François Coulon de Villiers

François Coulon de Villiers (1712-1794) was a French military officer from an influential military family in the French and Indian War and then an influential officer in the New Spain community of New Orleans.

Overview

He was born in Verchères, Quebec. In 1744 he was first commandant of Fort de Cavagnal in the bluffs above the Missouri River near modern day Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. It was the furthest west of the French forts in Louisiana (New France).

A member of a military family, his brother Joseph Coulon de Jumonville was slaughtered while in custody of George Washington in what has been called the Battle of Jumonville Glen in 1754. The incident ignited the French and Indian War/Seven Years War. Another of his brothers Louis Coulon de Villiers defeated Washington in the immediate next battle in the campaign in the Battle of the Great Meadows. It marked the only time Washington had to sue for peace in battle.

He served in many of battles of the war including the Battle of Fort Duquesne. He was captured in the Battle of Fort Niagara and had to be exchanged.

After the French defeat in the war in which Spain took over Louisiana in the Treaty of Paris (1763) he served in various capacities for New Spain including commandant of the Natchitoches and Alcalde for New Orleans, Louisiana.

External links

* [http://www.biographi.ca/009004-119.01-e.php?&id_nbr=1825 Biography at the "Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online"]
* [http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/1841766836?v=search-inside&keywords=Francois+Coulon+de+Villier&go=Go%21# Monongahela 1754-55: "Washington's defeat, Braddock's disaster" by Rene Chartrand] ISBN 1841766836
* [http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3683/is_200510/ai_n15913137/pg_18 When Worlds Collide: The Fate of Canadian and French Prisoners Taken at Fort Niagara, 1759]