After a long and successful piratical career in the Gulf of Mexico, the United States government finally, and firmly, requested the Laffite brothers leave Galveston Island forever. On May 7, 1821, Jean Laffite left without protest, but not before he had his men torch his Maison Rouge headquarters and all buildings within the settlement of his Campeche compound. It’s also likely he took with him his massive hoard of ill-gotten booty, possibly loaded onto four ships, one of which was his vessel,the Pride. But the corsair life was in their blood, and Laffite could not leave it nor the Gulf. He and his men would continue to take prizes there and in the waters off Cuba and Central America until his debated end sometime between 1823 and 1826. The mysteries of his legend would continue to live on, as the search for his millions never ceased.