Major Clément Gosselin (1747-1816), born in Quebec, was a hero of the American Revolutionary War. On October 8, 2022, he was honored in a memorial ceremony in Beekmantown, New York, during which a monument to him was unveiled.
Gosselin served in the Second Canadian Regiment of the Continental Army. He assisted in American operations during and after the Battle of Quebec. After the Americans retreated from Quebec in 1776, he continued to serve. In 1778 he conducted a spy mission to Quebec to learn the state of the British force in Canada and reported back to General Washington.In anticipation that the Continental Army could mount a second invasion of Quebec, he proposed the creation of the Bayley-Hazen Military Road, in what would become Vermont. (The road was not finished.) In 1781 Gosselin was wounded during the Siege of Yorktown.
Gosselin was born in Ste-Famille, Isle d’Orleans, Quebec. According to his descendant John Gosselin, the major “worked primarily as a spy and reported directly to General-in-Chief George Washington. He survived a serious leg wound at the Battle of Yorktown, the decisive battle of the Revolutionary War.” After the war, he received a land grant in what is now Beekmantown, for his service. He lived there and was buried there.
In 2013 the Ordre Lafayette of Quebec initiated a project to recognize the contributions of Major Gosselin. AFLCR member Gérard Charpentier, president of the Order Lafayette, was one of the project’s principal drivers.
The monument was unveiled at the East Beekmantown Cemetery in Plattsburgh. Present were Norm Davis, the Beekmantown supervisor; Jean-Pierre Turcotte, mayor of Sainte-Famille-de-l’Ile d’Orleans); members of the Association des Familles Gosselin, including John Gosselin; the Quebec France Foundation; members of the Society of the Cincinnati, and members of the Ordre Lafayette. AFLCR member Marc Juneau, who was awarded a chevalier and member of the Ordre Lafayette the same day, was also present.
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Photos courtesy Ordre Lafayette USA blog.