Battle of Fort Beauséjour
Encyclopedia
The Battle of Fort Beauséjour was fought on the Isthmus of Chignecto
and marked the end of Father Le Loutre’s War and
the opening of a British offensive in the French and Indian War
, which would eventually lead to the end the French Empire in North America. The battle also reshaped the settlement patterns of the Atlantic region, and laid the groundwork for the modern province of New Brunswick.
Beginning June 3, 1755, a British army under Lieutenant-Colonel Robert Monckton
staged out of nearby Fort Lawrence
, besieged the small French
garrison at Fort Beauséjour
with the goal of opening the Isthmus of Chignecto
to British control. Control of the isthmus was crucial to the French because it was the only gateway between Quebec and Louisbourg during the winter months. After two weeks of siege, Louis Du Pont Duchambon de Vergor
, the fort's commander, capitulated on June 16.
, one up the Hudson River in the Lake Champlain Valley, and the third attack was to strike the French forts in Acadia.
, commanding a fleet of 31 transports and three Royal Navy warships carrying 270 British regular
troops (from the 43rd Regiment of Foot) and 2,000 New England
militia
, entered Cumberland Basin
. The ships dropped anchor at the mouth of the Missaguash River
and the British forces were able to land unopposed. Using the nearby British outpost of Fort Lawrence
(about three kilometers (2 miles) to the east) as a staging area, Monckton then proceeded to the top of Aulac Ridge.
In response, The French commander, Vergor, immediately called in the Acadian and Native men in the vicinity to augment his garrison of 165 soldiers. He also burnt Acadian buildings that might fall into British hands, and sent pleas for reinforcements to Louisbourg and the mouth of the St. John River.
The British offensive began on June 3, with Monckton carefully and methodically advancing on the French fortification from the north.
When his forces were close enough on June 13, Monckton began a bombardment with 13 inch mortar
s.
Although the commander of the fort, the Marquis
Louis Du Pont Duchambon de Vergor
, defied the British for two weeks, there was little the French could realistically do against the numerically superior British forces. French priest Jean-Louis Le Loutre
was joined in resisting the British by Acadian militia leader Joseph Broussard
during the battle.
On June 16, British mortar fire breached the walls of the fortification and badly mauled the French garrison. De Vergor had little choice but to surrender. In the battle, the recorded killed were four British and eight of the French and their allies; wounded were 16 British and 6 French and their allies. Jean-Louis Le Loutre
's last act of defiance was to burn the local Cathedral so that it would not fall into the hands of the British.
The next day, the French abandoned nearby Fort Gaspareaux
, severing communications between Acadia
and Île Royale (Cape Breton Island
), and leaving the British forces in control of the frontier between Nova Scotia
and Acadia. For leading the resistance against the British occupation of Acadia, Le Loutre was captured and imprisoned for eight years. Joseph Broussard
escaped and continued to fight.
from the colony. Monckton and his expeditionary force were placed in charge of executing the directive. The effects of the deportation resonate to the present day throughout Atlantic Canada and as far afield as Louisiana
in the United States where many Acadians settled. The name Acadian was corrupted in Louisiana becoming Cajun
.
Fort Beauséjour was renamed by the British to Fort Cumberland. It saw little further military action in the French and Indian War, and was used as a base for organizing the deportations. It was abandoned in 1768, refortified in 1776, and besieged
by Jonathan Eddy
and a mixed band of rebels from Massachusetts
and Nova Scotia in November 1776.
Isthmus of Chignecto
The Isthmus of Chignecto is an isthmus bordering the Maritime provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia which connects the Nova Scotia peninsula with North America....
and marked the end of Father Le Loutre’s War and
the opening of a British offensive in the French and Indian War
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War is the common American name for the war between Great Britain and France in North America from 1754 to 1763. In 1756, the war erupted into the world-wide conflict known as the Seven Years' War and thus came to be regarded as the North American theater of that war...
, which would eventually lead to the end the French Empire in North America. The battle also reshaped the settlement patterns of the Atlantic region, and laid the groundwork for the modern province of New Brunswick.
Beginning June 3, 1755, a British army under Lieutenant-Colonel Robert Monckton
Robert Monckton
Robert Monckton was an officer of the British army and a colonial administrator in British North America. He had a distinguished military and political career, being second in command to General Wolfe at the battle of Quebec and subsequently being the Governor of New York State...
staged out of nearby Fort Lawrence
Fort Lawrence
Fort Lawrence was a British fort built during Father Le Loutre's War and located on the Isthmus of Chignecto .-Father Le Loutre's War:...
