Laffite(Or Lafitte), Jean
Laffite(Or Lafitte), Jean(c. 1780–c. 1825), French smuggler and pirate leader, with his brother Pierre operated off the coast of Louisiana. Their headquarters included the Barataria region near the mouth of the Mississippi, and the island site of the present Galveston, Tex. During the War of 1812, the Laffites refused British remuneration to engage in an attack on New Orleans, and turned over the documents containing the proposal to the U.S. An American naval force was at first sent against them, but later Jackson accepted the aid of Laffite in the Battle of New Orleans, giving him and his men a pardon in return for their services. Another force was sent against Laffite when he resumed operations in Texas, and he departed peaceably. His end is not definitely known, and his piratical adventures and rumors of buried treasure have made him a prominent figure in folk legends. He figures in much popular historical literature, including Joseph Holt Ingraham's...
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