Cindy Vallar's Blog - Posts Tagged "jean-laffite"

Jean Lafitte Revealed: Unraveling One of America’s Longest-Running Mysteries by Ashley Oliphant

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Jean Laffite was a master of deception. He muddied the water to such an extent that separating truth from fiction is a monumental undertaking – one that often leads to disagreement among historians as to which “truth” is real. His time in New Orleans and Galveston is well documented, but even 200 years later some mysteries remain, especially as regards his life once he departed Texas. The authors of Jean Laffite Revealed believe that they have unearthed the truth about this period and it is up to readers to read and weigh the evidence in order to determine whether their hypothesis is correct.

Their search for Jean Laffite actually sprang not from an interest in this “gentleman pirate,” but from tales of another man, Lorenzo Ferrer, who lived in Lincolnton, North Carolina, from 1839 until his death in 1875 at the age of 96. Supposedly, this man was really Laffite. This book is a culmination of their research, detailing how they backtracked his true identity and what documentary evidence they uncovered to support their suppositions.

To conduct their research, they followed the protocol of any scholarly research, but they chose to write in the vernacular of a wider audience. As they pen in their preface, “Prepare yourself for one of the most unbelievable yet verifiably true stories you can imagine, a tale complete with international Freemason plots, double agents, explorers charging into open frontier, jail breaks, miraculous rescues, faked deaths, shady financial scams, and murder – all of it hinging upon control of the Gulf of Mexico and the sustainability of one of the most effective black market operations the United States has ever known. Parts of our hypothesis contradict commonly accepted Laffite historical chronology and challenge long-held beliefs about what ultimately happened to him. . . . Hang on to your hat because this is not our mama’s sleepy history book.” (xii)

Their investigation is divided into three parts. Part I summarizes the known facts about Laffite during his years as a pirate/privateer. They sift through two centuries of the best published resources to recount his life in Louisiana, Texas, and the Gulf of Mexico. Part II concerns when Ferrer first appears in Mississippi, since before then they find no documentary evidence to prove his existence. This section also discusses connections he made that eventually bring him to North Carolina, which is the subject of Part III. Here is where they delve into their theory and demonstrate that contemporaries of Ferrer’s began speculating about his true identity in the nineteenth century.

In addition to the narrative, the authors include a sampling of the documents they collected during their search. Unfortunately, the poor quality of some of these copies makes it difficult to see what they saw. Several appendices and endnotes are included, as is a list of the works they cite. The preface does include a cast of characters. What is missing is an index, which would make it easier for other researchers to find information.

This book requires readers to make a leap of faith, yet there is one segment for which there is no documentation in support of their hypothesis. It is this gap that is the most telling. Whether Laffite died at sea following a battle or he survived and lived a long life remains a matter of debate and conjecture. Since they have been unable to find any proof of Ferrer’s existence prior to his arrival in Mississippi, they believe he is Laffite. Yet there is no definitive evidence to prove this. They do point out similarities between these two men, who may well have known some of the same people. They did turn up an interesting clue in one letter that could be a code name for Laffite.

Jean Laffite Revealed is an interesting addition to Laffite history. Each reader must decide the veracity of what is proposed. The strengths of this book are the depth of research that the authors conducted and that they recognize this as a starting point for other seekers who wish to prove their hypothesis. This is also a great resource for those seeking information on North Carolina history and genealogy.




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