Adam Dollard des Ormeaux (July 23, 1635 – May 21, 1660) is an iconic figure in the history of New France (modern-day Quebec). Arriving in the colony in 1658, Dollard was appointed the position of garrison commander of Fort Ville-Marie (now Montreal). In the spring of 1660, Dollard led an expedition up the Ottawa River to wage war on the Iroquois. Accompanied by seventeen other Frenchmen, Dollard arrived at the foot of Long Sault (near present-day Carillon, Quebec) on May 1 and settled his troops at an abandoned Algonquin fort. He was then joined by forty Huron and four Algonquin allies. Vastly outnumbered by the Iroquois, Dollard and his companions died at the Battle of Long Sault somewhere between May 9 and May 12. The exact nature or purpose of Dollard's 1660 expedition is uncertain; however, most historians agree that Dollard set out to conduct a "petite guerre" (ambush) against the Iroquois, in order to delay (or prevent altogether) their imminent attack on Ville-Marie. For these reasons, Dollard is regarded as one of the saviours of New France.
Dollard was born in Lumigny-Nesles-Ormeaux, France in 1635. At the age of 24, he settled in Montreal and took up a career in the military. Aside from some military experience, nothing is known of his activities prior to his arrival in Canada. In Ville-Marie, Dollard had attained a rather positive reputation. In Histoire de Montréal, François Dollier de Casson portrays Dollard as "a youth of courage and of good family" and in the Jesuit Relations, Dollard is described as a "man of accomplishment and generalship". Most importantly, Dollard had gained the trust of Paul de Chomedey, Sieur de Maisonneuve, who authorized Dollard's expedition to Long Sault river.
There is little verifiable evidence regarding Dollard's reason for being in Canada, but it is possible he was contemplating life as a settler in the colony. Tellingly, by the end of 1659, Maisonneuve gave him a piece of land comprising 30 arpents (10 hectares). Upon Dollard's death, Pierre Picoté de Belestre inherited his land.
Expedition west and the Battle of Long Sault
Against the advice of seasoned Aboriginal fighters, Dollard got the support of the governor of Montreal, Paul Chomedey de Maisonneuve, to organize an expedition west. The group comprised about 16 volunteers who had little or no experience in Aboriginal warfare. After a 10-day canoe trip up the Ottawa River, they set up camp not far from Carillon, Quebec, in a former stockade. They were soon surrounded by about 700 Iroquois and after a siege lasting several days, they were all killed or captured in what became known as the Battle of Long Sault. For reasons unknown, the Iroquois did not continue east to capture Ville-Marie. The events were witnessed by about 40 Huron allies who at times had joined the colonists in the stockade and at other times had harried the Iroquois from outside. According to some scholars, the battle so weakened the Iroquois they cancelled their planned attack on Ville-Marie (Montreal) and returned home. For over a century Dollard des Ormeaux became a heroic figure in New France, and Quebec, as he exemplified selfless personal sacrifice, as well as martyrdom for the church, and for the colony. Agreements on the validity of this interpretation are debatable.
The reason why Dollard and his companions attempted to ambush the Iroquois is up for debate. Tradition holds that Dollard was anticipating an Iroquois attack on Ville-Marie (Montreal) and that in response, he amassed the small force of seventeen Frenchmen, four Algonquins, and about forty Hurons to defend the town. They fought to the death and because of this supposedly saved Ville-Marie from an Iroquois invasion. But there are many scholars who claim his reasons were not quite as noble.
According to André Vachon, some historians claim that Dollard was in debt and thereby sought to steal the furs from the Iroquois who were returning from their winter hunt. This theory has been criticized. One such criticism points to the fact that Paul Chomedey de Maisonneuve approved of this expedition, which implies that the goals of the expedition was at the very least partially sanctioned by the colony's civil service or military command. However, a more historical analysis of the context of late 17th century New France is better for establishing a more concrete cause for this mission.
Many historians, such as John A. Dickinson, argue that not enough attention has been given to considerations of indigenous culture in this debate. The Iroquois and the Huron at this time were in conflict with one another. Prior to 1660, the Iroquois wiped out a great many Hurons leaving very few of them in the area around Ville-Marie. Moreover, indigenous warfare, among other things, involves codes of honour. Therefore, as some historians argue, the forty Huron who went up the Ottawa River to intercept the Iroquois did so to fight them because of issues involving honour. Where as the reasons for the Iroquois not to attack Montreal can simply be that the Iroquois did not have any immediate conflict with the French.
The location of the battle is a topic of intense controversy. Traditionally, the battle was fought along the Ottawa River near Carillon, Quebec. This location is based on nationalistic traditions on the part of Quebec historians. Supporters of this location also refer to the countless texts written after the event and for many years after which maintain this tradition. However, other scholars place the event on the southern side of the Ottawa River on what is now the Ross Farm in Ontario. The location being either in Ontario or Quebec has cultural implications. However, both sides of the debate agree that Dollard and his French and Indigenous comrades would have taken the route following the Ottawa River since they sought to intercept the Iroquois coming back from their winter hunt. Similar to the Carillon advocates, the Ross farm advocates, in part, base their conclusions on tradition. Traditions include known battles between French and Iroquois in this area, old French inhabitants of the area placing the battle there, and also from the testimony of a Huron eyewitness to the battle. Archeological evidence is also referenced by Ross farm advocates. Archeological excavations of palisades (in which Dollard and his comrades fought in) and considerations of topography coincide with the testimonies of the Huron survivors along with other oral and written traditions.
Representations of Dollard as a cultural figure in French Canadian history
The first sources written concerning the Battle of Long Sault are a series of letters composed by Marie Guyart, founder of the Ursuline institute of New France, and a collection of compiled documents from various Jesuit missionaries entitled Relations. These sources, written immediately after Dollard's death in 1660, give descriptive accounts of the battle and emphasize the perceived dualism between Christianity and the barbarism of the Natives. Although he is singled out as the leader in these earliest recorded stories, Dollard des Ormeaux is not the main focus of the battle.
In 1672, François Dollier de Casson wrote Histoire de Montréal. His book included a chapter dedicated solely to Dollard des Ormeaux and the Battle of Long Sault. This work marked a shift in Dollard's personal role in the battle. In Dollier's account, Dollard becomes a central heroic figure. He is characterized by an air of mystery and strong leadership abilities. He also occupies a more active role in the proceedings. Similar to Guyart's account, Dollard is aligned with Christianity in opposition to the barbarism of the Natives.
These accounts of Dollard provided a basis that allowed him to develop into and be upheld as a heroic figure in French-Canadian culture, post-British conquest. These sources also set a precedent of anti-Native American sentiment surrounding the veneration of Dollard.
With the exception of a brief mention in the work of Charlevoix in the 1700s, Dollard and the Battle of Long Sault does not reappear in French Canadian writing until the 1840s. The re-emergence of the tale coincides with the union of Upper and Lower Canada and the ensuing fear that French Canadians would lose control over their rights. The story of Dollard was used by authors in this period, such as François-Xavier Garneau, to secure a space for the French in the national history of Canada. Garneau's text emphasizes the loyalty of Dollard and his soldiers to their nation and the unity of their action.