SACCARDY (de Saccardy, Saccardie), VINCENT, engineer-general for the French king in Canada; baptized 26 Sept. 1630 at Tours, France, son of Jacques de Saccardy, governor of Bonneval, France, and of Anne Pavée; m. 8 July 1670 Catherine Bassier at Mauregard, France; buried 7 May 1691 at Amboise, France.

Saccardy is best known as the engineer specifically appointed, on 1 June 1689, to execute Pasquine’s plans for rebuilding Port-Royal (now Annapolis Royal, N.S.). He arrived at Chedabouctou (Guysborough, N.S.) on 4 September and at Port-Royal on 6 October. Saccardy spent about a month there, during which he began to tear down the old fort and build a larger one of four bastions, following a different drawing from that of Pasquine. This fort was to enclose the church, the priest’s residence, the mill, the garrison, and the governor’s residence. He was ordered back to France in November. The Marquis de Seignelay scolded him for having left open the palisade he had begun and adopting a project even more elaborate than Pasquine’s. Nevertheless, Seignelay sent Saccardy back the following spring, after reducing the plan by half.

On 14 June 1690, Joseph Robinau de Villebon and Saccardy arrived on the Union at Port-Royal to find that the settlement had been captured by Phips on 21 May. Villebon decided to make his headquarters on the Saint John River, to which they sailed three days later. On 30 June the Union was attacked by two privateers belonging to the Bostonian Jacob Leisler, and Saccardy was taken prisoner. On his return journey to France, Saccardy died. He was buried 7 May 1691 at Amboise.

Saccardy left maps of Acadia and interesting memoirs in which he discussed many questions about the colony. Several of his maps were signed by his son, who worked with him, and who became garde de marine at Rochefort, then engineer and captain of a frigate.

Émery LeBlanc