François - Marie Picoté de Belestre François - Marie Picoté , sieur de Belestre II ( 17 November 1716 – 30 March 1793 ) was a colonial soldier for both New France and Great Britain . As a soldier in the French troupes de la marine , Belestre fought against British and American colonial troops for 30 years , from Nova Scotia to the Mississippi River valley . Belestre became famous during the wars between France and Great Britain , serving in the North American theater of the Seven Years ' War , also known as the French and Indian War ( 1754 – 63 ) . He was one of the last officers of New France to surrender to British troops . In 1758 , Belestre became the thirteenth and last official French Commandant of Fort Ponchartrain ( Fort Detroit ) . His term ended in 1760 with the end of French rule in Detroit , after which he was sent to England . He returned to Quebec under British rule , and joined the British troops which defended Fort Saint Jean from American colonial forces in 1775 . He became a colonel in the British Army before his death . Biography . François - Marie Picoté de Belestre was born in Lachine , in the French province of Canada on 17 November 1716 . In 1738 he married Marie Anne Nivard Saint - Dizier , the daughter of Pierre Nivard Saint - Dizier , in Montreal . They had six children : François - Louis ( 1739 ) ( ref : Joachime Coulon de Villiers in 1762 in Fort Chartres ) , Marie - Joseph ( 1741 ) , Etienne ( 1742 ) , François - Xavier ( 1743 ) , Anne ( 1746 ) & Marie - Archangel ( 1748 ) . In 1739 , he followed his father into the military , embarking on a career in the Troupes de la marine , the colonial military of New France . He saw service in the Chickasaw Wars and was active in battles against the Iroquois . He was promoted to second ensign in 1741 . Conflict with British colonies . When Louisbourg fell early in King George ' s War , Belestre was sent to Acadia to assist in resistance against the British occupation . By 1747 he was back on the western frontier , working with Pierre Joseph Céloron de Blainville to supply Fort Detroit . During the 1740s British colonists had begun to penetrate the Ohio Country and were competing successfully with the French in the lucrative fur trade . Belestre was sent to Paris in 1749 to report on the state of affairs with the Indians . 1749 to 1759 : he is given the responsibility to look after and maintain the trade of fur in Michigan . 1751 : he is asked to carry out a punitive raid on “ La Demoiselle ” village ( ref : post , 417 , 419 , 444 ) . 1751 ( Fall ) to 1752 : he is sent to France to be cured of a wound and report of the situation . ( A N Colonies C11A 97 : 198 ) . 1751 ( end ) or 1752 : Promoted to the rank of Lieutenant . 1752 : he is back in Canada , in charge of Wabash Post ( ref : Ibid . , 119 : 316 ) . 1753 : On January 29 , following the death of his wife , Belestre married Marie Ann Magnan also in Montreal . 1754 : He was recommended for promotion to ensign " en pied " . ( ref : Ibid , 99 : 282v . ) Seven Years ' War . In 1755 Belestre commanded a troop of colonial marines and Indians in the decisive Battle of the Monongahela , in which British General Edward Braddock ' s forces were routed . For his contribution to the victory , Belestre was awarded the Order of Saint Louis . In April 1756 , he led a raiding party of 20 French soldiers and 150 Miami , Ouiatonon , and Shawnee into the Carolinas . Later that year he participated in Montclam ' s victory in the Battle of Fort Oswego . He was then promoted to lieutenant , and placed in command of Fort de Miami . In the summer of 1757 , he was ordered to raid Fort Cumberland on the Virginia frontier . He led an expedition with 12 French soldiers , 40 allied natives and 300 men but they were attacked on their way back by Cherokees allied to the British . Belestre ' s nephew , Philippe Dagneau of Saussaye , St . Ours and three French soldiers were killed . Belestre was brought to Fort Loudoun , in Winchester , VA , where he was questioned by Edmund Atkyn , Superintendent of Indian Affairs in the presence of Colonel George Washington and George Croghan , Deputy to Sir William Johnson . It is uncertain if he was released or if he escaped , but he succeeded in finding his way back to Montreal by early fall 1757 . On November 28 , he took what remained of his troops — about 300 Canadians and Indians soldiers — toward Fort Frontenac ( now Kingston , Ontario ) . They move east towards the Mohawk River valley . Captain Belestre received the order , probably from Vaudreuil , the Governor of New France , to attack the Palatine settlement of German Flatts , where they destroyed the place , killing 50 German settlers and taking 150 prisoners ( men , women and children ) . Most of the houses and buildings were burned . Using this " hit and run " tactic , common during this war , the damage caused was important . This last raid was regarded as a considerable victory for France , by the fact that this relatively small team had succeeded in penetrating deep into New York without opposition . They took what remained of the food , horses and cows , which they carried back to Montreal . In 1758 Belestre was promoted to captain and became the 13th official commander of Fort Ponchartrain du Detroit , originally founded by Antoine de Lamothe Cadillac in 1701 . This happened after the death of the Detroit commandant , Nicholas D ' aneau , Sieur de Muy in 1758 . Assisted by Pierre Passerat de La Chapelle , he commanded a small army in a fort which was more of a fur trading center than a military fortress . Because of the many Indian allies camped around the fort , it was not considered necessary by the French Army to garrison the post with many troops like it was in the past . But it soon became a warehouse of supplies and equipment for the troops in the northwest of New France . As the French settlements in the east started falling to British forces in 1759 , some citizens of New France fled to Detroit seeking protection . He participated in the French effort to relieve Fort Niagara that same year . More colonial troops were sent to fortify Fort Detroit in 1760 . But in September 1760 , Governor Vaudreuil surrendered Montreal and the rest of New France to the British . At that time , all communications with France and the rest of the French troops were broken , and Fort Detroit and other frontier outposts