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YALE UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY

Mobile of the Five Flags
The Story of the River Basin and Coast About
Mobile from the Earliest Times
to the Present

By
PETER J. HAMILTON, LL. D.
Author of "Colonial Mobile,'' "Colonization of the South,"
"The Reconstruction Period," Etc.

1913
THE GILL PRINTING COMPANY
Mobile

YALE

COPYRIGHT 1913,
RY PETER J. HAMILTON.

To
Two Little Mobilians
Carlotta and Rachel-Duke Hamilton
This Book is Affectionately Dedicated
BY
Their Father
With the Hope That They too May Love
The Story of Their Home

PREFACE
I have endeavored in this book to outline the story of
the Central Gulf country from the earliest times down to
the present. In a sense it is a continuation of the work I
began in 1897 with the publication of "Colonial Mobile."
It is not told in as great detail, but possibly is more read
able on that account. It is the story of my home country,
and has been a labor of love. With it I probably leave the
subject, except so far as future editions of this volume may
call for corrections. It has occupied much of my thought
and my investigation for many years, and is very dear
to me; but there is a limit to what one can do in any parti
cular dircclion. I hope in the future il may bc worih liie
while of some one to take up the work where I have left
it. The book was undertaken at the request of the Board
of School Commissioners of Mobile County for use in the
public schools, but I have endeavored to make its scope
wide enough for general use also, since it is the only work
covering the subject from the beginning. Many things
and many men are omitted whom I would like to mention;
but from the necessity of the case I have had to make a
selection from the mass of facts available, and I have
had to omit much that I would like to use. This applies
especially to the period since the War, which is one of
great economic interest, and yet difficult to handle now
because the events and people are so close to us. For
the last two decades I have tried to give tendencies rather
than detailed facts,
I have aimed at clearness rather than ornament in the
style and the facts I hope are told so as to be readily under
stood. With this object the book is divided into sections.

IX
each dealing with a separate matter, and is therefore in
the nature of a series of pictures, one after the other.
If I have succeeded in making them stand out, they will be
somewhat like a string of cameos.
I wish to thank all who have aided me with material
or suggestions during the progress of the work. I have
found that it has excited general interest, and I have met
with assistance from many quarters. It would not be
practicable to hame all who have helped, but they are
held in grateful remembrance.
A list of the principal authorities for each period is pre
fixed to the respective partfe and will be found of value.
For the first six periods I have needed little outside of these ,
and data from the Catholic Church Records supplied
me by Bishop E. P. Allen. For the Confederate times I
have received valuable aid from Colonel Price Williams,
Jr.j General J, W, Whiting, Judge Saffold Berney, Dr,
Thomas M, Owen and others. For the last period of the
book I am greatly indebted for facts to Collector H, G,
Ashley, Captain A, C. Danner, Ashbel Hubbard, and the
Chamber of Commerce, and to Dr, Erwin Craighead
for aid in the arrangement of the material in its proper
perspective. The illustrations of the volume are of special interest.
Many are original and some are unique. They are princi
pally from books, relics or papers in my own possession,
but some have been kindly loaned by different people for
this purpose. There were others planned for also that
could not be obtained. The frontispiece, representing
Mobile in 1711, has been carefully drawn by Miss Arman-
tine Brown from contemporary maps and illustrations,
and correctly shows the fort, houses, streets and boats of
French Mobile. Another valuable feature of the book
consists of the maps of the country at different times, all
drawn on the same scale, and showing the forts and cities

at each period. These maps were drawn by Mr. Lawrence
H. McNeill, who has also placed upon the old Confederate
map of the Bay the three lines of intrenchments about
Mobile. The flags were drawn by Mr. Frank Carey and
were added at the suggestion of the School Board.
I am indebted for valuable suggestions to W. T. McGowin
and M.J. Vickers of the School Board, and in proof reading
and otherwise I have been much aided by Mrs. P. J.
Hamilton, Miss May Eanes, Miss Mamie H. Smith, Miss
Mabel O. Bickell, and by my little daughter, Rachel-Duke.
The book is "Made in Mobile',' from beginning to end, —
text, printing, binding, illustrations and all, and the result
speaks for itself. I would do injustice to my own feelings
if I did not specially thank the publishers and Mr. Chas.
S. Belle, the Monotype operator, and Mr. G. L. Norman
of the Aynesley Engraving Company, who has faithfully
reproduced the illustration's.
Much material has necessarily been omitted, but I
trust enough is included to d^e a fair picture of "Mobile
of the Five Flags," and, with the hope that it may prove
useful, the book is now submitted to the public.
Peter J. Hamilton.
Mobile, January, 1913.

To Teachers
I would suggest to teachers that in the use of the book
one or two of the early lessons bc devoted to going through
the illustrations, including maps, with the aid of the list
prefixed. Many of these are from original material, and
taken as a whole they furnish a good introduction to the
subject. I would also suggest that the scholars be not
required to memorize all the names and dates, but rather
to learn the story by sections and by periods. In a book

XI
of this kind it is necessary, in order to secure accuracy,
to give many facts which cannot be carried in the mind.
This applies especially to the chapter ,on Mobile Soldiers
and to the last period of the book.
while I have tried to use simple language, the subjects
discussed cover many of the vital problems of social growth,
and explanations may have to be made by the teacher from
time to time. These difficulties are connected with the
subject rather than with the form of expression.
In order to maintain the flow of the narrative I have
not attempted to name the governors of the state or the
mayors of the city except where there is special need for
it. A list of these officials is given in the appendix and can
be used for reference. The same is true as to some recent
facts and statistics, which are given in the appendix under
the head, "Present Mobile."
So many foreign names of people, such as De Soto and
Bienville, have become naturalized, so to speak, that I
have not thought it necessanf to add a table of pronouncia-
tion of names. Where not familiar, they are generally
simple French or Spanish words, in which it will be useful
to remember that "a" is pronounced as in father, "e"
as in they, "i" as in quarantine, and "u" as in plume,
and to remember that "5" is the equivalent of "s."
Peter J. Hamilton.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
PERIOD, I— THE SPANIARDS IN THE INDIAN
COUNTRY.
Chapter Page
I The Country and the Natives  3
// The Bay of Spiritu Santo  16
III De Solo  -.--  - 23
IV Later Discoverors  -  -  - 28
PERIOD II— A FRENCH CAPITAL.
V Old Biloxi  35
VI Fort Louis de la Mobile  -.... 42
VII Life at the Old Fort  51
VIII Mobile  61
IX Under a Merchant Prince....  75
X How the Creoles Lived   86
PERIOD III— A FRENCH TRADE CENTRE
XI The Mississippi Bubble  93
XII Our Old Archives...  101
XIII Along the Coast  107
XIV The Trade Contest with Charleston  i./4
XV The Seven Years' War in the South...  120
PERIOD IV— A BRITISH METROPOLIS
XVI The New Government  133
XVII The Indian Boundary Line  138
XVIII A Trip on the Tombigbee River..  7^4
XIX The Journeys of Botanist  151
XX Colonial Politics   165
PERIOD V—OLD SPANISH TOWN.
XXI A Latin Government  161
XXII Ellicott's Line  168
XXIII Church of the Immaculate Conception  172

xiii
Chapter Page
XXIV Industries of the Colonists  176
XXV Mississippi Territory and Its Neighbors  183
PERIOD VI— THE AMERICAN CITY.
XXVI Town Building  193
XXVII From Fort Mims to Fort Bowyer  197
XXVIII Alabama  206
XXIX The Coming of the Steamboat..  213
XXX King Cotton  218
XXXI Flush Times and What Followed  226
XXXII The Churches  238
XXXIII The Mobile & Ohio Railroad  245
XXXIV The Schools  252
XXXV Literature and the Drama  259
XXXVI The Golden Fifties.......  268
XXXVII State and Federal Affairs  279
PERIOD VII— IN THE CONFEDERACY.
XXXVIII Secession  291
XXXIX Running the Blockade  297
XL The Life of the People  302
XLI Mobile Soldiers  310
XLII Mobile Sailors  319
XLIII Battle of Mobile Bay  327
XLIV The End of the War  334
PERIOD VIII— A MODERN PORT.
XLV Reconstruction  345
XLVI The Railroad Era  '.  359
XLVII Seven Lean Years  366
XLVIII TheHarbor and the Rivers  375
XLIX Growth  382
L A New Century 

APPENDIX
List of Governors — List of Mayors — Present Mobile.

ILLUSTRATIONS
Mobile in 1711  Frontispiece
The Fort of cedar and cypress stakes is shown in the
foreground, with a little chapel towards the rear. The
two-story house on the right is that of Chateaugue. Bien
ville's is tp the left of the Fort. The streets, blocks, and
houses carffprpi to the map of 1711. The ships and boats
represent French vessels of that day. On the wharf are
Bienville and seamen in conversation, while Indians and
sailors are in canoes on the river. The shore rises some
what as it goes back from the river, and among the trees
are easily made out the oaks and pines which once occupied
the site.
The Spiritu Santo and the Gulf Coast, 1519  5
This is a copy of the Ribero map now at Weimar in
Germany. It shows the exploration of Ayllon on the
Atlantic and of Garay, who sent out Pineda on the Gulf
Coast. The Bay into which empties the Rio Del Espiritu
is supposed to be Mobile Bay.
Indian Relics Near Mobile  7
The upper lines show stone arrow-heads, the lowest line
a stone for mixing paint, a pipe, two forms of stones for
crushing corn and a tomahawk. These all come from
near Mobile. The pipe is two inches high and the others
are in proportion.
Indian Relics, Alabama River  9
The upper lines are arrow-heads froni Fort Mims and
other places up the river, — one from Fort Mims is dis
colored as if by blood. The third line is a series of beauti
ful small arrow-points from Little River, used for bird
hunting. The big celt or scraper at the bottom is four
teen inches long, and came from Clarke County, given the
author by Isaac Grant. There is also a tomahawk from
near Selma.

XV
Cherokee Relics  12
Some of these arrow-heads are from near Florence and
HuntsviUe. The tomahawks and broken pitcher are from
Asheville, N. C, in the Cherokee country. The pitcher
is seven inches high.
Indian Relics, Dauphine Island  14
Showing the animal heads which were used as handles
to pottery. Pieces Of pottery are also given, with orna
mentation. These articles, as well as those in the four
preceding pictures, are in the collection of the author.
Map of the Country in Indian Times....Facing Page 19
This gives a general idea of the country before the white
man made a settlement. The Spiritu Santo and one or
two other Spanish names are given on the coast: These
and the corresponding later maps were drawn by L. II.
McNeill, of Mobile, from information supplied by the
author. Each gives the latitudes 29°, 31°, 33° and
35° North Latitude, and St. Stephens Meridian.
De Soto.  23
This picture is from the Rui Diaz History of Florida,
published in Madrid in 1893. It shows the armor of that
day. )
French Flag  Facing Page 33
Of the time of Louis XIV.
French Ships  38
These are two of the vessels imprisoned in Port Dauphin
by the storm of 1717, as shown upon the drawing made at
that time and place.
Fort Louis de la Mobile, 1702  43
This plan was made when the place was founded in
1702 and still exists in manuscript in the Ministry of
the Colonies at Paris, The two round marks near the
centre do not belong to the map; they are merely the seals of
the Minister of the Colonies.

XVI French Relics, 1702  40
In the upper line are seen two large nails, a piece of
epaulette, and one of the flat bricks out of which the powder
magazine was made. On the lower line is a solid shot,
and a large bar shot. All from the site of Fort Louis.
The bar shot is 13 inches long and of the kind used to fire
at the rigging of ships so as to cut it down. These relics
ivere found by the author in 1897, except the bar shot,
which was found in 1913 by E. T. O'Connor. (See also
Spanish Relics, p 180, and also Sou on Seal of West
Florida, p. 147.)
Bicentennial Monument at Old Fort Louis...  49
Erected by the citizens of Mobile at the bicentennial
celebration at Twenty-Seven Mile Bliiff, and unveiled
with appropriate exercises. It is a block of grantie
about four feet high. On it is: "Erected by thejPeople
of Mobile I January 23, 1902, Ito Commemoratejthe 200th
anniversary I of the Founding here ofjFort Louis de la
Mobilelby Pierre le Moyne Sieur d' IbervillejandjJean
Baptiste Le Moyne Sieur de Bienvillej. ' '
Bienville  52
From Pierre Margry's great collection of documents.
It corresponds to a painting in the Chateau Ramezay
at Montreal. It shows the armor of the day.
Creole Houses    59
These are the style of those built at Mobile from the
beginning, but do riot themselves go back to French times.
They are at the northeast corner of St. Francis and Law
rence Streets.
Mobile, 1711  ..,  63
This pla,n of the city and Fort Louis shows Mobile as it
was established on its present site. With a large magni
fying glass the list of people at the top and description
of the town at the sides gives much information. From
a photograph furnished by the French Ministry of the
Colonies.

XVII
Coutume de Paris.  71
The title page of the Coutume de Paris printed in 1664-
It was formerly owned by Alfred Hennen, Esq., of New
Orleans and is now the property of P. J. Hamilton.
French Cannon  80
In Bienville Square will be found two cannon, illus
trated in this volume, both from Fort Charlotte. This
tapering gun is of French times.
Harbor of La rochelle  83
Through this entrance to the port of La Rochelle the
French discoverers passed and repassed to Mobile. The
picture is recent, but the towers in the foreground and the
church in the background are ancient.
Cannon From Fort Toulouse  85
In the Museum of Alabama Department of Archives
at Montgomery. The brass breechhck is itself bored and
can be used as a gun; an unreliable tradition says that
it belonged to De Soto. The wooden carriage is modern.
Port Dauphin  89
In the illustration will be seen a number of French
houses and small boats. This is from the same drawing
as the French Ships.
City Hall, La Rochelle    95
It has existed substantially in its present form for many
centuries, and was familiar to the Frenchmen who founded
Mobile.
Mobile Coast.. —  —  109
Among the maps issued by Law's Company was this
of the Coast of Louisiana, of which Mobile, the Nouveau
Fort Louis, was the principal city. It shows the location
of the Old ( Vieux) Fort and many other places.
British Merchant Flag  Facing P, 131
Selected because the Nation is essentially commercial.

KVIII
Major Robert Farmar  135
The portrait, showing him in uniform, has been
furnished by one of his descendants. The Major spelled
his name with an "a" in the second syllable.
Map of the Country in British Times  Facing P, 137
The Indian and French names appear, but to them
are now added some British settlements, showing the
gradual advance of the white man at the expense of the
Indian. The map shows the first Indian cession, that
of 1765 to the British.
British Mobile  141
The plat is taken from Roberts' Florida. It shows
Mobile as a country town about the fort, but preserving
the outlines of the old 'French city.
Seal of West Florida  147
Shows the British coat of arms ivith the lion and the
unicorn on the obverse and on the reverse a rural scene.
Everything is in Latin. At the sides is a copy of the
French Sou of John Law's time, having on the obverse
crossed L's under a crown, and the words "Colonies
Francoises." (The Sou has nothing to do with the seal.)
British Admiralty Chart, 1771   149
Made under the supervision of Durnford and is the
first one giving soundings. It shows also the lay of
the coast and its settlements at that time.
British Gannon  156
The piece came from Fort Charlotte, and is marked
by the official Broad Arrow of the navy. It is now
mounted in Bienville Square.
Spanish Flag  Facing P, 159
Spanish Flag, Eighteenth Century.
Galvez  161
This portrait was furnished by William Beer of the
Howard Memorial Library at New Orleans. Galvez is
shown in full official costume.

XIX
Spanish Land Grants  166
Shown in their positions relative to each other and to the
principal modern streets of Mobile. The map was
drawn for Colonial Mobile by J. R. Peavey, Jr., under
direction of the author.
Ellicott Stone  ,  169
The stone is about three feet high, although in the
picture it looks much higher.
Map of the Country in Spanish Times  i  173
The northern district is not shown in detail because
West Florida never extended so far, and in later Spanish
times was limited to the coast south of latitude 31 degrees.
Spanish Passport  177
Shows the beginning of the Spanish Passport among
the archives in the Mobile Probate Court. The Spanish
seal is at the top, and the private seal of Col. Bouligny
is at the bottom of the original.
Spanish Relics  —  180
The piece of shell shown was found by R. L. Yuille
on the Eastern Shore. It is very thick. The solid shot
is from a house in Pensacola which stood on the site of a
Spanish ba^ttery. The half shot to the right is from Fori
St. Stephen. [The gavel at the top is French, being
made from cedar ivhich came from Bienville's Wharf at
the foot of Government Street.)
Pioneer Relics  -  -  -  186
The old time hoe is from the neighborhood of St.
Stephens. There is also shown a steel, used to light a
fire by striking a flint, from the Totcacha Mounds, in
Baldwin County The axe, crushed in from being used
as a wedge, came from the neighborhood of Fort Jackson _
Spanish Mobile  -  I89
A curious map from the papers of Louis Troost, a^
old surveyor at Mobile. Observe the strange way in ti'hi^j^
it indicates doors or entrances.

XX
American Flag  Facing P, 191
United States Flag, Early Nineteenth Century.
Pushmataha  200
In the regimentals of which this Choctaw chief was so
proud, given him by General Floumoy at the beginning of
the Creek War.
Water Front in 1823  211
Around the Goodwin and Haire map of 1823 are
pictures of buildings of the time, and at the top is this
view of the water front. Observe the steamboat.
Mobile in 1823   218
The Goodwin and Haire map is usually spoken of as
dating from 1824, ii)hen it was published, but it was
drawn the year before. It is the earliest map of the
whole city and shows its extension back from the river
to which il had heretofore clung. Only one copy of this
map exists.
Garrow House, 1819     222
Formerly on Government Street, opposite the Presby
terian Church, residence of Mayor S. H. Garrow. It
had on the gutter-heads the date 1819. Tradition said
that LaFayette was entertained there, — an honor claimed
by several other houses.
A Government Street Home of the Thirties...... 229
Built by Rev. William T. Hamilton in 1836 and pulled
down by a subsequent owner about 1900. The trees were
planted by Dr. Hamilton and his sons. In early days
it had a fence in front and the gates were locked at night.
. The walks and drives were edged with bricks and box
hedge and summer houses were on both sides of the lot.
Map of Alabama in 1830  Facing P. 235
This shows the gradual development of the state, the
only obstacle to its unity being remnants of the Indian
tribes in the east and west and ai the north. Ins'ead

XXI
of four Indian tribes, we now have five American states
near the Gulf. With the next step, the removal of
the Indians, began the railroads.
Bishop Michael Portier  238
From a photograph furnished by Bishop E. P Allen.
Dr. j. R. Burgett     240
From a photograph in the family.
Bishop R, H, Wilmer  241
From a photograph presented by him to Dr. Burgett.
Railroad Money  246-247
These two pieces of paper money were issued by rail
roads in central Alabama at the time of their construc
tion in the thirties.
Barton Academy  253
Shows the Academy as it was before the present wings
were added. It was taken immediately after the Civil
War, and gives one of the horse cars of the time.
J. C. Nott  257
From a photograph given by Dr. Nott to one of his
patients.
A. B. Meek  260
From the Reminiscences of William R. Smith, a warm
friend of Judge Meek.
Madame Le Vert     261
From an engraving in the possession of ihe Y. M.C.A.,
of Mobile.
Augusta Evans Wilson    262
Represents Mrs. Wilson in his later years and is from
a photograph given by her to the author.
C. C. Langdon...  -  265
From a photograph in the possession of Mrs. Jack F.
Ross, Mobile.
Theodore O'Hara  266
From a print furnished by Dr. Erwin Craighead,

/

XXII
G. A. Ketchum  268
From an early photograph.
Dauphin Street    .'  272
Shows the old buildings, and also the iron fence around
Bienville Square.
Battle House.....  —  — -  273
From a bill-head of the Battle House dated 1853,
shortly after its construction.
Municipal Building    275
As it was before the remodelling of 1911.
John A. Campbell  277
From a photograph presented by Judge Campbell to
Peter Hamilton.
R. H. Smith  282
From a photograph in the possession of his daughter,
Mrs. J. B. Thornton.
Confederate Flag  ....Facing P. 289
Battle Flag of the Southern Confederacy.
John Forsyth  '.  295
This is part of a group in the editorial rooms of the
Mobile Register.
Map of Country in Confederate Times....Facing P. 299
Abram J. Ryan  304
From his Collected Works.
Archibald Gracie  311
From a photograph in the possession of Miss Broivn,
of Mobile.
James Hagan   315
From a photograph in the possession of his son,
John D. Hagan.
Confederate Cannon  316
Brought from Fort Morgan and mounted in Duncan
Place in Mobile by William Butler Duncan.

xxm
Raphael Semmes  320
From a photograph of the Admiral as he appeared
about the time of the War.
The Florida  :  :  324
As she was rUHning through the blockaders into
Mobile Bay. Froth a paiHting belonging to the late
L. G. Stone, her eicecutive officer.
Map of Mobile Bay i'h ConfediIRate Times.... Facing 327
Copied from att old Confederate tracing. The three
lines of entrenchrHents about Mobile have been platted
in by Mr. L. H. McNeill.
The Tennessee  328
Shows her profile before battle as given in Scharf's
"Confederate Stales Navy."
Confederate Relics  330
.Showing a McKinstry pike, a piece of a Farragut
shell, a shrapnel from Blakely, And some copper from the
wreck of the Keai-sarge.
Admiral Franklin Buchanan  331
Of the Virginia and the Temitssee.
The Tennessee ArtttR the BATtLR  332
The smokestack is gone and thi smoke is pouring out
of the vessel.
Guard House  —  341
This quaint toiver held the fire bell and clock above and
below was the city prison. The police headquarters were
on Conti, and the mayor's court room upstairs near the
corner of St. EmdHUel. The walls tti6re thick, in Spanish
style. The buildings were erected in the forties.
Thos. H, Herndon  ,  347
From a photograph.
Peter Hamilton  348
With his signdtiire.

XXIV Gustavus Horton  ,  349
From a photograph in the possession of the family.
Lewis T, Woodruff  354
Copied from a portrait prefixed to the City Directory
of 1870 after the death of Colonel Woodruff caused by the
falling of a wall at afire.
City Money  357
Furnished by Mayor Schwarz.
Mobile Fire Dept. Insurance Co. Sign  369
From an iron sign of the company now in the pos
session of the author. It is fourteen inches long. It had
to be photographed on a larger scale than the other articles
in order to be distinct.
Foote's Money.....  370
A bill formerly in the possession of William H. Ross,
of Mobile.
Bicentennial Medal  389
Copied from one of the bronze medals struck by the city
in 1911. The silver medal is less distinct.

PERIOD I.
THE SPANIARDS IN THE INDIAN COUNTRY
1519-1670

A UTHORITIES.
General. P, J, Hamilton, Colonial Mobile (1897, revised
edition 1911); Colonization of the South, (1904) (History of
North America Series) ; Justin Winsor, Narrative and
Critical History (8 volumes, 1887) ; Transactions Alabama
Historical Society; Transactions Mississippi Historical
Society, Indian. Gatschet, Creek Migration Legend, (1884;) Haw
kins, Sketch of Creek CoM«/r>',(l799;)American State Papers,
Indian Relations (1832, Vols, I and II); A. J, Pickett,
History of Alabama (1851, reprint 1900),
Spanish, Documents. Maps and Papers at Seville, of
which a description is given in P, T, Lanzas, Mapas,
Pianos, etc., de Mexico y /^/on't^a, (1900;) American State
Papers, Public Lands (Vols, I-VI) ; White, Neiv Recopilacion,
(1839) (Vols, I and II); Translated Records, Mobile Probate
Court; Original Records, Mobile Probate Court,
Travels. Garcilaso, Florida, (1605;) True Relation of the
Gentleman of Elvas, (1557,) (both in Spanish Explorers,
1907); Biedma, Relation, and Ranjel, Relation, in Trail
Maker Series, (1904;) Ternaux Compans, i?ecMei/ Floride;
Collot, Atlas; Cabeza de Vaca, (in Shipp's Florida, and in
Spanish Explorers, 1907),
Histories. Ba:rcia, Ensayo Cronologico (1723); W, B,
Scaife, America, Its Geographical History (1892) ; W, Lowery
Spanish Settlements in U. S. (1901); E. Ruidiaz, Florida
(1893, 2 Vols.); Grace King, i^e Soto and his Men in the
Land of Florida, 1898.

CHAPTER I.
THE COUNTRY AND THE NATIVES.
1. The Rivers. The part of North America now occu
pied by the United States can be divided into three great
districts. The eastern is the slope from the Apalachian
Mountains to the Atlantic Ocean, where we now find great
states from Maine to Georgia, and the western is the country
from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific, settled much
later. The middle region is that extending between these
mountain ranges from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of
Mexico, and, because drained by the Mississippi River
and its branches, it is called the Mississippi Basin. It is
by far the greatest region in size and in natural products.
Strange to say the Mississippi River has no large branch
on the east side south of the Ohio River. This is due to
the fart that the Apalachian Mountain System extends so
far to the southwest that the elevation of the country
throws the drainage southwardly. In this way there are
to be found several rivers flowing into the Gulf, from the
Chattahoochee on the east to Pearl River on the west,
but by far the largest river system is that formed by the
Alabama River on the one side and the Tombigbee on the
other. These finally come together in the Mobile River
and make up what may be called the Alabama-Tombigbee
Basin, which is second only to the Mississippi Basin in
size and importance.
2. Soil. When we speak of the South we must take
into account a warm climate, where ice and snow are not
common and where winter hardly lasts' two months. To
make up, however, there is a good deal of rain, caused by
the moist winds from the Gulf meeting the colder winds
from the north. These two elements of warmth and

4 Under Five Flags
moisture have much to do with climate, but another feature
is the soil. The mountain region in which our rivers rise
is made up of rocks of different epochs, and, while they
produce coal and iron, these were not known until lately.
The heads of the Alabama and Tombigbee Valleys cut
through this mountain country to within a few miles of the
Tennessee River, which here makes a sweep to the south
before emptying into the Ohio. But the main interest of
our story will be connected with the streams which join to
make up the Mobile River. While they flow to the south,
it is a curious fact that the different kinds of soil through
which they pass lie in belts parallel with the Gulf of Mexico,
and our river system therefore cuts through different kinds
of land. The belt of land furthest north is the Mineral
Region of which we have spoken. The streams making
up the Alabama and the Tombigbee Rivers pass through
this, but on account of rocks they generally cannot be used
for boats. This is the nature of the Tallapoosa and Coosa
rivers which pass over falls at Tallasee and Wetumpka
before they unite to form the Alabama, and the same is true
of the Black Warricr River in the west, whose principal
falls are at Tuscaloosa. The Warrior unites with the Tom
bigbee, whose upper portion is broken by sandbars rather
than by falls. Next south of this Mineral Belt is what is
called the Black Belt, made up of limestone and which is
the most fertile part of the .South. This sweeps in a broad
crescent through the whole country from the mouth of the
Ohio River nearly to the Atlantic Ocean. The third and
last division of soil of interest to us is what is known as
Pine Belt, a sandy region extending from the Gulf Coast
inward for about one hundred miles. When the oak
forests are cut away, the Black Belt is suitable for corn and
cotton, but the Pine Belt produces only forests, valuai)le
for their timber. This pine region is underlaid by a clay

¦..+f.'*W'> ""v^ v.-

s.

t3 <3

S
S
.a

>«K

i TIERA DEAaLOl
^^ TIERA DE GARAY ±:S^;^^f^- "'

THE spiritu SANTO AND GULF COAST (1519)

6 Under Five Flags
sub-soil which retains fertilizers, and therefore it can be
made to produce corn and vegetables in abundance. The
Alabama-Tombigbee Basin, therefore, is made up of three
very different kinds of country, but the rivers flow south
through all of them and unite at the marshy delta above
Mobile Bay, and in this way brought the different districts
and peoples into relations with each other. The basin is
now largely within the State of Alabama, but the sources
of the rivers are in the states of Georgia and Mississippi.
While it was not separated by mountains from other parts
of the South, the district had a unity of its own, and its
people could develop independently of the rest of the coun
try in a kind of isolation.
3. The Coast Indians. The first inhabitants or abori
gines were called Indians, from the notion of Columbus
that he had' reached India. It would seem as if they came
to America from Asia and one tribe pushed the other on
before it, somewhat as in the Barbarian migrations in
Europe at the fall of the Roman Empire. Those about the
Gulf Coast were divided into a number of tribes, having
more or less in common. Several of the smaller tribes were
of the Sioux race, but cut off by later invasions from their
brethren west of the Mississippi. This was probably the
case with the Biloxi and possibly the Pascagoula, while
the Natchez and Tensaws show greater likeness to Mexican
races. About Mobile and Pensacola Bays the Indian popu
lation was not large, but the tribes of the interior came to
the coast at the fish and oj'ster season in great numbers.
There is' some difficulty in learning much about the natives
on the coast because they had decreased in number by historic
times, and in some cases but few words of their languages
have survived. They were much like the Indians of the
interior and had to some extent passed into the agricultural
state, for they raised the native beans and melons and quite

The Country and the Natives 7
generally that American staple, maize or Indian corn.
Their patches were produced by burning the cane from the
river bottoms, and these were often flooded. On the other
hand although large and small game abounded, fishing and

4 ? # j'^'^ri

I

INDIAN RELICS NEAR MOBILE
hunting were very uncertain in results. The men were the
hunters and fishers and the women were the farmers.
4. The Chickasaws. The name Muscogean is applied
to three of the four great southern nations. It would seem
thai; what were afterwards known as the Choctaws, Chicka
saws and Creeks were originally one nation, who, after

8 Under ..Five Flags
reaching the Alabama-Tombigbee Basin from the north
west, broke into three branches. Of these the Choctaws
and Chickasaws were the most closely allied and remained
side by side. The Choctaws were the further south and
extended from the Alabama River almost to the Mississippi.
The Chickasaws were further north, in the country between
tne sources of the Yazoo and the Tombigbee Rivers. The
Chickasaws were the fiercest of the southern Indians, and
fighting was their normal condition. They were the small
est of the tribes, but the most feared. Their boundary
with the Choctaws was about the Noxubee River, meaning
Fighting Water, a name derived from the bloody en
counters in its vicinity; for their kinship increased rather
then lessened the ferocity of the wars.
5. The Choctaws. The Choctaws were the most num
erous of the southern Indians, and, like the others, divided
into clans on the basis of descent from one mother. These
clans bore names of animal totems or signs, representing
their ancestors, and members of any one could not eat the
flesh of the particular bird, fish or beast from whom they
claimed descent. This reminds us much of ancient Egypt,
for the clan system we find there, in Scotland and in many
other parts of the world. Leading men of the clans met
in a common council for discussion of public matters. The
older men ruled in peace, while in war there was a special
commander, and the warriors were from the younger men.
War with the neighboring Chickasaws and Creeks was
perhaps the normal state of affairs, but within the Choctaw
nation itself there were few quarrels. In late times we
shall find three subdivisions of the Choctaws — the South
eastern and Eastern about the Tombigbee, and the Western
or Six Towns near the Mississippi. They lived in what are
known as towns, but the word had a different meaning then.
Their houses were generally tents, made of bark or skins

The Country and the Natives

upheld by poles, in which the Indians slept on the ground,
covered by a skin or blanket. There was no furniture in
our sense of the word — seldom even the box, from which
has gradually grown the different pieces of furniture so

':(..!:.

 "IIW

U! I::'

INDIAN RELICS, ALABAMA RIVER
famihar in European and American homes. The houses
were grouped around a central space reserved for meetings,
and the number of the inhabitants of any town was not
large. The towns were situated on or near water courses
and were connected by trails, which were well known to the

10 Under Five Flags
Indians, and in some cases were originally laid out by the
buffalo. 6. The Mobilians. From the earliest times we find a
language called Mobilian, the best known of all from the
Atlantic to the Mississippi, and indications of what the
Spaniards called "an empire," covering the whole central
South, and with its capital at Maubila. The exact site of
this town is one of the puzzles which may never be solved.
We can only safely say that it was somewhere between the
Alabama and Tombigbee Rivers, and probably in either
Clarke or Marengo Counties of our day; for several authors
give it as about one hundred and twenty miles from the
coast. Indian towns when destroyed would leave hardly
a trace behind. Maubila was near a lake, and the country
abounded in palmettoes, but a lake, palmettoes and arrow
heads can be found at many places. There is every reason
to believe that the people were Choctaws; the name
Maubila itself is Choctaw, and means "paddlers." The
few words which we have of theirs seem to be Choctaw also,
and the best plan would seem to be for us to think of Mau
bila as the chief town of the Choctaws east of the Tombigbee
River and in its day having through its chief a commercial
and political influence over much of the Alabama-Tom
bigbee Pasin.
7. Creeks or Muscogees. About the Coosa and the
Tallapoosa Rivers lived an Indian Nation who on account
of the number of watercourses in their country were to be
known to the English as "Creeks;" but they called them
selves "Muscogees." From time to time they adopted
remnants of foreign tribes, and all lived in apparent harm
ony. Originally they extended to the Atlantic Ocean and
it was from them that the English acquired the coast of
Georgia. At a later date also some of them were on the
Chattahoochee River, where they were called the Lower

The Country and the Natives 11
Creeks, to distinguish them from the Upper on the Coosa
and Tallapoosa. The Northern Creeks always had a
capital or principal town, Coza or Cosa, on the river
named from it, which was early celebrated, and later
the capital was lower down at Tookabatcha. The country
about these two sources of the Alabama is a rugged, well
wooded district, sometimes fertile and productive in
game, that part of the South first known to outsiders and
the last which the Indians were to claim. The Creeks
were perhaps more warlike than the Choctaws and were in
constant conflict with them. In later times the boundary
between the two nations wa.s the winding watershed
between the Alabama and the Tombigbee Rivers; but in
the Spanish period the boundary was probably further
east, for Cahaba is a Choctaw word.
8. The Cherokees. Far to the north on both sides of the
upper Tennessee River lived the fourth of the great south
ern tribes, known in history as the Cherokees, who had
probably been the builders of the famous mounds on the
Ohio River, They have proved td be the Indians, most
easily civilized, but up in their mountains they were the
most remote from European influence- and were the most
serious obstacle to white colonization. Their true country
was in the mountains of the presentstates of North Carolina,
Georgia and Tennessee, now called the "Land of the Sky,"
Those on the southern slopes were known as the Lower
Cherokees and those beyond as the Upper, It was only
in later times that the Tennessee Valley came to be fre
quented by them. Their mountain country produced gold,
as they found out and the Spanish after them; but they
held their lands by bravery rather than by trade.
The Cherokees were not less brave than the Chickasaws,
whom they joined on the west, and in fact all of the south
ern Indians were great warriors. The settled habits and

12

Under Five Flags

courage of the four great nations were so marked as to make
their history more famous than any American Indians
except the Iroquois of the North,
9. What the Mounds Tell Us. We know something of
the Indians from the white races who found them here, but
this information is often unfair, for it comes from enemies.

CHEROKEE RELICS
We learn a great deal also from remains which the Indians
have left. Not only do the rivers and creeks retain the
musical names of these aborigines, but, scattered along the
streams can still be found mounds, sometimes of great
height, graves and other works, some almost as important
as the famous mounds on the Ohio, On the Alabama
River in Wilcox County are many mounds, and on the
Tombigbee near modern Livingston are a number from

IJie Country and the Natives 13
which have been taken beautiful stone vases and weapons,
besides the pottery, ornaments and human remains gener
ally found. The seashore is not free of shell mounds and
other evidences of the past, and one striking work can be
still seen in a canal connecting Bon Secours Bay with the
Gulf of Mexico, This has since been overgrown with forest
trees, but bears evidence of great labor by some prehistoric
race. The use of these places is not always clear. The
mounds may have been sometimes for defence against
enemies, sometimes a refuge from floods, and most of them
have been used for burial.
10. Weapons, Implements and Utensils. The first
things in use by man as tools must have been of wood, but
wooden articles soon decay. Over all the world the oldest
things which we now find are of stone, and hence it is said
that the first period in human history was the Stone Age,
In other parts of the world bronze was next used for such
things, and then iron proved the best of all; but in America
early man had not gone so far. Doubtless at first one or
two articles sufficed for all uses; for a stone could crack a
nut or hit an enemy, but the Indians had reached the stage
where they had weapons for war and implements foi-
peace. The principal weapons were the bow and arrow,
the spear and axe or tomahawk. The bows were of bent
wood with deer sinew for the string, and the arrows were
of cane or other light wood. The spears were also of wood,
but the arrow and spearheads of stone have survived in
great variety. Sometimes we find places where they were
made, with piles of the little chips which were skillfully
broken off until the weapon had the shape desired. Many
tomahawks are also found, shaped like a hatchet, but with
two grcoves across the sides instead of a hole for the handle.
The handle was split, the tomahawk inserted, and then
tied. Sometimes the axe was driven through a sapling

14 Under Five Flags
and, after the wood had firmly closed in the grooves, the
sapling was cut off so as to form a handle. Unlike man in
the age of metals, the Indians had no swords. The great
variety of stone used for their weapons shows that there
was an extensive trade between different parts of the coun
try, for arrow heads made of stone from the Great Lakes
are common in the South. Some of the same articles were
used for peaceful implements, for a tomahawk would cut
down a tree. There was nothing but a forked "stick for
plowing and no real garden tools. All the southern tribes
had learned to make pottery, for clay was abundant.

INDIAN RELICS, DAUPHINE ISLAND
Pots were built up by coiling clay formed like a rope into
the required shape, polished afterwards by hand, and then
burned hard. Frequently fanciful lines or animals were
scratched upon the surface, or handles affixed showing
animal heads or tails, and a glaze was sometimes
added which made the ware more useful and lasting. The
pottery was of all shapes and sizes, and, while most of it
was used to cook food, large pieces sometimes received
the bones of the dead. There is at Philadelphia a collec
tion of pots, each several feet high, filled with human
bones from our part of the country. The weapons which

The Country and the Natives 15
survive are much like those found in other places over the
world — for instance, like those which have been dug up in
England — and show that the Indians in the Sixteenth
Century were at the same stage of culture that the old
Britons were in the times before Christ. They were
fighters rather than farmers. The axe, plough and anvil
have been the great instruments of civilization, and the
ignorance of metals prevented their use in America. The
Indians had no domestic animal to help them except the
dog, and so could not increase their work beyond what their
own hands could do. And now in their home country they
were to meet white races which had made all the progress
of which mankind was capable.

CHAPTER II.
THE BAY OF SPIRITU SANTO.
1. Spain. The Indians were, not only of the Stone Age,
but their civilization itself seemed petrified. The history
of the South was not to be that of their development; they
were rather to be a foil for European invaders — a stone
upon which these were to be sharpened. When the time
came for this, Spain was the leading country of Europe.
The Dark Ages passed with the Renaissance of the 15th
century, and by this time each of the countries which had
grown up on parts of the old Roman Empire had acquired
a character of its own. Nowhere was this truer than in
the southwestern peninsula of Europe, Spain. Its old
Gothic races with their Roman varnish had been pushed
back by the Moors, but, after a long duel, which was
really the survival of the old Crusades, the two Spanish
kingdoms of Castile and Leon became one under the flag
bearing their two emblems of the castle and the lion.
Afterwards when Isabella was queen her marriage with
Ferdinand of Aragon joined all Christian Spain, and
Ferdinand and Isabella conquered Granada and
expelled the Saracens from Europe, During these cen
turies of warfare the Spaniards became the best soldiers
of Europe, and, while the conflict had been marked by
chivalry, it had also developed a spirit of cruelty.
i^. Discoveries. The neighboring country of Portugal
had become the leading maritime nation of the clay, ancl not
only had her Prince Henry explored the coast of Africa,
but her merchants were establishing posts in the East
Indies. The acquisition of Seville made Spain a rival, and,
as if showing how greatness was leaving the Mediterranean,
it was for Spain that the Genoese Columbus discovered

The Bay of Spiritu Santo 17
the New World, In several voyages he explored His-
paniola and Cuba, and, sailing up and down the Atlantic
coast, he and his successors gradually outlined the two
continents of North and South America, The English
and French were to follow in their turn, but the sea which
we know as the Gulf of Mexico was first occupied by the
Spaniards, Ponce de Leon explored Florida, six years
later Cortez conquered the rich Aztec kingdom of Mexico,
and Jamaica soon became a Spanish colony,
3. Cuba and Mexico. Columbus supposed that he had
reached the Asiatic islands, and maps of his followers did
not show America as a continent. One of 1513 is supposed
to have been based upon a map of Columbus and it shows
not only the West Indies, Mexico, and Florida, but a series
of rivers and indentations along the north coast of the Gulf,
These are no doubt guess work, but Cuba, Jamaica, and .
Mexico gradually became settled by the Spaniards, and
the starting points for their explorations to the north and
south, Peru was to be the richest prize, but the countries
from Peru to Mexico were found to be not only valuable
in themselves, but important as containing • the roads
between the Atlantic and the Pacific, The Spaniards were
little more than the ruling class, bent upon finding the
gold and silver which Hispaniola, Mexico, and Peru
furnished in abundance, and the greed of their leaders
increased the cruel spirit which they had inherited from
the Moorish wars, Indians of Mexico and other
southern countries were more advanced in the arts of peace
than those of the upper Gulf coast, but they had lost much
of the warlike spirit which prevailed further to the north.
They had neither horses nor firearms, two agents which
made the Spaniards formidable, and could offer but slight
resistance. In this way the new world was fast becoming
provinces of Spain,

18 Under Five Flags
4. Pineda's Voyage. While most of the adventurers
sought the west and south, a governor of Jamaica named
Garay determined to explore the north, and find out
whether Florida was an island, as others reported. If so,
there would be a passage further west and other lands to
conquer. He selected for his admiral one Pineda, who in
1519 explored the whole north shore of the Gulf from east to
wcsl. His report was somewhat vague, as was to be ex
pected in an unmapped country, but probably he discovered
what wc know as Mobile Bay and River, He reported to
Garay that he had found a river of great volume and on it
a considerable town, where he remained forty days trading
with liie natives and cleaning the hulls of the boats. On
ascending the river he saw on its banks within six leagues
forty Indian villages, and these would seem to be shown by
the mounds still seen on Mobile and Tensaw Rivers,
This is confirmed by the map which Garay next year sent
home to Spain to illustrate Pineda's voyage. On the north
coast of the Gulf the map gives a pear-shaped bay within
the coast line, with a long eastern offset at the south, and
the legend (writing) on the map gives the name "Spiritu
Santo," the first ever given to this sheet of water. The
map seems to have been the basis of several afterwards
made, one of them being a Spanish plan of seven years
later, on which by far the most prominent body of water
emptying into the Gulf is the double Bay called "Mar
Pequeiia," which means a little sea of salt water. Flowing
into it is the Rio Del Spiritu (River of the Spirit), emptying
by several mouths. This map is by Ribero and can still
be seen at Weimar, where it was brought by the great
Emperor Charles V from Spain,
5. Narvaez in Florida. Mexico had come to be known
as New Spain, with claims to the north and northeast, and,
when Florida was gradually found not to be an island, the

The Bay of Spiritu Santo 19
name of Florida was likewise extended towards the north
and northwest. One of the adventurers of both districts
was Panfilo de Narvaez, He was given a commission from
Spain to put Cortez out of Mexico, but found himself
dri^¦en away by Cortez and \^'ith the loss of an eye. Foiled
in this direction, he obtained a permission for the conquest
of Florida, and in 1528 sailed from Cuba for his new prov
ince. He landed near what we call Tampa Bay and made
his way overland to the north and west, trying upon the
fierce natives of the peninsula the methods which the Span
iards had employed with the milder races of Mexico. The
result was disastrous to both sides, and finally Narvaez
was glad to seek the coast at Apalache, near where the
peninsula of Florida joins the mainland. He wintered
there, lost some of his horses, and made boats to proceed
further west; and it is this voyage which brings him within
our territory. He coasted along Florida, landing occasion
ally for water, and spent some time at an island which
may have been the one we call Dauphine. The French
were afterwards to find near its western end a heap of
human bones, which led them to name it Massacre Island,
and these they thought were the remains of some of Nar-
\aez' party. This is hardly true, but there can be no doubt
at least that he visited our shores and obtained provisions.
He did not come to colonize, however, and gladly hoisted
his sails for the west. The waters of some large stream, it
may be the Mississippi, drove his boat far out to sea, and
there he perished, but one boat load of his followers under
Cabeza de Vaca landed in what we call Texas, and a few of
them were to make a famous overland exploration to the
west. 6. Spanish Colonization. There were among the dif
ferent nations different reasons and different methods of
colonization. Not that any one of them had a special

20 Under Five Flags
plan. Often then, as now, people would embark upon an
expedition for their private' purposes and were only recog
nized by the home government when it was to the advantage
of the ruler. At the same time, in such kingdoms as Spain
and France, the theory was that military service was due
the king, and no one could leave the country without his
consent. The king was to be the sharer in the profits of
any foreign undertaking. A cedula or other kind of a grant
was necessary, and none of the Spanish expeditions were
undertaken without one or without approval afterwards.
The two great objects were the gold and silver discovered
and the conversion of the heathen Indians. While the
latter might be the stronger motive with the king, the
hope of gold was the stronger with the adventurers them
selves. There was as yet no definite plan of government.
What was set up was military rule by a governor and he
would subdivide the country on similar principles. Never
theless, after the first invasion was over, humanity asserted
itself, religion enforced its claims, and the cruelty of the
first generation changed into a fatherly rule over the natives.
So long as tribute was paid to the military, the good padres
were allowed to look after the civil life of the natives. It
will be interesting to note the different ways in which the
European races treated the Indians of America. The
Spanish began with methods which to modern eyes seem
cruel. Natives of Hispaniola were compelled to work in
mines and in fields, to which they were not accustomed, and
were crushed out of existence. But the Spaniards came to
realize that this was wrong from every point of view, and
after the first invasions of the continent the Indians learned
to love their conquerors, and flourished under Spanish
rule. For this much credit must be given to the good
Queen Isabella and her successors and to the priests
whom they sent out. The priests not only taught the

J^he Bay of Spiritu Santo 21
natives religion, but taught them civilization, and each
Catholic mission was surrounded by Indian families, who
were not only gardeners, but also learned the different
industries which were known in Spain.
7. Plate Fleets. Looking at the colonies from the point
of view of the government, the chief sign of Spanish rule
was- the gold and silver sent home as the king's share of the
products of a country. In course of time it amounted to
milhons of dollars and was the basis of the Spanish power
in Europe and in world affairs. It was therefore important
not only to- raise this tribute, but to protect it on its way to
Spain. Much came by ships from the Pacific ports of
Peru to Panama, and then by mule train overland to the
eastern ports, whence it was taken to Spain. The ships
sometimes sailed by Havana, sometimes stopped for more
silver at /Vera Cruz in Mexico. As silver (plata) was the
particular metal shipped, these fleets came to be known as
the Plate Fleets, and were a great temptation to other
nations of the day. They had to be guarded by a squadron
of armed ships called an armada. In every war Spain
found her plate fleets attacked, and even in peace pirates
or freebooters swooped down- upon the Spanish ports in
Europe and America. For this reason it was necessary
for Spain to guard the entrances to the Gulf of Mexico.
The fleet homeward bound followed the course of the Gulf
Stream along the coast of Florida, and was protected by
Havana on the one side and by Flprida on the other. Much
of Spanish persistence and severity are to be explained by
the strict measures needed to keep other nations out
of the Gulf of Mexico. Even within the Gulf the frequent
storms and shipwrecks made it important to have refuges
for ships, and hence it was that the north coast wasexplored
from time to time with the view of placing colonies at
points like the Bay of Spiritu Santo. Making Spain

22 Under Five Flags
supreme in America would keep her supreme in Europe, and
to effect this the ocean between must be Spanish also.
It was the old dream of a world empire, and as a means
to this end the Gulf of Mexico was to be made a Spanish
lake. This was the work of explorers and sailors during
the sixteenth century.

CHAPTER III.
DE SOTO.
h Hernando De Soto. The most famous of the Spanish
explorers was Hernando de Soto. He had been in the con
quest of Peru and had married its conqueror's daughter, the

DE SOTO
Donna Isabella de Bobadilla, and became governor of
Cuba and adelantado of the shadowy realm of Florida.
After visiting Cuba, he sailed from Havana in May, 1539,
for Florida. What happened between his arrival near
Tampa some days later with his five hundred and seventy

24 Under Five Flags
soldiers and the arrival in Mexico in 1513 of the half who
survived is one of the most romantic stories in history.
There are four narnitivcs baserl on eye witnesses, and in
genc-ral tliey agree. When the expedition landed there were
beside.-, liis men two hundred and twenty-three horses, and
thirteen hogs. He is generally creditetl with artillery,
which he did not; ha\-e, and most historians ha\'e forgotten
the hogs, which really controlled his speed. fJe Soto did
not keep his fleet with him, but, after having it explore and
find a harbor called .-\chuse towards the west, he sent the
.ships to Cuba, with instructions to return for him in
l<"~eljriiary of the ne.\t year.
3. The Route of De Soto. The narrators give an account
of wearisome marches through forests, struggling in
niarshes, fording ri\ers, and fighting Indians, but there is
little by which to identify the different places. When
tlu.-v' cr(.>ssed a ri\-er the writer does not e\en give an Indian
name nor does he often know where it flows. No wonder,
therefore, that historians have disputed down to tlie
present as to the route pursued. At least we know that
the\' struck inland, and, after finding an interpreter in
(")rriz, a sur\i\or of Narvaez' expedition, they got to
.\palache in October. It was there that they wintered
and sent Maldonado on his sea expedition. In the spring
De Soco struck out northeast and crossed rivers flowing
towards the .Atlantic, and then turned northwest and passed
the Savannah Ri\'er, not far from Avhere .Augusta was to
stand. There he robbed the dead of their pearls, and,
ptirstiiug hib usual plan, took with him as a captive the
wonum chief, whom the Spaniards, using European titles,
culled the "queen." The Spaniards had horses, but these
were lor them to ride on, loaded as they were with iron
armor, and the lack of domestic animals had to be made up
by iisinij the natives as carriers of burdens itamcmes).

De Soto 25
This march brought them to the territory of the Chalaques,
who would seem to be the Cherokees. In June, 1540,
thev- entered Chiaha, situated on one of the many islands
of the river which one writer calls the Spiritu Santo, and
were well received. In that fertile walnut country they
tarried three weeks. Chiaha would seem to be the Mus
cogee name for potato and the place was probably in
Talladega County; for it was a different country from that
of the Chalaques and we know that Chiaha was after
wards the name of the Tallapoosa River. After a while
they went on down this river, crossing from side to side
and passing several towns, whose names seem to have
survived among the later Muscogees. They found pearls
of the mussel (Unio) in abundance and sent two soldiers
to explore the mountainous province of Chisca, reputed
to be rich in gold. In the middle of July they reached the
famous town of Cosa, apparently upon the same river, and
its chief, clad in fur, came in a litter and welcomed De
Soto to the fruit and supplies of his rich country. Then
they passed through a number of towns, whose names
sound strangely modern, to Talisi, where they spent a
week and released the captive chief of Cosa. The towns
which now followed were probably Alibamon. The most
important village was Humati, and in October they reached
a different territory, that of chief Tuscaloosa. Tradition
has placed this meeting point in what is now Montgomery
County, and from this time we have Choctaw names. The
chief w-as seated on a gallery, his house being on a mound on
one side of the public square. He wore a kind of turban
about his head, a mantle of feathers reached to his feet, and
his emblem was an umbrella bearing a white cross on a
black field. Despite this state, De Soto arrested the chief.
At Piachi, high above a rocky creek, they came upon traces
of Narvaez' expedition, and there crossed what we now

20 , Under Five Flags ,
call the .Alabama River, which emptied into the Bay of
Chiise. Perhaps the place is marked by some of the num
erous mounds in our Monroe and Wilcox Counties, and
the travellers were certainly not far from Claiborne,
.3. Maubila. .After crossing the river they marched
three days through villages, and then, in a country where
chestnuts abounded and the pine is not mentioned, they
arrived at the principal city of the Indians, Maubila,
Despite the dancing, the Spaniards saw weapons secreted
among the palm leav-es of the cabins, anrl Tuscaloosa with
drew himself frr;ni custody and refused to come out. The
Indians even began to shoot arrows and then occurred the
m<:sL furious battle • of colonial days. Some Spaniards
were in a cabin, De Soto and others outside in the town,
but incist of them were beyond the palisades. The fighting
was brave on both sides, but it was mainly b>- each man
lc;r himself. There was not time or opportunity for mar
shalling forces. -At first the Spaniards were nearly driven
out, and then De Soto pretended flight, and was able by
turning back to kill many of the Indians, The rest were
shut tip in the town, which the Spaniards set on fire, but
the}' were able to rescue the soldiers who had been left
in a cabin. The result of naked bravery against armor
and discipline could not be doubtful, and yet one hundred
ancl forty-eight Spaniards were wounded and twerkt,y-two
killed, and, worse than this, seven horses were slain, besides
twenty-eight injured. One man says that more than
twenty arrows were fastened in his cotton armor. The
Indian loss was far greater, three thousand being killed,
including the son of Tuscaloosa and probably the chief
himself, for he was never found. The Spaniards lost all
their pearl treasures in the fire and also the chalice; moulds
for making wafers, and the wine for the mass, so that,
as they put it, they were left like Arabs, completely stripped

De Soto 27
of all their hard toil. The priests consulted and came to
the conclusion that wheat flour was necessary for the
sacrament, and that corn meal could not be used. The
best they could do, therefore, was to have the usual prayers
and services, but omit the consecration of the mass. This
the soldiers called the "dry mass."
4. The Chicaqas. Meanwhile Maldonado had reached
the rendezvous in the Bay of Chuse, but ^j^poto would
not join him, after having lost everythin^ii He concealed
the news, and, after four weeks recuperation, led his men
northwest into the wilderness. They passed through
swamps and reached a village, shortly afterwards crossed
several rivers with Choctaw names, and finally, in the face
of hostile Indians, passed over to the Chicagas. They
would seem to be near Pontotoc, and there they spent the
winter. De Soto suffered from two savage attacks of the
Chicagas, which nearly equalled the events at Maubila.
It required a long time to make new saddles, lances, and
other weapons from the ash trees of the country, for which
they set up a forge with bellows of bearskin. Later we
find them one time at least in alliance with the Chicagas,
for together they attacked the Saccumas, on the Yazoo
River between the Choctaws and Chicagas. In the early
summer the Spaniards continued their westward march.
6. Death of De Soto. In June, 1541, they crossed the
Rio Grande, our Mississippi, with barges at a place near
modern Memphis. They were to wander a year longer up
and down the Arkansas country, sometimes crossing their
own paths, but never finding the gold of which they were
in search. De Soto finally returned to the Rio Grande and
there on May 21, 1542, died of fever. In order that his
body might be protected against the Indians, it was
buried by his companions iat midnight in the Great River
and they escaped down stream.

CHAPTER IV.
LATER DISCOVERERS.
1. Guido de las Bazares. It is passing strange how
little impression De Soto's expedition made upon his
time. On the many maps which we. have we will find
Cosa, generally near the Rio del Espiritu Santo, which
empties into a two-headed bay, but there seems to be no
guess of the importance of that other river which he named
Rio Grande and we the Mississippi. Perhaps the fate of
Narvaez and De Soto kept other Spaniards from exploring
the interior. It was clear that there were no precious
metals there, and so the Gulf coast attracted attention
only by its harbors. In 1558, however, there was a change,
for Velasco, one of the best viceroys of Mexico, explored
the coast towards the north for colonization. For this
purpose he sent out Bazares with sixty seamen and soldiers
in a bark, galley and shallop. They proceeded northwardly
from our Vera Cruz and Bazares discovered the islands
protecting what we now call Mississippi Sound. In 291
degrees north latitude he found an island about four leagues
from the mainland, and, passing within it, took possession
of what he called Bas Fonde, but did not wait to establish
a colony. This, was probably Pascagoula. Ten leagues
further east he passed another island and discovered the
largest and most commodious bay on the coast, four or
five fathoms deep. It abounded in fish and oysters and
was surrounded by forests of pine, oak and cypress and
the like, while from the interior came what appeared to be
a great river. On the eastern shore were high red hills
and he found Indians cultivating maize, beans, and pump
kins. He first called the water Filipina, but afterwards
named it for Velasco, This would seem to be the bay

Later Discoverers 29
previously called Spiritu Santo by Pineda, and Bazares
would therefore be the re-discoverer of Mobile Bay, His
object was to select a site for a colony, and, as he had
found a suitable place, he now returned to Mexico,
2. The Colony of Tristan. Velasco seems to have
acted upon the report of Bazares and in the summer of the
next year sent out a fleet with fifteen hundred settlers and
soldiers under Tristan de Luna, They landed at Ychuse,
which seems to recall Maldonado's report, and is probably
the place selected by Bazares, The story of this first
Spanish colony is tragic. They thought more of finding
gold than of cultivating the soil, and their commander
sent an expedition far into the interior of the country.
They first came to Nanipacna, possibly at Claiborne, and
then to the well known Cosa, in whose fertile territory
they were aided by the natives. Indeed, we get a glimpse
of aboriginal history, for the Spaniards helped Cosa against
the invading Napoches, who were driven across the river
Spiritu Santo. The Spaniards finally returned to their
settlement at Ychuse, which lasted for two years, despite
frequent suffering from storms, hunger, and dissension.
One time in celebrating the mass the priest prayed his
hearers to love each other as Christ had loved them, and
Tristan was so affected as to reconcile himself then and there
with an officer who was his enemy. Tristan's followers
did not wish to remain as colonists, and so upon the chance
visit of a fleet in 1561 they left in a body. Such was the
end of the first Spanish colony.
3. Pardo's Expedition. And yet colonization was not
at an end. Its sphere was transferred to the Atlantic
coast, where the great leader Pedro Menendez massacred
the Huguenots on the St. Johns River, and founded St.
Augustine to the south and Santa Elena in what is now
Carolina to the north. Then Menendez planned to join the

30 Under Five Flags
Atlantic colonies with Mexico in the west, so that Florida
would be a real province. Accordingly he sent out Juan
Pardo on two expeditions. The first was in 1565, when
Pardo marched to the northwest and from time to time
reached places which remind us of De Soto, Instead of
using cruelty, he would gather the chiefs together and
persuade them to serve God and the Spanish king, and
occasionally he built a fort and left a garrison; but news of
movements by the French on the coast soon caused his
return. The next year he came back and penetrated
farther. He passed Cauchi (probably our Chattahoochee)
and reached Tanasqui (probably our Talisi), and then he
came to Chiaha, where he remained almost two weeks
receiving the submission of the natives in a country which
is highly praised in the accounts. Soon Pardo learned
that many warriors from the Coza country were marching
against him, and so he retraced his steps to the east.
This hostility of the natives does not seem to have been clue
to De Soto, but to war made by one of Pardo's detach-
ineiits, Pardo biiiit forts at Chiaha, and then ii|)oii (he
Cauchi and at other jilaces on the road to Santa filena.
While Menendez, therefore, did not open a road from the
Atlantic to New Spain, he occupied the country as far
west as Chiaha, which was said to be fifteen days march
from Mexico,
4. Negro Slavery. All invaders in history have made
the conquered work for them, and America was no excep
tion; but the Spaniard found that the Indians made poor
workmen, for they were used to war, not manual labor.
On Hispaniola and Cuba they died by the thousand in the
mines and fields, and such was their condition that the good
Bishop Las Casas out of pity for the Indians advocated
the introduction of Africans, who would labor in their
stead. This was done in the sixteenth century and was

Later Discoverers 31
found to be a jiaying venture. The Africans were at
first captives bought from a conquering African tribe and
brought over the ocean to the West Indies, Soon the
custom of slaverj' spread to the mainland and to the pos
sessions of other countries. The reason for the practice
Was that sugar, cotton, tobacco and rice, which are pro
duced in warm climates, require large plantations and call
for work under the hot sun, which is fatal to Europeans,
but natural to Africans. In course of time the labor of
the western Spanish possessions became confined to the
negroes. The first African slaves ever in the South were
those in the train of Narvaez, and there were some with
all the later Spanish expeditions,
5. The Spanish Provinces. While the first explora
tions had been marked by cruelty, actual colonization
from time to time of Menendez was of a different character.
One of the principal objects was conversion of the Indians,
and the strong hold which the Spaniards obtained upon
the nativ es shows the zeal of the padres in the vast province
of i'"lorid:i. At the same time the search for gold was not
neglected, and the yellow and red of the Spanish flag is
said to represent the gold and blood of Spanish history.
Numerous old mines ancl shafts in the mountains of what
we call Carolina and Georgia still show what the Spaniards
accomplished there. This could not have been done
without peaceful relations with the Indians, and it shows
the result of the expeditions and garrisons. Few details
have come down to us, but we know that the Spaniards
were able to map out Gulf and Atlantic provinces with
definite names. Pineda, De Soto, Bazares, Tristan and
Pardo had not labored in vain, for they had led the way.
"Panzacola" near Mobile Bay was one province, and others
extended around the peninsula and even up to Chesapeake
Bay; but it would seem that the Alabama-Tombigbee

32 tinder Five Flags
Basin was not included in any of the Spanish provinces,
and the Mississippi River was forgotten.
It was all Indian country still, but the Europeans had
obtained a foothold from which it would be hard for the
natives to dislodge them. It might be, indeed, that this
was only the beginning of European influence in America.

FRENCH FLAG
(iMglUcciUli CciUiu-y)

PERIOD II.
A FRENCH CAPITAL
1699-1717

A UTHORITIES.
Documents. Maps in Howard Library (New Orleans) ;
Parochial Records, Mobile; Manuscripts by Pierre Margry
in New Orleans; Manuscripts by Magne at New Orleans;
B. F. French, Historical Collections Louisiana, (Vols. I-V);
Jlistorical Collections Louisiana and Florida (Vols. I and
II); Margry, Decouvertes (Vols, I-VI); Cusachs Manu
scripts, New Orleans; French Colonial Records in Ministry
of Colonies at Paris, (transcripts in possession of P, J,
Hamilton,) Travels. Penicaut in French Historical Collections
and in Sth Margry, Decouvertes; B, La Harpe, Journal
Historique (1831); Charlevoix, Histoire de la Notivelle
France, etc, (1744); Le Page du Pratz, Histoire de la
Louisiane; Dumont, Memoires Historiques (French
Historical Collections); Kip's Early Jesuit Missions.
Histories. Charles Gayarr^, Louisiajia (4 Vols,) ; Martin,
Louisiana; A. Fortier, Louisiana (1904, 4 Vols,); Grace
King, Bienville (1892); J, G, Shea, Catholic Missions
(1854), Catholic Church in Colonial Days.

CHAPTER V,
OLD BILOXI.
1. France Under Louis XIV. While Mexico and Peru
were sending their gold to Spain, and the Spaniards were
civilizing the Indians of Florida and making themselves
more humane, there were growing up in Europe two
powers which aimed to take away the Spanish leadership.
The one was Anglo-Saxon England, whose power increased
on the sea as her sailors learned their trade as pirates in
the West Indies or slavers on the African coast. And there
was France, which united Teutonic energy with Latin
culture, and waxed stronger on land as Spanish victories
wore out the victors themselves. Spain had known no
Reformation, while France had been rent between the
Catholics and the Hugenots until wise monarchs and able
ministers learned to make a civil unit out of two religious
parties. From the Low Countries to the northeast France
learned many new industries, and from Italy learned the
arts, until under Louis XIV canals and roads made France
the leading country of Europe and her white flag with
golden lilies was honored everywhere. She became able
to send out colonies early in the seventeenth century,
although she had failed before, and Quebec, Montreal and
Acadia soon made her a power in the north as Jamestown,
Boston and New York had made England a power in the
south. 2. La Salle. As the Canadian wood rangers {Coureurs
de Bois) discovered the Great Lakes and brought furs
dcwn the St. Lawrence, French influence became supreme
among the northern Indians. Rumors came of a great
river flowing southward and a Canadian trader and a
Canadian priest rowed upon the waters of the Mississippi,

36 Under Five Flags
And a man even greater than they, Cavelier de La Salle,
went down ty its mouth, passing over the unknown spot
where De Soto lay buried, and in 1682 on some dry spot
near the Gulf of Mexico took possession of the whole
Mississippi Valley for the King of France. The discov
erer found no Spaniards and the Indians were not hpstile,
for now, as ever after, the French, unlike the Spaniards,
were to live in harmony and alliance with the aborigines.
At Paris La Salle told his story, and great men of science
and great men of the court were equally interested. There
was not only to be a Louisiana named for the King, but a
colony, and La Salle was sent back to establish it. But
the Mississippi was so little known to the Spaniards who
came after De Soto that it got the name of Hidden River,
and even La Salle now missed its mouth and landed his
colony far off in our Texas. Nor was this all. That
country was unfavorable, for the wandering Indians,
unlike the ones of settled habits to the east, were hostile
and while seeking relief for his colonists La Salle himself
was killed in a mutiny. What became of , the colony is
uncertain, but either Spaniards or Indians put an end tc it,
and only the- companions of La Salle escaped overland to
Canada. There and in France glcom took the place of the
joyous expectation with which he had been sent out.
And if the French had failed, on the other hand the
British at this very time built Charleston in order to claim
the South and its Indians. '
3. The French Missionaries. It seemed as if the natives
were right in thinking the great river was guarded by spirits.
The Indian religious belief was Animisn, that is to say,
it saw a soul in everything. To them the trees, the winds,
the rivers were all inhabited by spirits, some of whom were
good and some of whom were evil, but the favor of all
had to be sought by gifts of food or valuable things or by

Old Biloxi 37
the sufferings of the worshippers. A Great Spirit was
supposed to preside over all, but the nature of the belief
was vague and the form of worship varied in different
places. Sometimes it was accompanied by sacrifice of
human victims, and everywhere it was of a nature to shock
Christians. A zeal for missions had .long prevailed in
the Catholic church, and was to show itself strongly
in America. The crucifix was the symbol of mercy, and the
rites of the church were to be put in place of the native
superstitions. We have seen how each Spanish expedition
was accompanied by Dominicans or other monks, who
ministered to the religious needs of the soldiers, and how
after Spanish conquest was completed the Padres softened
the Spanish rule. Some of these missions were to grow
into towns and all were of a settled nature. The natives
clustered around the churches and were taught civilization
as well as religion. None of the Spanish fathers, however,
came further north than a few points in Texas and none
came further west than the peninsula of Florida. The
Catholic church was sincerely aiming at the conversion of
the Indians and the French priests took up the work where
the Spanish had left off. There was a difference of method
in that the French missionaries went to live among the
liidians themselves, whether these were Hurons on their
lake, or the Yazoos on the Mississippi. The French
priests aimed less at taming the Indians than at converting
their souls, and we do not find their religious outposts
becoming the centres of civilization. Some of the religious
orders were themselves founded for missionary work and
special centres of mission activity grew up in Europe.
The missionaries of St. Sulpice in Paris really founded
Montreal and the Semiriary of Quebec was the head
quarters of French missions in America. It would be
hard to say whether the French wood rangers penetrated

38

Under Five Flags

the interior earlier or went farther than the missionaries.
The object of the priests was to benefit the Indians, the
object of the rangers was to make money out of them, but
both learned to love the life of the woods and ever went
deeper into the wilds. Several of the Quebec missionaries
were early upon the Mississippi River and one of the best
known was Davion. He raised his cross upon a-rock among

FRENCH SHIPS
the Tunica Indians and kept his relics and altar articles
in a hollow tree nearby. There were others like him,
but Davion came to be as dear to the Southern Frenchman
as Father Felician was to the Acadians in Longfellow's
story of Evangeline.
4. Iberville's Expedition, li one Canadian died it was
not long before others were inspired to take up his task
in colonizing the greatest valley in America. The descend
ants cf an innkeeper of Dieppe in France had become one

Old Biloxi 39
of the leading families not only of Montreal but of the
New World; for Le Moyne D'Iberville had won so many
victories in Hudson Bay and in the Atlantic as to attract
attention everywhere. When peace came with England
in 1697 both countries looked toward colonization of the
Gulf and the French rtiinister Maurepas selected Iberville
for the task. He sailed from Brest in 1698 with a fleet
made up of the Badine and Marin, accompanied by trans
ports. The French had already acquired from the Span
iards a firm footing ii;i the West Indies, and Cap Frangois
in San Domingo was their chief port. There the squadron
was joined by the corvette Frangois, and, sailing north
west, in the last days of January, 1699, they found Pen
sacola in Spanish possession. Proceeding westwardly on
January 31 they cast anchor off the cape which we now call
Mobile Point. Iberville and his brother Bienville explored
the mainland, sounded the channels, and were weather
bound on the island nearby. This they named Massacre
from the heap of skulls and bones found, with the Indian
utensils, near the western end. ' They afterwards explored
the west side of Mobile Bay, which we. call Mon Louis
Island, and discovered a good harbor near Massacre
Island. They visited and named the islands as they passed,
and sailed on west to discover the Mississippi River, which
La Salle had missed. There was no place in that marshy
country suitable for settlers, and so Iberville placed on the
Back Bay of Biloxi, just above the present railroad bridge,
the temporary seat of his colony.
5. Fort Maurepas. Iberville returned to France and
left an efficient substitute as governor in the person of
Sauvole. The fort, named Maurepas for the minister,.
became the centre of the French influence on the Gulf.
Chickasaw, Choctaw, and coast chiefs came thither to
make alliance with the French. Bienville visited them in

40 Under F'ive Flags
return and like his brother explored the whole tributary
district from the Mobile to the Mississippi River. The
Spaniards of Pensacola protested, but in vain. The log
fort and its cannon remained, Louis XIV never lowered
the French flag when he had once set it up, unless to carry
it farther. Just as on the Rhine he annexed by what he
called "reunions" different provinces to France, so on the
Gulf, Biloxi was to be a stepping-stone to Mobile.
6. Colonial Life. Of civil life there was not much at
Biloxi. The principal element was the military, for there
were few families and the settlement was not intended to
be permanent. Indeed there was little to encourage
agriculture in the sands of Biloxi. Fertile spots could be
found by the creeks, which the French, adapting the
Choctaw word "bok," called "Bayous," but the soil in
general was not responsive. No town was laid out, no
houses built except a few for military purposes in and about
the log fort. The civil population was hardly a score,
while the miltary numbered several hundred. There was
homesickness, for it took a long time for Iberville to go to
Europe and return, and the summer brought other sickness
too. With feyers came death and even the active and
cultured Sauvole surrendered to the last enemy. Except
the official reports of Iberville, Sauvole's charming journal
was the first literary production of the South. While we
regret his loss, he was to have an able successor in Bienville.
7. Louisiana and America. There might be suffering
and there might be backsets, but here was a French colony
on the Gulf of Mexico, backed by Louis XIV, the greatest
King of that day. It not only separated the Spanish
provinces of Florida and Mexico, but it was the seaport for
the Mississippi and the Alabama-Tombigbee Basins, now
called Louisiana. The interval of peace with England gave
opportunity to France for colonization and the interest of

Old Biloxi 41
Frenchmen in the new province was intense. Churchmen
thought of the conversion to Christianity of the many
Indian tribes, commercial men of the opportunity for
bringing raw material of all kinds to France for manufac
ture, statesmen of the possibility of building up on the
Mississippi a province, which, uniting through the Great
Lakes with Canada, would make an empire not only
worthy of Louis XIV, but one which would ultimately
force the English colonists back into the ocean. All France
united in the dream of gold mines and in the hope, that, by
uniting with the Spanish colonies, the whole continent
would come under Latin influence.

