Charles Michel Mouet de Langlade (9 May 1729 – after 26 July 1801)''Dictionnaire Généalogique Tanguay'' was a

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes spanning the Canada–United States border. The five lakes are Lake Superior, Superior, Lake Michigan, Michigan, Lake Huron, H ...

fur trade The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of a world fur market in the early modern period, furs of boreal ecosystem, boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals h ...

r and war chief who was important in protecting French territory in North America. His mother was

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

and his father a

French Canadian French Canadians, referred to as Canadiens mainly before the nineteenth century, are an ethnic group descended from French people, French colonists first arriving in Canada (New France), France's colony of Canada in 1608. The vast majority of ...

fur trader. Fluent in Ottawa and French, Langlade later led First Nations forces in warfare in the region. Given the shifting political realities of the time, he and his followers were at various times allied with the French, British and, lastly, Americans. Leading French and Indian forces, in 1752 he destroyed Pickawillany, a

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

village and British trading post in present-day Ohio, where the British and French were competing for control of the lucrative fur trade. During the subsequent

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a Great Power conflict fought primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and South Asia. The protagonists were Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of Prus ...

, he helped defend

Fort Duquesne Fort Duquesne ( , ; originally called ''Fort Du Quesne'') was a fort established by the French in 1754, at the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers. It was later taken over by the British, and later the Americans, and developed ...

(Pittsburgh) against the British. The French appointed Langlade as second in command at Fort Michilimackinac and a captain in the Indian Department of French Canada. After the defeat of the French in North America, Langlade became allied with the British, who took control of former French possessions and took the lead in the

in the upper West. During the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

, Langlade led Great Lakes Indians for the British against rebel colonists and their Indian allies. The Native Americans hoped to push the American colonizers out of the region. At the end of the war, Langlade retired to his home in

Green Bay, Wisconsin Green Bay is a city in Brown County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. It is located at the head of Green Bay (Lake Michigan), Green Bay (known locally as "the bay of Green Bay"), a sub-basin of Lake Michigan at the mouth of the F ...

. Since he had operated a trading post at Green Bay since 1745 and settled there with his family,Neville, Ella Hoes & al. (1893) ''Historic Green Bay. 1634–1840.'' Green Bay, p. 92. he is called the "Father of Wisconsin."

Early life and education

Charles de Langlade was born in 1729 at Fort Michilimackinac,

New France New France (, ) was the territory colonized by Kingdom of France, 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 Kingdom of Great Br ...

to Domitilde, the daughter of an Ottawa chief and sister of Nissowaquet, who became the

war chief. Charles's father was her second husband, Augustin Langlade (Augustin Mouet, sieur de Langlade), a French-Canadian

fur trader The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of a world fur market in the early modern period, furs of boreal ecosystem, boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals h ...

. Domitilde was a widow with six children when they married in 1728. Augustin Langlade believed their marriage would provide him an advantage in the fur trade, by giving him a direct connection to the Odawa. The Ottawa were among the Algonquian Anishinaabeg peoples, who inhabited areas around the Great Lakes. As a child, Langlade grew up with Ottawa as his first language and identified with his mother's culture; he was also educated in French by

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

missionaries A missionary is a member of a religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Miss ...

at the fort.

Life

In the winter of 1751–1752, Langlade began assembling a war party of Odawa, Potawatomi, and Ojibwe warriors who traveled to Pickawillany for a raid. They were trying to discourage British trading in the area. In the confrontation on 21 June 1752, the Odawa killed, mutilated and consumed an Englishman and Miami chief Memeskia in a ritual sacrifice. This act aggravated existing tensions and contributed to colonial retaliation against the Odawa, and the

French and Indian War The French and Indian War, 1754 to 1763, was a colonial conflict in North America between Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of France, France, along with their respective Native Americans in the United States, Native American ...

(North American front of their

against France in Europe. In 1755, he led a group from the Three Fires confederacy in the defense of

(later Pittsburgh), where the French and their Indian allies triumphed over the British

Edward Braddock Edward Braddock (January 1695 – 13 July 1755) was a British officer and commander-in-chief for the Thirteen Colonies during the start of the French and Indian War (1754–1763), the North American front of what is known in Europe and Canada as ...

and colonist

George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

at the Battle of the Monongahela. Langlade also took part in the Siege of Fort William Henry. Later he led a group of Ottawa warriors at the

Battle of the Plains of Abraham The Battle of the Plains of Abraham, also known as the Battle of Quebec (), was a pivotal battle in the Seven Years' War (referred to as the French and Indian War to describe the North American theatre). The battle, which took place on 13 Sept ...

in the defense of

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

. In 1757, Langlade was made the second in command of the French forces at Fort Michilimackinac. Langlade surrendered the French forces at that fort to the British Army in 1761. Following the war and victory of Great Britain, Langlade transferred his allegiance to that country after it took control of French areas east of the Mississippi River. The following year he permanently moved with his family to the settlement now known as

. During the

, Langlade led Great Lakes Indians as an ally of the British commanders in Canada; he was promoted to captain in the Indian Department. At the end of that war, Langlade returned to his home at Green Bay, then considered to be in the United States'

Northwest Territory The Northwest Territory, also known as the Old Northwest and formally known as the Territory Northwest of the River Ohio, was formed from part of the unorganized western territory of the United States after the American Revolution. Established ...

. He resided there until his death some time in the second half of 1801.

Legacy and honors

*Langlade is remembered as the "Father of Wisconsin". *

Langlade County, Wisconsin Langlade County is a county (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 19,491. Its county seat is Antigo, Wisconsin, Antigo. History Langlade County was ...

is named after him."Langlade, Charles Michel 1729 – 1801"
, ''Dictionary of Wisconsin'', Wisconsin Historical Society, accessed 26 March 2012 *The seal of the Langlade County Historical Society bears an image of Langlade, designed by his descendant, "noted sculptor" Sidney Bedore."Photograph: Langlade County Historical Society Seal", Wisconsin Historical Society, Image ID: 3774, Creation Date: 1933-06-01, Creator: N/A. Viewed online at http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/Content.aspx?dsNav=Ny:True,Ro:0,N:4294963828-4294955414&dsNavOnly=Ntk:All, , 3, %2c&dsRecordDetails=R:IM3774&dsDimensionSearch=D:Charles+Langlade,Dxm:All,Dxp:3&dsCompoundDimensionSearch=D:Charles+Langlade,Dxm:All,Dxp:3

References

External links

Biography , ''the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Langlade, Charles British Army personnel of the American Revolutionary War Indigenous people of the French and Indian War British Indian Department French Canadian people of the French and Indian War People of Louisiana (New France) Métis fur traders American fur traders Canadian fur traders American Métis people Canadian Métis people Native American people in the American Revolution 1729 births 1801 deaths People from Emmet County, Michigan People from Green Bay, Wisconsin