Hole #17

Jean Lafitte

During the War of 1812, the British offered Lafitte British citizenship and huge land grants if he would ally his pirate fleet with the Brits. Nervous, the U.S. sent Commodore Daniel Patterson to attack Lafitte’s colony on Barataria. When the U.S. Navy approached, Lafitte’s men abandoned their 8 ships and 20 cannon without a fight, burning several of their own vessels.