Silvain Sonnier, Sr./Soldier of the American Revolution
I have found in my Silvain Sonnier, Sr. family research that most people do not realize that many men of Acadian ancestry in Louisiana were soldiers in the American Revolution. These men are recognized by the Daughters of the American Revolution for their valuable contribution in the ultimate defeat of the British. These Louisiana men fought against the British as they desired never again to be put under the rule of Britain. They remembered the atrocities that the British had done to the Acadians in Acadia in the not too distant past. These men finally got their revenge at the Battle of Baton Rouge, LA. I would not have wanted to be a British soldier on that day.
Revolutionary War Military Service:
Silvain Sonnier is listed as a fuselier in the Opelousas District militia, June 8, 1777. His name is rendered as Silvin Saunier in the 1777 list. Silvain participated in the Battle of Baton Rouge on September 21, 1779 and was under the command of Governor Bernardo de Galvez. He also participated in Governor Galvez's campaigns against the British held forts in Mobile, AL and Pensacola, FL.
Sources:
"Louisiana Soldiers in the American Revolution" by Winston de Ville; published 1991 by Provincial Press.
"Sous Cette Pierre Repose" by SusanBurleigh Douget; published by Hebert Publications.
More on the Acadians of Louisiana and the Revolutionary War:
Most of the early arriving Acadians in Louisiana were members of the Spanish Governor, Bernado de Galvez's, militia that participated in the Revolutionary War in battles in Louisiana, Mississippi and Florida. Eight to ten years after our Acadian ancestors had established themselves in Louisiana, and continuing their struggle for dignity and freedom, they are called to defend their homes against the British in the American Revolution.
In June of 1779, Spain declared war on Great Britain and ordered the Spanish Colonial Governor of Louisiana, Bernado de Galvez, to organize an expedition and capture the forts at Mobile and Pensacola and to attack and clear the English from the banks of the Mississippi.
In organizing the expedition, Galvez calls on the Militia from the Acadian Coast, the Attakapas and Opelousas posts and Pointe Coupée to make up a total force of 14,000. (Gayarre - History of Louisiana; Volume III; Pages 125-126).
Galvez and his army of Louisiana French volunteers (including many Acadians) capture the British strongholds of Fort Bute at Bayou Manchac, across from the Acadian settlement at St. Gabriel. And on September 21, they attack and capture Baton Rouge and then Natchez. The Opelousas Militia was in the detachment that captured Natchez.(Citizen Soldiers: Southwest Louisianans Defend the NationBy. Milke Jones - Lake Charles Press).
An account of the action of the Acadians is written by Gayarre in his History of Louisiana; Volume III; Page 131:
"The Louisiana Militia behaved with extraordinary disipline and fortitude. It was found difficult to restrain their ardor, particularly that of the Acadians, who, at the sight of the British troops, being in flamed with rage at their recollection of their old injuries, were eager to rush on those who had desecrated their hearths, burned their paternal roofs to the ground, and driven them into exile like miserable outlaws and outcasts".
More Replies:
-
Re: Silvain Sonnier, Sr./Soldier of the American Revolution
Harrison LaTour 5/11/08
-
Re: Silvain Sonnier, Sr./Soldier of the American Revolution
Dora Stanley 5/11/08
-
Re: Silvain Sonnier, Sr./Soldier of the American Revolution
-
Re: Silvain Sonnier, Sr./Soldier of the American Revolution
LEE CROCKETT 1/24/03