Wilmont Kreis

Some years later, the boys unite with Antoine one last time for the longest voyage of all, from Quebec to the Gulf of Mexico where they set Fort New Orleans and rescue a runaway slave named Tom, whose descendants will follow the Allard Series up to the American Civil War and beyond.
Now we’ll return to Quebec for a while and follow the Allards to the French and Indian War in Book Three: Peace and War. Read More 

Some years later, Cadillac again enlists Jean-Baptiste and Joseph to travel with him to set a post on a river connecting Lakes Erie and St. Clair. He names the post with the French term for narrow straights: Détroit. The boys stay here for the early days of this city in the wilderness which will become a focus of the remainder of the Allard Series. Photo: Detroit today, Cadillac’s Fort was located on land just to the left of the Renaissance Center. Read More 

Antoine Cadillac is, in my opinion, one of the four most interesting historical figures in the history of Detroit (Gabriel Richard, Augustus Woodward and Henry Ford are the others). I’ll touch on them later. Cadillac came to New France as a young adventurer; he brought with him an impressive pedigree which, as with many things Cadillac, was false. He detested the Jesuits, held the natives in the lowest regard, was able to convince the authorities of whatever suited him, and was constantly in search of what benefitted him. Read More