Adam Dollard des Ormeaux (July 23, 1635 – May 21, 1660) is an iconic figure in the history of New France (modern-day Quebec). Arriving in the colony in 1658, Dollard was appointed the position of garrison commander of Fort Ville-Marie (now Montreal). In the spring of 1660, Dollard led an expedition up the Ottawa River to wage war on the Iroquois. Accompanied by seventeen other Frenchmen, Dollard arrived at the foot of Long Sault (near present-day Carillon, Quebec) on May 1 and settled his troops at an abandoned Algonquin fort. He was then joined by forty Huron and four Algonquin allies. Vastly outnumbered by the Iroquois, Dollard and his companions died at the Battle of Long Sault somewhere between May 9 and May 12. The exact nature or purpose of Dollard's 1660 expedition is uncertain; however, most historians agree that Dollard set out to conduct a "" (ambush) against the Iroquois, in order to delay (or prevent altogether) their imminent attack on Ville-Marie. For these reasons, Dollard is regarded as one of the saviours of New France. They fought to the death and because of this supposedly saved Ville-Marie from an Iroquois invasion. But there are many scholars who claim his reasons were not quite as noble.
According to André Vachon, some historians claim that Dollard was in debt and thereby sought to steal the furs from the Iroquois who were returning from their winter hunt. The Iroquois and the Huron at this time were in conflict with one another. Prior to 1660, the Iroquois wiped out a great many Hurons leaving very few of them in the area around Ville-Marie. Moreover, indigenous warfare, among other things, involves codes of honour. Therefore, as some historians argue, the forty Huron who went up the Ottawa River to intercept the Iroquois did so to fight them because of issues involving honour.
In 1672, François Dollier de Casson wrote Histoire de Montréal. His book included a chapter dedicated solely to Dollard des Ormeaux and the Battle of Long Sault. This work marked a shift in Dollard's personal role in the battle. In Dollier's account, Dollard becomes a central heroic figure. He is characterized by an air of mystery and strong leadership abilities. He also occupies a more active role in the proceedings. Similar to Guyart's account, Dollard is aligned with Christianity in opposition to the barbarism of the Natives. Garneau's text emphasizes the loyalty of Dollard and his soldiers to their nation and the unity of their action. Faillon's writing places heavy emphasis on the duality between Christianity and barbarity. The language used by Faillon is aggrandizing and glorifies Dollard and his soldiers far more than previous accounts. Dollard, in Faillon's account, becomes an ideal model of Christian morality. Faillon's text became the canon of the Dollard story in French Canadian culture. Groulx's writing, in particular, emphasizes the youth of Dollard and upholds him as a model for French Canadian children. and Gustave Lanctot.
English history
Dollard not only occupies a prominent position in French Canadian culture but also appears as a figure in English Canadian history.
In the 1860s, US historian Francis Parkman wrote an English account of the Battle of Long Sault. His version focuses less on Catholicism and instead uses the story as a model of continuity of European settlements in the Canadas.
Toponymy
In Quebec, as well as the Montreal suburb Dollard-des-Ormeaux, there are dozens of places, including streets, squares, and parks, which commemorate the name.