West Florida Republic

Another Sunday and another historical day in Louisiana. Today’s event took place at Fort San Carlos in Baton Rouge in 1810. The star-shaped fort changed names, and hands, throughout its history. The British built the fort. The Americans held it for a brief time in 1778 or 1779. The Spanish overthrew the English. The West Florida Republic took it from the Spanish. The Americans ended up with the fort in December 1810. They demolished it nine years later.

With the purchase of Louisiana, the Baton Rouge fort was the only non-U.S. military post on the Mississippi River. The Spanish still held the fort and the West Florida Republic land. Inhabitants of Baton Rouge planned a rebellion. Today, back in 1810, the rebels overcame the Spanish garrison at Fort San Carlos. They raised the Bonnie Blue Flag, a flag of blue with a white star, symbolizing the West Florida Republic. The Republic was short-lived, lasting only ninety days.

U.S. President James Madison believed the land of the West Florida Republic to be part of the Louisiana Purchase. He sent W.C.C. Claiborne to remove the fledgling republic and annex the land into the Territory of Orleans. The rebels offered little resistance to W.C.C. Claiborne and his forces. On December 10, 1810, U.S. troops raised the Stars and Stripes over the fort. Almost all the land that makes up the great state of Louisiana was now a part of the United States.

You can visit the site today. In Baton Rouge, walk south from the Louisiana State Capitol into State Capitol Park. Turn west, and you’ll walk right to the Pentagon Barracks Museum. Just south of the museum are markers for Fort San Carlos and Fort Baton Rouge.

For more information about this 208-year anniversary, check out Wikipedia and Fortwiki. Also, visit the Pentagon Barracks Museum website.

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What I’m Reading – Many readers I know like to inquire what their favorite author is reading. At the end of each blog post, I’ll let you know what book is open on my Kindle. I hope my choice of reading material inspires you to read a variety of authors and topics. Currently, I’m reading the Ellis Peters’ Brother Cadfael series. I’m almost finished with The Hermit of Eyton Forest.

Bill’s Cajun House of Pleasure is available on Amazon, as an eBook, and in physical formats. It is also available on the Barnes and Noble website.