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Recapture of Fort Caroline, 1567. The name of Dominic de Gourgues occupies a place secondary in interest to none, perhaps, in the history of Florida. Associated as he is with one of the most remarkable and dramatic incidents on record, we find a more than usual attraction in the character and circumstances of his early life. This self-constituted champion of his country's wrongs and of the rights of humanity was a native of Marsan, in Guienne. (1) In those days all persons of gentle birth adopted the profession of arms, and Dominic entered the service of his king as a private soldier, deeming it honor enough to be allowed, even in this humble position, to serve France. Winning promotion on the field, he obtained the rank of captain, a place at that time of greater distinction than now. He was charged with the defense of a place near Sienna, with only thirty soldiers at his command, and, being attacked by a largely superior force, made a desperate resistance, but all his followers were slain, and he fell into the hands of the Spaniards. To show their appreciation of his signal bravery, and, as the French chronicler with bitter sarcasm remarks, with rare Spanish generosity, De Gourgues, instead of being put to death, was condemned to the galleys. The vessel upon which he was placed as a galley-slave was captured by the Turks, and he was carried to Rhodes and Constantinople, and had the good fortune afterwards to be recaptured, and, by the French commander at Malta, restored to his country. He did not remain long unemployed, but embarked with an expedition to Brazil and the South Seas, where he probably acquired a considerable fortune. From this voyage Dominic returned in time to sympathize in the grief and indignation excited throughout France by the massacre of the Huguenots at Fort Caroline, and the fate of Ribaut and his shipwrecked companions. The treatment De Gourgues had received at the hands of the Spaniards, and the fetters of his galley-life, had left scars on his soul which nothing could efface, and it may well be supposed that this new tale of horrors stirred to its depths all the concentrated hatred of his nature. The spirit of retaliation was fully aroused, and he felt that the blood of his countrymen, no less than his own wrongs, cried for vengeance. It has been seen that the destruction of the Huguenots in Florida was treated by the king and court of France with an indifference that greatly embittered the people, many of whom had religious sympathies with the sufferers, while others doubtless lost friends and relatives in the bloody massacre. Of the faith of De Gourgues we know nothing, (2) and are only told of his sympathy with his ill treated countrymen, and his determination to resent their wrongs. He seems to have deemed it unwise or unsafe to make his feelings public by asking aid of the king, and it is not improbable that had he done so he would have met with strong opposition at court, and that his plans would have been communicated to the Spaniards. He more prudently concealed his intentions, and began his preparations professedly with the design of making a trip to the coast of Africa to procure slaves. Fortunately, the king's lieutenant in Guienne, Monsieur Montluc, was a friend of De Gourgues, and readily granted the necessary license for a voyage to Africa. Dominic did not underrate the difficulties that lay before him. He had reason to believe that the Spaniards in Florida were strongly fortified, and that their consciousness of guilt, while probably making cowards of them all, would yet point out the necessity of being always on the alert and prepared for an attack from those they had so cruelly wronged. He felt the justice of his own cause, and trusted to this, and to his utter fearlessness of danger, rather than to the strength of any force he might possibly be able to command. His own resources were not large, for it was said of him "that in all his life he had sought to attain honor rather than wealth," and the sale of his estate did not bring him means sufficient to enable him to equip an expedition. He was compelled therefore, however reluctantly, to borrow money from his friends. With the assistance thus obtained, he was able to procure and fit out three vessels, - one of them quite small, and intended to be used only as a tender, with either sails or oars. De Gourgues then enlisted one hundred men (many of whom are said to have been gentlemen) and eighty-four mariners, who were expected in any emergency to take up arms as soldiers. By the 2d of August, 1567, he had all things in readiness to put to sea, but, being detained twenty days by a long and very severe gale, he could not commence his voyage until the 22 day of the same month. He at first proceeded to the coast of Africa, where he encountered another violent gale, and was attacked by three African chiefs, whom he repulsed. Turning westward, he made land at Dominica, and then touched at St. Domingo, where he repaired his vessels, but was not allowed to procure supplies or even to take in water. It was not until after leaving St. Domingo, and on the point of sailing for Florida, that De Gourgues made known to his men his real place of destination and the object of his expedition. He then addressed them most eloquently, depicting the wrongs their countrymen had received at the hands of the Spaniards, the indignity their nation and flag had suffered, and the shame that rested upon France for leaving so long unavenged an act so wicked and base as the murder of the Huguenots and the destruction of the French colony. He told them that the work that lay before them was to punish the Spaniards, and wipe out the stain that rested upon their own country, and explained, as fully as he could, his plans, and the means by which he hoped to attain success, expressing entire confidence in his men, and hoping, as