More Information on Charles Dehault Delassus:

Charles Dehault Delassus was the last Spanish lieutenant governor of Upper Louisiana, and oversaw the transfer of the territory to the Americans on March 9-10, 1804. Ironically, he was not Spanish himself, but French. He was born in Bouchaine, Flanders on November 17, 1767, and joined the Spanish army when he was 15 as a second lieutenant. By 1794 Delassus had risen to the post of lieutenant colonel in the elite Royal Walloon Guards, the personal battalion of the King of Spain. When the Revolution of 1789 broke out in France, Delassus' parents fled to America and settled in New Bourbon, Upper Louisiana. Soon they were destitute and appealed to their son for assistance. Delassus resigned his commission and asked for a transfer to the Louisiana Regiment so that he might be near his family. In 1796 Delassus was appointed commandant at New Madrid, the commercial port of entry for traffic on the Upper Mississippi River. By 1799 Delassus had been appointed lieutenant governor of Upper Louisiana. Delassus sent money to his parents which they continued to spend lavishly, and he fell into debt. As rumors of an American takeover of the province began to circulate, many of his creditors demanded payment. After transferring Upper Louisiana to the Americans in 1804, Delassus was assigned to a post with the Louisiana Regiment at Pensacola, Florida. His parents both died in 1806, and he inherited their massive debts. Delassus resigned from the Spanish Army in 1811, and thereafter divided his time between St. Louis and New Orleans. He married in 1811, but his wife died by 1816. Most of the large land grants he claimed in Louisiana - many of which he conferred upon himself while governor - were not honored by the Americans. He lived in St. Louis between 1816 and 1826. He died in New Orleans on May 1, 1843, a forgotten man.