Present day site of Tchichatala, de Cresnay 1733 - The Territory Between the Chattahoochee and Mississippi Rivers and a Woodcut Bust of a Chickasaw Warrior by Bernard Romans

Cresnay (Crenay) Map Musing

by Stephen R. Cook

The Concha map, so named for the eastern village of the Choctaw Nation (located above "SUD" on map), which was the home of Alibamon Mingo, the Great Medal Chief of the Choctaw Nation. The map was produced by the Baron de Crenay at Mobile 1733 per Peter J. Hamilton and Mississippi Provincial Archives, French Dominion. Now we know that the Baron's name was Cresnay, not Crenay. Baron Henri de Poilvilain de Cresnay had a military career in France before transferring to Louisiana. His Louisiana career was not distinguished as he ran afoul of Governor Perier while suffering a Natchez Indian attack in the midst of rebuilding Fort Rosalie. Shortly thereafter he was in Mobile where Diron d'Artaguiette noted that Cresnay had created an issue between two Indian nations which almost created an international issue with the Spanish in Pensacola.

Despite these issues Cresnay did produce the Concha map. Did others contribute to its production? Yes at least two other French officers. Regis du Roullet made two journals of extensive tours of the Choctaw villages before 1733. Joseph Christophe de Lusser a French officer who was Roullet's superior in Mobile also made a journal while touring the Choctaw villages. What was so important to stimulate these efforts? One, the English traders were making inroads with the Choctaw. Two, in November 1729 the Natchez revolted and massacred the officers and habitants at Fort Rosalie and its environs. Did Cresnay visit the Choctaw? Yes, in May 1733 Roullet recorded in MPA I 188 that Cresnay had given the Choctaw war leader Red Shoe a medal. My guess is that Cresnay was confirming the locations and names of the Choctaw villages recorded by Roullet and another French officer Joseph Christophe de Lusser in preparation for drafting the Concha map.

The Journals can be found in MPA I: Regis du Roullet (MPA I 17 and MPA I 136) and Lusser (MPA I 81).

Note the Concha map shows trails (as dashes) and names geographical features, Indian peoples and French officers and habitants particularly those on the Mobile and Mississippi Rivers.

Unfortunately, Cresnay may have exhausted the patience of two Louisiana Governors. Perier moved him from Fort Rosalie to Mobile and Bienville who replaced Perier as Governor in August 1733 had Cresnay transferred in 1736 to Cayenne or French Guiana. He was the interim governor there until he died in 1738. The Concha map likely represents the pinnacle of his military career.

On the map Indian villages are represented graphically as darkened dome symbols which represent their houses. Likewise the houses of French inhabitants and military officers are represented by darkened, gabled roof symbols topped by a cross.

In the following list we will flesh out a number of the Concha map text enclosed by " " with details following. The names of the villages of the Choctaw nation are numerous; their interpretation is beyond the scope of this work.

References include . . .

  1. MPA Mississippi Provincial Archives French Dominion (Volumes I, II and III). Link to Volume I available HathiTrust Digital Library . . . https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.31822011327111&view=1up&seq=25&skin=2021 Volumes II and III are available from same site if one clicks previous screen. Note most of the Indian peoples notes are from Bienville's Memoir in MPA III.
  2. CM Colonial Mobile. An Historical Study, largely from Original Sources, of the Alabama-Tombigbee Basin and the old South West, from the discovery of Mobile Bay in 1519 until the Demolition of Fort Charlotte in 1821, Peter J. Hamilton, Houghton Mifflin and Company, 1897. https://ia902800.us.archive.org/3/items/colonialmobilehi00hami/colonialmobilehi00hami.pdf
  3. OM Old Mobile Fort Louis de la Louisiane, 1702-1711, Jay Higginbotham, The University of Alabama Press, 1977.
  4. GCC Gulf Coast Colonials, Winston De Ville, Clearfield Company, 1968.
  5. CEN The Census Tables for the French Colony of Louisiana from 1699 Through 1732, Charles R. Maduell, Clearfield Company, 1972.

