Joseph Pierre Celoron de Bienville lead plate   Save
Celeron Lead Plates
Description: Photograph of an engraved lead plate discovered at the confluence of the Kanawha and Ohio Rivers near Gallipolis, Ohio, and Point Pleasant, West Virginia. 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 claims 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 land for France on which British settlers were encroaching. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL04493
Subjects: Gallia County (Ohio); Ohio History--Settlement and Early Statehood
Places: Gallia County (Ohio)