The Chickasaw Indian Villages by Stephen R. Cook

Four Accounts of the French / Chickasaw War 1736
D'Artaguiette's Northern Force

by Stephen R. Cook

This is our fourth Musing, by far the largest, and in my opinion the most intriguing. The foundation documents within are Colonial French correspondences which originated in Louisiana or New France and archived in Paris by Ministry of Marine. We will provide four correspondences which describe M. Pierre's D'Artaguiette's campaign against the Chickasaw. The correspondences were translated by Mississippi Department of Archives and History or the Indiana Historical Society beginning in the 1920s. Three of the campaign accounts are not found in Mississippi Provincial Archives, French Dominion, Volumes I-V, (MPA). I trust you enjoy the additional perspectives of the French/Chickasaw War of 1736.

Bad Blood:

The origin of the French/Chickasaw War of 1736 began years before. When a young Sieur de Bienville https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Baptiste_Le_Moyne_de_Bienville stepped upon the gulf sands in 1699 of what was to become Mississippi, he found the Chickasaw armed with English guns and raiding minor Indian tribes seemingly all over Louisiana. In short order he made diplomatic inroads into the Choctaw leadership and even had conferences with some Chickasaw. But the Chickasaw would not desert their English traders, trade goods or slave raids. Try as they may Bienville and the Louisiana French could never control the Chickasaw. He witnessed unrest spread to the Natchez in 1716 and even parts of the Choctaw. Bienville retired as Louisiana Governor in 1725. His replacement's Indian policy failed. The Natchez revolted in 1729 and destroyed Fort Rosalie. The French tried to exterminate the Natchez but surviving groups moved into the protection of the Chickasaw villages. To fix their messes, the French appointed Bienville governor again in March 1733. When he returned to Louisiana, Bienville found French and Indian relationships in shambles, especially the Chickasaw, who would not surrender the Natchez living with them. Bienville put bounties on Chickasaw scalps and sponsored Indian allies' raids on the Chickasaw. The Chickasaw responded in kind with raids on the French and their Indian allies. Something had to give.

Background:

Immediately following the 1729 Natchez revolt and deaths of the French soldiers and most male colonists at Fort Rosalie, the French attempted to exterminate the Natchez. After two successful military engagements against the Natchez in 1730, the French witnessed one then two then three Natchez groups take refuge with the Chickasaw, see Paper 1 The Decades and the Villages 1720-1730 and 1730-1740 and Table 1. Shortly after 1731 the Natchez village was situated on the eastern edge of the northern group of Chickasaw villages as documented by French maps, see Paper 1 Figure 7 (village labeled Tchikoulechasto) and Figure 9 (village labeled Natchez). Bienville demanded the Chickasaw turn over the Natchez. The Chickasaw refused. The Natchez had embarrassed the French, and the Chickasaw had mocked them. Their reputation was in shambles. Bienville had to restore it, at all costs.

Setting the Table:

Governor Bienville spent 1734 and 1735 trying to rebuild relationships with Indians tribes, starting with the Choctaw. (For the reader's knowledge: The 1700s Choctaws were located in what is now Mississippi and less so in Alabama. Politically and geographically there were two divisions, eastern and western. The Choctaw were very populous and occupied more than 40 villages.) The French conducted Indian affairs in Mobile (rarely New Orleans) at Fort Louis then Fort Conde de la Mobille because the Mobile River afforded access to the Tombigbee River which coursed near the Choctaws and Chickasaw villages. Other Mobile River tributaries included the Coosa and Tallapoosa Rivers which flowed by Fort Toulouse and the villages of the Creek confederacy. Here is a link to French Louisiana Mobile and d'Anville's 1732 map of Mobile Bay and Mobile River https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Mobile,_Alabama.

In addition to Fort Conde at Mobile the French had several forts which factored into the 1736 war. Upstream of New Orleans on the Mississippi river there was Fort Rosalie which was built in 1716 and which was rebuilt by 1731 after the Massacre of November 1729. It was situated overlooking the Mississippi River at present day Natchez, Mississippi. Further north Arkansas Post was built on the Arkansas River near present day Gillett, Arkansas. It was founded in 1686 by Henri de Tonti and rebuilt many times due to river flooding. A major expansion was made in 1731. Further upstream near what is now Memphis was Fort Prudhomme which was established by LaSalle in 1682. It was never used afterwards. To the Colonial French Fort Prudhomme was also known as Ecorse a Prudhomme. The location of Ecorse a Prudhomme is not known. Continuing upstream the French established Fort Chartres in 1720. The fort is about 40 miles south south east of what is now St. Louis. The area around Fort Chartres was called the Illinois settlement, and it became a successful agricultural and mining colony. Several Indian tribes resided nearby. East of Fort Chartres was Fort Vincennes founded by Sieur de Vincennes in 1731-2 on the Wabash River. Much further south and west was Fort St. Jean Baptiste on the Red River. Informally this fort was called Fort of the Natchitoches near present day Natchitoches, Louisiana. These forts and settlements supplied the forces and materials for the French in the French/Chickasaw War of 1736.

Prior to 1736 the Chickasaw villages had experienced change at the hands of the French. James Adair described the Chickasaw village locations in the year 1720 although he first lived with the Chickasaw in 1744, see Musings Where Was James Adair's Trading House? Adair had traded and resided with other southeast tribes since 1735; he knew that in 1722/3 there were French and their Indian allied raids against the Chickasaw. The greatest French success was an attack on the village of Yaneka, see Paper 1 Figure 5. Yaneka was remote and distant from the other Chickasaw villages. In addition it was vulnerable to the south in the direction of the Choctaw. This raid was described in Paper 1 The Decades and the Villages 1720-1730. The French were decisive largely because they had equipped the Choctaw with guns and offered a lucrative bounty for Chickasaw scalps. The result was a number of Chickasaw dead and prisoners who were sold as slaves. The Chickasaw survivors abandoned Yaneka and moved to South Carolina under British protection. Paper 1 Table 1 indicates the name Yaneka disappears from the village names in the home land (except a Memoir of 1755 which inferred that some Yaneka peoples or their heirs may have moved back). The De Cresnay map of 1733, see Paper 1 Figure 6, does not locate Yaneka. Likewise the De Batz map fails to indicate Yaneka as a village in 1737, see Paper 1 Figure 8. The surviving Chickasaw peoples of Yaneka had left the Chickasaw villages.

The Lay of the Land:

The Chickasaw controlled a vast territory from their villages in and near present day Tupelo. To the North they claimed all land to present day Nashville and hunted annually to the Ohio River. To the south they had a well known border with the Choctaws: beginning at Line Creek south of present West Point moving West North West towards Fort St. Francis to the Mississippi River. The Chickasaw claimed all lands north of that line to the Ohio River and the Mississippi River and everything and everyone that plied it.

The First Blows:

The 18th century French and British of southeastern North America never experienced an extended peace, especially near the Chickasaw frontier. As can be read in Paper 1 The Decades and the Villages 1730-1740, the Chickasaw raided the Wabash River and Bienville encouraged various northern Indians to retaliate. He had a bounty on Chickasaw scalps that provided incentive to northern and southern Indian tribes. In 1734 a French/Choctaw raid attacked the forts of the village of Chatelaw (Adair's Shatara see Paper 1 Table 1) on Coonewah Creek and reportedly took 46 Chickasaw scalps, see Paper 1 Figure 7 and MPA I 245.

From New Orleans on August 20, 1735 Bienville writes MPA I 264 to Maurepas,

"I am informed that two Illinois parties marched this last winter a short distance from each other against the Chickasaws; that the first captured twenty women and children from the enemy and the second sixteen and a man whom they burned; that the three villages are going to march en masse this autumn, and I do not (f. 153 v.) doubt that Mr. D'Artaguiette (Pierre) will send several Frenchmen with them."

Bienville was not going to wait on peace with the Chickasaw, he began planning his war against the Chickasaw, the Natchez and the English traders living among them, see MPA I 277. He formulated a two prong coordinated attack. He would lead a southern force from Mobile which would travel by boat up the Mobile and Tombigbee Rivers to near the Chickasaw. A northern force would leave Fort Chartres under the direction of Commandant at Fort Chartres Major Pierre D'Artaguiette (the younger brother of Commandant at Mobile and King's Lieutenant Diron D'Artaguiette, an officer in Bienville's southern force) which would travel by boat down the Mississippi River to the Ecorse a Prudhomme and thence overland to the Chickasaw villages. Both forces would include French troops, French militia (trained locals living about French forts also called habitants ) and Indian allies. The forces would attack the Chickasaw villages and the Natchez in March 1736.

