Fort Orleans (sometimes referred to Fort D'Orleans) was a French fort in colonial
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
, the first fort built by any European forces on the
Missouri River. It was built near the mouth of the
Grand River near present-day
Brunswick. Intended to be the linchpin in the vast
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 ...
empire stretching from
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
to
New Mexico
)
, population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano)
, seat = Santa Fe
, LargestCity = Albuquerque
, LargestMetro = Tiguex
, OfficialLang = None
, Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...
, the fort was occupied from 1723–1726. It was the first multi-year European settlement in what is today the
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...
of
Missouri
Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...
.
History
The fort was established in 1723 on the Missouri River by
Étienne de Veniard, Sieur de Bourgmont
Étienne de Veniard, Sieur de Bourgmont (April 1679 – 1734) was a French explorer who documented his travels on the Missouri and Platte rivers in North America and made the first European maps of these areas in the early 18th century. He wrot ...
. It was to be the Missouri River headquarters of the newly claimed
''Louisiana'' territory. Like the newly founded
, it was named for the
Duke of Orléans
Duke of Orléans (french: Duc d'Orléans) was a French royal title usually granted by the King of France to one of his close relatives (usually a younger brother or son), or otherwise inherited through the male line. First created in 1344 by King ...
.
De Bourgmont had commanded the French fort at
Fort Detroit
Fort Pontchartrain du Détroit or Fort Detroit (1701–1796) was a fort established on the north bank of the Detroit River by the French officer Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac and the Italian Alphonse de Tonty in 1701. In the 18th century, Fre ...
. In 1706 he and other soldiers deserted when criticized by
Antoine Laumet de La Mothe, sieur de Cadillac
Antoine is a French language, French given name (from the Latin ''Antonius'' meaning 'highly praise-worthy') that is a variant of Danton (name), Danton, Titouan, D'Anton and Antonin.
The name is used in France, Switzerland, Belgium, Canada, West ...
for his handling of a skirmish with attacking
Ottawa (tribe)
The Odawa (also Ottawa or Odaawaa ), said to mean "traders", are an Indigenous American ethnic group who primarily inhabit land in the Eastern Woodlands region, commonly known as the northeastern United States and southeastern Canada. They ha ...
members. A French priest and soldier were killed by the Indians, and the French killed 30 Ottawa tribesmen.
While
on the lam from French authorities, de Bourgmont lived with the
Native Americans and explored the lower Missouri. He often traded in furs, although not authorized to do so. Catholic
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 ...
urged that he be arrested for indecency because of traveling with his Missouri wife and their children of mixed European and Native American ancestry. His base was the
Missouri tribal village near where Fort Orleans was to be established.
In 1713 de Bourgmont wrote ''Exact Description of Louisiana, of Its Harbors, Lands and Rivers, and Names of the Indian Tribes That Occupy It, and the Commerce and Advantages to Be Derived Therefrom for the Establishment of a Colony.'' In 1714, he published an account following travels to the mouth of the
Platte River
The Platte River () is a major river in the State of Nebraska. It is about long; measured to its farthest source via its tributary, the North Platte River, it flows for over . The Platte River is a tributary of the Missouri River, which itself ...
, entitled ''The Route to Be Taken to Ascend the Missouri River.'' His descriptions and names of rivers, based on names of local tribes, were used by cartographer
Guillaume Delisle
Guillaume Delisle, also spelled Guillaume de l'Isle, (; 28 February 1675, Paris – 25 January 1726, Paris) was a French cartographer known for his popular and accurate maps of Europe and the newly explored Americas.
Childhood and education
Desli ...
for the first map of the region. Delisle used "Missouri" for the river rather than ''Pekitanoui'', as the explorers
Louis Jolliet
Louis Jolliet (September 21, 1645after May 1700) was a French-Canadian explorer known for his discoveries in North America. In 1673, Jolliet and Jacques Marquette, a Jesuit Catholic priest and missionary, were the first non-Natives to explore an ...
and
Jacques Marquette
Jacques Marquette S.J. (June 1, 1637 – May 18, 1675), sometimes known as Père Marquette or James Marquette, was a French Jesuit missionary who founded Michigan's first European settlement, Sault Sainte Marie, and later founded Saint Igna ...
had named it after they first viewed it in 1673.
In 1718
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 ...
