Joseph Pierre Celoron de Bienville lead plate   Save
Celeron Lead Plates
Description: Photograph of a partial lead plate discovered at the mouth of the Muskingum River near Marietta in Washington County, Ohio. The plates were buried by French explorer Joseph Pierre Celoron de Bienville and his scouting party in 1749. The plate's inscription is in French and claim King Louis XV of France the ruler of the Ohio Valley region. This plate was part of a group of plates placed near strategic tributaries of the Ohio River by Celoron and his party. The expedition and the ceremonies conducted when the plates were buried was intended as a show of force and an attempt to reclaim for France land on which British settlers were encroaching. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL02716
Subjects: Washington County (Ohio); Ohio History--Settlement and Early Statehood; Louis XV, King of France, 1710-1774
Places: Washington County (Ohio)