Pierre Joseph Céloron de Blainville
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Céloron de Blainville Céloron de Blainville is a French people, French family of officers and colonial administrators, who notably played a role in New France beginning in the 17th century. He is the subject in a folk song by Robert Schmertz (artist) , Robert Schertz e ...
(29 December 1693,
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 ...
—14 April 1759, Montreal) — also known as Celeron de Bienville (or Céleron, or Céloron, etc.) — was a French Canadian Officer of Marine. In 1739 and '40 he led a detachment to
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 ...
to fight the
Chickasaw The Chickasaw ( ) are an indigenous people of the Southeastern Woodlands. Their traditional territory was in the Southeastern United States of Mississippi, Alabama, and Tennessee as well in southwestern Kentucky. Their language is classif ...
in the abortive
Chickasaw Campaign of 1739 The Chickasaw Campaign of 1739 was a continuation of the Chickasaw Wars pursued by the French in Louisiana. In 1739 the French prepared extensively, but failed to engage the Chickasaw beyond some half-hearted skirmishing, and finally accepted a n ...
. In 1749 he led the 'Lead Plate Expedition' to advance France's territorial claim on the
Ohio Valley The Ohio River is a long river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing southwesterly from western Pennsylvania to its mouth on the Mississippi River at the southern tip of Illino ...
.


Biography

Pierre Joseph Céloron de Blainville was born at Montreal on 29 December 1693. He was the son of Jean-Baptiste
Céloron de Blainville Céloron de Blainville is a French people, French family of officers and colonial administrators, who notably played a role in New France beginning in the 17th century. He is the subject in a folk song by Robert Schmertz (artist) , Robert Schertz e ...
and Hélène Picoté de Belestre. Céloron entered military service in 1713. At this time the French collaborated with the Indians in pressuring the New England colonies, but his first firm record is an appointment as lieutenant commandant to the post at
Michilimackinac Michilimackinac ( ) is derived from an Ottawa Ojibwe name for present-day Mackinac Island and the region around the Straits of Mackinac between Lake Huron and Lake Michigan.. Early settlers of North America applied the term to the entire region ...
in 1734 (Burton, 328). He seems to have been appointed to a second term in 1737, but before the expiration of that term he was called to Louisiana. The British-allied Chickasaw nation, in present-day northern Mississippi, blocked communication between Upper and Lower Louisiana. Bienville, Governor of Louisiana, assembled a second grand campaign against them in 1739. In response to a call to the Canadian government for assistance, Céloron was dispatched to Fort de l'Assumption near present-day
Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...
, with a 'considerable number of Northern Indians' and a company of cadets. The assembled forces remained in place through the winter without striking the fortified villages of the Chickasaw, 120 miles to the east. But finally in March, 1740, Céloron with his corps of cadets, one hundred regulars, and four or five hundred Indians set forth. After some skirmishing the Chickasaw were found quite willing to make peace (Atkinson, 70). After his return to
Michilimackinac Michilimackinac ( ) is derived from an Ottawa Ojibwe name for present-day Mackinac Island and the region around the Straits of Mackinac between Lake Huron and Lake Michigan.. Early settlers of North America applied the term to the entire region ...
, Céloron was appointed to command of
Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...
, at which time he was referred to as a Chevalier of the Military Order of Saint Louis and a Captain in the Department of Marine. In 1744, he was appointed to command 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 ...
, and in 1746, Fort St. Frédéric on Lake Champlain (Burton, 327).


