel which was permitted to carry a delegate to

solicit aid from the United States C o n g r e s s . T h e embargo
on American vessels was shortly modified to permit one ship
to leave for each new American arrival.
15
Apparently the
authorities wanted their fighting manpower to remain intact

and the maximum number of ships to be available should a
mass evacuation become necessary.
Spain refused any aid as
did also the United States and England at this time.

All the cruelties of race war were loosed at the out
set and the Reign of Terror in France was decorous by com
parison.
The standard of the blacks was a white child
impaled on a pike.
16
The planters had for years been callous
13 Baltimore, Md., Maryland Journal and Baltimore Adver

tiser. October II, 1791.
lb
Ibid.. September 23, 1791.
15
Ibid.. October 7, 1791.
16
28
and ruthless in the treatment accorded their slaves.
Some
were positively fiendish in the punishments meted out:

flogging to death, burial alive, or worse still, partial
burial in an anthill to be slowly carried away by the lit
tle insects which were encouraged by the pouring of honey
over the head of the victim.
The Englishman Edwards cited
above has left some gruesome eyewitness accounts.

two Negro captives broken on the wheel.
He saw
For this they were
tied across two pieces of timber placed crosswise.
One
expired on receiving the third blow on the stomach after

his arms and legs had each been broken in two places.
other was given similar treatment.
17
The
It is small wonder
that the blacks slaughtered men, women, and children with

out mercy.
The revolt spread southward until it neared Port-auPrince at which time a truce was proposed.
The Assembly
finally decided in September to put into effect the French

Decree of May 15, 1791, which gave political rights to the
mulattoes.
However, this concession came too late and the

18
flames were only smothered, not extinguished*
Mulattoes
and slaves had drawn together as each side courted the other,
the mulattoes to add numerical strength and the slaves to
*7
Ibid.. Ill, p. 83.
18
Ibid.. Ill, p. 86.
29
obtain ammunition and arms.
At this same time, September,
1791, merchant interests in France brought about a revoca

tion of the hated decree granting equality to the mulattoes.
This incensed the free persons of color in Saint Domingue
who were now convinced of white duplicity and all the hor
rors of open war and massacre were renewed with all the
non-whites ranged together as open allies.^
Port-au-Prince,
the largest city of the western province, was burned.
All
the atrocities of the fighting in the north were repeated

as the Negroes strutted with cockades made of human ears and
pregnant women were ripped open and before their own deaths
their husbands were forced to eat of this horrible fruit.
Next the Negroes in the south erupted and drove the whites
into Les Cayes, the chief city of the area.
The American newspapers printed many accounts of the
ensuing violence.
In a two-column letter the Maryland Jour
nal and Baltimore Advertiser told its readers "the Southern

and Western districts of Santo Domingo have been obliged to
take copious draughts from the cup of bitterness. . . .
negroes and mulattoes have disarmed the whites, murdered
many and are demanding that every white possessed of less
19
Ibid.. Ill, p. 93.
20
The
30
than 50,000 pounds be asked to leave the colony.
21
In France the Jacobins were now in control and for a

time would send no aid.
The commissioners who arrived in
December, 1791, to maintain order were incompetent and the

whites in the colony were now alienated from the mother
country.
White would not bargain with black and the fight
ing continued.
At last aid was sent.
An American captain
reported sighting a French squadron carrying 7,000 troops

22
to the flaming colony to put down the blacks.
The first
three Civil Commissioners, the incompetent St. Leger,
Mirbeck, and Roome, returned to France.
On April 4, 1792,
a decree was published in Paris announcing the abolition

of slavery in toto with all Negroes being given the right to
vote and hold office.
New Civil Commissioners were to be
appointed to enforce this decree.2^
News of this bombshell
reached Santo Domingo on May eleventh.
The whites regarded
it as a sentence of death and crowded with crushed spirits

into a few towns or forts in the west.2^
Port-au-Prince was
again abandoned to the mulattoes.
21 Maryland Journal and Baltimore Advertiser. February

14, 1792.
22
Ibid.. January 31, 1792.
23
Edwards, West Indies. Ill, pp. 113 , 114 .
24
31
The second Civil Commissioners with 6,000 troops landed

at Le Cap in September, determined to enforce the law abol
ishing slavery and granting equality to the Negroes,
Of
these Ailhaud was a cipher, Polverel, the best of the three,

and Sonthonax, the very worst type of Jacobin, was soon the
25
most hated. ^
Governor Blanchelaude was recalled.
The
commissioners arrested many whites and discussed terms with

mulattoes and blacks.
By the end of the year Ailhaud had
been sent home and the northern and western provinces were
crushed by the remaining commissioners and their mulatto
soldiery.
Only the southern province held out against the
hated decree and prevented its enforcement.

In May, 1793, M. Galbaud, a professional officer with
no political ties, arrived at Le Cap as the new governor.
An intrigue began between him and the commissioners as to
which held the real authority.
Finally the commissioners
called on the revolted Negroes and Galbaud retired to the

ships in the harbor where there were some three thousand
sailors who could be relied on to fight for him.
In June he
returned to shore with part of his fighting men, who were

joined by some of the whites of the island as fighting broke
out anew.
On the night of June 20, 1793, Sonthonax let the
blacks into the city and these wild hordes drove Galbaud, his
men, the other whites, and thousands of refugees who had
25
Ibid.. p. 182.
32
thronged to this place of fancied safety, to the ships in

p/1
the harbor.
Some of the whites had already fled the
ill-fated island when the commissioners had ordered the
27
deportation of those who had disagreed with them.
Mow
all who could not get to the ships took to the hills or
perished in the burning of half the city and the looting
of the rest.
Even had there been time, the ships could not
have held all who now fled from almost certain death of the
worst sort imaginable.
Robin summed up what occurred by
saying, "All that barbarous antiquity, Rome in days of

dissolution. . in debauches, in ferocity, in destruction
was repeated in Santo Domingo."
2$
As the fire spread, women
and children leaped from the windows of their homes in

desperation only to be caught and tossed back into the
flames by the frenzied blacks.
29
It is estimated that be
tween three and four thousand whites perished in that one

day.30
26
27 Harold Palmer Davis, Black Democracy. The Story of

Haiti (New York, 1936), p. 41.
2&
Robin, Voyages. I, p. 247.
29 Winchester, Va., Virginia Centinel and Gazette or

The Winchester Repository. July 1$, 1793.
30 Richmond, Va., Virginia Gazette and General Adver
tiser. July 17, 1793*
60
r<î/*vJack'sonvi lie
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OF HAITI
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lie
30
OCCUPIES THE WESTERN THIRD OF THE IS- OF HAITI

MAXIHUM LENGTH OF THE REPUBLIC-295 KILOMETERS
MAXIMUM WIDTH OF THE REPUBLIC-183 KILOMETER^
AREA INCLUDING DEPEHDATORY ILS. -10,200 SQ.MI.
Hne
DISTANCE'S FROM PORT'AlhPRMCE^ B A H A M A
?0 \
*0
IH NAUTICAL MILES
NEW YORK. , U .S .A .................... 1,312 MILES
NEW ORLEANS, U.S.A.*.................1,219
COLON, PANAMA*...................... 7 4 4
*
HAVANA, CUBA ......................
662
HAVRE, PRANCE........................ 4 ,0 0 5
"
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND
4 ,4 6 0
OCEAN
ATLANT/C
---------
1
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HAIT
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pORTO RICO 9
c*Nfc
t?0? O
al
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A N
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IS.
Maracaibo
33
In the harbor there were perhaps four hundred vessels;

many of these, having just completed a long voyage, were
not provisioned nor ready to put to sea again.
Some even
lacked ballast, some were under careen, but fear of the

blacks-drove all to sea at night amid such wild confusion
that a few were damaged by being run into by their luckless
neighbors*
31
Soldiers, sailors, refugees, whites, even
faithful slaves, huddled on board, some without clothing;

families were separated; many persons were wounded and all
were frightened and miserable.
On the twenty-third of June
the fleet separated, with some ships making the long voyage
to France and a few heading for other nearby islands; the
greater part of the convoy, however, set sail for the United
States.
There the refugees hoped to find what "great num
bers of their unhappy fellow citizens had found before them,

a refuge from the reach of persecution and an asylum from
the pressure of poverty."
Emigration had been going on
since the first revolt and it is supposed that not less than
ten thousand had taken refuge in America .^ 2
One French of
ficer wrote, "All the whites are leaving for New England
31
Perkins, "Sketches of St. Domingo," pp. 350, 351.
32 Edwards, West Indies. Ill, p. 14S; Treudley, "United

States and Santo Domingo" on p. 113 gives a figure of 10,000
who fled on June 22, 1793 > from Le Cap.
34
who can possibly get away."33
some had fled to the Span
ish part of the island, and others to Cuba only eighty

miles away.
No accurate figures can be found on how many
went to each place.
Later in this study an attempt will
be made to give the numbers who reached the various south

ern states of the United States.
About nine-tenths of the
resident whites left the French colony in 1793, but with

some of these later returning and with new detachments of
troops and civilians from the mother country coming out
at various times to the colony, there were additional thou
sands to become refugees at a later date.
United States newspapers contained many accounts taken
from letters or eyewitness statements by captains bringing
ships back from Santo Domingo.
A typical comment of one
of these prosaic sailors reads, "The town has been burning

for 3 days. . .
The scenes of distress I have observed
here exceed anything I ever expected to have met with."34

On the day after the sailing of the main fleet carrying ref
ugees, there were in the harbor of Le Cap only two ships of
war and seven or eight other vessels.
houses appeared to be left standing.
Not more than a dozen

It was "the most mel-
33 Quoted in Stoddard, French Revolution, p. 224*

New England was a general French terra for all of the United
States at this time.
34 Baltimore, Md., Maryland Journal and Baltimore
Advertiser. August 2 , 1793.
35
ancholy event that has marked the outrages in the West In

dies.1* ^
From the town of Jeremie came news of a similar
nature
30 Americans ships here which we permit to depart
as others arrive. Our females are embarking as fast
as they can, some for the happy shores of America,
others for where some generous soul will give them
a shelter. Great is our desolation; endless
are our woes; and all that because the.offspring of
ourang-outrangs strive, to become m e n . 36
Elsewhere in the colony the same thing was happening,
\
The Virginia Centinel and Gazette informed its readers

that since the affair of July 18 which concerned the at
tempt by the mulattoes to exterminate the remainder of the
unfortunate whites of Parouses, Aux-Cayes, and Tarbeck,
the mulattoes have imprisoned such whites as escaped the
massacre of above date.
Tired of slaughter they have
agreed to liberate them on condition they immediately de

parted for America.
Even after escape to a ship the unhappy Frenchmen were
not safe.
One captain reported that almost every American
vessel was stopped by privateers which swarmed in those
35 Winchester, Va., Virginia Centinel and Gazette.

August 12, 1793.
36 Letter dated Jeremie, July 8 , 1793, in Norfolk,

Va., Virginia Chronicle and Norfolk and Portsmouth General
Advertiser. August 3l. 1793.
September 3 , 1793.
36
waters.-^
Captain Mackey of the Rainbow who sailed on July
11 with forty-seven French passengers fell in with the

Jamaica fleet homeward bound of 140 sail.
On July 21 he
was boarded by the English ship Catherine and his passen

gers were "robbed of 4000 in cash, some plate and wearing
apparel.
Not content with this, the plunderers seized
the spoons in the hands of a lady on board, as they were

eating their victuals."
Other dispatches in the same paper
show that both French and English warships and privateers

were active in stopping ships carrying passengers and ref
ugees.-^
when captain Powers of the brig Hiram landed in
Philadelphia on August 21, after a voyage of fourteen days

from Cap Franâis, he reported that on the first day out
he was boarded by the sloop Savannah of, New Providence com
manded by Captain Tucker "who robbed the passengers of every
article they had on board. . . .
He robbed them of about
500 Joes in cash and nearly the same amount in plate."

Captain Powers supposed Tucker had about one half million
dollars worth of property which the "pickerooning miscreant"
had taken from distressed French families.^
36 Richmond, Va., Virginia Gazette and General Ad

vertiser. July 17, 1793.
August 5, 1793.
40
Ibid.. September 2, 1793*
37
On June 21, 1793, the Commissioners issued a procla

mation that slaves would be the equals of all the whites.
This frightened the mulattoes, who now began to fade into
the background as the ambitious Sonthonax began to build
on the Negroes as his chief supporters,
August saw a for
mal proclamation of slave freedom which brought on new

disorders.
Slaves had no intention of submitting to France
after plunder was no longer available^
The insurrection
of 1791 had been partial and caused by the mulattoes for

their own benefit, but now over 400,000 blacks were fight
ing for freedom,
Spain and England both had taken a hand.
The Spanish
governor issued a proclamation granting asylum to French

whites, giving them the privilege of retaining their loy
alty to their own sovereign.^
British aid had been sought
by white Santo Domingans as early as the Decree of May 15,

1791*
Some refugees had fled to British Jamaica.^
In
September of that same year a British ship calling at Le

Cap learned that some French were willing to renounce alle
giance to their mother country.^ Finally, in the autumn of
41
Stoddard, French Revolution, pp. 225-227,

Advertiser. August 2, 1793*
43
Tansill, United States and Santo Domingo.p. 9.
44
Stoddard, French Revolution, p. 231,
1793} Pierre Venault de Charmilli, speaking for the other

proprietors now living in Jamaica, made a proposal to
Lieutenant-Governor Williamson of Jamaica that Britain de
liver them from the tyranny of native rulers.
They wanted
no ex post facto prosecution and would grant to the men of

color the same rights as whites. All property would be
45
restored.
Some Santo Domingan planters organized the
Confederation of the Grande Anse and signed a treaty trans
ferring their allegiance from France to the British crown.
The nineteenth of September a British squadron bearing nine
hundred soldiers landed at Jeremie, the stronghold of the
Grande Anse. and shortly thereafter took over the entire
southern peninsula.^
As their military successes mounted,
some two thousand white Frenchmen and even a few men of

color joined.
Reinforcements arrived so that within six
months they recaptured Port-au-Prince.
Steady advances were
made everywhere despite the fact that Britain never com

mitted more than 2,200 men to the operation.
Then Spain
joined in the fighting on the side of England though she

sent only a token force of three hundred soldiers.^
45 Affairs Etrang^res. Correspondence Politique. Etats

Unis. Facsimilies from French Archives In Library of Congress. Vol.
Part IV, pp. 264 , 265 .
46
Stoddard, French Revolution, p. 233 .
47
39
Meanwhile in Paris the Reign of Terror had started, the

Civil Commissioners in Saint Domingue were recalled, and a
Negro delegation was received into the Convention*
equality was to continue in the French possessions.
Black
Mulat
toes in Saint Domingue now began to renounce their alle

giance to the Republic.
The blacks found their champion and
leader, Toussaint L*Ouverture, who had started fighting in

1791, had fled to Spanish territory and had now returned with
an army of blacks numbering at least four thousand men.
He
turned on the British because they represented the cause of

the whites and mulattoes.
Active English intervention ceased
early in 1796 and a year or so later England withdrew entire

ly.
Toussaint proved to be an excellent general; yellow fe
ver decimated the British troops and by the Peace of Bale,

Spain ceded her portion of Santo Domingo to France and ceased
to have any further share in the fighting.
Yet the fate of the island of Santo Domingo remained un
decided.
The mulatto Rigaud took the field, leading his peo
ple against the blacks under Toussaint and the remnant of the
whites was now caught between these two forces, a miserable
lot indeed.
With the end of the Terror in France a new five-
man Commission was sent to restore order, having as a force

a large naval squadron, three thousand army troops, and Gen
eral Rochambeau as the commander.
The dread Sonthonax, now
purged of his Jacobinism, headed the commission along with
Raymond, a mulatto; LeBlanc, who was a former terrorist;

Giraud, who was a neurotic nonentity; and Roume, who proved
46
little better.
Sonthonax, still desirous of power, in
trigued with Toussaint and between them they succeeded in
having Rochambeau sent back to France.
The Negroes rose
and murdered the remaining whites at Port-au-Prince and con

tinued their fight against the mulattoes as well.
Toussaint
conquered both portions of the island, the former French and

Spanish colonies, and sent Sonthonax back to France.
event marks the real end of white authority.
This
Hedouville,
who had pacified La Vendee earlier, commanded a small French

expedition to the island in April, 1796, but this too failed
and thereafter France abandoned the struggle to the mulat
toes and the blacks.
By 1600, Toussaint triumphed in a war
whose horrors probably have never been surpassed.
Petion was
chief lieutenant under Rigaud while the terrible Dessalines

served Toussaint.
Rigaud and all his corps were expelled to
Cuba and Saint Thomas while Dessalines methodically began to

weed out the mulattoes.
He is estimated to have killed
10,000 and to have driven from the south all those remaining
alive.
Toussaint*s only remark was, ttI told him to prune the
tree, not to uproot it."49
46
49
Ibid.. p. 262.
41
Toussaint as master put the Negroes to work as never

before.
They were now slaves of a military state and the
old prosperity returned with a rush.
In 179&, Toussaint
began to welcome any French emigres and showed increasing

favors to the whites.
He knew they could be trusted, he
needed their superior intelligence, and he could use them

as hostages in case of war with France.
By the autumn of
1B01, many had returned to their former estates which were

restored and stocked with Negroes.
1B02 was amazing*^
The prosperity of 1799-
Toussaint even had the estate of
Josephine de Beauharnais, which she inherited from her

first husband, cultivated at state expense and sent the
revenue to her.51
Napoleon gave little thought to Santo Domingo until
late in 1S01 when he decided to send his brother-in-law
LeClerc to recapture the island from the blacks.
LeClerc,
his wife Pauline, Napoleon*s sister, and General Rochambeau

with the vanguard of 20,000 soldiers arrived at Le Cap ear
ly in the next year to be met by Toussaint*s 20,000 trained
and disciplined troops.
Christophe, the Negro in command at
Le Cap, burned the rebuilt town and massacred most of the

inhabitants.
Of more than two thousand houses only fifty-
50 Barbe-Marbo.is, History of Louisiana, p. l6;

Leyburn, Haitian People, p. 27.
51
42
nine remained undamaged.
52
LeClerc had secret instruc
tions to convert the estates of the emigres into military

grants to indemnify officers whose careers of glory and
53
fortune had been closed in Europe by the Peace of Amiens. v
All whites with Toussaint were to be sent to Guinea and
white women who prostituted themselves to Negroes were to
be sent to E u r o p e . ^
property at first.
No former landowners could hold

Any emigres in France or Santo Domingo
would be given their old property, but those now resident

in England or the United States could regain their es
tates only after going to Paris and obtaining a decree from
the government.55
LeClerc enjoyed brilliant initial successes.
Christophe, then Dessalines surrendered.
First,
The Negroes were
subdued though they could not yet be accounted as broken

and LeClerc had to conciliate, for yellow fever was deplet
ing his forces so rapidly that he could not effectively con
tinue the campaign.
Toussaint was tricked into the French
lines and sent to die in Fort de Joux in the Jura Mountains

a year later.
52
Davis, Black Democracy, p. 69.
53
Barbe-Marbois, History of Louisiana, p. 192.
54
Lokke, nLeClerc Instructions, pp. 95> 96.
55
Ibid.. pp. 96, 97.
43
The attempt to restore slavery caused Santo Domingo

to break into flames again.
LeClercfs army melted away
with the dread yellow fever and finally the General him
self died.
Napoleon had sent 50,000 soldiers to the ill-
fated island in a period of two years and he refused to

send reinforcements inasmuch as the renewed war with
England required all his available manpower.
Dessalines
replaced Toussaint and Rochambeau succeeded to the French

command.
The fighting came to an end in November, 1303,
when Rochambeau, accompanied by some seven thousand whites,

fled on British ships to Cuba, Jamaica, Louisiana, or the
United States . ^
All the whites were given opportunity
to leave yet some chose imprudently to remain.; perhaps

they feared capture by the British.
Both Toussaint and
Dessalines had so far been good to them and the proclama

tion of independence issued by Dessalines lulled them into
feeling safe where they were.57
In fact, a considerable
number who had fled accepted his invitation to return.

The wily black leader was determined to exterminate all
the whites.
His statement was, "Let us avenge ourselves of
these tigers who thirst after our blood.

mands us to shed theirs.
The Almighty com
If a single individual among us
56
Barbe-Marbois, History of Louisiana, p. 193.
57
Ibid.. p. 199.
44
feels the least pity, let him fly, he is unworthy of breath

ed
ing the pure air of august and triumphant liberty.*1
Exe
cutions began at Cayes in February, at Le Cap.in May, the
orders being to kill all the whites.
perished.
In all some 2,420
One French officer reported that all at Port-au-
59
Prince were finished off en masse.
Execution was done
with such dispatch and so little of confusion that it must

have been well planned in advance.
Perhaps one-tenth of
the whites escaped: priests, surgeons, and some artisans.

Some of the whites were saved by their slaves, and some were
concealed by American merchants, though such concealment
might prove a very dangerous piece of heroism.
The penalty
for aiding white Frenchmen to escape was hanging.
Some of
the women left behind became playthings of the Negroes or

were made to work on the r o a ds.^
The whites were finally done for and a new name, Haiti,
was chosen to mark a complete break with the past.
Des
salines the Tiger, on the beach at Gonaives, dramatically

tore the tricolor of France into three pieces and threw the
white into the sea.
The remaining blue and red were joined
for the flag of independent Haiti.
53
Ibid-, p. 199.
59
60
Hassal, Secret History, p. 145.
61
Davis, Black Democracy, p. 4.
45
CHAPTER THREE
THE REFUGEES IN CUBA
Cuba was the most accessible place for the refugees.

Some of them had gone there earlier but what amounted al
most to a tidal wave arrived early in 1803 when the whites
on Santo Domingo were left entirely at the mercy of the
blacks with no prospect of any aid from the outside.
Most
were destitute but, according to Perez,

their slaves from interest or attachment, for the
most part, followed them into exile. More than
27,000 of these people all classes, colors and ages
reached ports of Santiago and Baracoa in Cuba coming
from all parts of Santo Domingo. Several hundred
went to Havana. The Governor of the island, the
Marquis of Someruelos, made generous provision for
their needs.1
This figure of 27,000 is larger than the estimates given in
other accounts.
Johnson in his work on Cuba states that be
tween 1791 and 1804 the population received an increase of

five thousand from Santo' Domingo.
In 1804 there came
2,340 whites, 900 free colored, and 1,800 slaves.^

Spaniards and colored women fled Santo Domingo.
Even
The French
traveler Vicomte Gustave d THespel d'Harponville in his book
1 Luis M. Perez, "French Refugees to New Orleans in

1809," (with documents) Publication of the Southern History
Association, X (September, 1^05), p. 293".
2 Willis Fletcher Johnson, The History of Cuba (New
York, 1902), II, p. 280.
46
La Reine des Antilles says that the emigrants brought the

remnants of their wealth, some slaves, but Especially
their knowledge, their experience and their activity.
From
that moment the two great Antilles changed roles; San Do

mingo lapsed into barbarism, Cuba placed her foot in the
chariot of fortune.
The refugees proved excellent agriculturists and soon
turned large tracts of uncleared land into cotton, coffee,
and cane fields.
Previously the export of coffee from San
tiago never exceeded S,000 arrobas, but it increased to

SO,000 and then to 300,000 within five years after the im
migration from Santo Domingo.
Also the condition of the
city improved from the large influx of artisans and lawabiding citizens.^
Even the women were workers in strange
contrast to the indolence of the Cuban women.
The French
"Dominicans" became nurses, laundresses, and seamstresses.

In education they were far above the native Cubans.
The
French settlements at Matanzas, Santiago, and Baracoa were

soon such hives of industry and activity that the Spanish
became jealous and friction developed.^
Miscegenation was
not favored in Cuba and the mulattoes and quadroons were
Quoted ibid., II, p. 191.
4 Robin, Voyages. I, p. 301; Perez, "French Refugees,

pp. 293, 294.
5
Robin, Voyages, I, p. 300.
47
subjected to a rigid drawing of the color line.
M. Masse,
a French traveler, says that the art of conversation, un

known in Havana society, flourished only in French homes.
But the French were never invited to the drawing rooms of
the wealthy Spaniards.
Once again Europes politics brought ruin to the un
happy French who had fled Santo Domingo.
troops under Murat occupied Madrid.
In 1S0$, French
Spanish hostility
showed itself to the French in the Spanish colonies as bit

terly as in the mother country.
A year earlier the people
of Cuba had begun to fear an invasion.
Colonials set up
Juntas for national defense and war was officially declared

on the unnaturalized French in Cuba.
There was a minor
French invasion which was really a motley company of sol

diers of fortune, adverturers, and refugees from neighboring
Santo Domingo who tried to take Santiago and failed.
did, however, effect a landing at Batabano.
They
The Cuban army
found them nunenthusiastic about fighting and wanting, in

reality, to colonize.
They endeavored to make homes in un
inhabited places and live as they had done in Saint Domingue.
A few Frenchmen did remain even though the Spanish
officials did ask all of them to leave.^
Johnson, Cuba. II, p. 206.
Ibid., II, p. 304*
The crisis came to a head in March, 1609.
On the
twelfth the Governor issued a proclamation concerning the

French.
All French residents who were not naturalized by
the Captain General and who had come since the French Revo
lution had to leave.
Artisans and laborers were to cease
their labor immediately; butchers and bakers were given

eight days, gardeners and others fifteen days during which
time they could dispose of their stock and effects.
Per
sons with movable effects were given forty days while those
without movables had to depart within twenty days.
All who
could do so would be permitted to take their property.

This decree was made public by Don Sebastian Kindelan y
0 1Regan, Commandant in Santiago, on April 10.
The only
justification offered was that the French might serve as a

sort of fifth column.
Immediately violent riots broke out in Havana involving
chiefly boys and persons of color who apparently used this
as an excuse to gain plunder.
out to restore order.
took place.
The militia had to be called
Elsewhere in the island disturbances
Two hundred plunderers were put in prison and
much stolen property was returned to the Frenchmen by the

government which made a sincere effort to protect the French
6 Norfolk, Va., Norfolk Gazette and Publick Ledger.

May 15, 1609.
:
49
people until the time for their departure.^
still the des
perate French people had to sell their property at a frac

tion of its real value in the unfairly short time allowed
for them to leave the island.
Most of them made every ef
fort to comply and nearly all made plans to go to the

United States.
Fortunately there were many United States
vessels in the harbors of Cuba which took on as many pas

sengers as possible.^
Maumes Rogers, United States Consul in Havana, wrote
several letters to various state governments asking that the
whites, free persons of color, and slaves all be received.^
General James Wilkinson happened to be in Havana while the
riots were in progress Mto learn the political aspirations
12
of Cuban people and to assure them of U. S. Friendship.nAA
He received a delegation of the French and made an address
pompously expressing his personal sympathy for their plight
and praising the clemency, justice, and humanity of the gov
ernment of the United States.
He did not give them hope of
bringing their slaves to this country in violation of the
9 Baltimore, Md., Federal Gazette and Baltimore Daily

Advertiser. April 15, 1309.
10
Ibid.. June 1, 1309.
11 Ibid.. June 6, 1309, contains a copy of a letter re

ceived in Savannah.
12 Thomas Robson Hay and M. R. Werner, The A&nirable
Trumpter, A Biography of General James Wilkinson. (New York.
1941;, p. 295.
50
Act of March 2, 1807, prohibiting the importation of slaves.

However, he did promise to use his influence and that of
his friends to nprocure every consideration and indulgence
reconcilable to sound policy and national interest.^
At any rate the French had to leave, and so they
came with their slaves, throwing themselves on the mercy of
the United States.
To New Orleans there came, according to
the mayor, even before the last group had arrived, no less
than 1 ,79 # whites, 1,977 free persons of color, and 1,979
slaves.^
Ship after ship arrived and by early August the
total reached 6.060 persons to New Orleans.
Ship arrival
notices in some of the eastern newspapers show the following

numbers of Frenchmen landing from Cuba in April, May and
June, 1809: Savannah 141, Philadelphia 178, Norfolk 376,
Bristol, R. I. 4 vessels full, Charleston 220, New York
lid, and Baltimore 230 and one additional ship with passengers.
15
Added together these figures give a total of
7,323 designated passengers, but there remained others cer-
13 General Wilkinson to a Deputation of French Sub

jects, Havannah, April 2, 1809, given in Perez, French
Refugees, p. 297.
14 James Mather to W. C. C. Claiborne in Official
Letter Books of W. C. C. Claiborne 1801-1816. Dunbar Rowland, editor (Jackson, Miss., 1917), IV, p. 409.
15 Baltimore, Md., Federal Gazette and Baltimore Dai
ly Advertiser. May 9, 12, 13, 15, 16 , 22, 23, 30, June b,
1809; Norfolk Gazette and Publick Ledger, May 17, June 19,
June 2 6 , 1809; Charleston. S. C. City Gazette and Daily
Advertiser. August 15, 1809.
51
tainly who are otherwise listed or who came with no record

being made.
Captain Phinney, twenty days out from Santiago, ar
rived in Charleston May 20, 1&09, with the news that two
days before he left the time limit for the French to leave
had expired.
Many of them who were unable to get away had
been massacred by the aroused Spaniards.
16
By far the largest number of French refugees to the

United States came from Santo Domingo either direct or by
way of Cuba.
However, there were other French colonies
in the West Indies which suffered from revolutions at the

same period, resulting in the expulsion of many refugees.
Martinique had a large slave population and at least twice
17
as many mulattoes as whites. 1
The blacks revolted in
1793 and many of the white people fled.

reached Barbados in pitiable condition.
IS
19
Several hundred
A ship captain
arriving in Boston from Santo Domingo in August reported

that at least 10,000 people from Martinique in great dis-

ly Advertiser. May 30, 1S0$TI
~
17
Edwards, West Indies. Ill, p. 269 .
IS Richmond, Va., Virginia Gazette and General Ad

vertiser. July 10, 1793.
19
Ibid.. August 21, 1793.
52
tress sought refuge in the British possessions.
Guade
loupe was engulfed in violence comparable to that of Santo

Domingo and the whites had to flee.
Some of these came
to Norfolk, Virginia, but by late 1B01 were planning to

return.
The Captain General of Guadaloupe issued a
proclamation asking the former inhabitants to return, as

suring them of governmental protection.
They had only to

21
make request and he would grant passports.
Many French
who fled to the English colonies later emigrated to the
United States as British aggression caused them to seek
refuge elsewhere.
In 1794 > the British Governor of Jamaica
ordered the French who had taken refuge there to be ex

pelled to the United States and nthat without a shilling
for their support.
Several hundred persons were involved.
Some also came from Jamaica, Guadaloupe, and the other

West Indies to New Orleans in 1 S 0 9 . ^
Thus there came to the United States a stream of miser-

Daily Advertiser. August 23, 1793.
21
Norfolk, Va., Norfolk Herald, August IB, lSQl.
22 Joshua Barney to Edmund Randolph, Kingston, Jamaica

March 27 > 1794 in State Department. Miscellaneous Letters.
1794. February & March, #316 in National Archives. Washington, D. C.
23 Charles Gayarre, History of Louisiana (New Orleans.
1S79), IV, p. 220.
53
able French people from the islands, usually destitute,

frequently wounded or sick, and always distressed.
They
hoped to find a haven in the new republic which their

country had so recently assisted in gaining its indepen
dence.
In their case at least the debt was repaid.
54
CHAPTER FOUR
LOCAL RECEPTION OF THE REFUGEES IN THE UNITED STATES
The convoy of ships fleeing the massacre at Cap Franâis in June, 1793, put in at Norfolk, Virginia.
On July
6, the Virginia Chronicle and Norfolk and Portsmouth Gener

al Advertiser inserted a rush notice that a French 74-gun
ship and a fleet of "near 300 smaller vessels" had put in
at Hampton with a request that passengers be permitted to
land.^
The same paper a week later gave more accurate fig
ures stating that two 74*s, one 44, two 36*8, two 20T.s,
and one 10-gun ship convoying 137 square-rigged vessels
had arrived.
The article concluded with this appeal,
Let the sympathizing heart of every American view

with compassion the accumulated distresses of those
unfortunate fellow men, who were not long ago, nur
tured in the lap of ease, affluence and plenty, now
reduced almost to the wretched state of penury, and
observe what their consciences will dictate, to see
some hundreds of families stripped of almost every
thing and obliged to depend on strangers for sup
port. The man who would withhold his assistance,
under these circumstances, we hope, does not reside
in America.^
A subscription list for funds to furnish immediate relief
was started.
So many were sick and wounded that the news-
1 Norfolk, Va., Virginia Chronicle and Norfolk and

Portsmouth General Advertiser, July 6. 17931
2
Ibid.. July 13, 1793*
55
paper appealed to its readers to bring rags to the house

of Mr. Grandidier on Church Street.
"Such as require pay
ment shall be satisfied.

Moreau de St. Mery, fleeing from France, arrived in
Norfolk about this time.
He noted that he was confronted
by the Santo Domingans, "those charming people who were

perhaps too proud of their wealth, but are now the very
picture of misery.
Dear God!
Their pitable condition, so
much more distressing than my own. . .
Fortunately,
there was a French hospital in Norfolk which had been

started some twenty years before to care for French sailors
who happened to be in the town.
To pay its expenses nine
sous a month was deducted from the pay of all French sail
ors whose ships docked here.
Some S00 refugees from Santo
Domingo were patients in this hospital shortly after the

convoy arrived.
Many were ill or seriously wounded but on
ly thirty-nine failed to respond to treatment.'*

Colonel Thomas Newton wrote to Miles King, mayor of
Hampton, that many were destitute even of clothing or any
subsistence, while 400 were sick or wounded.
This letter
Ibid., August 3, 1793*
4 Moreau de St. Mery*s American Journey. Translated

and edited by Kenneth Roberts and Anna M. Roberts (New York,
1947), p. 34.
5
Ibid.. p. $6.
56
was forwarded by King to the Governor in Richmond, re

questing aid.^
The Council made an immediate grant of 600
7
pounds to be sent to the mayor of Norfolk.
On the ninth
of July, 1793, Colonel Newton himself wrote that many of

these people had been attacked by the British and needed
all sorts of aid.
0ur place is crowded with Frenchmen,
and too many negroes have been brought in with them, he

added.^
Two days later the Norfolk Council of Aldermen met to
learn from the mayor that the Council of State unanimous
ly approved aid to the Frenchmen and had granted an imme
diate sum of 2,000.
The Aldermen resolved that the mayor,
assisted by Mr. Campbell and Mr. Hill, appoint persons to

q
direct this relief activity.
The Governor also authorized
the use of the Marine Hospital to care for the sick and
wounded.^
In thanking the Governor, the mayor conveyed the
6 Miles King to Governor, July 6, 1793, in Calendar

of Virginia State Papers, William P. Palmer, editor (RicEmond, 1575-1693), VI, pp. 43 6 ? 437. Henry Lee was Governor
in 1793* The correspondence in the Calendar of Virginia
State Papers shows merely the title and not the name.
7
Ibid.. VI, p. 436.
S Thomas Newton to Governor, July 9, 1793, ibid.. VI,

p 443
9
Ibid.. VI, p. 444.
10 Governor to Secretary of State, July

1793,
Executive Letter Books. 1792-1794, Virginia State Library,
Richmond, p. 218.
57
information that between 250 and 300 persons had been given
rations, that more ships were landing daily, and that the
number of needy refugees was bound to increase.^
The temporary grant by the state was followed in No
vember by an "Act for the Relief of the Emigrants from
Santo Domingo" who were "interesting objects of attention
and compassion."
The executive was authorized to draw out
of the public treasury a "sum not exceeding 2,000 pounds"

to be used at his discretion.^
The Governor sent one hun
dred pounds to Miles King to be applied to the relief of

those in
H a m p t o n . ^
On the twenty-first, John Campbell,
mayor of York, was sent $150 to aid the twenty-one refugees

there.^
$150.
Two months later he received a second grant of
In Richmond $3# was spent on five persons, but the
larger part of the money went to Norfolk.

200 pounds were sent t h e r e . ^
In July, 1794,
Only three weeks later
11 Robert Taylor to Governor, July 13, 1793, Calendar

of Virginia State Papers, VI, p. 447*
12 Samuel Shepherd, The Statutes at Large of Virginia
(Richmond, 1^35), I, Chap. 38, p. 273 The figures given
in the Council Journals appear in some papers in pounds and
in others in dollars.
13 Council Journals of Virginia. 1793-1795, Folder
No. 2, p. 7. Virginia State Library.
14
Ibid..Folder No. 2, p.
15.
15
Ibid.,Folder No. 4, p.
50.
16
Ibid., Folder No. S, p.
128.
$1,000 additional had to be sent.

The state not only paid out this dole, but was willing
to aid the refugees in securing passage to return to the
West Indies if they so desired.
On. August 26, 1794* action
was taken in response to a letter from Miles King concern

ing some French in Hampton who wished to emigrate if they
could raise $100.
The money was made available.
1$
This
was only a drop in the bucket as the needy refugees poured

into Norfolk.
Between two and three thousand were there
at one time, though many dispersed to other points at a

later d a t e . ^
Rochefoucauld-Liancourt says that the prin
cipal motive bringing so many to Norfolk was its convenient

location
as a port for thedistressed convoy.
He said
many
refugees
remained because of the kind reception,thepleas
ant climate and the presence of slavery, which permitted

the French to use the blacks they brought with them.
20
Pri
vate charity took care of them for the most part, money being sent in from various towns in the state.
17
21
An adver-
Ibid.. Folder No. S, p. 137

Ibid., Folder No.
9 p. 156.
19 Isaac Weld, Jr., Travels through the United States

of North America and the Provinces of Upper and Lower Canada
during 1795. 1796. and 1797. (4th Edition. London. 1#66). p.
133'.
20 F. A. F. due La Rochefoucauld-Liancourt, Voyage
dans Les Etats Unis D Amerique Fait en 1795, 179o et 1797.
(Paris, 1799), IV, p. 277.
21 Winchester, Va., Virginia Gentinel and Gazette.
August 12, 1793*
59
tisement appeared on August 7 stating that the money al

ready contributed was about exhausted and unless more came
in Mtheir sufferings must be dreadful to think of."
Sub
scriptions would be received by gentlemen in the differ

ent counties and towns to be forwarded to Donald Campbell
and Baylor Hill, the Norfolk Commissioners.
This adver
tisement appeared in a number of subsequent issues of the

same paper.
22
The people of Norfolk were generous but they were

worried, as they had a right to be.
Several letters were
written to the Governor bemoaning their lack of defense

and requesting arras.
Thomas Newton wrote in one of these:
If as many British ships had been here as French, and

as few of the latter as the former, God knows what
would have been the consequence. The French have
been peaceable and quiet and our town has been as
still as it was before they came. Too much praise
cannot be given them for their orderly conduct. 23
Three weeks later the situation was less calm.
It was re
ported that the town of Portsmouth was defenseless and

shipping regulations could not be enforced:
Our town swarms with strange negroes, foreign and do
mestic, who have already begun hostilities upon them
selves. Last night at half past eleven, four were
22 Norfolk, Va., Virginia Chronicle and Norfolk and

Portsmouth General Advertiser. August
24. 30, and Septem
ber 28, 1793.
23 Thomas Newton to Governor, August 2, 1793, Calen
dar of Virginia State Papers. VI, p. 469.
60
found hanging twenty steps from my door, upon a cedar

tree. . . .
I cannot git {jsicJ the militia to re
ceipt and receive the public arras. They are now in
my garrett. We have many hundreds of French negroes
landed in this town. It were jsic] four of them
hung as above. They are divided. The household fam
ily negroes are trusty and well disposed, but many
others did, (as I am informed) belong to the insur
rection in Hispaniola. I solicit a company of men
for constant duty.24Rumors of Negro uprisings were heard in York and a request
for arms came from that town also.
At Norfolk a guard of
twenty men under an Ensign, Sergeant, and Corporal was set

up by the militia c o m m a n d e r . T h e Governor gave heed to
the alarm.
Authorization was given to Norfolk to call out
twenty men of the militia to watch the people of color re

cently arrived from Santo Domingo.
Also Lieutenant Colonel
John Marshall, Commandant of the militia in Richmond, was

instructed to take similar measures to guard public arms
there.2^
No real trouble developed between the French and
the British nor among the Negroes crowded into eastern

Virginia at this time.
Norfolk built a workhouse for some
of the refugees,2? assisted others to emigrate, and cared
24 Willis Wilson to Governor, August 21, 1793, in

ibid.. VI, p. 490.
25 Thomas Newton to Governor, August 23, 1793, ibid.,
VI, p. 491.
26 Executive Letter Books. 1792-1794* 23 August,
1793, p. 235.
27 Thomas Newton to Governor, September 10, 1794,
Calendar of Virginia State Papers. VII, p. 304.
61
for the rest with some outside aid until they could care
for themselves.
The French settled down within a year or
two to make their own living, or dispersed to other parts

of the country, or returned to France.
Yet fear of trouble from the Negroes continued to
haunt the whites who felt that these blacks from Santo Domingo had too much of the spirit of freedom in them.Some whites wanted to deport the Negroes, but a petition
signed by twenty "unhappy inhabitants of Santo Domingo" at
Norfolk proved effective in preventing hostile sentiments
from crystalizing into action.
The French expressed ex
treme gratitude for the generous treatment accorded them

but claimed that sending away their slaves would remove
their means of livelihood.^9
Statistical description of Norfolk in 1793 helps give
clearer meaning to the figures in the paragraph above.
The town had about 500 houses made of wood and only onestory in height.3
The refugees so crowded housing facil
ities that some had to go to Portsmouth to find lodging.

The cost of living was not made unusually high by the in-
23 Thomas Newton to Governor, June 23, 1795, ibid.,

VIII, p. 260.
---29 Frenchmen at Norfolk to Governor and Council of
the State of Virginia, ibid.. VIII, p. 277.
30
Roberts, Moreau de St. Merv. p. 47.
62
flux of refugees.
$ 4 .5 0 a week.
Charges of a good boarding house were
Choice beef was one-eighth of a dollar per
pound, a pair of young fowls fifty sous to three francs,

a dozen eggs, nine sous.
The usual drink was cider im
ported from New England and sold for $4.50 a barrel con
taining approximately thirty gallons.
A fish weighing
31
twenty pounds brought four or five francs.

Again in 1#09 Norfolk received fleeing Frenchmen from
Santo Domingo who had lived for a few years in Cuba,
Maumes
Rogers, United States Consul at Santiago, wrote to the Gover

nor of Virginia enclosing a copy of the proclamation ex
pelling the French and asking that they and their slaves be
given a s y l u m . T h i s
request was referred to the Attorney-
General who rendered an opinion that they could come with

out violating any law unless they brought their slaves.
Slaves could not be brought in legally and it "may be re
marked that from no portion of the population is greater
danger to be apprehended than from those which are introduced
from the islands."33
Yet on June 2, refugees landed in Nor-
31 Ibid.. p. $5* A sou was about one cent and a franc

about eighteen and one-half cents at this time.
32 Maumes Rogers to the Governor, April 2$, 1309,
Calendar of Virginia State Papers, X, p. 55. John Tyler was
Governor in 1809.
33 Philip Nicholas to Governor, May 26, 1S09, ibid.,
pp. 54-55.
63
folk with their slaves. ^
The Governor wrote to the Sen
ators from Virginia in Washington for advice on the prob

lem.
They replied that it was a matter for state juris
diction to decide, but they had discussed it with the

President who would take it up with the Senate.35
The
Senate appointed a commission to investigate the advisa

bility of making an exception for the slaves of these ref
ugees.
The final action of this commission permitted the
slaves to remain.
Ship arrival notices in the papers show
that at least 277 persons of all colors came to Norfolk

from Cuba.
Probably there were
more.
36
At Baltimore the situation developed in much the same

manner as in Norfolk in the summer of 1793
This port had
always been active in the West Indies trade and a number

of her vessels were at Cap Francais when the city was
burned.
Fifty-three different vessels brought to Baltimore
about one thousand whites and five hundred slaves with their
belongings in 1793
They were quartered in homes and a
private subscription was opened for their benefit.

subscription raised more than $12,000 for relief.
This
Many of
34 William Vaughan to Governor, June 2, 1#09 ibid..

X, p. 56.
35 William B. Giles and Richard Brent, Senators, to
Governor, June 10, 1$09, ibid.. pp. 5&-60.
ly Advertiser, May 22, 13(597
6k
the refugees here had some funds and were able to care for
37
themselves from the beginning.-"
These were not the first of the refugees to this port.
June, 1792, had witnessed the arrival of a few and in De
cember of that year the Maryland Assembly passed an act
concerning the disturbed conditions in the French colonies
which had sent refugees with their slaves to Baltimore.
This act declared slaves to be bona fide property which
could be retained by Frenchmen.
Any of these French who
chose to become naturalized citizens might retain slaves,

with the married men entitled to keep five and a single man
only three.
Those deciding not to become citizens could
keep the same number but no refugee might traffic in slaves.

Those who had more than the maximum number of slaves might
keep them for one year, but then these slaves had to be
disposed of elsewhere.^
This regulation was relaxed later
when the government at Annapolis decided to let faithful

slaves enter with their refugee masters who simply had to
declare them to the city government where they resided.
This was done as an act of humanity, for the slaves were not
considered dangerous if they followed their masters to the
37 Hamilton Owens, Baltimore on the Chesapeake (Garden

City, N. I., 1941), p. 143; John Thomas Scharf, Chronicles
of Baltimore, (Baltimore, 1&74), p. 266.
Advertiser. August 9, 1793.
65
United States.^9
On July 9, 1793, a fleet of twenty-two vessels brought
more than five hundred refugees to Baltimore.
tion was made by the citizens to care for them.
Every exer
People
assembled at the Exchange and appointed a committee of mer

chants to board the ships and to recommend measures to be
taken.
They found 351 whites, of whom 100 were women and
children in a distressing condition.
The committee pro
visioned the ships and made several suggestions: inform the

French Minister, open a public subscription, and make a
canvass to see how many homes would receive the refugees.^
Within two days, fll,000 was pledged and many homes were
made available. Then other vessels came, with the next five
bringing in 125 more refugees.
By July 26, fifty-three
ships had brought the total to 1,500 persons of whom 400

were living in private homes a few days after landing.
No
reply had come from the French Minister and the money was
running out.
This information was given to the press by
the five commissioners.^
39 Berquin-Duvallon, Vue de la Colonie Espagnole du

Mississippi ou des Provinces de Louisiane et Floride Occi
dental. ( P a r i s , l#b4), p. 231.
40 Maryland Journal. July 12, 1793, quoted in Walter
Hartridge7 The Refujgees' from Santo Domingo in Maryland,
Maryland Historical Magazine. XXXVIII (June 1943), p. 104.
41 Baltimore, Md., Maryland Journal and Baltimore Ad
vertiser. July 26, 1793*
66
At this time the rest of the state began to assist

Baltimore.
A gentleman of Annapolis placed a brick house
in London Town at the disposal of the committee and also

offered to pay the expenses of two families to Annapolis
to be cared for there.
A Charlestown man sent $ 1 0 0 . ^
The subscription at Annapolis and Georgetown exceeded the

"hopes of the most
s a n g u i n e . " ^
The towns vied with each
other: Centerville, Queenstown, and Wye on the Eastern

Shore sent $600, Bladensburg sent $500.^
By this time
the French Minister Genet sent $2,000 for their aid, but
this was all from him for the time being.^
To make things easier for the refugees, notices ap
peared in the French language in the newspapers.
In August
there was printed on page one in English, French, and Ger

man the Maryland Law for naturalization which had been
i
passed in 1769. This law required an oath and belief in
the Christian religion; and a judge might give full citizen
ship rights save that naturalized citizens could not hold
42 Maryland Gazette and Fredericktown Weekly Adver

tiser. July 25, 1793. Quoted in Hart'ridge'7'"RVfugees,"'
p. 105.
Advertiser, August 13, 1793.
bb
45 Charleston, S. C., City Gazette and Daily Advertiser, August 15, 1793.
67
office until they had been resident for seven years and
were possessed of the requisite amount of property.
As
an additional inducement, no tax would be levied for two

years on a foreigner.
If he were a manufacturing artifi
cer or tradesman, there would be no tax for four y e a r s . ^

Not all Marylanders were marked by personal gener
osity toward the unfortunate newcomers.
A writer in the
Journal complained that too many people in Baltimore were

of a disposition
to take advantage, even of misfortunes of friends.
Our markets are shamefully raised; and the exhorbitant Prices of Provisions are severely felt as well
by the Honest, but poor laborer of our own country,
as by the plundered people who have fled the Cape
to save the Relicts of their Families. . . Some
measures should be pursued to blast the disgraceful
Evil .kl
Perhaps it was ignorance, or perhaps the French chose to
get even, for one Thomas Swaine inserted an advertisement
in the Journal for July 19 offering a reward for a French
gentleman, who, on the fifteenth, "hired 2 horses from my
stable saying he was going to be married."
These were
hired for one day o n l y . ^

Advertiser. August 16, 1793*
47 Maryland Journal. July 23, 1793, quoted in Hartridge, "Refugees," p .' ld6.
4& Baltimore, Md, Maryland Journal and Baltimore
Advertiser. July 19, 1793*
63
In December, Baltimore private charity was almost ex

hausted and an appeal was placed before the Maryland House
of Delegates which responded with a grant of $4,500 to
cover relief expenditure for nine weeks.
The refugees
were most grateful for this and asked the Advertiser to

convey their appreciation:
Please to tell them that if we never have it in our
power to discharge this debt, we are in hopes that
. . . the Almighty will not be deaf to the fervent
prayers addressed to him for their happiness and
the prosperity and peace of their blessed country. 49
Berquin-Duvallon, himself an attorney from Le Cap, con
trasted sharply the treatment given in Baltimore with the
indifference of the Louisiana Creoles, saying the former
immortalized herself in the eyes of the French by the M a g
nanimity with which she received the suffering colonists
into her
b o s o m .
50
jn Baltimore as elsewhere the refugees
either moved in or made the adjustment to become self-sup

porting, valued members of the community.
As did Norfolk,
Baltimore became a haven again in 1309 for the refugees

from Cuba.
In May, some 200 to 400 arrived to find a home
among the people of Maryland.
Their arrival excited lit
tle comment in the newspapers of that day.
49 Baltimore Daily Advertiser, July 13, 1793, quoted

in Hartridge, Refugees, p. 109.
50
Berquin-Duvallon, Vue, p. 235 .
69
Charleston, South Carolina was likewise a port which

received the refugees from Santo Domingo,
Fewer came here
than to either Norfolk or to Baltimore though the town al

ready had some French inhabitants.
The Huguenots had come
in the l680s and the Acadians about 1755*
Charleston
looked more like a West Indian town and La RochfoucauldLiancourt reported it to be the most hospitable of all
United States cities.^
It was a hotbed of French sympathy,
having held a grand civic pageant in January, 1793* at

which time the bells of St. Michaels were rung, an artillery
salute was fired, and 250 people met at Williams Coffee
House for a grand fete.
The Governor, Chief Justice, and
52
all public officers sang the Hymne de Marsellais.
The
town numbered 3,000 whites, nearly that many slaves and about 600 free persons of color.53
Beginning in 1792, some 500 refugees from Santo Domingo
came within two years, to be followed by frequent, though
51
Rochefoucauld-Liancourt, Voyage, IV, p. 234*
52 Charles Downer Hazen, Contemporary Opinion of the

French Revolution (Extra Vol. XVI in Johns Hopkins Studies
in Historical and Political Science, edited by Herbert B.
Adams, Baltimore, 1897)j p. 171.
53 U. B. Phillips, Slave Labor in Charleston Dis
trict, Political Science Quarterly. XXII (September, 1907),
P /j*2o
70
Cl
never very numerous, later groups.
Despite the fact that
most of the refugees were royalists, the people of Charles

ton were generous and enthusiastic in helping these unfor
tunate new citizens.
A group of residents collected
$12,500 "from time to time which was distributed to about
430 people in supplying them with blankets, clothing and

firewood during the winter.
Some relief funds were paid
in cash weekly to the individual families.^
Also the
South Carolina House of Representatives on December 11,

1793, resolved that the vendue tax in the year 1794 on prop
erty sold in Charleston would be appropriated to the re
lief of the French refugees from Santo Domingo.
The Sen
ate concurred and the Treasurer residing in Charleston was

instructed to turn the funds over to the Committee of the
Benevolent Society.^
Many private citizens received
Frenchmen into their homes.
57
Dr. Ramsay thought that
Charleston carried charity to excess "for the bounty of the
54 Hinson Papers, Charleston Library, Charleston,

S. C. Mrs. Felix Prendergast, "Some Dramatic Incidents
in the Early History of Charleston." Paper read before
Century Club, (n. d.).
55 Daniel De Saussure to Edmund Randolph, quoted in
Charleston Year Book for 1S&3. pp. 391, 392.
(No date
given but the letter is in answer to Randolphs letter dated
February 27, 1794*)
56
Charleston Year Book for 1S&3, PP* 391, 392.
57 Charles Fraser, Reminiscences of Charleston

(Charleston, 1&54), p. 44*
71
public is so freely bestowed and so easily obtained as to

weaken the incitements to industry and for indulging the
habits of vice.
This last of the exotic groups to come
to Charleston for the most part settled down in or near

the city.and became self-supporting.^
A small number did
come from Cuba in 1&09 when the ship arrival lists showed
255 to have come, and one or two other ships which came
from Cuba at the time of the evacuation of the French were
listed as carrying passengers.
To New Orleans, the first Frenchmen fleeing Santo Do
mingo came under the Spanish regime and then thousands more
arrived during Claiborne*s term as territorial governor for
the United States.
Already there were Frenchmen in Louisi
ana from the early colonization as well as some 4,000

Acadians who came earlier in the eighteenth century to set
tle chiefly in Plaquemines Parish.
Before, and for a time
after, 1791, Spanish policy in Louisiana was to promote

immigration.
The colony welcomed alike British Loyalists
from the United States, and Catholics from France and Ger
many.
To these she provided land on a type of homestead
basis for very nominal
fees.
59
53 David Ramsay, History of South Carolina, (Newberry,

S. C., l5$, 2 vols. in I, first published in lSOS), I, p. 12.
59 Arthur Preston Whitaker, Mississippi Question.
1795-1&03. A Study in Trade Politics and Diplomacy (New
York, 1934), p . 156.
72
The first obstacle placed in the path of persons de

siring to come to Louisiana from Santo Domingo was the
prohibition in 1793 by the New Orleans Cabildo of import
ing slaves from the French islands.^0
This was confirmed
by the Spanish government in Madrid which included Jamai

ca in the prohibition as well as the French islands.^
Yet the refugees came anyway, bringing their slaves.
In
February, the Governor, Carondelet, distributed a circu

l a r warning that the rascals chased out of Santo Domingo
were sent by Gent to the Ohio to recruit an army and de
scend on Louisiana to repeat the horrors of Santo Domin
go.
The Spanish government regarded all French Revolu
tionary activity and French refugees with intense suspi

cion.
The Cabildo provided a penalty of 400 piastres for
each slave brought in as well as the expense of having to

deport such Negroes.^
Yet the slaves who fled with their
masters were not dangerous; they were loyal to the whites
60 Lawrence Kinnaird, editor, nSpain in the Missis

sippi Valley 1765-1794," (Translation of materials from
Spanish Archives in the Bancroft Library) American His
torical Association, Annual Report for 1945 (Washington,
1946-49) Part III, vol. IV, p. xxiv.
61
Gayarre, History of Louisiana. Ill, p. 325
62 Circular dated February 12, 1794, to the Inhabi

tants of Louisiana, Kinnaird, "Spain in Mississippi Val
ley," IV, p. 255 .
63
Berquin-Duvallon, V u e , p. 235.
73
and were generally household servants who were in reality

attached to their masters.
In many instances it was they
who made possible the escapes.
Berquin-Duvallon, the
traveler, is extremely harsh toward the Louisiana Creoles

and gives the impression they were not hospitable to their
fellow-countrymen, providing neither private nor govern
mental c h a r i t y . His picture is not fair to the Creoles.
At any rate the refugees who came remained, and in 1797

they were still coming in.^5
The prohibition against im
porting slaves was removed by the Spanish government and

finally announced in Louisiana in November of 1S00.
Three
years later, when the last of the whites abandoned Santo

Domingo, many came to join
their fellows already in Loui
siana.^
Governor Claiborne1s correspondence shows that from
the time he took over late in 1 S03 until the end of 1809
64
Ibid., pp. 23 S-24O.
65 Regine Hubert-Robert, L THistoire Merveilleuse de

La Louisiane Franâise (New York, 1941), p. 322*
66 Gilbert Leonard to W. C. C. Claiborne, January
25, 1804, in James Alexander Robertson, Editor, translator
and transcriber, Louisiana under the Rule of Spain, France
and the United States 1785-1807 as Portrayed in hitherto
unpublished Accounts bv Dr. Paul Alliot and various offi
cials. (2 vols. Cleveland, 1911.) II, p. 244*
(Hereafter
cited as Robertson, Louisiana.)
67 Joseph G. Rosengarten, French Colonists and Exiles

in the U. S.
(Philadelphia, 1907)7 P 40.
74
there were constant arrivals of Frenchmen from the islands

of the West Indies, chiefly from Santo Domingo and Cuba.
Some were planters, some soldiers and sailors evacuated
in some turn of fortune of the revolutionary wheel.
Many
were of mixed blood, some pure black, some slave, and more
free.
A few of them gave the authorities trouble, though
most posed no particular problems once they made the neces

sary adjustment.
In January, l04, after assuming office,
Claiborne reported that there ,fare 20 to 30 young adven

turers from Bordeaux and Santo Domingo, who are trouble
some to this society.
They are men of information jandj
desperate fortunes. . . . " ^
Claiborne put the French
troops who fled to Louisiana from Santo Domingo in garri

son quarters and extended hospitality to all.
In February
he wrote Madison that the "emigration is considerable" and

he supposed that they could not be refused entry.
69
Mad
ison replied approving the action taken and indicating

that he was arranging with M. Pichon in the French Minis
try in Washington for the proper reimbursement for the ex
penses i n c u r r e d . A month later Madison sent instruc
ts Claiborne to Secretary of State Madison, January

24, 1S04, in Robertson, Louisiana, II, p. 235.
69
p . 24#
Claiborne to Madison, February 6 , 1S04, ibid.. II,
70 Madison to Claiborne, February 20, 1S04, in Row

land, Letterbooks of Claiborne, II, p. 56 .
75
tions to recieve the French in New Orleans with courtesy

71
and humanity and permit them to settle in Louisiana.
Yet the Federal Act organizing the Orleans Territory
in March, 1304, prohibited the importing of slaves from
any place other than the United States on penalty of $300
fine and forfeit of such slaves.
While Claiborne followed
instructions to the point of stopping all slaves at Fort

Plaquemines down the river from New Orleans, he wrote to
President Jefferson that this law would be very unpopular
with the people of
L o u i s i a n a . ^2
jn April and again in May
Claiborne wrote to Washington that Emigration from the

West Indies to Louisiana continues great; few vessels ar
rive from that quarter but are crowded with passengers
and among them are many s l a v e s . I n
October he per
mitted some French families who came from Jamaica with

slaves to land, after satisfying himself that these slaves
had taken no part in the fighting on Santo Domingo.^
71
p. 93.
Madison to Claiborne, March 12, 1304% ibid., II.

