Petitcodiac River campaign

Last updated
Petitcodiac River campaign
Part of the French and Indian War
MajorGeorgeScott.png
George Scott by John Singleton Copley (c.1758), The Brook
DateJune 1758 – November 1758
Location
Petitcodiac River, present-day New Brunswick
Result British victory
Commanders and leaders
Units involved
Petitcodiac River, New Brunswick Petitcodiac-watershed-map.jpg
Petitcodiac River, New Brunswick

The Petitcodiac River campaign was a series of British military operations from June to November 1758, during the French and Indian War (the North American theatre of the Seven Years' War), to deport the Acadians that either lived along the Petitcodiac River or had taken refuge there from earlier deportation operations, such as the Ile Saint-Jean campaign. Under the command of George Scott, William Stark's company of Rogers Rangers, Benoni Danks and Gorham's Rangers carried out the operation.

Contents

According to one historian, the level of Acadian suffering greatly increased in the late summer of 1758. Along with campaigns in Cape Sable, the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and the St. John River, the British targeted the Petitcodiac River. [3]

Historical context

Marquis de Boishebert - Charles Deschamps de Boishebert et de Raffetot (1753) Marquis de Boishebert - Charles Deschamps de Boishebert et de Raffetot (1753) McCord Museum McGill.jpg
Marquis de Boishébert - Charles Deschamps de Boishébert et de Raffetot (1753)

The British Conquest of Acadia happened in 1710. Over the next forty-five years the Acadians refused to sign an unconditional oath of allegiance to Britain. During this time period Acadians participated in various militia operations against the British and maintained vital supply lines to the French fortresses of Fort Louisbourg and Fort Beausejour. [4] During the Seven Years' War, the British sought both to neutralize any military threat Acadians posed and to interrupt the vital supply lines Acadians provided to Louisbourg by deporting Acadians from Acadia. [5]

The first wave of these deportations began in 1755 with the Bay of Fundy campaign (1755). Many Acadians fled those operations to present-day New Brunswick and the French colony of Ile Saint-Jean, now known as Prince Edward Island.

After capturing Louisbourg on Ile Royal (present-day Cape Breton, Nova Scotia) in 1758, numerous Acadians left Ile St. Jean for present-day New Brunswick. At this time the second wave of the Expulsion began from Ile Saint Jean and Cape Breton and continued in earnest in New Brunswick. According to one historian, this wave of operations was considerably more devastating for the Acadians than the first one. [6]

The Petitcodiac is situated between two smaller rivers – the Shepody River (off Shepody Bay) and the Memramcook river (the three bodies of water were often called "Trois-Rivières" by its inhabitants.) Weeks after the Expulsion began with the Bay of Fundy campaign (1755), the British forces raided villages at Chipoudy and Petitcodiac (Hillsborough, New Brunswick). As well, on November 17, 1755, George Scott took seven hundred troops and attacked twenty houses at Memramcook (Dorchester, New Brunswick). They arrested the Acadians that remained and killed two hundred head of livestock. [7] Even after these raids, Acadians returned to these villages and the numbers grew as the deportation from peninsula Nova Scotia continued, followed by the deportation of present-day Prince Edward Island and Cape Breton.

On September 10, 1757, Captain John Knox of the Forty-third Regiment was ordered to take part in an 800 man joint force of rangers and regular troops to march against Chipoudy, which seemed to be the originating point for the Acadian and Mi'kmaq raids on Chignecto. [8] Almost seven months later, on March 28, 1758, Gorham's Rangers raided Chipoudy and found only women and children; the men had left for Fort Cumberland, where they attacked a schooner. [9] The Rangers were shocked at how fast the community had re-built after the previous raid. [9]

The campaign

In June 1758, Lieutenant Meech of Benoni Danks' Rangers along with fifty-five men advanced up the Petitcodiac River, suspecting that this was where the Acadian and Mi'kmaq raids originated. They made contact with 40 Acadians but were unable to catch them. [10]

On July 1, 1758, Danks himself began to pursue the Acadians. They arrived at present day Moncton and Danks' Rangers ambushed about thirty Acadians, who were led by Joseph Broussard (Beausoleil). Many were driven into the river, three of them were killed and scalped, and others were captured. Broussard was seriously wounded. [11] Danks reported that the scalps were Mi'kmaq and received payment for them. Thereafter, he received a reputation in local lore as being "one of the most reckless and brutal" of the Rangers. [10]

