of the French and Indian War in North Amer-
ica, he was dispatched to Canada and arrived
at Quebec in June 1755.
Pouchot’s debut was fortuitous for New
France. The vessel carrying the majority of
French engineers had been captured by the
Royal Navy off Newfoundland, which ren-
dered him the most experienced engineering
officer available. Governor-General Pierre de
Rigaud de Vaudreuiltook a liking to Pou-
chot and dispatched him to Fort Frontenac
(now Kingston, Ontario) with orders to repair
and strengthen that outpost. When this was
accomplished to the governor’s satisfaction,
Pouchot received an even more important
mission: strengthening the defenses of strate-
gic Fort Niagara in western New York. At that
time, Fort Niagara consisted solely of a stone
building surrounded by, in his words, “a rot-
ten stockade.” To correct this deficiency, Pou-
chot surrounded the fort with substantial
earthworks that doubled its capacity for resis-
tance. In July 1756, he was suddenly ordered
to Oswego, New York, to help Gen. Louis-
Joseph Montcalmbesiege British fortifica-
tions there. Pouchot applied his military craft
diligently, and the British surrendered on Au-
gust 15, 1755. As a reward for his services, he
was allowed to return to Fort Niagara as gar-
rison commander. Vaudreuil also recom-
mended him for a promotion to lieutenant
colonel with a pension.
For all his skill as an officer, Pouchot’s
tenure at Fort Niagara was marred by profes-
sional jealousy because of his background as
a regular army officer (troupes de terre). Tra-
ditionally, military outposts of New France
had been commanded by native-born Canadi-
ans (troupes de la marine), mainly because
of their skill in dealing with Native Ameri-
cans. However, Pouchot, a dynamic officer
who was courteous and polished, evinced
considerable skill in his dealings with local
tribesmen. By befriending various chiefs and
showering them with gifts, he managed to
keep the Iroquois either neutral or in the em-
ploy of France. Having completed his task of
strengthening Fort Niagara, Pouchot was re-
called to Montreal at the behest of Governor
Vaudreuil to serve as his geographer. He thus
spent the winter completing several detailed
maps that were forwarded to the ministry of
marine in Paris.
The spring of 1758 found Pouchot reunited
with his regiment as part of an expedition into
the Mohawk region under Gen. François-
Gaston Levis. However, when this operation
was suspended, he accompanied that officer
back to Fort Carillon (Ticonderoga), New
York. Pouchot was closely engaged in the re-
pulse of Gen. James Abercromby on July 8,
1758, and afterward worked to further
strengthen Carillon’s defenses. Despite these
local French successes, the British were
slowly and inexorably drawing a concentric
ring around French Canada. After the fall of
Fort Frontenac in August 1758, Pouchot re-
turned to Fort Niagara to prepare its defense
and keep the Indians neutral. However, he un-
derestimated his ability to maintain Iroquois
neutrality, for after considerable debate, the
Six Nations elected to side with England. In
July 1759, Sir William Johnson invested Fort
Niagara with a large force, and Pouchot, pos-
sessing only 600 men, managed to hold out for
19 days before surrendering on July 25. After
cordial exchanges with his former enemies,
who allowed him to depart with the honors of
war, he was exchanged and sent back to Mon-
treal for further duty.
By the spring of 1760 New France was in its
death throes as British forces closed in on
Montreal from three sides. Pouchot was placed
in command of Fort Levis on the St. Lawrence
River with orders to delay the army of Gen. Jef-
frey Amherst as long as possible. Possessing
only 400 men against an army of 10,000, he
managed to delay the British advance for eight
days before capitulating a second time. Fol-
lowing the surrender of Montreal in September
1760, New France was now a British posses-
sion. Pouchot, along with his surviving sol-
diers, returned to France in March 1761, con-
cluding an exemplary service career of six
years. Despite his reputation as a good soldier,
Pouchot was questioned closely about finan-POUCHOTDEMAUPAS, PIERRE