Firmin Pierre Breaux (September 22, 1749 – October 1, 1808) was an

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, ...

pioneer,

soldier A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a Conscription, conscripted or volunteer Enlisted rank, enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, a warrant officer, or an Officer (armed forces), officer. Etymology The wo ...

and

patriot A patriot is a person with the quality of patriotism. Patriot(s) or The Patriot(s) may also refer to: Political and military groups United States * Patriot (American Revolution), those who supported the cause of independence in the American R ...

known for unofficially founding the city of

Breaux Bridge Breaux Bridge (;Jack A. Reynolds. "Breaux Bridge" entry i"Louisiana Placenames of Romance Origin."LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses #7852. 1942. p. 77. ; ) is a city in St. Martin Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 7,513 ...

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 ...

Life

Firmin was the son of Alexis Breaux and Marguerite Barrieu, born at Riviere aux Canards, near present day

Port Williams, Nova Scotia Port Williams is a Canadian village in Kings County, Nova Scotia. It is located on the north bank of the Cornwallis River, named after Edward Cornwallis, first governor of Nova Scotia. As of 2021, the population was 1,110. History The village ...

, in 1749. In 1755, Firmin's family, along with many other Acadians, were deported from Nova Scotia into

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

during the

expulsion of the Acadians The Expulsion of the Acadians was the forced removal of inhabitants of the North American region historically known as Acadia between 1755 and 1764 by Great Britain. It included the modern Canadian Maritime provinces of Nova Scotia, New Br ...

. In 1767, at the age of 17, Firmin found himself at the Bayou Tortue in Louisiana, while the rest of his family returned to Canada. By 1769, Firmin had moved into a house in present day St. James Parish, and had been married to his wife Marguerite Braud. Firmin was a

Patriot A patriot is a person with the quality of patriotism. Patriot(s) or The Patriot(s) may also refer to: Political and military groups United States * Patriot (American Revolution), those who supported the cause of independence in the American R ...

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 ...

and served in the Attakapas Spanish Militia under

Bernardo de Gálvez Bernardo Vicente de Gálvez y Madrid, 1st Count of Gálvez (23 July 1746 – 30 November 1786) was a Spanish military leader and government official who served as colonial governor of Spanish Louisiana and Cuba, and later as Viceroy of New S ...

. The Militia fought at

Fort Bute Fort Bute (1766–1779) was a colonial fort built by the British in 1766 to protect the confluence of Bayou Manchac with the Mississippi River and was named in honor of the Earl of Bute. Fort Bute was located on Bayou Manchac, about 115 miles (18 ...

and

Baton Rouge Baton Rouge ( ; , ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It had a population of 227,470 at the 2020 United States census, making it List of municipalities in Louisiana, Louisiana's second-m ...

. He died October 1, 1808, in Breaux Bridge.

Breaux Bridge

In 1771, Firmin bought land near the

Bayou Teche Bayou Teche (Louisiana French: ''Bayou Têche'') is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed June 20, 2011 waterway in south central Louisiana in the United States. Bayou Teche ...

from the wealthy New Orleans merchant, Jean François Ledée, who had acquired the land as a French land grant. By 1774, Breaux's branding iron had been registered, and by 1786 he was one of the largest property owners near the Bayou Teche. In 1799, Breaux built a footbridge across the Bayou Teche, in order to ease the passage of his family and neighbors across the Teche.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Breaux, Firmin 1749 births 1808 deaths Acadian people Immigrants to New Spain