----
72 Claiborne to Jefferson, April 15, 1304, in Terri

torial Papers of-the United States, Vol. IX, The Territory
of Orleans 1803-1812, compiled and edited by Clarence
Edwin Carter (Washington, 1940), p. 222.
(Hereafter cited
as Carter, Orleans.)
73 Claiborne to Madison, May 3, 1304, in Rowland
Letterbooks of Claiborne, II, p. 134 .
74 Claiborne to Madison, October 16, 1304, Robertson,
Louisiana. II, p. 276.
76
From May 10 to August 19, 1S09, there arrived in New

Orleans fifty-five vessels from Cuba, forty-eight from
Santiago, six from Baracoa and one from Havana.
They
brought at least 6,060 French refugees expelled on short

notice from the island.
This number was made up of 1,B&7
whites, 2,060 free persons of color and 2,113 slaves.
May
or James Mather of New Orleans and Governor Claiborne kept

the officials in Washington constantly advised of develop
ments and this correspondence presents a complete and in
teresting picture of what was happening.
The figures giv
en above can be further broken down to show that there

were among the whites 9$9 men, 455 women, and 443 children;
the free colored had 2G2 men, 926 women, and #52 children;
the slaves had 603 men, 90$ women, and 605 children.
The first group was "without resources and must de
pend on charity" and Claiborne stated May 14, 1&09, he
"had already sent food down the river to those t h e r e . A
week later he wrote that the flood of immigrants consisted
chiefly of farmers who wanted land and the privilege of re
maining for life.
These were the more solid element who
had resided longest in Cuba.
He felt that the irresponsi
ble element had been the first to leave Cuba when flight
75 Claiborne to Robert Smith, Secretary of State, May

14, 1&09, in Rowland, Letterbooks of Claiborne, IV, p.
352.
77
became necessary.
The residents of New Orleans were very benevolent and
contributed liberally to the relief of the strangers. Clai
bornes hope that Congress would make some provision for
their slaves was fulfilled on June 2$, 1$09, when the Presi
dent was authorized to remit the penalties of the act for
bidding slave importation insofar as it concerned the
77
owners who had been expelled from Cuba. '
This news reached
New Orleans shortly after the middle of July.

Mayor Mather gave Claiborne a long report in July de
scribing the refugees and their condition.
Neither the
blacks nor the free persons of color appeared dangerous

and "there has not been one single complaint that I know
of, against their coming to this place."
The whites, he
stated, consisted "chiefly of planters and merchants of

Santo Domingo" who took refuge in Cuba six years ago and
who "appear to be an active industrious people."
They had
suffered a great deal from privation and for nearly three

months "no less than 400 poor widows, sick, orphans, or
old men [have been] supported by the charity of our citi
zens" who made subscriptions for their r e l i e f T h r e e
76 Claiborne to Robert Smith, May 20, 1$09, ibid.,,

IV, pp. 363, 365.
~
77
Carter, Orleans, p. $43
7$ James Mather to Claiborne, July 1$, 1$09, Rowland,

Letterbooks of Claiborne, IV, pp. 387 39 3 .
IB
weeks later Mather again reported to Claiborne that he had

still received no complaints concerning the refugees, who
evinced great respect for the laws.
Among the grown men
at least two-thirds possessed knowledge of some trade.

Though formerly proprietors of large estates, they were now
"cabinet makers, turners, bakers, glaziers, upholsterers,
and I will venture to assert that in the above, and twenty
other different trades, there are not less than six hun
dred men from Cuba usefully employed among us. . "
Twenty-four whites and forty-two colored had died since ar
rival while about seventy were listed as sick.79
When this correspondence reached the Secretary of State,
he reviewed it with the President and advised Claiborne to
try to prevent more island refugees from coming to New Orle
ans.
Accordingly, Claiborne wrote to the American Consul
in Jamaica to discourage more people from seeking asylum

in New Orleans.
The city was crowded, house rent and food
"extravagantly high" and the number of poor was being daily

"augmented."
Particularly did he feel that there were too
many free persons of color and more of them were certainly

not wanted.
Also the permission for slaves to be brought
in applied only to persons coming directly from C u b a . ^
79 Mather to Claiborne, August 7, 1S09, ibid.. IV,

p p . 40440$
BO Claiborne to William Savage, November 10, 1S09,
ibid.. V, p. 3.
79
similar letter was written to the Consul at Havana.

This was the last of the groups of French refugees
to come with permission and official.blessings.
less savory group did reach Louisiana.
A much
In April, 1310,
Territorial Secretary Robinson, in Claibornes absence,

wrote to Washington, "New Orleans is filled with despera
does from St. Yago de Cuba accustomed to piracies and con
nected with the parties who furnish them with every facil
ity to escape forfeitures or punishment. . . .
He also
feared that since Santo Domingo and Guadeloupe "have fall

en and perhaps by this time St. Martins and Eustacia it
is probable that many armed French vessels after freight
ing themselves with plunder will resort to the Mississip
pi.^
In 1309, Barataria Bay was a rendezvous for many
such undesirable characters.
Within a year or so, at
least 1,000 freebooters, many originally from the French

West Indies, were using this bay as a base of operations
now that Guadaloupe and Martinique had been captured by
the British.
32
Jean Lafitte, Dominque You, and Beluche,

$3
his chief lieutenants, had all come from Santo Domingo.
31 Thomas B. Robertson to Robert Smith, Secretary of

State, April 3, 1310, Carter, Orleans, p. 331.
32
pp. 27,
33
Lyle Saxon, Lafitte the Pirate (New York, 1930),

Ibid.. p. 44
80
The year 1809 must have been an interesting time, for into
the city of at most 14,000 people, came "10,000 white, yel
low and black West India Islanders; some with means, others
in absolute destitution, and many . . .
ter and desperate fortune."
of doubtful charac
They came and they stayed in
Orleans Street, in Dumaine, St. Philippe, Dauphine, Bur

gundy and the rest.
The novelist and well known writer
about the Creoles, George Cable, commented that they were

all too readily dissolving into the corresponding parts
of the native Creole community, and it is easier to
underestimate than to exaggerate the silent results of
an event that gave the Louisianians twice the numeri
cal power with which they had begun to wage their long
battle against the American absorption.
84
p. 159.
George W. Cable, Old Creole Days (New York, 1879),
CHAPTER FIVE
THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENTS AID TO THE REFUGEES
In addition to these refugees from Santo Domingo who

landed at ports in the South, large numbers reached New
England, New York, and Philadelphia.
This latter city-
served as a kind of capital for the emigres from France

and the refugees from the West Indies.
The emigres from
France tended to congregate in the central and northern

states, while refugees from the West Indies favored the
central and southern states.
With so many involved over
such a wide area, and with local charity strained to the

utmost, it was inevitable that an appeal to the Federal
Government would be made.
In fact, some of the refugees
wrote direct, counting on a return for the aid they had

personally extended to this country by fighting here during
the Revolutionary War.-*Several influential Americans wanted some aid granted.
Jefferson wrote to James Monroe in July, 1793, that the
situation of the St. Domingo fugitives (aristocrats as they
are) calls aloud for pity and charity.
Never was so deep
a tragedy presented to the feelings of man.
He felt, nev
ertheless, that it was not in the power of the general gov-
1 State Department, Miscellaneous Letters 1794. Janu

ary, No. 72, p. 46 .
32
eminent to help them as it was a matter for the state gov

ernments.
He did hope that something could be done to aid

o
the refugees.
In December, 1793, when the magnitude of the immigra
tion became apparent, the Secretary of State wrote to the
states to find out the number and condition of the refu
gees in the various parts of the country.
He wanted to
know where they were living and an estimate of the lowest

cost of subsistence for them.
Before the replies came back,
the committee caring for the refugees in Baltimore pre

sented a memorial to the House of Representatives asking
for Congressional aid.
This was referred to a committee on
January 1, 1794, for investigation.^
Ten days later Samuel
Smith, reporting for the committee, said that there had nev
er been a T,more noble and prompt display of the most ex
alted feelings.
He believed that such a scene of dis
tress had never before been seen in America as the one

when the 3,000 refugees had landed at one time in Baltimore
with no notice prior to their arrival.
these needed aid of all sorts.
Fifteen hundred of
Few had any money or credit.
2 Jefferson to Monroe, July 14, 1793, Andrew Adgate

Lipscomb, editor, Writings of Thomas Jefferson (20 vols.
Washington, D. C. ,1903-1904), IX, pp. 161-165.
3 The Debates and Proceedings in the Congress of the
United States. (Annals, 3rd Congress) December 2. 1793. to
March 3. 1795. (Washington. 1349), 1 Sess., p. 153.
$3
Of the entire number, five hundred had been sent to France

at French expense by the French Minister in the United
States.^
Shortly thereafter the states began sending in the
desired information concerning the refugees within their
boundaries.
Julian Verplanck wrote that New York had col
lected $ 11,050 which had been used to support three hun

dred people since July.^
William Patterson for Baltimore
reported 3,000 there and a fund of $ 12,000 in money, be

sides clothing and food contributed by residents of that
city.
The Maryland legislature had sent to them $4,500 and
other towns of the state had sent in $5,000.
Five hundred
refugees still required aid and he suggested a fund to be

used for sending some of the distressed French to Phila
delphia so that Congress might see their condition.^
Rob
ert Taylor for Norfolk reported funds sufficient to last

only until April and estimated a need for an additional 600
pounds.
He stated that the refugees with property had all
gone to Baltimore, leaving the poor ones in Norfolk.?
Ibid.. 3 Cong., 1 Sess., pp. 169,
He
179.
5
StateDepartment. MiscellaneousLetters 1794. Janu
ary, No. 90, p. 58.
Ibid.. No. 122, p. S3.
Ibid., No. 120, p. S2,
$4
had 255 to care for.

This was enough for Congress.
Mr. Ames, from the com
mittee appointed to look into this problem, reported a bill

providing for relief for the Santo Domingans resident in
the United States.
committed.^
This was given two readings and again
On February 4, 1794, the engrossed bill was
read for the third time and passed.^
Three days later the
Senate added a minor amendment and passed the bill.10
The
House concurred with the Senate action and the bill pro
viding $15,000 passed on February 10, 1 7 9 4 The Presi
dent signed it by February 14*
The Secretary of State promptly circularized the states
requesting an immediate reply on the current status of the
refugees.
12
From John Page for Virginia came the reply that
sixty needed aid at York and Hampton.13
At Norfolk and
Portsmouth there were about 300 who would require only onehalf dollar a week for support since living expenses there
Annals of Congress. 3 Cong., 1 Sess., p. 41&.
Ibid., 3 Cong., 1 Sess., p. 422.
10
Ibid.. 3 Cong., 1 Sess., p. 41.
11
Ibid., 3 Cong., 1 Sess., p. 442.
12 State Department, Miscellaneous Letters 1794. Feb

ruary and March, No. 209, p. 66.
13
Ibid.. No. 174, p. 37.
were cheaper than in Baltimore or Philadelphia.^
Some
150 had arrived in Savannah, but only 100 remained, each

of whom would require four to six dollars a week for
board.
15
Wilmington, Delaware, had only a few; Charles
ton, S. C. had between 300 and 400 to support.
Expenses
there ran thirty pounds a year for adults and half that
"l
for the children.
Baltimore was caring for 437 at a
cost of $554 a week and daily the number asking aid was
increasing.
To this letter was attached a schedule listing
the names of the 437 persons on the relief roll.
At the
bottom of the letter appears this note, "we are of the

opinion that 600 dolls per week will be sufficient for Bal
timore.
Apparently this was made by Edmund Randolph,
Edmund Randolph did make a consolidated report to the

President on February 27 covering the replies which had
come from all the states except New Jersey.
New Hampshire,
Vermont, and Kentucky had no refugees and the number was

not completely accurate for the others.
The estimated num
ber requiring aid was listed as follows:
14
Ibid., No. 169, p . 32
15
Ibid., No. 176, P. 39.
16
Ibid., No. 173, p. 3 6 .
17
Ibid., No. 181, p. 44.
36
Georgia
South Carolina
North Carolina
Virginia
Massachusetts
100
350
50
290
50
400
200
350
10
200
Maryland
Pennsylvania
New York
Connecticut
Rhode Island
His recommendation was to allocate only $10,000 now and

hold the remaining $5,000 in reserve for later needs.
He
wanted to let the committees in the individual states determine just how the money was to be spent.
13
This sug
gestion was followed and $2,000 went to Maryland; $1,750

each to South Carolina and New York and lesser amounts to
the others.^
The next appeal came from one Louis Osmont acting as
the agent for a small group of Frenchmen from Santo Do
mingo who requested permission to return to that colony.
This was granted with the approval of President Washington;
the final paper bore the signatures of Edmund Randolph,
Alexander Hamilton and Henry Knox.
20
In Baltimore, a notice signed by the committee caring

for the refugees appeared in the press suggesting that some
of the French embark in the fleet then about to sail for
France.
The available funds were exhausted and the aid
13
Ibid.. No. 203, p. 65 .
19
Ibid.. No. 249, p. 69.
20 State Department. Miscellaneous Letters 1794. April

No. 331, p* 1 and No. 12, p. l6i.
$7
from Congress was not adequate to care for them any longer.
At the same time they asked Congress for more funds and
received an additional $2,000.
21
In April, Randolph sug
gested to President Washington that the remaining money

appropriated for the relief of the French refugees from
Santo Domingo he used to send back to the island any who
desired to return.22
The next letters in the file indicate
that this proposal met approval in Philadelphia and else

where.
One of the more interesting of these letters is a
memorial to the President written in French and signed by

eight Frenchmen in Norfolk on behalf of all the refugees
there.
The letter is florid in style, thanks the country
for the gracious reception they have received, and requests

permission to return to Santo Domingo.
Along with it are
lists showing the names, ages, former occupations of some,

and brief biographical notes of 195 white and 53 colored
persons among the refugees then in Norfolk.
A summary of
these shows the following breakdown of the list:

plantation owner
merchant
washerwoman
tavern keeper
clerk
carpenter
4&
15
11
9
6
4
seamstress
taylor [sic]
laborer
baker
sugar maker
4
4
3
3
2
21 State Department, Miscellaneous Letters 1794. Feb

ruary and March, No. 284j P. 126.
'
22 State Department. Miscellaneous Letters 1794.
April, No.-10.0.,_ p. 67.
33
There were only three colored men in the list, with twentythree colored women and twenty-seven colored c h i l d r e n . ^
With the spending of the $15,000 appropriation, the
federal government abandoned the problem to the local au
thorities or to the representatives of the French govern
ment in this country.
Hereafter Congress was willing to
grant passports or to assist if possible the French au

thorities in finding a solution.
Further the body was un
willing to go.
23 Ibid.. No. 329, p. 109; No. 335, p. 107; No. 336 ,

p. 107; No. 337, p. 103; No. 333, p. 103.
CHAPTER SIX
THE REFUGEES AND THE FRENCH GOVERNMENT
When the insurrection first began in August, 1791, the

Assembly of Saint Domingue sent M. Roustan as commissioner
to the United States to obtain aid in suppressing the reb
els.
He arrived in Philadelphia in September.'* Even be
fore he was able to see Jean de Temant, French Minister

to the United States, the Pennsylvania Legislature, in
spired by some merchants, had received a motion to send two
shiploads of provisions to the French colony.
T e m a n t was
afraid this would furnish the United States government with

an excuse to take over the island and consequently sent
Roustan to France.
As President Washington and the Secre
tary of State were both away, he saw both the Secretary of

War and the Secretary of the Treasury who gave him arms and
munitions and |40,000.^
A Baltimore newspaper, quoting a
Philadelphia dispatch, was "happy to inform the public that

on the 21st the French Minister asked the Government for aid in
money and supplies for Hispaniola and that this request had
1 Frederick J. Turner, editor, "Correspondence of the

French Ministers to the United States 1791-1797:,r American
Historical Association Annual Report for 1903. (2 vols.
Washington, D. C., 19047"^ T e m a n t to Montmorin, September
2S, 1791, II, p. 45. Cited hereafter as Turner, Corres
pondence .
2
Ibid., II, p. 51.
Ibid.. II, pp. 4&, 49.
90
been granted in full.^
The munitions consisted of a thou
sand stand of arms and other stores.
The credit of
$40,000 was to be spent as Ternant desired.**

The Assembly of Saint Domingue sent two other depu
ties, de Beauvois and Payan, making larger demands for aid,
"eight thousand fusils and bayonets, two thousand mousquators, three thousand pistols, three thousand sabres" and
a large quantity of food and building materials.
These en
voys saw Jefferson and asked that their request be granted

and that the money to pay for the supplies be taken out of
the sums owed by the United States to France.

They also
brought letters to the President and to Congress; Congress
read them but took no further notice or action.
Jefferson
gave the petitioners a few supplies and asked Ternant to

secure instructions from France on the action to be taken.
Ternant himself gave them $10,000 as a temporary grant.
In October, T e m a n t reported that the envoys from Saint
Domingue had come to him again because they could obtain no
aid from Congress.
Still a third commissioner, M. Polony,
came from Saint Domingue to Charleston seeking aid from South

Carolina.
He did get 3,000 pounds from the legislature for

vertiser. October 18, 1791.
5 Jefferson to William Short, November 24, 1791, Lipscomb, Writings of Jefferson. VIII, p. 260.
6
Ibid., VIII, p. 260.
91
supplies of food.^
T e m a n t himself kept trying to get more
assistance from Jefferson, who wrote him a long letter in

November conveying the information that United States
aid to the distressed colony was given out of humanity and
without any authorization from the French government in
Paris.
This aid had continued for over a year with no such
authorization and, with the wants of the colony likely to

continue, Jefferson wanted something more in the way of as
surance that such action was approved.
Now in addition to
the sums already granted, Ternant was asking for $40,000

more.
He was told that he would be given this, but only on
condition that it would be spent in the United States and

exclusively for the relief of Saint Domingue.
Temant
asked his government for such instructions in November and

even more vehemently in January after he received no reply
o
to his first request.7 He was being asked to give to Saint
Domingue the $40,000 alloted to the colony in June, 1792,
from the amount owed by the United States to France.
This
was all that Ternant was to do in connection with the re-
7 T e m a n t to Montmorin, February 23, 1792, Turner,

Correspondence. II, p. &6.
8 Jefferson to Ternant, November 20, 1792, Lipscomb,
Writings of Jefferson, VIII, pp. 440-442.
9 T e m a n t to Minister of Foreign Affairs, January 12,

1793 t Turner, Correspondence. II, p. 166.
92
quests from Saint Domingue, for in February, 1793> be

A
10
learned that he was being replaced by Genet.
In March, Jefferson took the matter up with Gouverneur Morris in Paris to see what the new authorities in
France wanted the United States to do about money payments
to aid the refugees.
This government would continue to
pay up the four millions of livres which had been desig

nated by the former authorities in France for the relief of
Saint Domingue.^
He warned that if we honored all the de
mands made by the Minister the sum would overpay the in

stalments on our debt to France.
was paid off.
By 1795 the debt to France
Officially the United States gave money to
assist the people in Saint Domingue, but no military assis

tance was lent beyond some given unofficially by Americans
who were living in the island or who happened to be there
on business.^
Evidently the Committee of Public Safety in
Paris did not fully trust their ministers here, for in Janu
ary, 1793, they sent Count Constantin Yolney to the United
States as a "naturalist," at 15,000 livres a year, to report
10 Ternant to Minister of Foreign Affairs, February

2S, 1793, Turner, Correspondence. II, p. lSl.
11 Jefferson to Gouverneur Morris, March 12, 1793,
Lipscomb, Writings of Jefferson. IX, p. 37. A livre at
this time was 18 cents.
110.
12
Treudley, "United States and Santo Domingo," p.
93
on. conditions in America.
13
The present writer has not
found any connection between him and the refugees during

his stay in the United States.
T e m a n t had, from the beginning of the influx of the
refugees, kept his home government well advised of what was
happening here.
In October, 1791, he reported a "grand
nombre" had fled to this country.
In May of the next year
he told of 200 families in Philadelphia and as many in

other places, some of whom were disposing of their fortunes
to buy land in the United S t a t e s . I n January, the exas
perated Minister was complaining bitterly of receiving no
help from Paris and demanding that he either be sent regular
correspondence or recalled.^5
Already Gen'et had been ap
pointed to succeed him and, as part of his instructions,

Gen&t was to aid "with all means the French citizens in the
United States whose conduct seems irreproachable."
Emigres
from France were not in this class.^

In June, the Foreign Minister sent Genet a copy of the
13 Baron Marc de Villiers du Terrage, Les Demieres

Annies de la Louisiane Franâise. (Paris, 1904), p. 371
14 Ternant to Lessait, May 20, 1792, Turner, Corres
pondence. II, p. 127.
15 Ternant to Minister of Foreign Affairs, January
19, 1793, ibid.. II, p. 169.
16 "Correspondence of Clark and Genet", American His
torical Review. I, 1396, p. 962 .
""
94
Decree of the National Convention concerning the patriots of >

Saint Domingue, Guadaloupe, and Martinique who were refugees
in the United States.
They might return upon securing a
certificate of good conduct from the town where they now re

sided and then clear with General Galbaud, former Governor
of Saint Domingue, who had fled to the United States with
the main convoy in the summer of 1793*
17
G e n e t s first in
formation on the convoy bringing the big group of refugees

came verbally from a number of ship captains.
He wrote to
the Minister of Foreign Affairs that he was waiting to min

ister to their needs and sent copies of his letter to all
ports of the United States.
lS Then Moissonnier, French Con
sul at Baltimore, reported to Genet that he was overwhelmed

by refugees.
Two days later he amplified his first communi
cation by reporting that officers and sailors of French naval ships of the line were included among the refugees.
19
17 E. C. Genet Papers, Library of Congress, Washing

ton, D. C., Foreign Minister to Genet, June 30) 1793* These
papers are not numbered or bound but are in folders ar
ranged in chronological order only. Cited subsequently as
Genet Papers with the date of the particular letter or paper.
lG Genet to Minister of Foreign Affairs, July 6,
1793) Turner, Correspondence, II, p. 219.
19 Moissonnier to Genet, July 11, 1793} Affaires
Etrangeres, Correspondence Politique, Etats Unis, facsim
iles in Library of Congress. Vol. 38, III, p. 103. These
are photostats which contain the portions of the corres
pondence not published in T u r n e r s article in the Proceed
ings of the American Historical Association. The Gen'dt
papers contain some material not to be found in either of
these two sources.
95
One of the refugees, a rich M. Gauvain, had insulted

Moissonnier who wanted to. arrest him.
Gauvain blamed the
commissioners in Saint Domingue for all the troubles.

Sailors were also causing trouble in Baltimore, and
Moissonnier had persuaded the city authorities to make it
a crime to sell drink to sailors after 7 P. M.
He had al
so broken up an impromptu parade and sent some French

soldiers to jail for disobedience.
20
Genet had some difficulty in arranging for funds to

care for these unusual expenses.
He wrote to Alexander
Hamilton, then Secretary of the Treasury, that Jefferson had

told him to issue no drafts on the debt of the United States
to France, but that he most urgently needed funds, particu
larly to care for the fleet just arrived from Santo Domingo.
He accordingly was disposing of the amount of the first two
payments that would be due on the debt to pay for supplies.
21
General Galbaud remained on board the Jupiter at Bal

timore and wrote to Genet for an interview.
He and the
refugees had lost their goods and had a right to expect

help from the Republic.
The warships had landed first at
Norfolk to unload passengers and make repairs.
Some mer
chant ships then went on to New York to await warships to
20 Moissonnier to Geri&t, July 16, 1793, Genet Papers,

June-August, 1793*
21 Genet to Hamilton, July 19, 1793, Genet Papers,
June-August, 1793.
96
convoy them to France.
With the squadron and a group of
soldiers available, the aggressive Genet wanted to attack

the English, retake St. Pierre and Miquelon, and capture
a rich convoy in Hudson Bay.
He would recruit American
volunteers to capture New Orleans.
All of these schemes
were broached to Paris in one letter.
22
Two days later Genet asked Jeffersons help in counter

acting a plot against France which he had discovered among
the recently arrived refugees from Santo Domingo.
Jeffer
son replied that he had heard rumors of such a military

expedition being planned in Maryland and had written the
Governor of that state to prevent it.2^
was some basis for Genets fears.
There actually
At least two thousand
refugees along the Atlantic coast were involved in a plot

to return to Santo Domingo.
When the enterprise failed,
Galbaud, who was one of the ringleaders, fled to Canada to
25
avoid arrest. ^
Genets misgivings are documented among his papers in
22 Genet to Minister of Foreign Affairs, August 2,

1793, Turner, Correspondence. II, p. 233.
23 Genet to Jefferson, August 4, 1793, Affaires
Etrangeres. Correspondence Politique, Etats Unis. Vol. 39,
I, p. 64.
24 Jefferson to Gent, August 7, 1793, Genet Papers,
June, August, 1793.
US.
25
Treudley, United States and Santo Domingo, p*
97
an undated and unsigned memorandum to the Bureau of Colo

nies, apparently written in August, 1793 asking where the
money was to come from to reimburse him for the amount al
ready spent on the French from Santo Domingo and also re
questing advice on what provisions to give to the fleet.
In September he again wrote to Jefferson concerning a
"frightful conspiracy against France.
General Galbaud and
others, not content with the harm they had already done in
Santo Domingo, were now planning to return to that island,
even allying themselves with England and Spain.
The Gover
nor of New York had delivered warrants against Galbaud and

Tangui, but both had escaped.
Genet now wanted the Feder-
oA
al Government to intervene.
Jefferson promised executive
power to aid in stopping this plot, though he refused to

arrest the men on grounds of no real proof and lack of juris27
diction.
The mayor of Philadelphia also received a letter from
Genet informing him that 10,000 refugees were in this coun
try and requesting permission for them to assemble in Phila
delphia.
The mayor denied having authority to grant them
this permission, but a meeting of the refugees was held nev-
26 Genet to Jefferson, September 6, 1793, Affaires

Etrang^res, Correspondence Politique, Etats Unis. Vol. 39,
I, p. 65.
"
27 Jefferson to Genet, September 12, 1793, ibid..
Vol. 39, I, p. 65.
----
95
ertheless on September 30 near the meeting place of Con

gress, at which time the participants adopted resolutions
to perpetuate a refugee organization.25
In trying to prevent an expedition to Santo Domingo
Genet attempted to dictate American policy.
Jefferson had
asked the Maryland Governor to stop the sailing of a mili

tary expedition, though in November he did inform Genet
that the law did not permit him to "prohibit the departure
of emigrants to Santo Domingo, according to the wish you
now express, any more than it" permitted him "to force them
away, according to that expressed by you in a former letter.29
Genet, finally, on October 5* 1793, wrote a complete
report on his handling of the refugees.
The majority were
peaceful merchants and workers guilty of nothing, he as

serted.
He had spent $2,000 at Baltimore and at Norfolk
had established a hospital for the wounded.
The situation
had now calmed down but there was much prejudice in Norfolk
between the sailors and the men of color.
He suggested
that no refugee be permitted to reenter Santo Domingo.
To
accomplish this he had secured from the President of the
25 Genet sent copies to Foreign Minister, 14 VendemiaireAn 2 (October 5, 1793), ibid.. Vol. 3 9 , p. 69.
29 Jefferson to Genet, November 30, 1793, Lipscomb,
Writings of Jefferson. IX, p. 259.
99
United States an order that no captain should receive a

colonist unless he had a passport signed by Genet.
He knew
of 600 colonists planning an expedition to land at Jere 30

mie.
A month later his papers contain a document in English
which is diatribe against the refugees from Santo Domingo
who "formerly vied in power with the little Things of
Africa and with the Sybarites in splendor and effeminacy.
They now were "imploring the compassion of the Americans.
But they were blind and obstinate and none should be sent
back among the "Free Men who were formerly their slaves.
As an individual he felt pity, but their arrival has been
the "Epoch of the Birth of two Counter Revolutionary French
Gazettes which they read with avidity.
One-half of them
"preach up without shame for Royalty and Aristocracy, the

other half are patriotic but irreconcilable to Equality of
skin."
It is for the latter half he solicits the care of
France which alone can offer them asylum.^

Genets activities in various fields aroused opposition
in this country and resulted in his recall.
The presence of
the turbulent element of West Indian refugees undoubtedly
30 Genet to Minister of Foreign Affairs, October 5,

1793> Affaires Etrang^res, Correspondence Politique. Etats
Unis. Vol. 39, I, p. 53.
31 "Report as to Situation in French Colonies in Amer
ica, November, 1793, Geneb Papers 1793-1&01.
100
added to his difficulties and furnished new grounds for

trouble between him and the American government. ^
The
Committee of Public Safety sent Jean Antoine Joseph

Fauchet and three other commissioners to take charge in
this country and to arrest Genet.33
The first report of
these commissioners after their arrival concerned the con

stant demands made by the refugees who wished to profit by
the passage money being given to them for the return to
France.
There were constant intrigues among the "Emigres
and brigands from Santo Domingo."
The French government
had decided to give 200 livres Toumois to each refugee who

would return to France.
The money was supposed to be paid
to ship captains who would take them on board ship.
Some
refugees were content with this arrangement; others com

plained bitterly.
The commissioners would leave to the au
thorities in France the decision as to who among them was

innocent and who guilty of any crime.
Santo Domingo was
such a "cohos d Thorreurs" that nothing could be decided

here in America.
Meanwhile passage would be given to all.
Fauchet applied to Randolph for an advance with which to
32
Treudley,"United States and Santo Domingo," p. 121.
33
Turner, Correspondence. II, pp. 2#7, 2$S.
34 Commissioners to Minister of Foreign Affairs, March

21, 1794, ibid.. pp. 306-313.
101
pay the expenses of sending the refugees to France.^5

A month later a supplemental report stated that there
were in all parts of the United States a considerable num
ber of refugees, many of whom had come from Santo Domingo
even before 1793*
Most of these were Royalists.
The later
comers included soldiers and sailors from Santo Domingo whom

Genet had formed into a volunteer corps while waiting for
the Republic to use them.
An estimate of 5000 was made, of
whom the "greater number have saved the means of subsistence"

and two-thirds do not merit the regard of France for "they
only wait for the success of the enemy arms to permit them
to return to their property in the islands."
Not being able
to count on the fidelity of many of these people, the com

missioners had decided to disregard the instructions to send
them back to Santo Domingo and instead were going to send all
of them to France.
These later instructions had been sent to
the consuls and vice-consuls for publication and for action

in placing these refugees on French ships ready to leave in
convoy for France.
Soldiers and marines were ordered on
board these ships.
Only later would they know how many refu
gees elected to accept this offer, but they estimated eight

hundred.
Any desiring to go later would be given neither sub-
35 American State Papers, Foreign Relations. I, p.

427, quoted in ibid., 11, p. 312.
102
sistence nor passage.
Orders called originally for the
convoy to leave 2# Ventose An 2 (March IS, 1794) which

gave but little time for arrangements even though the con
voy had not actually sailed by the time of the later re
port. ^
This program for sending the refugees back was
continued for some time.
In August, a notice appeared in
a. Charleston, South Carolina, newspaper asking all French

citizens who desired to go to France to register with the
consulate within fifteen days.
37
The last report concerning refugees made by these com

missioners early in 1795 , indicated a new emigration of men
from the colonies who were nif not guilty at least doubt
ful.
Their number was being augmented rapidly and despite
repeated requests for instructions concerning them, noth

ing had been heard.
Something had to be done, but what?
To send them back simply meant more trouble, and caring for
them took time which French agents needed to carry out their
instructions on other matters.
These commissioners never got the desired information.
Instead, Pierre Auguste Adet was sent to Philadelphia to
36 Commissioners to Minister of Foreign Affairs, April

14, 1794, ibid., II, PP. 323-326.
tiser. August 15, 1794.
33 Commissioners to Committee of Public Safety, March
21, 1795, Turner, Correspondence. II, p. 614 .
103
replace them in January, 1795.
The mother country either
was too busy or did not care, for she seems to have done
little for the refugees from this time on.
Perhaps she
did not consider them to be desirable citizens.
Certain
ly events were moving rapidly in Europe.

While the French Ministers in this country regarded
most of the refugees as dangerous to the Republic of France,
the officials in Paris did not completely lose sight of
them.
The Consuls and Vice-Consuls throughout the United
States published notices asking all French colonials from

the West Indies who wanted to go to France to register at
the consulates and their expenses would be paid by the
French government.
39
Then, as a means of keeping in touch
with them, the Law of September 14s 1793? required all

Frenchmen living outside of France to make Certificates of
Residence with the nearest French Consul.
The records of
this office in Norfolk contain many of these made out for

various times over the next fifteen years.
They become
brief biographies because many of the refugees included in

these certificates all sorts of information so that they
might have something in the way of official papers to re
place those lost or destroyed in the hasty flight from the
West Indies.
They also were required to register births

vertiser. August 20, 1793*
104
and deaths in their families.^
All this had been the rule
under the Ancien Regime.

Until July 13, 179&, the French Consuls were empowered
to perform marriages and, in the absence of Catholic priests,
many of the refugees used the Consul for this service as
well as in connection with wills, death certificates, and
other legal documents.^
After that date, a clergyman had
to perform the marriage ceremony and it is interesting to

see recorded by the Consul at Norfolk many marriages of these
Catholic French colonials in which the officiating minister
was of the Protestant Episcopal Church.
the prescribed Protestant service.
The ceremony was
Reverend James White
head, rector at Norfolk, married and buried many of the refu

gees before his death in 1 S0$.^2
Interment was in the
Catholic cemetery even though the minister was not of that

faith.
As soon as Louis XVIII became king of France, ex-colonials along with the 'emigres from the mother country re
newed their efforts to regain their former possessions.
The
Law of December 5, 1&L4, relative to the goods of the emi-
40 Savannah, Ga., Georgia Gazette. March 27, 1794,

quoted in Hartridge, "Santo Domingan Refugees," p. 121.
41 Consular Records. Reel 4, 9 Messidor An 10 (June
27, 1 S0 2 ), p. 27742 Norfolk, Va., Norfolk Gazette ând Public Ledger.
September 5, 180S.
105
gres provided that property taken because of emigration

and which still belonged to the State should be given to
the former owners or their heirs.^
This, however, did
not aid the former residents of Santo Domingo who were

living in this country or in France.
The French Chamber
of Deputies suggested that an army be sent to Haiti to

force some settlement for the refugees or their heirs.
Of
course Petion and Christophe, rulers of Haiti, scorned any

idea of making payment.
Eventually in July, 1&25, Baron
Mackau in command of a French fleet and French army landed

at Port-au-Prince and forced a treaty whereby the govern
ment of Haiti would pay in five instalments the sum of
115 ,000,000 francs to be used to indemnify former colo

nists.^
The French Law of April 27, 1&25, provided for indem
nity to the colonials, using the property value of 1790 as
the criterion for determining the amounts to be paid.
Bonds were to be given to owners or their heirs and were
to be paid to persons residing outside of France as well as
to those in the mother country.
This was the famous bil-
^
3 Andre Gain, La Restauration et les Biens des
Emigres (2 vols., Nancy, France, 192$), II, Appendix. I,
p 445
44
Davis, Black Democracy. II, p. 447.
45
Gain, Restauration. II, p. 447.
106
lion franc indemnity of 1 & 2 5 . ^
The Ordinance fixing the
details for the execution of this law provided that the

former owners or heirs must furnish proof of ownership
and inheritance.
This condition had to be complied with

in
within two years by those living outside of Europe.
At
Norfolk, a number of claims were filed with the French
Consul by the refugees or their heirs who resided in the
city or some nearby town.
Each had the required five
witnesses who swore to the identities and the amounts of

property the persons presenting the claim formerly possessed
in the islands. The consular records do not show that pay
ments were ever made to the refugees in Norfolk.
As to those who chose to remain in the United States,
the French government apparently made no effort to induce
them to return.
Eventual assimilation into the American
population was the fate of all save those who, of their own
volition, decided to return to the West Indies or to France
when some turn of the French Revolutionary or the Napoleonic
period persuaded them to gamble on going back.
46
Greer, Emigration, p. 2.
47
Gain, Restauration. II, p. 72.
107
CHAPTER SEVEN
THE ECONOMIC ADJUSTMENT OF THE REFUGEES
Probably at no period in American history was there

a greater interest in Frenchmen and in things French than
in the last two decades of the eighteenth century.
In a
sense the seaboard cities were European outposts going

through an Americanization process and each had a colony
of Frenchmen.
These expatriates in many instances came
from an aristocratic, wealthy background and capitalized

on their former way of life to make a living.
Their danc
ing, fencing, music, and language schools, their skill in

cooking (or that of their slaves) and their talent for
fashionable dress all aided in making "everything Gallic
a la mode.
Inns and taverns became "hotels," while bak
ers and pastry cooks now styled themselves "restauranteurs."'*

American women became enthusiastic over French fashions
and French hair-dressers became men of importance.
Jeffer
son employed a French cook and a French cooks assistant,

paying the two of them about $400 a year.^
Travelers such
as Rochambeau, Baron Closen, Rochefoucauld-Liancourt and
Jones, French Culture, p. 540.
2 Charles Hitchcock Sherrill, French Memories of Eight

eenth Century America (New York, 1915), pp. 60, 61.
3
108
especially Moreau de St. Mery all commented on the popular

ity of French fashions and entertainments.
From Santo Domingo had come a varied group: aristoc
racy, clergy, army and navy officers and enlisted men,
colonial officials, professional men,merchants, planters,
tradesmen and artisans.
The group included white and col
ored and many of mixed blood.
The majority settled in
cities and towns along the Atlantic seaboard which soon

had French streets complete with shops, places of entertain
ment, coffee houses, and dwellings.
let it is still impos
sible to make generalizations about them which will be en

tirely accurate.
Frenchmen.
They were individuals and they were
Their coming was haphazard, unplanned, and for
the most part it was essential as a means of saving their

very lives.
Some brought means of support, frequently in
the form of faithful slaves, while others fled with their

lives and little else.^
Probably most planned to stay in
the United States for only a short time, hoping to return

to the islands and regain their property; others were here
only until they could secure passage for France.
Yet with
their Royalist background, the turn of events in both the

islands and the mother country forced most of them to make
4 Frances Sergeant Childs, French Refugee Life in the

United States 1790-1800. An American Chapter of the French
Revolution (Baltimore. 1940). p p . 60f 61.
109
a permanent home in their new country.
Some were never able
to stand on their own feet and remained dependent on the

bounty of Americans or were cared for by their more adapta
ble fellow refugees.
Others lived from the earnings of
their slaves, but many had the ability to learn a new lan
guage and adopt a new way of life.
Most of them remained
in or near the cities where the majority opened shops of

one sort or another.
A few rose to prominence.
n0ne refu
gee from Martinique sold his gold sleeve buttons to buy a

horse and cart and with that capital set out to fame and
fortune."5
Janson indicated that the average mechanic or
laborer in the United States at that time could earn, from

a dollar to a dollar and a half a day.
Lawyers would get
only meagre returns unless they had connections, but any

medical man might go anywhere and do well even without a
diploma. Quacks enj'oyed an easy living.

Enough materials are available to give a fairly com
plete picture of the adjustments made by the refugees in
the four major centers of their settlements in the South.
In Norfolk the records of. the French Consulate contain wills,
marriage contracts, applications for various certificates,
Ibid.. p. xv.
6 Charles William Janson, The Stranger in America.

1793-1&06 (New York, 1935, Reprint of the London Edition
of l07), pp. 413-420.
110
death and birth notices, all of them requiring a set of

witnesses.^
These, supplemented by the newspaper and travel
accounts, show for a generation after 1790 some one hundred

fifty-five named individuals known to be from Santo Domingo
and twenty-four others probably from that island who were
in business of some description in Norfolk and surrounding
towns.
The following table shows how. these are broken down
by occupations:
merchants (marchand)
wholesalers (negociant)
schoolteachers
bakers
tailors
doctors and dentists
proprietors of ball rooms
and entertainment
gardens
Consular employees
hardware and tinsmiths
carpenters
hospital employees
confectioners
innkeepers
health officers
63
14
14
10
3
6
6
6
5
4
5
3
3
3
ship carpenters
rentiers
book store owners
plantation owners
public bath owners
brick maker
mason
poultryman
rope maker
horse doctor
gardener
tanner
nail factory owner
watchmaker
caterer
2
2
2
2
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
7 Now available on microfilm are six large reels con

taining the almost complete records of the French Consulate
in Norfolk, Virginia, for the years 1790-1^30. These are
in several sections with overlapping dates and no single
overall page numbering. In this work citations will give
the number of the reel, the section when the reel is so
divided, and the date of the entry. In some cases the pages
are numbered and this will be given when it appears. Most
of the frames are of ledger size pages and the entries are
chronological. For a time these are in the dates of the
French Revolutionary calendar. These records will be cited
in this work as Consular Records. The originals from which
the microfilms were made are in the Brown Historical Col
lection of the Detroit Public Library. Microfilm copy is
in the Alderman Library of the. University of Virginia.
Ill
Norfolk at this time was a town of mud streets with

some 650 wooden houses, yet it was one of the leading commercial places doing business with the West Indies.
Around
the docks were many opportunities to hire out Negro slaves.

At this time the Negroes could be hired out for manual la
bor and domestic service at thirty-three sous (about thir
ty-three cents) for a man and one-third less for a woman
o
for one days work . 7 Some years later when Levasseur vis
ited Norfolk, the usual rate was meals and seventy-five
cents a day, the slave faithfully turning the cash over to
his master.
In this way some refugees from Santo Domingo
were able to live without working themselves.^
One Petit
inserted an advertisement in the newspaper offering $10 re

ward for the return of a French Negro named Toney, a carpenter by trade, who disappeared with his tools.
11
This
may have been one who grew tired of turning his wages over
to someone else.
Some of the refugees appear to have had a
considerable number of slaves with them.
Robert Dieudonne
Gaigneron who arrived in Norfolk from Guadaloupe in Septem

ber, 1795 1 declared a few years later that six had died and
S
Janson, Stranger, p. 333 .
Roberts, Moreau de St. Mery, p. 60.
10 Auguste Levasseur, Lafayette in America in 1S2A and

1&25 or Journal of Travels in the United States (2 vols. New
York, 1329), I, pp." 192, 193.
11
Norfolk, Va., Norfolk Herald, June 23 , 1S01.
112
two deserted out of the sixteen slaves he had brought with

him.12
The French Consular office served as a sort of gener
al government for the French refugees.
In the wills and
death inventories recorded, there are some revealing sta

tistics on the possessions of these people.
It was the
practice of the Consul to have prepared a complete inven

tory of the effects of the deceased.
An entry of 1797
shows the same Robert Gaigneron to have become the guardian

of the minor children of Guillaume Faydel upon the death of
the latter and his wife in Norfolk.
The estate totaled
$127.52 in money, furniture worth $ 98.87 and merchandise

and debts due him, $1,292.25.
Against this there were to
be charged the expense of the funeral and other items in

cluding thirty-three cents for medicine and twenty-five
cents for face powder.
From October, 1795, to October,
1797, Gaigneron spent $1,668.51 in caring for the family.1^

Frederick Etienne Tainturier, a baker, upon his death
in 179&, had 5 chairs, 3 broken at the seat, a buffet,
dishes, a piano, violin, and jewelry valued at $525.
In
his shop were a coffee urn, utensils, and some groceries
12 Consular Records, Reel 4, 16 Vendemiaire An 10

(October 8, 1801J, p. 193.
^
Ibid.. Reel 3, 18 Brumaire An 6 (November 8, 1797), 5
Frimaire An 6 (November 25, 1797).
113
worth $74*50.
There were five servants, though the record
does not indicate whether they were slaves or employees.
14
The inventory of the effects of Marie Anne Madelaine

Revel, a widow who operated a shop on Main Street, showed
her stock to include hardware, tea, soap, candles, liquor
glasses, coffee cups, pots, mirrors, shoes, pens, cloth,
a variety of foodstuffs and sundry other items.
The stock
and fixtures were estimated to be worth $461 and there was

cash on hand to the amount of $23.
In Santo Domingo she had
owned a house and estate worth 40,000 livres plus some other
property.
She still owned the island estate but of course
could not realize anything on it at this t i m e . ^

Thomas Meunier, a baker, left an estate in 1810 which
included his personal and business property and three slaves,
all valued at $1,150.45*
His books showed the names of
thirty refugees to whom he sold bread.
His debts were a-
bout $ 8 0 0 . ^
Jacques Mazuc who died in December, 1809, had assets in
money of $ 184.56 and property which sold for $265.85.
His
debts, including the cost of funeral and settling the estate,
14 Ibid.. Reel 3, 25 Floreal An 6 (May 14, 1798), p..

47, 28 Floreal An 6 (May 17, 1798), p. 52, 3 Prairial An 6
(May 22, 1798).
15
Ibid., Reel 4, 14 Germinal An 6 (3 April, 179&).
16
Ibid.. Reel 6, October 28, 1810, p. 155.
114
amounted to $102.75*
He was proprietor of a small grocery
shop which handled foodstuffs, soap, "segars," and utensils.
17
Marie Glaudin, a widow with two minor children,
operated a small shop.
The inventory made prior to her
marriage with Jean Joseph Jobert listed rum, wine, molas

ses, whiskey, tobacco, spices, and food which, with the
lg
furniture, were valued at $1,111.1#.'
Some free persons of color from Santo Domingo also
left records at the Consulate.
Catherine Colette, a mulat
to, sold two slaves to Vincent Parlato, another refugee,

for $500 in Spanish m o n e y . ^
Two years later she made her
will leaving her estate to her daughters, one in Cuba and

one in Norfolk.
Another slave was to receive her freedom
after serving for five years.
The property was located
both in Norfolk and in Santo Domingo.
20
Eleanore, a free
Negress living on Main Street, made her will leaving her

,fsoul to God,n $50 each to a tobacco merchant and a free
Negress, some furniture to William Vaughan the magistrate,
and the rest to Soline, a slave belonging to Mr. Andre.
The property was a small grocery store or pastry shop plus
17
Ibid..Reel 6, December 11, 1#09, p. 119*
1#
Ibid.,Reel 6, part
2, July 15, 1#1S, p. 4.
19
Ibid.,Reel 5, part
3, March 26, 1#06, p. 71.
20
Ibid., Reel 5, part
3, October 29, 1#0S, p. 72.
115
five Negro slaves of whom four were under the age of

twelve.
21
Rosine Griggonne, a free Negress who came from
Santo Domingo by way of Cuba, made a contract to pay

$35350 within eight months to Antoine Charonnier, also
a refugee, for the liberty of her mulatto daughter
Eugenie and passage for the two from Cuba.
22
At first the refugees usually married within the ref

ugee group.
Widows remarried quickly.
Their long mar
riage contracts carefully stated the property belonging

to each party and the disposition to be made of it.
When
Francois-Marie Pigeon married the widow Tommavere, he had

54& pounds Virginia money and the bride had 120 pounds.
Each had property in Santo Domingo and a dowry of $7,000
was given to the wife.
23
Guillaume Vanososte, a widower
aged twenty-five, who was a merchant, gave a dowry of

$2,000 to the widow Rocheblanc, aged twenty-two, at their
marriageThe
contract of Roch Brumand when he married
Marie Reimoneng showed the husband to be worth 6,000 francs

and the bride 6,000 francs T o u m o i s and 2,000 livres Tour-
21
Ibid..
Reel5, part 3, June 1606, p. 62.
22
Ibid.,
Reel6, March 12, 1610, p. 131.
23
p. 9&
Ibid.,
Reel4, 2 Frimaire An 7 (November22,
24
p. 120.
Ibid.,
Reel4, 15 Pluviose An 9 (February
1796),
3, 1601),
116
25
nols. ^
Louise Henriette Leydier, already twice widowed
at twenty-seven, listed property at the time of her third

wedding as seven slaves, $1,000 in goods, the sum of
49,000 livres T o u mois and four plantations in Santo Do
mingo.
Her third husband had only two plantations in
Santo Domingo and three slaves in Norfolk.

was valued at $500.
His property
It took the consul forty-five pages
of various certificates, licenses, and records to arrange

this marriage.
When the daughter of the merchant Baltha
zar Danfossy married in 1321, he was able to give her a

dowry of 15,000 francs.
27
In a very few years she died
leaving personal property of 2,200 francs, a library con

taining an encyclodepia in English of forty volumes, and
sixty-six other English works including some Shakespeare
and Pope, 157 volumes in French, all worth 1,475 francs,
and community property worth 32,000 francs.2^
The Parlato
and Germain families were able to give their children over

$5,000 plus a share of property in the firm of Bretty,
Sautejan, and Vincent.
25
p. 115.
Ibid.. Reel 4, 16 Nivose An 9 (January 3, 1301),
26
Ibid., Reel 6, December 16, 1309, pp. 123-127.
27
Ibid.,Reel 6, part 4, February 27,
1321.
23
Ibid., Reel 6, part 4 , February 21,
1324.
29
Ibid..Reel 6, part 5, June 1325.
117
These are selected examples which show that some of

the refugees were able within a generation to become very
substantial citizens in Norfolk.
The same impression is
borne out by the newspaper advertisements.
The firm of
Soulage and Andre operated a mercantile house dealing in

wholesale foodstuffs.
In 1303 it purchased from the ship
building firm of Bartholemy Accinelly a brigantine for

$3,000.
The partners owned other ships as well.^- Ac
cinelly and his son operated their shipyard in Portsmouth.

With some of the ships they built they also carried on com
merce.
The elder Accinelly was associated with Bernard
Roux and Louis Lepage of Norfolk in buying slaves which

they transported to New Orleans for sale there.31
these men had come from Santo Domingo.
All of
J. B. Duchamp ad
vertised an auction of 64 hogsheads and 72 barrels of Lou

isiana sugar;-^
P. Desnoes operated a retail shop but bought
his whiskey in one hundred barrel lots and his butter by

hundreds of kegs.^p
Boucher & Brother sold hardware and
30 Norfolk, Va., Norfolk Herald. January 3 1301, De

cember 3 1301; Consular Records. Reel 4 Document 265 .
31 Consular Records. Reel 6, part 5> November 10,
1323; Norfolk. Va.. Norfolk Gazette and Public Ledger.
August 17, 1310.
32 Norfolk, Va., Norfolk Gazette and Public Ledger,
August 17, 1310.
33
general merchandise.^
James Delauney and Company operated
a wholesale and retail hardware business and owned a nail

factory.-^
Louis Arnaud at 5 Market Square carried a big
dry goods stock, listing in one advertisement fourteen

varieties of cloth and indicating that he wanted "a few
thousand dollars of treasury notes at a small discount."
He offered a fair premium for gold and silver . ^
torial of the time is surprisingly modern in tone.
One edi
"We
have never seen our market so poorly supplied or such high

prices.
Lamb, veal, and mutton were twenty-five cents
and ducks "scarcely feathered," thirty-one cents.
Fish was
"uncommonly scarce and dear."37

There were, between 1793 and 1320, thirteen different
schools which inserted notices in the newspapers offering
to teach boys, girls, or adults, everything from fencing
and dancing to a rather full curriculum.
schools were open in the evening
the two sexes.
120 pupils.
Some of these
with separate classes for
The largest indicated that it had room for
The fencing teacher would "elucidate by mathe-
34 Norfolk, Va., Norfolk Herald. July 12, 1315; Nor

folk and Portsmouth Herald, May 1. 1820.
35
Norfolk, Va., Norfolk Herald. January 3, 1315.
36
Ibid., April 19, 1315.
37
Ibid., July 14, 1315.
119
matical demonstration at this refugee operated school.'

Perhaps the most enterprising and versatile of these
teachers was Mr. Ducoing who, in the first half of 1315,
managed a ball room and furnished sheet music for piano,
flute, and violin at no charge.
He ran subscription balls
at which he provided unusual entertainment, on one occa

sion displaying 35 wax figures; later he cut profiles
"correctly during the day for twenty-five cents and still
later he had a dancing school.^
Nor was he the first of these promoters in entertain
ment.
Mr. Riffaud operated the Vauxhall Gardens in 1301,
having a garden with adjoining rooms for dancing and re

freshments which included the best liquor.
An admission
fee was charged, but the visitor received its value in trade.
He catered to special dinner parties and gave concerts dur30
ing the season. * Lindsay1s Gardens directed by M. Rosainville, was a competitor which offered as an additional in
ducement fireworks "adapted to the occasion. .
together with music.
gratis,
The orchestra with nine pieces played
in the garden which was decorated with 2,000 elegant

lamps."
Admission on special occasions was six shill-
33 Ibid.. January 6, 10, February 10, March 10, May

26, June 12, September 22, 1315.
39
Ibid.. February 26 , 1301, April 30, 1301.
120
ings.^-0
These gardens were apparently not the most suc
cessful businesses, for they were shortlived, to judge from

the fact that their notices did not appear for many con
secutive years.
In 1809 the Wig Warn Gardens were open
for business offering the same facilities, and in addition

a cockpit, ninepins and quoits.^
Francis Latour at one time advertised that he operated
public baths in the old Vaux Hall.
Baths were three for
one dollar or thirty-seven and one-half cents apiece.
He,
too, offered elaborate fireworks, a double vertical rep

resenting a girandol, a Half Moon, and in its center a
fixed cross of Malta, with brilliant Rays changing into a
running Sun, with a variety of colors; this last changes
into a Glory.
This was but the first.
The last was a
Ip
frigate attacking a fort.
Only a month earlier he had
tried to sell the establishment which included eight tin

tubs, a copper kettle of eighty gallons and a quantity of
p ip e . ^
40
Mr. Laboyteaux ran a boarding h o use.^
All of
Ibid.. January 31, 1801, April 4, 1801, May 2, 1801.
41 Norfolk, Va., Norfolk Gazette and Public Ledger.

