Fort St. Jean Baptiste State Historic Site in Natchitoches,

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 ...

, US, is a replica of an early French fort based upon the original 1716

blueprint A blueprint is a reproduction of a technical drawing or engineering drawing using a contact print process on light-sensitive sheets introduced by Sir John Herschel in 1842. The process allowed rapid and accurate production of an unlimited number ...

s by Sieur Du Tisné with the improvements made in 1731 by Boutin. The French called the original fort: ''Fort Saint Jean Baptiste des Natchitoches''. In the 1970's, the State of Louisiana anglicized the name to ''Fort Saint Jean Baptiste''.

History

The fort (present-day city of Natchitoches) was founded by a French Canadian,

Louis Juchereau de St. Denis Louis Antoine Juchereau de St. Denis (; September 17, 1676 – June 11, 1744) was a French-Canadian soldier and explorer best known for his exploration and development of the Louisiana (New France) and Spanish Texas regions. He commanded a smal ...

in 1714 while he was traveling to

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

on a

trade mission Trade mission is a tool for governments to promote and market exports. It is smaller in scale compared to trade fairs and can be useful when firms are trying to enter a foreign market. Considerations Several factors are needed to be considered ...

. When St. Denis reached the village of the Natchitoches Indians on the

Red River of the South The Red River is a major river in the Southern United States. It was named for its reddish water color from passing through red-bed country in its watershed. It also is known as the Red River of the South to distinguish it from the Red River ...

, he had two huts constructed and left a small French detachment there to guard the stores and trade with the Native Americans. In 1716, Sieur Du Tisné was sent with a small company of French colonial troops to build and garrison the outpost that would prevent the Spanish forces in the province of Texas from advancing across the border of French Louisiana. In 1722, St. Denis became

commandant Commandant ( or ; ) is a title often given to the officer in charge of a military (or other uniformed service) training establishment or academy. This usage is common in English-speaking nations. In some countries it may be a military or police ...

of the fort. The fort was established as a

trading Trade involves the transfer of goods and services from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for money. Economists refer to a system or network that allows trade as a market (economics), market. Traders generally negotiate throu ...

and

military outpost In military terminology, an outpost is a location where detachments of military personnel are stationed at a distance from the main armed force or formation in a region. Outposts are usually located in remote or sparsely populated areas, posi ...

to counter any

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 ...

incursions into French territory. Soon it became a center of economic significance, particularly with neighboring

Caddo The Caddo people comprise the Caddo Nation of Oklahoma, a federally recognized tribe headquartered in Binger, Oklahoma. They speak the Caddo language. The Caddo Confederacy was a network of Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands, who ...

tribes. In 1731, an attack by the Natchez Indians exposed the vulnerabilities of the fort, prompting French officials to send engineer Broutin to oversee the construction of a larger and stronger fortification. Spanish officials charged it was an invasion of Spanish territory, but St. Denis politely ignored their protests. The fort continued to serve as a military outpost and commercial trade center until 1762, when France’s defeat by England in 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 ...

forced her to cede the

Louisiana (New France) Louisiana or French Louisiana was a administrative divisions of France, district of New France. In 1682 the French explorer René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de la Salle erected a cross near the mouth of the Mississippi River and claimed the whole ...

colony to

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. The fort turned into the city of Natchitoches. Natchitoches is the oldest permanent European settlement in the

Louisiana Purchase The Louisiana Purchase () was the acquisition of the Louisiana (New France), territory of Louisiana by the United States from the French First Republic in 1803. This consisted of most of the land in the Mississippi River#Watershed, Mississipp ...

Other Notable Soldiers

In addition to

Claude Charles Du Tisne Claude may refer to: People and fictional characters * Claude (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Claude (surname), a list of people * Claude Callegari (1962–2021), English Arsenal supporter * Claude Debussy (1862–1918), ...

and

, there were other notable soldiers garrisoned at the fort in its early years as a frontier outpost 1714-1740. In 1719, when Blondel heard of the war in Europe between Spain and France, he and a small detail of 5 French soldiers left Fort St. Jean Baptiste des Natchitches and attacked the nearest Spanish fort: San Miguel de Linares de los Adaes Mission (Capital of Texas and

Los Adaes Los Adaes was the capital of Tejas (Texas) on the northeastern frontier of New Spain from 1721 to 1773. It included a Franciscan mission, San Miguel de Cuéllar de los Adaes, and a presidio, Nuestra Señora del Pilar de Los Adaes (Our Lady of ...

