Date Published:
July 2005

L’Encyclopédie de l’histoire du Québec / The Quebec History Encyclopedia

Jean Daniel Dumas

Dumas, Jean Daniel (fl. 1750-1780), soldier, was born in the province of Agenais, France, and was "brought up by the banks of the Garonne." He became a captain in the Agenais regiment, and in 1750 he came to Canada as a captain in the Marine troops; and he served in Canada throughout the Seven Years' War. At the battle of the Monongahela in 1755, he succeeded to the command of the French troops on the death of Beaujeu; and the defeat of Braddock was largely due to him. In 1759 he became inspector-general of the Marine troops in Canada, with the rank of colonel; and he commanded the right wing of the French army at the battle of the Plains of Abraham. In 1760 he returned to France ; in 1768 he was promoted to be a brigadier-general; and in 1780 he became a field-marshal. The date of his death does not appear to be known. See F. J. Audet, Jean-Daniel Dumas, le héros de la Monongahéla (Montreal, 1920).

[Consult the article on Dumas at the Dictionary of Canadian Biography]

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Source: W. Stewart WALLACE, ed., The Encyclopedia of Canada, Vol. II, Toronto, University Associates of Canada, 1948, 411p., p. 245.