This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations .(January 2014) |
Battle of La Prairie | |||||||
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Part of King William's War and the Beaver Wars | |||||||
1704 map of La Prairie | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
France New France | New York England Mohawk Mohicans | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Callière | Pieter Schuyler | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
700–800 regulars, militia and Indians | 120 militia 146 Indians | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
45 killed 60 wounded | 37 killed 31 wounded |
The Battle of La Prairie was an attack made on the French colonial settlement of La Prairie, New France on August 11, 1691 by an English, Mohawk and Mohican force coming north from Albany, New York. The force, led by Major Pieter Schuyler, initially intended to attack Montreal, but was repulsed with significant casualties by the French and their Indian allies.
During the summer of 1691, an English and Indian force led by Major Pieter Schuyler, consisting of 120 militiamen from Albany and 146 warriors from the Mohawk and Mohican tribes, attacked French colonial settlements along the Richelieu River south of Montreal. Louis-Hector de Callière, the local French governor, responded by amassing 700-800 French marines, militiamen and Indian allies at Fort Laprairie, on the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River.[ citation needed ]
Schuyler's men surprised the much larger French force in a rainstorm just before dawn on August 11, inflicting severe casualties before withdrawing towards the Richelieu River. The Anglo-Indian force might have remained intact but instead was intercepted by a French force of 160 men led by Philippe Clément du Vuault de la Valrennes that had been detached to block the road to Chambly. The two sides fought in vicious hand-to-hand combat for approximately an hour, before Schuyler's men broke through the French and retreated.[ citation needed ]
The French had suffered the most casualties during Schuyler's initial ambush, but the casualties the Albany force suffered after Valrennes' counterattack meant that they had incurred the greater proportion of loss. Instead of continuing his raids, Schuyler was forced to retreat back to Albany. The battle was also the subject of a 19th-century poem by William Douw Schuyler-Lighthall. In 1921, the site of Valrennes' counterattack was designated a National Historic Site of Canada. [1]
Robert Livingston the Younger, sometimes known as Robert Livingston Jr., or The Nephew was a wealthy merchant and political figure in colonial Albany, New York.
The Beaver Wars, also known as the Iroquois Wars or the French and Iroquois Wars, were a series of conflicts fought intermittently during the 17th century in North America throughout the Saint Lawrence River valley in Canada and the Great Lakes region which pitted the Iroquois against the Hurons, northern Algonquians and their French allies. As a result of this conflict, the Iroquois destroyed several confederacies and tribes through warfare: the Hurons or Wendat, Erie, Neutral, Wenro, Petun, Susquehannock, Mohican and northern Algonquins whom they defeated and dispersed, some fleeing to neighbouring peoples and others assimilated, routed, or killed.
Events from the year 1701 in Canada.
La Prairie is an off-island suburb of Montreal, in southwestern Quebec, Canada, at the confluence of the Saint-Jacques River and the Saint Lawrence River in the Regional County Municipality of Roussillon. The population as of the Canada 2021 Census was 26,406.
Philippe de Rigaud, Marquis de Vaudreuil was a French military officer who served as Governor General of New France from 1703 to 1725, throughout Queen Anne's War and Father Rale's War.
La Prairie is a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1867 to 1896, 1968 to 1997 and again since 2015.
Hendrick Theyanoguin, whose name had several spelling variations, was a Mohawk leader and member of the Bear Clan. He resided at Canajoharie or the Upper Mohawk Castle in colonial New York. He was a Speaker for the Mohawk Council. Hendrick formed a close alliance with Sir William Johnson, the Superintendent of Indian affairs in North America.
Pieter Schuyler was the first mayor of Albany, New York. A long-serving member of the executive council of the Province of New York, he acted as governor of the Province of New York on three occasions – twice for brief periods in 1709, after the death of Lord Lovelace, and also from 1719 to 1720, after Robert Hunter left office.
Jacques de Lamberville was a Jesuit missionary and the younger brother of Jean de Lamberville, also a missionary. He came to New France from France at the age of 34 and became part of the Iroquois missions. There, his most famous convert was Kateri Tekakwitha.
The military of New France consisted of a mix of regular forces from the French Royal Army and French Navy supported by small local volunteer militia units. Most early troops were sent from France, but localization after the growth of the colony meant that, by the 1690s, many were volunteers from the settlers of New France, and by the 1750s most troops were descendants of the original French inhabitants. Additionally, many of the early troops and officers who were born in France remained in the colony after their service ended, contributing to generational service and a military elite. The French built a series of forts from Newfoundland to Louisiana during the 1600s to the late 1700s. Some were a mix of military posts and trading forts.
Claude de Ramezay,, was an important figure in the early history of New France. He was a military man by training and rose to being commander of the colonial regular troops.
Jean-Baptiste Hertel de Rouville was a colonial military officer of New France in the French Marines in Canada. He is best known in North America for leading the raid on Deerfield, in western Province of Massachusetts Bay, against English settlers on 29 February 1704 during Queen Anne's War.
The Mohawk Valley raid was conducted against three Mohawk villages located in the Mohawk River valley by French and Indian warriors under the overall command of Nicolas d'Ailleboust de Manthet. The action, part of a long-running French-Iroquois conflict and King William's War, which pitted the French against the Iroquois-allied English, resulted in the destruction of three villages, including critical stores of food. Many Mohawk were either killed or captured, with the latter intended to populate Christian Indian villages near Montreal.
The Battle of Norridgewock was a raid on the Abenaki settlement of Norridgewock by a group of colonial militiamen from the New England Colonies. Occurring in contested lands on the edge of the American frontier, the raid resulted in a massacre of the Abenaki inhabitants of Norridgewock by the militiamen.
Fort Laprairie was constructed in 1687, and served as a military fort in New France until 1713. The fort was attacked by English and Dutch colonists under Major Pieter Schuyler on August 11, 1691, but resisted to the invaders.
Philippe Clément du Vault de la Valrennes was a French military officer. He was captain of the Normandy Regiment and captain of the colonial troops in New France from 1685 to 1693.
Dirck Wesselse Ten Broeck, also known as Dirck Wessels, was a prominent early settler of Albany, New York. He is known as "the progenitor of the Albany family of Ten Broecks."
The Battle of Wilton was fought in 1693 in Wilton, New York between Colonial Militia and allied Native forces on one hand and French forces and their Native allies as part of King William's War.
Nicolas d'Ailleboust de Manthet, also known as Nicolas de Manthet, born 1664, killed in action 1709, was a Canadian captain in the French marines serving in Canada. He was one of the leaders of the French and Indians at the Schenectady massacre 1690.
Johannes Schuyler was a prominent American of Dutch ancestry who served as the 10th Mayor of Albany, New York from 1703 to 1706, and later was a member of the provincial assembly. He was the paternal grandfather of U.S. Senator Philip Schuyler and Mayor Abraham Cuyler.