In September 1758, Roger's Rangers burned an Acadian settlement of 100 buildings. he Acadians captured five of British troops and retreated with them to the Miramachi. [12] The Acadians took prisoner William Caesar McCormick of William Stark's rangers and his detachment of three rangers and two light infantry privates from the 35th Regiment of Foot. They were taken to Miramachi and then Restogouch. [2] (They were kept prisoner by Pierre du Calvet, who later released them to Halifax.) [13]

November 12, 1758, Danks' Rangers sailed up the river and returned the next day with four men and twelve women and children as prisoners. The prisoners notified Danks about the location of Joseph Broussard's home (present day Boundary Creek). Danks' company sailed immediately up the Petitodiac to attack Broussard's home. By the time Danks arrived the house was vacant. Danks killed the livestock and burned the fields and village. [14]

The Rangers returned to the river. Captain Silvanus Cobb continued to ferry Rangers up and down the river to destroy the houses and crops over two nights, November 13–14. On November 14, Acadian militia appeared early in the morning. Two of Danks' Rangers were missing. The Rangers overwhelmed the Acadians once Danks' reinforcement of a platoon of Rangers arrived. The Rangers took a dozen women and children hostage. [15] Joseph Gorham reported that he had burned over a hundred homes and Danks reported he destroyed twenty three buildings. [15]

The Rangers then returned to Fort Frederick at the mouth of the St. John River with their prisoners.

Aftermath

The Acadian refugees from the Petitcodiac River campaign went to the Penobscot River, a region that Preble and Pownall were prepared to sweep in early 1759. [16]

A part of the regulars under Lieutenant-Colonel Andrew Rollo arrested and deported Acadians in the Ile Saint-Jean campaign.

Major General Amherst dispatched Brigadier James Wolfe to the northeast along the coast in the Gulf of St. Lawrence campaign (1758). [17] He sent Wolfe with three entire regiments and seven ships of the line to destroy Acadian fields and settlements. [15] After Wolfe had left the area, the 1760 Battle of Restigouche led to the capture of several hundred Acadians at Boishébert's refugee camp at Petit-Rochelle. [18]

Related Research Articles

Expulsion of the Acadians 1755–1764 British forced removal of Acadians from Maritime Canada

The Expulsion of the Acadians, also known as the Great Upheaval, the Great Expulsion, the Great Deportation, and the Deportation of the Acadians, was the forced removal by the British of the Acadian people from the present-day Canadian Maritime provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island, and the present-day U.S. state of Maine — parts of an area historically known as Acadia, causing the deaths of thousands of people. The Expulsion (1755–1764) occurred during the French and Indian War and was part of the British military campaign against New France. The British first deported Acadians to the Thirteen Colonies, and after 1758, transported additional Acadians to Britain and France. In all, of the 14,100 Acadians in the region, approximately 11,500 were deported, of which at least 5,000 died of disease, starvation or in shipwrecks. Men, women and children were forcibly removed from their homes and their land, which they'd farmed for a century. Their houses were burned and their land given to settlers loyal to Britain, mostly immigrants from New England and then Scotland. The event is largely regarded as a crime against humanity, though contemporary use of the term "genocide" is debated by scholars. A census of 1764 indicates that 2,600 Acadians remained in the colony having eluded capture.

The Isthmus of Chignecto is an isthmus bordering the Maritime provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia that connects the Nova Scotia peninsula with North America.

Charles Deschamps de Boishébert et de Raffetot

Charles Deschamps de Boishébert was a member of the Compagnies Franches de la Marine and was a significant leader of the Acadian militia's resistance to the Expulsion of the Acadians. He settled and tried to protect Acadians refugees along the rivers of New Brunswick. At Beaubears National Park on Beaubears Island, New Brunswick he settled refugee Acadians during the Expulsion of the Acadians.

History of the Acadians

The Acadians are the descendants of 17th and 18th century French settlers in parts of Acadia in the northeastern region of North America comprising what is now the Canadian Maritime Provinces of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, the Gaspé peninsula in eastern Québec, and the Kennebec River in southern Maine. The settlers whose descendants became Acadians primarily came from the southwestern and southern regions of France, historically known as Occitania, while some Acadians are claimed to be descended from the Indigenous peoples of the region. Today, due to assimilation, some Acadians may share other ethnic ancestries as well.

