Fort Saint-Louis, Texas, was founded in 1685 by French explorer René-Robert Cavelier de La Salle and members of his expedition, including Jesuit missionary Zenobius Membre, on the banks of Garcitas Creek, a few kilometers inland from the mouth of the Lavaca River.

La Salle had intended to establish the colony at the mouth of the Mississippi, but inaccurate charts and navigational errors led his ships more than six hundred kilometers to the west, to the coast of Texas.

Conscious of his original mission, La Salle led several expeditions to find the Mississippi, which enabled him to explore much of the Río Grande and eastern Texas.

A Spanish expedition led by Alonso de León finally came upon the remains of the fort in the spring of 1689, three or four months after the Karankawas people had killed most of the French, with the exception of five children whom they captured.

In 1681, Robert de La Salle launched an expedition down the Mississippi, hoping to reach the Pacific Ocean,[1] but in fact discovered a route leading to the Gulf of Mexico.

Although Hernando de Soto had explored and taken possession of this region for Spain one hundred and forty years earlier,[2] on April 9, 1682, La Salle claimed the Mississippi Valley on behalf of the King of France, Louis XIV, and named it Louisiana, in his honor.

[3] Without the French presence at the mouth of the Mississippi, Spain would control the entire Gulf of Mexico and pose a threat to the southern borders of New France.

[4] La Salle considered the Mississippi to be close to the eastern tip of New Spain, and on his return to France in 1683, he proposed the creation of a colony at the river's mouth.

This would provide a base for promoting Christianity among the native peoples, as well as an ideal bridgehead for attacking the Spanish province of Nueva Vizcaya and gaining control of its rich silver mines.

The king also provided one hundred soldiers and the entire crews of the ships, as well as funds to hire skilled workers to join the expedition.

[12] Shortly after their departure, France and Spain ceased hostilities, and Louis XIV showed little interest in sending reinforcements to La Salle.

[10] Details of the voyage were kept secret, so that Spain was unaware of its purpose, and La Salle's naval officer, Sieur de Beaujeu, was furious at not having been informed of their destination until after their departure.

Beaujeu set sail for another part of the island, allowing the Spanish privateers to seize the Saint-François, fully loaded with provisions and tools for the colony.

[13] Before they left Santo Domingo, local sailors warned them that the Gulf's powerful currents could push their ships back towards the Florida Straits, if they did not correct their course.

[24] For several days, the men tried to salvage tools and provisions from L'Aimable, but a storm prevented them from saving more than a few cannons, gunpowder, some food and goods before the ship sank on March 7.

[28] Although Beaujeu delivered a message from La Salle on his arrival requesting more provisions, the French authorities, now at peace with Spain, never responded.

[32] Several men died from eating Barbary figs, and the Karankawas killed a small group camping on the beach, including La Belle's captain.

[33] From January to March 1686, La Salle and his men set out overland to find the Mississippi: they headed west to the Rio Grande, probably reaching the present-day town of Langtry.

[37] When they reached the Neches River, four men deserted, and La Salle and one of his nephews fell ill, forcing the group to stop for two months.

[38] Fewer than 20 colonists remained at Fort Saint Louis, mainly women, children and the sick, along with seven soldiers and three missionaries, with whom La Salle was displeased.

They returned to France in the summer of 1688, and informed the King of La Salle's death and the terrible conditions in the colony, but Louis XIV sent no help.

[44] La Salle's mission remained secret until 1686, when Denis Thomas, a member of the expedition who had deserted Saint-Domingue, was arrested for piracy.

Hoping for a lighter sentence, Thomas informed his Spanish jailers of La Salle's plans to found a colony and eventually seize the silver mines.

[45] The Spanish government realized that the French colony was a threat to their mines and shipping routes, so Carlos II's council of war felt that "Spain had to take swift action to remove this thorn that was piercing the heart of America.

[46] The four other expeditions launched the following year were also unsuccessful, but enabled Spain to gain a better understanding of the geography and coastline of this part of the Gulf of Mexico.

The land expedition, led by Alonso de León, discovered Jean Gery, who had deserted the French colony and was living with Coahuiltecans in what is now southern Texas.

[34] The expedition's chronicler, Juan Bautista Chapa, wrote that all this was divine retribution for opposing the Pope, as Alexander VI had granted the territory of the Indies to the Spaniards alone.

[56] Historians and archaeologists debated the exact location of Fort Saint-Louis for several decades, with some casting doubt on whether the Spaniards had built their presidio on its ruins as they claimed.

In 1950, archaeological excavations at the Garcitas Creek site uncovered traces of the Spanish fort and numerous artifacts of French origin.

[59] Large sections of the wooden hull were intact, protected from the warm salt water by layers of muddy sediment that had created an oxygen-free gangue around the wreck.