Selected "text" from Concha Map . . .

  1. "GOLFE DU MEXIQUE" Gulf of Mexico located at bottom (south) of map.
  2. "I. Dauphine" Dauphin Island. Prior to 1712-14 it was known as Massacre Island. Note other islands in Gulf of Mexico to west. Massacre Island had a small but relatively deep port, warehouse and small fort. Its military use ceased in 1714 after the colony moved from Fort Louis to Fort Conde in 1711-2. Thereafter it served as a cattle farm for French settlers, see below.
  3. "Baye de La Mobille" Mobile Bay. Most of the colonial French settlements were on the west side of the Bay in part due to Spanish land claims for Pensacola.
  4. "Taouachas" Indian peoples. Noted as being located "On the Mobile River" in the Table of Lusser's Choctaw villages, see MPA I 117. The village had 30 men who could bear arms.
  5. "Tensa" or "Taensas" Indian peoples. The Tensa were described by Bienville as formerly living north of the Natchez Indians on the Mississippi River but moved to their Concha map location in 1707. The Tensa population was 70 men. Their religion was described as similar to the Natchez. See MPA III 536.
  6. "Mobiliens" Also spelled Mobilians. Indian peoples. Bienville noted the Mobile Indians about 60 men. These Indians were once numerous and noted by de Soto (Mauvilians) further up the river than shown on the Concha map, MPA III 536. The Mobile Indians supported and fought with the French in their wars with the Alabama Indians. In so doing their villages were moved by the French to support the movement from Fort Louis or Old Mobile to Fort Conde.
  7. "Thome" Indian peoples. Also spelled "Tohome". While the Concha map shows one village, historically the French accounted for two: the Great and Little Thome which were separated. After Fort Conde was established the villages merged. Combined there are 90 men per Bienville in 1726, MPA III 537. Also listed in Lusser's table of Choctaw villages settled on the Mobile River as "Tome", see MPA I 117, dated March 1730.
  8. "Apalaches" Indian peoples. Also spelled "Apalachees" Bienville indicated that the Apalaches came to Mobile 1704 see MPA III 26. The Apalaches had been systematically hunted by the English of South Carolina and their allies Talapoosas and Yemasee. By 1726 their numbers had been reduced to 100 men. Bienville described them as "good Catholics, fairly civilized, laborious and skillful, little given to hunting", MPA III 536.
  9. "Taouachas" Indian peoples. Also spelled Chaouachas. The Taouachas were a small native peoples consisting of 40 men. Bienville stated their sole purpose was to raise corn. They were located about 7 miles north of Fort Conde.
  10. "Chacteaux" Indian peoples. These peoples appear to be a splinter group of the eastern Choctaw Nation. Bienville indicated that in 1703 he convinced this group to leave the Spaniards for whom they hunted. They lived four leagues (10 miles) from Mobile Bay entrance, see MPA III 535. Per Bienville the group numbered 40 men in 1726.
  11. "Yamache" Indian peoples. Also Yamassee or Yemasee. A faction of the Yamasee tribe that moved to Mobile from coastal Georgia and South Carolina to escape the vengeance of the English of South Carolina who attacked them 1715-1717. During the early 1700s the Yamassee were slavers for the English. The attacks included the English Indian traders throughout the Southeast.
  12. "Alexandre" French habitant. The original Alexandre was Vincent Alexandre dit Chenit, a Canadian, see GCC 17 and OM 461 who moved from Dauphine Island to Mobile Bay. His move put him close to Dauphine Island, and as such he was part of a sequence of signaling between Old Mobile and Dauphine Island. He died 1724. His son, Vincent Alexandre dit Chenit II, and family assumed his fathers land. He was born on Dauphine Island 1710 and died 1790. He was a habitant and merchant. The "dit" in his name was common for the time and means "called". In this case he was called Chenit, a nickname for the time. Many, if not most, of the early French merchants, tradesmen and habitants could not read or write. He was credited with being one of the first habitants to plant tobacco. See OM 372. Alexandre Chenet II moved to Louisiana before 1770 and died there 1790.
