Jean-Baptiste Hertel de Rouville (26 October 1668 – 30 June 1722) was a colonial military officer of

New France New France (french: Nouvelle-France) was the area colonized by France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Great Britain and Spa ...

in the French Marines in Canada. He is best known in North America for leading the

raid on Deerfield The 1704 Raid on Deerfield (also known as the Deerfield Massacre) occurred during Queen Anne's War on February 29 when French and Native American forces under the command of Jean-Baptiste Hertel de Rouville attacked the English frontier settle ...

, in western

Province of Massachusetts Bay The Province of Massachusetts Bay was a colony in British America which became one of the thirteen original states of the United States. It was chartered on October 7, 1691, by William III and Mary II, the joint monarchs of the kingdoms of ...

, against English settlers on 29 February 1704 during

Queen Anne's War Queen Anne's War (1702–1713) was the second in a series of French and Indian Wars fought in North America involving the colonial empires of Great Britain, France, and Spain; it took place during the reign of Anne, Queen of Great Britain. In E ...

. Retrieved 13 November 2022. A dedicated soldier, he was widely reviled by the settlers of

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

for his tactics of raiding poorly defended frontier settlements. During the years of this war, he also participated in military operations against the English in

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

. He played a role in the early settlement of Île-Royale (present-day

Cape Breton Island Cape Breton Island (french: link=no, île du Cap-Breton, formerly '; gd, Ceap Breatainn or '; mic, Unamaꞌki) is an island on the Atlantic coast of North America and part of the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. The island accounts for 18. ...

), after that war.

King William's War

Hertel de Rouville was born in 1668 into a military family in

Trois-Rivières Trois-Rivières (, – 'Three Rivers') is a city in the Mauricie administrative region of Quebec, Canada, at the confluence of the Saint-Maurice and Saint Lawrence rivers, on the north shore of the Saint Lawrence River across from the city of ...

, in the colony of

Canada, New France The colony of Canada was a French colony within the larger territory of New France. It was claimed by France in 1535 during the second voyage of Jacques Cartier, in the name of the French king, Francis I. The colony remained a French territory ...

. He was the third son of

Joseph-François Hertel de la Fresnière Joseph-François Hertel de la Fresnière ( fr, baptised 3 July 1642 - buried 22 May 1722) was a military officer of New France. Born in Trois-Rivières when it was a small frontier town to Jacques Hertel, Lord Hertel and Marie Marguerie, he gr ...

(1642—1722), also born in Trois-Rivières, and his wife. Active in the French Marines in Canada from an early age, Hertel served with his father during a 1687 French military operation against the Seneca tribe, which occupied much of present-day western

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. The attack was led by

Governor of New France The governor of New France was the viceroy of the King of France in North America. A French nobleman, he was appointed to govern the colonies of New France, which included Canada, Acadia and Louisiana. The residence of the Governor was at the C ...

Jacques-René de Brisay de Denonville, Marquis de Denonville Jacques-René de Brisay de Denonville, Marquis de Denonville (10 December 1637 – 22 September 1710) was Governor General of New France from 1685 to 1689 and was a key figure in the Beaver Wars. Replacing Joseph Antoine de LaBarre in 168 ...

. During

King William's War King William's War (also known as the Second Indian War, Father Baudoin's War, Castin's War, or the First Intercolonial War in French) was the North American theater of the Nine Years' War (1688–1697), also known as the War of the Grand Alli ...

, Hertel was among the defenders against English colonists and their Indian allies during the 1690 Battle of Quebec. He was granted the seigneury of Rouville at Mont Saint-Hilaire in 1694.Gray, Charlotte (20024). ''The Museum Called Canada: 25 Rooms of Wonder.'' Random House.

Queen Anne's War

During

, also conducted against the English, Hertel led his first significant independent expedition, the

Raid on Deerfield The 1704 Raid on Deerfield (also known as the Deerfield Massacre) occurred during Queen Anne's War on February 29 when French and Native American forces under the command of Jean-Baptiste Hertel de Rouville attacked the English frontier settle ...

(1704). At the head of a force composed mainly of

Abenaki The Abenaki ( Abenaki: ''Wαpánahki'') are an Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands of Canada and the United States. They are an Algonquian-speaking people and part of the Wabanaki Confederacy. The Eastern Abenaki language was pre ...

Huron Huron may refer to: People * Wyandot people (or Wendat), indigenous to North America * Wyandot language, spoken by them * Huron-Wendat Nation, a Huron-Wendat First Nation with a community in Wendake, Quebec * Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawato ...

(Wyandot), and

Mohawk Mohawk may refer to: Related to Native Americans * Mohawk people, an indigenous people of North America (Canada and New York) *Mohawk language, the language spoken by the Mohawk people * Mohawk hairstyle, from a hairstyle once thought to have been ...

(

Iroquois The Iroquois ( or ), officially the Haudenosaunee ( meaning "people of the longhouse"), are an Iroquoian Peoples, Iroquoian-speaking Confederation#Indigenous confederations in North America, confederacy of First Nations in Canada, First Natio ...

) warriors, but also a company of Canadian militia, he took the men south in late February to the English

and descended on the lightly defended frontier town of Deerfield in the western part of the colony. The raiders achieved surprise, killing 54 settlers and taking more than 100 prisoners. The prisoners, including women and children, were taken on the long overland trek to Quebec, where many were adopted by Catholic Mohawk at

Kahnawake The Kahnawake Mohawk Territory (french: Territoire Mohawk de Kahnawake, in the Mohawk language, ''Kahnawáˀkye'' in Tuscarora) is a First Nations reserve of the Mohawks of Kahnawá:ke on the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River in Queb ...

, a mission village south of Montreal. Later in 1704 Hertel de Rouville was sent to

, where he participated in offensive operations against St. John's and other English communities. In 1708 he was at the head of an expedition with ambitious goals; but because he was unable to attract Indian allies, he completed only a single raid on Haverhill, Massachusetts. For the rest of

, he continued to lead similar raiding operations. One of his English opponents described him as "an officer of great courage, but pre-eminently cruel and vindictive."

Île-Royale

FortDaupinCapeBreton (inset) A new and accurate map of the English empire in North America, 1755

After Queen Anne's War ended in 1713, Hertel de Rouville was sent to Île-Royale (present-day

) to scout sites for new French settlements. Based on his recommendations, Fort Dauphin (present-day

Englishtown, Nova Scotia Englishtown is an unincorporated area in the Municipality of the County of Victoria, Nova Scotia, Canada. It is the site of the Englishtown Ferry cable ferry that carries Nova Scotia Route 312 across St. Anns Harbour. The area was known as Moha ...

) was selected for an initial settlement, and Hertel de Rouville supervised its construction. He was awarded the

Order of Saint Louis The Royal and Military Order of Saint Louis (french: Ordre Royal et Militaire de Saint-Louis) is a dynastic order of chivalry founded 5 April 1693 by King Louis XIV, named after Saint Louis (King Louis IX of France). It was intended as a re ...

in 1721. He died the following year on Île-Royale while serving as commandant of Fort Dauphin. He was twice married. He had two sons who distinguished themselves in military service to New France.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hertel de Rouville, Jean-Baptiste 1668 births 1722 deaths Canadian military personnel from New Brunswick Canadian military personnel from Newfoundland and Labrador Canadian military personnel from Nova Scotia Canadian military personnel from Quebec French military personnel of the Nine Years' War French military personnel of the War of the Spanish Succession Military history of Acadia Military history of New England Military history of the Thirteen Colonies Order of Saint Louis recipients People of New France People from Cape Breton Island