| Louis Groston de Saint-Ange de Bellerive | |
| Order1: | 3rd Commandant of Upper Louisiana |
| Term Start1: | 1770 |
| Predecessor1: | Pedro Piernas |
| Successor1: | Pedro Piernas |
| Order2: | 16th Commandant of Illinois Country |
| Term Start2: | 1764 |
| Term End2: | 1770 |
| Successor2: | Pedro Piernas |
| Birth Date: | 1700 |
| Birth Place: | Montreal |
| Profession: | Soldier, Commandants of Upper Louisiana |
Louis Groston de Saint-Ange de Bellerive (1700–1774), was an officer in the French marine troops in New France.
Born in Montreal in 1700, Louis Groston de Saint-Ange de Bellerive followed his father, Robert Groston de Saint-Ange, to Fort Saint-Joseph in 1720.[1] In 1723, he accompanied the explorer Étienne de Veniard along the banks of the Missouri River and the Platte River, and assisted in the construction of Fort Orleans.[2]
Louis served as a military officer until 1736, when his father asked the Governor of Louisiana, Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, to promote him to lieutenant and commander of Fort Vincennes, replacing François-Marie Bissot, who was killed in an Indian raid. Louis received that promotion and remained commander of the fort until 1764. He was promoted to captain in 1748.[3] On May 18, 1764, Louis Groston de Saint-Ange de Bellerive surrendered Fort Vincennes to the British under the terms of the Treaty of Paris of 1763. He then took command of Fort de Chartres.[4]
On October 10, 1765, he surrendered Fort de Chartres to the British. He took his regiment to Saint-Louis, Missouri, a part of French Louisiana that had been yielded to the Spanish, who were not yet in control of the full territory.[4] In 1770, he swore allegiance to the Spanish Governor, and became a captain in the Spanish army, where he continued to serve until his death in 1774.[5]
Bellerive Country Club in suburban St. Louis is named for him;[6] its golf course has hosted three major championships. The club's previous location (1910–1959) near Normandy is now a village called Bellerive.