The Battle of Riviere-Ouelle
In a former post Riviere-Ouelle: Une Paroisse Canadienne au XVII Siecle I introduced Abbe. Casgrain’s book and shared some of his genealogical tables of the founding families of Riviere-Ouelle. Today I’d like to recount some of what Abbe Casgrain had to say about one of Riviere Ouelle’s most historic moments.
Riviere-Ouelle habitants led by their priest
The year was 1690. The British were attacking Nouvelle France (today’s Quebec) and word had reached all the French settlements that a flotilla of thirty British ships was coming down the St-Lawrence river.
Riviere-Ouelle’s leader – the seigneur de La Bouteillerie - was expected to stay at Gov. Frontenac’s side to defend the walled fortress-city of Quebec and there was no militia present because they had all been sent either to Quebec City or to other crucial points along both shores of the St-Lawrence.
So Riviere-Ouelle’s other natural leader – Father de Francheville – took charge and exhorted the habitants of Riviere-Ouelle to do their part in the defense of La Nouvelle France by preventing any disembarkment by the British.
The habitants kept an eye out for the ships – and when they were spotted on the horizon Father de Francheville led a group of men down to a hidden place where the shore juts out and waited for the British to land. They were not disappointed. Once the tide rose, Admiral Phipps from Boston (U.S.A.) sent rowboats towards the beach at Riviere-Ouelle. The tide was so high that the boats landed very swiftly on the shore where they were met by a volley of musket balls. This must have been completely unexpected because they immediately retreated in great panic and never returned!
List of habitants presumed by Casgrain to have taken part in this incident because they wer of an age to carry arms:
Francois and Joseph Deschamps (sons of M. de la Bouteillerie who was in Quebec City), Robert Levesque, Pierre Hudon, Charles and Jean Miville, Galleran Boucher (and his 3 sons), Pierre Dancosse, Joseph Renault (and son), Guillaume Lissot (and son), Rene Ouellet (and 5 sons), Jean Pelletier, jean Lebel (and son), Pierre Emond, Mathurin Dube, Jean Mignot, Noel Pelletier, Jean Gauvin (and son) Pierre de St-Pierre, Nicolas Durand (and son), Francois Autin, Sebastien Boivin and Jean de Lavoye. Natives believed to have taken part: Pierre Oustabany, Gabriel Keskabogouet and Guillaume Meokerimat.
I am not sure why our ancestor Andre Mignier dit Lagace appears on this list. He was a soldier and he is supposed to have settled in the area by 1685. Casgrain explains the absence of four other habitants but does not mention Andre Mignier. I suppose one possibility is that he went to Quebec City with de la Bouteillerie (I’ll update this post when I have more information).
Source:
Casgrain, Abbe. H.R. (1890) Une paroisse Canadienne au XVIIe Siecle: La Riviere-Ouelle. Pub. C.O. Beauchemin & Fils
Related Posts:
Mignier dit Lagaces – French Canadians
Riviere-Ouelle: Une Paroisse Canadienne au XVII Siecle
Land Grants – La Pocatiere/Riviere Ouelle
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Hi,
I’m a descendant of Robert Levesque and i’m presently working on my family tree. I would like to know if it would be possible to make copies of some of the info and pictures that are part of my family tree.
Also I would like to thank you for all the excellent work that you have done on your web page, it is a pleasure to look at and it is full of wonderful information.
Thank you and have an excellent day.
Note from Evelyn: I answered Sylvain via email.
Hi, im also descendant of Robert Levesque and would like to know if you have any picture and info that would help me with my family tree, Thank you
Hi, I’ve been trying to learn more about Pierre Hudon(dit Beaulieu) as he is the first Hudon to come to Canada. I thought you may want to know a little tid-bit about this battle. I’ve been told that Pierre was the only one with military experience so it is likely that he prepared everyone. If you know anything more about Pierre Hudon I sure would love to hear from you. Thanks. I would also like to copy your article.
Hello Shelly,
I am a direct descendant from Pierre HUDON dit BEAULIEU. I have much information on our ancestor and his family. Unfortunately all is in French.
But, if you are not in a hurry:
a) I could translate some of the stuff and
b) write some too.