) near the El Camino Real in present-day

Robeline, Louisiana Robeline is a village in western Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 183 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Natchitoches Micropolitan Statistical Area. History Robeline was the capital of Texas for 50 years ...

. The French captured the mission and took the sacred vestments and other provisions including the chickens in the henhouse. As Blondel mounted his horse after tying the chickens to the pommel of his saddle, the chickens flapped their wings, the horse reared, and the lieutenant was spilled in the dirt. The French victory was called the ''Chicken War''. This caused the viceroy of Mexico to send the largest military force in history into Louisiana.

Jean Baptiste Brevelle Jean Baptiste Brevelle () was a French-born American trader, explorer, and one of the first soldiers garrisoned at Fort St. Jean Baptiste des Natchitoches in present-day Natchitoches, Louisiana and Le Poste des Cadodaquious in Texas. Explorer o ...

(French: ''Jean Baptiste Brevel'') a Parisian-born trader, explorer, and one of the first soldiers garrisoned at Fort St. Jean Baptiste des Natchitoches. Brevelle was an early explorer of present-day Louisiana, Arkansas and Texas and also served at

Le Poste des Cadodaquious Le Poste des Cadodaquious was a small French fort founded in 1719; it was located northwest of Texarkana, Texas in today's Bowie County. Recent analysis suggests that the site was somewhere on the escarpment near either Everett or Barkman. The ...

. After returning from several years exploring the hinderlands and living in Native American villages, Brevelle married Native American slave

Anne des Cadeaux Anne des Cadeaux (unknown1754), was a Native American active in early colonial Louisiana, and was from one of the early Louisiana Creole families. She was a devout Catholic, and was enslaved but later gained her freedom. Early life and family ...

after he obtained permission from Fort Commandant St. Denis. After the publication of three banns, Brevelle and Anne were married in 1736 in the Catholic Church in Natchitoches. Anne bore two children, who would become the first Creoles of

Isle Brevelle Isle Brevelle is an ethnically and culturally diverse community, which began as a Native Americans in the United States, Native American and Louisiana Creole people, Louisiana Creole settlement and is located in Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana, N ...

. Isle Brevelle is known as the ''birthplace of Creole culture'', and the island is named after Anne and her son, Jean Baptiste Brevelle II. The 30-mile long island was a

land grant A land grant is a gift of real estate—land or its use privileges—made by a government or other authority as an incentive, means of enabling works, or as a reward for services to an individual, especially in return for military service. Grants ...

issued to Brevelle.

Reconstruction

In 1979, the site obtained for the reconstruction of the fort is located on

Cane River Lake Cane River Lake () is a oxbow lake formed from a portion of the Red River in Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana, United States. It runs throughout the Natchitoches' historic district to the south and is famous for the numerous plantations, partic ...

(formerly the Red River) a few hundred yards from the original site. The fort was based upon Sieur Du Tisné and Broutin's plans and on extensive archival research in Louisiana, Canada and France. All of the metal hinges and latches were made at a local

foundry A foundry is a factory that produces metal castings. Metals are cast into shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal into a mold, and removing the mold material after the metal has solidified as it cools. The most common metals pr ...

and most of the 2,000 treated pine logs which form the

palisade A palisade, sometimes called a stakewall or a paling, is typically a row of closely placed, high vertical standing tree trunks or wooden or iron stakes used as a fence for enclosure or as a defensive wall. Palisades can form a stockade. Etymo ...

and approximately 250,000 board feet lumber for the buildings were sourced from within Natchitoches Parish. The fort is an attraction within the National Park Service's

Cane River National Heritage Area The Cane River National Heritage Area is a United States National Heritage Area in the state of Louisiana. The heritage area is known for plantations featuring Creole architecture, as well as numerous other sites that preserve the multi-cultural h ...

. The site is also host to

living history Living history is an activity that incorporates historical tools, activities and dress into an interactive presentation that seeks to give observers and participants a sense of stepping back in time. Although it does not necessarily seek to ree ...

re-enactments of what life in the fort was like in the 1750s.

References

External links

Fort St. Jean Baptiste State Historic Site
- Louisiana State Parks page * - information page {{DEFAULTSORT:Fort St. Jean Baptiste St. Jean Louisiana State Historic Sites Protected areas of Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana St. Jean St. Jean French-American culture in Louisiana Buildings and structures in Natchitoches, Louisiana Museums in Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana Military and war museums in Louisiana Louisiana (New France) Open-air museums in Louisiana

History

Other Notable Soldiers

Reconstruction

See also

References

External links