of the traditional courtesies due a victorious
general.
Levis returned to France shortly after his
surrender, and he politely and rather gener-
ously praised Governor-General Vaudreuil’s
performance. The French war minister re-
mained impressed by his performance in the
field and conferred upon him the rank of lieu-
tenant general. In this capacity Levis fought
under the Prince de Soubise and the Prince de
Conde, distinguishing himself in several ac-
tions against the Prussians. The Seven Years’
War then concluded in 1763, and Levis retired
from active service two years later to serve as
governor of Artois. In 1771, he was selected
for the highly honorific post of commanding a
Garde du Corps company, tasked with guard-
ing the dauphin, or king’s son. In June 1783,
the old soldier was elevated to the rank of
marshal, France’s highest military distinction.
Levis died at Arras on November 26, 1787,
quite possibly the most effective soldier in the
war to preserve Canada for France.
Bibliography
Chartrand, Rene. Quebec: The Heights of Abraham, 1759:
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Portrait.” Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, University
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for Canada.Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1990;
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History58 (1966): 172–194; Murray, James. Governor
Murray’s Journal of Quebec from 18th September
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mour I. The French and Indian War, 1754–1763: The
Imperial Struggle for North America.New York:
Simon and Schuster, 1994; Stanley, George F.G. New
France: The Last Phase, 1744–1760.Toronto: McClel-
land and Stewart, 1968.LITTLETURTLE
Little Turtle
(ca. 1752–July 14, 1812)
Miami War Chief
A
master of ambush and surprise, Little
Turtle was responsible for one of the
biggest disasters in U.S. Army history.
When his own defeat became inevitable, he
renounced war and became a loyal ally of the
American government.
Little Turtle (Michikinikwa) was born near
the Eel River in the vicinity of present-day
Fort Wayne, Indiana, around 1752. His father
was a chief of the Miami, but because his
mother was a Mahican, tribal custom dictated
that he could not inherit a leadership position.
Nonetheless, Little Turtle displayed fine lead-
ership and warrior qualities as a young man,
and he was eventually made a Miami chief by
the tribal elders. He was pro-British by na-
ture, and in 1780 his warriors attacked and de-
stroyed a French-Illinois expedition under
Col. Augustin de la Balme. After the American
Revolution, he became a leading spokesper-
son for resistance to white encroachment
north of the Ohio River and helped form a
loose confederation of Miamis, Shawnees,
Potawatomis, and Ojibwas. In 1787, Congress
guaranteed the Indians that their hunting
grounds would be respected. But within a few
years, a rash of illegal settlement precipitated
a fierce border war between the Indians and
the frontiersmen. By 1790, when it was appar-
ent the Indians would not accept the squat-
ters, the American government resorted to
punitive measures.