Saint Véran

Lieutenant-General Louis-Joseph de Montcalm-Gozon, Marquis de Montcalm de Saint-Veran (28 February 1712 – 14 September 1759) was a French Royal Army officer best known for his unsuccessful defence of New France during the French and Indian War. Born in Vestric-et-Candiac near Nîmes to an aristocratic family, Montcalm joined the French army at a young age and served in the War of the Polish Succession and the War of the Austrian Succession, where he was promoted to brigadier general. In 1756, King Louis XV sent him to New France to lead its defence against the British in the Seven Years' War. Montcalm's service resulted in notable successes in 1756, 1757, and 1758, but British mobilization led to military setbacks in 1758 and 1759.

Promoted to lieutenant general, he died at the Battle of the Plains of Abraham. As a devout Catholic, Montcalm dedicated all of his victories to God. His service was marked by conflict with Governor General Pierre de Rigaud, marquis de Vaudreuil-Cavagnial. Montcalm has been much memorialized in France, Quebec, and parts of New York and Lower Michigan, where military historians have praised and criticized his decisions.