April 7, 1809, August 23, 1809; Norfolk Herald, May 15,
1815.
42
Norfolk, Va., Norfolk Herald, May 19, 1815.
43
Ibid., April 15, 1&L5*
44
Ibid., June 28, 1801.
these were from the West Indies and came to Norfolk as

refugees, as can be determined by the identification given
in the Consular records when they appeared as principals
or as witnesses for various certificates and papers.
Charles Balthazar Julien Fevret de Saint-Memin was an
artist and engraver associated with a number of places in
the southern United States.
Santo Domingo.
His mother was a Creole from
Young Charles was on his way from France to
Santo Domingo to look after propert3'- there in 1793 when he

learned of the revolution.
He stayed in New York for a
time, but in the early years of the nineteenth century

lived in Annapolis, Richmond, Charleston, and Washington,
D. C.
He introduced the physionotrace invented by Gilles-
Louis Chretien, a sort of pantograph which secured on red

paper the exact profile of the sitter.
This later faded
to a soft pink and the artist then drew in the features,

hair, and clothing.
He was the first pantographer in the
United States and made about 760 of these portraits.^
By
the use of the pantograph he reduced the large profile to

a minature about two inches in diameter and recorded it on
a copper plate.
His machine and tools were of his own make.
45 Edward Fecteau, French Contributions to America

(Methuen, Mass., 1945. Published under auspices of FrancoAmerican Historical Society) quoting L. Reau, L*Art Franâis aux Etats Unis, pp. 51-52, p. 276
46 Fillmore Norfleet, "Saint-Memin , Dictionary of
American Biography. XVI, p. 305.
122
Another West Indian engraver was John F. E. Prudhomrae

from St. Thomas.
He came to the United States as a child
in 1 S07 and spent the last years of his life as an engrav

er in the Bureau of Printing and Engraving in Washing
ton.^
Mederic-Louis Elie Moreau de St. Mery, lawyer, his
torian, publisher, and politician, was the son of a wealthy
resident of Santo Domingo.
He was active in the early days
of the Revolution in Paris and for three days he actually

governed France.
He later fled to this country and arrived
in Norfolk with his family in March, 1794*
For several
months he lived in Portsmouth and served as a shipping

clerk before moving to Philadelphia to open his celebrated
book sho p . ^
In Maryland the story of the economic adjustment made
by the refugees is much the same as in Virginia.
Some
moved away, but the majority settled permanently, the

greater number staying in Baltimore to be eventually ab
sorbed into the American population.
Special mention is
made by a number of writers of the stimulation their know

ledge and capital gave- to the area.
Some refugees bought
47 Sarah G. Bowerraan, "Prud^'homme, Dictionary of

American Biography, XV, p. 253.
4^ Edward Larcque Tinker, "Moreau de Saint-Mery,"
Dictionary of American Biography, XIII, pp. 156 , 157. -
123
land and became truck and garden farmers for the local mar
ket.
They introduced a new range of greenvegetables to
the diet, thus permanently improving the health of the peo

ple living in the t o w n A ^
The skilled artisans among the
French excelled in the finer handicrafts, proving superior

50
to the rest of the population in this type of work.'
The
fortunate refugees who had some capital entered trade at

which they showed energy and aptitude.
The small trades
men were plain people, friendly and hospitable

One of the largest mercantile houses was founded in
Baltimore by Jean Charles Marie Pascault, Marquis de Poleon,
who with part of his family escaped from Santo Domingo.
Two children with their nurses were killed on the island
before the family could escape.
One daughter married Reubel.,
one of the Directors of France, and another married James

Gallatin, son of the "famous peacemaker," Albert Gallatin.
James Gallatin has left a picture of a wealthy aristocrat,
living in the oldest house in Baltimore, carrying a gold
52
snuff box and importing many luxuries from France.
49 Roberts, Moreau de St. Mery, p. 79; Owens, Balti

more. p. 143*
50
Dieter Cunz, The Maryland Germans (Princeton,
194&); p 162.
51
Weld, Travels, p. 47.
52 James Gallatin, A Great Peacemaker. The Diary of

James Gallatin. Secretary to Albert Gallatin 1&L3-1827.
(New York, 1914), p. 246.
124
Several doctors came from the West Indies to Balti

more.
Their experience in dealing with epidemics and dis
eases of warm climates made them welcome members of their

profession.
The most outstanding was Pierre Chatard who
lived until 1&47.
The family became a veritable medical
dynasty which for five generations furnished doctors for

Baltimore.
Pierre came in 1797 without friends or funds,
but an epidemic of yellow fever in that year and another

three years later brought him patients and fame.
He mar
ried a refugee and at one time taught medicine at Washing

ton University.
births.
federacy.
It is said that he presided ov_x 4.,000
A descendant became Admiral Chatard of the Con53
Moreau de St. Mery reports one interesting innovation

by the medical men of Baltimore.
His friend Barrister
Geanty, a refugee, possessed of wide knowledge of medical

supplies,
offered me a stock of certain small contrivances, in
genious things said to have been suggested by the
stork ^contraceptives] . . . .
Chiefly intended for
French colonials they were in great demand among
Americans. The use of this medium on the vast
American continent dates from this t i m e . ^
53 Hartridge, "Santo Domingan Refugees," pp. 112,

113; Richard J. Purcell, "Francis Chatard," Dictionary of
American Biography, IV, p. 39.
54
125
Two brothers, Edme and Germaine Ducatel, came to Baltimore

and married refugees.
The former became a druggist and
scientist and his son followed in the fathers footsteps

by teaching science both at St. Johns College and the Uni
versity of Maryland.
Germaine was a doctor of medicine
who later moved to New Orleans.
55
The records of the French Consulate at Norfolk contain

references to the refugees from Santo Domingo living in Bal
timore since there were some families who had friends and
relatives as well as business association in the two cities.
The will of Joseph Vidal who died at the age of forty-three
in Baltimore shows him to have had $1,016 in money, and
clothing carefully itemized to the value of $400 .
The mer
chandise in his shop showed a wide variety ranging from

harness to food, with a total value estimated at 91 pounds
6 shillings.^
Joseph Magagnos, the Norfolk merchant, was
executor for the estate of the Widow Laperiere who died in

Baltimore.
Her husband had been a merchant, but at her
death she left an estate worth only $ 5 6 0 . ^

Peter Vandenbussche, a tobacco merchant when he lived
55 Hartridge, "Santo Domingan Refugees," p. 115;

Stanley Clisby Arthur, Old Families of Louisiana (New Orleans.
1931), p. 127.
56
1797).
57
Consular Records, Reel 3, 3 Prairial An 5 (May 22,

Ibid., Reel 3, 26 Messidor An 5 (July 14, 1797).
126
in Santo Domingue,set up a snuff and tobacco factory in

Baltimore and sold his wares throughout the country.
M. Pontier set up a wig-making establishment shortly after
his arrival from the island.59
Baltimore became a center for the Catholic Church,
with the French refugees contributing to the founding of
St. Marys College and other Catholic institutions.
Priests
from the West Indies were assigned to country parishes as

well as to charges within the city shortly after they fled
with the other frightened refugees from the West Indies.
The arrival of all these Frenchmen doubled the number of
Catholics within the state.
As elsewhere, the aristocratic refugees attempted to
use their cultural accomplishments as a means of making a
livelihood.
Two young refugees in their twenties offered to
go into homes to teach "Drawing, a little Painting, Music

\0
and Playing on the violin." ou M. Marye, a refugee from Le
Cap, gave vocal musical lessons, but had to limit his pu
pils to those who understood French as he himself knew no
5$ Baltimore, Md., Maryland Journal, July 23, 1793,

quoted in Kartridge, "Santo Domingan Refugees," p. 111.
59 Baltimore, Md., Baltimore Daily Advertiser, July
16, 1793, quoted in ibid., p. 112.
vertiser. August 13, 1793.
127
English.61
Mr. and Mrs. Vermonnet opened a seminary for young
ladies with drawing and music as part of the curriculum.
In addition, Mr. Vermonnet gave concerts for the relief
of the distressed French refugees and charged an admission
of one dollar.
Mme. Buron, once singer to the queen of
France, gave a number of concerts after she,fled from Santo

Domingo to Maryland.
In one of these she was joined by a
number of gentlemen amateurs in a concert at which

young misses [jr/ere^ to be admitted gratis.63
On a later
occasion she gave a benefit for herself and her aged par
ents.
The father used the receipts to establish himself
as a tuner of musical instruments.6^" In the same year bene

fit concerts for Domingan refugees featured Mr. James Vogel
6*5
on the piano and Mr. and Mrs. Demarque on the violoncello. J

Several dancing masters advertised in the Baltimore
press, while at Fredericktown Messrs. O Duhigg and Large
lately arrived from Santo Domingo opened a dancing school
61 Baltimore, Md., Baltimore Daily Advertiser. July

25, 1793, quoted in Hartridge, Santo Domingan Refugees,
p. 111.
62 0. G. Sonneck, Early Concert Life in America
1731-1600, (Leipsig, 1907T, p. 'W63
Ibid., p. 46 .
64 Baltimore, Md., Baltimore Daily Advertiser. August

10, 1793, quoted in Hartridge, Santo Domingan Refugees,
p. 111.
65
Sonneck, Early Concert, p. 49.
12B
in Patrick Street.
Louis Sebastian Charles Saint-Martin
de Bellevue, a former planter and lawyer of the islands,

taught French in the county academy in the same town until 1S05.
Dr. Robin, a former pensioner of the King of
Prussia, taught tachygraphy, "shorthand, the art of writ

ing as fast as saying."
Sign of the Indian Queen.
J. Pinaud taught fencing at the

M. Marex and his wife opened a
coffee and boarding house ^ la mode francaise. ^

Of the 2,000 to 3,000 refugees who landed at Baltimore,
at least one-half remained as settlers.
Some joined the
French colony at Norfolk within a few years as is attested

by their certificates of residence with the Consulate in
the latter city.
A French traveler visiting Charleston in 1S17 reported
that Creole French was heard on every c o m e r and 3000
Frenchmen, mostly from Santo Domingo, were in the town. He
found "the white families from Santo Domingo are languish
ing and ill s t a r r e d . E n t i r e streets were filled with
66 Maryland Gazette and Fredericktown Weekly Adver

tiser, August 1, 1793* quoted in Hartridge, "Santo Domingan
Refugees," p. U S .
67
Ibid.. p. lid.
Ibid.. p. 111.
69 "A Frenchman Visits Charleston in 1S17," Edited by

Lucius Gaston Moffatt and Joseph Medard Carriere, South
Carolina Historical and Genealogical Magazine. XLIX (July,
194^), p. 140.
129
French shops, the larger number on King, Union, and Arch

dale (now Charles) S t r e e t s . T h e y had gone through the
same adjustments in general as had their countrymen in
Maryland and Virginia.
As a rule they were people of edu
cation, culture, and wealth, but, deprived of capital,

they had to find employment wherever they could.
Several things did aid them in South Carolina.
Charleston was hospitable, already had a resident French
population, and the inhabitants had a very high regard for
France.
In 1800 French fashions were the rage when
no lady ever appeared in grand costume without first

submitting to the operations of the hairdresser; and
these artists were in such demand upon the ocasion of
a great ball that they had to begin work the day be
fore and it was not uncommon for a lady to sit up all
night to keep from disturbing her hair.2
Wigs were quite the vogue with the ladies, who were titilated
by being told that the tresses were imported from Paris and
probably had once graced the head of a titled aristocrat
before the guillotine performed its s e r v i c e . I n dress
the French styles were preferred to the
English.
70 Ebenezer Smith Thomas, Reminiscences of the Last

65 Years. (2 vols. in 1, Hartford, 1840), I, p. 31.
71 Hinson Papers. "Some Dramatic Incidents, paper
by Mrs. Felix Prendergast, p. 1.
72
Fraser, Reminiscences. p. 109.
73
Ibid., p. 110.
74
Ramsey, History of South Carolina. II, p. 228.
130
At this time Charleston had a population under 20,000

slightly more than half being white.
Negroes.
There were 600 free
Negro slaves were in demand.
The slave trade was
prohibited in the years 1767-1603, but South Carolina law

permitted persons planning to become bona fide citizens to
bring in slaves.
From 1603 to 1606 South Carolina was the
only state which allowed the importation of slaves.75

Rochefoucauld was horrified to find that many Frenchmen
obtained their income by hiring out their slaves.
nPapa
San Di,n a slave from Santo Domingo, rescued two boys,

Philip and John Chartrand, from the blacks and brought them
to Charleston to a Huguenot family.
He then went to work
himself and each week gave the boys some money.

both boys later amassed fortunes.
Happily
John went to Cuba to be
come the proprietor of a coffee plantation on which Papa

San Di lived in luxury and honor to the ripe old age of
ninety.77
An even more unusual case was that of Mr. Le Fevre, a
gentleman of great fortune in Santo Domingo, who fled to
Charleston during the revolution on the island.
His slave
75 H. M. Henry, Police Control of the Slaves in South

Carolina, (Emory, Va., 1914), pp. 103, 104.
76
Rochefoucauld-Liancourt, Voyages. IV, p. 70.
77 Chartrand Family Papers in Charleston Library Asso

ciation, Charleston, S. C.
131
Antoine remained behind and continued to load ships with

the produce of the plantation and sent them to his master
in the United States*
Antoine had been put in charge of
the plantation by the new government of the blacks in the

island.
A few of the refugees brought enough property to en
able them to live without the necessity of working.
Theo
dore Gaujan De Maurney had been educated at the University

of Paris.
In Paris he became a lawyer and moved in the
best society.
Hoping to aid in restoring tranquility to
his native Santo Domingo, he returned to the island but had

to flee in 1793 with only the remnants of his once large
properties.
In Charleston he lived a retired life devoted
to his books of literature and science and saw only a few

intimate friends.^
Rochefoucauld on visiting Charleston
met an old friend named de la Chapelle.
He had saved only
1,500 louis and was able to get along only by living with
gQ
extreme economy.
Several members of the Remousin (sometimes spelled Reraoussin) family fled to Charleston, bringing a number of
slaves.
Daniel and M. P. D. Remousin became planters; Re-
73
Perkins, "Sketches of St. Domingo," pp. 323 , 3 6 5 .
79 Tombstone inscription in St. Marys Catholic Church

yard, Charleston, S. C.
30
Rochefoucauld-Liancourt, Voyages. IV, p. 72.
132
mousin and Sons was a firm with a music store at 30 Beaufain Street; Arnold was the organist at St. Marys Church
at a salary of $200 per year.^"
The estate of Arnold
when settled in 1820 showed a value of $19,000.00.
Among
the assets were a piano, many books some in English and

some in French a pianoforte, and a guitar.
$2
were listed as $ 2 3 ,976 .
Liabilities
Perhaps the most colorful of the refugees in Charles

ton was General John B. de Caraduc, a plantation owner
who as a Captain of Dragoons in Santo Domingo remained in
the island until 1797 when he fled to Charleston, bringing
thirty slaves and some diamonds.
The diamonds were sold
to the Alston family and the money was used to purchase a

plantation in St. Thomas parish.
The old General died at
the age of sixty-eight in 1810 and was buried in the ceme

tery of the Brick Church.^
During the rebellion several members of the Lachicotte
family were smuggled in childhood to Charleston.
Subse
quently they became owners of mills and the plantation

"Waverly," which they operated until the end of the rice
81 Manigault Papers, file #236, in South Carolina Li

brary Society, Charleston, S. C.; Vestry Record, St. Marys
Church, 1810-1825, Entry of September 9, 1810.
82 Probate Court, Charleston, S. C., Inventory Book
F, p. 216.
83
Manigault Papers, file # 236 .
133
industry.
For a time the family owned "Cedar Grove" which
eventually passed out of their hands and now belongs to

Bernard B a ruch.^
The family also at one time owned the
plantations known as "Willbrook" and "The Tavern.

Philip Stanislaus Noisette, the botanist and horti
culturist, fled and came as a refugee to Charleston in
1794*
Tradition says he lived for a few years in the Sword
Gate House on Legare Street.
In 1$09 he was director of
the South Carolina Medical Societys Botanical Gardens.^

These were the successful planters who were fortunate
in their new country.
Some refugees took up farming and
gardening and, as in Baltimore, introduced new varieties

of vegetables which they sold in the markets of the cit y . ^
Dr. Ramsay praised them for improving the health of Charles
tonians by this "vegetable aliment" so suitable to warm
climates and for causing a more frequent use of baths, both
hot and cold.
They also introduced the use of the bidet.
a small vessel on a small narrow stand for bathing the

id
posterior parts of the body.
$4 Julien Stevenson Bolick, Macamaw Plantations (Clin

ton, s. c., 1946) pp. 56, 90.
#5
Ibid.. pp. SS, 94.
6 Mrs. John Bennett in Charleston, S. C, News and

Courier. May 12, 1941*
7
Rochefoucauld-Liancourt, Voyage. IV, p. 65 .
&
Ramsay, History of South Carolina. II, p. 6 5 .
134
Dr. Vincent Le Seigneur, a veterinary surgeon, ar

rived destitute in Charleston on Christmas Day, 1793*
In addition to making cakes and candles for a living, he

studied medicine and came to enjoy a good practice among
the refugees.
He died in 1346 at the age of eighty-four
and was buried in St. Philips churchyard. ^
The surgeon
Fermin Le Roy lived and apparently practiced in Charles

ton after he fled from the islands.
His tombstone says
that he died in 1&L9 leaving a wife, children, and

friends.^
Dr. Bermond, a physician in the French Royal
, Navy, who practiced in Santo Domingo and then in Cuba, was

one of the refugees who fled the latter island to Charles
ton in the early years of the nineteenth century.
He in
serted a notice in the press that his professional ser

vices were available to the npublick at 90 Church
Street.9^
Mr. Tessie, though not specifically identified
as coming from the French islands, appeared in Charleston

at this time and lived with Mr. Bulie, the keeper of the
public baths.
He advertised as a dentist who fills hol
lows with lead and who makes a vinegar coral to clean
89
Manigault Papers.
90 Tombstone inscription, St. Marys Churchyard,

Charleston, S. C.
91
Charleston, S. C., Charleston Courier. May 3>
ld09.
Reproduced with permission o f the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission
135
teeth at a dollar a bottle.^
Among the refugees who were
medical men, Dr. Polony was the most eminent, having been
a member of learned European societies and also a corres
pondent of Buffon.93
Andrew Anthony Lechais lived in Charleston for twenty
years after his flight during which British privateers had
taken the small amount of property he brought out of Santo
Domingo with him.
His family escaped but landed at another
port of the United States from which they later came to

join him.
First a merchant, then officer of the Bank of
South Carolina, in 1799 he became Assistant Postmaster in

Charleston, a position he held for fifteen years.
Among the refugees were a few architects.
94
Augustus
de Grasse taught designing and some rudiments of architecture.
95
/
Jean Baptist Aveilhe arrived in December, 1794;
the directories of 1&01 and 1S02 list him as an architect.

In- 1S03 he advertised two.inventions: a machine for boring
holes in rocks under water and blasting them, and a patent
horizontal windmill for grinding grain and at the same time

93
Rosengarten, French Colonists, p. 94.
94 Charleston, S. C., City Gazette and General Ad

vertiser, December 6, 1&L3.
95 Beatrice St. Julien Ravenel, Architects of Charles^
ton, (Charleston, 1945), p. 93.
136
threshing out the wheat and
r i c e . 96
Joseph Jahan, who
lived in Charleston for forty years after fleeing from

Santo Domingo in 1793 > was also listed as an architect.
Unfortunately no buildings attributed to either of these
men are now known to be standing in the city.
The Charles
ton "Club House was designed by the firm of Louis J. Barbot and John Seyle which was active in the lSÔs.
The
former was from a refugee family who fled from Santo Do

mingo. 97
E.
Milby Burton, in his book on Charleston silver
smiths, lists a number who came originally from Santo Do

mingo.
In the period 1&05-1#10 there were altogether sev
enty-two persons who followed this trade in the city.

Louis Budo was probably the most successful.
He arrived in
1&09 and maintained a shop on Queen Street and later one on

King Street.
He was chosen to make the map case which was
presented to Lafayette when the latter visited Charleston

in 1S25.
The case is now in the American Museum of Art.
On his death in 1&27 at the age of forty-one, his wife

Heloise carried on the business, making both gold and silver
articles.
Her daughter continued to conduct the business
96
Ibid., pp. 9 3 , 94.
97
Ibid., p. 229.
137
after the mother died.
Peter E. B. Raynal, son of a
refugee planter, was a goldsmith with a shop at 105 Tradd

Street in 1806.
Later he advertised false curls, wigs,
and braids of hair.
By 1828 he announced to the public an
assortment of nfancy goods from France.

joined a nephew . T. Raynal in Columbia.
Subsequently he
99
Jean Baptist
Pellissier listed his occupation as jeweler when taking

out his naturalization papers in 1 815.^^
A variety of occupations and services employed those
with less capital or professional training.
There were
"bakers, pastry cooks, dressmakers, laundresses, and clearstarchers.^ ^
The records of the United States District
Court in Charleston of persons receiving citizenship papers

show where they came from and in some cases the occupation
which they followed in Charleston.
Between 1793 and I84 O
among the seventy listed as coming from the French West

Indies the following occupations are given:
merchants
mariners
carpenters
IS
6
3
doctors
3
bakers
3
segar manufacturers 2
98 E. Milby Burton, South Carolina Silversmiths

1690-1S60 (Charleston, 1942), pp. 26-28.
99
1849.
Ibid., p. 150; Charleston Courier, September 21,
100 U. S. District Court, Charleston, S. C., Book A

Aliens Admitted Citizens.
101
13d
planters
bookkeepers
jewelers
clerks
tinsmith
2
2
2
2
1
musician
coachmaker
tailor
minister
(Presbyterian)
1
1
1
1
One of these bookkeepers, S. Laffiteau, advertised as a

translator of French, Spanish, and Portuguese as well as
a bookkeeper.
1OP
*
Ten years later when he applied for
citizenship he gave his occupation simply as bookkeeper;

evidently there was little for him to do with the talent
he possessed for languages in the business life of the
city.
Some of the merchants became quite successful. Cap/
10T
tain Aveilhe made a fortune on the Charleston market. '
The wealthy Chazal family had owned tanneries in Santo Do
mingo. Before the revolution Henri Christophe had been a
pastry cook and had lived with them.
After the insurrec
tion broke out, King Christophe made it possible for the

family to escape.
fortunate.
Mrs. Chazals grandmother was much less
Her first warning came when her husbands
head was tossed into her lap out of the darkness as she
sat on her porch.
She did escape a few days later.
The
family arrived penniless in Charleston in 1794 but by 1812

tiser. January 30, 1822.
103
Manigault Papers.
139
one son was the captain of the privateer schooner Defiance.

He afterwards fitted out another, the Saucy Jack, and cap
tured forty prizes.
Saint-Martin, another refugee, was received most hos
pitably by General C. C. Pinckney when he had to flee to
Charleston.
He was one of the founders of the Societe
Franc.ais de Bienfaisance started for the relief of destitute Frenchmen.
His eldest daughter married Judah P. Ben
jamin, the rising young New Orleans lawyer.

Comparatively few of the refugees became wealthy.
The
majority remained poor teachers and owners of small shops.

Mr. Francis Lecat, a musician, married Mrs. Rachel Lopez,
a confectioner.
Both were refugees.*^
Francois Follin
became a merchant, as did John Charles Follen.
107
'
Two ladies
of former fortune landed possessed of only one slave who for

tunately was a pastry cook.
no more.
The slave told them, Be sad
We shall rent a little shop on King Street.
It
will have your name, but I alone shall make and.sell the
cakes.
Tou two can stay in the parlor and receive your
104
Chazal Manuscript in Manigault Papers.
10$
Saint-Martin Manuscript in Manigault Papers.

tiser. January 18, 1796.
107 St. Marys Register. Book II, p. 131; St. Marys
Book of Interments 1818-1837, entry of March 11, I 835 .
(Charleston, S. C., Catholic Church.)
140
friends.
This unique arrangement was carried out suc-
cessfully for many years.
10$
Eliza Lahiffe in a house at
the corner of King and Queen Streets provided "accommoda

tions for men and horse" also boarding, serving "beef
steaks and porter as usual.
She had a "Long Room"for
large companies and had it in her power to give general

satisfaction as she had laid in a complete assortment of
liquor, wine, and porter."-^9
Two refugee French coopers advertised on August 21,
1793j asking for employment.
The same paper three days
later carried a notice offering jobs to any carpenter or

bricklayer among the French refugees.
market on Meeting Street
found a job so quickly.
Come to the new
One wonders if the coopers

One young Frenchman wanted to
start the manufacturing of "every kind of earthen ware,

varnished or unvarnished, also stoves, flat tiles, and
other utensils in that line "too long to be enumerated."
This advertisement was repeated daily for a w e e k . m
10$ Hinson Papers. "Some Dramatic Incidents," paper

by M r s . Prendergast, p . $.
109 Charleston, S. C., City Gazette and General Ad
vertiser. December 17, 1794*
110
Ibid., August 21, 1793, August 24, 1793.
111
Ibid.. August 21, 22, 24, 2$, 29, 1793.
141
Chapeau and Heffron were harness and saddle makers.
112
Mine. Benoist, "milliner from Paris," advertised in both

French and English the opening of her shop at 27 Queen
Street.
Both she and her fitter came from Santo Domingo.
113
J
Belles Lettres Directory of 1&02 lists Claude

Belleurgy as a fencing master, but he turns up later as
a newspaper man in Charleston and still later in New Orle
ans.
Five schoolmasters appear.
M. Louis Chupein and M.
La Foucarde founded in 1793 a social club, La Societe

Francaise much frequented by the Frenchmen.
Perhaps M.
Chupein had an eye for business as he became the first

proprietor of the little French Coffee House.
Foucarde
succeeded him in I$l6 as the manager of the s h o p . ^ ^
Coffee
houses now replaced taverns as places for social enjoyment.

All were furnished with a shallow stage where light enter
tainments were given.
Frequently the second story was used
for these minature theatres.
Sailors especially liked these
places, a favorite diversion being the singing of sea

chanteys by the whole group.
Sometimes the singing sailors
112 John E. Land, publisher, Charleston-Her Commer

cial and Manufacturing Advantages. Historical, Descriptive
and Biographical^ (Charleston, 1881+), p. 90.
v113 Charleston, S. C., City Gazette and Daily Adver
tiser. October 2$, 1793.
114 Eola Willis, "Tavern and Coffee Houses of Old
Charleston," Charleston, S. C., Evening Post. March 9, 192$.
142
were given a free supper afterwards.
In addition to the
French Coffee House there were the Vauxhall, the Lafayette,

and the Carolina Coffee House, the last being the scene
of great parties and city ceremonial dinners.^^
In these coffee houses and the various Long Rooms a
wide assortment of entertainers and musicians vied with
each other for the patronage of the people of Charleston.
In the period just after 1795 most of the performers and
owners were refugees.
Their newspaper notices and adver
tisements used the word French to capitalize on the prevail

ing enthusiasm in the city for that nation and its people.
The word Citizen as a title was also in common use.
Citizen Bulit advertised repeatedly in 1795 an exhibition
of Illuminations and Chinese fire preceded by French mu
sic.
The performance began at five o clock and the ad
mission charged was fifty cents.

ery fortnight.
1 1 fii
Performances occurred ev-
On one occasion a fire in Mrs. Horrys
stable caused an explosion of some fire works belonging to

Citizen Bulit.
The stable was destroyed and Bulit was
burned but there was no other damage . H ?
Yet for the re
mainder of the year entertainment is advertised only by his
115
Ibid.. February 16, 192&, March 2, 192&.

tiser, October 21, 1795 and many other dates.
117
Ibid., November 2, 1795
143
competitor, M. Cornet at the Vauxhall Gardens.
Located at
44 Broad Street, the Gardens furnished' supper, refresh

ments and French music.
Admission was two dollars "to
gentlemen with or without a lady.
The orchestra was
11$
available for hire for private occasions.
No doubt
many of the members of the orchestra were refugees from

the French islands.
In December, M. Cornet advertised a
willingness to hire his hall, stating he would provide the

cooks. ^9
The Vauxhall must not have been a big money maker, for
when it re-opened in 1799 it was under a third management,
this time the well known M. Placide who hired many refu
gees from Santo Domingo in his numerous theatrical and en
tertainment ventures of other kinds.
It was open on Mon
days and Thursdays for band concerts from $ oclock until

10:30.
Admission was still fifty cents.
Gentlemen were
required to leave some article when they received a check

enabling them to return after an intermission.
120
By 1$22, Mr. Leges Long Room on Queen Street was do

ing most of the entertainment advertising.
On one occasion
from ten until dark a section of railroad was put down and
11$
Ibid.,
119
Ibid., December 12, 1795.
120
Sonneck, Early Concerts, p. 39.
October 22, 1795.
144
a wagon loaded with three bales of cotton "which can be

pulled up an incline with one finger" exhibited.
Admis
sion was charged for this promotion stunt to prove the

feasibility of the Charleston and Hamburg Railroad.
121
Again the concert hall was used to display a hog which

measured ten feet two inches and weighed 1,325 pounds.
122
Mr. Lege also conducted a school.

Dancing appears to have been the favorite diversion
among the people of the city.
"To acquire that ease and
elegance which results from it much time is spent and con

siderable expense is incurred" observed the rather disap
proving Dr. R a m s a y . A
few of the refugees were able to
earn their living by teaching Charlestonians to acquire

that ease and elegance on the waxed floors.
Mr. Lafar an
nounced the opening of his dancing academy for September,

1793
For three lessons a week his fees were ten shillings
a month after an initial enrollment fee of the same amount.

The next year he added an evening school for the French
people.
The papers in 1795 and 1796 carried announcements
121
Charleston, S. C., City Gazette and Commercial
Daily Advertiser. January 5, 1822.
122
Ibid., January 17, 1822.
123
Ramsay, History of South Carolina. II, p. 227.
124
Charleston, S. C., City Gazette and Daily Adver
145
'
by eight dancing masters in Charleston.

known had both come from Santo Domingo.
125
^
The two best
Mr. Pierre Tastet,
the most fashionable, whose Long Room was near the theatre, had a dancing assembly every Friday during the season.
Theodore B. Fayolle taught both dancing and music.
He would
visit private homes as well as give lessons in his Long

Room. 127
In 1333 in the midst of the Nullification excite
ment a subscription ball was given under the patronage of

the Count de Choiseul.
This was for npoor old M. Fayolle
who lost his all in a shipwreck, an old Santo Domingan

refugee who had taught half of Charleston to dance.
123
An even larger number of the refugees contributed to

the enrichment of the musical life of the city as both
teachers and performers.
129
7
The orchestra at the theatre
owed much of its reputation to the Domingans.^ 0
Mr. Lafar
125. Bernard Fay, L TEsprit Revolutionnaire En France

et Aux Etats-Unis. (Paris, 1^25), p. 302.
126 Charleston, S. C., City Gazette and Commercial
Daily Advertiser, January 4 1322.
127
Ibid., January 4, 1322.
123
Rosengarten, French Colonists, p. 95
129 Harold D. Eberlein and Cortlandt Van Dyke, Music

in the Early Federal Era, Pennsylvania Magazine of History
and Biography,LXIX (April 1945)> P* 116.
130 Mrs. St. Julien Ravenel, The Life and Times of
William Lowndes of South Carolina 1732-1322 (Cambridge."
Mas s., 1901), p . 43
146
opened a music shop on Tradd Street and the number of musi

cal notices in the papers thereafter show a sharp in
crease in f r e q u e n c y . D r .
Ramsay, writing in ISOS,
noted that great attention was paid to music and there

were many people in Charleston who arrive at distinguished
eminence, but more, who after spending considerable sums
of money scarcely exceed mediocrity . "^2
Some of the refu
gees made fairly handsome salaries through their musical

talent.
One Frenchman was paid 500 guineas a year as first
violinist for the St. Cecilia Society.

It became a custom for the musical members of the ref
ugee group to give musical benefits for each other or for
all of the needy French persons in town.
M. Labatut, a
1 Q I
clarionetist appeared in concert on December 14, 1799.

Even earlier than this and not long after the first group
of refugees came from Santo Domingo, notices appeared in
the press announcing that one member or even a group would
be presented in a benefit.
Williams Coffee House was the
scene of a "Grand Concert" for the benefit of Messrs.
131
Jones, French Culture, p. 336 .
132
133 Mrs. St. Julien Ravenel, Charleston. The Place

and the People (New York, 1907), p. 426.
134
Sonneck, Early Concert, p. 3&.
147
Petit, Foucard, LeRoy and Villars, assisted by three oth

ers.
The featured performer was Mr. Duport, aged thir
teen, who played a violin concerto.

shillings each.^-35
Tickets were seven
Two years later at the same Coffee
House for a concert by some of the French performers only

five shillings was charged.^ 6
Evidently some of the nov
elty had worn off the performances of the Frenchmen.
benefit was given at West and Bagnalls theatre for all

the refugees early in the. next year.^-37
Benefits of both
vocal and instrumental music were still being given as late

as l0 with Mr. Fayolles Long Room serving as the con
cert hall.-^S
By 1796, the orchestra directed by M. Poiteaux for a
performance of Haydns Stabat Mater consisted of more than
thirty pieces: twelve violins, three basses, five tenors,
two horns, two kettledrums, a bassoon, six oboes, flutes,
clarinets and an o r g a n . W i t h all these new performers
of stature being added to the local musicians, 1795 was
the most brilliant musical year that Charleston had ever

t i s e r , December 16, 1793*
136
Ibid., December 16, 1795-
137
Sonneck, Early C o n c e r t , p. 29.
13 $
Charleston, S. C., Courier, M a y &, 1$09
139
Sonneck, Early Concert, p. 34*
143
known.
In addition to M. Poiteauxs orchestra, Citizen
Bulit gave French music to accompany his Chinese fire

works every night while Citizen Cornet had an excellent
French orchestra.
The St. Cecilia Society gave its clas
sical concerts a l s o . ^ ^
No doubt there was some borrow
ing of musicians to keep the four orchestras at playing

strength.
Works by Stamitz, Grossec, Haydn, Gyrowetz,
Pleyel, Mozart, and Gluck were all performed.
Since many
of the concerts were private and not advertised, there is

probably a big difference between the number of concerts
traced and of those given.
The talents of these musicians were part of the enter
tainment offered by Placide at the Vauxhall Gardens after
the season closed in May.
Here the public was invited to
enjoy an interesting variety of entertainment consisting of

music, pantomines, ice cream, and cold b a t h s . T h e
in
flux of the French refugees from Cuba in 130B and 1&09 added
at least one important new musical figure, Mr. James Perrossier, who advertised himself as a professor of music lately
from Havana who was opening a music school to teach vocal
140 Eola Willis, The Charleston Stage in the XVIII

Century (Columbia, S. C77~1922T]T-P^2907"^
141
142 W. Stanley Hoole, The Ante Bellum Charleston Thea

tre (Tuscaloosa, 1946), p. 5*
149
music, also Piano Forte, violin, Harp Basse, Spanish,

French, and English guitar, Bassoon, Flute, Etc.
To allay
the misgivings of those who thought he was offering too

much, he concluded that he had a profound knowledge of
all the above instrument s. 143
He hacl already advertised
some of his talents at least by being one of the per

formers in a grand concert on Sullivans I s l a n d . A p
parently this concert was part of a series.
In August,
Miss Thomas had been the performer at the island.
One
wonders just what other attractions were offered for one

of the newspapers carried a notice: Lost on Sunday last
on Sullivans Island, two joints of a flute.
The finder
would receive a small gratuity.

The French people from Santo Domingo were active in
establishing a theatre where both drama and opera were of
fered.
Their theatrical activities ranged over much of
the South and will be covered in a subsequent chapter.

As teachers, the refugees left their impress perhaps
most vividly.
Mr. Fraser, whose Reminiscences cover the
period from 1735 to 1324, states that in the year 1307

tiser, September 21, 1303.
144
145

Ibid., September 13, 1303.
150
there were in Charleston "thirteen teachers of the several

branches of female accomplishments."
He felt they were
excellently qualified and before their arrival such in

structions could only have been obtained a b r o a d . M m e ,
Enguehard who was brought up and educated in London came
to Charleston after long residence in the French colonies.
Her school at 100 Queen Street offered speaking, reading,
and writing in both French and English.
A French gentle
man handled the instruction in geography, arithmetic, and

French.
Classes lasted until ten in the evening.
Mine.
Enguehard also took boarders and informed "French and Ameri

can ladies that she washes gauzes, blond and thread lace,
linens, silk stockings, cloaks, etc. in the manner which
was practiced in "London and Paris which makes them appear
as good as new."W7 An unnamed planter from Santo Domingo
advertised for pupils from six to nine in the evening at
his residence in Friend Street.
He also wanted to let a
stable and hayloft and to sell Old Medoc wine in bottles.

Mr. Levriers announcement for his "French Gramatical
school" on Broad Street ended with the rousing slogan "Pros
perity to Charleston and the State:
14-6
Friends from every
Fraser, Reminiscences, p. 106.

tiser. November 9, 1795.
14$
Ibid., December 22, 1795
151
were
and no
E n e m y
l"^49
Mrs. Patcot, widow of a Knight of St. Louis and long

a resident of Santo Domingo, had.her school on King Street
where she offered reading, needle work, writing, dancing,
150
and music. J
Mme. DuPre and her daughter Mme. Nounetheau
had a prosperous shcool.
Miss Langlois as a child had had
a dramatic escape from Santo Domingo after her planter fa

ther was decapitated.
She and her sister were tied at
night under the stomachs of cows which were driven to the

boats for supplies.
She grew up in Charleston and taught
music, drawing, and dancing for years in that city.151

Penina Moise, who was born in Charleston in 1797, was the
daughter of an Alsatian Jew who had fled Santo Domingo in
1791
She left school at the age of twelve to work and
help support the large family.
In later years she kept a
girls* school and wrote poetry which was published in many

magazines and newspapers.^52
Fencing schools in Charleston were much in demand as
dueling was still in vogue.
149
Mr. Dennis, shortly after his
150 Charleston, S. C., South Carolina Gazette. Sep

tember 23, 1799.
151 Charleston, S. C., Charleston Sunday News, Novem
ber 21, 1909.
:
152 Robert Bass, "Penina Moise," Dictionary of Ameri
can Biography. XIII, p. 76.
152
arrival from Havana being a first rate professor in the

art of Fencing and using the Broadsword offered an exhi
bition in Mr. Sollees Concert Room.
To assist him a
number of amateurs, good fencers, and other professors of

that art have generously offered their services.^53
The five children of the Admiral De Grasse, along
with 150 other refugees, came to Charleston fleeing the
insurrection on Santo Domingo.
On the voyage to America
they had been pillaged by the English corsair La Susanna.

losing their slaves and their money.
154
Alexandre Frangois
August De Grasse remained several years before returning

to France.
Being something of an architect, he advertised
in June, 1$00, a School for Designing to include fortifi

cation, architecture, and landscaping.
Also on Monday,
Wednesday, and Friday he would instruct in fencing.
The
hours were ten until two and four until ten in the evening.
A class in the use of the broadsword was added .in August
of the same year.
In October, he notified the public that
he would teach in the school of his father-in-law, Jean B.

de la Hogue.
The latter taught music and violin.^ 5
of

tiser. August 23, ISOS.
154
Edwards, West Indies. Ill, xiii.
155 Ravenel, Architects, p. 93; Agatha Aimar Simmons,

Charleston. S. C. A Haven for the Children of Admiral de
Grasse. (Pamphlet. Charleston. 19A0)T pp. 7, ft.
153
the four De Grasse sisters, two died in Charleston, vic

tims of yellow fever, and were buried in the graveyard of
St. Marys Catholic Church.
The other two married and es
tablished families.
Adele married John Grochan a sea

156
captain who later became a merchant.
Sylvia De Grasse
married Francis de Peau of the firm of Peau and Toutain

and later had sufficient income to purchase several pieces
of real estate.
The two most fashionable schools for young ladies were
for years those kept by Mile. Datty and her niece Mme.
Talvande.
A student educated at one of these schools
learned, besides her lessons, a careful demeanour and an

absolute submission to the will of her teacher, which
would astonish the young people of the present day.^ ^
Marcus Datty and his daughter Julia fled from Santo Domin
go.
Miss Julia was employed for a time as a menial
servant, and later as a governess in the Trapier family in

Georgetown.
Coming to Charleston, she established a school
at 31 Legare Street.
Assisting her with the teaching in
later years was a niece, Ann Marsan.
An ardent Catholic,
156
Simmons, Children of Admiral de Grasse, pp. 3>
157
Ibid.. p. 10.
15S
Ravenel, Charleston. p. 365.
159 Charleston, S. C., St. Marys Catholic Church

Interment Book, II, 1&L&-1837. entry of July 4, 1&23,
154
Miss Datty finally voluntarily closed the school and be

came a n u n . ^ ^
Mine. Rose Talvande, who lived in Charles
ton for sixty years, had her academy at 102 Tradd Street
for a time and then moved to Broad Street in l3l6
Her
son Andrew joined her and later married Ann Marsan the
niece of Idle. D a t t y . A r o u n d 1&20 the Talvandes bought
the famous Sword Gate House as a place for their school.
Tradition says that the very high brick wall now surround
ing the house was erected by Mme. Talvande to keep her
young ladies inside after one representative of a proud
southern family slipped away without consent to marry a
northerner, a Morris of Philadelphia.
The tombstones in
St. Patricks Catholic Church yard show that Mme. Rose

Talvande died in IS 56 at the age of eighty-five.
Buried
nearby are her son Andrew and Ann Marsan, his wife, both
of whom had died before Mine. Talvande.
Several other Frenchmen opened businesses in Charles
ton about the time the refugees arrived from the West In
dies.
They lived among those known to be from the French
colonies.
While the writer believes that some of them
should be included among the refugees, they have been 0 mitted from this study unless evidence other than circum-
160
Charleston, S, C,, News & Courier, May 12,
161
Ibid., May 12, 1941*
1941.
155
stantial indicated their refugee origin.
Among these
"probables are two fencing masters, two proprietors of

the French Coffee House, two teachers, a confectioner,
three merchants, a doctor who peddled a medicine, Depuratoire, designed to cure diseases of the blood, itch, and
venereal disease.
All of these advertised in the Charles
ton newspapers between 1794 and 1&0S.

To New Orleans and its surrounding plantation area
came more French refugees than to any part of the United
States and here they exerted a greater economic influence,
notably in developing the great cane plantations and sugar
mills.
In the city they constituted for a time from forty
to fifty per cent of the population.
In 1791 when they
first appeared, the population of New Orleans was about

6,000.
In 17&S a great fire destroyed S56 buildings, a
disaster almost repeated six years later when a three-hour

conflagration leveled 212 buildings in the heart of the
town.
Rebuilding was rapid and by 1S00 the citys water
front stretched for nearly a mile along the river.
In 1S02,
15# American, 104 Spanish and three French ships sailed

from the harbor; cargoes included cotton, flour, rice, in
digo, barreled beef, molasses, sugar, and a small amount
162 George W. Cable, Creoles of Louisiana (New York.

1SS4), p. 100.
156
of t o b a c c o . T h e next year the "French chef drew from

Europes English-fueled oven the Spanish cake and with
burnt fingers dropped it into the lap of Uncle S a m . " ^ 1'
Into this bustling, cosmopolitan city under Spanish, then
French, then American rule, the refugees came by thou
sands.
By 1803 the population reached 8,000.*^
Gover
nor Claibornes figures, even before the arrival of 6,000

to ,000 refugees who came from Cuba, showed 52,99$ people
in the territory of whom 26,000 were white, 23,000 slaves
and 3,350 free persons of color.
Of these some 17,000
lived in New Orleans but only 6,300 were white.

With population growing at this rate, housing and food
were naturally scarce and high-priced.
Hardships were in
tensified because the refugees tended to arrive in large

groups.
The traveler Berquin-Duvallon published in 180/f an
account of his recent journey to Louisiana and Florida.
He
found that almost all subsistence articles in New Orleans

had doubled in price in recent years and that immigration
163
Ibid., p. 137
164 LeRoy R. Hafen and Carl Coker Rister, Western

America (New York, 1950), p. 171.
165 Major Amos Stoddard, Sketches Historical and De
scriptive of Louisiana (Philadelphia, 1812), p. 151.
166 Claiborne to Secretary of State, May 18, 1809,
Perez, French Refugees," p. 296.
157
kept them high.-^?
He was extremely harsh in condemning
the treatment given by the older inhabitants to the refu

gees.
Usury was common, rates of one and one-half to two
per cent monthly being customary.
Another traveler, Robin,
who was in the city at the time of its transfer to the

United States, agreed with hiin on the latter point, though
he did indicate that the refugees received better treat
ment than some others credit.
In his descriptive phrase,
there were many Mrunious usurers, for this country abounds

in Jews who are not Hebrews.16$
In general however, he
reported the Creoles to be a much more attractive group

than had Berquin-Duvallon.
The refugee who upon arrival sought a place to live
had to pay ten to twenty piastres (a piastre was worth
twenty sous or five francs, about the equivalent of one dol
lar) a month for a house in a retired quarter, while those
desiring to open a store were faced with the prospect of
paying twenty-five to eighty piastres rent for. a building
169
well placed.
Food at inns was dear despite the abundance
of game.
Had it not been for the hospitality of the Cre
oles, few of the penniless refugees could have made a start.
167
Berquin-Duvallon, Vue, p. 41.
168
Robin, Voyages, II, p. 119.
169
Ibid., II, p. 6 7 .
153
However, several things were in their favor.
For a period
of several years the only tax collected was a six per cent
duty on imports.-Ô
Spanish order of June, 1793, per
mitted the French subjects of Louisiana to trade with any

nation with which Spain had a trade t r e a t y . P r o b a b l y
the biggest aid to the merchant class of refugees was the
willingness of the older inhabitants to adopt a higher
standard of living.
A number of observers commented that
it w as just after 1790 that luxuries were introduced.
172
This meant a change in dress, different furniture, n e w car

riages, and a heightened interest in gambling.
All these
demands the refugees could cater to and capitalize on.

Since luxury is relative, what had been only the established
mode of life in the West Indies was considered luxurious in
New Orleans.
Women of Louisiana who had hitherto been dow
dy in round short petticoats
. brave with many ribbons
and a few jewels n o w wore materials of embroidered mus

lins,
cut in the latest styles richly decorated with em
broidery, gold spangles, and lace.
They began using taste
ful jewelry and in fine, all that can relate to dress, that
170 American State Papers. Miscellaneous I, pp. 344356, "Description of Louisiana." This was communicated to
Congress by Jefferson on November 14, 1303. Hereafter re
ferred to as Description of Louisiana. P. 354.
171
Whitaker, Mississippi Question, p. 35.
172
Berquin-Duvallon, Vu e , p. 276.
159
important occupation of the fair
s e x . "173
Naturally not everyone was pleased with the change.

Paul Alliot in his report to Jefferson, the usually mild
Governor Claiborne in his meticulous letters, and numer
ous travelers laid the blame on the newcomers and foreign
ers who had caused a decline in morals, especially among
the younger people.
The West Indians were the leaders in
bringing European culture with all its pleasures and vices

to the erstwhile provincial town.
New gambling houses,
lottery offices, drinking establishments and a host of amusements, including dancing and the theatre, appeared and
increased in popularity .-*-74
Other than a small, domestic cotton-spinning indus
try among the Acadians, a cordage making establishment in
New Orleans, a dozen distilleries for taffia and one sugar
refinery, there were few industries in Louisiana in lSOO.'^'
Two rtmillsn for cleaning, weighing, and baling cotton and
a sugar refinery, the latter brought from Santo Domingo
are mentioned by Berquin-Duvallon in 1B04.1'^^
200.
Most of the
173
Ibid.. quoted in Robertson, Louisiana I, pp. 196,
174
Cable, Creoles of Louisiana, p. 216.
175
"Description of Louisiana," p. 355*
176
Berquin-Duvallon, Vue, pp. 40, 41.
160
French people, both those native to Louisiana and the refu

gees, were planters, artisans, tailors, bakers, dressmakers,
merchants,
or adventurers.
The Spaniards remained in the
occupations of the ,Trobe, sword and pen and were thus de

pendent on the "king, their master, and the public, their
servant.
A very few of them were Catalans who kept caba
rets and small shops.
The English, Americans, and Irish
were generally merchant s.
The carpenters were drawn
from the ranks of the free persons of color.
Blacksmith
shops are mentioned and there must have been many of these
to have turned out the quantities of iron work with which
many of the new buildings were adorned after the two great
fires had destroyed numerous older structures.
Robin found
this iron work so expensive that only the major buildings

could afford it.
173
The influx from Cuba included merchants and planters

as well as cabinet makers, upholsterers, glaziers, and ar
tisans possessed of many other
Qn the whole
these were an industrious lot of aristocratic and refined

settlers, having much in common with the best of the French
177 I b i d ., pp. 243, 249; Grace Elizabeth
Orleans.
King, New
The Place and the People (New York, 1399), p. 163.
173 Robin, Voyages. II, p. 33.

179 James Mather to Claiborne, August 7, 1309, Row
land, Letterbooks of Claiborne. IV, pp. 404-403.
161
residents of Louisiana with whom they soon mingled and intermarried.
160
economic status.
Many without means had to adjust to a new

Even the women had to work as seam
stresses, embroiderers, boarding-house keepers and the like.

Both sexes became shopkeepers, an occupation little liked
by the Louisiana-born French who preferred fanning.
Al
most monopolizing trading, the refugees spread out over

the rural sections of lower Louisiana and along the inland
j dT
bayous.
Quite a number amassed fortunes and then re
turned to France or the West Indies when calm was restored

to the islands.^2
To sustain the foregoing generalizations, many specif
ic cases may be cited showing how individuals among the
refugees from Santo Dominga fared in business.
Probably
in the sugar industry is to be found their most significant

economic contribution to Louisiana.
The acquisition of 500
to 1,000 acres of land in the days of Spanish control had

been comparatively easy."*"^
The fires mentioned earlier had
ISO Ben Avis Adams, A Study of Indexes of Assimila

tion of the Creole People in New Orleans. Unpublished
Masters Thesis, Tulane University, 19.39, p. 53*
161 Henry C. Castellanos, New Orleans As it Was (New
Orleans, 1695), PP 305, 313*
162 Benjamin Henry Latrobe, Impressions Respecting
New O r l e a n s , (edited by Samuel Wilson, Jr. (New York, 1951),
p. 34.
163
Whitaker, Mississippi Q u e s t i o n , p.
156.
162
burned maps and registry records and by 1603 perhaps not

one-fourth of the land was held by complete titles.
The remainder was held by occupancy on mere written agree
ment of the Commandant, a practice always countenanced by
the Spanish Government in order to permit a poor man to
get a start.
The inheritance based on these imperfect ti
tles was r e c o g n i z e d . L a n d along the river on both sides

from sixteen miles below New Orleans up to Baton Rouge was
the most valuable.
Seldom did this strip extend inland
more than forty acres from the river and this became the
standard grant.
A few double or triple grants extended to
120 acres deep but all plantations fronted on the river or

on a tributary creek.
Nearly all the people and wealth
were concentrated in this narrow strip. ou

France had regulated crops to prevent competition with
the mother country.
These restrictions had prevented the
production of hemp, flax, and wine.
Indigo, introduced from
the West Indies early in the eighteenth century, and cotton

had become the staple crops.-^7
Iberville had brought in
1 64
"Description of Louisiana," p. 351.
165
Ibid.. p. 351.
166
Ibid., pp. 346, 351.
167 Lauren C. Post, "Domestic Animals and Plants of

French Louisiana as Mentioned in the Literature with refer
ence to Sources. Varieties and Uses," Louisiana Historical
Quarterly. XVI (October, 1933), p. 573.
163
cattle, a wide variety of fruit trees, wheat, and some

vegetables, most of which came from the West Indies.
15$
Collot who visited the area during the Spanish rule

mentions seeing pomegranates, lemons, organges and
olives.
During Spanish days this wide assortment of plants
was not usually cultivated in any quantity.
Perrin du Lac
even went so far in his report of his travels as to say

that Louisiana produced no grain, vegetables or salt pro
visions, with these commodities and other goods being
supplied by smuggling.
190
Myrtle, wax, and silk had been
tried and given up and only nominal quantities of tobacco

and cotton were being grown.191
Indigo was the big crop.
Then in 1793-1794 low prices, combined with a strange new

worm which ate the leaves, brought ruin to the planters
who relied on this money crop."^^
As early as 1751, Jesuits from Santo Domingo brought
some sugar cane for seed and some Negroes who were trained
15$
Ibid.. pp. 560, 561.
1$9 Georges Henri Victor Collot, A Journey in North

America. II, p. 175, quoted ibid., p. 552.
190
p. 220.
Perrin du Lac quoted in Robertson, Louisiana, I.

---------
191
Cable, Creoles of Louisiana, p. 10$.
192
Gayarre, History of Louisiana. Ill, p. 3 46 .
164
in growing the crop and making sugar.^93
This enterprise
did not succeed and other early attempts to grow cane for
sugar had been abandoned by 1769 because the product had
only half granulated and appeared like marmalade.
A few
planters grew cane for the purpose of distilling the

juice into a liquor called taffia or for making syrup.
19L
In the 17S0fs a Spaniard, Solis by name, had brought a

wooden sugar mill from Havana.
195
In 1791} on a planta
tion ten miles below New Orleans, Mr. Mendez employed Morin,
an experienced sugar-maker from Santo Domingo, and renewed
the attempt.
Only a few barrels of inferior sugar re
sulted. -*-96 Nevertheless some of the refugees from Santo

Domingo thought Louisiana could produce sugar and the efforts were renewed.
Etienne de Bore, a prominent Creole
planter, secured some cane from Mendez and the services

of his sugar-maker Morin.^97
The incident must have been somewhat dramatic in which
193 Alton Moody, "Slavery on Louisiana Sugar Planta

tions," Louisiana Historical Quarterly, VII (April, 1924),
P. 197.
\
194
Gayarre, History of Loui s i a n a , III, p. 346.
195
Hodding Carter, Lower
M i s s i s s i p p i , in Rivers of
America S e r i e s , edited by Stephen Vincent Benet and Carl
Caraier (New York, 1942) p. 193.
196
197
Whitaker,
as Morim.
Moody,
"Slavery," p. 19# .
DeBow*s R e v i e w ,XXII, pp. 617-619, quoted in

M i s s i s s i p p i , p. 296. Note; Fortier gives the name
165
the refugee persuaded the planter to make another attempt

where so many had failed.
The main difficulty had been
that the cooler climate of Louisiana gave only a ninemonths growing season while in Santo Domingo cane could be
left up to fourteen months to ripen and become heavy with
19$
juice. 7
c a n e .
^9
De Bore and Morin used irrigation to force the

when the test run of syrup was made in 1795 from
the first crop, many interested spectators were thrilled

to hear a slave call, "It granulates."
De Bore made 100
hogsheads from the first crop which sold for a profit of

$12,000 with the sugar bringing 12| cents a pound and the
molasses 50 cents a gallon.
Production in Santo Domingo
was off as a result of the revolution and world demand had

driven prices up.
The next year 200 planters shifted from
indigo to sugar cane and production climbed so rapidly

that the exports of 1$03 were 25,000 hogsheads of sugar
and 12,000 puncheons of rum.2^
De Bores mill had been
built for $4,000 by his own Negroes under the direction of

some refugees from Santo Domingo.
Now refugees were in demand, the slaves to grow the
cane and work the mills, and the whites to serve as over-
19#
199
Whitaker, Mississippi, p. 132.
200 Perrin du Lac, quoted in Robertson, Louisiana,

I, pp. 150, 153.
166
seers and as technicians.
Machinery had to be built and
the plantations converted.
By 1$02 there were 75 sugar
"factories.
201
A .jeu de sucrerie commanded a salary of
2,000 to 3>000 piastres while a carpenter would get his

food and 400 to 500 piastres.
The men who for two months
directed the making of sugar received 1,200 to 1,500

piastres.
Sugar cane planting was no occupation for men of lit
tle capital.
The amount of suitable land was limited and
consequently the price was high.
Little cooperation ex
isted and each man had to have his own mill, a fact probably
explained in part by the intensive effort required in the
short harvesting season when each planter gambled on get
ting the maximum ripening before the first serious frost.
Planters usually went into debt to defray the initial cost.
De Bores thirty Negro slaves were estimated to be worth
$1,200 to $1,500 each. *^3
tle high for the time.
These figures seem to be a lit
Mr. Moodys careful study gives the
cost of a plantation of 1,250 acres fully equipped and fif

ty Negroes as $$7,704 hy the year 1$30
Nathaniel Cox wrote
a letter in 1$06 stating that a plantation working twenty-
201
202 Ibid., p. 226 ; Berquin-Duvallon, Vue, pp. 122, 123.