Bienville's initial orders to Pierre D'Artaguiette were to meet him March 10th or 15th 1736 at Ecorse a Prudhomme. He was to man his force selecting French troops from Fort Chartres and Fort Vincennes. The militia would be selected from the French settlers living near the forts. The numbers of troop in the force were not to diminish the capabilities of Fort Chartres or their environs. In addition Indians of the Illinois settlement including Cahokias and Michigameas were to join the Northern force under leadership of Sieur de Monchervaux; likewise Iroquois and Miamis under the leadership of M. De Vincennes were to meet at the Ecorse a Prudhomme. Since the Ecorse a Prudhomme was in Chickasaw territory, a temporary palisade was to be erected to give cover and protect the boats.

Materials for the campaign had to be assembled. Bienville ordered Lieutenant Sieur de Coulange, the Commandant of the Arkansas Post, to have 1,700 pounds of powder transported to Fort Chartres via boat on the Mississippi River. When the powder did not arrive, Pierre D'Artaguiette sent Lieutenant DuCoder to Arkansas Post by boat to retrieve it. On the return trip DuCoder landed to rest his party in Chickasaw territory and was attacked by a large group of Chickasaw and Natchez who were following his flotilla. His boating party was killed; DuCoder was captured as was the powder, see MPA I 268-9. Bienville confirmed the loss to Maurepas in a letter dated August 20, 1735,

"In the meantime I received a letter from Sieur Ducoder written from a Chickasaw village which informed me that when he was half-way between the Arkansas and the Illinois he had put into the land to rest and refresh his crew; that during that time he had entered the woods to see if he could discover any tracks; that a little while afterwards he heard a discharge of more than two hundred gunshots accompanied by shouts which left him no doubt that his detachment was attacked; that he ran at once toward his boat where he was seized by several Indians; that the others were occupied either in plundering or in tying a sergeant and a soldier who alone remained alive. He informed me that this party composed of two hundred and forty Chickasaw and Natchez men was on the march to go and carry away the women that the Illinois had taken from them a short time before, or to get vengeance for this act; that they had been following him for several days to take him by surprise, but that hitherto he had always kept to the other side of the river; in fact if he had continued to observe this precaution, which was quite natural, he would have escaped from their pursuit. He adds that after these Indians had divided among themselves the cargo of the boat they abandoned the purpose of vengeance which had made them leave their villages the journey to which they resumed, and that they arrived there without having received any insult. This news made me decide to send immediately to the Illinois a boat loaded with powder to replace that which the enemies have taken from us, accompanied by all the voyageurs who had come down the river, so that this convoy is composed of about eighty Frenchmen and forty negroes and is in a position to fear nothing from our enemies."

D'Artaguiette's Campaign Against the Chickasaw:

For the benefit of the reader we will provide copies of the translated French correspondences concerning the accounts of the campaign and its aftermath. Heretofore, most correspondences regarding the French/Chickasaw Wars have been from the five volume set of Mississippi Provincial Archives, French Dominion (MPA). In 1906 Mississippi Archives and History communicated a desire for documents from the French Archives of the Minister of the Marine in Paris. Selection criterion was developed, and documents were copied and sent to Jackson. Selected documents were translated by A. G. Sanders and overseen by Dunbar Rowland. The first three volumes were published Volume I 1927, Volume II 1929 and Volume III 1932. These documents are available at the Lee County Public Library. Additionally, this link allows the reader to access a pdf of MPA Volumes I, II, and III, courtesy of University of California HathiTrust Digital Library https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/102320441. MPA Volumes IV and V are not available by pdf.

There are other French published correspondences regarding the French/Chickasaw Wars that are not in the MPA published volumes. Just as Mississippi Department of Archives and History was translating French correspondences in the 1920s, so too was Indiana Historical Society. The Indiana Historical Society obtained copies of French documents via Department of Historical Research, Carnegie Institution, from the originals at Paris. Jacob Piatt Dunn Jr., longtime Secretary of Indiana Historical Society, daughters', Caroline and Eleanor, translated the documents. Caroline was a reference librarian who also collected rare documents for Indiana. A collection of documents relating to Indiana and the French/Chickasaw wars were published "Indiana's First War" Indiana Historical Society Publications Volume 8 No. 2 Indianapolis 1924 reprinted 2013. A link to Indiana's First War is here: https://archive.org/details/indianasfirstwar82dunn/page/n5/mode/2up These documents are made available by the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Four of these documents will be presented in this paper.

The First Account:

Our first document we will term the Official Account of Major Pierre D'Artaguiette's campaign. Note it was presented MPA I 311 and was dated June 28, 1736. The correspondence was written from Governor Bienville to Count Maurepas. Who was Maurepas? He was Minister of the Marine for French King Louis XV. Here is a link, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Fr%C3%A9d%C3%A9ric_Ph%C3%A9lypeaux,_Count_of_Maurepas. You have heard his name … Lake Maurepas near New Orleans is named for him.

FROM BIENVILLE TO MAUREPAS

(From Ministry of the Colonies, C. 13, V. 21, General Correspondence of Louisiana, pages 207 to 212 v.; copy Vol. XXIII, pages 276 to 284.) The defeat of a detachment from the Illinois by the Chickasaws.

    June 28, 1736 _{(Note: Correspondence date added here for reader convenience)}

My Lord:-

The circumstances of the defeat of the detachment that Mr. D'Artaguette led against the Chickasaws are reported so variously that I have difficulty in reconciling all the accounts that I have received on this subject and find myself somewhat embarrassed in preparing myself to inform your Lordship of it. What is certain is that upon the orders that (f. 207 v.) I had sent this officer to lead to the Ecorse a Prudhommes all the Frenchmen and Indians whom he could withdraw from the Illinois post without stripping it, in order to form a junction of the forces of this quarter with those of the lower part of the colony before the Chickasaws where I was expecting to proceed toward the end of March-in consequence of these orders Mr. D'Artaguette went to the Ecorse a Prudhommes on the fourth of March, as I learn by a letter from him that I have received since my return in which he informs me that he has in his company thirty soldiers, one hundred voyageurs and colonists and almost all the Indians of the village of the Kaskaskias; that he is expecting from day to day (f. 208) those of the Cahokias and of the Michigameas who were to come under the leadership of Sieur de Monchervaux who had gone to find them in their winter quarters; that Mr. De Vincennes was likewise to arrive on the first day with the Indians of the Wabash River and forty Iroquois. He adds furthermore that he is going to send scouts to the Chickasaws to learn the time of my arrival as I had recommended to him, and that to be in a position to wait for me he had brought large stores of food.

However, it appears by the accounts that a few days afterward, the reenforcement that (f. 208 v.) Mr. De Vincennes was bringing him having arrived, he had started on the march; that in truth he proceeded by short stages in order to give time to Sieur de Monchervaux to join him and in order to wait for Sieur de Grandpré who was to bring all the Arkansas and who had even sent him twenty-eight of these Indians who were to return to a meeting place that he had designated for them to inform him of the arrival of Mr. D'Artaguette at the Ecorse a Prudhommes, but these same Indians having found the army on the march followed it so that Sieur de Grandpré waited in vain for their return.

