Last week we covered some of the closing events of the war as news of the peace treaty and the cessation of hostilities arrived in Philadelphia in the spring of 1783. Getting the word out about peace was a lengthy process though. Some corners of the war continued to do battle.
Spanish Control
Spain had maintained control of the area around New Orleans throughout the war. It had received the Louisiana Territory from France at the end of the Seven Years War. When Spain entered the war against Britain in 1779, it looked for any opportunities all over the world to take land from Britain. After Spanish forces under Bernardo de Gálvez captured Pensacola in 1781, the British pretty much gave up on West Florida.
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| Counterattack at Arkansas Post |
Miró was the son of a Spanish official, born in what is today California. He joined the army at age 16 while the Seven Years War was raging. Following that war, he received a military education in Spain before transferring to Louisiana in 1778. Miró served as Galvez’s aide during the regional fights with the British beginning in 1779. He was a trusted officer who could administer the region from New Orleans.
By 1782, the British were no longer a military threat to the region. Spanish leaders focused their attention more on the Mississippi River, and many of the hostile native forces that contested for control. Further north on the Mississippi River, American forces, specifically George Rogers Clark, under the authority of Virginia, was asserting control of areas up to the eastern bank of the Mississippi River. Spain disputed this territory, but seemed content to control the west bank, at least that far north. Further south, in the area around Louisiana, Spain claimed control of the entire area. Exactly where the lines would be drawn were still in dispute until the Treaty of Paris in 1783.
Spain never allied itself with the Americans against Britain. It generally supported American efforts to attack the British and weaken their enemy. But when American and Spanish interests bumped up against each other in the west, the relationship became much more gray. Throw into the mix that British agents were still trying to exert influence, primarily through Indian allies, the lines between allies and enemies got even murkier.
James Logan Colbert
By the time the British had largely been pushed out of the region in 1781, the leader of the opposition to Spain fell to a man of Scottish ancestry named James Logan Colbert. His personal background seems to be a matter of dispute. Some sources say that he was born in Scotland, but traveled to Georgia in 1736. One source even claims that he arrived on the same ship as future Continental General Lachlan McIntosh. These stories have been called into question.
Other sources say that Colbert was born in the Carolinas. One credible source believes that Colbert was the son of Joseph Calvert, who lived on the North Carolina - Virginia border and that his last name got changed over time to from Calvert to Colbert. This makes sense since Joseph Calvert had a father-in-law named James Logan, which would have been an obvious source for his son’s name James Logan Colbert. According to some accounts, he had been a British officer for some time, although this seems unlikely. It could be that he received some informal commission during the war. It could also be that he simply claimed a command as a way to get others to follow him. But he did go by "Captain Colbert" during the war.
Whatever his origin, Colbert, who often seems to be called by his middle name of Logan, made his way west into the region that is today Arkansas. One account says that he was indentured to an Indian trader named Abe Colson. However he got there, he began living with the Chickasaw Indians some time in the late 1730’s or early 1740’s. He lived with the Chickasaw and started a family with a Chickasaw woman. Records before the war report that he was an adopted member of the Chickasaw tribe, and also registered as a British Indian trader. Over his many years with the Chickasaw, he had three wives and eight children. By 1783, he was in his 60’s, a well established figure among the Chickasaw. He owned a large plantation with 150 slaves.
The Chickasaw were a relatively small tribe that had opposed the French and Spanish incursions for many generations. In 1752, Colbert participated in a war against the French army, which attempted to wipe out the Chickasaw Nation entirely. The French had taken 700 French regulars as well as Choctaw allies, to eliminate the Chickasaw. This is sometimes called part of the Second Chickasaw War. The French had also fought an earlier war in the 1720’s. In this instance, as in the last, the French were beaten back and ceded the territory to the Chickasaw.
Because of their opposition to the French and later Spanish, the Chickasaw remained allied with Britain, who provided them with arms and supplies. In 1781, Colbert led a Chickasaw attack on Fort Jefferson, an outpost built by George Rogers Clark’s men on Chickasaw land in what is today part of western Kentucky. The attack led to an eight day siege on the fort, followed by a full on assault. Although they failed to take the fort, after the battle, Clark abandoned Fort Jefferson, believing it too much of a target for future attacks.
Colbert and the Chickasaw seemed more focused on protecting their territory from any outside intrusion, and never seemed to form a strong alliance with any outside group.
In 1782, Colbert focused on harassing Spanish shipping in the Mississippi River. His fighters consisted, not only of Chickasaw, but as others described as Englishman, and still others of African descent. In May, they captured a boat carrying pay and provisions to the Spanish outpost at St. Louis. Among their prisoners was the wife and children of the Spanish commander at St. Louis.
Colbert released the commander’s family and nine other prisoners, allowing them to return to New Orleans on parole. The prisoners were on their honor to be exchanged for nine English prisoners being held by the Spanish at Natchez. Miró refused the exchange. He regarded Colbert not as an enemy combatant, but as a pirate and a criminal.