The two give identical figures.
203
Carter, Lower Mississippi, p. 194.
167
eight hands would clear $10,000 to $12,000 a year exclusive

of the value of the molasses.
This latter product could
be sold to clothe and feed the slaves.
Gayarre describes
an old plantation which was self-supporting, raising in

addition to sugar, some sheep and cattle, corn, rice, and
hay.
The "farm produced $6,000 a year and food in addi
tion to the plantation profit."2^

This was a crop which did not fail and profits were
almost certain.
Soon sugar plantations bordered both sides
of the Mississippi from Iberville to a point twenty miles

below New Orleans.
There was a potential production of
50.000 hogsheads a year.25
From ten in 1796 the number
of refineries mounted to sixty in 1S00 and two hundred by

1S25.
Three years later, 1S,000 hogsheads were produced
on three hundred plantations which employed 21,000 men,

12.000 working cattle.
of $34,000,000.
The industry represented an outlay
Yet in many ways the cane plant was not
suited to Louisiana.
Through the use of the hardiest vari
ety of cane, much slave labor, and the technical assistance

furnished by the refugees from Santo Domingo, "a system of
agricultural production similar to that developed in that
204 Charles Gayarre, "A Louisiana Sugar Plantation of

the Old Regime. Harpers. V (March, 1SS7), PP 60S, 609;
"Letters of Nathaniel Cox to Gabriel Lewis. November 23,
lS06,n Louisiana Historical Quarterly, II (April, 1919), p 1S1.
205
"Description of Louisiana," p. 351*
163
great West Indian Island was evolved.w206

Among the most successful of the plantation owners was
Emmanuel Marius Pons Bringier.
He and his brother had a
large plantation on Martinique from which he escaped to

New Orleans, bringing a large number of slaves.
In St.
James parish above the city he acquired property which

later became the famous "Maison Blanche plantation, by
all odds the greatest plantation Louisiana ever had.207
Here the hospitality was as lavish as the luxury of the
appointments.
The eldest son Michael, sent to Paris for
education, returned by way of Baltimore and there met and

married Aglae DuBourg.
He received the Hermitage planta
tion in Louisiana as a wedding present.
Their oldest
daughter married Hone Bowze Trist, kinsman and ward of

Thomas Jefferson.
Myrthe, the youngest daughter, married
Richard Taylor, the son of Zachary Taylor.
He later be
came General Dick Taylor in the Confederate War.

the daughters found such worthy husbands.
ried Christophe
Francoise mar-
Colomb who claimed descent from
plorer.He gravitated to
Not all
the ex
Maison Blanche from Santo Do
mingo and thereafter devoted his time to cultivating the
206
Post, "DomesticAnimals, p. 561.
207
Grace Elizabeth King, Creole Families of New Or
leans (New York, 1921), p. 414.
169
muses.
Given the customary plantation for a wedding pres
ent (this one named "Bocage"), he continued his studies

while his wife mounted her horse each morning and rode
out to manage the plantation.
Bringiers fourth daughter married Augustin Dominique Tureaud whose romatic story qualified him for the
hero
of a novel.
After education in Paris he became in
volved in a love scrape so that his father sent him to

manage the family plantation in Santo Domingo.
In the re
volt his mulatto housekeeper, who happened to be the wife

of one of the ringleaders, led him secretly to a hidden
boat.
She, her two children, and Tureaud escaped the is
land and then drifted in a small boat which was picked up

eventually by a Baltimore-bound ship.
When asked why she
rescued him, the only answer Tureaud gave was that he had
been polite to her and had called her Madame.
Miss Grace
King in telling this story parenthetically comments "al

though he does not say so, he most likely treated her with
the consideration due a "madame."
The father in France
sent funds and advice to Augustin to remain in America.

The money was used to buy ships and enter business in Bal
timore.
Somehow he later came to New Orleans and visited
at "Maison Blanche."
The rains delayed his departure with
the result that he became the husband of Fanny Bringier

then only fourteen years of age;, he was thirty-eight.
Their
170
wedding present was the plantation "Union" to which Tureaud

later brought over from France four other members of his
family.
In the last years of his life he was Judge of the
parish of St. James.

This familys history illustrates what happened to
many of the refugees with capital.
They became successful;
their children then married first or second generation refu

gees or Americans of some prominence.
They were generous
to their less fortunate fellow refugees and frequently as

sisted them in obtaining a start.
Tureaud was only one of many Domingan refugees who
successfully participated in politics.
Some of these able
men combined this activity with plantation life, while oth

ers were lawyers as well as politicians.
Edward Living
ston, the New Yorker who became an important figure in

Louisiana, took as his second wife in 1&05 Mme. Louise
Moreau de Lassy who was a widow from the West Indies.
Her
maiden name had been Louise Davezac de Castera but in Ameri

ca the family used an apostrophe making it read D Avezac.
Her grandmother and two brothers were killed before the
rest of the family made their escape.
Father, mother,
Louise, now a widow of seventeen, her brother Auguste, and

Uncle Jules D Avezac all found safety in America though they
20$
Ibid., pp. 413-422.
171
arrived penniless.
209
After their marriage, Livingston
aided the other members of her family, all of whom came

to New Orleans save the father who died in Virginia of
yellow fever.
It was Jules D Avezac who prepared.the French
version of the Penal Code drawn up by Livingston.
He had
learned to read English as one does a dead language, for

he never understood the simplest English sentence in con
versation.
The translation of this difficult document
proved most satisfactory.
210
He was also a moving spirit
in the founding of the College of Orleans where he served

as the first president.
Auguste D Avezac became a partner
of Livingston in his law practice.
He earned the reputation
of being the best criminal lawyer in New Orleans.
His Gal
lic eloquence served so well in homicide cases it was said

that no client of his.ever was executed.
211
President
Jackson sent him to The Hague as Charge d affairs, then to

the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies in the samecapacity.
Af
ter 1&39 he spent a period in New York where he was active

in Tammany Hall.
President Polk again sent him to The
Hague as a diplomat.
21 2
209 Charles Havens Hunt, Life of Edward Livingston

(New York, IS64), p. 125.
210
Ibid., 276.
211 H. W. Howard Knott, Auguste Genevieve Valentin

D Avezac, Dictionary of American Biography, V., p. $9.
212
Ibid., p. S9.
Louis Casimir Elisabeth Moreau-Lislet, jurist and

politician, fled from Santo Domingo to New Orleans in his
thirties.
After a career as a lawyer and publisher he be
came Attorney General of Louisiana.
He was associated
with Livingston and Derbigny in working on the revision of

the law code.2-^
Pierre-Auguste Charles Derbigny, of
French noble blood, had emigrated to Santo Domingo from

which place he had to flee to the United States.
Before
coming to New Orleans he had lived in Pennsylvania, Mis

souri, and Florida.
He became Secretary of the Municipality
of New Orleans during the short period of French control in

1803 and then became Claibornes official interpreter.
It
was he who delivered in French the main oration at the

first celebration of July Fourth in the year 1S04.
Suc
cessively he held state offices in the legislature and the

Supreme Court and then in 1S2S was elected governor.2*^
His election came on his second try for the office.
lier he had
Ear
run in 1S20 against Thomas B. Robertson and,
though he placed second
in the voting, his friends con
trolled the
legislature and were ready to select him since
neither had
a majority. In an example of noblesse oblige.
213 Lionel C. Durel, Louis Moreau-Lislet, Dic

tionary of American Biography, XIII, p. 157.
214 John D. Wade, Pierre Derbigny, Dictionary of
American Biography. V, pp. 24$-249.
173
when the vote was about to be taken, Mr. Moreau-Lislet

rose from his seat and in the name of Peter Derbigny de
clared that Mr. Derbigny had too much respect for the will
of the people to receive the election in this w ay.215
This sort of thing indicated that the Creoles and other
French residents of Louisiana could respect the democratic
process as well as the Americans who had to set the exam
ple in New Orleans.
As a business man, Derbigny operated
the first steam ferry on the Mississippi River.
He was a
personal friend of Lafayette and when the State of Louisi

ana made a land donation to Lafayette, he gave Derbigny
the responsibility of looking after his business interests.
While serving as governor, Derbigny was killed when his
horses ran away, overturning his carriage.
0 1A
Another business man-politician among the refugees was

James Pitot who became Mayor of New Orleans in 1806.
Af
ter landing at Philadelphia he eventually made his way to

Norfolk and then to New Orleans where he built the first
cotton press in the city.
A son Armand was born there in
1803, who in later life had a distinguished record as a

member of the Louisiana bar, making a specialty of advising
215 Henry Edward Chambers, A History of Louisiana.

(Chicago, 1925), I, p. 50$.
!
216 Wade, Derbigny," Dictionary of American Biography.
V, p. 249.
174
some of the most prominent banks.
He, as well as his fa-
ther, held a number of municipal offices.
217
J. F. Canonge fled from Santo Domingo to Cuba.
In
Santiago he started a move to capture the island and bring

Napoleon there.
When the plot was discovered, he with two
brothers had to flee, going first to Philadelphia and then

to New Orleans.
A linguist, at home in English, French,
and Spanish, he earned a reputation as a translator and

orator.
For ten or twelve years he was Judge of the Crim-
inal Court in New Orleans.
21$
Equally well known was his
son Louis Placide Canonge who was born in N e w Orleans in

1$22.
After education in France he became editor of Le
Propagateur Catholique and also of a theatrical paper La

Lorgnette both of which were published in New Orleans.
He
wrote many plans which were performed and he also managed

theatrical troups.
His main occupation was the practice
of law, but he still found time to teach French in the

State University .^19
Another lawyer from a refugee family made a wider rep
utation in an unusual field.
Don Diego Morphy, Sr. was a
217 John Smith Kendall, History of N e w Orleans (New

York, 1922), I, pp. 6$, 74.
21$
King, Creole F a m i l i e s , pp. 393 > 394.
219 Lionel C. Durel, Louis Placide Canonge, Dic

tionary of American B iography, III, pp. 479, 4$0.
175
resident of Santo Domingo.
His infant son was saved dur
ing the insurrection by being placed under some cabbage

leaves in a market basket which his mother carried on
board an English vessel which landed in Philadelphia. The
father escaped to Charleston and finally reunited the
family in New Orleans.
Don Diego, Sr. served first as
Spanish Consul and then became a teacher.
220
A son be
came a lawyer and Supreme Court judge in Louisiana.
His
grandson, trained for law, never enjoyed any success in

practice, but he has been called the w o r l d s greatest chess
player.
By the time he was thirteen Paul Morphy had de
feated the best players in this country and within seven

years had repeated his success in Europe.
His challenge to
play anyone in the world, yielding the odds of a pawn and

move, was not accepted and at the age of twenty-three he
renounced the game, saying that his career as a lawyer made
it inexpedient to play p u b l i c l y .221
He failed utterly in
his profession and later in life suffered a mental break

down.
There were other refugees from Santo Domingo in law
and politics in Louisiana, but the examples cited above cov-
220
Arthur, Old F a m i l i e s , p. 55.
221 Walter Adolphe Roberts, Lake Pontchartrain, in

The American Lakes S e r i e s , edited by Milo M. Quaife (New
York, 1946), p. 288; Louis Karp inski, Paul M orphy, D i c
tionary of American B i o g r a p h y . XIII, p. 194.
176
er the best known and are enough to show that they could
make the necessary adjustment in language and methods of
government to make significant contributions.
The medical men and nurses among the refugees had lit
tle difficulty in establishing themselves either under the
Spanish regime or under American rule.
New Orleans was re
ported by Berquin-Duvallon to be a veritable hospital,

with sick people being brought into the city from miles
around.
Surgeons in addition to treating patients also
dispensed medicines and many had grown wealthy.
Berquin-
Duvallon found at least a dozen in the c i t y .222
Women who
could afford it came to the city a month before the birth

of their children to receive the care of a surgeon.223
New Orleans had suffered periodically from outbreaks
of yellow fever which was supposedly brought in by ships
coming from the West Indies.
The disease nowed its name
to the deep lemon colour, which, in the dissolution of the

humours, first shows itself in the eye, and afterwards
spreads itself over the body.n22^
The fever also appeared
222 Berquin-Duvallon, V u e , quoted in Robertson, Lou i

siana, I, p. 201.
223
I b i d ., p. 202.
224 Constantin Francois Volney, A View of the Soil

and Climate of the United States of A m e r i c a , translated by
C. B. Brown (Philadelphia, 1804), pp. 23$,"'239.
177
occasionally in the other Southern ports and even in N e w

York and Philadelphia.
Outbreaks coincided with the a r
rival of the refugees in 1793 and were sometimes attri

buted to them.22^
American physicians did not at first
know how to treat patients suffering from this dread

malady.
Dr. Deveze, a French surgeon for many years in
Santo Domingo, who had become a refugee in this country

had so much success in handling this illness that the
United States government made him head of the hospital at
0 0 f\
Bush Hill.
His technique consisted first of drawing
blood, then administering a drink containing carbonic acid,

and following the drink with wines and extract of bark.
Fresh air and isolation to prevent contagion were also
part of his treatment.22^
For some reason not then under
stood the survivors of fever and their descendants for

several generations were immune.22^
Most of the West In
dians possessed some immunity and were in great demand as

doctors and nurses to tend the sick when terror-stricken
natives fled the cities during epidemics.
The free women
of color were the nurses especially sought after.
22$
I b i d ., p. 246.
226
I b i d * P* 243*
227
I b i d . , pp. 244j 24$.
228
King, New O r l e a n s , p. 281.
j
173
Germaine Ducatel, whose family has already been m e n

tioned in connection with Baltimore, later came to N e w Or
leans as a physician.
He served as part of J a c k s o n s
Medical Corps in 1314 and 1315.
Francois Marie Pre-
vost, a former health officer in Santo Domingo, prac

ticed nearly fifty years at Donaldsonville, Louisiana.
He
practiced successfully the'operation involving Caesarean

section when even great medical centers believed it was
nearly always fatal.
Only one other surgeon had performed
the operation successfully in America before Dr. Prevost,

who began in 1322 with a slave woman as his first patient.^30
Jean Charles Faget was another doctor connected with the
revolutionary immigrants to N e w Orleans.
He was born in
1313 in New Orleans to parents who fled from Santo Domingo

to Cuba and then to the United States in 1309 when the
French were expelled by the Spanish from Cuba.
He was
sent to Paris to finish his medical education.
A protag
onist of the infectious theory of disease, he is noted as

the discoverer of F a g e t s sign, a definite way of telling
yellow fever from malaria and other fevers.
Most of his
life was spent among the French-speaking people of N e w Or-
229
Arthur, Old F a m i l i e s , p. 127
230 Rudolph Matas and Virginia Gray, Francois Prevost, Dictionary of American B i o g r a p h y . XV, pp. 209-
210.
179
leans.
Mrs. Grace King in her Creole Families of N e w Orleans
describes a number of the "fine old Santo Domingan fami
lies, who, to the enormous benefit of the city, emigrated
to New Orleans during the
<2
R e v o l u t i o n .
she relates
their marriages with each other and with prominent Creoles

but does not go into such prosaic details as their econom
ic and business lives.
Included in her book are the let
ters written to his wife by the Baron Pontalba during the

early part of 1795.
They contain a portrait of M. de
Coigne, a young refugee whose only hope of living in his

former manner was to marry an heiress.
This charming
idler remained for some time as a guest of Pontalba who

saw to it that he needed nothing and "introduced him every
where. 233
Unfortunately, the young man died of yellow
fever before he attained his objective.
Doubtless others
of these polished young refugees used their looks and

graceful manners to marry wealth and thus solve their eco
nomic problems.
The women were no less charming than the men.
These
231 James M. Phalen, "Jean Charles Faget, Dictionary of American B i o g r a p h y , VI, pp. 2 44 , 245.
9i.
232
King, Creole F a m i l i e s , p. 352.
233
"Pontalba Letters, in King, Creole Families. t>
---------------
ISO
women had intelligence and education and in addition their

sufferings aroused protective sympathy.
The story of Marie
Chotard illustrates what must have happened to others.
She
was the daughter of an affluent sugar grower who fled with

his family to America.
Young Marie at fifteen could beat
her elders at chess and developed into such a beauty that

beaux flocked around at all times.
The young banker. Le
vin Marshall, a connection of Chief Justice Marshall, pur

sued her to Alabama where she had gone on a visit.
He had
the good fortune to fall sick and had to stay there for
several days in bed.
ried.
Shortly afterwards the two- were m a r
It seemed almost a scurvy trick for him to play on
the other suitors.

Both men and women among the refugees in Ne w Orleans
turned to teaching.
Jean Baptiste Augustin was carried to
Cuba when the first insurrection occurred and later fled

to Louisiana.
death in IS 32 .
He taught in the College d Orleans until his

His son became a lawyer and j u d g e . ^35
^he
colorful General Humbert, once a Brigadier in the French

army and a veteran of much fighting in Santo Domingo, came
to New Orleans where he taught school, haunted the cafes,
234 Hartnett T. Kane, Natchez on the Mississippi.

(New York, 1947), pp. 192, 193^
235
Arthur, Old F a m i l i e s , p. 49.
l&L
and planned filibustering e x p e d i t i o n s . J o h n J. A udu

bon was born in Santo Domingo, the illegitimate son of a
merchant and planter.
island.
His mother was a Frenchwoman of the
His f a t h e r s real wife separated from her husband
and returned to France.
She had young John sent to join
her in Paris and took out formal adoption papers making

him legally her child.
The father moved to an estate near
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania where his son later joined

him.237
After 1$20 John and his wife stayed for several
years at "Oakley plantation near St. F r a n c isville, Louisi

ana serving as tutors of Eliza Pirrie and girls from other
nearby plantations.
John taught drawing, painting,
and
swimming while Mrs. Audubon instructed the girls in dancing,

using an abandoned cotton gin for a ball room.2^
Several
of the a rti s t s finest bird drawings were made at Oakley

and at other points n ear New Orleans.
The emigres from France and the refugees from the West
Indies contributed to the renaissance of the practice of
dueling.
A few of the most skilled in the use of arms be
came fencing masters and their salles d escrime were places
236
Castellanos, New Orleans As it W a s , p. 3 9 .
237 Donald C. Peattie and Eleanor Robinette Dobson,

John J. Audubon, Dictionary of American Biography. I, p.
1+2.1^
23S
Lyle Saxon, Old Louisiana (New York, 1929), p.
323.
182
of "fashionable culture for the young men."239
The real
golden age of dueling in N e w Orleans occurred between I 83O

and i860 during which time at least fifty maitres d ^ r m e s
were in the city.
As elsewhere the Domingan refugees found that provid
ing entertainment and places of amusement for others was
a lucrative field.
Even during the Spanish regime the
town was French in spirit and custom.
Then and later there
were elegantly appointed gambling houses, the best of cafes

and coffee houses, pits for cock fighting,
dellos,
cabarets, bor
eating places, ball rooms, and theatres.^40
Ma.jox*
Stoddard, who visited the city after the Americans took ov

er,
commented on the fondness of the people for gambling,
but they demanded variety, going "from the ball room to

cards,
cards to billiards, billiards to dice, again to the
ball room."
He found gambling a real profession.2^-
Coffee
stands remained open for long hours with those at the ends
of the famous old French Market at Decatur and St. Philip
Streets serving as the traditional refreshment places after
239
240 Herbert Asbury, The French Quarter (New York,

1951), p. 150.
241
Stoddard, S k e t c h e s , p. 322.
133
the theatre or the other evening e n t e r t a i n m e n t s . ^ ^

On Chartres Street, M. Thiot, one of the refugees
from Santo Domingo opened a cafe called variously the Cafe
des Refugies or Cafe des E m i g r e s , which became the hea d
quarters for the Colons de Saint D o m i n g u e , "a gay and ef
fete group of cynics, well versed in wine, women, dueling
and other dangerous pastimes."^*^
Here, in addition to
tropical syrups, lemonades, and wines, was served the

famous liquor known as le petit G o u a v e .
This drink, the
recipe for which is unknown today, was introduced by the

proprietor from the West Indies where it was a favorite.
There was music and dancing on the stage in the courtyard
while the customers sipped their drinks under the trees.
Le petit Gouave was still popular in the l $ 3 0 fs when anoth
er refugee,
old Mr. D Hemecourt,
served as host.
Next door
to this cafe was the Hotel de la Marine which was frequented

by the Lafitte brothers, other pirates and gamblers.
feature of this building was the central court which was

equipped with tables and a small stage where performances
2/ i
were given as the customers ate and drank and plotted.
242 Herbert A. Kellar, editor, ,TA Journey Through the

South in 1336: Diary of James A. Davidson. Journal of
Southern H i s t o r y . I (1935), p. 362.
243
Saxon, Old L ouisiana, p. 124.
244
I b i d ., p. 125 .
134
The original public ball room of New Orleans was an

unpretentious wooden building some eighty feet wide.
Here
the first theatrical performance was given by the troupe

of actors from Santo Domingo and here were given fencing
exhibitions and all types of entertainment which the c i t y s
talent of that day could devise.
The St. Philip Theatre
replaced the older makeshift building in 1303 as the ren

dezvous of the fashionable people.
John Davis, who came
from Santo Domingo despite his English name, became the

leading impresario of the city.
He built the $30,000
Theatre d TOrleans which presented dramas and grand opera.^45

A few years later Davis added a wing known as the Orleans
Ballroom which contained card and reception rooms on the
ground floor.
He expanded his operations to include a
gambling establishment which was open day and night seven

days a week.
A branch was opened on Bayou St. John, a
mile from the city, which opened only on week-ends .^46

Davis was a man of many enterprises.
His restaurants
were staffed by accomplished chefs from Paris.
He had a
share in ferries and was a theatrical manager, but his

chief interest was gambling.
This was also the master
passion of Bernard de Marigny, the "Creole of the Cre-
245
Asbury, French Q u a r t e r , p. 123.
246
Ibid., p. 216.
1S5
oles."2^
Naturally the two men were thrown much together
in social and business affairs.
The ventures they parti
cipated in were of course developments on a large scale.

Berquin-Duvallon had discovered in the city "nothing but
taverns, which are open at all hours.
..."
Nearby were
bawdy homes and smoking houses where father and son went
together.2^
The refugees wit h their skill in and love of
gambling must have owned or been employed in many of these

establishments.
New Orleans became the center of activity of a cosmo
politan group of freebooters perhaps best described as
pirates.
Privateers used it as a base of operations and
smuggling was a regular business during Spanish colonial

days.
Any town with already lax morality and a rapidly ex
panding population was ready for this sort of activity.

Governor Clai b o r n e s administration was perturbed by the
"desperadoes from St. lago de Cuba accustomed to piracies"
who were already in the city and feared the arrival of more
247 Marigny is credited with introducing "craps" to

New Orleans.
As a wil d youth in England he learned the
game "hazard" the dice game then the rage of the coffee
houses.
On his return he taught it to his Creole companions.
The Americans called it the game of the "Johnny Crepauds,"
their name for the Creoles.
This was shortened to "Crepauds"
and eventually to "craps."
This information comes from E d
ward Larocque Tinker, "Bernard Marigny," Dictionary of Ameri
can Biog r a p h y . XII, p. 2$2.
24# Berquin-Duvallon, V u e , quoted in Robertson, Lou
is i a n a . I, p. 216.
186
when the British might capture additional French islands.

By all odds the best known of these pirates were the
brothers Jean and Pierre Lafitte and their band, whose
headquarters in 1810 were at Barataria Bay, w h ich had been
a smugglers hideout for fifty years.
The bay and the
people living there apparently got their name from the word
barateur meaning cheap.
At any rate, the smugglers un
der the leadership of the Lafittes took orders openly in

New Orleans.
They were able to supply almost any commodity
desired and generally at a price under that in the open market.
250
Their story is too well known to require retelling
here except to point out their connection writh Saint Domingue and the other French islands.
Jean Lafitte had come
from France to work as a pirate and privateer in the Indies.

He had already had dealings with the merchants of New Or-
249 Robertson, Territorial Secretary to R. Smith,

Secretary of State, April 8 , 1810, Carter, Orleans, p.
881.
250 Latrobe, Impressions, p. 137*

An interesting
technique of the Spaniards for trying to stop smuggling
persisted for many years.
The noisiest thing along the
New Orleans levee was the squeaking of the ox-carts with
ungreased wheels.
This was not a sign of laziness but a
legacy of the Spanish law which provided that greased carts
should be liable to seizure.
Any honest merchant pre
sumably would not mind his transportation advertising it
self. Yet the smugglers operated their carts quietly by
stationing a Negro at each wheel with a gallon of water
to keep the axle wet.
137
leans before settling there permanently.*^!
His blacksmith
shop on Saint Philip Street served as his headquarters in

the city, with Turpins cabaret and hotel serving as the
assembly place for larger gatherings.
252
By 1309 the
organization was complete and for four or five years the

pirate band numbered about one thousand.
haps fifty s h i p s . ^53
They had per
Pierre L a f i t t e s mistress, the m u
latto Adelaide Maselari, who bore him at least one child,
had been brought by him from Santo Domingo.

had a mistress from the same island.
25A
Jean also
The favorite lieu\
tenant was Dominique You, sometimes known as Joannot, who

was one of three brothers who had served in Santo Domingo
as members of the French army.
After learning navigation
and gunnery they turned privateers and in 1310 joined the

Baratarians.^55
Dominque was described as a small, strong
man who resembled a ruffled eagle when angry.
Some think
251 Gaspar Cuzachs, Lafitte, The Louisiana Pirate

and Patriot, Louisiana Historical Quarterly. II (Oc
tober 1919), pp. 422, 423.
252
Castellanos, New Orleans as it W a s , p. 40.
253
254 Lyle Saxon, Lafitte the P i r a t e , (New York, 1930),

pp. 13, 17.
255
Carter, Lower M i ssissippi, p. 160.
he was born and reared in Santo D o mingo .*^6
ip^g other
lieutenants, Rene Beluche, Cut Nose Chighizola, and Gambi,

had all had experience in privateering and the like.
They commanded a varied group of followers, both men and
women, which included several nationalities and many
nhalf breeds and negroes from Santo Domingo, the lastnamed were a degenerate and blood-thirsty crew.257
Gov
ernor Claiborne declared that the Negroes from Santo Do

mingo among them were of the most desperate character, yet
"no worse t h a n most of their white associates."2 ^
Racial
distinction was not practiced among the Baratarians who

lived under a sort of communistic government.
At the
height of their fortunes in 1613 each man received about
$500 a month, the officers getting much more.

Public opinion in New Orleans favored the Baratarians.
Prominent people were their friends.
Dominque You and L a
fitte were seen arm in arm with August D Avezac, and John
R. Grymes, while he was District Attorney, drank coffee with
them.
259
Grymes and Edward Livingston later defended La-
256 . William Bridgewater, "Dominque You," Dictionary

of American Biog r a p h y , XX, p. 615; Castellanos, Ne w Orleans
As it W a s , p.
257
Saxon, L a f i t t e , p. 90.
256
Cable, Creoles of Lou i s i a n a , p. I 69 .
259
Saxon, L a f i t t e . p. 46 .
139
fitte in his trial for piracy and secured his acquittal.

In fact, the merchants of the Delta profited by the L a
fitte establishment.
sale.
The Lafittes always had slaves for
The majority of the French population defended the
Baratarians and aided in protecting them from the authori

ties.^^
The governor remarked "so general seemed the dis
position to aid in their concealment,
that but faint hopes
were entertained of detecting the parties and bringing

them to j u s t i c e .262
Eventually the tide turned against the
Baratarians and their establishment was broken up by United

States forces on the eve of the Battle of New Orleans.
The Baratarians played a prominent role in that battle
which will be covered in a later chapter.
They were given
a blanket pardon for their services by President Madison

on the recommendation of General Jackson.
Shortly thereaf
ter Lafitte and his lieutenants set up a new pirate base at

Galveston.
You and Beluche returned to New Orleans eventual
ly to live out their lives as law-abiding citizens where You

particularly became a well-known character.
He was popular
in coffee houses and Masonic meetings and entered politics

as a Jackson man.
When General Jackson visited the city
260
261
Cable,
262
Quoted in ibid., p. 167 .
Creoles of L o u i s i a n a , p. I 65 .
seven years after his victory, he was given a breakfast by

the whilom hellish b a n d i t . w h e n
Y o u died in poverty
at the age of fifty-five, every business house in the city

closed and all flags (even those of foreign consulates)
were flown at'half-staff.2^4
For years his funeral pr o
cession was the local standard for size and impressiveness.

His epitaph, taken from Voltaires La H e n r i a d e , described
him as Intrepide guerrier . . . noveau Bayard, sans re
proach et sans p e u r .2^^
Many of the other Baratarians
drifted back to their old haunts to become peaceful oystermen and fishermen.
They peddled their delicacies through
the city to the cry of Baratarial Baratarial, their for

midable faces and picturesque garb remaining the only re
minders of their former occupation.
Their descendants, a
hardy race speaking a mixture of French, Spanish, and Por

tuguese,
still live in Louisiana.
Few free persons of color lived in Louisiana before

the arrival of more than 3>000 who came from Santo Domingo.
In 177& the census showed only 352, which had risen to
263
King, New O r leans, p. 209.
264
Castellanos, Nexv Orleans As it W a s , p. B 9 .
26$
King, Ne w Orleans, p. 209.
266
Ibid., p. 209.
191
1,355 by 1 S 0 3 . ^ ^
The largest group came in 1&03 and 1&09
from Cuba, to which place they had fled a few years earlier
from Santo Domingo.
During the Spanish regime most of
these free persons of color gained their livelihood as

small business men, tailors, carpenters and the like.
Many of the women were in concubinage by the age of four
teen or f i f t e e n . T h o u g h these free persons had to car
ry certificates to prove their freedom, they did enjoy the
protection of the government.
From the earliest days the
slaves were known as Negroes with the designation colored

used only when referring to free persons whose legal status
was shown as gens de couleur l i bres.
them socially above any Negro.
Any white blood raised
After the Americans took ov
er, the initials f.m.c. and f.w.c.
(standing for free man
of color and free woman of color) were used in legal docu

ments and n e w s p a p e r s . 269
gy
far -the greatest number were
from Santo Domingo or descendants of those who fled from

the island.
Among them were people of culture, wealth, and
education, the latter often obtained in Paris.
On the whole
the provisions of the Black Code gave them better treatment
267 James E. Winston, "The Free Negro in New Orleans,

1$03~1#60, Louisiana Historical Quarterly, XXI (October.
193d), p. 1075:-----------------------------
26S
I b i d . , p. 1075.
269
Asbury, French Quarter, p. 127.
192
in Louisiana than anywhere else in the United States.
Of
coarse they must never strike a white person "nor presume

to think themselves equal to the white, but on the con-
,,270
trary they ought to yield to them on every occasion. .

The Spanish Governor Miro had attempted to control
concubinage and adopted a few disciplinary rules.
Natural
ly, many free persons of color were light enough in com

plexion to permit an attempt at passing across the color
line and claiming to be white persons.
To prevent this it
was made a criminal offense for any public official to omit

f.m.c. or f.w.c. designation from any document.
But bribery,
error, and carelessness sometimes caused the dropping of

these stigmatizing letters and, once dropped, their ab
sence was a proof of pure blood.
The free colored persons who came from Cuba in 1809
were considered by Mayor Mather of New Orleans to be gen
erally desirable citizens.
A few of them were fortunate
enough to be able to bring some capital with them and the

rest had enough skill in a trade to make a living.
272
They
were of such good repute that the government of Haiti in
270
Quoted in Latrobe, Impressions, p. 56 .
271
King, New O r l e a n s ,p. 34#
272
Mather to Governor Claiborne, July
Perez, "French Refugees," p. 302.
18, 1809 in
193
later years offered inducements to get them to return to

Santo D o m i n g o . ' Legally the free persons of color were
given the same privileges as the whites by Governor Carondelet.
Their possessions and persons were protected, but
they were all required to learn a trade.
They apparently
complied, for Paul Alliot wrote Jefferson in l04 that all

free Negroes made their sons learn a trade and the daughters
were given a "special education."
His description left lit
tle doubt what he meant by the last expression.
"Those
women inspire much lust through their bearing, their ges

tures, their dress, that many quite-well-to-do persons are
ruined in pleasing them.
Robin found the free persons of color to be lazy and

their work of poor quality.
Some of them must have been
exceptions to this unflattering judgment for a few did

quite well financially.
One colored refugee arriving with
out a sou had four years later a beautiful home worth 40,000
francs without counting his business assets .
^5
Whatever
they made commanded high prices with the heavy influx of

immigrants.
Tailors received ten piastres for a simple
"habit", a price which enabled them to make 5,000 to 6,000
273
Winston,"Free'Negro," p. 10&4.
274
Quoted in Robertson, L ouisiana, I, p. &5.
275
Robin, V o y a g e , II, p. #2.
194
piastres in two or three years.^76
Berquin-Duvallon found
some free persons of color who were planters; however,

most of these people lived in the city, working as m e
chanics, for which occupation they had great aptitude.
few became hunters who sold their kill in the city.
This
writer agreed with Robin that many of the free persons of

color were lazy and debauched and filled with hatred of the
whites, "the authors of their existence."277
The accounts
indicate that they were given justice in the courts and

were able to survive and compete in the economic world,
though by no means all of them were well off.
Those with
mixed blood were usually more advanced than the free per
sons of pure Negro blood.
James Winston, writing in the
Journal of Negro H i s t o r y , reports that in the decades prior

to the Confederate War, the position of the free Negro in
N ew Orleans was secure and happy.
These people were better
off in this city than anywhere else in the South wit h the
possible exception of Charleston.
He found that in I &36
there were $55 free people of color in Louisiana who paid

taxes on property valued at $ 2 ,462,470 and who owned 620
slaves.
276
I b i d .. II, p. $1.
277
Berquin-Duvallon, V u e , p. 253.
27$
Winston,"Free Negro," p. 10$5.
195
General Jackson in
iSlk
issued to the free men of col
or a proclamation calling them nloyal citizens and re

questing them to volunteer for his army in which they would
receive the same pay as the whites $124 in money and 160
acres of land.
This equality of treatment aroused some
criticism among the whites as being too liberal to the free

persons of color from Santo D o m i n g o . ^79
wealth of the free mulattoes,
The status and
given some assists from treat
ment such as that given by General Jackson and other things

of this sort,
continued to rise gradually.
Gayarre reported
that by 1$30 some of the gens de couleur owned cotton and

sugar plantations with numerous slaves.
These affluent
ones sent their children to France for education.
In the
city of New Orleans they had become musicians, merchants,

money and real estate brokers.
Among the humbler classes,
they were the mechanics and had a monopoly of the shoemaking trade.
They were also barbers, tailors, and carpenters.
Gayarre mentions four tailors each of whom was worth several

hundred thousand dollars.
Generally such men married women

pin
of their own class and lived in quiet, dignified ease.
Thorny Lafon is an example of one of the more success
ful of the free persons of color in New Orleans.
279
He was
Gayarre, History of L o u i s i a n a , IV, pp. 355, 356.
2$0 Unpublished manuscript of Charles Gayarre in

cluded in King, N e w O r l e a n s , pp. 344, 345*
196
born in 1610 of a part-French father and a Haitian mother,

both of whom were free persons who had come to New Orleans
from Santo Domingo.
He taught school and then opened a
store; later he was a money lender and owned some real es

tate.
At his death his fortune was estimated at a half
million dollars, most of which he left to charity.

The lighter colored people were called quadroons,
though there were special names such as griffe for the
various percentages of mixed blood.
These well-formed yel
low people did not assume the "creeping posture of abase

ment," to use Gayarres phrase.
They were of course re
garded as inferior to the whites, but far removed from equality with the blacks.
They had special places at the
opera; their women attended balls with white men and many
examples are recorded of white men observing all the social
amenities toward quadroon m e n .2^2
The quadroon woman of middle-age was generally in
fairly easy circumstances.
After one had spent years as
the mistress of some well-to-do white man, she owned a

house on Rampart Street with probably a slave or two.
These
were
281 Melvin J. White, "Thorny Lafon," Dictionary of

American Biography, X, pp. 546, 547.
346.
282
Gayarre Manuscript in King, New Orleans, pp. 345 ,
197
skillful hairdressers, fine washerwomen, accomplished

seamstresses who .brought in a handsome revenue.
They themselves [the quadroon owners] were engaged
in trade, were the modistes or expert needlewomen
who made the dresses worn by the white women or the
elaborately ruffled shirts then in vogue among the
men. Others monopolized the renting of furnished
rooms to white men, a monopoly easily retained for
they well knew how to please their tenants. Clean
and comfortable rooms, plus a cup of hot coffee
brought to the bedside in the morning, and a tub of
fresh water in the evening at the foot of the bed
were services not rendered by others. They were even
temperedând enjoyed the dual status of menial and
friend.233
They were also in great demand as nurses, not only because
of their immunity to the tropical diseases, but for their
knowledge of drugs, their skill, their honesty, and faith
fulness.2^
Slaves following their masters to America usually did
not have to hunt for employment.
Some few among them were
sold immediately by their masters to obtain capital.2^

Many of the slaves and their masters enjoyed a close per
sonal relationship heightened by gratitude on the part of
the whites, many of whom actually owed their lives to the
slaves who had voluntarily fled with them.
This did not
prevent the hiring out of such slaves, as this practice was
2S3
Ibid.. p. 347.
234 Timothy Flint, Recollections of the Last Ten Years

in the Valley of the Mississippi in a series of letters to
the Rev. James Flint of Salem, Massachusetts.
(Boston.
1326), p. 310 .
235
Robin, Voyage, III, p. 204.
193
common in New Orleans.
They performed work outside the
homes of their masters or sometimes cultivated small gar

dens and sold the produce from th e m . * ^
could be profitable to their masters.
Such slaves
Demand for labor
ers was high, for restrictive legislation and fear of in

surrection had cut down the number of Negroes imported for
a number of years and this,, coupled with an expanding econ
omy, meant a constant need for more workers.
brought a high price.
If sold, they
A Mbrute Negro from Africa might
bring a price of 500 piastres, but the more valuable Cre

ole Negroes who were trained might sell for as high as
1,400 piastres.
If employed, a Negro brought twelve to
fifteen piastres a month compared to only six or eight in

the islands.
The services of those who possessed a trade
were worth twenty to thirty piastres a month.
233
The slave
could never make a legal contract and such hiring out was
made illegal by an act of the first legislature of the
Territory of Orleans in 1306.2^9
But enforcement was lax.
Julian Poydras of Pointe Coupee mentioned in 1301 hiring a

mulatto for $7.50 a month on his plantation.
For shorter
236
Latrobe, Impressions, p. 102.
237
Alliot, quoted in Robertson, Louisiana, I, p. 62.
233
Robin, Voyage, II, p. 113.
239
Moody, "Slavery, p. 250.
199
periods he paid from fifty cents to one dollar per day.
290
In rural districts Negroes were permitted to own farms,

raise hogs, gather driftwood, and catch fish which they
might sell.
Others on the plantations were trained as
artisans.2^
During forty years of French dominion the Negroes
lived under Bienvilles Black Code drawn in 1724.
Under
Spanish and later American rule there was little change.

This peculiar mixture of Spanish and French law and usage
permitted no intermarriage with whites and no concubinage
between races.
The length of the working day, holidays,
time allowed for meals and the like were all prescribed.2^2
Emancipation might be granted only to slaves thirty or
more years of age who had enjoyed a good reputation for at
least four years before being given their freedom.
293
Free persons had to carry certificates proving their sta

tus; those unable to prove their lawful freedom were treated
as runaway slaves.
From 1793 to 1600 the importation of slaves into Lou-
290
Ibid.. pp. 251, 252.
291
Gayarre, Old Sugar Plantation, p. 610.
292
Flint, History of Geography, I, p. 249.
293
Winston, Free Negro," p. 1076.
294
200
isiana was forbidden.
This prohibition was restored by
the Americans except for the permission granted to the

refugees from Cuba, made when so many protests arrived in
Washington from Louisiana.
The "Remonstrance to the
Senate," sent on the last day of 1S04 by Derbigny, Sauve,

and Destrahan, caused favorable action by that
b o d y . 2 95
The House of Representatives acted favorably early in the

next year.296
Between two and three thousand Negroes were
admitted under this ruling.
Lafitte and others smuggled
in many, for the demand was great and prices continued to

rise.
Lafittes "source of supply" no doubt tapped Negroes
from the West Indies fairly regularly.
It was not until
some of the slaves from the French West Indies gave real
evidence of causing an insurrection in Louisiana that the
French inhabitants of Louisiana turned against the Baratarians.
This tracing of the economic adjustment of the refu
gees shows them to have been able to enter a wide variety
of occupations.
Many, no doubt, failed and of them few
records are available.
A small number of the refugees
brought wealth with them, but the only capital of the ma

jority was their knowledge, skill, and energy.
Some ac-
295
American State Papers, Miscellaneous, I, p.
296
Ibid., I, pp. 400-404.
399.
201
quired sizable fortunes, but most of the refugees were

merchants and artisans, properly regarded as lower mid
dle class, earning a livelihood and little else in the
United States.
They probably compared favorably with
their American contemporaries in the cities where these

French refugees for a time composed a significant part
of the population.
In the years since their coming, they
have become Americanized in name and all other ways, a

process which was accomplished through intermarriage and
the operation of the familiar melting pot.
202
CHAPTER EIGHT
THE SANTO DOMINGANS IN THEATRE AND OPERA
The refugees from the French colonies played a promi

nent role in theatrical and operatic ventures in the South
shortly after their arrival.
This chapter in a sense
shows their economic adjustment covered in the preceding

one, but even more it shows a major cultural contribu
tion which they made in this country.
Inasmuch as some
of the troupes traveled to various cities and states,

this phase of the refugee life is being treated separate
ly from other activities in entertainment.
Already mentioned have been the "benefits staged
in a number of cities shortly after the arrival of the
refugees from the islands.
Some of these "benefits" took
the form of concerts or plays and involved the full fa

cilities of that day.-1- At the New Theatre in Baltimore
was presented Cumberlands comedy "The West Indian," with
singing both before and after the play.
Among the refugees landing with the convoy in Nor

folk in 1793 was a group of actors who found employment

vertiser. July 19, 1793*
2
Ibid.. July 19, 1793.
203
with Thomas Wade West, the local theatrical manager.^
They
were a company of comedians who had been playing in Le

Cap before the outbreak of hostilities.
At least five of
these Frenchmen were hired despite their limited ability

to speak English.
Three were used as musicians and M.
Audin and his son became sign painters.
Hitherto West had
employed local amateurs to furnish music in the towns

where he played while the actors themselves had painted the
necessary scenery.^-
This Virginia Company played until
September in Norfolk and then moved to Richmond, taking

the Santo Domingans with them.
The season in Richmond lasted
until January, 1794, when the company moved on to Charles

ton.
This was indeed a motley group including at least
five different nationalities.

Charleston, with its many Frenchmen, welcomed these
additional theatrical performers with mixed feelings.
The
city had already a theatrical company which now feared the

competition which would come from the Virginia company.
The Charleston Theatre was described in 1792 as being a
building fifty-six feet long, lighted by three rows of
patent lamps.
There were three tiers of boxes, each of
3 Susanne K. Sherman, "Thomas Wade West, Theatrical

Impressario, 1790-1799, William and Mary Quarterly. IX
(January, 1952), p. 19.
4
I b i d ., p. 20.
204
which had a window and a Venetian blind.
Jean Joseph
Leger Solle (frequently spelled Sollee) was a refugee

from Santo Domingo whose famous Long Room in Charleston
has already been mentioned.
He organized the more t a l
ented of the refugees who thronged the town in 1793 into

a theatrical company.
To assist him came M. Alexandre
Placide, a Frenchman who had lived for a short while in

the northern part of the United States.
Before coming to
this country, M. Placide had been a member of several

theatrical companies in Europe, and in addition had di
rected spectacles on the boulevards and at the fairs in
Paris in 1762.
The future Charles X as a youth took les
sons from him.^

A notice early in 1794 informed the public of Charles
ton that a group of actors from Santo Domingo plundered
by privateers and conducted by Providence had arrived in
the city.
Their first venture w a s Pygmalion by Rousseau
which was given April 10, 1794.
Actors were M. and Mme.
5 John B. McMaster, A History of the People of the

United States From the Revolution to the Civil War~!l (New
York, 1333-1913), II, p. 5456 Eola Willis, Taverns and Coffee Houses of Old
Charleston, Charleston Evening P o s t , February 10, 192&.
7 Lewis P. Waldo, The French Drama in America in the
Eighteenth Century and Its Influence on the American Drama
of that Period, 1701 - l 0 0 . (Baltimore, 1942), p. 177.
205
Val, M. Dainville (who played seven different parts) and

M. Francisquy.
This apparently was the troupe organized
by Mr. Solle.^
The St. Cecilia Society had already asked the WestBignall Company, which was then occupying the Charleston
Theatre, to give a benefit for the French refugees.
This
company had given the first performance making use of

French actors in the city. 9
Their performances enjoyed
such success that the Solle-Placide group opened in April,
1794} at the French Theatre which was later known as the

City Theatre on Church Street.10
This building, usually
referred to then as S o l l e Ts Hall, was located on the west

side of the street between St. M i c h a e l s Alley and Tradd
Street.
Thus Charleston had two theatres each with its
own cast and in each were some of the Santo Domingan ac

tors or talented Frenchmen turning into actors.
Plac i d e s next move was to capitalize on the discord
in his r i v a l s group and soon he was able to hire some of
the performers away from the English theatre.
11
Among
those who thus jumped from one to the other were the musi-
Ibid., p. 194.
9 Eola Willis, The Charleston Stage in the XVIII

C e n t u r y , (Columbia, S. C., 1924), p. 237*
10
I b i d ., p. 237.
11
Sherman,
"Thomas Wade W e s t , p. 21.
20.6
cians Lecat, Brunet and Daguetty as well as the two scene

painting Audins who had been hired in Norfolk.
The com
petition lasted all season with the "English" having the

advantage of Wests experience and the "French" having
novelty as its prime asset.
Even for the non-French mem
bers of the audience the experiences of these Santo Do

mingans lent a romantic touch to their performances.
Probably Placide had the better artists after raiding his
rival.
All summer long in 1794 the French Theatre in
serted advertisements from one-half to one and one-half

columns in the newspaper. *
and comedy.
Theatre.
The notices emphasized farce
Everything was light and gay in this French
The audience frequently rocked with laughter and
on some occasions participated in singing with the per

formers.
On May S, they sang the "Marseillaise Hymn" with
such enthusiasm that the report stated "everybody was

French that night, and all the small boys beat tattoos in
time."
Some performances were given entirely in French.
13
Thomas West could perhaps have crushed his rivals

but instead persuaded them to join him in August to form
one super-company.
This in turn could be broken down into
groups to perform in taverns and makeshift halls in the
12
Charleston, S. C., City Gazette and Daily A d v e r
tiser, July 3, 1794.
13
Willis, Charleston S t a g e , pp. 243, 26$.
207
smaller towns.
Only Richmond., Baltimore, Norfolk, and
Charleston had halls large enough to accommodate the

whole c o m p a n y . ^
This plan was put into operation, with
tight-rope walkers,
concert groups, dancers, and actors
going on tour with scenery furnished by the parent com

pany.
Probably the entertainment they offered was supe
rior to that given by the itinerant players who had

hitherto been the only ones to appear in small towns.
West himself had theatres in Norfolk, Richmond, Peters
burg, Fredericksburg, and Alexandria as well as the one in
Charleston.
By 1796, the company increased in general ex
cellence as well as in size.
In addition to the orchestra
there were thirty-three actors who presented 111 different

plays during that year.
15
West died in 1799 at the age of
fifty-four as the result of a fall.
For the nine years of
operation, his company was the best in A m e r i c a . ^

M. Placide and a portion of the company remained in
Charleston.
An interesting story came out of the love
which both he and M. Douvillier, one of the troupe, felt

for one of the leading l a d i e s .
Both men having been fenc
ing masters, they decided to settle their differences at
14
Sherman, MThomas Wade West, p. 23.
15
I b i d ., p. 25.
16
Ibid., p. 2$.
208
the unorthodox hour of noon.
By the time the principals
appeared, half of Charleston was there, and a throng ac

companied each antagonist to the place of combat.
In
the fighting Placide was disarmed, but won the victory by

jumping on his assailant and grabbing back his weapon.
The victor went immediately to see his lady love, only to
be spurned as she rushed to bind up the wound of the loser,
whom she soon married.
Placide not long after soothed
his wounded pride by marrying a n o t h e r .^

The theatre groups in Charleston presented not only
drama but also operas by Arne, Atwood, Shield, Rousseau,
Gretry, Cimarosa,
and Paiselle.
Their orchestras gave
full concert pieces by some of the leading composers of

Europe.^
The names of Villars, Petit, Le Roy, Foucard,
and Poition recurred frequently enough to show that the

Santo Domingans were prominent among the musicians from
1793 onward for a number of years.
19
The French company continued to give performances in

the Church Street Theatre.
Mr. Solle changed his hall into
the French Coffee House with the theatrical companies among

its chief patrons.
In 1S03 the theatre ceased operation
17
Janson, S t r a n g e r , pp. 3695 370.
Sonneck, Early C o n c e r t , p.
19
I b i d . . p. 29.
28.
209
and the building became John Solles Hotel.
This group
of buildings: Long Room, Hall, Theatre and Hotel became

known as Cabbage Row on account of the curb market op
erated there.
This locale was later used by DuBose Hey
ward as Catfish Row in Porgy

For the season 1601-1602 the Placide Company began
dividing its time between Charleston and Savannah.
After
a run from November to Christmas in the South Carolina

city, activities were transferred to Savannah until late
January when the company returned for the famous race
week in Charleston.
The season then ended in June.
21
Within a few years Placide had extended his touring

area.
His company presented The Forty Thieves in N o r
folk where he was making a short stay.
He offered a dif
ferent play each evening with no postponement because of

the weather.*^
The mother of Joseph Jefferson, the famous actor, was
one of the refugees.
As Cornelia Thomas, a child of eight
or ten, she was befriended by ,the Macphersons, a Charles

ton family who aided in her support and education.*^
20
she
W i l l i s , Coffee House, Evening P o s t , February 10,
1926.
21
Hoole, Charleston T h e a t r e , p. 6 .
22 Norfolk, Ya., Norfolk Gazette and Publick Ledger,

M a y 15, 1S09.
:
:
---23
Ravenel, Charleston, p. 366 .
210
later married Joseph Jefferson, Senior.

In 1791 a group of French comedians directed by Louis
Tabary escaped from Santo Domingo to establish the first
professional company in New O r l e a n s . ^
They began to
give regular performances in the first floor of a house

which became known as the Theatre St. Pierre or La Comedie, located between Bourbon and Royale Streets on Rue St.
P i e r r e .
nth
only two months respite, performances were
given here both winter and summer for twenty years.
Their
repertoire catered to the Gallic tastes of the predominant

ly French population and included pantomines, vaudevilles,
and comic operas as well as plays by Moliere, Rousseau,
and Beaumarchais and Ttune infinite d ^ u t r e s comedies.
drames, operas dont la list est trop nombreuse pour etre
inseree dans cet o v r a g e .
In a town of approximately
5,000 population this building proved adequate until ISOS.

In 1793 the rez-de-chaussee of the building became a ball
room which degenerated into such a dive that the police
were forced to close it in 1 7 9 9 . For a short interval
24
25 J. G. de Baroncelli, Le Theatre Francais a1 la

Nile Orleans (New Orleans, 1906), pp. 7,
b
26
Ibid., p. S.
27
Ibid., p. 7.
211
the Spanish authorities closed the theatre itself for the

reason that the actors insisted on "interpolating French
Revolutionary songs at unexpected points in their per
formances."^
The core of the theatrical group was com
posed of actors and musicians from Santo Domingo.^9

In 1$06 Manager Louis Tabary added a parquet with
thirty seats and "fermant a c l e f ."
The next year Terrier
succeeded him as manager and shortly thereafter the police

closed the theatre following a brawl between the theatre
people and the city police.
30
The excuse given by the city
council was that the building was unsafe.

A syndicate decided to construct a new theatre build
ing which was opened in September 1$0$.
This Theatre St.
Philip between Royale and Bourbon Streets cost $100,000

and opened w i t h the experienced Louis Tabary as director.
The premiere performance consisted of a comedy, "Les Fausses
Consultations," followed by a comic opera in two acts.
The
stars of the next few years included Douvilliers, St. M a r

tin, Francisqui,
and Mile. Champizeau.
2$
Asbury, French Q u ar t e r , p. 72.
29
Berquin-Duvallon, Vue, p. 30.
The orchestra was un-
30 Harold F. Bogner, "Sir Walter Scott in New Orleans

1S1S-1S32, " M asters Thesis-in English, Tulane University,
1937, Louisiana Historical Qua r t e r l y , XXI (April, 193$), p.
424 .
212
^1
der the direction of M. Valois.-'
The two theatres instead of fighting each other f o l

lowed the same course as the two in Charleston.
In S e p
tember ISOS, an agreement was reached among the actors

which permitted them to give alternately plays at the St.
Philip and the old St. Pierre until the latter closed per
manently in 1& 10.22
The St. Philip had a seating capaci
ty of 700 and was arranged as a parquet and two ranks of

loges.
Here the elite of the city gathered, paying seven
piastres for eight plays.
The performance of December 7 }
1S 14 , was made memorable by the pandemonium which broke

out when a ship captain announced the escape of Napoleon
from Elba.
The gaiety-loving Creoles of New Orleans had ample
opportunity to find entertainment.
In the city shortly
after lSOO fifteen ball rooms were open and each of the
theatres had an annex for dancing.
There must have been
fifty dancing schools as well as numerous gambling places

and cabarets, many of which offered shows for their patrons. 2^
Of course many people came in from the sea or down the riv
31
Baroncelli, T h e a t r e , p. 10.
32
Ibid., p. 15.
33
I b i d . , p. 16 .
34
I b i d . , pp. 22 , 23 .
213
er to spend a few days and to see the sights, fame of which

had spread far and wide.
For a generation after 1$10 John Davis, the Santo Do
mingan refugee with the English name, was the most impor
tant operatic and theatrical manager.
In 1S13 he built
the magnificent Theatre d Orleans which burned in 1S17.

Open seven nights a week, it offered opera for three even
ings and vaudeville,
comedy, and drama on the other f o u r .
After the fire, Latrobe,
son of the famous architect, and
Laclotte supervised the reconstruction, using much of the

old plans and making it the grandest theatre on the con
tinent.
The cost was $& 0 ,000.36
An old New Orleans his
tory described it as a lower floor of "Roman Doric order,

certainly not a pure specimen.
The Upper is what may be
called Corinthian Composite."
The interior had a "pit or
parquette,
elevated and commodious," two tiers of boxes,
and one of galleries above.
A novel feature was a group
of grated boxes for the use of persons in mourning.
37
To
finance construction, Davis organized a t o n t i n e , previous

ly unknown in the United States,
selling "actions" at $150
35 F. H. Martens, "John Davis," Dictionary of Ameri

can Biogra p h y , V, p. 133 .
36
37 Ibid., (quoting Normans History of New Orleans,

p. 177), p. 41.
214
each and raising $70,000 in this manner.
After five years
under the operation of Davis, the theatre and equipment

would belong to the actionaires who could direct the op
erations and share the profits.
W h e n their number was
reduced to ten by deaths of the others, the salle belonged

to them.^
The idea proved highly successful.
The old
St. Philip Theatre could not compete and eventually in

stalled a permanent floor and became the Washington Ball
room, for years the favorite resort of the d e m i m o n d e .
From the beginning the Theatre d 1Orleans prospered de
spite some peculiar city ordinances which provided for
rigid censorship and even fines for actors who failed to
appear on stage at the exact moment their parts required.
Applause by "striking on the floor, the benches, boxes or
in any other manner" was forbidden with a fine of $25 for
a violation.^
John Davis had a son Pierre who was known as "Toto"

to New Orleans for many years.
He worked with his father
and then succeeded him when the latter died.
Toto and
Boudousquie introduced real grand opera in 1$37 when Mme.

Julia Calve made her American debut.
came the wife of Boudousquie.
She subsequently be
Foreign artists were im-
Baroncelli, T h e a t r e , pp. 27, 2$.

