French-Chickasaw War of 1736 notebook
Collection — Folder: S1556
Identifier: S1556
Scope and Contents
This notebook contains handwritten transcriptions of documents from the Archives Nationales in Paris, France, transcribed in 1924, relating to the war between the French and the Chickasaw Indians in 1736 in New France in North America. The records include accounts of the French troops' expedition against the Chickasaw Nation, given on June 28, 1736, and on March [May] 27, 1736, by Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville; a 1736 letter from Monsieur de Cremont to the minister; two accounts of the defeat of Pierre D'Artaguiette at the Chickasaw village of Ogoula Tchetoka on March [May] 25, 1736; and a report by Lord Drouet de Richarville on June 10, 1736 concerning these events. The records include a list of officers and soldiers who died in the conflict.
Dates
- 1736, 1924
Creator
Language of Materials
Materials in French and English.
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
Legal title, copyright, and literary rights reside with Rare Books and Manuscripts, Indiana State Library, Indianapolis, IN. All requests to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted to Rare Books and Manuscripts.
Biographical Note
A French army officer and veteran of the Natchez wars, Pierre D'Artaguiette was appointed major-commandant of Upper Louisiana, based at Fort de Chartres (located in Randolph County, Illinois today). D'Artaguiette led the offensive against the Chickasaw village of Ogoula Tchetoka on May 25, 1736. He was thrice-wounded in battle, having taken two bullets to the left arm and lower abdoment and an arrow to the right wrist. Defeated by the Chickasaw, D'Artaguiette, along with at least 22 Frenchmen, including officers, soldiers, and a Jesuit priest, was captured and executed by burning on the day of battle, according to transcribed reports in the collection.
Born in Montreal, Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville (1680-1767), sometimes known as the "Father of Louisiana," served France as a naval officer and explorer in his youth. He officially became governor of Louisiana in 1732, a region of New France in North America. Bienville mastered Mobilian Jargon, the Muskogean trade language used primarily by the Chickasaw and Choctaw peoples, making him the only governor in New France to communicate with Native peoples without using an interpreter. His governorship was characterized by a policy of fortification, trade concerns, the import of enslaved Africans, crop experimentation, natural disasters, and two disastrous expeditions against the Chickasaw (1736, 1739-1740) under his leadership. Bienville retired in 1743 and lived in Paris, France until his death on March, 7, 1767.
Sources:
Items in the collection.
Library of Congress. "Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville." Global Gateway. Accessed July 17, 2015. http://international.loc.gov/intldl/fiahtml/fiatheme2c4.html.
O'Neill, C.E. "Le Moyne de Bienville, Jean-Baptiste." Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Accessed July 17, 2015. http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio.php?id_nbr=1486.
Wallace, Joseph. The History of Illinois and Louisiana Under the French Rule; Embracing a General View of the French Dominion in North America with Some Account of the English Occupation of Illinois. Cincinatti: R. Clarke, 1897. Accessed July 17, 2015. https://archive.org/details/historyillinois01wallgoog.
Born in Montreal, Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville (1680-1767), sometimes known as the "Father of Louisiana," served France as a naval officer and explorer in his youth. He officially became governor of Louisiana in 1732, a region of New France in North America. Bienville mastered Mobilian Jargon, the Muskogean trade language used primarily by the Chickasaw and Choctaw peoples, making him the only governor in New France to communicate with Native peoples without using an interpreter. His governorship was characterized by a policy of fortification, trade concerns, the import of enslaved Africans, crop experimentation, natural disasters, and two disastrous expeditions against the Chickasaw (1736, 1739-1740) under his leadership. Bienville retired in 1743 and lived in Paris, France until his death on March, 7, 1767.
Sources:
Items in the collection.
Library of Congress. "Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville." Global Gateway. Accessed July 17, 2015. http://international.loc.gov/intldl/fiahtml/fiatheme2c4.html.
O'Neill, C.E. "Le Moyne de Bienville, Jean-Baptiste." Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Accessed July 17, 2015. http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio.php?id_nbr=1486.
Wallace, Joseph. The History of Illinois and Louisiana Under the French Rule; Embracing a General View of the French Dominion in North America with Some Account of the English Occupation of Illinois. Cincinatti: R. Clarke, 1897. Accessed July 17, 2015. https://archive.org/details/historyillinois01wallgoog.
Historical Note
The war between the Chickasaw and the French in 1736 consisted of two battles in present-day Tupelo, Mississippi. The governor of French Louisiana, Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, ordered the attacks against the Chickasaw in the spring of 1736.
Louisiana, a province of New France in North America, spanned most of the drainage basin of the Mississippi River from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico. It was divided into two sections, Upper and Lower Louisiana. Upper Louisiana, also known as Illinois Country, consisted of French terrirory in today's U.S. states of Illinois, Indiana, and Missouri. Lower Louisiana comprised much of the present-day states of Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. The Chickasaw people's lands bisected France's colony making travel between Upper and Lower Lousiana hazardous for French travelers, particularly as the Chickasaw frequently traded with the English, France's long-standing rival. In addition, the Chickasaw refused to capitulate to Bienville's demands to surrender Natchez refugees, who had fled to their Chickasaw allies following their tribe's devastation during the Natchez wars (1715-1716; 1722-1724; 1729-1731).
