A rare and amusing satire of the Champ d’Asile colony, a short-lived venture formed by some of Napoleon’s former soldiers. The settlement along the Trinity River, about a hundred kilometres north of Houston, survived less than a year as Sapnish aggression caused the settlers to remove to New Orleans.
A prominent supporter of the colony was the Parisian, Benjamin Constant, publisher of La Minerve. “In Paris La Minerve française, a Bonapartist journal dedicated to keeping alive and promoting sentiment in favor of Napoleon’s dynasty and policies, raised a subscription of money to be given to Champ d’Asile itself, and on its failure to its survivors. In the autumn of 1819 La Minerve was ready to disburse fifteen thousand dollars which it had collected. The distance between Paris and New Orleans and the slowness in communications were problems overcome in part by the presence in Paris of J. Noil Destrehan, a wealthy Louisiana planter. He served as liaison and provided information that the publishers of La Minerve needed in order to disburse the funds effectively. A committee was formed in Louisiana, appointed by the governor of the state and presided over by Destrehan. Its purpose was to supervise the disbursement. To assure public confidence well-known men of good reputation were appointed to the committee, which in turn sought out Charles Lallemand to help it find the refugees for whom the funds were destined. Lallemand was not quick to act. He had become bogged down in American life and economic pursuits. Within weeks after the abandonment of Galveston he made his choice and became an American citizen, a decision for which General Rigau was subsequently to reproach him” (Gardien).
Here the artist takes aim at the wealthy subscribers who contributed to the fund. Drunken revellers, including Benjamin Constant, on the left watch on and sing as other hand over subscriptions, asking variously: “Pekin laurois je une Baronie au Texas?” and “Bobo pour le polits garcois du Texas?” The “Goguettes” of the title is a reference to a contemporary singing society in France and Belgium.
We find a single copy at LoC. But the image is not on OCLC, nor is it held at Yale, JCB, or AAS.
Gardien, K., “Take Pity on Our Glory: Men of Champ d’Aisle” in The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Vol. 87, No. 3 (Jan, 1984), p.258.