CHAPTER VI.
FORT LOUIS DE LA MOBILE.
1. Exploring the Coast. French writers spread infor
mation among' the educated classes of the day, and the
efforts of the renegade priest Hennepin to interest England
reacted by creating a stronger interest in France. Biloxi,
therefore, became the centre for exploration of the Mississip
pi Valley and of the whole Gulf country. The bay was
too shallow Tor a permanent capital and the harbor between
Dauphine and Pelican Islands was thought to be the
solution of that question, while the large maize and vege
table crops cultivated in the lowlands of Mobile River
offered a permanent food supply.
In this interesting country they fountl several small
tribes, such as the Tohomes and Naniabas about the junc
tion of the Alabama and Tombigbee, and, further down,
the more influential Mobilians, near what we call Mt.
Vernon Landing. The tradition was that these were a
remnant of the people who had fled after De Soto's battle
at Maubila, and were of the same stock with some who
lived on the east side of the lower Alabama River. Their
dialect was still the Southern trade jargon.
Of special interest to us was the exploration about
Mobile Bay and here light is thrown by the first Mobile
writer Penicaut, "the literary ship carpenter," He does
not tell us that Bayou La Batrd was named for a battery
which was built at that point, but calls it for a Frenchman
lost there. Cedar Point they named Oyster Point for the
abundant oysters; Dog and Fowl Rivers he mentions, but
we have to guess that they were named for Indian dogs
and for wild fowl; the Indians had no domestic fowls.
The site of the present Mobile is not described except by

Fort Louis De La Mobile

43

r.-..:

I  ¦. .: "1 :_:
si 5 r

s 1 ! r

.1^

1 ^^

Ir

k.

I Si ' v«
1 i rt
1 -g^ ' ^
^*T* '•;. i;p^.
44 Under Five Flags
the mention of bayous above it, to which Penicaut gives
names -which were superseded later by Bayou Marmotte
(weasel) and Bayou Chateaugue for the sailor brother of
Bienville, Nor was this all, for all natural features of this
country were in course of time to receive French names.
The Spaniards were at Pensacola, but the French were
ever better diplomats, and were displacing Spanish in
fluence along the coast, Iberville met protest against the
Biloxi settlement with the argument that it would be to
the interest of the Spanish to give up Pensacola too.
Much was learned of the new country from priests of the
Seminary cf Quebec, who had long been stationed as
missionaries on the lower Mississippi, and from Henri de
Tonty, who had been with La Salle and now came from
the rock fort on the Illinois River to see his compatriots.
He was the most distinguished of many. The woodrangers
from the Mississippi threatened to turn much of the trade
of Canada southward to the Gulf. The Munchausen of
that day, Mathieu Sagean, was sent out by the French
court to help in explorations, but Bienville soon found
that his knowledge was imaginary. Iberville planned a
great re-arrangement of the Indian tribes south of the
Great Lakes, by which he would make the French supreme
in America, and while he lived something was done. But
to carry out such plans a more central capital was needed.
2. Moving. While Iberville was in Louisiana in 1701
he made his plans for establishing the capital of the colony
on the Mobile River, and in France they were sanctioned
by the minister Pontchartrain. Iberville came back in a
squadron bearing colonists and many things with which
to start them off, such as Spanish sheep, a stallion from
France, and cattle, horses and swine taken on at San
Domingo. He was seriously ill with an abscess in his side
at Pensacola in December, 1701, and from there next

Fort Louis De La Mobile 45
month directed the abandonment of Biloxi and the transfer
of everything to Massacre Island, for resettlement up the
river. The Spaniards loaned him small vessels for the
move from Biloxi, while Nicholas de La Salle, a different
kind of man from his kinsman, came over from Pensacola.
It amounted to a complete abandonment of Bilo.xi, for no
regular garrison remained there, and everything was
transported by rafts or boats through the Sound to the inner
harbor about the shell mounds of Massacre Island. The
main port, however, lay on the south side of the island,
on the deep channel leading from the Gulf into the Bay,
and there a port, afterwards called Dauphin, was established.
It was to last a long time, but at present was principally
a means to an end, for, on January 10, 1702, Bienville with
his brother Serigny and others left in three boats to occupy
Mobile, "sixteen leagues off on the second bluff." There
on the rise which we now know as Twenty-Seven Mile
Bluff the French built the first capital of Louisiana. This
was to consist of a fort and a town, and the first thing
they constructed was a powder magazine near the bank of
the river. The trees were cut down to form a clearing for
the settlement and the clay of the vicinity was burned
in long flat bricks for building purposes. The magazine
filled with water from constant rains, but nevertheless the
work went on. Some distance back a well was dug. In
the middle of the parade ground nearby they erected a
fort and surrounded it with a moat.
3. Laying Off the Town. The town was built north and
west of the fort, and it was a remarkable town for those
days. All other colonial settlements of that time were
surrounded by walls to protect them against the natives,
but the town called Fort Louis de La Mobile had no fear
of the Indians. It was built between the fort and the
forest whence the Indians would come and stretched from

46

Under Five Flags

a bayou on the north to beyond the fort on the south. A
map of 1702 shows a front street along the river bank and
two streets further west, and seven streets ran at right
angles to them. Between the hospital and the creek at
the one end of the town and the home of soldiers at the
other were the houses of the different officers and settlers,
among whom were carpenters and mechanics as well as
military men. Canadians and voyageurs occupied a

FRENCH RELICS, 1702
western block alongside one dedicated to the missionaries
of the parish. The principal public institutions, there
fore, besides the fort were the hospital and the mission.
4. Fort Louis Completed. The new city was to suffer
various fortunes, but for a while at least it rose superior
to them all. A second map seems to date from about
1706, and by then, despite the yellow fever scourge of
1704, the city had had a remarkable growth. The hospital
was no longer on the bayou, but in its place was a pleasure

Fort Louis De La Mobile 47
resort, while not far to the west were the seminary priests
with their house, having a chimney in the middle and a
gallery in front, and nearby was the cemetery. Corres
ponding in the southwest part of town was the market
place surrounding the well, and in front on the river
was the fort, now moved somewhat northwestward of its
first location. North and south .streets had increased to
four, those running east and west to seven or eight. They
now have names, but in quite the usual fashion these names
are those of prominent people who lived on the thorough
fares. We may well believe that Royal, St. Charles, Conti,
Dauphin, St. Louis and the like were the official names.
South of the fort there was a square of land reserved for
the king, and a larger tract further down stream belonged
to Bienville, which would lend some color to the com
plaint later made that the governor did not fail to look
after his own interests as well as those of the king. La
Salle had a front lot next to Iberville near the fort and the
Jesuits were across the street. All over town were familiar
and interesting characters, and among them should not
be forgotten that monumental liar, Mathieu Sagean.
The fort itself had four bastions; in the northeast floated
the great flag of France. The fort contained, perhaps,
more properly speaking, was made up of long one story
houses behind the palisades and one unusual feature was
that the western side consisted entirely of a church. At
the north end was the main entrance under a steeple
surmounted by a weathervane, which represented the
Gallic cock, and the other end was crowned by some lower
ornament. The church had on the fort side some four
windows and two doors. Not only had the fort been moved,
but the powder magazine also, for that is now near the river
bank at the north end of town, and adjoining the brick
yard at the intersection of the river and the creek. We

48 Under Five Flags
do not know of any wards, but there were three well defined
districts, grouped about the Seminary, the Fort and the
Market, with a population all told of several hundred
people. To the north lay a vast pine forest, while to the
west betweeh the town and the pines was a marsh, through
which passed a highway leading to the farms, mills and other
industries which grew up nearby. The main thoroughfare,
to the Indian country as well as to the sea, was Mobile
River. French colonization had now got a firm foothold in
America, 5. French and English Colonists. Colonization has had
different objects and it sd happened that Spain, who was
first in the field, chose one of only teinporary value. Col
umbus had stumbled on America on his way to India,
but the Spaniards found so much gold and silver in South
America and Me.\ico that they were willing enough to
leave India to be fought for by the Portugese, French and
English. Even in North America, Spain, through De
Soto and others, explored rather than colonized. The
idea of developing colonies for the benefit of the colonists
was left for our day, but that of developing products to be
manufactured for the home market was dawning upon
the French and English although it did not upon the
Spaniards. Possibly that country will win in the long
run as a colonizer which has the largest surplus population.
England and France settled Virginia and Canada at almost
the same time, for French Quebec in 1606 was only one year
ahead of English Jamestown, Then followed an inter
esting rivalry in colonization and over a century and a half
were to pass before the result was decided. Virginia was
a commercial venture, Massachusetts a few years later was
a rehgious experiment, while Canada was not a popular
but a royal effort. England took her third colonial step
in colonizing on the old French ground of Carolina, just

Fort Louis De La Mobile

49

when the French La Salle made his famous prise de pos
session at the mouth of the Mississippi River, English
colonization was confined to the Atlantic coast, and ex
panded in a gradual advance as county or towrship was
settled; the French colonization began in the occupation

Bl-Centennial Monument at
Old Fort Louis

of the St, Lawrence basin by a nobility who settled their
lands with retainers,
6. The Rival Capitals. The French had Quebec
in the north, and they were now in the .south to establish
another seat of empire, and two features stand out. With
the French there was better leadership, for Champlain
in the north and Iberville in the south were greater names
than the British colonizers furnished. Again, the French

50 ¦ Under Five Flags
penetrated farther and acquired a greater influence over
¦ the natives than did the English yeomen, who hugged the
coast and stayed close together. Perhaps the national
characteristics of brilliancy and pluck were pitted against
each other. The British had the advantage in numbers
and in centres; fcr there were when Mobile was founded
not only Boston and Williamsburg, which had succeeded
Plymouth and Jamestown, but conquered New Amsterdam
and pacific Philadelphia between, and the new Charleston
was becoming a strong centre of influence. Against those
could be opposed by the French only Quebec and Montreal
in the north and Mobile in the south; but they controlled
the greatest river basins in America, were united in spirit,
and were wielded by the greatest king of modern times.
The rivalry was not unequal and the building of the
southern capital was but carrying out the plan to make a
greater New France, There might be a choice between
their institutions, but new conditions might modify them.
If France could spare as many people as England,
and the colonies of both races multiplied equally, there
would be a New England on the Atlantic, and a New France
occupying the St. Lawrence and Mississippi Valleys. In
the working out of this lies the import of the story of
Louisiana and her first capital.

CHAPTER VII,
LIFE AT THE OLD FORT.
1. Government. Under Louis XIV everything and
everj'body looked to the king and it was not without
reason that he chose the sun as his emblem. He was in
many senses of the word a great king, for not only was his
court magnificent, and his army the. finest in Europe, but
many of his ministers were great men. This was true of
Colbert, whose peaceable policy of commerce and canals
was the basis upon which the warlike policy of Louvois
was able to act. Even the French church was subject
to the king rather than to the Pope, and all its registers
were marked and issued by his officers, whether in France
or in the colonies. The old nobility, which had its foot
hold and power in the several provinces of France, he
attracted to his court at Versailles, and, while they were
nominally his agents, the real civil power in all districts
was exercised by the intenddnts whom he appointed from
the middle ranks of life. And what was true in France
was even truer in the colonic!^ The governor of Louisiana
was the royal military agent, and financial and property
affairs were attended to by an officer called the commis-
saire, who took the place of the intendant and later had the
title. At first, the govemor supervised everything, even
the commissaire, and this arrangement lasted during
the time Mobile was capital. The duties of commissaire
were performed by La Salle, although perhaps at first
he was only garde magasin, keeper of the stores. Everyone
was responsible to the Minister of Colonies and Marine,
and the commissaire esteemed it his duty to act as spy
upon the governor and report on him to this minister.
There was constant collision and some disorder, and the

52

Under Five Flags

more so as the commissaire got the priest or cure to join
with him. The first priest was Davion, who was a mis
sionary from the Mississippi River, but in 1704 the regular
cure arrived in the person of La Vente.. He began the
registers of church affairs and tp these we pwe much of
our knowledge ofthe times. In 17p3 what is called the
War of the Spanish Succession broke put in Europe, with
France and Spain on the
one side and England and
the Ernpire on the other.
Lpuis had allowed the navy
created by Colbert to run
down, and the result was
that England was soon
inistress of the ocean.
Many French ships were
captured and few, there
fore, could bring supplies
and instructions to Mobile.
Iberville was the main
spring of the colonial enter
prise, but he could not
come or even send with any
regularity, and in 1706,
while planning a blow
against the British West
Indies, he was taken sick
wilh yellow fever and died at ffavana. Bienville was (here-
fore in fuller authority than he otherwise would have been,
and whatever credit or discredit was connected with the
administration was due to him.
After the death cf Iberville, La Salle and La Vente
complained more freely of Bienville, although the governor
was well defended in his own reports and by visitors.

BIENVILLE

Life at the Old Fort 53
Nevertheless, two years later a new governor was sent
out; but he died at Havana also, and so in point of fact
Bienville was not superseded. La Salle's place was taken
by D'Artaguette, who remained in authority for a long
while. An incident of this time was his attempt to change
the name of Mobile to Immobile, as being somewhat more
stable. This did not succeed, but D'Artaguette did change
the name of the island at the mouth of the Bay from Mass
acre to Dauphine Island.
2. Indiafi Wars. Indian relations took the place of
what we call foreign affairs. Bienville succeeded early
in making friends with several tribes. In 1704, for instance ,
he brought the Tensaws from the other side of the Missis
sippi after their defeat by neighboring tribes, and settled
them near his fort. About the same time the Apalaches
fled to him from Florida td escape the destructive inroads
from the British of South Carolina, and Bienville placed
them also nearby. The same was true of what is supposed
to be a branch of the Choctaws, although the French
spell their names Chattos, whom Bienville settled at the
place ever since called Choctaw Point. But relations
with all Indians were not friendly. This was true on the
Mississippi, where two missionaries were murdered, which
led to severe reprisals by the French and the bringing of a
number of Indian children as slaves to Mobile. It was
also true nearer home, for, while the Choctaws and even
Chickasaws were amicable, the tribes up the Alabama
River showed a hostile spirit. They were very likely
influenced by the Carolina traders, for these men, geiierally
Scotchmen, had heretofore sold goods from the Atlantic
to the Mississippi and wanted to drive the Frenchmen
out. We find war as early as 1702, the year the fort was
built, and also two years later, when a party was sent
to buy provisions from the Alibamons. The French were

54 Under Five Flags
ambushed and all killed except one, who swam the river
and brought the news. Bienville organized an expedition
to avenge the murder, and there was the usual black drink
of youpon leaves, and the dance around the red posts set
up by the river bank, and then French and Indians went
up the river in canoes. The Mobilians notified the Aliba
mons and finally deserted with the Choctaws, so that
Bienville had to come back with the soldiers. But not
daunted he went up the river again with French alone,
found the hostile village and destroyed it and some few
warriors. This was only a partial success, but it prevented
serious war for several years. The Choctaws and Chicka
saws themselves came to blows and the French had the
mortification of seeing a Chickasaw, whom French soldiers
were conducting home, murdered by the Choctaws. Bien
ville himself kept out of this war.
The colonists were very friendly with both neighbors
and there had been for some time a little French boy
named St. Michel among the Chickasaws to learn their
language. In 1708 came the most serious Indian war of all. The
Alibamons were again at the bottom of the hostilities, but
with them were the Cheraquis, the Abecas, and the Cada-
pouces. The last were probably Tallapoosas, and the
Abecas were the northernmost Muscogee tribe. It would
seem, therefore, that this alliance embraced the three
principal Upper Creek tribes and even the Cherokees.
It proved more threatening than effectual, for, as so often
in Indian wars, the expedition abandoned its purpose
before reaching its destination. They burned the cabins
of the Mobile Indians and retired without attacking the
fort. This inroad showed the great danger from the
Indians who lay as a buffer up ori the watershed t)etween
the French upon the Gulf and the British upon the Atlantic.

Life at the Old Fort 55
There was no more actual warfare for a time, but the hosti
lity of the Alibamons long continued. Chateaugu6 cap
tured nine of their warriors near Pensacola and brought
them to Fort Louis, where they were tomahawked and
thrown into the river.
3. What the Pelican Brought. The colonists often suf
fered from lack of supplies when the ships did hot come
regularly, and none were more welcome than the Ren'ommee
— the Renowned — which was Iberville's ship. There was a
vessel in 1703, but the Pelican which arrived in 1704 was
the most famous of them all. She seems to have been
named for the ship in which Iberville won a great victory
from the British in Hudson Bay, and, but for sickness^
Iberville would have come out himself. With the fore
sight which marked everything he undertook, he sent
supplies by the Pelican, and twenty-three girls as wives
for the colonists. They were certainly married in a short
time with the exception of one, who tradition says was not
pleased with the colony or with the prospective husbands.
There is reason to believe that all were promptly married,
however, and, from them were descended many of the
leading families of the colony. Theii: names occur fre
quently through future years in the church records as
mothers, god-mothers and witnesses. There were besides
two families with children, one hundred soldiers in two
companies, and three missionaries.
But there came also by the Pelican yellow fever, the
first visitation, and, in proportion to the size of the town,
probably the most fatal. Half the crew of the vessel,
thirty soldiers, one of the priests, several of the officers,
and the great explorer Henri de Tonty died in September,
1704. In that summer, therefore, were twenty-three
marriages and about forty deaths. The one little church
making up the west side of the fort saw very different

66 Undl^r Five Flags
ceremonies all within a shdrt time, and among the dead
in the little cemetery by the river side lie the victims of this
epidemic and in their midst Tonty, one of the great men of
America. 4. Trades, Food and Dwellings. It is interesting always
to know of a community what its people do, what they live
on, and where they live. In this first Mobile the trades
were to some extent military. The names of officers are
often mentioned, as captains, sergeants, cannoneers,
ensigns, and cadets. We have the trades of gunsmith,
tool-sharpener, storekeeper, locksmith, pilot, and tradesmen,
carpenters and cabinet makers. Hunters and fishermen
there were in abundance, for almost all hunted and fished;
but the colony was yet military.
The French in the time of Louis XIV were accustomed
to good eating and one of the hardships of colonial life,
especially from the woman's point of view, vi^as the frequent
lack of French food. Maize was the Indian staple, cooked
whole as hominy, or ground into meal, and for vegetables
there were peas, beans, and melons, besides strawberries,
pecans, walnuts, and other nuts arid fruits, black grapes,
scuppernongs, peaches in their season, but pears, oranges
and even figs were of a somewhat later day. The great
national dish of France was soup, and it seems that this
was equally true in Mobile. Gumbo file, made of ground
sassafras leaves by the Indians, goes back to colonial
times, and of course oysters and fish were known from the
first. Flesh was easily obtained, for bear and deer abound
ed and were familiar dishes, as were chickens, turkeys, and
eggs. Coden on the coast is but an improper way of
spelling Coq d'Inde (turkey gobbler.)
The streets of the little town were narrow, not being over
thirty feet wide, and thelots about seventy-five feet wide by
three times that in depth. There was no stone near Mobile

Life at the Old Fort 57
and brick was not common at first, so that the usual way of
building a house was to drive cedar pilings into the ground
and fill up between with morl ar. The roof sloped to the froni
and to the rear, projecting over somewhat so as to form a
covering. The floor timbers also came out in front, and made
what \vas called a gallery, — a term which came to Mobile
from Canada and has remained as marking one of the
French, institutions.
6. The First Directory. The French colonist in Canada
would call himself a habitant, and the French brought this
term to Louisiana, . The word grew to have a definite
meaning and was long preserved. Gradually, however,
another word came in which superseded it, — the name
Creole, probably introduced from 1 h e French West
Indies, It really means native and could probably be
applied even to ¦vegetables and animals. It gradually
became the real name of inhabitants in Mobile and Louis
iana who sprang frorn persons born in France, In
course of time, as we shall see, the expression First Creole
became quite a mark bf honor, being applied to the oldest
native. The first Creole in fact Was Jean Frangois, the
son of Jean Le Camp, born arid baptized October 4, 1704,
We can easily iitiagine that his birth was an event which
broke some of the gloom catised by the epidemic of the
preceding month.
The term Creole should not be limited to those of negro
extraction, but is broad enough to include mulattoes of
French origin born in Louisiana, It is not quite certain when
the first negroes came. They were slaves and very likely
came from San Domingo, where negro slavery had been
copied from the Spanish, Possibly the first mentioned
was the little seven year old Jean Baptiste, who belonged
to Bienville in 1707, and there were a number of others
at that time. Probably the first negro birth was October

58 Under Five Flags
26, 1707, when Anthoine was born of a negro woman
belonging to Bienville and a man belonging to Chateaugu6.
Among the odd names were those of two negroes — Good
Times and Spanish Wine, Mulattoes were somewhat
rare, but we hear of more of them later, A cross between
the French and Indian was called Mestif, but these were
even rarer. There were many Mestifs from the marriages
of woodrangers with Indian women, but they did riot get
into the church registers. The woodrangers became more
Indian than the women became French, and far a while
the church frowned on such unions.
From the maps and church registers a directory cf the
town could be compiled ; for the second map gives the names
of lot-owners. The town could be divided into three
districts — one to the north, extending from the river to
the cemetery, the second being that about Place Royale,
as it was called, extending westwardly to the woods;
while the third would be that around the well and extending
from there to the river. In the first district there were a
number of well known residents, but few officials except
the Seminary priests to the west and the Jesuits, who
faced the river. In the second facing or near the fort
were La Salle, Iberville, Boisbrillant, Girard the pilot, andl
others. The' market district was less populous. St..
Denis and Juchero faced the square, but the population
was mainly of private citizens.
The streets were called for che prominent residents
upon them, and in this way their names changed every
block or two, quite as in Paris. The three running west
from the Place Royale were called Serigny, Boisbrillant
and Iberville. One further south was named for Bien
ville, and one further north for La Salle. Those running
north and south were also called for well known citizens,
but two of them 'had also the names of St. Francois and

Life at the Old Fort

59

St. Joseph, and the remaining one running from the market
place was called for the Seminary which faced it. There
was a wide space along the river bluff to which the maps
affix no name; but there can be little doubt, that, being
really a continuation of the Place Royale, it was called
Royal Street, and was the predecessor of the Royal Street

CREOLE HOUSES

of later Mobile. All told, soldiers and habitans, it may
well be that the town of Fort Louis de la Mobile had a
population of about five hundred people.
6. An Overflow. There was often trouble from lack of
supplies and it was necessary several times to send some
of the colonists to stay with the friendly Indians. One
party went across the Bay to Fish River, and Penicaut
gives a charming account of how another lived with the
Indians on the coast. This was partly for policy, as. the
war in Europe had cut off the supplies which Bienville
used as presents to the Indians, but it was partly also
from necessity. To other troubles was now added over-

60 Under Five Flags
flow of the river. This could hardly have been anticipated,
and yet every now and then the same thing occurs at this
point. Twenty-Seven Mile Bluff is never completely
submerged, but sometimes the river rose sufficiently to
drown out corn of the friendly Indians on the bottoms,
and in March, 1711, came a flood which put the town
itself under water for some days. The district about the
fort was not much disturbed, although for a little while
water was even in the fort. In the lower quarters the
houses were flooded even up to the comb of the roof, and it
lasted for about a month, to the distress of everyone.
As Bienville, Grondel, and the cure stood at the front
of the fort and looked out, they saw only desolation.
The river was like a yellow sea. It is true that the trees
were there, even on the low islands in front of them; but
they were submerged up to their forks or higher, and only
the fort and some houses in the upper parts of town
were out of water. And they now learned, that, although
this flood was unusual, such high water had been known
before. What was to be done?

CHAPTER VIII.
MOBILE.
. 1 Building Again. For a month the flood continued.
The people were huddled together in the fort and in the few
houses which were not overflowed, or were scattered on
the highlands, miles inland. There was difficulty in pro-
\'iding food and lodgings, but the more serious question
was a permanent location for the colony. At the mouth
of the river the delta was so wide, that, although the water
overflowed the marsh islands, it did not reach the top
of a plain which ran along the west bank, ard many
united in asking that the town be moved lo this site.
Bienville had put some fugitive Choctaws in the open
pine forests there, and the point where the Bay joined
the river has ever since been called Choctaw Point; but
he pursuaded them to move around to Dog River, and,
with the commissaire, agreed to the request of the people.
The old fort was now half rotten and they could rebuild
on the new site as readily as on the old, and moreover the
new location would bring the capital closer to the port
at Dauphine island, and still remain in touch with the
Indians in the interior. Major Paillou was placed in charge
and soon had an open space cleared on the river bank
between Choctaw Point and Bayou Marmotte at a place
where the river makes a turn to the southwest. Here as
fort would command up and down stream as at the old
site, and here their New Fort Louis, as it was called,
was built, of cedar palisades. As well as can be ascertained,
the point where the beginning was made was that now
marked by the Bicentennial tablet on the present City
Hall. .The west side of the fort ran about on the line of
Royal Street from Church to Eslava, for the north line

62 Under Five Flags
of the fort was near bur Church- Street. The fort was
square, but had a bastion projecting at each corner. Of
these the eastern extended almost to modem Commerce
Street, and in the one upstream was placed a bell for church
and other signals, while the one downstream held the
great square flag of gold lilies upon a white field. The
western bastions extended almost to St. Emanuel Street,
and in one was the powder magazine and in the other the
prison. About the fort was an esplanade, as up the river,
extending several hundred feet in each direction, except
that the marshy river bank ran close before the fort and
all along in front of the town. A cedar wharf was built
above the fort, beginning a little east of the intersection
of our Government and Royal, and there the cannon and
goods of the old fort were landed from rafts and boats.
The river bank was called a quay, and at' high tide the
water came up almost to the front street, so thai al least
at that time there was ample depth for the shipping of
the day. T^he fort was built first, probably in May, 1711.
When the floods subsided many of the habitans decided to
spend the summer in the old town, but then they moved
down, their heavier goods coming on rafts, and the people
and household effects in canoes and pirogues. Before they
all came the town had been laid off by Paillou, four blocks
north of the fort and four blocks south of it, all extending
two blocks from the river, except that, as the fort projected
somewhat into the town, the square west of it extended
farther into the piney woods. There were about thirty
other squares marked out through the forest, but for the
present they were not needed. Gradually the old lown
and Old Fort Louis were deserted, and the new town and
New Fort Louis occupied. The old place had been known
as Mobile, and the new was to take that name and hold
it forever, the only Mobile in the world.

CO
.CD

TLAN DE LA -VILLE- ET-FORr-LOvis-Dp-LA-LOVlSIANE-E-TABLJES-PAR-LES-FRANCOiSENiyil •

DrsnupTiON

-,r. !>«<£-. ,^.~„j_L-,^,^„i,ty.. 5viTE or -LA -De sen IP noK
Dc Lll ViHc ct (^ Fort t-wij* -

MOBILE, 17U

64 Under Five Flags
2. The New Town,. In the new fort were quarters for
the guard, but the garrison whp were not pn duty jivgd in
bark huts or more substantial houses alpng the western
margin of thp town, parlipiilarjy jn the blocks from our
Govemment Street down to Mpnrpe. The citizens hved
in the town and were arranged much as they had been up
the river. The blocks were as they are now, with the
exception that St. Michael Street is about 100 feet further
south than Ihe north boundary of the old French city and
that south of the fort the French blocks were about 300
feet long. Al present they are much longer. We
have a map of Mobile in 1711, preserved in the colonial
offices at Paris, but it does not give the names of any
streets. We can rely upon the names now existing, for
nobody wou}d give French names except in French times;
but we do not know them except Royal, Conti, Dauphin,
Si. Charles and possibly St. Louis and St. Anthony, The
origin of those we do know is full of interest, St, Charles
was an old palron saint among the French, as were St,
Anthony and St, Louis, and were brought from Canada,
Royal Street was so named from 1 he esplanade around the
fort, which we know was called Place Royale up the river,
and Dauphin was named for the heir apparent of the
French throne, just as Dauphine Island was for his wife.
The island was named earlier, but the Dauphin of 1711
was the grandson of Louis XIV whose sad death two years
later convulsed the country, Conti was a great family
akin to royalty and also to the famous general called the
Grand Cond6, dating from a little before this era. War
had at this time almost cut Mobile off from the home
country, and when Bienville gave these names he was still
trying to reproduce in America a little Paris, The streets
were 36 feet wide. The lots were 75 feet front and 150
deep, and generally faced east and west, for the north and

Mobile 65
south streets were those more in demand. The time was
to come when Conti and Dauphin were to be important
and when extended westwardly through the pine forest
many lots were to face on them, but at the beginning
this was not true. The houses were of cedar and pine
upon piling or a limestone brought from ii]) the riv cr. The
dwellings were 18 to 25 feet high and some higher, made
of a plaster of sand and oyster shell lime, and we know of
at least one two-story house. The hospital was at the
southeast comer of Dauphin and Conception Streets, the
cemetery immediately west of the fort, about the second
block south of the hospital, St, Denis lived across the
street from present Christ Church and it so happens that
his name and Bienville's are the only two that are also
on the map of the city up the river, Bien^•ille lived next
south of the fort, where, as up the river, he had a whole
block to himself. Indeed south of the fort were a number
of notables, such as Mandeville, for whom the Mandeville
Tract was named, and Paillou, the celebrated engineer,
who laid off Mobile and afterwards Natchez and Fort
Toulouse. 3. A Question of Clothes. The map of the new town
does not give us names of any residents except the officers.
It omits the habitans just as it omits the names of the
streets on which they live. Nevertheless the old names
recur on the church register. In France the punctilious
Duke of St. Simon was now raising the great Hat Question,
that is, whether the president of the French court called
the Parlement should take off his hat when the Dukes of
France attended as members? There was also a Hat
Question in Louisiana, where ships arrived very seldom.
The ladies made up for hats by the use of feathers, ribbons,
and, it must be confessed, by enormous rats also; for the
coiffures of that day were among the most marvellous

66 Under Five Flags
inventions of history. Of course, Versailles fashions were
not quite reproduced in Louisiana, but Mobile was a piece
of France, and as such followed as nearly as possible the
French fashions. The dependence of the official class —
and they made up a large part of fhe Mobile population —
upon Versailles was something which has not been often
paralleled, and, if Marlborough could dispute the m.ilitary
supremacy cf France, at least no on,e from the time of Louis
XIV disputed the millinery supremacy of Paris. We do
not know that the Mobilians imitated the extravagance
of their French sisters, but the pictures which survive of
headdresses imitating ships might well have been designed
in Mobile; for longing for a ship from France was the only
thing in which all agreed. Of armor we know something,
for the Canadian portraits of both Iberville and Bienville
represent them in breastplates, but it was seldom used.
Of Indian dress we know more; but we are not told a great
deal about the feminine costume of the day. Bienville
was unmarried and the other officials seldom discussed such
matters. The robes and skirts of the ladies receive occa
sional mention, and we may well imagine that some of
these assumed the great balloon shape so common in
France. A flowing drapery is spoken of and possibly we
have in it some reminder of the pleat which the painter
Watteau was making fashionable. When we come to the
men we know something, but our knowledge is mainly
negative, for there is constant complaint that they did not
have enough clothes. Bienville every now and then
acknowledged the arrival of coats and shirts for the men,
but never mentions underclothes, says that seeks have
not cone and, as for hat, it is seldom named. The Indians
wore breeches, and this was true of the habitans. There
was occasionally very severe weather at Mobile in winter,
but this was easily met by the skins and furs which came

Mobile 67
for export to France. There was not much trouble about
shoes, for tanneries were set up in the colony, and in this
respect the people were independent of France. The
officers were at Mobile for short times and did not always
bring their families with them until 1712, when the new
governor brought his large family — several of them young
ladies — ard from that time there was a kird of court at
Mobile, where Paris costumes were usual. But that was
not yet. The great Hat Question of France, then, related
to whether the nobles or the lawyers should first take off
their hats on entering court. In Mobile, the great Hat
Question in 1711 was how to get any hats at all,
4- Industries. The notion which prevailed then and
for a long time afterwards was that a colony was meant
to be for the benefit of the home country. So long as most
of the people came from France and expepted after making
some money to return to France, this would find no objec
tion. Later when the habitans had become Creoles,
attached to Louisiana even more than to France, there
might be a different point of view. The English govern
ment was active in prevencing the erection of manufactories
in their colonies, but the French had no such trouble.
The absolute government of Louis XIV made everyone
dependent on the court at home and every colony dependent
upon France, and many articles were sent from there.
As lo material, cotton was becoming more common, its
chief place of production being now in Mexico and other
southern countries, but wool was still the principal material
for clothing. It was grown mainly in England, and
weaving it made Flanders the manufacturing centre of
the world. Taffeta is mentioned, but the principal goods
brought to America were Limboiirg, Mazamet and Rouen,
largely used in Indian trade. Every ship brought a con
signment of these materials. It would have been well if

68 Under Five Flags
the French government had encouraged the manufacture
of clothes and other articles in Louisiana, but the factories
of France were not flourishing and desired every market
possible. The expulsion of the Huguenots had affected
every industry, particularly in south France, and, not
only so, but the exiles carried their knowledge and skill to
Holland, Germany and England, to build up rivals in trade.
This and the war were the reasons the supplies from France
were scarce. The productive industries are those which
would naturally prevail in a new country. Attention would
be turned to sending home raw materials for manufacture.
Thus many skins came down the rivers to Mobile for export ,
and in winter furs also, but they do not keep in a warm
climate, and, while Canada was alarmed lest her beaver
trade be turned southward, the fear proved groundless in
the long run. There was a good deal done in the way of
forestry and lumbering. On Iberville's first visit to Mobile
River he cut a large mast for his vessel and all the governors
encouraged the establishment of saw mills. These used
long straight saws, which worked up and down. The mod-
err circular saw had not yet been invented,
5. The Cures. The religious wars in France had resulted
in a truce between the Catholics and Huguenots, which
lasted to the reign of Louis XIV. Some of the Huguenots
wished to settle in Louisiana, but this was denied. Louis
had made one centralized government in France and there
was to be but one church in France, and by insisting on
what was called the Galilean Liberties, this church al
though Catholic was controlled by the King. Canada
being older, its bishop St. Vallier was bishop -also of Louis
iana and ruled through deputies who were called Vicars-
General, This duty was entrusted to the Seminary of
Quebec, which had a branch seminary at Fort Louis on
Twenty-Seven Mile Bluff, The Jesuits were active in

Mobile 69
Canada and on the Mississippi, but they did not furnish the
priests for the Gulf Coast, We find Jesuits at Mobile,
but not as pastors. The first priest acting at Fort Louis
was Father Davion, The first entry in the church records
was in 1704, wher he baptized a little Apalache girl, but
Davion's service was temporary, and the first regular
cure was La X'^ente, a missionary from the Seminary of
Quebec, who received a salary of about two hundred
dollars of our money. The induction of La Vente is des
cribed on a page prefixed to the Mobile Baptismal Register
under date of September 28, 1704. It tells how Davion
placed him in possession of the church by entering the
building, sprinkling holy water, kissing the altar, touching
the mass book, viewing the sacrament, and ringing the
bells. This entry Davion certifies that no one opposed,
and the quaint old document is witnessed by Bienville,
Boisbriant and La Salle. The titles of the clergymen differ;
sometimes it is priest, sometimes ajxistolic missionarj-,
sometimes cure, but they performed the same religious
duties so far as the colonists were concerned, whether at the
Old Fort or the New. As showing the zeal of the French, we
are told of one wealthy young priest who sent out workmen
¦ at his own expense to build the rectory and the chapel at
the Old Fort and would have come himself, but for being
kept back by an uncle through court proceedings. This
rectory- was built on the left of the Old Fort, and was
very commodious. La Vente opposed Bienville's policies,
and before the change of site was succeeded by LeMaire.
There is no intimation of the removal of the colony in the
records, for it was the same parish afterwards as before,
and only incidentally -a year afterwards New Fort Louis
is named. The priests baptized the children and slaves,
performed the marriage ceremonies and buried the dead,
although the only records for the first twenty years were

70 Under Five Flags
those of baptisms. The priests were not all well educated,
but their entries are in general clear and are invaluable.
6. The First Law Book. Every country is governed by
law. In some cases the laws are in books or codes, but in
all cases the first laws are customs, whose origin can not be
traced. So it was in France. The country was ruled by
one king, but it had been made up of different kingdoms or
districts gradually annexed by the rulers at Paris. Each
of these districts had its own system of law, in the
shape of customs, and having that name, "coutume,"
in French. These had been reduced to writing by the time
of Louis XIV, and he was trying to make Coutume de Paris
superior to all others. Even he found this difficult, but he
was able to make this book effective in his colonies. One
K-ather bound copy now in Mobile was printed in 1664
at the palace in old Paris — a quarto, with the law in large
letters, and notes in small type of additions made by the
king and decisions of courts and lawyers. These customs
were the law for Mobile, but many of them could not be
applied, for they dated back even to the time of the Franks
as modified by the civil law of Rome. This big book
does not concern itself with politics or criminal law, for
the king's officials looked after these things. The Coutume'
was concerned with such subjects as family relations and
property. As to land, it has much to say about the lord
or seigneur, and the rights and duties of his tenants, as to
crops, dues and the like. The right any one has to the land
he uses shows the kind of civilization of his country, and
what is called the feudal system still prevailed in France
at this time, and was, with the Coutume de Paris, trans
ferred to Canada; but it is remarkable that this seigneur
or lordship system did not exist in Louisiana. Ownership
of land was much more free, amounting almost to what
in our law is called fee simple. The reason for this change

Mobile 71
'le DROICT
FRANCOIS ET COVSTVME
¦ de la Preuoflc & Vicoptc de Pans.
OK JL^EST F^IT RAPPORT D V -DROJCT ROMAIK,
^ Ordcr.njinces de nos Bsi: : des j^rtides gen-' .x.i.K t> p^liaiUcrs
der aurrrs Ccufiumts de ce Royaume , ^S" de Uursdt^tnncts.
- A \' E C LES ARRESTS D O N N E Z E .\'
in[:rp:c[2..on, d'iccllti-
Ttf hif.ftn Ieaf TmosyoK, ^ds'^as en Ftrlrspit , St ^-..'^i
dt Ch^mmomul f» y^iit , ? da FrrJUy.

QV A T F. I E S .Vi E EDITION.
I u n

¦ Rcurue , corrigec, & aogmcaice tic pi ^ A'vn uen par 1- mefine A:.
aaant G. mon.

A PARIS,
ChczGVILLAVME DE.L VYNE. Librj!rc-laic_, auPi'j;.
au bcu: dc la SaUc dcsMcrcicrs, a la ] jllirc.
E T . ¦
C bez 1 E .-'. N C V 1 1' A R D Ic 61s . en b giandc SJlc <Ja taials ^
a tJmagc S. Icir. 7
!¦!. DC. LXIV..

COUTUME DE PARIS

72 Under Five Flags
was that the French colonists on the Gulf were to compete
with the British colonists on the Atlantic, and, as these
owned their land, the people of Louisiana must be on an
equality with them. There were later some seigneuries
on the Mississippi, but even the influence of Iberville
was unable to establish them in his own favor at Mobile,
There are sixteen titles or divisions in the book and several
relate to the rights of the citizens or bourgeois. Mobile
in the records is sometimes called city (ville) and its
inhabitants called citizens (bourgeois), so that the dif
ferent city rights which prevailed in Paris were very likely
enforced in the little French city of Mobile, whether on
the old or new site. Perhaps the longest division-of the
Coutume covers what we would call the administration of
estates of deceased persons. All the divisions are full,
even if somewhat quaint, and relate in one way or another
to almost all the civil rights and duties that we have to-day.
The form of law was different, but the people had in this
book laws covering the conditions of that time as fully
as a modern code does present conditions,
7. Famines. The first census for Fort Louis de la
Mobile gives for the year 1703 a total population of one
hundred thirty persons, and the next year, after the arrival
of the Pelican, we find one hundred and eighty men bearing
arms. Four years later there had been little change, as
there were one hundred and twenty-two soldiers, one
hundred and fifty-seven colonists, twenty-eight women and
twenty-five children, and even two years after the removal
the increase had been only to four hundred all told. This
is not a good showing. The nearest British colony was
Charleston, which long before this had a population of
over five thousand people, but the circumstances of the
two colonies were very different; for the French were
hemmed in at home, while the English were masters of

Mobile 73
the oceaii; The French at Mobile were more dependent
upon supplies from France at the very time they were
less able to command them. The land about the Old
Fort was better than at Biloxi, but nevertheless was not
fertile. Attention was given more to the Indian trade
than farming, but this was not to be wondered at, for
agriculture was at a low ebb in France ilself. The Dutch
were the gardeners of Europe and war prevented the knowl
edge which they had gained from spreading widely. More
over, it required several years of experiment before the
French could find out what plants were suited ^o the New
World, and in the meantime they depended upon buying
corn from the Indians when supplies did not come from
France. Of meat and fish there was enough, but, while
this furnishes the most condensed food for human beings,
it does not furnish everything that is needed, and, being
secured by hunting and fishilig, it was irregular. It was
necessnry sometimes to send soldiers or some of the unmar
ried colonists away from town to live in the woods with
the Indians. One famous instance was just before the
arrival in 1706 of the warship Eagle, which escorted a
vessel with supplies. A supply ship did not arrive every
year, although that was the plan, and even when it did,
supplies ran low before the next would come. The result
was often great distress between the arrival of supply
ships. And yet while this was true at the Old Fort, it was
not to be true at the New Fort. Famines marked the
beginning of the settlement, but they were confined to
that time. After they got used to the new surroundings,
the French were as diligent as could be wished. Instead
of being scattered among the natives to fish and hunt, the
Creoles gradually spread about the Bay and tributary
waters to work and live. Their little white houses, of
framework filled in with mortar, and whitewashed with

74 Under Five Flags
shell lime, were to be found on many of the tree-shaded
bluffs in the Mobile County, and behind the houses were
the little gardens in which peas, beans, com and other
vegetables flourished, while nearby were peaches and native
fruits. Our story is not at first of the building of a great
city, but at least from 1711 it is the story of^^the steady
growth of a fort and town as the centre of an industrious
population. fe-['f--i

CHAPTER IX.
UNDER A MERCHANT PRINCE.
1. France and England. The time of Louis XIV was
marked by great success in the first half and great reverses
in the second half of his reign. During the jirst period
his minister Colbert built up France in all peaceful ans,
and after his death the king was influenced by ministers
who urged him inl o wars for increase of territory. England
had been the enemy of France for centuries, sending
armies to the Continent to attack her and also gradually
winning the mastery of the sea. All the work of Colbert
was now undone. Roads and canals were neglected, and
the country nobility oppressed, and the farmers either
placed in the army or crushed by taxes. On the ocean
it was even worse. Colbert had built up a great navy and
France had produced some seamen, but after Colbert's
death the king neglected the navy for the army. Iberville
was dead and had no successors. No wonder, therefore,
that France could send little in the way of supplies to
Mobile, and it had a bright side in that it made Bienville
and his colonists more self-reliant. It probabh'^ drove
them to agriculture, and the story of agriculture is better
for Louisiana than for France in the years to come.
2. Crozat's Charter. When peace was in sigh'', the
king determined that he could not conlinue the expense of
building up Louisiana. He retumed to the old plan of
granting out a colony to others, although in a somewhat
different shape, for it was not now a plan to establish a
colony, but to develop one. It had been suggested
before, but now a man came forward who thought he
could use Louisiana for his own gain. It was Antoine
Crozat, almost the only merchant who had been successful

76 Under Five Flags
during these times of war. He had made a fortune in the
trade to the East Indies and in 1712 was granted a charter
or concession by which he hoped to make money by develop
ing Louisiana and by tracing with the Spaniards near at
hand. His success had made him a marquis and he now
leased the country for fifteen years. The total population
after eleveji years of royal government was four hundred,
including twenty negroes, and under his contract he was
to bring over colonists and slaves. Crozat was to be
represented in America by the governor and by officers
called directors, and was to look after the civil life of the
colony. The king still retained the military oversight
and was to keep up the tort and maintain what soldiers
were needed.
3. Governor Cadillac. In the year 1713 a frigate arrived
at the port on Dauphine Island and fired the usual salutes;
for she brought news of peace and of a change of government
which was not wanted. Bienville did nol remain governor.
His endeavors had been to build up agriculture rather than
commerce, and this did not suit the wider plans of Crozat.
So Bienville was succeeded by one who was deemed a more
successful officer. This was Cadillac, who had founded
Detroit up in the country of fur trade about the same
time that Mobile had been established, and had distinguish
ed himself as its governor. With Cadillac came his wife,
sons and daughters, as well as twenty-five young ladies
from Brittany, who were soon married. Bienville was
a bachelor and lived in a small house wilh large grounds
south of the fort, occupying most of the block between
Royal and St. Emanuel south of Monroe Stieet. His
brother, Chateaugue, lived north of the fort at what is
now the northwest corner of Royal and Conti Streets,
and there had a two-story dwelling, regarded as the finest
house in town. As Chateaugue was a sailor and out of the

Under A Merchant Prince 77
city much of the time, Cadillac had little difficulty in
taking possession of his house, and when complaint was made
to the home govemment, it was without effect. Cadillac
was a silent partner with Crozat, and the king was without
power in the matter. Cadillac had always been much
esteemed at Detroit, but at Mobile he seemed to be out
of his element. The fur trade, to which he was used, did
not flourish in so warm a climate, and the Spaniards
maintained their old policy of keeping out all foreigners
from trade with their colonies. There always was some
commerce between French Mobile and Spanish Pensacola,
for the two places had need of each other. The Pensacola
district was not fertile at all and the Spaniards were less
interested in farming than the French. So that, if Mobile
had some famines, Pensacola had even more and was
often dependent upon Mobile for supplies. What is now
called S]mnish River seems to have been named from the
Spanish trade, which brought gold and silver to Louisiana;
for the Spaniards continued to get much of the precious
metals from Mexico and Peru and were always well sup
plied with what they called "hard money," while the French
colonists, in consequence of the wars in Europe, had very
little. But this trade with Pensacola was not all that
Crozat desired.
4- Expansion ofthe Colony. The colony had now attained
a settled condition, and was expanding in different direc
tions. It was destined to come in competition with the
British colonies on the Atlantic, and it is interesting to
study the difference in the methods of growth. The
French were the more adventurous and their wood rangers
(coureurs de bois) ran over much of the coiitincrt while
the British were clinging to the bays and lower rivers of
the coast; but the British colonies were more compact
and when they did grow it was a steadier growth than that

78 Under Five Flags
of the French. The French mingled more with the Indians
and had more influence over them while the British treated
them as enemies, and, far from mixing, endeavored to
push them back in order to obtain their lands for white
settlements. The centres ot growth were different, too,
in the two systems of colonization. The French inherited
the civilization ol tho old Romans, and in their life the
cities and towns were more impDrtant than the country.
The French people were more iirban than rural, while fhe
English loved the counlry life far more. The curious
result followed, that, although the British were to develop
the greatest city on the globe, the French developed more
cities and a richer city growth. In Louisiana the French
military posts were intended to develop into cities, and
the word bourgeois (citizen) was commonly used even
though the town was more a promise than a reality. The
French organization did not make much use of the counlry,
although it was necessary to develop the country before
the city (in the absence of manufactures) would have any
products to handle. The English advance from the
Atlantic was by plantations which encroached upon the
Indian lands, and it was therefore resented by natives.
The new English settlements were marked by stockades to
which the neighbors could resort for protection, while the
French settlements were scattered far from the posts
among the Indians themselves. The French had Indian
wars, but these were stirred up by outside influence, many
by the English, and not due, as generally was the case
with the English themselves, to Indian anger at bad
treatment by the whites.
The French forts, therefore, v/ere not military posts
to hold the country against the Indians, but, on the one
side, to control the trade with the Indians, and, on the
other, intended to develop into cities. Hence the

Under A Merchant Prince 79
importance of these posts, placed by farseeing Frenchmen
at strategic points on the coast and on the rivers.
5. Fort Toulouse. With the coming of the new govem
ment to Mobile plans were begun for building such outposts
up the rivers, and in this way Natchez was founded among
the tribe of that name on the Mississippi River. This
was the more necessary as the English were taking advant
age of the Peace of Utrecht and trading as far West as the
Mississippi, We leam of an English trader named Hutchey
who was daring enough to come close to Mobile, where he
was taken, and, although sent home by the French, was cap-
lured again by the Indians and tomahawked, Bienville
remained the chief influence over the Indians despite the
change of govemment, and we find him settling the .Ten
saws on the Mobile River after they had been worsted
in a war where they lived west of the Mississippi, In
the other direction the Alibamons had become more
friendly with the French, for at Mobile they could obtain
guns and ammunition, as well as liquor and cloth, much
cheaper then by the old overland trade to Charleston,
and the same change of feeling gradually came over the
other Muscogee tribes further up the river, Bienville
saw his chance in the war between the Muscogees and
the English, and gladly granted the request of the Indians
to establish a post among" them. In 1714, therefore, the
French built a fort on the neck of land just above the junc
tion of the Coosa and Tallapoosa Rivers, near a mound
to which the Alibamons resorted in case of overflow. The
fort was named Toulouse for a son of Louis XIV, who
was head of the French navy. The site was well chosen,
lor it commanded the trade route from Charleston to the
Muscogees and the more western tribes. There was
always a garrison and a priest, but a French town did
not develop. Instead of that some of the Muscogee

80

Under Five Flags

villages were moved nearer the fort and gradually this
beautiful counlry became the seal of thriving agiicultural
people. It not only made secure French influence here at
the fall line, where the upper rivers leave their rocky beds
and become one large navigable stream, but il broke
forever the influence of the English. No more eftectual
stroke could have been applied then when Bienville built
Fort Toulouse. We now find the Cahaba River called the
Cabo on French maps and different bluffs and places
received French names. Selma stands on the bluff which

1' i[^a*:,;^mKmm&M.

m •««-^r''''U^*

p Ziv i> m

^^^^mTi^^l
91 ^wSS^^t^}^^^
^W^^^Slrt^sli
^H
FRENCH CANNON (Bienville Square)
bore Bienville's name, and a little higher up near the mouth
of a creek was Bear Fort, and nearer the site of Montgomery
a "little island named French Island. Very few French
seem lo have lived up the Alabama River, although French
influence was supreme. On the Tombigbee, at that lime
called Chickasaw (Tchicachas) River, there were more
families. The Drapeaus lived where the Octibbeha joins
the Tombigbee, and a little farther up near an eastern
rocky bluff lived the Carrieres. Other families could be
found higher and very many lower down on the Mobile.
Under A Merchant Prince 81
Iberville had promised both the Chickasaws and Choctaws
to establish a post on the Tombigbee near their
boundary, and this was carried out, but it did not lead
for the present to building a regular fort. One was not so
much needed there as among the Alibamons, for the
Choctaws were always friendly and their country in central
Mississippi traded exclusively with Mobile.
6. The Spanish Trade. But all this was of little
importance to Cadillac. Trading with the Indians, and
even friendship with them, was beneath his notice. He
sought to develop mining and commerce, and part of the
dissatisfaction which he early felt was from not finding
precious metals. Due to him was the exploration which
the French made up all the rivers emptying into the Gulf,
but nowhere did they find mines of gold or silver. Cadillac
was given a piece of gold which was said to come from the
Illinois country, and he went up there only to find, that,
while there was copper, there was no gold. Like disap
pointments met all of his schemes. He looked down
upon the trade with Pensacola and sought to establish
direct commerce with Mexico, and several trading ships
were. sent out from Dauphine Island laden with French
wares; but they were not permitted to land in Mexico.
These merchants seem to have been, like so many other
people, from Canada, and their names are given on French
maps to points on Dauphine Island or to islands in the
Mobile Delta. They formed the first trading company
in the South but, however influential they were at Mobile,
they were not able to establish any trade with Mexico.
We ha\'e a full account of two expeditions overland con
ducted by the celebrated St. Denis. On the first he went
up the Red River from Mobile and then across to Mexico.
He was well treated, but could not open any trade. The
same result came to him on his second expedition some

82 Under Five Flags
years later, which he carried out on his own account.
Il is interesting in another way, for he fell in love with a
Spanish girl on the Rio Grande, married her and after
wards brought her to Mobile. For the lime being, how
ever, he was by the Spaniards kept in jail.
7. Fort Conde. While Crozat's efforts were unsuccessful
in so many directions, there was one thing he effected
which lasted a long time. The original Fort Louis built
by Bienville in 1711 was a mere stockade of cedar or cypress
and it was found to have been projected too far towards
the river. Accordingly in 1717 it was wilhdra'wn more
within the city and rebuilt of brick, and renamed Fori
Cond6. In this form it was to last for a century. In
plan it was not unlike the old palisade, and the slopes
outside the moat took up about the same amount of
space; but the brick fort within the moat was much smaller.
In size it was about equal to one of our city blocks. Its
eastern edge ran diagonally across where Royal Street
now is, from near Church to near Theatre, and it extended
westward between these two streets almost to the present
St. Emanuel. At each comer was a bastion, and the north
west bastion projected over Church Street. The slopes
outside the moat, however, called the glacis, extended
well into the blocks on all sides. There was also a change
of wharf. The old wharf was allowed to fall to pieces
and many ot the cedar beams still lie beneath the pave
ment of Govemment Street. A new wharf was now
built in front of the New Fort, and received the name,
which it ever afterwards bore, of King's Wharf. It
passed over the site of the Old Fort and reached what was
deep water in the middle of present Commerce Street.
8. The Shipping. While the growth of the colony
interests us more, the colonists themselves took greater
interest in the shipping which plied to and from France.

Under A Merchant Prince

83

There was, of course, no line of ships in the modem sense
of the word, for trade was in the hands first of the king
and now in that of Crozat. Before Crozat's day Chat
eaugue was often in command, and in times of distress he
sailed to Vera Cruz or Havana to seek supplies, which
were retumed when the French ship came in. Chat-
eaugu6 made these trips in small vessels, because there
were no others in Mobile. Sometimes it was in the little
twelve ton transfer boat (traversier) which was built to

j

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1 1*v^
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AS LA P.OCHSLLE. - Sartii ia Fen.
-u-
^-.^^ISl;
iiv-^
Wwi-
¦ ¦"¦;:
HARBOR OF LA ROCHELLE
ply between Dauphine Island and Mobile, The port in
France from which ships came to Mobile was La Rochelle,
which had been a Huguenot stronghold-. The place
remained a great port, although the royal navy had its
headquarters at Rochefort and at Port Louis in France a
great naval base created by the king not far away from
Rochefort. These were all on the west coast of France,
84 Under Five Flags
but we are told of a ship also from St. Malo in Normandy,
which carried under the bowsprit a wooden figure of her
patron, St. Anthony. Some of the sailors were irreverent
enough to cut the figure away, tie a stone around its neck,
and sink it into the sea not far from Dauphine Island.
We are told that immediately a storm arose and the ship
was wrecked with its crew, in sight of land. Some years
later a ship captain determined to remedy the proverbial
wickedness of sailors, and in 1712 built a church out of
his own means in Port Dauphine on Dauphine Island,
which was visible far and near, and became a great attrac
tion to the place. The Pelican one remembers because
of her service under Iberville in Hudson's Bay and because
of her voyage in 1704, but the most famous of the ships
probably was Iberville's flag- ship, the Renommee.
One time she came as a private venture, loaded
with supplies sent over by Remonville, a friend of
the colony. Under Cadillac shipping increased greatly.
With him came over eighty thousand dollars worth of
merchandise for his trading ventures, and as much came
afterwards. There were occasional shipwrecks, as the
Justice, which sank the next year in the Dauphine Island
Sound. Crozat intended building a merchant marine of
brigantines to ply from Dauphine Island as a central point,
but ihe Spaniards would not admit his ships. Crozat
was not liberal himself, for we find that he refused entry
to a frigate from Rochelle and a brigantine from Martinique.
Ships generally came in the spring and returned in the fall
loaded with colonial products, after two or three months
sojourn at Dauphine Island. They were almost always
of the royal navy, carrying from twelve to fifty guns, and
sometimes they came in small squadrons, such as three
vessels which arrived in 1717. Although Mobile had
been moved to the mouth of the river, the ships from France

Under A Merchant Prince

85

seldom came up to the city. They frequently drew loo
much water and anchored at Port Dauphin. There
they unloaded their cargoes and such as was intended for
the city and for the Indian trade was transferred to smaller
boats, like Chaleaugu^'s traversier, which carried them
up lo town. There they were stored in the warehouse

CANNON FROM FORT TOULOUSE
(magasin) and sold to the people, sent up to the river
forts, or annually delivered to the Indians, as the case
might be. While Crozat was unable to establish the
foreign commerce which he wished, he did develop Mobile.
For then, as ever since, its life depended upon its shipping
and the trade with the interior.

CHAPTER X.
HOW THE CREOLES LIVED.
1. Creoles. The habitans and Creoles Uved a con
tented rather than a strenuous life, for amusement then
as now was one of the French arts, and music and dancing
were common. We read of Picard taking his violin with
him when Bienville dispersed the people among the Indians
to avoid starvation, and Picard taught tfie dark Nassiloche
girls on Lake Pontchartrain the minuet and other dances
familiar at Mobile. Of course wine was in use, but the
evil side of liquor seems to have been largely confined to
its sale to the Indians. The woodrangers (coureurs de
bois) were intemperate in every way, but the Creoles
learned to live a plain and healthy life. The word Creole
was originally applied to white people of European parent
age, and it became a name of great honor. As French
mulattoes had white blood, it has became applied to them
also, as in the case of the "Cajans" near Mount Vernon.
These are sometimes said to be descended from the gentle
Acadians immortalized in Evangeline. More certainly
attaches to the Chastangs of Chastang Station, who are
said to have the blood of Dr. Jean Chastang. While he
was in Mobile, the doctor lived northeast Royal and
Dauphin, but he afterwards moved to the bluff named
for him. The Chastang dialect is French, much corrupted
by African and English.
,2. Home Life. Woman was here, as elsewhere, the
centre of all social life, and woman has always occupied
an influential place among the French. The two social
forces were Woman and the Church. The age of the
encyclopedists had not come, and the French colonists
were devout Catholics. Marriage, birth, sickness and

How the Creoles Lived 87
death made up then as now a large part of human life, and
centered about Woman and the Church. The holy days,
too — Christmas, Easter and the different Saint's days —
were observed, and then too Woman and the Church
joined in bringing families and friends together. One of
the favorite holidays was St. Louis day, July 24, and Merry
Mardi Gras can be found observed from the times of
Old Fort Louis at Twenty-Seven Mile Bluff. Among the
French the bride brought a doWry, which remained her
own, but in Louisiana there was such a scarcity of women
that dowry is not often mentioned. The king undertook
to supply the colonists with wives, and among the oddest
cargoes ever shipped were those every few years of mar
riageable girls. There was a famous consignment of
twenty-three by the Pelican in 1704, and the first after
the removal was that of 1712. The .Pelicarr girls have been
remembered for their objection to com bread, which was
new to them, but they should be remembered as the women
whose husbands and children founded Mobile;
3. Houses. One singular feature was that, although
there was plenty of land, the houses were builf near the
street, and, instead of having front yards as with the
English, flowers as well as vegetables were grown in the
garden or court behind the house. Glass for windows
was rare even in France, and solid shutters were the rule.
There were few public buildings, and they differed from
the residences in size rather than otherwise. Stone as
yet was seldom used for buildings, nor was brick, except
for cellars. Even two-story houses were rare. Visitors
to and from Mexico — New Spain — were not unknown, but
there was not here any use of its adobe houses, gradually
approaching over the narrow streets. Most of the build
ings were frame, or wooden frames filled in with oyster
shell plaster. Whitewash was used, and the streets were

88 ¦ Under Five Flage
shelled, so far as anything was done to them at all. Vines
and trees abounded, and the little city perched on the bluff
marked by Royal Street, was a picturesque sight to any
visitor. There was nothing grand, as in Paris, but there
was much comfort and the savoir vivre (knowing how to
live) which has marked Mobile ever since.
4. Education. Education has assumed a larger place
with us than with these simple colonists, but it would be
a mistake to think that there were no schools, Louis
had subjected the church to the state, but within its limits
the church exercised full jurisdiction not only over religion,
but over education — indeed education was a part of the
duty of the priest qr nun. The teaching Jesuits were not
the official priests of Mobile, for these were missionaries
of the Seminary of Quebec and later came the Carmelites;
but no matter who they were, the priests as a rule were
men of culture and earnestness. We leam nothing of the
books they read, or of the school books of the children.
Not only was the printing press unkno-wn, but literature
had little to do with social enjoyment. Nevertheless the
church records show that many people could write, al
though later the cross was often the method of signature.
One of Cadillac's daughters made a cross and she was
fresh from the schools of Canada. Cadillac was to bring
with him quite a number of French domestiques, but the
usual servants of that day weie little Indian slaves cap
tured in war. There were not many negroes among the
colonists when Mobile was founded— there were few at
the Old Fori and only twenty in 1713. They began to
be imported in numbers under John Law's Companj'.
The slaves, Indian or African were always baptized.
5. The First Mobile Author. Among the many people
who were in Mobile in French times several have left
accounts of what they saw and heard. The only one who

How the Creoles Lived

89

really lived there was Andr6 Penicaut and he is the last
one that we would think of as an author, for by business
he did such rough work as building boats and repairing
them. Spelling was not a strong point with anybody in
those days, and we are not quite sure whether we find his
name in Ihe church register or not. At all events, bom in
famous old Rochelle in 1680 of Catholic and not Huguenot
stock, he, like everyone else in France, was much interested

L> , «

^•)»^K

'^^ _ -^
PORT DAUPHIN
in Louisiana, and came over with Iberville in the Badine;
and in Louisiana he remained until 1722, Penicaut was
quite a linguist and on this account and because he was a
ship carpenter he was a member of many exploring parties.
Being a genial character, he met everyone, and, having
some literary tact, he has been able to leave us a most
interesting book. He says that he kept notes of everything
90 Under Five Flags
he relates, but his dates are sometimes not quite
correct, although this may be due to the fact that he
suffered from some eye trouble and went back to France
almost blind. He lived in both Mobiles, spent a famous
winter with Le Sueur in Minnesota, was among the Indians
more than once, and lived a joyous happy life wherever
he was. He was a true Frenchman in his sociability, his
keen eye and ready pen.
6. The Front Gallery. In early Mobile the houses
were built close together, partly as a reminder of the
walled to-wns in France, and partly because of the sociable:
nature of the people. They would talk from window to'
window, and often across the narrow streets, while the
little front gallery was in some sense what Dr. Brinton
would call the basis of social relations. An outdoor
living room was called for by the climate and in the French
South West its equivalent was found in this Creole front
gallery. About Mobile the name has survived the changes
of five flags. It was brought by the Canadians, and
its primitive form is still found along the St. Lawrence.
It is there a projection from the house, and does not rest
upon pillars as with us. It is called galerie, as with the
Southem Creoles. We have no illustrations of the Mobile
house, but we have pictures of Dauphine Island places.,
These show one-story houses with the chimney at one end,
but with perhaps two exceptions, no galleries or even
sheds in front. They give us one striking feature, however,
of Creole architecture — the roof sloping in the front and
to the rear. It, like those of the habitans along the St.
Lawrence, has a curving slope, and partially projects
over the front gallery. Tiles and even shingles weie rare,
and thatch, often palmetto, was common.

PERIOD HI.
A FRENCH TRADE CENTRE
1717-1763

A UTHORITIES.
For this period the same authorities may be consulted
as for the last, and to them may be added Bossu, Nou-
vaux Voyages, Villiers du Terrage, Louisiane Francaise.