  13. "Miragoin" French habitant. (Miragouine or Miragouin or Miragon or Miragoan) was Nicolas Bodin dit Miragoin (also called Sieur de Miragoane) , see GCC 22 and CEN 62 and 77. He hailed from Tours, France, and arrived Old Mobile 1707. Later he settled near the mouth of Fowl River, OM 345. He received a grant of land, or concession, and that land bore his name Miragouin for decades. He is located at Mobile in the 1726 Census CEN 62 where he owned 4 Negro and 2 Indian slaves. He was a land owner in New Orleans as well and appears in several Black Books of the Superior Council. He died February 1745.
  14. "Rochon" French habitant. He was Charles Rochon, a native of Quebec who came to Louisiana in 1701, see GCC 57. In 1708 he and three of his friends moved from the first Fort Louis to the mouth of Mobile River at the current site of Mobile, OM 344. He worked on boats and constructing government buildings, CM 267. New Mobile was established at their settlement prompting him to move again, south to the mouth of Dog River. He died there in 1733. He and his three Canadian friends are touted as the first modern Mobilians. The 1726 Census CEN 64 placed him in Mobile with 15 Negro and 7 Indian slaves. He was a landowner in New Orleans.
  15. "Fort Conde" Fort Conde was the third fort of Mobile. The first was Fort Louis 1702-1711 (Old Mobile). Fort Louis was abandoned due to extensive flooding in 1711. As a consequence, Old Mobile moved to the site Rochon and Parent occupied. A new Fort Louis was built there. In 1723 Fort Conde was built of bricks at that site. The surrounding settlement was called (New) Mobile.
  16. "Mr. Diron" French military officer. Mr. Diron was Bernard d'Iron d'Artaguiette or Bernard Diron d'Artaguiette. He arrived in Old Mobile in 1708 aged twelve with his older brother, Jean-Baptiste Martin and younger brother Pierre. Jean-Baptiste Martin d' Artaguiette was in Mobile functioning as a special envoy, King's Commissary, for Maurepas. The d'Artaguiette family returned to France in 1712; however, Diron and Pierre returned to Louisiana 1717. Among his ranks and titles Diron was King's Lieutenant of Louisiana and Commandant of Mobile 1728-38. Recall that the Concha map was developed in 1733 at Mobile. From Mobile Diron had directed Indian trade with the Choctaw and Chickasaw and Creek Indians. With his traders and officers network in the field, his years of relationships with the Indian peoples, and rank one can assume that Mr. Diron had a major hand in the production of the Concha map. Diron produced a number of maps himself particularly of Mobile Bay entrance.
  17. "Du Bordies" French government employee. Estienne Dubordieu died July1735, see GCC 35. He was Clerk for the Warehouse and Notary at the second Fort Louis and Fort Conde at Mobile. He was counted in the 1726 Census in Mobile as an owner of 6 Negro and 1 Indian slave, CEN 63.
  18. "Mr. Beauchamp" French military officer. (Beauchamps) Mr. Beauchamp was Sieur Jean Jadart de Beauchamp, Major and Commandant of Mobile, see CEN 62 and GCC 43. He was awarded the revered Chevalier de St. Louis. He was born in France 1694 and died Louisiana 1754.
  19. "Allain" French habitant and Blacksmith. Allain was Pierre Rousseau dit Allain who given his Concha map location among the Indian villages was likely an Indian merchant, see CEN 63. A "Little Allain" was noted in Lusser's Choctaw Journal February 1730, see MPA I 85. Little Allain was probably under Mr. Diron's direction as a Choctaw trader. Little Allain would be Pierre's son, Jean Baptiste Allain.
  20. "Parent" French habitant. Claude Parent was born Beauport Quebec where he was a tool maker, see CEN 62 and OM 244. He arrived in Louisiana 1701. About 1708 he moved from Old Mobile to the future site of New Mobile and Fort Conde. The 1726 Census listed him as the owner of 4 Negro and 3 Indian slaves. Along with his friend Rochon, Parent is recognized as one of the founders of modern Mobile. He died 1733.
