Fort St. Charles
Encyclopedia
Fort Saint Charles was a secure trading post
constructed in 1732, one of several western forts built under the direction of military commander La Vérendrye. An expedition led by his eldest son Jean Baptiste de La Vérendrye
and nephew Christopher Dufrost de La Jemeraye
built the fort near the border of present day Manitoba
, Canada and Minnesota
, USA, it was then the most northwesterly settlement of New France
(Canada) in North America.
The previous fall La Vérendrye had built Fort St. Pierre
, a small post on Rainy River. Fort Saint Charles became the more important post for both commercial fur trade and explorations directed by La Vérendrye. From here, parties explored a large section of mid-continent North America, constructed other forts, and conducted fur trading, whose revenues were critical to the economy of the colony. The first missionary and chaplain to the fort was Father Charles-Michel Mesaiger
, a Jesuit priest.
On June 6, 1736 an expedition departed from Fort Saint Charles, consisting of Jean Baptiste de La Vérendrye
(the eldest son) with the Jesuit missionary
priest
Father Jean-Pierre Aulneau
and nineteen French-Canadian voyageurs. They were headed for Fort Michilimackinac
. They had traveled only a few kilometres from the fort when they were attacked by Sioux
, who killed all the party. The Sioux were retaliating against La Vérendrye père, whom they believed was trading guns to their traditional enemies, the Cree
and Assiniboine.
The expedition members were killed on a small island. Historians have not been unable to reach consensus on its identity. After the massacre was discovered, La Vérendrye père directed that the bodies of his son and the priest, and the heads of the 19 voyageurs, be brought back for burial at Fort Saint Charles. The remains of his son and the priest were buried under the altar stone of the chapel, and the voyageurs were buried outside.
Long after the fort had been abandoned and disappeared, newly discovered historic documents helped people find its location. In 1890 Father Aulneau's letters sent to family in Vendee, France were discovered. They were translated and published in 1893 by A. S. Jones, s.j., archivist
of St. Mary’s College in Montreal
, as The Aulneau Collection. They contributed to the work of R. G. Thwaites on compilation and publication of the Jesuit Relations, the accounts of missionary Jesuits in New France.
Academics at St. Boniface College in Winnipeg read The Aulneau Collection, which inspired a number of expeditions to discover the old sites. By 1908 the old fort location and probable location of Massacre Island had been established.
In 1911 L. A. Prud’homme recounted the conclusions of such expeditions in the Bulletin of the Historical Society of St. Boniface. In 1912 a Jesuit team excavated at the site of the fort, where they identified remains as those of La Vérendrye and Aulneau of the 1736 expedition by artifacts
, including Aulneau's rosary
and the hook to his cassock
, buried with him under the altar.
To celebrate the Golden Anniversary of the Catholic Knights of Columbus
in Minnesota, they and co-religionists in Manitoba raised funds to buy the property of the fort and reconstruct it, including a shrine
to Fr. Aulneau. (This may be a distortion of the history, as the fort was for commercial purposes.) Begun in 1949, they completed the project in 1950. The Fort is situated on Magnussen's Island, at the site of the old fort, at the mouth of Angle Inlet.
The fort is located in the Northwest Angle
of the state of Minnesota on Lake of the Woods
. It is likely that the original fort was on mainland, but the location became an island as the lake levels were raised by control structures on the Winnipeg River
.
Read 23 February 1897, Manitoba Historical Society
Trading post
A trading post was a place or establishment in historic Northern America where the trading of goods took place. The preferred travel route to a trading post or between trading posts, was known as a trade route....
constructed in 1732, one of several western forts built under the direction of military commander La Vérendrye. An expedition led by his eldest son Jean Baptiste de La Vérendrye
Jean Baptiste de La Vérendrye
Jean-Baptiste Gaultier de la Vérendrye was the eldest son of Pierre Gaultier de Varennes et de La Vérendrye and Marie-Anne Dandonneau Du Sablé...
and nephew Christopher Dufrost de La Jemeraye
Christopher Dufrost de La Jemeraye
Christopher Dufrost de La Jemeraye ,, was the lieutenant and nephew of Pierre Gaultier de Varennes et de La Vérendrye in the exploratory party which headed west from Fort Kaministiquia in 1731. He and Jean Baptiste de La Vérendrye established Fort St...
built the fort near the border of present day Manitoba
Manitoba
Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...
, Canada and Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
, USA, it was then the most northwesterly settlement of New France
New France
New France was the area colonized by France in North America during a period beginning with the exploration of the Saint Lawrence River by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Spain and Great Britain in 1763...
(Canada) in North America.
The previous fall La Vérendrye had built Fort St. Pierre
Fort St. Pierre
Fort Saint Pierre was the first fort built west of Fort Kaministiquia by Pierre La Vérendrye in northwestern Ontario. La Vérendrye, the first western commander, built it in 1731 at the beginning of his explorations. As military officer, La Vérendrye had multiple responsibilities, and he created...
, a small post on Rainy River. Fort Saint Charles became the more important post for both commercial fur trade and explorations directed by La Vérendrye. From here, parties explored a large section of mid-continent North America, constructed other forts, and conducted fur trading, whose revenues were critical to the economy of the colony. The first missionary and chaplain to the fort was Father Charles-Michel Mesaiger
Charles-Michel Mesaiger
Charles-Michel Mesaiger was a French Jesuit priest who spent some time in missionary work in present day Canada.Mesaiger arrived in Canada in 1722 and spent a number of years in the mission to the Ottawas at Michilimackinac...
, a Jesuit priest.