The 'Lead Plate' Expedition

] From 1743 to 1748, Britain and France fought King George's War. During this war,
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
blockaded
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 ...
, breaking down the French fur trade. The British became the major trading partners with Native Americans in the Ohio valley.
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
claimed the Ohio Valley (and indeed the entire Mississippi basin) on the basis of the explorations made by La Salle in 1669 and 1682.
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claimed the Ohio Valley on the basis of purchases from Native Americans in 1744. In fact, both the colonies of
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
and
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
had claims on the Ohio valley, although in the 1740s and 1750s, Virginia was more active in pressing her claim. According to R. E. Banta, author of The Ohio ivers of America series in March of 1749, the Ohio Company of Virginia received a grant from King George, which included 200,000 acres on the south bank of the Ohio between the Monongahela and the Great Kanawha Rivers. One goal of establishing this grant was to test the French's willingness to defend the Ohio. The grant in turn provoked the immediate dispatch of Céloron's expedition from Montreal (page 65). In 1748, Comte de la Galissoniere, the governor 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 ...
, ordered Céloron to strengthen the French claim on the Ohio Valley. Céloron carried out this mission in the summer of 1749 by means of an expedition through the contested territory. He set out from
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 ...
on June 15, 1749, in a flotilla consisting of large boats and canoes. The expedition included 216 French Canadians and 55 Native Americans. On the shore of
Lake Erie Lake Erie ( "eerie") is the fourth largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also h ...
, at the mouth of Chautauqua Creek in present-day
Westfield, New York Westfield is a town in the western part of Chautauqua County, New York, United States. The population was 4,513 at the 2020 census. Westfield is also the name of a village within the town, containing 65% of the town's population. This unique to ...
, the expedition cut a road over the French Portage Road, and carried their boats and equipment overland to
Chautauqua Lake Chautauqua Lake is located entirely within Chautauqua County, New York, United States. The lake is approximately long and wide at its greatest width. The surface area is approximately . The maximum depth is about . The shoreline is about of w ...
, then followed the
Chadakoin River The Chadakoin River is a stream that is a tributary of the Conewango Creek. The Chadakoin lies entirely in Chautauqua County in Western New York in the United States. The stream drains an area of , covering much of Chautauqua County. The creek ...
and Conewango Creek to the Allegheny River, reaching it on July 29, 1749. As it progressed, the expedition sought to strengthen France's claim to the territory by marking it at the mouths of several principal tributaries. At each point, a tin or copper plate bearing the French royal arms was nailed to a tree. Below, an inscribed leaden plate was buried, declaring the claims of France. This was a traditional European mode of marking territory, but it might have contributed to Native American anxieties about the intentions of the French, and thus ultimately had a counterproductive effect. Reaching the Monongahela River, the party boated past Shannopin's Town at the current site of
Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...
, and down the Ohio River. They paused at Kittanning, but found the village abandoned except for a Lenape chief, whom they invited to attend a council meeting with Céloron at Logstown. At
Logstown "extensive flats" , settlement_type = Historic Native American village , image_skyline = Image:Logstown1.jpg , imagesize = 220px , image_alt = , image_map1 = Pennsylvania in United States ...
, in present-day western Pennsylvania, Céloron discovered English traders. Incensed, he evicted the traders and wrote a scolding note to the governor of Pennsylvania. He then hectored the Native Americans about French dominance of the region. This overbearing behavior offended the
Iroquois The Iroquois ( or ), officially the Haudenosaunee ( meaning "people of the longhouse"), are an Iroquoian-speaking confederacy of First Nations peoples in northeast North America/ Turtle Island. They were known during the colonial years to ...
in his party, some of whom returned to their homeland in present-day New York, tearing down copper plates as they went. A plate was buried at the mouth of the
Muskingum River The Muskingum River (Shawnee: ') is a tributary of the Ohio River, approximately long, in southeastern Ohio in the United States. An important commercial route in the 19th century, it flows generally southward through the eastern hill country o ...
on August 15, 1749 and the mouth of the
Kanawha River The Kanawha River ( ) is a tributary of the Ohio River, approximately 97 mi (156 km) long, in the U.S. state of West Virginia. The largest inland waterway in West Virginia, its valley has been a significant industrial region of the st ...
on August 18, 1749. Arriving at
Lower Shawneetown Lower Shawneetown, also known as Shannoah or Sonnontio, was an 18th-century Shawnee village located within the Lower Shawneetown Archeological District, near South Portsmouth in Greenup County, Kentucky and Lewis County, Kentucky. The population ...
at the
Scioto River The Scioto River ( ) is a river in central and southern Ohio more than in length. It rises in Hardin County just north of Roundhead, Ohio, flows through Columbus, Ohio, where it collects its largest tributary, the Olentangy River, and meets t ...
's mouth on August 21, he again encountered English traders. Céloron summoned them to his camp on August 25 and demanded that they leave, stating that "they had no right to trade or aught else on the hioRiver," but most refused. The expedition then traveled up the
Great Miami River The Great Miami River (also called the Miami River) (Shawnee: ''Msimiyamithiipi'') is a tributary of the Ohio River, approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accesse ...
to
Pickawillany "ash people" , settlement_type = Historic Native American village , image_skyline = , imagesize = , image_alt = , image_map1 = OHMap-doton-Piqua.png , mapsize1 = 22 ...
, arriving there on 13 September. They spent a week camped outside the village and met briefly with the chief Memeskia, who promised to consider returning to live near Detroit as a French ally. Céloron later remarked, speaking in general about his journey, that "the nations of these localities are very badly disposed towards the French, and are entirely devoted to the English." Five months after the expedition began, it returned to Montreal, arriving November 10, 1749. Céloron's journal is archived at Archives of the Department de la Marine,
Paris, France 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. Si ...
(Galbreath, 12). In total, Céloron buried at least six lead plates. One was stolen by curious Indians almost immediately, possibly before it was even buried, and placed in British hands. Two more were found in the early 19th Century. Measuring about eleven inches long and seven and one-half inches wide, each lead plate was marked with an inscription as follows (Galbreath, 110-111): The French continued to press their claim to the Ohio Valley, and colonial friction with the British finally contributed to outbreak of 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 ...
.


