The Man Who Started It All
Francois Marie Bissot, Sieur de Vincennes The city of Vincennes was founded by a French Marine officer named Vincennes. Francois Marie Bissot was born in Montreal on June 17, 1700. He was the third generation of the Bissot family in America. His grandfather Francois came to Canada from Normandy in the 1630s. In 1672 he was given a grant of land, called “the Seigniory of Vincennes,” on the south bank of the St. Laurence River, near Quebec. It was from this seigniory that the family took the title “Sieur de Vincennes.” The second Sieur de Vincennes was Jean Baptiste Bissot, son of Francois. In 1696 he was made commander among the Miami Indians on the St. Joseph River in present-day southern Michigan. In 1712 he led the Miami to the rescue of Detroit when it was besieged by the Fox Indians. For more than twenty years he was one of the most influential French officers in the West. When Francois Marie Bissot was eighteen, he joined his father’s command at Post Miami, now Fort Wayne, as a cadet in the French marines. Upon his father’s death in 1719, Francois became Sieur de Vincennes-although he usually signed his name simply “Vinsenne.” He took command at Post Miamis and showed such skill in dealing with Indians that he was placed in command of Post Ouiatenon, near present-day Lafayette. In 1730 Vincennes, now a lieutenant married Marie Philippe Dulongpre, daughter of a Kaskaskia Frenchman and an Illinois Indian. In this same year he persuaded the Piankeshaw Indians to go with him down the Wabash River to establish a new post. This was the beginning of the city of Vincennes. By 1732 Vincennes was in command of a small fort enclosing his house and a barracks for ten men, called “Poste de Vincennes.” He estimated he could get thirty thousand pelts a year from the area. In 1736 Vincennes and his men were part of a joint French-Indian expedition against Chickasaw villages near presentday Tupelo, Mississippi. They were attacked by the Chickasaw with heavy losses. Vincennes was among the prisoners burned on a pyre on March 25, 1736. Six years after the Sieur de Vincennes death, he was still grieved for by the Wea Indians (part of the Miami tribes). He was only 35 years of age when he died. The French Governor General told the Wea, "You do rightly in weeping for the death of Monsieur de Vincennes. I had given him to you because I knew he loved you and you loved him greatly." Now over 280 years later, we do right to honor him now. A statue will help ensure that he will be remembered for future generations. It is because of him that we are called the First City of Indiana. The man who started it all, SIEUR DE VINCENNES.
Francois Marie Bissot, Sieur de Vincennes The city of Vincennes was founded by a French Marine officer named Vincennes. Francois Marie Bissot was born in Montreal on June 17, 1700. He was the third generation of the Bissot family in America. His grandfather Francois came to Canada from Normandy in the 1630s. In 1672 he was given a grant of land, called “the Seigniory of Vincennes,” on the south bank of the St. Laurence River, near Quebec. It was from this seigniory that the family took the title “Sieur de Vincennes.” The second Sieur de Vincennes was Jean Baptiste Bissot, son of Francois. In 1696 he was made commander among the Miami Indians on the St. Joseph River in present-day southern Michigan. In 1712 he led the Miami to the rescue of Detroit when it was besieged by the Fox Indians. For more than twenty years he was one of the most influential French officers in the West. When Francois Marie Bissot was eighteen, he joined his father’s command at Post Miami, now Fort Wayne, as a cadet in the French marines. Upon his father’s death in 1719, Francois became Sieur de Vincennes-although he usually signed his name simply “Vinsenne.” He took command at Post Miamis and showed such skill in dealing with Indians that he was placed in command of Post Ouiatenon, near present-day Lafayette. In 1730 Vincennes, now a lieutenant married Marie Philippe Dulongpre, daughter of a Kaskaskia Frenchman and an Illinois Indian. In this same year he persuaded the Piankeshaw Indians to go with him down the Wabash River to establish a new post. This was the beginning of the city of Vincennes. By 1732 Vincennes was in command of a small fort enclosing his house and a barracks for ten men, called “Poste de Vincennes.” He estimated he could get thirty thousand pelts a year from the area. In 1736 Vincennes and his men were part of a joint French-Indian expedition against Chickasaw villages near presentday Tupelo, Mississippi. They were attacked by the Chickasaw with heavy losses. Vincennes was among the prisoners burned on a pyre on March 25, 1736. Six years after the Sieur de Vincennes death, he was still grieved for by the Wea Indians (part of the Miami tribes). He was only 35 years of age when he died. The French Governor General told the Wea, "You do rightly in weeping for the death of Monsieur de Vincennes. I had given him to you because I knew he loved you and you loved him greatly." Now over 280 years later, we do right to honor him now. A statue will help ensure that he will be remembered for future generations. It is because of him that we are called the First City of Indiana. The man who started it all, SIEUR DE VINCENNES.