CHAPTER XI.
THE MISSISSIPPI BUBBLE.
1. John Law and the Regent. When Louis XIV died
his successor was a little boy of ten. It was found the
king had directed that the government should be conducted
by people who were not acceptable to the old nobility,
who favored the king's nephew, the Duke of Orleans, as
regent. The word of Louis XIV in his life lime was law,
but afler his death the court called the Parlement of
Paris set aside part of the will which he had left and
acknowledged the Duke of Orleans as regent. He imme
diately assumed the tf list, and Until 1722 was the head of
France. His habits were bad, but there is no doubt he
loved his country and wished to advance it. The wars
ol Louis XIV had left France poverty stricken and only
his great name prevented bankruptcy. The money
question was the first, therefore, which the regent had lo
meet, and in solving it he came under the influence ot one
of the greatest minds of modern times. Colbert had
realized that the wealth of a country consists in what its
people are able to produce, for thai enables themtoexchange
with foreign countries and obtain what they can nol produce
themselves. The theory of Spain was that the possession
of gold and silver, no matter how obtained, niakes a country
rich, and the search for gold had been what led to colonization
in America. John Law., a refugee gambler from Scotland,
had a different theory. To him it appeared that money
nee^^oi be gold and si ver so long as the property of the
nation was made to secure it. In other words, that a govern
ment could issue paper money, which stood for the land
and other property of the nation. He became a friend of
the regent and the regent adopted his views. Law was

94 Under Five Flags
first given the right to open a bank and was then granted
in succession the charters of several French trading com
panies, such as those of India and ot Africa, and the govem
ment became in a sense a partner with him. Much of
the public debt was paid off by the new money and every
thing went well for a while. It so happened that at the
time Law was changing old ideas as to finance, Crozat
was changing his old ideas as to colonization. There
was plenty of land in Louisiana, but no gold, and Crozat
was more than willing to have his charter cancelled. This
was an opportunity for Law and he sought to have Loui
siana tumed over to him, and it was soon affected. Law
organized a Company of the West and received a charier
based on Crozat's, but with more extensive rights. He
sold shares of stock to t\]e public and the greatest interest
was aroused. In a short time the results were such as
had never been seen before, and what Law called the
System, but what was afterwards known as the Mississippi
Bubble, attracted the attention of the world.
2. The Storm of 1717. Meantime in America ths ele
ments seemed to be conspiring to aid Law in his plans.
Ths old dream of La Salle had been to make the Mississippi
River in the South what the St. Lawrence River had been
in the North — the centre of a French empire. Sailing
ships of that day, however, could not ascsnd the Mississippi
and the banks near the mouth were not suitable for habi
tation, and thus it was that Mobile and Dauphine Island
with their higher lands had developed as the joint capital
of the colony. The town without the port would be worth
less and the port without the town would be helpless.
Both had grown and flourished together.
There have occasionally been great storms about Mobile
Bay, but one which came in March, 1717, was the most
momentous of all. Three French ships had arrived, the

The Mississippi Bubble

95

Duclos, Paon, and Paix. The Paon entered ihe harbor
at Port Dauphin as usual by the twenty-one fool channel,
but while the other two were lying outside there came up
a great storm. All rode it out in safety, but the wind
which spared the ships acted upon the Gulf in such a
manner as to close up the channel with sand, and the Paon
was imprisoned This was merely inconvenient for the
ship, because after her cargo was unloaded she was lightened
so as to draw only ten feel and it was possible to take her

CITY HALL, LA ROCHELLE
around to the channel at Mobile Point, where she rejoined
the other vessels. But the effect upon Port Dauphin
was lasting. Vessels drawing over ten feet could no
longer enter the harbor and its usefulness was gone. The
effect upon Mobile itself was as great ; for the life of any
port depends upon the depth of water to the sea. The
importance of all this was not al first realized. Ships
still came and were to come for years; but they had lo

96 Under Five Flags
anchor outside the harbor and not only was it diffitult
to land their cargoes from the open sea, but the vessels
themselves were at the mercy of every storm.
There had already been a change in the colonial govern
ment, for these three vessels had brought out the appoint
ment of Bienville as governor for the time being and
Hubert as commissaire, thus superseding Cadillac and
his officials. Bienville received the Cross of the Order of
St. Louis, an honor which he had long sought, together
with a grant of Horn Island near Biloxi as his own property.
This was done by Crozat hirriself, for Law's Company,
although planned, was not organized until August of this
year. Nevertheless Bienville and Hubert had lo take
the situation in hand and make plansfor the future.
3. Capital Moved to New Biloxi. Ths first vessel sent
out by Law's Company arrived on February 9, 1718, and
brought a full commission to Bienville as governor. His
orders were to colonize the Mississippi River aiid he was
to build up the colony by grantng lands up this river and
on all favorable points along the coast. Hubert insisted
that the lower Mississippi was not habitable and favored
making a new settlement near Natchez, where the. bluffs
were high. Nevertheless, Bienville examined the river
and picked out the site of a new city, which in compliment
to the regent was named New Orleans, as well as the site
of a fort far up in the Illinois country named Fort Chartres.
As both favored a site further to the west Bienville and
Hubert finally agreed upon placing the capital of the colony
at Biloxi. This was nol the. original Biloxi, for that was
on the east side of the bay, while the new was on a bayou
which emptied into the Sound near where one now finds
the Biloxi lighthouse. There a new settlement was built,
4- A Chateau on the Bay. Law's Coinpany issued
glowing circuars and printed many beautiful maps, some

The Mississippi Bubble 97
of Mobile Bay, which gave us an idea of the colony of that
day; but with the removal of the capital the govemment
no longer concerns us directly. Mobile went on growing
despite this removal and perhaps it showed a richer life
for being without the stimulus of having the govemment
officials. A map of the Mississippi River and of the Gulf Coast
will show many of Law's oblong grants of land, called
concessions; but there were few, if any, of these on Mobile
Bay or River. This was not altogether because Mobile
was neglected, but rather because the choice lands had by
this time been already granted. The time of Law's Com
pany, therefore, means much less for Mobile than for the
srriall part of Louisiana which has retained the old name,
buf there were also distinct gains for the Mobile country.
The government had long been trying to make the colony
agricultural. The difficulty lay rather with the colonists
themselves, who were not always good farmers, and
generally became more interested in Indian trade or Spanish
smuggling. With Law's Company this was somwhat
changed. Nol only were more people brought, but Euro
pean plants were introduced. From his time dates our
fig tree, which had been brought to the French West
Indies from Spain and the Orient. The peach, cherry
and plum were native, but oranges were about this time
also introduced from the West Indies. Strawberries now
became common and were much praised. We do not
learn of any new vegetables of importance, for peas, beans,
maize and the potato were native and sufficient for colonial
needs. We call the potato "Irish," but it is native here and
imported into Ireland from America. Little gardens
behind the Creole houses from time this on became usual
and were well stocked. The first comers suffered some
times from sickness and from famine, but the habitans

98 Under Five Flags
had now become the Creoles, attached to America rather
than to France, and having no difficulty raising whatever
vegetables and fruits ihey needed.
Bienville had for some time had a chateau on the Bay
near the park which the city has recently opened on the
old Fair Grounds. There he took much interest in his
garden. Somewhat later the Jesuit Charlevoix was to
describe many useful plants which grow about here.
Among them was the candle myrtle, whose wax furnished
the material for lighting, the may apple which the French
call ipecacuanha, the sunflower which fumished aconite,
and the saracenia was also a medicine. The ginseng was
found over all America, and now, before coffee had been
generally introduced, the sassafras not only supplied a
native tea, but its ground leaves originated the famous
Creole gumbo. The Indians used the youpon as the black
drink which they took before going on the war path, and it
became also a colonial medicine. Many of the roots
which we have, such as turnips, were not yet known out
of Holland, where they were first cultivated, but the
flowers were much 1 he same then as now. In Charlevoix's
book there are pictures of the Jack-in-the-Pulpit and the
Virgin's Slipper, and he tells us of the sweet shrub and of
many other plants.
All in all Bienville's chateau on the Bay was a pleasant
place, and what with his table, his garden and the beautiful
view, he and his friends would spend there many an after
noon. 5. The Pensacola War. One would think that America
was large enough for the colonists of Spain and France,
a few thousand in all, and yet we find that they too were
influenced by the wars in Europe. Immediately after
Law's Company took charge, the French sent a colony to
St. Joseph's Bay, far to the east of Pensacola. It might have

The Mississippi Bubble 99
proved permanent and left Pensacola as a little Spanish
outpost entirely surrounded by the French and their
allies; but war broke out in Europe between France and
Spain. There never had been war between the two
countries since Louis XIV had helped Spain against Europe,
but the regent acted otherwise. In March, 1719, a war
ship arrived at Dauphine Island with many pasesngers,
and a month later other vessels under Bienville's brother
Serigny with more, and also two hundred and fifty negroes
to be distributed among the concessions. This was the
first large importation of Africans. The war news which
Serigny brought was perhaps more important still, and the
three Le Moyne brothers immediately organized an army
to attack Pensacola. Bienville got together eight hun
dred French and Indians and marched overland, while
Serigny sailed for Pensacola, to co-operate with four ves
sels. The attack was in May and the small Spanish
garrison was not able to make much of a resistance. After
it surrendered Chateaugu^ was left there with a garrison
of three hundred and the Spanish prisoners were sent to
Cuba. And then happened something very unusual.
Instead of the Spaniards at Havana honoring the flag of
truce, they captured the ships which brought the prisoners,
put aboard them a large force, and proceeded to invest
Pensacola. It was the turn of the French now to sur
render and Chateaugue and his garrison had to go to
Havana as prisoners of their late prisoners.
Nor was this all. Cuba had been long thoroughly
Spanish and Havana was at this time a city of ten thous
and people, including a strong garrison. It was not dif
ficult, therefore, to make up a fleet, and this sailed with
many soldiers for Dauphine Island, where St. Denis
commanded. The storm had closed the port for the
Spaniards as well as for the French and the large vessels

100 Under Five Flags
could not enter. St. Denis' fort was a mere sand bank
behind the little settlement, and his troops and Indians
did not exceed two hundred. The Spaniards were able
to get into the Bay by the eastern passage at Mobile
Point, and attacked a French settlement on Mon Louis
Island. When they came a second time, however. Mobile
Indians rushed down upon them from the woods and killed
thirty and captured seventeen, whom they tomahawked
at Mobile.
St. Denis meantime had been able to defeat the Spanish
attack on Port Dauphine and the fleet sailed away. He
made captives and among them were a number of men who
had deserted from the French, and these were shot in
accordance with military law. This war had shown
rapid changes, and but one more was needed. Bien
ville and St. Denis went overland to Pensacola again,
and a French captain went by sea, and between them they
recaptured the place. There they found more deserters,
whom they hanged, and this time the French made sure
their hold. A strong garrison was left and the Spaniards
were not able to retake the place. It remained French
until peace came some years later, when by an article in
the tieaty it was restored to Spain. Chateaugue had to
remain in Morro Castle in Havana until the same time,
and finally when thie war was over the two colonies found
themselves where they were before, the French at Mobile
and the Spanish at Pensacola, except that ill feeling had
been caused and a number of valuable lives lost. There
is no doubt, however, that the energy of the French colony
had increased greatly since John Law had superseded
Crozat, and Mobile felt the new spirit as much as any other
part of Louisiana.

CHAPTER XII.
OUR OLD ARCHIVES.
1. The Church Registers. The family and land owner
ship are two institutions which are necessary for civiliza
tion and in all ages we find that public records have been
kept of these two things. The church preserved the
records connected with birth, marriage and death, and the
state has kept the records connected with grants of land
by the government and with deeds between citizens
afterwards. Mobile was really, a city of France, and
enjoyed the same laws, so that in Mobile we find the kind
of records that we find at Paris or in Lyons at the same
period. A royal ordinance almost a hundred years before
had directed that a civil officer must prepare two blank
books each year, and put his initials on them, for use of the
priest, and the priest should keep one as a minute book
and return the other to the officer as a record. At Mobile
the records kept as minutes, stitched neatly together, have
been preserved ever since, and make up the most precious
material which history knows in our part of the country.
The priest under the correct date certifies that he has
baptised a certain child, giving Its name and the names of the
the parents and of the witnesses, and perhaps other infor
mation. Then the priest signs, and the witnesses and
sometimes others sign with him. In this way we have
information not only of births, but as to the business of the
different colonists.
From these records we learn the succession of priests
and also of civil officers. Davion's name occurs at rare
intervals as late as 1720, but he was evidently here on
visits. We have Huv6's entries off and on until the
succeeding year, when he went on a mission to the

102 Under Five Flags
Mississippi Indians, and five years later on account of
increasing blindness was compelled to return to France.
Other priests were good men and did their duly, and of
them should specially be remembered Father Beaubois.
After Law's Company assumed charge it built churches
and by agreement, with the Bishop of Quebec divided Louis
iana into three districts. The Illinois region went to the
Jesuits, New Orleans and the South West to the Capuchins,
but the Mobile district from the Ohio to the Gulf was
looked after by the Barefoot. Carmelites. Few Carmelites
came to Mobile, however, and the Capuchin order sup
plied most of the cur6s. The Jesuits had missionaries
among the Chickasaws, Alibamons and Choctaws — the
Choctaw station being at Chickasahay (Tchicachae) . With
the growth of the colony the Mobile cur6 sometimes
signs himself as vicar apostolic, which means he reported
directly to Rome, and sometimes as vicar of the Bishop of
Quebec. Sometimes there was a separate missionary
to the Apalaches, the most Catholic of all the Indians, but
generally the Mobile cur6 had to visit not only the Apa
laches and Tensaws, but the French on Dauphine Island
and at Pascagoula. The Apalaches had moved southward
with the French and lived in a village between Three Mile
Creek (Bayou Chateaugu6) and Chickasabogue, which
the French sometimes called the St. Louis River from the
parish of St. Louis among the Apalaches. The priest
lived there in a frame house under the beautiful oaks and
his stone cellar can still be seen in the lumber yard near a
saw mill. Later we find the Apalaches and Tensaws over
at the mouths of the rivers which bear their names in
Baldwin County.
The oldest register was used only for baptisms, but in
1720 the Company supplied a book in which was to be
recorded baptisms, then marriages, and then deaths; but

Our Old Archives 103
in point of fact no separate record Mas kept for marriages.
Many are found in the Baptismal Register, while the deaths
from 1720 are recorded in a separate book. The marriage
entries give the name, age, quality and residence of each
of the bridal couple, and also the names of witnesses.
The burial records give the date of death, as well as of the
funeral, and there sign, beside the priest, near relatives
and friends who are in the funeral party.
2. Concessions of Land. There was at first no regular
grant of land, and in fact this continued to be the rule
throughout French times. It was so important to have
colonists that the govemment did not take the trouble to
make a formal grant, and occupancy amounted to owner
ship, ^^'ith the advent of Law's Company this was changed
in regard to the large tracts, but few grants of Mobile
city lots are known, for most of these had been already
occupied. The procedure was a written request by the
person desiring land, and then the concession, signed by the
governor and commissaire, concluded by registration of
the papers by the clerk in the office of the Supreme Council.
The earliest grant of which we know was of Mon Louis
Island ^to Nicholas Baudin, made a* the Old Fort by Bien
ville and D'Artaguette, and ratified by Cadillac three years
later, and it is remarkable that this tract remained in the
family until quite recent days. The next concession
was one on Fish River (in present Baldwin County) to
La Pointe, made by Cadillac in 1715 and countersigned by
the commissaire.
The concessions in the time of Crozat led the way to
those by Law, which specified the object of the grant.
In case of La Pointe this was stated to be to raise cattle.
The title became complete provided the grantee cultivated
the land for two years, but was subject to whatever taxes
might be imposed, and also to the royal claims for timber

104 , Under Five Flags
for forts, repair of ships and other public works, including
taking the whole tract, if necessary for fortifications. A'
cedar grove was reserved in the La Pointe Grant.
After the Apalaches moved over to the eastern shore of
Mobile Bay, their territory, the well known St. Louis
tract, extending from Three Mile Creek lo Chickasabogue,
was granted to D'Artaguette in 1733. Somewhat later
there was a town grant made to the famous Madame de
Lusser. Her husband had fallen in an Indian war and
she was granted this tract at about our Eslava Street,
extending from the river westwardly to where the Protest
ant Orphan Asylum now stands on Dauphin Street,
between Broad and Common Streets. The object of the
grant was agriculture, but the Madame only cleared so
much as she needed and built cabins for her slaves there.
One tract which still bears the old name of Lisloy — ^an
abbreviation of L'isle-aux-oies (Goose Island) — is on Fowl
River. The description is indefinite, but the tract has
always been well known. There had been no actual
grant, and towards the end of the French period there
was a certificate that this, like many other tracts, was
privately held by government permission. The land was
used for cattle raising.
3. Conveyances. After the government had parted with
its title the land was private property and passed from one
person to another by deeds. These were, however, different
from our deeds, which state that one person for a certain
sum of money sells certain described lands lo another,
the grantor signing the paper and a notary affixing a
certificate. The French had the old Roman custom, by
which a notary not only drew up the papsr, but drew it
up as something done before him as a court. Both parlies
signed, with witnesses, and the notary kept the deed him
self. He would give a certified copy if asked, but his office

Our Old Archives 105
was and still is in French countries a kind of record room
where papers are kept. These French deeds are provoking
in one respect, for the description is so vague that we
can not tell where the places were. One deed says that
the house sold was opposite to that bought by a tailor
and next door to a lady's vacant lot. In some cases we
can identify the land only because the property remained
in the same family until the time when modem deeds
give more definite boundaries.
4. The Notary. The notary and cure, therefore, were
in some respects the most imp>ortant officers in Mobile.
The cur6 kept all the records of the three greal family
events of birth, marriage and death, and the notary made
all land records and kept them in his house. Both places
were in the nature of record offices. The notary was
probably even more familiar thati the commandant with
the law, for he came in closer touch with the people. We
know the names of several notaries, and Dubourdieu was
so long in office and witnessed so many papers 1 hat he should
be remembered. What has become of the notarial papers
no one knows. The church records are with us, because
the church is still with us, but French laW and offices are
gone. The church records wsre kept in books, while the
deeds, although drawn by the notary, were separate
papers and easily lost. The notary is to be thought of as
having an office, but going from place to place as wanted,
an old man, perhaps, dressed much like the other habitans,
except that he would have in his belt an inkhom and under
his arm the Coutume de Paris or legal papers.
• 5. Court Proceedings. At first the governor acted also
as a judge, but it did nol take long to show the necessity
for separate courts. Now-a-days we draw a sharp line
betweeh three departments of govemment — executive,
legislative and judicial — but in those days there was no

106 Under Five Flags
such division. There was only the distinction between
the governor as a military officer, the commissaire as a
civil officer, looking out particularly for the king's property
and revenue, and a royal judge for law suits almost from
the first.
One of the changes introduced by Crozat was the estab
lishment of a Superior Council, sometime called the Sov
ereign Council, made up of high officials. This was needed
because the colony was growing, and the Council acted
as a superior to the commandants of the different posts,
and as a court of appeals from their decisions in law suits.
The duties of this Council were afterwards extended, and
in one shape or other it lasted throughout the Frsnch
times, whether the government was by the king's lieutenant
or by Law's Company.
The commandant acted as the American probate
judge does, but sometimes there was what we would call a
general administrator, who looked after the property of
people who died. He had more power than the modem
officer of that title, for whenever anyone died it was his
duty to put a seal on the papers and even on the door of
the deceased, and in due time sell all property for payment
of debts and expenses and for division among heirs. In
one such case a petition was addressed to the royal judge
asking for sale of the property of a dead man, a notice
was then posted up for the judicial sale of his house and
lot, and the sale was had at the church door on three
successive Sundays. On the first Sunday a bid was made,
on the second some one raised it, and on the third the price
went much higher, for that was the time of the real sale.

CHAPTER XIII.
ALONG THE COAST.
1. The Creoles and the Water. While there were few
concessions made about Mobile in the time of John Law,
the usual practice had been that which he adopted. There
were few roads in those days and so long as the colonists
lived along the river banks or seacoast there was not much
need for them. A paddle and a dugout canoe, the larger
freight boat known from Spanish times as piragua, or the
similar flat bottom passenger boat known as the carriage
(voiture), were sufficient for all needs. After negro
slavery superseded Indian, there were plenty of oarsmen,
and the Creoles themselves became expert sailors. They
lived on their distant farms contented and in as f)erfect
security from the Indians as the coureurs who traded among
the Indians themselves. The low country about Mobile
is much cut up by the sluggish streams which the French
call bayous, many of which still keep iheir old names.
2. Place Names Around the Bay. Some of the waters
about Mobile still bear Indian names and the Chickasa
bogue goes back to some prehistoric times when the Chick
asaws instead of the Choctaws lived on Mobile River, and
Chocolochee and Chucfee Bays near Tensaw River "cannot
now be translated. One Mile Creek under the French
was Bayou Marmotte, called from a rat or weasel, and
Three Mile Creek was named Bayou Chateaugu6 for
that celebrated Frenchman. High up the bayou is a
shallow place called the Portage, where the Choctaws
crossed to come down their trail, now known as Spring
Hill Road, and the French had to carry their canoes
around this Portage if they wanted to go up the stream.
Over to the south a source of Dog River is still known as
Bayou Durand, from an old French family.

108 Under Five Flags
Up Mobile River lived the families of La Tour at
Twenty-One Mile Bluff, and Parent near Mt. Vernon.
Tensaw River was then called Spanish River and one of
the delta islands nearby was named Hog Island. Lower
down in later limes were the Tensaws and Apalaches, and
the well known engineer Minet seems to have given his
name to the bay which has ever since retained it. High
up a creek there are a number of Indian mounds, which
are still called for the Touachas, of whom so little is known.
Their name seems to be that of one of the Alibamon
villages known to De Soto, although Penicaut brings
them from Florida. Their great mounds are among the
most interesting remains in our country. A French vil
lage occupied the beautiful spot ever since called the Village,
and our Montrose, later named for a Scotchman, was under
the French called Red Bluff, — a name which the British were
afterwards to retain. Fish River was so called in those
days, and in the south fork was a waterfall which can now
hardly be traced. From that location came valuable
stone used for building. Bon Secours means good help
and was appropriate to 1 hat sheltered bay. The name may
have come from the church at Mont real which was dedicated
to sailors, where they would say their last prayers on the
outward voyage, and the image on top was the first object
they would see on their return. The Lagoon was so called
by the French as well as by the Spaniards. Perdido
River was, of course, Spanish and marked what was finally
the boundary between the French and Spanish colonies.
Mobile Point always bore this name and the little islands
outside were called Goziers for the weeds which grew
upon them. Through them at this time the great volume
of water emptying into the bay was gradually digging out a
deep channel to take the place of the one closed at Dauphine
Island in the storm of 1717. On the western shore below

Along the Coast

109

SoB9>^rp)
oo>en

110 . Under Five Flags
Bienville'? chateaij were Dog,' Deer and Fowl Rivers,
bearing the same narries as now, and a beautiful spring
gave the: name to Belle pontaine. Mon Louis Island
was called for Baudin, its owner, who came from Mont
Louis near Tours in France. He lived on the Bay side
of the island at a place called Miragouane or Miragoine,
sometimes receiving the title of Sieur therefrom. Its
meaning is not quite certain, but seems to be the same as
our Mosquito. His title, therefore, is something like the
Knight of the Mosquito.
The region about Bayou La Batr6 was seen and named
at the beginning of the French time. Grand Bay they
called Pine Bay, the little island opposite Pine, which
we know as Coffee Island, while the islands further east
about Grant's Pass were called the Reeds.
3. Dauphine Island. We have studied the history of
Port Dauphin with its once deep harbor and the beautiful
church built by the ship captain, as well as the Spanish
attack in the Pensacola war. A British privateer or pirate
from Jamaica had raided it even earlier, and this was one of
the reasons for drawing Mobile and the port closer together.
The island was to be a favorite place for Indian councils,
but the church records show that it was the residence of
many Frenchmen also. The priest frequently came there
and Frsnch names have even yet survived as names of
places. The shell bank on the north side was once an
Indian mound, and, crowned with cedars, has always been a
favorite resort. Little Dauphine Island was then called
for Guillori who lived upon it. Possibly the sailor Chateau
gue is still commemorated in the Point Chugae found
upon the maps, and Graveline Bay recalls the merchant
partner of St. Denis in his romantic expedition to Mexico.
In the interior oi the island is Point Vendigarde, but the
origin of this name is a mystery.

Along the Coast 111
4- Pascagoula. One of the places explored by the
Spaniards, but which they did not settle, was the counlry
of the Pascagoula Indians. This is said to mean bread
eaters and the origin of the little tribe is of more than
passing interest. The French established no post, but a
number of Frenchmen settled near ihe mouth of the river.
One of the upper branches was called Chickasahay and it
will become better known to us. The Indians lived on
the west side of the marshy delta and there is a 'iradition
that a Spanish priest built a mission among them. They
gradually tumed from their worship of a mermaid to the
Catholic service, and learned to love the cross, the bell
and the mysterious box on the altar. Once upon a time
at midnight, however, the river rose in a tidal wave under
the full moon, and on the crest appeared the mermaid,
pleading for her children to come back to her. And
come back they did, plunging into the water and leaving
the priest upon the shore; and (hen she laughed and dis
appeared. The father dsclared that a crucifix dropped in
the river at full moon would break the spell, but that the
priest who did it would die; and no one has ever dared to
try it. They say that the mermaid's music may still be
heard under the boats of fishermen and therefore sure it
is that the charm has never been broken. However all
this may be. La Pointe lived at the mouth of the main
stream, not far from the present railroad track, and in
Law's time in that bend of the river now called Moss
Point was the concession of Madame Chaumont. The
river was so winding that there was a famous portage
cutting off this great bend, used of old by the Indians and
continued even after the French period.
Pascagoula was a part of the Mobile parish and is often
mentioned in the church records, both of marriages and
baptisms.

112 Under Five Flags
5. The Mosquito Fleet. John Law sent colonists from
everywhere, particularly irom the slums ot Paris, but few
came to Mobile. Its population was largeiy due, first
to the Canadians, and Ihsn to colonists from the west of
France. These, like the Normans who settled Canada,
were good sailors, for the west coast is deeply indented
and developed a seafaring race. Ships cams from France
but once or twice a year, but then, soon developed acoast-
ing traffic about the Mobile waters. The most impoilant,
psrhaps, was the traversier which plied between Dauphine
Island and the city, carrying down goods for shipment
and bringing back supplies from France. One of the
most important offic;rs, thsr^fore, was (he patron or captain.
The names of several of them are known, the one most
frequently occurring being Girard. We do not know ths
name of the first boat, but an early ons bore ihs name of
Marguerite. The first traversier was of sixty tons and
dates irom the year Mobile was founded, somstimts
going lo Pensacola and often lo Havana and Vera Cruz
tor supplies. We would not understand the Mobile
seltlement it we thought of it as purely local. It was
really part of a great French colonial empire in the west.
The French West India Islands of San Domingo and
Martinique were older seltlsments and were flourishing.
Mobile was a pait of this empire, all ot which was connected
by a large marine trade. Then as now goods were shippsd
from Mobile lo the French islands and French goods
brought back in exchange. The boats were small and
few in number, but the daring of the sailors was all the
greater. Nor was this coasting trade all. The habitans were
Catholics, and according to Catholic customs on Fridays
and fast days meat was not eaten, while fish food was
allowed. The result was a large fish t rade. The fishermen

Along the Coast 113
.lived near the mouth of the Bay, as they always have,
while oysters seem to have come in those days principally
from near Dauphine Island.
The tonnage of these small boats varied as well as their
names. Shipping reached the west ot Europe from the
Mediterranean Sea and goes back to the Roman and
Phoenician times, and one of the old names was felouque,
a two masted boat with sloping sails. The Dutch were
sailors bstore the French, and their word sloop gave the
name to the French chaloupe. There were other small
craft named tor the Bay of Biscay, and otherwise. On
the rivers was used the old Indian canoe, but this was not
of bark as on the northern waters. Here it was oflensr
the trunk of a tree hollowed out first by burning and then
by scraping away the burnt wood, until it became often a
long boat bearing several tons or many people.
Iberville planned a great shipyard on Dauphine Island,
but this was not realized, though small boats were often
made in Mobile waters. In proportion they weie more
important then than now, for there were no roads except
the narrow Indian trails, and everything was done by water.
For this reason the Creoles all lived on the water when
they could, and to these small boats it is due in the many
times of famine that the French colony did not perish like
Raleigh's colony at Roanoke, but lived on through troubled
limes to reach at last prosperity.

CHAPTER XIV.
THE TRADE CONTEST WITH CHARLESTON.
1. Coureurs de Bois. The Indians themselves had
developed a kind of intertribal trade before the white
man came, and had adopted as their omti the trails long
since made by the buffalo and prehistoric animals. The
Mobilians had been crushed by De Soto, but their dialect
still remained in America what French had become in
Europe, an international language. The aboriginal com-
mercs related mainly to weapons and ornaments, and any
collection of Indian remains will show inslrumenls made
of stone which have been brought from a greal distance.
Even among the natives the trader was a well known per
son and protected by a rough kind of international law.
It may nol be certain whether the first white travelers were
priests or tradeis; neither left records and their work has
been forgotten, but they were actua.ted by two of the
strongest human passions, — love of man and love of money.
The one sought to do the Indian good by teaching him
religion, the other to enrich himself by buying from the
Indian what he was willing to sell. When the trader used
the rivers he was called a voyageur, when he hunted
through the forest, a coureur debois, (woodranger,) and the
same man might have both characters. These wood
rangers became more than half Indian and sometimes
forgot all civilized ties. They would generally bring
Indian wares by canos or pack saddle to the military posts
on the Si. Lawrence, the Mississippi, or the Mobile, and
sell them to the commandants for guns, ammunition,
cloth, liquor, and trinkets, which they would trade off
again to the Indians in the interior for more goods. Gradu
ally the Indians learned to come themselves, but the

The Trade Contest With Charleston. 115
coureur was ever the advance guard of French civilization,
whether on the St. Lawrence or on the Gulf.
2. Indian Trade from Mobile. If the Indians had been
left to themselves the next step in civilization would have
been agriculture. They had already begun to take the
step, buf their farming was left to the women, while the
men remained hunters and fishers. The lack of domestic
animals like the horse and ox had prevented much advance,
when the coming of Ihe white man put the products of
civilization in the hands of the Indian without his passing
through this stage which had been found necessary lo the
white man himself. Whether the Indian would be
abis to make this leap over a period in civilization was yet
to be seen. It might be that he would be like a scholar
who omits a year and tries to go along with an upper class
for which he is not suited. Time only would tell.
At all events the Indian found himselt able to exchange
skins, furs, com and .obacco for clothing, blankets, fire
arms and ammunition, and, sad lo say, for fire-wa^er,
which he could not leam lo use in moderation. Tools tor
agriculture were nof much in demand among the Indians,
and hunting was encouraged by the fact ihat in the trade
¦with the whites the deer skin was the standard of value
by which ever\'thing else was measured. Twice a year,
in spring and fall, furs and skins were brought to Mobile
or to the forts on the upper rivers, and in return blue and
red cotton goods, blankets, ribbons, guns and ammunition,
brass kettles, axes and hatchets wsre taken back to ths
nation. The principal French cloth goods were named
Mazamet and Limbourg.
If the poureurs were somewhat indepienderil, the com
mandant at the French fort to whom all goods were
brought was a royal officer, and the Indian trade was
really a royal affair. The hold of the French on the Gulf

116 Under Five Flags
Coast was firmly fixed when they built Fort Toulouse and
afterwards Fort Tombecbe, except during ths lime Cadillac
offended the Choctaws. Only two villages remained
friendly until Bienville was able to win back the upper
towns also, but from that lime ths Choctaws remained the
firm allies of the French.
The French established a trading house among the
Chickasaws on the upper Tombigbee, among the Cherokees
on the shoals of the Tennessee, and even among the upper
Indians on the bluff where Nashville now stands. All qf
these got their goods from Mobile and brought the pro-
cssds there.
3. Adair and the British Traders. However the British
might clash .with the natives who were their neighbors,
Scotch traders were early in the woods and penetrated for
hundreds of miles in all directions. This was true almost
from the time that Jamestown was founded in 1607 and
even more true after Charleston was built in 1680. These
British traders would go in caravans from Charleston up
the Indian trails, especially to the Cherokees and Mus
cogees, or Creeks, as they called them from the numerous
small streams in the country. Nor did the traders even
stop there, for they were found at first among the Choc
taws, and al all times among the Chickasaws, and even on
the Mississippi River. The founding of Mobile was the
first step by the French towards breaking up this trads,
and the building of the two French forts up the Alabama
and Tombigbee Rivers was the next. Among the British
traders there was none more active than James Adair,
a Scotchman from Charleston, who has wriiten a famous
book on the American Indians. He has never a good
word for Mobile in his book and in his trade life did every
thing possible to extend the British interest over the four
great southern tribes. He it was who caused the trouble

The Trade Contest With Charleston. 117
among^ths Choctaws and to him was due the first friend
ship of the Crseks for the English, and afterwards the
hostility of the Chickasaws to the French. There is a
very true sense in which the fate of the South could be
said to be decided by the contest of the traders from
Mobile and from Charleston, and among the Charleston
traders there was none greater than James Adair. When
Fort Toulouse cut them off from the Alabama, the British
erected a fort which they called Okfuskee higher up the
Tallapoosa, and changed their trading path to the moun
tain country between the Tennessee valley and the sources
of the Gulf-bound rivers. The Charleston traders were
driven back, but took a new hold.
4. Fort Toulouse. Fort Toulouse was founded in 1714
below where Wetumpka now stands and was of the greatest
importance in maintaining the French hold upon the
Muscogees. Its commandant was head of the trade and
politics on the border between the French colony of Louisi
ana and the English colony of Carolina, and his position
was not an easy one. Even the soldiers gave trouble, and
we often find, both before Law's time and after, that they
did not like the service in America. They frequently
ran away from the different French posts to Pensacola and
even to Charleston. One case was where the garrison
mutinied on Cat Island near Biloxi and compelled a man
named Beaudrot to pilot them thiough the woods. They
were captured by the Toulouse garrison, and one of the
most terrible stories of Louisiana history is their fate.
They were taken to Mobile and Beaudrot as well as them
selves punished by being nailed up in coffins in the esplanade
and then sawn asunder while alive by soldiers from the
garrison. Some years later there was a mutuiy of the garrison at
Fori Toulouse itself. The commandant Marchand had

118 Under Five Flags
married an Indian, spoken of as a princess in the accounts
of the day, and their daughter was Sehoy, of whom we shall
hear later. For some reason the garrison of the fort rose
and killed him, and took to the woods, meaning to go to
Charleston. The post always had a Jesuit priest as chap
lain, but he happened to be absent that day. On his
return he and some others roused the Indians, who were
all friendly to the French, and pursued the fugitives and
captured them. They were taken back to the fort and
thence to Mobile, and there in the esplanade they were
shot for the mutiny. Fort Toulouse, therefore, had a
somewhat checkered history, but nevertheless always
maintained French influence on these upper waters. One of
its cannon can still be seen in the State Museum at Mont
gomery. 5. Fort Tombecbe. Bienville's patron John Law him
self fell into trouble and after a few years had to seek
safety in flight to Venice. The Company, however, was
administered by receivers, and they kept Bienville as
govemor until 1732. He was not now a great deal at
Mobile, for he was striving to build up the numerous
concessions on ths Mississippi River. The capital had
been removed from Biloxi to New Orleans in 1722 and that
city was now his headquarters. His successor did not
know how to deal with the Indians and not only brought on
a massacre by the Natchez, but alienated the Chickasaws,
who were friendly with the Natchez.
Bienville was made governor again in 1735 and knew it
was necessary to conquer the Indians into friendship.
The Chickasaws on their side knew with whom they had to
deal. Bienville got together a strong force, left Mobile
and proceeded up the Tombigbee River to the great white
cliff now known as Jones' Bluff. This he fortified and
called Fort Tombecbe. He then marched westwardly

The Trade Contest With Charleston 119
and at a place in northeast Mississippi called Aekia attacked
Chickasaw villages, over which floated the English flag.
He had not been able to bring up his artillery, and, being
deserted by his Choctaw allies, was finally defeated. He
then withdrew to Fort Tombecbe, and, much mortified, took
his troops back down the river to Mobile.
Bienville attacked the Chickasaws again a year or two
later from the Mississippi, and. made a treaty with them
which did nol satisfy him, but at least prevented further
trouble from them. While founded amid such unfavor
able conditions, the fort always remained and strengthened
French influence on the upper Tombigbee. Supplies came
regularly from Mobile and Indian wares in large amounts
were shipped down the river to the port. The Indians
came from all directions and orders connected with the
Indian trade still survive in Mobile. They show intimate
relations between the French and Indians and cover
goods of all kinds.
The timber trade of Mobile began when Iberville got a
mast for his ship while the Old Fort was building, but it
had attained full force when a commandant of Fort Tom
becbe built a great raft of which we are told. During a
freshet, when the river was deep, he constructed a raft of
cedar logs, drawing twelve feet and containing five hundred
tons of timber, and went down the river on it himself with
four others. It was unmanageable, for it could not be
stopped at the city, and went on out into the Bay and
grounded opposite Montrose. This feat has probably
not been equalled since.
Toulouse and Tombecbe made the French influence
supreme on the rivers.

CHAPTER XV
THE SEVEN YEARS WAR IN THE SOUTH.
1. France and England. It is somewhat remarkable
that up to the Nineteenth Century France and England
have always been on opposite sides in the European wars.
The reason is that they were close together and jealous, and
were both greal colonizing peoples. Each seemed to, feel
that thers was not room for two colonial empires at one
time, and the result was war both in the colonies and iri
Europe. What is called the Seven Years War, lasting
from 1756 ,to 1763, was t heir final test. Prussia under
Frederick the Great was developing. at the expense of the
neighboring nations, and France naturally opposed the
new power, while England as naturally supported Fred
erick. An English historian, like Macaulay, may think
that the Hindoos in the East and the Indians in the West
fought in aid of these European quarrels, but it would be
truer to say, for America at least, that the French
habitans and the English colonists embraced the oc
casion of the European war to fight out their own differences.
Not only was there the constant trade conflict with Charles
ton, but the partisans of the French and of the English
were engaged in actual war, sometimes when there was
peace in Europe.
2. The Provincial Town. Bienville had gone back to
Europe broken-hearted after the partial failure of his
plans against the Chickasaws, and while New Orleans
under the stately Govemor Vaudreuil could find other
interests, it seems that Mobile must share her founder's
ill fortune. After the Chickasaw war we find matters did
not go well at Mobile. Not only had many people moved
lo the Mississippi concessions, but there -was not much

The Seven Years War in the South 121
business carried on at Mobile except in connection with
the Indian trade. The city always remained the centre
for that business. Its communication with the tour
great southern tribes was much belter than that ot the
New Orleans and as a matter of policy it was thought better
to keep the Indians away from the provincial capital.
The colony was not flourishing as a whole, and it was
preferable for the Indians not to see this.
Two things in particular marked the Mobile of the
later French times. In the first place came a grant to
Madame de Lusser which ran a country concession athwart
what had been a part of the old city. It may have been
proper to grant Madame de Lusser land in place of a pen
sion, but it showed that lown property at Mobile was of
much less value than formerly. We have light of the same
kind also on the city north of the Fort. Mobile had dif
fered from every other city that was founded in America
in that it had no protection against the Indians, for, unlike
Jamestown and Charleston, it was built upon friendship
with the natives and so needed no protection against
their enmity. The policy of the later governors of
Louisiana had not kept up to the plans ot its founders.
Sometimes even the Choctaws were hostile, and made
free to take the cattle or injure the properly of French
men. It became necessary finally to fortify the town and
the limits of ihe palisade which was run showed that the
town had shrunk to a small fraction of its old self. A
palisade was run in 1748 from the Fort along Royal Street
to St. Francis, then westward lo St. Charles (St. Joseph),
and south to the Fort again, thus taking in only three city
squares, besides the fort esplanade, where the court house
now stands. There were several gates, three in front where
Royal was intersected by the esplanade, Dauphin and St.
Francis, and one in the rear at Dauphin and St. Joseph.

122 Under Five Flags
The palisade enclosed what was mainly govemment
property, however, and there were many dwellings outside.
Possibly seventy-five dwellings are shown upon the map
of 1760, which would indicate a probable population
of three hundred people. The hospital had always been
an institution of the place. Originally it was at the south
east corner of Conception and Dauphin, but in later times
was further up, at St. Anthony and Royal. Behind it,
near St. Joseph Street, was at that time a little graveyard,
and in the block south was the royal warehouse (magasin).
The main cemetery of the place was still, as it had always
been, about the church west of the Fort, probably in the
block south of Christ Church on St, Emanuel Street, but
extending westwardly also for some distance. Skeletons
have been dug up on Theatre Street and also on Govem
ment Street not far east and west of Joachim, The
cemetery is the one part of a city which grows whether
the rest flourishes or not. Another evidence of dullness
in Mobile in these later days is that the line of Conti Street
had not been preserved. Houses were built over it just
as if no street was there, while the actual roadway was
about a hundred feet further south and bore the puzzling
name of Rue de Coney, (Conty?)
One of the interesting features of this map was a build
ing on the east side of Conception just south of Conti
which was owned by the king and devoted to the use of
the savages. Here, it is likely, were the Indian congresses
which were held in Mobile quite frequently, and here it
was that the Indians assembled and voted to the governor
Kerlerec in 1754 the title of Father of the Choctaws.
The Fort ilself was always kept in good shape. It had
long since been rebuilt of brick and surrounded by a moat
and grassy slopes (glacis), but beyond lay the open ground
(esplanade) always kept about a fort. The Fort from

The Seven Years War in tlie South 123
lip to lip of the bastions was three hundred feet and from
lip to tip of the glacis was five hundred and forty feet,
as il had been ever since Bienville rebuilt the post. It
was entered across the southem glacis where the jail now
stands, and one passed through a brick wall twrnty feet
high from the bottom of the moat. In three fronts at
least were brick casements for cannon, and in the centre an
open square or parade, with a flag staff in the centre floating
the lilies of France. On the south of the parade were two
wells, and east and west were one story barracks for two
hundred and sixteen men. In the northwestern bastion
was a bake-house, and in the southeastern the powder
magazine. From the eastern parapet ot the Fort one could see
stretching out to the north and south an open way called
Royal Street and then spoken of as the Quay, while in
front was the single whart of Ihe city, narrow in part
across flic miry bank, but wider towards the eastern end,
where it reached the river. From the fort ramparts on
aU sides lay in full view of the tihd or bark roofs of Mobile.
Much ot this can be made out from a map which ilself has
a romantic story. Il was made in 1760 by Phelypeaux,
and marks in red the royal property. Down in one corner
is a Spanish writing which states that the plan was found
al ihe capture of Mobile in 1780. What then became of
it is uncertain, but it has now passed into the possession
of the Department of the Interior at Washington. It
bears the signature of ihe United Stales Surveyor General
Freeman and is one of the most valuable records which
has survived.
3. Colonial Industries. If ihe war prevented much
import and export, nevertheless industrial affairs had by
this time reached a settled condition. Gold mines had not
been discovered, despite exploration towards the wesi.

124 Under Five Flags
but lead near St. Louis and copper near Lake Superior were
worked in paying quantities. This did not benefit Mobile
very much, for they went ¦•hrough Quebec or New Orleans,
but much had been realized in the way of furs and peltry.
Il is true the attempts to make any use of ihe coarse
hair of the buffalo, on which so much was based at first,
had now been abandoned, just as Ihe idea had been aban
doned of laming that animal into a beast of burden.
Beaver skins were found, but the best still went down the
St. Lawrence. Much was done in the way of raising
cal'le, even in the piney woods about Mobile. Horses
had increased and hogs flourished everywhere.
Besides vegetables in the little gardens, much had now
been accomplished in the way_Qf.. agricuhure. Experi
ments showed that wheat did not grow so far south, but
it flourished about Toulouse and Natchez. Silk was
tried, but wilh little success. Cotton was known, al
though not cultivated lo any great extent. This seems
strange lo us now, but il is lo be remembered that the large
settlements were on the lower rivers and where the pine
flourished. Wool was still the main material for clothing
and it was not for some time 1 o come that cot ton goods were
much kno-wn outside of Mexico. Sugar cane had been
introduced and grew on ihe Mississippi River, but little
was grown near Mobile.
The principal exports of the colony, besides peltries,
were.found in tobacco and indigo. These were extensively
cultivated and had attracted the attention of the observant
Charlevoix even in the time ot Law's Company.
There was little in the way of manufactures, nor was
there a great deal even in France at this time. Fancy
articles were made in Paris and woollen goods manu
factured in the northeast of France, but the age of manu
factures had not yet come. There was little machinery,

The Seven Years War in the South 125
and what was produced was what manufacture literally
means — hand-made — and made, ai home at that. Saw
mills were known about Mobile, one being specially men
tioned on a bayou a league away. Bricks were made and
were now in some demand for building purposes, for not
only Fort Conde, but other buildings were constructed of
brick. Lime kilns tumed much ot the shell mounds into
lime for mortar, and this was not only used with the
brick, but, mixed with Spanish moss, was employed to
fill the spaces between the posts of the houses.
There were many shops about the little town and shop-
keeping (marchand) was perhaps the most common em
ployment. A shop then did nol mean a big si ore, but the
front room of a colonial home, with wares displayed in
the -window or out in front , and the business, in true French
stj'le, was conducted as often by the wife as by the husband.
There were many mechanics and arrisans, and of these
carpenters were well known. In Europe during the Mid
dle Ages the different branches of trade were organized
into close societies called guilds, and, although these did
not exist in Mobile, the titles which they invented were in
use here. Of these "master carpenter" and even "master
cannoneer" are frequently mentioned.
On ihe whole, therefore, Mobile could live to itself,
even in time of blockade.
4- The Blockade. The war in America was fought
out mainly in Canada, but hostilities were no< lacking in
the Soulh. Communicalion wilh France was difficult in
Bienville's lime, and little money came through. Paper
money (bans) was issued and soon drove out gold and
silver, but the paper money soon became worthless, because
ihe king suspended itspayment.
There were plans for hostilities against Charleston, but
the lack of means prevented anything definite. On the

126 Under Five Flags
other hand Mobile was constantly reminded Ihat England
was superior on the ocean, by-suffering from her first block-
ade^ English ships lay outside the harbor in good
weather and prevented French vessels from coming in or
out. This was using early what was to become in later
days a common act of naval warfare. To all intents and
pui poses il closecl up the new channel which was making by
Mobile Point as effectually as the storm of 1717 had closed
up that by Pelican Island.
5. Governor and Intendant. The plan of having a
niilit.ary and a civil govsmor was kept up all through the
French time"s. At first ihe military govemor had ranked
all othsr officers, as we saw in the lime of Bienville and La
Salle, but gradually the civil officer rose in rank, and,
instead of garde magasin, we have seen him called com
missaire, with greater powers. Law's Company had made
little change in this respect, but, when the king look back
the colony in 1732 and ruled it himself, he put in force in
Louisiana the plan of govemment which prevailed in
Canada and in Ihe French West Indian Islands. The
military governor found power divided between himself
and the intendant, who looked after the revenues of the
colony. The two officials were almost always at enmity,
and il was part of the plaii lo have them repoil on each
other. The result of their hostility, however, was weak
ness in ihe government as a whole.
During the Seven Years War the governor was Kerlerec
and the intendant Rochemore, and their enmity all but
wrecked the colony. Everyone look sides either With the
governor or the intendant. The intendant was shown to
have enriched himself by illegal trade with Ihe English
and was sent back lo France, but when he got there his
friends had influence enough to have the govemor recalled
in his turn, and thrown into the great French prison

The Seven Years War in the South 127
called the Bastille. Kerlerec was finally released, but
died of grief.
6. The War in Canada. Beyond blockading the mouths
of the Mobile and the Mississippi Rivers the British
attempted little in the South, but both the English govern
ment and the English colonies united in several expedi
tions against Canada, The English had come to realize
the danger of Iberville's plan of forming into one empire
the French colonies on the St. Lawrence and the Mississippi,
for it would cut off the expansion of the British colonies,
if not result in their extinction. At one time it had
looked as if the plan could succeed, but to make it succeed
the French colonists must outnumber the British whom
they hemmed in. The French were the more active
and controlled far more of the Indians, but in numbers
they had by this time fallen behind the British, The
French colonists in Louisiana and Canada together num
bered less than one hundred thousand, while the English
in New England, the Middle Colonies and those on the
South Atlantic together amounted lo a million and a half.
Three wars had been necessary to bring the matter to a
final issue. That of the Spanish Succession had won
Acadia and Newfoundland for the English, In the War
of the Austrian Succession Louisburg and Cape Breton
had been lost to the French, but restored at the peace
in 1748, Now in the Seven Years War the English had a
leader in William Pitt, who was determined upon the
final humiliation of France, Bienville was still living in
Paris, a private citizen, and followed all war news with
interest; but he was an old man and could only act through
his nephews, the sons of Serigny, who were in the navy.
It was from Canada that the French had attempted to
take possession of the Ohio Valley, and the English rightly
judged that Canada was the heart of the French power in

128 Under Five Flags
America. There came, therefore, the expedition under
Wolfe which in 1759 fought the great battle on the plains
west of Quebec, where both Wolfe and Montcalm fell.
This was followed by the surrender of Quebec.
Governor Vaudreuil of Louisiana had become governor
of Canada and was able to maintain himself for almost a
year after the fall of Quebec. But the British gradually
advanced up the St. Lawrence and compelled Vaudreuil at
Montreal (o surrender the whole of Canada to England
on September 8, 1760.
7, Southern Indians and the War. The fall of Fort
Duquesne (Pittsburg) had released the French garrison
for activity elsewhere. From this time we find them found
ing St. Louis, and from Vincennes and Fort Chartres
stirring up the Cherokee Indians on the upper Tennessee
River to hostilities upon the people of Virginia and Carolina.
In this the commandant of Fort Toulouse actively co
operated, for he could influence the Lower Cherokees south
of the mountains, while the others were reached from the
Ohio Valley. iVIonberault was commandant of Fort
Toulouse at this time and came lo be much feared by the
British. The affection of the Indians for the French was
remarkable and Kerlerec held several councils of
war at Mobile, which tried to impress upon the French
govemment the absolute necessity of providing for the
Indians the usual presents. These now had been lacking
for several years. Little could get through the blockade,
but such was the address of the French that liy promises
and cordiahty they retained the affections of the Indians,
although the British were able and. willing lo supply them
with presents at any time. The governor got together
whatever he could and gave it freely, sometimes buying
out the private stores at Mobile for ihis purpose. Perhaps
the greatest blow which was struck by the French through

The Seven Years War in the South 129
the Indians was the siege and capture of Fort Loudon by
the Cherokees on the upper Tennessee River. It was
foolish for the British to build a fort over the mountains,
far from any hope of relief, and even more foolish to ill-
treat hostages in their hands and thus provoke the fury of
the Cherokees; and this fact, coupled with the influence of
the French on both sides of the mountains, led to the
unique instance of a real siege of a fortified post by Indians.
The garrison finally surrendered the fort and marched
away, but were followed by the Cherokees and massacred
almost to a man. One of the few who escaped was Captain
John Stuart.
8. Treaty of Paris. The war had been waged on the
ocean and in Canada, but it was felt by both French and
British that the treaty of peace must settle the whole
American question. The French king, therefore, per
suaded his kinsman, the king of Spain, to accept a gift of
so much ot Louisiana as was west of' the Misisssippi River
and of Bayou Manchac, which led from the Mississippi
info the lakes east of New Orleans, This left lor disposi
tion al Paris America from the Misoissippi River and the
Lakes to the Allegheny Mountains, and after long nego
tiations at Paris the treaty signed February 10, 1763, gave
all of this to Great Britian. In ths war Spain had aided
France, and England had captured Cuba by an expedition
led by Lord Albsmarle. One of the noted engineers during
this siege was a lieutenant, Elias Durnford, whom Albe
marle look occasion lo thank in public. The treaty,
however, retroceded Cuba lo Spain, and at the same lime
ssttled another old historical problem as to the relation
ot Mobile and Pensacola; for Spain ceded Florida also to
Great Britain. France had desired to keep fhe interior
beyond the mountains for the Indians, but Great Britain
wisely enough determined to settle the question for all

130 Under Five Flags
time, and thus possessed herself of "he whole of America
east of the Mississippi and Bayou Manchac.
Cession to England was bitterly regretted in Louisiana
and a deputation was sent lo France to protest; but the
prime minister did not even let them see the king. Royally
had enough lo attend to in France itself, for it was the age
of the Encyclopaedia, when Church and State were both
attacked by brillia.it writers. The government Avas glad
to be rid of American questions, and consented to being
stripped of all America except a place for Norman fisher
men lo dry their nets off Newfoundland, and except the
French Islands in the West Indies.
The French dream of crushing out the English on the
Atlantic by a French empire on the Mississippi and the
St. Lawience had come to an end, and instead of il the
much more numerous English colonists on the Atlantic
were to use the Mississippi Valley as a back country in
which to expand. Afler the peace Pensacola was occupied
and then on October 20, 1763, the French troops
withdrew from Fort Cond6 and Highlanders under Col.
Robertson entered to the music of bagpipes, and a royal
salute greeted the British flag which broke to the breeze.
The transfer was by a written paper signed by French
officers on the side one and by Robert Farmar for England.
The French troops withdrew to New Orleans, but most of
the people remained, and made out as best they could the
proclamation which Farmar issued, changing the name
of the fort to "CharloUe" in honor of the young queen of
England. Shortly afterwards British troops received
possession of Forts Toulouse and Tombecbe, whose names
also were changed, and the British flag waved over the
whole southem country.

BRITISH FLAG
(Merchant)

PERIOD IV.
A BRITISH METROPOLIS
1763-1780

A UTHORITIES.
Documents. Haldimand Papers (Ottawa); West Florida
Records in Alabama Department of Archives, (from
British Colonial Records.)
Travels. James Adah American Indians (1775) ; Romans'
Florida: Jeffreys' French Dominion; Roberts' Florida;
Bartram's Travels (1793); Pittman, Mississippi Settle
ments. Histories. R. L. Campbell, Colonial Florida (1892); Von
Eelking, Deutsche Hulfstruppen; Charles Gayarre, History
of Louisiana; A. J. Pickett, History of Alabama.

CHAPTER XVI.
THE NEW GOVERNMENT.
1. Fort Charlotte. The British flag waved over Fort
Charlotte not so much as an emblem of conquest as repre
senting the greatest colonizing power the world has ever
seen. The three crosses in the comer showed English,
Scotch and Irish laces united in one, and the new rulers
went to work to win another peopls and to develop the
countiy. They began with the fort ilself and found great need of
repairs. For the last two years the French had done
very little to keep up the property which they might nol
retain, and, while the brick outside remained, all the wood
work was old, glasses gone, bake-houses and hospital in
bad order, and even the brick-work overgrown with grass.
The French took away their cannon and the British
brought their own, and between the two the wharf in front
was broken down. As Fort Charlotte was the south
western stronghold, it was important that it be kept in good
order, and so the Brilish set to work to do what was neces
sary. Everything was repaired, including the palisade,
which at this time embraced only the square bounded
north by Conli Street, and in this the British placed their
officers' quarters. There were other rooms added and the
interior arrangement was improved. Much df the work
was done by a Mobilian named Pierre Rochon, and he
long remained the best known contractor in Mobile. The
British workmen complained, biit 'he did the best work
and got the bsst contracts. Maj. Farmar was chief in
command and sometimes brought artisans out from. New
York.

134 Under Five Flags
2. A New Province. The British government realized
that the territory which they had acquired from the French
was too large and ill-connected to be governed as a whole.
It was therefore divided by a royal proclamation ot October
7, 1763, into two provinces, called East and West Florida,
separated by the Chattahoochee River. The northem
boundary might present some difficulty because the original
charier of the colony of Georgia extended westward lo the
South Sea, as the Pacific Ocean was then called. East
Florida could go only to Ihe Georgia line, but about the
Chattahoochee Georgia had no settlements. At first the
northern line of the two provinces was fixed at liiirty-one
degrees, which will interest us frequently hereafter. Be
yond that line the counlry was for the present reserved
for the use of the Indians, but the northern boundary of
West Florida was nexL year extended to a line running east
and west from the mouth ot the Yazoo Riv=r. West
Florida, therefore, was made up of much of the old French
Department of Mobile with the • mainland of Florida
added on Ihe south and the Natchez district added on the
west. St. Augustine was made the capital of East Florida,
and Mobile was the largest citj'^ in West Florida, but
Pensacola became the capital. As the French s'ill
retained New Orleans, despite the secret cession to the
Spaniards, it became important for the British to fortify
their west boundary. This they did by establishing forts
al Natchez and on Bayou Manchac, which they endeavored
to clear of logs and make navigable from Lake Pontchar
train to the Mississippi River. This work was super
vised from Mobile, but never proved successful. The
Brilish took possession of the North West by an expedition
-under Maj. Farmar from Mobile, which ascended the Mis
sissippi River from its mouth.

The New Government

135

3. Major Farmar. The first governor of West Florida
was George Johnstone of the royal na\-y, but the man
acting at Mobile was Major Robert Farmar. He was at
this time forty-five years old and gave great uneasiness to
the F"rench commandant at Xew Orleans. He was well
educated, admired King Francis I and Emperor Charles
V, and would in his correspondence quote Montesquieu
and the Magna Charta to
the Frenchman, It was
reported that he had been
in the British Parliament
and so troublesome to the
government that they sent
him to America to get rid
of him. He superintended
everything for the British
in these parts, buying lands
for public purposes, mak
ing contracts and paying
troops, Farmar's Island
north of the city was owned
by him and he was the first
resident on the Tensaw
Bluff, now called Stockton,
In Mobile he lived at the
northeast corner of St.
Emanuel and Government
Streets, adjacent to the lands used under the French
and also under the British for a royal bakery and other
public purposes.
4. Health Resorts. The French had long sines become
acclimaled at Mobile and found it aa healthful as any
where. The British troops had a different lale to lell, for
they were brought from the West Indies and indulged on

M.\J. ROBERT FARMAR

136 Under Five Flags
their arrival in all kinds of excesses. The resiill was grcjl
sickness among them, Evsn the officers and ship captains
died. It amounted almost to an epidemic for several
years, A new general-in-chief then came named Frederick
Haldimand, and he set himself to work to change condi
tions, Fe\'er in summtr was the principal trouble. He
had surgeons I'xamine the mattsr and Dr, Lorimer spent
much lime studying the subject. Lorimer attributed
it to the dampness of the Fort, which was so nsar ths water,
and to the swamps about the town. The first thing
done was to have the troops camp in summer at Red Bluff,
which was renamed Croftown.
6. Business. Business at Mobile improved greatly in
British limes. A road was cut across the country from the
Village to Pensacola, so that Mobile had the benefit of its
own shipping and tliat which went to the capital also. The
engineeerwho laid this out was Elias Durnford, who some
what later had much to do with the survey which produced
the first Admiralty Chart of Mobile Bay. A road was
planned in the other direction towards Natchez, which
was gradually becoming a liitle town, and the Indian
trads became of value once more.
We know the names of a number of the British mer
chants. One was John McGillivray, whose kinsman had
married Sehoy Marchand, and her son was a little boy
named Alexander, in future to be famous. The firm of
.Swanson and McGillivray had branch houses in other
l)laces also.
British courts were established. The. governor acted
as chancellor, and for collection of small debts there was
a Court of Requests. The justice of the peace had not
\et assumed the importance of later limss. Deeds now
cease to be made out by the Notary and are documents

The New Government 137
signed and delivered by the seller <o the vendee, and quite
a number of them can still be found in the Probate Court.
Among them are a series of papers relating to Lisloy,
which was sold under a chancery foreclosure sale.
There was a rector belonging to the Church of England,
and he was also school leacher, paid by Ihe government;
but the most of the people were still French, and the
Catholic Church was maintained by the parish. Father
Ferdinand, an Acadian refugee of the Capuchin order,
remained as priesl long into the English period. Gradually
his handwriting as shown by the church entries becomes
feeble and shaky, and at last it ceases altogether. The
good man fim'shed his earthly course and is buried some
where near the church lo which he had so long ministered
about the Theatre and St. Emanuel Streets of our day.

CHAPTER XVII.
THE INDIAN BOUNDARY LINE.
1. The Indians. The Indians had become so attached
to the French that they were quite uncertain what would be
The effect of ihe change of flag. The British did not any
longer need Fort Toulouse, and so they abondoned it,
much to the disgust of the Muscogees around, and, while
Tombecbe was maintained, its name was changed to York
and its importance was much lessened. Indeed the
olhcial memorandum shows that it was maintained only
r<i create disputes among the tribes and keep them from
uniting to anno\' the Brilish.
\o hi'^dier tribute could be paid to the I-'rencii than the
fact ilui: ihe Britisii had to turn lo a f-'renchman to help
lliein ir.lUieiice iJie nati\e tribes. Monborauit we ha\o
seen as active while in command at Fort Toulouse. He
was much lo\'ed by the Muscogees, but left that district,
and after the change of flag was living quietly at his country
lioine on Lisloy. From there it was he was called to help
the new go\'ernors of the country arrange their relations
wilh all the Indians or the interior. He was finally ap
pointed Deputy superintendent of Indian Affairs, being
next to John .Stuart, superintendent of Indian Affairs
for the Southern Provinces, at a salary of (wo hundred and
ten pounds a year, besides rent and some extras.
2. The Treaty of Augusta. The British policy in regard
to the Indians was different from the French. The French
had regarded them as, equally with themselves, subjects
of the French king, and built forts or towns at will without
formal purchase from the Indians, who never disputed
the right, for they were glad enough to have French posts.
The AngIo-Sa.\ons, on the other hand, have never mingled

The Indian Boundary Line 139
freely with races of a different color, and one of the leading
Virginians, Captain John Smith, had long since
uttered the maxim, "The only good Indian is a dead
Indian." The govemment did not adopt this in theory,
but acted upon it in practice. When 1he British desired
a site, whether for a city or a plantation, they either bouglit
the land by treaty or seized and held it by war. The result
was in the case of the British a well defined frontier, a line
between the Indians and the colonists, sometimes pushed
back for a time, but always in the long run advancing
further and further to the west. Different treaties effected
this, sometimes by purchase, sometimes at the close of
a war. In the southern British colonies there are many such
treaties, but the most famous was one held in 1763 at
Augusta, Georgia, It was attended by the Chickasaws,
Creeks, Cherokees and some Choctaws, and was designed
to settle the questions of trade and boundary following
the close of the war with France, Augusta was not far
fiom the Cofitachequi of De Soto's time, and present were
British governors of Georgia, both Carolinas and of Vir
ginia, and also superintendent John Stuart, Stuart
well knew the Indians, for he was one of the few who
escaped from ill-fated Fort Loudon but a few years before.
The line agreed on followed rivers and paths from the Savan
nah River across to the Atlantic and provided that the
government should license and oversee all traders who
should come among the tribes. The frontier agreed on,
therefore, did not touch anything in West Florida or the
old Mobile territory.
3. The Choctaws at Mobile. Monberault began his
duties by securing the attendance of the Choctaws at a
congress in Mobile and here we find for the first time
the distinction between the three divisions of this tribe.

140 Under Five Flags
There was less difficulty in treating with the Great Divi
sion and the Six Towns who were in the north and west
than with the Eastern District on the Tombigbee, who had
been more closely in touch with the French. This con
gress was no doubt held at the Indian House on Conti
and Conception, and there the Choctaws were fed for weeks
at govemment expense. Stuart was unable lo get enough
food to satisfy them and Monberault helped him out from
his supplies at Lisloy. At this congress Governor John
stone, superintendent Stuart and Monberault were present,
and the last seems to have been the chief actor in securing
the famous treaty of 1765. He showed the Indians, that,
while the French had been their best friends, the French
had left the English in their stead, and he persuaded them
to cede what land the English needed and receive in return
the arms, clothing and other supplies which they required.
This vi^as done, and the cession agreed on secured to the
British the large tract of land between the Chickasahay
on the west and beyond the Tombigbee on the east, and
extending from the coast up to the springs which we call
Bladon. All three divisions finally agreed to this treaty
and the chiefs surrendered their French medals and deco
rations and received in return medals from the British
govemor. 4- Creek Treaty. Monberault was even better known
among the Muscogees and sent his son into their country
to bring them down to Pensacola, where a congress was
held with them. The leader of the Creeks was called The
Mortar, who was distrustful of the Brilish, and it needed
all of Monberault's eloquence to show these Indians that
they could not get the guns, ammunition and supplies
which they needed from anyone except the English. The
Indians feared the constant encroachment of the English,
but Monberault convinced them that it was necessary

The Indian Boundary Line

141

«
s
o w
p

I '

142 Under Five Flags
for the 5!nglish to have grounds to till so that they could
suppbrt ! themselves and secure the supplies which the
Indians needed.
Monberault fell sick, but a treaty was finally secured.
The tract granted, however, was much less than that
obtained; from the Choctaws. In fact all that was
granted by the Creeks was land south of the junction of the
Alabama and Tombigbee Rivers and extending inland
along the coast for twelve miles. The Indians wanted an
article inserted that goods should be sold them on their
rivers as' cheaply as the traders sold them to the Chero
kees, and. this the govemor could not grant, because the
province$ and their traders were independent. It was
necessary for Monberault to be sent for, sick as he was,
and he succeeded in persuading the Indians not to insist
upon this provision.
It is a pity to have to add that Governor Johnstone
and Monberault fell out after this. Monberault thought
his services were great, and, on the other hand, Johnstone,
having secured what he wanted, soon dismissed him with
anger aiid Monberault had to escape to New Orleans,
leaving Lisloy to become the property of other owners.
5. The Boundary. The boundary between the British
and the ; Choctaws and Creeks was thus well defined,
although there is some uncerl ainl y now as to one point named
in this treaty of 1765. The lins ran up the west side of the
Bay and took in the Mobile delta, and thence up the Ala
bama River to the unknown "Chickianoce," then across to
and up what we call Jackson Creek (Bance) and over to the
Tombigbee River. It then went up that river to Halchatig-
bee, and across to the Buckatunna, and down it to the
seacoast which the Brilish already had in possession.
The upper few rniles, however, were preserved as a neutral
ground between the British and the Indians.

The Indian Boundary Line 143
The Creek boundary was much more limited and was
meant to embrace only the settled plantations. On the
north it embraced the French settlement at Tensaw and did
not extend further east than the lands around Pensacola
Bay. The boundary fixed at Augusta, therefore, did not
join that fixed at Pensacola. The Muscogees reserved the
land which they owned from the Gulf up to their home
places on the Alabama and its sources.
6. How the Boundary Was Run. Writing out the treaty
was one thing and running the boundary was another.
The treaties date from 1765, but the boundaries were not
actually run for six years later. The reason was that
it was necessary io secure not only the attendance of
Superintendent Stuart , but work by a competent surveyor,
and this was not possible in the unsettled condition of the
province. Finally, however, watched by representa
tives of the Indian tribes, the line was run and every
thing settled. There was no question in the future as to
the boundary of this part of the country between the whites
and the Indians. The Brilish policy was firmly fixed of
acquiring lands from the Indians instead of settling amongst
them, and the two treaties of 1765 mark the beginning of a
practice which was to be continued by every succeeding
government as long as any Indians remained in the South
West.

CHAPTER XVIII.
A TRIP ON THE TOMBIGBEE RIVER.
1. British Exploration. The Brilish have always been
practical, and this is as true in the matter of geography
as in anything else. The supremacy of their navy has made
coast survey of great importance, as we see in the case of
Thomas Jeffreys even before Mobile was acquired trom
the French. They were also more persistent on land than
the French, for after acquiring territory they faithfully
explored it. Mobile they knew was the outlet from the
extensive Alabama-Tombigbee River Basin, and they were
not content with the maps platted by the French, but
undertook gradually to map out the whole country and see
what products could be derived trom it. After they had
run' their boundary with the Choctaws, superintendent
Stuart sent out Capt. Bernard Romans to explore the
Indian country about the Tombigbee River and its sources.
Romans was a captain in the army and faithfully executed
his commission.
2. Picture Writings. Romans left Mobile on a Satur
day aftemoon in September, 1771, accompanied by a
party of Choctaw Indians and headed through the pine
forest towards the west. He spent the first night at our
Spring Hill and for several days was crossing or heading
Dog River and other streams. Near the Pascagoula
River he found a Choctaw "hieroglyphick," or picture-
writing, showing that these Indians had killed and scalped
nine Creeks. This was cut on a stone, and a few days
later after passing the Buckatunna River he found another,
this time a Creek picture-writing showing that warriors
of the Stag family had there scalped two Choctaw men
and two women and rowed off in triumph. He saw

A Trip on the Tombigbee River 145
another such picture later on the Tombigbee. The marks
of the Indians were frequent, such as paths, fields, and
camps, and occasionally a head stuck on a pole reminded
him of the war then in progress between the Creeks and
Choctaws. Soon after leaving Mobile they saw three
graves. One of these was of a French soldier, one of a
drunken savage and hence named Rum-Drinker's Hill,
and the other of a trader named Brown, who had lived a
good deal in the Choctaw and Chickasaw nations. At a
Choctaw town Romans and his party put up at a house
of the resident trader, Hewilt, and from there they went
on until they reached Ben James' house at Chickasahay.
3. Indian Wars. The British adopted a different Indian
policy from the French. They no longer took sides
with one nation against another, for their real plan was to
let the Indians exterminate each other, and the govern
ment officers quietly encouraged the Indian tribes to fight.
Shortly before Romans made his exploration there had
been a civil war among the Choctaws themselves, and he
saw many traces of it in the burned towns among the
eastern division of the tribe, who lived near the Tombig
bee River. He was also witness to many warlike events
in an existing war between the Choctaws and the Creeks.
Not only did he see human heads stuck on poles, but at
one place found the Choctaws exulting ovsr a victory, and
atter he reached the Tombigbee he almost ran into a Creek
ambush. This war party had a fire Of hickory bark.
Which makes little smoke, and put it out when they saw
the party of white people approaching. Romans and his
fiiends had off their hats as well as their coats, for the. day
was warm,' but, to show that they were whites and not
bareheaded Indians, they quickly put their hats on again,
and thus avoided being fired. upon. Frequently they came
upon bark rafts left by the Indians after some expedition,

146 Under Five Flags
and more than once an Indian canoe was of great help
to them.
The seat of war was about the mouth of the Noxubee
River, and there the while parly exercised special caution.
Even when they slept at night they built a big fire and put
their hats on high poles round about. The Indians
were not always hostile. The river ran through Choctaw
territory, and where Creeks had not invaded Romans found
the Choctaws friendly enough, and bought supplies from
them at different times. Once he accidently left a silver
spoon and tried to get the Indians to go back for it, and
learned that they would have been willing to do this if it
had been lead or pewter, for then, if the reward was not
paid, the Indians could have melted it into bullets; but
silver had no attractions, as it was too hard for them to
use. They called silver the "white stone," but so useful
was lead that their name for it was the "fat of the earth,"
4. Among the Chickasaws. Romans went through
Choctaw country, visiting Yoani and making Hewitt's
home his headquarters, but he soon proceeded further
northward and crossed the Noxubee and Octibbeha Rivers
on the way. Octibbeha is Choctaw for Fighting Water,
and was so named because it was the boundary between the
Choctaws and Chickasaws, who were so frequently at
war. The Indian commissary took away Romans'
horse and does not seem to have been as polite generally
as the Choctaw agents. Finally they reached the Tom
bigbee about Town Creek, and there got beavers for food.
They lived throughout the trip by hunting birds and other
game. They embarked on the water at Town Creek,
\yhich in Chickasaw bore the name of White Man's Trouble.
This was in the neighborhood of Bienville's defeat years
before and the name may refer to that event, and it was
in this country that De Soto also spent a troubled winter.

