Louis Groston de Saint-Ange de Bellerive

Louis Groston de Saint-Ange de Bellerive (1700–1774), was an officer in the French marine troops in New France.

Louis Groston de Saint-Ange de Bellerive
3rd Commandant of Upper Louisiana
Assumed office
1770
Preceded byPedro Piernas
Succeeded byPedro Piernas
16th Commandant of Illinois Country
In office
1764–1770
Preceded byPierre-Joseph Neyon de Villiers
Succeeded byPedro Piernas
Personal details
Born1700
Montreal
Died1774
ProfessionSoldier, Commandants of Upper Louisiana

Biography

Born in Montreal in 1700, Louis Groston de Saint-Ange de Bellerive followed his father, Robert Groston de Saint-Ange, to Fort Saint-Joseph in 1720.[1] In 1723, he accompanied the explorer Étienne de Veniard along the banks of the Missouri River and the Platte River, and assisted in the construction of Fort Orleans.[2]

Louis served as a military officer until 1736, when his father asked the Governor of Louisiana, Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, to promote him to lieutenant and commander of Fort Vincennes, replacing François-Marie Bissot, who was killed in an Indian raid. Louis received that promotion and remained commander of the fort until 1764. He was promoted to captain in 1748.[3]

On May 18, 1764, Louis Groston de Saint-Ange de Bellerive surrendered Fort Vincennes to the British under the terms of the Treaty of Paris of 1763. He then took command of Fort de Chartres.[4]

On October 10, 1765, he surrendered Fort de Chartres to the British. He took his regiment to Saint-Louis, Missouri, a part of French Louisiana that had been yielded to the Spanish, who were not yet in control of the full territory.[4]

In 1770, he swore allegiance to the Spanish Governor, and became a captain in the Spanish army, where he continued to serve until his death in 1774.[5]

Legacy

Bellerive Country Club in suburban St. Louis is named for him;[6] its golf course has hosted three major championships. The club's previous location (1910–1959) near Normandy is now a village called Bellerive.

References
  1. Canada-Québec(Synthèse Historique), Montreal, Qc., 1977, p.74
  2. Norall, Frank, Bourgmont: Explorer of the Missouri, 1698-1725. Lincoln, Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press, 51-67. Details about the expedition to the Plains are from Norall unless otherwise noted.
  3. Canada-Québec (Synthèse Historique), Montreal, Qc., 1977, p.143–144
  4. France in America, W.J. Eccles, Fitzhenry & Whiteside Limited, p.180
  5. Canada-Québec(Synthèse Historique), Montreal, Qc., 1977, p.144
  6. "Our story". Bellerive Country Club. Retrieved August 14, 2017.
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