Gilbert Beaulieu
in Farnham Quebec
beaug6@gmail.com
450-293-0247
Wow, what a great job. I have been searching my family, Mignot, for about five years now. And love to read about the times of QC and their lives. I would like permission to print off what you have concerning Jean Mignot.
Jean was in the military and was a tailor as well, like his father in France. I have read that he was involved in a few indian military operations. I have a land map with people that were neighbors and settlers with him and his wife, Louise Cloutier. Thank you for your hard work and dedication to genealogy research. Regards, Dave
* * *
Dave,
Thanks for your kind comments and thanks for asking to use material. You are free to download and print anything off this site. Permission is required to reprint – and in particular if it is being used on the internet in any way.
I will take a second look at the Rivere Ouelle parish history to see if there is anything else about your ancestor.
Have a good day,Evelyn
I would like permission to copy some of your work. My grandmother was a Beaulieu (Hudon dit Beaulieu) direct descendant of Pierre Hudon. I am teaching my grandson the family history, and he is extremely proud of his heritage. I am trying to prepare some work for him to do and have been interested in the battles Pierre and his sons were involved in during their lifetime. Your website has caught my interest. Please let me know if I can be allowed to copy some of your work. You have done an excellent job. Thank you for preserving some of my family’s history.
Sincerely
Charlyene
Charlyene Rataiczyk, I am Dave Migneault (Mignot).
I have found the names of the son’s that accompanyied their fathers into this battle. I am willing to share with you and your son what I have found. email me at davemig2@windstream.net. I look forward to hearing from you.
Thank you for this information! I am a descendant of Pierre Dancosse and enjoy any information regarding the history of the time and region the family endured in forging a new life in the Americas.
Note from Evelyn: Answered by email
My father Richard Willette does geneology for our family. I found this website looking up Riviere Ouelle which he mentioned my ancestors, one being Rene Ouellet, started their life in North America. I would like permission to use your work and would also like to ask if you know the names of Rene Ouellet’s 5 sons that accompanied him in the Battle of Riviere Ouellet.
If you are interested I can have my father send some information off to you about anything he has. Thank you for your time.
Note from Evelyn: Answering privately.
Jason Willette, I am Dave Migneault (Mignot) and I have researched the families that were in the Battle. My email address is davemig2@windstream.net and I would be happy to share my notes (excel) with you or anyone else that is interested. I look forward to hearing from you. Regards, Dave
That’s very generous of you, Dave – as always. I’ll pass your message on to Jason in case he misses it!
Evelyn
Hi Evelyn! I want to thank you for maintaining this site. I also wanted to ask you if I could copy one or two of your pictures: my ancestors Miville-Deschenes and Cazes, come from both Rivere-Ouelle and Ste-Anne-de-la-Poatiere and I love collecting images of the places where these families thrived. I would used them simply as points of reference in my genealogy. Thank you for considering this request.
Also, if you have any information or images of these two families or if you have access to resources or contacts, I would appreciate any help you can furnish. Merci beaucoup.
Dan
Note from Evelyn: Permission granted & contacting privately
Does anyone know if Robert Levesque was native american i. e. Micmac tribe? I’ve been trying to find out? I am 11th generation of Robert Levesque on my mom’s side and have always wondered if we had native american in our ancestry?
Hello Charlyene,
I am a direct descendant from Pierre HUDON dit BEAULIEU. I have much information on our ancestor and his family. Unfortunately all is in French.
But, if you are not in a hurry:
a) I could translate some of the stuff and
b) write some too.
Gilbert Beaulieu
in Farnham Quebec
beaug6@gmail.com
450-293-0247
Hello Brian,
Robert LÉVÊQUE, a carpenter, was the son of Pierre m. Marie CAUMONT of Hauto-St-Sulpoice, Rouen diocese, Normandy.
He arrived in New France in summer 1671, aboard the Saint-Jean-Baptiste (300 barrels).
He married Jeanne CHEVALIER, dau. of Jacques & Marguerite SCORMAN, from St Jacques de Dieppe, Rouen diocese, Normandy, in Ange-Gardien on April 22, 1679.
