Biography
He was baptised at Ville de Maries (Montreal) New France on 20/07/1661.
He was the third and best known son of Charles Le Moyne de Longueil et de Chateauguay a Director of the Compagnie du Nord. In 1699 Pierre was awarded the Croix de St. Louis for Valour and was the first person born in Canada to receive this decoration.
He is probably buried in the Church of San Cristobal in Habana Cuba.
Military Service
He entered the Royal French Navy and advanced to Capitaine (RFN).
He was the first senior French Navy officer born in Canada.
He participated in several expeditions agianst the British trading posts on Hudson Bay. In 1690 he captured the New Severn on Hudson Bay and captured British prizes, including two frigates as far south as New York. In 1694 he commanded a squadron o three ships that took Fort York on the Nelson River, the main fortification controlling the trade in the Hudson Bay area. In 1696 he commanded two frigates that defeated a British squadron blockading the mouth of the St. John River in what was the nAcadia. In the same year he participated in the capture of St. John's.
He then led a detachment of Canadians in ruthless raids along the eastern coasts of Newfoundland. In 1697 he took a squadron of four ships to Hudson Bay and his flagship, the Pelican, defeated a squadron of three british vessels at the entrance to the Bay. As a result Hudson Bay was taken by France, only to be returned to Britain at a subsequent peace conference. In 1698-1700 he commanded expeditions in Louisana and gain in 1701-02.
In 1706 his final adventure was commanding a squadron capturing the island of Nevis in the West Indies.
References
- Dictionary of Canadian Biography
- MacFarlane, John M. (1994)