On June 6, 1736 an expedition departed from Fort Saint Charles, consisting of Jean Baptiste de La Vérendrye
Jean Baptiste de La Vérendrye
Jean-Baptiste Gaultier de la Vérendrye was the eldest son of Pierre Gaultier de Varennes et de La Vérendrye and Marie-Anne Dandonneau Du Sablé...
(the eldest son) with the Jesuit missionary
Missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...
priest
Priest
A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...
Father Jean-Pierre Aulneau
Jean-Pierre Aulneau
Father Jean-Pierre Aulneau de la Touche, S.J. was a Jesuit missionary priest who was briefly active in New France and killed before he could take part in his first major assignment which was to be an expedition to the Mandan. He died near Fort St. Charles, on Lake of the Woods in an area now in...
and nineteen French-Canadian voyageurs. They were headed for Fort Michilimackinac
Fort Michilimackinac
Fort Michilimackinac was an 18th century French, and later British, fort and trading post in the Great Lakes of North America. Built around 1715, it was located along the southern shore of the strategic Straits of Mackinac connecting Lake Huron and Lake Michigan, at the northern tip of the lower...
. They had traveled only a few kilometres from the fort when they were attacked by Sioux
Sioux
The Sioux are Native American and First Nations people in North America. The term can refer to any ethnic group within the Great Sioux Nation or any of the nation's many language dialects...
, who killed all the party. The Sioux were retaliating against La Vérendrye père, whom they believed was trading guns to their traditional enemies, the Cree
Cree
The Cree are one of the largest groups of First Nations / Native Americans in North America, with 200,000 members living in Canada. In Canada, the major proportion of Cree live north and west of Lake Superior, in Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and the Northwest Territories, although...
and Assiniboine.
The expedition members were killed on a small island. Historians have not been unable to reach consensus on its identity. After the massacre was discovered, La Vérendrye père directed that the bodies of his son and the priest, and the heads of the 19 voyageurs, be brought back for burial at Fort Saint Charles. The remains of his son and the priest were buried under the altar stone of the chapel, and the voyageurs were buried outside.
Long after the fort had been abandoned and disappeared, newly discovered historic documents helped people find its location. In 1890 Father Aulneau's letters sent to family in Vendee, France were discovered. They were translated and published in 1893 by A. S. Jones, s.j., archivist
Archivist
An archivist is a professional who assesses, collects, organizes, preserves, maintains control over, and provides access to information determined to have long-term value. The information maintained by an archivist can be any form of media...
of St. Mary’s College in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, as The Aulneau Collection. They contributed to the work of R. G. Thwaites on compilation and publication of the Jesuit Relations, the accounts of missionary Jesuits in New France.
Academics at St. Boniface College in Winnipeg read The Aulneau Collection, which inspired a number of expeditions to discover the old sites. By 1908 the old fort location and probable location of Massacre Island had been established.
In 1911 L. A. Prud’homme recounted the conclusions of such expeditions in the Bulletin of the Historical Society of St. Boniface. In 1912 a Jesuit team excavated at the site of the fort, where they identified remains as those of La Vérendrye and Aulneau of the 1736 expedition by artifacts
Artifact (archaeology)
An artifact or artefact is "something made or given shape by man, such as a tool or a work of art, esp an object of archaeological interest"...
, including Aulneau's rosary
Rosary
The rosary or "garland of roses" is a traditional Catholic devotion. The term denotes the prayer beads used to count the series of prayers that make up the rosary...
and the hook to his cassock
Cassock
The cassock, an item of clerical clothing, is an ankle-length robe worn by clerics of the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, Anglican Church, Lutheran Church and some ministers and ordained officers of Presbyterian and Reformed churches. Ankle-length garment is the meaning of the...
, buried with him under the altar.
To celebrate the Golden Anniversary of the Catholic Knights of Columbus
Knights of Columbus
The Knights of Columbus is the world's largest Catholic fraternal service organization. Founded in the United States in 1882, it is named in honor of Christopher Columbus....
in Minnesota, they and co-religionists in Manitoba raised funds to buy the property of the fort and reconstruct it, including a shrine
Shrine
A shrine is a holy or sacred place, which is dedicated to a specific deity, ancestor, hero, martyr, saint, daemon or similar figure of awe and respect, at which they are venerated or worshipped. Shrines often contain idols, relics, or other such objects associated with the figure being venerated....
to Fr. Aulneau. (This may be a distortion of the history, as the fort was for commercial purposes.) Begun in 1949, they completed the project in 1950. The Fort is situated on Magnussen's Island, at the site of the old fort, at the mouth of Angle Inlet.
The fort is located in the Northwest Angle
Northwest Angle
The Northwest Angle, known simply as the Angle by locals, and coextensive with Angle Township, is a part of northern Lake of the Woods County, Minnesota, and is the only place in the United States outside Alaska that is north of the 49th parallel...
of the state of Minnesota on Lake of the Woods
Lake of the Woods
Lake of the Woods is a lake occupying parts of the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Manitoba and the U.S. state of Minnesota. It separates a small land area of Minnesota from the rest of the United States. The Northwest Angle and the town of Angle Township can only be reached from the rest of...
. It is likely that the original fort was on mainland, but the location became an island as the lake levels were raised by control structures on the Winnipeg River
Winnipeg River
The Winnipeg River is a Canadian river which flows from Lake of the Woods in the province of Ontario to Lake Winnipeg in Manitoba. This river is long from the Norman Dam in Kenora to its mouth at Lake Winnipeg. Its watershed is in area, mainly in Canada. About of this area is in northern...
.
External links
- George Bryce, "The Lake of the Woods: Its History, Geology, Mining and Manufacturing", MHS Transactions Series 1, No. 49;
Read 23 February 1897, Manitoba Historical Society