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 August
[Marsh 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 Troyesat 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