There’s a little-known tale, buried somewhere between history and legend, about one of Napoleon’s most trusted generals. His name was General François Lallemand, a man of fierce loyalty who had stood by Napoleon through thick and thin. But when Napoleon was defeated, and shipped off to Saint Helena, something in Lallemand shifted – from dreams of glory in Europe, to empire-building on the untamed frontiers of Texas.
General Lallemand. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Yes, crazy at it sounds, Lallemand wanted to rescue Napoleon from Saint Helena in the middle of the Atlantic and bring him to Texas to relive his glory days once more. But he couldn’t do it openly. He needed a cover story.
He recruited about 140 Napoleonic loyalists to help him establish his Texas colony on the Trinity River, which he had already named the Champ d’Asile (or “Field of Asylum.”) Lallemand said that the colony would have military men, but only for protection; otherwise it would concentrate on agriculture.
This was in 1817, long before the Battle of the Alamo and San Jacinto.
Texas in the early 19th century wasn’t exactly a place for a retired general of Napoleon’s stature. It was a land of chaos and confusion, still under the grip of the Spanish – a place where Anglo settlers, French adventurers, and Native Americans all bumped up against each other like horses in a corral.
Lallemand’s mind churned with plans. Texas was a land ripe for conquest. But he wasn’t just thinking of conquering it. No, he was thinking of something far grander: bringing Napoleon here to rule in the heart of North America, in the wild frontier of Texas, to build an empire worthy of his name.
General Lallemand — ever the tactician — knew that he couldn’t do it alone. He needed support, men who believed in the idea of Napoleon’s glory, who would rally behind the dream of a new empire in the West.
So, he began to gather a small band of French soldiers, exiles, adventurers – all of them hungry for a new world to conquer. Many made their way across the Atlantic where they gathered in New England and then sailed for New Orleans and Galveston, striking out for the Trinity River.
Why the Trinity? The Trinity River was much more than a winding, muddy stream then. It was a gateway to the heart of Texas. It would be a place, if properly fortified, where he could hold off any Spanish forces, rally the Texan settlers, and prepare for the day when Napoleon would step onto Texas soil, ready to take up his crown once more.
Building a fort there, right along the river, was no easy feat. Lallemand’s men, though well-trained, were still recovering from the ravages of years spent on battlefields far from their homes. The mosquitoes were fierce, the heat oppressive, and the land unforgiving. But they dug in. They built walls, they set up defenses.
The fort, modest as it was, became their stronghold. But the bigger plan, the one that Lallemand kept close to his chest, was for Napoleon to come to Texas. Napoleon would thrive there.
But Napoleon never came and probably never knew of the plan. What a great – or maybe awkward – moment it would have been had Napoleon come and eventually met Santa Anna, the self-proclaimed “Napoleon of the West.”
The colony collapsed quickly because the famous French pirate and smuggler, Jean Lafitte, snitched on them. He likely didn’t know of the plan to bring Napoleon to Texas, but he was suspicious of the colony and probably didn’t want them ruining the good income he was making in smuggling operations on Galveston Island.
He alerted the Spanish authorities to the new colony and Lallemand got word of the Spaniards mobilizing for attack from San Marcos and so the colony soon packed up and left. And that was the end of that.
The story of Napoleon coming to Texas never came to be a reality, but if it had, given the unpredictable and unstable nature of Texas at that time, the story would have fit right in.
If it were a movie, I’d love to watch it.
