Christophe Pélissier (29 April 1728 – before October 1779) (sometimes spelled Pellissier) was born in the parish of Saint-Pierre et Saint-Saturnin, Lyons, France, the son of François-Christophe Pélissier, a merchant, and Agathe Martaud La Rigaudière. He died, apparently in France, in 1779. He was director of the Saint-Maurice ironworks near the city of

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

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

in the mid-1770s. When the Americans invaded Quebec in 1775, Pélissier, whom his business associate

Pierre de Sales Laterrière Pierre de Sales Laterrière (; 1743 or 1747 – 14 June 1815), was an adventurer who left France in 1766. He was inspector and director of the ironworking Forges du Saint-Maurice and seigneur of the municipality Les Éboulements in New Franc ...

described as a "strong supporter of

John Wilkes John Wilkes (17 October 1725 – 26 December 1797) was an English Radicalism (historical), radical journalist and politician, as well as a magistrate, essayist and soldier. He was first elected a Member of Parliament in 1757. In the Middlese ...

and his system of freedom", strongly supported the American cause. General

Richard Montgomery Richard Montgomery (2 December 1738 – 31 December 1775) was an Irish-born American military officer who first served in the British Army. He later became a major general in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, and ...

met with him in December 1775 to discuss the establishment of a provincial convention for the purpose of electing representatives to the

Second Continental Congress The Second Continental Congress (1775–1781) was the meetings of delegates from the Thirteen Colonies that united in support of the American Revolution and American Revolutionary War, Revolutionary War, which established American independence ...

, a step Pélissier advised against until Quebec City was taken. His ironworks supplied ammunition, bombs, and cannonballs for the siege of Quebec; he also wrote a letter to the

on January 8, 1776, to point out the measures they should take for a successful taking of Quebec.

Griffin The griffin, griffon, or gryphon (; Classical Latin: ''gryps'' or ''grypus''; Late and Medieval Latin: ''gryphes'', ''grypho'' etc.; Old French: ''griffon'') is a -4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk ...

, p. 223 As the Americans retreated from Quebec in May and June 1776, Pélissier fled the province with them. On July 29, 1776, he received an engineering lieutenant colonel's commission in the

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies representing the Thirteen Colonies and later the United States during the American Revolutionary War. It was formed on June 14, 1775, by a resolution passed by the Second Continental Co ...

, and in October assisted in the improvement of the defenses at

Fort Ticonderoga Fort Ticonderoga (), formerly Fort Carillon, is a large 18th-century star fort built by the French at a narrows near the south end of Lake Champlain in northern New York. It was constructed between October 1755 and 1757 by French-Canadian ...

Walker Walker or The Walker may refer to: People *Walker (given name) *Walker (surname) *Walker (Brazilian footballer) (born 1982), Brazilian footballer Places In the United States *Walker, Arizona, in Yavapai County *Walker, Mono County, California * ...

, p. 96 He eventually returned to his family home in France.

, p. 230 When he fled Quebec, Pélissier left behind his second wife Catherine, who began to have an affair with Laterrière in his absence. (It is likely that Laterrière was also a suitor of hers prior to her marriage.) Pélissier, apparently unaware of the affair, was eventually granted permission to return to Quebec to bring her to France. He finally left Quebec for good and returned to France in 1778 only with the children from his first marriage, and the satisfaction of having Laterrière accused of collaboration with the Americans (for which Laterrière would spend three years in prison).

, p. 228 Laterrière and Catherine married in October 1779, presumably having received word of Pélissier's death.

Notes

References

* * * * * This book contains much of Pélissier's letter to Congress, translated into English, on pp. 223–227. {{DEFAULTSORT:Pelissier, Christophe 1728 births Year of death missing 18th-century Canadian businesspeople Businesspeople from Lyon French emigrants