Michigan State University Department of Anthropology
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Marquette Mission Site - St. Ignace, Michigan

French Military
It was common for soldiers in New France to have been recruited in France and to have signed on to an unlimited term of service. Officers were more commonly (but by no means always) born in the colony and of the noble class. Common soldiers were occasionally discharged and often expected to settle within the colony. They could not marry without permission, but did live in private homes and took on other forms of employment while still engaged in the military. The common people of New France often acculturated to aspects of Native American life in order to survive – surely this was true for the soldiers who found themselves at the edge of New France in St. Ignace.

Historic records indicate that members of the French military were dispatched to the area beginning as early as 1681. In 1683 La Durantaye, a military commandant, along with a garrison of men was sent to the area. However, it was not until 1689 or 1690 was Fort de Baude built by 150 soldiers sent by Count Frontenac (whose family name is DeBaude). In the 1680s there was considerable French presence complete with trading and storage facilities. In 1689 Governor Denonville sent a large party of voyageurs to retrieve two years worth of furs that had been stored at Michilimackinac. Valued at 800,000 livre; this store of furs was quite large.

In 1694 Cadillac was appointed commandant of Fort de Baude where he remained in this position until 1697 when Louis XIV closed most of the western forts for a time. It is unclear whether all or part of the garrison also returned to the heart of New France (Montreal and Quebec). It is from Cadillac’s memoir that we gain some of the clearest information about the French, Huron and Ottawa occupations.

After returning from France with permission to establish Fort Pontchartrain (Detroit), Cadillac revisited St. Ignace in 1701 and convinced a good number of the Huron to accompany him in his new venture. Some French traders, the Jesuits, and some Huron remain. It is unclear whether any of the soldiers remained at St. Ignace, but it is clear that the importance of this area and the need for continued military presence was recognized almost immediately after Fort de Baude was closed. After years of unsuccessfully trying to control the traders, a garrison returned to the straits area in 1712. By 1715 several hundred men were back in Michilimackinac under the command of Sieur de Louvigny and second in command Sieur de Lignery

By 1720 there was a stockaded fort erected on the south side of the Straits and trading activities shifted to the new fort.