he said, they would not disappoint the high expectations he had formed when he selected them from the many who had been eager to join in this expedition. His words fell upon willing ears, and the hearts of his followers burned with anxiety to reach the shore and begin their work of revenge. A favorable wind soon brought them to the coast of Florida, and, passing near the mouth of the San Mateo River, they were descried from the forts at its entrance. The garrison, supposing they were Spanish vessels, fired a salute, which De Gourgues returned, in order to keep up the deception. A few leagues north of the San Mateo they entered the fine harbor of Fernandina, near the mouth of the St. Mary's River, called by the natives Tacatacouron, and, by the French, La Seine. At daybreak, the morning after their arrival, they beheld the shores of the harbor lined with savages in hostile array, ready to prevent their landing, for the Indians supposed them to be Spaniards. Fortunately, the trumpeter on board De Gourgues's vessel was well acquainted with the Indian language, having been out with Laudonniere, and he was sent on shore to give assurances of friendship, and to engage their services. The trumpeter was soon recognized by the Indians, and received with demonstrations of joy. Satourioura, the bitter foe of the Spaniards, was present, and welcomed De Gourgues as the friend of Laudonniere. The complaints of the Indians against the Spaniards were very bitter, and they expressed an impatient desire for revenge. Having explained, as far as was prudent, his plans to the Indians, De Gourgues started out on a reconnoitering expedition to the mouth of the San Mateo, in order to make himself thoroughly acquainted with the position of the Spanish forts and the strength of their garrisons; then, returning to his vessel, he awaited the assembling of the Indians, who, under their chiefs Olocatora and Satourioura, were to join him in the assault. They had promised to return in three days and bring their warriors with them, and, true to their word, they came in on the third day with thousands of dusky followers. Satourioura brought with him a youth of sixteen or seventeen, by the name of Peter de Bre, who had escaped from Fort Caroline, and had been all this time with the Indians. The Spaniards had made many efforts to get possession of De Bre, but the Indians faithfully protected him and now allowed him to join De Gourgues. He proved most useful as an interpreter, and informed De Gourgues of the strength of the three forts on the river, which he said contained in all but four hundred men-at-arms. The French were rejoiced to find themselves supported by the Indians, and De Gourgues skillfully availed himself of their enmity towards the Spaniards, to further his own purposes. The attack was to be made upon the fort on the north side of the river; and, guided by Helicopali, one of the chiefs, the French arrived in the neighborhood of the fort just at dawn, but were obliged to wait until the ebb tide should enable them to reach the island on which it stood. At mid-day they passed over, and, the sentinel not being at his post, the French troops had nearly reached the fort before they were discovered. The Spaniards, though for three years they had been dreading this attack, were at last taken by surprise, and the cry which now reached their ears - "The French! the French!" - struck terror to every heart. The sentinel flew to his post and fired a culverin twice at the enemy, and was on the point of firing a third time when Olocatora leaped on the platform and transfixed him with a pike. Ignorant from what direction the French had come upon them, and probably only expecting an attack to be made by sea, the garrison rushed to the gates, hoping to escape, but were met by De Gourgues's men, and their entire number, sixty in all, either killed or captured. The inmates of the fort on the opposite side of the river, observing the contest, opened fire upon the French, who, being now in possession of the first fort, turned the captured guns upon their assailants, and returned their fire with good effect. In the mean time De Gourgues's vessels had come around to the mouth of the river and commenced an attack by sea, while the Indians, in large numbers, swam across the stream to the fort. The Spaniards, finding themselves thus surrounded, gave up all for lost, and endeavored to escape, hoping to reach Fort Mateo by passing through the woods along the shores of the river. But De Gourgues, suspecting their purpose, intercepted their flight, and, with the aid of the Indians, succeeded in killing or capturing their entire number. Among the fifteen taken prisoners was an old sergeant, who gave much important information respecting the position, height, and strength of Fort Mateo, towards which point De Gourgues was next to turn his attention. He prudently determined, however, first to fortify himself in one of the forts already captured, and thus guard against surprise from any attack the Spaniards might make upon him. He also busied himself with preparations for an assault upon Fort Mateo, making scaling-ladders, etc., and sending out reconnoitering parties to observe the operations of the Spaniards. One of these parties, headed by the young chief Olocatora, seized a Spaniard disguised as an Indian, and brought him in to De Gourgues. The Spaniard professed to have escaped from one of the captured forts, and said that he had disguised himself in order, as he hoped, to escape being killed by the Indians; but, being confronted with the old sergeant, he was found to be a spy from Fort Mateo, sent out to discover the strength of the enemy and obtain any other useful information he could. He said that the Spaniards supposed the French to be over two thousand strong, while their own garrison consisted of only two hundred and sixty men, and that they felt wholly unable to defend