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Dominique You orYoux (bornFrederic You orYoux,c. 1775 – November 15, 1830) was a Frenchprivateer,soldier, andpolitician.
According to information he provided to his masonic lodge inNew Orleans, he was born in Cette (now spelledSète) inLanguedoc,France.[1] (Contrary to the spuriousJournal of Jean Laffite, he was not the older brother of Pierre and Jean Laffite.) He served as anartilleryman in theFrench Revolutionary Army. In 1802 he accompanied GeneralCharles Leclerc's expedition to quellToussaint Louverture'sHaitian Revolution.
Following the failure of this expedition, Dominique You managed to reachLouisiana, where it is sometimes alleged thousands of pirates were based at that time. He appears to have joinedJean Lafitte andPierre Lafitte. He became the captain of the pirate shipLe Pandoure. He was nicknamed "Captain Dominique" by the French and "Johnness" by the Americans. He acquired a reputation for being very bold and daring. During the next few years he and the Lafitte brothers became successfulsmugglers in the Louisianabayous. Aspirates, they preyed onSpanish ships in theGulf of Mexico, doing extensive damage to Spanish commerce. On one occasion, ahurricane in theGulf of Mexico caused severe damage toLe Pandoure and almost killed Captain You.
From 1804, the governor of newly American Louisiana (or "theTerritory of Orleans"),William C. C. Claiborne, was making efforts to suppress piracy. In July 1814, Dominique You was publicly identified as apirate. In September 1814, he was in charge of the privateer settlement atBarataria Bay when it was captured by American forces; he was taken prisoner along with other Baratarian pirates and imprisoned in theCabildo in New Orleans.[2][3]
Soon, however, in the context of the ongoingWar of 1812, Jean Lafitte had the opportunity to offer to help GeneralAndrew Jackson defend New Orleans against the impendingBritish invasion, in exchange for a pardon for him and his pirate crews. Jackson accepted this offer, and You was appointed commander of a company ofartillery which was composed of the Baratarians' best gunners. Compared to the official American forces, the pirates fought particularly well in theBattle of New Orleans on January 8, 1815, and were mentioned in Major General Andrew Jackson's general order of January 21 for having shown uncommon gallantry and skill in the field.
As a result of this success, the charges against the Baratarians and Dominique You were dropped. After the battle, You settled inNew Orleans where he became involved in politics as a partisan of Andrew Jackson. You died in New Orleans in 1830, receiving a military funeral at public expense. His grave bears aFreemasonic symbol.
