Captain Pierre Pouchot (April 8, 1712 – 1769) was a French military engineer and officer in the French regular army. He was born at

Grenoble Grenoble ( ; ; or ; or ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of the Isère Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region ...

, France, son of a merchant. In 1733 he joined the

regular army A regular army is the official army of a state or country (the official armed forces), contrasting with irregular forces, such as volunteer irregular militias, private armies, mercenaries, etc. A regular army usually has the following: * a ...

as a volunteer engineer and on May 1, 1734 was appointed a second lieutenant in the

Regiment de Bearn A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service, or specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscripted in one ...

. He later served in Italy, Flanders, and Germany and became an assistant adjutant within ten years. 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 ...

his engineering service won distinction and he received the Cross of the Order of St. Louis and in September, 1748 a Captain's commission. In 1754 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 ...

his regiment was selected for service in Canada. He arrived at

Fort Frontenac Fort Frontenac was a French trading post and military fort built in July 1673 at the mouth of the Cataraqui River where the St. Lawrence River leaves Lake Ontario (at what is now the western end of the La Salle Causeway), in a location traditi ...

in July, 1755 and then was sent to

Fort Niagara Fort Niagara, also known as Old Fort Niagara, is a fortification originally built by New France to protect its interests in North America, specifically control of access between the Niagara River and Lake Ontario, the easternmost of the Great L ...

to improve its defenses. In July and August, 1756 he assisting in laying out the siege works in the

Battle of Fort Oswego The Battle of Fort Oswego was one in a series of early French victories in the North American theatre of the Seven Years' War won in spite of New France's military vulnerability. During the week of August 10, 1756, a force of regulars and Can ...

. After came construction in Montreal, then

Fort Ticonderoga Fort Ticonderoga (), formerly Fort Carillon, is a large 18th-century star fort built by the French at a narrows near the south end of Lake Champlain in northern New York. It was constructed between October 1755 and 1757 by French-Canadian ...

and Fort Frontenac. He was then given command of

which he enlarged and provided with new earthwork defences (he was also based briefly at

Fort Rouillé Fort Rouillé was a French trading post located in what is now Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Fort Rouillé was constructed by the French in 1751, building upon the success of a trading post they established in the area a year earlier, known as For ...

in 1757, a settlement that eventually ended in British hands and is now known as

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

). In October 1757, he was removed from his command at Fort Niagara and rejoined his regiment in Montreal. He was dispatched again as commander of Fort Niagara in March, 1759. In July 1759 a joint British and

Iroquois The Iroquois ( ), also known as the Five Nations, and later as the Six Nations from 1722 onwards; alternatively referred to by the Endonym and exonym, endonym Haudenosaunee ( ; ) are an Iroquoian languages, Iroquoian-speaking Confederation#Ind ...

force commanded by General John Prideaux and William Johnson laid siege to Fort Niagara. After a relief force from

Fort Machault Fort Machault (, ) was a fort built by the French in 1754 near the confluence of French Creek with the Allegheny River, in northwest Pennsylvania. (Present-day Franklin developed here later.) The fort helped the French control these waterways, ...

under the command of Captain

François-Marie Le Marchand de Lignery François-Marie Le Marchand de Lignery (24 August 1703 – 29 July 1759) was a colonial military leader in the French province of Canada. Active in the defense of New France during the Seven Years' War (also known as the French and Indian War), h ...

was routed by the besiegers at La Belle Famille on 25 July, Pouchot was obliged to surrender the fort to Johnson.O'Toole, Fintan (2019), ''White Savage: William Johnson and the Invention of America''. Faber and Faber, pp. 202 - 207 He died in May, 1769 on

Corsica Corsica ( , , ; ; ) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the Regions of France, 18 regions of France. It is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of the Metro ...

as a military engineer.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pouchot, Pierre 1712 births 1769 deaths French people of the French and Indian War