The scouts whom Mr. D'Artaguette had sent to learn news of me (f. 209) returned and reported to him that they had seen no trace of our party. The day following this day Mr. D'Artaguette received letters by couriers that had been sent to him in which I informed him that the delay of the King's ship and of the preparations necessary for our expedition would delay my departure, and that I foresaw that I should not be able to arrive in front of the Chickasaws before the end of April at the very earliest, urging him to take his measures accordingly on receiving these letters. I am assured that Mr. D'Artaguette assembled a council composed of the officers who were marching (f. 209 v.) under his command and of the chiefs of the different nations who were in his party; that all the Indian chiefs, among others those of the Iroquois, called his attention to the fact that the Indians, having very few provisions, would find themselves forced to abandon him if he waited longer to attack the enemy, adding that the scouts who had returned the day before reported that on the margin of the large prairie of the Chickasaws there was a village separated from the others where there were no more than thirty cabins which would not be difficult to take; that they would infallibly find in it provisions that would put them in a position to wait protected (f. 210) by the intrenchments that they would make in this same village. Almost all the officers were of the same opinion so that it was decided to go and attack this village. They marched with greater haste than before without being discovered, as they maintain, and when Mr. D'Artaguette arrived within a quarter of a league of the prairie it was Palm Sunday. He left all the baggage under the guard of a detachment of thirty men commanded by Sieur de Frontigny, a second lieutenant, and took the road to the village which he attacked with great vigor, but the engagement had hardly begun when he saw coming from a hill nearby four or five hundred Indians who had (f. 210 v.) come to the help of this village under the protection of a hill and who fell upon the attackers with a rapidity that made the Illinois and Miamis lose courage and made them take flight. Mr. D'Artaguette seeing himself abandoned in this way by these Indians who constituted the strongest part of his little army started back to the place where he had left his baggage in order to prevent, if it were possible, the munitions that he had brought there from falling into the hands of the enemies. I am even assured that his intention was to set fire to the powder in case he could not save it. He was followed with such fury by the Chickasaws that in spite of the firmness that was shown on this occasion by all the officers, the majority (f. 211) of the soldiers and a part of the colonists, and in spite of the stubborn resistance that was made by thirty-eight Iroquois and twenty-eight Arkansas, who alone of all the Indians had remained with the French, Mr. D'Artaguette was killed as well as all the other officers except three who were captured of which number were Sieur Du Tisné and Father Sénat. After this the munitions and the baggage remained in the power of the enemies who did not abandon the pursuit of the fugitives until after they had killed forty men and wounded several. Furthermore their retreat is attributed to a violent storm that arose, but everybody agrees that except for the firmness of the Iroquois and of the Arkansas not a single Frenchman would have returned from this unhappy campaign. Two days' march (f. 211 v.) from the Chickasaws the remnants of this party met Sieur de Monchervaux who was marching with one hundred and seventy Indians and fourteen Frenchmen on the trail of Mr. D'Artaguette. Having gathered all the fugitives he led them back to the Illinois after sending me a courier from the Ecorse a Prudhommes to inform me of this catastrophe.

As for Sieur de Grandpré the courier of Sieur de Monchervaux met him at the Margot River with all the Arkansas waiting for the return of those he had sent to learn the news of Mr. D'Artaguette. The news he received made him and his party abandon the expedition.

I have been assured that a Tunica woman who was a slave among the Chickasaws and who had thrown herself into the hands of the French while (f. 212) they were in the village of the enemy, gave assurance that the Chickasaws, having information that we were to march against them, had called the English to their assistance, and that there were thirty of them scattered throughout the different villages when Mr. D'Artaguette was there. I have learned from Sieur d'Erneville who is in command at the Alabamas that since that time fifteen had gone there who had taken there sixty loaded horses, and that the English had induced eighty Natchez families, who after their revolt had retreated toward Carolina, to come and join those who are among the Chickasaws. From this it is easy to infer that these Indians, having learned from the French prisoners whom they had captured in Mr. D'Artaguette's party and from my letters likewise that he had on him (f. 212 v.) when he was killed, as I have been informed by letters from the Illinois, that we were going to march against them in greater numbers, had taken all the measures to put themselves in a state of defense. Therefore it is not astonishing that we have found so much resistance. We were expecting to deal with Indians who we knew were brave to be sure, but incapable of fortifying themselves to the extent that it is almost impossible to take them without artillery.

I am with a profound respect,

My Lord,
Your very humble and very obedient servant,

Bienville.

At New Orleans,
June 28th 1736.

The reader should be aware the Mr. D'Artaguette in this correspondence was Major Pierre D'Artaguiette who in 1734 was appointed Commandant of the Illinois District including Fort Chartres. Pierre D'Artaguiette served gallantly in the Natchez campaign in 1730 and was awarded the prestigious Chevalier de St. Louis. Perier, the Louisiana Governor before Bienville's return, had given him the promotion to Commandant of the Fort Rosalie after he rebuilt Fort Rosalie.

In the correspondence Bienville used the term "Illinois". To the French Illinois could have several meanings: it could refer the Illinois settlement, the environs of Fort Chartres (Illinois Post) or the Illinois confederation of Indian tribes which included Cahokias, Kaskaskias and Michigameas, all mentioned in Official Account. To add to the confusion all three of these tribes lived within the protective sphere of Fort Chartres: the Cahokias to the north, Kaskaskias to the southeast and Michigameas near the Fort.

The Margot River in Official Account is now called the Wolf River which discharges into the Mississippi River above Memphis.

With regards this correspondence I want to make two points . . .

Point 1: Reread the first sentence in the correspondence.
"The circumstances of the defeat of the detachment that Mr. D'Artaguette led against the Chickasaws are reported so variously that I have difficulty in reconciling all the accounts that I have received on this subject and find myself somewhat embarrassed in preparing myself to inform your Lordship of it."
I have underlined the salient parts of the sentence as it affects this Musing. Bienville was confused as to what transpired during P. D'Artaguiette's campaign. Was he confused because most of the French and militia officers were killed thus there were no trusted accounts by officers? Who of the survivors could give a good account of the campaign? How many accounts of the defeat did Bienville have to reconcile? We shall provide three additional French accounts of the defeat of P. D'Artaguiette's northern force below. All are from French records of correspondences which were translated and printed by Indiana Historical Society.

Point 2: What were Bienville's last orders? His original orders were to meet Bienville at Ecorse a Prudhomme in mid March. Bienville sent a courier to change that meeting date to end of March, see MPA I 298. Later in that correspondence Bienville wrote that he had sent a second courier to change the order for P. D'Artaguiette to leave the Illinois (meaning Fort Chartres) at the end of April. Per the Official Account Bienville's courier found P. D'Artaguiette marching towards the Chickasaw. From the Official Account, "The day following this day Mr. D'Artaguette received letters by couriers that had been sent to him in which I informed him that the delay of the King's ship and of the preparations necessary for our expedition would delay my departure, and that I foresaw that I should not be able to arrive in front of the Chickasaws before the end of April at the very earliest, urging him to take his measures accordingly." Literally within the shadow of the Chickasaw villages was not a good place for P. D'Artaguiette to receive a change in orders.

What should P. D'Artaguiette have done? Take measures accordingly meant to weigh his options carefully before making a decision. He could retreat to Ecorse a Prudhomme and wait for Monchervaux and Grandpre's Indian allies? He had intel from his Indian scouts that a Chickasaw village was nearby and isolated somewhat from the other villages. Why not attack that village? What he did was to assemble a war council with his officers and Indian allies. Of those the Iroquois admitted they did not have adequate food to stay in the field. Further they suggested that food would be found in the Chickasaw village. The decision from the war council was to attack the village that the scouts had seen. They did not have the food supply to retreat or wait. The extended march had consumed their supplies.

D'Artaguiette's northern force attacked. Despite early successes, a huge force of Chickasaw from neighboring hill suddenly appeared and attacked so violently that the Illinois and Miamis (Indian allies) took flight. Without their support the French were overwhelmed and fell back to their baggage where powder, bullets, brandy and horses were all captured. Only a rainstorm saved the lives of any of the northern force.

The Second Account:

Note the following account of P. D'Artaguiette's campaign was titled but not addressed or dated. The date shown was the date of the battle, thus part of the title. Also note the slight difference in spelling: D'Artaguette in the MPA correspondences and D'Artaguiette in the Indiana correspondences. "D'Artaguiette" is the correct spelling. Is this one of the accounts that Bienville addresses in the first sentence of Official Account?

For the purpose of comparing accounts let's call the following correspondence the "Unknown Account."

ACCOUNT OF THE BATTLE FOUGHT BY D'ARTAGUIETTE WITH THE CHICKASAWS, MARCH 25, 1736

Paris Arch. Nat. Colonies F 3, 24, Fos. 258-263.

Account of the battle fought by M. D'Artaguiette, Chevalier de St. Louis, Major of New Orleans, and Commandant at the Illinois, with the Chickasaw Indians, March 25, 1736.

M. D'Artaguiette, having received orders from M. de Bienville to come to join him at the Chickasaws with the troops that he was able to take from his garrison, the Illinois Indians, and the habitants of his district whom he was able to assemble, left Fort Chartres the 22nd of February last, with S. de St. Ange, Desgly and Dutisné, lieutenants; De Vincennes, half -pay lieutenant and Commandant at the Ouabache, de Coulange, infantry ensign, and de La Graviere and Frontigny, second ensigns, 27 soldiers, 110 habitants, 38 Iroquois, 28 Arkansaws, 100 Illinois, 160 Miamis, which made up a small army of 145 French and 326 Indians.

He left in command at the Illinois in his absence Sieur De la Buissonniere, captain, and Sieur de Montcharvaux, infantry ensign, to assemble the 180 Illinois Indians who were in winter quarters, and lead them to Ecorse à Prudhomme, where he would wait for them. He arrived at Ecorse à Prudhomme the 28th of February, and built there a small palisade fort, where he left 25 men, including three sick soldiers, and a militia captain named Jolibois to command. He left there the fifth of March following for the Chickasaw country.

