Francisco Cruzat

Francisco Zavier Cruzat (also François Cruzat or Don Francisco Cruzat) was a Spanish soldier who served as lieutenant governor of Upper Louisiana in New Spain (also known as the "lieutenant governor of St. Louis") from 1775-1778 and again from 1780-1787. He served as Interim Governor of East Florida in 1789.

Francisco Cruzat
François Cruzat
Don Francisco Cruzat
2ª Lieutenant Governors of Upper Louisiana
In office
1775–1778
Preceded byPedro Piernas
Succeeded byFernando de Leyba
4ª Lieutenant Governors of Upper Louisiana
In office
September 24, 1780 – 1787
Preceded byFernando de Leyba
Succeeded byManuel Pérez
Personal details
BornMarch 10, 1739
Taffala, Navarra, Spain
Died1790
Pensacola, Florida
Spouse(s)Doña Nicanora Ramos
(also sometimes spelled Anicanora Ramos)
ChildrenAntonio and José
ProfessionSoldier, Lieutenant Governor of Upper Louisiana and Interim Governor of Florida

Biography

Francisco Cruzat was the son of Balthazar and Francesca Cruzat.[1] He joined the Spanish Army in his youth and became in captain of grenadiers. In 1769, he moved to Louisiana (New Spain) with the newly appointed governor of Louisiana Alejandro O'Reilly.[2] Cruzat arrived at St. Louis on May 20, 1775.[3]

Cruzat became the lieutenant governor of Upper Louisiana in 1775. He continued the same enforcement of Spanish policies as his predecessor, Pedro Piernas.[4] During his tenure the first ferry was established in Maramec, by a man named John Baptiste Gamache.[5]

In 1778, Cruzat was removed from office on the orders of Louisiana Governor Bernardo Galvez, and was replaced by Fernando de Leyba.[4]

In 1779, Cruzat took part in the conquest of Baton Rouge, and in early 1780 he gained the rank of lieutenant colonel.

In September 1780, Francisco Cruzat was reappointed lieutenant governor of Upper Louisiana after the death of Fernando de Leyba in June earlier that year.[2] Only a few months later in January 1781, Cruzat dispatched an attack on Fort St. Joseph near Lake Michigan in response to rumors of a spring attack on St. Louis by the British. His force was commanded by Captain Eugenio Pourré and included about 140 Spanish soldiers and 60 Native American volunteers.[3][6][7] The militia also included Ensign Charles Tayon and the interpreter Louis Chevalier.[6] Cruzat and his forces successfully captured Fort St. Joseph on February 12, 1781.[8]

On November 27, 1787, Cruzat left his office of lieutenant governor of St. Louis and was succeeded by Manuel Pérez.[2][3]

In 1789 he served as Interim Governor of East Florida, temporarily replacing an unwell Arturo O´Neill who had requested a leave of absence.[9] O'Neill organized the Third Battalion of Pensacola in 1790, which Cruzat was assigned to command. He continued that assignment until he died.[2]

Personal life

Cruzat married Nicanora (also referred to as "Anicanora") Ramos, a native of Cartagena, Spain. They had four children together, Antonio, Francois, Josefa and José.[1] There is little mention of Francois, and in Cruzat's first term as lieutenant governor of Upper Louisiana, his daughter Josefa died while still a young child and was buried in the church cemetery.[5] Their two surviving sons were Antonio and José.[2][9]

In May 1782, his wife and their two sons were captured by British allies near present-day Memphis, Tennessee while they were en route to St. Louis. Cruzat was able to negotiate their release for a ransom of 4500 pesos. His wife died in St. Louis in 1786, and Cruzat died in Pensacola, Florida in 1790.[2][9]

References
  1. "Francisco Zavier Cruzat". geni_family_tree. Retrieved 2015-12-05.
  2. Lawrence O. Christensen; William E. Foley; Gary Kremer (October 1999). Dictionary of Missouri Biography. University of Missouri Press. pp. 223–224. ISBN 978-0-8262-6016-1.
  3. "Cruzat, Francisco". St. Louis Historic Preservation. Retrieved 4 December 2015.
  4. Primm, James Neal (1998). Lion of the Valley: St. Louis, Missouri, 1764-1980. Missouri History Museum Press. ISBN 978-1-883982-25-6. Pages 27, 34.
  5. Chapter II. Spanish Domination. Date from the book Edwards's Great West and Her Commercial Metropolis, Embracing a General View of the West, and a Complete History of St. Louis, from the Landing of Ligueste, in 1764, to the Present Time; with Portraits and Biographies of Some of the Old Settlers, and Many of the Most Prominent Business Men. Written by Edwards, Richard; Hopewell, M.; Ashley, William; Barry, James G.; Belt and Priest; Casey, John; Hall, W.; Labaum, Louis A.; Leduc, Mary Philip; Lisa, Manuel; O'Fallon, Benjamin; Piernas; Port Folio; Risley, W.; Stoddard, Amos; Williams, Henry W.; Yore, John E. Edwards's Great West and Her Commercial Metropolis. St. Louis: Office of Edwards's Monthly, A Journal of Progress, 1860. [format: book], [genre: biography; history; letter; narrative].
  6. Collins, William. "The Spanish Attack On Fort St. Joseph". National Park Service. Retrieved 9 March 2012.
  7. Lancaster, Bruce (1971). The American Revolution. New York: American Heritage. p. 266. ISBN 0-618-12739-9.
  8. "Indiana in the American Revolution". Archived from the original on 2012-03-16. Retrieved 2014-07-16.
  9. R. Douglas Hurt (2002). The Indian Frontier, 1763-1846. UNM Press. pp. 23–24. ISBN 978-0-8263-1966-1.
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