JULY 2, 1690

BATTLES OF RIVIERE DES PLAINS/COULEE GROU: FRENCH-IROQOUIS (BEAVER) WARS

During King William’s War (the latter end of the French-Iroquois, or Beaver, Wars), English settlers along the Atlantic coastline were allied with the Iroquois against the French and Wabanaki with raids conducted by both sides. Following French-Wabanaki raids into New Hampshire & Maine (then part of Massachusetts Bay Colony), New Englanders attacked and took Port Royal, the capital of Acadia, in May 1690. When the Sieur de Colombet, a former French army lieutenant, learned of a group of 100 Iroquois moving along the Rivière des Prairies toward Montréal in canoes–the same direction from which the New Englanders might be coming–he led a group of 25 settlers to the Coulée Grou where they ambushed the Iroquois killing 4. The Iroquois landed & engaged the French in hand-to-hand combat. In the skirmish that followed, Iroquois fatalities were about 30. De Colombet and 8 of his men were killed, and another 4 were captured and killed.

Sources:  “Battle of Rivière des Prairies / Battle of Coulée Grou National Historic Site of Canada,” Parks Canada, Directory of Federal Heritage Designations, Government of Canada. Retrieved 12/7/2021, Parks Canada - Battle of Rivière des Prairies / Battle of Coulée Grou National Historic Site of Canada (pc.gc.ca)
Lionel Groux, The Ancetre. Retrieved 12/7/2021,  http://archives.vigile.net/groulx/ancetre.html
Photo: Driz7, 8/15/1971. Canadian National Monument commemorating the July 2, 1690 battle at Coulee Grou, Point-aux-Trembles, Quebec, Canada. Public Domain.