François Coulon de Villiers
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François Coulon de Villiers (1712-1794) was a French military officer from an influential military family in the French and Indian War and then an influential officer in the New Spain community of New Orleans.
He was born in Verchères, Quebec. In 1744 he was first commandant of Fort de Cavagnial in the bluffs above the Missouri River near moden day Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. It was the furthest west of the French forts in Louisiana (New France).
A member of a military family his brother Joseph Coulon de Jumonville was slaughtered while in custody of George Washington in what has been called the Battle of Jumonville Glen in 1754. The incident ignited the French and Indian War/Seven Years War. Another of his brothers Louis Coulon de Villiers defeated Washington in the immediate next battle in the campaign in the Battle of the Great Meadows. It marked the only time Washington had to sue for peace in battle.
He served in many of battles of the war including the Battle of Fort Duquesne. He was captured in the Battle of Fort Niagara and had to be exchanged.
After the French defeat in the war in which Spain took over Louisiana in the Treaty of Paris (1763) he served in various capacities for New Spain including commandant of the Natchitoches and Alcalde for New Orleans, Louisiana.
