Dumont de Montigny
Encyclopedia
Jean-François-Benjamin Dumont de Montigny, or Dumont de Montigny, was born in Paris on July 31, 1696, and died sometime after 1753. His writings about the French colony of Louisiana
include a two-volume history published in 1753, as well as an epic poem and a prose memoir preserved in manuscript and published long after his death.
He was educated at a Jesuit collège, or grammar school, and went into the French military. Through the influence of his family, he obtained a commission in the French colonial navy, and sailed to Quebec
in 1715, where for two years he spent most of his time as a patient in the Hôtel-Dieu
or hospital until he sailed back to France
.
and the Mississippi Company
. Dumont was assigned to a unit of soldiers sent to develop the land grants or concessions owned by a group of rich Frenchmen including Charles Louis Auguste Fouquet, duc de Belle-Isle, an important patron and protector of Dumont's throughout his life. But in 1720 Law's financial bubble collapsed and most investors stopped sending supplies to their concessions. As Dumont and hundreds of others lived in camps near Biloxi, Mississippi
, they ran short of food and boats to transport them to concessions.
For nearly eighteen years in the Louisiana colony, Dumont was assigned to forts at Yazoo
and Natchez
, participated in a 1722 exploration of the Arkansas River
with Jean-Baptiste Bénard de la Harpe, and helped establish a concession at Pascagoula, Mississippi
. He also quarreled with his superior officers, including the colonial governor, Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne, Sieur de Bienville
, which led to brief periods of imprisonment.
, the French post at Natchez. The rich agricultural lands in this area, on elevated bluffs safe from the annual flooding of the Mississippi River
, led to high hopes among the French for tobacco plantations and other development. The local Natchez people
were generally welcoming of the French, although skirmishes in 1722 and 1723 showed the tensions of competition for land and food. Dumont wrote that the commandant appointed for the fort in 1727, de Chépart, was a tyrant who mistreated soldiers and claimed Natchez Indian lands for himself. Chépart's provocations led to a rebellion on November 29, 1729. The Natchez attacked Fort Rosalie and its surrounding settlements, killing 240 Frenchmen. The lives of women and children and most African slaves were spared, however. Among these prisoners of war was Marie Baron Roussin, whose husband Jean Roussin was killed in the revolt. Dumont had lived on their farm near the Tioux villages south of Natchez.
Dumont wrote in Mémoires historiques sur la Louisiane that he left Natchez the day before the revolt. However, in his 1747 memoir, preserved today at the Newberry Library
in Chicago, Dumont wrote that he actually left Natchez in January 1729, after escaping from a detention ordered by Chépart. Looking back at the rebellion from twenty years later, Dumont and others saw it as a turning point in the history of the French colony.
. The expedition was not a success, however, and in his writings Dumont criticized the leadership of Bienville in this war as well as in a subsequent expedition in 1739-40.
, the port from which he had sailed to Louisiana. As captain of the gates in the citadel of Port-Louis, he again quarreled with his superior officers. In 1747 he wrote out a 443-page memoir of his life, dedicated to Belle-Isle.
By 1750 he was back in Paris, developing a reputation as an expert on Louisiana by drawing maps and publishing essays in learned journals. It appears that he may have collaborated with Antoine-Simon Le Page du Pratz
, who published a series of articles on Louisiana in the Journal Œconomique, a periodical devoted to science and commercial topics. Dumont also published two brief pieces in the journal. Le Page du Pratz wrote the book Histoire de la Louisiane in 1758.
Louisiana (New France)
Louisiana or French Louisiana was an administrative district of New France. Under French control from 1682–1763 and 1800–03, the area was named in honor of Louis XIV, by French explorer René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de la Salle...
include a two-volume history published in 1753, as well as an epic poem and a prose memoir preserved in manuscript and published long after his death.
