Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1892, volume 3).djvu/620

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tophe, which were terminated by the treaty of peace of 9 May. On the resumption of hostilities with Christophe, Lacroix, who had won the affec- tion of the negroes through his humanity, owed his life to them several times, and was once rescued by the insurgents themselves from a party of Chris- tophe's soldiers, who had surprised him. He was subsequently lieutenant to Gen. Rochambeau, but a few weeks later was sent back to France on ac- count of the latter's jealousy of his popularity among the colored population, who used to call him their king. Lacroix served under Murat from 1805 till 1809, fought at Waterloo in 1815, and in 1820 checked at Grenoble and Befort the insurrec- tions that were promoted by Lafayette. He retired in 1824. Gen. Lacroix published " Memoires pour servir a l'histoire de la revolution de Saint Do- mingue" (2 vols., Paris, 1819; revised ed., 1820). This work is the only impartial account by a wit- ness of that disastrous campaign of 1802 and 1803. — His brother, Etienne Joseph Francois, French soldier, b. in Aymarques, Gard, 21 July, 1776 ; d. in Jeremie, Santo Domingo, in April, 1803, enlisted in 1794, and served in Italy. He was a colonel when he went to Santo Domingo in 1802, and was sent to subdue Tortugas and the other neighboring islands. He also took Jeremie, and inflicted two severe defeats on Christophe, on 7 Aug. and 1 1 Oct.. near Port au Prince. He afterward recaptured Fort Dauphin, and defeated the negroes who be- sieged him there. After the departure of his brother for France, some colored citizens entered into negotiations with him to drive the French from the colonies, promising to elect him king in- stead of his brother. Lacroix was unwilling to ac- cept, but Christophe nevertheless took alarm and caused him to be killed in Jeremie during a riot.


LACROSSE, Jean Baptiste Raymond, Baron. French naval officer, b. in Meilhan, 5 Sept., 1765; d. there, 9 Sept., 1829. He entered the navy as a midshipman in 1780, fought in the West Indies in 1781, and from 1784 till 1789 was successively at- tached to the stations of Chili, Brazil, and Marti- nique. Toward the end of 1790 he was sent on a cruise around Santo Domingo, and in 1792 was commissioned to reorganize the administration in the French West Indies. He performed his mis- sion so well that the citizens of Guadeloupe elected him their governor in January, 1793. But the reign of terror had already begun, and Lacrosse was dis- missed in September of that year. In March, 1801, he was appointed governor-general of Guade- loupe, which was then in open revolt. Lacrosse dealt severely with the two parties, and restored order, but fell into an ambuscade and was carried to Dominique in November, 1801. After receiving re-enforcements from France, he landed again at Pointe a Pitre in May, 1802, in less than a month had subdued the whole island, and soon restored it to its former prosperity. His health compelled him to return to France in 1803. He defeated Nel- son at Boulogne, 1 Oct., 1804, and afterward com- manded at Rochefort ; but his failing health com- pelled him to retire in 1812. He published " Me- moire sur les moyens de miner les etablissements de TAmerique qu'alimente le commerce de l'An- gleterre et en particulier Rio de Janeiro " (Paris, 1795); "Memoire sur les etablissements Francais et Anglais dans les Antilles " (1800) ; " Memoires pour servir a l'histoire de la revolte des noirs a la Guadeloupe " (2 vols., 1822) ; " Deux annees de gouvernement a la Guadeloupe " (1824) ; " De l'avenir des colonies Francaises dans les Antilles et en particulier de la Guadeloupe " (2 vols., 1826) ; and several technical works on naval matters.


LACUNZA, Jose Maria (lah-koon'-thah), Mexi- can statesman, b. in the city of Mexico in 1809 : d. in Havana, Cuba, 19 June, 1869. He received an excellent education, studied law in the university of his native city, and in 1833 was admitted to the bar, where he soon attained reputation. At the same time he cultivated poetry, and many of his compositions appeared in the journals of the capi- tal. In May, 1849, he was called by Gen. Hen-era to the portfolio of foreign relations, which he held till the end of Herrera's presidential term in Janu- ary, 1851, showing himself to be well meaning and progressive, but weak. During Juarez's adminis- tration Lacunza was elected a member of the su- preme court of justice ; but on the arrival of Maxi- milian he recognized the imperial government. He was appointed, in April, 1866, secretary of the imperial treasury, which place he occupied till July, when Maximilian made him president of the council of state. As such he voted in the council of 25 Nov., 1866, against the abdication of Maxi- milian. Afterward Lacunza resigned the presi- dency of the council of state, and, on the departure of Maximilian to take command of the army at Queretaro, he was civil governor of the capital un- der Gen. Marquez ; but after the occupation of the city by the republican forces, 21 June, 1867, he was obliged to hide himself, and a few days later left secretly for Havana, where he died. He was the founder of the literary academy of Letran, and several editions of his poems have been published. — His brother, Juan N., Mexican poet, b. in the city of Mexico, 22 Nov., 1812 ; d. there, 13 July, 1843, was graduated in philosophy in the College of San Juan de Letran of his native city, and be- gan to studv civil and canonical law in the Uni- versity of Mexico in 1833, being admitted to the bar in 1837. He soon obtained an extensive practice, but devoted his leisure to writing poetry, and some of his first compositions appeared in the " Alio nuevo," the official journal of the literary academy of Letran. The magazine " Recreo de las Fami- lias " (1838) also published many of his best poems.


LACUNZA, Manuel (la - koon' - thah), South American clergyman, b. in Santiago, Chili, 19 July, 1731 ; d. in Imola, Italy, 17 June, 1801. He studied in Santiago, and became a Jesuit on 7 Sept., 1747. In 1767, on the suppression of his order, he was expelled by the Spanish government, and spent the remainder of his life in Imola, Italy, where he lived in seclusion and passed the nights in observing the stars. In cloudy nights he took long solitary walks in the outskirts of the town, where he was found one morning drowned in a pool. He wrote a work that attracted much atten- tion both in Europe and America, entitled " La venida del Mesias en gloria y majestad : Observa- ciones de Juan Josafat Ben-Ezra, Hebreo Cristiano, dirigidas al sacerdote Cristofilo Atico Romano," which was edited after Lacunza's death at the ex- pense of Gen. Belgrano, the envoy of the republic of Buenos Ayres (4 vols., London, 1816; 3 vols., Paris, 1826 ; Latin translation, 5 vols., Mexico, 1825) ; an imperfect edition has already been pub- lished (2 vols., Cadiz, 1813). The author attempts to prove from the Bible that the second advent of Christ will take place before the final judgment. His book was placed on the Index Expurgatorius by a decree of 6 Sept., 1824. Father Lacunza was also the author of some poems and orations.


LADD, Catherine, educator, b. in Richmond, Va., 28 Oct., 1809. Her maiden name was Stratton. At the age of nineteen she married G. W. Ladd, a portrait and miniature painter, and began contributing poems, news-letters, and articles on education