FLORIAN - The Most Traveled Man on Earth

Letter 19.
Montesano [West Florida, Spanish Territory, now Louisiana, a few miles north of
Baton Rouge] 30 March 1809
[From Jean-Baptiste Florian to his wife, still in England. Addressed on the outside to:]
25 Dorset Street
Portman Square [London]
M. Florian
Here I am, my dearly beloved, in a place upon which we had cast our thoughts while in
Europe, and I can assure you that it surpasses all that we had imagined about it in at least
several ways. Montesano is one league above Baton Rouge, in the territory that belongs
to the Spanish. <strong>The</strong> terrain forms a rather extensive plain, elevated about 40 to 60 feet
above the Mississippi, commanding a magnificent view both up and down the river. <strong>The</strong>
woods are full of Magnolias as tall as oaks, of liquidambars [sweetgums], of flowering
laurels, of tulip trees, & of an infinite number of other charming flowering trees and
shrubs. Iris of all varieties grow wild; the “snowdrops” [in English] here are a foot high
& in enormous clusters – but what is better than all that is the good air and the salubrious
climate in these higher lands. Here it is much cooler than in New Orleans, and they
assure me that one is tormented much less by the mosquitoes, etc.
<strong>The</strong> owner of Montesano is Mr. William Herries, brother of a Mr. Herries, Colonel of the
Horse Volunteers of Westminister [England?]. <strong>The</strong> latter was a banker in France and has
as his wife a Frenchwoman of about 40 years old, exceedingly pleasant, who is in
addition the “steward, housekeeper, foreman, and book-keeper” [the preceding in
English] – in a word, her husband’s right arm, and the mainstay of all his undertakings.
Mr. Herries is the intimate friend of the Baron de Grandpre, Governor of Baton Rouge
and of all the territory that belongs to Spain in this region, as far as Pensacola. He has
obtained the privilege [official permission?] of establishing a city here, and it appears
quite likely that he will succeed in doing so, 32 if he can succeed in putting into practice
his various plans for the improvement of the country. Among other plans he wants to
establish at Montesano a college and an education establishment for young ladies, and
these two institutions are the “hobbyhorses” [in English] of Governor Grandpre. By a
happy chance Mr. Herries had bought in London my book Analytical Course of Studies
[in English], and admired it a great deal. He is, in a word, full of enthusiasm for me, you,
and our institutions, and absolutely wants us to get established here. He will make us a
present of a piece of land of our choice, for our houses, gardens, etc., will furnish the
materials and workers to build them, and claims to be sure of a very considerable number
of boy and girl students. I have told him that our plan was to re-unite us with my two
32 In fact, no such city was ever built. In 1810 Americans led a revolt against Spanish rule, attacked New
Orleans, and declared the “Republic of West Florida.” A month later, President Madison ordered the
Governor of Orleans (Louisiana) to annex the new Republic, and plans for a Spanish city of Montesano
evaporated forever.
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