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;vAbout'the'same time the island of New Orleans,-and'-all?the 'French territbry:rwe.st of the Mississippi, were ceded to Spain.1;'; She '?"?soon becameMn'colved in a new war with England, and in 1799, Don Bernard''de Galvez, the ablest of the Spanish Governors!'of "Louisiana/attacked and carried the British forts at Mobile, Baton
-	Rouge'and'-Pensacola; and West Florida, including this Sea-coast, vw.as surrendered-to"tlie Spaniards. -	?	?***$.;?
. Thus/in? the^'course of a1 few years, our predecessors on 'these ??'peaceful shores, had been subject to three flags?the silver lilies'of
?	^France?the%orgeous banner, oi Spain?and the blood-red .cr.oss^of ^England?each^of'them representatives of the''faith'of Christ?-of "chivalry, dominion and civilization !	"	1 i(!u \'J?
.-v-v; ? Tli0 Spaniards held Louisiana until the year 1800,:1lwherijit ?was ? ceded; to-'Napoleon ? Bonaparte, First Consul of?the^French ^?Republic, withHill its original metes and bounds, which ?carried -'its . eastern boundary to the Perdido river.	1 ? ,i-i?? ??
Ji-' - Napoleon**'with 1 half of Europe in arms against.*, him j and ..?lthreatenedibyt'thef maritime superiority*of England, found- himself unable to 't&ke'possession of the province; and to prevent its Seizure ,fby the English; he sold it to .the United States. April 30thf-'18Q3. l'On . the 30th November following, the American Commissioners,
;, GoV.vClaiborne, ol the Mississippi territory, and Gen. Wilkinson, .-^of the'U.'S^'Army,-took possession and hoisted .the United'States inthe ryjPlaceLd'Armey.	?*' ?'	jp
:Under.'this cession of Louisiana, the United States claimed the ^country to:"the Perdido, including this Sea-coast and Mobile.1'^Blit i'the Spaniards?insisted that Pearl river was the eastern boundary,^ ^-Louisiana.V^Th'ey'"occupied Mobile and Pensacola with a strong military force. The United States was not in a condition ,for war, and a complicated diplomatic controversy was carried on-1 between the two governments.	:'	? f'~'
;In the' meantime, some eight or ten thousand Americans had ?settled in West?Florida, between Pearl river and the Mississippi,' and the 31st degree of latitude and the Lake shore, under grants 'from...the British and Spanish authorities. Becoming dissatisfied
?	with the . frequent'transitions, and the conflicting tenures of land;
and'to increase^the value of their, possessions?they determined to ?.?set up for|;th'emselves. In 1810 they'seized., the Spanish- fortjjjj&t '?^Baton;Rouge^organized a convention,1 adopted a flag,'declared.their independence,^sent 3 out military parties' to enforce^ allegiance, and "very coolly proposed to be admitted to the Union as a ?sovereign State, or to be?annexed to the Mississippi or Orleans territories, ?^in
I-/^answer ,to this proposition,^President'Madison, on the 29th October,
^- '.; ;^.1810,^issued a .proclamation, declaring''that - West1 Florida was ''/?within the limits of Louisiana, when ceded by France to Spain, and i V ;;; ^''byrSpain to France, and^by France to-the? United.States, and direct-^irig;Gov. Claiborne, of'Orleans Territory, to take'civil and military ? f- . tipossession of the same. v?-FAnd twenty thousand dollars were placed fj- ,.v'to*the credit?of the Governor to defray the expenses of the movement.
?	pursuance -of^hese orders,1 Governor Claiborne repaired to ? if ;,: ?^Bayo.u^Sara and Baton^Rouge, supported by several; 'companies?of '^^volunteers, chiefly! lrora';Mississippi, and, without opposition, hoisted ^ t^che^American standard *'*The- American" settler?' had 'accomplished? ^ - their .main object by placing the district under the jurisdiction of the ? ^.SiUnitedjStates:1 <?	^	' --v
^.^??^^isWreshing and may be instructive, in these days of extrav-r^ '.^agance^and official delinquency, to add, that of the sum placed at the^disposal of the Governor, he only drew for $4,202,96.' V ' i. ;Claibortw** by'proclamation,. declared West' Florida an ? ^in^egral?portion of Louisiana. By an act of the Territorial legisla-. :.9ture tKe country was organized as the county of 'Feliciana, and
?	.'-'divided into seven parishes. Our Coast was divided into the parishes 'offBiloxi and Pascagoula, the eastern boundary being Bayou Batrie,
i^tion'was'' exercising 'jurisdiction?front "the seizure of the Spanish ?W\rf|#Fort at Baton Rouge to the assumption of authority by Governor ^Claiborne on the part'of the. United States?this coast, and especial-? Jf'V : ?plyHhe. Pascagoula settlement, was in a state of anarchy. Bands of ,<;'fillibusters or jay-hawkers roved through the country,' as they- did du-?ring the late unhappy war, pillaging the peaceable inhabitants. -One , Sterling Dupree, styling himself Major, and one Peter Nicola, claiming t'.' . Ho-be^a'captain in the service'of the Convention,, seem to have been ? '	- the*leaders of the free-booters.'' They carried/the flag of the Con-"
r . ^vention and compelled the inhabitants to swear - allegiance to' it. i	???'They?,obliged masters of coasting vessels to take out pass-ports and
| 1. :>'pay extravagantly therefor, and they made seizures and exacted r^-CQntributions and free quarters wherever they went. On one occa-, |^-/||8ion';?'the?inhabitants of,, Pascagoula attempted to ? rescue a heavy '
?	p&'aeizu're^of negroes,;horses'and "merchandise, ? but were driven* back"
?	r.)^'by,thei-superior forces of the Convention, with the loss of-Samuel-
. .e-^^Davis .killed, and Allen Goodin and others, wounded, i. ?
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