became completely isolated ; Belestre knew nothing of the French capitulation . British General Jeffery Amherst then ordered Major Robert Rogers to ascend the St . Lawrence and the Great Lakes , to take command of the French forts at Detroit , Michilimackinac and elsewhere . Rogers was also given instructions to avoid battle unless necessary . On September 13 , 1760 , with " two hundred Rangers in fifteen whale - boats " ( some archives mention the 60th Royal Americans troops and Rogers ' Rangers ) , Rogers left Montreal . Approaching Fort Detroit in late November , Rogers sent a runner with a letter for Belestre , notifying him that the western posts now belonged to King George . His messenger explained to Belestre that Rogers had a letter from the Marquis de Vaudreuil and a copy of the capitulation . Belestre got very upset , irritated by the news , and the idea that he could lose his post . Could he trust Rogers , an enemy ? No real proofs were given . Four hundred soldiers were stationed at the entrance of the Detroit River to obstruct any further advance from Rogers ' troops . Belestre intended to fight and arrested the officer who delivered Rogers ' message . Belestre ' s doubts were reinforced by the fact that no French officers had confirmed the situation in Montreal and he sent messengers to try to find out the truth . The next morning , near to what is now Ecorse city ( Michigan ) , the British troops approached Fort Detroit and Rogers sent Captain Donald Campbell with a small party to Belestre , carrying an official copy of Montreal ' s capitulation together with Vaudreuil ' s letter instructing Belestre to surrender the fort to him . These documents were convincing enough , and Belestre capitulated . On November 29 , Rogers took possession of Fort Detroit . British rule . Captain Campbell took over command of the fort , while Belestre and his soldiers were made prisoners of war and sent to Philadelphia in chains , escorted by two officers under the command of Lieutenant Holmes and twenty men . This ended Belestre ' s career as a French military officer . He was sent to England , still a prisoner . Although Belestre was in bitter spirit about the defeat , he was also very disappointed about the French Crown , letting New France and his Acadians down . He then found out that the French government was near bankruptcy after the Seven Years ' War , and had little choice but to stop fighting . He became reconciled to British rule , and decided that he would prefer to return with his family to Montreal where he was born . In 1764 , he was released in England and returned to Canada via France . He then became a highly respected citizen of Quebec , serving in 1767 on a jury that heard the case of Thomas Walker , a British merchant and justice who was assaulted in his home after he handed down an unfavourable judgment . In 1771 Belestre took part in St . Peter ' s Lodge ( Provincial Grand Lodge of Quebec ) as " Premier Surveillant " with Pierre Gamelin . American Revolutionary War . When the American Revolutionary War broke out in 1775 , and the rebel colonists launched an invasion of Quebec , he volunteered his services in defence of Fort Saint - Jean on the Richelieu River . The fort was besieged in September by Continental Army forces , and Belestre was taken prisoner when the garrison surrendered . 1776 : on May 1 , he was named “ Grand Voyer ” of the Province of Quebec and as recognition for his services in the Revolutionary War , was made provincial lieutenant - colonel in the Québec Militia on July 12 , 1790 . 1775 : Member of the legislative Council on August 17 . Later years . 1784 : appointed as member of the executive Council . 1789 : Some files report that he was in Paris the very same day of the execution of Louis XVI ( to verify - especially since Louis XVI was executed in 1793 , not 1789 ) . 1792 : He was decorated with the Saint Helena Medal . 1792 : from January - to March 30 , 1792 when he became too weak , he was appointed a member to the first Legislative Council of Lower Canada , where he served for 3 months . 1793 ( March 30 ) : he dies in Montreal , at the age of 76 years and 4 months . He was buried in the parish of Notre - Dame , April 2 . Origins & descendants . Origins . Belestre ' s family comes from the French nobility and their line can be traced back to France in the 15th century . The family played a significant role in the affairs of the French regime , New France and subsequently after the English takeover in about 1760 . Belestre ' s father bears the same name - Francois Marie Picote , Sieur de Belestre I ( born in Montreal 1677 - 1729 ) . His father was described as an officer or garrison commander of the fort of Ville - Marie ( now Montréal ) , a title that he shared with Adam Dollard des Ormeaux , ( 1635 – May 1660 ) . His father was also governor of Fort Detroit as acting Commandant in de Tonty ' s absence , in winter 1721 - 22 . His mother was Marie - Catherine Trottier des Ruisseaux de Beaubien ( 1681 – 1731 ) . Belestre is a descendant of " Pierre Picotté , Sieur de Belestre " ( as listed within the « Recensement de Montréal en 1666 » when he was 39 years old ) . Descendants . François - Louis , Francois Marie ' s oldest son by the first marriage , followed his father into the troupes de la marine and later settled in Louisiana . After the Expulsion of the Acadians , descendants of Belestre ( or Belletre , Bélêtre ) were dispersed throughout North America , Germany and France . Character . Belestre had the reputation of a courageous , resistant & brave fighter and it has been written that " Belestre has surmounted all the obstacles which arose before him at each instant . " Belestre was considered a capable and efficient warrior by his superiors and a frightening threat for his enemies . It is surprising that he was not killed while fighting , or executed once made prisoner of war on several occasions . According to reports found in the Quebec Historical Society , " After the capture of Fort DuQuesne in 1758 , General Forbes planned an attack on Detroit . Sieur de Belestre , having heard that the enemy was marching , put himself at the head of the Hurons and other Indians to give an attack to the advance guard , which he defeated . " Belestre was also said to write " French with an inimitable German phonetization " in a Paris journal . External links . [