Reuben Kemper (February 21, 1771 – January 29, 1827) was an American pioneer and
filibuster.
Kemper and West Florida
Born in
Fauquier County, Virginia, Kemper and his brothers Nathan and
Samuel settled in
Feliciana Parish, near
Baton Rouge,
Spanish West Florida, shortly after 1800. Expelled from the province by the Spanish authorities in a dispute over land titles, the Kemper brothers organized a small force in the
Mississippi Territory and returned, declaring West Florida to be independent. They attempted to capture
Baton Rouge in 1804, but were defeated, having failed to gain the support of local Anglo-American settlers. Most of the latter were satisfied with Spanish rule on account of Spain's liberal
land grant
A land grant is a gift of real estate—land or its use privileges—made by a government or other authority as an incentive, means of enabling works, or as a reward for services to an individual, especially in return for military service. Grants ...
s and its protection of
slavery
Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
. The following year Spanish forces captured all three brothers while they were on U.S. soil, but American forces rescued them as they were being taken down the
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the List of longest rivers of the United States (by main stem), second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest Drainage system (geomorphology), drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson B ...
.
In 1810, during the rebellion against
Spanish rule by British and
Anglo-American
Anglo-Americans are people who are English-speaking inhabitants of Anglo-America. It typically refers to the nations and ethnic groups in the Americas that speak English as a native language, making up the majority of people in the world who spe ...
settlers (who comprised the majority of inhabitants), Reuben Kemper and Joseph White were authorized to invite the inhabitants of
Mobile and
Pensacola to join in the revolt. When Kemper crossed into the Mississippi Territory, U.S. forces arrested him, as they did not wish to provoke Spain into war and feared Kemper's intentions. He was more fortunate than his colleagues, who were seized by the Spanish authorities and sent as prisoners to
El Morro, in
Havana
Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center. , Cuba.
But the rebellion spread and the
Republic of West Florida
The Republic of West Florida ( es, República de Florida Occidental, french: République de Floride occidentale), officially the State of Florida, was a short-lived republic in the western region of Spanish West Florida for just over months ...
declared independence from Spain. 78 days later, it was annexed by the United States.
Later years
In 1812-13, Kemper took part in the
Gutiérrez–Magee Expedition into
Spanish Texas
Spanish Texas was one of the interior provinces of the colonial Viceroyalty of New Spain from 1690 until 1821. The term "interior provinces" first appeared in 1712, as an expression meaning "far away" provinces. It was only in 1776 that a leg ...
, fighting to help free Mexico from Spanish rule. He also served as a colonel under
Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was an American lawyer, planter, general, and statesman who served as the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before being elected to the presidency, he gained fame as ...
at the
Battle of New Orleans in January 1815.
Kemper settled down peacefully as a
planter in
Mississippi
Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...
. He died in 1827 in
Natchez, Mississippi, aged 55 or 56.
Legacy
Reuben Kemper is the namesake of
Kemper County, Mississippi.
See also
*
Samuel Kemper
Samuel Kemper (died 1814) was an American adventurer and filibuster.
Filibustering activities
Born in Fauquier County, Virginia, Kemper was involved, along with his brothers Reuben and Nathan Kemper, in the 1804 rebellion against Spanish author ...
, his brother.
Notes and references
*David A. Bice, ''The Original Lone Star Republic: Scoundrels, Statesmen and Schemers of the 1810 West Florida Rebellion'', Heritage Publishing Consultants, 2004.
*Andrew McMichael, "The Kemper 'Rebellion': Filibustering and Resident Anglo American Loyalty in Spanish West Florida", ''Louisiana History'', vol. 43, no. 2 (Spring 2002), p. 133-165.
*Andrew McMichael, ''Atlantic Loyalties: Americans in Spanish West Florida, 1785-1810'', University of Georgia Press, 2008.
External links
Reuben Kemperarticle at AllRefer.com.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kemper, Reuben
American pioneers
People from Fauquier County, Virginia
People from Natchez, Mississippi
1770 births
1826 deaths
American filibusters (military)