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  • The Search for Champ d'Asile
  • David Murph (bio)

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A romantic rendering (c. 1830) of Champ d'Asile, a French settlement in Southeast Texas. Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Washington, D.C.

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One of the enduring mysteries of Texas history is the location of the short-lived French colony Champ d'Asile (meaning "Field of Refuge"). Founded in the spring of 1818 on the east bank of the Trinity River by exiled Napoleonic soldiers, it was abandoned after only four or five months when word came that Spanish troops, under Captain Juan de Castañeda, had set out from San Antonio to destroy it. Fortunately, one of Castañeda's engineers drew a detailed map of the settlement prior to its destruction. His troops spent two days in late October 1818 burning it to the ground.1

Although La Salle had first hoisted France's flag more than a century and half earlier in what one day would become Texas, this second French incursion came at a critical time in a tension-filled location. Spain claimed the area, but there was also uncertainty about whether the Louisiana Purchase had placed it within United States boundaries. Champ d'Asile thus quickly became a complicating development that highlighted a number of troublesome issues. French historian Inès Murat accurately described it as "a no-man's land . . . where diplomats and strategists were engaged in the historical process of ideological and economic conflict."2 [End Page 199]

Creating what has been described as "international consternation," involving even the president of the United States, this settlement of exiles began as quite an adventure. After the fall of Napoleon in 1815, several of his followers, facing treason charges in France, immigrated to the United States. Having received a land grant in Alabama from a sympathetic U.S. Congress, they established the Society for the Cultivation of the Vine and Olive. When this agricultural venture failed, one of Napoleon's most favored generals, Charles Lallemand, planned a new colony and met with a group of French exiles in Galveston, some of whom had arrived by ship from Philadelphia. In May 1818, in several boats supplied by the privateer Jean Lafitte who was operating out of Galveston at that time, they spent two days crossing a stormy Galveston Bay to the mouth of the Trinity River. There they split into two groups. One contingent, led by Lafitte's men, went upriver in boats, while the other, following Lallemand, walked up the east bank of the river on a trek that took six days.3

Lallemand's purposes have long been debated. Some historians believe that his goal was to enlarge the settlement's numbers, invade Mexico, and place Napoleon's brother Joseph on the throne. Others speculate that he wanted to slip into Mexico and raid some of its northern silver mines. Several have even suggested that he hoped to raise a force large enough to rescue Napoleon from exile. However, Lallemand repeatedly insisted that he and his followers simply wanted to establish a place where they could live in peace. As he stated: "We war against no one and harbor no hostile intentions. We ask peace and friendship of all those who live around us . . . We respect the religion, laws and customs of civilized countries . . . We want to live in freedom, hard work, and peace. We shall make ourselves useful where we can and return good for good."4

Regardless of Lallemand's actual intent, his bold venture into a region vigorously claimed by both the United States and Spain was highly celebrated in France. Champ d'Asile was portrayed as a beautiful, bucolic place. Songs and poems were composed, books written, and paintings rendered with fanciful descriptions of life in this idyllic environment. Some even portrayed palm trees and scenic mountains in Southeast Texas. [End Page 200] French citizens were regaled with stories of glorious adventures in this romantic setting.5

The reality, however, did not match the picturesque images. According to the Spanish engineer's drawing, at least twenty-five rough-hewn wooden structures were built not far from the...

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