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5 unusual facts about Augustin de La Balme


Augustin de La Balme

Augustin Mottin was born 28 August 1733, in the French Alps near Saint-Antoine, the son of a tanner.

In northeast Indiana, near the Allen – Whitley County line, along the Eel River, A brass and stone marker placed by the Daughters of the American Revolution in 1930, reads: "In memory of Col. Augustin de La Balme and his soldiers who were killed in battle with the Miami Indians under Little Turtle at this place, November 5, 1780."

Augustin Mottin de la Balme was a French cavalry officer who served in Europe during the Seven Years War and in the United States during the American Revolution.

The success of General Clark’s capture of Fort Sackville at Vincennes inspired La Balme to attempt a similar feat against the British at Fort Detroit.

The French forces were nearly destroyed at the Battle of Minden, but Augustin Mottin was one of the surviving French Cavalry officers.



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