| Jean Erdman, Baron Dieskau | |
|---|---|
 Benjamin West's depiction of William Johnson sparing Dieskau's life after the Battle of Lake George | |
| Born | 1701 Dresden, Saxony |
| Died | 8 September 1767 (aged 65–66) Paris or Suresnes |
| Allegiance |  France |
| Service | France Army |
| Years of service | 1733–1755 |
| Rank | Major General |
| Battles / wars | War of the Austrian Succession Seven Years' War |
| Awards | Order of Saint Louis |
Jean Erdman, Baron Dieskau (1701 – 8 September 1767) was a French Royal Army officer and nobleman who served during the War of the Austrian Succession and the French and Indian War.
Biography
He was the aide-de-camp of Marshal Maurice de Saxe and visited St. Petersburg in that officer's interest in 1741. He also served in the Netherlands and in 1748 became major general of infantry and commander of Brest. He was sent to Canada on 20 February 1755 as the head of French troops to conduct the campaign against the British.
His forces comprised 600 Canadians, the same number of Indians, and 200 regular French troops. He ascended Lake Champlain to its head, designing to attack Fort Edward, but the guides took the road to Lake George by mistake . On 8 September, he was informed by scouts that a detachment of 1,000 men under Colonel Ephraim Williams of Massachusetts, had been sent against him, and disposing his men in ambush in the form of a horseshoe, he surprised the enemy and put it to flight.
After pursuing their opponents to the British camp, the Indians halted; the Canadians became alarmed; and Dieskau, with his 200 regulars, was forced to sustain the fight. For five hours, the New England militia "kept up the most violent fire that had yet been known in America." Almost all the French regulars perished , and Dieskau himself was wounded three times but refused to retire and seated himself on a stump exposed to the bullets. Finally, seeing a soldier approaching as if to capture him, Dieskau put his hand into his pocket for his watch, which he intended to give to his captor, but the man, supposing that he was drawing a pistol, shot him and inflicted a wound that ultimately caused Dieskau's death over a decade later.
The event became known as the Battle of Lake George. Dieskau was kept a prisoner until 1763, when he was exchanged and returned to France, where he was given a pension. Command in Canada passed to Louis-Joseph de Montcalm.
Notes
References
- Turnbull, J.R. (1974). "Dieskau, Jean Armand, Baron de Dieskau". In Halpenny, Francess G (ed.). Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Vol. III (1741–1770) (online ed.). University of Toronto Press.
- Wilson, J. G.; Fiske, J., eds. (1900). "Dieskau, Jean Erdman" . Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography. New York: D. Appleton.