Louis Lebegue Duportail
Louis Duportail was a graduate of the then prestigious French Military Engineering school in Mezieres, where he acquired the training and expertise of a builder of military fortifications. Duportail entered the army in the immediate aftermath of the Seven Years War (known in North America as the French and Indian War) and his course of study had included the inland waterways and fortifications in Canada, New England, and upstate New York.
When the American Revolution began, the often duplicitous Benjamin Franklin convinced the French Minister of War to dispatch Duportail to America under the guise of studying the entryways to the colonies from Canada. Duportail thus went to America with the full authority of the French government, rather than evading it as had Lafayette and many others.
Once he arrived in America Duportail attached himself to George Washington’s staff, first as a colonel and later as a general. He assumed the duties of General Engineer for all American forces, and designed and supervised the construction of fortifications in Boston Harbor, which remained unmolested by the British for the rest of the war.
He was responsible for the design of the American stronghold at West Point which guarded the Hudson Valley from British intrusion, and later developed fortifications in other American encampments and strategic locations. Duportail also provided counsel to Washington on the overall American strategy, recommending a defensive approach until the French military and navy was in a position to intervene on behalf of the revolution.
Duportail later served as the French Minister of War until the events of the French Revolution forced him to flee for his life. He returned to America and purchased a large farm near what had been his headquarters during the encampment at Valley Forge. When the Napoleonic Wars in Europe beckoned a man of his military and political talents he opted to offer his services to the French First Consul. JWhile journeying to France to assume his new duties he died at sea in 1802. Relatively forgotten today, Duportail served the Revolution longer than any other foreign officer, and became one of Washington’s most trusted staff officers.