Armand Gabriel Allard du Plantier (1753 – 9 Oct 1827) was a French

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from "cheval" meaning "horse") are soldiers or warriors who fight mounted on horseback. Cavalry were the most mobile of the combat arms, operating as light cavalry ...

officer who served in the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

as an '' aide-de-camp'' to General

Lafayette Lafayette or La Fayette may refer to: People * Lafayette (name), a list of people with the surname Lafayette or La Fayette or the given name Lafayette * House of La Fayette, a French noble family ** Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette (1757� ...

Early life

Armand was born in

Voiron Voiron (; frp, Vouèron) is a commune (French municipality) in the ninth district of the Isère department in southeastern France. It is the capital of the canton of Voiron and has been part of the Grenoble-Alpes Métropole since 2010. Voiron i ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, the son of Joseph Antoine Guy Allard du Plantier (1721–1801) and Gabrielle Trenonay de Chanfrey.

Move to America

In 1781, he moved to

Louisiana (New Spain) Spanish Louisiana ( es, link=no, la Luisiana) was a governorate and administrative district of the Viceroyalty of New Spain from 1762 to 1801 that consisted of a vast territory in the center of North America encompassing the western basin of t ...

, settling on the

plantation A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...

of his uncle, Claude Trénonay, in the area of

Pointe Coupée Pointe technique ( ) is the part of classical ballet technique that concerns ''pointe work'', in which a ballet dancer supports all body weight on the tips of fully extended feet within pointe shoes. A dancer is said to be ''en pointe'' () wh ...

on the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...

. He married his uncle's stepdaughter, Marie Augustine Gerard; the couple had six children, four of whom survived to adulthood. Marie Augustine died of

yellow fever Yellow fever is a viral disease of typically short duration. In most cases, symptoms include fever, chills, loss of appetite, nausea, muscle pains – particularly in the back – and headaches. Symptoms typically improve within five days. In ...

in 1799. In 1802 Duplantier remarried, to widow Constance Rochon Joyce, and the couple resided part of the time in their country house at '' Mount Magnolia'' plantation (which property today is within the city of

Baton Rouge Baton Rouge ( ; ) is a city in and the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-sma ...

and owned by that city). Five more children were born of this union. Duplantier was disturbed by the

slave revolt A slave rebellion is an armed uprising by enslaved people, as a way of fighting for their freedom. Rebellions of enslaved people have occurred in nearly all societies that practice slavery or have practiced slavery in the past. A desire for freed ...

which occurred locally in 1794 or 1795. It was called the Pointe Coupée Conspiracy and reminded him of the

Haitian Revolution The Haitian Revolution (french: révolution haïtienne ; ht, revolisyon ayisyen) was a successful insurrection by slave revolt, self-liberated slaves against French colonial rule in Saint-Domingue, now the sovereign state of Haiti. The revolt ...

(1791–1804). He was a slave-owner and regretted that he had bought some

Saint-Domingue Saint-Domingue () was a French colony in the western portion of the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, in the area of modern-day Haiti, from 1659 to 1804. The name derives from the Spanish main city in the island, Santo Domingo, which came to refer ...

slaves, but he did not want to sell them until they regained their value.

Later life

Armand Duplantier helped to establish a college in Baton Rouge in 1822. A few years later, he was part of the delegation which welcomed the

Marquis de Lafayette Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de La Fayette (6 September 1757 – 20 May 1834), known in the United States as Lafayette (, ), was a French aristocrat, freemason and military officer who fought in the American Revoluti ...

, during his American tour. In 1827, Duplantier,

Fulwar Skipwith Fulwar Skipwith (February 21, 1765 – January 7, 1839) was an American soldier, diplomat, politician and farmer. who served as a U.S. Consul in Martinique, and later as the U.S. Consul-General in France. He was instrumental in negotiating the L ...

Antoine Blanc Antoine Blanc (11 October 1792 – 20 June 1860) was the fifth Bishop and first Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans. His tenure, during which the diocese was elevated to an archdiocese, was at a time of growth in the city, ...

, Thomas B. Robertson, and Sebastien Hiriart received permission from the

Louisiana State Legislature The Louisiana State Legislature (french: Législature d'État de Louisiane) is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is a bicameral body, comprising the lower house, the Louisiana House of Representatives with 105 represen ...

to organize a

corporation A corporation is an organization—usually a group of people or a company—authorized by the state to act as a single entity (a legal entity recognized by private and public law "born out of statute"; a legal person in legal context) and r ...

called the

Agricultural Society of Baton Rouge The Agricultural Society of Baton Rouge was an agricultural organization established in Baton Rouge in 1827.

.A general digest of the acts of the legislature of Louisiana, Vol II
accessed 1 July 2012 Armand Duplantier died the same year and was given military honors at his funeral, in tribute to his Revolutionary War service.

References

External links

Armand Duplantier Family Letters, Mss. 5060, Louisiana and Lower Mississippi Valley Collections, LSU Libraries, Baton Rouge, La.
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Duplantier, Armand 1753 births 1827 deaths French military personnel French emigrants to the United States French slave owners

Early life

Move to America

Later life

See also

References

External links