The Battle of Petitcodiac was fought during the Bay of Fundy Campaign (1755) of the French and Indian War. The battle was fought between the British colonial troops and Acadian militiamen led by French Officer Charles Deschamps de Boishébert on September 4, 1755 at the Acadian village of Village-des-Blanchard on the Petitcodiac River.

Villagedale is a community in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, located in the Municipality of the District of Barrington of Shelburne County.

Siege of Annapolis Royal (1744)

The siege of Annapolis Royal in 1744 involved two of four attempts by the French, along with their Acadian and native allies, to regain the capital of Nova Scotia/Acadia, Annapolis Royal, during King George's War. The siege is noted for Governor of Nova Scotia Paul Mascarene successfully defending the last British outpost in the colony and for the first arrival of New England Ranger John Gorham to Nova Scotia. The French and Mi'kmaq land forces were thwarted on both attempts on the capital because of the failure of French naval support to arrive.

John Gorham was a New England Ranger and was the first significant British military presence on the frontier of Nova Scotia and Acadia to remain in the region for a substantial period after the Conquest of Acadia (1710). He established the famous "Gorham's Rangers". He also commissioned two armed vessels: the Anson and the Warren, who patrolled off Nova Scotia.

St. John River campaign

The St. John River campaign occurred during the French and Indian War when Colonel Robert Monckton led a force of 1150 British soldiers to destroy the Acadian settlements along the banks of the Saint John River until they reached the largest village of Sainte-Anne des Pays-Bas in February 1759. Monckton was accompanied by Captain George Scott as well as New England Rangers led by Joseph Goreham, Captain Benoni Danks, as well as William Stark and Moses Hazen, both of Rogers' Rangers.

Bay of Fundy campaign Campaign during the French and Indian War

The Bay of Fundy campaign occurred during the French and Indian War when the British ordered the Expulsion of the Acadians from Acadia after the Battle of Fort Beauséjour (1755). The campaign started at Chignecto and then quickly moved to Grand-Pré, Rivière-aux-Canards, Pisiguit, Cobequid, and finally Annapolis Royal. Approximately 7,000 Acadians were deported to the New England colonies.

Gulf of St. Lawrence campaign (1758)

The Gulf of St. Lawrence campaign occurred during the French and Indian War when British forces raided villages along present-day New Brunswick and the Gaspé Peninsula coast of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence. Sir Charles Hardy and Brigadier-General James Wolfe were in command of the naval and military forces respectively. After the siege of Louisbourg, Wolfe and Hardy led a force of 1,500 troops in nine vessels to the Gaspé Bay arriving there on September 5. From there they dispatched troops to Miramichi Bay, Grande-Rivière, Quebec and Pabos, and Mont-Louis, Quebec. Over the following weeks, Sir Charles Hardy took 4 sloops or schooners, destroyed about 200 fishing vessels and took about two hundred prisoners.

Father Le Loutres War Colonial war between Britain and France

Father Le Loutre's War (1749–1755), also known as the Indian War, the Micmac War and the Anglo-Micmac War, took place between King George's War and the French and Indian War in Acadia and Nova Scotia. On one side of the conflict, the British and New England colonists were led by British Officer Charles Lawrence and New England Ranger John Gorham. On the other side, Father Jean-Louis Le Loutre led the Mi'kmaq and the Acadia militia in guerrilla warfare against settlers and British forces.

Acadian Exodus Flight and Relocation of Acadians during Father Le Loutres War

The Acadian Exodus happened during Father Le Loutre's War (1749–1755) and involved almost half of the total Acadian population of Nova Scotia deciding to relocate to French controlled territories. The three primary destinations were: the west side of the Mesagoueche River in the Chignecto region, Isle Saint-Jean and Île-Royale. The leader of the Exodus was Father Jean-Louis Le Loutre, whom the British gave the code name "Moses". Le Loutre acted in conjunction with Governor of New France Roland-Michel Barrin de La Galissonière who encouraged the Acadian migration. A prominent Acadian who transported Acadians to Ile St. Jean and Ile Royal was Joseph-Nicolas Gautier. The overall upheaval of the early 1750s in Nova Scotia was unprecedented. Present-day Atlantic Canada witnessed more population movements, more fortification construction, and more troop allocations than ever before in the region. The greatest immigration of the Acadians between 1749 and 1755 took place in 1750. Primarily due to natural disasters and British raids, the Exodus proved to be unsustainable when Acadians tried to develop communities in the French territories.

