Fort Bute or Manchac Post, named after the then British Prime Minister
John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute, was established in 1763 at the junction of the Iberville River (
Bayou Manchac) with the
Mississippi River, and remained an important military and trading post in
British West Florida until captured by Spanish forces under
Luis de Unzaga who built a new fort, Manchak fort, in August of 1775; later, his brother-in-law
Bernardo Galvez captured Manchac Fort from the English again on September 7, 1779, during what became known as the
Battle of Fort Bute of the
American Revolutionary War. Manchac was raided in February 1778 by American forces under the command of James Willing—see related articles,
Continental Marines and
USS Morris. Fort Bute/Manchac Post/Mississippi River at Bayou Manchac is 45 miles from Manchac. The British used Manchac as a trading post with which the British agent in 1772 was reported to attempt to recruit a translator of Quapaw to undermine Spanish authority in Spanish Louisiana. Apparently it was a favorite object of deputy Indian agent John Thomas there. When the
New Orleans, Jackson and Great Northern railroad was commissioned in 1852, Manchac was one of the stations originally planned, which were generally at ten-mile intervals. Willie Akers' father, William Akers, was the founder and first mayor of the town of
Ponchatoula, the next station to the north. Manchac straddles the railway, which, at the start of the 21st century, is part of the
Canadian National Railway system. The area was part of the
Expedition to Pass Manchac and Ponchatoula during the American Civil War. == Location ==