User:Russell D. Jones/Céloron's expedition

Céloron's expedition was a military & diplomatic march made by Pierre-Joseph Céloron into the Ohio Country in 1747.

During King George's War, acting Governor-General of New France the Marquis de La Galissonière grew wary of the growing independence of the Indians living between Lake Erie and the Ohio River. While the Indians living in these villages were mostly from nations having pledge loyalty to New France and which were part of the French-Indian alliance, they had scorned the alliance. Most were trading with the British in Pennsylvania or New York and developed alliances with the Iroquois. De La Galissonière was part of a group of New France administrators who had come to believe that the best way to command the loyalty of the Indians was to follow a policy of intimidation, coercion, and force.

Also during King George's War, there had been a spate of murders of French traders among Indian villages. De La Galissonière demanded that the Indians hand over the murderers to New France officials in Montreal for punishment. Traditionally, the role of the New France governor was to mediate disputes and resolve the murders by pardoning and forgiving the culprits. De La Galissonière instead sought to punish (rather than forgive) the murderers. It was a policy that further alienated the Indians of the Ohio Valley from the French.

Because of these issues, the Indians of the Ohio River Valley began seeking trade and protection from the British. Foremost among the British who opened trade with these Indians was George Croghan. French policy, therefore, wanted to force the British traders out of territory claimed by New France and force the British-leaning Indian villages back into the French alliance by either moving those Indians back into villages in Michigan, especially to villages around Detroit, or dispersing them. To accomplish these aims, de La Galissonière sent Captain Pierre-Joseph Céloron with a force of 200 soldiers and 30 Alliance Indians. The expedition was intended to be a demonstration of French might that would restore French authority over the region and peoples of the Ohio Valley. It was a complete disaster.