A Fascinating Piece of History They say truth is stranger than fiction. Many people love historical fiction. Many more are avid followers of TV scripts that fray the boundaries of common sense. However, here is a short tale for you that is firmly rooted in fact and, when the consequences are considered, truly beggar the imagination. During the War of 1812, the British and Canadian soldiers were run ragged in their ultimately successful efforts to defend the sprawling boundaries of Upper Canada. The American forces that were repulsed in their invasion efforts none-the-less were large and indeed grew into the huge army that fought in the Civil War. Now imagine that into the middle of that uneasy border tension came Napoleon Bonaparte and 1 or 2 of his generals – firmly on the side of the American army. Would there be a backwoods Wellington to defeat him again? If not, what could have happened? Let me introduce Jacques Donatien Le Ray de Chaumont – a man historians refer to variously as the Father of the American Revolution and the Enabler of the French Revolution. Jacques Donatien Le Ray was probably the wealthiest man in France in the late 1700s. He was a businessman and courtier at the court of Louis XVI. He owned, among many other assets, the fabulous Chateau de Chaumont in the Loire Valley of France. When the United States declared independence, Benjamin Franklin led a diplomatic mission to seek support from the French government. Le Ray provided absolutely vital help, ranging from quarters for Franklin, interventions with the king resulting in huge amounts of money and war materiel and, among other things, a French merchant ship converted to a warship named the Bonhomme Richard which was placed under the command of John Paul Jones. This led to the virtual bankrupting of the French Treasury and as a result, there was no money left to buy food for starving peasants when the crops failed. Eventually the people rose up and Louis lost his head. Hence, the reason Le Ray is known as “Enabler of the French Revolution”. However, for his tremendous help to the fledgling American government, Le Ray is often referred to as a Father of the American Revolution. Following independence, Le Ray purchased 800,000 acres of land, a tract that extends from the present day US army base Fort Drum in upstate NY to the town of Chaumont, NY and including Cape Vincent NY. The family mansion is now the VIP center at Fort Drum. After the French revolution, Le Ray and a number of French friends, (including some of Napoleons generals), planned to liberate Napoleon from his prison on St. Helena Island. The plan was to bring him to Le Rays estate surrounding Cape Vincent. Unfortunately, Napoleon died before the plan could be put into effect. Just think of the reaction of the British and Canadians a few short miles away in Fort Henry, Kingston! Imagine how Napoleons presence on the shores of Lake Ontario could have influenced North American history.
Posted on: Sat, 25 Oct 2014 15:22:53 +0000
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