  21. "La Lande" French habitant. Alexandre La Lande called Irish, see CEN 26. The 1721 Census recorded him living in" The Village of the Mobiliens" district or upper Mobile Bay.
  22. "Mr. Pechon" French military officer. Crepin de Conte was also known as Sieur de Pechon, see GCC 29. He was Commandant Fort Toulouse 1723-27, see MPA III 346. Other military ranks included Major 1725 and Captain of Infantry and former Major 1730 CM 162. He died February 29, 1736 at Fort Toulouse.
  23. "Dubreuil" French habitant. Dubreuil is a dit name for Vincent Jolin (Dourlin) dit Dubruille (Dubreuil), see GCC 43. He was recorded in Mobile Census 1726, see CEN 64.
  24. "Naneaba" Naneaba also spelled Nanyaba, Indian people, see MPA I 117, Note the Table contents "Choctaws Established on the Mobile River" and the village Nanyaba with 50 men.
  25. "Concession x" Concession or land grant. There were a number of large Concessions shown on the Concha map. The largest land grants were made to individuals in France made with the hope of promoting investment and settlement. Note several of these Concessions were noted on the map as abandoned. Smaller concessions were made to individuals who were living in Louisiana. The concessions are also noted in CEN and MPA.
  26. "Riviere des Pascagoula" Pascagoula River The link that follows is to Pascagoula River and La Pointe plantation (below) map by Dumont de Montigny . . .Pascagoula River http://rla.unc.edu/Mapfiles/HMC4/BN%20Ge%20DD%202987-8818.HMC.4.jpg
  27. "La Pointe" French habitant. Joseph Simon dit La Pointe was from Quebec, see GCC 59 and settled Old Mobile 1702. He moved to Massacre (Dauphine) Island about 1709 and moved again to near modern Pascagoula, MS where he built a house in 1716. He was a successful merchant and planter. He died 1751. A second house was built by his daughter nearby in the 1750s and serves as a museum, https://lapointekrebs.org/history/
  28. "Pascagoula" Indian people. Bienville reported in 1726, see MPA III 535, that the Pascagoula had been reduced to 40 men. He did note that they were good hunters and fishermen.
  29. "Graveline" French habitant. Jean Baptiste Baudrau dit Graveline was a Canadian who arrived early in Louisiana and lived for a few years in Old Mobile, GCC 20. He was ambitious and with other like minded Old Mobile Canadians they began trading. That trading included buying a small ship by 1707 such that he could access Cuba, Canada and La Rochelle France. In 1709 he sold the ship to Governor Bienville and Jean-Baptiste Martin d'Artaguiette who was then the King's Commissary and older brother of "Mr. Diron" noted above, see OM 398. Two of Jean Baptiste's brothers, Gabriel and Paul, joined his trading team from Montreal though they and their wives made the trip to Mobile via a network of water courses including the Mississippi River. Using his ship as a means of conveyance Graveline bought cattle in Havana. Jean Baptiste Graveline built a nice home at Dauphine Island in 1710. After Old Mobile moved to new Mobile in 1711, Dauphine Island had less value to the French. Jean Baptiste asked then Louisiana Governor Cadillac for and received a land concession to pasture cattle on Dauphine Island. There are several references to Jean Baptiste and his brothers and their Protestant wives in MPA. Graveline lived a very long life and was active in the New Orleans real estate market.
  30. "Riviere aux Perles" Pearl River.
  31. "Mississipy ou Fleuve S Louis" Mississippi St. Louis River or Mississippi River.
  32. "Nouvelle Orleans" New Orleans.
  33. "Tensa" Indian people. Also Taensas. Bienville in 1715 wrote that he had moved the Taensas from the Mississippi River to several miles north of Fort St Louis in New Mobile, see MPA III 183. These are the same peoples who lived above New Mobile and right of Mobile Bay, see Number 5 (above). So, the Tensa above New Orleans indicates their previous location.
  34. "Ouachas" Indian people. Bienville had them move to Concha map location in 1715. He did not have anything nice to say of them. Only 50 men were fit to bear arms in 1726, MPA III 527.