When he was about 18 leagues from the Chickasaw villages he sent three Illinois Indians and a Miami Indian to find out whether M. de Bienville had arrived. They reported that they had seen nothing. He took counsel with the Iroquois, who, not trusting in the report of the Illinois, induced him, in order to be more certain, to send for reconnoisance four of their people with four Illinois, a Chickasaw adopted by the Miamis, and a Canadian called Framboise, to learn the position of the Chickasaw fort and the number of their cabins. They reported that they had seen about 15 cabins on a little hill, five or six on another, a small fort about 40 feet long by 30 wide, and that they believed that there might be in that village 30 or 35 cabins more.

M. D'Artaguiette took counsel with all the chiefs of the allies, and asked them what they wished to do. The Illinois and Miami chiefs replied to him that they would rely upon what was decided by the Iroquois, who were cleverer than they were. The Iroquois said that they would do anything that M. D'Artaguiette judged proper. He thanked them, and asked for their judgment. "Since you wish," replied the Iroquois, "to know what we think, we shall tell it to you."

"The march which we have just made, having been longer than we expected, has used up our provisions. We have no more of them, and if we intend to wait for M. De Bienville, who perhaps will not come for ten or eleven days, we run the risk of dying from hunger. To prevent this danger, it is necessary to attack the Chickasaw village which we found. When we have taken it we will find there means of subsistence, and we can entrench ourselves in the fort that we have captured while waiting for M. De Bienville." This plan was good, and M. D'Artaguiette, who approved it, made all his little troop march. He arrived March 24th at nine o'clock in the evening, about a league from the fort of the Chickasaws. He sent four Iroquois to reconnoitre; during their absence there were heard fired several gunshots from the direction of the Chickasaw village; a thing which made them think that perhaps M. De Bienville had come up on the other side.

The four Iroquois spies did not come back until three hours after midnight, and reported that all the Chickasaws were very quiet. The little army began marching again, and came within a half-league of the fort. M. D'Artaguiette ordered the horses which carried the baggage to be unloaded, but the Iroquois thought this place of deposit too far from the place where it was necessary to attack. The horses were reloaded and went on to an eighth of a league from the Chickasaws.

There M. D'Artaguiette placed his powder, munitions and baggage, under the guard of Sieur de Frontigny, ensign, with five soldiers and fifteen habitants. The Reverend Jesuit Father Senat, who acted as Chaplain, also remained at this place. By ground well-sheltered, about 6 to 7 o'clock in the morning of March 25, 1736, M. D'Artaguiette at the head of his officers and his soldiers, numbering 26 men including himself, formed with habitants to the number of 73 the center of the army. The Iroquois, at the head of the Miamis, were at the left, and the Arkansaws, at the head of the Illinois, were at the right.

They marched in this order against the fort of the Chickasaws. At about a gunshot from it, the Illinois and Miamis gave a great war-whoop, and attacked a hill where they thought they saw a few cabins, but there were more beyond on another hill. As the army approached the fort, a chief of the Chickasaws came out with three peace pipes, but the Illinois and Miami Indians fired on him without listening to him, and killed him. Four or five cabins were taken possession of, and the fort was attacked. Immediately the Chickasaws in the fort and the other cabins did not show themselves. They defended themselves wholly through the loopholes. The Iroquois took one scalp, and captured a Tonica woman who was a prisoner among the Chickasaws. The Miamis captured a woman, and the Arkansaws a child.

At the end of a quarter of an hour there appeared on the hills four or five hundred Chickasaws who came to the rescue of their people, which so frightened the Illinois and Miamis that they took flight, in spite of the remonstrances of their chiefs. M. D'Artaguiette, seeing himself abandoned at one stroke by more than 250 Indians, was obliged to call a retreat to the place where the baggage and munitions were. In retiring he had three fingers of his right hand cut off by a bullet. The Chickasaws, encouraged by the flight of the Illinois and Miamis, pursued our little army with great fury, and surrounded it.

M. D'Artaguiette received a second bullet-shot in his thigh, which obliged him to lean against a tree, and there he strove by his words to rouse his troops. Many of those who were near him advised him to save himself. His servant, called Pantaloon, led his horse to him, and tried, with some of the habitants, to induce him to mount, but he insisted on staying to encourage his officers, soldiers and Indians to repulse the Chickasaws. While he was exhorting them he received a third gunshot wound in the abdomen, from which he fell dead.

Despite the death of M. D'Artaguiette, M. De St. Ange, first lieutenant, and the other officers tried hard to repulse the Chickasaws, but they succumbed to the force of numbers, and were most of them killed near the body of M. D'Artaguiette ; the greater part of the officers of the militia perished here also. The small number of soldiers of the troops and militia who remained, seeing themselves without leaders and without officers, were obliged to save themselves. The Chickasaws pursued them for nearly four leagues, and would without doubt have overtaken them and killed them all, if the rain, which fell in great quantity, and which began at ten o'clock in the morning, had not prevented them.

This combat lasted from between six and seven in the morning until nine o'clock. The Iroquois and the Arkansaws behaved splendidly, and there are, owing to their valor and to their care during the retreat, more than twenty wounded soldiers and habitants who would have been killed or made prisoners, whom they aided in carrying to Ecorse à Prudhomme, where the remnant of the army arrived, part on the 29th and the rest on the 30th of March following.

The day after the defeat our people met Sieur de Montcharvaux, who was coming to join M. Artaguiette with 180 Illinois, five soldiers and eight habitants. He turned back and came to Ecorse à Prudhomme. The Illinois, who were the first to take flight, crossed the Mississippi river and returned to their home through the country of the Arkansaws, and have gone by the river to their villages, and the Iroquois accompanied by water our French to the post of the Illinois.

The Tonica woman was interrogated as to the number of the Chickasaws. She said they may be 1000 men in number, 100 Natchez, and 80 Shawnees; that M. D'Artaguiette had been misled by the reports of the spies into supposing that the villages of the Chickasaws were all grouped in one place, where they would be able to give reciprocal aid in case of attack; that what had deceived the spies was that all these villages were on hills which conceal one another, which are surrounded by forests, and of which one cannot learn the number until he is in the midst of them. This woman also said that there were perhaps eight or ten English traders in the fort which M. D'Artaguiette had attacked.

During the attack an Iroquois planted his flag in the ground in the middle of the village; two Englishmen made a sortie from the Chickasaw fort and trampled it under foot. The Iroquois fired on them; some say they were killed on the field, and others that they withdrew.

LIST OF THE DEAD:

OFFICERS OF THE TROOPS,

Messrs. D'Artaguiette, Commandant.
St. Ange, the son, Lieutenant.
Desgly, Lieutenant.
De Vincennes, half -pay Lieutenant.
Coulange, infantry ensign.
De La Graviere, second ensign.

CADETS

Serard.
Desmorieres.
Tonty.
Duclos, the younger.

SOLDIERS

La Croix, corporal.
Francois Léger, called Mauricaut.
Joseph Lelarge, called L'Enclume - (Anvil).
Pierre Guebert, called Courte Oreille - (Short
      Ear - actually made prisoner) .
Pierre Huet, called La Palme.
Pierre David, called Le Breton.
Ives le Libris, called Beaulieu.
Nicholas Beaudran, called La France.
Joseph Duval, called Le Breton.

OFFICERS OF MILITIA AND HABITANTS

Messrs. Desessars, Captain.
Langlois, Lieutenant.
(All three brothers of the officer - ensign- named above)
                                    Bel Ecars la Graviere
                                    Cargueville la Gravier
                                    Richardville la Gravier
St. Cire                   Allart
Carrière                   Bonvillain
Rochefort               Va Deboncoeur
Savot                       Monte Jean
Chauvin                 Masson
Cochon                 Bourmon

PRISONERS

Reverend Father Senat, Jesuit.   
Dutisné, Lieutenant of the Troops.
De la Lande, Captain of Militia.       
                     Sieur Frontigny, second ensign ; he was lost in
                            the flight, and is supposed to have been captured,
or perhaps killed in the woods.

The enemy captured of munitions, 450 pounds of powder, 1200 pounds of bullets, 30 jugs of brandy.

It is estimated that they had about 60 or 70 men killed, and many wounded.

It has been since learned from letters written by Messrs. De La Buissoniere, Commandant, and Delaloere, chief scrivener at the Illinois, that about one or two days journey from the Chickasaw country M. D'Artaguiette had received the letters by which M. De Noyan had told him of the order of M. de Bienville to retard his march, and wait for him in order that they might strike together against the Chickasaws and Natchez; that after the defeat of M. D'Artaguiette, the Chickasaws, who took possession of all their belongings, without doubt found these letters, as well as all those which various persons in New Orleans had written to the Illinois, which were all in one package in one envelope; and they communicated with the English, who consequently have had complete information of the measures and preparations which M. de Bienville was making against these Indians ; this caused them to assemble, to fortify themselves, and to call the English to their aid, in order to be in a condition of resistance to the army which they knew M. de Bienville would lead against them.

