Pierre Dugué de Boisbriand

Who was Pierre Dugué de Boisbriand?

Pierre Dugué de Boisbriand was a Canadien who commanded several areas in North America colonized by France in the early 18th Century, rising to become the fourth governor of the French colony of Louisiana.

As a French military officer, Dugué held a succession of posts from 1699 to 1726 at France's settlements on the Gulf Coast and on the Mississippi River in present-day Illinois. He served at various times as commander of outposts at Mobile, Natchez, Louisiana, and the area known as the Illinois Country during his military career.

Dugué was a cousin and fellow officer of brothers, with whom he served on expeditions during French colonization in North America. Their achievements included capturing English fortifications in Canada, and founding the colonies at Mobile and New Orleans.

In 1719, Dugué led an expedition to the area south of present-day St. Louis. Eighteen miles north of the Jesuit mission at Kaskaskia, he established an outpost that he named Fort de Chartres. The fort became the center of military and civilian activity in the area known as Upper Louisiana and the Illinois Country. From 1724-1726, Dugué served in New Orleans as Governor of Louisiana in the first French era after his predecessor Bienville returned to France for an extended period of time.