themselves against such vastly superior numbers. De Gourgues at once determined to hasten an attack upon the Spaniards, and so avail himself of an advantage which their overestimate of his strength would give him. Coming out under cover of night, he disposed his Indian forces in ambuscade around the fort to await the moment when their services would be required ; and at day-dawn he approached with his own men, and was soon discovered and fired upon from a battery that had been so constructed as to cover the approach to the fort by water. De Gourgues fell back a little, and, turning aside, secured a position in which he was protected from the fort, while he could himself observe all the movements of the Spaniards. He soon discovered a party of some sixty armed men issue from the fort on a reconnaissance. As soon as they had advanced far enough from the fort to admit of it, De Gourgues threw some of his men in their rear, in order to intercept their return, and then, rushing out of his concealment, attacked the Spaniards in their front. They quickly fled before him, and, falling in with the French in their rear, were cut to pieces. The garrison, becoming panic-stricken, attempted no resistance, and sought safety in flight; but, being surrounded on all sides by the French and their Indian allies, only a few, including the commander of the fort, escaped. Most of them fell under the swords of the Frenchmen or the clubs of the Indians, while the few who were taken alive were reserved for a more awful doom. There were found in the fort five double culverins, four mignons or moyennes, and other smaller pieces of iron and brass, besides corselets, arquebuses, pikes, etc., and eighteen large cakes of powder. The artillery De Gourgues had placed upon his vessels, but before he could secure anything more an accident occurred which destroyed everything. An Indian, broiling fish near the fort, set fire to a train leading to the magazine and storehouses, by which they were entirely destroyed. The Spaniards who were taken prisoners were soon led out to the spot on which, in September, 1565, Menendez had caused the Huguenots of Fort Caroline to be hung. De Gourgues here arraigned them at the assizes of retributive justice. He told them of the wrongs they had done to the French king, how they had murdered his unprotected subjects, destroying the forts they had built, and taking possession of the country they had conquered. Such base treason and detestable cruelty could not go always unpunished, and he had taken upon himself, at his own risk and expense, to avenge the wrongs of his countrymen. He could not make them suffer as they justly ought, but must mete out to them such punishment as an enemy might fairly inflict, in order that their fate might be a warning unto others. Having thus spoken, he caused the poor wretches to be suspended from the branches of the spreading oaks under whose shade the unfortunate Huguenots had suffered ; and then, in place of the inscription which Menendez had written in Spanish over his bloody deed - ''I do this, not as unto Frenchmen, but as to Lutherans" - De Gourgues caused to be engraved, on a tablet of pine, with a red-hot iron, ''I do this, not as unto Spaniards, nor as to outcasts, but as to traitors, thieves, and murderers." He now called together the Indian chiefs and their warriors, and told them that he had fulfilled his promises to them, and with their aid successfully carried out his purposes of retaliation upon the Spaniards, that their wrongs had been avenged, and that it only remained, to make their work complete, that the forts should be destroyed. This the Indians gladly undertook to accomplish, and so great was their zeal that by nightfall, it is said, not one stone remained upon another at Fort Mateo. They were anxious that De Gourgues should attack the fort at St. Augustine, but he felt that his means were altogether inadequate to such an enterprise. Moving down the river to the forts at its mouth, the thirty prisoners who had been captured and secured there were brought out and hung, and the forts totally destroyed. Among these last Spaniards who were put to death was one who confessed that he had taken part in the massacre at Fort Caroline, and had with his own hands hung five of the Huguenots. Acknowledging his guilt, he reproached himself greatly, and recognized the hand of God in the just punishment he was about to suffer. De Gourgues now prepared to return to his vessels, which lay at the mouth of the river Tacatacouron ; and as he marched along he found the paths everywhere filled with Indians, who had come to do him honor and offer him presents. Having reached his vessels and found them ready for sea, he assembled the Indians, and, addressing their chiefs, thanked them in his own behalf, and in the name of his countrymen, for their service, and exhorted them to continue the friendship which they had ever shown for the King of France and his subjects, who hoped ever to maintain peaceful relations with the Indians, and would protect them from the Spaniards and all other enemies. He warned them to be on their guard against surprise until his Majesty could send a sufficient force to protect them. The Indians parted from the French with tears and lamentations, and could be pacified only by a promise from De Gourgues to return to them within a twelvemonth with a larger force than he now had. After weighing anchor, De Gourgues assembled his ship's company and called upon them to return thanks to God for the great success He had vouchsafed to their enterprise. "It was not," said he, "other than God who preserved us from shipwreck at the Cape Finisterre, and from our enemies at the Isle of Cuba, and at the river Halicamini, where He moulded the hearts of the savages to join with us. 