Fort De La Boulaye Site, also known as Fort Mississippi, is the site of a fort built by the French in south Louisiana in 1699–1700, to support their claim of the Mississippi River and valley. Native Americans forced the French to vacate the fort by 1707.
The site was declared a
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...
in 1960, as part of the history of French colonization of the area. The state of Louisiana had earlier erected an historical marker, with the following text:
''FORT de la BOULAYE First white settlement in present-day Louisiana, erected by Bienville in 1699 on this spot (then the bank of the Mississippi), prevented Britain's seizure of the Mississippi Valley.''
[ ]
History
In 1698,
Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville
Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville (16 July 1661 – 9 July 1706) or Sieur d'Iberville was a French soldier, explorer, colonial administrator, and trader. He is noted for founding the colony of Louisiana in New France. He was born in Montreal to French ...
, and his brothers,
Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville
Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville (; ; February 23, 1680 – March 7, 1767), also known as Sieur de Bienville, was a French colonial administrator in New France. Born in Montreal, he was an early governor of French Louisiana, appointed four ...
and
Antoine Le Moyne de Châteauguay
Antoine Le Moyne de Châteauguay (or Antoine Lemoyne, seigneur de Chateaugué; 17 July 1683 – 21 March 1747) was a French soldier and colonial administrator who assisted in the foundation of the French colony of Louisiana in 1699–1702. He ser ...
, participated in an expedition to rediscover the
mouth of 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 fl ...
. It could be difficult to find among the many competing
bayous and waterways.
In 1699, they founded Fort Mississippi on a ridge a little more than one kilometer from the shore of the river, on the east bank, and about twenty kilometers south of the future city of
. The fort was completed in 1700. It was built in
stockade wood and defended by
six guns, in order to protect the region from attacks and incursions by the
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
and
Spanish
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**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
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Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
. The fort was renamed ''Fort de la Boulaye'' and was commanded by
Louis Juchereau de St. Denis
Louis Antoine Juchereau de St. Denis (September 17, 1676 – June 11, 1744) was a French-Canadian soldier and explorer best known for his exploration and development of the Louisiana (New France) and Spanish Texas regions. He commanded a small gar ...
.
In 1707, the
Caddoan tribe, hostile to the presence of encroaching soldiers, forced them to abandon the fort and to go to the French settlement of
Biloxi
Biloxi ( ; ) is a city in and one of two county seats of Harrison County, Mississippi, United States (the other being the adjacent city of Gulfport). The 2010 United States Census recorded the population as 44,054 and in 2019 the estimated popu ...
. Only the officer Juchereau de St. Denis, friend of the Caddo, was permitted to continue living in the fort.
Garrisons of French troops occasionally visited the site. In 1714, Juchereau de St. Denis was assigned to lead a new expedition, with the objective of defending the western boundaries of
Louisiana (New France)
Louisiana (french: La Louisiane; ''La Louisiane Française'') or French Louisiana was an administrative district of New France. Under French control from 1682 to 1769 and 1801 (nominally) to 1803, the area was named in honor of King Louis XIV, ...
. He established ''
Fort des Natchitoches''.
By the middle of the 18th century Fort de la Boulaye was abandoned.
Tropical storm
A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Dependi ...
s eventually destroyed this fort.
In the 20th century
archaeologists conducted surveys and located the site of fort; they found remnants of
palisade and building logs, burned poles, and evidence of a cannonball. The site has been designated a
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...
.
See also
*
Fort de la Balize
*
*
List of National Historic Landmarks in Louisiana
This is a complete list of National Historic Landmarks in Louisiana,.
The United States National Historic Landmark program is a program of the National Park Service, and recognizes structures, districts, objects, and similar resources according to ...
References
External links
Fort De La Boulaye Collectiona
The Historic New Orleans Collection
{{Authority control
National Historic Landmarks in Louisiana
Buildings and structures in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana
De La Boulaye
De La Boulaye
De La Boulaye
French-American culture in Louisiana
De La Boulaye
1700 establishments in the French colonial empire
National Register of Historic Places in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana