François-Marie Le Marchand de Lignery (24 August 1703 – 29 July 1759) was a colonial military leader in the French province of

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. Active in the defense of

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 Spa ...

during the

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 (175 ...

(also known as 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 died of wounds sustained in the 1759 Battle of La Belle-Famille.

Life

Born into a military family (his father was

Constant le Marchand de Lignery Constant le Marchand de Lignery, generally known as ''Lignery'' (baptized March 27, 1662 in Charentilly, near Tours, France – February 19, 1732 in Trois-Rivières, New France) was a French military officer in New France (Canada). He was twice ...

, an officer of the French colonial military) in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

, Lignery enrolled as a cadet in the troupes de la marine at 14, and first saw service in 1728 during the

Fox Wars The Fox Wars were two conflicts between the French and the Fox (Meskwaki or Red Earth People; Renards; Outagamis) Indians that lived in the Great Lakes region (particularly near the Fort of Detroit) from 1712 to 1733.In their book ''The Fox Wars' ...

.Russ He also saw service in the

Chickasaw Wars The Chickasaw Wars were fought in the 18th century between the Chickasaw allied with the British against the French and their allies the Choctaws and Illinois Confederation. The Province of Louisiana extended from Illinois to New Orleans, and the ...

and King George's War, where he participated in attacks on

Fort Anne Fort Anne (first established in 1629 as the Scottish Charles Fort) is a four-bastion fort built to protect the harbour of Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia. The fort repelled all French attacks during the early stages of King George's War. Now desig ...

and Grand Pré. In 1751 he was promoted to captain.Russ When the

broke out, Lignery played an important role in the French defense of the Ohio Country. He distinguished himself in the defeat of Braddock in 1755, in which his company held the French center while Indians and

Canadien 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 ...

militia were rallied early in the battle. For his role in the battle he was awarded the Cross of Saint Louis. Given military command of the entire Ohio Country in 1756, he used

Fort Duquesne Fort Duquesne (, ; originally called ''Fort Du Quesne'') was a fort French colonization of the Americas, established by the French in 1754, at the confluence of the Allegheny River, Allegheny and Monongahela River, Monongahela rivers. It was lat ...

as a base from which to harass British colonial positions in Virginia and Pennsylvania. In 1758 he captured much of a British force led by James Grant that attempted to take Fort Duquesne. Unfortunately, a force he sent out to counterattack the advancing troops of John Forbes was repulsed, and he decided in November 1758 to abandon and destroy Duquesne when it became clear that Forbes' force significantly outnumbered his. Lignery retreated to

Fort Machault Fort Machault (, ) was a fort built by the French in 1754 near the confluence of French Creek with the Allegheny River, in northwest Pennsylvania. (Present-day Franklin developed here later.) The fort helped the French control these waterway ...

, from which he continued to direct harassing raids against the British in 1759. He was organizing an expedition against Fort Pitt (the fort built by the British on the site of Fort Duquesne) when he received an appeal for help from

Pierre Pouchot Captain Pierre Pouchot (April 8, 1712 – 1769) was a French military engineer and officer in the French regular army. He was born at Grenoble, France, son of a merchant. In 1733 he joined the French Royal Army (1652–1830), regular army as a vol ...

, the commander at

Fort Niagara Fort Niagara is a fortification originally built by New France to protect its interests in North America, specifically control of access between the Niagara River and Lake Ontario, the easternmost of the Great Lakes. The fort is on the river's e ...

. Pouchot had sent Lignery some troops, but was himself now under siege by the British and requested assistance.Parkman, Volume 2, p. 255 Lignery, who was trying to convince nearly 1,000 Indians to join in the attack on Fort Pitt at the time, convinced 500 to join his force of 800 troupes de la marine in a relief expedition. On June 24 his force was ambushed by the British as it neared Fort Niagara. The battle was a disaster for the French, and Lignery was seriously wounded and captured. Pouchot surrendered Niagara the next day, and Lignery died of his wounds on July 28.

Family

Lignery married Marie-Thérèse, daughter of Daniel Migeon de La Gauchetièr, on 27 January 1738. They had seven children, five of whom survived to adulthood. His sons also served in the French military, and Marie-Thérèse moved to France and received a

widow's pension A widow's pension is a payment from the government of a country to a person whose spouse has died. Generally, such payments are made to a widow whose late spouse has fulfilled the country's requirements, including contribution, cohabitation, and l ...

Notes

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lignery, Francois-Marie Marchand 1703 births 1759 deaths French Canadian people of the French and Indian War French military personnel of the War of the Austrian Succession Grand Crosses of the Order of Saint Louis Military personnel killed in the French and Indian War People of New France