Charles-Philippe Aubry or Aubri (died February 17, 1770) was a French soldier and colonial administrator, who served as governor 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-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

twice in the 18th century.

Career

Aubry began his military career in 1742, when he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Lyonnais Infantry Regiment. After serving in the

War of the Austrian Succession The War of the Austrian Succession () was a European conflict that took place between 1740 and 1748. Fought primarily in Central Europe, the Austrian Netherlands, Italy, the Atlantic and Mediterranean, related conflicts included King George's W ...

as an officer of

grenadiers A grenadier ( , ; derived from the word ''grenade'') was originally a specialist soldier who threw hand grenades in battle. The distinct combat function of the grenadier was established in the mid-17th century, when grenadiers were recruited from ...

, Aubry left France to take a commission as a captain of colonial troops in Louisiana. During 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 ...

, he was the commander of the French forces at the

Battle of Fort Ligonier A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

. He was later captured and imprisoned by the British after the French defeat at the Battle of La Belle-Famille. After his release, he was made a

Chevalier de St. Louis The Royal and Military Order of Saint Louis (french: Ordre Royal et Militaire de Saint-Louis) is a dynastic order, dynastic order of chivalry founded 5 April 1693 by King Louis XIV of France, Louis XIV, named after Louis IX of France, Saint Lou ...

and military commander of Louisiana. Aubry succeeded

Jean-Jacques Blaise d'Abbadie Jean-Jacques Blaise d'Abbadie (1726–1765) was the French Director-general of the Colony of Louisiana. He served from February 1763 until he died in office two years later, in New Orleans. Naval career Born at Château d'Audaux near N ...

as colonial governor of Louisiana in 1765 after d'Abbadie died in office. During his term, he met with members of the exiled

Acadian The Acadians (french: Acadiens , ) are an ethnic group descended from the French who settled in the New France colony of Acadia during the 17th and 18th centuries. Most Acadians live in the region of Acadia, as it is the region where the de ...

community under

Beausoleil BeauSoleil (French, ''beautiful sun'') is a Cajun band from Louisiana, United States. Band history Founded in 1975, BeauSoleil (often billed as "BeauSoleil avec Michael Doucet") released its first album in 1977 and became one of the most well ...

and encouraged them to settle in the

Attakapas The Atakapa Sturtevant, 659 or Atacapa were an indigenous people of the Southeastern Woodlands, who spoke the Atakapa language and historically lived along the Gulf of Mexico in what is now Texas and Louisiana. They included several distinct band ...

Territory, where there were abundant grasslands available for development of a local cattle industry. Aubry was followed as governor by the

Spaniard Spaniards, or Spanish people, are a Romance ethnic group native to Spain. Within Spain, there are a number of national and regional ethnic identities that reflect the country's complex history, including a number of different languages, both ind ...

Antonio de Ulloa Antonio de Ulloa y de la Torre-Giralt, FRS, FRSA, KOS (12 January 1716 – 3 July 1795) was a Spanish naval officer, scientist, and administrator. At the age of nineteen, he joined the French Geodesic Mission to what is now the country o ...

, and served as acting governor again after the latter's expulsion in the

Louisiana Rebellion of 1768 The Rebellion of 1768, also known as the Revolt of 1768 or the Creole Revolt, was an unsuccessful attempt by the Creole elite of New Orleans, along with nearby German settlers, to reverse the transfer of the French Louisiana Territory to Spain, a ...

. After the arrival of a replacement

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

governor

Alejandro O'Reilly Alejandro O'Reilly, 1st Count of O'Reilly, KOA (; October 24, 1723 in Baltrasna, Co. Meath, Ireland – March 23, 1794 in Bonete, Spain), English: Alexander, Count of O'Reilly, Irish: ''Alastar Ó Raghallaigh, ''was an Irish-born military reform ...

, Aubry reportedly provided him with the names of some of the conspirators in the rebellion. Soon afterwards, Aubry left for

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 ...

on the ''Père de Famille'', but died in a

shipwreck A shipwreck is the wreckage of a ship that is located either beached on land or sunken to the bottom of a body of water. Shipwrecking may be intentional or unintentional. Angela Croome reported in January 1999 that there were approximately ...

within sight of the French

coast The coast, also known as the coastline or seashore, is defined as the area where land meets the ocean, or as a line that forms the boundary between the land and the coastline. The Earth has around of coastline. Coasts are important zones in n ...

. In 1920, the city of

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

named a street after him (Aubry Street), one block from D'Abadie Street.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aubry, Charles Philippe Governors of Spanish Louisiana Deaths due to shipwreck at sea 1770 deaths Year of birth unknown