Bienville ordered Pierre D'Artaguiette, the military commander of Upper Louisiana, to march his troops south from Fort de Chartres to attack the Chickasaw villages in present-day Mississippi. Despite receiving word that Bienville and his force from Lower Louisiana were late, D'Artaguiette assaulted the village of Ogoula Tchetoka on May 25, 1736, with French regulars and militia and Native American warrriors from allied northern tribes of Iroquois, Arkansas, Miami, and Illinois. The Chickasaw soundly defeated the French and their allies and D'Artaguiette and many of his men were killed.
Bienville, with French troops, African slaves, and Choctaw warriors attacked three fortified hilltop villages, Ackia, Tchoukafalaya, and Apeony on May 26, 1736. The Chickasaw successfully repelled the French force, which retreated the following day.
Sources:
Items in the collection.
Green, Richard. "The French-Chickasaw War of 1736," Part One. The Chickasaw Nation. Last updated August 20. Accessed July 17, 2015. http://www.chickasaw.net/Our-Nation/History/Historical-Articles/History/Homelands/The-French-Chickasaw-War-of-1736.aspx.
Green, Richard. "The French-Chickasaw War of 1736 (Ackia)," Part Two. The Chickasaw Nation. Last updated August 20. Accessed July 17, 2015. https://www.chickasaw.net/Our-Nation/History/Historical-Articles/History/Homelands/The-French-Chickasaw-War-of-1736-(Ackia).aspx.
O'Neill, C. E. "Le Moyne de Bienville, Jean-Baptiste." Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Accessed July 17, 2015. http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio.php?id_nbr=1486.
Wallace, Joseph. The History of Illinois and Louisiana Under the French Rule; Embracing a General View of the French Dominion in North America with Some Account of the English Occupation of Illinois. Cincinatti: R. Clarke, 1897. Accessed July 17, 2015. https://archive.org/details/historyillinois01wallgoog.
Louisiana, a province of New France in North America, spanned most of the drainage basin of the Mississippi River from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico. It was divided into two sections, Upper and Lower Louisiana. Upper Louisiana, also known as Illinois Country, consisted of French terrirory in today's U.S. states of Illinois, Indiana, and Missouri. Lower Louisiana comprised much of the present-day states of Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. The Chickasaw people's lands bisected France's colony making travel between Upper and Lower Lousiana hazardous for French travelers, particularly as the Chickasaw frequently traded with the English, France's long-standing rival. In addition, the Chickasaw refused to capitulate to Bienville's demands to surrender Natchez refugees, who had fled to their Chickasaw allies following their tribe's devastation during the Natchez wars (1715-1716; 1722-1724; 1729-1731).
Bienville ordered Pierre D'Artaguiette, the military commander of Upper Louisiana, to march his troops south from Fort de Chartres to attack the Chickasaw villages in present-day Mississippi. Despite receiving word that Bienville and his force from Lower Louisiana were late, D'Artaguiette assaulted the village of Ogoula Tchetoka on May 25, 1736, with French regulars and militia and Native American warrriors from allied northern tribes of Iroquois, Arkansas, Miami, and Illinois. The Chickasaw soundly defeated the French and their allies and D'Artaguiette and many of his men were killed.
Bienville, with French troops, African slaves, and Choctaw warriors attacked three fortified hilltop villages, Ackia, Tchoukafalaya, and Apeony on May 26, 1736. The Chickasaw successfully repelled the French force, which retreated the following day.
Sources:
Items in the collection.
Green, Richard. "The French-Chickasaw War of 1736," Part One. The Chickasaw Nation. Last updated August 20. Accessed July 17, 2015. http://www.chickasaw.net/Our-Nation/History/Historical-Articles/History/Homelands/The-French-Chickasaw-War-of-1736.aspx.
Green, Richard. "The French-Chickasaw War of 1736 (Ackia)," Part Two. The Chickasaw Nation. Last updated August 20. Accessed July 17, 2015. https://www.chickasaw.net/Our-Nation/History/Historical-Articles/History/Homelands/The-French-Chickasaw-War-of-1736-(Ackia).aspx.
O'Neill, C. E. "Le Moyne de Bienville, Jean-Baptiste." Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Accessed July 17, 2015. http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio.php?id_nbr=1486.
Wallace, Joseph. The History of Illinois and Louisiana Under the French Rule; Embracing a General View of the French Dominion in North America with Some Account of the English Occupation of Illinois. Cincinatti: R. Clarke, 1897. Accessed July 17, 2015. https://archive.org/details/historyillinois01wallgoog.
Extent
0.01 Cubic Feet (1 folder)
Arrangement
This collection is arranged by subject.
Custodial History
This collection was received by Indiana State Library as a donation from the Indiana Historical Society on 1924/05/22, and Rare Books and Manuscripts received it as a transfer from the General Collection on 1938/06/06.
Accruals
No further additions are expected.
Processing Information
Collection processing completed 2015/04/02 by Nikki Stoddard Schofield. EAD finding aid created 2015/04/02 by Nikki Stoddard Schofield. EAD finding aid revised 2015/07/16 by Brittany Kropf.
- Title
- French-Chickasaw War of 1736 notebook
- Status
- Completed
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the Rare Books and Manuscripts Repository
Contact:
140 North Senate Avenue
Indianapolis, Indiana 46204 U.S.A.
317-232-3671
140 North Senate Avenue
Indianapolis, Indiana 46204 U.S.A.
317-232-3671