39
215
ported to play the leads while the local stock company

filled the supporting roles.
M a n y of these artists
stopped in Ne w York or Philadelphia on their way from

Europe to New Orleans so that the New Orleans theatre
aided in the promotion of opera in other parts of the
United States.
Under the Davises and Boudousquie,
opera,
stressing the French cultural note, became perhaps the

most lasting artistic-love of Ne w Orleans.
This was the
first United States city to have an annual opera s e a s o n . ^

In 1$59 the celebrated French Opera House at Bourbon and
Toulouse Streets was opened under the management of
Boudousquie, though o p e r a 'continued at the Theatre d*Or
leans until the building burned in 1866.
A novel use
was made of the old brick by the Louisa Street Cemetery;

they were used to make burial o v e n s . ^
quies death,
refugee,
After Boudous-
Canonge, who was the son of a Santo Domingan
carried on as the director of opera and drama in
the city.
In the old days the fashionable occasions were the
performances given on Tuesday and Saturday evenings when
formal dress was obligatory except in the parquet.
The
display of the audience was described by an old New Orleans
40
Martens,
"John Davis," p. 133
41 New York, New York T i m e s , November 26, 1867,

quoted in Asbury, French Q u a r t e r , p. 125.
216
guide book as "something positively startling to a stran

ger.
Under the elder Davis the other evenings of the
week saw a program opening at six o clock with vaudeville,

followed by a comedy and then a serious drama which might
last until two in the m o r n i n g . Two sample programs
will show the sort of entertainment presented in addition
to grand operas:
A Second Representation of
Husbands Are Always in the Wrong,
Even When They Are in the Right
A Vaudeville in One Act,
To Be Followed By a Second Representation of Rossignol
A Comic Opera in One Act by Mr. Le Brun
A Representation of
Brisquet and Joilicoeur
A Farce in One Act
To be Followed by
Rouge et Noir
Or the Chances of Gambling
An Opera in One Act by Tarchi
42
Quoted in i b i d ., p. 124.
43
Roberts, Lake Pontchartrain, p. 144*
217
The Whole to Conclude with

The Innkeeper Judge and the Hairdresser Lawyer
A Farce in One Act
The Curtain will rise at Half Past Six P r e c i s e l y ^
Performances in French attracted the best people, with the

fashionable women always seen in gala attire.
The per
formances in English about 1$20 catered to a different

class of patrons.^5
Various travelers were struck by the
attention given the theatre by the people of N e w Orleans.

They were shocked to find that Sunday was the day which
attracted the best house and the early pedestrian found
the play bills posted prominently at the corners of the
chief s t r e e t s . ^
The theatrical and dramatic tradition was carried on
by at least one quadroon family of refugees.
Francois
Marcou, a free man of color from Santo Domingo, ran an es

tablishment for cleaning clothing on Chartres Street.
He
married a quadroon several years after the birth of their

son Victor Sejour.
Victor was sent to school in Paris
44
Quoted in Saxon, Old Louisiana, p. 127.
45
Ibid., p. 12$.
46
Flint, Recollections, p. 307; Dr. John Sibley,
"Journal of Dr. John Sibley July-October lS02,n Louisiana
Historical Quarterly, X (October, 1927), p. 43
21$
where one of his plays was produced.
Some which he wrote
later in New Orleans were performed in America.^

From the year 1793, and in cities all the w a y from
Baltimore to New Orleans, the leading Southern companies
were filled with Santo Domingans as actors, as musicians
in the orchestras, as directors, and even as promoters.
They introduced a love for drama, opera, and music which
was lasting, a definite contribution to the culture of
these Southern cities.
So popular were the French plays
that one student found forty-seven which had been adapted

into English for performances in the eighteenth century.
The greatest number of these were, naturally, in the last
decade after the arrival of the r e f u g e e s . ^
47 Edward Larocque Tinker, "Victor Sejour," D i c

tionary of American B i o g r a p h y , XVI, pp. 565, 566 .
4S
Waldo, French Drama, p. 167 .
CHAPTER NINE
SANTO DOMINGANS AND NEGRO SLAVE REBELLIONS
Marked disagreement exists as to the number and itensity of slave revolts prior to the Confederate War.
Ull- .
rich B. Phillips and others have minimized them while the

monograph of Herbert Aptheker lists over 250 reported con
spiracies and revolts.
M any newspapers played down unrest
among the slaves, probably fearing that news of such events

might be contagious and cause other slaves to try some
thing similar.
The scope of this study does not permit a
searching inquiry into the subject, yet the period fol

lowing the arrival of the refugees from Santo Domingo and
the insurrections on that island is marked by a number of
slave insurrections in this country and an even greater
number of rumors.
Prominent figures in the United States
feared what might happen.
Comments were made in Congress;
letters of warning were sent by various officials; re-
strictive laws appeared on the statute books of several

states.
All of this was to a great extent motivated by
the example of the blacks in Santo Domingo and the coming

of the slaves from that island to the United States,
Two letters written by Thomas Jefferson will illustrate
these fears.
To James Monroe in July, 1793> he wrote,
I become daily more and more convinced that all the

West India islands will remain in the hands of the
220
people of color and the total expulsion of whites

sooner or later take place. It is high time we
should foresee the bloody scenes which our children
certainly and possibly ourselves (South of the Po- 1
tomac) have to wade through, and try to avert them.
In December of the same year, while serving as Secretary
of State, he sent a warning to Governor Drayton of South
Carolina:
It is my duty to communicate to you a piece of in
formation although I cannot say I have confidence
in it myself. A French gentleman, one of the refu
gees from St. Domingo, informs me that two French
men, from St. Domingo also, of the names of Castaing
and La Chaise, are about setting out from this place
for Charleston, with a design to excite an insurrec
tion among the negroes. He says that this is in
execution of a general plan, formed by the Brissotine Party of Paris, the first branch of which has
been carried into execution at St. Domingo. My in
formant is a person with whom I am well acquainted,
of good sense, discretion and truth, and certainly
believes it himself. I inquired of him the channel
of his information. . . . Your judgment will de
cide whether injury might not be done by making the
suggestion public, or whether it ought to have any
other effect than excite attention to these per
sons, should they come into South Carolina. Castaing
is described as a small dark mulatto, and La Chaise
as a Quarteron of a tall fine figure.
The South Carolinians were disturbed and continued to be
fearful.
There were possibly some political reasons in
volved as the Federalists in Charleston sought to discredit
1 Jefferson to Monroe, July 14, 1793, Lipscomb,

Writings of Jefferson. IX, pp. 161, 162.
2 Jefferson to Drayton, December 23, 1793, H. A.
Washington, editor, The Writings of Thomas Jefferson, IV.
pp. 97, 9S.
----------- ------------------------
221
the French sentiment existing there.
Nathaniel Bussell,
one of the unidentified correspondents of Ralph Izard, wrote

the latter in June, 1794, that
we are about to have a meeting of the citizens on
the 11th inst. when I hope some effective measures
will be adopted to prevent any evil consequences
from that diabolical decree of the national conven
tion which emancipates all the slaves in the french
colonies, a circumstance the most alarming that could
happen to this country.3
A similar meeting took place in Savannah the next year.^

At Norfolk, Colonel Thomas Newton was apprehensive
when the convoy of refugees arrived,
and expressed his
fears to Governor Henry Lee, nOur place is crowded with

Frenchmen and too many negroes have been brought with
them. ^
As a result of this and later letters Newton was
authorized by the Governor "in consequence of apprehension

of an insurrection and the danger to be apprehended from
the people of color lately arrived from Cap Franâis to
call out a detachment of the militia to guard the public
3 Nathaniel Russell to Ralph Izard, June, 1794,

quoted in U. B. Phillips, "The South Carolina Federalists,
American Historical Review, XI V (July, 1909), p. 735*
tiser. July 9, 1795, quoted in Herbert Aptheker, American
Negro Slave Revolts (New York, 1943), p. 42.
5 Thomas Newton to Governor Lee, July 9, 1793,
Calendar of Virginia State P a p e r s , VI, p. 443 .
222
arms in any manner you think n e c e s s a r y . Similar in

structions went to Lieutenant Colonel John Marshall, Com-
7
mandant of the City Militia at Richmond.
Carolina was possibly threatened,
Since South
copies of N e w t o n s
correspondence were sent to the governor of that state.
In Richmond, John Randolph reported hearing Negroes

plotting outside his home to kill all the whites and take
their homes.
The discussion ended w ith the words, You
see how the blacks has k i l l d the whites in the French Is

land and took it a little while ago.9
Willis Wilson
wrote the governor from Portsmouth that Our town swarms

with strange negroes, foreign and domestic, who have al
ready begun hostilities upon themselves.
Last night at
half past eleven, four were found hanging twenty steps

from my door upon a cedar tree.
. . .*10
Tlie town of York
also reported rumors of a Negro uprising against the
James Woo d to Col. Newton, August 16, 1793 > Exe

cutive Letter Book, 1792-1794, p. 231.
(These papers are
in the Virginia State Library in Richmond.)
7
I b i d . . p. 235.
8 James Woo d to the Governor of South Carolina,

August 14, 1793> i b i d . , p. 230.
9 Notarized copy of deposition by John Randolph in
Executive Papers of Virginia, July 22, 1793, in Virginia
State Library, Richmond.
10 Willis Wilson to Governor, August 21, 1793, Calen
dar of Virginia State P a p e r s , VI, p. 490.
223
whites.În October, Thomas Newton, Jr. sent even more definite

information in the form of a paper found at Mr. Pinnocks
store:
Mr. Pennock sicj, I am sorry to be the author
of a bad piece of news.

bad situation.
Norfolk and Portsmouth are in a
The paper then went on to state that a
mob of more than eighty men, chiefly blacks, was planning

to burn the two towns and the French ships.
The anonymous
informant wrote, Disperse the French and burn all is the

word.
The negroes is hot for beginning soon but I myself
am a ringleader and I hope something will be done to pre

vent this bloody intent.
There were thirty-four whites
involved. ^
In Warwick County the commanding officer of the mili
tia reported
Since the melancholy affair at
tants of the lower county have
by some of their slaves having
insurrection, which was timely
county by executing one of the
the insurrection.-*-.?
11
Hispaniola, the inhabi

been repeatedly alarmed
attempted to raise an
suppressed in this
principal advisors of
William Nelson, Jr. to Governor, August 24, 1793,
ibid., VI, p. 494.

12 Thomas Newton to Governor, October 1, 1 7 9 3 ibid..
VI, p. $71.
13 Commanding Officer of Militia to Governor, June
29, 1795, ibid.. p. 6$1 .
224
Norfolk was still apprehensive in 1 7 9 5 In 1309,

the state Attorney General,
in an advisory opinion to the
governor concerning the admission of slaves from Cuba

when the- French were being expelled from that island, made
the following observation: it "may be remarked that from
no portion of the population is greater danger to be ap
prehended than from those which are introduced from the
islands. "-^
In South Carolina similar fears were expressed.
New York paper carried the following news item,

They write from Charleston (S. C.) that the NEGROES
have become very insolent, in so much that the citi
zens are alarmed, and the militia keep a constant
guard.
It is said that the St. Domingo negroes
have sown these seeds of revolt, and that a magazine
has been attempted to be broken o p e n . 1 6
This uprising was threatened in September, 1793, and again
in 1795 the Negroes were accused of trying to burn the
city.-1-?
The City Gazette and Daily Advertiser of Charles
ton published a letter signed by nA Citizen"
congratulating
14 Thomas Newton to Governor, June 29. 1795, ibid.,

VIII, p. 264.
---15 Philip Nicholas to Governor, May 26, 1$09, ibid.,
X, pp. 54 , 55 .
16 New York, Ne w York Journal and Patriotic R e gis
t e r , October 16, 1793, quoted in Treudley, "United States
and Santo Domingo," p. 124 .
17 Eugene Perry Link, Democratic-Republican Societies.
1790-1300, (New Y 0rk, 1942), p. 33.
-----------------
225
the city on its narrow escape when attempts were made in

three different parts of the city to lay it in ashes.
The diabolical plan was preconcerted.
The same issue
carried a proclamation of Mayor John Edwards offering a

reward of $ 1,000 for conviction of those responsible.
IS
The next year, judging from a letter in the New York

Minerva, an epidemic of fires occurred in Charleston which
was attributed to the slaves planning to make a new Santo
D o m i n g o . In 1797, four Negroes were tried on a charge
20
of a conspiracy to burn Charleston. v
Another aspect of the general apprehension was the
fear in 1799 that an independent Santo Domingo,
or a Santo
Domingo as a French possession, might plot an attack on

the Southern States or work through the refugees already
here to promote an insurrection.
A good illustration may
be found in a speech made in Congress by Mr. John Rutledge,

Jr. on January 3, 1300: There have been emissaries amongst
us in the Southern States; they have begun their war upon
us; an actual organization has commenced; we have had them
1$ Charleston, S. C., City Gazette and Daily A d v e r

t i s e r . November 21, 1795*
19 Letter dated June 19, 1796, published in N e w York
M i n e r v a , July 16, 1796, quoted in Aptheker, American Negro
Slave R e v o l t s , p. 97
20 Charleston, S. C., City Gazette and Daily Ad v e r
t i s e r , November 22, 1797, quoted in Henry, Police C o n t r o l .
p. 150 .
226
meeting in their club rooms.

tampered with."
21
. .
the blacks
have been
Robert Goodloe Harper wrote to his
constituents that the French had sent Hedouville
po
to
Santo Domingo to make preparations to invade the South

ern States with an army of blacks and to "excite an in
surrection among the Negroes by means of missionaries
previously sent, first to subjugate the country by their
assistance, and then plunder and lay it waste."^3
bert Gallatin,
year,
Al
speaking to Congress earlier in the same
said that the Santo Domingans were dangerous and
mentioned warnings the preceding year of the possibility

of invasion from that island, "an alarm upon which some
of the strongest measures of the last session were
grounded."
He feared men might come to Georgia and South
Carolina- to spread their views among the Negro popula

tion there.
Many more instances could be cited to show the fear
of a repetition of the horrors of Santo Domingo in the-
21
Annals of Congress. 6 Cong., 1 sess., p. 242.
22 Gabriel Marie Joseph Theodore, Count d*Hedouville

was made Governor of Santo Domingo in 1797.
23 Harper to his Constituents, M a r c h 20, 1799, in
"Papers of James A. Bayard, 1796-1515," edited by E l iza
beth Donnan, American Historical Association, Annual R e
port for 1 9 1 3 . vol. II, p. 190.
24
Annals of Congr e s s . 5 Cong., 3 sess., p. 2752.
227
South during the years after 1791*
Doubtless no complete
record can ever be made of the insurrections among the

slaves.
Probably, too, hysteria magnified many an iso
lated incident involving only one or two slaves into an

"insurrection.
But in several of the known occurrences
justifying the use of the term "revolt," it can be shown

that Santo Domingans were involved.
Incidents in Virginia in 1793 and 1794 have already
been mentioned.
In September, 1800, Richmond narrowly es
caped destruction as the result of a plot organized by

Gabriel Prossor, a huge Negro, aided by his wife and anoth
er Negro, Jack Bowler.
whites,
The plan called for murdering the
save for the French inhabitants who were for some
reason supposedly f r i e n d l y . A
terrific storm, described
as the worst ever experienced in Virginia, prevented the

gathering on the appointed date.
The plot was disclosed
and the aroused and alarmed whites broke up the conspiracy.

The contemporary newspapers gave all sorts of interpreta
tions though many minimized the affair.
Yet the evidence
of witnesses at the trial gave figures running as high as

10,000 Negroes involved.
Governor Monroe said, "It was
distinctly seen that it embraced most of the slaves in the

city and neighborhood and the combination extended to several
25 Testimony at the trial implicated two white French

men who were not named and were never captured.
223
adjacent counties."26
Gabriel was a Virginia slave and, no
doubt, was never out of that state, but some later legends
which are probably false connect him with trying to es
cape to Santo Domingo.
Since so many Santo Domingans were
in eastern Virginia at the time they probably did play

some part in his plot and his plans.
Almost without doubt,
a few French people had some relationship with the af

fair.27
In 1322, Charleston was terrified by the Vesey con
spiracy which is better known than the Gabriel uprising.
Vesey was a mulatto slave at Cap Franâis who became at
the age of fourteen the property of Captain Vesey who traded
between Charleston and the West Indies.
The slave original
ly was named Telemaque which became "Denmark' in Charleston.
2$
After twenty years as a faithful slave he won $1,500
in the East Bay Street lottery of 1300.
For $600 he bought
his freedom and subsequently became a carpenter of some

small means who was highly respected among the free Negroes
of the city.
Inspired by the events of Santo Domingo, he
26 Quoted in Aptheker, "Negro Slave Revolts in the

United States, 1526-1360," in.Essays in the History of the
American N e g r o , edited by.Herbert Aptheker, (New York,
1945), p. 30.
2? T. W. Higginson, "Gabriel's Conspiracy," Atlantic
M o n t h l y . X, (September, 1362), p. 344.
23 Anne King Gregoire, "Denmark Vesey," Dictionary
of American Biog r a p h y . XIX, p. 253.
229
matured his plans in the years before 1#20.
He used his
membership in the African Methodist Church to organize

classes for religious instruction in which he embittered
the minds of other Negroes.
He could quote Scripture with
powerful effect, indentifying the Negroes with the Israel

ites in Egypt.^9
He had written to President Boyer of
Haiti, sending the messages by the Negro cook of a North

ern schooner, and assured his followers that assistance
would come to them from that i s l a n d . H i s
plan, after
plundering and burning the city, was to sail for Santo D o

mingo. 31
The Official Report states that his followers
were confined to Negroes who were "working out" as draymen,

sawyers and other occupations, and who had certain hours
at their disposal.
A later source indicates Vesey*s mes
sages had spread in a hundred-mile belt to plantations

from Eutaws to the S a n t e e . J u n e
16, 1S22, was the time
set for the uprising, but in M a y a slave named George

warned Mr. Wilson, his master, who communicated with the
authorities who then called out the volunteer companies.
29
I b i d .. p. 25&.
30 Lionel Kennedy and Thomas Parker, An Official

Report of the Trials of Sundry Negroes charged with an A t
tempt to Raise an insurrection in the State of South Caro
l i n a . (Charleston. 1822). p p . 21. AO."
31
I b i d . , p. 41.
32
Gergoire,
"Vesey," p. 25S.
230
The frightened Negroes called off their plan and the grate
ful city bought George his freedom.33
Vesey was captured
on June 22 and 130 other Negroes were arrested.
Sixty-
seven were convicted of whom thirty-five were executed.

Four whites, of whom three were foreign, were tried and
imprisoned in connection with the affair.
The ringleaders
were free Negroes connected with Santo Domingo and the

name of that island was frequently mentioned by both whites
and blacks in discussion of this abortive uprising.
From the time of the first servile insurrection in
Santo Domingo, Louisiana planters and townsmen were in con
stant dread of an uprising along the lower Mississippi Riv
er.
One traveler observed that the Louisiana Negroes were
even more ready for trouble than those in the French is

lands.
To justify this opinion, he pointed out the poorer
diet; the fact that Negro men outnumbered the women by

three or four to one; that they had to work harder at cer
tain times.
All this made them less gay and joyous than
their kinsmen in the islands.35
33
relating
Society,
Georges
34
caste system among the
W. Hassell Wilson to Rev. Dr. Wilson in "Papers

to Vesey Conspiracy" in Charleston Library
Charleston, S. C. Mr. Wilson was the grandson of
master.
Kennedy and Parker, Official R e p o r t , p. 47.
35 Berquin-Duvallon, quoted in Robertson, Louisiana.

I, pp. ISO, 131.
----------
231
Negroes of Louisiana was similar to that in the French

colonies so that harsh feelings existed between mulattoes
and blacks, which was especially virulent in the case of
mulattoes who were cruel to their slaves.
In 1795} a slave outbreak occurred in N e w Orleans
planned by the Jacobins there, and another at Natchitoches
in the same year.
At least twenty-three leaders were
qA
hanged.
New Orleans was a hot-bed of revolutionary talk
and the Negroes had ample opportunities to become inflamed.

In 1795 a rebellion in Pointe Coupee Parish some 150 miles
from New Orleans resulted in the arrest of three whites
and twenty-five Negroes.
Twenty-three of the Negroes were
put into a boat which drifted slowly down stream.
At each
parish church it stopped and one of the Negroes was hanged

to a nearby tree.^7
The Spanish Governor, Hector, Baron de Carondelet,
issued a decree saying that the unhappy effects of the pres
ent war would require the whites to watch their slaves
closely so as to "keep them content and subordinate so as
to banish from their minds the notion of acquiring a lib
erty that has caused the effusion of so much blood to those
36
Hafen and Rister, 'western A m e r i c a , p. 161.
37
232
of Santo Domingo.
The instructions given by the French Naval Minister
Denis Deeres to his officials sent to take over Louisiana
in 1S03 called for receiving Negroes only from Africa to
avoid the T,moral contagion that had infested the eolo39
nies.-^
This carried on the policy of excluding such Ne
groes set earlier by Carondelet during the Spanish regime

because of fear of uprisings among them.
Paul Alliot reported to Jefferson that an inhabitant
of New Orleans, well known as a criminal in Santo Domingo,
had gone to La Pointe Coupee where he caused a slave re
volt to benefit himself.
He told the slaves of the happy
condition of Negroes on Santo Domingo following the revo

lution on that island and urged those of Louisiana to
take similar action.
Spanish troops put down the uprising
and in the process killed sixty of the insurgents.

instigator then fled to the United S t a t e s . ^
The
This may
have been the same New Orleans outbreak planned by the Jac-
3& James A. Padgett, editor, "Decree of Carondelet

Concerning General Police Regulations, June 1, 1795,"
Louisiana Historical Quarterly, XX (July, 1937), p. 600.
39 "Instructions by Deeres to Captain General of
Louisiana, November 26, 1S02," Robertson, Louisiana, I.
p. 373.
40 Paul A l l i o t s Reflection's, Robertson, Louisiana.
I, pp. 117-119.
233
obins in 1795 which is mentioned above.

Two months after William C. C. Claiborne became gover
nor in February, l04, Dr. John Watkins reported to him
from the district of Valenzulla in La Fourche district
that a few weeks before a vessel had come up the river
carrying twelve Negroes,
said to have been Brigands from the Island of Santo
Domingo.
These negroes in their passage up were
frequently on shore, and in the French Language made
use of many insulting and menacing expressions to
the inhabitants.
Among other things they spoke of
eating human flesh, and in general demonstrated
great savageness of character, boasting of what they
had seen and done in the horrors of Santo Domingo.
The men were under the leadership of a Mr. Mercier, a lame
man who kept a billara table in town.
The vessel went on
upstream and had not been heard from since.41

Governor Claiborne inherited an unstable situation.
The Spaniards had two militia companies composed of free
men of color, many of whom were from Santo Domingo.
Created
originally by the Spanish and continued by the French Gov

ernor Pierre de Laussat during the short period of his rule
in 1&03, they were in Louisiana when the United States as
sumed authority and Claiborne did not know what to do with
them.
He decided they were loyal and continued the or-
41 Report of Dr. John Watkins to Governor Claiborne,

February 2, 1$04, Robertson, L o u i s i a n a . II, pp. 313,
314.
234
Io
ganization with a white officer in charge.
General James
Wilkinson distrusted the companies and expressed the fear

that jealousy between the races might cause a repetition
of the events in Santo Domingo, made easier by the fact
that some of the mulattoes had a r m s . ^
For a long time
there were many complaints regarding the G o v e r n o r s action

in placing free men of color in the militia.
They were
accused of being "renegades from Santo Domingo" who caroused

at all hours in the taverns, drinking with free Negroes
and with slaves.
With the regular guard replaced by these
"wretches who have sucked the blood of the ill-fated in

habitants of Santo Domingo," only trouble could be e x p e c t e d . ^
Still the free men of color retained their organization and
unit flags.
In July, 1S04, Claiborne wrote to Madison that the
Negro and mulatto population was giving no cause for fear
"but at some future period, this quarter of the Union must
(I fear) experience in some degree, the Misfortunes of Santo
Domingo, and that period will be hastened if the people
should be indulged in by Congress with a continuation of
1+2
Claiborne to Henry Dearborn, Secretary of War, June

22, 1&04, Rowland, Letterbooks of Claiborne. II, pp. 217, 21S.
43 Wilkinson to Secretary of War, January 11, 1&04,
Carter, Orleans, p. 160.
44 James Brown to John Breckenridge, September 11,
1305, Carter, Or l e a n s , pp. 510, 5 H
235
the slave trade.
African Negroes he did not consider dan
gerous but those of Santo Domingo were.
He therefore
stopped all vessels at Fort Plaquemines near the mouth of

the river to prevent the entrance of any who might have been
connected w i t h the insurrection of Santo Domingo.
All the
citizens were apprehensive of West Indian N e g r o e s .^
week later Claiborne issued instructions to the commander

of the troops in New Orleans to stop the "refuse negroes
from English islands and "brigands from Santo Domingo.
The troops were to search each incoming vessel.4-6
Governor Claiborne received a petition following an
occurrence on September 16, 1304, at the home of Michel
Fortier.
The petitioners feared a slave insurrection which
would create a new Santo Domingo and asked for an investi

gating c o m m i s s i o n . ^
The Governor sent this petition to
Madison after taking action to strengthen the night patrols

and ordering the Orleans Battalion and City Grenadiers to
lay upon their arms.
Two months later he circularized
the District Commandants, conveying information of great in

subordination among the Negroes.
They were to strengthen
45
Claiborne to Madison, July 12, 1304, Rowland, L e t terbooks of Claiborne, II, p. 245*
46 Claiborne to Lt. Col. Constant Freeman, July 17,

1304, i b i d .. II, pp. 254, 25547
Petition of September 17, 1304, Carter, O r l e a n s , p.
236
the patrols, especially at night.
AS
About the same time Pointe Coupee was heard from

again.
The inhabitants sent a planter, bearing a peti
tion for a military guard for their area because,

news of the revolution of St. Domingo and other
Places has become common among our Blacks and some
here who relate the Tragic History of the Revolu
tion of that Island with the General Disposition of
the most of our Slaves has become very serious A
Spirit of Revolt and Mutyny has crept in amongst
them A few Days since we happyly Discovered a Plan
for our Destruction.49
This was signed by 107 persons, presumably landowners.
Claiborne ordered a detachment of men and 100 stand of arms
to Pointe Coupee.50
The summer of lS05 saw another Negro insurrection at
tempt instigated by a Santo Domingan.
A white man known
as Le Grand or Grand Jean planned to enlist aid from the

mulattoes and blacks and massacre the whites.
was for Le Grand to enlist ten Negro chiefs,
The plan
each of whom
in turn was to enlist ten others, and so on until a large

force was ready, which involved Natchez and a wide area.
Le Grand told them he had been engaged in a similar plan
earlier in Santo Domingo.
He and a group of recruits were
4# Claiborne to District Commandants, November S,

ISO4, Carter, O r l e a n s , p. 325
49 Petition to Claiborne by Inhabitants of Pointe
Coupee, November 9* 1S04, Carter, O rleans, p. 326.
50
Robertson, Loui s i a n a , II, p. 301*
237
arrested at night and the plot suppressed, but additional

federal troops were requested in view of the fact that
New Orleans had only 4 5000 whites and 12,000 Negroes.
SI
In reporting the details to the City Council, Mayor W a t

kins explained that Grand Jean was fresh from Santo D o
mingo and planned to kill all the whites and then fire the
city if necessary.
Celestin, the slave who divulged the
plot, along with several free persons of color, had been

instructed to join in the plan and.obtain full details.
Before the appointed time for the uprising, arrests were
made and Grand Jean received a life sentence.
Celestins
freedom was purchased for $2,000 by the city in gratitude

for his services.
52
Within a week calm was restored but
troops were billeted in the city instead of in their camp

outside.53
The most serious of the slave revolts occurring in
Louisiana was in St. John the Baptist Parish thirty-five
miles to the north of New Orleans.
Domingans also were involved.
In this outbreak Santo
On the afternoon of January
51 Territorial Secretary John Graham to Secretary

of State, September 9, 1&05, enclosing letter from Mayor
John Watkins, Carter, Orleans, pp. 499-504.
52 Mayor W a t k i n s Address September 23, 1305,
quoted in Kendall, History of New Orl e a n s , I, p. 32.
53 Secretary Graham to Claiborne, September 16, 1305,
233
9, 1311, wagons loaded w i t h women and children came into

the city fleeing a "minature representation of the h o r
rors of Santo Domingo."
Some 400 slaves, led by Charles
Deslandes, a free mulatto from Santo Domingo, rose on

the plantation of M a jor A n d r e . ^
Two days later the
Major wrote Claiborne giving details.
His son had been
murdered and an attempt was made on his own life.
He had
gathered eighty men and met the slaves at the Bernoudi

plantation.
The Negroes broke at the first assault and
fled to the woods with the whites pursuing closely.
Andre
felt the danger was over though he suggested sending

troops to capture the chiefs and make a "GREAT E X A M P L E . "55
Wade Hampton was sent with thirty regulars from Baton
Rouge and met two companies of volunteer militia arriv
ing on January 10.
In the engagement fifteen or twenty
slaves were killed and many wounded.
Two additional com
panies of troops were sent to maintain a guard in the district.
Later accounts give sixty-six Negroes killed,
sixteen taken prisoner and subsequently beheaded, and an
54 Aptheker, "Negro Slave Revolts" in Essays in Ne

gro H i s t o r y , p. 35.
55 Manuel Andre to Gov. Claiborne, January 11, 1311,
Carter, Orlea n s , pp. 915, 916.
56 Wade Hampton to William Eustis, Secretary of War,

January 16, 1311, ibid., pp. 917-919.
239
unknown number dying in the swamps .^
Some homes were
burned and the Negroes had intended to march on New Or

leans.
The investigation placed blame on Negroes from
the West Indies introduced by way of Barataria; this re

port was a factor in turning public opinion against Lafitte and another reason why Claiborne decided to extir
pate the Baratarians.^
One thing which aided in assembling the Negroes and
inflaming them with dangerous ideas in Louisiana was Voodoo
or Vodun, a sort of snake worshipping animist religion
originating at Dahomey on the West Coast of Africa.
It
was brought to Louisiana by the slaves, probably those

coming from Santo Domingo.59
Qn that island, prior to the
revolution, planters had feared to teach Christianity to

their slaves because of its ideas of brotherly love and
equality.
God.)
The slaves turned to Voodoo.
(The word means
Among them were many priests and priestesses who
presided at barbaric rites involving the use of altars,

dancing, snakes, and bloodletting.
These rites were occa
sions for the assembling of Negroes, and the August, 1791,
57 John S. Kendall, "Shadow Over the City," L o u

isiana Historical Qua r t e r l y , XXII, (January, 1939), p*
146 .
..
5#
59
p. 341*
I b i d . , p. 146.
Winston,
"Free Negro," p. 10&3; King, New O r l e a n s ,
240
revolution on Santo Domingo was plotted under the guise of

a Voodoo c e r e m o n y . ^
Louisiana.
No one knows when this cult came to
Carondelet gave it as one reason for prohibit
ing Negro importation from the French islands.
Laussat
turned back one shipload of Santo Domingans because of

it.
Free people of color generally were chosen as Voodoo
priests with slaves composing the rank and file of the

cult.
In their'meetings the Louisiana Negroes were in
troduced to the "lascivious saturnalia, the horrid orgies,

and the dangerous, and, in many cases,
criminal practices
that constitute the ritual of this African institution."

The Voodoo queens for several decades were the most im
portant figures among the Negroes of New Orleans and vi
cinity.
Terror,
superstition, and black magic all played
a part in forcing on the faithful obedience to the orders

of the queen.
One of the earliest queens was SanitC Dede"
who dominated Voodoo for a score of years after the United

States took over the territory.
She was a free woman from
Santo Domingo who held her meetings in an old brick yard

on Dumaine Street.^2
A few eyewitness accounts indicate
that whites also attended her meetings as devotees and not
60
Davis, Black Democracy, p. 36 .
61
Castellanos, New Orleans As it W a s , p. 96 .
62
Asbury, French Q uarter, p. 260.
mere sightseers.
Marie Laveau, a free mulatto,
control from Sanit'e about 1$30.
seized
She was born in New Or
leans but was the mistress of Christopher Glaspion from

Santo Domingo.
One of their children, also named Marie,
inherited her m o t h e r s position as high priestess in the

Voodoo hierarchy.^3
Oddly enough, the second Marie was
an ardent practitioner of the Catholic faith, adapting

some of the worship of the Virgin Mary into the cult of
V o o d o o .^4
While Voodoo has not been directly connected wit h ac
tual slave revolts in Louisiana, the fear was always pres
ent.
For many years this Santo Domingan import played an
important part in the life of the blacks and mulattoes of

the lower Mississippi.
Its priestesses were consulted on
all sorts of problems and their charms and potions were

widely used to bring about desired ends.
This chapter gives only a few of the listed slave re
volts.
Santo Domingans were active in these and in many
others;
certainly the uprisings on that island served as
models for most of the black rebellions of the 1 7 9 0 s and
63
Roberts, Lake Pontchartrain, pp. 194, 195.
64
I b i d . . p. 195.
242
early l 8 0 0 s in the United Stat e s .^
The number of slave
revolts in the 1790s increased 150 p e r cent over those

of the previous decade.
Treudley states that the most
spectacular effect on the United States of the Santo Do

mingan revolt was that for thirty years every slave reLrj
volt was attributed to blacks from that island.
Clement
Eaton expresses one result of the fear of insurrection in
his Freedom of Thought in the Old South:

Fear of servile insurrection was not constant but
grew so intense at certain times as to amount to a
panic or hallucination and then subsided until
another stimulus was provided.
The period from
1793 to 1801 was one of these storm centers of
fear. . . This fear of servile insurrection can
not be dismissed in assessing the causes for the
atrophy of the great traditions of Jeffersonian
liberalism .08
At any rate the Southern whites of the time took steps
to prevent any extension of Santo Domingan influence.
There was first agitation, then legislation to curb the im-
65 Carter Godwin Woodson, The Negro in Our History

(Washington, D. C., 1941), P* 177; Jay Saunders Redding,
They Came in Chains (Philadelphia, 1950), Peoples of Ameri
ca S e r i e s , edited by Louis Adamic, pp. 47, 48; G. A.
"
Buchanan, Jr., "Zenophobia in the South, Proceedings of
the South Carolina Historical A s s o c i a t i o n . 1947, p. 25;
Aptheker, American Negro Slave R e v o l t s , p. 100.
66
Link, Democratic-Republicant p. 184 .
67
Treudley,
"United States and Santo Domingo, p.
124.
68 Clement Eaton, Freedom of Thought in the Old
South (Durham, N. C., 1940), pp. 116, 117
243
portation of slaves, aimed particularly at those from the

West Indies.
The period from 1792-1304 was the time of
most prolific lawmaking concerning slaves and the slave

trade.
The Federal Government and a number of states
acted before 1300 to prevent entry of "seasoned slaves

from the West Indies.
In 1795, North Carolina prohibited
any immigrant from those islands from bringing slaves in

to the state.^9
South Carolina adopted a law in 1733 pro
hibiting the importation of Negroes, the law was extended

four times in 1793 and 1794, and again in 1793 and 1300.
70
In 1303 the last restrictive law was repealed and slaves

could again be imported save those from South America or
71
the West Indies.'
Free Negroes were recognized as being
particularly dangerous in causing insurrections.
Their
immigration was forbidden in 1794 and again in 1300.
The
1300 act also made illegal all assemblies of free and

slave Negroes for secret instruction behind barred doors.
Emancipation was forbidden in 1320, the extra danger to be
69 Francis Zavier Martin, Public Acts of the General

Assembly of North Carolina. II, pp. 54-79 quoted in ibid..
pp. 114, 11$.
70 Thomas Cooper and David J. McCord, Statutes At
Large of South Carolina (Columbia, 1939), VII, pp. 431,
433, 435.
71
Ibid., pp. 449, 450.
72.
Ibid.. p. 440.
244
anticipated, from free Negroes being given as one of the

reasons for this law.
r/'i
J
The Vesey rebellion brought agitation for even more

restrictive legislation.
The city council of Charleston
provided a municipal guard of 150 men, by day and by

night, to protect the w a t e r front and the roads leading
into the city whenever the situation seemed to warrant
this precaution.
To defray the resulting expense, an a n
nual tax of $10 was levied on all free male persons of

color "exercising a mechanical
t ra d e . " 7 4
A group of
Charleston citizens sent to their legislature a memorial

long enough to fill twelve printed pages.
They desired
the expulsion from the state of all free persons of col

or, and the limiting of the practice of hiring out N e
groes, for this practice gave them too much freedom.
Ne
groes in these two classes were most deeply involved in

the Vesey c o n s p i r a c y T h e s e
73
Charlestonians felt the need
Ibid., P. 459.
74 Edward Channing, A History of the United States.

(New York, 1925), V, p. 1 3 ^
(This material quotes a collection of Ordinances of Charleston of 1&23.)
75 "Memorial of the Citizens of Charleston to the
Legislature Charleston, 1322
Ullrich B. Phillips,
Plantation and Frontier Documents: 1649-1363 (Cleveland,
1909), vol. II, p. 110. This is a separate publication
of vols, I and II of Documentary History of American In
dustrial Relations.
245
of a regular military guard and a general amending of the

inadequate legislation relating to white persons con
cerned in insurrections and to those engaged in teach
ing Negroes to read and w r i t e . T h e
response of the
legislature was a series of acts to control the relation

of free Negroes with slaves and a prohibition against
bringing into the state any free Negro who had been in any
of the West Indies or a state north of the Potomac River.77
Free Negroes who were seamen had to be kept on board
their ships as long as the vessels were docked in Charles
ton harbor.76
Restrictions on importing Negroes and free
blacks were adopted in Louisiana, Georgia, and Maryland

as well as in the two Carolinas.
79
One of the reasons behind the desire of the United

States to acquire Louisiana was the fear that French in
fluence there would permit the spread of revolutionary
ideas and promote insurrection in adjacent Southern states.
M a d i s o n s instructions to Robert Livingston requested him
to point out the "momentous concern" of the United States
over the unrest which would occur among the slaves in the
76
The whole memorial is in ibid., pp. 103-116.
77 Cooper and McCord, Statutes of South Carolina.

VII, pp. 464 467*
76
Ibid.. VII, p. 461.
79
Aptheker, American Negro Slave Revolts, p. 74.
246
Southern states who had been taught to regard the French

as the patrons of their cause.60
Speaking in the Senate
in February, 1&03, in the debate on the Mississippi ques

tion, Senator Wells of Delaware voiced the same fear,
stating that
unhappily, there is an inveterate enemy in the very
bosom of these States.
You might as well attempt
to stop the course of the plague, as to arrest the
subtle and dangerous spirit they would, the moment
it suited their interests, let loose among the he
lots of that country.
Then you would have lighted
up there domestic war which could only be extin
guished in the blood of your citizens.61
Later the same day Gouverneur Morris expressed the same
idea:
"Besides, what is the population of the Southern
States?
Do you not tremble when you look at it?
Have we
not within these few days passed a law to prevent the im

portation of certain dangerous characters?
France es
tablished in Louisiana might easily introduce "pernicious

emissaries to stimulate with freedom the slaves who might
start a general carnage and conflagration.62
One interesting result of the Gabriel conspiracy was
the g e m of the idea which was eventually expressed in the
American Colonization Society.
At the request of the state
SO
Quoted in i b i d . , p. 2.
61
Annals of Congress. 7 Cong.,
62
I b i d ..p. 194.
2 sess., p. 156 .
247
legislature, Governor Monroe of Virginia wrote President

Jefferson in 1S01 concerning the securing of a place of
asylum for the people of color.
At the time Jefferson
indicated that Virginia might buy some lands west of the

Mississippi River though this would be expensive and p e r
haps not advisable.
He suggested rather the West Indies
and thought Santo Domingo would offer the best place.

Perhaps its ruler might even take those whose acts were
regarded by us as criminal, "but meritorious by him.1*
Africa was a last resort as a colony.
On the whole Jeffer
son approved the idea of finding some place to which to
go
remove some of the people of color.
In a letter written
some ten years later Jefferson recalled that at the time

he suggested Sierra Leone to Monroe, where a private E n
glish group had already sent some fugitives from the United
States who had fled during the Revolutionary W a r . ^
In
1S02, Jefferson had Mr. Rufus King, United States Minister

in London, "endeavor to negotiate" with the English com
pany.
The next year King reported the failure of the
plan.^5
Jefferson also approached Portugal in an effort to
53 Jefferson to Monroe, November 24, lSOl, Lipscomb,

Writings of Thomas Jefferson. X, p. 295*
54 Jefferson to John Lynch, January 21, lSll, in
Washington, Writings of Jeff e r s o n , V, p. 564.
55
Ibid., p. $64.
243
obtain territory in South America but this effort proved

abortive.
Jefferson in 1311 still approved the idea.
In
secret session previous to 1301 when it made the request

to Governor Monroe mentioned above, the Virginia Legis
lature had considered a project for colonizing free p e r
sons of color.
The 1901 resolution suggested that for
eign powers be consulted.
In 1305 the legislature, again
in secret session, passed a resolution requesting its

representatives in Congress to reopen the subject to se
cure "a competent portion of territory in the State of
Louisiana to send emancipated negroes who might be danger
ous to the public s a f e t y . " ^
In 1316, the Virginia Legis
lature passed much the same resolution but asked that

the land be obtained outside the territory of the United
States.^
The American Colonization Society really began with
a meeting in December, 1316,
in Washington, D. C.
Bush-
rod Washington, Henry Clay, John Randolph of Roanoke,

Francis Scott Key and others attended and Jefferson*s let-
36 Letter #11, p. 6 dated Philadelphia, April 10,

1332, in Matthew Carey, Letters on the Colonization S o
ciety and its Probable R e s u l t s , (Philadelphia, 1335).
37 Quoted verbatim in T. W. Higginson, " G a b r i e l i
Conspiracy," Atlantic M o n t h l y , X (September, 1362), p.
342.
249
ter of l&Ll cited above was r e a d . ^

Fear of servile revolt, not humanitarianism, was be
hind most of this agitation for removing the Negro slaves
and free persons of color from the Southern States.
There was more of this fear than a casual reader might
imagine, for the newspapers and many persons preferred
to maintain silence on these revolts, or at least to mini
mize them.
Carey, Letters on Colonization Soc i e t y , #11 cited

above, p. 7.
250
CHAPTER TEN
THE REFUGEES AND THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN THE UNITED STATES
Almost all the whites and a great many of the colored

refugees from the French colonies were professing Catho
lics*
In their number were several priests.
The efforts
of the refugees resulted in the organization of new con

gregations and a material strengthening of the struggling
churches already in existence.
Their influence extended
as schools and colleges were founded and religious organiza

tions were started.
Their arrival coincided with a period
of religious apathy in the South.
One story will illus
trate the extent of this lack of interest at the end of

the eighteenth century.
A Methodist minister, Reverend
Mr. Garrettson, met a man living in eastern Virginia in

the region of Cypress Swamps.
Upon being asked if he were
acquainted with Jesus Christ, the man replied, nSir, I know

not where the gentleman lives.nl
Bishop Carroll in 1$06
wrote a letter to Cardinal di Pietro complaining that re

ligion was making little progress in the Carolinas and
Georgia.
He had only one priest in South Carolina and one
1 Reminiscences of Rev. Henry Beehm quoted in Jones,

French Culture, p. 3^3*
251
in Georgia.
Many American leaders were deists and the
rank-and-file probably showed as little interest in re

ligion then as at any time in our national history.
At first the French refugees met an active distrust
of the Catholic faith in areas where Catholic churches
were not already organized.
Yet because the Revolution
persecuted religion, suspicion was modified into open

sympathy in many quarters in America.
By the time of the
American Revolution about twenty-five Catholic clergymen

were serving twice that number of churches in the origin
al thirteen states.
In 17^9, John Carroll was named the
first Bishop of the United States with his See at Balti

more and with control extending over all Catholics in the
United States.3
At that time he had to assist him thirty-
five priests for the entire country, with those in the

South located at Charleston and Natchez; and in Maryland
at Baltimore, Frederick, Annapolis, Hagerstown, and a few
other points.
In 1B05, Louisiana was added to his diocese.
Progress while slow was steady.
In ISOS new Sees were
created in Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and Bardstown,

Kentucky.
In 1S20 membership had so increased that bishops
2 Carroll to Cardinal di Pietro, December, l06,

quoted in John G. Shea, History of the Catholic Church in
the United States (New York, 1888), II, p. 60i+.
Ibid., II, p. 335.
252
were appointed at Richmond and Charleston.^
There were
fifty-three priests who served some SO,000 Catholics in

the states south and west of Baltimore.
About 30>000 of
these lived in the territory recently purchased from

France.5
In Virginia, the Carolinas, and Georgia, the
Catholics were chiefly Irish immigrants and French refu

gees.
With the latter had come some priests who were as
signed to the parishes in the South.

Maryland already had some Catholics who warmly wel
comed the refugees among whom were some zealous laymen and
priests who had emigrated after 1790 in protest against
the Civil Constitution of the Clergy which was being en
forced in Santo Domingo.
An article running a full column
and written in French appeared in a Baltimore newspaper

shortly after the arrival of the Santo Domingans, giving
them information about the Catholic church in Maryland.
One investigator found that the refugees doubled the num
ber of Catholics in that state, though the writer believes
that this is too large an estimate for the refugees .'
Catholic Miscellany. I, #1, June 5, 1322.
5 J. Wilfred Parsons, "The Catholic Church in Ameri

ca in 1319 A contemporary Account," Catholic Historical
Review. V, (January, 1920), p. 305.
6 Baltimore, Md., Maryland Journal and Daily Advertiser, August 30, 1793*
7
Hartridge, "Santo Domingan Refugees," p. 121.
253
John G. Shea gives the number of Catholics in Maryland in

17&4 as 15,000 of whom 3,000 were slaves.^
Sheas fig
ures were apparently taken from the "Relation sent by

Carroll to Rome in 17^5*^
After the arrival of the refu
gee priests more Catholic priests were probably laboring

in Maryland than anywhere else in the United States, for
as early as I7 S 5 nineteen priests were already in that
state.^
The refugees in Baltimore flocked to the Church of
St. Mary, erected by the Sulpitians.
The congregation in
cluded Americans, French, English, and Negroes.
Many of
the latter had come from the French West Indies and spoke
only French.
Work among them was described as most con
soling, and the Santo Domingan priests seem to have devoted

much time to these Negro Catholics.
Their coming marked
"an epoch in the intellectual progress of the colored peo

ple of the city."11
Progress was particularly apparent in
Shea, History. II, p. 257.
9 Quoted in Thomas O Gorman, A History of the Roman

Catholic Church in the United States, (New York. 1^99).
This is vol. IX of American Church History Series. Philip
Schaff et al. editors, p. 268 .
10
Ibid., p. 26 $.
11 Rev. Joseph Butsch, "Negro Catholics in the United

States," Catholic Historical Review. Ill (April, 1917), p.
44.
254
the work of the Oblate Sisters in the field of education

but this achievement will be covered in a subsequent
chapter.
Some of the priests coming from the island of Santo
Domingo and their assignments are known.
One of the most
colorful was Adrien Cibot, former Superior General of the

Clergy of Santo Domingo, who delivered a sermon to his
"emaciated flock" shortly after the landing of the fleet
bringing refugees in 1793*
Taking his text from the first
chapter of Job, "The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; as it hath pleased the Lord, so it is done; blessed
be the name of the Lord," he preached a sermon which was
reported at large in the press.
His tribute to the gen
erous treatment accorded the refugees by the people of

Baltimore probably accounts for the length of the newspaper
account.
language:
Cibot lauded the Baltimoreans in grandiloquent

"0 worthy and generous inhabitants of Balti
more! . . . may this Heroic Act of Benevolence be told and

proclaimed amidst all nations of the Earth."
The refugees,
he continued, were indeed fortunate to have been thrown

among such merciful people.
12
Father Cibot later served
for a time in the parish at Bohemia Manor.

In Harford County, Maryland, served Reverend Marcel
12 Baltimore, Md., Maryland Journal and Daily Adver

tiser. August 20, 1793*
255
Guillaume Pasquet de Leyde, former almoner of the Gover

nor of Santo
Domingo.
^-3
Pere Jean-Francois Moranville
preached daily a sermon in French at the eight o clock

Mass in St. Peters Church in Baltimore . ^
Father Duro-
sier served at St. Marys on the Eastern Shore. J
James
Hector Marie Nicholas Joubert de la Muraille had escaped

in 1&04 with his uncle from Santo Domingo.
priest and teacher in Baltimore.
He'became a
His work was chiefly
among the French-speaking Negroes who had followed their

masters into exile.
The most famous of t h e 'clergymen
from Santo Domingo was Louis William Valentine Du Bourg

whose early ministry was in Baltimore.
He was president
of the newly founded Georgetown College in Georgetown and

founder of St. Marys College.
He also aided in building
the Baltimore Cathedral before going to New Orleans in

1S12.
17
His career as a churchman will be treated more
fully in connection with the church in Louisiana, and his

*
s
13 Leo F. Ruskowski, French Emigre Priests m the
United States (1791-1&15), vol. XXXII of Catholic Univer
sity Studies in American Church History, (Washington,
1940), p. 3S'.
14
Hartridge, Santo Domingan Refugees, p. 120.
15
Shea, History, II, p. 513*
16 Hermon Branderis, Joubert de la Muraille, Dic

tionary of American Biography, X, pp. 220, 221.
17 Charles L. Souvay, William Du Bourg, Dictionary
of American Biography, V, pp. 473 > 474*
256
work in education will be noted in the next chapter.
Mem
bership grew in Baltimore among the Catholics so that in

1819 there were five Catholic churches in the city.
Virginia had only a small number of Catholics before
the coming of the Santo Domingans, probably not more-than
200 ; no regular priest was in residence to look after them

and they were visited only four or five times a year.-*-^
The records of the Consular office in Norfolk contain many
marriage and burial records which show a Protestant minis
ter officiating for the Catholics from Santo Domingo in
the first years after their arrival.
Those who landed with
the main convoy in 1793 did rent a room as a place for the
Roman Catholics to meet.
A "zealous, red-faced Hibernian
came among the unhappy French Santo Domingan refugees to

preach humility and submission to the will of God and the
necessity of accepting gladly a miserable lot with which
the Church and the priest are in
harmony
."^9
This priest
was appointed by Bishop Carroll and lived on the money con

tributed at mass each Sunday by his poor flock.
La Roche
foucauld found three churches in Norfolk of which one was

Catholic.20
Progress here .was slow for a number of years
after the refugees came but a generation later they were re-
18
Shea, History. II, p. 257.
19
20
Rochefoucauld-Liancourt, Voyage, IV, p. 277.
257
pi
ported to be united and happy with a bishop in Richmond.

There were churches in Norfolk, Richmond, Petersburg, and
at Alexandria, then in the District of Columbia. Fredpp
ericksburg had-a congregation but no priest. ^ The Santo
Domingans remained true to their faith and were active,
along with the few members who were there prior to 1793 j
in the growth of the church in Virginia.
Before 1790 only a few Catholics lived in South Caro
lina.
In 17$6 a priest who happened to be on board a
vessel temporarily in the harbor of Charleston celebrated

mass for twelve people.
Two years later a Mr. Ryan was
sent down by Bishop Carroll but the first organized church

existed only after 1791.
made possible a real
It was the Irish immigrants who
congregation.
^3
Prejudice had been
so strong against the Catholics that from the year 1696

no one could profess that faith.
By the end of the Revo
lutionary War this prejudice had so died out that in 1791

an act was passed chartering the Roman Catholic Church of
Charleston.^
St. Marys church building was begun in
21
Catholic Miscellany. I, #1, June 5, 1#22.
22
Parsons, Catholic Church, p. 304.
23
24 D. and J. J. Faust, Printers, Acts of the Gen

eral Assembly of South ^Carolina from February 1791-December 1794. (Columbia. 180&) vol. 1. pp. 136. 137T 138.
258
1801.
In the churchyard the tombstones show today that
many Santo Domingan refugee French people were buried there.

Baron Montlezun who visited the city in 1819 found that the
majority of the markers at that time were those of these
r e f u g e e s .
when he attended services in the church, he
found the house filled and noted that many Negroes had come
to an earlier service before the one scheduled for the
whites.
By 1821 the membership grew too large for that
building on Hazell Street and a new temporary structure was

blessed which measured SO by 48 feet.
It was located on
part of the lot formerly occupied by the Vauxhall Gardens.

John England had recently arrived as first Bishop of Charles
ton, his diocese comprising the two Carolinas and Georgia.^
It is not known when the first Roman Catholic Church
building was erected in Georgia.
to them until the Revolution.
The state had been closed

As early as 1792 a small
chapel stood in Liberty Ward, Savannah, presumably serv

ing Irish redemptioners, the first Catholics to be admitted
to the state.
Two years later a few Santo Domingans came
25 Moffatt and Carriere, nA Frenchman Visits Charles

ton, p. i40.
306
26
Catholic Miscellany, I, #1, June 5, 1822, p. 5.
27
O Gorman, History of Roman Catholic Church, p.
28
Shea, History. II, p. 463 .
259
and by 1S02 the Church of St. John the Baptist was erected
near Liberty Square . ^
In December, 1S03, Abbe Anthony
Carles (or Charles) arrived from Santo Domingo with cre

dentials as parish p r i e s t . Until his return to France
he served in this post and me.de occasional trips to
Augusta where there was a small chapel.
A number of refu
gees from Santo Domingo had come to Augusta shortly af

ter 1791 at a time when the population of the town num
bered less than 2,000 people.31
The parish at Augusta
was not created until 1 S1 0 .

At St. Marys, an old sea town in Georgia on the St.
Marys river which is probably where Captain Jean Ribault
came in 1562 with a group of Huguenots from France, there
was a small colony of Santo Domingans.
They belonged to
the Catholic Church known by the name Star of the Sea.

In the nearby Oak Grove Cemetery are vine-covered slabs
with French inscriptions, marking the graves of a few of
these refugees.
Some of these Frenchmen buried here may
be descendants of Acadians, about 400 of whom had come
29 Federal Writers Project, W. P. A., Georgia. A

Guide to its Towns and Countryside, (Athens, 1940), p". 92.
30
Shea, History, II, p. 463 *
31 John Donald Wade, Augustus Baldwin Longstreet, A

Study of the Development of~Culture in the South, (New
York, 1924), p. 15.
260
originally to Savannah.
They were not welcomed and moved
on to Santo Domingo only to have to flee again when some

of them returned to this area of Georgia near the Florida
line . 32
By 1S21 Catholics were located in Savannah, Augusta,
Locust Point, and St. Marys, but only two priests were
resident in the state.
The largest number of communi
cants was in Savannah where at least 500 were located . 33

At least one French refugee from Santo Domingo to Georgia
became active in founding a church of the Protestant
faith.
Georgia.
Edward Coppee, a physician, came and practiced in

He was one of the founders of the First Presby
terian Church in Savannah in 1 S 2 7 . ^

In Wilmington, Delaware, Stephen Faure led a group
of Santo Domingans who formed a Catholic Church.
At his
death Faure was succeeded by Adrien Cibot who had been in

Maryland earlier . 33
In eastern North Carolina a few
Catholics were to be found at New Bern which was the cen

ter of the refugee settlement in that state.
Many of
32 Federal Writers Project, W. P. A., Georgia, A

Guide to its Towns and Countryside, (Athens, 1940), p. 292.
33
O Gorman, History of Roman Catholic Church, p.
307.
34 Lawrence H. Gipson, Henry Coppee, Dictionary
of American Biography. IV, p. 431.
35
Childs, Refugee Life, p. 41*
261
these refugees subsequently moved to Norfolk*
Lewis
Leroy served as the New Bern correspondent for the Cath

olic Miscellany, the pioneer Catholic Newspaper founded
by Bishop England.
The paper also had correspondents in
Washington and Wilmington, North Carolina . ^

In Louisiana the refugees found a population almost
entirely Catholic and the church well established.
In ,
fact, Spain had tried to introduce the Inquisition in

17&9 but the tolerant French Creoles of Louisiana would
have none of it.
Governor Miro arranged for the arrest
of the Inquisitor and his deportation to Spain, "lest the

mere name of the inquisition uttered in New Orleans should
check immigration."37
The traveler Baudry des Lozieres,
who was in Louisiana between 1794 and 179$, reported that

Louisiana people were religious by nature and had not yet
lost their innocence.3$
The more cynical Robin who
toured the area immediately after 1600 found that there

were only a dozen priests and a member of the church
saw "a priest less often than in France they see a bish-
36
Catholic Miscellany, vol. 1, #1, June 5, 1622.
37
Rosengarten, French Colonists, p. 4 9 .
36 Baudry des Lozieres, Voyage a la Louisiana et sur

le Continent de L Am^rique Septentrionale Fait dans les
annhes 1794 a 1796T
(Paris, 1802), pp. 185, 200.
*
262
39
op."77
Baptism had to wait until a priest came around and
often he "throws into the water people already degenerat

ing from old age."
Religion to most was merely a matter
of form with tolerance very wide and churchgoers almost

entirely confined to "women, negroes and officers of the
government."40
Whitakers modern study shows that for
the area of the lower Mississippi there were twenty-four

priests to serve thirty-nine districts.
The governor ex
plained that the priests had to entertain their parishion

ers at Sunday dinner or "otherwise there would have been
no congregation."^
Shortly before the United States took
over, the Catholic organization for the province of Louisi

ana was composed of one bishop who did not live in the
province, two canons and twenty-five curates of whom five
were in New Orleans.
Many of the Spanish priests and a
number of the Ursuline nuns left in 1S03 and thereafter

there were few qualified clergymen.
Father Hassett, ad
ministrator in New Orleans, wrote Carroll in December,
1 B0 3 , that there were twenty-one parishes, and twenty-six

ecclesiastics but only four of the latter had agreed to
stay on under French rule.
He did not know how many would
39
Robin, Voyage, II, p. 122.
40
Ibid., p. 123.
41
Whitaker, Mississippi, p. 42.
263
agree to stay under the rule of the United S t a t e s . ^

Not until 1812 when Louis William Valentin Du Bourg
was sent to New Orleans by Carroll a s Administrator A p o s
tolic was there a real organization in Louisiana under
the period of United States rule.43
Du Bourg was a Santo
Domingan,
educated in France, who had been working in
Maryland.
When he arrived in New Orleans, he was not
welcomed by Father Antonio Sedilla, the leading parish

priest.
Latrobe reported that when he attended mass and
Du Bourg tried to speak, a party in the church was seized

with colds and "began to spit,
sneezed,
coughed, rubbed
spittle on the floor with their feet (as decency required).

