Nicolas Antoine II Coulon de Villiers (25 June 1708 – 3 April 1750) was a French military officer from an influential military family in the

King George's War King George's War (1744–1748) is the name given to the military operations in North America that formed part of the War of the Austrian Succession (1740–1748). It was the third of the four French and Indian Wars. It took place primarily in t ...

. He was born in

Contrecœur, Quebec Contrecœur () is a city in southwestern Quebec, Canada on the south shore of the St. Lawrence River. The population as of the Canada 2021 Census was 9,480. Contrecœur is approximately northeast of Montreal and is accessible via Autoroute 30, ...

, son of

Nicolas-Antoine Coulon de Villiers Nicolas Antoine Coulon, chevalier de Villiers was born in 1683, and died in 1733. He was an officer in New France. Biography Born in Brittany and baptized March 20, 1683 in Nantes, he was the son of Raoul-Guillaume Coulon, sieur de Villiers an ...

and Angelique Jarret de Verchères. His brothers were

Louis Coulon de Villiers Louis Coulon, Sieur de Villiers (17 August 1710 – 2 November 1757) was a French military officer who served during the French and Indian War. Perhaps his greatest claim to fame is the fact that he is the only military opponent to force Geor ...

François Coulon de Villiers François () is a French masculine given name and surname, equivalent to the English name Francis. People with the given name * Francis I of France, King of France (), known as "the Father and Restorer of Letters" * Francis II of France, King o ...

and

Joseph Coulon de Jumonville Joseph Coulon de Villiers, Sieur de Jumonville (September 8, 1718 – May 28, 1754) was a French Canadian military officer. His defeat and killing at the Battle of Jumonville Glen by forces led by George Washington was one of the sparks that igni ...

. In his youth, he fought against the

sauks The Sauk or Sac are a group of Native Americans of the Eastern Woodlands culture group, who lived primarily in the region of what is now Green Bay, Wisconsin, when first encountered by the French in 1667. Their autonym is oθaakiiwaki, and t ...

and became commander of Fort St. Joseph (Niles, Michigan),

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

, after the death of his father in battle. In 1742, he returned to Quebec and married on 7 October 1743, Madeleine-Marie-Anne Tarieu de La Pérade, widow of Richard Testu de La Richardière. In 1746, he was posted as captain in Acadia and won an important victory against a larger British force in the

Battle of Grand Pré The Battle of Grand Pré, also known as the Battle of Minas and the Grand Pré Massacre, was a battle in King George's War that took place between New England forces and Canadian, Mi'kmaq and Acadian forces at present-day Grand-Pré, Nova Scoti ...

on 1 February 1747. For this, he was awarded the

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

, with an 800-livre gratuity, by the King of France. He was also appointed major of

Trois-Rivières Trois-Rivières (, – 'Three Rivers') is a city in the Mauricie administrative region of Quebec, Canada, at the confluence of the Saint-Maurice River, Saint-Maurice and Saint Lawrence River, Saint Lawrence rivers, on the north shore of the Sain ...

. Coulon de Villiers had his left arm shattered by a musket ball during the battle. He went to France for treatment of his wound at a thermal spring. After his return to Canada in 1749, after amputation of his wounded arm, he died and was buried at Montréal on 4 April 1750.

Sources

Dictionary of Canadian Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Coulon, Antoine French military personnel of the War of the Austrian Succession 1708 births 1750 deaths People of New France