Following Napoleon's defeat of the Spanish during the Napoleonic Wars Napoleon was again in possesion of the Louisiana Territory. The city of New Orleans was the gateway to the territory and the vast land and resources. Unfortunately for Napoleon he did not have the navy to supply and protect such a distant possession and was forced to look for options.
In 1803 Napoleon offered to sell the Louisiana Territory to the United States. Luckily for the American taxpayers Adams refused to pay for the land and it remained in the hands of the French Emperor. Napoleon could provide them no aid and left the territory to fend for itself.
The citizens of New Orleans recieved a letter from Napoleon about the bravery of the French people, their unwillingness to ever surrender, and his inability to provide aide. The people took it upon themselves for their own protection and formed an army and began to tax the residents. They formed more self-sufficient local governments and Louisianan rather then French.
When Napoleon crossed the Berezina River from Russia in November 1812 Louisianans rose in open revolt, by the end of the day the French government center in New Orleans was destroyed and a new one under construction with the new flag being flown. Soon the Louisiana Confederacy was seeking recognition from the major world powers.
It was not until April 11, 1814 that the Louisiana Confederacy was recognized by not only the UK, US, and Russia but also by France. Part of Napoleon's surrender terms was to recognize the nation as free and independent. In the last years of his life he wrote in his memoirs that he was happy at least that Louisiana was independent unlike Quebec and France itself.