  35. "Village Allemand" Village of the Germans. Also called "Cote des Allemands". Beginning 1722 groups of Germans settled Colonial Louisiana. The first settlement was on a Concession near the Arkansas Indians. Due to flooding they moved to Village Allemand upstream of New Orleans. The Germans were successful farmers and the population grew.
  36. "Bayagoula" Indian people. Bayagoulas or Bayogoulas Their numbers were reduced to forty men largely from treachery of Tensa. Per Bienville they were good hunters, MPA III 527. Their origins may have been Choctaw, see MPA II 13.
  37. "Colapissa" Indian people. Also spelled Acolapissa. The early French settlers also used the name Piniscas, see MPA II 9 which may have lived around Lake Pontchartrain about 1700. The French recorded a War between Acolapissa and Natchitoches Indians about 1713, see MPA II 203. By 1726 the Acolapissa may have merged with the Chaouachas and become insignificant, see MPA II 517. That may explain why the "Colapissa" shown on the Concha map have no graphic house symbol on the map. What about the Chaouachas? Those living below New Orleans were destroyed by Governor Perier after the Natchez Revolt in 1730, see MPA I 64.
  38. "Ville de Ouma" Indian people. Village of the Houma Also Humas or Hommes. Only 50 men remained in 1726 per Bienville, see MPA III 528. The Houma furnished the French with food.
  39. "Petit Ouma" Indian people. Also Petit Houma. This subgroup of the Ouma was not distinguished by Bienville in 1726 probably due their low population.
  40. "Chetimacha" Indian people. Also Chitimachas. The Chitimachas were reduced by war with the French to one hundred men. Bienville in 1726 reported they were excellent fishermen, see MPA III 528. A number were taken as slaves and can be seen in the baptism and marriage records of the Catholic Church records in Old and New Mobile.
  41. "Pointe Coupee" Also Point Coupee meaning cut off. Originally Pointe Coupee was a geographic landmark for Mississippi River travelers. At high water the river made a shortcut via a new channel which if taken saved the traveler going around a large bend in the River. Habitants settled there and began producing crops, particularly tobacco, in the 1720s. During the Natchez Revolt of 1729 troops were stationed there to protect the habitants from Natchez raids. The name Pointe Coupee survives as a Louisiana Parish above Baton Rouge.
  42. "Tonicas" Indian people. Tunica. Per Bienville reduced to 120 men, see MPA III 530. The Tunica and French generally had sound relations, especially during the Natchez wars.
  43. "Petit Tonicas" Indian people. Little Tunica. This smaller faction of the Tonicas was not mentioned by Bienville in 1726. The note on the Concha map may reference the earlier division of the Tunicas.
  44. "R des Yazou" Yazoo River.
  45. "Les Arcansa" Indian people. The Arkansas (Quapaw). Per MPA III 531 there were four villages of 220 men. In his Memoir of 1726 Governor Bienville was not kind commenting about their hunting skills. The French had a small fort near the Arkansas peoples which they called Arkansas Post. One of its functions was to conduct trade with the Arkansas. Perhaps Bienville was not impressed with the volume of deer skins traded?

Most of the Indian peoples' names on the Concha map above and/or near New Orleans were used by the French to describe the census districts or regions of the various censuses recorded in the 1720s and 30s.

For those interested in Choctaw, French colonial Louisiana and/or Mississippi history I suggest a read of the Regis du Roullet and Lusser Journals referenced above in MPA I. The careful reader will experience some of the personalities of both Choctaw leadership and French officers, French Indian trade, means of travel, daily subsistence, French military command, and of course the Choctaw peoples. If you read one of the journals, I suggest you open the Concha map so that you may follow the narrative.

Regards from Tupelo,
Steve Cook
May 10, 2022