Charles Michel Mouet de Langlade (9 May 1729 – after 26 July 1801)''Dictionnaire Généalogique Tanguay'' was a

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lakes ...

fur trade The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of a world fur market in the early modern period, furs of boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals have been the mos ...

r and war chief who was important in protecting French territory in North America. His mother was

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

and his father a

French Canadian French Canadians (referred to as Canadiens mainly before the twentieth century; french: Canadiens français, ; feminine form: , ), or Franco-Canadians (french: Franco-Canadiens), refers to either an ethnic group who trace their ancestry to Fren ...

fur trader. Fluent in Ottawa and French, Langlade later led First Nations forces in warfare in the region. Given the shifting political realities of the time, he and his followers were at various times allied with the French, British and, lastly, Americans. Leading French and Indian forces, in 1752 he destroyed

Pickawillany "ash people" , settlement_type = Historic Native American village , image_skyline = , imagesize = , image_alt = , image_map1 = OHMap-doton-Piqua.png , mapsize1 = 22 ...

, a

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

village and British trading post in present-day Ohio, where the British and French were competing for control of the lucrative fur trade. During the subsequent

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754� ...

, he helped defend

Fort Duquesne Fort Duquesne (, ; originally called ''Fort Du Quesne'') was a fort established by the French in 1754, at the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers. It was later taken over by the British, and later the Americans, and developed a ...

(Pittsburgh) against the British. The French appointed Langlade as second in command at

Fort Michilimackinac Fort Michilimackinac was an 18th-century French, and later British, fort and trading post at the Straits of Mackinac; it was built on the northern tip of the lower peninsula of the present-day state of Michigan in the United States. Built arou ...

and a captain in the Indian Department of French Canada. After the defeat of the French in North America, Langlade became allied with the British, who took control of former French possessions and took the lead in the

in the upper West. During 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 ...

, Langlade led Great Lakes Indians for the British against rebel colonists and their Indian allies. The Native Americans hoped to push the American colonizers out of the region. At the end of the war, Langlade retired to his home in

Green Bay, Wisconsin Green Bay is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The county seat of Brown County, it is at the head of Green Bay (known locally as "the bay of Green Bay"), a sub-basin of Lake Michigan, at the mouth of the Fox River. It is above sea lev ...

. Since he had operated a trading post at Green Bay since 1745 and settled there with his family.Neville, Ella Hoes & al. (1893) ''Historic Green Bay. 1634–1840.'' Green Bay, p. 92. He is called the "Father of Wisconsin."

Early life and education

Charles de Langlade was born in 1729 at

New France New France (french: Nouvelle-France) was the area colonized by France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Great Britain and Spai ...

to Domitilde, the daughter of an Ottawa chief and sister of Nissowaquet, who became the

war chief. Charles's father was her second husband,

Augustin Langlade Augustin Mouet, sieur de Langlade, (with a number of name variations) (1703 – 1771), was born in Trois-Rivières, Quebec. He was the son of Pierre Mouet, sieur de Moras. Augustin obtained a fur trading license at Michilimackinac in 1728. Th ...

(Augustin Mouet, sieur de Langlade), a French-Canadian

fur trader The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of a world fur market in the early modern period, furs of boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals have been the mos ...

. Domitilde was a widow with six children when they married in 1728. Augustin Langlade believed their marriage would provide him an advantage in the fur trade, by giving him a direct connection to the Odawa. The Ottawa were among the Algonquian

Anishinaabeg The Anishinaabeg (adjectival: Anishinaabe) are a group of culturally related Indigenous peoples present in the Great Lakes region of Canada and the United States. They include the Ojibwe (including Saulteaux and Oji-Cree), Odawa, Potawatomi, ...

peoples, who inhabited areas around the Great Lakes. As a child, Langlade grew up with Ottawa as his first language and identified with his mother's culture; he was also educated in French by

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

missionaries A missionary is a member of a religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Mi ...

at the fort.