There was no tranquility until the Abbe Du Bourg finished.44
Finding so many of the people supporting Sedilla, Du Bourg
went to Rome to secure additional authority.
He returned
in 1815 as the first bishop of New Orleans but made St.

Louis,
in what is now Missouri, his place of residence.
He was instrumental in founding a school in the city which

later became the University of St. Louis and also a semi
nary at The Barrens in Perry County, Missouri.
He was
42 Marie Louise Points, "New Orleans," in Catholic

Encyclopedia , XI, p. 10.
43
Carroll to Secretary of State Madison, November
17, 1806, quoted in Shea, H i s t o r y . II, p. 592.
44
264
transferred to France in 1&26 but on his death his heart

was sent to the Ursuline Sisters in H e w Orleans who
buried it in a special niche in their c h a p e l . ^
John Joseph Chanche was the first bishop of Natchez.
He was the son of a wealthy Santo Domingan planter who
had fled to Baltimore where John Joseph was born in 1795*
The boy was trained in St. M a r y s College in Baltimore
and later became president of that institution.
When he
was sent to Natchez in 1&41, he found only two priests

and one hundred communicants.
At his death the organiza
tion had been built up to include eleven priests, an edu

cational system, and an orphan
asylum.
Reports of all travelers show that the pleasure-loving

Louisiana Creoles ana refugees did not take their relig
ion too seriously.
For them, Sunday was a day devoted to
both pleasure and business.
The church congregations came
dressed as for a ball and might even leave in the middle

of the service to go to a billard r o o m . N o v e l
ways were
used to raise money, with Catholics and Protestants alike

resorting to lotteries for this p u r p o s e . ^
45
King, Creole, p. 404*
46 Francis J. Tschan, "John J. Chanche," Dictionary

of American B iography. Ill, pp. 610, 611.
47
Flint, R e c o l l ections, p. 274.
4$
Cable, Creoles of Lou i s i a n a , p. 21S.
265
The Santo Domingan refugees, both white and black,

were almost all Catholics.
Wherever they settled they
joined existing congregations or began one of their own.

Among them were not only devoted laymen but a number of
priests who worked hard to relieve the lot of the m i s e r
able refugees and serve the church in the United States.
Not only were they active in materially strengthening the
church but, as will be shown in the next chapter, in or
der to foster and spread their faith they founded schools
as well.
266
CHAPTER ELEVEN
REFUGEE CONTRIBUTIONS TO AMERICAN EDUCATION
The Santo Domingan refugees were not only active in

the Roman Catholic Church as priests and worshipers but
they also placed a real emphasis on religious education.
Their work as individual teachers and in small private
schools has already been covered under the discussion
of their economic adjustment.
The first Catholic semi
nary in the United States, St. M a r y s at Baltimore, was

the result of the French Revolution which brought nonjuring priests from France and the West Indies to the
United States.
In Maryland, Louis William Du Bourg, later bishop of
New O r l eans , was one of the leaders in founding acade
mies and colleges.
From 1796 to the end of 179$ he served
as president of the recently founded Georgetown College.1

Following a short stay in Cuba where he aided the new
Sulpitian College, he returned to Baltimore and opened St.
M a r y s Academy which was restricted at the beginning to
boys from the West Indies.
This was in 1791.
In 1&05,
Carroll and Du Bourg persuaded the Maryland legislature to
1 Charles L. Souvay, "Louis William Valentin DuBourg, Dictionary of American Biography. V, p. 474.
26?
charter the school as a university under the name St.

M a r y s which was located in Baltimore.
Bishop Carroll
permitted the school to accept both Protestant and Cath

olic students regardless of their place of residence.
To
raise funds a lottery was promoted for which 21,500

tickets were sold at $11 each.
Prizes totaling $104,000,
ranging in amounts from one of $ 30,000 to seven of
p
$1,000, were advertised in the press.
The school for
fifty years included a college open to students of all de

nominations.
This part of the university was discontinued
when Loyola was opened in Baltimore.

ment of St. M a r y s reached 207.
In 1639 the enroll
After 1653 the school be
came exclusively a grand seminaire offering courses in

philosophy and theology.
By 1900 its graduates included
one cardinal, thirty bishops and nearly eighteen hundred
priests. ^
Du Bourg served as president until 1612 when
he was sent to New Orleans.
Latrobe, whose son Henry a t
tended the school, has left the following description:

Such was the .arrangement and discipline of this school
that, while the Abbe DuBourg remained President, no
institution with which I have ever been acquainted,
deserved the high reputation it obtained, more fully,
2 Noifolk, Va., Norfolk Gazette and Publick L e d g e r ,

January 1, 1606.
3 William T. Russell, Baltimore, Catholic Encyclo
p e d i a . II, p. 230; A. Leo Knott, Maryland, i b i d . , IX,
p. 750.
268
and notwithstanding the public prejudice against its
religious character, it rose to unrivaled emi
nence.^
In 1834 John Joseph Ghanche, the son of a refugee from

Santo Domingo, began a six-year term as president of the
school.^
At the foot of Catoctin Mountain near Emmitsburg,
Maryland,
is Mount St. M a r y s, another of the early Catho
lic colleges to be established in the United States.
Du
Bourg chose the site and other refugee priests were in

terested in this institution which opened its doors in
1808.^
The actual founder was the Frenchman John Dubois,
a fellow student of Desmoulins and R o b e s p i e r r e A m o n g

the early teachers on its faculty were F. Marcilly who
had formerly been a lawyer in Santo Domingo
and Joubert
de la Muraille, a priest from the same island who later

became vice-president of the college.^
Sometimes known as
Latrobe, Impre s s i o n s , footnote, p. 59.
5 John J. Chanche, Dictionary of American Bio

g r a p h y , III, p. 61.
6 Ernest Lagarde, Mount St. M a r y s College, Catho
lic E n cyclope d i a , X, p. 605.
7 Thomas F. O Connor, The Founding of Mount Saint
M a r y s College ISO 6-IS 35 ," Maryland Historical M a g a z i n e ,
XLIII (September, 1948), p. 209.
8
Hartridge,. Santo Domingan Refugees, p. llB.
9 Hermon Branderis, "James Hector Marie Nicholas Jo u

bert de la Muraille," Dictionary of American B i o g r a p h y , X,
p. 220.
269
the "Mother of Bishops," Mount St. M a r y s graduates in

cluded one cardinal, three Archbishops of N e w York, two
Presidents of the American College of Rome, the first
bishops of the cities of Chicago, Wheeling, and S a v a n n a h . ^
All told, five archbishops, twenty-one bishops and over
five hundred priests were graduated from this seminary.
Du Bourg also sent Mother Elizabeth Seton to Emmitsburg where she founded both the Academy of St. Joseph and
the Order of Sisters of St. Joseph which became known
popularly as the Sisters of Charity.
the Community numbered fifty sisters.
At her death in 1&21

From the Mother
House at Emraitsburg there was established by the time of

the Confederate W a r an infant asylum, an orphan asylum,
a hospital and Mt. Hope R e t r e a t . ^
The coming of the refugee priests and educated mulattoes from Santo Domingo also marked a change in the
education of the colored people in Baltimore.
Some of the
women had been educated in Paris and felt sorry for the
Negroes who had so little opportunity.
Consequently in
1S29 they formed St. Francis Academy for girls in connec

tion with the Oblate Sisters of Providence Convent in
10
"Mount St. M a r y s," Catholic E n c yclopedia, X,
p. 605.
11
"Baltimore," Catholic E n c yclopedia. II, p.
231.
270
the c i t y . T h e
order of the Oblate Sisters of Providence
was founded by Joubert de la Muraille, who, as stated, was

a refugee from Santo Domingo.
his uncle, Joubert de Maine.
and the nephew a priest.
He fled to Baltimore with

The uncle became a teacher
In 1S27 the latter began work
among the Negroes and slaves who had followed their m a s

ters to Baltimore from the West Indies.
These Negroes
spoke only French and had settled near the Seminary.

Muraille founded a school for them and persuaded two West
Indian Negro women to assist as teachers.
This was the
beginning of his larger plan of founding a religious so

ciety of colored women to educate their race.
The Oblate
Sisters of Providence began in 1S31 and by 1932 included

fifteen establishments in the United States.
The Mother
House and an orphanage are located in B a l t i m o r e . ^
Three
of the first four Sisters in Baltimore had come from

Cuba with the r e f u g e e s . ^
A few of the refugees, working in closely allied
fields,
served as librarians and booksellers.
In Balti
more, Louis Pescault, the refugee who became a wealthy me r

chant, established a circulating library in 1793 primarily
12
Butsch, "Negro Catholics." p. 44*
13 Herman Branderis, "Joubert de la Muraille," Dic

tionary of American Biog r a p h y , X, pp. 220, 221.
14
Butsch, "Negro Catholics," p. 44
271
for the "accommodation and amusement of other refugees

but allowed Americans to read the "best French authors.n l 5
At that time this was the only library open to the pub
lic in the city other than those which were operated by
booksellers.1 ^
In September, 1796, the Library Company
of Baltimore opened with Jean Mondesir as the librarian.

Two months later he was succeeded by Abbe Georges de
Parrigny, a Santo Domingan priest who had been staying
with Charles Carroll.
De P a r r i g n y s duties were to keep
the library open from ten until two o clock for six days
each week and his salary was to be $200 per year.
next year this was increased to $350.
The
He stayed with the
library for fifteen years when he was granted six months

leave of a b s e n c e . ^
He never returned but his place was
taken by Messionier,
another Frenchman who also continued
to serve Baltimore as Vice-Consul for France.
By 1799 the
catalogue of the library contained 3>300 volumes and there

were 396 subscribers.
In that year the librarian was paid
1$ Baltimore Daily Advertiser, August 5, 1793>

quoted in Hartridge, "Santo Domingan Refugees," p. 112.
16 Stuart C. Sherman, "Library Company of Balti
more," Maryland Historical'Magazine, XXXIX (March, 1944)>
p. 7.
17
Hartridge, "Santo Domingan Refugees," p.
112 .
272
$>450 salary plus $100 allowance.

In South Carolina the refugees were active in educa
tional institutions though they founded no colleges as
in Maryland and Louisiana.
As previously stated, some
of the refugees had their own private schools.
For a
half century after their arrival, the principal g i rls

schools in the city of Charleston had teachers from Santo
Domingo.
In these schools the young ladies learned some
of the classics and the other accomplishments of a wellbred young woman of the period; at the same time their
colored maids learned fine sewing, darning, lace washing
and manners all taught by the M a amselles good creole maid
Annette.^9
While he himself did not come from Santo Domingo, the
Reverend Dr. Gallaher, one of the first priests to be
sent to serve the refugees in Charleston, was the most
eminent classical scholar and teacher in the city.
Swinton Legare was one of his pupils.
Hugh
On one occasion
the good Doctor gave a subscription series of twelve lec

tures on astronomy and the use of the globe; his charges
18
Sherman, "Library Company, p. 12.
19
Ravenel, Lowndes, p. 44 .
20 Linda Rhea, Hugh Swinton Legare^ (Chapel Hill

N. C., 1934), p. 14.
273
were $10 for the entire series.2^
John England, the first
bishop to serve the Catholic Church in Charleston, came

to the city partly to head the Faculty and students of
the Philosophical and Classical Seminary."22
Probably the most eminent of the refugee descendants
in South Carolina educational circles was Maximillian La
Borde whose father Pierre escaped penniless from the is
land.
After spending some time as a musician in the or
chestra at the Charleston Theatre, Pierre became a suc

cessful merchant in Edgefield where Maximillian was born
in lS04.2^
After attending the academy in Edgefield, he
went to South Carolina College from which he was graduated

in 1$20.
He read law for a time and then decided to study
medicine at the College of Charleston.
He was active in
founding a weekly newspaper, became a member of the House

of Representatives in Columbia and then Secretary of
State, all the while continuing his practice of medicine.
In IS 42 he was elected Professor of Belles-Lettres in
South Carolina College.
Three years later he was assigned
the chair of "Rhetoric, Criticism, Elocution, English
21 Charleston, S. C., City Gazette and Charleston

Daily A d v er t i s e r , March 22, 1232.
22 Dorothy Fremont Grant, John England American

Christopher, (Milwaukee, 1949), p. xi.
23 Anne King Gregoire, "Maximillian La Borde," Di c
tionary of American B iography, X, p. 512.
274
Language and Literature" which he held until 1G73

Among the books which he wrote were the History of the
25
South Carolina College and Introduction to P h y s iology. '

In addition, he was one of the founders of the Columbia
Athenaeum and held the position of Secretary for South
Carolina for the Southern Historical Society .2^1
Louisiana at the time of its sale to the United States
had very limited educational facilities.
Berquin-Duvallon,
with his usual critical attitude toward the province, re

ported that there was no college, no public library, and
that the uncultured population desired only to make mon
ey.2^
Late in 1G03 there was one public school the master
of which was paid by the King of Spain;

given in the Spanish language only.2^
instruction was
One convent was in
existence where twelve or thirteen French and Spanish nuns

taught young ladies.2^
Otherwise the only schools were
24 Maximillian La Borde, History of South Carolina

College from its Incorporation 'December 19, 1801 to Decem
ber 19. 1865 (Charleston, 1874) p p . x . xi.
'
25 George Armstrong Wauchope, The Writers of South
Carolina (Columbia, 1910), p. 229.
26
La Borde, H i s t o r y , pp. xii, xvi.
27
Berquin-Duvallon, V u e , pp. 295, 297.
2& Daniel Clark to James Madison, September G, IG 03 ,

Carter, O r l e a n s , p. 3 S.
29
"Description of Louisiana," p. 353 .
275
the private academies opened by refugees from the West

30
Indies.
The Jesuits had been expelled in 1763 and
thus these private schools had the field pretty much to

themselves.
In this territory, with its diversity of
races and commercial contacts,
everyone needed two lan
guages and it was better to have three.
All the schools
therefore offered languages in addition to calculating,

orthography, geography, the household arts, and music
and drawing.
They all laid stress on manners and morals.
Some were boarding schools; others catered to persons of

a particular race.
room, board,
year.^l
The boarding students might pay for
laundry, and tuition from $120 to $1S0 a
Man y of the masters and teachers in these private
schools came from the West Indies.32

Governor Claiborne in 1S0$ projected an ambitious
plan for a general system of education to include an
academy in each parish and a college at New Orleans.
The
plan received able support from the Santo Domingans.33
30 Francois-Xavier Martin, History of Louisiana from

the Earliest Period (New Orleans, 1827), II, p. 109.
31 Stuart Grayson Noble, 'Schools of N e w Orleans
during the First Quarter of the 19th Century, Louisiana
Historical Q u a r t e r l y , XIV (January, 1931), pp. 67-69.
32 John Charles Dawson, Lakanal the Regicide (Uni
versity, Ala., 194$), P. 123.
33
I b i d . . p. 127.
276
An Act was passed by the legislature authorizing the rais

ing of |50,000 by a lottery to finance the program.
Things
did not go well and the idea was temporarily abandoned in

1606 despite the strong support of Galiborne.
In April,
1311, the legislature appropriated $ 5,000 per year and

provided for a board of regents for the College of Orleans.
The majority of the members of this board were selected
from among the Santo Domingan exiles.34
within a year 175
citizens had contributed $10,353 and a site was chosen at

St. Claude and Hospital Streets in a section which was
then a fashionable suburb.
Between lBll and 1326 when the
institution closed its doors, the state appropriated a to

tal of $ 103,500 with lotteries bringing in perhaps $ 75,000
more.3 ^
The school never became a real college but re
mained an academy, following French customs and emphasiz

ing classical studies.
The curriculum was strikingly
S
36
similar to the French ecoles centrales.
Jules D Avezac,
a former lawyer of Santo Domingo and brother-in-law of

Edward Livingston,
served as president when the school be
gan its operations late in 1311 with one hundred students
34
I b i d . , p. 123.
35
Noble, "Schools of New Orleans," p. 73*
36
Noble, "Schools of New Orleans," p. 74-
277
07
enrolled.-''
The appointment of the second president was dictated
by the "Santo Domingans, a small but intelligent element
in the commonwealth who]
early secured control of the
Board of Regents and throughout its history were generous

contributors and the chief supporters of the s c h o o l . " ^
This second president, M. Rochefort, a native of Santo
Domingo who taught belles-lettres in the college, was a
most inspiring teacher.
One of his methods was to have
his students meet in a body at his home and attend the

theatre.
The class hour the next day would be devoted to
discussing and criticizing both the play and the actors.

As one m o d e m writer puts it, the students were fortunate
to have such an opportunity for
if the benefits of college life lie as much in its
social contacts as in the books studied, the pupils
of Rochefort were to be envied, as indeed they were
by the students in the other courses of Orleans Col
lege.
Gayarr, the historian, was one of the favored
among R o cheforts students.40
The drawing professor was likewise from Santo Domingo.
He
wanted to become an actor but, because of his gentle birth,
37
Dawson, L a k a n a l . p. 123.
33 Quoted from a personal interview with Charles

Gayarre (he was a student at the school) andincluded in
Noble, "Schools of New Orleans," p. 75.
39
Chambers, History of Louisiana. I, p. $70.
40
I b i d .. I, p. $70.
27S
could not go on the stage.
Thus, while his students drew,
he entertained them by declaiming from Racine or C o r n e i l l e . ^

His pupils became known for their classicism and good man
ners.
There were other refugees connected with the college.
James Pitot, who followed de Bozê as M a y o r of N e w Or
leans, served for a time as v i c e - c h a n c e l l o r . P i e r r e
Derbigny was a member of the Board of Regents and Jean
Baptiste Augustine was one of the p r o f e s s o r s . ^
General
Humbert, the colorful old soldier who had seen action in

Europe and Santo Domingo and who had talked fillibuster
in many a cafe in New Orleans, was in 1#17 a teacher in
a college.
It is not definitely known but it is generally
supposed that the school was the College of O r l e a n s . ^

The legislature did not seem to want such elegant
gentlemen of classical background as the school was turn
ing out; in addition, the enrollment was declining.
Joseph Lakanal, who had once been
president of the Normal
School of Paris but who is better
known as the regicide,
was chosen president in 1S22 and the curriculum was re

vised to include mathematics, five languages,
41
King, N e w O r l e a n s , pp. 1&4, 1&5.
42
Kendall, N e w O r l e a n s , I,
p. 74
43
Arthur, Old F a m i l i e s , p.
49.
44
Saxon, Old N e w O r l e a n s , p. 267 .
chronology,
279
geography, and history.
The equipment included machines,
air pumps, prisms, an herbarium of 3,000 preserved plants,

and m a p s . ^
The academic year saw an enrollment of eigh
ty students, half of w h o m were boarding in the college

buildings.
let the school passed out of existence in 1326, a
victim of inadequate finances and opposition from a n u m
ber of quarters.
Americans objected to its foreign teach
ers, the location was less convenient than that of
many of
the private schools, and some people even opposed its poli'
cy of not giving religious instruction.
Before the revolution in Santo Domingo, the Huguenot

Louis Tulane was an extremely wealthy merchant and planter
said to have owned 2,000 slaves.
Part of his family es
caped in an open boat, taking nothing with them.
They
settled in Cherry Valley near Princeton, New Jersey, where

Paul was born in 1301.^7
Paul and his brother Louis went
to New Orleans in 1320 and entered business.
They dealt
in wholesale and retail drygoods under the name of Paul

Tulane & C o m p a n y .
A branch was opened in N e w York where
45 Dawson, L a k a n a l , p. 133*
Louisiane, September, l'$22.)
46
Noble,
(Quoting Gazette de la
Schools of New Orleans, p. 76.
47 John Smith Kendall, "Paul Tulane, Louisiana His

torical Quar t e r l y , XX, (October, 1937), pp. 1020, 1022.
2gO
the name Tulane, Baldwin & Company was u s e d . ^
Paul was
described as a bachelor, "frugal, tenacious and exact

ing to the last penny," yet he was liberal in philanthropy.
It is said that the Confederate War caused him to lose
$ 1 ,200,000 though he had prudently invested part of his
fortune in New York.h o l d i n g s .
From the time he came to
New Orleans to live, he was interested in the idea of

giving money to carry out his ideal for educating young
men of college age.
Not until 1&S2 did his first donation
of New Orleans real estate make possible the independent

Tulane University.
The value of the first gift was more
than $ 350,000 and subsequent additions brought it to over

one million dollars in value.
He had intended to make
further gifts, but died intestate so that his relatives

divided the estate .^
While Bishop of New Orleans, the indefatigable Du
Bourg was instrumental in founding a college and a semi
nary at The Barrens in Missouri.
He also founded an academy
in St. Louis which later became St. Louis U n i v e r s i t y , ^

The writer believes that the Santo Domingans increased
Herman Nixon, "Paul Tulane," Dictionary of American Biography. XIX, p. 51.

49
Kendall, "Paul Tulane," p. IO 46 .
50 Paul L. Blakely, "St. Louis University," A Cvclopedia of Education, V., p. 239 .
231
the number of bookstores and libraries in New Orleans as

they did in Baltimore and elsewhere.
According to Berquin-
Duvallon both the Acadians and the Louisiana Creoles were

lazy and disinclined to value books and e d u c a t i o n . ^
Per
rin du Lac.indicated that most of the Spanish resembled

the Creoles in this respect .^
Since the first Americans
were more interested in money than in culture, it would

appear that the educated, aristocratic refugees would be
the most active element in the population in starting
libraries.
They certainly introduced many other luxuries
and refinements to Louisiana.

The first Library Society in New Orleans got under
way in 1806 with Peter Couviller as librarian.
Subsequent
librarians were J. Vassant, Leonardy, and Lapauze, none

of whom can be identified by the writer as having come
from Santo Domingo.
In 1316 about half of the books were
in English and the others in French, and it may be con

cluded that the Americans were taking an active interest
in the library.
1330,
New Orleans had three libraries prior to
each being supported by lotteries.
It was only af
ter 1345 when the French influence had waned that other
31
Quoted in Robertson, Louisiana, I, no. 133. 197.
52
Quoted in i b i d . , I, p. 390.
i93.
232
means ox support were adopted.
53
<
The first known bookseller was named Mermet.

a shop in Charles Street in l3l3.
others all having French names.
5h
He had
By 1310 there were six

The opening of these
bookshops coincides with the arrival of the refugees from

Cuba though the proprietors cannot be definitely identi
fied as part of the migration from that island.
Books
were sold sometimes by lotteries as w ell as in the ordinary

manner and business methods must have been successful f.or
the stores remained open for years.55
Thomas Nuttall, who visited the city in 1313, found
three or four booksellers but the people were not very
much interested in science or serious books.
been started a few years earlier,
A museum had
"but by a protean evolu
tion it has been transformed into a coffee house for gam

bling.
Timothy Flint in his Re c o l l e c t i o n s , published
53 Edwin Wiley, "Libraries in Southern States," in

The South in the Building; of the N a t i o n , vol. VII, p. 510.
54 Roger P. McCutcheon, "Books and Booksellers in
N ew Orleans 1730-1330, Louisiana Historical Quarterly,
XX (July, 1937), pp. 610',' 611.
55
I b i d ., p. 613 .
56 Thomas Nuttall, "A journal of Travels into the

Arkansa Territory, during the year 1319 with occasional
Observations of the Manners of the Aborigines," in Reuben
Gold Thwaites, Early Western Travels (Cleveland, 1904-1907)
vol. XIII, p. 3l5\
233
in 1326 but covering an earlier period,
states that many
planters had private libraries and that novel reading had

become an insatiable habit.57
The.Santo Domingan refugees, then, founded or aided
in the founding of a number of colleges and seminaries.
They served as administrators and teachers as well as
patrons contributing money and influence.
Me n and women
conducted private schools or served as tutors where they

left an impress on many young Southerners of both sexes
in the years just before and after 1300.
These teachers
and schools always emphasized morals, manners, and the

value of classical knowledge, as well as matters of dress,
deportment, and other accomplishments now embraced in the
concept, Southern ladies and Southern gentlemen.
In Bal
timore certainly and in New Orleans probably the refugees

aided in the founding of libraries.
Wherever they went,
these cultured Frenchmen brought an interest in French

authors and French literature generally.
57
Flint, Recollections, pp. 337, 33$.
CHAPTER TWELVE
THE SANTO DOMINGAN REFUGEES AND AMERICAN POLITICS
The arrival of the refugees from the French colonies

coincided in some circles in the United States with a
period of violent enthusiasm for the French Revolution.
This, no doubt,
contributed to the warmth of the welcome
the refugees received.
Several writers have shown the
widespread interest in this country concerning the stir

ring events in France.'*'
Most Americans in 17&9 were
sympathetic and looked upon the Revolution as the spread

ing abroad of their own political and social ideas.
few leaders such as Washington, John Adams, Gouverneur

Morris and A.lexander Hamilton, did not share the general
feeling and were doubtful from the beginning 2 and for
three years there was no particular manifestation of sup
port until the republic was proclaimed in September, 1792:
Then began a year utterly without parallel, so far
as I am aware, in the history of this country.
American citizens gave themselves up to the most
extraordinary series of celebrations in honor of
the achievements of another country which in no
1 For examples see Charles Downer Hazen, Contemporary

Opinion of the French Revolution; Bernard Fay, L*Esprit
Revolutionnaire En France et Au x E t a t s-Unis; Eugene Perry
Link, Democratic-Republican Societies, 1 7 9 0 - 1 & 0 0 .
2
Hazen,
Contemporary O p inion, p. 152.
235
way directly concerned them and did not need di

rectly to affect them.3
Baltimore in 1792, then New York, and Boston early the
next year, were the scenes of mass celebrations.
Charles
ton had a "grand civic pageant" in January, 1 7 9 3 , attended

by most of the governmental officials of the state where
all joined in the "Hymne de Marsellais."^*
This city be
came a sort of revolutionary capital in the South where

it became common to call people by the title "Citizen,"
and men wore the tricolor cockade with pride.
The most
distinguished citizen "did not hesitate when the bonnet

rouge was circulated round the table to don it for a m o
ment, and then pass it on to his neighbor."6
The French
refugees on board the convoy in Norfolk harbor in July,

1793 > decorated their ships and celebrated Bastille Day
with the Americans as enthusiastic observers.
These celebrations were not merely temporary but

blazed more strongly into a real "French frenzy" wit h the
arrival of Edmund Geri^t, the newly appointed French M i n i s
I b i d . . p. 164.
I b i d . . p. 171.
Fraser, Reminiscences. p. 39.
Willis, Charleston S t a g e , p.
235.
7 Richmond, Va., Virginia Gazette & General Adver

t i s e r , July 24, 1793.
236
ter to the United States who landed in Charleston in 1793

One effect of this partisanship was the formation of
Democratic-Republican Societies in many counties and
cities.
These societies were enthusiastic for everything
happening in France and aided in mobilizing public opinion

in this country for France.
One of the main reasons for all this activity was the
interest of Americans in their own politics as a reaction
against the "aristocratic 11 Federalists who had thwarted
some ideas for popular democracy.9
The opposition of the
conservatives to the societies was vehement and they were

blamed for all sorts of things such as slave revolts and
the Whiskey R e b e l l i o n . O p i n i o n for the next several
years was sharply divided.
For example, Norfolk had its
French party and its English party with the prevailing

11
opinion in the city favoring the French.J"L
So violently
did this difference flare up that the militia had to be

called out on one occasion to quell the riot.
12
Into all this turmoil of foreign sympathy and domestic
Hazen,
Contemporary Op i n i o n , p. 136.
Link, Democratic-Republican S o cieties, pp. 45> 49.
10
Hazen, Contemporary O pinion, p. 205.
11
Rochefoucauld-Liancourt, V o y a g e , IV, p. 263.
12
Weld, T r a v e l s , p. 176.
287
politics, came the refugees from Santo Domingo.
George
Washington and the Federalists were in power; local groups

were using sympathy for France as a means of criticizing
their own government, while the French Ministers and Con
suls were violently pro-revolutionary and showed this
sentiment in their dealings with the United States offi
cials.
Most of the Santo Domingans were Royalists as
were the emigres from France.
The former were ?,inflamed
with race prejudice and fanatically opposed to the Revo

lution and all its works in the
i s l a n d .
Mangourit,
French Consul at Charleston, referred to them as the *cor

ruption aristocratique que Saint Domingue a vomi dans
cette contree.^
The refugees in turn hated Robespierre
and all the excesses in France as well as in Santo Domingo;

on the other hand, they did not understand republicanism
in America.
Yet the race war had driven out of Santo Do
mingo whites of all social classes and political beliefs.

To Baltimore, for example, there fled Thomas Millet, who
had been a leader of Pro-Revolutionary Santo Domingans, as
well as soldiers and sailors who were sympathetic with most
13
Childs, French Refugee, p. 16.
14 Mangourit to Mouchet, March 26^ 1794, "The Man

gourit Correspondence in Respect to Genet1s Projected At
tack upon the Floridas, American Historical Association
Annual Report 1897 (Washington, 1898 ), p. 642 .
288
of the happenings in the French phase of the Revolution.

They had. fled with the Royalist-minded before the great
er horror of the race war.
The thousands of refugees could not be indifferent
to political affairs; they set up presses, published n e w s
papers and pamphlets,
joined Masonic lodges, engaged in
political quarrels, participated in demonstrations, and

worried both the United States governmental authorities and
the French officials w i t h their intrigues.
1A
The activity
of the refugees was probably one of the factors which in

duced the United States to pass the Alien and Sedition
Acts.
Certainly the potential menace of the French emigres
and refugees in this country figured frequently in the de

bates and discussion over these acts in Congress prior to
their adoption.
The Federalists included the refugees with
the other Frenchmen as dangerous aliens while the supporters

of Jefferson defended the rights of these Frenchmen in the
United States.
Albert Gallatin,
the bill respecting enemy aliens,
speaking in the House on

defended the French in
this country, saying that ninety-nine out of an hundred

are of that description of persons whom the French call emi
grants and hence it made but little difference to France
15
Childs, French Refugee, p. $0.
16
Ibid., p. 66; Jones, French Culture, p. 135.
289
how we might treat them.-'-?
The Federalist Harrison Gray
Otis, speaking in June, 179$, acknowledged that there were

Frenchmen in this country who would prove good citizens
and he would make ample provision for the security of
both alien enemies and alien friends.
But with dreadful
examples of other countries before his eyes he would not

wish to omit the "most necessary precautions against the
most insistent danger.
Therefore, he supported the bill
to curb the menace of these aliens.

On June 1 8 the House received f rom President John
Adams a message transmitting a dispatch from the Envoys
Extraordinary to the French Republic.
In the ensuing de
bate Robert Goodloe Harper of South Carolina played up the

menace of French secret agents in this country who would
"raise a spirit of faction favorable to the views of
F r a n c e . "-'-9
Otis on June 1 9 expressed the same idea and
cited events in Europe to show how France had acted in similar fashion elsewhere.
20
Edward Livingston defended the
refugees as harmless people desiring to stay here and fur-
17
Annals of Congress. 5th Congress, 2 sess., vol.
II, p. 1794.
18
Ibid., 5 Cong., 2 sess., vol. II, pp. 1961, 1962.
19
I b i d ., 5 Cong.,
20
I b i d .. 5 Cong., 2 sess., vol II, pp. 1 9 8 8 - 1 9 8 9 .
2 sess., vol. II, p. 1972.
290
ther noted that some were even then preparing to leave the
country when the opportunity afforded.2-^
The Santo Do
mingans were specifically mentioned in the House debate

on June 30, 179 $} concerning the question of authoriz
ing the President to prevent or regulate the landing of
French passengers.
Some Frenchmen had come from the
British islands to which they had fled from the horrors

of Santo Domingo.
Samuel Smith of Maryland defended them
on the ground that many were persons who had fled to the
United States five years earlier and had subsequently
left this country in an effort to regain their property
in the French colony.
Some of them had even left behind
in our banks property to the amount of $ 40,000 or $ 50,000

and were excellent citizens .22
He was answered by Otis
with the observation that a Frenchman is a Frenchman

anywhere and French refugees from the islands were as
t0
dangerous as any who might come direct from F r a n c e . ^

quell fears of the House, Congressman Smith of Maryland
said that many had come to Baltimore where no objections

had been made to either the whites or the blacks, both of
whom had been peaceful and brought no arms with them.
21
Ib i d . , 5 Cong., 2 sess., vol. II, p. 2007.
22
I b i d . , 5 Cong., 2 sess., vol. II, p. 2064.
23
I b i d . , 5 Cong., 2 sess., vol. II, pp. 2064,
The
2065.
291
Negroes were chiefly body-servants who came voluntarily

with their m a s t e r s . ^
Both Smith and Harper made the
point that many American shipmasters who had brought these

fleeing Frenchmen from the islands to the United States
would suffer.
25
A few days later on July 6 the Alien Bill
passed the House and became law despite the efforts of

Gallatin, Smith and other Congressmen.
Doubtless many of the refugees participated in the
fetes and celebrations from a mixture of motives: they
wanted the Americans to remain pro-French and they did not
want to appear reactionary in a republican country.
let
some refugees openly formed societies which wore white

cockades;
especially was this true in Philadelphia, New
York, and Baltimore where at one time almost a state within a state existed.
Their interests were really centered
on events in France or Santo Domingo rather than on what

was happening in their place of refuge.
In general the at
titude of the United States government was one of tolerance,

and intervention came only when necessary to preserve law
2066.
121.
24
I b i d . . 5 Cong., 2 sess., vol. II, pp. 2065,
25
Ibid., 5 Cong., 2 sess., vol. II, p. 2065 .
26
Treudley, 'United States and Santo Domingo, p.
292
and order.
27
From the time of their arrival, the refugees were a

source of exasperation and worry to the French ministers.
T e m a n t wrote home in 1792 of the conduct of the Santo
Domingans who 'declaim loudly against our revolution and
even "drink toasts to the Due de Brunswick."
2g
GenSt was
empowered to draw assistance from the French people in

this country but was warned from the beginning to be on
his guard against the Royalists among the refugees.29
Moissonier, French vice-consul at Baltimore, wrote Genet
shortly after the convoy arrived in that city of insults
to himself and of the propaganda directed against the
30
government of the Commissioners in Santo Domingo.
By
the end of the summer of 1793 Gent had discovered a
"frightful conspiracy" directed against the French Repub
lic, and involving at least one thousand refugees in Balti
more and Philadelphia.
27
He requested Jefferson's aid in
Ibid., p. 123.
2B Ternant to Minister of Foreign Affairs, November

1, 1792, Turner, Correspondence, II, p. 163 .
29 See Genets Instructions, Frederick J. Turner,
editor, "Correspondence of Clark to Gen&t," American His
torical Association, Annual Report for IB9 6 , p. 96 6 .
30 Moissonier to Genet, July 16, 1793, Genet Papers,
Library of Congress.
293
stopping the c o n s p i r a c y . J e f f e r s o n promised executive

aid but first demanded positive p r o o f ^
In his report
of November, 1793, Geri^t stated that the arrival of the

refugees was the "Epoch of the Birth of two Counter Revo
lutionary French Gazettes" and that one-half the refu
gees "preach without shame for Royalty and Aristocracy."-^
Fauchet, G e n e t s successor, found the same deplora
ble situation and complained that his chief enemies in
this country were the emigres from France and the refugees
from Santo Domingo.
He termed them "veritables monstres"
who cursed France and rejoiced publicly in her r e v e r s e s . ^

He estimated two-thirds of the refugees were enemies of
France.
Adet, who followed Fauchet, wrote that the crowd
of refugees had only "one thing in common, hatred of the

Republic JVrance^j ."35
He found them holding public meet-
31 Gen&t to Jefferson, September 16, 1793, Affaires

Etrangeres, Correspondence Politique, vol. 39, I, p. 6$.
32
p. 67 .
Jefferson to Genet, September 12, 1793, ibid..
33 Genets "Report as to the situation of French

Colonies in America," November, 1793, in Geri&t Papers
1793-1301.
34 Commissioners to Minister of Foreign Affairs,
March 21, 1794 (1 Germinal An 2), Turner, Correspondence,
II, p. 307.
35 Adet to Minister of Foreign Affairs, 1 Germinal
An 4 (March 21, 1796), Turner, Correspondence, II, p.
S70.
294
ings and spreading propaganda against France.

The refugees were active in founding and editing news
papers,
some Francophile and others anti-French.
All were
journals of opinion with a pronounced political bias.^6

This French newspaper press led a "mushroom existence
with thirteen or more enterprises which lasted from a few
months to several years.37
Among the refugees were Peter
Parent, Claudius Beleurgey, Claude Parisot, and John Delafond, all former printers from Cap Francais. Others from
the island took up the trade and in every instance but
one the French newspapers of the period were edited by
Frenchmen from the islands, principally Santo Domingo."3^
Some presses on each side issued pamphlets of invective
as well as newspapers.
The chief Royalist organ was
Gatereaufs Courier Politique de la France et de ces Colo

n i e s , printed in Philadelphia by Moreau de St. Mery which
for some time appeared daily.
Both Talleyrand and Roche-
foucauld-Liancourt wrote for this paper.
The chief oppo
sition came from the Courrier Francais in Philadelphia

and the Gazette Francaise et Americaine of New York.
36
These
Fay, IÊsprit Revolutionnaire, p. 229.
37 Allen J. Barthold, "French Journalists in the

United States 17^0-lBOO," Franco-American R e v i e w , I (Win
ter, 1937), p. 222.
3$
I b i d . , p. 222.
295
papers enjoyed a wide circulation and furnished copy for

papers in the S o u t h .^
In the decade 1790-lBOO fourteen
of the sixteen known French papers were published in

\
Philadelphia and other Northern cities.

In Charleston,
Claudius Beleurgey began publishing
Le Patriote Francais on July 23, 1 7 9 5 . ^
A man by the
same name appeared in New Orleans shortly after this date

and is probably the same individual, though the name was
sometimes spelled De Belurgey in the latter city.
One John
J. Negrin, not known to be from Santo Domingo, established

in Charleston L*Oracle, Francais-Americain in January,
1B07.
The last known issue of this paper appeared in D e
cember of the same year and in ISOS Negrin was in N e w York

City with IWOracle and Daily A d v e r t i s e r Charleston was
a hot-bed of pro-revolutionary feeling.
Its Democratic-
Republican club was one of the most active and' its fetes
and demonstrations, particularly at the time of G e n e t s
landing, were as enthusiastic as any in the country.
Roche-
foucauld-Liancourt reported an economic motive for this at

titude.
39
The Charlestonians had a violent hatred of the
I b i d ., p. 224.
40 Clarence Saunders Brigham, History and Bibliography

of American Newspapers 169Q-1S20 (Worcester, M a s s . , 1 9 4 7 ) ,
II, p. 1035.
41
Ibid., II, pp. 1034, 1035.
296
British who had, among other things, killed or carried off

30,000 slaves during the American Revolutionary War.^2
Consequently they loved the French more and were willing
to go to extremes to embarrass the Federalist administra
tion, and the Huguenots were of course interested in
these new French people.
The Santo Domingans remained
aloof from many of these celebrations.43

tively oppose the efforts of Genet,
They did ac
citing the close con
nection between the Girondist government of France and

the Societe des Amis des Noirs which advocated Negro eman
cipation.^
In December, 1793 > the South Carolina legis
lature and Governor Moultrie opposed G e n e t s schemes and

advised President Washington of what was going on. 45
The Federalists made capital of the slavery unrest
and blamed it on the French and their Jacobin i d e a s . ^
When fires broke out in various cities, they were said to
have been clearly planned.
42
"The Jacobins, the shouters of
43 Hinson Papers, "Some Dramatic Incidents," paper

by Mrs. Prendergast, p. 2.
44 Richard K. Murdoch, "Citizen Mangourit and the
Projected Attack on East Florida in 1794 Journal of
Southern H i s to r y . XIV (November, 194&), p. 530.
45 Frederick J. Turner, Introduction to "Mangourit
Correspondence, American Historical Association, Annual
Report 1 3 9 7 . p. 573.
46
Link, Democratic-Republican Societies, p. IB4 .
297
Ca I r a , the friends of the Sage of Monticello, had applied

the torch.
To attribute fires to natural causes was to
pronounce oneself a Jacobin.^
All over the South men
came to see the connection and this, no doubt, was one

of the main reasons for the decline of these "Jacobin
societies.^
Rutledge of South Carolina, speaking in
Congress in connection with the debate on limiting slave

importation, declared that there was already "too much of
this new-fangled French philosophy of liberty and equali
ng
.
ty" among the N e g r o e s . G e n e t s membership in the
Societe des Amis des Noirs discredited him with m a n y . ^
In 1&20, a pamphleteer, two years before the Vesey Con
spiracy, wrote, "we regard our negroes as the Jacobins of
the Country, against whom we should always be on our
guard. 51
Pro-French sentiment in Norfolk waned with the XYZ af
fair and the French seizures of ships which brought ruin
to many of the shippers.
47
Norfolk alone had about two mil-
McMaster, H i s t o r y , II, pp. 53$, 539.
4$
Ibid., p.
539.
49
Annals of
C o n g r e s s . 6 Cong., 1 sess.,X,
p. 230.
50
p. 573.
Turner, Introduction to "Mangourit Correspondence.
51
litical
Quoted in Phillips, "Slave

Labor Problems," PoScience Quarterly, XXII, p.433.
298
lion dollars in claims against France and sent a petition
to Congress for r e l i e f . ^
This does not mean that all the
people of the South turned against the French.
When La
fayette visited Charleston in 1&25, he found in the

parade in his honor a corps of militia wearing uniforms
exactly like those worn by the Paris Guard at the time of
the Revolution in
France.
53
Apparently these had been
used in Charleston during the intervening years.
Jeffer
s o n s political victory in 1$00 had confirmed many Southern

ers in their pro-French attitude.
Still a reaction had set
in among many Americans after the death of the French King

in 1793 and the excesses of the Revolution,
In the upper
circles this conservative and moral reaction was due in

part to the utterances of the 'emigr'es and the refugees.54
It is probable also that the turbulence and intrigues of
the soldiers and sailors from Santo Domingo as well as
the activities of some of the pro-Revolutionary refugees
may have turned the more- sober United States citizens against
the excesses of the Revolution in E u r o p e . ^
52 Norfolk, Va., Norfolk H e r a l d . January 28f 1$02,

quoted in Thomas J. Wertenbaker, Norfolk Historic South
ern Port (Durham, 1931), p. 104.
53
Levasseur, Lafayette in A m e r i c a . II, p. 54.
54
Jones, French C u l t u r e , p. 545.
55
Treudley, United States and Santo Domingo, p.
123.
299
In Louisiana the refugees played a more important role

in domestic politics.
After the United States took over,
they became governors,
judges, and members of the legis
lature and they held many other offices both state and
local.
Yet for many years they united with the other
French inhabitants to oppose Governor Claiborne and the

encroachment of the Americans.
Their numbers were great
er and it took events centering around the Battle of New

Orleans to unite the two factions.
More refugees worked with newspapers in.Louisiana dur
ing its territorial period and later when it was a state
than in any other Southern state.
The first paper was
founded and edited by Louis Duclot, one of the Santo Do

mingan refugees, probably in January, 1794, as a weekly
with a page measuring five by seven inches.
The Spanish
Governor Carondelet aided in starting the publication which

had only a few s u b s c r i b e r s . ^
In 1S03 Duclot was succeeded
by Jean Baptiste Leseur Fontaine, an old comedian from Le

Cap,57 who was so "ardent a legitimatist he always re
ferred t o N a p o l e o n as M. de Buonaparte."5$
He edited the
56 Berquin-Duvallon auoted in Robertson, Louisiana.

I, p. IBS.
'
57
Robin, V o y a g e , II, p. 3$5
5$ Kendall, "Early New Orleans Newspapers," Louisi

ana Historical Q u arterly, X (July, 1927), p. 3^5.
300
paper until 1$11 and turned it into a tri-weekly.
The
last known issue was in 1$14

In 1&03 Claudius Beleurgey (or Claudin de Belurgey),
probably the same man as the proprietor of a short-lived
Charleston, South Carolina, paper, founded the Telegraphe
which was printed in both English and French and defended
the old order and noblesse.
1S12.59
This lasted until lll or
Beleurgey, a Santo Domingan, was the sole propri
etor until 1S10 when Jean Dacqueny joined him.
Another
early Louisiana paper with which at least one refugee was

connected was the Ami des Lois which began in 1S09 with
Hilaire Leclerc as the first publisher.
Arnold Du Bourg
of the famous refugee family became its publisher in l20.
Like the Telegraphe it had columns in two languages in the

early years.
The well known Bee was founded under its
French title LAbeille in September, l27, by Francois

Delaup, a Santo Domingan who had come to New Orleans in
1S09.
It had a page size measuring 22 by l inches and
appeared three times a week from the little print shop on

Rue St. Pierre between Bourbon and Royale.
For the first
three months it had columns only in French; then English
^
59 Alexandre Belisle,- Histoire de la Presse Franco
Americaine (Worchester, Mass., 1911), p. 370.
~
60
Brigham, Newspapers, I, p. 1$4*
301
columns were inserted and the paper became a daily.
For
a time its name appeared in three languages as L * A b e i l l e ,

The Bee and La Abe.ja.
Originally it supported John Quincy
Adams and the Whigs but after Jerome Bayon and Duclere
took over in IB 30 , it supported Van Buren and attacked
Henry Clay.
From 1&33 to I 836 it was the official jour
nal of the state and of the city of Ne w O r l e a n s . ^
Fi
nally it became the daily of the French-speaking people

and after 1$39 again supported the Whigs.
There were other newspapers founded in New Orleans
about 1&10: L Echo du Commerce in l06 by Theodore Lambert, ' Courrier de la Louisiane in 1B07 by Thierry and
D a c q u e n n y , ^ Journal du Soir in l B 0 9 , ^ and L*Argus by
Manuel Cruzat before 1 & 2 7 . ^
These men are not known to
be Santo Domingans though they could have been among the

refugees.
Louis Placide Canonge, dramatist and newspaper
man, was the son of a Domingan refugee.
He edited the
Catholic paper Le Propagateur Catholique and also La
61
Belisle, Presse, pp. 370, 371.
62
Brigham, Newspapers, I. p. 1#6.
63
Ibid., I , p. 185.
64
Chambers , Louisiana,
65
B e l i s l e , Presse, p. 369.
I. p. 474.
302
Lorgnette which was a theatrical paper.

In their political preference the French in Louisiana
between the outbreak of the French Revolution and the pur
chase of Louisiana by the United States were sharply di
vided.
At first the Creoles were generally sympathetic
with the French Revolution.
They had even sent petitions
to the Assembly in Paris requesting assistance in reunit

ing the province to F r a n c e . ^
Agitation for this appeared
in the city even before the news of the war between France
and Spain arrived and Governor Carondelet issued a procla
mation in February, 1793? prohibiting meetings of the French
people for political purposes or even the reading in publie of political writings.
6$
On the same date Carondelet
wrote Las Casas of a dinner at which toasts had been drunk

to the Revolution and to the return of Louisiana to France.
He arrested one Bujac who appeared to be the ringleader
and sent him to H a v a n a . jn a subsequent letter he wrote
that fifty inhabitants of the colony had offered gifts to
the Convention in France in an attempt to bring a rupture
66 Lionel C. Durel, "Louis Placide Canonge, in Dic

tionary of American Biog r a p h y , III, p. 479.
67 Villiers du Terrage, Les Dernieres Annees de la

Louisiane Fr a n c a i s e . p. 371*
6
Kinnaird,
Spain in Mississippi V a l l e y , IV, p.
69
I b i d ., IV, p. xviv.
139.
303
between France and Spain but he felt that this sentiment

was confined to townsmen who were merchants and did not
include the native-born Creole l a n d o w n e r s . T h e
gover
nor encouraged the French nobility to emigrate from

France and the islands.
71
He even went so far as to close
down the theatre for a time because the actors "inter

polated French Revolutionary songs" in their plays.?2
The coming of the refugees brought a group determined
to support neither revolutionary France nor Napoleon.
Laussat was to them a representative of a hated government
and could not obtain their support.?3
They gave a violent
warning to the Creoles of Louisiana of the dangers to be

expected if Napoleon replaced the Catholic Spanish King
as their master.
They told with horror of the disregard
of property rights and what followed the First Consuls

proclamation:
"inhabitants of Santo Domingo, whatever may
be your colour or your origin, you are all free, all equal
in the eyes of God and the Republic. "7A-
The refugees who
70 Carondelet to Alcudia, April 23 , 1793, "Corres

pondence of Clark and Genet," American Historical Asso
ciation Annual Report for 1 8 9 6 , I, pp. 975, 976.
71
Chambers, History of Louisiana. I, p. 36S.
72
Asbury, French Quarter..'p. 72.
73
Kendall, New Orl e a n s , I, p. 4 $.
74
Barbe-Marbois, Louisiana, p. 201.
304
had brought their slaves to Louisiana did not want to flee
again to avoid manumission.
This no doubt contributed to
the acceptance of United States sovereignty.

From 1803 onward there were two main parties, French
and American, bitterly opposed to each other in municipal
and territorial affairs.
Gayarre summed it up thus:
It is difficult, at the present time, to convey an

adequate idea of the virulence of feeling then en
tertained by these two parties, and of the jealous
ies, injustices and collisions to which it gave
rise.
It embittered social intercourse, made a
perpetual storm of political life, and at one time
[December l & l Q almost threatened the state with
civil war.75
In general, the refugees and the Creoles joined forces,
though there was always a distrust of such floating popula
tion as L a f i t t e s men.
The French were in the majority.
In 1806 there were about 12,000 people in N e w Orleans of

whom 7,500 were white and of this number there were only
1,400 whose language was not French or Spanish.
provinces most of the people were Creoles.
In the
In 1809 after
the population had soared due to the arrival of the refu

gees from Cuba and newcomers from the United States, the
American ratio was only 12 to 100.
76
Governor Claibornes letters dwell on the sad mixture
75
Gayarre, History of L o u i s i a n a , IV, p. 586.
76
Kendall, Mew Orleans. I, p. 65 .
305
of society which contained partisans of England,
of Fer
dinand VII, of Bonaparte and a group whom he termed

Burrites who would follow any standard bringing them
hope of gain.
The years between 1803 and 1815 were
certainly years of turmoil: B u r r s conspiracy, the ar

rival of the main flood of West Indian immigrants, the
revolution in West Florida, the rise and fall of the
Baratarians, the admission of Louisiana as a territory
and later a state, and perhaps most dramatic of all, the
War of 1812 with its Battle of N e w Orleans.
these events,
Out of all
especially the last, there emerged a com
munity finally convinced that it was a part of the Ameri

can nation.
In 1803 many were tired of the rule of Spain and de
sired a change.
By no means were all of these happy when
Laussat arrived to take charge for France, as they feared

the sort of bungling which had created the Santo Domingan
debacle.
Probably the Royalist party would have pre
ferred Spain w i t h the Governor under their own tight control in New Orleans.
77
Different observers give varying
testimony concerning such attitudes at the time the United

States assumed control in 1803.
Claiborne was worried
about the Spanish authorities who remained in the city for
77
Paul A l l i o t s R e f l e c t i o n s , Robertson, L o u i s i a n a .
I, p. 55.
306
a time, about the portion of the refugees who were Bonapartists, and about the French troops who were arriving on
transports fleeing Santo Domingo.
7S
expressed fear of incidents.'
Both he and Wilkinson
It was not the Creoles
but the adverturers from the West Indies and the fleeing
refugees from the same place who disturbed Claiborne.
He
feared their "revolutionary principles, and restless,

turbulent dispositions . .
which would "give trouble
to local government for years to come.^^

One Abraham Ellery, who lived near Natchez, wrote to
Alexander Hamilton that the inhabitants were reasonably
pleased with the transfer even though they were mortified
at being auctioned off at an amount of "eleven sous pr
head, including negroes and cattle."
SO Miss Grace King
indicates that there were many shouts of rejoicing at the

announcement of the return of Louisiana to France.
The
Creoles refused to take the oath of allegiance to the

United States at the end of 1S03, taking refuge in the au-
7.6 Claiborne to Madison, January 24, 1604, Robert

son, Louisiana, II, p. 23$; Wilkinson to Secretary of War,
January l 6 , 1$03 [this should be I6O4 I, Carter, Orleans,
p. 16 $.
^
79 Claiborne to Jefferson, May 29, 1604, Rowland,
Letterbooks of Claiborne, II, p. 176.
SO Abraham Ellery to Alexander Hamilton, October 2$,
IS0 3 , Hamilton Papers, vol. 64 in Library of Congress,
quoted in Whitaker, Mississippi,.p. 253
307
tonomy granted to them by the treaty transferring the

territory to the new master.
A great deal of animosity
existed between the xvhites, and even among the Negroes

whether free or slave, who distrusted American whites
and American blacks.^
To prove that Claiborne was no alarmist without
foundation for his fears, unpleasant incidents and prob
lems did occur in which the Santo Domingans were involved.
He had inherited two large militia companies composed of
free men of color.
Many of these had fled from the French
island and had been formed into these military units by

the Spaniards.
The American governor feared to disband
them lest he create an armed enemy; to disarm them would

be a "police state technique," while if he kept them, the
Americans would object because of the effect on the Southern states.
$2
He finally decided to keep them and they
performed gallantly and effectively under Jackson.

Another early problem which could have started trouble
arose over the English contra dance.
A dispute developed
between the two parties over the type of dancing in the

ball rooms.
Si
The dispute ended in a riot with swords being
King, New Orleans, pp. 156, 165, 166.
32 Claiborne to Madison, December 27, 1S03, Robertson, Louisiana, II, p. 22S.
3OS
drawn from their
scabbards.^
Claiborne had already writ
ten Madison that the balls occupy much of the public

mind and from them have proceeded the greatest embarrass
ments, which have hitherto attended my administration.^
Fortunately, this too was handled satisfactorily and the
authorities provided more police protection to maintain
order at the dances.
Then the slavery question became a real focus of dis
content.
The Territorial Act of March, 1S04, prevented
the bringing in of slaves save from the United States . ^

Claiborne wrote of the irritation caused by this act even
though he had reminded the people that it would help pre
vent a repetition of the troubles of Santo Domingo.
The
Marques de Casa Calvo, who was still in New Orleans, sent

a secret dispatch in which he said "the inhabitants are
so angered that it is with difficulty that they will be
able to be amalgamated with the rude citizens of the United
States . 00
Mayor de Bore of New Orleans called a meeting
S3 Claiborne and Wilkinson to Secretary of State,

February 7, 1S04, Carter, Orleans, pp. 17S, 179.
4 Claiborne to Madison, January 31> 1B04, Robertson, Lou i s i a n a , II, p. 242.