Military history of Nova Scotia Provincial military history

Nova Scotia is a Canadian province located in Canada's Maritimes. The region was initially occupied by Mi'kmaq. The colonial history of Nova Scotia includes the present-day Canadian Maritime provinces and the northern part of Maine, all of which were at one time part of Nova Scotia. In 1763 Cape Breton Island and St. John's Island became part of Nova Scotia. In 1769, St. John's Island became a separate colony. Nova Scotia included present-day New Brunswick until that province was established in 1784. During the first 150 years of European settlement, the colony was primarily made up of Catholic Acadians, Maliseet and Mi'kmaq. During the latter seventy-five years of this time period, there were six colonial wars that took place in Nova Scotia. After agreeing to several peace treaties, this long period of warfare ended with the Halifax Treaties (1761) and two years later when the British defeated the French in North America (1763). During these wars, Acadians, Mi'kmaq and Maliseet from the region fought to protect the border of Acadia from New England. They fought the war on two fronts: the southern border of Acadia, which New France defined as the Kennebec River in southern Maine. The other front was in Nova Scotia and involved preventing New Englanders from taking the capital of Acadia, Port Royal, establishing themselves at Canso.

Gorham's Rangers was one of the most famous and effective ranger units raised in colonial North America. Formed by John Gorham, the unit served as the prototype for many subsequent ranger forces, including the better known Rogers' Rangers. The unit started out as a Massachusetts provincial auxiliary company, which means it was not part of the province's normal militia system. Recruited in the summer of 1744 at the start of King George's War, Governor William Shirley ordered the unit raised as reinforcements for the then-besieged British garrison at Fort Anne in Annapolis Royal. The unit was primarily used to secure British control in Nova Scotia, whose population consisted primarily of hostile Acadian and Mi'kmaq. Initially a sixty-man all-Indian company led by British officers, the original Native American members of the unit were gradually replaced by Anglo-Americans and recent Scots and Irish immigrants and were a minority in the unit by the mid-1750s. The company were reconnaissance experts as well as renowned for their expertise at both water-borne operations and frontier guerrilla warfare. They were known for surprise amphibious raids on Acadian and Mi'kmaq coastal or riverine settlements, using large whaleboats, which carried between ten and fifteen rangers each. This small unit was the main British military force defending Nova Scotia from 1744 to 1749. The company became part of the British Army and was expanded during the Seven Years' War and went on to play an important role in fighting in Nova Scotia as well as participating in many of the important campaigns of the war, particularly distinguishing itself at the Siege of Quebec in 1759.

Military history of the Miꞌkmaq Militias of Mikmaq

The military history of the Miꞌkmaq consisted primarily of Miꞌkmaw warriors (smáknisk) who participated in wars against the English independently as well as in coordination with the Acadian militia and French royal forces. The Miꞌkmaw militias remained an effective force for over 75 years before the Halifax Treaties were signed (1760–61). In the nineteenth century, the Miꞌkmaq "boasted" that, in their contest with the British, the Miꞌkmaq "killed more men than they lost". In 1753, Charles Morris stated that the Miꞌkmaq have the advantage of "no settlement or place of abode, but wandering from place to place in unknown and, therefore, inaccessible woods, is so great that it has hitherto rendered all attempts to surprise them ineffectual". Leadership on both sides of the conflict employed standard colonial warfare, which included scalping non-combatants. After some engagements against the British during the American Revolutionary War, the militias were dormant throughout the nineteenth century, while the Miꞌkmaw people used diplomatic efforts to have the local authorities honour the treaties. After confederation, Miꞌkmaw warriors eventually joined Canada's war efforts in World War I and World War II. The most well-known colonial leaders of these militias were Chief (Sakamaw) Jean-Baptiste Cope and Chief Étienne Bâtard.

