François "Sergeant" Xavier Marcantel

During the 1750s, France sent groups of soldiers to Louisiana to protect its territory as well as to raise families in the area. French outposts along the Mississippi River protected Louisiana from the English, while outposts in the Mobile area offered protection from the Spanish in Florida. Francois Marcantel was one of these pioneer soldiers, arriving from his birthplace in France to serve in the Pointe Coupee outpost. His birthplace of Chambery may have been ruled in 1752 by Italian families; this section of France is now called Savoy and lies on the edge of the Alps. He was a soldier and mason, and arrived as a member of a detachment of forty men recruited by Monsieur de Gignoux. The troops embarked from France on 17 Oct 1752 on the ship Le Chariot Royal. Records show Francois as being Italian on the Militia List of 1770 at Opelousas. He spoke both Spanish and French. He also is noted to have left three children in France.