Note: I have attempted to reproduce the translated French correspondences as they appear in print, even where there are errors - like spaces between ends of sentence and a semicolon. Those that translated the French hand written manuscripts would probably say the same.

By way of explanation in the first paragraph the Ouabache is the Wabash River which courses in southwestern Indiana and forms part of the state border with Illinois. Fort Vincennes was located on the Ouabache.

Likewise, in the second paragraph, the Illinois Indians that were in their winter quarters were at their deer and beaver hunting camps, which were distanced from their villages (near Fort Chartres), hence they had to be contacted, assembled and transported by boat before joining P. D'Artaguiette's force.

An interesting perspective was noted in paragraph five that the "march … longer than we expected, has used up our provisions." In the French correspondences of French/Chickasaw War of 1739 the journey from Ecorse a Prudhomme to the Chickasaw villages was reported as taking five to six days without baggage. P. D'Artaguiette's march to the Chickasaw villages took 20 days depending on accounts. He advanced slowly as he was waiting to meet and join forces with Bienville, Grandpre and/or Monchervaux. Note too the extended march used up the food that the War Council in Official Account cited the lack of food as reason to attack the Chickasaw village.

A keen observation was made in paragraph six… "the horses which carried the baggage". This is significant given that horses, not oxen and carts, carried the baggage. P. D'Artaguiette's force would have had to clear a path (using axes) for the horses but a wider road would have been required for ox carts. Why is this significant? In the French/Chickasaw War of 1739 neither the French force nor their Indian allies (including Iroquois) at Ecorse a Prudhomme could find P. D'Artaguiette's path to the Chickasaw villages cut three years earlier. The inability to access the Chickasaw villages was one of the major factors that war failed.

In the LIST OF THE DEAD is "de Vincennes, half-pay lieutenant." Sieur de Vincennes was a well known and popular figure in northern Louisiana. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fran%C3%A7ois-Marie_Bissot,_Sieur_de_Vincennes At the time of his death he was Commandant at Fort Vincennes. (Reader beware: With regard to reading the mentioned link… Ogoula Tchetoka was not near Fulton, Ms!)

"St. Ange, the son, Lieutenant" in the "LIST OF THE DEAD: OFFICERS OF THE TROOPS" was Pierre Groston St. Ange de Bellervive. His father was Louis Groston de Saint-Ange de Bellervive. He served as Commandant Fort Vincennes for years and surrendered Fort Chartres to the English. The Bellerive Country Club in St. Louis is named for Pierre Groston St. Ange de Bellervive.

M. De La Buissoneire was Claude-Alphonse de la Buissonneire who was acting commandant at Fort Chartres when P. D'Artaguiette and his force left for Ecorse a Prudhomme. He remained at Fort Chartres during the D'Artaguiette campaign. After D'Artaguiette's death he was appointed Commandant. He began service in Louisiana in 1720. He had a good service record. Delalore in Unknown Account was Marc Antoine de La Loere des Ursins who had served at Fort Rosalie and escaped the Massacre.

A question deserving an answer is who wrote Unknown Account? Most of the account was written from the point of view of a participant; that rules out Bienville. It also references late (It has since been learned …) letters from Messrs. De La Buissoniere, Commandant at Fort Chartres, and Delaloere, his chief scrivener, therefore they aren't the writers. The letters of Buissoniere and Delaloere were probably addressed to Bienville. One must assume that Unknown Account was addressed to Maurepas. Writers to Maurepas other than Bienville during this time include Salmon, the Commissary General of Louisiana, and Diron D'Artaguiette, the Commandant at Mobile and the brother of Pierre D'Artaguiette. Given that the Paris Archive record location is provided below the account title above, it should take little effort by someone with access to tell us who wrote Unknown Account. I strongly suspect Diron D'Artaguiette wrote Unknown Account. After the battle he did not hesitate to blame Bienville's poor planning for his brother's defeat and death.

There are several Unknown Account matters that differentiate it compared to Official Account. First is the lengthy and morbid LIST OF THE DEAD. Not only is the list detailed by group and name, but also the writer has included nicknames of the soldiers! This demonstrates an esprit du corps that only someone close to the soldiers would know, like De La Buissoniere and Delaloere.

Note the Unknown Account states that P. D'Artaguiette received Bienville's letters/orders "about one or two day journey from the Chickasaw country." The key is what is meant by Chickasaw country. The Chickasaw would tell you it meant Ecorse a Prudhomme and the Mississippi River. What did it mean to the French? You could guess that the French did not recognize the Chickasaw country as expansive territory rather it spoke of the immediate area of their villages. Where the order was received will take second fiddle to what the order stated.

As we read above in Unknown Account Bienville's order to P. D'Artaguiette was "to retard his march, and wait for him in order that they might strike together against the Chickasaws and Natchez." Wherever P. D'Artaguiette was on the campaign when the order arrived, the order "to wait for him" was different from what Bienville wrote in Official Account, "urging him to take his measures accordingly." Which order was received? If the former order was received, P. D'Artaguiette should have immediately returned to Ecorse a Prudhomme. If the latter, the decision was P. D'Artaguiette's whether to attack or to retreat. Which order did P. D'Artaguiette receive? I think Bienville's order was to retard his march and wait. Although De la Bussoinneire or de La Loere were non-combatants in the campaign, they would have heard details from the surviving combatants when they returned to Fort Chartres. What reason(s) did either have to lie about what Bienville's last order was? Other than Bienville who knew what the order was? M. de Noyan knew the order. M. de Noyan sent the couriers who carried the orders to P. D'Artaguiette. Would you believe that he was Bienville's nephew? Pierre-Jacques Payen (sometimes Payan) de Noyan had an illustrious military career in Louisiana and Canada. At this time he was a Captain. He later achieved the rank of Major and was awarded Chevalier de St. Louis. He was second in command to Bienville in the Southern Force. He spent some time in France and gained the respect of Maurepas. Did Messrs. De La Buissoniere and Delaloere know what the orders were? Is that why they wrote letters? To set the record straight?

It is interesting that Official Account did not deliver the French or Chickasaw order of battle or their positions and strategy. Unknown Account provided the French plan, "M. D'Artaguiette at the head of his officers and his soldiers, numbering 26 men including himself, formed with habitants to the number of 73 the center of the army. The Iroquois, at the head of the Miamis, were at the left, and the Arkansaws, at the head of the Illinois, were at the right." The French demonstrated a structured, predictable offense, just as if they were engaging a European opponent i.e. forces arrayed center, left and right. Their Indian allies were not accustomed to fighting in the open or in structured formations. What about the Chickasaw plan? The Chickasaw and English traders remained in their fort and cabins, "Immediately the Chickasaws in the fort and the other cabins did not show themselves. They defended themselves wholly through the loopholes." But the Chickasaw plan had another significant element, "At the end of a quarter of an hour there appeared on the hills four or five hundred Chickasaws who came to the rescue of their people." Did the English help defend their Chickasaw allie's plan of the order of battle? Certainly the accounts mention a number of English in the fort and cabins. Yes, of course the English traders not only helped but also participated in the Chickasaw defense. As we read from the Unknown Account when the large force engaged the French, they were routed.

The Third Account:

The following correspondence provides another account of P. D'Artaguiette's campaign. It is clearly attributed to Parisien, a lower ranked French officer or Anspessade, to an unknown recipient. To distinguish this account, let's call it "Parisien Account."

ACCOUNT OF THE MARCH AND OF THE DEFEAT
OF D'ARTAGUIETTE, BY PARISIEN

From Paris, National Archives; Colonies; F. 3, 24; folios 256-7

Recountal of the defeat of the French army which left the Illinois country under the command of M. D'Artaguiette, Major, to go against our enemies the Chickasaws, by the said Parisien, Anspessade, who escaped; of the overthrow of the army, composed of 130 French, towit: 41 regulars, including the commandant, the officers, sergeants and corporals ; 99 volunteers of the militia, including the officers ; 38 Iroquois, brave men who stood firm; 38 Arkansaws; 190 Illinois and Miami Indians, making 396 men.