In response, Colbert stepped up his raids on Spanish shipping. The Spanish tried to get their Indian allies to go after Colbert’s forces. The Kickapoo attempted several raids, but were largely unsuccessful. Since the British were no help at this point, Colbert attempted to establish an alliance with the Americans in South Carolina. The response was that the Americans would help only if the Chickasaw would cede some of their lands to them. Colbert refused the deal.
In the early months of 1783, Colbert’s army seemed to grow. They were supplied primarily by the boats that they captured.
Arkansas Post
Colbert decided he wanted to step up his attacks by going after a target on land. The French had originally built the Arkansas Post about a century earlier. It was about halfway between New Orleans and St. Louis on the Arkansas River near its junction with the Mississippi River. The post had been moved and abandoned a few times, but had been continuously garrisoned for about the last 50 years.
The Spanish named it Fort Carlos, after their King, Carlos III of Spain. They maintained a small garrison of about 20 soldiers.
A few dozen families and their slaves had settled around the fort. The town also served as a trading post for trappers, hunters, and others who were coming and going to locations further west.
The fort itself had pretty formidable 13 foot walls made of thick tree trunks. They would stop any small arms fire. Four cannons provided fire power against any attack and could also be used against any ship trying to make its way up the Arkansas River without authorizations.
Concerned for the security of the fort, Miro deployed Captain Jacobo Dubreuil St.-Cyr to take command. Dubreiuil arrived in January 1783. He was no newcomer to the region. For several years prior, Dubreuil had provided military escorts to supply convoys up the river and had commanded a small outpost just south of St. Louis.
When he redeployed to Fort Carlos, Dubreuil brought reinforcements, bringing the garrison to 67 Spanish soldiers. He reported that three of the four wooden gun carriages had rotted and were being replaced. Dubreuil also had his men carve musket slits into the fort walls. The larger garrison needed food stores in the case of an attack. They formed hunting parties to provide meat, which could be dried and stored.
The Spanish also had a good relationship with the local Indians, from the Quapaw tribe. Indians often served as scouts for the Spanish and also traded with the local trading post. Dubreuil was aware that there could be an attack on the fort. He used the Quapaw to scout the region and warn him of any approaching enemy.
The Attack
Dubreuil’s belief that an attack on the fort was coming was correct. By mid-April, Colbert had assembled a force to attack the fort. English speaking Americans made up the bulk of the force, 64 of them. Most were loyalists. A few were Whigs who just didn’t like the Spanish controlling the region. There were also five African Americans, eleven Chickasaw and one Frenchman.
Colbert hoped to hit the fort by surprise, meaning he had to get his force past the Quapaw village undetected. The men paddled down river in canoes using muffled oars at night. They passed the Quapaw village and landed near the fort at around 2:30 AM on April 17.
The attackers encountered a ten man guard near the fort which they managed to overwhelm. They killed two defenders and wounded two others. The rest were taken prisoner, except for one man who managed to flee and warn the fort.
Colbert’s men had to secure the village which consisted of seven families. Within a half hour they were at the gates of the fort. By that time, the garrison was waiting for them. The two sides exchange fire for hours, into the morning. The fort canons kept the attackers pinned down in a gully where they remained safe from the cannon fire. The attackers' musket and rifle shots at the fort did little damage as they could not penetrate the fort walls.
By 9:00 AM, it was light out but neither side was having much impact on the other. One of the families that Colbert had captured was that of the Fort’s second in command, Lieutenant Luis de Villars. Colbert sent Mrs. Villars under a white flag with a demand to surrender the fort. The demand instructed the fort to surrender by noon, or the attackers would storm the fort, supported by 500 Chickasaw warriors. If that happened they would kill everyone. If the garrison attempted to alert their Quapaw allies, Colbert would kill the families he had taken hostage.
At the same time that Colbert was delivering his message under a flag of truce, Dubreuil was sending out his own offensive. Ten Spanish soldiers and four Quapaw warriors rushed out of the gates, past the messenger under a flag of truce and charged the enemy. The Spanish killed one of the attackers and wounded another. The surprised attacking force under Colbert panicked and ran. They returned to their boats, taking their male prisoners with them, but releasing the women and children.
By noon, when Colbert had threatened to return with 500 Chickasaw warriors, The Quapaw Chief Angaska arrived with 100 of his own warriors to break the siege and aid the Spanish garrison. The enemy was gone, but Dubreuil scolded Angaska for failing to alert the fort to Colbert’s arrival and for the hours it took for him to show up with a pretty small relief force.
According to Dubreuil’s report, the chief apologized that the attackers had passed his village unnoticed. It took him time to gather a fighting force since most of his men were out hunting by the time they became aware of the situation. It also appears that many Quapaw warriors had no interest in getting involved in a war between two groups of white men.
Dubreuil deployed twenty of his soldiers to accompany the 100 Quapaw warriors in search of the enemy and to retrieve the prisoners. About a week later, this party caught up with Colbert’s men on the banks of the Mississippi. Colbert was with the Chickasaw and the Quapaw chief really didn’t want to start a war. Instead, he kept his warriors back, and approached Colbert to talk. He told Colbert he had about 250 warriors, more than double his actual numbers, and that he would attack unless they could come to an agreement.
