Historical Marker

Lafitte's Grove

Galveston, Galveston County · Texas

Erected 1936

The Karankawa met the pirate colony as a people with their own claim to these shores. The Handbook of Texas says the clash began when Laffite's men kidnapped a Karankawa woman, and the Karankawa gathered a reported 300 warriors to attack the compound. Laffite's 200 men, armed with two cannons, inflicted heavy losses and forced them back. The Handbook dates the fight to 1819, while this plaque places the Battle of the Three Trees in February 1821. Settlers later used the Karankawa reputation for ceremonial cannibalism to justify driving them off the coast.

What the plaque says

Lafitte's Grove Fort and settlement established here in 1817 by the freebooter Jean Lafitte who maintained headquarters here while preying on shipping in the Gulf of Mexico. The Battle of the Three Trees was fought here between Lafitte's men and Karankawa Indians, February, 1821. Fort abandoned and burned in 1821 by Lafitte after his departure was ordered by the United States government. Erected by the State of Texas 1936

Where it stands

29.21282, -94.93548 · Directions

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