A Trip on the Tombigbee River

147

5. Bluffs OTtd Bars. Romans with his guide Dow and a
while servant proceeded down the river in a canoe, and a
voj'age of a month and six days brought them finally to
Mobile. On the way he made a carsful study of river
bluffs, bars, and other natural features, many of which
can still be identi
fied from his des
cription. The
second day he saw
an Indian trading
house on a bluff
and near there
Romans had the
misfortune to have
his gun jerked from
him bj' a snag, and
it then sank in deep
water. Octibbeha
he mentions again,
the Nashebaw,
which is Sipsey
R i ^' e r , and the
Noxubee. The
abandoned French
fort Tombecbe on
its high, steep bank
of chalky stone
Romans visited
and sketched. To
the creek which there empties into the river he gives
the Indian name of Ectomboguebe, translating it as
Crooked Creek, while others translate it as Tom's Creek.
Below the mouth of the Tuscaloosa he saw a chalky bluff
called Chickasaw Gallery, where these savages used to

SEAL OF WEST FLORIDA
(French Sou at Sides)

148 Under Five Flags
fire on the French boats. The country he describes
as very fine, yielding to the Lndians sixty and eighty
bushels of corn per acre, and growing horses, hogs and
game plentifully. This is what we now call the Black
Belt. Below were the remains of villages abandoned
by the Alibamons, who followed the French westward
after the treaty of Paris. Nana Falaya Hills, Tuscahoma,
Hatchetigbee, Sentibogue, and other familiar names he
mentions, as well as Three Rivers, Naniabei, and places
easily recognized still on the lower Tombigbee River.
6. A Christian Roof, He noticed that the tide ran high
up the river and was informed that it reached some miles
above what we call Carney's Bluff. We know that
some time in the French period Drapeau lived at the mouth
of the Okelousa, and Romans found many settlers on the
river, some with British names and others French. Favrs's
he mentions as the first Christian habitation which he had
been in since September, and he had reason to be glad of
it, for that night there came on a prodigious storm of wind
and rain, which he weathered out under a good roof. From
there on down to Mobile he saw frequent* plant at ions on
the western bluffs, amongst Ayhich he mentions Chastang's,
which stood on a high horse-shoe commanding views up
and down. Lower he found the ruins of the first French
settlement, and soon saw the plantation of Mr. Lizard,
for whom the cresk opposite is named. This was an old
settlement made by a French commandant and after
wards owned by the celebrated Grondel. Afler Romans'
trip. Lizard was murdered and the plantation passed into
the hands of the Mobile merchant McGillivray. The
trip ended on January 19, 1772, — the first detailed explora
tion of the Tombigbee River.
7. Summary. The French used the Tombigbee a great
deal aiid were familiar with it, but left no maps of the

A Trip on the Tombigbee River

149

. ' L.ir.iiUKiU /' J J •> 't  « " '
'I .» ivOv-, ^ • ' r ,
•i  ;%^i?*':'-'-i  « ., ' '
, rt < « - , r , 7 ' ' ' ' ' ' 7 ' H ri ,t > »

4 114

' li It 1 t t t 3 > ) ,i

• ' ' ,i

. -t -

BRITISH ADMIRALTY CHART, 1771

150 Under Five Flags
country which it drains. The exploration by Romans,
therefore, was much needed and was well done. He
notes that the upper river ran through clay soils and the
lower through sands and pine hills. Canes were common
only below Mcintosh Bluff, and there the pine barrens
first came to the river's edge. He made Superintendent
Stuart a present of a canoe measuring forty-seven feet
above the third joint. The joints were twenty inches
long and five inches around, and he met with other canes
as large. He not only mentions deserted Indian villages,
as of the Wetumpkees at what we call Carney's Bluff, and
French plantations, which were mainly on the islands
in the delta, but he looks forward to the future. He
noted that just below the last rapids, later to be known as
McGrew's Shoals, where the Indians had a trail across the
river, there was a remarkable bluff on the west bank fifty
feet high. Sloops and schooners could come up to these
rapids and he predicted that a large settlement would be
made here. This did not come at once, but here was
founded at a later period the famous lown and Fort of St.
Stephen. Even at this time he met some of the settlers
who were making the lower Tombigbee a real British
colony. Below Carney's Bluff he visited Thomas Basket 1,
a well known citizen, who had with him several hunters,
and what we know as Bassett's Creek was once called
Baskett's from this Englishman. We know also that
about this time an Englishman named Sunflower had a
plantation upon that great bend of the Tombigbee River
which has ever since borne his name, and, although Romans
did not notice it, at this time the Indian interpreter James
Mcintosh was living on the bluff named for him, and there
was a little baby there, his grandson, who was afterwards
celebrated as George Mcintosh Troup, governor of Georgia.

CHAPTER XIX.
THE JOURNEYS OF A BOTANIST.
1. William Bartram. The military authorities exjilorcd
the Tombigbee and the Indian country to the west, and
five years later the country east of the Alabama River was
visited by a man in civil life with a very different object in
view. In Philadelphia at this time lived a well known
botanist named John Bartram, who had established the
earliest botanical garden in America, and a London doctor
became interested with him in finding out what new herbs
and medicLies British Florida could produce. This Dr.
Fothergill, despite the troubled state of public affairs,
arranged with Bartram's son William to explore the lower
South, and on the errand the younger Bartram spent
several years. In this way we come to know <h3 Creek
country on the cast as well as Romans has taught us to
know that of the Choctaws on the west.
2. Mobile. Bartram was in Charleston and peninsula
Florida from 1773 on and finally went westward from
Georgia by way of Talase on Tallapoosa River. He
mentions the Schambe (Escambia) River ?s draining a
dark and bloody border ground between the Indians,
and finally reached T'^^nS'^ Bluff, on what we call the
Tensaw River, thirty miles above Mobile. Major Farmar
then lived there on the site of the old Indian town of Ten-
saw, marked by mounds of earth which afforded a spacious
prospect over the river delta. Up to this point Bartram
had traveled overland, sometimes with Indian traders,
bu" here he look boat for the city. Like Romans he found
islands of the delta laid out in plantations owned by
Frenchmen. Mobile was on rising ground, extending a
half mile back from the river. At this time the town was

152 Under Five Flags
not flourishing, but there were some good buildings, in
habited by Frenchmen, English, Scotch and Irish, as well
as by people from the northern colonies. Swanson &
McGillivray were the great Indian trading house of that
day, and had extensive buildings. We do not know
exactly where these were, but they were near the river, for
that was the main thoroughfare of the time, and they
could not have been far from the King's Wharf in front of
the Fort, for there was no other wharf in use. Fort Cond6
Bartram described as in good order, and the French
houses in town were of brick, one-story high and enclosing
a large courtyard, with the principal room on the side
fronting the street. This arrangement of a house built
around a court was the usual one in France and continental
countries. The poorer classes, however, were content
with cypress frame houses filled in with brick, plastered and
whitewashed inside and out. Bartram was at Mobile in
July and experienced the hot weather and thunder storms
which sometimes mark that period.
S. New Medicines. We remember how the French had
found strange plants and made new drugs, and Bartram to
some extent went over the same ground. He sailed back
in a trading boat to visit Major Farmar at Taensa and the
major loaned him a boat and a negro to explore the water
courses. Bartram notes particularly the wax myrtle,
which afforded a scale harder than beeswax and made
candles which burned longer. There were no bees in the
colony, except one hive in Mobile lately brought from
Europe, although they abounded on the Atlantic. The
evening primrose he thought to be the most brilliant plant
that exists, with its daily succession of hundreds of petals,
each over five inches. Canes and cypress he found very
large, and peaches and dark purple figs astonished him.
He went into raptures over the star anise, the cucumber

The Jotirneys of d Botanist. 153
tree, the buckeye, youpon, woodbine, giim elastic, great
water lilies and many other plants. Corn and potatoes h6
found cultivated near the site of the first Fort Louis, on
which the river was even then encroaching, and indeed on
many bluffs he found deserted plantations and angient
Indian villages, for the country did not appear to be
thriving. But finally Bartram had an attack of fever,
and he put some of his new medicines in use. He went
thirty miles to get some citronella tea, prepared by steeping
the tops in boiling water, and drank it at breakfast.
4. The Coast. Bartram also explored the coast. He
made a side trip to Pensacola, having some experience
with mosquitoes on the way, and there met Governor
Chester and other officials. At last he sailed from Mobile
in a French boat for Pearl River, stopping on shore at
nights. About Dog River he saw three vast iron pots of
many hundred gallons used to boil tar to pitch, for naval
stores were quite an industry under the British. He had
not got over his fever and finally had to land on the Sound
for treatment. A fly plaster between his shoulders, however,
cured him. He slept twenty-four hours and when he awoke
he says he thought he was in Heaven.
6. The Indians. We learn much of the Creek Indians
from Bartram, for he visited them going and coming.
He gives a list of the towns of Indians upon the Coosa and
Tallapoosa, as well as those upon the Chattahoochee
River, and we see that there had been little change even
since De Soto's time. Many of the names are practically
the same in the Spanish and French books as well as in
Bartram's book. During his westward trip he also saw
a village called Alabama, for the Indians who had been on
the river of that iiame had followed the French when they
left. At this time they lived two miles above the wooden
bridge which spanned Bayou Manchac, the boundary

154 Under Five Flags
between the British and Spanish colonies. The British
had a fori at one end of the bridge and the Spaniards had
a fort at the other end, for they were suspicious of each
other. 6. Bartram's Return. Bartram came back to Mobile
and made up his collections of roots and seeds and other
specimens for shipment by sea to Dr, Fothergill at London,
while he himself returned to Charleston with a caravan of
Indian traders. Even: on the way back the observant
botanist discovered a kind of pecan and a yam which
bears fruit amongst leaves two feet above the ground.
He kept notes of his trip and they were published in book
form in Philadelphia and at Dublin after the Revolutionary
War. It is remarkable that the book says nothing about
that war, which was then in progress, and that he had no
difficulty getting from Charleston to the North. It is
interesting to note that his father's botanical garden
continued to grow in value and thai it was finally bought
for the city of Philadelphia.

CHAPTER XX.
COLONIAL POLITICS.
1. The Early Governors. Under the French there had
been little distinction between the military officers and the
civil officials. Self-government however, had always been
a British institution and was carried over into all the
American colonies. West Florida had a govemor who
looked after civil affairs, while military matters were
controlled by the commander-in-chief of thetroops stationed
in the different forts. The first govemor was George
Johnstone, who had been a naval officer. He was an
active but rather fiery man, who by proclamation gave a
glowing description of West Florida to draw settlers,
and on the other hand in his zeal quarrelled with I he military.
The govcrninont, however, was not merely by the govrrnnr,
for as in all Brilish colonics there was a legislature, called
a General Assembly, of which the lower house was called
the House of Commons, elected by all men who owned
propert)^ The second governor died on his way over
from England and the third was Montfort Browne, who
proved to be even more quarrelsome than Johnstone.
He had a number of duels and was finally removed from
office. He was succeeded by Elias Durnford, the official
surveyor of the province, and an excellent man. The
next governor was Peter Chester, who is the best known
of them all. The capital of the province was Pensacola
and Chester lived in the country nearby, keeping up a
good deal of style. He was a firm man, but beloved by
even those who opposed him.
2. The Military. As New Orleans and Louisiana west
of the Mississippi were retained by France and afterwards
held by the Spanish, it was important to put the military

156

Under Five Flags

in West Florida on a strong fooling. Besides Fort Char
lotte at Mobile, as Fort Conde was now called, a fort was
built on Pensacola Bay around which grew up the new
town of that name, and three other forts were built on the
Mississippi River for the protection of that quarfer. The
commander in chief at first was Major Robert Farmar,
who afterwards underwent a court martial, but was ac
quitted and lived on the Tensaw River. The most famous
of the soldiers in command of West Florida was Frederick
Haldimand, a French Swiss in the British employ. He

BRITISH CANNON (BIENVILLE SQUARE)
reported direct to General Gage in Boston and was promin
ent during the early part of the American Revolutionary
War. Haldimand got on well in this old French province
and the papers which he left behind give a great deal of
information about his times. When Haldimand was
sent away General Campbell succeeded him at Pensacola.
3. Land Grants. The upper branch of the legisla
ture was called the Governor's Coufjcil, and it had the
power ol granting public lands. The French had not been
systematic in their grants, but the Brilish were. A man
asked for so many acres and after it was surveyed the

Colonial Politics. 157
grant, signed by the govemor, was recorded and given
him. Land was granted to settlers and also to soldiers
in order to attract them to West Florida. A private
soldier received so many acres and officers received more.
Now as in French times the land granted faced a river,
creek or bay, because there were few roads and water
was the means of going about. We find some grants
up on the Tombigbee, mainly on the west side.
4. Religion. The French were still in the majority
in Mobile and of course attended their own church not
far from the present Christ Church, where Father Ferdin
and was their priest. England, however, was Protestant
and had its own church, and this was now the official church
of the province. There was therefore an English rector
and church, attended by British officers and residents.
We do not know exacty where this building was. The
pastor for a long time was Rev. William Gordon and he
also conducted the first English school in Mobile.
5. Legislature. The Council was appointed by the
British government but the local House of Commons
was elected at meetings held by the sheriff. There came
to be in time four election districts. One was Pensacola,
another Mobile, which was the largest city in the province,
and after a while Natchez on the Mississippi, and Camp-
bellto-wn near Pensacola. There weie a number of ses
sions of the Legislature and the laws of the province show
a great deal, of care. They covered all the needs of the
colony, but particularly relate to the Indian trade, to public
roads, to taxes and the church matters. They were
approved by the govemor, but could be made void by the
King's Council in England. One of the laws made void
was to establish a separate court for Mobile.
6. Disfranchising Mobile. Govemor Chester once wrote
home to the British government that the Mobile merchants

158 Under Five Flags
did not want a legislature and Mobile members did not
attend the legislature when it met, because the Mobile
merchants wanted no trade regulation for fear it would
prevent selling liquor to the Indians. There arose a dis
pute with the governor because Mobile voters wanted a
legislature elected every year, so as to have it responsible
to the people. Once when the election was held they made
the sheriff put on the election paper which they signed
that the members were chosen for only one year. Gover
nor Chester considered this treason and the home govem
ment thought the same, and, therefore, would not permit
Mobile to have any vote at all. The legislature took up
for Mobile, however, and declined to hold any session,
and Governor Chester had to get along the best he could
¦without a legislature. While West Florida had not up to
this time taken any part in what we call the Revolutionary
War, not much was now needed to fan discontent into
revolution, and Mobile was the leader despite danger of
invasion by the Spaniards in the west. And the leaders
were not of the old French stock, who might have been
deemed discontented, but the English and Scotch mer
chants, who were drilling in the militia to meet the Span
iards if they came. The French from the time of Louis
XIV obeyed the govemment, whatever it might be, but
the British from the time of Charles I were restless when
ever they thought their political rights in danger. And
this was the case at Mobile; but there suddenly came a
more pressing danger.

SPANISH FLAG
(Eighteenth Century)

PERIOD V.
OLD SPANISH TOWN
1780-1813

A UTHORITIES.
Documents. White, New Recopilacion, 1839; American
State Papers, Public Lands, particularly Vols. Ill and V;
Translated Records and Original Records Mobile Probate
Court; Wills, Deeds and other papers in Mobile Probate
Court; Suits as to John Forbes and Company in Mobile
Chancery Records.
Travels. Andrew Ellicott, Journal of Surveying the
Line; Lorenzo Dow, Works, 1849.
Histories. Charles Gayarre, History of Louisiana, Vol.
IV; Justin Winsor, Narrative and Critical History; J. W.
Monette, Valley of the Mississippi; P. J. Hamilton, Coloni
zation of the South, and Colonial Mobile, (1897 and 1911);
W. A. Bowles, Life; H. B. Fuller, Purchase of Florida,
1906; F. W. Blackmar, Spanish Institutions of the South
west, 1891; R. L. Campbell, Colonial Florida, 1892; J. G.
Jones, Protfistaxitism in the Southwest, 1866.

CHAPTER XXI.

A LATIN GOVERNMENT.

1. Captured by the Spaniards. When France ceded the
Mobile country to Great Britain by the Treaty of Paris,
she also ceded to Spain New Orleans and Louisiana west of
the Mississippi, The
French remained in control
there for some time, but
finally the Spaniards took
possession, and, when the
Creoles attempted a revo
lution, it was cruelly put
down, Spanish rule, how
ever, gradual^'- became
mild. France was the ally
of the British colonies in
their war with the mother
country, but, while Spain
showed sympathy, she nev
er allied herself with the
American colonists. The
governments of British
\\'est Florida and Spanish
Louisiana were never cor
dial, and each had plans
to conquer the other at the
first chance; and a young
Spanish governor named Bernardo Galvez found his chance
when Spain declared war on England in 1779. He organ
ized an expedition which captured the British posts at
Manchac and Natchez, and then sailed for Mobile. He
landed in the Bay, marched across to the rear of the town.

GALVEZ

162 Under Five Flags
and bombarded the fort from the northwest. A good deal
of the town itself was burned, and Durnford, not receiving
aid from General Campbell of Pensacola, was forced to
surrender Fort Charlotte. Campbell finally marched for
Mobile, but too late, and the Spaniards defeated the
British near the Eastern Shore and built what came to be
known as Spanish Fort. The flag with the emblems of
the castle and the lion, had returned, and now meant a
firmer hold and a more lasting rule than in the time of De
Soto. 2. The Government. At first Galvez imposed martial
law, but, after Pensacola had been captured also and Great
Britain in 1782 ceded West Florida to Spain, the usual
Spanish civil rule was introduced.
While Galvez was governor general at New Orleans,
West Florida had its own governor, who looked after
military affairs, and an intendant who looked after revenues
and civil matters. At Mobile the commandant had both
military and civil duties, and enjoyed a number of titles
showing his different offices. The official who was closest
in touch with the life of the people was a judge called the
alcalde, corresponding to the American justice of the
peace, but having wider powers. There was one at Mobile,
another on the Tensaw, and still others in different places.
The alcalde decided most of the law suits, and there was
an appeal from him to the commandant. The command
ant was somewhat like a probate' judge in the case of death.
He took charge of the dead man's property and sealed
it up, until it was sold to pay debts, much as was the
custom under the French.
Under these commandants no political activity was
allowed, such as that . smouldering when the Spanish
invasion came, but there was no occasion for it. Many
of the British merchants retired with the British army.

A Latin Government 163
and those who remained with the more numerous French
reconciled themselves to a government which sought the
welfare of the people, although it did not encourage that
pri\-ate activity on which in the long run their true wefare
must depend,
3. The Commandants. There were about a dozen com
mandants at Mobile during the Spanish times and some
of them were men of fine character. One of the best
known was Folch, who became intendant of the province
afterwards. Possibly the best loved, were Lanzos and
Osorno, who came later. The last was to be Perez, who
lived in Mobile also in American times. The square north
of the fort esplanade, that is to say, bounded by St. Emanuel
Conti, Royal and Government Streets, had been ever since
its enclosure by the French really part of the fort itself.
Here were the officers' quarters in French times, and here
in Spanish times the commandant lived. Lanzos' resi
dence was the norteast corner of St. Emanuel and Govern
ment Streets, facing on the parade ground and its little
park, which surrounded the fort. He did not live in the
present building, but in a brick residence, with wide gal
leries in front, farther back in the lot.
An officer of almost as great importance was Miguel
Eslava, who was royal treasurer and at the same time the
commissary, who supplied the food for the troops and looked
after repairs on all public property. He lived in the square
south of the fort enclosure, on a hill overlooking the river.
The lot Wcis surrounded by high pickets and the house
itself was built of materials brought over from Spain.
It was near the site where Bienville lived in the early days
of Mobile.
4- Spanish Records. The government made grants of
land on easy terms, for it wished the increase and prosperity
of the people. The form was different from that in English

164 Under Five Flags
times, when the Council heard applicants and made grants.
Now the person wishing lands made written application to
the commandant of Mobile, giving a description, and the
cpmmandant added a note whether the land was vacant
and the applicant worthy; and finally the intendant made
a formal grant, with a direction to the surveyor to put the
applicant in possession. Sometimes when there was no
intendant the governor or even the commandant would
make the grant. Deeds between private citizens were in
much the same form as under the French, for the notary
now also drew up all agreements as made befo rehim, and
the parties signed in his presence. Often the commandant
acted as notary too. All government proceedings were in
writing, the entry of one officer being written after that of
another in a little blank book, sewed together, the whole
making a complete record. This was done if the fort had
to be repaired, a deed made, property divided, or a suit
tried between citizens, and hundreds of these little books,
neatly folded in packages, are still preserved in the Mobile
Probate' Court, They are hard to read because the writing
and the words are antique, but from them can be made
out much of the history and customs of the limes,
5. American Adventures. The bulk of the population
was still French and the Spaniards were only the ruling
class. As no more French or Spaniards came, however,
the growth of the population gradually came to be from
the Americans. One of them was Josiah Blakely of
Connecticut, who lived on Royal Street opposite the Catho
lic Church, and gradually became owner of much land.
He wrote a charming letter back to his old home people
about his new home and about Blakely Island, opposite
Mobile, one of his possessions. Another was William E.
Kennedy, a doctor from Georgia, who became probably
the greatest land owner of all. His largest purchase was

A Latin Government 165
of the 1,100 acres granted Thoinas Price for back salary.
His brother, Joshiia Kennedy, followed him later and had a
saw mill near the present Stockton. John Murrell was
blacksmith and mason, and among later comers was Samuel
H. Garrow. All Americans did not become Catholics,
but they were Spanish citizens and often by marriage they
became allied to the Creole families of Mobile.
6. Land Grants. The Spanish land grants are of
special interest to us because on them are founded the
titles in the present city and in much of the surrounding
country. They were generally of 20 acres (arpens) front
on a watercourse by forty deep. There are some twenty-
one grants in the present limits of the city of Mobile, and
many more than this on Mobile and Tensaw Rivers, and
on the Bay. Some, like Farmar's Island above Mobile,
the Orange Grove next south, and the Fisher Tract near
by, are really British grants, but they were confirmed by
the Spaniards to the British claimants. The St. Louis
Tract north of Three Mile Creek and the Mandeville
Tract on the Bay date even further back, for they are
French grants. The main city was north of the fort, and
extended from Government to St. Louis Street and was
bounded west by Joachim.
Its streets and lots ran from the boundaries of the
town to the esplanade. The Spaniards made grants very
close to the fort, such as to McVoy Tract west of it and
Collell south of it, besides letting Espejo build' a wharf
north of the royal wharf and giving him the marsh land
west up to Royal Street. In fact the whole river margin
was gradually reclaimed and parcelled out by the intend-
ants. South of the city large plantations were granted to
Favre and Bernoudy, which became tracts bearing these
names, while the tract at Choctaw Point on the south as well
the Orange Grove on the north became th eproperty of

166

Under Five Flags

John Forbes & Co. The foresight of Forbes may be seen
in the fact that these two last grants have become the centre
of much of the railroad and cotton industry of the present
city. The largest tract of land is called the Price Claim,
made up of two grants to the Indian interpreter in payment

SPANISH LAND GRANTS
of his salary, and bought from him by William E. Ken
nedy. The principal residence portion, of Mobile is now
situated within its limits. Further west Antonio Espejo
obtained a grant facing on Three Mile Creek and west of
him came DuBroca, where the present Convent is, and

A Latin Government 167
Murrell had a tract next west. Spring Hill is also a Spanish
grant. Eslava got a grant on the Bay and also built a
mill southwest of the city, which was the basis of his claim
to the largest claim of all, the Eslava Mill Tract. There
was lo be much question about this, as about a great
many farther away from the city. Dozens of grants could
be named, including even the site of Old Fort Louis at
Twenty-Seven Mile Bluff. Indeed, no favorable location
on the rivers or Bay was without a Spanish grant, and the
same was true along the coast and at Pensacola.

CHAPTER XXII.
ELLICOTT'S LINE.
1. Pinckney' s Treaty. The independence of the United
States had been recognized by Great Britain in the Treaty
of Paris of 1782, These states all faced the Atlantic Ocean,
but Kentucky and Tennessee were soon added on the west
from land given by Virginia and North Carolina, This
was the beginning of the movement of people to the country
west of the AUeghenies, A trade sprang up between these
western settlements and the Spaniards on the Mississippi
River and it became important to define the boundary
between the United States and Spanish Florida, Great
Britain had recognized the line of 31 degrees North Lati
tude, but Spain claimed that by her earlier conquest from
Great Britain she owned up to a line passing near Vicks
burg, During troubles in Spain growing out of the French
Revolution, however, the American Ambassador Pinckney
was able to get Spain to agree to the line of thirty-one de
grees. 2. Fort St. Stephen. The forts up the rivers had been
of no great use since the French times because one nation
now claimed the whole territory. Toulouse had been
completely abandoned, but the Spaniards used Tombecbd
sometimes under the new name of Fort Confederation.
The real scat of Spanish influence among the Indians was
a fort which they had built below the rapids of which
Bartram spoke as the place for a considerable settlement.
There on a steep bluff, fifty feet above the river, was a
square earthwork, with cannon commanding the river
and the neighboring country. They named it Fort St.
Stephen and nearby grew up a small settlement, which was
often visited by the Choctaws. We have still records of

Ellicolfs Line

169

the grant of tracts of land on the ri% er above and below the
fort, showing that the neighborhood was well settled and
prosperous. Now, however, the Spaniards found to their
regret that this St. Stephen district was above the line of
31 degrees and must be given up to the Americans.

ELLICOTT STONE

3. Running the Line. The Americans had difficult].-
getting the colonial officers to run this boimdar>-, for it
would leave Natchez also on the American side and the
Spaniards were reluctant to give it up. Finally the

170 Under Five Flags
Americans sent Andrew Ellicott, a Quaker surveyor, and
he and Sir William Dunbar for the Spaniards began run
ning the line in 1798. Ellicott came to Mobile and went
up the river, and has published his Journal, showing
how he located the line and placed on a hill the stone which
has ever since been known as Ellicott's Stone. On both
sides it has "Lat. 31 degrees, 1799," and it has from that
lime been a famous mark in surveying. It was especially
hard lo get the line across the swamps and rivers to the
eastern shore near Tensaw, but he managed to do this by
means of fire and smoke signals agreed upon. The line
had been thus brought from the Mississippi to the Mobile
River and Ellicott carried it on the Chattahoochee River,
and with a slight change in its direction from there to ths
Atlantic Ocean. He had some difficulty with the Creek
Indians east of the Mobile River, for they did not under
stand what right either the Spaniards or the Americans had
to run a boundary line through their woods.
4. The American Occupation. As soon as it was learned
that Fort Si. Stephen was on the American side, troops
from Natchez cut their way through the pine forests to
that point, and shortly after their arrival the Spanish
commandant withdrew down the river to Mobile. While
it was not then realized, this was the beginning of the
Spanish retreat before the Americans which has lasted
until our own day. McClarey occupied the fort and the
descendants of the old British settlers found themselves
under the rule bf an English-speaking race again. Many
of them were of Tory stock, their fathers having been
loyalists who had fled or had been driven from Georgia
during the Revolution.
5. The Louisiana Purchase. It was supposed that a
fixed line had been drawn between the American and Span
ish possessions, but when Napoleon became supreme in

EUicoU's Line 171
Europe he forced Spain in 1800 to cede to France the
province of Louisiana. This not only caused questions
as to how far that province extended, but the United
States were not willing to have so powerful a neighbor as
France at the mouth of the Mississippi River. As a result
President Jefferson negotiated for the purchase of New
Orleans, and Napoleon, being on the point of a war with
England and needing money, finally offered to sell the whole
province for fifteen million dollars. The offer was accepted
in 1803 and French officers received the province from Spain
by rutming up the French flag at New Orleans, and a few
days later they tumed it over to the Americans, who ran
up the flag of the United States over the Cabildo, or gov
emment house. The importance of this to the Mobile
countn,' lay in the fact that the United States insisted that
Spain in 1800 had ceded to France and France in 1803 had
ceded to the T'nited States all territory' east to the Perdido
River and therefore including Mobile. The wording of
the treaties was not clear, but the United States from now
on always claimed that Mobile was American. On the
other hand, Spain insisted that Florida south of thirty-
one degrees was not part of Louisiana and remained
Spanish as before, and Spanish officials continued in the
discharge of their duties at Mobile. In point of fact
the United States tacitly admitted the Spanish claim by
not taking any steps to occupy Alobile. The point became
important later, however, in regard to the grants of land
made by the Spanish officers after the date of the Spanish
cession to France. If Mobile was French, the Spaniards
had no right to make grants of land to anyone. If Mobile
was Spanish, of course all such grants were good.

CHAPTER XXIII.
CHURCH OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION.
1. Church Organization. During Spanish times the
province of West Florida like the province of Louisiana
was in church matters subject to the Bishop of Santiago
in Cuba, but the bishop was so far away that ths American
provinces were almost independent. One difficulty arose
from the mixture of the races and the gradual incoming
of Protestant Americans. A bishop had to issue letters
calling tor the belter observance of Sunday and others
relating lo other duties. There were some thirteen pastors
at Mobile, and their records are still preserved in the
Cathedral. The name of the church was changed from
that in French times, when it had been Notre Dame of
Mobile. Under the Spaniards it was known as the Church
of the Immaculate Conception, and the street on which
the church stood was named Conception from it. At first
the old French building a block south of modern Christ
Church was used and the same cemetery, called sometimes
Campo Santo, was used. There Grimarest when command
ant erected a handsome brick vault as a family tomb.
Later Louisiana and Florida were combined into one
diocese, and separated from Cuba, in order to improve the
religion of the people. The first bishop was Penalver, and
he sometimes visited Mobile, After the cession of Louis
iana to France in 1800 another bishop was appointed, and
when Louisiana became American it again became a part
of the see of Havana, The church registers show the same
care as to marriages and deaths as under the French,
and from now on there is more and more mention of free
negroes, some of whom themselves owned negro
slaves.

Church of the Immaculate Conception. VIZ
2. The Church Building. The church, however, was
even then in a ruinous state and during the time of the
Irish priest McKenna it was rebuilt, and the parsonage
placed next lo it at the northwest corner of Conti and
Royal Stjeets. The Spanish King, by agreement with the
Pope, was entitled to the tithes and agreed to build all
necessarj- churches. This land, consisting of two lots,
was bought by the King for two hundred dollars in 1792,
and the building which was put up on it outlasted the
Spanish rule. It was of brick, with the side on Royal
Street, and the high altar opposite the entrance. The
commandants and other officials worshipped there in state.
The parsonage had a house, outbuildings and fruit
trees, but there was not space for a garden and stock,
and in order to ha\e room for a garden one padre got a
new place in the Orange Grove. The old building was
sold for eight hundred and five dollars to,_Eslava. The
church afterwards contested the sale, but Eslava held
the property.
3. Tlie Cemetery. When the church was moved the
cemetery was moved also. A space tour hundred by three
hundred feet was selected for that purpose at the inter
section of Dauphin and what is now called Franklin
Streets, but it was then out in the woods. The Cathedral
stands on the western part, but the property extended
further east on Dauphin and south beyond Conli. On
it are now found stores, the asylum and other property
of the church. Conti Street did not originally run through
it and when this was done many years later graves wsre
discovered beneath the surface. In this graveyard were
buried some of the priests themselves and many of the offi
cials and colonists of the little Spanish city.
4- The Padres. Catholic priests in any coimtry are
of one of two classes. The first secular, that is, belonging

174 Under Five Flags
to the clergy who live among the people and are subject to
bishops. The other class belong to some of the orders of
the monks, in which case they are known as regular clergy,
¦subject to their o'wn officials. Those of Mobile in Spanish
times were all of some monastic order, but were under
the direction of the local bishop. The first priest was Fray
Salvador, a parish priest of the Mercedarian order, but he
was shortly succeeded by Fray Carlos, who was a Capuchin.
He soon died and was buried here . The next was Fray
Francisco, a Dominican, who like Carlos was both priest
(cura) of the to-wn and chaplain (capellan) of the fort.
A French abbe acted for a while, but then came Eon,
who had the largest library of which we read, but confined
to sermons, breviaries, prayers, and other religious works.
We leam that the good priest had of course the wine arid
oil necessary for the church, and also knives, forks, spoons,
plates, glass, razors, a parasol and a good deal of clothing'
and bedding, besides tobacco and fumiture. The salary
seems to have been thirl y-five piastres a month, and
the allowance for bread, wine and lights. At his death
his effects were sold and the articles were bought by many
different persons.
There were a good many English-speaking Americans
and from the Spanish college at Salamanca were sent over
a number of Irish priests to convert them. Among them
were Lamport and McKenna, both of whom came to
Mobile and died here. McKenna is the best known of
them all and his flowing English hand is the most legible
in the records.
6. The Records. The Spanish priests kept records in
the same manner as the French and amongst others a
negro registry, which comas down later than the others.
There was if anything less municipal life shown at Mobile
under the Spanish than under the French, although the

Church of the Immaculate Conception 175
records have great variety of terms for the place. Some
times it is spoken of as Plaza de ia Mobila and then
again as Villa, and one priest uses Ciudad (city), the same
word which is applied to the City of Mexico. The church
records throw light on civil life in Spanish times just as
they did in the French, for the titles and business of parties
are given, and sometimes of witnesses. The language
is always Spanish, although people were largely French,
and there had to be an official French interpreter.

CHAPTER XXIV.
INDUSTRIES OF TIIE COLONISTS.
1. The Houses. Mobile did not improve in appearance
under the Spaniards, for the place was smaller and less
money was spent on buildings. The usual house was ot
wooden frame, filled in with clay or moss, and with a roof
of bark or tiles. The side was tumed toward the street
as in French times, and in fact there was no change in the
old, style of building except in the greater use of clay.
This made what is called an adobe house. There was
sometimes a brick cellar, but Mobile was so near the level
of the river that cellars have always been rare. Oftener
the house was raised and a long flight of steps ran up trom
the street. Sometimes the house -w^as ceiled and fre
quently it had a gallery all around instead of ths projecting
roof of Canadian style, but it seldom had a hall through
the centre. The kitchen was generally a separate building,
but might be sometimes a lean-to, and behind was a
garden, where flowers were grown as well as vegetables.
The whole place was surrounded by a picket fence,
2. Traders. The shops were nol very different and often
were but the front rooms of the Utile homes. Stocks of
goods were not large, but they sometimes showed great
variety. This was particularly so of the traders with
the Indians, We have the papers of one whose goods
were seized for debt, and these consisted of deer skins,
bear oil, linen, tobacco, pepper, plates and wine, and we
find again in other estates soap, blankets, fishing line and
powder. Such legal sales were begun by a drum, instead
of ths bell which was usual under the English, In one
such case on a plantation across the Bay were sold cloth
ing, boiler and mill, and cows, besides vinegar, salt and

Industries of the Colonists

177

seine. Another trader was killed and his stock of goods
embraced silk, linen, table-cloths, napkins, thread, gloves,
delft ware, scales, weights, spurs, tin spoons, plates and a
writing desk. The widow of this merchant came all the
way from South Carolina to reclaim her husband's prop
erty, for by Spanish law the wife inherited the property

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SPANISH PASSPORT

of the husband and the husband inherited the property
of the wife.
3. Indigo. The people always had vegetables from
their little gardens, but there was not in Spanish times
any staple produce. For a while some attention was paid|
to indigo, which grew wild. The leaves of this plant were
gathered, steeped in hot water, and the sediment was

178 Under Five Flags
packed in cakes for use. The crop was unreliable, how
ever, because liable to be injured by high water, which
was often experienced in spring on the Mobile delta.
4. Cotton. Cotton was raised in some quantity and
used for domestic ..purposes, but the difficulty of separat
ing the lint from the seed prevented it from being important
at this time. The separation of the seed was done by the
negroes by hand and it was slow work. A primitive form
of loom was in use on the coast, consisting of an upright
frame, from which hung the thread of the warp, through
which the shuttle was thrown by hand. In this way cotton
cloth was produced for home use. There would have to
be some better plan devised for getting ths seed out of
the cotton, however, before it could become a great indus
try. The plant was raised even on the Bay shore lands.
5. Lumber and Brick. Saw mills had been common
from the earliest times and the saw was used in an upright
frame, working up and down. Saw Mill Creek marks a
famous old mill site. Eslava had one southwest of the
town and the Kennedys and Byrnes had saw mills on
Tensaw River. There were many good mill sites on the
creeks emptying into the Mobile waters and the Spanish
utilized a number of them, shipping the lumber by river
or Bay over to the city. Brickyards were also numerous,
for the clay found in this vicinity is of a high grade. There
were several near Fly Creek on the. Eastern Shore, and
Espejo had a brickyard near Choctaw Point.
6. Vaqueria. A business which was almost new now
came into prominence. Cattle raising had been unknown
to the Indians, but not uncommon among the French and
English. Now the Spaniards devoted a good deal of
attention to it and had pens in different parts of the coun
try. Their name for it was Vaqueria, translated into
English as Cow-pen, and large herds were kept. The

Industries of the Colonists 179
remains of a Cow-pen, with a mound all around to keep in
the cattle, can be seen at Parker's on the west side of
Mobile Bay. The many swamps of the country afforded
good pasture even in the winter and made the business
profitable. 7. Business. There were artisans about the town,
such as blacksmiths, carpenters and butchers, and those
connected wil h the army were of some prominence. Espejo
was the royal baker and conducted the Royal Bakery at the
southeast comer of Conti and St. Emanuel, where the
same business had been carried on under the English and
French. There were doctors but no la-wyers except the
prosecuting attomey. The earliest French hospital had
been at the southeast comer of Dauphin and Conception,
but in British times it had been high up on Royal Street.
Under the Spaniards also it was a public institution and
was located opposite its original French site. The low
adobe building and the trees and flowers surrounding it
took up perhaps a quarter of the present Bienville Square,
and it had its official surgeon and attendants.
8. John Forbes & Co. Ever since Bienville made Mobile
the headquarters for the Indian department it was the place
from which the colonial govemment, whetfler French,
English or Spanish, controlled the trade with the natives.
Each of these governments made annual presents to the
i/different tribes to keep them in good humor, and this was
necessary, because the Indians never rose much above
their original hunting and fishing stage. For their bow and
arrow they merely substituted gim and ammunition,
which they could not make, and instead of skin clothing
they had shirts and leggings of cotton, which also were made
in Europe. Not only did they call for kettles, knives,
beads and looking-glasses, but at an early day they formed
a strong taste for liquor. They acquired the vices rather

18Q

Under Five Flags

than the virtues of civilization, butil all led to a large
Indian trade. The leading house in this trade under the
British was Swanson and McGillivray, who were connected
with the other Brilish house of Mather and Strothers,
which lasted into Spanish . times. The principal firm in
this business after a while was TumbuU and Joyce, and
Joyce seems to have done a large business of different
kinds. Another BritiQW, however, soon founded a house
which was famous far and wide and took the place of all
others. This was William Panton, a Scotchman like so

'

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P^^pfl^^^lBI^^^HHHHl

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SPANISH RELICS, ETC.
many of the traders, and his firm of Panton, Leslie & Co.
had branches in Cuba, the Bahamas, Pensacola, Mobile
and elsewhere. They sent caravans of traders amongst
the Indians, made advances, and in return received skins
and other goods, and they were for many purposes the
agents of the Spanish government, Their activity among
the Indians lasted -long after the Ellicott Line had put
the Creeks and Chocta-yv^s within the American limits, and
they received from the Indians large tracts of land in settle-
Industries of the Colonists 181
ment of debts. The name of the house was later changed
to John Forbes & Co. Forbes himself staid in Cuba, and
the business in Mobile was managed by his agent James
Innerarity, for many years one of the leading men at
Mobile. While they did not obtain any land from the
Indians immediately about the city, Forbes. & Co, did get
grants of the Orange Grove and Choctaw Point Tracts
from the Spanish govemment, besides much of the river
front just north of the fort, and also city lots. Their
headquarters were on Royal Street where St, Francis
Street now crosses and their main buildings took up the
Custom House site and much of the block next north,
while their skin houses and wagon yards were scattered
over the land to the west. All in all John Forbes & Com
pany were the principal business men of Mobile under the
Spaniards. 9. Money. The silver of Mexico at this time furnished
much of the money of Europe and the United States.
During the wars of Napoleon's day Spain could do little
for her province of West Florida, and a paper money
circulated here which was at a discount of forty per cent.
below "hard money." Some old money is often mentioned,
such as piastres and pesos, but the dollar is generally
named together with the ryal or bit, and the little silver
piece called the picaillon or picayune. These terms were
as much used above the line as in Florida, and bits and
picayunes have always remained Mobile words.
10. Population. Affairs were too troubled in Europe
for Spain to exercise much control in Florida, and the
Spanish officials had not the same energy that Bienville
had shoviTi under similar circumstances. There was more
formality but less real work by the officers. Before Elli
cott's Line was run it is said that there were not over eight
hundred men in the whole province, and of these less than

182 Under Five Flags
one hundred were Spaniards. This would mean a total
population in West Florida of about four thousand people.
While running the Line injured West Florida by narrowing
it in some places to a strip of sand forty odd miles wide,
it increased the population by adding all who withdrew
from Fort St. Stephen and other points above the Line.
Wc are told that the population of Mobile itself in 1803
was eight himdred and ten people. From about this time
on, however, the number in all West Florida increased,
for the Louisiana Cession attracted many Americans to
the South West, and not a few came into West Florida to
settle. The authorities began to fear this increase of
Americans, and in 1805 an order was issued forbidding
grants except to Spanish subjects. After this Americans
could acquire land only by becoming Spaniards.

CHAPTER XXV.
MISSJSSIPPI TERRITORY AND ITS NEIGHBORS.
1. Organization. While the Spanish residents on the
Gulf were living quietly and contentedly on what the soil
and waters produced, there was a very different scene in
the southwest part of the new country called the United
States. Kentucky and Tennessee had been the first
settlements made by the Americans west of the Allegheny
Mountains, and, not only did these people open a trade
down the Mississippi River with New Orleans, but they
began to settle on the river or seek new homes in the
coimtry nearby. So many did they become that in 1798
the United States created what is called the Mississippi
Territory, with its capital at Natchez. It extended from
the Mississippi River to the Chattahoochee and its north
line was finally moved up to join Tennessee. Its south
boundary was of course the Ellicott Line, which was run
because of this increase of population. Not only did
Western people come down the Mississippi, but others
from Carolina, Virginia and Tennessee passed into the
Tennessee Valley and across the mountain country until
they reached the Tombigbee. Some also came cross
country from Georgia to the Alabama River, and from both
directions immigrants journeyed down to what was now
called St. Stephens. The American govemment felt it
necessary to build Fort Stoddert near the Line, at the place
which we now call Mt. Vernon Landing. The old British
residents on the Tombigbee and Tensaw began to find
themselves outnumbered by newcomers from the American
states. This was a kind of colonization, but different from that
which we have been studying. The old colony was made

184 Under Five Flags
up of people sent out by a European government to hold a
district for the home country, and only incidentally to
grow and have interests of its o'wn. Now, however, the
government had nothing to do with these colonists who
came out from the American states to seek their fortunes
in the West. What was done was done by the people
themselves. The govememnt did not place them on the
lands and really found it difficult to keep up with them.
It built forts and organized governments only when the
need was pressing. The movement was more of an expan
sion of the American people than a colonization.
2. The Washington District. ¦ The American system
provided for subdivisions called counties and in 1800
Washington counly was created, extending from ths
Pearl River to the Chattahoochee. The Americans made
a treaty with the Indians at Fort Confederation (the old
French Fort Tombecbi^) confirming the Tombigbee grant
to the Brilish, for the Spanish, like the French, deemed
the whole country theirs and had not wanted any cessions
of land from the Indians. The seat of the ne-w county was
first at Wakefield, but St. Stephens and Fort Stoddert
were the large towns. The country was becoming in
all respects American, except that Spa'nish money was
used, and one of the new things was the visit of Protestant
preachers. Protestantism was already flourishing in the
Natchez country and now there came to what was called
the Tensaw and Washington districts a good but eccentric
Methodist preacher named Lorenzo Dow. He came only
on visits and there was no regular pastor for a number of
years. S. The American Log Cabin. One of the new things
brought to the country was the log cabin, with a hall
through the centre and rooms on each side, and it was
entirely different from the Spanish house. The old Latin

Mississippi Territory and Its Neighbors 185
house had its side to the street but the roof was high
pitched and the projection at the front covered the raised
gallery floor. The American log cabin also had its long
side to the road, and adopted the covered gallery in front
of the hall; but the roof pitch was low and ihe gallery was
really a separate thing from the house. The hall was
brought by the Americans from the Atlantic, and even the
gallery which was adopted from the French somewhat differ
ed from what it had been. The front gallery was the social
centre of the house. The fumiture was less attractive
than that below the Line, for it was not imported, but
merely rough benches, beds made of straw or shucks, and
the floors of puncheon or split logs. The clothing was
homespun, and table ware very simple. All this was
made up for, however, by the fact that the people who used
Ihem were active and progressive. They had come so
far only by using every knack and talent, and their primi-
ti\-e settlements were to advance rapidly for the same
reasons. Their hardships developed character.
4. Fort Stoddert. Fort Stoddert on Mobile River near
the Line was more than a mere frontier post, because there
lived the agents of the American govemment, and these
not only looked after the settlers, but dealt wilh the Indians
on the one side and the Spaniards on the other. The agent
was for a long time Lieutenant E. P. Gaines, whose name
was distinguished in the South West. Fort Stoddert was
made the American piort of entry, where a collector received
the duties on cargoes brought from abroad. While Fort
Stoddert was not the seat of civil govemment, the first
judge in this part of the country, Ephraim Kirby, held
court and is buried there.
6. Harry Toulmin. The distance of the Washington
District from Natchez made it necessary for the local
officers to have special powers. A judge, therefore, not

186

Under Five Flags

only lived there, but his court attended to Federal as well
as local matters. Court like other public business was
carried on at the county seat, Under the Americans civil
and military affairs are entirely distinguished, and . the
county seat was not at Fort Stoddert. First it was at
Mcintosh Bluff, near the junction of the Alabama and Tom
bigbee Rivers, but afterwards somewhat inland at Wake
field and later at Washington Court House. It was finally
located at St. Stephens, which became an incorporated-
to-wn from 1807. The judge who succeeded Kirby was
Harry Toulmin, an English clergyman who had lived in
Tennessee until President Jefferson appointed him judge

PIONEER RELICS

of the Washington District. .He was an active man and
of great influence. The first law books were made up at
Natchez, but Toulmin compiled a larger and much better
book, which remained in use a long time.
6. Aaron Burr. Although Mibsissii)pi Turrilory was
far away from the settled parts of America, it was making
history in several ways. Its relations to the Spaniards
were important, and in the year 1807 it was visited by the
celebrated Aaron Burr on his expedition lo the South West.
Burr was a distinguished citizen of New York and had been
vice-president of the United States. What was his present

Mississippi Territory and Its Neighbors 187
plan has never quite been settled, but it seems to have
been to attack and conquer Mexico somewhat as Cortez
had done. President Jefferson, however, was hostile to
him and caused his expedition to be broken up at Natchez
and Burr arrested. He was a great favorite wherever he
went and had no difficulty in getting away when he was
tried. He escaped through the woods and reached the
Washington District. His object was to get to Mobile or
Pensacola and from there he could either escape or carry
out his plans, but in the Washington District he was
recognized as he made an inquiry at the court house, and
Captain Gaines was notified. Gaines with some soldiers
met Burr on a rise of the public road near Mcintosh Bluff
and Burr surrendered, for resistance was useless. He was
conducted to Fort Stoddert and remained there until the
president sent word what to do with him. Burr was an
able man, about whom has gathered a great deal oi romance.
It was difficult to handle him, for he seemed to fascinate
everyone. According to orders from Washington he was
finally rowed across the river to Tensaw Boat Yard and then
carried by a detachment on horseback through the Indian
country to Richmond for trial. There he was finally acquit
ted, but he was never able to take up again his Mexican
plans. He always declared that he had no designs against
Louisiana or any American territory, and seems to have
been the first of the men who tried to seize different Spanish
possessions, cither for themselves or to annex them to the
United States.
7. The Kemper Raid. An instance of this kind came to
a head very soon. The South West was pioneer and the
niaiinci's and methods of many of the |x;oi>lc were rough.
Thus two men named Kemper living in Mississippi Terri
tory suffered some grievances from the Spanish officials
and were active in raids across the line. The people of

188 Under Five Flags
the Washington country were anxious to have Mobile made
a part of the United States, for then the country would
have an outlet to the Gulf of Mexico. They were urging
the American government to seize Mobile, but, as the gov
ernment would not do it, they were anxious to take the
place by force. Accordingly Kemper organized the expe
dition which went down into the Tensaw District and
thence across to Saw Mill Creek above Mobile. Cyrus
Sibley and a number of others joined it, but it was not _
well conducted. The Spanish commandant at Mobile
learned of it and sent soldiers up, who captured the raiders
and brought them to Mobile. After being a while in the
prison at Fort Charlotte, some of them, including Sibley,
were sent to Morro Castle at Havana.
8. The State of West Florida. While Burr's plans mis
carried, the movement on which he had embarked soon
bore fruit. So many Americans had moved into the
South West and passed below the Line, that West Florida
gradually became more American than Spanish. The
Spaniards never increased in number on account of the
troubles in Europe, while the Americans were always coming
in. The result was that Americans began a revolution at
Baton Rouge in 1810 and an independent state called
West Florida was organized, which was intended to take
in Mobile; but its soldiers never got so far east, for Govemor
Claiborne of Louisiana put an end to the new state by
annexing its actual territory to Louisiana. The Americans
did not attempt to annex Mobile, however. On the con
trary, American troops were sent down from Fort Stoddert
to protect Mobile from the West Florida revolutionists, and
they encamped north of the town in the Orange Grove.
They remained all winter, and when the danger was over
chey were taken back up the river. Fort Stoddert being
immediately on the water was not quite healthy, and'so

Mississippi Territory and Its Neighbors 189

SPANISH MOBILE

190 Under Five Flags
the troops about this time built a post further inland,
which was named Mt. Vernon, after Washington's home.
9. General Wilkinson at Mobile. After the Americans
took«>possession of Louisiana by raising the flag at New
Orleans, troops had remained there. The commander
at the time of Burr's expedition was General Wilkinson,
originally a trader from Kentucky. It has been more
than suspected that he was a partner in Burr's plans, but
he became the chief agent of President Jefferson in opposing
Burr. During the wars of Napoleon in Europe, Spain
was disputed by the French and English, and when the
War of 1812 broke out between Great Britain and United
St ates the Spanish ports were used by English as if they were
their o-wn. President Madison took advantage of this
situation to direct Wilkinson at New Orleans to capture
Mobile, and the result was an expedition by sea which
landed on the Bay shore, while troops came from Fort
Stoddert with brass cannon. There were but few soldiers
in Fort Charlotte, while Wilkinson was supplied with
everything that could be asked, and so when he made a
demand upon Perez for surrender there was nothing else
that the Spanish commander could do. He protested
against invasion by a nation with whom his own country
was at peace, but to save the shedding of blood surrendeied
the fort and town on April 13th, 1813. Wilkinson sent the
garrison by sea to Pensacola, which was beyond the dis
puted boundary, and reported to Washington the capture
of Mobile "without the effusion of a drop of blood." The
United States had now made good their claim that the
Louisiana Purchase extended to the Perdido River, and
Mobile had at last become American.

UNITED STATES FLAG
(Itarly Nineteenth Century)

PERIOD VL
THE AMERICAN CITY
1813-1861

A UTHORITIES.
Documents. United Statutesat Large; H. Toulmin, Laws
of Alabama, (1823); Mobile Municipal Records; J. T.
Blocker, Code of Mobile, (1837); A. McKinstry, Municipal
Laws; Ala. Inst. Tech., Studies; Pickett Papers, Alabama
Department of Archives; Draper Manuscripts, (Madison,
Wis.); A. L. Latour's War in West Florida (1816); Deed
Books in Probate Court of Mobile County, Washington
County, etc. , Alabama ; Annual Reports Mobile & Ohio Rail
road ; Mobile Register files ; George S. Gaines, Reminiscences.
Histories. J. F. H. Claiborne, Mississippi; Sam Dale;
A. B. Meek, Romantic Passages of Southwestern History
(1857); A. J. Pickett, History of Alabama (1851, 1896
reprint); W. Brewer, Alabama (1872); Ball and Halbert,
Creek War (1895); T. H. BaU, Clarke County (1882);
H. B, Cushman, Choctaw, etc., Indians (1899); William
Garrett, Public Men in Alabama (1872); Ethel Amies,
Story of Coal and Iron in Alabama (1910) ; Historic Towns
of the South (1900); U, B, Phillips, Transportation in the
Eastern Cotton Belt (1908,)

CHAPTER XXVI.
TOWN BUILDING.
1. The Local Government. The stars and stripes floating
over Fort Charlotte would bring self-government, but the
people of Mobile were so used to having both civil and
militarj' affairs carried on by one official that there was
no difficultj' enforcing military law for the time being.
For almost a year, the commander of the fort directed
everything. There were now many Americans in the
place. Some moved down from St. Stephens and from
Fort Stoddert. The Mobile Centinel had already been
started at Fort Stoddert and the Gazette was now begun
at Mobile. Perhaps even more important was the coming
of la-wyers and justices of the peace. The territorial
legislature had in 1812 established Mobile County, extend
ing to the Perdido River, bounded west by Jackson County,
which went to Pearl River. On January 20, 1814, an act
was passed providing for the incorporation of Mobile and
under this a meeting of citizens was had and an election
arranged for. Seven commissioners were elected, some of
them Americans and others of old Spanish stock, and,
when they had been sworn into office by Josiah Blakely as
justice of the peace, they took charge of the town affairs.
The boundaries had been indefinite under the Spaniards,
but now extended from Choctaw Point to a ford over
Bayou Chateaugay (as it. was spelled), and this has been
substantially the boundary ever since. The Spaniards
had had no taxes, as all expenses were paid from Spain
but with the Americans came licenses and taxes on land
and slaves, and Mobile was fully launched as an American
town. Different ordinances were passed to provide fos
good order, a market house was built at the foot of Dauphin

194 Under Five Flags
Street and this was to play a great part in fixing the shore
line of the town; for gradually the shore was reclaimed
north and south from this point. Of the same nature was
the building of a to-wn wharf nearby, for this marked the
beginning of a new system. The old wharf in front of the
fort was owned by the government and used only for
liublic jjiirposes, and the shipping of the merchants of the
town was now carried over the new wharf.
2. Josiah Blakely. These matters looking to the use of
the water front show why the Americans had coveted
Mobile, but Mobile was not the only port which was
planned. St. Stephens itself was a port, and, if t he Alabama-
Tombigbee Basin should become a great agricultural
district, there would be room for other ports as well.
The situation was different from what it had been at any
time in Mobile's history. The former governors had kejit
commerce tinder the guns of Fort Charlotte, but ihis was
no longer to be the case. Fort Charlotte was important
as against the Spaniards of Florida, but the American plan
was lo leave commerce lo develo[) for itself such cities as
were lound necessary. Vov this reason the shrewd Josiah
Blakely thought it possible to. build another port, and so
even before Mobile was incorporated he had a surveyor
lay out a town bearing his name on the east bank of the
Tensaw River. The streets there were named after
prominent Americans, such as Washington, and alleys for
trees, such as Live Oak, The town was incorporated two
weeks before Mobile, and an elaborate plat put on record.
Several hundred lots were sold, a hotel built, and the place
became so thriving that it was uncertain for a lime whether
it would not surpass Mobile,
3. Families from St. Stephens. A good deal ot al ten-
tion was now directed lo the South West and many people
came from the older stales. Some well known families

Town Building 195
came from St, Stephens, and it is said that more than one
house was dismantled there and brought down the river
and rebuilt in Mobile, The first element of the Mobile
population we know had been French, to whom were later
added some Brilish like McCurtin, and then came Spaniards
like Eslava, together with the Kennedys and Murrells,
who had become Spanish, Now were added the Americans
and of them the people from. St , Stephens were among the
mOst energetic citizens that Mobile has ever had. The
movement lasted a long time, and St, Stephens played
here the part that HuntsviUe did in North Alabama,
4. The Land Question. It is impiossible for any com
munity to flourish without good titles to land. No one
will improve his property and no one can do much business
if he does not know that his property is secure. For this
reason the first thing which each government has regulated
in Mobile has been the ownership of land. So it had been
under the French, British and Spanish, and now the United
States took up the task. The city lots had been occupied
time out of mind and gave no trouble, but the grants whicii
the Spaniards had made after the cession of Louisiana to
France were not only disputed by the American govern
ment, but incoming Americans sought to obtain new grants
to the same land. This created much confusion. The
United States tried to settle these questions by an act
of Congress of 1812, under which commissioners were
appointed to report on the old titles. Lists were made
of all claims, and, where there was no question, titles were
declared good, or "confirmed" as it was called, to the
occupants. Disputed claims were further looked into and
from time to time declared good or bad. The investi
gation lasted many years before everything was settled.
5. Indian Cessions. There was another class of ques
tions which were settled in a different way. Treaties by

196 Under Five Flags
which lands were ceded to the United States were made
with all four Indian tribes of whom w^ have leamed. The
treaty of Fort Confederation in 180^2 with the Choctaws
confirmed the old British boundary and another treaty
next year at St. Stephens ceded all the Choctaws owned
between the -Alabama and Tombigbee Rivers. The
Choctaw ownership had been pushed westward by the
Creeks and at this time was west of what is still called the
Indian Boundary Line, running on the watershed between
the two rivers. There was no cession from the Creek
Indians for years to come and indeed nothing more from
the Choctaws except that in 1805 they deeded a wide
strip extending from Natchez to St. Stephens.
6. Public Lands. We have seen that both Spain and
France made government grants, and that the British
also granted out large tracts to applicants. The American
plan was that of small grants to individuals. A regular
system of selling public lands had been adopted before
Mississippi Territory had been formed, and was now
applied in the South West. As the territory was ceded,
the land was surveyed into townships six miles square,
numbered in a certain order, and these townships were div
ided into sections of a square mile each. Land offices for
sale of lands to applicants were set up at convenient
places. From 1803 St. Stephens was the principal office
for this part of the country, and the starting point for
surveys was the old Ellicott Stone on the line of 31 degrees.
In this way there was no overlapping. The first plan of
selling was on credit, and this brought many settlers and
led to the rapid building up of. the country trading with
Mobile. This in turn built up the town also.

CHAPTER XXVII,
FROM FORT MIMS TO FORT BOWYER.
1. The Creek Indians. We have seen how the boundary
between the Choctaws and the Muscogees Wcis formerly
in the neighborhood of Cahaba River and how after the
expedition of De Soto it retreated to the west and finally
was the watershed between the Alabama and the Tom
bigbee Rivers. The Choctaw cessions gave the Americans
all territory west of the watershed, and it was soon occupied
almost as fully as beyond the Tombigbee. Clarke County
was created in 1812 and in theory extended from the Tom
bigbee eastwardly to Georgia, but for purposes of settle
ment was limited by this Indian Boundary Line. The
only treaty with the Creeks was one in 1805, giving the
United States the right to open a path from Georgia south
west to the Tensaw River. East of the Tensaw and of
Mobile Bay there were now many settlers; but the Creeks
questioned the titles, for they had never ceded anything
except the bare shore of the river and Bay to the British.
The threatening state of affairs between Great Britain and
the United States caused great uneasiness among the
Indians of the North West and a visit from their leader,
Tecumseh, to the South affected the Indians here also.
Aboiit this time the path through the Creek nation was
widened to a road from Georgia to the Tensa-ar, as was
that through the last Choctaw cession over to Natchez.
The whole was known as the Federal Road and was the
way by which people came to the South West. A famous
guide was Sam Dale, and he foresaw danger before the
United States Creek agent, Hawkins, did.
2. The War in Clarke. The principal American
post outside of Mobile was at Mt. Vernon, and Flournoy,

198 , Under Five Flags
the general who succeeded Wilkinson, was at Mobile. St.
Stephens had grown up south of a ravine near the Spanish
fort and the town was protected by a Fort called Republic.
As the prospect of war with the Indians increased, neighbor
hood forts were built all through the country, generally
mere stockades about some planter's house, but, if built
on a hill and containing a spring, they gave protection
against the Indians. In Clarke County there was a string
of such posts from the Tombigbee and across the Alabama
to Fort Mims at Tensaw, which was itself only one of
several forts. In this chain near the Tombigbee was Fort
Madison and about midway was Fort Sinquefield. Every
few days some disturbance occurred along the Indian
frontier. A Mrs. Crawley was taken to the Creek post
at Tuscaloosa, famUies were murdered in the counlry,
and Fort Sinquefield was attacked but successfully
defended. 3. Fort Mims. One of the features of an American
Territory was that the men were organized into militia,
and they were as active as the regular army. As the
Indians were supposed to get ammunition from tlie English
at Pensacola, some militia lay in wait for the return ot a
party at Burnt Corn, near the Escambia River, A battle
followed which would have been a success for the whites
but for their scattering for booty. Then the Indians re
turned and the whites were driven from the field. This was
more than a defeai, for it encouraged the savages, and fear
spread over the whole frontier. Settlers took refuge with
their families in the nearest fort. The best kno-wTi on the
Alabama River was Fort Mims, surrounding the residence
of an old Indian trader named Samuel Mims, and about
five hundred people, including- two companies of soldiers,
were quartered within it. The commander was Major
Beasley, who did not think the Indians would venture to

Fort Mims lo Fort Bowyer 199
attack his command. There was so much passing in and
out that it was inconvenient to shut the gate, and rain
and travel soon banked the sand against it. A negro
brought word on the thirtieth of August that the Indians
were coming, but there had been so many false reports that
Beasley had him strung up to be whipped. At the noon
hour for dinner, however, the guard at the gate saw^ them
coming indeed, a thousand men under McQueen and
Weatherford ; and before the gate could be closed or troops
formed, they were in the fort, killing men, women and chil
dren, with muskets and tomahawks. Beasley died fighting
bravelj', and defense was attempted by a half-breed Indian
named Dixon Bailey, but he also was killed with hundreds
of others. Hardly two dozen people escaped from the
slaughter house. Two of them were a woman and child
who were sheltered by an Indian whom they once befriend
ed. The few fugitives made their way to nearby settle
ments and over to Mt. Vernon, and ga\e the sad news.
A relief expedition promptlj- came, but only found homes
bumed and hundreds of corpses, and all they could, do was
to bury the dead.
4. Pushmataha. Some of the Creeks had rerhained
friendly, such as Bailey, Manac, who had a ferry on the
Alabama, and David Tait, who lived at the bend called
for, him, Tait's Shoals. They were prosperous men, and,
laesides their white blood and sympathies, knew that the
triumph of the Indians meant a return to barbarism.
The leader of the Creeks was Weatherford, called by them
the Red Eagle, who, like so many other chiefs, had white
blood in his veins. He had tried to restrain his country
men, but when they resolved upon war he went with
them and proved an active leader. Tecumseh's influence
had been less strong among the Choctaws, mainly from the
influence of one man. The chief of the East Division of

200

Under Five Flags

the Choctaws at this time was Pushmataha, He was
proud to be of the tribe which had never slain a white man
and went with George S. Gaines to Mobile to offer his
services to Flournoy. That general af first repulsed him,
but afterwards sent a messenger to recall him, and Push
mataha organized his Choctaws to aid the whiles in the
war which was now on.
5. The Canoe Fight. The news of Fort Mims roused the
whole South West, and troops were soon marching from
Tennessee, Georgia, and
Natchez upon the heart of
the Creek country. Indian
hostilities had begun all
along the frontier, but the
whites soon made the Ala
bama River the seat of war,
although both its banks
from near Fort Mims north
east were in the . Creek
territory. On November
20 a scouting party from
Clarke County crossed
near Randon's Creek and
saw a large canoe full of
Indians descending the
river. Three Whites,
Jeremiah Austill, Sam Dale
and James Smith, besides a
negro rower, pushed out to ' .,
attack them. Muskets were fired until the two; boats got to
close quarters, when the whites knd Indians grappled with
each other hand to hand. Perhaps the fewness.of the whites
gave them more room to act, and at all 'events they soon
killed or knocked down all the Indians an^ fhre-w- them into

•' .-i**.?

JMk

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i

i

i

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1

HU

PUSHMATAHA

From Fort Mims to Fort Bowyer 201
the river. It was one of the most desperate events in
frontier annals and was worthy of Greek history. It was
only an episode, but, like McKee's burning the Creek village
of Tuscaloosa, it showed the spirit with which ths whites
were going into the war. It was indeed a struggle for
existence on both sides.
6. General Claiborne. Almost all the regular troops of
the United States were engaged with the British along the
Canadian frontier and the war in the South West was
waged by militia and volunteers. Claiborne commanded
the territorial troops, and was instructed to confine himself
to the defense of Mobile, and he understood this to mean
to go into the enemy's country. The name Creek was ap
plied to the whole confederacy, but the places down the
river towards Mobile were Alibamon. The chief point
in this direction was Econachaca, the Holy Ground, where
the Indians collected supplies and plunder, and which
was supposed to be protected by spirits. This, therefore,
was the object of Claiborne's campaign, and he marched
across to Weatherford's Bluff, where he built a fort which
has given the name to Claiborne. In December, just
before Christmas, he advanced and stormed the Holy
Ground, where he killed many Indians and drove the others
into the river. Weatherford was there, but he leaped his
gray horse, Arrow, over the bluff and escaped. The town
was bumed and the captured supplies were used for the
, army and the Choctaws, but unfortunately Claiborne's
¦"rhen had volunteered for short terms and he was unable to
advance any fqrther into the Creek country. It had,
however, beeii iijVaded also from .the east by General Floyd
with Georgians, but after one battle they had to retire
from lack pf provisions. The brunt of war was left to an
army from Tennessee, whose leader became one of
America's famous ftien.

202 Under Five Flags
7. Andrew Jackson. Tennessee has been called the
Volunteer State because its people, who so largely settled
Alabama, fought Indian wars for themselves without
waiting for the regular army. And so it was now. George
S. Qaines, the Indian agent on the Tombigbee, had sent
the news of Fort Mims to Governor Blount of Tennessee,
who directed. General Andrew Jackson to call out the
militia. Jackson was confined to his house from a wound
received in a duel, but lost no time. He had assistants in
John Coffee and others, and started troops on the way to
HuntsviUe. Supplies were not prompt and Jackson moved
without them. He crossed over to -the Coosa Valley and
went down the stream, somewhat over De Soto's route,
into the heart of the Creek country. The Tennesseans
knew how to find the Indians as well as fight them, and one
victory followed another. Jackson met with one repulse
at Emuckfau, but on March 27, 1814, attacked the Creeks
at Horseshoe Bend on the Tallapoosa River, It was a
wild spot, fit for the last star.d of the Indians, and, while
Jackson atla.cked in front. Coffee and tiic Cherokees
guarded the river behind. Both sides realized the import
ance of the battle and it was long and desperately con
tested; but at last of the twelve hundred Creeks hardly
two hundred were left alive, and these escaped to the forest.
Few Americans were lost, but one of them was Major
Montgomery, for whom a county was to be named. No
successful resistance was made after this, and Jackson
soon took up his headquarters at old Fort Toulouse. Its
trenches were cleaned out, nepessary buildings put up, and
its name changed to Fort Jackson. There the war ended,
for soon Weatherford came in and surrendered, in an elo
quent plea for his people, and Jackson protected him from
the fury of the soldiers. Weatherford then returned to his
home at Little River.

From Fort Mims to Fort Bowyer 203
8. Defence of Fort Bowyer. Jackson sent some of his
troops back to Tennessee and with others came down the
Alabama River to Mobile, and on the way his aide, Horace
Tatum, made the first survey of the river. This stream
had always run through Indian territory and even the
French had made no detailed map. Jackson visited Fort
Claiborne, Mt. Vernon, and other places, and took com
mand, at Mobile, which was threatened by a British fleet
in the Gulf. Spanish Pensacola was practically a British
post, and soon there was a combined sea and land attack
at Fort Bow\cr, founded on Mobile Point by Wilkinson.
It was not a large fort and consisted of a semi-circular
battery facing the sea and connected by works with a
bastion facing the land. It was only one hundred and
eighty feet from one end to the other, and contained one
hundred and thirty men under Major Lawrence. There
were twenty pieces of small cannon, the largest being a few
twenty-four pounder carronades. In the 12th of Sept
ember four British vessels appeared and two days later
the Hermes, coming within the Bay, led the attack, whicii
was answered with spirit. Soon the flag of the Hermes
was cut away by a shot and Lawrence slopped firing until
it was replaced. The fort flag also fell, but there was no
pause in the battle and so it was fixed to a sponge staff
and raised again. Then the cable of the Hermes was cut,
and, as she drifted under the guns ot the fort, the Americans
raked her fore and aft, with the result that she went
aground, and the crew set her on fire and left her. The
other three vessels withdrew and wen I towards Pensacola,
The burning ship lighted up the Bay, and at ten o'clock at
night blew up. Jackson, at Mobile, heard the report and
was afraid it was the fort, and there was much rejoicing
upon leaming the facts. Afterwards several of the Hermes'
cannon were mounted on Fort Bowyer.