, founder of the Louisiana territory, said that instead of arresting Bourgmont, they should work with him. He recommended that Bourgmont receive the
Cross of Saint Louis for service to France.
In 1720 Bourgmont and his son, along with a chief, traveled to France, where they were greeted as national heroes. His reputation was enhanced as news arrived that the
Pawnee Pawnee initially refers to a Native American people and its language:
* Pawnee people
* Pawnee language
Pawnee is also the name of several places in the United States:
* Pawnee, Illinois
* Pawnee, Kansas
* Pawnee, Missouri
* Pawnee City, Nebraska
* ...
(who had been friendly with Bourgmont) had slaughtered the
Villasur expedition
The Villasur expedition of 1720 was a Spanish military expedition intended to check New France's growing influence on the North American Great Plains, led by Lieutenant-General Pedro de Villasur. Pawnee and Otoe Indians attacked the expedition ...
near modern-day
Columbus, Nebraska
Columbus is a city in and the county seat of Platte County, in the state of Nebraska in the Midwestern United States. The population was 22,111 at the 2010 census. It is the 10th largest city in Nebraska, with 24,028 people as of the 2020 censu ...
. This stopped the
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 ...
from establishing settlements in the
Missouri River Valley
The Missouri River Valley outlines the journey of the Missouri River from its headwaters where the Madison, Jefferson and Gallatin Rivers flow together in Montana to its confluence with the Mississippi River in the State of Missouri. At long the ...
.
Stock for the
Mississippi Company
The Mississippi Company (french: Compagnie du Mississippi; founded 1684, named the Company of the West from 1717, and the Company of the Indies from 1719) was a corporation holding a business monopoly in French colonies in North America and th ...
rose in price based on forecasts of great riches in Louisiana. Bourgmont was promised a title of nobility if he could build a fort and strike an alliance with the Native Americans to keep the Spanish out of the Missouri valley. Bourgmont stayed in Normandy for a time and married a woman in his hometown in 1721.
In 1722 he returned to New Orleans but was too sick to proceed on an expedition. In the meantime, funds in the Mississippi Company collapsed. He argued with his sponsors over whether a fort was necessary; he thought it more important to recruit Native Americans in alliances to unite to fight the Spanish, as he believed his mission had not changed. As ordered, he established the fort on November 9, 1723, to be garrisoned with 40 French soldiers.
In 1724, Bourgmont traveled up the Missouri River to the
Kaw
Kaw or KAW may refer to:
Mythology
* Kaw (bull), a legendary bull in Meitei mythology
* Johnny Kaw, mythical settler of Kansas, US
* Kaw (character), in ''The Chronicles of Prydain''
People
* Kaw people, a Native American tribe
Places
* Kaw, Fr ...
village near
Doniphan, Kansas
Doniphan is an unincorporated community in Doniphan County, Kansas, United States.
History
The company that founded the community was organized on November 11, 1854. Doniphan was incorporated in 1869. The community was named for Alexander Will ...
with the objective of establishing friendly relations among the Indian tribes of the region and seeking a trade route to the
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 ...
colony in
New Mexico
)
, population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano)
, seat = Santa Fe
, LargestCity = Albuquerque
, LargestMetro = Tiguex
, OfficialLang = None
, Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...
. With a delegation of Indians from several tribes, he then ventured westward onto the
Great Plains
The Great Plains (french: Grandes Plaines), sometimes simply "the Plains", is a broad expanse of flatland in North America. It is located west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains, much of it covered in prairie, steppe, an ...
to visit their common enemy, the Padouca tribe, near
Lyons, Kansas
Lyons is a city in and the county seat of Rice County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 3,611.
History
For millennia, the land now known as Kansas was inhabited by Native Americans.
Although Coro ...
.
Bourgmont participated in a peace ceremony between the Padouca and the Missouri,
Osage The Osage Nation, a Native American tribe in the United States, is the source of most other terms containing the word "osage".
Osage can also refer to:
* Osage language, a Dhaegin language traditionally spoken by the Osage Nation
* Osage (Unicode b ...
, Iowa, Pawnee,
Oto
Oto, Ōtō, or OTO may refer to:
People
* Oto (name), including a list of people with the name
*The Otoe tribe (also spelled Oto), a Native American people
Places
*Oto, Spain, a village in the Valle de Broto, in Huesca, Aragon
* Otorohanga, a to ...
, Kaw, and
Omaha
Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest city ...
