Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1889, volume 6).djvu/293

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VAUDREUIL
VAUDREUIL

of Moselle, and in 1813 he was made a count of the empire. Under Louis XVIII. he was councillor of state, and secretary of the interior in the Riche- lieu cabinet from 24 Sept., 1815, till 8 May, 1816. In 1820 he was returned as a deputy by the de- partment of Calvados, and from 1820 till 1830 he was delegate of the colony of Guadeloupe to the king. He urged the establishment of a maritime entrepot in the Antilles, and also advocated several changes in the judiciary and administration of the colonies. After the accession of Louis Philippe to the throne of France in 1830, he retired to pri- vate life. His works include " Du commerce mari- time considere sous le rapport des colonies " (1828) ; " Memoires et souvenirs (2 vols., 1839) ; and " De la navigation des colonies " (1843).


VAUDREUIL, Philippe de Rigaud, Marquis de, governor of Canada, b. in the castle of Vau- dreuil, near Castelnaudary, France, in 1640 ; d. in Quebec, 11 Oct., 1725. He was a brigadier-gen- eral in the French army, and distinguished him- self at the siege of Valenciennes. He was sent to Canada as commander of the forces, and was then known as Chevalier de Vaudreuil. With 300 men he went to the relief of Montreal during the massa- cre of Lachine, and served under Frontenac in his expedition against the Iroquois. He was engaged in 1690 in the defence of Quebec against the attack of Admiral Phipps, and in 1693 surprised and de- feated La Chaudiere Noire, the most astute and ter- rible of the Iroquois chiefs. In 1702 he obtained a seigniory, and was appointed governor of Mon- treal, and in 1703 he became governor of Canada as successor to M. de Callieres. In 1710 he en- gaged in the defence of Quebec, and at the same time made preparations for the relief of Montreal. After Louis XV. became king, Vaudreuil effected many reforms in the colony, and his measures, civil or military, were usually successful. — His eldest son, Louis Philippe de Rigaud, Marquis de, French naval officer, b. in Quebec, Canada, in 1691; d. in Rochefort, France, 27 Nov., 1763, en- tering the Canadian militia at the age of sixteen, rose rapidly in the service, and held the rank of major at the death of his father. He then returned to France, joined the navy as lieutenant, and was again employed in Canada for several years. In 1738 he was post-captain and com- manded the navy in Canada. During the war for the succession of Austria he fought at Cape Bre- ton, and for his valor at the battle off Cape Finis- terre, 25 Oct., 1747. was promoted chef d escadre. Louis XV. caused Carl Van Loo to paint a picture that represented Vaudreuil disengaging the flag- ship when it was surrounded by superior forces, and a copy was presented to the officer, while the original is still preserved in the museum at Ver- sailles. He was promoted lieutenant-general in 1753, fought with credit in the seven years' war, defended Marie-Galante in the West Indies against the English, and was governor of Santo Domingo in 1761-2.— Another son, Pierre Francois, Mar- quis de Vaudreuil-Cavagnal, governor of Canada, b. in Quebec in 1698 ; d. in Paris, France 20 Oct., 1765, founded the branch of Vaudreuil-Cavagnal. and was first known as Chevalier de Cavagnal. He entered the military service, and attained the rank of major in the marine corps. In 1733 he was ap- pointed governor of Three Rivers, and in 1742 of Louisiana, in which capacities he gained great popu- larity. In 1755 he was appointed governor of Can- ada. His relations with Montcalm, commander of the troops in Canada, were unfriendly, and this lack of harmony between the highest civil and military authorities in the colony doubtless tended to hasten the end of French power in North America. In September, 1759, the British defeated Montcalm and captured Quebec, and in the spring of 1760 Vaudreuil capitulated to Gen. Amherst at Mon- treal. Gen. Levis, who was in command of the troops at Montreal at the time of the surrender, opposed the capitulation ; but opposition was use- less. Such, however, was not the view that was taken of the capitulation and of some other of Vaudreuil's official actions by the home authorities, and on his return to France he was imprisoned in the Bastile on charges preferred by friends of Mont- calm. He was afterward tried before the Chatelet de Paris, the result being that the allegations were shown to be baseless, and he was absolved from all blame in his administration of the affairs of Cana- da. He was consequently released from imprison- ment, but with the loss of nearly all his money and property. — Another son, Pierre Francois de Rigaud, Chevalier de Vaudreuil, b. in Quebec in 1704; d. in Versailles, France, in 1772, was a brave and capable officer. He took Fort Massa- chusetts from the British, gained a victory over Col. Parker on Lake St. Sacrement, sunk twenty bateaux, and took five officers and 160 men prison- ers. He visited France, prevailed on the gov- ernment to despatch Montcalm, Levis, Bourla- maque, and Bougainville to Canada, and assembled at St. John the army that subsequently besieged the forts at Oswego and Ontario, and made the last attempt to detach the Iroquois from the Brit- ish in 1757. He was successively lieutenant-gov- ernor of Quebec, and governor of Three Rivers and Montreal. — Louis Philippe's son, Louis Philippe de Rigaud, Marquis de Vaudreuil, naval officer, b. in Quebec, 28 Oct., 1724; d. in Paris, France, 14 Dec, 1802, entered the navy as midship- man in 1740, and rose rapidly in the service, being pro- moted ensign in 1747 and captain in 1754. On 19 May, 1759, he fought a brilliant engagement with the English, and was made Knight of St. Louis. He was promoted post captain, adminis- tered the govern- ment of the island La Desirade, in

the West Indies,

in 1765-'8, was made brigadier of the naval forces in 1773, and chef d'escadre early in 1777. He commanded a division under Count d'Orvilliers at the battle of Ouessant, 27 July, 1778, and in December, 1778, took charge at Brest of a squadron of two ships of the line, two frigates, and three corvettes. After storming Fort St. Louis, in Senegal, and securing rich prizes on the African coast, he conveyed troops to Martinique and Santo Domingo, and, joining Count d'Estaing's army, participated in the capture of Grenada and in the attack on St. Lucia. He assisted also in the siege of Savannah in 1779, and assumed command of the fleet when the admiral led the French columns'to the assault. Returning to Brest toward the close of the year, he escorted a convoy of troops to Santo Domingo in February, 1780, escaping by skilful manoeuvring the superior fleet of Admiral Kempenfelt, and