The native American., 1838-06-23
From he Military and Neoa1 Maga1iae.
I REVOLUTIONARY HISTORY.
CAPTAIN LANDAIs.

sure in communicating to you, some cllaracteris-
tic notices OF Captain LaRdais; the first COM
mander of the old Alliance frisac, so glorious in
her career during our struggle for independence.
Pierre dc Landais was a younger son Of one ol
the oldest, poorest, and proudcs houses in France.
Through the influence Of a school fellow, he pro-
cured midshpman's warrant, and having stu
died the science Of navigation, he became, in the
course of ten or twelve years Of practice, pretty
good sailor. It was not, however, until he was
thirty-two years Of age that he became licuten-
ant, III which rank he continued eight or ten
years; when he had the modification to see him
self " Over-ra,akcI' by a sprig OF boy--the
kinsman Of court mistress. II was too much
for the high bearing and conscious worth oflhe
sturdy I.andais, and while lie was mcditating up
on the aflront, as measure sufficiently outrage
Gus to '1rid himself of life by bare bodkin,' or
to shoot his rival ont of the way, the war of our
revolution was announced, and new field Of en-
tcrprise was offered to the aspirations of Mr..
Landais. Congress needed experienced officers,
and it was peculiarly in keeping that the first
commander Of lrigate named in compliment 10
the hopeful alliance with France, should have a
Frcnchman to lead or to control her fortunes. n
n The brilliant affair Of the 'sScrapis'' and the
''Bon Homme Richard soon after took place;
inwhich Paul Jones, by lis desperate ,galla,ury,
a thorough pupil Of the old school, who had no
idea ofEsuch. an unsystematic way oflighing,got
sobcwndered, Gas the story goes) that lie could
not for the life Of him tell, which Of the comba-
tants it was his business 10 fire intt; and after
making two or three sad mistakes, concluded that
his, Wiscst course was 10 haul of, and leave them
to settle the matter by themselves. The measure
was prudent enough perhaps, but the result was
unfortunate for this truly unfortunate man, in a
long life Of after neglect. .ss,.. ", ~ l.iyssss .&t
~ Paul Jones gave such an account of Landais'
conduct, as led Congress TO intimate to the poor
fellow that they had no further occasion for his
services; and although he explained his proceed
ngs, upon the most approved principles Of naval
warfare, to his o,D,s enire saliSfaclion he could
not succeed in convincing the members OF the
committee, who looked at nothing but the gorl-
GUS issue. He then took up his residence in
New York, where he remained until his death IL,
1918; always, however, making "a visit, every al
tcrnatc year, to the seat Of government TO present
memorial respecting the injustice Of which ne
was the victim, and to claim restitution Of his
rank and arrears of pay; an application to which
each succeeding Congress, with remarkable una
nimity, returned an answer decidedly in the nc
.gatvc. ats sta.a5,# A5
Notwithstanding his fatal misfortune, in the ac-
ton Just mentioned, s'Admiral I.andais s''-or SO
he claimed to bc---always considered himself an
officer Of the American navy, and however slight
cd by Others never abatcd his scllrcspcct, nor the
firm maintenance Of his rank and dignity 10
this end, he wore the American cockadc 10 the
last and on the 4th Of July, and 25th Of Noyom-
bcr, always mounted his old continental uniforms
although its beauties had fadcd and its ample
skirts almost swept the ground!
There is something touching, pathetic, and trtl-
" noble in the subsequent life and department Of
this philosophical man! something to cxtort our
respect and veneraon, in his own lofty dignity
and devotion to his dccapitatcd sovereign, Louis
XVI. 's'rhc fall Of a great man, like death, ca
nonizes his bones; and We, therefore, feel to-
wards Captain Landas, when old and venerable,
The sympathy Of compassion and favor, and we
delight in rcviving in the ''ninds eye the pic
torial image of the old gentleman, as he appeared
abroad in the streets Of New York, some twenty
years ago, dignifcd relic Of ia rieHe conr.
As rccolected, his figure was that Of a tall, thin
man, exceedingly old, with sharp care-arorn Vi
sage (painful to tclD and deep sunken eyes;
whose vivacity and fire, not even the frosts OF
iorcscorc winters had been able wholly to cxtin-
guish. His raimcnt beokcncd scany means, but
still il was the straightcned circumstances of a
gcntlcman his linen, though not very iine, and
probably forced to perform long service, was al
ways clean; his long skirted coat Of pompadour
purpIe, was thrcalbarc, but carefully brushes;
and his stockings though faded and yellow, were
Of fine silk; remnants of better and happier days.!
His hair, or rather few scanty locks that surviv-
ed the ravagcs Of time, Of silvcry whitencss,
and the bald places thickly covered with powder,
a fact which occasioned no trouble to discover, for
the veteran never appeared abroad with his old
fashioned cooked hat in its legitimate station, car
ruing 1t forever IN his hand, as mark of hom-
ace and respect to, and in commemoration Of the
cruel death Of his beloved sovcrcign; measure to
which he fondly doomed himself, aud to which
he tcnaciously adhered through llie with Kind
of religious veneration.
About twenty Ave years ago, his daily appear
ance in Broadway as'I have described above
was as certain as the return OF morning llght un-
less when his solitary walk was prevented ny
storms In time, however, as ne advanced III
wears and feebleness, his walks became less and
less frequent, and more and more closely hd &c
confne himself to his obscure lodgings, where nc
buried as he might the sense Of his wrongs and
his suflcrings for period Of forty years!!