Fluent in Ottawa and French, Langlade later led First Nations forces in warfare in the region. Given the shifting political realities of the time, he and his followers were at various times allied with the French, British and, lastly, Americans. Leading French and Indian forces, in 1752 he destroyed Pickawillany, a Miami village and British trading post in present-day Ohio, where the British and French were competing for control of the lucrative fur trade. During the subsequent Seven Years' War, he helped defend Fort Duquesne (Pittsburgh) against the British. The French appointed Langlade as second in command at Fort Michilimackinac and a captain in the Indian Department of French Canada.