Christophe Pélissier (29 April 1728 – before October 1779) (sometimes spelled Pellissier) was born in the parish of Saint-Pierre et Saint-Saturnin, Lyons, France, the son of François-Christophe Pélissier, a merchant, and Agathe Martaud La Rigaudière. He died, apparently in France, in 1779. He was director of the Saint-Maurice ironworks near the city of

Trois-Rivières Trois-Rivières (, – 'Three Rivers') is a city in the Mauricie administrative region of Quebec, Canada, at the confluence of the Saint-Maurice River, Saint-Maurice and Saint Lawrence River, Saint Lawrence rivers, on the north shore of the Sain ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

in the mid-1770s. When the Americans invaded Quebec in 1775, Pélissier, whom his business associate Pierre de Sales Laterrière described as a "strong supporter of

John Wilkes John Wilkes (17 October 1725 – 26 December 1797) was an English radical journalist and politician, as well as a magistrate, essayist and soldier. He was first elected a Member of Parliament in 1757. In the Middlesex election dispute, he fo ...

and his system of freedom", strongly supported the American cause. General

Richard Montgomery Richard Montgomery (2 December 1738 – 31 December 1775) was an Irish soldier who first served in the British Army. He later became a major general in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, and he is most famous for l ...

met with him in December 1775 to discuss the establishment of a provincial convention for the purpose of electing representatives to the

Second Continental Congress The Second Continental Congress was a late-18th-century meeting of delegates from the Thirteen Colonies that united in support of the American Revolutionary War. The Congress was creating a new country it first named "United Colonies" and in 1 ...

, a step Pélissier advised against until Quebec City was taken. His ironworks supplied ammunition, bombs, and cannonballs for the siege of Quebec; he also wrote a letter to the

on January 8, 1776, to point out the measures they should take for a successful taking of Quebec.

Griffin The griffin, griffon, or gryphon (Ancient Greek: , ''gryps''; Classical Latin: ''grȳps'' or ''grȳpus''; Late Latin, Late and Medieval Latin: ''gryphes'', ''grypho'' etc.; Old French: ''griffon'') is a legendary creature with the body, tail ...

, p. 223 As the Americans retreated from Quebec in May and June 1776, Pélissier fled the province with them. On July 29, 1776, he received an engineering lieutenant colonel's commission in the

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies (the Thirteen Colonies) in the Revolutionary-era United States. It was formed by the Second Continental Congress after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, and was establis ...

, and in October assisted in the improvement of the defenses at Fort Ticonderoga. Walker, p. 96 He eventually returned to his family home in France.

, p. 230 When he fled Quebec, Pélissier left behind his second wife Catherine, who began to have an affair with Laterrière in his absence. (It is likely that Laterrière was also a suitor of hers prior to her marriage.) Pélissier, apparently unaware of the affair, was eventually granted permission to return to Quebec to bring her to France. He finally left Quebec for good and returned to France in 1778 only with the children from his first marriage, and the satisfaction of having Laterrière accused of collaboration with the Americans (for which Laterrière would spend three years in prison).

, p. 228 Laterrière and Catherine married in October 1779, presumably having received word of Pélissier's death.

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References

* * * * * This book contains much of Pélissier's letter to Congress, translated into English, on pp. 223–227. {{DEFAULTSORT:Pelissier, Christophe 1728 births Year of death missing Pre-Confederation Canadian businesspeople Businesspeople from Lyon French emigrants