Representative Emile La Sére

Emile La Sére (1802 – August 14, 1882) was an American businessman, public official, and Democratic politician who represented Louisiana’s first congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives for three terms in the mid-nineteenth century. He was born in 1802 on Santo Domingo (present-day Hispaniola). In 1805 his family moved to New Orleans, Louisiana, where he was raised and educated. Although some later accounts suggested that he attended the United States Military Academy at West Point or Transylvania College as a contemporary of Jefferson Davis, there is no documentary evidence that he ever enrolled in either institution. He received a thorough practical education that prepared him for a career in commerce and public life, and he became fluent in English, French, and Spanish, an asset in the multilingual society of New Orleans and in his later dealings in Mexico.

After completing his schooling, La Sére embarked on a business career, working for several years as a clerk in mercantile establishments in Jackson, Louisiana, and in Mexico. These early positions provided him with experience in trade and finance and exposed him to the commercial networks linking the Gulf South with Mexico and the Caribbean. He eventually returned to New Orleans, where he established himself more firmly in business and entered local Democratic politics. A political ally of influential Louisiana Democrat John Slidell, La Sére became involved in various ventures with him, including the publication of the Louisiana Courier newspaper. Through this association and his growing prominence in the party, he secured appointment as Louisiana’s state printer, a position that further integrated him into the state’s political and administrative life.

La Sére’s first significant elective office came in 1840, when he was chosen sheriff of the New Orleans Commercial Court, a judicial body dealing with commercial and maritime matters in the busy port city. He held this office until 1845, overseeing functions related to the enforcement of court orders and the administration of commercial law. His service as sheriff, combined with his newspaper and printing activities and his close ties to Slidell, enhanced his reputation as a capable administrator and loyal Democrat, positioning him for higher office at the national level.

In 1846, following John Slidell’s resignation from the U.S. House of Representatives, La Sére was elected as a Democrat in a special election to fill the resulting vacancy from Louisiana’s first congressional district. He was subsequently elected to two full terms, serving in the 29th, 30th, and 31st Congresses from January 29, 1846, to March 3, 1851. During his time in Congress, he participated in the legislative process at a momentous period in American history marked by the Mexican–American War, debates over territorial expansion, and intensifying sectional tensions. In the 29th Congress he served as chairman of the Committee on Expenditures in the Post Office Department, overseeing fiscal matters related to the rapidly expanding postal system. As a member of the Democratic Party representing Louisiana, La Sére contributed to national deliberations while advocating for the interests of his New Orleans and Gulf Coast constituents over the course of his three terms in office.

After leaving Congress in 1851, La Sére remained active in both politics and business. When Antonio López de Santa Anna returned to power in Mexico in 1853, the liberal leader Benito Juárez went into exile in New Orleans. La Sére, drawing on his Mexican connections and his standing in the city, hosted Juárez for approximately two years, until Santa Anna’s resignation in 1855 allowed Juárez to return to Mexico. During the administration of President Franklin Pierce, La Sére served as disbursing agent for the New Orleans Mint, managing federal funds associated with mint operations in one of the nation’s principal commercial centers. He also continued to be a prominent figure within the Democratic Party, serving as a delegate to numerous local, county, state, and national Democratic conventions and acting as chairman of Louisiana’s Democratic State central committee for more than fifteen years, a role that made him a key organizer and strategist in state politics.

During the American Civil War, La Sére aligned with the Confederacy and entered military service. He first served as a major in the 10th Louisiana Regiment of the Confederate States Army. He later advanced to a key logistical role as chief quartermaster of the Trans-Mississippi Department, responsible for the procurement and distribution of supplies across a vast and often isolated theater of war west of the Mississippi River. In 1864, drawing on his earlier commercial experience and his familiarity with Mexico, he was appointed the Confederacy’s commercial agent in Mexico, where he worked to facilitate trade and secure resources for the Confederate war effort despite the increasingly difficult international and military situation.

In the postwar years, La Sére resumed his involvement in business and maintained his interest in Mexican affairs. Among his notable ventures was his service as president of the Tehuantepec Railroad Company in Mexico, a project that reflected broader U.S. and Mexican ambitions to develop transportation routes across the Isthmus of Tehuantepec as an alternative to other interoceanic transit corridors. His leadership in this enterprise underscored his long-standing engagement with commerce and infrastructure in the Gulf and Mexican regions, as well as his continued prominence in transnational business circles after the Civil War.

Emile La Sére died in New Orleans on August 14, 1882. He was buried in Metairie Cemetery, one of the city’s most prominent burial grounds. La Sére never married and had no children, and he left behind a legacy as a multilingual businessman, Democratic Party leader, Confederate officer, and three-term U.S. Representative who played a role in both Louisiana and national affairs during a period of profound political and social transformation.