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.
Jacques began his career of commander as a
Second Ensign, commanding his father's old post (he probably lived there
as a teenager) of Chagouamigon in 1729. 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.).
The following genealogical file is WinZip-ed;
To view/download file, click on file and UnZip in the Lotus 1-2-3 release
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legarde1.zip
legarde2.zip
legarde3.zip