PHILIPPE (Philippes) DE HAUTMESNIL DE MANDEVILLE, FRANÇOIS (sometimes known as the Sieur de Marigny), trader, officer in Louisiana; baptized 10 Oct. 1682 at Montreal, seventh of 13 children of Jean-Vincent Philippe de Hautmesnil (Hautmesnyl) de Marigny, originally of Bayeux, France, who had married Marie-Catherine Lambert de Baussy in 1671; d. 24 Oct. 1728 at New Orleans.

In 1702 François and his elder brother Gabriel-Philippe, Sieur de Saint-Lambert, with whom he is frequently confused, joined the expedition of Charles Juchereau de Saint-Denys at Montreal. After the death of Saint-Denys, and perhaps of Gabriel as well, François worked to salvage the tannery and its products, but seems to have been largely unsuccessful. By 1705, or shortly thereafter, François had replaced Gabriel as ensign in the company of François Juchereau de Vaulezar. From 1708 to 1711 he was in Paris, where he prepared a memoir on Louisiana and received a lettre de garde de la Marine. Returning as a lieutenant, he was accused by Le Moyne* de Bienville of having deceived the court “by passing himself off as his deceased brother”; if so, François’s reputation as second in command of the Saint-Denys expedition may be open to doubt. Mandeville later commanded his own company at Île Dauphine (Dauphin Island, Ala.), at Mobile (where a concession is still known by his name), and at New Orleans. By 1724, he was senior captain in the colony. In 1720 he had married Madeleine Le Maire in Paris; his children included Antoine (1722–1779) and an illegitimate daughter of mixed blood. In 1727 Mandeville received the prestigious appointment of town major of New Orleans. When the Mandeville family left Mobile, the engineer Devin lamented that Madame Mandeville’s departure was robbing the post of its “ornament,” adding: “There is, so to speak, no more society.” Mandeville was cashiered in 1721 for insubordination to the Compagnie des Indes, but was restored to rank the same year. His opposition to the controversial Bienville was termed an “exécration” by one of Bienville’s supporters, but he was generally respected as a soldier.

In many ways, Mandeville was a prototype of the frontier officer: he explored, experimented, and sometimes speculated in the new country; he came to know and be respected by the Indians; he was instrumental in bringing about internal improvements; he was an arbiter of local justice, a respecter of social amenities where life was harsh and uncomfortable, and a source of knowledge to his superiors. That he engaged in the self-seeking and contentiousness of an isolated society is not surprising; what is more important, his services contributed to a measure of peace in the Louisiana colony at a time when it was most needed.

John Fortier