It left the Illinois country on February 20 ; arrived at Ecorse à Prudhomme the 23d of the same month; left there the 25th to proceed to the country of the Chickasaws, where it arrived the 25th of March, Palm Sunday, when it attacked the enemy. The Illinois and Miamis, as soon as they saw the army in the fight, took flight, in order to avenge, as they said, the death of one called Duhalies de Fer, one of their chiefs, whom a Frenchman had killed the summer preceding. The flight of the Indians leaving our forces too inferior to those of our enemies, who were before this already greater in number, made M. D'Artaguiette determine to call a retreat, in order to join the powder guard, which he had left a quarter of a league from the enemy, who pursued the French to that place with so great fury that they killed 42 to 45 of them, of whom the most notable are -
      M. D'Artaguiette, Commandant, who received three
gunshot wounds, the first in the hand, the second in the
thigh, and the third through the body.
      M. De Saint Ange, the son, first lieutenant.
      M. Vincennes, sublieutenant.
      M. De Coulange, infantry ensign.
      M. Lagranier, second ensign.
      M. Contigny, ensign.
      Six cadets.

OFFICERS OF THE MILITIA

      M. Des Essarts, captain.
      M. Estaing Langlois, lieutenant.
      M. Carrier, the senior.

PRISONERS (enslaved)

      The reverend Jesuit Father Senat, chaplain.
      M. Dutisnay, infantry officer.
      Lalande, captain of militia.
      Five or six soldiers.

The enemy enhanced their victory by gaining possession of powder to the amount of 450 pounds, 1200 pounds of bullets, 30 jugs of brandy, 11 horses, and all the provisions and clothes which individual soldiers, or Frenchmen of the militia had. Those who escaped fled with only the clothing they had on, and were pursued all day ; and, but for a rain which lasted from ten o'clock in the morning till seven in the evening, there would not have been a single Frenchman saved.

The village of the Chickasaws, where all of the nation were assembled when the army attacked it, it is in the shape of a horseshoe. It is so large that we had trouble in finding the entrance to it. There were many English there, traders and others, who had the audacity of coming to tear down and trample upon the French flag which an Iroquois had set up near their fort. They were repaid for their insults ; two were killed on the field.

The said Parisien reports that there were on the way to join M. D'Artaguiette, M. De Monchervau, with 60 men, and M. De Grandpre, commandant at the Arkansaws, with 120 men, who, having heard of the defeat of the army, turned back. He adds that the Chickasaws lost more men killed than the French, in the battle, which lasted from daybreak until nine o'clock. Others report that there were among the Chickasaws a considerable reinforcement of Cherokees, devoted to the English, at whose request these Indians had come ; which agrees with the information which several Choctaws gave M. De Bienville, as well as myself.

While Parisien Account stated in the title to be "By Parisien", it concluded with "which several Choctaws gave M. De Bienville, as well as myself." Parisien obviously gave his account to the writer. So, who penned Parisien Account? Like Unknown Account the Parisien Account had to be penned by someone who was both close to Bienville, the Choctaws and who knew Maurepas. I suggest Diron D'Artaguiette. Someone close to the French archives at Mississippi Archives and History should be able to answer this quickly. Note: The name Parisien is in all likelihood a nickname of one of the militia or habitants from Fort Chartres.

Parisien Account does not mention any late Bienville orders reaching P. D'Artaguiette on the march like Official Account and Unknown Account. In fact, there are few details of the force's march or battle. Like Official Account and Unknown Account, Parisien Account indicated that neither Monchervau nor Grandpre joined the march or participated in the battle.

Both Official Account and Unknown Account indicate the Miami and Illinois Indian allies of the Northern force took flight at the sight of hundreds of approaching Chickasaw. The Parisien Account provides an answer as to why they took flight…
"in order to avenge, as they said, the death of one called Duhalies de Fer, one of their chiefs, whom a Frenchman had killed the summer preceding." Bienville didn't report this in his Official Account. You can imagine that the Fort Chartres militia offered a reason for their loss (which did not blame their superiors). From the perspective of the Indian allies that seems like a great distance for a large group of Indians to travel for revenge.

Parisien Account added to the attacked village description that it was in "the shape of a horseshoe" and "so large that we had trouble in finding the entrance to it."

Among the notable dead reported is "M. De Coulange, infantry ensign." He was Pierre Louis Petit de Coulange who in 1731 was Commandant of Arkansas Post and responsible for the major expansion thereof. His daughter, Marie-Françoise Antoinette Petit de Coulange, was born there. She became an aristocrat in New Orleans. We will have more about her later. We have stated that Sieur de Coulange was punished for disobeying Bienville's order to transport powder from Arkansas Post to Fort Chartres.

The Fourth Account:

The following account we will deem the Richardville Account. Note the correspondence date is more than three years after P. D'Artaguiette's defeat! How can this be one of Bienville's accounts? Trust me, it is. Sieur de Richardville was not the writer of the correspondence though he provided its content. We do not know to whom the correspondence was addressed. However, with the French Archives record designations, it will not take much effort to discover. Yes, this is another document from the Indiana Historical Society via "Indiana's First War."

In my opinion Richardville Account reads better than a Hollywood script. Sieur Drouet de Richardville was a French officer and participant in the battle who received three wounds at the hands of the Chickasaw. He had three brothers killed in the battle, was held prisoner for one and one-half years, escaped, captured by English traders, and emancipated by the Governor of Georgia. Afterwards he apparently walked to Montreal. This report was written after he arrived in Montreal.

REPORT OF RICHARDVILLE ON D'ARTAGUIETTE'S
EXPEDITION AGAINST THE CHICKASAWS

June 10, 1739

From Paris, National Archives, Colonies, F 3 24, folios 252-4.

Sr. Drouet de Richardville who took part in the expedition of M. D'Artaguiette against the Chickasaws in March, 1736, arrived in Montreal June 10th, 1739, by way of Fort St. Frederic, conducted by Sr. D'Artigny.

He reports that in March, 1736, in D'Artaguiette's attack, three of his brothers were killed and he himself suffered two gunshot wounds, one in the left arm and the other in the abdomen, and an arrow wound in the right wrist, which did not keep him from defending himself. He was captured while fighting, by three Chickasaws, who brought him into the village, a quarter league distant from the field of battle, with twenty-two Frenchmen, of whom twenty were burned, among whom were-

      Father Senat, a Jesuit.
Messrs.
D'Artaguiette,
De Vincennes,
De Coulanges,
De St. Ange, the son,
Du Tisné,
D'Esgly,
De Tonty, the cadet (younger son).

These gentlemen were burned, along with the Reverend Father, from three in the afternoon until about midnight. The other French burned were officers and soldiers of the militia.

Sieur de Courselas, or Coustillas, an officer of Louisiana, was burned three days later in the Grand Village, with an Iroquois from Sault St. Louis. Said Sieur de Courselas had been made guard of the powder, with thirty five men, and, having lost his way, went to the village of the Chickasaws, not knowing where he was going. The thirty five French retreated, otherwise Sieur de Richardville might have known what became of them.

Sieur de Richardville was led away, and put in the cabin of the chief of the village of Jantalla, where he was watched for six months by the young men; after which he lived with full liberty among the Chickasaws and hunted with them.

After eighteen months stay among the Indians he escaped from the village with one called Pierre de Courtoreille, a soldier of the garrison of the Illinois, by the help of an English trader, who told them the route they should take; and having made forty leagues they met some English traders from Georgia, who took them to Mr. James Oglethorpe, Commandant in chief of the troops of his British majesty, who ransomed them from the Chickasaw Indians who came to claim them. He gave him a passport the twenty seventh of September, 1738 (displayed by Sieur de Richardville) which permitted him to pass through Virginia and from Virginia into Canada.

Pierre de Courte Oreille had to embark in Georgia to join his family in Paris, and Sieur de Richardville went through Carolina, Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York, Albany, Fort St. Frederick, and finally to Montreal.

Sieur de Richardville reports that from Ecorse a Prudhomme, stretching eastward, there are nine Chickasaw villages, at two, three and four arpents distant from one another. The Grand Village is a half league from these, beyond a village of the Natchez, which is near. There were there at that time about six hundred warriors, including the Natchez, who are in small number. There are nine forts for the nine villages, and around, outside these forts, are the cabins.

The forts are square, without bastions, fifty or sixty feet across the front. The enclosure is of posts, reaching seven or eight feet above, propped up at the back by forked stakes. These posts are redoubled, and are pierced with loop-holes; they are set two and a half feet in the ground, and they cannot be thrown down either from the inside or the outside. The cabins, which are around these forts, are round, made of oak posts, covered with mud in the shape of a dome, and covered over that with straw; the interstices are filled with mud; the doorways are so low and narrow that one can only enter sidewise and stooping; there is nothing underground; the floor is level with the ground. There is no opening except the door.

