Pierre Bossier

Pierre Evariste Jean-Baptiste Bossier
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Louisiana's 4th district
In office March 4, 1843 – April 24, 1844
Preceded by	District established
Succeeded by	Isaac Edward Morse
Louisiana State Senator from Natchitoches Parish
In office 1833 – 1843[1]
Personal details
Born	March 22, 1797 Natchitoches Louisiana, New France
Died	April 24, 1844 (aged 47) Washington, D.C.
Resting place	Catholic Cemetery in Natchitoches, Louisiana
Political party	Democratic
Parents	François Paul and Catherine Pelagie Lambre Bossier
Occupation	planter
Religion	Roman Catholic

Bossier Street in Natchitoches is named for Pierre Bossier.

Pierre Evariste Jean-Baptiste Bossier (March 22, 1797 – April 24, 1844) was a soldier, planter, and politician born in Natchitoches, Louisiana. He is the namesake of Bossier Parish (pronounced BO zhure), which includes the parish seat of Benton and the larger Bossier City, located east of the Red River across from Shreveport in northwestern Louisiana. The Pierre Bossier Mall shopping center in Bossier City also bears his name.

Bossier was the son of François Paul Bossier and the former Catherine Pelagie Lambre. He received a classical education privately. Bossier was a cotton and sugar planter on his plantation, Live Oaks, on the Cane River, formerly a segment of the Red River, in Natchitoches Parish. He was also a general in the state militia.

Having entered politics as a Democrat, Bossier was a member of the Louisiana State Senate from 1833 to 1843. He served in the U.S. House of Representatives in the newly established Fourth Congressional District in north Louisiana from March 4, 1843, until his death in office a year later in Washington, D.C.

Cherokee Plantation Duel

In the summer of 1839, a political argument between a prominent Whig, General F. Gaiennie, and State Representative General P. E. Bossier, a Democrat, escalated to open incriminations in the local newspaper. Bossier demanded a duel and Gaiennie accepted choosing rifles as the most deadly weapon available. The duel took place the following Autumn on the grounds of Cherokee Plantation in Natchitoches Parish.

Bossier is interred at the Catholic Cemetery in Natchitoches.

References

1. Louisiana State Senate records on-line begin with the year 1880.

• "Pierre Bossier", A Dictionary of Louisiana Biography, Vol. 1 (1988), p. 92
• Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• David Colvin, "Bossier's Forgotten Man," Shreveport Times, October 24, 1965