Je suis Jean-Baptiste Roy
I, born in 1729, in the Parish of Montreal am one of 5 surviving children. I was educated at home principally in farming. I was educated by the priests of the parish in Catholicism but never learned to read or write. From a young age all boys raised in the parish of Montreal fished and hunted whenever possible in order to supplement what we could cultivate.
In 1749, June 1st in my 20th year I joined the charismatic Abbé Francois Piquet who began construction on Fort de La Présentation, also called La Galette, at the confluence of the Oswegachie and the St. Lawrence rivers. I was one of 25 Frenchmen who helped to build it. I have been sometimes a carpenter, sometimes farmer, sometimes voyageur, and sometimes soldier.
Our population now rivals that of Montreal and God willing in these trying times, will continue to grow.
In 1752 during the course of my work in the fort I met Lulabelle Giroux who was employed as a clerk at the training post of the fort. With the approval of our parents we wed in the mission like so many other families there surrounded by our Canadian and native friends. We’ve gone on to have six children baptized, in all, four have survived.
A few short years after our wedding, the conflict between England and France finally reached us. I was called into militia service repeatedly over the next few years.
In March 1756 I went with Gaspard-Joseph Chaussegros de Léry and our warriors to burn Fort Bull.
In the summer we followed General Montcalm and Chevalier de Levis to Oswego. We trekked home after destroying what was left of the forts laden down with goods to bring to our families.
August 2nd 1757 After our victory at fort William Henry, various indigenous nations decided to forgo the orders of Montcalm to let the prisoners pass or were uninformed of the arrangement. Many French officers were compelled to stop the plundering of the warriors. For our part we Canadians had much work to do dismantling the defenses and needed to go home for the harvest.
A year later we were called up to Fort Carllion on Lake Champlain. We held the abbetis on the lake side from nine in the morning until sundown that night. July 8 1758 was the bloodiest day I had witnessed.
After an all too brief respite in this year, 1759, Construction began of fort Lèvis in September under the Duc la Lèvis, around that time Abbé Piquet and most of our native inhabitants removed themselves to Montreal. Captain Pouchot, now commander of the fort, ordered the evacuation of Fort de La Présentation including my wife, our parents and our children. I, along with 340 Canadians and regulars of the Compagnies franches de la marine, will row our way to Fort Lèvis to make a stand against Amherst, his ships, and his guns.
Once our preparations are done all we can do is pray and hope that once again The Lord will see fit to see us safely home.
No comments:
Post a Comment