Picoté de Belestre

François-Marie Picoté, sieur de Belestre II (17 November 1716 – 30 March 1793) was a colonial soldier for both New France and Great Britain.

As a soldier in the French troupes de la marine, Belestre fought against British and American colonial troops for 30 years, from Nova Scotia to the Mississippi River valley. Belestre became famous during the wars between France and Great Britain, serving in the North American theater of the Seven Years' War, also known as the French and Indian War (1754–63). He was one of the last officers of New France to surrender to British troops. In 1758, Belestre became the thirteenth and last official French Commandant of Fort Ponchartrain (Fort Detroit). His term ended in 1760 with the end of French rule in Detroit, after which he was sent to England. He returned to Quebec under British rule, and joined the British troops which defended Fort Saint Jean from American colonial forces in 1775. He became a colonel in the British Army before his death.

François-Marie Picoté de Belestre was born in Lachine, in the French province of Canada on 17 November 1716. In 1738 he married Marie Anne Nivard Saint-Dizier, the daughter of Pierre Nivard Saint-Dizier, in Montreal. They had six children: François-Louis (1739) (ref: Joachime Coulon de Villiers in 1762 in Fort Chartres), Marie-Joseph (1741), Etienne (1742), François-Xavier (1743), Anne (1746) & Marie-Archangel (1748). In 1739, he followed his father into the military, embarking on a career in the Troupes de la marine, the colonial military of New France. He saw service in the Chickasaw Wars and was active in battles against the Iroquois. He was promoted to second ensign in 1741.

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