Life

In 1745,

and his 16-year-old son Charles established a trading post at present-day

. In the winter of 1751–1752, Langlade began assembling a war party of Odawa, Potawatomi, and Ojibwe warriors who traveled to

Pickawillany "ash people" , settlement_type = Historic Native American village , image_skyline = , imagesize = , image_alt = , image_map1 = OHMap-doton-Piqua.png , mapsize1 = 22 ...

for a raid. They were trying to discourage British trading in the area. In the confrontation on 21 June 1752, the Odawa killed, mutilated and consumed an Englishman and Miami chief

Memeskia Memeskia (in Miami-Illinois: Meemeehšihkia - ′Dragonfly′, c. 1695 – June 21, 1752), known as "Old Briton" by the British and as "La Demoiselle" by the French, was an eighteenth-century Piankashaw chieftain who fought against the French in 174 ...

in a ritual sacrifice. This act aggravated existing tensions and contributed to colonial retaliation against the Odawa, and the

French and Indian War The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was a theater of the Seven Years' War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various Native American tribes. At the ...

(North American front of their

against France in Europe. In 1755, he led a group from the Three Fires confederacy in the defense of

(later Pittsburgh), where the French and their Indian allies triumphed over the British

Edward Braddock Major-General Edward Braddock (January 1695 – 13 July 1755) was a British officer and commander-in-chief for the Thirteen Colonies during the start of the French and Indian War (1754–1763), the North American front of what is known in Europe ...

and colonist

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...

at the

Battle of the Monongahela The Battle of the Monongahela (also known as the Battle of Braddock's Field and the Battle of the Wilderness) took place on 9 July 1755, at the beginning of the French and Indian War, at Braddock's Field in what is now Braddock, Pennsylvania, e ...

. Langlade also took part in the

Siege of Fort William Henry The siege of Fort William Henry (3–9 August 1757, french: Bataille de Fort William Henry) was conducted by a French and Indian force led by Louis-Joseph de Montcalm against the British-held Fort William Henry. The fort, located at the sout ...

. Later he led a group of Ottawa warriors at the

Battle of the Plains of Abraham The Battle of the Plains of Abraham, also known as the Battle of Quebec (french: Bataille des Plaines d'Abraham, Première bataille de Québec), was a pivotal battle in the Seven Years' War (referred to as the French and Indian War to describe ...

in the defense of

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 1757, Langlade was made the second in command of the French forces at

. Langlade surrendered the French forces at that fort to the British Army in 1761. Following the war and victory of Great Britain, Langlade transferred his allegiance to that country after it took control of French areas east of the Mississippi River. The following year he permanently moved with his family to the settlement now known as

. During the

, Langlade led Great Lakes Indians as an ally of the British commanders in Canada; he was promoted to captain in the Indian Department. At the end of that war, Langlade returned to his home at Green Bay, then considered to be in the United States'

Northwest Territory The Northwest Territory, also known as the Old Northwest and formally known as the Territory Northwest of the River Ohio, was formed from unorganized western territory of the United States after the American Revolutionary War. Established in 1 ...

. He resided there until his death some time in the second half of 1801.

Legacy and honors

*Langlade is remembered as the "Father of Wisconsin". *

Langlade County, Wisconsin Langlade County is a county located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 19,491. Its county seat is Antigo. History Langlade County was created on March 3, 1879, as New County. It was renamed Langlade Cou ...

is named after him."Langlade, Charles Michel 1729 – 1801"
''Dictionary of Wisconsin'', Wisconsin Historical Society, accessed 26 March 2012 *The seal of the Langlade County Historical Society bears an image of Langlade, designed by his descendant, "noted sculptor" Sidney Bedore."Photograph: Langlade County Historical Society Seal", Wisconsin Historical Society, Image ID: 3774, Creation Date: 1933-06-01, Creator: N/A. Viewed online at http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/Content.aspx?dsNav=Ny:True,Ro:0,N:4294963828-4294955414&dsNavOnly=Ntk:All, , 3, %2c&dsRecordDetails=R:IM3774&dsDimensionSearch=D:Charles+Langlade,Dxm:All,Dxp:3&dsCompoundDimensionSearch=D:Charles+Langlade,Dxm:All,Dxp:3

References

External links

Biography , ''the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Langlade, Charles British Army personnel of the American Revolutionary War Indigenous people of the French and Indian War British Indian Department French Canadian people of the French and Indian War People of Louisiana (New France) Métis fur traders American fur traders Canadian fur traders American Métis people Canadian Métis people Native Americans in the American Revolution 1729 births 1801 deaths People from Emmet County, Michigan People from Green Bay, Wisconsin