Revolution, Romanticism, and the Afro-Creole Protest Tradition in Louisiana, 1718–1868

4 Romanticism, Social Protest, and Reform [Includes Image Plates]

Romanticism, Social Protest, and Reform n a French-language literary work written before 1840,3 War of 1812 eteran protested the treatment of black soldiers in the aftermath of the battle of New Orleans. The poem, titled "The Campaign of 1814-15" and attributed to Creole of color Hippolyte Castra, also dramatized the plight of Louisiana's free black population: I remember that, one day, during my childhood, A beautiful morning, my mother, while sighing, Said to me: "Child, emblem of innocence, You do not know the future that awaits thee. You believe that you see your country under this beautiful sky Renounce thy error, my tender child, And believe above all your beloved mother . . . Here, thou art but an object of scorn." Ten years later, upon our vast frontiers, One heard the English cannon, And then these words: "Come, let us conquer, my brothers, We were all born of Louisiana blood." At these sweet words, and embracing my mother, I followed you, repeating your cries, Not thinking, in my pursuit of battle, That I was but an object of scorn. Arriving upon the field of battle, I fought like a brave warrior; Neither the bullets nor the shrapnel, Could ever fill me with fear, I fought with great valor With the hope of serving my country, Not thinking that for recompense I would be the object of scorn. 4 I go The Afro-Creole Protest Tradition in Louisiana After having gained the victory, In this terrible and glorious combat, All of you shared a drink with me And called me a valiant soldier. And I, without regret, and with a sincere heart, Helas! I drank, believing you to be my friends, Not thinking, in my fleeting joy That I was but an object of scorn. But today I sigh sadly Because I perceive a change in you; I no longer see that gracious smile Which showed itself, in other times, so often Upon your honeyed lips. Have you become my enemies? Ah! I see it in your fierce looks, I am but an object of scorn.' Castra no doubt read his poem to members of La Societe des Artisans, an organization created by free black artisans and veterans of the war. With the demise of the militia, former members of the military organized a number of such benevolent and social organizations. Louis Victor Sejour, a quartermaster in Daquin's battalion and a native of Saint Domingue, also joined La Societe. Sejour's teenaged son, Victor Sejour, made his literary debut before its members. Reputed to have included white members as well as free men of color, La Societe provided a forum for the numerous literary works that circulated in New Orleans during the 18305. The protest nature of works such as Castra's, the popularity of the French Romantic literary style, and the presence of an interracial social organization indicated the considerable impact in the city of events in France. Revolutionary upheaval in post-Napoleonic France sent large contingents of proscribed republicans, journalists,and other political dissidents fleeing to Louisiana.2 Between 1830 and 1850, the influx of emigres strengthened an existing cluster of French-speaking free thinkersand political liberals.Resident in1 . McConnell,Negro Troops, 107-108. 2. Ibid., 106; Rouss£ve, The Negro m Louisiana, 82. Romanticism, Social Protest, and Reform 91 tellectuals joined with the newly arrived refugees to establish a remarkably productive French-language literarycommunity. In Louisiana, in resuming their attacks on religious and political oppression, many Frenchspeaking writers commonly expressed their views in literary works. In 1849, in the Courrier de la Louisiane, an ardent republican set his radical beliefs to verse: Ah! that you might allow Democracy To overthrow hideous tyrannyeverywhere! And that, expelling kings, majestic Liberty From the scepters make an auto-da-fe! Let it come to pass that the Pope acceptsrepublicanism And of the different religions makes only one Church!3 Predictably, the revival of egalitarian principles clashed withprevailing social and political realities. Coinciding with turmoil in France, the Louisiana legislature's 1830 campaign to impose a stricter racial regimen did not go unchallenged. French-speaking intellectualsin New Orleans attacked the legislativeagenda on the basis of the democratic ideals of the revolutionary era. In February, 1830, Milo Mower, a French emigre and possibly one of a number of journalists fleeing France as a result of events surrounding the revolution of 1830, began publicationof Le Liberal. Efforts were underway in...