Battle of La Prairie

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Battle of La Prairie
Part of the War of the Grand Alliance
Date August 11, 1691 Location La Prairie, near Montreal, Québec, Canada Result French victory
Belligerents
France	England
Commanders
Louis-Hector de Calliéres, Philippe Clement du Vuault de Valrennes	Major Pieter Schuyler
Strength
700-800 regulars, militia and First Nations allies	120 Albany militia, 146 Mohawk and Mahican allies
Casualties and losses
45 killed 60 wounded	37 dead 31 wounded

v • d • e King William's War Schenectady – Port Royal – Quebec – La Prairie – Candlemas Massacre – Hudson's Bay

During the summer of 1691 a force led by Major Peter Schuyler invaded the French settlements along the Richelieu River south of Montreal. Callières, the local French governor, responded by massing 700-800 French and allies at the fort at La Prairie, on the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River. Schuyler surprised the much larger French force in a rainstorm just before dawn on August 11, inflicting severe casualties before withdrawing towards the Richelieu. Schuyler's force might have remained intact but instead was intercepted by the force of 160 men led by Valrennes that had been detached to block the road to Chambly. The two sides fought in vicious hand-to-hand combat for approximately an hour, before Schuyler's force broke through and escaped. The French had suffered the most casualties during Schuyler's initial ambush, but the casualties the Albany force suffered after Valrennes' counterattack meant that they had incurred the greater proportion of loss. Instead of continuing his raids, Schuyler was forced to retreat back to Albany.

The battle was also the subject of a 19th-century poem by William Douw Schuyler-Lighthall.

[edit] External links

• Philippe de Valrennes
• Pieter Schuyler
• "The Battle of La Prairie", by W.D. Schuyler-Lighthall