Battle of La Prairie
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Battle of La Prairie | |||||||
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Part of King William's War and the Beaver Wars | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
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Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Louis-Hector de Callière, Philippe Clément du Vuault de la Valrennes | Major Pieter Schuyler | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
700-800 marines, militia and First Nations allies | 120 Albany militia, 146 Mohawk and Mahican allies | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
45 killed 60 wounded |
37 dead | ||||||
Official name | Second Battle of Laprairie National Historic Site of Canada | ||||||
Designated | 1921 |
The Battle of La Prairie (August 11, 1691) was an attack made on the settlement of La Prairie, New France (now Province of Quebec, Canada), a frontier settlement not far from Montreal. An English and Iroquois force came north from Albany, New York to attack Montreal, but was repulsed with significant casualties by the French and their Indian allies.
Background[]
During the summer of 1691 a force led by Major Pieter Schuyler invaded the French settlements along the Richelieu River south of Montreal. Louis-Hector de Callière, the local French governor, responded by massing 700-800 French and allies at Fort Laprairie, on the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River.
Battle[]
Schuyler surprised the much larger French force in a rainstorm just before dawn on August 11, inflicting severe casualties before withdrawing towards the Richelieu. Schuyler's force might have remained intact but instead was intercepted by the force of 160 men led by Philippe Clément du Vuault de la Valrennes that had been detached to block the road to Chambly. The two sides fought in vicious hand-to-hand combat for approximately an hour, before Schuyler's force broke through and escaped.
Aftermath[]
The French had suffered the most casualties during Schuyler's initial ambush, but the casualties the Albany force suffered after Valrennes' counterattack meant that they had incurred the greater proportion of loss. Instead of continuing his raids, Schuyler was forced to retreat back to Albany.
The battle was also the subject of a 19th-century poem by William Douw Schuyler-Lighthall. In 1921, the site of Valrennes' counterattack was designated a National Historic Site of Canada.[1]
Notes[]
- ^ Second Battle of Laprairie. Directory of Federal Heritage Designations. Parks Canada. Retrieved 22 April 2012.
References[]
- Eccles, W.J. (1979) [1969]. "Clément du Vuault de Valrennes, Philippe". In Hayne, David (ed.). Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Vol. II (1701–1740) (online ed.). University of Toronto Press.
- Pell, John H. G. (1979) [1969]. "Schuyler, Peter(1657-1723/24)". In Hayne, David (ed.). Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Vol. II (1701–1740) (online ed.). University of Toronto Press.
- "The Battle of La Prairie", by W.D. Schuyler-Lighthall
- "A Costly Raid Against Montreal". Canadian Military History Gateway. Government of Canada. 1 June 2017.
Further reading[]
- Chartrand, René; Canadian Military Heritage Vol. 1: 1000 - 1754; 1993, Art Global, ISBN 2-920718-49-5
- Adams, Arthur G. The Hudson Through the Years Fordham University Press, 1996. ISBN 978-0-8232-1677-2
- King William's War
- Battles involving Canada
- Conflicts in Quebec
- 17th century in Canada
- 1691 in Canada
- La Prairie, Quebec
- Battles of the Beaver Wars
- 17th century in Quebec
- 1691 in New France