There are no streams in any of the villages ; they have only some springs where they make wells which supply them water. These Indians do not raise much maize, and live by the chase. Generally seven or eight go together and at night they come together and sleep in ravines of cane, and for fear of a surprise attack they make no fire. They have a great many horses; the women use them just as the men do. There is many a cabin where there are at least six of them. Forage may be found everywhere. All the warriors have guns, powder, and bullets, which the English furnish them in exchange for furs, but since the affair of M. D'Artaguiette and that of M. de Bienville, they do not go on the great hunt.

Sieur de Richardville says that these Indians told him many times that if the French desired peace they had only to come with a pavilion, a peace pipe, and wampum to mark the road which they would make; and that if the French came to an agreement with them, they would surrender the Natchez to M. de Bienville, without him troubling himself about it. The Natchez live with the Chickasaws, and are treated as slaves. They make them work, dig, etc. There are about forty of them in their villages.

The Chickasaws have for allies and friends the Cherokees, who are about four days journey from them. They come from time to time to smoke the peace-pipe with them, an event which occurred twice during Sieur de Richardville s sojourn there. There was always to be seen, as long as he remained there, an English trader, with three, four, or five men employed, in each village. The Chickasaws are always distrustful; the chiefs tell the young men every evening to place their guns opposite their heads. They often said that they knew well that the French would eat them, and that they will eat many of them first.

The nine villages are in a plain cut by several little ridges; from one east hill the wood has a good range for gunshot, and from the other east one the prairie; however the first two villages which one comes to, after leaving Ecorse a Prudhomme to go there, are much farther away from the wood. From the Ecorse a Prudhomme to the nine villages, Sieur de Richardville thinks must be sixty leagues, road good and bad, the ground low and overgrown with ash.

The Chickasaws make no use of their horses in warfare, but it was told Sieur de Richardville many times that when the French came to besiege them they would keep them in their forts to use for food in their need. These people said that they had lost only one man in M. Bienville s attack, and in that of M. D'Artaguiette twenty were killed and thirty were wounded.

Ten Missasaugas who arrived from near the Chickasaws brought a prisoner and three scalps.

Pierre de Courtoreille and Sieur de Richardville were prisoners of and held captive by the Chickasaw. Pierre de Courtoreille was identified in Unknown Account LIST OF THE DEAD/SOLDIERS as Pierre Guebert nicknamed "Short Ear." Per the Richardville Account Short Ear made it home to Paris.

Sieur Drouet de Richardville was identified as the "ensign above" in Unknown Account in the OFFICERS OF THE TROOPS: or "De La Graviere, second ensign". Richardville was Michel-Ignace Drouet de Baudricourt (Richerville) who after his return to Montreal made his way to Fort Vincennes. In addition he was a French soldier and a merchant and trader with the Miami Indians. His brothers who died in the battle were Dennis-Didier Drouet de Richerville. Etienne Drouet de Belecort (de Richerville) and Louis Drouet de Richerville (de la Graviere). The Drouet brothers were French officers as well as Indian traders at Mackinac, Ouiatanon, Detroit and Kaskaskia. Dennis-Didier's son married Tacumwah, a Miami headwoman and business woman. Richerville desendants were prolific and rulers of the Miami.

While the Richardville Account provided little information about the battle (obviously that information was dated when Drouet de Richardville reached Montreal in 1738), it provides a wealth of intelligence about the number of Chickasaw and Natchez villages, their fortifications and their allies. In short, while a Chickasaw captive, Richardville made mental notes, as a good military officer should, and reported same once he reached safety of Montreal.

Richardville Account provided a Chickasaw strategy to protect their horses from the French and potentially have the horses available as an emergency food source, "The Chickasaws make no use of their horses in warfare, but it was told Sieur de Richardville many times that when the French came to besiege them they would keep them in their forts to use for food in their need." This is a sound tactic that the Chickasaw, probably with the aid of their English traders, developed.

Richardville, given his period of stay and freedom among the Chickasaws, gave details of their villages and forts. He states, "there are nine Chickasaw villages" and "there are nine forts for the nine villages". How do these numbers compare to De Batz's September 1737 map of the Chickasaw villages? See Paper 1 Figure 8. Richardville Account also presented excellent construction descriptions of the forts and fortified cabins of the Chickasaw.

Additional Correspondence:

We have one more French correspondence which is not an account of D'Artaguiette's campaign although it is mentioned. This letter is also from "Indiana's First War" Indiana Historical Society.

LETTER OF M. DE CREMONT TO THE MINISTER
1737

Paris Arch. Nat. Colonies F 2 24, Fos. 250, 251.

I have had the honor of informing you of our arrival at the Cape the 13th of last month. Our stay was of only five days, which were spent in replacing the water and wood that we had used since our departure from France. This provision made, we left the 17th of January for Balize, where we anchored the fourth of this month, which makes eighteen days of voyage from the Cape here, which, with 47 days from France to Santo Domingo, makes sixty-five, not counting the stay at the Cape. We would have arrived here in fifteen days if we had not been held back by the north-west winds from the tropic till here. We were astonished to find this kind of wind so obstinate in these latitudes, but our surprise was lessened on our arrival here when we learned that they have prevailed since October.

The stubbornness of these winds misled the judgment of our pilots, because they have caused the changing of the gulf streams, which, instead of bearing to the east, as they usually do at this season, carried us on the contrary in the opposite direction, and far from landing at the middle of Ste. Roye island, about fifty leagues to the east of the mouth of the river, as we should, following the course from the north which we had taken, we found ourselves five leagues west of Balize, which was the first land that we had seen. These, Monseigneur, are the most important happenings of our trip.

As I arrived here, Monseigneur, only two days ago, I have not yet been able to look into the present situation of this colony in connection with the Indians. M. de Bienville has told me that it would be absolutely impossible to go to attack the Chickasaws this year, and that this enterprise could not be accomplished sooner than in eighteen months.

It has not been found true, as was believed at first, that M. D'Artaguiette and all his officers were killed on the field of battle. Wounded by three gunshots, he was captured with some of his officers, also wounded, Father Senat, and some soldiers and habitants, the whole to the number of nineteen; and an Indian girl, an eye witness, who had been a slave among the Chickasaws, being rescued from them by the Alabamas, M. de Bienville had her come here, and she reported that on the same day as the attack, M. D'Artaguiette, his officers, Father Senat the Jesuit priest, and the other prisoners to the number of seventeen altogether, were thrown alive into two different fires which the Indian women had prepared. And when they burned them, she assured us also that, during the preparation of this barbarous tragedy, our French sang, in the same manner as the Indians, who judge the valor of a warrior only by the strength or weakness of his voice at the time when they are about to put him to death.

The Chickasaws have kept alive the other two prisoners, who are believed to be habitants, in order to exchange them for the Chickasaw named Courserai, whom M. de Bienville has kept prisoner during the war. This exchange will take place in order that we may gain from these two men a clear idea of the present situation of the Indians, and the position of their strongholds. The exchange will be made through the Alabamas who will send two of their warriors to the Chickasaws as hostages. When the two Frenchmen are surrendered to them, M. de Bienville will send Courserai to the Alabamas in return for the French, and the Alabamas will get back their two men on giving up Courserai to the Chickasaws, a thing which must be done at once. These, Monseigneur, are the bits of news which have come to my knowledge since my arrival here.

I expect to leave for Mobile in two weeks, and I will have the honor of informing Monseigneur on the return of the King's ship, of the state in which I find that department.

De Crémont.

In the first paragraph De Cremont mentioned Balize. Balize was a small French fort located in the delta of the Mississippi River situated on the southeast pass. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Balize,_Louisiana By referencing Balize, De Cremont meant his ship was bound for New Orleans upriver from Balize.

De Cremont stated that "an Indian girl, an eye witness, who had been a slave among the Chickasaws, being rescued from them by the Alabamas." Since the girl was an eye witness, she would have been rescued after the battle. Further we read the girl had been taken to Bienville (in New Orleans judging by the mention of Balize). Why was she taken from Fort Toulouse near Montgomery, Alabama to Bienville in New Orleans? She had intimate knowledge of the situation of the Chickasaw villages, their forts, the Natchez and English traders. Surely Bienville, who was planning his next war against the Chickasaw, was anxious to debrief the girl.

It is interesting that the Indian girl said that P. D'Artaguiette survived the battle, only to be burned at the stake like most of the prisoners. Sieur de Richardville indicated that P. D'Artaguiette had survived the battle as well.

De Cremont also gives some insight into the two prisoners of the Chickasaw. He indicated that the Alabama Indians were to broker a trade for French held Chickasaw captive. Obviously the trade did not work as Richardville Account explains how the captives, Pierre Guebert and Sieur Drouet de Richardville escaped the Chickasaw.

