Jacques Legardeur, sieur de Saint-Pierre: (1701-1755)
Jacques was the son of Jean-Paul & Marie-Josette Leneuf de
La Valliere & great-grandson of Jean Nicolet. Jacques married Marie-Joseph
Guillimin (daughter of Charles Guillimin & Francoise Le Maitre La Morille)
in 1738.
From 1734 to 1737 Jacques commanded Fort Beauharnois, on the banks
of Lake Pepin, rebuilding the fort in May of 1737. In 1747 he became the
Commander of Fort Michilimackinac & involved in the Second Sioux Company
until 1749. His next command was that of Laverendrye's Western Sea Posts
(Mer de l'Ouest), leaving Montreal (June 5 1750), passing through Fort
Michilimackinac (July 12, 1750) and wintering at Fort La Reine (Portage
Laprairie, Manitoba). His second in command was Ensign Joseph-Claude Boucher
de Niverville and voyageurs; Alexandre Bissonnet (guide), Laurent Denige,
Joseph-Paul Bissonnet, Augustin Charbonneau, Louis Croquehoye, Francois
Lacombe, Amable Dyon, Paul Parisien, Bazil Riel Lirlande, Antoine Goulet,
Baptiste Masson, Louis Leclerc & Piere Deslorier [a translated version
of Jacques report as commander of the Western Sea posts is in Joseph L.Peyser's
bio. of "Jacques Legardeur de Saint-Pierre", Mich.State Univ.Press].
In 1753 Jacques left his command and turned his mission of French expansion
over to Luc de La Corne. In his report to his superiors, Jacques Legardeur,
wrote of meeting Lacorne enroute in August of 1753"...I found the chevalier
de la Corne, who told me at the outset that M.Marin
Jr. had gone to Missilimakina with Sioux chiefs, and that not being able
to wait for my arrival, he had left to go to his post with the aforesaid
chiefs [who, on leaving, had made an appointment with the Crees by a speech
that they gave to M.de La Corne], which committed me to send my delegates
back, of whom de la Corne took charge. I do not doubt that these two nations
are now living in peace [and are joining to go to war against the Prairie
Sioux. I forgot to note that the River and Lake Sioux, before leaving,
had sent two Crees whom they had been detaining since to the Crees as evidence
of the goodwill]...". By December of 1753 Jacques was commanding French
troops at the newly established Fort Le Boeuf, replacing Paul
Marin de La Malgue who had died there. His mission was to re-establish
Frances claim to the Ohio Valley and he was visited by George Washington
who was sent by Virginia's Governor
Robert Dinwiddie to demand French removal from the valley. The previous
year the Charles-Michel Mouet de Langlade led a French
force into the Ohio Valley to punish La Demoiselle (a Miami
Chief who moved his tribe east closer to British traders) & to remove
British traders from the Ohio Valley. Langlade's forces killed La Demoiselle,
burned the Pichawillany post & captured several traders. By April
of 1754 Jacques was in Montreal having been replaced in the Ohio Valley
by Claude-Pierre
Pecaudy de Contrecoeur. Jacques was killed in September of 1755 while
leading a force of Mohawks & Canadians against a British force near
Fort Edwards (Lake George, N.Y.).
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legarde1.zip
legarde2.zip
legarde3.zip