The pivotal moment in my new course of research came when I really took the time to evaluate the contents of one communication, this being a letter that was sent to James Monroe in protest of the issue of pardons. Up to this point I had assumed that all of the pardon information in those general history resources was accurate since they all pretty much stated the same thing. Boy was I wrong!
What you will discover in the following communication is that the subject of pardons was on the table even before the battle and that for some, mainly the Laffite's, these pardons were discretionary and conditional, one of these conditions being that Laffite did participate in the defense of New Orleans. So if you believe that Monroe issued those pardons after the battle then you are way wrong, and in fact, he never issued them at all, this being left to the discretion of others, specifically Claiborne who was working closely with Jackson, one of the men referenced in the Beale narration. (Keep this in mind as it will come onto play again and again.)
In reality, the promise of pardon was the dangling of the carrot that will eventually lead to the tale in the 1885 narration. Here is that letter; (Read all of it very — very carefully, especially what I have underlined near the end.)
Poindexter, who served as a volunteer aide de camp with Major General Carroll at Chalmette, took time away from his role as a judge at Natchez, Miss., to assist Jackson in defending New Orleans from invading British forces. This is the text that he sent to Monroe in protest of the pardons that Jackson was requesting;
“Even a band of pirates was drawn into our ranks who were under prosecution of their crimes, and who had been invited to join the British while they occupied the Island near Lake Barataria. You will I hope sir, pardon me for stating to you, the manner, the circumstances of their transition from piracy to Patriotism, in the notorious Lafitte and his banditti. Edward Livingston, whose character is better known to you than myself, had contrived to attach himself and one or two of his adherents to the staff of Genl Jackson, as Volunteer Aids DeCamp (sic). The pirates had previously engaged him as their counsel to defend them in the District Court of the United States at New Orleans, and were by stipulation to give him the sum of twenty thousand dollars in case he succeeded in acquitting them. Knowing as he did that the evidence against them was conclusive, and that an impartial jury necessarily convict them, he advised the leaders of them "to make a tender of their services to Genl Jackson" in case he would come under a pledge to recommend them to the clemency of the Executive of the United States. Their services were accepted, and the condition acceeded to. How far the country is indebted to them for its safety it does not become me even to suggest an opinion. It is, however, a fact perfectly well known that their energy has been drawn by Mr. Livingston, their counsel; and there can be but little doubt that everything of an official stamp which is presented by the government respecting them, will emanate from the same source. If they are redeemed from Judicial investigation of their crimes with which they stand charged, his reward will be twenty thousand dollars of their piratical plunderings.
What the practice of Civilized Governments has been on similar occasions I am not fully prepared to say, nor do I remember an instance where pirates falling into the Country and under the power of one belligerent, have been offered protection and pardon of their offences, in case they would take up arms against the other belligerent. They are considered as enemies alike to both belligerents but I have thought it a duty incumbent on me as a good citizen to state the facts which came within my knowledge, as to the motives which led to the employment of these men, without intending them to have any other, than the weight which is your Judgment they merit.
It would seem to be an obvious inference from the past conduct of this band of robbers that if Louisiana should be again invaded, and they are enlarged, they would be restrained by no moral obligation from affording facilities to the Enemy.
I indulge the hope that you will pardon the freedom with which I address you on the present occasion, from a recollection, that when I last had the honor of an interview with you in Washington, you were so good as to allow me the liberty of writing to you confidentially. In that light, I wish you will view this communication, in so far as it may conflict with the wishes and opinions of General Jackson, relative to the grant of a pardon to the pirates, whom he has thought fit to employ in our service.”
Signed, George Poindexter
Now I can't tell you the many courses that this letter has sent me on over the years but I can tell you that there is more, so much more, the true nature of these relationships manifesting into something else in 1817 that would ultimately cause Monroe to request that Adams seek the opinion of Jackson in regards to public response to the newly proposed boundaries in “the west” that were to become law once/if the Adams Onis Treaty was signed. Jackson responded by saying that he thought the proposed boundaries would be generally accepted if they acquired the Floridas. Shortly afterwards the treaty was signed and then comes the first Beale deposit. Beale was in New Orleans with Jackson as well and he knew the Laffites and was even engaged in business affairs with them, had been in the same camp with Pierre Laffite the night before the famed New Orleans battle.
Yes, I have discovered “a lot” in recent years that I can now directly relate to the Beale narration. This including more details about something called the St. Louis Corporation that was also formed in 1817, the same year that the alleged Beale party was formed. This name, St. Louis, was recognizable to anyone who needed to recognize it for what it was, this name basically containing the true nature of its purpose. Obviously the company name is relative to St. Louis but in French it also means, “Island of the Serpent” in reference to Galveston Island, Laffite relocating there, again, in 1817, and still without restitution of his confiscated ships and goods that Patterson had seized despite protest from Claiborne, and also without restitution for the supplies that he provided during the famed battle that his lawyers were actively seeking. Do you see where all of this heading yet? Laffite still had substantial claims in the courts, the claims still being undecided. “Conditional pardons.”....hmmmmmm
And if you doubt the importance of Laffite's ships in securing the safety of this country you shouldn't, as when Patterson moved on Laffite's compounds Claiborne penned a very concerned letter that the confiscation of Laffite's vessels had left the entire Louisiana territory without defense. Now those are some pretty powerful and suggestive concerns, indeed. And there's more, a lot more, but we'll skip them for now.
When James Long set out on his expeditions into the Texas region he did so at Jackson's encouragement. And when debating the colonization of the French art Champ D'asile Monroe consulted none other then Jackson, whose only concern was that such a “colonization” could encourage negro and negro-Indian insurrections and colonization that could threaten the stability of the union, the issue of just how the Louisiana Territory was to be divided fairly between free slave territories and slave holding territories already threatening to rip the country apart. In any case Monroe and Jackson decided to risk it in order to obtain their objective in the west, this all having to do with the disputed boundaries and a passage to the Pacific, this all hinging on the current Adams Onis Treaty negotiations.
Now this is the short of it other then to say that there is a reason why Thomas Beale's presence in New Orleans disappears in 1817 and his name isn't mentioned again until those visits with Morriss. Now, perhaps, the following will be far more clear to you;
The two deposits are said to have been made in November 1819 and December 1821,
In The Beale Pamphlet Morriss claims that Beale’s two visits at his hotel took place on January 1820 and January
1822. Both of these dates fall “exactly” eleven months behind the dates of the signing and the ratification of the Adams Onis
Treaty.
Treaty signing date: February 1819
Beale’s first visit: January 1820
11 months
Treaty’s Rat. Date: February 1821
Beale’s second visit: January 1822
11 months
Going a step further it’s interesting to note that both deposit dates fall closely in order between the dates in the above
table, nine and ten months respectively.
Treaty signing date: February 1819
(9 months)
First Deposit date: November 1819
(2 months)
Beale’s first visit: January 1820
11 months
Treaty’s Rat. Date: February 1821
(10 months)
Second Deposit date: December 1821
(1 month)
Beale’s second visit: January 1822
11 months
Yes, that's all it is, period!...
