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Lake Maurepas is the westernmost of a chain of lakes that connect south Louisiana to the Gulf of Mexico. During the War of 1812 between the new United States and the British Empire this tiny lake had strategic importance, because if the British could get a fleet west of New Orleans they could cut the Mississippi River and starve the new nation. This spot is at the end of the lake, and the setting sun lighted a small point of land where the young American Navy had a small fleet of gunboats to protect its western flank. **