Fort Pontchartrain du Détroit
In 1701, Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac established a settlement at the present day site of Detroit. Cadillac ordered the construction of a fort to protect the new village named the garrison Fort Pontchartrain du Détroit, in honor of the Comte de Ponchartrain, the current French naval minister.
The fort and its garrison played important roles during frontier conflicts of the 18th century. The beginning of the Fox Wars between the French and Native Americans within the Great Lakes region began following the failed siege of Fort Ponchartrain in 1712 and the subsequent massacre of over 1,000 Fox and Mascouten men, women, and children at the hands of the fort’s garrison and their native allies.
During the French and Indian War (1754-1763), Detroit and Fort Ponchartrain was not witness to any major battles and the settlement was peacefully turned over to the British following the surrender of Montreal in 1760.
The British referred to the fort as simply, Fort Detroit and immediately began altering the manner in which the region was governed. The changes they instituted did not sit well with many of the regional Native American allies of the French and, in 1763, Ottawa war-chief Pontiac besieged Fort Detroit in an attempt to force the British out. The fort’s garrison was able to withstand the 2-month siege and Pontiac’s Rebellion ultimately failed.
By the time that the American Revolution began in 1775, Fort Detroit was badly in need of repairs. Rather than reinforce the existing fort, British commander Captain Richard Lernoult, chose to construct a new structure, which he named for himself.
Presumably, Fort Ponchartrain did not survive the fire that destroyed the entire settlement in 1805.