204 Under Five Flags
9. Capture of Fort Bowyer. The main attack by the
British, however, was to be in another direction and
Jackson marched his army over to New Orleans from
Mobile. One stop which he made was near Cottage Hill,
at a place ever since called the Cantonment. He had
issued from Mobile famous proclamations to the people
of Louisiana and now was able with his troops to defeat
the Brilish. Just below New Orleans Sam Dale Witiiessed
the battle and brought the news on an eight day trip with
Paddy, his Georgia pony, o-yer to Mobile and beyond to
Milledgeville in the dead of winter. But while the
battle of New Orleans meant much, the immediate result
to Mobile was bad; for the British fleet transported the
army over to Dauphine Island and also occupied Mobile
Point behind the fort. The great fleet rode at anchor in
the Bay and outside, and, although Fort Bowyer had won
on the first attack, there was no hope of a successful
resistance now against thirty-eight armed vessels and
five thousand men on shore. The British began a siege,
advancing trenches, and finally got within forty yards of
the fort. The loss of the Americans had been only one
killed and ten wounded, and the British forty killed, but
it was clear that further fighting would be useless. An
attempt to relieve the fort from Mobile failed, and on the
12th of February, 1815, Lawrence surrendered with
honors of war. There was much confusion then at Mobile,
but the British did not attempt to take the town. Jackson
was much mortified at the surrender, but a court-martial
afterwards acquitted Lawrence.
10. The Peace of Ghent. The battle was fought after
the conclusion of peace, for, although neither army knew
of it, a treaty had been signed at Ghent on December 24.
Some time was consumed in final arrangements. The
British headquarters were at the Shell Banks on Dauphine

From Fort Mims to Fort Bowyer 205
Island, where not a few soldiers died as a result of the two
battles, and were buried. By the treaty all captured
property was lo be surrendered by each side, but the
British refused to surrender slaves on the ground that the
English law did not recognize slavery. They would only
agree that slaves could return to their masters if they
wished, and a Louisiana planter got his back by telling
them in plantation French what awful things the British
were going to do to them, and others were no less successful.
It was not until March that everything was arranged and
Dauphine Island and Fort Bo-wyer were evacuated.
11. The Six Militia-Men. During this period a sad
event occurred at Mobile. Six militia- men had left the
American army in the Creek country when they thought
their term of enlistment had expired. The officers con
strued the enlistment differently, and the men when re
captured were condemned to death for desertion. Jackson
confirmed the judgment and while the British fleet was
still at anchor in the Bay the men were carried in a cart
to what is now the northeast comer of the public park on
the Bay, where the American army under General Win
chester was drawn up. The heads of the militia men were
covered with white caps, and, as they stood by their
coffins, a detachment of their comrades shot them down in
due military form. Only one was not killed outright, and
he, covered with blood, crawled forward and sat on his
coffin. The other five were buried, and he was removed
to a hospital and died in a few days. This severity marred
the rejoicing over peace; but at least peace had come, not
only with the British, but with the Creeks.

CHAPTER XXVIII,
ALABAMA.
1. Treaty of Fort Jackson. Jackson had been sent back
to Fort Jackson to make a treaty with the Indians and
this he did on August 9, 1814, The war had begun because
the Indians were afraid that the Americans would take
their lands and ended in a treaty by which the Indians
ceded all these lands west of the line running southeast
from Fort Jackson, The Creeks had raided as far west as
the falls at Tuscaloosa, and in 1816 a treaty was made
with the Choctaws also by which all lands east of the Tom
bigbee were ceded. In this way the most fertile part of
Alabama, the Black Belt, was opened to immigration,
•2. The Territory of Alabama. The principal growl li of
Mississippi Territory was on the Mississippi River and so
the west half of the territory was earlier on the way to
statehood. Much discussion had already been had as to
dividing the territory, for the senate would not consent lo
admit the whole as one state, A convention was held on
the subject on Pearl River, and finally Congress agreed to
admit the part wsst of the line running from Washington
County to -where Big Bear Creek empties into the
Tennessee, The act was accepted by a convention, and
the state was admitted under the name of Mississippi,
The remainder of the old territory was made into a new
terrilory called Alabama March 8, 1817, and its capital
was fixed al St. Stephens. Of the original counties ofthe
old territory, Alabama received only Mobile, Washington,
Clarke and Baldwin, and Monroe County which had been
taken from Clarke, and Montgomery was soon taken from
Monroe. Besides this there had been old settlements in
North Alabama, such as Madison County, from which

Alabama 207
other counties were soon created under the new territorial
arrangements. The next year saw a number of new coun
ties, such as Tuscaloosa and Dallas. The growth of the
country now was from north and south, for the Tennessee
Valley had almost one half of the population of Alabama
Territory', and Mobile and Washington, the original centres,
had no more people than many of the new counties. The
centre of the territory also was growing rapidly about
Claiborne and the other settlements in Monroe County.
3. St. Stephens as Capital. St. Stephens was the capital
as well as the seat of the United States Land Office and of
the Tombeckbe Bank, the first bank in the southem part of
the territory. The legislature sat in a large frame build
ing, of which only the stone cellar now remains. When it
assembled the lower house contained sevsral members, bul
there was an odd situation when it was found ihat James
Titus of Madison County was the only senator present,
and he is -^iii'l to have "met" sometimes all by himself.
He made motions, seconded them, debated them, put ths
questions to himself and carried them. The legislature
continued at St . Stephens for two sessions and passed a
great many laws. Some of them related to schools, others
to banks and others yet to steamboats, which were just
coming into notice.
4. The Vine and Olive Colony. The French had settled
the country and were still strong at Mobile, bu: the in
coming population was American. Occasionally a French
man came, and after the fall of Napoleon there were a
number of Bonapartisis. A large company came to Phila
delphia and of thess some planned to come South, and
from them was organized a company to found a colony in
the Soulh West. Congress in 1817 granted them four
townships of land at two dollars an acre on the under
standing thai they should introduce and cultivate the vine

208 Under Five Flags
and olive. The colonists cams the oext spring, and, when
thsir vessel went aground io a storm at the mouth of the
Bay, they weie taken to Fort Bowyer and afterwards to
Mobile. Collector Addm Lewis carried them up the river
in a revenue cutttr, and on the way ihey visited Judge
Toulmin and General Gaines and stopped also at St.
Stephens. Their land had not been surveyed, but they
selected White Bluff, the old Chickasaw Gallery, on the
advice of Gaines, and built cabins and named their settle
ment Demopolis. Others soon came from Philadelphia,
and there was thus a new French colony up on the old
Tombecbe. The land was perhaps too fertile, for they
had to cut the big canes which grew there , before they
could plant, and these soldiers were hardly fitted for
farmers. From a mistake in their titles, they had to move
further out and built Areola, and again tried planting
vines. The soil was not suitable and their form of govem
ment was defective. They did not forget their French
gaiety, however, and their social life was delightful. Visi
tors describe occasional balls in empire costumes, and
Gaines found a bronze statue of Napoleon treasured in
a kind of chapel on the grounds of one of the old generals.
There were three hundred in the company, but hardly one
hundred actual settlers came wilh their families. Al
though this settlement was not successful, it added a new
centre of influence to the territory, and by later inter
marriages the second French colony was to be influential in
our history.
5. The State of Alabama. The central part of Alabama
was now being filled rapidly from Georgia and this together
with the growth of the Tennessee Valley made the people
look forward to statehood. The total population was
about one hundred thousand, the whites being double the
negroes, and on March 2, 1819, an act of congress was

Alabama 209
passed looking to the admission of Alabama. A con\-en-
tion composed of delegates from twentj'-two counties met
at Hui;tsvillc on Julj' 5, and after a session of less than a
month adopted a constitution, and the new state was
admitted into the Union bj' an act of congress appro\'ed
December 8, 1819. The people in the meantime had
selected their officials, and William C. Bibb, govemor of
the territory, became governor of the new state. The
capital did not remain at St. Stephens, for the new legis
lature met at HuntsviUe for the time being and the location
of the permanent capital was fixed at Cahaba, a new town
built at the mouth of the Cahaba River, a little below
the Holy Ground. The land office had l)een established
there for the sale of the territory acquired from the Creeks
by Treat}' of Fort Jackson, and there were already a good
many people at Cahaba, and the next year it is said lo have
contained two or three thousand inhabitants. The .land
for the capital had been given to the stat^ by the United
States, and was suiiably laid off, the groimd for ths capital
being a large semicircle immediately on the river. A
newspaf)er was established, the Alabama Press, and evsn,--
thing looked promising.
6. The Growth of the Country. The state was becoming
a unit in a way which had been lacking heretofore. Indian
cessions had opened all of the coimtry to the whites except
a small district still belonging to the Choctaws in the
west, ihe large district in Alabama and Georgia inhabited
by Creeks, and small f>ortions in the upper comers still
belonging to the Chickasaws and Cherokees. Ths land
was being filled by immigrants, and, although the bulk of
them were still in the northem division, a state feeling was
growing. A new count r\- always feels the lack of money
and this was met not only by chartering local banks, but
by creating a State Bank, whose branches were placed at

210 Under Five Flags
Mobile and other points; and, in addition to this, the United
States Bank established branches also. Politically we
find in South Alabama no addition to the number ot,
counties, but Baldwin, which had been between Wash
ington and Mobile, now made a complete somersault to
the eastern shore. It retained Nanna Hubba Island as the
only ijart of its territory west of the river.
7. Clausel and Lakanal. All the French did not go
up to Marengo County. Bert rand, Comte Clausel, was
one of the favorite officers of Napoleon, and he like many
others found safety in flight upon the final restoration
of the Bourbons to the French throne. He came to
MobUe, bought a Jiome on the west side of the Bay in the
Mandeville tract, and lived there a quiet life. He had
saved little from the wreck of his fortunes and raised fruits
and vegetables, some of which he sold in the Mobile
market for. the support, ot his family. Near him lived
another Frenchinan of a very different character, Lakanal,
one of ths old republicans who had never been reconciled
to Napoleon. But he was even less liked by the Bour
bons, for he had been a member of the convention which
put Louis XVI to death. Under the republic he had
founded an academy and fostered education in France,
and when Napoleon fell he moved to Louisiana and was
a distinguished educator there also. He finally came to
MobUe and he too made his living by raising vegetables.
These two Frenchmen, so alike in fate, arc said to have
bsen so opposed in politics that they did not speak. Nev
ertheless, they respected each other, and, when Clausel
was pardoned in 1820 and returned to France, he left a
power of attorney to Lakanal to wind up his affairs in
America. Lakanal himself returned lo France at a later
date. Dr. Chieusse was another prominent Frenchman,
and he also hved on the Mandeville tract.

Alabama

211

8. The Charter of 1819. Fort Charlotte had been the
centre of Mobile's life, but now that Florida had become
American by purchase the fort was nol needed. The town
had grown all around it, and there was a desire that it be
pulled down, which was finally ordered by an act of Con
gress in 1818. Streets were planned through the old
esplanade, and, when the sale took place, ihe land was
purchased by the MobUe Lot Company and resold to
individuals. Lender no previous' govemment had there
been a charter for Mobile. The words to-wn and city had
been used without distinction, but there never weis gov
emment by a body of delegates from the different trades,
as in the cities of France, or by mayor and alderman

WATER FRONT IN 1823
elected by property' owners, as in England. The Americans
adopted the Spanish title intendant for the chief officer
of a to-wn, but ihis was not done in MobUe, whers the town
commissioners had a president; for Mobile really had the
powers and dignity of a city. On December 17, 1819, the
State of Alabama passed an act which incorporated Mobile
under the name of the Mayor and Aldermen of ihe City of
Mobile. The charter defined the limits and gave extensive
powers, including the regulation of the harbor. There
wss difficulty in running the limits of the old st reels, for
the Spaniards had not been particular about this, and old
grants not only overlapped each other but overlapped the
streets also. The matter was only gradually adjusted.

212 Under Five Flags
and a great step was taken when the state by an act of
1820 declared that the north line of Govemment Street,
that is, of the fort esplanade, was a fixed limit, and that
Government Street should be run out westwardly ons
hundred feet wide. The first city map was published in
1824 by Goodwin and Haire.
9. The Visits of LaFayette and Bernhard. About this
time LaFayette, the friend of Washington, made a visit
to America and was received with great respect. He not
only went to the places which he had known during the
Revolutionary War, but came south to the Gulf, and finally
went back up the Mississippi River, He entered Alabama
from Georgia in 1826, and whites and Indians alike show
ered attentions on him. He look a steamer at Montgomery,
visited Ca'haba and other places, and came on down the
river to Mobile. The city was decorated in his honor,
a triumphal arch thrown across Dauphin and Royal, and
Mayor Garrow made him a speech of welcome in a hotel
on Royal, a little south of Dauphin. The enthusiasm was
great and sincere, and there was much regret when he had
to take a boat for New Orleans. Mobile was becoming an
object of interest to foreigners. About this time Bern-
hard. Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar, also visited Alabama
and went over almost the same road as LaFayette, but,
while his rank was higher, his reception was not so cordial
as that of the more distinguished Frenchman.

CHAPTER XXIX.
THE COMING OF THE STEAMBOAT.
1. Transportation. At the beginning of our story we
found the Choctaws, Cherokees, Chickasaws and Musco
gees occupying the Alabama-Tombigbee Basin. By the
first quarter of the nineteenth, century we find that not
only had Europeans settied the coast, but Americans
have come trom the north and east, until these Indian
tribes have shrunk into small districts surrounded by
whites. -And \et if the whites have broken up the Indian
nations, the Indians stUl prevented the Tennessee \'alley
from becoming one -with the Alabaiha-Tonibigbse Basin.
The white settlements were in four or five groups in north,
south and central Alabama, but they had the advantage of
the same institutions and had the ambition to become one
state. They were connected by wagon roads, although
often verj- indifferent ones, but the chief means of travel
now as ever before -was by river. To make one state ihe
parts must be better coimected. In means of transpor
tation there had been little change from French times.
The Indian dug-out, made by burning and scratching out a
log, had disappeared except in the Indian coimlrj-, but
pirogues and flat-boats of different kinds were in use.
SaUboats were on the Bay, but they could not ascend the
rivers, because there was not sufficient -wind and no room
to tack. The only ^-ay of getting upstream was by poling
in shallow water or by warping the boat along by puUing
on a rope around a tree upstream, for oars could not be
used except wilh canoes. A flatboat trip from Mobile to
Montgomery once took three months. The result -was that
coimtr^' products generally came down stream in flat-
boats, which were broken up at MobUe and sometimes

214 Under Five Flags
their planks used for street curbs; but the return trip with
goods purchased at Mobile must be made by mule or
horse, as in pioneer days. Nevertheless a self-supporting
state might have gro-wn up in the Alabama-Tombigbee
Basin as well as in the ancient peninsulas of Europe, and
the difficulty of communication wilh the outside world
had much to do with the local pride and State's Rights.
2. The First Steamboat. Just before the War of 1812
came Fulton's great invention of the steamboat. This
was successful in the waters of New York and soon there
were workshops at Pittsburg and an occasional sleamer
on the Mississippi River. The Orleans in 1811 was the
first and was heartily welcomed at Natchez, the capital
of the Territory.
The war interfered with the growth of this traffic, and
there was no steamboat about Mobile until 1818, when the
first was built at St. Slephens. Her name was the Alabama,
constructed by Messrs. Deering and suppUed with machin
ery brought from the North, but the engine was not strong
enough to carry the boat against the current. A second
steamer, rigged as a three masted schooner, next appeared,
and had as little success. The first successful steamboat
was the Tensaw of sixty tons, built in 1819 at Blakely,
and she was long on the Alabama waters.
3. Up the River. The great question was how to ascend
the rivers and the first boat to solve it was the Mobile,
brought from Boston. She ascended the Tombigbee to
Demopolis in May, 1819, but the current above there was
too swift and she had to tranship her goods by barge to
Tuscaloosa. One of the Bonapartist ladies went up on
this first trip and says that they often had to stop so that
the vines and branches could be cut away to let them
through. The next boat to ascend the Bigbee was the
Harriet. The Alabama River was not ascended until

The Coming of the Steamboat 215
1821, when the Harriet made this trip, stopping a day each
at Claiborne, Cahaba, and Selma, and after ten days from
Mobile reached Montgomery, where she took a party on a
pleasure trip higher up. No other boat went up that river
until next year, when the Tensaw reached Selma in August,
and the people looked at her with astonishment, although
few were able to make up their minds to get aboard the
strange craft. All the first boats mentioned were side-
wheeled but the Tensaw, which was stemwheeled. The
pilot stood upon the deck and guided the boat with a lever.
A few days later in the same year the Cotton Plant began
her career upon the Alabama, and got up to Montgomery
towing a barge. There was not enough steam for signals,
which were given by firing a cannon on deck, and the
boats did not venture to run at night. After the first
boats the number rapidly increased and we find different
names. Duke Bernhard was on the Steubenville and saw
more than one wreck even at this early date. One was the
Cotton Plant.
4. The River Towns. When the rivers reach the soft
limestone of the Black Belt they become navigable except
so far as interrupted by sand bars in low water, and at
this faU line the incoming Americans buUt towns, some of
which became important. In this way sprang up Wet
umpka and Tuscaloosa, and with these at the head of
navigation Mobile merchants soon carried on an active
business. The cultivation of cotton increased with the
facUities for shipping it, and all settlements along the
river grew in size and value. The foundation of these
places dates back much earlier, but they become of
real importance only with the invention of the steamboat.
In the twenties the more important landings were Clai-
bome, Cahaba, Selma, Montgomery and Wetumpka on
the one river and St. Stephens, Demopolis, and Tuscaloosa

216 Under Five Flags
on the other. Tuscaloosa soon had a special importance,
in that in 1826 the capital was removed there from Cahaba,
which was found subject to overflow.
5. The Big Steamboats.- Within a few years the growth
of the Black Belt was such that the steamboats increased
in size and speed, and many of them became real palaces.
The river was the only mode of travel, and, as affluence
came to the planters, the boats were made better suited
to please them and their families, and in the thirties and
forties came the time of famous boats. A trip upon one
of them at the cotton season was worth taking. There
was every comfort in the beautiful cabins, and outside
was the ever changing scenery of bluff, forest and stream.
Sometimes the boat would stop to wood up, or to receive
cotton shot down the slides from the warehouse on the
bank, and the singing of the negroes, the weirdness of the
scene, particularly when lighted up by torches at night,
made an impression which could never be forgotten. The
boats were; almost all side-wheelers making fast time,
for time was more important for boats then than now in
the railroad epoch,
6. Alabama City. Blakely had been planned as a new
port for the growing Alabama-Tombigbee Basin, and the
coming of the steamboat led to the plan for another port
on the eastern shore. It was supposed that the river
boats could go across the Bay with their cotton as readily
as to Mobile, and so a point lower down was ^elected for
a port which would be on deeper water and nearer the mouth
of the Bay, In the thirties, therefore, there was an elabor
ate plan, principally by New Orleans and New York
people, for a city at what is now Fairhope, A large
tract was set apart and subdivided into squares and lots
which were sold at auction on the spot and also at Mobile
and New Orieans, A roadway was cut through the bluff

The Coming of the Steamboat 217
down to the water, and, instead of dredging a channel in,
a levee was filled out to deep water, A good deal of money
was spent on this enterprise, but the panic of 1837 practical
ly [lut an end to it. The company was in existence up to the
Civil War, and some work was done, but the growth of
Mobile made it hopeless to make a sticcess of the enterprise,
7, Results. If the steamboats developed inland towns,
they had even a greater effect on Mobile itself. We have
seen how the town built a business wharf at the foot of
Dauphin Street, and this did not long continue by itself,
for by 1824 a dozen wharves, all o-wned by private citizens,
went out into the river to the north and south of Dauphin,
Water Street had been early reclaimed, and in the twenties
came Commerce Street, filled up by the city to accommo
date the growing trade of the place. And another kind of
water was needed also. The question of water lo drink
had always been serious, and almost the first thing the
Americans did was to sink wells at the intersections of
streets, as at Dauphin and Royal, and they long remained
in use. But they furnished only surface water after all,
and Mobile, almost as soon as it became a city, was to
plan for a water supply from Bayou Chateaugue or Three
Mile Creek, as the Americans began to call it. Pine and
cypress logs were bored and fitted to each other by iron
tubes, and in the course of a few years wholesome water
was supplied to the citizens. Some of these old logs have
been dug up in recent years on Dauphin and Royal Streets
and they were as sound as when they were put down in the
earth. On the whole, then, the coming of the steamboat
was a great event not only for Alabama but for her sea
port too.

CHAPTER XXX.

KING COTTON.

1. The River Front. During the twenties Mobile began
to take her rank as an American port. The business of
the place was at first carried on over the city wharf at the

MOBILE IN 1823
foot of Dauphin Street, and as others were built the river
front was the liveliest part of town. The shipping consist
ed of sailing vessels which anchored down stream, and of
the flatboats and steamboats, which plied the rivers and
were moored up stream.

King Cotton 219
Water Street was the front street of the town, as several
east and west streets had now been extended to the river,
and stores were built on the west side of Water. The
principal east and west street at this time was Conti, and
the heart of the business section was at the comer of Conti
and Water Streets. John Forbes & Company had a canal
nearby which gave them accesS to deep water, and McLos-
key, Hagan and Company and other large houses had their
places of business in this vicinity. The advertisements
in the newspapers of the day -Were mainly of houses on
Conti or Water Streets. Dauphin, however, was also
coming into favor and in the division of the city into wards
was the dividing line. The residences were built some
what further wsst, particularly along Conception Street,
and they extended also on the east and west streets. There
was not as yet much business carried on south of Govem
ment. This district came into importance somewhat
later in the twenties, when Henry Stickney built his block
of brick stores at the southwest comer of Water and
Church Streets. The business of the town was largely
confined to cotton, which the steamboats were bringing
from lip the country, and which, after being compressed at
Mobile, was shipped in sailing vessels to the eastern ports of
America and also to Europe. The South West seemed to
be finding its principal crop in cotton, and Mobile was
destined to achieve its importance through this staple.
2. Whitney's Gin. Cotton growing could not be
profitable unless some way was devised for getting the
seed out of the lint, and this had been accomplished in
Georgia. Eli Whitney of Connecticut was living on a
plantation there and in 1793 invented a machine which by
means of saw teeth would take the lint and leave behind
the seed, which could not get through the bars. He
did not patent his invention or get proper results from it

220 Under Five Flags
for himself, but his machine gradually made cotton planting
more paying than had been dreamed. A man had been
able to seed one pound of cotton a day, but now one engine,
or "gin," as it was abbreviated, was able to seed three
hundred pounds. This was the reason the South West was
so sought after, and by the twenties the lands were taken
up that were accessible to the steamboats.
3. The Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek. Much of the
most fertile territory of Alabama still. remained in Indian
hands. They were now surrounded by white settlements
and the whites coveted their farms. Many of the Indians
had become farmers under teaching of missionaries and
government agents, and looked forward to being citizens.
But the Anglo-Saxons have never mixed upon equal terms
with darker races, and efforts began throughout the
Southem States to force the Indians to leave. It was
declared that state laws controlled them as well as the
whiles, and their old customs were interfered with. It
seemed impossible to keep the white man from encroaching,
and the result was friction between the races and in some
places between the states and the general government.
At last the Choctaws were induced in the famous Treaty of
Dancing Rabbit Creek of 1830 to sell their lands and mpve
beyond the Mississippi. The same steps were taken
with the Creeks, but there was more trouble with them, and
the Mobile Rifle C6mpany and soldiers from elsewhere
had to be sent up the river by steamboat and march across
to southeast Alabama before quiet was restored. It
required several years to carry out this transfer to Indian
Territory, which was done under the supervision of George
S. Gaines, and to survey the new lands and get them on the
market. Another land office was sel up at Montgomery in
1832 and the making of counties began anew.

King Cotton 221
4- Increase of Crops. From this time on nothing re
tarded the growth of the interior and the consequent
improvement of its seaport. Whan Alabama became a
state the ruling section was the Tennessee Valley, for it
had grown taster than any other district, but with the
increase in cotton plantations Central Alabama became
even more important, and this was shared by its seaport.
It is true that the pine barrens around Mobile were not
productive, but the planters of the interior shipped every
thing to the city and brought aU supplies from there,
and so Mobile was not so much ths largest city as the one
metropolis of the whole river basin.
5. The Buildings of the Thirties. The original town was
too small for the growing cotton business, and the first
great step in its expansion was taken in 1830 when the
Orange Grove Tract was subdivided into city lots and sold
to purchasers. This tumed the northem part of Mobile
into a cotton district and afforded a field for the buUding
of warehouses, compresses and everything connected with
the business. St. Michael was the northern street of the
old town closest to the cotton dislricf, so 1 hat on it grew up
much of the shipping and irisurance connected with cotton,
and after a whUe so many Englishmen had offices there
that it came to be known as the British Channel. Business
of all kinds improved so much that 1836 was counted as
the mosi flourishing year in the history of the city. There
had been hotels along Royal Street, such as the Alabama
where the Battle House stands and the United States Hotel
where the old church had been, but now the handsome
Mansion House was put up on Royal Street and Conti,
and its pillars can still be seen in the present theatre
building. The old church had been sold and a cathedral
begun in the midst of the grave-yard on Dauphin and
Claiborne, and there gradually rose the handsome edifice

222

Under Five Flags

which we know. The grave-yard was too close to town
and burials were discontinued, and land for a new one was
bought in 1818 south of Government and west of Wilkinson.
It was divided into three parts. The southem was for the
Catholics, the northem for the Protestants, and the
western was the Potter's Field. The Protestants had in
the early twenties built a Union Church of wood at the
northwest corner of St. Emanuel and the street which was

GARROW HOUSE, 1819
called Church from it, and, as most of the incoming Amer
icans were Protestants, the different denominations gradu
ally separated from this mother church. And charity was
abroad. The Female Benevolent Society was organized
in 1829 to care for the poor and sick and its usefiUnees was
much increased when in 1835 Henry Hitchcock donated
land and helped erect ths little brick houses called the

King Cotton 223
Widows' Row. These for over sixty years sheltered
many, and with the little gardens attached gave pleasant
and healthful occupation to destitute and deserving
women. 6. Lumber and Naval Stores. If the cotton came from
the more fertile Black Belt, lumber could only be obtained
from the pine forests of the coast. These had hardly
been touched in colonial days, but now the Americans set
to work in earnest, either clearing them or obtaining naval
stores in abundance. While it never rose to the same
importance as col ton, the lumber businessof Soulh Alabama
was a valuable asset to MobUe trom early times.
7. Suburbs. Yellow- fever was the greatest drawback
which Mobile suffered in those days, and the epidemics
were often fatal. No cure was kno-wn, except that the
disease did not seem to flourish in the pine woods or on
the hills, and so the elevated land west of Mobile came in
demand for summer residences, the more especially as it
was a ver\- pleasant country in itself. In ihis way Spring
Hill was iilallcd in the thirties, and its many attractive
residences were built, and also only less frequented
was Cottage Hill, separated on the north from Spring Hill
by Jackson's old Cantonment. One of the first highways
of)ened by Mobile in the twenties was Spring Hill Avenue,
running from Dauphin Street northwestwardly -o Three
Mile Creek, which it crossed and then recrossed to reach
Spring Hill. Subsequently this route was improved and
the road did not cross the Creek. Later yet a shell road
parallel to this avenue was built by private subscription
and saw many fast horses and fine vehicles. The Bay
shore was also built up, and not only did handsome resi
dences adorn its western bank, but a shell road was run
along its shore as a continuation of St. Emanuel Street,
and on it were pleasure resorls of all kinds. Many people

224 Under Five Flags
had summer residences across the Bay at the place called
the Village, lower at Howard's, at Montrose where the
British troops once encamped, and at Point Clear, jutting
out into the Bay, was built a hotel which became a favorite
resort of Mobilians in the summer. These places were
reached by steamboats from town.
8. The Cowbellians. The Latin element was gradually
yielding to the incoming Saxon, but il modified the Saxon
in blood and customs. One of its interesting outcrops, a
survival or French love for the spectacular, was the forming
of a famous secret society in 1831. The story runs that
Michasl Krafft and some jolly friends were coming home
long after midnight one New Year's eve and broke open a
hardware store for fun. From it they secured horns,
rakes, cowbells and other articles, and with them paraded
the streets, making the night hideous. Not only was
nothing done to them, but much amusement was afforded.
This Cowbellian de Rakin Society repeated its performance
on next New Year's Eve, and finally became one of the
institutions of Mobile. It had a parade and gave a masked
balls. A similar organization followed in 1842 named the
Strikers Independent Society, another later called the
T. D. S.
9. Forts. The cotton and lumber of Mobile generally
went abroad on foreign ships, especially those froni Great
Britain. The port , therefore, became ot great importance,
and the United Slates recognized this from an early day
by the Coast Survey, by placing a lighthouse on Choctaw
Point, and by building a new fort on Mobile Point. Fort
Bowyer had been of wood and could not be kept up, and
so in ths thirties the United States built a new and extensive
fortification, whose bricks were made on the western
shore of the Bay and the lime for its mortar came from the
oyster shells of Dauphine Island and vicinity. Bearing

King Cotton 225
the date of 1837 and. named Fort Morgan, this commanded
the Bay, the Gulf and the channel off Mobile Point. The
main channel now ran by Mobile Point and it was not
deemed necessary to fortify Dauphine Island for fifteen
years to come.

CHAPTER XXXI.
FLUSH TIMES AND WHAT FOLLOWED.
1. The Thirties. From the early thirties Mobile as
sumed the commanding position which it maintained
throughout American period. People were attracted to
the growing port as they nevsr had been before and all
the elements of city life came at a bound. The first ware
houses were on Royal and elsewhere in the centre of to-vvn,
but owners of the old Spanish tracts to the north and south
early subdivided their lands and contended for the growing
business. Conception Street was still the principal resi
dence avenue, but Government, one hundred feet wide,
was running farther and farther to the west. A street;
named Ann for A. H. Gazzam's mother, was laid out two miles
from the river and at its intersection with Govemment
Gazzam put up a handsome residence, while next door
Pinney built his college, and half way to town the Presby
terian minister Wm. T. Hamilton erected a home and
planted oaks and magnolias which live until now. It is
true that the old part of town' was made up of one-story
houses, often raised high up on a brick basement, and
many of the people still spoke French and lived quiet, ,
unobtrusive lives; but the bustling Americans were coming '
fast, stores of brick were building, and everything betokened
a new kind of city from the Creole town of the past.
2. The Banks. The basis of all business is the exchange
of one form of labor, or its product, for another, and this
can be carried on readily only by means of money; for
money measures the value of what one has to sell and of
what he wants to buy. In these early days of Alabama
wealth consisted in land, slaves and cotton, and, while
the general government was weak and could not provide

Flush Times and What Followed Til
enough gold and silver for the circulating medium, the
want was supplied by banks, which issued paper maney.
So long as this could be turned into gold and silver on de
mand it served every purpose of money. The United
States had a bank, with a branch at Mobile, and each
state chartered private banks. The first in Alabama was
one at HuntsviUe, and the second the Tombeckb6 Bank at
St. Stephens, both in the time of the Territory. It was a
great step in advance when the Bank of Mobile was
chartered in 1818, for it had a long line of able officers.
Its first location was on Govemment next to the present
court house and when it grew to be one of the great banks
of the Union it erected for itself the building at the north
east corner of Royal and Conti Streets, at first with a
cupola. In 1823 the Bank of the Stale of Alabama was
chartered and the State put into its capital stock money
coming from state lands and also afterwards the proceeds
of bonds. By 1832 branches were established at Decatur,
Montgomery and Mobile, and a few years later at Hunts
viUe. The branch at Mobile used the handsome building
at the northwest comer of St. Francis and Royal Streets.
The Mobile banks were well managed and stood high
throughout the United States.
3. Flush Times. The buildings of the thirties were an
index of 'the prosperity of the people. The planters lived
handsomely in the country during the planting season,
with every luxury which money could supply, and during
the winter many of them brought their families down the
river to Mobile to enjoy the schools and gaieties of the city.
The great desire of every planter was to get more land
and more negroes, for this meant increased production of
cotton. Many raised com and hogs and other supplies,
but the chief reliance was upon cotton. This produced a
very interesting but peculiar kind of civilization.

228 • Under Five Flags
Manufactures were hardly thought of because the same
time and money put in agriculture would produce greater
results. The numerous banks and the flood of paper money
throughout the South made it easy to go into new ventures,
and in course ot time many people forgot that' there might
be reverses. At Mobile property increased to values
which it has hardly since regained. Lands in the suburbs
were bought up by capitalists and subdivided. The
Kennedys early began selling lots in the Price Claim, the
Favre Tract was ' subdivided in 1821, and the Orange
Grove Tract was sold in lots in 1831 and became the seat
of the cotton business. In the thirties the Bernoudy
Tract and the Choctaw Point Tract were also platted off
and sold. Even Blakely's marsh island opposite the city
was subdivided, and Mobile extended in all directions.
Its main reliance was on cotton from up the rivers. In
1830 upwards of one hundred thousand bales were handled,
in 1835 there were about two hundred thousand, in 1837
they exceeded three hundred thousand, and by 1840 they
reached four hundred and forty thousand bales. There
were lumber mills and cotton compresses, and foundries
were also established, but beyond this little was done
in ihc way of mnmifacturing, for comirt-r; : . .iniinefl itself
to raw materials. Culture was not neglected in the growing
city, and from 1835 dates the literary club known as the
Franklin Society, whose library was extensive. There was
no gayer place in the winter time than Mobile, Cotton
began coming in about September and the last bales were
about May, making a nine months busy season, with a
long vacation during the hot months of summer, when
many citizens went North,
4- New People. The opening of the Indian lands
brought many new people to Alabama, and the prosperity
'which followed attracted, many to her seaport. All

Flush Times and What Followed

229

through her history Mobile has been indebted to the
country for many of her best people, and at no time was
this truer than in the thirties. Some came from other
states, but most came to the city after residence in the
country. St. Stephens continued in the t\venties her
notable additions in the persons of J. F. Ross, who had
been state treasurer, and William Crawford, who had been

A GOVERNMENT STREET HOME OF TIIE THIRTIES

Federal land commissioner, and these were shortly followed
by Henry Hitchcock, grandson of Ethan AUen ot Vermont,
and George S. Gaines, the old Indian agent now transformed
into the president of the Branch Bank of the United
States. There was also here in the twenties Thaddeus
Sanford from New York, and in the early thirties Charles
C. Langdon of Connecticut, the lather of the Whig party

230 Under Five Flags
in Alabama and president of its first convention in 1838.
Almost at the same time came John Forsyth of Georgia,
whose father when minister to Spain had .much to do with
the treaty by which Florida became American. In the
thirties the bar of Mobile received Judge Henry Goldth-
waite, formerly of Boston, as well as WiUiam D. Dunn, of
Tennessee, and. Judge Abner S. Lipscomb, like Hitchcock
already prominent in the state, now moved here from St.
Stephens. About the same time George N. Stewart
made Mobile his home. He had come from Pennsylvania
much earlier as secretary of the Vine and Olive Company
and after the failure of that enterprise he had settled in
Tuscaloosa. These last four moved to Mobile in 1835,
and the same year Percy Walker came from Madison
County, and Octavia Walton came, a young Georgia girl,
who was to be well kno-wn later as the wife of Dr. H. S.
LeVert. There followed next year Josiah C. Nott from
South Carolina, who was to be one of the great physicians
of the day, and of course there were many others beside
professional men. Percy Walker was at first a druggist,
and about the same time came Duke W. Goodman trom
South Carolina, to be a well known merchant, Daniel
Wheeler from England and F. G. Kimball from New Eng
land. The experiences ot Gavin Yuille, a baker from North
Carolina, were typical. He travelled by wagon along the
dirt roads to Montgomery, where he took a steamboat to
Mobile, and began on Dauphin Street the bakery business
which has been carried on by his successors ever since.
When the great fire of 1839 burned him out, he moved to
his well known site on Governemnt. Gustavus Horton
of Boston was sent to Mobile in 1835 to collect some claims
and preferred it to the little, struggling towns of Chicago
and St. Louis, and settled here, as did Miles Treat, so
long known in the furpiture business. In 1837 came one o^

Flush Times and What Followed 231
the most distinguished men who has ever lived in Mobile,
John A. Campbell of Georgia, who had already resided at
Montgomery. The population increased from 3,194 in
1830 to 12,672 in 1840.
5. Water Works. The rights of the Aqueduct Company,
which had been incorporated in 1820, were transferred to
the city of Mobile by a law passed in 1824. The city
acquired lands at Spring Hill on which were suitable
springs, and from time to time laid pipes, first of logs and
afterwards of iron, until there were in 1836 some 22,000
feet of different sizes. Henry Hitchcock made an offer
to lease this property for twenty years, agreeing to operate
the water works and supply the citizens with water. This
was accepted and Hitchcock did a good deal of work,
obtaining the assistance of Albert Stein, a well known
engineer. New arrangements were made the next year,
and after the death of Hitchcock the city in 1840 made an
agreement with Albert Stein, by which all rights tp supply
water from Three Mile Creek were vested in him for
twenty years. Further ditches were dug at Spring Hill,
the works extended, a reservoir built on Spring Hill Avenue,
and iron pipes laid in the thickly settled parts of Mobile,
which supplied as good water as could be found anywhere.
There was a clause in the agreement that at the end of the
lease the city should pay Stein the actual value of the water
works, but when this time came the lease was renewed for
a longer period, and the Stein control lasted until after
the Civil War. • . ,
6. Gas Works. Mobilians had at the beginning used
candles and afterwards lamps in their homes, but there
had not been any system for lighting the streets. In
Europe lamps had been hung across the highways, but
this had not been done in Mobile except on special occa
sions. The invention of gas was made use of in New York

232 Under Five Flags
in 1823, but this depended on coal, James II, Caldwell
introduced gas in New Orleans in 1835 and made a contract
with the city of Mobile to erect gas works and to light the
city of Mobile lor thirty years. In consequence Caldwell
bought land where Stone Street crosses Bayou Marmotte,
built suitable retorts and tanks and laid pipes, by means
of which the city and private resiliences were lighted
in 1836. The coal both at Xew Orleans and Mobile first.
came by water from Pittsburg, but the English geologist
Sir Charles Lyell visited Alabama in the forties and called
public attention to the coal beds about the Warrior River,
and in 18-19 the State geologist Michael Tuomey made a
celebrated report upon the subject. From that time
some ot the supply oi fuel was native, but Alabama coal
\\a3 not used for gas until just before the Civil War,
7. T'ne Panic . of 1S37. The South West had grown
prodigiously in the few years since the removal of the
Indians, when suddenly the business of the country was
rudeh- shaken. There had been a great deal of speculation
in lands and when President Jackson prevented the re
charter of the Bank ot the United States it affected all the
banks of the Union. The trustees of the United States
Bank began to collect what was due that institution, and
man}' people found that they could not pay. A good many
ot the other institutions had loaned more money than they
could collect, and in addition to this doubt was thrown on
the methods of the State Bank, The general result was
panic and hard times. Business of every kind was inter
fered with. Such men as Henry Hitchcock failed, and much
property passed into the hands of the banks. This is
generally spoken of as the Panic of 1837, but like many
other things the date is onlj- approximate. It began in
1837, but it lasted for almost ten years, and in one way
or another affected every business and every family.

Flush Times and What Followed 233
8. Fire Companies. The bane of cities, especially in
America, has been fires, which sometimes are uncontrollable,
Mobile was a sufferer from this cause, and, as its citizens
had in early times organized strong military companies to
fight the Indians, so now they formed fire companies to
fight conflagrations. The extinction of the fires was
first in the hands of fire wardens, — officials in uniform
and carrying long red poles crowned with gilt balls. They
enforced laws to prevent fires, saw that citizens had leather
buckets, and called on any and every one to work at fires.
Regular fire companies brought a change of system.
The Creole and Neptune fire companies were formed in
1819, when there was a great fire, and they were to have
long and useful lives. In 1827 there was also a great
fire and then in 1833 the Franklin Fire Company No. 3
was organized, three years later Merchants Fire Company
No. 4, and in two years more Torrent No, 5 and Phoenix
No. 6. These were made up of many of the best men of
the place and did active service. The ne.xt year two more.
Mechanics No. 7 and Hook and Ladder No. 1, were organ
ized, for the growth of the city made them necessary.
In 1838 the companies formed the Mobile Fire Department
Association to take care of sick and infirm members, and
in time this came to be a very useful institution. Five
years later one more company, Washington No. 8, was
created, the last except La Fayette No. 9, formed after
the Civil War. In 1860 the city had 153 fire plugs. These
companies had social features as well as hard work, for
there were monthly meetings, occasional contests, and an
annual parade and celebration on the ninth of. April.
While the organizations were made up of volunteers, they
were really part of the city government, for the authorities
annually appointed a general engineer and assistants for
what came to be known as the Mobile Fire Department.

234 Under Five Flags
9. The Fires of 1839. There was need of such com
panies. In the 1827 fire the heart of the town was burnt
out trom the river to St, Emanuel Street, and from St.
Francis Street almost down to Government, As the town
was growing rapidly at the time, however, the damage
was soon made up, and, as the small frame Creole houses
gave way to brick buildings, the fire was in a measure a
blessing. In 1839 was a different, story to tell, for two
conflagrations came at a time when the city was greatly
depressed. The first burned the Government Street
Hotel, a magnificent structure then building at the north
east corner of that street and Royal, resembling somewhat
the Barton Academy, and passed on to consume the hand
some Mansion House adjoining. Royal Street did not
stop the flames, for they crossed to the cit\' buildings at
St. Emanuel Street, where was the fire bell tower, and left
all a smoking ruin. It was thought at the time that the
fires were incendiary, for a few nights later a still more
disastrous conflagration began at St. Emanuel, burned
both sides of Dauphin, and swept over to St, Francis
Street and on towards the west. A house at the northwest
corner of Franklin and Dauphin was blown up to stop its
spread, and there indeed it stopped. In these cases, too,
old French and Spanish houses were burned, but business
was at the lowest ebb, credit was unknown, and few
people could rebuild. There was difficulty in taking
care of the homeless, and the destitution was not over
stated in Percy Walker's famous speech jn the legislature,
where he was a member from Mobile,
10. Yellow Fever. In 1837 there was fever, and on top
of the fires of 1839 came one of the greatest epidemics in
the history of the city, for public conditions following the
fire were such that the spread of the disease was increased.
It was considered almost certain death to nurse a yellow

Flush Times and What Followed 235
fever patient, but here as so often human nature showed
heroism, forgetting self in the ser\'ice of others. People
died by the dozen every day, and nurses and medicines
were scarce. Many people went away, but from this time
dates the noble relief association called the Can't-Get-
Away Club. As usual the disease did not cease to find
victims until frost, and then the refugees returned home,
and began the sad work of building up their city.
11. The Protestant Orphan Asylum. The good women of
Mobile not orUy helped the sick, but gathered about them
the orphans who were left by the terrible visitation. The
need for a home for them was apparent and under such
ladies as Mrs. Dr. Hamilton the Protestant Orphan Asylum
was organized in 1839, It was controlled by lady delegates
from each of the denominations and took complete charge
of the little ones. In the course of time the ladies were
able to secure a large lot on Dauphin and in 1852 built the
commodious brick structure which still carries on its work
of charity.
12. A Bankrupt City. An American city is a corpora
tion, and the usual practice is for it not only to govern the
people but to make public improvements on borrowed
money. While Mobile was still a town small amounts
of money were borrowed from time to time for different
purposes, but these loans were soon paid back. The first
important issue of bonds was thirty thousand dollars in
1830, increased four years later to two hundred thousand
and again in 1836 to as much more, expended for grading
and shelling the streets and other pubUc uses. By 1839
the total debt was five hundred and thirteen thousand
dollars. This was increased when the interest could not
be paid, and by such expenses as putting up a new Guard
house and tower in the place of the one recently burned.
The city charter was amended after the great fires, but not

236 Under Five Flags
much good resulted, for a committee of the city boards
investigated affairs and everything was found in confusion.
A better system was begun, but this did not lessen the old
debt. Attempts were made to settle with creditors, and
amongst the items turned over to trustees for that purpose
was the land which had been set apart for a public square.
It was clear that a sale of property at that time would
bring very little, however, and the creditors finally agreed
to a settlement, which was ratified by the legislature in
1843. Certain taxes were provided to pay the interest
and make reductions on the debt, and this fund was kept
separate in bank. S. P. Bullard was commissioner to
carry out the arrangement. He secured the assent of
three cjuarters of the creditors and bonds amounting to
$707,191.18 were issued. No property was sold and the
extension enabled the city to take advantage of better
times, which came after a while. These particular bonds
have long since passed out of existence, but the debt
which they represented is part of the present indebtedness
of Mobile.
13. Grant's Pass. The commercial relations of Mobile
and New Orleans were always intimate. In colonial
times the shallow waters of Mississippi Sound and Lake
Pontchartrain were used, but under the Americans vessels
were larger and to reach New Orleans many had to go out
side of Dauphine Island into the Gulf and steam up the
Mississippi River. Some of the passenger traffic between
the two places was carried on by boat from Portersville to
Lake Pontchartrain, the rest of the way being by the
Pontchartrain Railroad to New Orleans and by the Por
tersville stage line to Mobile. So many transfers, however,
were unpleasant, and the general government in 1827
endeavored to dredge a channel from Mobile Bay to the
Soiind ; but it was flnally given up as impracticable. A man

Flush Times and What Followed 237
named John Grant, lately of Baltimore, who had worked
on the Choctaw Point Pass, was satisfied a channel
could be made. He had lived both at Mobile and New
Orleans and in 1839 obtained an act of legislature of Ala
bama which gave him the right to dig a pass and charge
tolls on the traffic through it. It required a large amount
of money, but he finally succeeded in making a channel
through with a depth ot five feet. Freight rates between
Mobile and New Orleans immediately fell about one-third,
and traffic was henceforth almost altogether (;arried on
through Grant's Pass. The mail which had gone by Por
tersville was now taken by through steamers from Mobile
to Lake Pontchartrain, origiiiating the favorite and attrac
tive Mail Line, in which Grant was a large owner. Not
only was this due to the energy of one man, but due to
him at a time when everything looked black around him.
Grant's Pass was one of the first things pointing forward
to a brighter day.

CHAPTER XXXII.

THE CHURCHES.

1. The Churches. Except during the brief rule of the
Brilish in West Florida, religion has throughout our story
been represented by the Catholics. With the coming of the
Americans at the end of
the eighteenth century this
was changed. The church
ceased to have any connec
tion with the state, but the
Catholics maintained their
church at Conti and Royal
until this became the heart
of the business section,
when it was deemed best to
sell and move the church
itself to the old cemetery
west of Jackson. There we
have seen a stately cathe
dral rise on the plans of
Michael Portier, a French
man beloved by the whole
city, the first bishop of the
see of Mobile, which had
been established in 1826.
For many years there were
only the foundations of the building, then came the walls
and roof, while the majestic pillars have been erected since
the Civil War. Under this cathedral are buried its
bishops and about it have grown up different institutions
connected with the church, such as an orphan asylum, the
bishop's residence, and schools. As the city grew one

BISHOP MICHAEL PORTIER

The Churches 239
church was not enough, and different parishes have been
cut off, but remaining under the control of the bishop.
The first was St. Vincent de Paul built in 1848 on Charleston
Street in the midst of a large laboring population, and then
followed after ten years St. Joseph's on Spring Hill Avenue.
Among the priests may be mentioned Father C. T. O'Cal-
laghan at St. Vincent's, and Father Imsand at St. Joseph's.
The Catholic Cemetery at Toulminville dates from 1848.
Rev. John Quinlan succeeded as bishop upon the death of
Bishop Portier in 1859 and lived untU 1883.
2. The Protestants. The first Protestant preacher in
the neighborhood of Mobile was the Methodist Lorenzo
Dow, at Tensaw, but the Congregationalists had alreadj'
been strong on the Mississippi River. The revivals at the
beginning of the nineteenth century had a strong influence
in the South West, and affected all Protestants. Missionary
movements of all denominations kept pace with great
immigration to the Gulf Coast. Each had its general
governing body in the east and local bodies, such as con
ferences or presbyteries, and in this way each church was
readily extended to the new settiements, and state organiza
tions of each denomination date from the early twenties.
They united in Mobile at the northwest corner of St.
Emanuel and Church Streets in what was known as the
Union Church, and from there branched off congregatioils
which have founded the different Protestant churches
in Mobile. Each church as it has been founded has had
flourishing sunday schools and other benevolent institu
tions. They joined in establishing the Y. M. C. A. in
1856 and from the forties maintained the Seamen's Bethiel.
3. The Presbyterians. While the Presbyterians have
never been the strongest denomination, they have always
been among the most active, and even while the Union
Church was in general use the Presbyterian preacher J. B.

240

Under Five Flags

Warren was collecting funds and giving all he had in 1828
to build a church next east of the present Yuille's bakery.
In the early thirties William T. Hamilton, pastor of the
First Presbyterian Church of Newark, N. J., came South
for his health and was made pastor of this congregation.
Among its members were such men as Henry Hitchcock,
and they built in 1836 and 1837 the church still standing
at the northwest corner of Government and Jackson. As
first constructed it had a
tower in which was the
city fire bell, but the storm
of 1852 injured the belfry
and it was removed. In
1859 came J. Ralston Bur
gett from Ohio, and he
was to be pastor for forty
years. At different times
this congregation has prov
ed to be the mother-church
for others, and from it went
out in 1842 the second
Presbyterian Church,
which stood until after the
Civil War at the northeast
corner of St. Francis and
Conception, ancl in 1853
the third church, on Jack
son and St, Michael Sts,
These two after the War
Church, now the Central

DR, J. R. BURGETT

Street

became the Jackson
Presbyterian, 4- The Methodists. The Methodists were strong enough
to build in the thirties what has been known as the Bee
Hive at the southwest corner of Franklin and St, Michael,

The Churches

241

from which branched in 1842 the St. Francis Street Church.
The Methodists hav-e alwajs been a powerful element in
Mobile life, and all of the strongest men in the Alabama
Conference have been at Mobile from time to time. Among
the best known should be mentioned Philip P. NeeK',
whose sermons have been collected in book form. T. T.
Dorman, and W. H. Milbum, the blind preacher. Milbum
before and after the War was chaplain of Congress and has
written well known books telling of his life in the South.
•5. The Episcopalians.
The Episcopalians have
had a large projxirtion of
prominent men. They re
mained in the old church
on St. Emanuel Street after
the others left, but, when
the building fell into bad
repair, worshipped at the
southwest comer of Jack
son and St. Francis Street
until burned out in the
fires of 1839. Two vears
later they built Christ
Church, which has been a
mother-church for the
Episcopalians. Under it
are buried several of its
pastors. In 1847 was es
tablished Trinitj- Church
to the north and in 1852 St.
John's among the working classes in the southern part of
the cit\'. Trinity's rector for a long time was J, A, Massey,
who returned after the Civil War, and at St, John's was
J. H. Ingraham, who, besides being an efficient pastor,

BISHOP

WILMER

242 Under Five Flags
wrote (but not in Mobile) the famous books "Pillar of
Fire" and "Throne of the House of David." As Mobile
was the strongest city in this denomination, the Episco
palians, like the Catholics, finally secured the advantage
of a resident bishop. This was from 1861 Richard Hooker
Wilmer, of Virginia, a much beloved citizen. He lived at
Spring Hill, where his churches gave him a handsome home.
6. The Baptists. The Baptists were early in the Ala
bama-Tombigbee Basin, but their stronghold at first was
rather in the country than the city. They were first on
St. Anthony Street, and built on St. Francis in the forties,
and have been active in church life in Mobile. The
St, Francis Street Church, like the Government Street and
Christ Church, had a belfry for a long time. The Baptists
did not subdivide before the War, and remained in one large
church, except that in the fifties they built a mission at
Broad Street and Spring Hill Road.
7. Other Denominations. Other Protestant denomina
tions have had a foothold in Mobile, but have been less
successful. The Unitarians numbered some prominent
citizens, such as Charles P. Gage, and in the fifties built
a church on Jackson second north of St. Michael. One
of their pastors was John Lord, who afterwards wrote
well known work "Beacon Lights of History." The
congregation, however, was not strong in numbers, and
the building was afterwards turned into a Music Hall.
8. The Jews. We have had Jews at Mobile from
British times, coming from Germany, Portugal and else
where. A number came from Germany in the forties on
account of the revolutionary movements in Europe, and to
them was due the founding in 1844 of the congregation
known as the Gates of Heaven, The Jews had their own
section in Magnolia Cemetery two years earlier. Services
were held at different places, but the first synagogue was

The Churches 243
dedicated in 1846 on St. Emanuel Street next to Christ
Church. Among their prominent men were I. I. Jones
and the lawyer Philip Phillips, and by 1853 they had so
outgrown their quarters that they bought the Music Hall
on Jackson Street. After a fire this was rebuilt and used
as a synagogue for about fifty years.
9. Negroes. While the law as a mater of prudence
forbade the assemblage of more than four negroes together,
they enjoyed religious privileges, whether on the plantation
or in town. Ever}- white church opened its galleries to
the servants of the members, and often the fervent singing
of the black people excelled that ot their white masters
on the floor below- In Mobile several denominations
set up negro churches, visited by the white ministers, and
sometimes with regular white preachers of their own.
The Episcopalians in this way established the Church of
the Good Shepherd in 1854 and the Methodists had two
negro churches. One was the State Street Church, located
on that street near Lawrence, and the other was Little
Zion, at the northeast corner of Church and Dearborn,
which had white pastors. One of the best known congre
gations was that which the Baptists maintained under the
name of the African Church, at the southwest corner of
Chestnut and Cleveland Streets. This was a plain but com
modious square building with large gallery, and has not
been changed since in any material respect. The re
ligious exercises of the negroes were more emotional than
those of the white people. The singing was melodious,
and thei responses to the preacher took the form of shouting,
especially among the Methodists. Conversion was called
"Coming through." One affected by religion would be
much depressed tor days at a time, when suddenly, no mat
ter what he was doing, he might drop everything and shout
or fall in a trance. Something similar would sometimes

244 Under Five Flags
happep during the regular church services. These services
and also the baptizing in Three MUe Creek or elsewhere
among the Baptists were noisy if earnest affairs, and attract
ed crowds from every quarter.

CHAPTER XXXIII.
THE MOBILE &¦ OHIO RAILROAD.
1. Canals and Railways. In colonial days the people
had first lived near the seacoast and afterwards as popu
lation increased they moved up the larger rivers. In
course of time the settlements were connected by roads,
but it long seemed that the Apalachian mountain range
must bound English colonies on the west. The Mississippi
and its tributaries ran through French and Spanish country
and even when the Americans crossed the mountains to the
Ohio River they traded with the Spaniards of the Gulf.
To overcome this the general government built what was
called the National koad from the Potomac over the moun
tains to the country northwest of the Ohio, and canals
were talked of to connect the Mississippi Valley with the
Atlantic. Canals in fact were begun in Virginia and
Pennsylvanis, but New York's Erie Canal, opened in 1825
from the Hudson River to Lake Erie, was the most success
ful one. The Federal government gave lands to aid in
these plans, but in the early thirties came a, different mode
of transportation. This was the railroad. At first the
railway was used to connect river basins or to run from
one large city to another and bore names accordingly.
South Carolina built one from Charleston to Augusta in
the early thirties, and the State of Georgia in 1845 built
another from Savannah to a point on the Chattahoochee
afterwards called Atlanta. Charleston saw her trade
lessening and that of New York growing on account of
canals and railroads, and under the leadership of Hayne
sought to extend her raUroad through the mountain
country just ceded by the Cherokees until it should reach
Nashville and the Ohio Valley. The plan fell through.

246

Under Five Flags

but it showed the way for other enterprises. The roads
which were actually built from Savannah and Charleston
to the northwest joined at Atlanta, and, after Georgia
finished her road to Chattanooga in 1851, brought a great
deal of business to these cities. They showed that rail
roads could rival rivers.
2. Alabama Railroads. These railroads were primitive
in construction and methods. At first they consisted
of long strips of iron nailed to wooden sleepers, and the
engines were small and could go only a few miles an hour.
The trains were composed of both passenger and freight

RAILROAD MONEY
cars, but they were a great improvement on the old wagons
and dirt roaos of the country, and were much used. Boats
were pleasanter, but rivers were uncertain and the early
steamers were not safe. The first railroad in Alabama was
one around the Mussel Shoals from Tuscumbia to Decatur.
It was not a steam railroad at first, although finally it
became a part of the system by which Gen. E. P. Gaines
planned to connect Memphis with Charleston. Another
eatiy railroad was the West Point Railroad of 1853 from
Montgomery to join the Georgia Railroad, but this tended

The Mobile &f Ohio Railroad

247

to take the business of the East Alabama towards Savannah
instead of down the river to Mobile as it had been going.
S. Cedar Point Railroad Mobile was situated at the
head of a large bay, but the great river system behind it
deposited m.asses of mud which on meeting the salt water
fell to the bottom and formed bars which prevented large
vessels from coming up to the town. The old channel
was around by Blakely and Spanish River to the Mobile,
and this was one of the reasons for building the town of
Blakely. The citizens of Mobile sought to have the
United States government cut through the Choctaw Point
Bar at the mouth of the river and through Dog River Bar

RAILROAD MONEY
a little below, so cis to save this roundabout course, and in
the late twenties Congress acted favorably. A small
appropriation of twenty-five thousand dollars was used
tp cut a channel through the upper bar, but nothing was
done until 1839 with the lower bar. The citizens of Mobile,
therefore, undertook to help themselves and use the new
invention of railroads to connect the city with deeper
water of the lower bay. A company was organized and
the Cedar Point Railroad was begun in 1836. The depot
was on the corner of Church and Franklin Streets and the

248 Under Five Flags
road ran almost parallel with the Bay along what is still
called the Cedar Point Road to Dog River. The cross
ties were made of light wood and many of them still remain
in perfect condition. The railway was graded for much
of the distance on the other side of Dog River, but the panic
of 1837 came before a bridge was built, and after a few years
the road ceased to run.
4. A Railroad to the Ohio. Meantime the United
States had at last spent fifty thousand dollars dredging
a channel over the Dog River Bar, so that vessels drawing
fifteen feet could come up to the wharves. This was a
great improvement, but the prospect of having Charleston
get all the business from the growing Western States was
disturbing. The early forties were a time of great depres
sion. The population of Mobile was twelve thousand and
some people still came, but, while business was gradually.
recoveriiig from the panic, it was felt that conditions had
changed. Steamboats were active, but the river traffic
alone was not reliable. Mobile could no longer claim the
Alabama-Tombigbee Basin when Georgia was invading
it with d railroad. At this time M. J. D. Baldwyn con
ceived the idea of building a raUroad from the city to
the mouth of the Ohio River and thus tap two great
valleys at once, — the Ohio and the Mississippi. Men
thought him visionary as he stood at street corners with his
map and statistics, trying to interest the people; but finally
he did interest Sidney Smith, D. W. Goodman and others,
and a public meeting was held January 11 in the year 1847.
The project was discussed and finally adopted, and the
business men of a city of less than twenty thousand
¦undertook to build a railroad five hundred miles long.
When the books were opened next year over six hundred
thousand dollars was subscribed. As planned, it was the
longest railroad at that time in the world.

The Mobile &• Ohio Railroad 249
5. Interesting the Country. A charter was obtained
February 3, 1848, from- the State of Alabama, and others
from Mississippi, Tennessee, and Kentucky, through which
the road was to be run, having almost the same provisions.
Right was given to raise money by public donation and
taxation, and George S. Gaines and a Mississippi man
were sent as subscription agents and Lewis Troost and John
H. Childe as surveyors over the proposed line of the road.
Much of the territory was still public land, and an effort
was made to have the United States makfe a gift of lands
somewhat as they had been doing for the b'ailaing of canals
in the North West. Stephen A. Douglas of lUinois had
been trying to get this done for a proposed Illinois Central
Railroac', but could not persuade the conservative congress
men from the South to help the bill through Conj,ress.
Now he visited Mobile, however, and agreed to include
the MobUe & Ohio Railroad in the flan, and thus secure
a railroad from the little town of Chicago to the Gulf of
Mexico. The Alabama congressmen then agreed to help,
and Congress finally passed the famous act of 1851, which
gave alternate sections of public lands for the proposed
railroad which was to connect the West with the South.
6. .Stages of Building. From this time construction
of the road went on stea<;ily. There were some interrup-
ticns, as when new men were put in charge of the enterprise
in 1856, and the country came more in control. Milton
Brown of Tennessee became president ana Colonel L. J.
Fleming of North Carolina engineer, both to be long
identified with the Mobile & Ohio. The difficulty with
all Southern railroads was that to reach the sea they had
to pass through a hundred miles of pine barren, which
could afford Httle traffic except in lumber, but the Mobile
& Ohio was surveyed up the Chickasabogue and along
other valleys so a'^ to have an easy {;rade, and so it was

250 Under Five Flags
able to pay expenses even through the Pine Belt. It reached ¦
Citronelle in 1852, and accommodation trains were run
regularly, so that this really became a suburb of Mobile.
In 1854 the terminus was Shubuta on the edge of the Cotton
Belt of Mississippi, and thenceforward it began to bring
paying quantities of that staple to MobUe for shipment.
It is true there were no towns for it to reach, for the route
lay through that virgin territory recently ceded by the
Choctaws and Chickasaws; but as the road advanced
villages sprang up, and in a short time the Mobile & Ohio
became the piqneer trunk line to the Gulf, with many places
on it which have become important points. The road bed
was prepared from funds raised by local subscription,
but the rails had to be brought across the ocean from
England, and were paid for by a first mortgage, secured
by the land grants. The policy of Tennessee was to secure
the building of the road in that state as almost a separate
enterprise, and to this end the state granted ten thousand
dollars for each mile finished. This led to building the
road from the north end also, for which purpose rails were
taken up the Mississippi River, and there followed a new
invasion of the old Chickasaw country, more peaceable
but with greater results than that of Bienville over a hun
dred years before. The road, therefore, was built from
both directions at once. Although the mineral region
of Alabama was not yet developed except partially as to
coal, the company found it profitable to erect its own
machine shops at the village of Whistler in 1855, and it
proved a most paying investment. The road reached
Macon in 1856, West Point the next year, and built branches
over to the Tombigbee at Aberdeen and Columbus. It
now brought annually to Mobile almost ninety thousand
bales of cotton. The Mobile & Ohio next invaded the
Pontotoc country, where De Soto had wintered and where

The Mobile & Ohio Railroad 251
Bienville had been defeated, and agriculture developed
so much that the road in 1858 carried over one hundred
and fiftv' thousand bales of cotton to Mobile. When the
railroad reached Corinth, it found a link of the old project
ot the Memphis & Charleston Railroad, planned to run
east b\ way of the Tuscumbia Railroad to the new town of
Chattanooga. Meantime the engineers had been at the
north end and by 1858 the road reached Jackson from that
direction about the time that a xival railroad did from
New Orleans. The gap between the two building parties
was soon filled, and just as the Civil War opened the
Mobile & Ohio was finished from Columbus, Kentucky,
just below the Ohio River, to Mobile on the Gulf of Mexico.
7. Results. The result was an increase in business
of everv- kind. There had to be more warehouses and
compresses to handle the cotton and more shipping was
necessarv- to carry it abroad, and this meant moije employ
ment for everyone. The buildings of the day reflect the
general prosperity. The Battle House was built in 1852
and the Custom House about the same time, and these, the
first great buildings near the river, had to be constructed
upon piling. The dreams of Iberv-ille seemed realized.
The West had become tributary to the Gulf City.

CHAPTER XXXIV.
THE SCHOOLS.
1. Private Schools. From early Jewish days schools
have been connected with the church, and we have seen
this duty performed during French and Spanish times, and
by the Catholics it was continued under the Americans.
The Protestant denominations also had their schools,
but there gradually grew up in New England the theory
that where, as in America, the Church and State were
entirely disconnected, education was the duty of the State
rather than of the Church. Some of the incoming Ameri
cans came from New England, but more were from the
South, and the idea of state education was slow in taking
hold. Education as a whole was left to the enterprise of
individuals. Many of the wealthy people on plantations
and in town had private tutors, but there grew up also a
system of private schools, which supplied much of the edu
cation of the youth. Some became famous, such as those
of Dr. Waddell in South Carolina and Henry Tutwiler at
Green Springs, Alabama, and some denominational col
leges, such as that of the Methodists at La Grange near
Florence, did much good in their districts. At Mobile
a famous school was built by Norman Pinney in the thirties
far out on Government Street. Dr. Pinney had been the
rector of Christ Church, but left his congregation because
of theological differences, and devoted himself to educa
tion. His school was called the Collegiate Institute but
was more generally known as the Blue College. He taught
with great success, and he became even better known
perhaps as the writer of school-books, which were used
all over the United States. This college was for boys, and
for girls Mrs. Susan V. R. S. Hale did a work almost as

The Schools

253

well known. She was a sister-in-law of Alexander Hamil
ton, and a woman of great culture. Her school in later
years was in a brick building ori the east side of Hamilton
Street north of Church. In 1843 Amos TowIe came out
from New Hampshire, and, after being associated with Dr.

BARTON ACADEMY

Pinney, succeeded him at the Blue College. To such people
as these many Mobilians were indebted for their education.
2. The Barton Academy. It was probably the New
Englanders who brought to Mobile the ideal of public

254 Under Five Flags
schools. One of the most active men in the early city was
Willoughby Barton, and while he was a representative
from Mobile in the legislature he drew and had passed on
January 10, 1826, an act which created a Board of School
Commissioners for Mobile County. They were given
power to establish schools and carry out plans for education,
and among the commissioners were Dinsniore' and Hitch
cock. The principal revenue was from the grant of a
quarter ot the ordinary county tax, all the fine and for
feiture funds and some licenses. The square upon which
the Academy stands was acquired in 1830 for twenty-seven
hundred and fifty dollars, and much of the money needed
for the building was raised by the endeavors of Henry
Hitchcock; but, in compliment to the efforts of Barton,
it was named for him. The building was not completed
until the act of 1836 enabled the commissioners to raise
additional funds by means of a lottery, and the schools
were now extended to the county also. The first com
missioners were elected by the people, but afterwards
they were given the power of choosing their own successors.
The Academy was not public in the present sense of the
word, for there were practically no schools organized by
the commissioners. The private and denominational
schools of the city were held in the building, and appro
priations were made by the commissioners for them.
An act of the legislature in 1846 authorized tax payers to
apply their taxes to the free Methodist school. Parts ot
the building were rented for society and lodging rooms, and
never for more than a thousand dollars a year, which was
about one-fifth the total revenue of the Board. In 1851
the Methodist and Catholic schools were each allowed
twelve hundred dollars. Bethel schools a little more. Trinity
five hundred dollars, and schools in the county thirteen
hundred and fifty dollars. About this time a new plan

The Schools 255
was formed by the School Commissioners, and they cisked
for authority to sell Barton Academy so that the interest
on the proceeds would increase the fund to be distributed
among the schools. Accordingly, an act of February 9,
1852, authorized the sale provided the people voted in
favor thereof, and the question of sale was much discussed.
Finally a public meeting was held which passed resolutions
against the sale, and at the election the majority for "no
sale" was ten to one. A different board was elected and
they organized the school system on a new basis.
3. Mobile Schools. When the session was opened in
November, 1852, there were four hundred pupils, divided
among primary, grammar and high schools, and within a
few months the number was more than doubled. The
schools owed much to Willis G. Clark, who visited other
states to study methods. In 1854 the work of the com
missioners was approved by the people, city and county
divided into school districts, and the first superintendent
appointed. The scholars had now increased to over a
thousand. The school laws were enlarged and improved
by the legislature and the commissioners forbidden to apply
any of their funds to sectarian schools. Two years later
another important act was passed, containing only two
sections. The first directed the Judge of Probate to give
to the School Board the proceeds of liquor licenses in
Mobile County, and the second authorized the commissioners
to levy an annual tax not exceeding one-twentieth of one
per cent upon the real and personal property in the county
for the benefit of the pubhc schools. Gustavus Horton
was president of the Board at this time and said that
securing the liquor licenses was an act of poetic justice;
since the barrooms brought misery to families, it was
right that they should in turn contribute to the support
of the children. These two provisions remained until

256 Under Five Flags
lately. Just before the Civil War there were six city and
twenty-five county schools, and among the text books
used were Cornell's geography, Colburn's arithmetic,
Quackenbos' readers, Harkness & Arnold's Latin books
and Pinney's French courses.
4- The Alabama Public Schools. The Mobile system
led to, the organization of public schools for the state.
As the interests of the interior grew and Tuscaloosa,
Montgomery and Htintsville grew, there came a need for
a state system. The United States had at a very early
date granted the sixteenth section of every township of
the public lands for the use of the schools, but not much
had been realized from this source. Many of the counties
exercised the right they had of selling the lands, and,
although the money was generally applied to school pur
poses, the land sold for small sums, and to was seen that
little good could be done without state assistance. The
lead in this school movement naturally came from Mobile,
and A. B, Meek, while representing Mobile in the legisla
ture, drew and secured the passage in 1854 of a law estab
lishing a public school system for the. state. This in so
many words recognized the good work done by the Mobile
schools and exempted them from control of the state
authorities,; — a policy which has ever been pre
served, 5. The University of Alabama. The capstone of the
public schools is a state university. The early thirties
were not only a period of prosperity throughout the South,
but of awakening to the need of higher education. The
University of Virginia was founded by Jefferson in 1825
and this gave a great impulse towards the building of
state colle.s;es. The United States had from an early date
made donations of public lands to be applied to such
institutions, and this was the case at the admission of

The Schools

257

Alabama, A university was provided for by a state act
of 1820, but it was not built for several years, when it
was placed in the suburbs of Tuscaloosa, not far from
the state capital. It was opened to the public in the year
1831, and gradually grew in favor, and had many
famous presidents and professors,
6. Spring Hill College.There were also colleges at
Mobile, The Catholics have always been a strong element
in 'the population and
many men of means and
ability have belonged to
that faith. In 1830 they
built at Spring Hill, five
miles from Mobile, the
celebrated. College of St.
Joseph, chartered by the
State in 1836, and declared
a university by the Pope.
six years later. In 1847
it came under the control
of the Jesuits, who have
always been interested, in
education, and, equipped
with good professors, it
gradually grew to be one
of the best colleges in the
Sou th , The attendance was
principally from Louisiana,
Mexico, and the West Indies, where its graduates have
exercised great influence,
7, Alabama Medical College. The epidemics had one
good effect in developing fine physicians, and in the fifties
these conceived the idea of building a medical school at
Mobile, J, C, Nott was one of the leaders in this enterprise

J, C. NOTT

258 Under Five Flags
and was seconded by George A, Ketchum and others,
with the result that in 1853 the Medical College was found
ed, A whole square was bought and a handsome building
erected by money of which the state gave fifty thousand
dollars and Mobile as much more, Dr, Nott went to
Europe and purchased its fine collections and museum,
and in 1859 the college entered on its long career of useful
ness. The institution ultimately became a part of the State
University,

CHAPTER XXXV.
LITERATURE AND THE DRAMA.
1. Early Writers. The Creoles had not developed a
native literature, and the Americans brought their bxiks
with them from the older states. The pioneers were too
busy making a living to have the leisure which is necessary
fcr writing books. Newspapers were the first form of
writing in the South. They gave what news there was, and
discussed politics, but literature as such was not much
advanced by them. The earliest newspaper in this part
of the country was the Mobile Centinel, published at Fort
Stoddert by Thomas Eastin before the occupation of
Mobile. The first newspaper afterwards was the Ga
zette, founded 1815, but the paper which outlasted all others
was the Register, founded in 1821. Of books at that time
there would be little to say. The first were law books
and these were of Mississippi Territory and did not come
trom Mobile. The earliest from our river basin were
the "Alabam-a Justice of the Peace," compiled by Henry
Hitchcock w-hen attorney-general and published at Cahaba
in 1822, and the valuable "Laws of Alabama" published
the next year by Harry Toulmin, at the same place.
2. Meek and Smith. The most versatile ot Alabama
authors was William R. Smith, but he touches Mobile
life only tor a moment. During the Texan War of Inde
pendence he shared the general sympathy with the Texans
and raised a company at Tuscaloosa. They got no further
than Mobile, and there Smith remained. He had edited
the Southron at Tuscaloosa, and now began the Bachelor's
Button at Mobile.
Meek also already had a career before coming to Mobile
in the forties. He was a native of South Carolina, but

260

Under Five Flags

received his early training at Tuscaloosa. Almost all
literature begins with poetry, for imagination seems to
run freer in the country than in the city, and it was Meek's
theory that verse is as much the product of a land as its
flowers. He naturally began his literary career, therefore,
by reading on the Fourth of July, 1838, a poem called
"Day of Freedom," con
taining passages of great
beauty. The Indian his
tory of the Tombigbee
Valley attracted him and in
1839 he published in the
Southron several sketches,
afterwards compiled at
Mobile as "Romantic Pas
sages of Southwestern His
tory." The magazine was
soon combined with the
Batchelor's Button.
One of Meek's best
known books is "The Red
Eagle," the story ot the
Indian Weatherford(1855),
and "Songs and Poems of
the South" (1857) em
brace many of his shorter
poems.
3. Susan V. R. S. Hale. Mrs. Hale was a much beloved
teacher of Knickerbocker ancestry and lived for a long
time in Mobile. She published at New York in 1845
what is perhaps the earliest book written in Mobile,
entitled "Saturday Evenings." It is composed of moral
essays of the kind which used, to be so common, but now
little used.

