Spanish Occupation of Chickasaw Bluffs, Pt. III The sources used in this post are: Din, Gilbert C. Loyalist Resistance after Pensacola: The Case of James Colbert, pp. 158-176 in Anglo-Spanish Confrontation on the Gulf Coast During the American Revolution, William S. Coker and Robert R. Rea, editors (Gulf Coast History and Humanities Conference, 1982). Haynes, Robert V. The Natchez District and the American Revolution, (University Press of Mississippi, 1976). At the conclusion of yesterdays post, I related that Col. Miro had refused to directly negotiate with Colbert because he deemed Colbert to be a leader of pirates and marauders. Miro insisted that if Colbert wanted to negotiate with him, that all overtures needed to be made through the British Governor of Jamaica. By Col. Miros insistence that all negotiations had to come through the offices of the British Governor of Jamaica, Colbert knew that he was being placed in a difficult situation. Gen. John Campbell had duly commissioned him as a captain to lead and carry out warfare against the enemies of King George III. But, it was in the manner that Colbert had carried out these orders to continue to fight on that had caused difficulties for him. He had frequently ambushed vessels plying the waters of the Mississippi River, using treachery to often lure them ashore. Also, and much more damaging to Colberts reputation, was that he always threatened to kill any hostages he still possessed if he were pursued too closely. British military officers/ civilian officials would have taken a very dim view of either of these improprieties. Colbert also knew that the pure-blood Chickasaw chiefs, led by Payamataha, were gaining greater influence within the Chickasaw nation to refuse to assist Colbert and ultimately expel him and his sons from their midst. In late May 1782, the Lieutenant Governor of Spanish Illinois, Francisco Cruzat, decided to take the war to...the English pirates (Haynes, p. 149). Cruzat sent Sub-lieutenant Diego Blanco, nine soldiers, fourteen militiamen, and two merchants to Ste. Genevieve. Later, he ordered Captain Jacobo Dubreuil and twenty-five men to descend the Mississippi River to Ste. Genevieve to reinforce the garrison there. When these reinforcements arrived in Ste. Genevieve, Dubreuil ordered Lieutenant Carlos Valle and his men to descend on the Chickasaw Bluffs and locate the camp of Colberts men. When these Spanish troops reached the Chickasaw Bluffs, all they found was a deserted camp about a half of a league from the river with a few crudely built huts and a makeshift jail where Spanish prisoners had been kept (Din, p. 164). The Spanish commander dispatched his native delegation, that had travelled that far with them for protection, towards the Chickasaw villages to negotiate with them. Shortly thereafter, Valle and his men burned what structures there were in the deserted encampment and retired upstream to a pre-arranged rendezvous point, reaching Ste. Genevieve some time after July 4, 1782. Earlier, the Spanish had threatened Colbert and his operations along the Mississippi River. Then, they had moved into strategic spots along the river to carry out these threats of retaliation. But, now they had struck at Colberts base of operations at Chickasaw Bluffs. Spanish military might had been brought to bear.
Posted on: Tue, 06 Jan 2015 02:16:26 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015