Early life
He was the youngest of six sons of Jacques François Dumont, an avocat au parlement de Paris, that is, a prominent magistrate. In surviving documents, he often signed his name as François-Benjamin Dumont, but history works and library catalogs have preserved the "Jean." The name "de Montigny" was not used by most other members of his family, and at least one scholar has asserted that he assumed it as a false title of nobility when he was living in Louisiana. This was not true, however, as one niece did use the surname as he did.He was educated at a Jesuit collège, or grammar school, and went into the French military. Through the influence of his family, he obtained a commission in the French colonial navy, and sailed to Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
in 1715, where for two years he spent most of his time as a patient in the Hôtel-Dieu
Hôtel-Dieu de Québec
The Hotel-Dieu de Québec is a teaching hospital located in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada and affiliated with Université Laval's medical school. It is part of the Centre hospitalier universitaire de Québec , a network of three teaching hospitals and several specialized institutions. Its areas of...
or hospital until he sailed back to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
An officer in colonial French Louisiana
In 1719 Dumont sailed from La Rochelle, France to Louisiana, with a new commission as a lieutenant and engineering officer. At this time interest and investment in the colony was strong, due to the financial schemes of John LawJohn Law
John Law may refer to:*John Law *John Law DD was an English mathematician*John Law *John Law , Hong Kong film director...
and the Mississippi Company
Mississippi Company
The "Mississippi Company" became the "Company of the West" and expanded as the "Company of the Indies" .-The Banque Royale:...
. Dumont was assigned to a unit of soldiers sent to develop the land grants or concessions owned by a group of rich Frenchmen including Charles Louis Auguste Fouquet, duc de Belle-Isle, an important patron and protector of Dumont's throughout his life. But in 1720 Law's financial bubble collapsed and most investors stopped sending supplies to their concessions. As Dumont and hundreds of others lived in camps near Biloxi, Mississippi
Biloxi, Mississippi
Biloxi is a city in Harrison County, Mississippi, in the United States. The 2010 census recorded the population as 44,054. Along with Gulfport, Biloxi is a county seat of Harrison County....
, they ran short of food and boats to transport them to concessions.
For nearly eighteen years in the Louisiana colony, Dumont was assigned to forts at Yazoo
Yazoo City, Mississippi
Yazoo City is a city in Yazoo County, Mississippi, United States. It was named after the Yazoo River, which, in turn was named by the French explorer Robert La Salle. It is the county seat of Yazoo County and the principal city of the Yazoo City Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is part of the...
and Natchez
Natchez
Natchez may refer to:* Natchez people, a Native American nation* Natchez language, the language of that Native American tribe* Natchez, Mississippi, United States* Natchez, Louisiana, United States* Natchez, Indiana, United States...
, participated in a 1722 exploration of the Arkansas River
Arkansas River
The Arkansas River is a major tributary of the Mississippi River. The Arkansas generally flows to the east and southeast as it traverses the U.S. states of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. The river's initial basin starts in the Western United States in Colorado, specifically the Arkansas...
with Jean-Baptiste Bénard de la Harpe, and helped establish a concession at Pascagoula, Mississippi
Pascagoula, Mississippi
Pascagoula is a city in Jackson County, Mississippi, United States. It is the principal city of the Pascagoula, Mississippi Metropolitan Statistical Area, as a part of the Gulfport–Biloxi–Pascagoula, Mississippi Combined Statistical Area. The population was 26,200 at the 2000 census...
. He also quarreled with his superior officers, including the colonial governor, Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne, Sieur de Bienville
Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne, Sieur de Bienville
Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienvillepronounce] was a colonizer, born in Montreal, Quebec and an early, repeated governor of French Louisiana, appointed 4 separate times during 1701-1743. He was a younger brother of explorer Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville...
, which led to brief periods of imprisonment.
The Natchez Rebellion of 1729
From 1726-28 Dumont was assigned to serve at Fort RosalieFort Rosalie
Fort Rosalie was a French fort built in 1716 in the territory of the Natchez Native Americans. The present-day city of Natchez, Mississippi developed at this site. As part of the peace terms that ended the Natchez War of 1716, Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne, Sieur de Bienville required the Natchez to...
, the French post at Natchez. The rich agricultural lands in this area, on elevated bluffs safe from the annual flooding of the Mississippi River
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
, led to high hopes among the French for tobacco plantations and other development. The local Natchez people
Natchez people
The Natchez are a Native American people who originally lived in the Natchez Bluffs area, near the present-day city of Natchez, Mississippi. They spoke a language isolate that has no known close relatives, although it may be very distantly related to the Muskogean languages of the Creek...
were generally welcoming of the French, although skirmishes in 1722 and 1723 showed the tensions of competition for land and food. Dumont wrote that the commandant appointed for the fort in 1727, de Chépart, was a tyrant who mistreated soldiers and claimed Natchez Indian lands for himself. Chépart's provocations led to a rebellion on November 29, 1729. The Natchez attacked Fort Rosalie and its surrounding settlements, killing 240 Frenchmen. The lives of women and children and most African slaves were spared, however. Among these prisoners of war was Marie Baron Roussin, whose husband Jean Roussin was killed in the revolt. Dumont had lived on their farm near the Tioux villages south of Natchez.
