Pierre de Troyes (born at unknown date – died 1688) was a captain that led the French capture of Moose Factory, Rupert House, and Fort Albany on Hudson Bay 1686.

Arrival in Canada

A captain in the French army de Troyes arrived at Quebec in AugustMarsh 1988, p. 2196. 1685 with reinforcements for the colony. On 20 March 1686, with a party of twenty Troupes de la Marine (marines) and sixty ''Canadien'' militiamen (selected for their

canoeing Canoeing is an activity which involves paddling a canoe with a single-bladed paddle. In some parts of Europe, canoeing refers to both canoeing and kayaking, with a canoe being called an 'open canoe' or Canadian. A few of the recreational ...

skills) out of

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, he led a mission to chase the English from James Bay (then known as the bottom of Hudson Bay). Among his officers were three Le Moyne brothers, Pierre, Jacques, and Paul. They were divided into three groups and headed to their destination using the interior waterways.

Hudson Bay Expedition

The mission made audacious use of canoes for transportation in voyageur style, following the

Ottawa River The Ottawa River (, ) is a river in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. It is named after the Algonquin word "to trade", as it was the major trade route of Eastern Canada at the time. For most of its length, it defines the border betw ...

north, portaging by way of

Lake Timiskaming Lake Timiskaming or Lake Temiskaming (, ) is a large freshwater lake on the Provinces and territories of Canada, provincial boundary between Ontario and Quebec, Canada. The lake, which forms part of the Ottawa River, is in length and covers ...

and Lake Abitibi (on the Abitibi River). The assault caught the British entirely by surprise and captured Moose Fort with ease on 20 June. On 3 July, de Troyes took Rupert House along with HBC ''Craven'', which he used to descend on Fort Albany, which fell 26 July. Leaving Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville in charge of the captured forts, de Troyes returned to Quebec. By 1696 the British recaptured Fort Moose. In 1713, the Fort Moose area was formally given to the British under the

Treaty of Utrecht The Peace of Utrecht was a series of peace treaty, peace treaties signed by the belligerents in the War of the Spanish Succession, in the Dutch city of Utrecht between April 1713 and February 1715. The war involved three contenders for the vac ...

Fort Denonville

In June 1687, de Troyes commanded a company under Governor General Denonville during his campaign against the Seneca. De Troyes' military career was cut short by his death the following year. When Denonville built Fort Denonville (now Fort Niagara) and named it after himself, de Troyes was left in charge. He died during the winter of 1687–1688, along with most of the troops in his garrison, due to scurvy.

Works

* Caron, Ivanhoë (ed.) ''Journal de l'expédition du chevalier de Troyes à la baie d'Hudson, en 1686''. Beauceville: Compagnie de "L'Éclaireur", 1918

References

Notes

Cited literature

* Lamontagne, Léopold. "Troyes, Pierre de." In: ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography,'' vol. 1: 653. 1979 * Marsh, James. "Troyes, Pierre de." In:''The Canadian Encyclopedia'', vol. 4: 2196. Edmonton: Hurtig Publishers, 1988. * Sutherland, Stuart R. J. "Troupes de la Marine". In: ''The Canadian Encyclopedia,'' vol. 4: 2196. Edmonton: Hurtig Publishers, 1988.

External links

The ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''

de Troyes
at the Canadian Museum of History: CV, animated map of his expedition to Fort Saint-Anne; English or French {{DEFAULTSORT:Troyes, Pierre People of New France Deaths from scurvy 1688 deaths Year of birth unknown French knights