A. B. MEEK

Literature' and the Drama

261

4- Josiah C. Nott. Dr. Nott weis not only a famous
physician, but a writer of ability, and took especial interest
in the discussion of geology and race, which in the middle
of the century followed the publication of Hugh Miller's
works in England. In connection with George R. Gliddon
he wrote a book called "Types of Mankind," published by
Gliddon in 1854, which had

a large sale and was re
garded as of great scienti
fic value. His controversy
at an earlier day with the
Presbyterian minister at
Mobile led in 1852 to the
publication by Dr. Hamil
ton of a work called "The
Friend of Moses," defend
ing the old-time view of
the Scriptures trom the at
tacks of the modern scien
tists. This work was re
published in Edinburgh.
6. Madame Le Vert.
George Walton was mayor
of Mobile in the fifties, and
his daughter, Octavia, was
one of the celebrities of the
time. She and her hus
band. Dr. LeVert, Hved at the southwest corner of St.
Emanuel and Government Streets and there she main
tained what amounted to a salon. No visit to the South
was complete without seeing Madame LeVert and hearing
her brilliant conversation, and Washington Irving said
a century produced only one such woman. Her home
was the scene of many social and literary gatherings. She

MADAME LE VERT

262

Under Five^Flags

went to Europe with her husband at the time it was rare
for an American woman to travel, and was admitted to
courts and places not usually seen. Her letters back to her
mother were very interesting and on her return she pub
lished them in 1857 as ".Souvenirs of Travel," The book
attracted great attention and made her the leadi^ig literary
character of Mobile,
6. Augusta Evans. While Madame LeVert was holding
her court in town, there was growing up on the Spring Hill
Avenue out in the country
another woman destined to
be famous, Mr, Evans
was in business in Mobile,
ancl at his comfortable
home, since known as the
Damrell place, his daugh
ter Augusta was writing
from time to time, for it
was impossible for her not
to write, stories that at
tracted the attention of
friends, "Inez, a Tale of
the Alamo," was written
early and published in 1857
and awakened a good deal
of interest because ot that
tragedy, so fresh in the
minds of everyone. In
1859 came "Beulah," and
it was clear that a genius had appeared. The style was
unusual, and the action at times stiff, but the
novel was one of great power and widely read throughout
the United States. It gave promise of even better yet to
come, and withal the authoress was one of the most beautiful

AUGUSTA EVANS WILSON

Literature and the Drama 263
natures that ever lived, and remained throughout her long
life completely unspoiled by the fame which came to her.
She was ever ready with her hand and pen to help any good
cause, and no literary person has ever lived in Mobile who
has had the same hold on the love of its people,
7, Madame Chaudron. The Vine and Olive Companj'
ceased to bc aught but a memory, and many of these French
people came to Mobile tp live. One was Simon Chaudron,
a writer of ability and fame, who, however, wrote only in
French, His daughter-in-law, Adelaide De Vendel, of
the same old French stock, was also writing in the fifties,
but was to become better known a decade later. She
wrote a series of readers which were much used,
8. Lawyers and Ministers. Both lawyers and ministers
at the South have found it easy to unite literature with
their professions, for these professions are literary in their
nature. Some law books have been mentioned, and both
William R, Smith and A, B, Meek were lawyers, and
Meek was probate judge at Mobile in 1854, A, J,
Requier was district attorney at Mobile and just before
the War he published a volume of poems of merit. The
one to the memory of his wife, beginning "Mary, Mary,
Mary, dear," is well known.
Nor were ministers behind the lawyers in this matter.
Pinnej' s works were principally for schools, but he was a
man of rare culture and his books often show great literary
taste. Besides the controversal books already mentioned,
the two books of J. H. Ingraham are famous, — his "Prince
of the House of David," and "Pillar of Fire." They were
written before he came to Mobile, but he brought their
atmosphere with him.
The printing of sermons was more general in those days
than now. Many such pamphlets have been preserved and
the sermons of Dr. P. P. Neely were gathered in book form.

264 Under Five Flags
9. Other Writers. There were others, mainly poets,
who published works just prior to the Civil War. Among
these books were "Wild Shrubs of Alabama" by Julia M.
Harriss and "Poems" by Harry L. Flash. Of books
about Mobile there were many, and among them should be
remembered Sir Charles Lyell's "Second Visit to the United
States" in the forties and P. H. Gosse's "Letters trom Ala
bama" a decade later.
10. S. H. Goetzel. Mobile in the fifties had become one
ot the literary centres of the Union, and an Austrain, who
had made the place his home in 1853, bid fair to make it a
publishing centre as well. He was a bookseller on lower
Dauphin Street, and through his office on Fulton Street,
New York, published for Meek, Madame Le Vert and Miss
Evans the books which made them famous. In 1860 he
published for William Walker that celebrated adventurer's
"War in Nicaragua." Goetzel was a man of great energy
and was highly regarded.
11. The Theatre. Mobile had no need to invent drama
any more than literature, and one of her earliest citizens,
Noah Ludlow, in 1823 erected the, first theatre at the
northwest corner of Royal and the street which was named
Theatre from his building. This did not last long, but there
was almost always a theatre in the city, and much of inter
est about all of them is told by Ludlow in his book "Drama
tic Life," He managed the Mobile, New Orleans and St,
Louis theatre circuit for many years. One of the local
theatres was on the west side of St. Emanuel, where the
Peerless Laundry now stands, somewhat famous trom a
shooting which occurred during a play; and perhaps the
best known of all was one on Royal near St, Michael,
just beyond the present Express office. After the burning
of the Mansion House that vacant lot was used as a hippo
drome and in the fifties rebuilt as a theatre. There

Literature and the Drama

265

Joseph Jefferson ran about the stage when his father was
an actor, and there many famous plays were acted. The
elder Jefferson lived on the west side of Conception Street
near St. Michael, and is buried in Magnolia; and Joseph
Jefferson's childhood was spent in Mobile. Booth, For
rest, Dean and others appeared here, and one of the best
known was Cora Mowatt,
a lovely character in her
self who wrote a charming
autobiography. At this
theatre it was that Mac-
ready made his famous
objection to having it noted
in the theatre advertise
ments that one Henry Clay
would be present at his
performances. By special
invitation the Cowbellians
attended the theatre in
costume on New Year's
Eve, 1844.
11. With the Editors.
The Gazette was the first
paper published at Mobile
after the American occu
pation and in 1823 it was
combined with the Reg
ister. This paper has had many notable editors and has had
notable rivals also.
Thaddeus Sanford was one of the earlier American set
tlers and was for a long time editor of the Register. He was
a Jacksonian Democrat and made the paper one of the
leading journals of the South. In the fifties the editor
was John Forsyth, of a prominent Georgia family, and a

C. C. LANGDON

266

Under Five Flags

Princeton graduate, Forsyth was possibly the most
incisive writer who has lived in Mobile, and in his hands
the Mobile Register was a power. He was minister to
Mexico for two years, but returned to the Register, and
edited it until after the War.
The city was large and flourishing enough for two
papers. The Advertiser began in the twenties, and held its
own until absorbed by the
Register during the Civil
War, The principal editor
was Charles C, Langdon, a
Whig, who bought the
paper in 1838 and during
his fifteen years ownership
wielded great influence, not
only in Mobile, l)ul
throughout the South.
Willis G. Clark edited
when Langdon was absent,
and in the fifties founded
the "Southern Magazine."
All of these lived at
a time when editorials were
the special feature of a
paper. News was import
ant, but there was less news
than now, and Sanford,
Forsyth and Langdon had
an influence which might now be impossible,
12. Theodore O'Hara. Just prior to the War Theodore
O'Hara, a different kind of writer, was in Mobile, He
was a Kentuckian and it was after service in the Mexico
War that he wrote in his native state the celebrated "Biv
ouac of the Dead," now set up in many cemeteries. He

THEODORE O'HARA

Literature and the Drama 267
followed W^alker in his exp>edition to Nicaragua and Lopez
to Cuba, and was afterwards at Mobile as editor of the
Register. In the Civil War he was for a time in the
forts at the mouth of the Bay. He died shortly after
the war on the Chattahoochee, and Kentuckj' had his
remains moved lo ihe slate ccmetcrv at I-'rankfort.

CHAPTER XXXVI,

THE GOLDEN FIFTIES.

1. Storm and Fever. Although the Mobile & Ohio was
gradually opening a. bright future. Mobile experienced the
truth of the old adage that misfortunes do not come single.
In 1852 a southeastern
wind blew the water of the
Bay back into the city
until all the ground which
had been made east of
Royal Street was for the
time being under water
again. This continued for
several days and the dam
age done to stocks of goods
as well as to the buildings-
was immense, A steam
boat came up St, Francis
Street almost lo Royal;
but, although the storm
was severe, it had no last
ing effect. People set to
work at once to repair the
damage and soon the great
storm of 1852 was only a
memory. Not so, how
ever, with the epidemic of yellow fever which came next
year, and called forth all the energy and heroism which was
centering in the city. There were well known doctors,
such as Nott, LeVert, Ross and Mordecai, besides younger
men like George A, Ketchum and Claude Mastin, and
their skill was taxed to the utmost. Of the thousands

GEORGE A. KETCHUM

The Golden Fifties 269
of cases about one died out of every three. The epidemic
was the greatest that had ever visited Mobile, and carried
off many useful citizens. The loss of men is a damage
which can never be repaired,
2. The River Traffic. The river trade made up the. life
of the city and of the state. The few railways connected
different river systems, or ran out into the country a few
miles from a river town, and what they brought in was
shipped by steamboat to Mobile. From about 1850 the
business on the rivers was greatly increased, and the boats
themselves became of a different type. They were from
two hundred to three hundred feet long, some side-wheeled,
some stern-wheeled, carrying from one to three thousand
bales of cotton and many passengers. The Emperor,
the Cahaba, the Black Warrior, the Messenger, the Alice
Vivian, and the Eliza Battle were famous, but possibly
the most beautiful boat ever on the river was the Magnolia.
These steamers brought corn and cotton, and, as they were
the sole means of travel except by stage coach, were fitted
with every luxury for the comfort of passengers. They
cost from fifty to seventy-five thousand dollars each,
but were often only short-lived. The Antoinette Douglas
blew up at Tait's Shoals with many passengers on her
second trip in the forties. The burning of the Eliza
Battle, where even those who escaped by swimming to
trees were frozen to death, was one of the great horrors
of southwestern history.' A number of boats were burned
and others sunk, but some rem ained on the river for many
years. These steamers ran upon both rivers, but in late
summer the Bigbee was generally lower and the same
steamers would then be transferred to the Alabama River.
The general destination was Columbus or Aberdeen
470 miles up the Bigbee, Tuscaloosa 413 miles up the
Warrior and Montgomery 403 miles up the Alabama,

270 Under Five Flags
although the trip was often interrupted in summer time
by low water, as in 1855. Almost every bluff was a landing
with a warehouse, from which cotton would be slid down
an incline to the boat, where deck hands stowed it away.
There were in course of time some four hundred landings
on the Alabama River and over two hundred on the Tom
bigbee, and the business all centered at Mobile. By 1860
over eight hundred thousand bales of cotton were brought
down for shipment, and of this at least two-thirds came
by river.
3. Foreign Trade. There were no regular lines of ships
to foreign ports, but the ship-brokers had no difficulty
getting all the British and French vessels that were needed
in the cotton season. On account of the size of the bale,
it became usual to compress it to one-half the original
size, or even less, and by the fifties there had been built
in Mobile half a dozen well known presses, which put the
cotton in shape for foreign shipment. South of Church
Street were Mathews and Walker's presses, with which
were connected five warehouses, but Wm, Jones, Jr,, had
now succeeded in his fight to keep most of the business in
the upper part of town near the steamboat landings.
The Alabama and Union Presses were at the corner of St,
Michael and Water Streets, having seven or eight ware
houses attached, while in the Orange Grove Tract were
Factor's Press with a dozen warehouses, and Planter's
and Shipper's Presses with as many more. The receipt
and shipment of freight were not carried over a few wharves
as in the thirties, but over dozens, extending from One
Mile Creek on the north to the foot of Government Street,
Few of these were owned by the city, for most had been
built by private owners and were in the combine controlled
by D, W, Goodman and C, P, Gage, Deep draft vessels
could not come up to the city and a large business was done

The Golden Fifties 271
by Cox, Brainerd & Co, in lightering cotton down to what
was called the Lower Fleet, There were few steamships,
but the Royal Mail Line from England to the West Indies
called regularly at the mouth of the Mobile Ba>'. In the
early fifties it took on board Alabam.a coal, which was well
liked, and people could look forward to the tirre when
other steamships would com.e. Indeed, late in the fifties
a steamship line was started from Mobile to New York,
and the day when the first vessel, the Black Warrior,
arrived was observed as a general holiday,
4. Railroads and Stages. Alabam.a had not em^barked
on railroad building as had Carolina and Georgia. Manj-
railroads were planned, but for a long time the Mobile
& Ohio was the only long one built in the South West.
One reason for this was that the steam.bcats were numerous
and attractive, and another was that the money to build a
railroad was m.ore than the towns which it connected were
able to supply. A great craze had arisen in the forties
for plank roads, with toll-gates, and much of the energy
which other states put into railroads was in Alabam.a put
into plank roads. What afterwards came to be known
as the Bay Shell Road was under its charter of 1850 a
plank road and this provision was not changed for many
years. A stage ran from Montgomery to Blakely, connect
ing with the steamer to Mobile, and a stage ran also from
Blakely to Pensacola. By Montgomery went what was
called the Great Eastern Mail, Bladon and Cullum
Springs were now in great vogue. They could be reached
by steamboat up the Tombigbee River, but the shorter
trip was by the Mobile & Ohio to State Line and thence
by a "splendid four horse coach" over to the springs.
By this route passengers could leave Mobile at 9 o'clock
in the mcrning and arrive at the Springs at 7 in the after
noon.

272

Under Five Flags

As other parts of the country built railroads Alabama
could not escape the wish for quick transit also, the more
especially as the steamers could not afford to sacrifice
freight for speed. During the legislative session in the
winter of 1851-52 there were chartered the Mobile and New
Orleans Railroad and the Mobile and Montgomery Rail
road, Neither was built at the time, but they pointed

DAUPHIN STREET

forward to the future, and the need of rapid transit for
cotton led. to the actual building of a road from Mont
gomery to Pensacola under the name cf Alabama and
Florida Railroad, This wis a distinct threat to Mobile's
commerce, and was met in time by chartering the Mobile

The Golden Fifties

273

and Great Northern Railroad, which was built at the same
period as the Pertsacola road, and tapped it at Pollard
about the time that the Civil War broke out,
6. Buildings. The progress of Mobile, due to foreign
and domestic trade, was shown by the important buildings
which werfe erected during the fifties. Among them were
the Battle House and Custom House opposite, which
had to be built on pilings driven deep into the soft soil.
The Custom House was made of granite brought from New

.Mi^

... "^ • .-, a

^^#t^§^^^^':"^^ ._ ..

111"

f^^^^'-

liiAi

ii^Sk"

Wi^^^^^^^
^^^l^^ii^>:'"^^»iii^y*-''''^
BATTLE HOUSE
England by boat and cost three hundred and sixty thousand
dollars. One of the most significant structures for the
growth of Mobile was the Municipal Building, erected by
city bonds in 1852, and taking the place of the old markets
which the Supreme Court had ordered removed from
the middle of Government Street, The city prison still
remained at the corner of St, Emanuel and Conti, where
from the high square tower built in the forties city officers
called out the hours of the day and night, and summoned
274 Under Five Flags
the firemen by strokes of the great bell, indicating one of
the four wards. The temperance movement of the day
led to the organization of the Sons of Temperance and
similar societies, and the building by a separate corporation
of Temperance Hall, while the strength of the Odd Fellows
was shown by the erection of their handsome hall on Royal
Street, While thess were the largest, many other public
and private edifices were built and the aspect of Mobile
gradually changed, A verandah across the sidewalk
was usual in front of the stores on Dauphin, which
had superseded Conti as the principal shopping street,
and it was also used in a beautiful manner with private
residences. From this time date the iron posts and rail
ings, often copying vines or ornamental work, which still
support many galleries. This became a destinctive feature
of Mobile architecture, particularly on Government and
Conception Streets,
6. Stores. Among the stores on Dauphin Street one
could find everything that could be wished for in the retail
business. Low down S, H, Goetzel and Company kept a
large stationery and book establishment, and nearby were
Strickland's book and printery and John Douglas & Co.
dry goods store. Around the corner was Randall's book
store, and higher up on Dauphin was Holme's' shoe store,
Leslie's jewelry establishment. Gets' and Festorazzi's
candy stores, Elsworth's crockery, and Coster, Soto,
Meslier, Mohr and Cawthon had well known drug stores.
The old English custom bf signs was still maintained,
especiaUy on Dauphin Street, The drug stores often had
a golden mortar in front, and P, H, Pepper's golden sheep,
Herpin's golden bee-hive, and Phelan and Delamere's
golden cotton bale pointed out popular dry goods stores,
Arnold sold shoes. Snow and Bromberg handled music
and toys, Barnes made the daguerreotypes of that day, and

The Golden Fifties

275

the best known restaurant outside the hotels was the
Alhambra, Noah Higgins was the favorite undertaker,
and it is said that he always wept with the family at a
funeral, Mazange, Letondal, Grady, Bidgood, Stirling,

MUNICIPAL BUILDING

Gelbke, Leinkauf, Forchheimer, Peter, Twelves, Part
ridge and Werborn were well known names, while the
cotton buyers, factors and commission merchants were
legion.

276 Under Five Flags
7. The Military. The military were always an import
ant feature of Alabama life. General T. W. McCoy
commanded the fourth division, whose ninth brigade was
located at Mobile under Brigadier General Thomas J.
Butler. The first volunteer regiment was made up of the
City Troop, the German Fusiliers, Mobile Cadets, Wash
ington Light Infantry, Independent Rifles, Mobile Rifles,
LaFayette Guards, Gulf City Guards, Alabama Light
Dragoons, the Bienville Blues, and the State Artillery, and
their captains were prominent citizens of Mobile. The head
quarters of the military were in the Armory, which took up
the south wing of the Municipal Building on Royal and
Church Streets. Drills in the Camp Ground west of town
and parades in the streets were frequent, accompanied by
pleasant social features. The military nature of Mobilians
was illustrated by some of them, like Harry Maury, joining
in the Lopez expedition to Cuba in 1851, and in Walker's
filibustering adventure against Nicaragua which sailed
from Mobile in 1858,
8. The Police. The police had now attained its present
form. The origin of the force is in the city watch of Lon
don, made famous by Shakespeare. While Mobile was
a town each of the wards had a commissioner to enforce
the ordinances, with two constables to assist him by making
arrests, and when the city was established a watch, com
manded by a captain, was organized, on which any and all
citizens had to serve by turns. In 1825 a police force was
begun in the modern sense of the word, and by the fifties
it numbered three dozen men, under an efficient chief,
Stephen Charpentier.
9. The Outlook. The mayor of Mobile held a court at
the city hall and also looked after the administration
of the government. A famous mayor was C. C. Langdon,
who went into office in 1849 and remained until he was

The Golden Fifties

277

succeeded by Jones M. Withers in 1856. Both were active
and efficient officers and did much to forward the public
interests. A number of lav^-v-ers already named had now
become prominent and to them should be added as flourish
ing in the fifties Edmund S. Dargan of North Carolina, who
had been on the Alabama Supreme Court, Raphael Semmes
of Marvdand, who came in the forties, and Robert H, Smith,
born in North Carolina but who had already lived in the
interior of Alabama before coming to Mobile in 1853.
It was at this time John
A. Campbell was promoted
to a seat on the Supreme
Court of the United States.
The population was little
short of thirty thousand,
of whom two-thirds were
whites, almost evenly
divided between the two
sexes. Mobile had now,
reached a stage where
beautv- played a part in
her development. Bien
ville Square had been sur
rounded b}' a handsome
fence, the sidewalks were
paved throughout the city,
and many streets were
shelled. In 1858 the Om
nibus Companv' was char
tered, which operated a line of busses on Dauphin, and
street cars were introduced on Spring Hill Road. Sani
tary sewerage was as yet unknown, but water, gas, police
and all the other appliances of a modern city were at
Mobile. It still remained a shipping port for raw material

JOHN A. CAMPBELL

278 Under Five Flags
brought down the rivers, such as cotton, sometimes
lumber and a little coal ; and if the rivers could be improved
there would be much more coal and even iron, which was
known tq exist on the Cahaba River. Of manufactures,
however, there was as little now as in the past. There
was throughout the South much discussion as to factories,
and Daniel Pratt established one near Montgomery which
was very successful. There had been a factory making
cotton cloth on Dog River, but smoke did not long come
from its tall brick chimney. The genius of the people
did not seem to run towards manufacturing, except that
saw mills and foundries flourished. The principal busi
ness was trade with the interior and with Europe, and banks,
insurance and professions were well developed, for they
were incidental to commerce. Mobile was essentially a
port, and her future outlook was unequalled in her history.

CHAPTER XXXVII.
STATE AND FEDERAL AFFAIRS.
1. The Building of a State. During colonial times our
interest has been centered upon the river and bay of Mobile,
while during the territorial epoch the Tennessee Valley
and the Black Belt grew so rapidly in population and wealth
as to call our attention to these districts also. It has
been the mission of the state not only to make a unit of
Alabama, but to give it an equal place with the old English
colonies in the Union of States. Mobile during all this
time has been the principal city and our outlook has been
from this point, but we will now sum up public affairs of
the state at large.
In order for Alabama to become a unit it was necesasry
to remove the Indians from the east and west, to supply
money of some kind for the purposes of business, and to
connect the Tennessee River Basin and Alabama-Tombig
bee Basin by some form ot internal improvement. These
marked the principal steps in the growth of the state. The
need of money was met by establishing banks, particularly
the Bank oi the State of Alabama, and for two decades
it served its purpose. Together with private banks it
did much to develop the country, and for several jears
there were no taxes, as public expenses were paid from the
profits of the State Bank. When its powers were abused
it was a Mobile man, John A Campbell,, who in 1842
began the legislation which led to the winding up of the
Bank by Commissioner F. S. Lyon, of Demopolis.
The removal of the Indians was effected by the state
although the treaties and formal steps had to be taken by
the Federal Government. Encroachments upon Indian
lands became general and state laws and state officials

280 Under Five Flags
exercised control over the tribes themselves. Only then
did Federal government take the needed steps resulting
in removal. Treaties were made at different times in the
thirties and that decade ran out before all the Indians took
their departure.
The question of connecting the different districts of the
state commercially was of slower solution. Roads were
built by local authorities, canals planned, and finally rail
roads were to solve the problem. The North and South
Railroad was projected northwardly from Montgomery
and the Alabama-Tennessee Rivers Railroad was built
through Selma to the lower coal and iron regions; but the
full solution was not reached until after the Civil War.
2. Governors and Capitals. Banks, Indians and rail
roads involved social movements, and these are slow, and,
while full of meaning, do not come with observation.
Much less important matters, such as who should become
governor and where should be the capital, entered much
more in state politics. Considering the importance of
Mobile and the jact that tor a while it paid almost quarter
of the state taxes, it is remarkable that no governor has
ever come from this port. The governors have been chosen
from the Tennessee Valley or from the Black Belt. The
Tennessee Valley has always acted as a unit, while outside
of Mobile South Alabama was not populous, and moreover
sometimes the planters have had a jealousy of the port
with which they did business. This showed itselt in the
legislation of the thirties aimed at the warehouses of Mobile.
Nevertheless, on the whole the interests of Mobile and the
Black Belt were identical; so much so that several of
the governors and state officials elected from the river
counties have afterwards made their .home at Mobile.
The first of these was John Gayle, a South Carolinian who
had moved to Claiborne. While gove'ronr in the thirties

State aild Federal Affairs 281
Gayle carried out the state policy as to the Indians and in
so doing came in conflict with the President of the United
States, w-ho was no other than Andrew Jackson. The
mattter was only adjusted by the President sending out
Francis Scott Key, author of the Star Spangled Banner,
on a special mission to Alabama. Gayle afterwards moved
to Mobile. Arthur P. Bagby was likewise a distinguished
governor for two terms in the late thirties, and his family
has long resided in Mobile. The same is true of John A.
Winston, who was governor in the fifties. Of local import
ance was the selection of the capital. Cahaba was aban
doned for Tuscaloosa in 1826, and with the growth of East
Alabama after the removal of the Indians a further change
was determined on. In 1847 Mobile received some v-otes,
but Montgomery was selected. The capitol • there was
burned two years later but soon rebuilt.
3. Federal Politics. The United States admitted Ala
bama as a state, but Alabama had earned this honor
without much help from the Union, for the Creek War
which made Alabama had been fought by volunteers and
not by United States regulars. Immigratioii had been
aided by the liberal land laws, but the removal of the
Indians vv^as forced by the state itself. The first presi
dential vote of Alabama was cast by the legislature for
Monroe in 1820 and four years later for Jackson and .
Calhoun, It was not until 1828 that presidential electors
were chosen by popular vote, and then the Alabama candi
dates, Jackson and Calhoun, actually became president
and vice-president. The people were opposed to centraliz
ing the government, and Alabama's representatives favored
a low tariff instead of the high tariff desired by the manu
facturers of the East. In 1840 the Whig party attained
strength in a reaction from the Democracy of Jackson's
day and from this time onward it had great strength in

282

Under Five Flags

Mobile and Montgomery, as well as among the large
planters. In 1847 Governor Gayle was elected member of
Congress from the Mobile district as a Whig, but John
Bragg, after a long career as state circuit judge, ran as a
Democrat and after an exciting canvass in 1851 defeated
C. C. Langdon, a Whig, who was almost continuously
mayor of Mobile for twelve
years. Philip Phillips, a
Democrat, originally from
South Carolina, was in the
fifties a member of Con
gress from Mobile.
4. Federal Officials. In
1820, the same year that
the state supreme court,
made up of the circuit jus
tices, organized at Cahaba,
the Federal government
established a Federal dis-
drict court for Alabama.
The first judge was Charles
Tait, and he was succeeded
in 1826 by William Craw
ford, so long connected
with the land office at St.
Stephens, and then district
attorney. His successor
was John Gayle in 1849, who presided with great satisfac
tion to all for over ten years. Upon his death William
G. Jones became district judge. Alabamians held even
higher Federal offices. McKinley had gone upon the
Federal supreme bench from North Alabama at an early
date, and uppn his death in 1853 John A. Campbell of
IVfplbile \y^s appoipteid to succeed him. The year before

R. H, SMITH

State and Federal Affairs 283
this William R. King, who lived near Selma, which he named,
was elected vice-president of the United States, In the
national agitation over Texas Alabamians entered heartily
and furnished soldiers. Few of them were needed, however,
-5. Slavery. We have seen that society rests upon
political, religious, social and industrial foundations.
Political and religious matters have occupied much of our
attention and it is time to take up social conditions, Partly
Social and partly industrial is the subject of labor as it
existed in the Southern States, The class which did
the manual labor were African slaves, but slavery had lost
much of the severity it had while the blacks were imported
savages. The negroes were often sixiken of as "colored
people" and the word "servant" or "boy" was much oftener
used than "slave." At Mobile in the fifties there were
about nine thousand negroes, of whom one thousand were
free and had to be registered annuallv'. The slaves were
employed as laborers in all branches of business, particu
larly in cotton. The house servants were practically
members of the family, slept on the place in outhouses, and
many of them were given some education. People often
hired out their negroes, and not a few widows and families
were dependent upon the earnings of a faithful man or
two, whom they seldom saw. These might be barbers, or
cooks on river steamboats or the line to New Orleans, or
serve in any other capacity, and would come at regular
intervals to pay over their earnings and receive themselves
what was needed for their own support. The negroes were
kindly treated, not only from self-interest of the masters,
but from the attachment that naturally exists between
people in a high and a dependent condition. An almost
feudal system grew up, particularly in the country. Reli
gious instruction was carefully giveij, and in sickness the
mistress of the house in town, as of that on the plantation,

284 Under Five Flags
gave the negroes the same care which she did to her own
family, and on the other side the old uncles and aunts
and mammies loved their "white folks" devotedly. The
principal defect about slavery was the breaking up of
negro families by sales. In early days this was not much
regarded, but it was coming to be recognized that family
ties should be recognized. Preachers of all denominations
laid stress upon it, and public opinion prevented the selling
of one away from the family where it could be avoided.
6. Police Regulations. Not only did people moving to
Mobile bring their servants, but there was a regular
domestic slave trade in the South, Many negroes were
brought by speculators from Virginia, where the climate
was not favorable to their use, and sold in the more southern
states. The market in Mobile v/as on the west side of
Royal between St, Louis and St, Anthony, where a three-
story brick building with barred windows (on the site now
occupied by the Electric Lighting plant) was the barracks
in which the slaves were kept. The business was looked
upon as one that was necessary, but confined to a certain
district, knd people who carried it on did not rank high
socially. All negroes were kept under supervision. Free
blacks on board ship were not allowed to land; slaves were
not permitted to own property, except indirectly, and their
assemblages were forbidden. At night they had to be in
doors by nine o'clock, and in the day time they must show
a pass from their master.
7. The Last Slaver. Few of the negroes about MobUe
had come from Africa. They were descendants of slaves
who had been in America for generations. The slave trade
had been prohibited by the law of the United .States ever
since 1810 and there were few violations of the statute.
The planters generally did not desire savages tresh from
Africa, but one cargo was brought over in the late fifties.

State arul Federal Affairs 285
which created quite a sensation at the time. The schooner
Clotilda sailed from Loanda in Africa with several hundred
negroes, prisoners captured by the warriors of one tribe
in a war with another tribe, and sold to American specu
lators. The Clotilda safely reached Mississippi Sound
and was taken in charge by Tim Meaher and run up the
Bay and river by night without being observed. The
negroes were hidden in the marshes of Upper Baldwin
county, and the Clotilda was then taken up Bayou Conner
and burned. The Federal authorities took proceedings
against Meaher in the United States Court and the case
was tried, w-ith able lawyers on each side. The captain
of the Clotilda was kept out of the way and Meaher proved
that he had been in and about Mobile all the time. The
result was that he was acquitted. After ev-erything had
blown over the slav-es were divided by Meaher among
different persons in interest. Many of the negroes
remain in the neighborhood of the river above Mobile,
and there, in what is called "Afficky Town," they speak an
African language which their neighbors do not understand.
Parts of the hull and the copper of the Clotilda are still
in the mud of the bayou.
8. The Alabama Platform. Meantime the negro,
however contented at home, was becoming a bone of
contention in the nation at large. The Northern feeling
against the slaveholder went so far as to affect the churches,
and not a few members opposed slaveholders having any
official position. This resulted in breaking several of the
denominations into northern and southern branches. The
difference became acute from the time Harriet Beecher
Stowe pubHshed her touching but untrue story of "Uncle
Tom's Cabin." Clay's Compromise of 1850 soon became a
dead letter. The situation gave rise to a new party
called the Republican, whose platform was exclusion of

286 Under Five Flags
slavery from the territories common to all the states, and
many of its leaders were opposed to slavery itself. The
Abolitionists were members of this party, although not at
first controlling. Oh the other side, there was developed
in the South what was called the States Rights branch of
the ¦ Democratic party, who were extremists in the South
just as the Abolitionists were in the North. They were
especially strong jn South Carolina, and in 1851 they held
a convention in Montgomery which looked forward to
secession as a remedy. The great mass of people were not
ready for such action, and the Whigs suffered most from
the state of affairs. At the North many of them became
Republicans, and those at the South hardly knew what to
do. The Alabama Plaltornij as it was called, was definite,
and seemed to gain favor as events in Kansas and elsewhere
in the North and West showed the rapid growth of the
Republicans, The climax was reached in the fall of 1859 when the
fanatic John Brown led a raid into Virginia with the object
of freeing the slaves. He was shot by soldiers led by Col,
R, E, Lee and his men hung by law, but the South could no
longer feel safe from Abolitionist attacks,
9. Sicmmary. The tension was as great at Mobile as
anywhere else. Mobile under the American flag had
passed far beyond what it had been under the French,
British or Spanish, It was a city of between twenty and
thirty thousand people instead of one or two thousand,
and, instead of trade with scattered Indian tribes, it was
the port for the cotton of the great Alabama-Tombigbee
Basin, now settled by energetic Americans, The rapid
changes of flags in the past make an interesting story, but
this change of institutions had retarded the growth of the
country. It was only in American times that it came to
its own, and within this epoch several subdivisions can be

State and Federal Affairs 287
noted. LTnder the Territory it was a town of promise,
but onlv- when it became a citj' in the twenties did it
begin to make much progress. This reached its zenith
in the thirties, but, after the panic, came a time of depres
sion. This had its good effect, for it made Mobilians
imitate the F^t, and, instead of relying wholly upon the
river, they built a great railroad of their own. The pros
perous fifties were the result.
And now all was to be put in jeopardy by a Civil War.

BATTLE FLAG
OF THE SOUTHERN CONFEDERACY

PERIOD VII.
IN THE CONFEDERACY
1861-1865

A UTHORITIES
Documents. Mobile Register Files; municipal records
of Mobile; papers of Mobile Supply Association; War of
the Rebellion records; Letters and Pamphlets of war times.
Travel. T, C, DeLeon, Four Years in Rebel Capitals.
Histories. T, J, Scharf, The Confederate States Navy
(1004); C, C, Andrews, Campaign of Mobile, (1867); F, L,
Fleming, Civil War and Reconstruction in Alabama, (1905) ;
W, Brewer, Alabama, (1872); Wm, Garrett, Public Men
of Alabama, (1872); Joseph Hodgson, Cradle of the Con
federacy, (1876); J, C, Schwab, The Confederate States of
America, (1901); Richard Taylor, Destruction and Recon
struction, (1903,); R. Semmes, Service Afloat, (1869,)
In a class by itself fcr American times (including the
Confederate period) is T, M, Owen, Bibliography of
Alabama.

CHAPTER XXXVIII.
SECESSION.
1. Election of Lincoln. The states below the Ohio and
the Potomac had so much in common, both in blood and
institutions, that they were generally known as the South.
The foundation of all was Virginia, with some variations
due to Maryland and Carolina; for even Georgia was
largely Virginian. The principal institution common to
them all was negro slavery. The slaves formed hardi}'
a third of the population of the South, but in Alabama
in I860 were 435,080 as against 526,271 whites. They
were in the homes as well as the fields, and were not only
the laboring class, but formed as large a part of the wealth
of the country as the land itself. The slaves were quiet
and yet emotional, and no one could tell what might be
the result ot excitement among them. On the other
hand, at the North the Abolitionists were active in preach
ing freedom tor them and occasionally some Northerner
was found in the South endeavoring to incite the negroes
to insurrection. Abraham Lincoln was in tavor of limiting
slavery to the Southern States, but many ot his followers
v\-ent further, and the South believed that his election
meant some form of abolition. Old party lines v\-ere there
fore forgotten. The Democrats were themselves divic'ed
between two candidates, Breckinridge and Douglas,
while conservative men united in a Union Party to put up
Bell and Everett. The Union Party emblem of a little
gold bell was picturesque and to be seen on watch chains
every-where. Breckinridge represented the extreme South
ern view as to the right to carry slaves into the territories,
while Douglas of Illinois advocated letting each territory
decide for itself. Douglas vdsited Mobile during the

292 Under Five Flags
campaign and in an address at the court house told the
people, that, while slavery must be safeguarded under
the conditions at the South, it was not favored by modern
civilization. "Gentlemen," he said, lising on his tiptoes
until he seemed almost a large man, "on this issue the
world is against you." At about the same time Yancey
made an address at the same place, and, hooting the idea
of war by the North in case of secession, declared that he
would undertake to drink all the blood that would be
spilled. Excitement ran very high, but the division of the
Democrats enabled the Rebublican ticket to obtain the
majority of the electorial votes, although the majority ot
the actual voters were opposed to Lincoln.
2. Preparation. Lincoln's election created a profound
impression, and at Mobile, as elsewhere, it was thought
to mean great harm to the South. The legislature which
met before the presidential election had passed a law re
quiring the governor, in case ot the election of a Republi
can, to call a convention to determine what the state should
do. Governor Moore waited until the electoral votes
were counted and then called an election for delegates.
The campaign was e.xciting, but there was no difference of
opinion as to secession. It was agreed upon as necessary;
there was a difference merely as to whether Alabama
should secede alone, or await the co-operation of other
states. Without waiting for secession. Gov. Moore directed
Col. Todd of the first regiment to capture Forts Morgan
and Gaines and the arsenal at Mount Vernon, and this
was accomplished without bloodshed January 4, 1861,
Todd led the Cadets to the forts, where the single sergeant
could not resist, and Captain Gracie with the Washington
Light Infantry and Captain Woodruff with the Rifles
secufed the militarv' supplies at Mount Vernon, The

Secession 293
governor thereupon notified the Federal government that
he had taken this step as a precaution; and it was a wise
precaution, as South Carolina's experience at Fort Sumter
showed. 3. Secession. When the convention assembled January
7, 1861, it was found that those advocating immediate
secession were in the majority. Mobile voted for co-opera
tion, and her delegates were such men as E. S. Dargan,
John Forsyth, John Bragg and Thomas H. Herndon.
The convention met in the capitol at Montgomery and
organized by electing as president WiUiam Brooks of
Dallas County, the candidate of members who advocated
separate secession. Nevertheless, the importance of harm
ony was fully realized, and ample opportunity was given
for full discussion. Most of the addresses made were
by co-operatioriists, but finally Yancey, the leader of the
extremists, on January 11 closed the debate with a powerful
speech. The vote, taken amid much excitement, was
sixty to thirty in favor of immediate secession; and many
of the minority changed their votes in order that the state
might act as a unit, among them Jere Clemens of Madison,
who made the famous exclamation "1 walk with you into
revolution." This action was taken in secret session.
The streets outside were thronged with people from all
over the state, and when the doors of the capitol were
thrown open the house was filled with the cheering multi
tude. A great flag, with the coat of arms of the state,
made by ladies of Montgomery, was suspended as if by
magic behind the president's chair.
4. How the News was Received. The action of the con
vention was popular and there were rejoicings from the
Tennessee Valley to the Gulf. It was generally thought
that the disruption of the Union would not be resisted
and that the Southern States would be able to take such

294 Under Five Flags
concerted action as they saw fit; but this was not the view
of everyone, especially at Mobile. Many citizens doubted
secession as a legal remedy, although no one questioned the
right of revolution. In one Whig home on Government
Street where the portrait of Daniel Webster had long
held the place of honor in the library, it was marked as a
coincidence, that, during the illuminations and rejoicings
down town over secession, this picture fell and was crushed
to atoms. But there was no doubt that secession was
everywhere accepted as a fact, and preparations were made
on that basis.
5. Ads of the Republic of Alabama. While the passage
of the ordinance ot secession was the critical action of the
convention, other ordinances were adopted designed to
cover the needs of the state, which had now become' as it
were an independent nation. Military affairs were reor
ganized, Thaddeus Sanford, the old Federal collector,
continued as collector of customs at Mobile for the State
of Alabama, and, to allay opposition in the West, it was
declared that the navigation of the Mississippi River
' should be free to all states. On the other hand, no change
was made in the postal arrangements, and the United
States mails were carrietl llinniglioiil the South as usual
lor nioiillis after secession. After a while the (>ost mas ters
at different towns, and notably at Mobile, issued local
postage stamps for letters. Mobile issued two stamps,
five cents and ten cents, which bore the same device, — a
large star in the centre with a soldier anil sailor on each
side, the figure ten or five in the centre. The only differ
ence was that the ten cent stamp was black and the five
cent was blue. As these stamps were soon superseded by
these of the Conlederate government, they have become
very rare. The governor was A, B, Moore, but he was suc-
. ceeded by Thomas H. Watts, Alabama's "War governor,"

Secession.

295

6. The Confederacy. Even the advocates of indepen
dent secession had not intended Alabama to remain alone
in that action. South Carolina had already seceded on
December 20, and Mississippi was two days ahead of
Alabama. Florida, Georgia and Louisiana also acted in
Januarv". Delegates from these states met at Montgomery
and on February 4 organized a Prov'isional Gov-ernment of
the Confederate States,
which was inaugurated five
days later. The constitu
tion was ratified by the
state convention on March
4. After the inauguration
of Mr, Lincoln and the
surrender of Fort Sumter to
the Confederates, the Unit
ed States government call
ed for 75,000 v-olunteers.
This caused Virginia to
secede on April 25, followed
by Arkansas, North Caro
lina and Tennessee, and
the Confederate govern
ment was moved to Rich
mond, The Confederate
president, Jefferson Davis,
also called for volunteers.
The four years war was on,
7. Fortifications. While there seemed little danger that
Mobile would suffer from a land attack, its importance as
a port led to its being carefully fortified in all directions
by engineers Ledbetter and Von Scheliha. Fort Morgan
was now held by a strong force, as was Fort Gaines, built
within a few years by the United States government near

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296 Under Five Flags
the site of old Port Dauphin, At different times after
wards other points were fortified, such as Fort Powell
guarding Grant's Pass near Dauphine Island, and Bat
teries Gladden and Mcintosh on little islands at the mouth
of the river. These protected a double line ot piling which
was driven across the mouths ot the rivers and was known
as the "Obstructions," while in the channels which were
left open here and at Mobile Point were placed torpedoes,
a Confederate invention which wrought great havoc.
The city itself was surrounded by three lines of earthworks.
The first built was too far out to be held except by a
larger force than was available, and so afterwards the lines
were drawn closer in. The one closest in passed from the
Bay at Frascati through the pine forest east of Ann Street
until it rested on One Mile Creek. This left many resi
dences outside the line, and later Maury thought it
necessary to cut down the beautiful oaks and shrubbery
on Spring Hill Avenue. All in all. Gen. Joseph E. John
ston pronounced MobUe the best fortified city in the
Confederacy. 8. River Batteries. It had been a long time since the
rivers had needed fortifications. The Federals were so per
sistent in attacking Confederate ports that it was thought
Mobile might at some time fall, and to blockade the lower
rivers in this event batteries were erected at Oven Bluff and
Choctaw Bluff, possibly near old Maubila. There was no
regular garrison maintained at these points, but they were
ready lor occupation at any time. The lesson of the Tenn
essee Valley in 1862 was not lost, for after the fall ot Fort
Henry gunboats came up the Tennessee to Florence and after
the battle of Shiloh HuntsviUe was occupied . The Tennessee
Valley was held by Confederates and Federals alternately
throughout the War, but the Alabama-Tombigbee Basin
remained inviolate.

CHAPTER XXXIX.
RUNNING THE BLOCKADE.
1. The Blockade. Some Southern statesman argued
that the need of the world tor cotton was so great that
Great Britain and France would intervene in favor of the
South. The cotton did become scarce in both those coun
tries and there was strong sympathy for the South. This
was increased when the United States undertook the enorm
ous task of blockading the whole Southern seacoast.
England did not intervene, but she announced that only
an effective blockade would be recognized. The South
had no navy. Every Southern captain had felt in honor
bound to return his vessel to the United States before
volunteering for the South. The result was that the
United States had a good navy and were able from Northern
ports to increase the number of ships, so that by the end
of 1861 an effective blockade was established off most of
the Southern ports.
2. Sending Out Cotton. At first British ships had
taken cotton out by the thousands of bales, and goods
were brought in return; but now the cotton came to Mobile
and could only be stored. The production of cotton on
the plantations became smaller as the men w-ere drawn off
in the w-ar, and much of w-hat was produced lay idle in
warehouses in the country and in towns, because it could
not be shipped abroad. Some was manufactured at
home, but the principal means of credit ot the Confederacy
was cut off; for as she could not send cotton out, she could
not buy arms and ammunition from Europe. Something
was done across the line betw-een Texas and Mexico, and
in course of time some exchange was made betw-een the two
armies, but the cotton warehouses at Mobile remained full.

298 Under Five Flags
3. Havana. The history of Mobile had been connected
with Cuba at the beginning of our story, and was now to
be again. It was so long a voyage from Mobile to Liver
pool and there were so many of the United States war
vessels on the seas that it was found better for such ships
as could get out of the harbor that they should run to a
port in a neutral country, like Cuba, which was still Span
ish. There they unloaded cotton and from there it was
taken to Liverpool and elsewhere in English vessels, which
could not be attacked. Nassau was the great port for
the ships from the Atlantic cities, but Havana was the
resort of those from Mobile and New Orleans. In 1862
New Orleans was captured by the United States navy
under Farragut and Mobile became the chief Gulf port
of the Confederacy. Agents were jilaced at Havana, who
saw to the unloading of Southern cotton for Europe and
the loading of goods destined for Mobile, There lived
Confederate and Union officials, watching each other under
the Spanish flag. The voyage from Mobile took about
three days wilh the steamships then in use. The Federals
had a great advantage, inasmuch as they remained in
possession of Key West at the south end of Florida, only
thirty miles from Havana; but by international law^ the
power of any country extended three miles from shore,
and if a Confederate vessel got within that limit the United
States warships could not attack it,
4. The Blockade-Runners. The price of cotton was so
high and the importance of bringing in arms and medicine
so great that a new business came into being. The Con
federate government sometimes sent out vessels to run
the blockade, but generally this was done by private
citizens. Confederate or English, It was necessary that
the boat be swift and not easily seen, so that a special kind
¦ were built to run as fast as science knew, lying low

Running the Blockade 299
near the water, and painted a gray color which could not
be easily maae out. Dark or stormy nights were generally
selected to run in or out, and then, with smoke cut off,
lights out and all openings closed, the blockade-runner would
take her swift flight. Many were captured and the
cotton or goods benefited the Northern instead of the South
ern armies, but on the other hand many got through in
safetv-. Among those plying from Mobile were the AUce,
the Denbigh, and the Red Gauntlet, which carried from
six to twelve hundred .bales ot cotton at a time, H. O.
Brew-er and Company were among the houses which owned
their own ships, and A. J. IngersoU, a descendant of the
old Spanish Espejos, haa much to do with the blockade
running business. Not a few of these vessels were built
in England, and the machinery almost alw-ays was English.
One ot the smaller class was the Heroine, which, after the
War, was cut down and for a long time u.sed as a Bay boat.
She, like most of these vessels, had an iron hull.
0. Sand Island Light House. The general government
had in order to aid the commerce of Mobile in the fifties
built a brick lighthouse on Sand Island outside the mouth
of the Bay. This was a massive structure, over a hundred
feet high, with winding stair inside ascending to the lantern
at the top. It could be seen tor many- miles by incoming
and outgoing vessels, and was one of the best on the South
ern coast. It lay between Fort Morgan and the blackading
squadron and so was sometimes used by the blockaders
to look over into Mobile Baj'. It therefore had now become
an injury instead of a help to Mobile's shipping, and plans
were reluctantly made to destroy it. A party of men
was sent over for that purpose, and placed powder at the
foot of the light house, and retired. The explosion did
little damage, however, and it was necessary to try again.
An expedition was therefore organized, one ot whom was

300 Under Five Flags
N. K. Ludlow, a ship engineer and son of the old theatre
manager at Mobile. They made for the island in a sail
boat, placed a large charge of powder where it would be
most effective, fired the fuse, and about daylight sailed
back lor Ft. Morgan. In a little while the explosion oc
curred and was completely effective. It was a magnificent
although a sad spectacle to see the product ot so much
time and labor fall with a crash; but from that time on
it was impossible tor the blockaders to see what was going
on within the Bay.
6. A Woman's Story. Among the Northerners who had
moved to Mobile and become a good Southerner was
Dr. J. R. Burgett, pastor of the Government Street Presby
terian church. He had married a daughter of a ship agent
at Mobile, but, although he had come to a warm climate,
atter a while his health was impaired and it was thought
best tor him to go to the coast of the Mediterranean.
There was ait the time a good dea.l of cotton to go out,
but no regular blockade-runner to carry it, and so the
Swan, one ot the Bay boats, was turned into a blockade
runner and loaded for a trip. The passengers consisted
of the Burgetts and others who had business abroad, and
one dark night the boat stole out of the Bay. It was
sighted by the Federal fleet outside and chased, but was
able to get away. Everything was then quiet for a day
or two until near Key West a Federal war vessel bore
down upon them. The passengers were promptly sent
below, all steam got up, and every effort made to escape.
The enemy was too fast, however, and gained upon them,
and cannon shot over the bows showed what they might
expect. The ladies in the cabin saw. what was inevitable,
and on their own account got a white sheet and waved
it out of a port-hole towards the enemy; and this was taken
as a surrender, and acted on. There was nothing else

Running the Blockade 301
to do, anyhow, and so the Federal vessel came alongside
to take her prize. Among her officers was a j'oung man who
had known Dr. Burgett in Ohio. After the surrender the
two boats ceased to be enemies and passengers received
the kindest treatment. The Swan was condemned in the
court at Key West and the cotton taken North for sale.
The officers and passengers were made prisoners and
taken to Key West, where every courtesy was shown them,
and ultimately sent to New York.

THE LIFE OF THE PEOPLE
CHAPTER XL.
1. City Government. Forms of government remained
the same during the war as they had been in peace. R. H.
Slough was mayor, and the offices of aldermen and common
council men were held by citizens who did not go to the army.
The police were active and city affairs were carried on as
usual. Whatever Abolitionists might think, the negroes
showed no interest in the war except interest in the master
who went away and the mistress and children who were
sadly left behind. One new feature ot government grew
up, and that was taking care ot the families of soldiers.
A soldier's pay was only eleven dollars a month beside his
food and clothing, and that in Confederate paper, and this
could do little for his family at home. The city authori
ties, therefore, saw to it that soldier's families had every
thing at lowest prices and helped in every way they could.
Goods were brought down the railroads and rivers at
special prices to enable the city to take care of the poor,
and public soup houses were opened in the city buildings
on Church Street.
2. Military Headquarters. There were a number of
departments in the military service. New troops were
instructed about Mobile and veterans camped out on Hall's
Mill Road, while the quartermaster's department was busy
with food and clothing which was brought down the river
and railroads. The military offices were kept in the
granite Custom House whose great iron gates still bore the
coat of arms of the United States, and there the different
commanding officers transacted business. Commanders
were changed from time to time and possibly the best
known was General Dabney H. Maury. The congressman

The Life of the People 303
trom Mobile was E. S. Dargan, and, as he had sent his
family up the country for greater safety, he w^as able to
tender his place at the northeast corner of Ann and Dauphin
Street to Maury as a residence. This became the social
headquarters of the city and under the beautiful oaks on
its spacious lawn were many gatherings. In this house
w-as given a dinner to General Forrest after his remarkable
raid and capture of Memphis, and the walls of the quaint
old house, now a parsonage, could tell many tales of war
and pleasure.
3. Courts. The Latin proverb says that law ceases in
time of w-ar, but at Mobile all the old state courts continued,'
although business w-as small. The law-s were not different,
lor the state continued to be the same state that it had
always been, and its principal industry, planting, remained
much as heretofore. Manv' ol the lawyers had gone into
the w-ar and their faces were not seen in the courts, but
enough remained for such business as there w-as. The
Confederate States passed a law seizing property of North
erners because they were enemies, and, this together with
an occasional suit about a ship, gave employment to the
Confederate District Court, The judge was William G,
Jones, who had been appointed under the United States
and was now- continued in office. While the Federals held
the Tennessee \^alley one Richard Busteeo was made
Federal judge for Alabama, but his office was but a nominal
one. 4. Doctors. But if there was little need for law-v'ers
there was much for doctors, for besides the home needs there
had to be surgeons in the vast armies at the front. There
was much difficulty in securing medicines, since the sup
plies had formerly come from Europe and the North,
and were now cut off. When a blockade runner got
through and brought calomel and quinine it was a day of

304

Under Five Flags

rejoicing to the profession. The Medical College had no
graduates after 1861, but its valuable collections were care
fully preserved for better times. Ingenuity was increased
by the lack of medicines, and many of the old remedies used
by grandmothers and old mammies came again into active
service. 5. Churches. Religion makes a special appeal in times
ot trouble and at Mobile the church services were well
attended. The news from
the front, even after a
brilliant victory, was sad
for many, and no family
could tell what news the
next mail might bring.
After defeats there were
days of public fasting and
prayer and after victories
thanksgiving was made in
the churches also. The
ministers of all faiths.
Catholic and Protestant
and Jew, had much to do in
visiting the distressed at
home, and the wounded in
hospitals, and ¦ in services
over the dead who were
brought back. They also
officiated in the camps near
the city and. chaplains for the different regiments would
sometimes fill city pulpits, while on the other hand preachers
would exchange their homes for service among the soldiers
in the field. One who became a Mobilian was well known
in this service and. his mystic feeling and beautiful expres
sion made Abram James Ryan dear to many before his

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A"KjSM j. RYAN
The Life of the People 305
poetry had become famous. His "Conquered Banner"
came later, but the feeling which underlies it was lived by
him in camps, amid soldiers of every faith. News of the re
vivals among the Confederate troops in the field found its
way back home and many mothers and fathers were cheered
by knowing that their sons were receiving good in the
distant camps.
6. Society. The poet tells us that man is a "pendulum
'twixt a smile and tear" and certain it is that the war
times in Mobile were accompanied by much gaiety. The
brothers were off in the army, but the girls were left behind,
and others' brothers from other states filled their places
cis best they could. Little boys might have to chaperone
their sisters to balls, but when they arrived the officers
in gray unitorms and brass buttons relieved them ot all
further trouble. Dancing was the order of the day, and
of the night, ano with v isits to the camps made up a round
of pleasure. Many Louisiana and Missouri troops were
camped at Mobile, and the^' became great favorities.
A dear friend ot to-day might be on the train for Virginia
to-morrow, but dear he remained and the soldiers'
life at the front was followed with all keener interest that
they had been friends here at home. Public entertain
ments were less frequent than before the War, but many
homes were open. One that may be mentioned was that
ot the famous Admiral, Raphael Semmes, at the north
west corner of Government and Wilkinson, whose family
were favorites with all. At these parties there might not
be a great deal to eat, but good company made up the lack,
and this side of war time was long remembered,
7. Books. One would suppose that literature would be
almost the first thing injured by the War, but in Mobile
the contrary occurred. There had long been a complaint
about school books that they were generally written in

306 Under Five Flags
the North and printed there and from a point of view which
was not in sympathy with Southern life. After the War
began it became difficult to get any books through the
lines, and even Bibles had to be brought from England,
So it is not strange that Madame Chaudron should take
up the needed task of supplying school-books and write
a set of readers, and she did more. The historical novels
of Louisa Muhlbach were then coming out in Europe and
Madame Chaudron translated from the German "Joseph
II and His Court," and hers has ever since remained the
standard translation. These books were published by
S, H, Goetzel & Co, on Dauphin Street, and were widely
used, Joseph II was published with back made of wall
paper, for all kinds of paper were so scarce that this became
common for books. A Southern writing paper was also
manufactured, and extensively used. Military books were
also needed, and it was at Mobile that Goetzel published
Hardee's Infantry Tactics, in two small pocket volumes.
This was adopted and universally used in the Confederate
army, 8. Stores. If one walked along Dauphin Street he would
see the same stores, but after the first year he would not
find much to buy. There was much homespun, for that
was manufactured at home, and groceries such as could
be raised in the country adjacent. But silks and ribbons
and luxuries, whether of food or raiment, were absent.
When the Denbigh or the Red Gauntlet got in from Havana,
however, with a cargo of European articles, business
would liven up and tor some weeks the stores would offer
a much greater selection. Ladies continued their shop
ping, generally in carriages, for until the middle of the
war horses remained numerous. But carriages them
selves gradually came to look somewhat worn, like the
hearts within them, although the manners were as cordial

The Life of the People. 307
and as courtly as of old. Tea and coffee practically
disappeared, but it was found that the coffee weed sup
plied a passable substitute, and that sweet potatoes,
sliced fine and parched, could hardly be told from coffee, —
especially after one had not had any coffee in a year. Coffee
sometimes got through the blockade, and sometimes
was among the goods obtained irom the "Yankees," as
the Federals were called, in exchange for cotton. One
time a blockade runner was beached near Fort Morgan,
and a man found a sack of coffee on her, but, after getting
it ashore, he left it in the marsh for fear he would be arrested
for illegal trading with the enemy. Vegetables, of course,
were plentiful, and many of the hands who were now
kept from their farm work were used in the gardens. But
prices were different as the War went on, for Confederate
money gradually lost its purchcising pOwer. Two hundred
dollars for a barrel of flour and finally even for a pair of
shoes, and twelve hundred dollars for a suit of clothes,
were not unknown. Towards the end ot the War, people
said that a market basket was as much needed to carry the
paper money down town as to bring back the articles which
it would buy.
9. Supply Association. Much of the trade of Mobile
has always been with New Orleans. This was cut off in
1862 and many people from there refugeed to Mobile. Not
only did this diminish supphes, but the Federal force
advanced and held the country as far as Pascagoula on
the coast. After the siege of Vicksburg, operations of
troops on both sides affected much of Mississippi, which
through the Mobile and Ohio and its connections was the
trade territory of Mobile. Prices became high and it was
thought that part of this was due to speculators, who were
accused of buying up goods and selling them to the people
at a high price. During war time ordinary business

308 Under Five Flags
is affected and new plans are necessary to meet new condi
tions. Some public spirited citizens therefore got together
and under the name of The Mobile Supply Association
arranged to secure food and clothing from the adjacent
country, and sell it to the citizens at the lowest price,
after paying expenses. The sectetary of the Association
was Thomas A. Hamilton and the man in' active charge
of the store in the basement of Temperance Hall was
James W. Holmes. Soon the country was bare and it
became neces.sary to send agents up the Mobile & Ohio,
the Montgomery Railroad, and up the rivers in search of
supplies; for the Confederate army impressed everything
that could be readily found. Agents of the Association
went as far as East Tennessee, Charleston and even to
Richmond, and shipped goods back to Mobile. The
railroads were under military control, but every aid was
given to the Association's good work. Corn, bacon and
rice were the principal things obtained, but occasionally
potatoes, cabbage and even turkeys and venison w^ere
shipped in, and through most of the War Mobile had per
haps the cheapest market for food supplies in the Con
federacy, 10. Netvs from the Front. Supplies now came down the
river rather than went up to the plantations, for the
country raised food for the city. In town business was
much lessened atter the blockade was established, but
everything pertaining to war was much in evidence. There
were camps, troops departing for the front, and drills
and reviews in public places, such as Government Street.
Many Mobilians were in the army and some in high office
at the Confederate capital. John A. Campbell was assist
ant secretary of -war, and Wm. C. Gorgas, who had married
a daughter of Gov. Gayle, was chief of ordenance and so in
charge of the iron works of Alabama as well as of Virginia.

The Life of the People 309
New's from the seat of war was much sought, for as time
wore on there was hardly a family which did not supply a
relative to the army, and whether a battie w^as fought in
\'irginia, on the Mississippi River, or in Tennessee,- it
w^ould affect people in Mobile. The newspapers were
full of reports, often of an encouraging nature, but everj-
v-ictory was purchased w-ith lives dear to the families at
home. Mail and telegraph were often interrupted, and,
while promotions were quickly known, it was often weeks
before friends could scan the lists of the killed and wounded.
The newspaper offices were thronged with inquiries at the
time ot any battle, and the public rejoicing over victory
was always tinged with private grief for the lost. Military
music and military uniforms were everywhere on the
streets, but every month there were more women dressed
in black.

CHAPTER XLI.
MOBILE SOLDIERS.
1. The Course of the War. The Civil War was fought
out in parts of the South which were not close to Mobile,
and there was from the beginning an eastern and western
army which operated far away irom the Gulf. The former
was under General Lee and fought in Virginia and over
the border to the north as the Army of Northern Virginia.
The latter was on the middle Mississippi and Cumberland
Rivers and then about Chattanooga, at first under General
Joseph E. Johnston and afterwards under Braxton Bragg,
and was known as the Army of the Tennessee. There was
for a time a separate army on the lower Mississippi, which
got shut up in Vicksburg under Pemberton, and later a
Trans-Mississippi Department under Kirby Smith and Dick
Taylor, atter the Federals by capturing Vicksburg had cut
the Confederacy in two. Mobile was at all times exposed
to naval attacks upon the forts at the mouth of the Bay,
but the city was for a long time spared the danger ot assault
by land. The Federals obtained control of the northern
part of the Mobile & Ohio Railroad early in the war, but
except in raids they never came below Meridian. There
was even less danger from the rivers and from the east,
so that Mobile was able to send many of her men to the
front in other states. To such an extent was this done
that the garrisons at the mouth of the Bay and in camp
near the city were not Mobilians, but troops who had
come after the fall of New Orleans and Vicksburg, Mobil
ians fought in all armies except that beyond the Mississippi.
2. First Volunteer Regiment. The first regiment ot
Alabama Volunteer Corps was part of the militia organiza
tion in existence when the state seceded. It was made up

Mobile Soldiers

311

of Mobile companies. These were as follows: City
Troop, Captain Wm. Cottrill; State Artillery, Captain
W. H. Ketchum; German Fusihers, Captain H. Steinberg;
Mobile Cadets, Captain R. M. Sands; Washington Light
Artillery, Captain Archibald Gracie; Independent Rifles,
Captain A. Stikes; Mobile Rifles, Captain L. T. Woodruff;
Gardes LaFayette, Captain A. Belloc; Gulf City Guards,
Captain Wm. A. Buck; Alabama Light Dragoons, Captain
Theodore O'Hara; and the
Bienville Blues, Captain
John Forsyth. The colonel
was John B. Todd and the
lieutenant colonel John R,
Ketchum, When secession
was imminent. Governor
Moore ordered this regi
ment into state service
January 3, 1801, and it was
detachments from it that
took possession of Mount
Vernon Arsenal, Fort Mor
gan and Fort Gaines for the
state of Alabama. L^pon
the foundation of the Con
federate government dif
ferent companies from this
regiment w^ent into the Con
federate service. The
Cadets, Gulf City Guards, Washington Light Infantry, and
the Rifles entered the third Alabama at the same time.
3. Alabama Troops in the Civil War. The fall of Fort
Sumter on April 13, 1861, was the beginning of the Civil
War. President Lincoln called for seventy-five thousand
Union troops, and this Wcis the turning point with many

ARCHIBALD GRACIE

312 Under Five Flags
people in the South. Old Line Whigs who were not seces
sionists now saw a war of invasion, and all hesitation was
at an end. President Davis on his side called for troops,
and regiments were formed, officered and drilled all over
the state. Most of these were enlisted for one year, as
it was not thought that the war would be long. It proved
otherwise, and, as the time ran out tor the earlier commands,
their men often re-enlisted in the later regiments. All
told there were raised in Alabama sixty-three or sixty-five
state regiments ot infantry, besides twelve Confederate
regiments, and a number of artillery and cavalry organiza
tions, embracing upwards of a hundred thousand men.
In almost every regiment were companies from different
parts of the state, and Mobile in this way was represented
on many battle fields.
4- First and Second Alabama. The First Alabama
Regiment was organized at the beginning of 1861 and a
Mobile company under Ben Lane Posey served with it in
garrison at Pensacola and under Johnston in the West.
The Second Alabama was a twelve month organization
containing several Mobile companies. During that time
they were on garrison duty at Fort Morgan and manned the
heavy artillery there. Later they became parts of other
regiments, and saw service in different parts of the country.
5. The Third and Twelfth Regiments in the East. The
Third Alabama was organized in April, 1861, and was the
first that went to Virginia trom Alabama. It was for a
while at Nortolk, and in the great battles around Rich
mond, and fought through to Appomattox, where only
forty men were left to surrender. Jones M, Withers of
Mobile was colonel, as Tennent Lomax and Charles
Forsyth were afterwards, while Robert M, Sands was
lieutenant-colonel. Among the Mobile captains, besides
Sands, were John R, Simpson, Archibald Gracie (after-

Mobile Soldiers 313
wards a general and commemorated by a Mobile street) , and
Lewis T. Woodruff. No regiment in the War had a more
glorious record.
The Twelfth Alabama also had Mobile companies, such
as those of A. Stikes, A. Proskauer, and W, T. Walthall,
while a lieutenant-colonel was Theodore O'Hara, already
author of the beautiful poem "Bivouac of the Dead."
This regiment served in Virginia, as at Malvern Hill under
Rodes, at ChancellorsviUe, Gettsyburg, and later in
Virginia under John B. Gordon. At Appomattox fiftj-
were left to surrender,
6. Alabama Regiments in the West. Even more regi
ments served in the West, The Twenty-first Alabama was
mustered in at Mobile in 1861, and aiter serv-ice nearby
was in the Western Army, Almost one-third ot its members
were killed at Shiloh. It was later at Fort Morgan and at
Fort Powell on the Bay where it suffered a fortnight
bombardment from Grant's Pass from guns of longer
range than the Confederates had. Many of its men were
withdrawn from Fort Powell in time to escape capture b\'
Farragut, although some surrendered under Colonel
Anderson at Fort Gaines. James Crawford was the first
colonel, A. J. IngersoU lieutenant-colonel, and J. M. Wil
liams, George Vidmer, John F. Jewett, Cary W. Butt and
Murdock Mclnnis were among its officers.
The Twenty-second Alabama Regiment served at Shiloh,
Chickamauga, and under Hood about Atlanta. The first
colonel was Zach Deas, and among the later ones was
Harry T. Toulmin. Several ot the companies were from
Clarke and other counties in Southern Alabama.
The Tw-enty-fourth Alabama, like the Twenty-second
dating from 1861, also served in the west at Corinth,
Chickamauga, in Tennessee and at last in the Carolinas.
The first colonel was WUliam A. Buck, and among the

814 Under Five Flags
captains were Starke H. Oliver, Alphonse Hurtel and
John B. Hazard.
7. Regiments of 1862. The Thirty-second Alabama
dates from 1862 and served in Mississippi, at Chickamauga
and elsewhere under Alexander McKinstry as colonel and
Harry Maury as lieutenant-colonel. Among the captains
were Hinson H. Smith, Thomas S. Easton and Thomas S.
Fry. This regiment was afterwards re-organized as the
Fifty-eighth. The Thirty-sixth was organized by Robert H. Smith
in 1862, in part from his clients, and Thos. H. Hern
don and Lewis T. Woodruff were lieutenant-colonels, and
afterwards promoted. It served at Chickaumaga, Atlanta,
Nashville and Spanish Fort, and surrendered with thin
ranks at Meridian.
8. Later Regiments. The Thirty-eighth Alabama, or
ganized in 1803, was also in the Western Army, where it
served under Colonel Charles T. Ketchum. W. J. Hearin
ot Clarke County was a major, and Ben Lane Posey one of
the captains. It was finally at Spanish Fort and elsewhere
in the defense of Mobile, and surrendered at Meridian.
The Fortieth Alabama was organized also in the same
year and under Colonel Higley served with General Braxton
Bragg. Both the Forty-second and Forty-third had
Mobile men and officers, and the Fifty-sixth was organized
in 1863 and under William A. Boyles of Mobile acted
with General Hood. The Sixty-fifth was made up from
reserves in 1804 and under Colonel E. M. Underhill
operated in Mississippi and Alabama towards the close
of the war.
One of the most interesting organizations was the
First Battalion of Alabama Cadets. Like the Cadets
who fought for the University of Alabama, they illustrated
how patriotism robbed both the cradle and the grave.