After some discussion Colbert released most of his prisoners, including Lieutenant Villars. He held back eight prisoners: four Spanish soldiers, three slaves, and one child. He told Villars that he was being given parole and that he expected the Spanish to release five loyalists who had been captured at Natchez in exchange.
Word of Peace
Unbeknownst to everyone there, word of the peace treaty had already reached the West Indies. General Galvez had already ordered the parole of the Natchez prisoners, on the condition that they leave Natchez forever. The parolees that Colbert was trying to get released were already on a ship headed for British Jamaica.
For the next few weeks though, Dubreuil continued to track Colbert’s forces. Dubreuil considered Colbert a pirate. He wanted to catch and execute this English criminal.
Colbert continued to attack Spanish shipping along the Mississippi. On May 11, a Spanish convoy spotted Colbert’s camp. Dubreuil’s men attacked as Colbert’s men withdrew. The Spanish managed to kill a few of them, including Colbert’s second in command. The attackers also managed to free three of the prisoners that Colbert had taken from Fort Carlos.
A few days later, word arrived from New Orleans about the peace treaty. It included a newspaper that announced the treaty, as well as an English translation of the treaty itself. Dubreuil had instructions to parley with Colbert and inform him of the end of the war. Dubreuil sent a message that included a letter demanding the release of the rest of the prisoners taken at Fort Carlos, and for reimbursement for the supplies stolen by the raiders.
By this time, however, Colbert and his men were in full retreat. It took nearly four months for him to receive the letter from Dubreuil. When he finally received it, he replied that he would release the prisoners, but also inquired about Chickasaw prisoners still being held by the Spanish in St. Louis. Colbert was not ready to pay for the supplies he had taken, but said he would consult with the British Governor in St. Augustine.
By that time, the Chickasaw had already made their own peace with Spain. They had reached Dubreuil at Fort Carlos in August, telling the Spanish commander that the Chickasaw were prepared to live in peace with Spain, and that they had disowned Colbert and his family.
Colbert’s End of the War
Colbert, finding himself on the losing end of the war, was not sure what to do. In July 1783, several months after his attack on Fort Carlos, Colbert wrote a letter to Virginia Governor Benjamin Harrison. His letter tried to downplay his loyalist reputation and said that his fight was with the Spanish and the French. He was an American and he supported the Americans.
Colbert’s main concern in the letter is that he wanted his Chickasaw to have a good relationship with the Americans as they would all likely continue to struggle against the Spanish. By all appearances, Colbert had learned that the Americans had won the war. He was looking to be a part of the winning side, both for himself and the Chickasaw.
Colbert never received a response from Governor Harrison. In January 1784, Colbert was riding through West Florida. It’s unclear if he had been to St. Augustine to discuss matters with the British there, or whether he was meeting with Creeks in Georgia, or perhaps both.
In a letter dated January 7, Alexander McGillvray, the son of a Scottish father and Creek mother, wrote a letter to Captain Arturo O’Neal, an officer employed by the Spanish government who was fighting with the Chickasaw. McGillvray wrote that Colbert had been killed. He had been returning to the Chickasaw nation. While traveling through West Florida, in modern day Alabama, his horse threw him, killing him instantly.
There has been some speculation that Colbert was actually killed by a slave who was riding with him, or perhaps at the instigation of Chickasaw chiefs who saw Colbert as an impediment to them being able to reach a peaceful settlement with Spanish officials. Whatever the true reason, Colbert was dead.
For everyone else, the war was over. It was time to make peace.
Next week, Continental Soldiers march on Philadelphia, and they are not happy!
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Next Episode 327 Continental Instability
Previous Episode 325 The Threat of Peace
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Further Reading
Websites
Spanish Colonial Louisiana https://64parishes.org/entry/spanish-colonial-louisiana-adaptation
Colbert Raid https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/colbert-raid-1163
Arkansas Post: The Colbert Raid https://www.nps.gov/arpo/learn/historyculture/upload/Colberts-Raid_Special-History-Report-with-notes_reduced.pdf
Free eBooks
(from archive.org unless noted)
Colman, Roger Arkansas Post Story, Santa Fe, NM: SW Cultural Resources Center, 1987.
Gayarré, Charles History of Louisiana, New York: William J. Widdleton, 1867.
Martini, Don Chickasaw Empire The Story of the Colbert Family, 1986.
Books Worth Buying
(links to Amazon.com unless otherwise noted)*
Haynes, Robert V. The Natchez District and the American Revolution, Univ. Press of MS, 1976.
Kling, Stephen L. Jr. and Guy B. Braden James Colbert and His Chickasaw Legacy, THGC Publishing, 2022.
Paquette, Gabriel (ed) & Gonzalo M. Quintero Saravia (Editor) Spain and the American Revolution: New Approaches and Perspectives, Routledge, 2019.
Walker, Rickey Butch Chickasaw Chief George Colbert: His Family and His Country, Bluewater Publishing, 2013.
* As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
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