The military engineer Michel Chartier de Lotbinière, born in Quebec in 1723 and died in New York in 1798, is a character who is both rigid and difficult to define, says historian Dave Noël. However, he insisted on devoting a biographical essay to this little-known man of war. Because his personal diary, kept over more than half a century, contains, among other things, unpublished accounts of the siege of Quebec in 1759 and the Battle of the Plains of Abraham.
The latter will be experienced by the Canadian as main aide-de-camp to the Marquis de Vaudreuil, the last governor of New France. “Through Lotbinière, we support Vaudreuil. So, we learn what he knew about the unfolding of events on the morning of the Battle of the Plains of Abraham. It’s major,” underlines the one who is a journalist at Duty since 2009.
In an interview on the occasion of the publication of his book Chartier de Lotbinière, Dave Noël explains that the writings of this character have somehow “fallen between the cracks”, in particular because a considerable part of them are in New York. The essayist therefore went to the Big Apple in 2019 to consult them.
“For researchers interested in the War of the Conquest, it is not natural to go to New York to obtain documents from this period. They are generally kept in France, Ottawa or London,” says the man who is also the author of the book. Montcalm, American generalpublished in 2018.
A polarizing character
By reading through the writings of this military engineer, which relate the times surrounding the War of the Conquest (1755-1760), the historian came to describe the character as an antihero. “There are people who like him very much: he still built a protection network around him, which helped him to climb the ladder. But he is someone who is very criticized, and who is not always friendly. »
The fragments of his notebooks where he deals with the harsh education he subjected his illegitimate son to are an example of this. But “at the same time, we end up becoming attached to him”, nuance Mr. Noël.
According to the essayist, nowadays, there is an interest in talking about the life of a complex and polarizing character like Lotbinière. “We are no longer in the age of heroes or monuments. On the contrary, we tend to debunk them,” he argues.
Dave Noël took pleasure in revisiting a period he knows well through the eyes of this man of war. But the task has not always been easy. “It was a lot [de travail] to cross-check Lotbinière’s assertions, because he goes far in what he says. Sometimes these are personal reflections. Sometimes he claims to have achieved things on a military level that are not accurate. »
It was a lot [de travail] to cross-check Lotbinière’s assertions, because he goes far in what he says.
A perfectionist engineer
Among historians, Michel Chartier de Lotbinière is mainly presented as the designer of Fort Carillon, which became Fort Ticonderoga. Located south of Lake Champlain, in New York State, the place was central during two armed conflicts: the War of the Conquest and the American Revolution (1775-1783).
This construction, however, earned Lotbinière the nickname “Vauban of Canada”, in reference to the illustrious French engineer who perfected the art of fortification under Louis XIV, Mr. Noël raises. “It was to ridicule him, because Lotbinière was very perfectionist. He worked on his fort for three years. » The construction site was a burden for the French army, because some of the soldiers were recruited to work there.
Despite the numerous criticisms to which he was the subject, the Canadian nevertheless rubbed shoulders throughout his life with several notable figures of his time, including the American scientist Benjamin Franklin.
Michel Chartier de Lotbinière will meet a sinister end. He died alone, in a rooming house in New York, from yellow fever. “He who had great ambitions, he certainly did not expect to end his life like that. He saw himself as a big landowner in the St. Lawrence Valley,” notes Dave Noël.
The engineer’s writings allow a real dive into the heart of the 18th centurye century, both on a social and military level, notes the journalist. “We really see how this could happen. But at the same time, Lotbinière is so particular that, sometimes, you have to be careful about the representativeness of his words, he warns.