Mobile Soldiers

315

This battalion was made up ot two companies of Mobile
boys, the Pelham Cadets under Captain Price Williams,
Jr., and the ^Iaiir>' Cadets under Captain Dick Roper.
The former served on
Dauphine Island, and,
while some surrendered at
Fort Gaines, others were
succ^fuUy brought off.
The Maurv- Cadets were in
action at Spanish Fort and
both commands retired
with General Maurv* up the
Mobile and Ohio Railroad.
9. Cavalry. The regi
ments above mentioned
were of infantry, but
Mobile was represented in
the other arms also. Third
Alabama Cavalrv- con
tained Mobile companies.
Its colonel was James
Hagan, and among the
captains were Paul
Ravesies. It operated in Tennessee, Kentucky and about
Atianta. Hagan became a dashing general. The Fifteenth
Confederate Regiment -was made up of South Alabama com
panies w'hich had been for some time on the coast about
Mobile and in Louisiana. Its colonel w-as Harry Maur\%
and among the captains were John H. Marshall, William
CottriU and Joseph E. Murrell. There were also com
mands engaged in scouting in Baldwin County after Pensa
cola had been abandoned by the Confederates. Some of
these daring scouts entered Pensacola at will and ob
tained information of the enemy's movements.

JAMES HAGAX

316

Under Five Flags

10. Artillery, The fortifications about Mobile led to
a large use of artillery, in which the garrisons took much
interest and became very proficient. The first Alabama
Battalion of Artillery was part of the original army of
Alabama organized in February, 1861, and operated at
Forts Morgan, Gaines and Powell against the blockaders.
They had to surrender to Farragut finally, however, and
the officers were imprisoned in Fort Warren, among them
R. C. Forsyth. Captain Julian W. Whiting from Fort
Morgan and Captain Price Williams, Jr., from Fort Gaines
managed to make their escape and joined the army operat
ing about Mobile. One of the Fort Morgan guns is now
mounted in Duncan Place, Mobile.

CONFEDERATE CANNONi
11. The Home Guard. After the younger men had been
taken into the armies in the field and the old militia organ
ization had been broken up, both the state and Confederacy
encouraged the formation of Home Guards made up of men
exempt by law from military duty. These were formed
into companies, of whom some were even foreign subjects,
such as the British. The Confederacy had none too much

Mobile Soldiers 317
of military stores, and there was difficulty sometimes in
arming these reserves. Alexander McKinstry suggested
that they be supplied with pikes, and accordingly old iron
was beaten into blades which were fastened on the end of
poles. Armed in this manner, the Home Guards were
drilled and ready for any emergency. Among them might
be found fathers of the boys in the regular army, prepared
to defend their homes.
12. "Soldier's Rest." Many troops that did not come
from Mobile or even camp there long were represented in
the hospitals, and were tended by the mothers and sisters
of those w-ho were far away in Virginia or in the \\^estern
Army. Incoming trains brought back not only the wound
ed to be nursed, but often, too, they brought the bodies of
soldiers who had died in battles near the city, and the
thought came to Mrs. P. J. Pillans as she was nursing in
the hospital that the Confederate dead should lie together
in some honored spot. She wrote a short note to John
Forsyth suggesting a "Soldier's Rest," and he urged it in the
Register. The plan struck a popular chord and the city
in 1862 set aside a place in the southern part of Magnolia
Cemetery and named it "Soldiers' Rest." Here were
buried many who w-ere sent home, and to this w^as trans
ferred at different times soldiers who were killed in battle
nearby. Many had to be marked "unknown," but Mobile
soldiers also died unknown on distant fields, and the same
tender care was taken of strangers who fell here in her de
fence. Decoration Day was not thought of until after
the War, but the affection which inspired it showed itself
in other ways during these long four years.
13. "GeneraP' Semmes. After the loss of the Alabama
her commander was without a ship, for the Confederacy
was not in condition to supply another. He returned to
the South on a British vessel, landing near the mouth of the

318 Under Five Flags
Rio Grande, and came back to his family in Mobile aiter
an absence of four years. He reported by wire to Rich
mond, but such was the condition of the war-swept country
that it took him two weeks to reach the capital. After a
short service as rear admiral in charge of the James River
squadron, Richmond was evacuated and he destroyed his
little fleet, turning the sailors into soldiers. Then while
Richmond was burning and the Federals were entering the
capital, he improvised a railroad train and escaped with
his command to Danville. They then marched as a brigade
of artillery to Greensboro, N. C, where they joined the
command of Gen. Joseph E. Johnston. The war was
practically over, and Semmes' force was included in the
surrender of Johijston to Sherman at that place. As
there had been a good deal of feeling against him for des
troying the commerce of the United States, Semmes was
careful to have himself described in the parole as Admiral
as well as General, and, after the army broke up and he had
reached his home, he found that his caution had been well
exercjsed. He was arrested at Mobile in the tall and carried
to Washington, where he was imprisoned in the Navy
Yard and elsewhere. His parole saved him, and he was
finally released, and came back to Mobile,
14- Braxton Bragg. One of the most distinguished
soldiers of the Confederacy was Braxton Bragg, who suc
ceeded A. S, Johnston at Shiloh, and was the hero of the
victory of Chickamauga. He was a North Carolinian by
birth, brother of Judge John Bragg of Mobile, and after
the War was over was in Mobile in charge ot the work of
deepening the channel by means of jetties. During the
War WiUiam H. Ross, Claude H. Mastin and other Ala
bamians were on his staff in different capacities, and many
Mobile regiments served under Bragg at different times.
He was buried in the ''Soldiers' Rest" with military honors.

CHAPTER XLII.
MOBILE SAILORS.
1. Sea Power. In no other conflict has the influence
of sea power been so fully shown as during the American
Civil War. The Southerners who were in the American
navy took their ships into Northern ports and surrendered
their commissions before tendering their services to the
Confederacy. The result was that the North had the w^hole
ot the old navy to begin with, and before the South devel
oped a new navy her ports were all blockaded; Unless
this could be changed, the result would be that the North
could draw upon the whole world for men and supplies,
while the South would be shut up to its own resources, and
unable to ship its great staple, cotton. The efforts of
Southern na\'al men, therefore, were directed to several
ends. The first was running the blockade in and out,
another was destroying the Northern commerce upon the
high seas wherever it could be found, and still another was
to build up an offensive navy which would break up the
blockade and ultimately attack Northern ports. The
first end was fairly well attained, but little was done to
carry out the last. In the matter of destroying Northern
commerce by cruisers, however, the South was quite suc-
cesfsful. The Northern marine was driven from the ocean,
and this weis done largely by the Confederate cruisers
Sumter, Alabama and Florida. The Florida was for a
while in Mobile waters, while the Alabama was not, but
the commander of the Alabama was a Mobile man, who
lived here before and after his career at sea.
2. Raphael Semmes. A member of an old Baltimore
family, Raphael Semmes moved further south and in 1841
was living on Perdido Bay. Shortly afterwards he made

320

Under Five Flags

Mobile his home, and then became secretary of the United
States Light House Board. This took him to Washington,
and he was there at the outbreak of the war. His sympath
ies, like those of most Marylanders, were with the South,
and when the Confederate government was organized at
Montgomery he promptly responded to its call. He
resigned trom the old navy,
and, coming to Montgom
ery, was commissioned to
look into naval matters for
the Confederacy. He ex
amined the Tredegar
Works at Richmond and
was gratified to find that
they could furnish the Con
federacy with guns and
supplies. He went further
North and was able to send
workmen to the South.
3. The Sumter. The
first commissioned vessel
of the Confederacy was the
Sumter, which was armed
and equipped at New Or
leans under the direction
of Semmes. At a favorable
time he took his vessel
down the river in broad daylight, and passed the Brooklyn,
which was blockading the mouth of the river. The Sumter
was not a large vessel and could not engage any of the great
vessels of the Federal navy. Its mission was to destroy
the commerce of the Northern states, and this it did for
many adventurous months. Semmes crossed to the West
India Islands and afterwards to Brazil, capturing vessels

53^^^*"

¦ i'jjf.

W^^

h M

w\

il

H

m

m

wF. ^-p^

m

m

\
RAPHAEL SEMMES
Mobile Sailors 321
as he went. As the North had blockaded the Southern
harbors, it was impossible to carry his prizes into Con
federate ports to be condemned and sold under the usual
admiralty law, and therefore Semmes had to exercise the
right of destroying the vessels and goods which he captured,
except in some cases where they were released on bonds of
their owners. The crews were taken prisoners and discharged
at neutral ports. Interesting questions arose as to sup
plies for the Sumter. Since the Confederacy had been recog
nized by European powers as a belligerent, its vessels had
the right to enter foreign ports and obtain limited supplies
of coal and food. The Northern consuls and agents op
posed this and hampered Semmes in every wa}' possible,
but he did during the Civil War what the great French
Admiral, Suffren, did against the English in the East
Indies centuries before. Cut off from any aid trom home,
Semmes, like Suffren, lived on the commerce of the enemy.
The Sumter crossed the ocean, but found herself unable
to obtain the necessary coal at Gibraltar, so that Semmes
finally sold her in that port and with his crew went over to
England. 4- The Alabama. CoHn J. McRae of Mobile was one
ot the Confederate agents in Europe looking after the sale
of cotton. He was very active, but the agent who saw to
building and buying vessels for the Confederacy was James
Bullock, Under the nose of the Federal ambassador
C. F. Adams, he had built at Liverpool a vessel which had
no other name than "No. 290" and was supposed to be
destined for Italy. Finally in August, 1862, she went
to sea on a trial trip — and never came back again. She
slipped off to the Azores, where guns were put aboard, and
Raphael Semmes took command as captain of the "Ala
bama." Her first blow was struck at the whale fishery
and after destroying a number of vessel's she sailed to the

322 Under Five Flags
West Indies. At Martinique she 'was blockaded by the
Federal steamer San Jacinto, whom she finally escaped,
and after a while reached her only Confederate port, Gal
veston. Near theire she had an engagement with United
States steamer Hatteras, which she sank, and then proceed
ed to Jamaica with her prisoners. The 30th parallel is
called by Semmes the "Toll Gate Upon the Sea" from the
number of vessels which pass to and fro, and near here and
also off Brazil the Alabama made many prizes. Occasion
ally Semmes would commission one of these captured
vessels as a new cruiser, and in this way the damage by
the Alabama was much increased.
5. The Alabama in the East. Soon Semmes sailed across
the ocean again and reached Cape Town. Here, as else
where in the British dominions, the Confederates were
treated with great courtesy, for the private sympathy of
the British as a rule was with the South. The government,
however, aimed at strict neutraUty. It was at this time
that a prize ship was commissioned as the cruiser Tusca
loosa, and the Alabama continued her course to the Indian
Ocean, capturing prizes and burning them as usual.
Semmes had many interesting experiences and gathered
a great deal of useful information, which he afterwards
revealed in his famous book, "Memoirs of Service Afloat,"
published in Baltimore in 1869. The Alabama passed
through the Strait of Sunda, visited the port of Singapore,
and returned through the Mozambique Channel to the
Cai)e of Good Hope in good lime; for Semmes was able to
secure the release of the Tuscaloosa, which had been seized
by the British.
6. Cherbourg. The Alabama left on her return trip to
Europe, capturing several vessels on the way, and arrived
at Cherbourg in June, 1864. The United States cruiser
Kearsarge was also in port, and the men of the vessels were

Mobile Sailors 323
anxious for an engagement. This was informally arranged
and the Kearsarge cruised outside the marine limit until
the Alabama came out. A battle followed, well contested,
in which the Alabama was sunk atter doing considerable
damage to her enemy. Semmes was saved from the water
by the English yacht Deerhound and a number of his
crew rescued by other boats. This led to a bitter contro
versy between the Federal government and the British,
in which secretary Seward demanded the surrender of the
rescued men on the ground that the United States was
entitled to have its enemies drowned, and, if rescued, they
should become prisoners. Lord John Russell, the British
premier, refused to surrender the men, and sympathy for
Semmes ran high. He was presented with a sword and
flag by English admirers. This, however, was the end of
his career on the ocean.
7. The Florida. In September, 1862, a celebrated
vessel ran into M.^bile and gave rise to other questions
between the United States and Great Britain, which were
only solved years afterwards. This was the Florida,
which had been built in England, nominally for Italian
owners, and went to Nassau in the Bahama Islands.
There Confederate officers took charge of her, and, sailing
the British flag, she ran through the blockaders into
Mobile Bay. She was commanded by Captain John N.
Maffitt, and lay for four months near Montrose. The
delay was caused by her having yellow fever on board,
brought from the West Indies. Her crew was filled up,
and S. Graham Stone of Mobile went aboard assecond
in command. Atter being commissioned, she became in
all respects a part of the Confederate navy. She had
not done any damage to the United States commerce
before her entry into Mobile Bay, but, after running the
blockade out in January, 1863, she commenced destroying

324

Under Five Flags

Northern vessels wherever she could find them, and was
second only to the Alabama in the number she sank. In
addition to this, the Florida armed and sent out some of
her captured prizes, with separate crews, and they did
almost as much damage as the Florida herself. She was
one of the few Confederate vessels that actually sailed
from a Confederate port, and much stress was laid upon
this by England when arbitration of the matter was had at
Geneva. The only way the Federals could capture the
Florida was by attacking her when off guard in a neutral

THE FLORIDA

South American port, while her captain was ashore, and
even then Stone was able to wrap her flag around his
sword and throw them into the sea through a port-hole.
There were many blockade-runners coming in and out,
but the Florida was the only Confederate man of war
that went to sea from Mobile.
8. The Bay Fleet. After the surrender of New Orleans,
Mobile became the principal port of the Confederacy on
the Gulf of Mexico. It was not only strongly defended by

Mobile Sailors 325
forts on the land side and at the mouth of the Bay, but there
was much local activaty in naval matters. Expeditions
were organized against Pensacola and New Orleaifs, and
a squadron constructed for defence of the harbor, made up
of river and Bay steamboats. It was not of the highest
ty])e, but it was the best that could be done, and promised
to serve the purpose. Its three wooden gun-boats were
called the Gaines, the Selma and the Morgan. Noah K.
Ludlow, son of the theatre manager, had run on the Ala
bama River and Mail Line before the War and now, as
Confederate engineer for this district, fitted up the Gaines
and Morgan, and they were; in service before the Ten
nessee came down the river. On them were a number of
Mobile men, some who had never been in a naval engage
ment. Simon Klosky was there looking after the meals.
An active officer was Thomas L. Harrison, executive officer
on the Morgan. The Morgan was fortunate enough to
escape serious injurv' in the battle, only one man being
wounded, and after the surrender of the other vessels
Harrison ran her through the enemy's fleet on a starlight
night up to Mobile in safety, — the only vessel saved of the
Confederate fleet. The Morgan and her officers were
able to render good service in the subsequent operations
about Spanish Fort and Blakely.
9. The Submarine Hunley. One new form of warfare
took its origin in Mobile in 1863, w-hen William A. Alex
ander and others superintended the construction of the
first submarine boat, the Hunley, at Parks and Lyons
iron works in the southern part of the city. It was tried
successfully in the river and Bay. A crew of eight men
managed her and she went down and came up as was plan
ned. Attempts were made to attack the blockading
vessels, but they remained too far out, and it was not here
that she was to meet the enemy. The Hunley was shipped

326 Under Five Flags
ped by rail over to Charleston, where she had the mis
fortune to sink three times and drown her crew, but there
were always new volunteres. Finally in 1864 she attacked
the monitor Hoosatonic and she sank her enemy, but with
her crew was herself sunk by the backing of the monitor.
The foes were found after the close of the war close together
at the bottom of the ocean off Charleston harbor.

CHAPTER XLIII.
BATTLE OF MOBILE BAY.
1. The Forts about Mobile. After the loss of the
Mississippi River the Alabama-Tombigbee Basin was the
western district of the Confederacy, just as the James
River Basin was the eastern, and between these limits
was waged the second half of the Civil War. General
Maury was in command at Mobile, and says that as long
as the port could be kept open Mobile was as important
in the west as Richmond was in the east. Through the
blockading squadron cotton went out, and through it
came in sujiplies which were invaluable to the anny and
to the people. Great efforts were put forth to retain the
Confederate hold upon such a strategic point, and daring
attempts were made from here to recapture or destroj'
shipping about New Orleans, — not the less creditable be
cause unsuccessful.
The importance of Mobile led to keeping strong garrisans
at Fort Morgan on Mobile Point and at Fort Gaines on
the east end of Dauphine Island, and active scouting
parties under Capt. Moore operated towards Pascagoula.
The fall of New Orleans made it essential to hold
Mobile,, the more so as Pensacola, too, was occupied by
the Federals at an early date. When the Confederates
abandoned Pensacola, they took up the railroad which
had run from Montgomery, and relaid its rails westwardly
to Tensaw River on the line of the Mobile and Great
Northern Railroad. The result of the abandonment of
Pensacola was that large forces operated south of this
road, and Blakely and other points on the eastern shore
were fortified against the Federal attack. The defence
of Mobile, therefore, was an extensive undertaking, the

328 Under Five Flags
more so as General Grant at one time planned marching
there from Vicksburg, and Sherman did make a raid
which inflicted much damage on the Mobile and Ohio
Railroad. Neither of them, however, reached Mobile.
The actual danger was from the sea.
2. Building the Tennessee. While war paralyzed agri
culture and every other business, there was one thing
which the South owes to the Civil War, and that was the
development of the Mineral Belt, It had long been know^n,
but except in taking coal little use had been made of it,
A short railroad had been built northwardly from Selma,
which had the ambitious name of Alabama and Tennessee
Railroad, but it had not got very far before the war stopped
it. The Confederate government, now took charge

THE TENNESSEE
not only of the coal mines but of the iron mines and mills
also, and at Selma built arsenals and foundries whicii played
a great part in the War, Oak and pine forests were also
accessible and Ap, Catesby Jones made of the Selma works
what the Tredegar works were at Richmond, It was at
Selma the government hurried forward the building of
the ram Tennessee in 1863 and 1864, and laid her keel
while her other timbers were yet growing in the forests and
the iron for her armor was stUl in the mines up the Cahaba
valley. She was 209 feet long and 48 wide, and was never
completed, but as soon as possible was towed down to
Mobile to receive her five inch armor. This was fitted on
a heavy pine and oak frame, slanting at an angle of 45

Battle of Mobile Bay 329
degrees. She carried two pivot rifled guns at the ends, and
two in broadside on each side, and was finally thought to
be in condition to meet the enemy daily expected at Fort
Morgan. She now drew thirteen feet, and the Dog River
Bar allowed but nine, and so it was necessary to sink
wooden caissons or tanks and attach them to her, and,
when they were pumped out, they raised her also and car
ried her over the bar. Then she hastened down to join
the three gunboats which had been guarding the Bay.
Of these the Morgan was the largest, and she carried only
two seven-inch rifles and four thirty-two pounder guns.
Admiral Buchanan, who had commanded the Virginia
at Hampton Roads, was in charge of the Confederate
squadron, and the Tennessee was his flag-ship. His whole
force was four hundred and seventy men and twenty-two
guns. 3. Farragut and the Fort. It was as important for the
Federals to capture Mobile as it was for the Confederates
to defend it, and Admiral Farragut had been able to get
together for this purpose a squadron consisting of fourteen
wooden steam vessels and four iron monitors, carrying in
all twenty-seven hundred men and one hundred and ninety-
nine guns.. He waited outside the Bay until early one
morning, when he thought the inflowing tide would turn
the fuses of the torpedoes away from his boats, and then
steamed in, his ships lashed two and two. The monitors
were on the side towards Fort Morgan, the Tecumseh in
the lead. Second in line came the Brooklyn with her
mate, and next the flagship Hartford, with Farragut tied
in the rigging. As the stately procession neared the fort,
both sides began a murderous cannonade. 'Suddenly
the Tecumseh lurched, and in a few seconds sank, struck
by a torpedo. As the boat was going down, and men were
struggling for their lives, the lieutenant and the captain

330

Under Five Flags

met at the narrow iron ladder. The lieutenant stepped
aside, whenCaptain Craven said,"After you, Lieutenant," —
but after the Lieutenant came the inrushing waters, and
Craven died at his post. A little boat had pushed out to
save the few who did not go down with the Tecumseh,
and the Confederates chivalrously refused to fire on them,
despite the Union flag defiantly raised. The Brooklyn,
with her torpedo protector, wavered and backed, con
fusing the whole column, and giving the gunners in the
fort an opportunity of which they made good use. It
was then Farragut from the ¦ rigging uttered his famous

CONFEDERATE RELICS
exclamation, "Damn the torpedoes, go ahead," pushed
the Hartford to the front and restored order, and led the
column amidst the galling fire into the Bay. One shell
from bastion 5, fired by Capt. Whiting, exploded the boiler
of the Oneida and killed or wounded forty men.
But the fort was now passed and the fleet was inside the
Bay beyond range of the fort guns. The garrison could
only watch what followed, and far away at Cedar Point
people, among them a little boy named Dorlon, gazed on
one of the great battles of history until the smoke obscured
the scene.

Battle of Mobile Bay

331

4- A Naval Battle. The Federal fleet could fire over
9,000 pounds of shot at a broadside. Confederate 1,500 all
told, and in the engagement which followed, one Confed
erate gunboat was sunk, another captured and another
finally got away to Mobile. The ram seemed to seek
shelter for repairs under the guns of the fort, but then,
to the astonishment of friend and foe, the Tennessee
boldly made straight up
the Bay to attack the Fed
eral squadron. Vessel after
vessel rammed and fought
her, but she held her own,
unwavering, seeking the
flagship Hartford, which,
however, was too swift
and kept out of her way.
She engaged the whole
fleet at once; in one of the
most heroic naval combats
of history, and did not
desist until her plates were
loosened, port shutters
jammed, smoke stack car
ried aw^ay, many, of the
crew wounded. Admiral
Buchanan disabled, and
the steering apparatus shot
away, so that she was as helpless as a log.
¦5. The White Flag. There was no use fighting longer.
The heat and smoke became unbearable and the guns
could not be manned. The wounded Buchanan reluctantly
gave the order to hoist the white flag, and soon a Federal
officer came aboard to receive the surrender. All honor
and courtesy was shown to the defeated, and Farragut,

-^^^^^K^

-i
.- -^^

'9 '^^^*i

¦^^

^v--^

>

=i ^SB^^ ^^^ m

\

ADMIRAL BUCHANAN

332

Under Five Flags

after making arrangements with Fort Morgan, sent Buch
anan and the wounded prisoners in a vessel around to
Pensacola, 6. Fort Gaines. Troops landed on Dauphine Island
had already driven the Confederates into Fort Gaines,
which the next day was invested by land and sea, Farra
gut induced Col, Anderson to come out to the fleet and
convinced him that resistance was useless and could only
result in loss of Uves, and so, without notice to Gen, Page at
Fort Morgan, Fort Gaines, was surrendered with all its
stores. The Pelham Cadets, Mobile's home guard of
young men, had lately been sent down, and they were
captured too with the regular garrison. Over 800 men

^ 4x., .i.- lU-fiKBriUf ..

s*' ¦-^¦'.J^/X
SfSE^''Hj3'tsSJ

THE TENNESSEE AFTER THE BATTLE

and twenty-eight guns were the fruit of the surrender.
Fort Powell, guarding Grant's Pass, had been found
untenable, and Colonel J, M, Williams the night before
set a fuse and got all his men safely through the deep
water to Cedar Point before the explosion which blew the
fort to pieces
7, Fort Morgan. General Page was much mortified
at the surrender of Fort Gaines, and had no intention of
giving up. General Granger landed at Navy Cove with
an overwhelming force of Federals, and after approaches,
run gradually closer from day to day, by the 22nd Fort
Morgan was as completely invested by army and navy
as had been Fort Bowyer, Page had about 500 men

Battle of Mobile Bay 333
against 5,000, besides the whole fleet, most of whose vessels
were now inside the Bay and so not within the range of
the fort's heavy guns, which faced the Gulf, The disciphne
of the garrison continued perfect, and stood the test of
an unbroken bombardment, whose thunders w^ere heard
at Mobile, thirty miles away. Many shells were thrown
into the fort, the pine walls of the octagon citadel were fired,
with increasing danger to the magazine, and at last the
walls were breached in several places. Further defence was
useless, and, after spending the night destroying everything
possible. General Page surrendered. The Federals occupied
the fort and sent the prisoners to New Orleans. Farra-
, gut's fleet now patrolled the Bay, and , except for the Obstruc
tions, at the mouth of the river, Mobile was left defenceless
from the sea.

CHAPTER XLIV.
THE END OF THE WAR.
1. The Federal Advance. Admiral Farragut did not
venture to try to p^ss the Obstructions at the mouth of
the Mobile River as he had those in the Mississippi, and
MobUe was left unattacked for over a year. The Federals
held Pascagoula to the southwest and Pensacola to the
southeast, but attempted no advance far from their fleet.
After the capture of Fort Morgan, however. Mobile was
practically bottled up. The Federals devoted their atten
tion to Sherman's March to the Sea, which cut off the.
Alabama-Tombigbee Basin from the east, and it was only
in the Spring of 1865 that they proceeded against Mobile
itself. The plan adopted was to advance from Pensacola
with the view of reducing the forts on the Tensaw. This
done, transports could go through the delta to Mobile
River and to the city itself.
2. Spanish Fort. Most of the Confederate forces had
been withdrawn to the East and only five thousand troops
remained at Blakely on the Tensaw River and at Spanish
Fort at the mouth of its branch, the Apalachee River.
The forts could not be approached by water because of
the torpedoes, and the attack planned by General Canby
was therefore to throw his forty-five thousand troops trom
the land side on the two river forts, and to this end his
whole army, including a column under General Steele
from Pensacola, advanced towards Spanish Fort, command
ed by Randall L. Gibson, atterwards senator from Louisiana.
The actual fort which had come down from Galvez' time
was the kernel of the Confederate defense, but earthen
works extended north and south from it for many miles.
On the right was Fort McDermott, ii-\ the centre Red

The End of the War 335
Fort, while a swamp protected the left. It was a long
line for fifteen hundred men to defend, but they did so suc
cessfully for thirteen days. Even in w'ar time men can be
friendly, and the opposing riflem.en in pits far in advance
of the main lines came to exchange courtesies, such as
gifts of tobacco, and even told each other yams, and all
w-ithout neglecting to keep their superiors posted as to
the situation. The principal gun in Red Fort w-as an eight
inch Columbiad, cast at Selma in 1863 and manned by
Louisiana artillery men commanded by Slocum. This
gun did terrific execution, and finished her w-ar record
by dismantling a w-hole fortification, and, while the sand
bags w-ere still removed for that shot, Federal gunners
dismounted her and killed several men at their post by her
side. The Lady Slocum still surv^v^es, and was for a long
tune on the green grass in the centre of low-er Government
Street. The fleet out in the Bay endeavored to get within
range, and three vessels were blown up b3'- torpedoes
before it succeeded; but enough torpedoes were picked up
b}' boats to make a passable channel, and war vessels were
then able to fire upon the forts from the rear. The Fed
erals also explored the sw'amp and finally found a passage
through it. As this would cut him off from Blakely,
Gibson abandoned his works and retired up the river.
3. Blakely. Blakely had once been an important
city, but had lived to see its trade transferred to Mobile,
and under its beautiful oaks hardly a hundred people
lived in war times. There was deep water at its landing,
and from there Mobile could be easily approached, and
therefore it was defended by earthworks far out in the
piney woods, garrisoned by three thousand men under
General Liddell, with Cockrell as his second in command.
It had been attacked by General Steele w ith thirteen
thousand, but it successfully repulsed them. When Spanish

336 Under Five Flags
Fort was surrendered, it was reinforced by Gibson's
little force, but this brought upon it the whole Federal
army. The Federals gradually advanced their trenches,
and finally on April 9th — the day on which General Lee
surrendered in Virginia — the Confederate works were
stormed and many prisoners taken. Part of the attacking
force was made up of negroes, and they are said to have
treated the prisoners with brutality. Nearby there had
been two forts called Huger and Tracy on the banks of the
Tensaw River, but they could not be held after the fall of
Blakely; and so they were evacuated, and the garrisons
passed over to Mobile.
4- The Surrender of Mobile. General Maury had
been by means of telegraph in direction of affairs, but with
the loss of Blakely and Spanish Fort found himself in com
mand of only five thousand troops, while the Federals
numbered ten times as many and were in com.plete control
of the Bay and rivers. He accordingly on April 11th
withdrew up the Mobile & Ohio to Meridian and left
Mobile in charge of the civil authorities. The actual
approach of the Federals was not from the river delta;
General Granger and other officers came across the Bay in
boats and landed at South End. After the Confederate
troops had left there was much uneasiness in the city, as
it w^as not known what action the Federals might take.
Many citizens buried their silver and valuables for protec
tion. When it was learned that the army had landed on
the Bay shore. Mayor Slough and other citizens took
carriages down the Shell Road on the twelfth of April,
and, using a sheet as a flag of truce, met the Federals
and surrendered the city,
5. Under the Military. It was a sad day when the
citizens saw men in blue parading the streets, some of them
negroes, but the best of order was preserved. General

The End of the War 337
Granger took possession of the public buildings, and many
of his officers and soldiers w^ere quartered in warehouses
and private residences. Little trouble was experienced
and after a few days affairs settled dowm. Papers pub
lished during this time are very small in size and contain
little news; for everything was under military control.
Troops were encamped on vacant lands at Government
and Hallett Streets, at the Barracks on Texas . Street
further south, and at other points in the suburbs, while
guards with fixed bayonets walked up and down the streets
in front of public buildings and all places where officers
resided. The Confederate Capt. Moore captured two
guards and made his escape, but fighting was ended.
The Federal boats were at the wharves, troops
were everywhere, and the cotton which the Confederates
had left in the warehouses was seized.
6. Maury's Retreat. After General Maury dismantled
the works at Mobile he retreated to the north with forty-
five hundred men, including three field batteries, and on
the march occurred the last engagement of the war, — a
cavalry affair between the Federal advance posts and the
Confederate rear-guard under Colonel Spence. All armed
vessels and steamers were taken up the river by Commodore
Farrand at the same time that Maury retreated and tor
pedoes were planted to stop the Federal fleet. This w-as
part ot the movement which was to concentrate the Con
federate fort-.es of the South West at Meridian.
7. General Dick Taylor. The ranking officer in the
South West was General Dick Taylor, son of President
Zachary Taylor. He had commanded the Trans-Missis
sippi department, and after the defeat of General Hood
at Franklin succeeded him at Tupelo, Mississippi. Just
as General Canby had been operating from the south,
General Wilson had been leading a movement southward

338 Under Five Flags
trom the Tennessee Valley, and had captured Selma and
its foundries from General Forrest,- — Forrest's first and last
defeat. The surrender of Lee, and the Convention of
Johnston and Sherman showed that the end of the war
was at hand. Members ot Congress and several Southern
governors were with Taylor, and he now determined the
course of events in the South West.
8. An Armistice. General E. R. S. Canby was in com
mand of the Federals at Mobile, and, carrying out the
request of Generals Johnston and Sherman, he and Taylor
arranged a meeting a few miles up the railroad. Canby
was escorted by a brigade with a military band, accom
panied by many oflicers in full uniform; Taylor and one
officer came down the road on a hand car propelled by two
negroes. The two generals greeted each other cordially,
and, retiring to a house, soon agreed upon a truce, after
which all the officers partook of a bountiful luncheon
together, when Taylor heard the popping of champagne
corks for the first time in years. When the band struck
up Hail Columbia, Canby ordered it changed to Dixie,
but, to cement the reunion of the two sides, Taylor insisted
that Hail Columbia be resumed.
9. Taylor's Surrender. After the capture of President
Davis, Taylor was notified that the armistice must come
to an end, as President Johnson, who had succeeded
upon the death of Lincoln, had disavowed it, Taylor
and Farrand on the one side met Canby and Admiral
Thatcher on the other May 8, 1865, at Citronelle, and an
honorable surrender was arranged. The Confederate
officers kept their side-arms, mounted men retained their
horses, which were private property, and all public stores
and ordnance were turned over to the proper depart
ments of the Federal army. Privates were paroled on
rolls signed by their officers, and Taylor retained control

The End of the War 3S9
of the railways and steamboats in order to transport his
troops home. On the Tombigbee River east of Meridian
w-ere thousands of bales of cotton belonging to the Con
federacy, w-hich had been guarded and were now turned
over to the United States treasury agent. Gold of the Bank
of Tennessee, w-hich Governor Harris had kept intact, was
with the army and was taken back to the Bank at Nash
ville. As Taylor was well acquainted with the country,
Canby got him to direct the movement of the United States
troops so that occupation would be effected to the best
advantage and to the least annoyance of the people.
They agreed also that Governor Clark of Mississippi and
Governor Watts ot Alabama, w-ho were present, should
suimnon their legislatures so as to repeal the ordinance of
secession and to abolish slavery. Taylor remained at
Meridian until all arrangements w-ere carried out, and then
came down to Mobile. Canby took hint with his man
Tom and two horses by boat over to New Orleans, where
had been Taylor's home, and there he was able to arrange
a surrender of the Trans-Mississippi department, except
that some men preferred to retire to Mexico.
10. The Women and the Flag. The United States flag
again waved over the whole country. The South had
fought until it was absolutely exhausted and nowhere
w^as there any thought of further resistance. The freeing
of the slaves, which President Lincoln had decreed as a
war measure, was accepted as a fact, and was legalized
by amendment of the state and Federal constitutions. It
was hard to give up the dream of independence, and it was
harder for those who had lost friends in battle to be recon
ciled to conquest. Men were compelled to accept the situa
tion, but the Mobile women still refused, and would have
nothing to do with the Northern officers, many of whom
were gentlemen in every sense of the word. It so happened

340 Under Five Flags
that on Government Street the military headquarters were
in the middle house in the block between Hamilton and
Lawrence, whose curved stairways went up to a gallery of
the French style, while the naval headquarters were across
the street in a handsome brick house occupied during the
War by Admiral Buchanan. In front of each were sentinels
and the Union flag floated over the sidewalk; but ladies
going down town, on shopping or other errands, would
not pass under it. Instead, when they reached the corner
from either direction they would pick up their skirts
and go out into the middle of the street, in sunshine or in
rain, and, looking neither to the right or left, pass beyond
the hated emblem. No insult was offered, but Federal
officers made it perhaps harder than insult by laughing
at them,
11. The Explosion. While General Maury had carried
away all stores possible, on the surrender of General Dick
Taylor at Meridian and other commanders in the South
West, much of every kind, especially ammunition, fell into'
the hands of the Federals, and was brought by river and
rail to Mobile and stored into cotton warehouses. The
city in this way became one great arsenal. Suddenly
on May 25th in the afternoon the city was shaken as by an
earthquake. Warehouses were demolished, residences and
public buildings injured all over town, and men and animals
killed by the shock. Men and women fled for safety and
for some time no one knew what had happened, except
that those who had looked to the north had seen, as one
boy recollects seeing, a vast column of fire and smoke
ascending and branching ouf on all sides like a huge um
brella, surpassing any that ever hung over Vesuvius;
and it then settled down as a pall upon the town. Mili
tary guards were at once placed around the centre of the
disturbance. It was found that the ammunition- stored

The End of the War

341

GUARD HOUSE

342 Under Two Flags
in Pomeroy's Warehouse on Beauregard near Water Street
had exploded, and with such force that there was no
trace left of the building,— all that represented the ware
house was a great hole in the ground. The killed who
were not blown to atoms were buried, the wounded hurried
to hospitals, but it was many days before the extent of
the damage was found out. Almost a million dollars of
property had been blown into nothing by the careless
handling of shells by negro soldiers, who were unloading
surrendered ammunition brought down the railroad. How
many soldiers were killed, how much ammunition was
destroyed, no one ever knew, for no one was left to tell
how the accident occurred.
Such was the return of peace.

PERIOD VIII.
A MODERN PORT

A UTHORITIES.
Documents. Files of the Mobile Register and other
newspapers; Records of the City of Mobile; Mobile City
Directories; Reports of the United States Engineers; Annual
Reports of the Mobile & Ohio Railroad Company,
Histories. Fleming, War and Reconstruction in Ala
bama (1905;) H, A, Herbert, Reconstruction;'? . J, Hamil
ton, The Reconstruction Era.
Miscellaneous. Pamphlets issued by Mobile Board of
Trade, Chamber of Commerce, Cotton Exchange, etc.

CHAPTER XLV.
RECON STR UCTION.
1. The Ou'look. With the close of the Civil War the
Alabama-Tombigbee Basin entered upon a new epoch,
one of an entirely different character from those known
under the five flags of the past. It was in a sense the
restoration of the American flag, but that flag now meant
a different state ot affairs from formerly. Under the
French, British, Spanish and American flags there had
been the same kind of growth. The whole region was
agricultural, seeking its market by shipment from Mobile,
to which the rivers brought the products of the . interior,
and from which ships took them to Europe. The Con
federacy had marked a transition period, because of the
blockade; but there was no real change in conditions. It
is true that before the War the Mobile & Ohio Railroad
had been built and some other railroads begun, but they
were atter all in aid of the traffic by rivers. The harbor
offered difficulties on account of deposits caused by the
rivers between the city and the; mouth of the Bay; but
competing ports were far away and lightering freight from
the city to the lower fleet Served all purposes of the time.
With the close of the War, however, conditions were
changed. The United States were becoming unified to an
extent undreamed of earlier, both in politics and in business.
There were difficulties to be overcome in social life on
account of the freeing of millions of slaves, and this was to
be reflected in the work of the churches; but the most
serious troubles were connected with the reorganization
of state and the reorganization of industry, — with politics
and with business. Mobile had adapted herself to five
different flags and to changing business conditions in the

346 • Under Five Flags
past. It was now to be seen whether, with the diminished
population and resources due to the Civil War, she could
adjust herself to the new situation.
This is the study before us. The territory considered
will be smaller, because we must confine ourselves more
particularly to Mobile as a port, with only casual glances
at the Alabama-Tombigbee Basin as a whole; but on the
other hand, while the field is less in size, the study will
be more intensive in character. We will take up politics
first, j^nd atterwards the changes caused by the increase
of railroads and competition of other ports.
2. State Reconstruction. After the surrender of General
Dick Taylor the South was under military rule. Presi
dent Johnson appointed L. E. Parsons military governor
of Alabama, and he assembled a convention to amend the
constitution so as to restore the state "to its constitutional
relations to the Federal government." At the election
which followed Robert M. Patton became governor and
the state ratified the Thirteenth Amendment, prohibiting
slavery; but Congress was in opposition to the president
and refused to recognize the new senators and represen
tatives, among the latter C. C. Langdon. Under an Act
of Congress of 1867, passed over the veto of the president,
a new constitution was declared adopted giving votes to
negroes, and the Republican WUliam H. Smith was elected
governor. 3. Carpet-Baggers and Scalawags. Adventurers from
the North controlled affairs and were known as "Carpet-
Baggers," from a word coined by Joseph Hodgson of Mont
gomery. Times were so much out of joint that some of
the whites thought it better to join the Republicans and
try and modify the conditions, but their motives were
assailed and such men were given the name of "Scalawags."
The legislature, composed of Carpet-Baggers, Scalawags

Reconstruction

347

and twenty-six negroes, ratified the later amendments, and
engaged in every kind of corrupt legislation. It was at
this time that the state credit was loaned to corporations
which never built the raUroads for which the aid was
granted. There came some improvement when the
Democratic and Conservative party elected R. B. Lindsay
governor in 1870, but the Republicans retained control of
the senate.
4- Two Legislatures. The white people in 1872 made a
desperate effort to regain
full control of the state,
and for governor nominat
ed Thomas H. Herndon,
of Mobile; but David P.
Lewis, of the Tennessee
Valley, was declared elected
and the vote of the state
then, as four years before,
went to Ulysses S. Grant
for president. A Demo
cratic legislature met in the
state capitol, and was
recognized by Governor
Patton, and then the court
house legislature, composed
of Republicans, was recog
nized by Governor Lewis;
so that for a while there
were two sets of laws. "^ho^' "' "erndon
Much depended upon the attitude of the national govern
ment, for garrisons were at several points in the state.
Peter Hamilton, of Mobile, was sent to Washington by
the Democrats and made the best terms possible with the
Federal attorney-general, and finally the two legislatures

348

Under Five Flags

rnejt as one. Alexander McKinstry presided over the senate
and D. C. Anderson, both, of Mobile, over the house of
representatives, so that the influence of Mobile in state
.politics at this time was very great.
6. The Kelley Riot. Meantime much had happened
at Mobile. At the close qf the War Mayor Slough was
removed by the military and John Forsyth appointed in
his stead. Upon the re-
establishment of civil gov
ernment, however, Jones
M. Withers was elected
mayor and acted until May
1867. The Reconstruction leg
islation had just been
passed and Northern agi
tators came from time to
time to influence the
negroes. One of these was
Judge W. D. Kelley of
Pennsylvania, who ad
dressed a crowd, mainly
of armed negroes, in front
ot the court house on May
14. He was using in
cendiary language, stating
that he would be protected
by the Fifteenth Infantry then at Mobile, when a pistol
was discharged and a runaway wagon stampeded the
assembly. Kelley himself left precipitately and took
refuge in the Battle House, called for the military and had
himself guarded. Meantime the negroes went about the
streets firing pistols and at least one white man was killed.
Kelley chartered a boat as soon as possible and went

Reconstruction

349

over to Tensaw and took the train for Montgomery,
Citizens at Mobile held a meeting and passed resolutions
proposed by McKinstry regretting thedisturbance,andshow-
ing that there was no hostility to Northerners or negroes, .
This riot was commented on all over the country, and
Gen. Swayne, by Gen. Pope's command, removed Mayor
Withers frdm office, appointing Gustavus Horton instead.
6. Reconstruction a t
Mobile. In 1869 Caleb "
Price was elected mayor,
' but, although interference
ceased on the part of the .
military, the charter had
been amended to permit
removal by the governor.
This occurred in 1870,
when George F. Harring
ton was appointed by Gov
ernor Lewis. It was during
this year that occurred the
worst municipal scandals,
and the credit of the city,
like that of the state before
it, was pledged for rail
roads which were never
built. 7. The Wharves. Part
of the corruption of the day was connected with obtaining
for the city the river front. It will be remembered that
although Mobile had been French and Spanish, and there
fore subject to the Civil Law, even the Spaniards had
granted out the front of the city from Royal Street east
to the river to different individuals. These had. always
claimed the shore and had from time to time improved it by
building wharves or bulkheads.

GUSTAVUS HORTON

350 Under Five Flags
The United States had attempted in 1824 to vest the
city with the ownership ot the bank of the river, but the
courts decided that the United States had nothing to
grant. Now after the War, when it was so necessary to
rebuild the city's commerce, there was much complaint
of wharf charges, and the city authorities obtained from
the legislature January 31, 1869, the short but famous
act which vested in the city the rights of the state. The
theory was that if the shore was not the United States'
property, it was that of the state, and should be passed
on to the city for the public good. In consequence the
city threatened suits against Moses Waring and others,
who had built up and used the river front, but they suc
cessfully prevented the attempt by proceedings in the
Federal court. The suit was finaUy compromised in 1870
by the city's buying the wharves from the owners and in
order to do this it issued three hundred and sixty thousand
dollars of bonds. In this way the city came into possession
ot a third of a mile of the ri-yer front and was enabled to
fix wharf charges.
8. Negroes. Even during the War negro refugees had
been aided by the Federal government, and what was
called the Freedmen's Bureau was set up for their relief.
The object was not merely to help them, but to make them
useful citizens. As the negroes were now free, their
old masters had no control and could only hire them by
contracts supervised by the Freedmen's Bureau. As
carried on, the Bureau became a political affair and was
used by adventurers to help themselves. The negroes
became independent of the Southern churches, and re
ceived attention from those at the North. Two branches
of the Methodist Church, called the African Methodist
Episcopal and the African Methodist Zion Churches,
were organized throughout the South, and became strong

Reconstruction 351
also at Mobile. The Little Zion was moved to Church
and Bayou Streets, and all the churches became affi
liated with one or. the other of these two bodies or with
the Northern Baptists. The tendency in religion as in
politics, therefore, was for the race to become completely
independent. 9. Social Life. The Civil War had been connected
with the negro in its origin and results. He had been
elevated trom slavery to citizenship on the political side,
and on the religious side was now coming to have control
of his own churches. These two results had been quickly
reached, for they could be effected bj' regulation. There
were two other elements connected with civilization
whose solution would require more time. The one was
as to his industrial future. At first the negro abandoned
work, and sometimes left the country for town. Here he
all but starved, and conditions did not right themselves
for some time: The remaining unsettled matter was as
to family relations. The Abolitionists had always urged
the equality of the negro and the white race and their
enthusiasm led them to break down all barriers. They
preached intermarriage and the negro leader, Fred Douglass,
married a white woman, and thus set a practical example
before his race iri the South. The white race, however,
would have none of this, and set their faces against any
social mingling of whites and blacks. Social equality,
as it was called, was refused, and no amount of legislation
or persecution could effect it. Attempts were made by
Federal laws to compel the opening of hotels, theatres
and public places to whites and blacks alike, but such
regulations were all evaded and finally repealed or became
a dead letter. The whites maintained their own social
unity and the negroes gradually learned to develop their
own.

352 Under Five Flags
lO. Negro Officials. The Carpet-Baiggers did not favor
having negroes in important offices, but permitted them to
become postmen and hold other subordinate positions.
Some negroes became political leaders, one of them being
Allen Alexander, who is said to have broken an umbreUa
over a white collector of customs in a political difference
on the Custom House stairs. Another was a black man
named Alfred, who had been a carriage driver for D. W.
Goodman, and several of the preachers became leading
politicians. The mulattoes were specially prominent.
There was one famous exception to the Republican rule in
Charles Archie Johnson, a one-legged newspaper vender
and an ardent' Democrat, His beat was Royal Street,
where he cried out the Register and Times-Democrat with
great gusto. He was put up to following some of the
Republicans and making fun of them, in consequence of
which they attempted to banish him ; but without success.
11. Negro Education. At the close of the War there was
little difference of opinion as to the education of the negroes.
The missionaries ot the Northern churches desired it, the
Freedmen's Bureau took it in hand, and the Southerners,
both in state and church, thought it would improve the race,
although the use of the Medical College for that purpose
was opposed. Schools were opened, attended by old and
young negroes, and in some cases native whites were
teachers. With the coming of Reconstruction, however,
the situation was changed. Northern teachers came, full
of crusading zeal against Southern institutions, and Repub
licans used the educational offices to m.ake money. One
of the changes of Reconstruction was the creation of
a State Board of Education, of which N. B. Cloud was
superintendent. He wished to subject the Mobile school
system to his control, and appointed G. L. Putnam super
intendent. Putnam was principal of a school called

Reconstruction 353
Emerson Institute, which the American Missionary
Association had started for the negroes in Norman Pinney's
old school building, "The Blue College," and sought to
have the Institute obtain part of the school funds; but he
was not recognized by the School Board. He obtained
.several thousand dollars of the funds by virtue of his
office and the matter w^as taken into the courts by the School
Board in 1869. The Supreme Court, through Justice
Peters, a Republican, decided that the Mobile School
system had not been changed by legislation, and sustained
the School Board. The result was that the different
negro schools had to sustain themselves, but the School
Board established negro public schools under their own
control the next year. Colonel Joseph Hodgson became
state superintendent in 1870 and did much to improve
education, but was in office only two years, and was suc
ceeded by a Republican. The State Board of Education
was abolished by the Constitution of 1875, but the Mobile
School Board has continued its useful career until now.
12. The Courts. No public officials come in closer
contact with the life of a community than judges, and Mo
bile was unfortunate in those whom Reconstruction put
upon the bench, state and Federal. The most famous
of these was Richard Busteed, an Irishman, who was once
a Methodist preacher and atterwards a Federal soldier
for a short time. His position of district judge for Alabama
was nominal except when the Federals were in control of
the north part of the state, but after the War he took
the place held up to then by William G. Jones. Busteed
was a prominent figure in cotton and other cases at Mobile
and elsewhere. He decided that the test oath for lawyers
was unconstitutional, but his other acts were much criti
cized. He was arbitrary in eourt and after the bar had
suffered a long time impeachment proceedings were brought

354

Under Five Flags

against him by Robert H. Smith. The matter was
compromised by the resignation of Busteed in 1874, when
he returned to New York.
13. The New Militia. As all the active Confederates
were distranchised, and Federal soldiers ancl Republicans
controlled the machinery of election, it looked as if there
could bc no remedy in political affairs and the okl citizens
must migrate or turn their attention to something else
than politics. After the surrender no armed organizations
were permitted to exist,
but .gradually the soldiers
got together for social pur
poses, and the younger
men called themselves after
the old military companies.
The Cadets, Rifles, Light
Infantry, German Fusi
liers, and Artillery came
into existence again from
1868, and, as soon as the
Federal authorities permit
ted, were recognized as
state troops, with regular
officers. The first Regi
ment of Alabama State
Troops organized with
J, H. Higley as colonel.
They were able to do good
service, tor, as the Federal
soldiers were confined to the Barracks and were finally
withdrawn, there was sometimes need for the new military.
There was an annual encampment at Frascati on the Bay
shore, and later the Rifles and Lomax Rifles became
famous for their drills. The Rifles acquired a national

T. L. WOODRUFF

Reconstruction 355
reputation by their victories at Nashville and Dubuque,
and even by their defeat at Houston,
14- The National Cenutery. Burials in the Old Grave
yard became fewer as it filled up, and what was now
called Magnolia Cemetery became the favorite burying
ground. In the year 1860 the city of Mobile donated three
acres of land in Magnolia for use as a national
cemetery, and the gift was courteously acknowledged by
General George H. Thoinas on behalf of the government.
The Federal dead were remov^ed to this place from Blakely
and other points near Mobile, trees and flowers were
planted, and a keeper's house erected. In 1894 a strip of
land was donated by the city which extended the cemetery
to Virginia Street, and in this division were afterwards
re-interred the remains of Jackson's soldiers, who had been
buried near Fort Jackson, — Bienville's old Fort Toulouse,
The "Confederate Rest" was but a short distance away,
but there was no government to take care of it,
15. Memorial Association. During the War the women
of Mobile had inspired the soldiers as they went forth,
nursed them when brought back wounded, and consecrated
their memories when dead. After the close of the War,
therefore, it was not unnatural that the women should form
an association to care for the graves in the "Confederate
Rest," Mrs, Ann T, Hunter led in this and the Confed
erate Memorial Association was formed. Its work was
of two kinds. In the first place, the women would gather
together and make cedar wreaths, and on Memorial Day,
April 26, after salute by the military and an appropriate
address by an orator of the day, they placed the wreaths
upon all Confederate graves, whether named or marked
unknown. Many famous men have delivered these ad
dresses, and amongst them Dr, Ben M, Palmer, A more
lasting part of the Association's work was beautifying the

356 Under Five Flags
"Confederate Rest." Headstones were set at each grave,
marked with the soldier's name if known, and an
appropriate monument surmounted by a statue was erected
in the centre of the ground. It represents a private
soldier at parade rest and the sculptor's model was John
H. Higley.
16. Mardi Gras. During the worst of the Reconstruc
tion days the old feeling which had organized the Cowbel
lians came back again. The Strikers and T. D. S., dating
from before the War, kept up their New Year's parade at
the same time as the Cowbellians; but the members were
getting old, and the younger men preferred to organize
themselves into new societies and parade at Mardi Gras.
The Order of Myths came into being in 1867, and the
Infant Mystics two years later, rivals who by their historical
or fancy pageants have added much to the pleasure and
instruction ot the public. The transfer of these turnouts
to the pleasanter season reacted upon the older societies,
and these after a joint parade on New Years Eve of 1881
ceased tO' appear. The older in this way handed on the
torch to the younger and kept up the mystic continuity
Mobile can boast of being the Mother ot Mystics.
17. The Ku Klux. The Anglo-Saxons love local self-
government and their genuis tor politics led them to plan
to regain control of public affairs indirectly where they could
not act directly. So a plan was devised to influence the
negroes by playing on their superstition. It is said to
have originated with General Forrest in Tennessee, where
a social circle (Kuklos) called themselves the Ku Klux Klan.
About New Orleans and Mobile a similar society was
called the Knights ot the White Camelia. The object was
to keep the negroes away from the polls at elections, and
the old system of patrol, both in county and town, was
used to carry out the scheme. At night a party of ghostly

Reconstruction

357

looking riders would go about, visit the negro cabins and
frighten the family, and warn the men that if they voted
something dreadful would happen. On Government Street
a tall white figure would stop an alarmed negro and ask
him to hold the ghost's skull while he adjusted a back
bone, and such practical use of Hallowe'en methods
kept the blacks away from the polls. Even the efforts
of the Republican leaders to enroll them in the Loyal
League could no longer avail. Carpet-Baggers also received
written notices or saw them in the papers. There is no
doubt that violence was sometimes used, and congress

CITY MONEY

took up the matter in a series of investgations, and passed
laws under which the Ku Klux were prosecuted and
finally broken up.
18. A Political Revolution. Unity of feeling and action
had nevertheless been secured among the whites. The old
names of Whig and Democrat had disappeared from use
and all combined in what was called the Democratic and
Conservative party, pledged to redeem the state from
misrule. They almost succeeded in 1872, and the whole
state was finally carried by the Democrats in 1874 tor

358 Under Five Flags
George S. Houston as governor. At Mobile, O. J. Seinmes,
son of the admiral, became judge of the city court, Harry
T. Toulmin judge of the circuit court, and Price WiUiams,
Jr., judge of the probate court, ancl at the city election
John Reid was elected mayor, although the old mayor,
C. F. Moulton, managed to hold over by means of liti
gation. This was remedied, however, at the next election,
when Alphonse Hurtel was chosen, and he discharged
the duties of the office until his death. During this time
the city found it necessary to issue paper money in several
denominations and for a time its fractional currency
was in good circulation. George G. Duffee became
mayor in 1877. Much was remedied in this interval,
much was found past remedying. Money had been
squandered and debts had been assumed for railroads,
and the load now became hciiviest just when Mobile looked
out on new economic conditions.

CHAPTER XLVI.
THE RAILROAD ERA.
1. The Commercial Outlook. When the War was over
and the people returned to the pursuits of peace, they
found that in industry as well as in politics they were
in a different worid from that of 1860. The drift
to the towns was now marked and the towns themselves
were different. Not only had the Eastern cities become
much larger, but the Western towns of Cincinnati, Louis
ville, St. Louis and Chicago had become great cities. A
new place named Birmingham was begun in 1871, and
its district promised to grow and make Alabama a unit
by developing the mineral region, which had so long
separated the state into two different river basins. Mobile,
in particular, had to face new conditions. The interior
was growing more rapidly than the ports, and of the ports
only those developed which the railroads favored, and they
did not favor those where bulk had to be broken in order
to lighter freight down to deep water. There was working
out a commercial reconstruction as momentous as the
political reconstruction of the past. As quickness of trans
portation is the index to progress, any change must show
itself first in the railroads.
2. The Mobile and Ohio. During the Civil War the
railroads had been operated by the Confederate govern
ment, although still owned by the old companies, and at
the end of the struggle they were in a deplorable condition.
Few repairs had been made, and everything was run down.
The roUing stock, moreover, was captured property in the
hands of the Federals, and the roadbed, where not torn up,
was in bad order, and the rails and cross-ties worn out.
MobUe was especially interested in the Mobile & Ohio

360 Under Five Flags
Railroad, and the officers of this company early set to work
to get system out of chaos. Much of the rolling stock was
at Nashville and Memphis, but an order was secured from
President Johnson for its return to the company, and
gradually Major L. J. Fleming got things in running order,
and the road regained much of its old business. Debts
had been held off by the War, but now the creditors in
England and in the North ' began to urge their claims.
This prevented any great increase of the railroad's business,
and resulted in the seventies in arrangement by which
new securities were issued in place of the old ones, and the
creditors came in control of the railroad itself.
3. Railroad Aid. What was true of the Mobile & Ohio
was true of all the Southern railroads, for they were going
through a period of transformation. The result was not
merely having new men coming into control, as with the
Mobile & Ohio, but many of the Southern roads were closed
out under mortgages and the absolute ownership passed
into the hands of Northern capitalists. The Civil War
had brought only disaster to the South, but it had been the
means of making many a fortune at the North. The rail
road system there had been greatly advanced, and, instead
of short roads, the necessity ot moving troops and crops
had caused the development of great systems, such as the
Pennsylvania and Erie. The same plan was now introduced
by capitalists in the South, and with the desire to rebuild
the country Southerners plunged into railroad building
in all directions. Laws were passed in Alabama authorizing
cities and counties to aid new railroads, and the state itself
gave money to railroads at so much a mile completed.
The origin of this legislation goes back of the War, but it
was now carried to -extremes. Some good enterprises were
aided in this way, but many fraudulent ones were started,
which never built the roads but did enrich the promoters.

The Railroad Era 361
In order to do its part, the state of Alabama issued bonds
to the amount of about five million dollars, and the city
of Mobile also became heavily involved for roads built
or planned to the east, south and northwest, which would
make Mobile the Gulf terminus for many systems,
4- New Orleans, Mobile &f Chattanooga Railroad. The
enterprise which attracted most attention was one to con
nect Mobile with New Orleans, Its advocates told how
much both cities would be benefited, and cotton brought
to Mobile, while its opponents said that the business at
Mobile would be taken by the road to the larger port.
The promoters secured a charter from the state of Alabama,
and secretly took possession by force of the river front
south of Government Street, drove piles and ran a railroad
where had been slips and wharves east of Commerce
Street. Railroad shops were built at the foot of Charles-
tonStreet and city bonds issued for them as a public improve
ment. The company, made several mortgages and was
re-organized under the name ot New Orleans, Mobile &
Texas Railroad Company; in point of fact, however, it
never built either to Texas or to Chattanooga, and remained
essentiaUy a railroad trom Mobile to New Orleans, It
was expensive on account of having to bridge many bayous
and shallow bays, and, although it developed the coast and
a large traffic between the two cities, it was hardly a paying
venture. One result was that its competition drove the
boats out of business, and the old Mail Line wharf at the
foot of Conti Street fell into decay.
5. The Mobile & Montgomery Railroad. Not long
before the War a railroad had been built from Montgomery
to Pensacola, but, as it had to compete with the Alabama
River business, it was not verj' flourishing, and after a while
much of its business was diverted to Mobile by the Great
Northern, which was built from the Tensaw River to join

302 Under Five Flags
this Montgomery road. WUliam D. Dunn, of Mobile, was
one of the leading spirits in this enterprise. While it was
planned to build across the delta direct into Mobile and
terminals were secured about Beauregard Street, the
bridges were not built until the seventies. Until then
connection was made with Mobile by steamboat to a point
above Blakeley, and the Mobile & Montgomery soon
became an important link in the Mobile railroad system.
6. Alabama Grand Trunk Railroad. The Mobile &
Ohio had been originally planned in order to reach the
cotton of the South and the gr^in ot the West, but with the
development of the Mineral Belt of Alabama during the
War a new ideal appeared for railroads. The improvement
of the Warrior and Cahaba Rivers sufficiently to open up
that country seemed a long way off, and during the railroad
fever Francis B, Clark, who had long been prominent in
the Mobile & Ohio, directed attention to a plan for a grand
trunk line from the Mineral Region to the natural seaport
for coal and iron at Mobile, After agitation through the
press and otherwise, the city issued bonds to about $100,000.
A depot was built on Beauregard Street west of the Mobile
& Ohio depot. The road was surveyed the whole way up
to Elyton in Jefferson County, in the heart of the Mineral
Region, but not enough money was raised to build the bridge
or much of the roadbed beyond the Tombigbee River.
Daily trains were run from Mobile up to the Bigbee, and
for a while the enterprise promised well.
7. The Mobile & Northwestern Railroad. Among the
new men at Mobile after the Civil War was Colonel Wil
liam D. Mann, and he Originated the scheme of a road to
run northwestwardly towards Little Rock, crossing the Mis
sissippi River at Helena. Charter and rights of way were
secured and the city aided by bonds to the extent of. one
hundred and fifty-one thousand dollars. The roadway

The Railroad Era 363
ran out Congress Street, the western part of which as now
used was opened by the tracks of the company, which were
laid for some distance beyond Spring Hill. A beginning
was also made at the Mississippi River end, where more
of the road was built than about Mobile.
8. The Panic of 1873. Mobile like other American
cities had in the past suffered from financial troubles
originating in the money centres, and now her return to
the Union was signalized by another panic. The business
expansion which followed .the close of the War had been
general throughout the country. Railroad building and
other public enterprises had been overdone, and a reaction
followed beginning at Philadelphia on Black Friday,
1873. Banks were affected throughout the whole Union,
and all enterprises, especially railroads, which depended
upon obtaining money in New York came to a halt. The
Mobile & Ohio passed into the hands of its Northern
bondholders, and the same was true of the Mobile, New
Orleans & Texas, and the Mobile & Montgomery w-as
reorganized with much the same result, and the Grand
Trunk and Northwestern soon came to an end. It was
easier and cheaper to ship cotton to New Orleans or an
Atlantic port than to break bulk and lighter it down
the Bay to ships lying there in deep water. The inconven
ience which had made no difference before War became a
burden now in the face of cheaper rates by railroads to
other ports. Many business houses failed and there
began an exodus of young men to New Orleans, Memphis,
Texas and other places to seek the living which was be
coming more and more difficult at home. It was this w-hich
made the Panic of 1873 and its results different from all
before, for losing so many young men sapped much of
the energy ot the city. The yellow fever epidemics of the
seventies had the same effect. The railroads all but
annihilated the harbor.

364 Under Five Flags
9. Louisville &f Nashville Railroad. The age of short
railroads had passed, and that of great systems had come.
In length the Mobile & Ohio remained one of the greatest
railroads in the South, but its importance was eclipsed by
other lines. The one that affected the Mobile territory
was the Louisville & Nashville, which gradually got control
of railroads leading southward, including in 1881 the Mobile
& Montgomery RaUroad. It did not make the city, its
terminus, however, for it first leased and then bought the
Mobile, New Orleans & Texas Railroad, and in this way
became a through line from Louisville to New Orleans.
It put the small railroads of which it had control into good
order, and, as it passed through the Mineral Belt, which
the Grand Trunk had aimed at but never reached, it
became one of the leading systems of the South. This
railroad ran into Pensacola on the one side and to New
Orleans on the other, and deemed it to be to its interest
to develop these two ports rather than Mobile, where it
had competition with the Mobile & Ohio, and found few
shipping facilities.
10. The Steamboats. The river traffic continued
large, but gradually felt the effect ot railroad competition.
The boats after the War were almost all sternwheelers, as
more powerful and more easily loaded, and, as the passenger
traffic shifted to the railroadds, speed was less important.
Marine disasters occurred from time to time. Specially
distressing were the explosion of the Ocean Wave at Point
Clear on a Sunday excursion in 1871, when over a hundred
people, some of them children, were lost, and the burning of
the William H. Gardner on the Tombigbee in 1§88 when
many lives were lost. The spectacular burning of the
Maggie F. Burke at the city wharves cost no lives. The
explosion of the James T. Staples at Bladon Springs Landing
in 1913 had sad and mysterious features. Such accidents

The Railroad Era 365
have been rare, but the growth of the railroads at the ex
pense of the steamboats was a continuous fact of the eighties
and was something to be reckoned with by a city which had
been built up by river traffic.
11. The City Charter. For a short while after the close
of the War business had been prosperous, despite the
political unrest, but from the time ot the panic the city
as a corporation felt the stress of financial trouble. Citi
zens were unable to pay taxes and as a result interest on
the railroad and other public debts was not met and even
the regular departments of the city government had
insufficient income. Suits were begun by debtors against
the city in the United States court, and the northern wing
of the municipal building was sold under judgment and has
ever since remained private property. A reorganization was
made in 1875, but the city could not pay the new interest.
Conditions were now much the same as after the panic of
1837, and now as then citizens got together to find a remedy.
The first step was to have the state dissolve the charter of
the city by an act of February 11, 1879, and place the ad
ministration of the more thickly settled part in three com
missioners, with the duty to affect a settlement with the
creditors. These were kt first reluctant to accept any
reduction of their debt, but finally an arrangement was
made, providing new bonds for about two and a quarter
million dollars, and it became a law Jby action of the legis
lature December 8, 1880. The debt was cut almost in
half, and what represented the purchase of the wharves
secured by a mortgage on the wharves. All the interest
was payable from special taxes, levied by the commis
sioners. Meanwhile by act of the same date the govern
ment of the city itselt was placed under what was called
a Police Board, of whom the head was the recorder. To
this office was elected Richard B. Owen.

CHAPTER XLVII,
SEVEN LEAN YEARS (1878-1885.)
1. Reorganization of Industry. There are social laws
to which man conforms, although he does not realize it.
Changes which sometimes bring ruin to individuals, or
even to a community, are nevertheless working out a
growth for society at large, and man has a wonderful
capacity for adapting himself to new surroundings. We
have seen this when the Spaniards came to America and
gradually softened, when the French became habitans
and Creoles, when the British absorbed the French and
the two became one, and when the pioneers in the
South West became different people from those on the
Atlantic, We now find the same thing among the South
erners when the Civil War had destroyed the capital which
had been saved up by society and the form of labor was
changed from slaves to freedmen. It was a social change
of the first order, and, although made worse by political
interference, was one which had to work itself out in some
way unless anarchy was to result. There was on the one
side an effect produced on the negroes. They had formerly
worked faithfully, but often only because they were
forced to do so. Now they thought that they could work
or not as they pleased, and for a time there was great
demoralization; but after a while they found that they
had to work or starve, and they settled down into more
or less regular habits, A more serious feature was in the
change from the personal relation of master and slave,
which was often one of affection, to the business relation
of employer and employed, which frequently lacked all
personal interest. There was an effect also on the white
people. The slavery system had developed a very high

Seven Lean Years (1878-1885.) 367
order of man, fOr America furnishes no higher type of man
hood than Washington and Lee; but it created also a class
of poor whites who had little social standing, and manual
labor had come to be looked on somewhat as a badge of
inferiority. The new conditions changed all this. All
whites were now poor and had to begin at the bottom, and
many, both men and women, had to do work with hands
which were never trained to labor. It is not to be won-
ered, therefore, that conditions for some years after the
War were pitiful in the extreme. This marked the first
stage in the economic readjustment after the War,
2. New Men. Time would bring a new generation to
the front, but some new men came at once. Each era in
the history of Mobile has brought new men, who have
become a part of its life, and the Civil War was no excep
tion. It had brought destruction, but it had also brought
to the city from the country or from a distance such men as
William J, Hearin, Albert C. Danner, Julian W. Whiting,
John L. Rapier, Albert P, Bush, and J, T, Gilmore, and
they were needed to fill the vacancies. For a while the
military element was prominent, for the old soldiers loved
their old commanders, but graduaUy new conditions ad
vanced men from civil life. Some of the Federal soldiers
also remained, such as Colonel M. D, Wickersham of
General Thomas' staff, and others who became Federal
officials, Wickersham was successively city treasurer,
postmaster, and district attorney. Some came to better
their condition, and others with a real desire to become a
part of the community and help build it up. The military
era passed and agriculture, trade and commerce became
more important. From this time also may be noted the
gradual disappearance of the French, who had always
been so marked a feature of local history. No more came
and those who were in Mobile died or were absorbed by

368 Under Five Flags
marriage with American families. Their customs had
permeated local civilization and were to remain, but within
two or three decades the French-speaking Mobilian became
a rarity. On the other hand the number of Germans and
of German Jews gradtially increased and they added a
valuable element. The population as a whole, however,
in 1880 showed a dechne, for it was only 29,132.
3. Revival of Business. The system of slavery had not
been favorable to manufactures, tor the negroes did not
as a rule become skilled laborers, such as could use machines
to advantage. It , was different with the poor whites,
but in their way they were as proud as the slaveholders
and held themselves aloof on their little farms and in the
mountains. It was thought that conditions were different
atter the War, and the old factories were put in order and
new ones begun. At Mobile yarn mills, cotton cloth,
factories, furniture factories and other enterprises were
begun from time to time, but, as this was often with small
capital and without sufficient knowledge of the business,
they sometimes failed, and this discouraged others. Banks
and insurance companies were also revived or started,
and did a good business. The Mobile Fire Department
Insurance Company devised the unique feature of having
firemen as stockholders, and thus interested them in saving
houses, — especially those bearing the sign of the fireman's
cap, adopted by this company. The Panic of 1873 crip
pled many of these enterprises, for, being local, they were
subject to local conditions. Some, however, were lasting,
such as the Stonewall Insurance Company and the Factors
and Traders Insurance Company. The Fair Associa
tion had jts first fair in 1874 and contributed
to popularizing new methods in agriculture and other
industries, C, C, Langdon was now in the fruit raising
industry and through this Association and in the press

Seven Lean Years (1878-1885.)