Gilbert Beaulieu
Farnham Quiebec
beaug6@gmail.com
450-293-0247
Hello distant cousin Shelly,
I happen to be a direct descendant from Pierre HUDON dit BEAULIEU. I have much information on our ancestor and his family. Unfortunately all is in French.
But, if you are not in a hurry:
a) I could translate some of the stuff and
b) write some too.
Gilbert Beaulieu
in Farnham Quebec
beaug6@gmail.com
450-293-0247
Hi, I am looking for my great great grandfather’s family. I got his name in the Drummond, NB Church books. His name is Jean Hudon who was adopted by a Beaulieu Family. They lived in Riviere Ouelle, QC. I know he married Marie-Anne Lizotte in St-Basile, NB in 1865. Any information would be helpful.Thanks
Hello,
I just stumbled on your site while looking up info for my genealogy tree and after doing some “painstaking” and extensive research,and translating many old, hard to read, French documents, I discovered that I was direct blood related to 21 of the 40 men, and boys involved on that 1690 October day in Riviere Ouelle. I know this may sound strange, it surely blew me away when I discovered it, but it’s true, and what’s even more amazing, I can proove it. Here are the names of my ancestors that were involved on that historic day, Robert Levesque, Pierre Hudon, Galleran Boucher and his two sons, Pierre and Philippe, Michel Bouchard, and his three sons, Etienne, Francois and Pierre, Pierre Dancosse, Rene’ Ouellet, and his four sons, Abraham, Mathurin-Rene’, Gregoire and Joseph, Jean Pelletier, and his son, Jean-Baptiste, Jean Mignot-dit-Labrie, Noel Pelletier and Francois Autin… I would not be here as I am if the Battle had gone the other way. Ok, here is my question, without actually going to the actual site of where this battle occured, would anyone have any pictures, or have access to paintings of this site? I’m an artist and I want very much to do a painting of this battle scene… Sincerely, John R. Pelletier, Jonesport, Maine, USA
Hello John,
I do not know of any other painting or illustration of the Battle of Rivière-Ouelle other than the one in H. R. Casgrain’s book. I went to Rivière-Ouelle and Ste-Anne-de-la-Pocatière quite a few times and never saw anything of the like nor heard anything about such a production.I searched the Quebec archives and did not get any result.
I am positive that, with some research you could gather the proper information to create the scene.
R.-O. is on the south shore of the St. Lawrence River. The river is wide so the north bank appears as a thin line low on the horizon.
At the time of the event, most land concessions were along the St. Lawrence shore, east of the river, extending inland to the heart of the village. There was a road along the river and the houses, barns, etc. were visible from the ships. The shore being rocky, even at high tide, access was minimal. Some concessions were inland on the south of the R.-O. river
The R.O. river, upon reaching the village, is quite wide and runs N.N.W. towards the St. L. River, thus forming a somewhat narrow point of land at the mouth of the river.
R.-O was the first real village so far east on the St. L. River. No doubt that Phipps, following the English troops practice of the times, wanted to destroy it and the others further up on his way to Quebec.
Thus his throwing anchor and sending a few dozen men in row boats to do the job. The surprise he got plus the fact it was early fall made him haul anchor and go direct to Quebec.
Note, for the painting,
1. Phipps was supposedly leading around 40 to 50 ships, but the difficulty of going up the river against the strong flow and the generally southwest to northeast wind, his line of ships must have been extending many miles.They had been at sea for a few weeks after leaving Port-Royal and he probably saw an opportunity to give a break to his troops as much as getting free fresh food from the taken cattle, poultry, etc.
So a few ships in the background would set the scene. **These were not as big ships as the ones crossing the ocean. Some research on the internet, at the National Congress Library or the N.Y. Library could give you some designs of the ships of the era.
2. The soldiers were militia men hired for the venture, not wearing the regular army garb but more or less their usual clothing. Same for the sailors. Again a research for the clothing and arms of the period would give you the details needed for the assaillants.
3. Same for the clothing of the R.-O. inhabitants, though most of them would be partially hidden behind rocks or trees. By the way I am not that certain the priest Francheville was owning and holding a gun then as shown in the Casgrain illustration.
