Charles-Philippe Aubry or Aubri (died February 17, 1770) was a French soldier and colonial administrator, who served as governor of

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

twice.

Career

Aubry began his military career in 1742, when he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Lyonnais Infantry Regiment. After serving in the

War of the Austrian Succession The War of the Austrian Succession was a European conflict fought between 1740 and 1748, primarily in Central Europe, the Austrian Netherlands, Italian Peninsula, Italy, the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. Related conflicts include King Ge ...

as an officer of

grenadiers A grenadier ( , ; derived from the word ''grenade'') was historically an assault-specialist soldier who threw hand grenades in siege operation battles. The distinct combat function of the grenadier was established in the mid-17th century, when ...

, Aubry left France to take a commission as a captain of colonial troops in Louisiana. During 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 ...

, he was the commander of the French forces at the Battle of Fort Ligonier. He was later captured and imprisoned by the British after the French defeat at the Battle of La Belle-Famille. After his release, he was made a Chevalier de St. Louis and military commander of Louisiana. Aubry succeeded

Jean-Jacques Blaise d'Abbadie Jean-Jacques Blaise d'Abbadie (February 4, 1726 – February 4, 1765, New Orleans) was the French Director-general of the Colony of Louisiana. He served from February 1763 until he died in office two years later, in New Orleans. Naval c ...

as colonial governor of Louisiana in 1765 after d'Abbadie died in office. During his term, he met with members of the exiled

Acadian The Acadians (; , ) are an ethnic group descended from the French who settled in the New France colony of Acadia during the 17th and 18th centuries. Today, most descendants of Acadians live in either the Northern American region of Acadia, ...

community under Beausoleil and encouraged them to settle in the Attakapas Territory, where there were abundant grasslands available for development of a local cattle industry. Aubry was followed as governor by the

Spaniard Spaniards, or Spanish people, are a Romance languages, Romance-speaking Ethnicity, ethnic group native to the Iberian Peninsula, primarily associated with the modern Nation state, nation-state of Spain. Genetics, Genetically and Ethnolinguisti ...

Antonio de Ulloa Antonio de Ulloa y de la Torre-Guiral (12 January 1716 – 3 July 1795) was a Spanish Navy officer. He spent much of his career in the Spanish America, Americas, where he carried out important scientific work. As a scientist, Ulloa is re ...

, and served as acting governor again after the latter's expulsion in the

Louisiana Rebellion of 1768 The Rebellion of 1768, also known as the Revolt of 1768 or the Creole Revolt, was an unsuccessful attempt by the Louisiana French Creole elite of New Orleans, along with nearby German settlers, to reverse the transfer of the French Louisiana to S ...

. After the arrival of a replacement

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

governor Alejandro O'Reilly, Aubry reportedly provided him with the names of some of the conspirators in the rebellion. Soon afterwards, Aubry left for

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

on the ''Père de Famille'', but died in a

shipwreck A shipwreck is the wreckage of a ship that is located either beached on land or sunken to the bottom of a body of water. It results from the event of ''shipwrecking'', which may be intentional or unintentional. There were approximately thre ...

within sight of the French

coast A coast (coastline, shoreline, seashore) is the land next to the sea or the line that forms the boundary between the land and the ocean or a lake. Coasts are influenced by the topography of the surrounding landscape and by aquatic erosion, su ...

. In 1920, the city of

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

named a street after him (Aubry Street), one block from D'Abadie Street.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aubry, Charles Philippe Governors of Louisiana (New Spain) Deaths due to shipwreck at sea 1770 deaths Year of birth unknown Governors of Louisiana (New France)