Conclusions and Thoughts:

1.Bienville's plan for coordinated attacks of the northern and southern forces was sound. However, his selection of the time of year for the coordinated attacks couldn't have been worse. Historically the driest weather in north Mississippi occurs September thru October. The spring of the year brings the highest rainfall making the rivers dangerous for boating and footing unstable for man or beast. In short, Bienville should have waited for the fall.

2. In Official Account Bienville wrote that he had "difficulty in reconciling all the accounts" of the Campaign. Including Official Account we have read four accounts. I can state among the accounts there was general consensus of the French losses: men, baggage, horses, powder, bullets and Bienville's letters/orders to P. D'Artaguiette. But there are significant differences among the accounts.

3. The Official Account and Unknown Account each provide Bienville's last orders. But the orders given in the two accounts conflict. The orders conflict as to directive from Bienville and when P. D'Artaguiette received same. In Official Account the order was for P. D'Artaguiette "to take his measures accordingly." In Unknown Account Bienville's order was for P. D'Artaguiette 'to retard his march and wait for him." As I stated earlier, I believe the order in Unknown Account was the order sent. Why would P. D'Artaguiette disobey the order to retard and wait? Fame? Glory? Lack of food? Again my justifications for the order being "to retard and wait" are the late letters from Sieurs Buissonneire and de La Loere addressed in the Unknown Account. As officers at Fort Chartres they would have heard the truth from the surviving combatants. If the order was "to retard and wait", why did Bienville lie to Maurepas in the Official Account? Perhaps Bienville felt his letter was for Maurepas' eyes only?

4. Within fifteen minutes of the battle's start a huge party (army) of Chickasaw warriors emerged on a nearby hill. The Chickasaw villages were located in prairies (plains per Richardville) which were sparsely wooded. So a large force of Chickasaw would be quite visible and probably noisy. The sight of the Chickasaw in such numbers caused the Illinois and Miamis to break ranks and run. Or was there another reason they ran? The Parisien Account indicated there was. It was to avenge the French for the death of one of their chiefs. Would the Illinois and Miamis travel so far for revenge? The Choctaw had no issue avenging the death of their Great Chief's son against the Chickasaw, see MPA I 245. Whether revenge or other reasons, the Illinois and Miamis deserted the field of battle leaving their French allies exposed. The Chickasaw tactic of producing an overwhelming force worked. When the Chickasaw force attacked, the French retreat was on.

5. Regards the French/Chickasaw War of 1736, I find it fascinating and ironic that both P. D'Artaguiette's and Bienville's final plan of attack on the eve of battle was suggested by their Indian allies. In the case of P. D'Artaguiette it was the Iroquois. In the case of Bienville, it was the Choctaw.

6. I do not understand why Sieur de Grandpre who had the larger part of the Arkansas Indians failed to participate in the battle. What was Grandpre waiting on? P. D'Artaguiette's order to join him? Perhaps Sieur de Grandpre decided it wasn't his fight? Perhaps P. D'Artaguiette didn't think he needed him?

7. The loss of 1700 pounds of powder by DuCoder probably cost P. D'Artaguiette the battle.

8. P. D'Artaguiette's loss of baggage including 450 pounds of powder, 1200 pounds of bullets and Bienville's orders significantly contributed to the defeat of Bienville's Southern Force and thus the loss of French/Chickasaw War of 1736.

9. If the reader desires to experience this battle location, visit Tennessee Valley Authority offices on Brooks Road, Tupelo.

10. While Official Account does not mention how many Chickasaw forts were attacked, the Unknown Account, Parisien Account and Richardville Account agreed. The attacked village had one fort. From the De Batz map, see Paper 1 Figure 8, we know the attacked village was Ogoula Tchetoka, and it had one fort. Also De Batz letter MPA I 357 confirms there is one fort for each village (on the map).

11. The details regarding Chickasaw village fortifications: forts and fortified cabins in the Richardville Account dated June 10, 1739 would have circulated among the French leadership in Canada and Louisiana who planned the French/Chickasaw War of 1739. The French began assembling troops and supplies near Ecorse a Prudhomme in August 1739.

12. The Indian slave girl who DeCremont in 1737 indicated would meet with Bienville probably was debriefed also by Diron D'Artaguiette who was instrumental in gathering intelligence for the French/Chickasaw War of 1739, see MPA I 241.

13. Why did the Chickasaw allow Drouet de Richardville and Pierre Guebert to live? Why were they not burned with the other French? Were they interviewed and discovered to have needed skills? Were they valuable as prisoners for exchange? Why was Richardville saved by the Chickasaw? He was a trader with the Miami and likely an Algonquin speaker.

14. As to the number of Chickasaw killed in the battle, perhaps the French accounts exaggerated. The Parisien Account indicated, "that the Chickasaws lost more men killed than the French." However, Sieur Drouet de Richardville stated the Chickasaw killed, "twenty were killed and thirty were wounded."

15. Richardville Account also documented, "The Chickasaws have for allies and friends the Cherokees." Parisien Account confirmed via Choctaw sources that a considerable number of Cherokees were present for the battle. If you were to go into the weeds reading (studying) MPA, you would find Bienville correspondences from the mid 1730s and beyond raising the alarm to Maurepas that the English traders were combining the forces of their Chickasaw and Cherokee allies. The prospect of combined Chickasaw and Cherokee forces tormentd the French.

16. All of the accounts agree that the Natchez were living among the Chickasaw. The number of Natchez varied. It is not known how many Natchez participated in the battle.

17. All of the accounts agree that the English traders were present in numbers. The English traders were active participants in the battle.

18. Recall in the earliest parts of this Musing we addressed that Bienville's war with the Chickasaw started years before the formal battles of 1736. To his credit Bienville was an expert communicator with the Indian tribes of Louisiana. He motivated his allied Indian tribes with gifts to the headmen and chiefs especially the nearby and populace Choctaw. To motivate the warriors he implemented a lucrative Chickasaw scalp bounty program. The result was French inspired and sometimes French led raids beginning in 1720. The impacts on the Chickasaw were dramatic. Look at Paper 1 Figure 5 which demonstrates the extent of the Chickasaw villages in 1720. Notice the shaded village of Yaneka on Chiwapa Creek. Earlier we stated that it was attacked by the Choctaw in 1722. After Yaneka fell, the Coonewah Creek villages were vulnerable to attacks from the south. One by one the Coonewah Creek villages moved north with Chatelaw being the last, but it was raided in 1734 (and moved north). Likewise the villages of Tchoukaffala, Apeony and Aekeia consolidated to the northern extent of its prairie. Paper 1 Figure 7 provides what the consolidated villages looked like in 1733. The French/Chickasaw Wars of 1736 stimulated further village consolidation, for mutual protection, see Paper 1 Figure 9. So, Bienville's organization and planning of the raids worked from the French perspective; the Chickasaw were significantly impacted.

But for all his skills organizing Indian raids, Bienville was not a field commander. He lacked experience. In future Musings we will see how Bienville performed in his battle/wars with the Chickasaw in 1736 and 1739.

The End or The Beginning:

While writing this Musing, I took some diversions; after all I am retired. I will share two.

Remember Sieur de Coulange who was killed in the battle? Remember we wrote that his daughter was born at the Arkansas Post in 1731, and we indicated that she became an aristocrat in New Orleans? After the death of her second husband she found that she needed to travel to France to settle his accounts. Per Tulane University Digital Library French Colonial Judicial records we find that she petitioned the Superior Council of Louisiana to appoint a guardian for her two minor children while she was away. On July 10, 1758 the court appointed M. de Grandpre, the girls' uncle, as their guardian. Could this be our Grandpre? It very well could be as our Grandpre, Louis Antoine Boucher de Grandpre, died in New Orleans July 1, 1763. But were Coulange and Grandpre related? Does that account for their trading company at the Arkansas Post?

There is more… one of Sieur de Grandpre's daughters was Charlotte-Constance Boucher de Grandpre who married Jean-Antoine Gayarre. At least one of their sons and grandsons were famous. Their grandson, Charles-Etienne Arthur Gayarre, wrote History of Louisiana in 1854. Ironically, Charles Gayarre penned yet another account of P. D'Artaguiette's campaign (lacking references). Sieur de Grandpre's great grandson was Charles Gayarre!

Could Sieurs de Coulange or de Grandpre ever have wondered, even fantasized, about their legacies?

In all likelihood there are many more stories hiding in the French Colonial records of Louisiana.

Regards from Tupelo,
Steve Cook
April 01, 2021