, wherein a
ceremonial pipe
A ceremonial pipe is a particular type of smoking pipe, used by a number of cultures of the indigenous peoples of the Americas in their sacred ceremonies. Traditionally they are used to offer prayers in a religious ceremony, to make a ceremonial ...
was smoked to seal the agreement. The Indians whom Bourgmont called Padouca are believed by some to have been the people later known as
Comanche
The Comanche or Nʉmʉnʉʉ ( com, Nʉmʉnʉʉ, "the people") are a Native American tribe from the Southern Plains of the present-day United States. Comanche people today belong to the federally recognized Comanche Nation, headquartered in La ...
but were more likely
Apache
The Apache () are a group of culturally related Native American tribes in the Southwestern United States, which include the Chiricahua, Jicarilla, Lipan, Mescalero, Mimbreño, Ndendahe (Bedonkohe or Mogollon and Nednhi or Carrizaleño an ...
. This was the first recorded French visit to them.
In celebration, in 1725 Bourgmont escorted the chiefs of the tribes to Paris to show them the "glory of France", including
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
: the palaces at
Château de Marly
The Château de Marly was a French royal residence located in what is now Marly-le-Roi, the commune on the northern edge of the royal park. This was situated west of the palace and garden complex at Versailles. Marly-le-Roi is the town that develo ...
,
Fontainebleau
Fontainebleau (; ) is a commune in the metropolitan area of Paris, France. It is located south-southeast of the centre of Paris. Fontainebleau is a sub-prefecture of the Seine-et-Marne department, and it is the seat of the ''arrondissement ...
and
Versailles
The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, u ...
; and to hunt on the royal preserve with
Louis XV
Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (french: le Bien-Aimé), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reache ...
. Bourgmont returned to his home in
Normandy
Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...
and did not accompany the chiefs back to Missouri. He abandoned his Missouri wife and children.
The French abandoned Fort Orleans in 1726. One story says that when the garrison had been reduced to a contingent of eight soldiers, Native Americans attacked and burned it, killing all the troops. Another story says it was merely abandoned.
1729 November 29. Natchez Indians attacked French settlements near present-day Natchez, Mississippi, killing more than 200 French colonists. Less than one year later 1730 September 9, A French army of 1,400 soldiers and its Indian allies massacred about 500 Fox Indians (including 300 women and children) as they tried to flee their besieged camp.
Possible locations
Archeologists
Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscape ...
have not found evidence of the fort despite some promising starts, particularly south of the Missouri River. Lewis and Clark visited the area in June 1804 to seek the fort, but reported they found no trace of it.
Three possible locations for the fort are:
- Eugene Morrow Violette, ''A History of Missouri''
1918
* Near Malta Bend, Missouri in Saline County, Missouri
Saline County is located along the Missouri River in the U.S. state of Missouri. As of the 2010 census, the population was 23,370. Its county seat is Marshall. The county was established November 25, 1820, and named for the region's salt sprin ...
on the south side of the Missouri - Archeological discoveries in what is now Van Meter State Park
Van Meter State Park is a public recreation area on the Missouri River in Saline County, Missouri. The state park consists of of hills, ravines, fresh water marsh, fens, and bottomland and upland forests
A forest is an area of land dom ...
in the area known as "the Pinnacles" appear to support this. Included in park is an unrelated earthwork fort, which archeologists believe is of Native American and not French origin.
* North bank of the Missouri River by the mouth of Wakunda Creek in Carroll County, Missouri
Carroll County is a county located in the U.S. state of Missouri. As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 8,495. Its county seat is Carrollton. The county was organized on January 2, 1833, from part of Ray County and named for C ...
(based on Bourgmont's description of the Missouri village.)
* An island in the Missouri River between the two (based on a drawing about 1748 of the plans for the fort).
* Part of Fort Orleans can be found in Brunswick Missouri. There are still houses and buildings standing that were used to transport the Indians to Kansas.
References
External links
Drawing c. 1745 of the fort
Kansas City Public Library Quarterly, Vol. IX, No. 3 (July 1909), p. 78
"Plan for Fort Orleans"
Louisiana Digital Libraries
Historic marker
{{New France
Orleans
Louisiana (New France)
Orleans
Missouri River
Buildings and structures in Carroll County, Missouri
Buildings and structures in Saline County, Missouri
Government buildings completed in 1723
1723 establishments in New France
1726 disestablishments in New France