5
6 Casa Calvo to Don Pedro Caballos, May IB, 1B04,

Secret dispatch #13 in Robertson, Loui s i a n a , II, p. 190.
309
of the dissatisfied Frenchmen.
They decided to send com
missioners to present a remonstrance to Congress over the

slavery issue and over the political system given to
them.^7
One of the three commissioners who took this
document was Derbigny, the Santo Domingan refugee who was

then very active in Louisiana politics.^
Neither the French generally nor the refugees parti
cipated in the Burr conspiracy.^9
However, other events
such as the "Bature Riots" of 1807 could be cited to show

the lack of unity and the dissatisfaction with the new
regime on the part of the refugees and the French who had
long been settled in L o u i s i a n a . C l a i b o r n e in 1809 feared
that the arrival of the "horde of immigrants" from Cuba
"may retard the growth of American Principles."^
So ap
prehensive was he that General Wade Hampton, who had re

placed James Wilkinson by this time, was kept in the city
with a garrison "because of the heterogenous mass of popu-
See Remonstrance, Document 183, American State

Papers. Miscellaneous, I, pp. 396-399; 400-404*
88 John D. Wade, "Pierre Derbigny," in Dictionary

of American Biography, V, p. 249*
89 Claiborne to Madison, December 9, 1806, Rowland,
Letterbooks of Claiborne, IV, p. 50.
90
91 Claiborne to Jefferson, May 17, 1809, in Rowland,

Letterbooks of Claiborne, IV, p. 357*
310
lation."*^
One Louisiana letter writer during the War of
1512 described the S t a t e d population as composed of a

French party which differed over the right of the United
States to govern, a Spanish party which cursed everything,
Americans who differed among themselves over policies con
cerning the war, Creoles who were discontented, Negroes
who were insolent, and Indians who were sulky.
He fin
ished with the question, What political chemist will ever

unite
u s ? " 9 3
This was at the time a rather far-fetched
title to give to Andrew Jackson, but if he was not the

chemist, at least, he was the catalytic agent.
With the events leading to our War of 1512, the ques
tion of raising a militia in the territory was referred
to Governor Claiborne.
He wrote to the Secretary of War
that few of the Creoles, natives of Louisiana, could be

counted on to enlist.
Their temperament was that of peace
ful agriculturalists, but, on the other hand, he felt that

the refugees from the French islands would cheerfully en
ter into service; their habits fit them for military life,
and their constitutions formed in Southern Latitude are
92
Gayarre, History, IV, p. 226.
93
Windship to William Plumer, Jr., November 1,
1513j in Everett S. Brown, Letters from Louisiana
1513-1514," Mississippi Valley Historical Review, XI
(March, 192$T7T 571.
311
not likely to be affected by the climate of Lower Lou

isiana."
He thought that the loyalty of the refugees, the
men of color, and the Creoles could all be counted on in

a fight against England.94
The story of Jackson and the Battle of New Orleans
has been too well told to require retelling here but the
Santo Domingans did take an active part which deserves
mention.
On September 3> 1314) the British made contact
with Lafitte at Barataria, trying to enlist him and his

men.
The gist of their offer was a Captains commission
in the British Navy and $30,000 for himself, and a reward

for his men.
The alternative was the destruction of his
settlement by the British naval force.95
Lafitte played
for time and informed the Governor in New Orleans and

Edward Livingston of the British offer.
Even though he
knew Claiborne was preparing an expedition to destroy

Barataria, Jean offered his services and those of his men
to Louisiana.
He referred to himself as a "lost sheep who
q6
desires to return to the flock . " 7
After some discussion
94 Claiborne to William Eustis, Secretary of War,

August 31) 1$11, Rowland, Letterbooks of Claiborne, V,
pp. 34&-350.
95
Saxon, Lafitte, p. 137.
96 See his letter to Claiborne quoted in Marquis

James, Andrew Jackson, The Border Captain (New York, 1933)>
pp. 204-205.
312
Barataria was destroyed by the American military forces

which had been planning to clean out the pirates for some
time and Pierre Lafitte, Beluche, and Dominaue You and
those of the men who were caught were charged with pi
racy. 97
Many of the Baratarians escaped to the swamps.
After much pressure by the Creoles (with legends attribut

ing a leading role to some mystery woman who may have been
Mrs. Claiborne or the refugee wife of Edward Livingston),
Livingston and Claiborne accepted Lafitte1s offer to aid
against the British and persuaded Jackson to use the "pi
rates.
Word went to the jails and into the swamps that
in return for their volunteering Jackson would attempt to

get a pardon for them from the President of the United
States.
Almost to a man they agreed and the jails were
opened, weapons were produced, and they rendered yeoman

service in the days which followed.
Their knowledge of
the country, their suggestions for fortifications, and above

all their skill in gunnery and their guns themselves were
of primary assistance to Jackson through all of the en
gagements.
Some of the Baratarians were, sent to man the siege
guns of Forts Petites Coquilles, St. John and St. Philip.93
97
93
Ibid., p. 174.
313
Others were formed into artillerymen under command of

Beluche and Dominique You.
Many stories are current of
their fabulous shooting and their coolness under fire.

Mr. Walker in his Jackson and New Orleans describes how
on December 28, 1B14,
Jacksons glances . . . had been changed . . . by
the spectacle of several straggling bands of redshirted, bewhiskered, rough and desperate-looking
men, all begrimmed with smoke and mud, hurrying
down the road toward the lines. These proved to
be the Baratarians under Dominique You and Bluche
sic| , who had run all the way from Fort St. John.
. . . They immediately took charge of the 2k
pounders.99
In the artillery duel on January 1, the British had twen
ty-four guns to fifteen for the Americans.
The pirates
in their famous Battery number 3 with two 24-pounders

proved to be such excellent marksmen that every gun of
the British was silenced with the loss of only three
American guns."**^
And these defeated soldiers were the
veterans of the army which had defeated Napoleon'.

Later, in the early morning hours before the battle
on January 8, Jackson was riding along the lines and found
Dominique You and his men calmly making coffee in an iron
pot.
Jackson remarked, Smells good.
Dominique grinned
99 Quoted in James Parton, Life of Andrew Jackson

(New York, 1S60), II, p. 136 .
100
Chambers, History of Louisiana, I, pp. 535.
536.
314
and after an exchange of comment on smuggled coffee, he of

fered the "Zhenerale" a cup; Jackson sipped it appreciative
ly while sitting on his horse.
As he finished, he remarked
to his aide, "I wish I had fifty such-guns with five hun
dred such devils as those fellows to man them."
A few min
utes later as he watched their deadly fire, he added, "If

I were ordered to storm the gates of hell, with Captain
Dominique as my lieutenant, I would have no misgivings of
the result.
Dominque and Beluche had almost missed this second
engagement.
The powder issued to them being of poor quality,
they had sent Jean and Pierre, Dominiques two brothers, to

the factory of Optime Bourguignon above the city to get bet
ter powder.
The brothers did not return in time, perhaps
because Jean You was courting, for he later married

Bourguignons step-daughter and became the proprietor of
102
the factory.
Without powder, this battery of course did
not fire early in the battle of January 3.
up exclaiming, "By God!
Jackson rushed
What is the matter?"
The reply
came, "But, of course, Zhenerale, the powder is fit only to

shoot blackbirds with-not readcoats."
Jackson immediately
sent word to his ordnance officer that he would be shot in
101
102
315
five minutes as a traitor if Dominique complained again

about the p o w d e r . I n
the address which Jackson caused
to be read at the head of each corps at the end of the
battle the General stated

Capts. Dominique and Belluche . . . were stationed
at Nos. 3 and 4* The General cannot avoid giving
his warm approbation of the manner in which these
gentlemen Ithe Baratarians! have uniformly con
ducted themselves while under his command, and of
the gallantry with which they have redeemed the
pledge they gave at the opening of the campaign.
. . The brothers Lafitte have exhibited the same

courage and fidelity; and the General promises that
the government shall be duly appraised of their conThe government responded in accordance with Jacksons rec
ommendation and granted a full pardon to all the Baratarians
who had fought with Old Hickory.
Another unusual group in the army involving many Santo
Domingans were the companies of the free men of color.
Soon after his arrival, Jackson had asked them to volunteer
for service under white officers and colored non-commis
sioned officers.
He addressed them as loyal citizens and
offered them the same pay as that given to the whites.^^
103
Saxon, Lafitte, p. 1$2.
104 Friend of the Laws (New Orleans, La.),. January

24, ll5, quoted in Edward Alexander Parsons, Jean Lafitte
in the War of 1S12 (A Narrative based on the original
documents), American Antiquarian Society Proceedings;, New
Series vol. 50 (October, 1940), pp. 220, 221."
105
Gayarre, History. IV, p. 355.
316
Major LaCoste and Major Dacquin, the latter a Santo Do

mingan refugee, commanded the two battalions formed from
the volunteers among the free men of color, nearly all
of whom were from that island themselves.
in either unit.-^^
No slaves were
Among the colored men Captain Savary,
from Santo Domingo like his men, made the most distin
guished record and was especially singled out by Jackson
for his brilliant gunnery at Chalmette on January 6 ,
1 $15.^7
The Generals official report of that engage
ment stated "Savary's volunteers manifested great bra

very. 105
Major LaCostes colored battalion had about
160 men and Dacquins 150 .
j.iaj0r Planches battalion
from Bayou St. John had some men of color in its ranks as
did the Baratarians.'*''*'^
All told there must have been
about 600 of these free men of color under arms.**"*"*- Most

of these had come, for one reason or another, from the
106
Ibid., IV, p. 406.
107
Parsons, "Lafitte, p. 216.
106
Gayarr^, History. IV, p. 433*
109
Parton, Jackson, II, p. 174.
110 King, New Orleans, p. 267; Bernard Marigny, "Re

flections on the Campaign of General Jackson, (First .
printed in 1646 ). Translated by Grace King, Louisiana
Historical Quarterly, VI, p. 73.
111
Gayarre*, Louisiana, IV, p. 409.
317
French West Indies.

soldiers.
Slaves served, too, though not as
Planters from nearby parishes sent more Ne
groes to dig and perform other types of labor than Jackson needed.
11 2
Jackson had offended Bernard de Marigny and other

Frenchmen when he arrived in New Orleans.
This, plus some
misunderstood statements made during the various engage

ments with the British, gave rise to the idea that the
French did not enter wholeheartedly into the defense of
their city.
let the evidence available today indicates
that both Creole and refugee, men and women, did all they
could.
George W. Cable says that when the cathedral bell
sounded, the "Creoles, Americans and Santo Domingans,

swords and muskets in hand, poured in on the Place d Armes."^-3
Gayarre wrote that the French could "not have been com
pelled to perform military duty.
These men, however, with
hardly any exception volunteered their services." H 4
The
French consul had to remain neutral but encouraged other

Frenchmen to join Jackson.
Miss Grace King wrote that all
the emigres volunteered "only too eager for another chance

at the
B r i t i s h . " - 1-1 ^
Bernard de Marigny, who was one of the
112
Ibid.. IV, p. 39S.
113
114
Gayarre", History, IV, p. 409.
115
King, New Orleans, p. 217.
storm centers and a witness to what happened, wrote a

pamphlet defending the part played by the Creoles.
He said
not a Frenchman, naturalized or not, was disloyal or re

fused to serve.
The old men remained in the city as a
force for final protection, and the women made bandages or

served in hospitals.
They contributed all their weapons
to help in the critical shortage of ordnance material.
1 "I ^
True, there were only 500 men in the front line, but 600
were on the right bank across the river from the city and
the rest went where they were put when assigned to forts
at Bayou St. John, Chef Menteur, and at other places.
De
Marigny calculated that the total population of the city

was l ,000 but at least 5,000 were slaves (the majority
being those belonging to the Santo Domingans).
Of the es
timated 6,000 white males some 2,1 76 were able to fight.

Three hundred of these were Americans.
He concluded with
the statement, We cannot doubt all citizens able to bear

arms marched to the enemy.117
in another place in the
pamphlet he wrote, "Except for G.enerals Jackson, Carroll

and Coffee, nearly all the other men most useful at that
time were Creoles of Louisiana, naturalized Frenchmen, or
116
Marigny, Reflections on Campaign, pp. 64, 6 5 .
117
Ibid.. p. 79.
319
Creoles of the French Antilles."-*--*-^
This is doubtless rath
er too high praise but de Marigny makes an interesting case

for his opinion.
He lists as Santo Domingans the men of
color, the Baratarians, and two in other command capaci

ties: Lieutenant Colonel Peire, a Creole of Santo Domingo,
who commanded the 7th Infantry of the Regular Army then in
New Orleans; D Avezac, brother of Mrs. Livingston, who
served as Jacksons aid-de-camp.
The women of all races worked together.
They had given
freely of clothing and other supplies to care for Coffees

ragged men when they first came to the city.
They prepared
to act as nurses and to provide means for caring for the

wounded.
In this service they expected to find most use
ful the "far-famed nurses, the quadroon women of New Or

leans . . . jjtfho] freely gave their kind attention to the
wounded British.*'*-9 Fortunately few Americans required
their attention, but the town brought 140 mattresses, pil
lows and bedding to give aid in caring for the 400 persons
who were seriously wounded.
120
The victorious army of Jack
son was given a tumultuous welcome by everyone in the city.
118
Ibid.. p. 75.
119
Parton, Jackson. II, p. 230.
120 These are Major Latours figures quoted in ibid..

II, p. 231.
320
Only one cloud marred Jacksons victory.
Many of the
French desired to leave the army and when the General re

fused to release them those who were not United States
citizens applied to the French consul for discharge.
Jackson retaliated by ordering all alien French to leave
New Orleans and to keep 120 miles away.
martial law.
121
He declared
Newspaper criticism by a Frenchman caused
Jackson to arrest the editor of the Louisiana Courier who

had been very prominent in the defense of the city.
Jack
son ignored a writ of habeas corpus and was subsequently

fined $1,000 by Judge Hall for contempt of court.
But
Dominique You and the other Baratarians, and some special

friends of Jackson, staged a celebration for the General
and he left the city with cheers ringing in his ears.
122
Apparently the battle experiences of 1B14 and 1$15

did much to make loyal Americans out of French refugees
and the native-born Louisiana Frenchmen.
One historian
says that the change was made in the twinkling of an eye

and from that time on he
the Frenchman
titled to full fellowship . . .

.
felt himself en
of American citizenship . .
Pakenhams guns made little impression upon Jacksons
121
Gayarr^, History. IV, p. 5&7.
122
Parton, Jackson, II, p. 320.
321
breastworks but they crumbled the Creoles past attitude

toward things American."-*-^
Several Santo Domingans had taken an active role in
political affairs.
Pierre Derbigny had served as secre
tary of the municipality of New Orleans under Laussat,

and later as official interpreter for Claiborne.
Still
later he was a member of the legislature, and of the state

supreme court and he became governor in 1S2S.
Edward
Livingstons beautiful wife entertained widely and in

fluenced Jackson, Claiborne, and many others.
Her uncle,
Jules D Avezac, aided Livingston in drafting the law code

for the state.-^4
Auguste D Avezac, brilliant lawyer and
Mrs. Livingstons brother, was a diplomat who represented

the United States at The Hague and at Naples in the King
dom of the Two Sicilies.
For a time he lived in New York
and was active in Tammany Hall.-^5
Moreau-Lislet was
state Attorney General in Louisiana and member of the leg

islature.^^
James Pitot succeeded de Bore as Mayor of
123
Chambers, History of Louisiana. I, p. 543.
124
Hunt, Livingston, p. 276 .
125 H. . Howard Knott, "Auguste Genevieve Valen

tin D Avezac," Dictionary of American Biography, V, p.
126 Lionel C. Durel, "Louis Moreau-Lislet," ibid.,
XIII, p. 157 .
. ----
322
New Orleans in 1 8 0 6 . ^ ^
fices.
His son also held municipal of
J. F. Canonge was for ten years Judge of the
Criminal Court.
Augustus Tureaud was Judge of the
Parish of St. James. 1^9
James Donat in Augustin, son of
a refugee, also became a
j u d g e .
-^0
All of these were
refugees from the French islands and most of them came

from Santo Domingo.
Doubtless other refugees held politi
cal offices of which there are no records today.

While few of the refugees held prominent federal of
fices or even state offices outside of Louisiana, they did
influence the course of politics in this country.
For the
most part they were Royalists who opposed the Revolution

in France or in the colonies and they likewise opposed the
efforts of the French Ministers in this country.
A few
of them were violent partisans who joined in the democratic

ardor for the Revolution.
Their newspapers were partisan
journals of opinion which circulated almost exclusively

among the French-speaking population.
In many cases the
newspapers were short-lived.

The strongly partisan refugees caused some turbulent
127
Kendall, New Orleans, I, p. 6&.
12
King, Creole, p. 394.
1^9
Ibid., p. 422 .
130
Arthur, Old Families, p. 50.
323
scenes but probably more unjustified fears than actual in

cidents.
No doubt, the net effect of both the pro- and
anti-revolutionary groups was to turn the more sober ele

ment of the Americans against the Revolution.
Certainly
the coming of the Santo Domingans promoted legislation

restricting the slave trade and tightening regulations
for the control of both slave and free Negroes already liv
ing in this country.
It is probable that they influenced
somewhat the passage of the Alien and Sedition Acts inso

far as these Acts w ere intended to curb easy acquisition
of United States citizenship and prevent the subversive
activity of French agents in this country.
For a time,
especially in Louisiana where they were numerous enough

to matter, they abhorred the American laws, courts and
government
The refugees retained their party spirit
of French versus American for a generation after 1 S 0 3 .

Yet they did not join Burr; they did join Jackson and the
concessions made to their prejudices in the state constitu
tion of 1812 kept them loyal.
The remaining differences
were more in matters of customs and social affairs than

in the realm of politics.
For example, the Americans
criticized the French peculiarities, finding especially of-
131
324
fensive their way of spending Sunday.^32

Finally, most of the refugees learned American ways
of government and became good citizens.
Some entered
politics and all were assimilated without confirming fears

such as those of Governor Claiborne that they would re
tard the growth of American principles.
Timothy Flint
found that in the country outside of New Orleans the two

groups lived in "great harmony" though party feeling ex
isted in the New Orleans municipal
a f f a i r s .
^3
Not until
the l $ 4 0 s were the three municipalities, Vieux Carre,
Ste. Marie and Marigny, united into one city with Ameri
cans in control.
132
I b i d ., p. 35.
133
Flint, R e f l e c t i o n s , p. 335.
325
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE REFUGEES
What, sort of people were these refugees?

live?
What distinctive manners,
they display?
How did they,
customs, and habits did
Here again the problem is complicated by
the difficulty of sorting out the West Indian refugees from

the emigres from France and the other French people who had
come to this country in earlier years.
In many ways the
refugees were very like their compatriots in France.
Many
had spent part of their lives there, having gone to the

motherland for education or for prolonged visits.
Similar
ly, they were in some ways like their Creole countrymen liv
ing in Louisiana.^
Many things said about the French people
in general would apply to those coming from the West Indies;

the refugees, nevertheless,
did show some differences.
The contemporary accounts are richer for the Louisiana

area, where more French people of all backgrounds lived
than in any other section of the South.
Berquin-Duvallon
has left a description of Louisiana about 1S04 which presents

a rather harsh and unfavorable picture of the Louisiana Cre
1 Lewis Mumford Jones has made a careful study of all

the French influence in his America and French Culture. Miss
ranc^s Childs has made a more specialized study of French
emigres and refugees but neither has tried to study the West
Indians as a specific group.
326
oles and the refugees.
He recognized the diversity of
races around New Orleans and characterized them as fol

lows: the Acadians were lazy, slow, fat, apathetic far
mers who were content with a low standard of living; the
Germans were industrious and skillful but, on the other
hand, they were brutal and uncultured;2 the Creoles were
usually from parents who were of low extraction who came
seeking fortunes and were unsuccessful;
they lived in poverty and ignorance.
consequently
They had some com
mendable qualities; they were good to their wives and

children, faithful to engagements, industrious and, in
general, moral.3
The West Indian refugees introduced luxuries and a
higher standard of living among the people of Louisiana,
but a decline in morals followed their coming.
This was
far more apparent in the cities than in the rural dis

tricts.
In N e w Orleans, dress as well as household fur
nishings,
gant.
carriages and other equipment became extrava
The passion for gambling was itensified.^-
As a
result of the new ideas, the Louisiana Creoles changed

for the worse.
There was an increase in bawdy houses,
Berquin-Duvallon, Yue, pp. 250-252.

/
Ibid.., quoted in Robertson, L o u i s i a n a . I, pp. l&,
I b i d . . I, pp. 196, 197.
194
327
smoking houses, and low taverns frequented by all sorts

of people, both white and black.5
'Women dealt more in
slander and quarreling; they made up for their lack of

culture by their love of dancing, and lying became more
common among them.
Berquin-Duvallon did find the sudden
change in the style of dressing introduced by the more

refined refugees to be a change for the better.0
The Frenchman Robin, who visited Louisiana about the
same time, gives a picture which is more favorable to the
inhabitants but he also dwells on the love of gambling,
the loose morals, and the lack of culture among the n a
tive Creoles.
He says their ignorance was such that they
did not know how to converse even on the most ordinary

things; hence "they have to gamble, and gamble for high
stakes."?
Baudry des Lozieres, who was in New Orleans shortly
before 1600, was more favorably impressed by the French
people there.
To him the women were "fresh, healthful,
.jolie, ou b e l l e , gay without coquetterie, amiable without

pretensions."
All the faculties of the Louisianians de-
I b i d .. I, p. 216.
Ibid., I, pp. 196-200.
Robin, V o y a g e s , II, p. 119.
32$
veloped early.^
American travelers have left a picture which agrees
in the main with that of the French observers.
Amos
Stoddard about 1$12 found the native Creole French to

be illiterate, hard-working farmers at least "a century
behind other nations in arts and sciences."
They were
vivacious, had a "passion for social intercourse," espe

cially for dancing which they carried to excess.
They
were also too fond of "games of hazard" and made a p r o

fession of gambling.^
Timothy Flint published two works in the l $ 3 0 s
which contained his observations made in Louisiana some
years earlier when the French population predominated
over the American.
He commented on the urbanity and p o
liteness of the "gay, amiable, dancing-loving people," as

the French were everywhere.
were c o m m o n . I n
Immorality and dissipation
dress, houses, furniture, and equipage,
they were gay and gaudy
11
and in their personal manners
they were quarrelsome, profane, and "excessively addicted
Baudry des Lozieres, V o y a g e , p. 15.
Stoddard, L ouisiana, pp. 320-322.
10
Flint, G e o g r a p h y , I, p. 267 .
11
Flint, Recollections, p. 307.
329
to gambling, betting, and horseracing.'*'2
He found that
the license fees of the gambling houses and the houses of

13
ill fame were used to support the charity hospital.
Luxury of the table was carried to great extent and the
"past and future
. . . seasons, with which they seem lit
tle concerned were neglected for present p l e a s u r e . ^

Yet, with all this on every side, a grossly immoral or
grossly ignorant man was not welcomed in good society
simply because he was r i c h . -*-5
The children of the French
were generally as well instructed as those of the Ameri

cans.
All the French maintained close ties with France
and obtained many of their ideas from her.

Apparently a great change had taken place in the
years since Berquin-Duvallon1s visit.
The n e w wealth from
sugar and the example of the Americans partially explain

some of this change but the West Indians probably ac
counted for many of the differences.
Evans, whose Pedestrious Tour has been cited earlier,
was a New Englander whose moral sense was shocked at the
12
I b i d . , P. 337.
13
I b i d . . p. 309.
14
Ibid., p. 336.
15
I b i d . , p. 340.
16
F l i n t , Geography,
330
gambling and dissipation which he found unlimited,--"Here

men may be vicious without incurring the ill opinion of
those around them: for all go one wa y . . .
Davidson, from Rockbridge County in Virginia, had
doubts about "standing up under the fine dinners of N e w
Orleans until I had been acclimated to their rich soups
and their many flavored wines.
He thought the."South
ern Gentleman an improvement upon the Old Virginia

Gentleman."-^
De Tocqueville commented on the difference between
the French in Canada who were a moral, tranquil, and re
ligious people, and those in Louisiana who were restless,
dissolute, and lax in
all things.
He attributed this
difference to slavery
and "1$ degrees of latitude."^9
one follows this line
of reasoning,
one observes
if
that the
refugees before they left Santo Domingo had an addition

al 10 degrees between them and the Canadian French.
Some of the Louisiana writers themselves offer de
scriptions much more favorable to the refugees.
Gayarre,
17 Evans, "Pedestrious Tour," Thwaites, Early W e s t

ern T r a v e l s , VIII, p. 336.
IS
Keller,
"Davidson Diary," p. 360.
19 De Tocqueville to Chabrol, January 16, 1$ 32 , in

G. W. Pierson, "Alexis de Tocqueville in New Orleans, Janu
ary 1-3, 1S32," Franco-American Review, I (January 1936).
p. 39.
331
in his short Creoles of History and Creoles of R o m a n c e ,

cites their proverbial beauty, using N a p o l e o n s Josephine
as an example.
He praises their abilities as represented
by men like Morphy, Audubon, Beluche, the Lafittes and

others.^
Miss Grace King penned a charming portrait of a child
of one of the refugees who became a French teacher and
w hom Miss King knew as an elderly lady.
Mme. Girard was
born in ll4 into a refugee family which had been for

tunate enough to flee Santo Domingo, bringing some of
their furniture and slaves to the United States with them.
Their home was an impressive one,
complete with an at
tractive garden and slave quarters.
Mme. G i r a r d s com
plexion was always plentifully sprinkled with white rice

powder, for "a lady must not get sunburned was the worldly
credo of the beautiful Creoles of the Antilles; which
21
spread through Hew Orleans." x
In many other ways she
lived in the manner of life in the Antilles which was be

ing widely copied by the Beau M o n d e .
This life remained
French even though the business world was becoming Ameri-
20 Charles Gayarre, "The Creoles of History and the

Creoles of Romance," a lecture delivered at Tulane Uni
versity, April 25, 1BB5.
21 Grace King, "An Old French Teacher of N e w Orleans,"
Yale R e v i e w , XI, (January, 1922), p. 3&9.
332
can.
22
Miss King made the point that the' Creoles of
Louisiana were relatively uncultured while the refugees

were possessed of all the "beauties,
charms, education
and customs of generations of culture."23
The refugees
changed the simple tastes and ways of living of the

Creoles who copied their more polished and attractive
fellow countrymen.
George Cable stated that it was the West Indians
who were the leaders in licentiousness, gambling, and
dueling, and that they in turn taught the Creoles, for the
latter were not a strong moral f o r c e . H e r b e r t
Asbury
agreed with this idea and added that the refugees intro
duced the love of luxury and d i s p l a y . ^
In a m a s t e r s thesis,written at Tulane University,
in 1929, Ben Avis Adams studied the question of Creole
assimilation and found that the refugees were a particu
larly refined and aristocratic class, who added much to
the culture of the city.
M any intermarried w ith the
Creoles.
In fact, even before the Americans became
22
I b i d . . p. 390.
23
King, New O r l e a n s , p. 171*
24
Cable,
25
Asbury, French Q u a r t e r , p.121.
Creoles of L o u i s i a n a , p. 21$.
. 26 Adams, "Assimilation." Unpublished M a s t e r s

Thesis, p. 53 Tulane University, 1939 p. 53-
333
masters of Louisiana, a new rising aristocracy of wealth

built on commerce and sugar was creating a state of af
fairs similar to that in Santo Domingo before revolution
disrupted the society there.
There were a few rich peo
ple, mulatto concubines, racial antagonism, and a real

privileged class of particularistic gentry which lasted
for y e a r s . ^
The other localities in the United States where the
Santo Domingans settled showed similar social effects.
Into Charleston they brought an intensification of the
love of gambling.
The town was full of French gambling
houses, according to the impression of Rochefoucauld.

The refugees were an aristocratic influence, bringing an
old-world charm to the city.
With them appeared a more
light-hearted attitude toward life.29

places for the men to meet.
Coffee shops became
This was particularly true
on Sunday night when many influential men gathered in

the French Coffee House. 3
27
Whitaker, Missis s i p p i , pp. 45, 46.
2&
29 William Oliver Stevens, Charleston, Historic City

of Gardens (New York, 1940), p. l6'3.
30 Willis, "Taverns and Coffee Houses," Charleston,
S. C., Evening P o s t , January 27, 192.
Reproduced with permission o f the copyright ow ner. Further rep rod uction prohibited without permission.
334
As Volney pointed out, some did become embittered with

their lot and "lived a life of sterile regrets, political
quarrels, polemiques forcenês
. . . attempting to interest
Americans in their c a u s e . S o m e
were naturally depressed.
of the intellectuals
The better ones dissipated
their melancholy in social and intellectual activities or

developed a sort of philosophical resignation.
Some con
tributed much to their communities, others only bitter

ness. 32
The plainer people among the refugees were friend
ly and hospitable toward strangers and enjoyed social func

tions.^
This type of refugee was more inclined to po
litical activity than were the intellectuals.-^

Everywhere the French generally, and the refugees
particularly,
ing Sunday.
shocked the Americans by their way of spend

The elder Michaux complained that Americans
were so full of scruples that in the cities one dared not

go out to take a walk on that day.35
Another Frenchman
took it into his head to play the flute on Sunday and would
31 Chinard, Volney et L TA m e r i q u e , quoted in Jones,

French Culture, p. 135.
32
Childs, French
R e f u g e e ,p. 74.
33
Weld, T r a v e l s , p. 47.
34
Childs, French
3$
Sherrill, French M e m o r i e s ,p. 267 .
R e f u g e e ,p. 73.
335
have been mobbed had his landlord not protected him and
told the crowd that "this man was not warned Sunday is
observed with great respect."36
Both of these incidents
took place in the northern part o"f the United States.

New Orleans was much more lenient even before the revolu
tion brought the refugees.
Governor Miro in Spanish days
had sponsored rules requiring all to attend mass, to re

frain from opening the stores on Sunday and from street
dancing until after evening church services.
These rules
were not enforced,-^ but after the refugees came,
stores
and shops were open, drivers and laborers worked, and young
people spent long hours dancing on Sunday.3^
People went
hunting, ball rooms and theatres were open, and Sunday was
the day of the week when most people seemed to have the
best time.39
After the Americans came, there was some dis
cussion about curbing such activities, but nothing came of

it.^
Slaves were not required to work on Sunday, except
during certain harvesting seasons,

town for amusement.
and they gathered in
A particularly interesting spot was
36
I b i d . , p. 262.
37
Carter, Lower M i s s i s s i p p i , p. 9S.
36
p. 75.
A l l i o t s Reflections; Robertson, L o u i s i a n a , I,
39
Latrobe, Impressions, pp. 3 5 } 36 .
40
I b i d ., p .
1+6,
336
Congo Square (later Beauregard Square) where the blacks

came to dance and the white Creoles and refugees to
watch.
The music was furnished by an old man "who sat
astride of a cylindrical drum about a foot in diameter

and beat it with incredible quickness with the edge of
his hand and fingers.
There was also a second drum, an
"open-staved thing held between the knees and beaten in

the same manner."
The most curious instrument was
stringed and was "no doubt imported from Africa."
It
was described as made of a calabash and a finger board

and played by a little old man "apparently SO or 90 years
old."^
P a x t o n 1s Dictionary of 1&32 described Congo
Square as the place where "negroes dance, car o u s e , and

debauch on the S a b b a t h , to the great injury to the morals
of the rising g e n e r a t i o n . " ^
At these gatherings nearly
everyone sang and man y of the songs as well as the singers

had come from Santo Domingo.
Theatres and other places of amusement enjoyed their
best business on S u n d a y . ^
The French explained that
their religion did not forbid Sabbath amusements and de

fended their pleasure-seeking on that day by "arguing that
41
I b i d ., pp. 49) 50.
42
Quoted in i b i d ., footnote p. 49.
43
"Journal of Dr. John Sibley, July-October, 1S02,"
p. 4^3
337
religion ought to inspire cheerfulness and that cheerful

ness is associated with religion.^
By 1$30, Sunday was
the best market day, probably because the slaves had a

chance to bring to the city for sale on that day the p r o
duce they had raised on their own plots.
The Virginian
Davidson observed dryly that T,it would seem to me that

the Sabbath in New Orleans exists only in its Almanac.^5
Santo Domingans certainly contributed to the light
hearted gaiety on that day.
More scandalous to Americans and even to some of the
foreign travelers was the love of gambling.
Under Gover
nor O Reilly, and other Spanish administrators, the taverns,

billiard rooms, and coffee houses were licensed and taxed
in the amount of $40 per year.
After 1S00 crime and the
number of "low taverns, gambling halls,
coffee houses,
bagnios . . . and cabarets, which combined groceries, dram

shops, gambling dens, and houses of
prostitution under
one roof showed a big i n c r e a s e . The most famous was

Maison Coquet on Royal Street.
The West Indians patron
ized these places and, as has been shown earlier in this

study, they were the proprietors of many of the coffee
shops and small cafes.
44
Flint, Recollections, p. 307.
45
Kellar, Davidson Diary, p. 362.
46
Asbury, French Quarter, p. 6S.
33&
Lotteries as a type of gambling met public approval.

The College of Orleans was authorized to operate a lot
tery to raise f u n d s .^
In Maryland the St. M a r y s Col
lege of Baltimore used this same device and advertise

ments inserted in out-of-town papers offered mail a r
rangements.^
At least three libraries were supported in
N ew Orleans by lotteries.
License fees from gambling establishments wore used
in New Orleans to support many worthwhile causes.
The
College of Orleans derived income from this source as

well as lotteries.
The charity hospital was operated
from the money which was collected from amusement l i

censes.
In 1S35 there were &01 cabarets and hotels in the
city, each paying $200 a year as a tax.
The fifty-one
billiard tables were taxed $$0 each and the six gambling
houses together paid more than $ 5>000 per
year.^9
The struggle between West Indian and N o r t h American

ideas of public order and morals took on n e w impetus with
the arrival of the thousands of refugees who reached New
47
Noble,
"Schools of N e w Orleans, p. 71.
4& Norfolk, Va., Norfolk Gazette and Public Ledger.

January 1 , I S O S .
."
49 James E. WTinston, Notes on the Economic History
of New Orleans, ISO 3 - 36 , Mississippi Valley Historical
R e v i e w , XI (September, 1924), p. 223.
*
339
Orleans just before 1&10.50
Their support of L a f i t t e s
activities is characteristic of their feeling.
Probably
the refugee John Davis operated the largest gambling es

tablishments.
In conjunction with Bernard de Marigny,
whose master passion was gambling, Davis built up the

town known as Mandeville which was unchallenged in America
for "its sophistication and European air. "51
He had
brought accomplished chefs from Paris to give his res

taurants a deserved reputation for fine food.
A steam
boat made daily trips to bring patrons from New O r l e a n s .^

Charleston, South Carolina, also had its gambling houses
operated by the French and they seemed constantly full to
one keen observer who attributed their success to the gen
eral love of pleasure and amusement which he said was introduced by the foreign influence.
53
Perhaps a better idea of the kind of people the ref u

gees were might be gained by taking several of the indi
vidual families and following them for a few years as fully
as the records permit.
The papers of the French consul at
50
Cable, Creoles of L o u i s i a n a , p. I 67 .
51
Roberts, Lake P o n tchartrain, p. 225.
52
King, C r e o l e , p. 37.
53 Rufus Wilmot Griswold, The Republican Court, or

American Society in the Days of Washington (New ~Edition,
N ew York, 1^6^), p. 333
340
Norfolk contain some information from which can be pieced

out a brief biographical sketch of some of the Santo Do
mingans and refugees from other French islands who lived
in that city.
The four daughters and four sons of Etienne Joseph
Reimoneng had to flee during the revolution in Guade
loupe.
Anne Rose, one of these daughters, had married a
lawyer of the island named Pierre Etienne Blondel.
When
the couple first fled in 1794 > they went to the Isle
Suedoise and in 1796 finally reached Norfolk when Blondel
was thirty-five years old.
He served as guardian of the
minor brothers and sisters of his w i f e . ^
One of these,
Marie-Lucille Joseph, at the age of sixteen married Roch

Brumand of Santo Domingo who was a merchant in Phila
delphia at the time.
The bride owned property estimated
at 6,000 francs (about $ 1 ,140 ) and 200 livres (about .

$330) and the groom had some 3,000 f r a n c s . H e r sister
Marie-Louise Joseph married Raymond Figeroux of Santo Do
mingo, who was a merchant in Petersburg in July, 1301.
At the time the groom was thirty-four years of age and the
54
Consular Records, Reel 4, 19 Fructidor An 9 (Sep
tember 5, 1801); 13 Nivose An 9 (January 9, 1301).
p.
55 Ibid., Reel 4, 13 Nivose An 9 (January 9, 1301),

11$;ibid., Reel 3> 20 Nivose An 9 (January 11, 1301).
341
bride seventeen.
A year later the couple had a son.
56
Pierre Joseph Reimoneng, one of the brothers, and

his wife Jeanne Durocq received a certificate of resi
dence from the French consul in Norfolk in 1801 which
listed his age as twenty-nine and hers as thirty-six.
In this certificate he is described as being 5 feet 3
inches and his wife only 4 feet 10 inches in height.
It
is interesting to note that such records for approximately

twenty of the refugees in Norfolk show that these heights
are about average for the group.
Average height for the
women is under five feet and the tallest man is listed

as 5 feet 8 inches.
The Reimoneng couple arrived in
the United States in 1795 and came to Norfolk in June,

*57
1798.
In November of the next year they obtained birth
certificates for two daughters and a son who obviously had
been born some time previous to that date.
A brother, Louis Joseph Reimoneng who was twentyeight years old in 1801, lived in Philadelphia with the
Brumands while he attended college.
Still another brother,
Pierre Louis Etienne Reimoneng, had left Guadeloupe in.
56 Ibid.. Reel 5 pt. 2, 20 Messidor An 9 (July 8,

1801); ibid., Reel 3, 8 Ventose An 10 (February, 1802).
57
Ibid., Reel 4 , 10 Germinal An 9 (March 30, 1801).
58 Ibid., Reel 3, 2 Frimaire An 10 (November 2 3 ,

1801); ibid.. 14 Frimaire An 10 (December 4, 1801).
342
1794 for St. Barthelemy.

Norfolk.
Two years later he had come to
In 179$ he went to Puerto Rico, and then became
a marine on the French ship La Prudente which was. cap

tured by the British in 1799.
After spending two years
as a prisoner in London, he came to Norfolk in April,
1$02.59
Joseph Barthelmy Magagnos, merchant of Cap Francais,
and his wife, Madelaine Garein, fled to Norfolk.
He
first appears in the records of the Norfolk consulate in

July, 1797, as a merchant who was appointed executor of
the estate of one of the refugees who had died in Balti
more.^
His fourteen-year-old daughter married Joseph
Magagnos (both had the same last name) who was twenty-six
at the time.
Their son, Joseph Andre Julien, was born in

1
August, 1$00.
In 1$15, Captain J. Magagnos, Militia
Commander, who was apparently the son-in-law of Joseph

Barthelmy Magagnos, was given a valedictory dinner at the
Union Inn by the Norfolk Independent Volunteers on the
occasion of his removal to Richmond.
and
He was given a parade
at the dinner "many toasts were drunk and at an early
59 Ibid.. Reel 4, 1$ Messidor An 10 (July 7, 1$02).

60 Ibid., Reel 3, Will of Citoyenne Marie Guyot, 26
Messidor An 5 (July 14, 1797).
61
A
Ibid., Reel 5 pt. 2, 11 Fructidor An $ (August

rv \
343
hour the company retired."62
jn Norfolk the family con
ducted a morocco dressing business in a shop opposite

the Herald office where they sold leather and where skins
of every description were T,dressed agreeable to order.
By 1315, Julien and Francis Magagnos were in charge and
probably the older Joseph was dead.
His widow, Madelaine
Garein, was the proprietor of a dry-goods store on Market

Place which ran many advertisements in the newspapers.^
In lBlS, Mme. Magagnos gave a p w e r of attorney to
one Antoine Furcas in New Orleans to recover the sum of
$ 5 ,323.^5 owed to her by two merchants who were originally
from St. lago de Cuba and who had lived for a time in
Norfolk before moving to New Orleans.^
The next year
she gave liberty to a thirty-eight-year-old Negro slave

named Julie.
This freedom was to become effective at the
death of Mme. Magagnos.
The widow had by now amassed
some property and could be classed as a rentier.
She ad
vertised tenements for rent in her "handsome four story
62
Norfolk, Va., Norfolk Herald, January 17, 1315.
63
Ibid., April 10, 1315.
64 Ibid., January 17, 1315; February 24, 1315, and

many other dates.
65
p. 14.
66
Consular Records, Heel 6 pt. 2, December, 1313,

Ibid., Reel 6 pt. 2, December 31, 1319, p. 27.
344
jn
brick house" in Norfolk and had other property as well.

The newspapers in 1320 carried an advertisement of
a navigation lottery known as "Joseph Magagnos" Prize
with tickets to be sold at his office.
this referred is not clear.
turned from Richmond.
To which Joseph
Perhaps the captain had re
At any rate, the daughter of the
captain in 1325 married Mr. Gsoard, a doctor of medi

cine .^9
Another refugee family which appears a number of
times in the consular records is that of Balthazar Danfossy,
a merchant of Santo Domingo, who fled from Port-au-Prince
to Baltimore in November, 1797, and stayed there until
June of the following year.
He then went to the Island
of St. Thomas where he remained until 1300 when he finally

settled in Norfolk.
He was described then as being about
thirty-six years of age, height 5 feet inches, with

black hair, dark complexion, small mouth in a long face and
front d^couvert.
His occupation is listed as merchant.70
His wife, Catherine Eugenie Moreno, had arrived in Wil

mington, Delaware, where she lived from October, 1793, un
til April, 1795.
She then moved to Alexandria where she
67
Norfolk, Va., Norfolk and Portsmouth Herald. Mav 1.
63
Ibid.. May 1, 1320.
69
Consular Records, Reel 6 pt. 2, June 3, 1325.
1320.
70
p . 140.
Ibid., Reel 4, S Germinal An 9 (March 23, 1301),
345
lived for two years, and then went to Baltimore for a time
before finally coming to Norfolk.
Her certificate of
residence issued in 1301 shows her to be twenty-nine years

of age and a diminutive four-feet-fcen-inches tall.
71
similar certificate for her mother, Marguerite Boye, a

widow, shows that she came with her daughter and lived in
the same towns with her.
and-a-half-feet tall.72
She was fifty-one and only fourshe had owned a plantation in
Santo Domingo and upon arrival in Norfolk she gave a power

of attorney to one Charles Carre who was a merchant still
resident in Cap Francais,73
For some time after 1301 the only entries for this*
family are those in which Balthazar Danfossy signs as a
witness for some of his Santo Domingan friends as they at
tempt to replace the records which were lost in their
hasty flight from the island.
In some of these his signa
ture adds a final ndn to his first name.
In 1319 (this
time without the "d*1) Balthazar gave a power of attorney

to a merchant in Martinique to collect a sum of $150 which
71
Ibid., Reel 4 } Messidor An 9 (July, 1301).
72 Ibid., Reel 4, 4 Fructidor An 9 (August 21, 1301),

p. 172; IS Messidor An 10 (July 6, 1302), p. 235.
73
p. 171.
Ibid., Reel 4, 14 Fructidor An 9 (August 31, 1301),
346
nt
he had lent to Charles Marandhue in 1816.
Two years
later his eighteen-year-old daughter Sophie Eugenie mar

ried Martigny, then French Vice-Consul in Norfolk, and
received a dowry of 15,000 francs.^
She died some three
years later, leaving two small children.
The inventory
of her property at that time showed 2,200 francs in cash,

a library of books in English as well as in French which
was valued at 1,475 francs, and community property with
76
her husband amounting to 33,000 francs.
By 1825 the familys wealth had increased and their
aristocratic pretensions as well, for the name from now
on in the records is spelled D Anfossy. Mother Moreno,
who listed herself as Marguerite Boye, had died in 1823;
Balthazar D Anfossy and his wife were living in France and
her brother Henri Hypolite Moreno was living in Fayette
ville, North Carolina.*^
E. G* L. D Anfossy was conduct
ing in I 83I the mercantile business in Norfolk which had

belonged to his father Balthazar.
Although he is not a typical refugee, the story of
74
Ibid., Reel 6 pt. 2,January 7, 1819, p. 1.
75
Ibid.. Reel 6 pt. 4, February 27,
1821.
76
Ibid.. Reel 6 pt. 4, February 21,
1824 .
77
Ibid., Reel 6 pt. 5, December 12,
1825.
78
Ibid., Reel 6, pt. 3, February 2|, I83 I.
347
Jean Charles Marie Louis Pascault, Marquis de Poleon, does

show what happened to the few who had retained some of
their wealth and who had the proper connections.
His
father, whose marriage had been considered a mesalliance,

had been given a large estate in Santo Domingo which he
managed until his death in 1766.
Jean Charles, who was-
born in Santo Domingo, was forced to flee during the

revolution there.
Two of his children with their nurses
were killed, but the rest of the family reached Baltimore

where he founded one of the largest mercantile houses in
the city.
79
A charming picture of the old aristocrat in
1S23 is given in the Gallatin Diary.
Even though he had
lost much of his fortune, he lived in the oldest house in

Baltimore, a house which was known for its handsome iron
gates from France and for "an air of refinement about the
interior that I have never seen out of France.
He was a
gentleman of the old regime. . . . He received me

with wonderful courtesy, tapped a beautiful gold
snuff-box and offered it to me. The supper quite
simple but served on beautiful silver. Everything
had the air of greatest refinement. I thought my
self in France again.
Henrietta, the eldest daughter, married General
Reubel who was the son of one of the Directors of France.
79 Hartridge, "Santo Domingan Refugees," p. 115;

Gallatin, Peacemaker, pp. 63 , 246 .
$0
Gallatin, Peacemaker, p. 246 .
343
She rather astonished Gallatin by appearing one day in a

bright red wig.
It seemed that she had wigs of every
color to go with her dresses.
This was a Bonaparte
fashion and not certainly adopted by the ladies of the

Restoration. ^
General Reubel had not a penny in the
world, stops in bed nearly all day, would not work, but
lived off M. Pascaults bounty.
Mine. Reubel had lived
in court for much of her life and at one time had been
first-lady-in-waiting to the Queen at the Court of
do
Westphalia in Cassel.
Another Pascault daughter, Eleanor, married at the
age of fifteen Christopher Columbus O Donnell who was the
son of a fabulously rich East Indian merchant.
The young
Gallatin fell in love with the youngest daughter named

Josephine and finally after some difficulties married her.
The two fathers visited each other and approved, but the
Pascaults were Catholic and father Gallatin was adamantly
opposed to having his grandchildren brought up in that
faith.
The Archbishop of Baltimore refused to marry them
if there was a Protestant ceremony.
Finally M. Pascault
became disgusted with the Archbishop and wrote hiin a let

ter saying he would dispense with the services of the
El
Ibid.. p. 2A3.
Ibid.. p..252.
349
Church of Rome and his daughter would be married in a

Protestant church.
He added that a wifes first duty
was to obey her husband.
He was promptly excommunicated
but the young couple was married in the Protestant

church.^
The Pascault family had been admirers of Napoleon.
When Jerome Bonaparte visited Baltimore, he was a guest
of M. Pascault.
When Gallatins son was bora, his first
clothes were those of Napoleon.
The Queen of Westphalia
had given them to Mme. Reubel who in turn had given them
to Gallatins w i f e . ^
From these examples we see something of the experi
ences of various refugees and of the way they lived in
this country.
Their influence on the American way of
life can be traced in certain of their habits which were

\
widely copied.
of clothing.
Certainly one of these was in the matter

American women of the period were addicted
to extravagance.
The Count de Rochambeau at the end of
the Revolutionary War in this country noted that many

wives of well-to-do men were clad to the tip of the French
fashions, of which they are remarkably fond.^5
&3
Ibid.. pp. 249, 250.
84
Ibid.. p. 255.
85
Griswold, Republican Court, p. 3 23 .
The
350
American enthusiasm for France in the early days of her

Revolution intensified this devotion to French fashion.
Many of the refugees were able to capitalize on their
abilities'as seamstresses, as hairdressers, milliners,
and in other occupations in demand because of the trend
in fashion.
In Charleston, French fashions were more
popular than the English.^
French hairdressers were in
great demand t h e re,^ as they were in Maryland.^
In New
Orleans a pronounced change in dress coincided with the

arrival of the refugees.
Berquin-Duvallon around .1300
described the dress of three years earlier as "dowdy and

devoid of fashion.
By the time of his visit New Orleans
women had learned to dress "tastefully" and used the

finest of cloth, rich embroidery, and jewelry.^
This
change was directly attributed to. the West Indians who

set the styles and made the new garments, then washed and
mended them as well.
Of course, not everyone approved.
Timothy Flint found dress and household furnishings "gay,

gaudy . . and rather fine than in the best taste.90
36
37
Fraser, Reminiscences, p. 109.
33
Sherrill, French Memories, p. 61.
39
Quoted in Robertson, Louisiana, I, p. 200.
90
Flint, Recollections, p. 307*
351
Perhaps he had in mind the fabulously beautiful quadroons

from the island, for they knew how to display the latest
in style from Paris and they loved beautiful clothes.
The less well-to-do among the refugees in the Fauburg
Marigny dressed unpretentiously but sported the picturesque tignons, a sort of handkerchief of Madras tied around
the upper part of the head.
91
Originally the white women
had persuaded the Spanish Governor Miro to have the

quadroons wear something to hide their beautiful hair but
the tignon proved so attractive that many of the white
rivals of the quadroons began to wear it.
The French on the island of Santo Domingo before the
Revolution were proverbial for their hospitality.
This
trait, manifested after they reached this country, could

not help enhancing the reputation of the South in this
respect.
The traveler Robin described the French every
where as typically hospitable, and of the Santo Domingans

he added no people anywhere jjwerej more so than the colo
nists of Santo Domingo.^
They received strangers as
happily as friends.
Emannuel Marius Pons Bringier, a refugee in Louisi
ana, furnishes a classic example of hospitality among the
91
Castellanos, New Orleans as it Was, p. 156.
92
Robin, Voyage. II, p. 116.
352
rich planters.
At his Maison Blanche plantation, one of
the greatest in the state if not the greatest, outhouses

were built where beds were spread and meals prepared byslaves always in attendance for any travelers who might
chance to come along.
While the guest rested, his linen
was washed and his clothes cleaned.
All were welcome and.
the rule called for no questioning of the strangers about

their names or business.
They were asked only to dine at
the main house, if they would be kind, before they had a

good nights sleep and went on their way clean and re
freshed.^
Gayarre, while recognizing that many of the Louisiana
French were of aristocratic background, praised them for
their democracy: no slaves were put in livery, no coats
of arms were displayed and, above all, hospitality was
refused to n o n e . other writers pointed out this latter
characteristic.
Timothy Flint reported that he never any
where met a more "frank, dignified, and easy hospitality,"

and that he met it everywhere in Louisiana.
"Suppose,"
he said, "the traveler to be a gentleman, to speak French,

and to have letters to one respectable planter, it be
comes an introduction to the settlement, and he will have
93
King, Creole, p. 414*
94 Gayarre, "Creoles of History and Creoles of

Romance," p. 17*
353
no need for a tavern."95

Among the frugal refugees in the Fauburg Marigny in
New Orleans the same cordial welcome awaited visitors.
The guests were immediately offered a cup of coffee by
the hosts who were "the most obliging people in the
world.96
The English traveler Isaac Weld found the plain peo
ple among the French at Baltimore to be sociable among
themselves and "very friendly and hospitable towards
strangers.97
The Due de Rochefoucauld discovered Charles
ton to be the "most hospitable of all United States

cities.This
city must have been especially noted for
its kindness to travelers, though this could not be at

tributed in any great part to the Santo Domingans who
when they arrived were rather the recipients than the ex
tenders of hospitality.
Yet they could easily fall into
the pattern and carry on the tradition.
Many of them in
all towns were associated with the public as proprietors

of shops and coffee houses, as schoolteachers, and enter
tainers.
Their old-world charm and friendly, hospitable
manners were a real business asset in these occupations.
95
Flint, Recollections, p. 335*
96
Castellanos, Mew Orleans as it Was, p. 156.
97
Weld, Travels, p. 47.
98
Rochefoueauld-Liancourt, Voyage, VI, p. 234*
354
These graceful and courtly manners were taught to

many a young American in school and by example at many
a social function.
Americans in Louisiana were for a
long time considered to be industrious money-makers, more

noted for boorishness than charm.
The refugees had a
tropic languor about them which offered a sharp contrast.

Even their language was different for it was more soft
and liquid in its pronunciations.^
This difference was
even more noticeable in the speech and singing of their

slaves who had brought their own songs with them.
Some
old French expressions and grammatical structure were in

troduced into the Creole dialect by the Santo Domingans.
The whole story of the famous Quadroon Balls and the
queer demi-monde of the celebrated yellow beauties of New
Orleans could be used to show how the West Indians in
fluenced their new homeland.
let this feature of New Or
leans has been so often told as to need no repeating here.

The balls began before the coming of the refugees, but it
was the arrival of so many hundreds of quadroons and
octoroons with West Indian, background which brought this
feature of social life to its heyday.
In 1788 only 1,700
quadroons lived in all Louisiana, or if not quadroons at
99
100 Alcee Fortier, Louisiana Studies. Literature,

Customs and Dialects (New. Orleans, 1894}, p. 136.
355
least free persons of color.
By 1310 at least 3,000 more
had come from the French colonies.
An early guide book
of New Orleans warned of the "yellow sirens from Santo

Domingo, speaking a soft bastard French, and looking so
languishingly out of the corners of their big, black,
melting eyes that it was no wonder they led both young and
old astray and caused their proud white sisters many a
jealous heartache.^ ^
The refugees, both white and free persons of color,
entered eagerly into this phase of the social life as did
the fascinated American newcomers.
Many attended the balls,
chose their mistresses, and set up one of the little houses

on Rampart Street as a second home.
This introduced a new
moral concept into the social structure of the city which

drove, the white women frantic.
One writer in the New Or
leans Gazette, under the signature "Mother of a Family,

called them "Heavens last, worst gift to white men."102
These Bals du Cordon Bleu, better known as the Quadroon
Balls, where the meetings took place between the white men
and the octoroon women, were held until about 1310 in the
Conde Street Ballroom, and for the next two decades at the
101
Quoted in Roberts, Lake Pontchartrain. p. 110.
102 Quoted in Niles Weekly Register, vol. XXIX, No

vember 5> 1325, p. 160.
356
St. Philip Theatre.
In 1&32 that theatre was transformed
into the Washington Ballroom which catered almost entire

ly to the demi-monde.
John Davis and other Santo Domin
gans assisted in the furnishing of the place and in mak

ing other arrangements.
These balls were still going on
when Frederick Olmstead made his journey to the South in

the 1^50s.
He was struck, as was everyone else, by the
beauty of the oxuadroons and their Parisienne elegance in

dress and grooming.
The fact is that many of them had
been educated in that pleasure capital of the wo rid.

He described the bals masques and the arrangements made at
them between the white men and their mistresses.
Needless
to say, he disapproved of this whole feature of society.

By this time the popularity of these balls was declining
as the city became more Americanized and gave up some of
its exotic ways, yet the balls did continue in a smaller
way even after the Confederate W a r . " ^
Everywhere the refugees went they showed a love of
dancing.
Many of them became dancing masters and taught
young Americans the intricacies of the art, and in addi-
103 Frederick Lav; Olmstead, A Journey in the Seaboard

Slave States (New York, I S 56 ), pp. 594, 595.
104
I b i d .. p. 243 ff.
105
Asbury, French Quarter, pp. I33 , 134 .
357
tion provided the "Long Rooms1 for holding balls.
At
least eight different French dancing masters advertised

in Charleston papers in the years 1795 and 1796.
were in Baltimore at the same time.
Two
The theatres and pub
lic amusement gardens such as the Wigwam or Lindsays in

Norfolk, or the Vauxhall in Charleston or the various en
terprises of John Davis in New Orleans catered to the
public taste for dancing.
Amusements of other types were offered by the refu
gees.
They gave concerts, taught music, opened music
stores, and used their musical talents to provide whole or

chestras or to take leading parts in already established
American musical groups.
They brought in exhibits, fire
works displays, and vaudeville acts and provided many kinds

1
of food and drink as well. They organized social clubs
and used their gardens for games such as quoits and nine
pins or as cocking m a i n s . E v e n baths, either hot or
cold, were offered under the heading of amusements.
When one reads their records and their advertisements
in the newspapers, together with the accounts of travelers,
there emerges a picture of the refugees as a distinct and
106 Norfolk, Va., Norfolk Herald, April A, 1601;

Norfolk Gazette and Public Ledger, August 31, 1806.
107 Norfolk, Va., Norfolk Herald. May 15, 1815;
Norfolk Gazette and Public Ledger, April 7, 1809.
353
interesting element in the Southern cities and towns.
Small
in stature, exotic by American standards, aristocratic and

well-educated, trained in social graces and the fine arts,
with both sexes paying extreme attention to dress and de
portment, they added an old-world charm and a Latin flavor
to the predominantly Anglo-Saxon Southern white population.
It must be granted also that they were regarded by many
Americans as immoral, impractical, too obsessed with unim
portant things, and too addicted to the pursuit of pleasure,
let their charms led many Americans to marry them; to copy
their styles; to patronize their schools, shops and amuse
ment places; and to do business with them.
A number of amusing and awkward situations involved
the refugees because of their unfamiliarity with American
social customs which differed radically from their own.
In New Orleans in 1304 the American and French ladies had a
difficult time meeting socially.
French women of the city
did not visit strangers first and the Americans did not
want to call on those who had been in residence longer.
10 $
Moreau de St. Mery commented on the American custom of

ignoring persons who had the misfortune to fall down' on the
icy sidewa3.ks.
The more courtly Frenchmen would rush to
lend assistance and were amazed when the embarrassed vic-
10$
359
tims did not even express thanks.

differences in table manners.
copious quantities of tea.
109
He also pointed out
Americans of that day drank
The hostess came round con
stantly to pour more of the beverage into the cups of her

guests as long as the cup had not been turned upside down
with the spoon placed upon it as a signal that the guest
had had enough.
The poor Frenchmen, ignorant of this
peculiar custom, 1Thave been so inundated by tea that they

have suffered intensely.110
Frenchmen did not always ap
preciate the American love for a practical joke.
At the
Beaufort Hunt Club in South Carolina one of these for

eigners, almost certainly a Frenchman, who was very timid
about insurrections was invited to
one of the meetings. It was the period when the hor
rors of Santo Domingo were in every mouth. An alarm
was given and everyone pretended to be frightened.
The stranger took to the woods; guns were fired and
yells and other noises kept up during the night. The
next morning the victim was found in a tree half-dead
with fear and shivering with cold. He was consoled
by being told that the attempt had failed and that
they had escaped the threatened danger.HI
The refugees brought a renaissance of dueling.
Some
of them became fencing masters and their salles d^scrime
109
110
Ibid., p. 266.
111 Samuel Stoney, editor, Autobiography of William

John Grayson, South Carolina Historical and Genealogical
Magazine, XLIX (January, 1948), p. 27.
360
were places of fashionable instruction for young men.
112
In Charleston and in Norfolk, as well as New Orleans, they

opened schools where young Americans, and older ones also,
could learn the fine points of fencing and the use of all
types of swords.
In New Orleans there had been dueling during the
Spanish regime with many of the encounters taking place at
night on the smooth pavement under the large light in front
of the Opera.
In the heyday of the renaissance of the an
cient art these encounters usually were scheduled for dawn

at the famous Oaks.^^
fatalities were few.
Fisticuffs were unheard of and

Not until the coming of the Americans
was the idea introduced that the purpose of the duel was to
kill ones o p p o n e n t A m e r i c a n s preferred to use fire
arms as their weapons, probably because most of them lost
to the more expert French and Spanish swordsmen.
It was a
temptation for the Creoles, who were skilled fencers, to

pick quarrels with the Americans in the days of rivalry just
after 1$00.
They forced Americans to issue the challenge
and hence had the choice of weapons.
Americans introduced
many bizarre and deadly weapons and conditions but the elite
112
King, New Orleans, p. 290.
H3
Iid-> PP- 293, 294.
114
Asbury, French Quarter, p. 143*
361
of all races preferred the rapier.^-5

The quadroon balls and the gambling houses such as
those of John Davis were prolific sources of disputes
which were settled in this gentlemanly way.
Bien Aime de
Lauzon of the well-known refugee family met his death in a

dispute arising out of a very minor incident concerning the
moving of a chair at a ball at the Salle
d fO
few of the fencing masters earned reputations as killers.