4. The scene could show the sailors holding 2-3 rowboats steady with their rows planted in the water, other on their way in, some soldiers already on the shore with others straddling the boats sides or already in the water with the ones on the shore expressing their surprise or turning to scramble back into the boats and a few helping the wounded ones, with maybe a few guns dropped on the ground.
Wouldn’t that make a beautiful painting?
I think I have illustrations of the inhabitants clothing of the era. I’ll look it up.
Genealogy wise, I am a descendant of Pierre Hudon dit Beaulieu from both his sons Nicolas (direct line) and Jean-Bernard. I have much info on the first Hudon generations and the origin in France.
Let me know if there is anything I may help you with.
Gilbert Beaulieu
beaug6@gmail.com
450-293-0247
Hello Gilbert Beaulieu, or better said, Allo cousin,
Thank you so much for responding, but first allow me to make my apologies for the way my comment may of sounded. I wanted so much to delete a part of it because it looked like I was bragging about my blood connection to these brave men of Riviere Ouelle and I really did not want to sound that way at all and I’m still rather red faced about it, so I hope this response corrects my errors. At the time I had just recently found these names on my ancestry tree and I was rather excited and honored that I was even connected to so many of them that my pride may of gotten in the way. Please forgive me my ignorence. I’m usually more level headed than that, Oppps, my bad… Thank you for your insights on my up and coming painting of the battle of Riviere Ouelle, which I think is way over due. I’m surprised that no one has done a painting of this battle as yet. I will take everything you mentioned, and anything else that you care to share, into consideration and use it to make this painting as accurite as possible, in fact, I’ve been searching the internet for pictures of such props to make it look as real and as historically correct as possible and I found quite a few ideas and leads already. I know that the men and boys involved were farmers and that their clothing would of reflected that. As far as Father Francheville deplicted as carrying a rifle in the Casgrain drawing, I found out in some of my research about him that though he was a valid Roman Catholic Priest, a man of the cloth, he was also a man of the woods and he was an avid hunter himself as most probably all of the other men and boys that were there were. And knowing my (our) family in the way that I do, and coming from a very long line of hunters and men of the woods, we are still a family of deer hunters and men of the woods, even to this day, so it would of been a given that all of the men and boys present would of known how to handle hunting rifles, very well, and would of made every shot count as you would do, especially while hunting for white tail deer who can be a very challenging game to put on the table, so every shot would have to count and I’m not surprised that the British soldiers and Sailors were surprised when the guns, all of a sudden, erupted, and that’s probably the way it went down. The men waited to find their targets and then the order was given. I can almost see the scene in my minds eye with all of the gun powder smoke floating out of the woods, the fear and confusion and the wild eyed suprise in the British soldiers eyes… I also know that the battle took place at the point of land that shoots out into the St. Laurent, near the existing camp ground that exist there today, but if I could get some close up pictures of the lay of the land, the rock out cropings, sea weed, types of trees, birds, in the area, etc and how close the land on the other side of the St. Laurent looks like as like the way you so well discribed, that would be awesome!!! So, ya cousin, (I have a lot of Beaulieus in my family tree too), please advise me if you will and with your help and advise, I can make this a master piece and that, is my intent. I plan on donating the painting to an active Quebec historical society in the Riviere Ouelle, La Pocatiere, Kamouraska area when I’m finished, so I may seek some contact info from you for that since you live in Quebec. I currently live in the State of Maine, USA which is right next door so that shouldn’t be a problem, and I still can speak French so, ya, lets keep in touch… John Pelletier
Hello John,
Contrary to you I am not surprised there is no painting or illustration of this event as it is practically unknown to the public, the Phipps venture being remembered in history teaching only by Frontenac’s answer to the emissary.
I may already have some photos of the area but will have to check. In any event, i shall stop in Rivière-Ouelle on my next trip down the River sometimes in July probably.
In the mean time, you could contact me at my email address below for future exchanges of info and material on this matter.
By the way, we are close neighbors as I reside in Eastern Townships.
Gilbert Beaulieu
450-293-0247
beaug6@gmail.com
Hi everyone,
I am direct descendant of René Plourde from Rivière Ouelle and am presently trying to finish the extensive line of this family. I just wanted to drop in to say hello to all my distant cousins and would be happy to help with any french translation. Je suis française. Best Regards
Emilie