'Twas God who blinded the understanding of the Spaniards, so that they were unable to discover the number of our forces or to know how to employ their own. They were four to our one in numbers, had strong fortresses, well provided with artillery, ammunition, arms, and provisions. We had the just cause, and conquered those who contended without the right. Thus it was God alone, and not ourselves, who won the victory. Let us then always give thanks to Him, and pray Him ever to continue his favors to us, and now beg Him to guide and protect us on our homeward journey, and ask Him so to disposeth we have been placed and the labors we have undergone, shall find grace and favor before our sovereign, and, before all, France, for that we have sought nothing else than the service of our king and the honor of our country." On Tuesday, the 3d day of May, 1568, they set sail for France with favorable winds, and on the 6th of June arrived at Rochelle, having lost on the passage the ''tender" with eight men ; a few had been killed at the assault on the forts. De Gourgues was received with great honor and applause at Rochelle, but, the report of his exploits having reached Spain, a fleet was dispatched to capture him, which arrived at Rochelle the very day he had sailed for Bordeaux, and he was pursued as far as Blays. De Gourgues presented himself at court, gave an account of his doings in Florida, and tendered his services to the king to regain the possession of that country ; but the anti-Huguenot party was then in power, and the temper of the court was not favorable to such an exploit, and, though there were doubtless many who rejoiced that the slaughter of Ribaut had been avenged, De Gourgues met with a cold reception, and was compelled to seek safety in concealment. Philip of Spain, the same king who had shortly before bestowed commendation and honor upon Menendez for his bloody acts in Florida, now had the unblushing assurance to demand of the French king the head of De Gourgues. The President of Parliament, De Marigny, and the Receiver, Vacquieux, shielded De Gourgues from the demands of Philip, and, after some years spent in obscurity, he was appointed by the king to the command of the French fleet, and died suddenly in the year 1582, greatly regretted. (3) One can hardly fail to be struck with surprise at the success of this remarkable expedition. From the day of the destruction of Fort Caroline, Menendez had lived in hourly fear of the return of the French to avenge the slaughter of the Huguenots. Every passing sail, and every reverberation, had caused the Spaniards to grasp their arms and hasten to their ramparts to meet the expected foe. The fort, under its new name of San Mateo, had been rebuilt, and strengthened in such a manner that the Chaplain Mendoza records the boast, "that half of France could not take it;" The Spaniards further strengthened their position, by erecting two forts near the mouth of the San Mateo River, and mounted guns of considerable caliber to command the passage of the river. Forts had been built at several points on the coast, every effort made to conciliate the Indians, and, in fact, Menendez had done all in his power to prepare his colony against any sudden surprise or attack. Such was the condition of affairs when De Gourgues planned and executed his scheme of vengeance. Looking at the limited means and small force he had at his command, his enterprise seems the extreme of recklessness. With only two small vessels and a tender, a force of one hundred armed men and sixty sailors, without artillery, he was to attack a foe outnumbering his own four to one, occupying three forts which were mounted with heavy guns and provided with abundance of military stores, ammunition, etc. On his arrival in Florida, De Gourgues had been met by a few Indian chiefs who were hostile to the Spaniards, and who were eager, with their followers, to join his expedition; but their only weapons were their bows and arrows, and no great dependence could be placed upon such allies. The success of his plan could be looked for only through one of those chances or accidents of war that sometimes reward confidence and audacity. The boldness of the assailants certainly deceived the Spaniards, who could not believe that any inferior force would assault them in their strongholds, and with a natural dread of the French they preferred to seek safety in flight, rather than stand their ground and risk the fate which would inevitably follow their defeat. Had the commander of Fort Mateo sustained the attack, De Gourgues must inevitably have been driven off, and compelled to abandon his purpose, or but imperfectly accomplish it in the capture of the smaller forts. Well might he be thankful for the success, and attribute it to the intervention of a higher power. We cannot, in this age of a more enlightened and refined Christianity, approve all the acts of De Gourgues. We feel that it would have been more noble to have spared his captives, and given an illustrious example of magnanimity to his enemies; but at that day such an instance of generosity would have been considered egregious folly. De Gourgues had himself, in reward for deeds of valor, been consigned by the Spaniards to the galleys, and was embittered alike by the remembrance of this personal grievance, and by the cruelty practiced upon his countrymen, the memorials of which perhaps still remained to animate his purpose of revenge. Thus incited, he believed that he was the minister of divine vengeance to execute justice upon "traitors, thieves, and murderers". The atrocities of Menendez, and the vengeance of De Gourgues, are alike sad records of the cruelty and vindictiveness of the human race.
(1) "He was a brother of the Governor of Guienne." - Efisayo Cronologico, p. 133-142 (2) The Spanish account says he was a terrible heretic - Herege terrible. - Ens ay Cron., p. 133. (3) We have followed the account given in Ternaux Compans, taken from a manuscript in the Royal Library of France, - " Reprise de la Floride." |