Pepe Llulla became quite a bully and forced a few Cuban ref
ugees into unequal contests and killed them.
Ironically,
or perhaps logically, he became a cemetery manager after re

tiring from his teaching.1^
The Oaks, the best known dueling ground in America in
IS3 0 , was part of the Allard plantation west of Bayou St.
John.
Today this area is part of the city park.
age of twelve duels a week was
An aver
fought here in the days
when the mania was at its height.
With the threat of a
duel always present for the young man about town, most of
the younger men kept in practice and studied under one of
the many fencing masters.
South Carolina, particularly Charleston, was a hot-bed
115
Roberts, Lake Pontchartrain,pp. 169, 170.
116
King, Creole, pp. 409, 410.
117
Roberts, Lake Pontchartrain,p. 1&3.
362
of dueling even before the refugees came.
A keen sensi
bility manifested itself there on points of personal honor

which "gave rise to frequent duels; more jjsuch
took place in South Carolina than in all the nine states
north of Maryland.H &
Yet the prevailing opinion was that
this was the major cause of the prevading propriety and

courtesy in society.
Santo Domingans participated as prin-
cipals and as seconds in duels.
119
7
Mention has already
been made of the duel between Placide and a member of his

troupe of actors.
Miss Pierre, the daughter of a refugee,
became engaged to Captain Izard of the United States Army

who later became a Major General during the War of 1812.
When the Captain kept postponing the wedding, the brother of
Miss Pierre became incensed and went to Philadelphia where
he forced a duel.
Captain Izard was seriously wounded after
which "he was relieved of all further engagement of marriage

in that quarter."120
iphe Pierre family subsequently moved
to New Orleans, the Major Pierre who served under Jackson in

the battle there being he who had fought the duel in Phila
delphia. 121
118
Griswold, Republican Court, p. 332.
119
Manigault Papers, Remousin family.
120
Manigault Papers, St. Martin Family.
121
Ibid., St. Martin Family.
363
Freemasonry flourished in Santo Domingo, and everywhere

the refugees settled in a large enough group lodges of the
organization appeared.
The refugees were Catholics, yet they
were Masons also.
Two explanations can be given for this
apparent paradox.
Lavasseur, who served as Lafayette*s sec
retary on the tour of the United States in the lS20*s, said

that he was told by a Frenchman that there was a connection
between Masonry in the West Indies and in America.
It
seemed that mariners in those waters were in constant danger

of falling into the hands of pirates who, while they might
rob and hang all without distinction of religion, have a
particular respect for Free masons, whom they almost always
treat like brothers.
His informant claimed that there were
na great number in Richmond who owed their lives and property

to a "masonic sign timely made under the scimeter of robbers
of the sea."^^
The other explanation is that the refugees
were not very devout Catholics.
In the years following the
French Revolution, New Orleans went through a period of moral

collapse.
In 1799 a Masonic Lodge existed which included in
its membership officers of the garrison, merchants, govern

ment officials, and countrymen.123
as early as 1794.
lodge had existed there
The refugees strengthened the Masonic
122
Levasseur, Lafayette in America. I, p. 210.
123
Whitaker, Mississippi, pp. 161, 162.
364
movement and made it a focal point for political agita

tion.^^
M. Pierre Francois Du Bourg, brother of the Bishop,
made a fortune as a merchant in New Orleans.
He was a ma
jor in the Louisiana militia and Collector of the Port of

New Orleans.
Though he was a good Catholic, he seemed to
think it nothing peculiar when he was elected Worshipful

Grand Master of Perfect Union Lodge which was the oldest in
Louisiana.
In 1312 he formed a grand lodge combining all
the others and this lodge he served for the next three years
as Grand Master.
In Virginia the Grand Orient Lodge in 1799 had chiefly
Santo Domingan refugees as its
members.
126
-jo Baltimore
the refugees from Cap Franâis brought their own lodge, the
Chartered Chapter of Rite Rose Croix de Heredom under the
title La Verite.
All of its records, jewels and its full
treasury were saved from the Negroes.
The lodge house was
established at the head of Calvert Street Wharf.
The refu
gees applied to the Grand Lodge of Maryland for a dispensa

tion to open a lodge.
1794
Such a dispensation was granted in
Permission was given to work according to the Ancient
York Rite and their distinctive title was to be Veritas
124
125
King, Creole,p. 399.
126
365
Sancti Johannes.
Edme Ducatel, the prominent refugee, served
as master of the lodge.
In 179& the lodge returned its char
ter to the Grand Lodge because of political tensions, but a

number of years later former members of the lodge organized
Les Freres Reunis Number 68.
In 1322 this lodge resolved
to change to English and took the name King Davids Number
68.127
The lodge of the refugees in Charleston was Loge
Francaise La Candeur Number 12, instituted August 24, 1796,
by the Grand Lodge of South Carolina.
The founder was Jean
Baptiste Marie de la Hogue who was a Santo Domingan refugee

and the father-in-law of Auguste De Grasse.
The members were
all French; nearly all were Roman Catholics also.
By a
special understanding at the time of organization the lodge

was permitted to work in the French rite.128
The influence
of the church proved so strong that the lodge was dissolved

in 1352 and its charter was surrendered.
A few of its mem
bers then joined the Washington Lodge Number 5 . ^ 9

Another French Lodge, Loge Reunion Francaise Number 45,
127 Schultz, History of Freemasonry in Maryland. I,

pp. 201, 202, quoted in Hartridge, "Santo Domingan Refugees,"
p. 120.
123 Albert G. Mackey, The History of Freemasonry in
South Carolina (Columbia, S. C., 1861, Reprint, Charleston,
1836), Appendix, p. 551.
129
Ibid.. p. 551.
366
was in operation in Charleston just after 1800.
It perr
sisted for several years but it is not known definitely

that it had a membership which included refugees from
Santo Domingo.^
The Vieux Carre in New Orleans has been called a
French city, but in architecture it is a product of
Spanish colonial days.
In 1788 and again in 1794 huge
fires reduced most of the city to a heap of ashes.

rebuilding then was under the Spanish regime.
The
But the
"unmistakable Hispanic character is strongly tinged with

and tempered by the refinement and delicacy of detail
loved by the
French,
The celebrated wrought iron
railings and balconies are often Spanish in motif but were

made by French forgerons, skilled slaves brought from
Santo Domingo.^ 2
Lafittes blacksmith shop employed
such laborers who did some of this work.
In some in
stances the railings were imported from Paris.

the Cabildo are French in design.^33
Those on
The younger Latrobe,
130 Douglas C. McMurtrie, "Some Nineteenth Century

South Carolina Imprints 1801-1820," South Carolina His
torical and Genealogical Magazine,-XLIV (1943), pp. 9$,
99, 104.
131 Ernest Peixotto, "The Charm of New Orleans,"
Scribners Magazine, vol. 59 (April, 1916), p. 461 .
132
Jones, French Culture, p. 331
133
Ibid., p. 332.
367
who was sent by Albert Gallatin to New Orleans in 1$04

to build a lighthouse at the mouth of the Mississippi
River, has left some interesting architectural descrip
tions of the buildings of the city.
The popular archi
tects of the day were Latour and Laclotte, both of whom

were from Paris.
Latrobe designed the building for
Daviss ball room but he died before he was able to com

plete many structures.
He described most of the homes
as being French and infinitely superior for* that climate

to the detestable lop sided London house being intro
duced into Louisiana by the Americans.
The old French
style of one or two stories with a piazza all around was

the universally used plantation home.
No doubt West In
dian architecture influenced building in Louisiana but

that influence had come long before the arrival of the
refugees.
The traveler Evans in 1&1S, describing the
houses around Point Coupee, felt that one almost supposes

himself in the West Indies.134In Charleston probably the West Indian architectural
influence antedated the influx of the refugees, though one
scholar attributes the buildings characteristic of old
Charleston to the mingled Spanish and French style brought
134 Evans, Pedestrious Tour, Thwaites, Early West

ern Travels, VIII, p. 32 S.
36a
in by the Creoles from the West Indies.
Their houses
with their shoulders to the street and a double gallery

along the sides follow a design developed in the hot
climate of the islands and brought to the mainland by
someone who knew its advantages in the temperature to be
found in the South Carolina lowlands.
13 5
This definitely
Santo Domingan model provided for a garden and for large,

airy bedrooms on the third
f l o o r .
-^6
At least one architect came to Charleston from Santo

Domingo and some of the other architects in the city had
connections with that island.
Auguste de Grasse, son of
the famous admiral, arrived in August, 1793, and in the

next few years taught in his school the people of Charles
ton who were interested in designing buildings or in
landscape gardening.
Unfortunately no Charleston build
ing which he had a hand in constructing is known to exist

today. -1-37
At Savannah are a few fine, elaborately grilled
wrought iron balconies which recall the Royalist Santo
Domingan refugees who added these West Indian French
135 Jones, French Culture, p. 331; Thomas J. Wertenbaker. The Old South The founding of American Civiliza
tion (New York, 1942), p. 277.
' .
136 Harriette Kershaw Leiding, Historic Houses of
South Carolina (Philadelphia, 1921), pp. 3, 4
137
Ravenel, Architects, pp. 92, 93*
369
touches to the native American homes.
Yet the architec
ture of this country was not very greatly influenced by

the coming of this group of refugees at the turn of the
century.
They did little to originate new forms.
They
did continue and strengthen the earlier tendency in

Charleston and New Orleans to use the combined French and
Spanish style which had developed in the warmer climate
of the Antilles.
The wealthy, Paris-connected and edu
cated refugees used French models for their furnishings

and appointments which were probably widely copied dur
ing the period when people of this country showed their
greatest interest in French manners and fashions.
Probably here in the area of social customs, fashions,
manners, amusements and the like are to be found the most
lasting impressions made by the Santo Domingans on the
developing Southern culture.
People of this country
learned from them, consciously and purposely in their

schools, coffee houses or theatres, or unconsciously in
copying the way of life of these fascinating worldly new
comers.
It is difficult to say just how much they learned
from the refugees, but certainly it was not inconsiderable

in the port cities where large numbers of the refugees
sought haven.
370
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
THE NUMBER OF THE REFUGEES
Between 1791 and 1S09 there came into the Southern

States some 15,000 to 20,000 persons fleeing from the
revolutions and their aftermath in Santo Domingo and
the other French islands of the West Indies.
Some came
direct, while others made their escape first from Santo

Domingo to Martinique, Jamaica or Cuba, only to be
forced to flee a second time before they found a perma
nent home on the North American continent.
This number
is only a careful estimate and includes whites, Negroes,

and the persons of mixed blood covered by the blanket
designation free person of color.
Records are incomplete;
many came of whom no one kept a record as, for example,

the group which made up the Baratarians or the slaves
these pirates smuggled in.
Some of the refugees never
did settle here, but rather used the United States as a

refuge while awaiting opportunity to go to France or to
return to their former residence.
Some of those who
guessed wrongly about the revolutions in the islands and

returned had to flee a second time as some new violence
broke out.
The figures given here are arrived at in the
following manner.
The population of Santo Domingo in 17^9 numbered nearly
371
40,000 whites, 27,000 free persons of color, and 452,000

slaves of whom ten per cent were mulattoes.
These fig
ures are taken from men like Moreau de St. M^ry and BarbeMarbois who thought the original census figures were in
accurate."^
The white men outnumbered the white women in
the ratio of two and one-half to one and the number of

children was relatively small among the whites.
This
was the resident population in 17&9 on the eve of the

revolution.
Several thousand soldiers, navy men, and
merchant seamen were on the island but they were not

counted in the census figures given above.
During the
next twelve years many thousands more of these fighting

men arrived with the armies of LeClerc, Rochambeau and
the others who tried to reconquer the rebellious blacks.
Some estimation of this group can be made.
Early in 1792
some 7,000 troops were sent to restore order.
When the
second trio of Civil Commissioners headed by Sonthonax ar

rived in September, 1792, they brought with them 6,000
soldiers.3
General Rochambeau brought a naval squadron
1 Stoddard, French Revolution, p. viii; Korngold,

Toussaint, p. 15.

Advertiser. January 31, 1792; March 23, 1792; Edwards,
West Indies, III, p. li2.
3
372
and 2,000 soldiers in November of the same year.^-
Gen
eral LeClerc brought 20,000 soldiers and subsequently

received 6,500 more as reinforcements.5
As a result of
disease and enemy action this army suffered deaths which

are reported as high as 2 7 >000 , with the dread yellow
fever accounting for most of the casualties.
General
Galbaud, the governor of the French colony in 1793> in

the convoy which he brought to Norfolk evacuated many
of the soldiers who were in the island at that time.
When the whites finally gave up and left Santo Domingo
in 1S03, Rochambeau took the survivors of the military
with him to Cuba.
Probably the majority of Galbaud^ and
Rochambeau*s armies eventually made their way back to

France.
No doubt some of them settled in the United
States.
The letters of Governor Claiborne in New Orleans
indicate that some came to that city and were housed by

him in military barracks until they could be made physical
ly ready for repatriation.
Gen&t, in 1793, sent the war
ships and soldiers who had come with the convoy back to
France.
If any elected to stay in the United States, they
were probably officers whose Royalist ideas made it dan

gerous for them to return to France.
At the latter part
Ibid.. p. 340.
373
of the period under consideration, some may have been in

opposition to the Napoleonic regime and remained in this
country for that reason.
In addition to those who may be accounted for in
these figures as living permanently on Santo Domingo or
temporarily on the island as members of the military
forces there, others from Guadaloupe and Martinique were
forced to flee their homes.
fk
At least 5,000 and perhaps
even more refugees fled from Santo Domingo to Cuba before

1804 . 7
General Becker, a member of Hedouvilles staff, in
a report in the autumn of 1798 estimated that the number
of whites in the island had diminished by over twothirds, the mulattoes by one-fourth, the Negroes by onethird and that conditions "were now much w o r s e . B r i a n
Edwards, the Englishman who was on the island for some of
these years and who has written a history of the British
in the West Indies, gives a figure of nine-tenths of the
whites either having emigrated or been slain in the first
6 Richmond, Ya., Virginia Gazette and General Ad

vertiser, July 10, 1793; Norfolk, Va., Norfolk Herald.
August 18, 1801.
7 Johnson, Cuba, II, p. 279; Barbe-Marbois, Louisi
ana, p. 98, gives a figure of around 7,000 to the United
States, Louisiana and Cuba.
374
years of the revolution.^
After this Dessalines in 1305
completed the job of killing or expelling the remaining

white population.
To the resident 40,000 whites we can add a few
more.
These may have been refugees who returned after
once having made good their escape.
LeClerc brought
some merchants and planters with him from France . 10

Toussaint and Dessalines had persuaded a nconsiderable
number of whites to return during lulls in the fight
ing . 11
It is impossible to determine how many persons were
killed.
Edwards gives a figure of 2,000 whites killed
in the two months following the first uprising in 1791 .1^

In 1793 when Le Cap was destroyed by fighting and fire,
newspaper accounts estimated that some 3,000 to 5,000
perished.1^
With fires, drownings, and torturing by un
controlled Negroes in a town swollen by refugees, it is

impossible to determine how many perished.
The same thing
Edwards, West Indies. Ill, p. 153*
10
11
Ibid., p. 349.
12
Edwards, West Indies, III, p. 33.
13 Richmond, Va., Virginia Gazette and General Ad

vertiser. July 17, 1793; Baltimore, Md., Maryland Journal
and Baltimore Advertiser, August 2, 1793*
375
is true of the later fighting at Le Cap and elsewhere in

the island.
Some far-sighted planters had left in 1 7 9 1 ^ and
from that year until 1310 others came annually to the
United States.
No accurate record is available in this
country on their numbers.
In 1793 at least 10,000 left
Le Cap with the convoy; most of these came to the United

States, landing originally at Norfolk, and then going on
to Baltimore, Philadelphia, and New York.
of 10,000 is cited by many
w r i t e r s . * 1^
The figure
Not less than
10,000 #io had earlier fled to Cuba came in the period

1S08-1310.
The overall estimates given by contemporary and
later writers run between 10,000 and 25,000 for those
coming to all parts of the United States from the West
1
Indies during the years between 1791 and 1310.
The
14
Edwards, West Indies, III, p. 147.
15 Ibid.. Ill, p. 143; Treudley, "United States

and Santo Domingo," p. 113.
16 Perez, "French Refugees," p. 295; James Mather
to Claiborne, July IS, 1309; Rowland, Letterbooks of
Claiborne. IV, p. 409; Johnson, Cuba. II, p. 307. Also
ship arrival notices in Charleston, S. C., City Gazette
and Daily Advertiser. August 15, 1809; Charleston, S.C.,
Courier. April,24, 1309; Charleston, S. C., Courier. May
3 , l30$; Norfolk, Va., Norfolk Gazette and Publick Ledger.
May 17, 1309, June 14, 1309, June 19, 1809, July 1 7 , 1809;
Baltimore, Md., Federal Gazette and Baltimore Daily Ad
vertiser. May 9, 1309, May 12,1809, May 1 3 ,1809 , May 15,
1309, May 16, 1309, May 17, 1309, May 22, 1309, May 30,
1309.
376
documents of the French Foreign office refer to a con

spiracy of 10,000 French who were refugees in March,
17 9 4 . ^
Moreau de St. Mery states that the misfortunes
in the colonies brought an estimated 25,000 to the

l$
United States.
Moreau left the United States in 1796
and probably his figure is for that date.
Baldensparger
gives 25,000 as the number coming to this country from

19
both France and the Antilles. 7
Volney states that be
tween 1769 and 1795 from 10,000 to 25,000 came to the

United States.2^
Childs estimates that 10,000 arrived
in the convoy of 1793 and from 1793 to 1796 "thousands up

on thousands" of Frenchmen crowded into American seaboard
towns.
21
She says that at least 10,000 came but discounts
the figure of 25,000 as being too high . 22
Greer in his
17 Affaires Etrangeres, Paris, Memoires et Docu

ments. Amerique, vol. 20, part III, 14 Ventose An 2
("March 4, 1794) .
18
Roberts, Moreau de St. Mery, p. 265 .
19 Fernand Baldensparger, Le Mouvement Des Idees

dans Immigration Franqaise 1769-1815 (Paris, 1924). I.
p. 105.
^
20 Gilbert Chinard, Volney et L*Amerique, Johns
Hopkins Studies in Romance Literatures and Languages,
vol. I, (Baltimore, 1923), p. 28 .
21
Childs, French Refugee, pp. 10, 15.
22
Ibid., p. 66 .
377
Emigration estimates the number as Mwell over 1 0 ,000 .^

Howard Mumford Jones gives an estimate of between
10,000 and 20,000 but his figure does not include those
who came from Cuba in 1309.*^
The same is true of some
of the others who attempt to calculate the number of

the refugees who came to the United States.
The writer believes that the 25,000 figure is not
too large for those coming originally from the three is
lands of Santo Domingo, Martinique, and Guadaloupe for
the years 1791 to 1$10.
By far the greater number came
from Santo Domingo and in the eyes of the people of the

United States all Santo Domingan refugees were lumped to
gether as Frenchmen or French colonials.
Just how many
subsequently returned to France is difficult to deter

mine.
Probably most of the soldiers and sailors did so.
But the Royalist elements who might be suspect (and the

correspondence of the French ministers indicates that many
of the refugees were of this group) would not rush back
before the Napoleonic period ended.
Some certainly did
go back to the islands and some did go to France.
But of
the colonists from the islands, the majority remained in
23 Donald Greer, The Incidence of the Emigration

During the French Revolution, (Cambridge, 'Mass.. 1951T.
p. 92.
24
373
the United States and most of these stayed in or near

the seacoast cities.
They moved around from one tc-jn to
another in search of relatives or a happier location.

Most of the emigres from France stayed in the Central
or Northern states; the refugees from the islands set25
tied in the Central and Southern parts of the country. '
Doubtless the climate, the closer geographical location
to the French islands, the kind reception they met with
and their own lack of funds with which to move about
motivated them to remain generally near where they landed.
They constituted therefore a significant percentage of
the population in Baltimore, Norfolk, Charleston, and
particularly New Orleans.
Something of the distribution of these refugees
early in 1794 can be determined from the correspondence
in connection with the aid to those in need furnished by
the government of the United States.
At that time
Delaware had more than 200 who had arrived in November,

1793*
In the same year fifty-three ships arrived in
Baltimore, at one time bringing 1,000 whites and 500 peo

ple of color.
25
Others arrived later, making at least
Ibid.. p. 134.
26 State Department, Miscellaneous Letters 1794.

Februarv-March. #41, P* 110.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited w ithout permission.
379
3,000 in the city.
27
three shiploads came.

230.
In 1309 within a few weeks at least

Two of these carried a total of
For the third ship there is only the notice that
it brought "passengers from Cuba.

T.o Virginia came the convoy of 1793 composed of 137
square-rigged vessels under guard of eight warships.
23
The English traveler Weld reported that there were 2,000

to 3,000 French colonials in Norfolk at one time, some
of whom later dispersed to other points.2^
We know from
the newspapers and consiilar records that many of the refu

gees stayed in Norfolk and other nearby towns.
In 1309
Norfolk was the port .of entry for at least 376 others who
were fleeing when the French colonials had to depart from
Cuba, and in the same year Portsmouth, Hampton, York and
Richmond had smaller French colonies.
North Carolina had several families of refugees at
New Bern.
After a few years some of these joined the
French group in Norfolk,^
27
Annals of Congress. 3 Cong., 1 sess., pp. 169,
17 0 .
23 Norfolk, V a . , Virginia Chronicle and Norfolk
General Advertiser. July 13, 1793 *
29
Weld, Travels, p. 132 .
30 See Certificates of Residence issued to Oliver

Le Deuff, Francis Marmot and Charles Reverihon in Consular
Records, Reel 4 , 16 Vendemiare An 10 (October 3, l36lj.
3#0
Charleston had sections in which whole streets were

occupied by French, many of whom had fled from Santo
Domingo.^
A traveler who left a record of his observa
tions on these people in 1S20 found that this was still

true at that time.32
Dr. Ramsay gives the total of the
refugees who came in the 1790 s as several hundreds.33

In 1794 three hundred to four hundred needed some finan
cial support from charitable friends or some governmental
agency.34
jn ^ g next few years other refugees came
from Santo Domingo or Cuba to Charleston, with at least

270 coming in six ships from Cuba in the summer of 1609.
Georgia received refugees in 1791, 1792, and 1793.^
In the next year only 100 of these still remained out of
more than 150 who had come earlier.^
In 1$09 one ship
landed bringing 141 refugees from Cuba.

So far as the writer could learn, the only other
31
Thomas, Reminis&ences, p. 31.
32 Moffatt and Carriere, editors, "A Frenchman

Visits Charleston, p. 143*
33
Ramsay, History of South Carolina, I, p. 12.
34 State Department, Miscellaneous Letters 1794.

Februarv-March. #173, p. 3 6 .
35
Jones, French Culture, p. 146 .
36 State Department, Miscellaneous Letters.1794,

Februarv-March. #176, p. 39.
331
place in the South to which an appreciable number of

refugees came was Louisiana.
Beginning in 1791 and
continuing until 1310, thousands must have come to the

area of the lower Mississippi.
Governor Claiborne's
figures, which cover arrivals from about June to August,

1309 only, show 6,060 to have arrived.
Many came in the
years before 1309 and a few came after these figures

were compiled.
Lafitte smuggled in many blacks; many a
free person of color came without making a record be

cause of laws against persons of that class.
The Span
iards kept very few records and some of these were de

stroyed in fires such as the great one of 1794.
Well
over 10,000 French refugees must have come to the Lou

isiana area alone.
Hence in round numbers and as minimum estimates,
Louisiana received 10,000, Virginia and Maryland some
3,000 each, South Carolina around 1,000, Delaware and
Georgia from 200 to 300 each, and North Carolina perhaps
100.
This gives a total of some 17,000 or 13,000 for the
entire South.
Perhaps 3,000 were free persons of color.
Of those who landed in the North some certainly moved at

a later date into the South.
From these must of course
be subtracted those who went back to the islands, went to

France, or the few who moved to the other parts of the
United States.
The remainder is not a large number, but
332
because the refugees remained in the cities, th ejr were

an appreciable population percentage for some time.
For
example, the population of Baltimore in 1790 was 13,503

of whom 1,255 were slaves.37
Thus the convoy in 1793
added a French population at one time of better than

twelve per cent.
Norfolk at the time the convoy arrived
there had only 500 houses and some 4,000 inhabitants.3^

Portsmouth had 300 houses and 1,700 people.
The addition
of 2,000 to 3,000 Frenchmen, therefore, was certainly felt

in Virginia.
Charleston in 1790 had 16,359 people of
whom 7,634 were slaves and 536 were free persons of

color.
39
At least 500 Frenchmen came within the next
three years.
An official census of New Orleans in 1733
shows 5,333 persons of whom only 170 spoke English.^
In
1303 the population reached 3,056 of whom 3,943 were white,

1,335 free persons of color, and 2,773 slaves.^
Between
1306 and 1310 the population almost doubled due to the
37
Owens, Baltimore, pp. 133, 149.
33
Roberts, Moreau de St. Merv. pp. 47, 51.
39
Charleston, S. C., Charleston Yearbook 1333, P.
40
Kendall, New Orleans, I, p. 59.
393.
41 Daniel Clark to Madison August 17, 1307, in

State Department, Consular Letters, New Orleans, in
Whitaker, Mississippi, footnote, p. 277.
363
arrival of the Santo Domingans fleeing Cuba.
42
The num
ber of free Negroes doubled and only one-eighth of the

populace were Americans.
In the cities where they congregated, the refugees
lived together so that there were whole streets and sec
tions where the French dwelt and worked and played to
gether.
They intermarried and tended to preserve for a
generation at least their separate identity.
One of the
difficulties in getting accurate figures on the numbers

of the refugees living in any one place is the fact that
they moved about.
At New Bern, North Carolina, for ex
ample, a small colony of refugees lived who arrived from

Guadaloupe in 1793 and 1794*
Three families left on the
same day, July 19, 1799, and moved to Norfolk.^
Jean
Baptiste Bailliard left Edenton, North Carolina, for

Norfolk about the same t i m e . ^
Some refugees also left
Baltimore and went to Norfolk during the 1790Ts . ^
42
Kendall, New Orleans, I, p. 6 5 .
43 See Certificates of Residence issued to Oliver

Le Deuff, Francis Marmot and Charles Reverihon in Consular
Records. Reel 4, 16 Vendemiare An 10 (October 6, l60l).
44
Ibid., Reel 4, 5 Germinal An 9 (March 25, 1601).
4-5 Ibid.. Reel 5, 15 Thermidor An 6 (August 2,

1796) Certificate of Residence for Jean George; ibid.,
Reel 4 , 9 Messidor An 10 (June 27, 1602) for Pierre
Perier; ibid.. Reel 4, 22 Floreal An 10 (May 11, 1602)
for Jean Balbias. There were many others.
Joseph Boyer, former huissier de l TAdmirante at Cap

Franâis, lived in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania,
and in Baltimore before finally coming to Norfolk.^
Likewise the refugees moved away from Norfolk to other
cities, though they usually remained in the South . ^
The same thing occurred at other points.
Probably more
gravitated to New Orleans than to any other city.
Some
refugees who landed at Philadelphia and Northern ports

later joined their fellow refugees in the more hospitable
Southern climate.
Thus in the United States at the turn of the century
nearly all the major Atlantic seaports contained colo
nies of cultured French people who tended to retain their
identity for a number of years before they ultimately
succumbed to the assimilation process that would eventual
ly turn them into Americans.
In the next chapter an at
tempt will be made to determine the lasting contributions

made by this sudden wave of immigrants who had come un
expectedly and almost involuntarily.
4-6
Ibid., Reel 4> 21 Messidor An 10 (July 9, 1&02).
47
Rochefoucauld-Liancourt, Voyage, IV, p. 27S.
3*5
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
THE CONTRIBUTION OF ..THE SANTO DOMINGANS
The West Indian emigration was the result of revolu

tionary upheaval and race war, with the United States fur
nishing the most accessible safe refuge.
Some of the ref
ugees doubtless were familiar with the accounts of the

philosophers and travelers concerning this new republic
and its welcome to all sorts of people, but it was fear
and necessity which brought these French colonials here.
At the same time came many emigres from France and the
two groups were an excellent cross section of French so
ciety of the late eighteenth century.
Much has been
written of the frivolity and vanity, the absence of morals,

and the lack of religious feeling of this society.
The
refugees from the islands were accustomed to wealth, a

slave-operated economy and a rigid system of race relation
ship.
The wealthy, often well-educated free persons of
color had perhaps the biggest adjustment to make when they

came to this country.
All these Frenchmen fleeing to the
American continent could be characterized as emigres,

"emigres of hatred, emigres of faith, emigres of fear, and
mixed in the crowd were emigres of hunger, of accident, of
pleasure and, humanly, emigres without reason."1
Techni-
Greer, Emigration, p. 10G.
3 6
cally emigre means a person who left France illegally

and the term refugee has been employed in these pages
as more applicable to the West Indians, yet they too
were in reality political exiles.
ogeneous:
The group was heter
Royalists, republicans, Catholics, masons,
artisans, priests, slaves and free men of color.
They
came for refuge and with very little idea as to what they
might do, how long they would stay, or what reception
they would meet.
Generally the West Indians were an aristocratic and
refined class of settlers.^
make villagers or farmers.
They were not the sort to

Many were unaccustomed to
work, yet there were among them accomplished artisans,

professional men, and merchants, as well as slaves, all
of whom accepted gracefully the need to work.
Probably
more than half escaped with their lives, a few clothes

and little else.
They received temporary charity but soon
they had to earn a living or starve.
Both men and women
turned to all types of devices, using their skills in

the fine arts, in matters of dress and manners, amuse
ments, in education, in catering to the American taste for
fine food and drink, or they utilized their knowledge of
merchandising or of the professions.
Among the slaves as
Adams, "Indexes,M p. 53; Jones, French Culture. t>.
134
337
well as the whites were skilled artisans who could read

ily find employment in this growing country with its ex
panding demand for labor.
Most of the refugees knew something of America.
For a long time trade had been carried on between the
West Indies and the United States.
Some had served the
United States during her Revolutionary War, or they had

read some of the accounts of the philosophers or travel
ers.
Probably their ideas were inaccurate and visionary
and they could not help being disappointed in many of

the things they found on arrival.
From a number of
sources we can gain some of their reactions to this coun

try and their opinion of Americans.
They commented on
the love for money, the class distinctions based on

wealth, the luxury often without refinement, the lack of
dignity and education which they found here.
They were
favorably impressed by American freedom, simplicity, re

ligious tolerance, and generosity.^
Land was cheap and
fertile and the opportunity of making a living was here,

even though most of the refugees could never again ex
perience the standard of living they formerly enjoyed.
Life in the United States was for many a life of
loneliness and uncertainty; they could only hope forlorn-
333
ly for a miracle which would permit them to return to

the islands.
Some did try to go back but usually only
further distress and disappointment resulted.
As a
group, the refugees must have been, in modern psycho

logical terms "on the d e f e n s i v e . T h e y were excitable
and touchy, seeing slights and discriminations where
none were intended.
Nevertheless, they were highly in
teresting and attractive to Americans.

ferent.
aûick.
They-were dif
Physically they were small, dark, handsome, and

They were gay and worldly.
They were "cynics,
well versed in wine, women, dueling and the other dan

gerous pastimes."5
Despite the fact that most of the
refugees were Royalist in their sympathies, they were well

received.
Their courage and the American sympathy for
the underdog would have ensured such a reception even

without the then current enthusiasm for France.
Howard
Mumford Jones found that, "Probably at no period in

American history was the French language and culture more
generally understood than in the last fifteen years of
the eighteenth century."
He further stated, "Indeed,
from 1739 to 1793 our politics became Gallican, and so

did the topics of our conversation, the plays in our
Ibid.. p. 7 3 .
Saxon, Old Louisiana, p. 124.
339
theatres, the topics of our letters, the articles in our

magazines.
All this enthusiasm does not mean that the Ameri

cans wholeheartedly favored the French.
True, from the
time of our Revolution until near the end of the cen

tury Americans were intensely interested in France and
her people.
Some of this was a hold-over of warm feel
ing for a wartime ally, some was Jacobin sympathy, and

some was part of the political reaction to the Federal
ist party and administration.
On the other hand, Ameri
cans were certainly not pro-Catholic, nor pro-Latin in

standards of morality and, shortly before 1793, a defi
nite reaction set in against France and Frenchmen.
For several months in 1S01 the French frigate
Magicienne was blockaded in the harbor of Norfolk by an
English warship.
During this time a riot took place
in the town between part of the crew of the French ship

and some English and Irish seamen.
MSo much was the
scale of politics now turned, that they

were aided by American sailors.
The unfortunate French-
men were pursued in all directions."^

Talleyrand wrote in 1793 that no matter where he
Jones, French Culture, pp. 195, 536.
Janson, Stranger in America, pp. 349, 3 5 0 .
390
traveled in America, 1 have not found a single English

man who did not feel himself to be an American, not a
single Frenchman who did not find himself a stranger.
Volney was even more bitter.
He found that while
Englishmen, Dutch, Scots, and Germans settled easily in

the United States, the French found the new life diffi
cult.
Americans did not show brotherly love to them but,
on the contrary they appear to me to be strongly tinc

tured with the old English prejudice and animosity toward
us. . . .
They tax us with levity, loquacity and folly,
while we reproach them with reserve and haughty tacitur

nity. 9
Moreau de St. Mery, who arrived in 1794 in Nor
folk, found everywhere a widespread compassion for the

French yet he warned that he would not be a faithful his
torian if he presented this as a true feeling of af
fection between Americans and French colonials.
Then
he went on with the prophecy that any slight political

event may alter this relationship, weakening it to such
a degree that both parties forget they ever were friends.^-
These observations present too harsh a picture of
conditions the Frenchmen met and require some modification
Quoted in Adams, History, II, pp. 52, 53.
Volney, View, p. 17.
10
Roberts, Moreau de St. Mery, p. 275*
391
as far as the attitude toward the refugees in the South

was concerned.
Both Volney and Talleyrand were from
France and neither one was much pleased by the American

people; furthermore, their experiences were entirely
confined to the Northern states.
Moreau de St. Mry
spent most of his stay in America in Philadelphia and

New York with only a short sojourn in Norfolk and Balti
more.
Farther south in Charleston, the Huguenots had
already made an excellent name for themselves and re

moved much of what anti-French feeling might have ex
isted there.
Carolina.
The refugees were well-received in South
The best people patronized their schools and
dancing classes.
In New Orleans the largest part of the
population was French.
Berquin-Duvallon seems to be the
only observer of the time who felt that the Creole of

America did not welcome the West Indians.
In fact, the
refugees were regarded as a valuable numerical addition

in the rivalry with the Spaniards and later the rivalry
with Americans.
The many marriages between the Louisiana
French and the refugees indicate that the fusion of the

two groups was quite easy.
In Maryland Catholics con
stituted a considerable part of the population so that

the refugees ran into little prejudice there on account
of their religion.
In addition Marylands port of Balti
more had long been a leader in trade with the Santo Do-
392
mingans.
These factors would seem to indicate that the
refugees had an easier time fitting into the resident

population in the South than did the Emigres in the
North.
The emigres were here only until they could re
turn to Europe, while the refugees or at least a

majority of them made up their minds to remain in the
United States permenently.
This decision would tend to
curb their criticisms and make for an easier assimila

tion.
The advent of the refugees all along the Atlantic
coast brought many problems for the United States govern
ment and for local areas.
These Frenchmen wanted finan
cial aid, assistance in finding relatives, in getting

passports, in obtaining transportation; in short, they
made all sorts of demands.
These exiles formed for a
time a state within a state, for many considered this

country to be only a temporary refuge.
After a few years
the "emigres returned to France and the more turbulent and

venturesome West Indians were drained off either to
France or to the i s l a n d s . T h e restoration of the
Bourbons in France and the resumption of white control
in some of the islands induced some of the Royalists to
11
Treudley, "United States and Santo Domingo," p.
124
393
leave these shores.^
The ones who remained settled
down and after two or three generations were absorbed in

to the American nation.
They took the oath of allegiance
and became naturalized citizens and their children gained

citizenship by right of birth.
With the exception of
those in Louisiana, they made very little effort to re

tain separate identity after the first few years.
It
was only natural that refugee widower and refugee widow

should marry or that the son of a refugee would marry a
woman of the same background.
Children broke away from
this pattern and family, school and business relation

ships soon made Americans of them save for a few diehards.
Even their names became changed and it is some
times difficult to recognize the original French patro

nymics.^
One of the exceptions was a lady who fled to
this country from Santo Domingo at the age of fifteen.

She never learned to speak or read English though her
husband was an ardent admirer of American institutions.
As time went on the identifying of Santo Domingo or
French colonial was dropped in the newspapers and of
ficial records.
Such designations were used only rarely
12
Hartridge, Santo Domingan Refugees, p. 122.
13
14 Jones, French Culture, p. 49&, quoting Leiber,

Stranger in America, II, p. 40.
394
in connection with the younger refugees or the children

bora in America.
Hence most members of these groups are
today unrecognized and little is known about the few who

can be definitely identified.
15
The records of the consulate maintained by France

in Norfolk, the church and newspaper files of Charleston,
and the local color histories of New Orleans show that
the refugees in the first years in the United States did
marry other fellow refugees.
This quick welding of new
ties was to be expected where only one parent survived

the massacres and there were small children to care for.
Young girls, even if not actuated by more romantic rea
sons, wanted husbands who could support them and marriages
were frequent in which the bride was only fourteen or
fifteen years old.
In the areas outside of Maryland and
Louisiana the fact that the refugees were Catholics in

a sea of Protestants probably was a factor prompting in
termarriage as was also the matter of propinquity, for
the French congregated in their own sections.
Most of
the substantial refugee families became interrelated

through marriage and strong family solidarity retarded
assimilation.
Perhaps the greatest obstacle to Americanization was
15
395
the "sense of religious difference carrying a suspicion

of French morality, French infidelity and French Cathol
i
in the last quarter of the eighteenth century
when both countries were dominated by skepticism and

tolerance, this sense of difference was weakest, but
it was always present.
It could not help but color
relations between Americans and the refugees.
Middle
class Americans also associated other ideas with the

Frenchmen: they were politically unstable, too interested
in luxuries, too conscious of manners and other relative
ly inconsequential matters.
Louisiana presented a special problem in assimila
tion; the refugees fitted immediately into the Louisiana
Creole population, intermarried with them, and made a
large numerical increase in the French population there.
Their story is only a part of the problem of assimilat
ing the French-speaking white, mulatto and Negro people
of Louisiana.
These late comers retained their identity
longer than most national groups for they were a proud

people fully conscious of the long history of French con
trol in Louisiana.
Even the Creole Negroes looked down
on Negroes from the United States.
These Louisiana Cre
oles were not entirely French since many Francophile
16
Jones, French Culture, p. 569 *
396
Spaniards had married Frenchwomen and the two cultures

had mingled.
Three of the Spanish governors, Unzaga,
Galvez, and Mir 6 , married French Creole ladies.
17
Spanish officers of the garrison and other officials

did likewise, so that it was a mixed French, Spanish,
and West Indian culture which regarded itself as supe
rior to the rawer, newer Americans.
As late as the
l$50*s Olmstead met among the wealthy planters of French

id
descent a few who could not speak English.
Also it
must be remembered that until 1B20 the French out-num

bered the other classes.
The traveler Bullock noted in
1S27 the resemblance of the Creole Fauburg to a European

city.-*-9
jn 1^36 the new city charter divided New Orleans
into three separate municipalities each with its own

government and school system and this official division
tended to keep tastes and cultures different.2^
Below
Canal Street the city was French.

This does not mean that the Americans and Creoles
did not mingle.
Young Americans lived on French planta-
17 Gayarre, Creoles of History and Creoles of

Romance, pp. 1 0 , 11 .
IB
Olmstead, Journey in Seaboard Slave States, n.
19
Quoted in Adams/'Indexes, p. 5$.
20
Ibid.. pp. 60, 61.
273.
397
tiorrs and the better American society met socially with

the Creoles.
Governor Claiborne and Edward Livingston
married Creoles as did many other Americans.
The two
groups attended the same opera, the same balls, and had
to join in matters of government, finance,and business.
But the culture of the upper class remained French.
The War of ll2 began the breaking down process.
The Confederate War was the greatest single force in
changing the status of the Creoles.
By the destruction
i
of the plantations and many New Orleans businesses, by

the freeing of the slaves, they lost their wealth and
21
hence the main source of their influence
They had to
turn to other occupations and could no longer live in

the grand manner.
Reconstruction laws provided that the
English language only should be used for public documents

and instruction in the elementary schools.
were soon making more use of English.
The children
Then the business
heart of the city moved from Royal and Chartres Streets

to Canal Street.
Some of the Creoles, sensing that they
were losing influence, formed organizations to perpetuate

their culture.
22
In a masters thesis for Tulane Univer
sity, Ben Avis Adams cites a number of personal inter-
21
Ibid., pp. 65 , 66.
22
Ibid., p. 67 .
39a
views with old Creoles who attributed the assimilation

of the Louisiana French to contact in business, in
schools, and the fact that Americans became dominant
when they became more wealthy and were then able to
force more frequent contacts . ^
Thus for sixty years after the Louisiana Purchase
assimilation was slow slow because the Creoles were a
Landlord class having obtained large grants when land
acquisition was easy.
Agriculture made an easy living
for them and they constituted the wealthiest and nu

merically the largest occupational group.
Their reli
gion, their union with the Spanish population, the ac

cession of strength when the refugees poured in, all gave
them a sense of unity and an entrenched position.
They
were not disloyal citizens, they did not seek a return

to France; they simply followed a way of life different
from that of the Americans who came to the city seeking
economic opportunity.
To the Creoles the French manner
of living was more gracious and they continued it as .

long as they were able.
The Confederate War destroyed
that ability and the gradual process of assimilation

speeded up.
In the short years a few thousand of the Santo Do-
23
Ibid., p. 10g.
399
mingans lived in Cuba before they again became refugees

and came to the United States, changes occurred there.
The Spanish women of "St. Jago made great progress to
ward improvement since such numbers of French arrived
from Santo Domingo.2^
Abbe Robin reported that the
French were so successful in commerce that requests were

made to the authorities to curb the French business ac
tivities by the jealous Spaniards.^5
This the govern
ment refused until the resurgence of anti-French feel

ing brought on by the Napoleonic conquest of the Span
ish peninsula.
These highly skilled artisans were too
great an aid to Cuba for the government to enact re

pressive measures against them.
Even the women among
the French worked and by example at least spread ideas

of working among the heretofore idle women of Cuba.
The refugees .made of their settlements places noted for
industry and culture.
In agriculture they took over un
cleared land and introduced new crops and superior

techniques which greatly increased the exports of the
island.
The major contribution of these Frenchmen in
the Spanish colony was their "knowledge, their experience
24
Hassal, Secret History, p. S.
2$
Robin, Voyage, I, pp. 299, 300.
26
Perez, "French Refugees," p. 293.
400
and their activity.
From that moment the two great
Antilles changed roles: San Domingo lapsed into barbarism, Cuba placed her foot in the Chariot of fortune.
27
Of course the United States was not as undeveloped

as was Cuba, especially in matters of industry and com
merce, and hence the refugees made no such spectacular
change in the United States in these spheres of acti
vity.
However, what they were able to do in Cuba does
show the calibre and abilities of the Santo Domingans

which they carried from their colonial paradise.
Griswold has well summarized the value of the emigres and
the refugees,
they brought to us the ideas and manners of a splen
did though wrecked civilization, and strange ex
periences, fruitful of wise suggestion; to our form
ing society they offered examples of courtly usages
and to the children of our wealthier families in
several instances, princes and nobles for teachers
and associates. Upon our condition they embroidered
much of what was most deserving our acceptance in
the higher and better life of the older n a t i o n s .
Politically most of the refugees were Royalists who
generally distrusted democracy.
The majority of them
constituted a conservative group, while the Jacobin minori

ty by their violence probably aided in causing the reac
tion against France which set in after the Genet schemes
27
Johnson, Cuba, II, p. 191.
23
Griswold, Republican Court, p. 373.
401
failed here, the execution of the king in France, and

after the X Y Z affair had embittered relations be
tween the two countries.^9
Perhaps the outstanding effect of the Santo Do
mingan revolution upon the United States was its in
fluence on the attitude toward slavery.
Slaves and free
persons of color from the island did promote slave re

volts in the South.
The example of events on the is
land influenced American slaves to consider insurrec

tions, and American whites for a generation attributed
all revolts to Santo Domingans.
In economic affairs the refugees showed aptitude
in agriculture and in commerce; they were able to sup
port themselves also as artisans and as teachers.
They
introduced the sugar industry as a practical money-mak

ing scheme into Louisiana and made valuable contribu
tions to the whole plantation system.^
Here, as in
Cuba, they could and did, teach Americans techniques in

growing the crops of warmer climates.
Beaujour in his
Aperigu des Etats Unis, published in 1$04, states that

the Santo Domingans gave agriculture une grande impul-
29
Treudley, "United States and Santo Domingo, p.
123
30 Wil-liam Edward Dodd. The Cotton Kingdom. A
Chronicle of The Old South (#27 of Chronicles of America
Series, edited by Allen Johnson, New Haven, 1921), p. 19.
402
sion in the United States.31

the same idea.-^
Barbe-Marbois expressed
The refugees introduced new vege
tables and were expert gardeners who altered and bettered

the diet of Baltimore and Charleston and perhaps other
places as well.
They were artisans who excelled others
in the finer handicrafts.33
Their slaves and many of
the free persons of color were also trained artisans in

many instances.
Some of the fine iron work characteris
tic of New Orleans, for example, can be credited to these

groups.
Some of the refugees brought capital other than
their slaves and this liquid capital was felt in the

commercial life of Southern cities.
In the professional
fields the West Indians contributed a number of outstand

ing medical men, teachers, and lawyers.
In cultural matters they made their deepest mark
in the South, at least the cultural contribution lasted
longer than anything else they accomplished.
The refu
gees served as tutors and started their schools on all

levels from the small private one-teacher primary school
through the college and seminary.
In music, theatre,
and the opera they served as teachers, promoters, and
31 Beaujour, Apercu des Stats Unis (Paris, 1&04),

p. 101 quoted in Jones, Trench "Culture, 'pp. 559 , 56O.
32
Barbe-Marbois, History of Louisiana, p. 19&.
33
Cunz, Maryland Germans, p. 162.
403
performers who introduced many Americans to these forms

of the fine arts and a distinctively French element to
American music.
In fact, so proficient were they in
these fields that Americans thought all Frenchmen could

play a musical instrument.-^
The emigres and refugees
included both professional musicians and able amateurs

who broadened nour musical horizon by acquainting Ameri
cans with many French works in a distinctly French in
terpretation . 11
In the North this French element was
not so lasting "but in Baltimore and the South it almost

predominated for several years."35
Everywhere the coming of the French refugees brought
an Old World courtesy and charm, together with a polish
ing of the manners of the
A m e r i c a n s . 36
A renaissance
of dueling, a change in dress, and a new emphasis on the

culinary arts may also be assigned to their influence.
These changes were most noticeable and lasting in Lou
isiana where the fusion of Louisiana French, Spanish, and
West Indian French united with the plantation wealth to
34
Jones, French Culture, p. 335*
35
36 Henson Papers, "Dramatic Incidents" (Paper by

Mrs. Prendergast), p. 2; Robert Molloy, Charleston. A
Gracious Heritage (New York, 1947), p. &3; Jones, French
Culture, p. 259*
404
produce the Creole culture.
The emphasis on fine social
forms began with the Great Marquis, Pierre Francois de
Rigaud, Marquis de Vaudreuil who succeeded Bienville as

governor of Louisiana in 1743 and who introduced French
court manners and forms.
Further conditioning came
through succeeding French and Spanish governors of noble

blood, the plantation wealth which permitted many sons
to go to Paris for education and polishing, and the rise
of a landlord class with time for leisure and pleasure.
37
Great stress was laid on manners and public affairs.

The refugees brought a new phase to the cultural life
of New Orleans and a renewed interest in European re
finements. 3$
With the coming of the Americans the ear
lier European struggle of a landed nobility versus ris

ing mercantile interests was repeated in the New World.
Early in the nineteenth century New Orleans was one of
those cosmopolitan crossroads which seems particularly
stimulating to talent.
Some wealthy men with European
education, the educated and polished refugees, Americans

interested primarily in economic development, Indians and
frontiersmen, a native population of French and Spanish
elements all these made for stress, partisanship, and
37
Adams, "Indexes,n p. 113 .
33
Ibid., p. 53; Jones, French Culture, p. 116.
405
change.
Long after the Americans assumed a leading role
in the business life of the city, the Beau Monde re

mained French.
f,In society France reigned and gov
erned . . . French etiquette was imposed and the shops

followed the fashionable world."39
By no means all the ways of the refugees were ap
proved, though many of the most attractive on the disap
proved list were adopted.
As Levasseur, who visited the
city with Lafayette, pointed out in the 1620s ,

The greater part of the travelers who have visited
New Orleans pretend that the manners of the city
have been affected by numerous colonists from Santo
Domingo. These have the character of being de
voted to public amusements and of being cruel to
their slaves. The love of gaming, and duels which
often succeed it, it is said, produce numerous dif
ficult ie s. 40
He refused to confirm
shortness of his
or deny this himself because of
the
stay in the city.
Nor was this culture and way of life confined to

the city.
New Orleans exercised a very great influence
over the whole western country up to the Mississippi

River and its tributaries.
Few of the distinguished
planters or merchants of the lower valley failed to visit

the city, and many a small farmer floated down the river
39
King, "An Old French Teacher, p. 390.
40
Levasseur, Lafayette in America, II, p. 126.
406
to the great market.
Their business done, the visitors
stayed to see the sights and attend the opera, the

theatre, the gaming house, or other amusements which
the town afforded.
Their impressions together with
their purchases were carried home and the influence of

New Orleans culture spread even to those who had never
visited the fabulous city down the great r iver.^
This
same sort of influence expanded from Charleston and Bal

timore and the other cities which gave refuge to these
attractive French people with their distinctive manners.
Save for Louisiana the refugees never built a
Franco-American group in American society as did immi
grants from other European countries.
Perhaps the fact
that the latter came for premeditated reasons (usually

economic) and fully intended to remain permanently in the
United States may account for this formation of solid
blocs from other nations.
The French refugees had to
come when they did with little element of choice in the

matter.
The emigres from France certainly hoped to re
turn to Europe when the opportunity should come.
Their
going caused the breaking up of the French colony in the

United States so that no permanent French group was formed
for later years.
41
Hence the lasting consequences are de-
Flint, Geography. I, p. 270.
407
rived from these Frenchmen as individuals rather than as

a group.
No continental nation had in eighteenth century
America the prestige of France.
Her people were taken
as models in manners, dress, and all forms of social in

tercourse among civilized people.
in intellectual affairs.
They were respected
Senator Lodge used Appleton* s
Encyclopedia as a reference and found that the people

of French blood "exceed absolutely, in the ability pro
duced, all the other races" represented in that bio
graphical
w o r k .
<phe refugees introduced into America
many French traits "a logical mind, intelligence, re

ligious and artistic sensibility."43
Along with these
they brought a new and hardy spirit.
The full effect of
the refugees on the United States is not subject to

measurement with any degree of scientific accuracy, but
it was a leaven and to it may be credited many charming
elements in the culture of the Old South.
42 Henry Cabot Lodge, "Distribution of Ability in

the United States," Century. XLII (September, 1S91), p.
694.
43
Childs, French Refugee, p. 195 .
40#
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FRENCH REFUGEES FROM SAINT DOMINGUE TO THE SOUTHERN

UNITED STATES: 1791-1610

A Dissertation Presented to the Graduate Faculty

FRENCH REFUGEES FROM SAIliT DOMINGUE TO THE SOUTHERN

after 1791, 15,000 to SO,000 Frenchmen came into the South.

Records on them are incomplete or were never made

Most refugees remained where they landed and consti

tuted a significant element in these cities.

They were a cross-

section of French colonials in culture, wealth, and ability.

states, and even the federal government

assisted them until they could earn a living.

In general, outside Louisiana the refugees

rarely rose above the lower middle class.

numerous enough to take an active part in politics and a wider

The arrival of the refugees brought niany problems for the

Slaves and mulattoes from' Santo

They founded schools

and colleges in which they served as administrators and teachers.

schools, theatres, and concerts they introduced a distinctively French

The refugees brought an Old World

courtesy and charm, which resulted in a polishing of the manners

A renaissance of dueling, a change in dress, and a

new emphasis on the culinary arts may be assigned to the French in

These changes are most noticeable and lasting in Louisiana

as a part of the Creole culture.

in the last quarter of the eighteenth century by Americans

Soon, however, assimilation began through schools

and business contacts and the French disappeared as a separate

This Americanisation was longer delayed in Louisiana

The full effect of their coming is not

subject of measurement with scientific accuracy, but it was a

The Refugees in Cuba

Local Reception of the Refugeesin the

The Federal Governments Aid to the

The Refugees and the French Government

The Economic Adjustment of the Refugees

The Santo Domingans in Theatre and

The Santo Domingans and Negro Slave

The Refugees and the Catholic Church

Refugee Contributions to American

The Santo Domingan Refugees and American

Characteristics of the Refugees

The Number of the Refugees

The Contribution of the Santo Domingans

The purpose of this study is to trace the French ref

The flights began as early as

Some refugees came direct while

others spent varying periods of time in a Spanish or English

of the French colonials in culture, wealth, and ability as

lost property; and some eventually made their way back to

Probably the majority stayed in America where they

eventually lost their separate identity through intermar

But they constituted a significant number in the

port cities where they congregated and their culture, their

A brief review of the conditions under which the

discovered by Columbus and named by him Hispaniola, it was

The name Haiti, an Indian

word meaning "Land of Mountain," referred to the whole is

Ralph Komgold, Citizen Toussaint (Boston, 1944)

mingo and of the island of Tortuga just off the northern

These men were Europeans of various nationali

ties who lived originally as cattlemen until they were so

it was here that