Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1900, volume 2).djvu/731

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GOURGUES
GOVE
697

who had established themselves on the St. John's river in Florida, and there built the Caroline fort, or Fort Charles, aroused indignation in France among Protestants and Roman Catholics alike. The king sent complaints to the Spanish court, but Menendez and his associates, instead of being punished for the deed, received rewards and honors. Capt. de Gourgues, embittered by the cruelty and indignity that he had received from the Spaniards, determined to avenge the death of his Protestant compatriots, though he was himself a Catholic. He sold a part of his estate, fitted out an expedition, and sailed from France on 22 Aug., 1567, with one small and two large vessels, with a commission to capture slaves at Benin. The real object of the expedition was not disclosed even to the soldiers who joined it. Arriving at Cape Blanco, after a fight with some negro chiefs, he gained possession of the harbor, and sailed away for the West Indies. His force consisted of 100 arquebusiers, who volunteered from among the nobility and commonalty of Gascony, and 80 sailors who could serve as soldiers. According to the French account of the expedition, he did not declare his intention until they were opposite Cape San Antonio of Cuba. He was joined there by Cacique Satouriona and the only survivor of the former expedition, Pierre Dugré, a youth of sixteen, who proved invaluable as an interpreter. His squadron passed two batteries at the entrance of the St. John's river, being taken for Spanish vessels, and anchored at the mouth of the St. Mary's. The chief readily joined Gourgues in an attack on Fort San Mateo, as the Spaniards had rechristened the stone fort that the French had built on the St. John's river. The redoubt on the opposite side of the river was easily captured. The French then crossed in boats, while their Indian allies swam across. The French accounts relate that about sixty Spaniards sallied from each of the two forts, and that all were slain by the French and Indians excepting fifteen, who were taken prisoners, and afterward hanged. The artillery of the forts was placed on board, and the forts destroyed. They then attacked the principal fort, San Mateo, which had a garrison of 260 men, and carried it, killing most of the Spaniards, a few only escaping to the woods. Descending the river, Gourgues captured the works at the mouth, and hanged thirty more Spaniards, erecting the inscription, “Not as Spaniards, but as treacherous robbers and assassins.” Gourgues returned to the port of La Rochelle on 6 June, 1568. He was received cordially by Monluc, governor of Bordeaux, but coldly by the court, which feared a rupture with Spain. For several years he lived in obscurity, almost in misery, at Rouen with the president of Mariguy, till restored to the king's favor in 1572. He was given command of a vessel, and participated in the siege of La Rochelle, commanding the largest vessel of the squadron. In 1592 Don Antonio de Crato tendered him the command of his fleet to defend his right to the crown of Portugal against Philip II. While on the journey he died. See “Le Voyage du Capitaine de Gourgues dans la Floride” in Basanier's “L'Histoire notable de la Floride” (Paris, 1586; Latin version by De Bry). An English translation was made by Hakluyt (London, 1587), reprinted in French's “Historical Collections of Louisiana and Florida” (New York, 1869). Gourgues's narrative, “La Reprinse de la Floride,” is preserved among the manuscripts of the National library of Paris. It consists of two manuscripts; one, that bears the name of Prévost (probably the copyist), has been published by Ternaux-Compans (q. v.) in his collection. A copy of a manuscript preserved in the Gourgues family was presented in 1831, by the Viscount de Gourgues, to the historian George Bancroft.


GOURLAY, Robert Fleming, Canadian statistician, b. in Fifeshire, Scotland, in 1778; d. in Edinburgh, 1 Aug., 1863. In 1801 he was employed by the imperial government in making inquiries into the condition of the British poor, and on his report a bill was introduced into the house of commons and adopted, but was rejected by the house of lords. In 1817 he arrived in New York, and soon afterward proceeded to Canada. Here he secured the ill-will of the authorities by calling a convention of deputies from the Upper Canadian constituencies to deliberate on the propriety of sending commissioners to Great Britain to call attention to the affairs of the province. The convention petitioned the prince-regent relative to the alleged mismanagement of the crown lands and the hostile attitude taken by the provincial government with relation to immigration. Gourlay was then ordered by the authorities to leave the province within six months, and, having failed to do this, he was arrested in 1819 and confined in Niagara jail. He was soon afterward banished from the province, and resided for a time in the United States. In 1836 the sentence of banishment was annulled, and Gourlay's imprisonment was admitted to have been illegal. In 1842 he petitioned the house for compensation, and was granted a pension of £50 a year, which he declined, as he claimed to be a creditor of the government. He is the author of “A General Introduction to a Statistical Account of Upper Canada” (1822), and of numerous pamphlets.


GOUVION, Jean Baptiste, French soldier, b. in Toul, 8 Jan., 1747; d. near Grisnelle, 11 June, 1792. He was an officer of engineers in the French army, came to America in 1777, served on the staff of Lafayette, was appointed major and afterward lieutenant-colonel of engineers, and received a pen- sion for services at Yorktown. He returned to France at the end of the war, became adjutant- general in 1787, and major-general in the national guard in 1789. In 1791-'2 he was a deputy in the national assembly. He was made a lieutenant- general, and commanded the vanguard of Lafay- ette's army when he was killed.


GOVE, William Hazeltine, politician, b. in Weare, N. H., 10 July, 1817; d. there, 11 March, 1876. He received a common-school education, taught in Lynn, Mass., one year, and an equal length of time in Rochester, N. Y. He also studied law a short time in Boston. He early became an active worker in the anti-slavery cause, a supporter of the Liberty party, and later a prominent Free-soiler. While connected with the latter party he became well known as a stump speaker, and gained the title of the " silver-tongued orator of New Hampshire." He was a memloer of the first Free-soil convention, held in Buft'alo, N. Y., in 1848, was a candidate of his party for the legislature year after year, and in 1851, by a combination of Free-soilers and Whigs, he was elected. He was re-elected in 1852 and 1855. After the Free-soil organization was merged in the Republican party, Mr. Gove was for many years an active Republican. During the administrations of Lincoln and Johnston he held the office of postmaster. In 1871, having become dissatisfied with his party, he engaged in forming a labor reform party, whose voters, combining with the Democrats, elected him to the lower branch of the legislature, of which body he was chosen speaker. In 1872 he was a delegate to the Liberal Republican convention at Cincinnati, and acted thence-