Dumont wrote in Mémoires historiques sur la Louisiane that he left Natchez the day before the revolt. However, in his 1747 memoir, preserved today at the Newberry Library
Newberry Library
The Newberry Library is a privately endowed, independent research library for the humanities and social sciences in Chicago, Illinois. Although it is private, non-circulating library, the Newberry Library is free and open to the public...
in Chicago, Dumont wrote that he actually left Natchez in January 1729, after escaping from a detention ordered by Chépart. Looking back at the rebellion from twenty years later, Dumont and others saw it as a turning point in the history of the French colony.
The Chickasaw Wars
Following his escape from Chépart at Natchez, Dumont resigned his commission and took up life on a small farm on the Mississippi downstream from New Orleans. He married the widow Roussin. There, and later on another property within New Orleans, he supported himself as a market gardener. But he returned to a soldier's life as a member of the civilian militia during the Chickasaw Campaign of 1736. The French wished to punish Natchez Indians who had sought refuge among the Chickasaw, and prevent them from allying with the English colonists in the CarolinasThe Carolinas
The Carolinas is a term used in the United States to refer collectively to the states of North and South Carolina. Together, the two states + have a population of 13,942,126. "Carolina" would be the fifth most populous state behind California, Texas, New York, and Florida...
. The expedition was not a success, however, and in his writings Dumont criticized the leadership of Bienville in this war as well as in a subsequent expedition in 1739-40.
Return to France
In 1738 Dumont returned to France, along with his wife and two children, Marie Françoise, born November 28, 1731, and Jean-François, baptized in New Orleans on January 2, 1733. He took up residence in Port-Louis, MorbihanPort-Louis, Morbihan
Port-Louis is a commune in the Morbihan department of Brittany in north-western France.-Demographics:Inhabitants of Port-Louis are called in French Port-Louisiens.-References:* * -External links:* * *...
, the port from which he had sailed to Louisiana. As captain of the gates in the citadel of Port-Louis, he again quarreled with his superior officers. In 1747 he wrote out a 443-page memoir of his life, dedicated to Belle-Isle.
By 1750 he was back in Paris, developing a reputation as an expert on Louisiana by drawing maps and publishing essays in learned journals. It appears that he may have collaborated with Antoine-Simon Le Page du Pratz
Antoine-Simon Le Page du Pratz
Antoine-Simon Le Page du Pratz was an ethnographer, historian, and naturalist who is best known for his Histoire de la Louisiane. It was first published in installments from 1751-1753 in the Journal Economique, then completely in three volumes in Paris in 1758. After their victory in the Seven...
, who published a series of articles on Louisiana in the Journal Œconomique, a periodical devoted to science and commercial topics. Dumont also published two brief pieces in the journal. Le Page du Pratz wrote the book Histoire de la Louisiane in 1758.
By Dumont de Montigny
- De Montigny, Dumont. Historical Memoirs of M. Dumont de Montigny in B. F. French, ed. Historical Collections of Louisiana; embracing many rare and valuable documents relating to the natural, civil, and political history of that state, Vol. 5. (New York, 1853). (This English translation includes only the second of the two volumes of the Mémoires historiques de la Louisiane.)
- De Montigny, Dumont. "Etablissement de la Province de la Louisiane. Poème composée de 1728 à 1742." Ed. Marc de Villiers. Journal de la Société des Américanistes de Paris Nouvelle serie vol. 23 (1931): 273-385.
About Dumont de Montigny
- Sayre, Gordon M. "Plotting the Natchez Massacre: Le Page du Pratz, Dumont de Montigny, Chateaubriand." Early American Literature 37:3 (Fall 2002): 381-413.
- Zecher, Carla; Sayre, Gordon; Dawdy, Shannon. "A French soldier in Louisiana: The memoir of Dumont de Montigny = Un soldat français en Louisiane : les mémoires de Dumont de Montigny" French Review 80:6 (2007): 1265-1277.