Military history of the Acadians

The military history of the Acadians consisted primarily of militias made up of Acadian settlers who participated in wars against the English in coordination with the Wabanaki Confederacy and French royal forces. A number of Acadians provided military intelligence, sanctuary, and logistical support to the various resistance movements against British rule in Acadia, while other Acadians remained neutral in the contest between the Franco–Wabanaki Confederacy forces and the British. The Acadian militias managed to maintain an effective resistance movement for more than 75 years and through six wars before their eventual demise. According to Acadian historian Maurice Basque, the story of Evangeline continues to influence historic accounts of the expulsion, emphasising Acadians who remained neutral and de-emphasising those who joined resistance movements. While Acadian militias were briefly active during the American Revolutionary War, the militias were dormant throughout the nineteenth century. After confederation, Acadians eventually joined the Canadian War efforts in World War I and World War II. The most well-known colonial leaders of these militias were Joseph Broussard and Joseph-Nicolas Gautier.

Lunenburg campaign (1758)

The Lunenburg campaign was executed by the Mi'kmaq militia and Acadian militia against the Foreign Protestants who the British had settled on the Lunenburg Peninsula during the French and Indian War. The British deployed Joseph Gorham and his Rangers along with Captain Rudolf Faesch and regular troops of the 60th Regiment of Foot to defend Lunenburg. The campaign was so successful, by November 1758, the members of the House of Assembly for Lunenburg stated "they received no benefit from His Majesty's Troops or Rangers" and required more protection.

Ile Saint-Jean campaign

The Ile Saint-Jean campaign was a series of military operations in fall 1758, during the Seven Years' War, to deport the Acadians who either lived on Ile Saint-Jean or had taken refuge there from earlier deportation operations. Lieutenant-Colonel Andrew Rollo led a force of 500 British troops to take possession of Ile Saint-Jean.

Cape Sable campaign Military campaign of the French and Indian War

The Cape Sable campaign occurred in the fall of 1758 during the French and Indian War. The British sought to neutralize Acadian support for the French by deporting them. Colonel Roger Morris led a force of 325 British soldiers, aided by Captain Joseph Gorham with 60 rangers and Rogers' Rangers, to destroy the Acadian settlements in present-day Shelburne County and Yarmouth County, Nova Scotia, Canada.

References

Notes

  1. ↑ Johnson, Micheline D. (1979). "Germain, Charles". In Halpenny, Francess G (ed.). Dictionary of Canadian Biography . Vol. IV (1771–1800) (online ed.). University of Toronto Press.
  2. 1 2 Loescher (1969), p. 34.
  3. ↑ Grenier (2008), pp. 198–200.
  4. ↑ Grenier (2008), pp. 200–201.
  5. ↑ Patterson, Stephen E. (1998). "Indian-White Relations in Nova Scotia, 1749-61: A Study in Political Interaction". In Phillip A. Buckner; Gail G. Campbell; David Frank (eds.). The Acadiensis Reader: Atlantic Canada before confederation. Acadiensis Press. pp.  105–106. ISBN   978-0-919107-44-1.
    • Patterson, Stephen E. (1994). "Colonial Wars and Aboriginal Peoples". In Phillip A. Buckner; John G. Reid (eds.). The Atlantic Region to Confederation: A History. University of Toronto Press. p. 144. ISBN   978-1-4875-1676-5. JSTOR   10.3138/j.ctt15jjfrm.
  6. ↑ Faragher (2005), p. 403.
  7. ↑ Grenier (2008), p. 184.
  8. ↑ Grenier (2008), p. 191.
  9. 1 2 Grenier (2008), p. 195.
  10. 1 2 Grenier (2008), p. 198.
  11. ↑ Grenier (2008) , p. 198; Faragher (2005) , p. 402
  12. ↑ Loescher (1969), pp. 34–35.
  13. ↑ Tousignant, Pierre; Dionne-Tousignant, Madeleine (1979). "du Calvet, Pierre". In Halpenny, Francess G (ed.). Dictionary of Canadian Biography . Vol. IV (1771–1800) (online ed.). University of Toronto Press.
  14. ↑ Grenier (2008), p. 200.
  15. 1 2 3 Grenier (2008), p. 201.
  16. ↑ Grenier (2008), p. 202.
  17. ↑ Lockerby (2008) , p. 55
    • For the campaign to the Gaspé, see McLennan, J.S. (1918). Louisbourg: From its Founding to its Fall, 1713–1758. London: Macmillan. pp.  417–423.
  18. ↑ Faragher (2005), p. 415.

Primary sources

Secondary sources

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.