369

did much towards teaching how to renew soils wasted by the
old methods of agriculture.
4. The Cotton District. Old things were passing away
with new conditions, but one new element of architecture
came with the revival of the cotton trade in the sixties.
This business was connected with the shipping, river and
marine, and naturally centered at the river front. Brokers

MOBILE FIRE DEPARTMENT INSURANCE COMPANY SIGN
and factors had their offices near together for greater con
venience, and particularly in the second story of the build
ings between Commerce and Front Streets. An iron
verandah ran along the side facing the river, and light
bridges spanned the streets north of St. Francis, so that
cotton men could go from office to office for several blocks
without having to descend to the street. This lasted until
the destructive fire of 1892. The warehouses and
presses, however, remained in the north part of town, which
was rebuilt after the explosion.

370

Under Five Flags

6. The Banks. The National Banking Law passed by
the United States during the War was applicable to the
Southern States after they had returned to the Union, and
the First National Bank, chartered in 1865, attained import
ance under James H. Masson as president, and the National
Commercial Bank followed afterwards. The national
banks had the right to issue currency, while the others did
not. The Deposit and Savings Bank, chartered 1866, was
an experiment which sought to issue paper not prohibited
by law, and it furnished currency for several years. In _
1S71 came the Peoples Bank, which bought the site of the

FOOTE'S MONEY

old Southern Bank and was destined under the management
of J. W. Whiting to become one of the greatest institutions
of Alabama. The Bank of Mobile, which had survived
so many years of prosperity and distress, now bought
the northwest corner of Royal and St. Francis Streets and
continued to be the principal bank of the city, while the
Mechanics Savings Bank had been reorganized as the
Mobile Savings Bank at a place of business east on St.
Francis.

Seven Lean Years (1878-1885.) 371
6. The Street Railways. The grow^th of Mobile just
prior to the War had led to different plans for transporta
tion ot people, and umier an act of legislature ot 1860 the
Spring HUl Railroad was buUt to that suburb from Mobile.
There had for some years already been an omnibus company
operating a line of busses from down town out Dauphin
Way, and it took advantage of the new law and laid tracks
on Dauphin from Royal to Lafayette, where it built
stables for its horses and mules. The War had greatly
interfered with both these railways, but immediately
afterwards they were put in order, and other railways
built. Jn 1866 a street railroad was built down Royal
Street to the resort named Frascati among the beautiful
oaks on the Bay, and later a. rival road was built clown
Conception Street and Washington Avenue, finally reaching
another resort known as ArHngton on the Bay. During
the same year the Dauphin Street road had a rival which
was built on Government from Commerce to Lafayette,
which led to the improvement of Government.
7. Revival of the Cotton Business. Some oi the old
cotton men were dead, and some could not adjust them
selves to the new age. William H. Ross & Co., however,
continued, and such names as Baker, Lawler & Co., Walsh,
Smith & Co., Allen, West & Co., (afterwards Allen, Bush
& West), Foster & Gardner, T. S. Fry & Co., Patrick
Irwin & Co., Sims, Harrison & Co., and John A. Winston
& Co, were prominent among the factors, who numbered
soon over two dozen. Besides these, there were brokers
and buyers, and managers of presses, warehouses and
pickeries, together with many incidental industries. The
cotton receipts increased for several years after the war.
In 1865 there were only about 75,000 bales received from
all sources, but as soon as business conditions were restored
the receipts were regularly between three and four hundred

372 Under Five Fags
thousand. In 1875 they amounted to 320,822 and in
1878 reached high water mark at 419,071 bales. Of this
considerably over half came by rail, the Mobile & Ohio
bringing twice as much as the Mobile & Montgomery
Railroad; of the amount coming by river the Bigbee and
Warrior brought twice as much as the Alabama. These
proportions, however, varied from year to year.
8. Decline of the Cotton Business. The cotton men had
got used to new conditions, and new men were in control
of affairs. But the conditions changed again and from
the late seventies the receipts began to fall off, for cotton
went by railroad to other ports where it could be loaded
from the cars into the ships. In 1880 there came still
392,319 bales, but in seven years the receipts went down to
216,142 bales. The effect was marked. Less cotton
meant fewer people to handle it, and less profits for those
who did handle it. The Panic of 1873 had caused great
distress, and this falling off in cotton was due to permanent
diversion of the crop elsewhere by rail, and prevented
Mobile from rallying from the effects of the panic. This
marked the second and the more serious stage in the
economic readjustment after the War. Mobile was ceasing
to be a port,
9. The Railroad Commission. Mobile had become great
when swift steamboats superseded flatboats and dirt
roads, and was now passing through a crisis because of
the yet swifter transportation by the railroads. The
effort of the railroads was to kill competition on the rivers
by carrying freight at a low price during the seasons when
the rivers were high enough for the boats, and then
raising rates during the summer when low water stopped
the boats. The result was that the boat traffic on ¦ the
Alabama and Tombigbee was much affected, and it paid
planters and merchants to do their business by railroad.

Seven Lean Years (1878-1885.) 373
and, as railroads were more interested in other points
where there was deep water at the wharves, Mobile suffered
accordingly. Her business men saw the power of these
corpwrations, and set to work to improve the waterways
on the one hand, and on the other to control the railroads.
The lead in regulation had already been taken by the
state of Georgia, and now the Alabama legislature in 1881
passed a law which created a state Railroad Commission,
whose duty it was to see that charges for freight and pas
sengers were fixed according to the distance carried. The
same regulation was effected as to interstate commerce
through the Interstate Commerce Commission established
by Congress in 1887, and much good has been accom
plished by it. But as yet the main seat of the trouble
had not been reached. Mobile's foreign shipping had
greatly decreased and something more was needed to restore
it. 10. Failure of the Bank of Mobile. While a business
panic may come all at once, the recovery is always slow,
and may last for many years. The effects of the Panic
of 1873 were felt by the banks as well as the rest of the
business world. In the Bank of Mobile other causes were
added to the business situation, and in 1884 this pioneer
institution closed its doors. The failure created con
sternation, and caused runs on all the other banks. This
crisis continued for several days, but at last quiet was
restored, and the chancery court began winding up the
affairs of the Bank of Mobile.
1 1 . Depression. The depression which accompanied the
decline in cotton affected every line of business, and par
ticularly the exports which were so largely made up of
cotton. In 1873 these exports had been over $12,000,000,
and this was surpassed in 1876 and 1877, but from this
time on there was a rapid decline. Iii 1878 the exports

374 Under Five Flags
amounted to $9,000,000 and then fell to something over
$6,000,000, while in 1882 they had fallen almost to $3,000,-
000. The value of imports were affected in the same way,
although with greater variations. They had been $1,000,000
in 1873 and fluctuated in the neighborhood of this figure
through 1879, when they fell to half miUion and by 1882
were under $400,000. To offset this was only a slight
increase in the lumber and timber business, and the growth
of the new industry of vegetable farming. Much land
was put in vegetables about Mobile and from a few thousand
dollars the business increased to almost $300,000. This,
however, was but a small offset to the loss of cotton and
the whole community suffered in consequence. It was
commonly said that Mobile had become a way-station
on the Louisville & Nashville Railroad and that no improve
ment was to be expected. All business was depressed,
property decreased in value, and a spirit of discourage
ment seemed to take possession of the community.

CHAPTER XLVIII.
THE HARBOR AND THE RIVERS.
1. Mobile and Deep Water. Mobile is a port and as
such dependent upon the interior and on foreign com
merce. It had not been a manufacturing centre, and
relied upon the river traffic, afterwards re-inforced by rail
roads, to bring the articles which it shipped abroad. The
decline of Mobile had been due to the fact that her magni
ficent river system was shut off from the harbor by several
bars formed by deposits from the rivers. Before the War
and immediately after this had been overcome by lightering
cargoes from the city down to deep water, but when rail
roads were built to the north and to the southwest it was
found cheaper in the Cotton Belt to ship direct to the
mills in the East or through to deeper water at NewOrleans.
The result was that Mobile practically ceased to be a port,
and this was the cause of stagnation of business and
emigration of her young men. The nature of the trade
with the interior was now different also. Before the War
the wholesale business was small, as the planters or their
factors bought their supplies in Mobile at retail. The
growth of the interior towns now changed this, and made it
necessary for Mobile stores to become wholesale houses and
jobbers. This re-adjustment was made, but the question
of deep water was less easily solved.
2. The Jetties. It was characteristic, that, while
many other places acted on the principle of "the old flag
and a big appropriation," Mobile began the work of
making her harbor adequate in the same way in which
she built her first great railroad. In 1867 she secured
the passage of an act of the legislature authorizing the
county to issue bonds to the amount of a miUion dollars,

376 Under Five Flags
to be expended by a Harbor Board for the improvement
of the Bay and harbor. The water over Choctaw Point
Bar had shoaled to about seven feet, and there was a great
deal of discussion whether a channel should be dug or
the current of the river could be confined so as to scour out
its own channel through the main bars off Choctaw Point
and Dog River. The scouring plan was adopted, the pass
between Blakely and Pinto Islands closed, and jetties
were placed at the south end of Pinto, at Frascati, at what
is now Monroe Park, and at Arlington. This work was
done by General Braxton Bragg as engineer, and about
two hundred thousand dollars expended; but the results
were not satisfactory and in 1872 the act was repealed.
3. The Board of Trade. The Mobile Board of Trade
had been organized in 1868 with Col. Woodruff as presi
dent. From the time that business began to decline in
the seventies this organization was wide awake to the
situation. There were two committees in particular which
studied affairs and sought to remedy them. One was that
on harbor improvement, of which Thomas A. Hamilton
was chairman, and the other on water routes, of which
Col. Joseph Hodgson was chairman, and on which A. C.
Danner acted, and to such men Mobile owes her recovery
from what promised to be a permanent decay. The Board
of Trade was at that time on St. Michael Street east of
Royal, and there were held the consultations which led to
sending delegations to congress to advocate not only
cutting through the Choctaw Point and Dog River bars,
but the digging of a channel from the deep water of the
lower Bay to the wharves of the city. The annual reports
of the Board of Trade were devoted largely to this subject,
as well as to securing factories for Mobile. The Board
of Trade was reorganized in 1884 as the Chamber of Com
merce, which continued its good work; but the beginning

The Harbor and the Rivers 377
of the harbor improvement was due to the committees of
the old organization.
4- The First Project for Digging a Channel. The work
was beyond the ability of one city and resort was had to the
Federal government. The matter was pressed upon con
gress and a beginning was made while Reconstruction
congressman like F. G. Bromberg (representative until
1875) could act in harmony with the Republican majority.
In 1870 an appropriation was secured of fifty thousand
dollars, and a survey made. Work began the next year on
the plan of digging a channel thirteen feet deep and two
hundred feet wide from the city to deep water, and with
an annual appropriation, never exceeding one hundred
thousand dollars, this first project was completed in 1876.
The results were stisfactory, and, as the bottom of the Bay
was found to be a blue clay, there was Httle difficulty in
maintaining the thirteen foot depth.
The improvement of commerce was quick and marked.
Ships drawing thirteen feet now came easily to the city
wharves. At first they were only a few dozen, but in a
short time they exceeded a hundred and by 1883 were over
two hundred in number. Many were sailing vessels,
but steamships also came in increasing proportion. They
carried away the Cotton, timber and lumber, and brought
foreign imports; but the importing side was not at first
well developed, for many vessels came in ballst.
5. Second Channel Project. There soon came the neces
sity, therefore, for a deeper channel, and in 1878, while
James Taylor Jones ot Demopolis was congressman, a
survey was made to see what could be done. It was found
by examination of the bottom of the Bay that a depth of
twenty-one feet was possible; but a plan for seventeen
feet was actually adopted, and for this congress made
appropriations, averaging one hundred thousand dollars

378 Under Five Flags
annually, until the channel was cut through the two bars.
The work was then perfected by deepening to seventeen
feet the whole channel throughout its length of about
twenty-six miles.
6. Later Projects. The Cotton Exchange as well as the
Chamber of Commerce interested themselves in this under
taking, so important to the whole community, and a
Joint Coinmittee of the two commercial bodies was formed,
which worked with the Mobile congressman. In this way
in 1888 the further project was adopted of deepening the
channel to twenty-three feet and giving it a width of two
hundred and eighty feet at the top, and soon also a plan
for extending the work up the Mobile River to the mouth
of Chickasabogue was adopted, through the influence of
R. H. Clarke, congressman from Mobile from 1889. These
undertakings were placed under the continuous contract
plan, and have been completed. The total expense has
been about three million and a half dollars.
7. The Existing Channel. There is no limit to the
possibUities of the Mobile channel except the depth of
the water in the river at the one end and the depth of the
outer bar at the other end. Before one project has been
completed another has been adopted, and this will con
tinue and Mobile keep abreast of any other port. The
last project was for 27 feet and was adopted in the year
1910 and' is now practically completed, with the result
that vessels drawing twenty-seven feet can come up to the
city wharves. There has also been completed a plan for cut
ting the channel straight at the mouth of the river and thus
getting rid of an elbow which greatly impeded navigation.
The channel over the outer bar has been graduallydeepening
from natural causes ever since the storm of 1717 closed
the pass by Dauphine Island, and can be deepened artifi
cially as may be desired. The depth at the wharves has

, The Harbor and the Rivers 379
been dredged out to the channel of the river, and a basin
of about eight hundred by six hundred feet has been
dredged below the mouth of Chickasabogue. The general
result, therefore, is that there is a complete channel from
the outer bar to Chickasabogue of twenty-seven feet
depth. 8. The Rivers. Thoughtful men realized that the
rivers must be improved at the same time with the harbor.
The state was interested and conventions were held at
different times to consider the question, among them
one at Blount Springs in the year 1877 and one at Tusca
loosa in 1885; and plans were formed as to the Alabama,
Tombigbee, and other rivers which had never been im
proved by either state or gneeral government. The bitter
experience in aiding railroads led to the provision in the
Constitution of 1875 forbidding the state to undertake
what was called internal improvements. It was left,
therefore, for the United States government to do what
ever was necessary. The Alabama-Tombigbee system is
composed of eleven rivers, affording in all, if improved,
over two thousand miles of navigable waters, draining
basins of forty thousand miles in extent inhabited by more
than a million people. Alabama, Mississippi and Georgia
were concerned, and congress was induced to survey
the rivers and ' finally to appropriate money for their
improvement. It was conceded that little" or nothing
could be done with the rivers above Wetumpka on account
of the hard rock through which they run, but not only
did the lower rivers flow through a rich agricultural country,
but vast quantities of coal and iron were in the Cahaba
and Warrior valleys. These were already partly opened
by means of railroads, and if the rivers could be improved
the products could be brought to the seaboard at Mobile.
About 1875 appropriations were begun for the larger

380 Under Five Flags
rivers. The first work was in removing snags, and after
wards permanent works were undertaken, and provision
made for canalizing the rivers and providing slack water
navigation. Locks on the Warrior have been in course
of construction for a number of years, and when com
pleted coal and iron can be brought from the vicinity of
Birmingham to Mobile. In the course of ten years about
half a million dollars was secured for these purposes,
including a hundred thousand dollars for the Alabama,
Tombigbee and the Warrior, respectively. There was as
much more for the upper Coosa, but this aided Rome,
The Birmingham canal will come in time.
8. Steamship Lines. Mobilians had established a
steamship line with New York before the War, and as
business improved something was done in this direction
again. And it was needed, for in the eighties and even later
the cotton shipped by sea was only forty odd thousand
bales. When the thirteen foot channel was assured a
company was organized that built on the Clyde a steamship
called the Mobile. She was received at Mobile with
enthusiasm and opened a line plying regularly to Liverpool
under the British flag. Although she ran only one or two
seasons, and was not large enough to be profitable, the
Mobile began the regular export of cotton and import of
other things and led the way to a large business. Trans
portation was so much in the hands of railroads that ship
ping could best get its freight by means of them. On
the other hand a railroad like the Mobile & Ohio, reaching
deep water, needed steamship transportation to foreign
markets, and so with the increasing depth of the harbor
the Mobile & Ohio arranged for larger and regular shipping
facilities. From the middle eighties dates a steamship
line to New York and also one to Liverpool, carrying
cotton, and graduaUy other companies have established

The Harbor and the Rivers 381
lines from Mobile to different points. In this way have
come the Munson and Mallory Steamship Lines to New
York, the United Fruit Company to Central America, and
others to the West Indies and to South America.
9. Restdts. Each improvement of the river and each
deepening of the channel increased the commerce of Mobile.
The lighterage companies went out of business, but the
steamboats handled more traffic both up and down the
Alabama-Tombigbee Basin, and vessels which formerly
had to take cargo in the lower Bay now came up to the
city. Not only were cargoes more easily handled, but, as
steamships were now used, ships came oftener, and more
money was spent in town. There had been marine ways
and dry docks on one bank of the river or the other for
many years, and more business was brought to them.
The south part of the town, whose river front had so long
been valueless, came into demand and was built up. The
ship chandlery business grew, banking and insurance
increased, and all branches of business felt the improvement
which resulted from deepening the waterways to and from
Mobile. Grant's Pass has also been improved and aids
commerce with the coast. Water transportation
supplied the needed competition with the railroads, and
railway rates were lowered; so that Mobile gradually won
back its place as a distributing point for the Alabama-
Tombigbee Basin. Much of what had been accomplished
in one epoch by building the Mobile & Ohio was now accom
plished in another way by improving the waterways
which centred at Mobile. Mobile ceased to decline and
began the improvement which has ever since continued.
The ship channel made Mobile a port again.

CHAPTER XLIX.
GROWTH.
1. Cotton. The main reliance of Mobile during its
American history had been cotton. Something had been
attempted in the way of factories, but for a long time the
principal business was still the shipment of cotton in com
pressed bales. The quantity coming to Mobile was much
lessened, since the railroad systems, reaching to the East
and owned there, found it to their interest to transport
cotton direct to the New England mills without letting
it come to tide-water. This was the culmination of the
movement which had begun when Charleston and Savannah
built their railroads westwardly before the War and
tapped the Alabama-Tombigbee Basin at Montgomery.
It was clear, therefore, either the cotton trade must be
regained or something else developed to take its place.
2. Lumber. If the cotton business declined with the
growth of the railroads the contrary was true of lumber;
for not only did the railways., give new territory, but
branches and logging roads to the rivers gradually opened
up the forests on every hand. There had always been
sawmills on or near the country watercourses, and even
before the War the mills of WiUiam Otis at the toot of
Madison Street were among the institutions of the city.
Otis and others marked the first stage in the history of
the lumber business at Mobile, but they did little foreign
business and none to Europe. Pensacola had taken the
lead, but as its tributary forests were thinned out atten
tion was more and more directed to the Alabama-Tombig
bee Basin.
Albert C. Danner had come to Mobile a few years after
the War and in the seventies began the export of lumber

. Growth 383
and timber to Europe. The business grew and its possibi
lities were now learned for the first time. In the early
seventies the total foreign export of lumber and timber was
about ten million cubic feet, and in 1877 it was over thirteen
millions. By 1881 the total shipment of lumber alone
was eighteen million cubic feet, and the year following
this was almost doubled. Danner's company failed in
1884 at the same time with the Bank of Mobile, but other
men had entered into the business and in the late eighties
lumber mills lined the river from Chickasabogue almost
to Choctaw Point. One of the largest was the Sullivan
Timber Company under John W. Black, which came here
after the death of the elder Sullivan at Pensacola.
In value the high-water mark of lumber export was
million and a half dollars in 1910.
3. Timber. Something had been done in timber before
the War. Murrell and Eslava shipped spars to the French
government, and after the War Danner and his associates
handled timber as well as lumber. In 1881 the timber
shipments amounted to one and a quarter million cubic
feet, which was about equal to the lumber trade.
A new element- in the business came when Guy, Bevan
& Company opened an office at the beginning of the eighties.
Their agents were Canadians, for, on account of the closing
of their ports in winter, they began to establish agencies in
the South. Among the early ones Was H. G. G. Donald and
in 1884 came James Hunter, who had been their agent at
Darien, Georgia. A.S. Benn was early connected with
this firm and he and the Hunters built up a large business
in hewn timber. In those days shipments were by sailing
vessels, loaded through portholes in the bow, but in 1886
Donald loaded the Sculptor, the first steamer carrying
a full cargo of sawn pitchpine timber for Liverpool. In

384 Under Five Flags
value the high-water mark of timber exports have been
about two million and a half dollars in 1907, and almost
four million dollars of hewn timber in 1893. Improve
ment in the naval stores business was also marked at an
early date.
4- The Turning Point. A disaster can be dated, but
it is difficult to fix the exact time for an upward movement
in commerce. Nevertheless, it is plain^ that, despite the
failure of the Bank of Mobile and the weakness of other
institutions which followed, from 1885 a different spirit
took possession of the business men of Mobile. The
country as a whole had recovered from the Panic of 1873
and Mobile began to feel the effects of regulation of the
railroads and the deepening of the harbor and rivers. In
1883 was erected the first large private dwelling for a decade,
the Government Street home of F. J. McCoy, who was in
the naval stores business. The Cotton Exchange was
built shortly afterwards and marked the return of pros
perity, which was soon evidenced in handsome stores in
both the retail and wholesale districts. The population
took an upward turn and for 1890 the census gave Mobile
31,076 people.
5. The Mobile & Ohio. No great raUroad genius came
to the front during these times of economic change to make
the Mobile & Ohio the great trunk line to the West its build
ers had planned; nevertheless, much was accomplish
ed. William Butler Duncan of New York had been in
control since the reorganization in 1876 and worked
untiringly to put the finances of the company in good
order. Under able managers the road was improved, and,
in the eighties, a line leased from Cairo, IU., north to St.
Louis, so that the rqad was a through line from St. Louis
to the Gulf at Mobile. E. L. Russell as attorney aided
Mr. Duncan a great deal in developing the road. The

Growth 385
branches to Aberdeen and Columbus were maintained, but
the Gainesville branch, so useful during the War, and that
to Starkville were discontinued. A railroad was built
to Coden on the Sound, and the Columbus branch was
extended through the Mineral Belt and Tuscaloosa over
to Montgomery. The Mobile & Ohio finally became a
part of the Southern Railway and acquired even better
connections. 6. The Mobile and West Alabama Railroad. The new
spirit was reflected in the organization in 1886 of the MobUe
and West Alabama Railway by Mobilians. The old
Grand Trunk plan of bringing coal to Mobile by rail was
revived, although it was perhaps too late for the road to
be a trunk system as originally proposed. The rights
of the Grand Trunk Coinpany were bought, money secured
by issuing bonds, a bridge built at Jackson, and the road
pushed on northward as the Mobile and Birmingham Rail
road. It did not reach Birmingham, for it stopped at
Uniontown, but this gave it connection with Selma and
both the East and the West, and it became a factor in
Mobile's history. It was the more striking, because not
speculative or political, like the Reconstruction railroads,
and it did not stand alone. It, too, ultimately became a
link in the Southern Railway system.
7, The Kansas City Railroad. Somewhat as M, J, D,
Baldwyn had preached a railroad to the Mississippi until
the Mobile & Ohio was built. Chancellor Hurieosco Austill
urged a revival of the old Mobile and Northwestern
scheme until business men were interested, subscriptions
made for survey, and money obtained to begin the road.
Capital was secured by Colonel Frank B, Merrill and the
railroad was built towards Hattiesburg, and has ever
since been advancing further. The terminus sought has
bern changed so that the road no longer aims for Kansas

386 Under Five Flags
City, but runs through Mississippi west of the Mobile
& Ohio, Judge Austill did not reap the benefit of his plan,
but should be honored as the father of the enterprise, and
also as originating the road to Dauphine Island to take the
place of the old Cedar Point Railroad,
8. A New Charter. The people of Mobile began to find
the Port law too narrow. Some attempts were made to
amend the Port act, and it was finally determined to restore
the name of "city," Accordingly on December 10, 1886,
the legislature passed an act providing for the City of
Mobile, restoring the mayor, and creating a general coun
cil, composed of aldermen and councilmen, but leaving
the city limits the same. This act was amended several
times, especially in 1897, and ten years later changed so as
to restore the boundaries of the old city,
9. Public Improvements. Richard B, Owen had been
recorder since the Port was created, and at the election
of 1887 ran for mayor. He was opposed by a young
lawyer, Joseph C. Rich, who had been active in the city
board, and after an exciting election Mr, Rich was success
ful. His administration of six years marked a time of
great public improvement: Heretofore roadways of the
streets had not been paved except with shells, and this
was now remedied so far as the city powers allowed. One
important act of the Rich administration was abolishing
the old volunteer fire department, which had existed in
one form or other since 1819. A dispute with the depart
ment as to appropriations led to the establishment of an
efficient paid fire department in 1888, using the newly
established Bienville Water Supply Company system. Most
of the engine houses were already owned by the city, and
new engines were installed, A second question was connect
ed with water. Serious litigation occurred between the
city and the Bienville Company as to water rates, and the

Growth 387
final result was the purchase of the Bienville plant by the
city, which had already bought the Stein works. In this way
the city secured a fire department and water supply of its own,
10. The Banana Trade. A new element of foreign
commerce was now added. It is an old proverb that the
luxuries of one generation become the necessity of the next,
and we find this true in connection with bananas. In
order to secure some of the fruit business from Central
America the Chamber of Commerce offered a bonus of
$1,500 for the company that should operate stearriers for a
year, and this attracted H, L, McConneU to Mobile,
The first ship bringing bananas was the steamer Sala, which
came in 1893 consigned to the Mobile Fruit & Trading
Company, and marked the beginning of the Mobile fruit
trade on a large sclae. Four years later the Snyder Banana
Company increased the business until it attracted the atten
tion of the United Fruit Company, whose headquarters
were at Boston, A plan of loading speciaUy constructed
cars and rushing them on fast schedules to St, Louis, Chica
go, and even as far west as the Pacific developed into
a system from 1898, when the United Fruit Company
bought out the Snyder Company and made Mobile one
of its ports. The steamships Morgan and Gaines, owned
by Mobilians and run in this trade under the Norwegian
flag, were continued in the fruit business, and most of
the shipping continued to be Norwegian.. Others have
gone into the business and there have been changes from
time to time and the United Fruit, Hubbard-Zemurry,
and Orr and Laubenheimer import through Mobile between
four and five million bunches of bananas a season. This
requires steamships specially constructed for the trade
and employs many men,
11. Trade with the West Indies. From the earliest
time Mobile has carried on trade with the countries to the

388 Under Five Flags
south and no port was more interested in the Spanish War
over Cuba in 1898. A Mobilian, Hannis Taylor, had
been minister to Spain during the stirring time leading up
to this conflict. There was not only a large encampment
of troops near Three Mile Creek, but the Mobile Rifles
and other companies went into the war. A Mobile vessel
was the first to enter Havana after peace returned and the
trade of this port with Cuba became second to New
York. Only less important has been the trade with the
other West India Islands, particularly Hayti and the
French possessions, for commercially American Mobile
became more closely connected with these than in the days
when it was French also. The business covers export of
timber, dry goods, and food supplies of all kinds, and
import of hard wood and other products of the islands.
12. Set-Backs. The improvement in the last decade
of the 19th century was so markecl that some things which
previously retarded the city's growth have not during this
period had that effect. The yellow fever epidemic of the
seventies, particularly 1873 and 1877, demoralized busi
ness and made people flee for the time being, but later
epidemics proved milder. The last was in 1897 and pro
duced little effect, except that the quarantines were more
disastrous to business than the fever was to lives. A
Quarantine Convention was held at Mobile in 1888 and not
long afterwards the cause of the yellow fever was dis
covered, and the disease disappeared as well as all fear ofit.
Conflagrations such as one in 1890, have been kept
within control, and financial panics have ceased to disturb
to the same extent as formerly. There was one in 1893
and another in 1907, which affected business, but the
effect has been temporary, and the growth of the Mobile
territory has not been seriously retarded. The backsets
have been temporary, while the growth has been per
manent.

CHAPTER L,
A NEW CENTURY.
1. Bicentenaries. With the turn of the century
came several anniversaries of interest to Mobilians,
In 1898 there was celebrated at St. Stephens the centennial
of the Spanish Evacuation, attended by many people of
Mobile as well as from the neighboring country, and in
1902 came the two hundredth anniversary of the founding
of Bienville's city at Twenty-seven Mile Bluff. A monu
ment was unveiled there and a tablet placed on the court

BICENTENNIAL MEDALS
house at Mobile with appropriate ceremonies. When the
year 1911 brought around the two hundredth anniversary
of the removal of Mobile to the present site, it was cele
brated by striking a medal and by marking the corners
of the French town, around which a great civil, military
and naval procession moved to the city hall, on which a
suitable bronze tablet was placed as marking the site of
Bienville's New Fort Louis. ,For with aU their interest
in the present and hope in the future Mobilians are proud
of the city's past and honor its founders.

390 Under Five Flags
2. Commission Government. The four elements of gov
ernment, family, church and industry make up the life of a
community, and Mobile has as to the first worked out many
problems under a mayor and two governing boards. Under
these it has secured adequate water supply, paving and
sewers, supplied by the city, and electric lighting secured
by contract. Not only did Mobile adjust her government
to her economic needs, as in 1843 and 1879, but even in
improvement of the city government she has kept abreast
of modern political thought. With the growth of American
cities, the sentiment became quite- general that their
government should not be left to political parties. Experi
ments had been made in Des Moines, Galveston and else
where looking to having a government by a few men
called commissioners instead of by two large boards,
and an act was adopted by the legislature of Alabama in
1911 allowing Mobile to pass- upon the question. The
plan, after an active campaign, was adopted and the
simplified form of government has given general satisfaction.
3. Social Life. The pleasant social life for which Mobile
has been famous is due in large part to the blood and to
the customs of the old French. The incoming Americans
have been adopted into this social world and have scarcely
changed it. Her clubs and societies make up an essential part
of MobUe. Home life has been varied only in one respect,
the growing tendency towards suburban life. This is
due to the arrival from the West ot several men who have
introduced new methods in the real estate business, among
them C. C. Mechem and J. Howard Wilson. The former
did for country lands what had been done before the War
for Spanish tracts in the city. He bought up large tracts
and subdivided them for home seekers in the suburbs and
in other parts ot Mobile and Baldwin Counties. Wilson
became interested in street railways and in 1891 ran an

A New Century 391
electric line down Marine Street, which was so successful
that he was able after a while to combine with it the City
Railroad property, recently electrified, and to extend
railway systems in various directions. This led not only
to the building of new residences, but enabled families
to live further from the business centre. Such districts
as Oakdale, Government Street Loop, Ashland Place,
Flo-Claire, and many additions and subdivisions have
in this way taken the population further to the west and
south. The result is that Mobile occupies much more
space than in the past, and many of its most beautiful
residences are in the suburbs. The population all told
in 1900 was 38,469, of whom over twenty-one thousand were
white. The number in 1912 is estimated at 60,000 people.
5. Literature. The improvement in business meant
improvernent in all lines of civil life, and as a part of it
should be mentioned literature. Father Ryan came to
St. Mary's shortly after the War and much of his religious
poetry date from this time, although his "Conquered Ban
ner" was published in a newspaper under his nom-de-
plume, Moina, before he came to Mobile. Since that
time Augusta Evans Wilson had written somfe of her best
known books, among them "Vashti," "At the Mercy of
Tiberius," and not long before her death "The Speckled
Bird." Mrs. Elizabeth W. Bellamy wrote "Seven Oaks,"
"Old Man Gilbert" and other charming Southern novels,
and amongst other distinguished Mobile authoresses may
be named Margaret Henry Ruffin, Mary McNeill Fenolosa,
and also Amelie Rives, formerly of Mobile. T. C. De-
Leon has written many books, mainly about the Civil
War, of which the best known is "Four Years in Rebel
Capitals," and has conducted newspapers at different
times. Hannis Taylor 1889 published the first volume
of his "History of the British Constitution," of which the

392 Under Five Flags
second volume appeared later, and in 1901 came his
"International Public Law." In 1897 appeared "Colonial
Mobile" by P. J. Hamilton, a study of the early history of
this part of the country, and since he has published "Coloni
zation of the South" and the "Reconstruction Period."
Mobile literature, therefore, has added to poetry and the
novel the other departments of history arid law.
6. The Past. The French time saw the founding of the
city up the river and then the removal to the present site,
and has left lasting traces in the blood and customs of the
people. The British period lasted but a few years and was
little more than a promise of what would be accomplished
under the Americans. The Spanish rule was longer, but
the Spaniards were few in number, and their lasting
memorial is in our land titles. It was with the
coming of the Americans in 1813 that the forward move
ment of Mobile began, and this attained its height in the
thirties and fifties, when a little town of 20,000 was the
second largest cotton port in the world. The Confederate
period was one of heroism and suffering, and this prepared
the survivors to work out a greater future. Up to the Civil
War the rivers had been the commercial arteries of the
state and they led to the sea at Mobile; with the close of the
War railroads became dominant factors, and the building
of the modern city had to be done over again. The earlier
epochs are full of interest and romance for the whole
Alabama-Tombigbee Basin; the last, in which we live,
presents a study ot city growth. The field is more limited,
for the river basin has begun to have new cities, looking in
other directions than towards the sea. It is a problem
of intensive rather than extensive growth, and yet, as city
life is now becoming the principal feature of modern civiliza
tion, the study of Mobile since the War has an interest all
its own.

¦ >A New Century 393
11. The Future. The close of the Civil War, therefore,
had left the South face to face with new conditions in
politics, religion, social affairs and industry. Mobile
shared all these difficulties, and had, moreover, some special
to herself. The rule by the ignorant and by aliens in
Reconstruction days was changed into local self-govern
ment by 1874, and most of the other evils were gradually
adjusted; but economic conditions were harder to settle-.
Immediately after the War there was a deceptive show of
prosperity, due to the beginning again of cotton receipts
and shipments; .but railroad construction soon changed
all this and brought a period of great depression. Mobile
all but ceased to be a port. It is to the credit of Mobile
that she undertook to meet these conditions by making
herself a port again. She first . tried her own resources
and afterwards worked on congress until a channel was
surveyed and gradually dug. Prosperity returned, and
there is no limit to the possible improvement.
' Her main reliance in former years was cotton, and this
must ever remain important. Its future increase, however,
will be slow; unless there is some change in methods of
production, it may remain almost stationary. Lumber
and timber in the past twenty years-have been of increasing
importance, but this source also may be temporary, for so
far no means have been discovered of reforesting the pine
woods. New railroads, such as the Tombigbee Valley and
improved surface roads will develop all the tributary
country; for quicl:er transportation will be in the future
as it has been in the past, the test and means of growth.
But these are not the only resources of Mobile. With
the improvement of the rivers, coal and iron will be brought
here to an increasing extent. This will not only be a new
source of commerce, but will develop manufactures. Wood
and cotton factories and iron works are already important

394 Under Five Flags
and will make up a large part of Mobile's future, for as one
basis of industry lessens the genius of her people always
supplies another.
It is as a port that Mobile will be great in the future as
she has been in the past. Even if her immediate trade
territory should be gradually lessened, she can acquire
another further off. Mobile can in this way grow by be
coming the chief port of the West, as was planned by Bien
ville once and by the founders of the Mobile & Ohio Rail
road later, and as yet only partially realized; and, looking
abroad, the development of the countries about the Gulf
of Mexico and the opening of more distant fields by the
Panama Canal promise a future greater than the past.

APPENDIX
I— GOVERNORS.
Mississippi Territory
1798— Winthrop Sargent.
1801— Wm. C. C. Claiborne.
1805— Robert Williams.
1809— David Holmes. Alabama Territory.
1817— William W, Bibb, State of Alabama.
1819— William W, Bibb, (Autauga County,)
1820-1821— Thomas Bibb, (Limestone,)
1821-1825— Isreal Pickens, (Greene,)
1825-1829— John Murphy, (Monroe,)
1829-1831— Gabriel Moore, (Madison.)
1831 — Samuel B. Moore, (Jackson.)
1831-1835— John Gayle, (Greene.)
1835-1837— Clement C, Clay, (Madison,)
1837— Hugh McVay, (Lauderdale,)
1837-1841— Arthur P, Bagby, (Monroe.)
1841-1845 — Benj. Fitzpatrick, (Autauga.)
1845-1847 — Joshua L. Martin, (Tuscaloosa.)
1847-1849 — Reuben Chapman, (Madison.)
1849-1853— Henry W. Collier, (Tuscaloosa.)
1853-1857— John A. Winston, (Sumter.)
1857-1861— Andrew B. Moore, (Perry.)
1861-1863— John G. Shorter, (Barbour.)
1863-1865— Thomas H. Watts, (Montgomery.)
1865 — Lewis E. Parsons, (Talladega.)

396 Appendix
1865-1868— Robert M. Patton, (Lauderdale.)
1868-1870— William H. Smith, (Randolph.)
1870-1872— Robert B. Lindsay, (Colbert.)
1872-1874— David P. Lewis, (Madison.)
1874-1878 — George S. Houston, (Limestone.)
1878-1882— Rufus W. Cobb, (Shelby.) •
1882-1886— Edward A. O'Neal, (Lauderdale.)
1886-1890— Thomas Seay, (Hale.)
1890-1894— Thomas G. Jones, (Montgomery.)
1894-1896— William C. Dates, (Henry.)
1896-1900— Joseph E. Johnston, (Jefferson.)
1900— Wm. J. Samford.
1901-1907— Wm, D, Jelks,
1907-1911— B, B. Comer,
1911— Emmet O'Neal, (Lauderdale,)

II— MA YORS, ETC., OF MOBILE.
Presidents (Annual Term.)
1814 — ^James Innerarity,
1815 — Lewis Judson,
1816 — ^James Innerarity,
1817— Daniel Duvol,
1818-1819— Samuel H, Garrow,
Mayors of Mobile (Annual Term.)
1820-1821— Addirt Lewis,
1822— John Elliott,
1823— Addin Lewis,
1824-1827— Samuel H. Garrow,
1827-1829— John F. Everett.
1830 — Samuel H. Garrow.

Appendix 397

1831-1834— Jno. Stocking, Jr.
1835— J. F. Everett.
1836-— Geo. W. Owen.
1837-1838— George Walton.
1839 — Henry Chamberlain.
1840-1841— Edward Hall.
1842-1844— Chas. A. Hoppin.
1845-1846— Blanton McAlpine.
1847— J. W. L. Childers.
1848-1850— C. C. Langdon.
1851 — Joseph Seawell.
1852-1854— C. C. Langdon.
1855-1859— Jones M. Withers.',
1860— John Forsyth. ;,'
1861-1865— R. H. Slough. ''
1865— John Forsyth.
1866— J. M. Withers.
1867— G. Horton.
1868-1869— Caleb Price.
1870 — George F. Harrington.
1871 — Martin Horst.
1872— Gideon M. Parker.
1873— Chas. F. Mouldon.
1874— John Reid, Jr.
1875-1877— Alphonse Hurtel.
1878-1879— George G. Duffee.
Recorder (Three Year Term.)
1879-1886— Richard B. Owen.
Mayor (Three Year Term.)
1886 — R. B. Owen.
1888-1893— Joseph C. Rich.
1894 — Constantine L. Lavretta.

398 Appendix
1897— J, C, Bush,
1900— Thomas S, Fry,
1902— W, F. Walsh.
1903— Charles E, McLean,
1904— Pat, J, Lyons,
1911 — Laz Schwarz,

III— PRESENT MOBILE.
1. Churches. The Lutheran church was built ,as early
as 1868 near Wilkinson street, and the other churches
have gradually followed the emigration of their people.
The Methodist Beehive was among the first to move
to the west, and its congregation is now at the corner
of Broad and Government Streets, Similarly the Jackson
Street Presbyterian Church have the ground which was
Maury's headquarters on Ann and Dauphin, and across
the street the Dauphin Way Baptist Church has been
built, A handsome new synagogue has been built on
Government street and the Orthodox Jews have erected
a smaller one on Conti street a blcck away. The First Bap
tist Church has erected a handsome edifice on Govern
ment and Jefferson Streets, St. Joseph's Catholic Church
has been rebuilt and with other public buildings faces a
park recently laid out and named fdr Father Ryan.
Many new churches, such as the Synagogue on Govern
ment, have been built and old ones improved.
The negro churches show similar improvement. The
old Methodist Beehive and the old Jackson Street Presby
terian Church are now colored churches, and the Little
Zion, State Street Baptist, and other of the older edifices
have been remodelled, often with taste.

Appendix. 399
2. Buildings. The business centre has been made over.
In 1893 the old Guard House was demolished and a new
prison and offices erected. Not the least of the good
done by Mr. A. C. Harte during his long life in Mobile
was the building of the handsome and useful Y. M. C. A.
in 1897 on Government and Conception Streets, and
the Fidelia and Athelstan Clubs also have put up hand
some homes. Office buildings began with the
Pollock Building in 1903 and the Masonic Building shortly
afterwards. Among the hotels the Bienville and Cawthon
have been erected, and the Battle House rebuilt (1908)
after a disastrous fire and on a handsomer scale. One
of the most significant of the modern buildings is the City
Bank and Trust Coinpany erected in 1903, for this insti
tution introduced new methods of banking and has rapidly
become one of the leading institutions of the city, A
Rink was erected on Rdyal and St, Louis, and this became
for a while a theatre and later the Lyric Theatre on Conti
Was built. The MobUe Theatre, on the site of the Mansion
House, and long been the principal play-house, was remodel
led about the same time, but was burned again
in 1913, The Van Antwerp Building was put
up in 1907 and the Knights of Columbus Hall a few years
later, and in the wholesale and retail business district
many stores have been erected which are ornaments
to the city. In these, however, there has been
an- unfortunate tendency to abolish the galleries
over the sidewalks which are so characteristic of
Mobile, The buildings erected towards the end of the last
century followed convenience rather than any one style
of architecture; those built ot late years show more taste.
They are quite generally of the Renaissance style for
public buildings, and American Colonial, with great
columns in front, for residences. Little has been done so

400 Appendix
far towards preserving the old Spanish and Creole houses,
or towards building on their models, and such preservation
of old types is necessary if Mobile is to keep its individu
ality, 3. Banks and Industries. New banks like the City
Bank and Trust Company, the Bank of MobUe and the
Merchants Bank indicate the improvement in business,
and cotton mills have been built with sufficient capital to
become paying investments. The same might be said of
wood and iron manufactories of different kinds, while
the old lines of industry, like wholesale groceries, have
increased in volume,
4- The Mobile Newspapers. The Advertiser had dis
appeared at the time of the War, and the Tribune flourished
under Jones M, Withers for some years atterwards.
There also came papers called the Chroncile and the Herald,
which at times were ably edited, and the Weekly Item,
established by John F, Cothran, finally became a daily;
and the Mobile Register remained throughout, with
unbroken usefulness. After the War John Forsyth con
tinued his able editorials in the Register, later came Joseph
Hodgson, and afterwards Erwin Craighead, The manage
ment was until lately in John L, Rapier, These papers
have been great factors in Mobile life, encouraging citizens
under adversity and inspiring them to higher ideals,
5, Trade. However important political, social and
religious life may be for the individual, the test and basis
of the life ot a city lies in its industries. These are the
roots, the others the flowers. The business ot Mobile
has always been mainly connected with commerce, — the
bringing of raw material like cotton or lumber to the tide
water and shipping it abroad, on the one side, and on the
other bringing fruit or products from abroad to be shipped
inland. This it is that makes up a port. The main

Appendix 401
reliance of Mobile since the eighties has been the foreign
shipment of cotton, lumber and timber, and importation
ot bananas, together with the wholesale shipment of vege
tables and groceries to the interior. There haa been a
gradual growth in all these lines, and incidentally in bank
ing, insurance, retail trade and everything connected with
commerce. During the eighties the cotton handled fluctuated between
two hundred and two hundred and fifty thousand bales,
during the nineties if rose 364,766 bales, and the crop
handled at Mobile in 1912 was 384,239 bales. The
export of cotton has been principally to Liverpool in Eng
land, to Havre in France, and to Germany, and the amount
shipped to France and that to Germany has in some years
equalled the shipments to Great Britain. The amount of
trade with Cuba is as great as with any European country.
The timber and lumber trade has shown a gradual in
crease, and in 1912 amounted to five and a half million
dollars and bananas to two millions and a quarter.
On the whole, the imports of Mobile have increased from
less than half a million dollars in 1880 to almost five milliont
in 1912, and exports from seven million dollars in 1880
to almost thirty-three million in 1912. In tonnage Mobile
is the ninth port in the United States, and the stages in its
growth have been marked by the slept in the improvement
of its harbor. The channel to the sea is the artery through
which flows Mobile's life blood.

INDEX

Abolitionists, 285.
Aconite, 98,
Additions, 391.
Adair, James, 116.
Adobe, 176,
Admiralty Chart, 136,
Advertiser, 266.
African Church, 243,
Agriculture, 73.
Alabama, Belts, 4; Territory, 208;
State, 208, 280, 294; Troops, 311.
Alabama City, 216.
Alabama Platform, 28S,
Alabama Village, 153,
Alabama River, 3. 380.
Alabama, The 321.
Alcalde, 162.
Alibamons, 54, 79.
Apalaches. 10, 24, 69, 102,
Architecture, See House, 399,
Armistice, 338.
.Arrowheads, 14.
Artillery, 316, 354.
Artisans, Spanish, 179.
Augusta, Treaty of, 139.
Authors, 88, 259.
AusOlI, H., 385.
Bagby, A. P., 281.
Bailey, Dixon, 199,
Bakery, Royal, 135, 179.
Baldwyn, M. J. D., 248.
Banks, 207, 227, 232, 279, 370.
Bank of U. S., 227, 232,
Bank of Mobile, 227, 373.
Bananas, 387.
Baptists, 242.
Barton Academy, 253, 254.
Barton, W., 254,
Baskett (Bassett), 150.
Batteries. 295, 296.
Battle House 271 273.
Bartram. W. M. 151.
Bayou, 40.
Bazares, 28.
Beasley. Major. 198.
Beaver, 68.
Bees, 152.
Bellamy, 391. '
Bernhard, 212.
Bernoudy Tract, 165, 288.
Bibles, 306.
Bibjiography, (See beginning of each
Period).
Bicentennial; 389.
Bienville, 45,76, 96, 127.
Bienville Square, 236, 277,
Bienville Water Supply Co. 386.
Biloxi, 39; New, 96.
Birmingham, 360.
Black Belt, 280.
Black Friday, 363. ,
Bladon, 271.
Blakely Island, 164.

Blakely, 194,
Blakely, Josiah, 164, 194,
Blockade, 125, 297, 298.
Blockade Runners, 298.
Blue College, 252, 353,'
Board of Education (State), 353.
Board of Trade, 370.
Boats, 213.
Boisbriant- (Boisbrillant), 58.
Bonapartists, 207, 214,
Books, 305.
Boundary, Choctaw, 142, 143,
Bourgeois, 72, 78,
Bowyer, Fort, 203,
Boyles. W, A., 314.
Bragg, Braxton, 318, 376,
Bragg, John, 293.
Bricks, 178.
Bromberg, F. G., 377.
Brown, John, 286.
Browne, Montfort, 154,
Buchanan, Admiral, 332,
Buckeye, 153.
Buck, W, A., 313.
Buildings, 61,
Burke, The, 364.
Bullock, James, 321.
Burgett, J. R., 240. 300.
Burr, Aaron, 186.
Burnt Corn, 198.
Bus, 151.
Busteed, Richard, 303, 353,
Cadets, 292, 314, 35i.
Cadillac 76.
Cahaba, 209, 259, 281; (River), 80, 278
Cajans, 86,
Caldwell, J, H., 232,
Campbell, J. A., 231, 277, 279, 282.
308.
Campbell. C^en.. 162,
Canada, 127, 383,
Canals, 75, 245,
Canes, 150.
Canoe Fight, 200,
Cannon, 203, 215.
Can't-(^t-Away Club, 235.
Capitals, 49, 281,
Capuchins, 102.
Carmelites, 102.
Carney's Bluff, 148.
Carolina, 53.
Carpet-Baggers, 316. 357.
Cathedral, 238.
Catholics, 37, 165, 238.
Catholic Church Records, 101,
Cattle, 178.
Cedar Point R. R., 247.
Centinel, 259.
Cemetery, 172, 173, 221 239, 355.
Cessions, Indian, 195, 196, 220, 139,
Channel (See Ship Channel)
Charters, 75, 211,
Charleston, 72, 110,245,

404

Index

Chateau, 96,
Chateaugue, 76, 83, 99.
Chastang, 86.
Charlotte, Fort, 130, 134, 162, 190.
211.
Chartres, Fort, 96.
Chamber of Commerce, 376, 387.
Chaudron, Madame, 263, 306.
Cherbourg, 322 ¦ '
Cherry, 97.
Chester, Peter, 155.
Cherokees, 11,
Chiaha, 25, 30.
Chicasahay (Tchicachae), 102.
Chickasaws (Chicacas), 7, 27, 146.
Choctaw Point Bar, 247. 376.
Choctaw Point Tract, 165.
Choctaws, 8, 10, 145, Treaty, 140,
Christ Church, 241,
Church, Records, 101; Cures, 68; Angli
can, 137, 157; Spanish, 172, 173;
War Times, 304. Present. 398.
City Bank & Trust Co., 399.
Civil War, 305, 306, 310.
Claiborne, Gen., 201.
Claiborne 201, 215. 230,
Clarke County, 197,
Clark, Francis B., 362.
Clark, W. G.. 266.
Clausel, 210.
Clarke, R. H., 378.
Clemens, Jere, 293,
Clothes, 65.
Clotilda, 285,
Clothing, French, 65.
Cloth, 67,
Cloud, N. B., 352.
Coast, 42.
Coal, 232. 379.
Coden, 56, 386,
Coffee, 307.
Cofetachequi, 139.
Colbert, 75.
Columbiad, 335.
Collell Tract, 165.
Commissaire, 51, 126.
Concessions, 103.
Commerce, 381.
Commission Government, 390.
Conception Street, 172, 226.
Conde, Fort, 82.
Confederation, Fort, 168, 184.
Confederate States, 295, 302, 303 310
Confederate Rest, 355.
Colonization, Spanish, 19; French and
English, 35, 48, 78; American, 183.
Conquered Banner, 305.
Constitution, 209.
Convent, 160.
Conveyances, (See Deeds.)
Coosa (Cosa), 25.
Cotton, 67, 178, 219, 221, 228,
297, 371, 372, 373, 382.
Cotton Exchange, 378, 384.
Cotton Plant, The, 215.
Courts, French, 105; Birtish 136; Con
federate. 303.
Counties, 206.

Coureurs de Bois, 77, 114.
Coutume de Paris, 70.
Cowbgllians, 224, 356.
Cowpens, 178.
Creeks, 151, 139, MO. 197,
Creoles, 57, 07, 80, 107.
Craighead, E., 400.
Croftown, 136.
Crozat, 75, 94.
Cuba, 17.
Cures, 68.
Custom House, 251. 273,
D^lc, Sam, 204.
Danner, A. C, 307, 376, 382.
Dancing Rabbit Creek, Treaty, 220.
D'Artaguette, 53.
Dargan, E. S., 277, 293, 303.
Davion, 38, 69, 101.
Davis, Jefferson, 295.
Dauphine Island, 53, 84, 94, 110, 204
Dauphin Street, 219.274.
Deeds, 104, 136, 164.
Demopolis, 215. '
De Soto, 23, 27.
De Leon, T. C, 392.
Directory, 57.
Discoveries, 16.
Doctors, 269, 303.
Dog River, 153, 247.
Dorman, T. T., 241.
Douglas, S. A., 249, 291.
Dow, Lorenzo, 239.
Dry Goods, 67.
Durnford, E., 129, 136, 162.
Duffee, Geo. G., 358.
Dunn, Wm. D., 362.
Education, 88, 157, 252, 254, 256.
Ellicott, Andrew, 170; Stone, 169.
Emerson Institute, 353.
England, 75.
Episcopalians, 241.
Eslava, Miguel, 163.
Espejo, Antonio, 160. 179.
Evans, Augusta (See Wilson, A. E.)
Explosion, 340.
Exports. 373, 374.
Fair Association, 308.
Famines, 72.
Farmar, Robert, 134, 135, 152, 155.
Farmar's Island, 105.
Farragut, D. G.. 330.
Federal Road, 197.
Ferdinand, Father, 137.
Fever, (See Yellow.)
Figs, 152.
Fire Department, 380.
Fire Companies, 233.
Fire Department Insurance Company,
308.
Fires, 233, 231, 388.
First Regiment, 276, 310.
Fisher Tract, 105.
Fleets, Plate, 21; Mosquito, 112.
Fleming,* L. J., 360.
Florida, 134. 323.

Index

405

Flush Times, 226.
Foods, 56.
Folch, 163.
Forbes, & Co.. 179, 181, 219.
Forrest, N. B., 303.
Forts, 78, 296; (See Different Names.)
Forsyth, John, 205, 393.
France, 35, 51, 75.
Franklin Society, 228.
French Colonization, 49, 78. (
Gage, C. P., 242.
Gaines, Fort, 292.
Gaines, Geo. S., 200, 220, 249.
Gaines, E. P., 246. ;
Galvez, 161, 162.
Gallery, Front, 90, 274.
Gardens, 97.
Garrow, Samuel H., 165. 222.
Gardner, The, 364.
Gas Works, 231.
Gayle, John, 280, 282.
Gazzam, A. H., 226.
Gazette, 259, 265.
German Fusiliers, 354.
Ghent, Peace of 204.
Gin, Cotton, 219.
Ginseng, 98.
Girard, 58.
Glass, 87.
Goetzel, S, H. 264, 306.
Goods, Stocks, 176.
Governor, 126, Appendix.
Government, 51.
Gorgas, W. C, 308.
Gracie, A., 292, 312.
Grants, Spanish, 163, 165.
Grant's Pass, 236, 381.
Grapes, 66.
Graveyard, 221, (See Cemetery)
Great Northern, 361.
Grand Trunk, 302, 385.
Guard House, 235, 273. 399.
Grondel. 148.
Gumbo, 50, 98.
Habitant, 67, .90.
Hagan, Jas., 315.
Hale, Mrs., 252, 260.
Haldimand. Frederick, 136, 156.
Hamilton, W. T., 240; Thos. A„ 308,
376; Peter, 347,
Hamilton, P. J., 392.
Havana, 99, 298.
Hat Question, 67.
Harbor. 211, 375.
Harrington, Geo. F., 349.
Harriet, The, 216.
Health, 136.
Hermes, The, 203.
Herndon, T. H., 293. 347.
Higgins, N., 276.
Higley, J. H., 314, 354, 366.
Hitchcock,. Henry, 230, 231, 232, 240,
254, 259.
Hodgson, Jos., 353, 376.
Hearin, W. J., 367.
Holiday, 87.

Holy Ground, 201.
Home Guard, 316.
Home Life, 80, 390.
Horton, 230, 255.
House, French, 50, 05, 73, 70, 87;
152,103; Spanish, 176, 220; .Ameri
can, 184.
Houston, Geo. S., 358.
Hubert, 96.
Huguenots, 29, 68.
Hunter, Annie T., 355.
Hurtel, Alphonse, 358.
Iberville, 38, 44, 52, 84.
Immobile, 53.
Indians, (See different tribes). Coast, 6;
Relics, 13; Mounds, 12.
Weapons, etc., 13; French, 138;
British, 139, 146; Spanish, 179,;
Cession, 195, 220.
Indian Trade, 79, 176.
Indigo, 177.
Industries, 67.
Infant Mystics, 356.
Ingraham, J. H., 241. 263,
Interpreter, 165.
Interstate Commerce Commission, 373.
Ipecacuanha, 98, -
IntendSnt, 61, 126; Spanish, 103.
Iron, 274, 379.
Jamaica, 17.
Jackson, Andrew, 202, 203.
Jackson, Fort, 202; Treaty, 206.
Jews, 242.398.
Jetties, 375.
Johnson, Charles Archie, 352.
Johnstone, Geo., 154.
Jones, I. I., 243.
Jones, W. G., 282, 303, 363.
Jones, J. T., 377.
Kansas City R. R., 386.
Kelley, W. D. 348.
Kennedy, Wm. E., 164.
Kennedy, Joshua, 165.
Ketchum, G. A., 258.
Kemper Raid, 187.
Kirby, Ephraim, 186.
Krafft, M., 224.
Ku Klux, 366.
LaFayette, 212.
Lakanal, 210.
Land Offices, 199,
Land Titles, 196, 196.
Langdon, C. C, 200, 270, 282, 340, 368.
Lanzos, 163.
La Salle, C. 35. 49.
La Salle, N., 45, 62, 68, 69.
La Vente, 62, 69.
Law Book, 70, 186, 259.
Lawrence, Maj. 203. 204.
'Law, John, 93; Concessions, 97; Com
pany, 94,
Lead. 146.
LeCamp, 67.
Legislature, 207.
LeVert, Madame, 261.

406

Index

Lewis, Addin, 208,
Life, Colonial, 40; Plantation, 227.
Lighthouse, 224, 299.
Light Infantry, 311, 354,
Lightering, 271.
Lincoln, A., 291.
Literature, 70, 186, 260, 395, 391,
Lizard, 148,
Log Cabin, 184.
Loudon, Fort, 139,
Lord, John, 242.
Lot Company, 211.
Louisiana Purchase, 170.
Louis XIV, 35, 40, 51, 93.
Louisiana, 40, 171.
Louisville & Nashville R. R., 304.
Louis, Fort, 46; 167, 389. New, 61,
Lyell, Sir Charles, 232. 264.
Ludlow, N. M., 264.
Ludlow, N. K., 300, 325,
Lumber. 178, 223, 382.
Lutherans, 398.
Lyon ,F. S., 279.
McGrew's Shoals, 150.
Mcintosh Bluff, 150.
McKinstry. A., 314, 349.
McLoskey, Hagan & Co., 219.
McVoy Tract, 165.
Magasin, 85.
Maize, 7.
Manchac, Bayou, 129, 134, 153, 161.
Mandeville Tract, 65, 166.
Manufactures, 228, 278, 368.
Mann, Wm. D., 362.
Mardi Gras, 87, 356.
Market House, 193.
Marriages, 55, 103.
Massey, J. A., 241.
Maubila, 26.
Maurepas, Fort, 39.
Maury, D. H., 302. 337.
Maury, Harry, 314, 316,
Medical College. 257.
Medicines, 98, 152.
Meek, A. B., 250, 259.
Memorial Association, 355.
Mermaid, 111.
Merchandise, 176.
Mestif (Metif), 58.
Methodists, 240.398.
Mexico, 17.
Military, 276. 302, 310.
Militia Men, Six, 205.
Mims, Fort, 198.
Missionaries, 20. J7. 68.
Mississippi Bubble, 93.
Mississippi River, 3.27.
Mississippi Territory, 184.
Mobile— Founded, 45; 1706, 46; Direc
tory, 57, 58; Streets, 58. population,
59; Trade with Spaniards, 81;
French, 61, 64, 88; British Occupa
tion, 130; Merchants, 136; Disfran
chised, 157; Spanish Capture, 162;
Grants, 163, 165; Spanish Titles
for City, 175;Busines3, 179; Popu

lation, 182; Captured by Americans,
190; Government, 193; Charter,
211; Buildings, 221; Gay, 228
Debt, 235; American, 280; Stamps,
29 4;Fortification3, 295; War Times,
303; Military Headquarters, 302,
Supply Asscoiation, 307; Regiments,
312; Charter Annulled, 365; Police
Board, 365; New Men, 367; French
men, 367; Germans, 368; Cotton
District, 369; Charter, 386, Com
mission Government, 390; Social
Life, 390.
Mobile & Birmingham R. R., 385.
Mobile & Montgomery R. R., 301.
Mobile & Northwestern R. R., 362.
Mobile & Ohio R. R., 248, 359, 372,
384.
Montreal, 37.
Monberault, 138, 142.
Montgomery, 215, 281.
Money, 125;
Moore, Capt., 337.
Morgan, Fort, 292, 224.
Mortar, 140.
Moss Point, 111.
Mounds, Indian, 12.
Moulton, C. T., 358.
Municipal Building, 273.
Muscogees (Creeks), 10.
Murrell, Jno., 165, 107.
Napoleon, 208.
National Cemetery, 355.
Nanipacna, 29.
Natchez, 90, 130, 109.
Naval Stores, 223,
Narvaez, 18.
Neely ,P. P., 241, 263.
Negroes, 30, 67, 283; Free, 172, 283;
Churches,243; After the War 350-398
New Orleans, 96, 204, 298.
New Orleans, Mobile & Chattanooga
R. R., 361.
New Orleans, Mobile & Texas R. R.,
361.
Newspapers, 259. 400.
Notary, 105, 136, 104.
Nott. J. C. 257, 201.
Obstructions, 296.
Ocean Wave, 304.
Octibbeha River, 140.
O'Hara, Theodore, 200, 311, 313.
Old Grave Yard, 355.
Osorno, 103.
Orphan Asylum, 235.
Orange Grove Tract, 105, 228.
Order of Myths, 350.
Overflow, 59.
Otis, Wm. 3S2.
Padresi 173.
Page, Gen., 332.
Paillou, 66.
Panic, 232, 368, 384.
Panton, Leslie & Co., 180.
Pardo. 29.

Index

407

Parks, 236, 277.
Pascagoula, 111.
Peace, (See Treaties.)
Peach, 07. 162.
Pecan, 164.
Penicaut, 42, 89.
Pelham Cadets, 332.
Pelican, 55.
Pensacola, 31, 98, 130, 272.
Perez, 103,
Phillips, P., 282.
Pineda, 18.
Pinckney's Treaty, 109.
Pinney, N., 252, 203, 353.
Plank Roads, 271.
Planters, 227.
Plate Fleets, 21.
Plum, 97.
Point Clear, 224.
Police, 276.
Population, 72, 181, 195, 208, 291.
Port, 393.
Port Dauphin, 85, 94.
Portersville, 236, 237.
Portier, 238.
Post Office, 273, 294.
Potato, 97.
Pottery, 14.
Powell, Fort, 332.
Presbyterians, 239. 308.
Presses, 270.
Priests, 174.
Price Claim, 100, 228.
Price, Caleb, 349.
Primrose, 152.
Prise de possession, 49. *
Protestants, 239.
Provinces, Spanish, 31.
Public Lands, 196.
Pushmataha, 199,
Putnam, G. L., 352.
Quebec Seminary, 37. 68.
Quinlan, Bishop, 239.
Railroads, Early, 246, 272, 280 (See
Their Several Names.)
Railroad Commission, 372.
Rapier, J. L., 367. 400.
Reconstruction, 346, 349.
Records, 101, 174.
Register, 269.
Registers, Church, 101, 172, 174.
Regiments, 310.311,
Regent, 93.
Reid, John, 358.
Remonville, 84.
Renommee, 56, 84.
Requier, A. J., 263.
Rich, J. C, 386.
Rifle Company. 220, 202, 354, 388.
Rivers, 3, 213, 215. 269, 379.
Roads, 136, 246, 213. 271,
Rochelle, La., 83.
Romans, Bernard, 144, 145, 147.
Ross, J. F., 229.
Ryan, A. J., 304, 391.
St. Anthony, 84.

St. Denis, 65, 81, 99,
St. Johns, 241.
St. Josephs, 239.
St. Louis Day, 87.
St. Louis Tract, 165.
St. Stephen, Fort, 168, 170,
St. Stephens, 186, 195, 206, 207, 229,
380.
St. Vincents, 239.

Sagean, M., 44, 47.
Sailors, 319.
San Domingo, 39.
Sand Island Light, 299.
Sanford, Thaddeus, 265, 294.
Sassafras, 98.
Sauvole, 40.
Scalawags, 346.
Schools (See Education.)
Sea Power, 319.
Secession, 293.
Seigneurs, 70.72.
Selma, 215.
Semmes, O. J., 358.
Semmes. Raphael, 305, 317, 319. 321.
Seminary of Quebec. 37.68.
Shell Road, 223, 271.
Ship Channel, 376, 378.
Shipping, 82, 83, 84, 95. 377.
Shops, 125, 176.
Signs, Street, 274.
Silver, 146.
Slavery, 30, 283, 284, 291, 366.
Slaver, the Last, 284.
Smith, R. H., 277, 314, 354.
Smith, W, R., 259.
Social Life, 40. 227. 390,
Soil, 3.
Soldiers Rest, 317.
Southern Railway, 385.
Spain, 16, 99, 169.
Spanish Fort, 162.
Spanish Grants, 165, 226.
Spanish War, 388.
Spiritu Santo, 16.
Spring Hill, 223.
Spring Hill College, 267.
Stamps, 204.
Staples, The, 364.
Steamboats, 214, 216, 269, 364.
Steamships, 380,
Stein, A, D. 231.
Stewart, Geo. N., 230.
Stickney, H., 219.
Stockton, 136.
Stoddert, Fort, 183, 185.
Stone Age, 13.
Stores, 274, (See Shops.)
Street Railroads, 371,
Strikers, 366.
Stuart, John, 139.
Submarine, 326,
Sumter, The, 320.
Supply Association, 307.
Swan, The, 300.
Swanson and McGillivray, 152, 180,
Synagogue, 243,

408

Index

T, D. S., 356.
Taxes, 193.
Taylor, Dick, 337.
Taylor, H., 388,
Tea, 307.
Temperance Hall, 274.
Tennessee, The, 328.
Tensaw Bluff, 135, 152.
Tensaws, 53.
Territory, 183.
Theatres, 264. 3nv\
Thomas, Geo. H., 355.
Timber, 383.
Titles, 195.
Titus, Jas., 207.
Todd. J. B., 292.
Tomahawk, 13.
Tombecbe, Fort, 118, 138.
Tombeckbe Bank, 207, ¦.''.7.
Tombigbee (Tombecbe) River, 3, 80.
144, 380.
Toulouse, Fort, 78, 79, 117, 130,
Toulmin, Harry. 185, 259, 358.
Tonty, 55.
Towle, A., 253.
Trade, 81, 115, 176. 400.
Traders, 53, 81. 170.
Trades. 56.
Transportation, 213.
Traversier, 83, 86.
Treaties, Paris. 1763, 129; Choctaw,1765
140; Augusta, 139; Dancing Rabbit,
220.
Trinity Church, 241.
Tristan. 29.
Troup, Geo. M., 160.
Walker, Percy, 230, 2?4.
Walker, William, 264.
Warehouses, 226.
Warrior River, 384.
Washington District, 181
Water Street, 219.
Water Works, 231.
Watts, T. II., 339.
Wax Myrtle, 98. 152.
Weatherford, Wm., 199, 201.

West Alabama R. R., 385.
West Florida, 134, 135; Governors, 155,
Election Districts, 157; Seal, 147;
Cession, 162; Boundaries, Spanish,
168; Americans Feared, 182.
West Indies, 387.
West Point R. R., 248.
Wetumpka, 215.
Wharves, 217, 270. 349.
Whigs, 281, 286, 312.
White Camelia, Knights of, 356.
Whiting, J. W.. 310, 307.
Whitney's Gin, 219.
Wickersham, M. D., 307.
Widows Row, 222.
Wilkinson, Jas., 100.
Williams, Price, Jr., 316, 358.
Willimas, J. M., 332.
Wilmer, R. H., 242.
Wilson, A. E.. 262, 391.
Withers, J. M., 277. 312. 348.
Wives, 56, 87.
Woodruff, L. T., 292, 314, 370.
Wool. 07.
Tuomey, 232.
Tuscaloosa, 215, 281.
Twenty-Seven Mile Bluff, 45, 87, (See
Louis, Fort.)
Union Church, 239.
United States Court, 282.
United States and Spain, 109; France,
170, 171.
University, 266.
Vaqueria, M. 178.
Vegetables, 74.
Village, 224.
Vine and Olive Colony, 207, 230.
Yancey, W. L., 292, 293.
Yellow Fever, 55, 234, 389.
Y. M. C. A., 239.
Youpon, 98, 153.
Yuille, 230.

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