Last years and death

Upon his return, Céloron was reappointed to the important post at Detroit, and in 1753, was promoted to Major and appointed to Montreal. He died at Montreal on April 14, 1759 (Burton, 332).


Family

Céloron had three children by his first wife, Marie Madeline Blondeau, married December 30. 1724. His second wife was Catherine Eury de la Parelle, married in Montreal on October 13, 1743, and with whom he enjoyed nine children (Burton, 327).


See also

*
Céloron de Blainville Céloron de Blainville is a French people, French family of officers and colonial administrators, who notably played a role in New France beginning in the 17th century. He is the subject in a folk song by Robert Schmertz (artist) , Robert Schertz e ...
* Shannopin's Town *
Kuskusky "at the falls, by the falls or rapids" unm, kwësh-kwëshelxus-kee "hogs" + -kee (suffix used in place names) "Hogs Town" , settlement_type = Historic Native American village , image_skyline = , imagesize = , ima ...
*
Logstown "extensive flats" , settlement_type = Historic Native American village , image_skyline = Image:Logstown1.jpg , imagesize = 220px , image_alt = , image_map1 = Pennsylvania in United States ...
*
Kittanning (village) kit- 'big' + hane 'mountain river' + -ink (suffix used in place names). "The main river" , settlement_type = Historic Native American village , image_skyline = Kittanning, Pennsylvania (8481673707).jpg , imagesize = ...
*
Lower Shawneetown Lower Shawneetown, also known as Shannoah or Sonnontio, was an 18th-century Shawnee village located within the Lower Shawneetown Archeological District, near South Portsmouth in Greenup County, Kentucky and Lewis County, Kentucky. The population ...
*
Pickawillany "ash people" , settlement_type = Historic Native American village , image_skyline = , imagesize = , image_alt = , image_map1 = OHMap-doton-Piqua.png , mapsize1 = 22 ...
* Joseph Pierre de Bonnecamps


Sources

* pp. 62–73 * Chapter on Céloron, pp. 327–333 * Céloron's Ohio Expedition journal and other accounts * Account of Céloron at Logstown, pg. 26 *Hildreth, S. P.: ''Pioneer History: Being an Account of the First Examinations of the Ohio Valley, and the Early Settlement of the Northwest Territory'', H. W. Derby and Co., Cincinnati, Ohio (1848) pp. 18–24. * Andrew Arnold Lambing, translator. "Celeron's Journal." In Expedition of Céloron to the Ohio Country in 1749. Edited by Charles B. Galbreath. Columbus, Ohio: F.J. Heer Printing Company, 1921. Pages 12 to 77. *Marshall, O.H. "De Céloron's Expedition to the Ohio in 1749." Magazine of American History II (3) (1878): 127-150. [ Marshall, who in 1878 wrote the first complete account of Céloron's journey, is credited with discovering the explorer's journals in the 1850s in the archives of the Department de la Marine and Grandes Archives of the Depot de la Marine in Paris.]


References


External links


Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Celoron de Blainville, Pierre Joseph 1693 births 1759 deaths French Canadian people of the French and Indian War Explorers of the United States French explorers of North America Canadian explorers