Charles Michel de Langlade

Langlade, Charles Michel de (shärl mēshĕlˈ də) [key], 1729–1800, pioneer in present-day Wisconsin and soldier, b. Mackinac region, now in Mich.; son of a trader, Augustin Langlade, who established the settlement of Green Bay, Wis., and an Ottawa woman. In the French and Indian Wars, as an ally of the French, he led the Native American force that helped defeat the British army under Gen. Edward Braddock near Fort Duquesne (1755). Langlade defeated Robert Rogers's Rangers on Lake Champlain (1757), and served in the Quebec campaign under the French General Montcalm (1759). After surrendering the fort at Mackinac to the British, he became a British citizen. In 1763 he warned the British western posts of Pontiac's Rebellion. In the American Revolution he led a force of Native Americans to General Burgoyne's assistance, but they deserted upon being reprimanded for a murder. He also fought in the West against George Rogers Clark. After the war he retired to his trading post at Green Bay, Wis.; he became known as the father of Wisconsin.


See more Encyclopedia articles on: U.S. History: Biographies