, besieged the small French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
garrison at Fort Beauséjour
Fort Beauséjour
Fort Beauséjour, was built during Father Le Loutre's War from 1751-1755; it is located at the Isthmus of Chignecto in present-day Aulac, New Brunswick, Canada...
with the goal of opening the Isthmus of Chignecto
Isthmus of Chignecto
The Isthmus of Chignecto is an isthmus bordering the Maritime provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia which connects the Nova Scotia peninsula with North America....
to British control. Control of the isthmus was crucial to the French because it was the only gateway between Quebec and Louisbourg during the winter months. After two weeks of siege, Louis Du Pont Duchambon de Vergor
Louis Du Pont Duchambon de Vergor
Louis Du Pont Duchambon de Vergor was a French military officer who served as a member of the French Army during the Seven Years' War....
, the fort's commander, capitulated on June 16.
Historical Context
The British assault on Fort Beausejour was part of a larger British initiative in North America. On land, there was a three-pronged assault. There were also planned attacks on the Ohio basin at Fort DuquesneFort Duquesne
Fort Duquesne was a fort established by the French in 1754, at the junction of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers in what is now downtown Pittsburgh in the state of Pennsylvania....
, one up the Hudson River in the Lake Champlain Valley, and the third attack was to strike the French forts in Acadia.
Battle
On June 2, 1755, Lieutenant-Colonel MoncktonRobert Monckton
Robert Monckton was an officer of the British army and a colonial administrator in British North America. He had a distinguished military and political career, being second in command to General Wolfe at the battle of Quebec and subsequently being the Governor of New York State...
, commanding a fleet of 31 transports and three Royal Navy warships carrying 270 British regular
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
troops (from the 43rd Regiment of Foot) and 2,000 New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
militia
Militia
The term militia is commonly used today to refer to a military force composed of ordinary citizens to provide defense, emergency law enforcement, or paramilitary service, in times of emergency without being paid a regular salary or committed to a fixed term of service. It is a polyseme with...
, entered Cumberland Basin
Cumberland Basin
Cumberland Basin is an inlet and northeasternmost part of the Bay of Fundy, located on the border between the Canadian provinces of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick....
. The ships dropped anchor at the mouth of the Missaguash River
Missaguash River
The Missaguash River is a small Canadian river that forms the southern portion of the inter-provincial boundary between Nova Scotia and New Brunswick on the Isthmus of Chignecto...
and the British forces were able to land unopposed. Using the nearby British outpost of Fort Lawrence
Fort Lawrence
Fort Lawrence was a British fort built during Father Le Loutre's War and located on the Isthmus of Chignecto .-Father Le Loutre's War:...
(about three kilometers (2 miles) to the east) as a staging area, Monckton then proceeded to the top of Aulac Ridge.
The British offensive began on June 3, with Monckton carefully and methodically advancing on the French fortification from the north.
When his forces were close enough on June 13, Monckton began a bombardment with 13 inch mortar
Mortar (weapon)
A mortar is an indirect fire weapon that fires explosive projectiles known as bombs at low velocities, short ranges, and high-arcing ballistic trajectories. It is typically muzzle-loading and has a barrel length less than 15 times its caliber....
s.
Although the commander of the fort, the Marquis
Marquis
Marquis is a French and Scottish title of nobility. The English equivalent is Marquess, while in German, it is Markgraf.It may also refer to:Persons:...
Louis Du Pont Duchambon de Vergor
Louis Du Pont Duchambon de Vergor
Louis Du Pont Duchambon de Vergor was a French military officer who served as a member of the French Army during the Seven Years' War....
, defied the British for two weeks, there was little the French could realistically do against the numerically superior British forces. French priest Jean-Louis Le Loutre
Jean-Louis Le Loutre
Abbé Jean-Louis Le Loutre was a Catholic priest and missionary for the Paris Foreign Missions Society...
was joined in resisting the British by Acadian militia leader Joseph Broussard
Joseph Broussard
Joseph Gaurhept Broussard , also known as Beausoleil, was a leader of the Acadian people in Acadia; later Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. Broussard organized a resistance movement against the forced Expulsion of the Acadians...
during the battle.
On June 16, British mortar fire breached the walls of the fortification and badly mauled the French garrison. De Vergor had little choice but to surrender. In the battle, the recorded killed were four British and eight of the French and their allies; wounded were 16 British and 6 French and their allies. Jean-Louis Le Loutre
Jean-Louis Le Loutre
Abbé Jean-Louis Le Loutre was a Catholic priest and missionary for the Paris Foreign Missions Society...
's last act of defiance was to burn the local Cathedral so that it would not fall into the hands of the British.
The next day, the French abandoned nearby Fort Gaspareaux
Fort Gaspareaux
Fort Gaspareaux was a French fort at the head of Baie Verte near the mouth of the Gaspareaux River and just southeast of the modern village of Port Elgin, New Brunswick, Canada, on the Isthmus of Chignecto...
, severing communications between Acadia
Acadia
Acadia was the name given to lands in a portion of the French colonial empire of New France, in northeastern North America that included parts of eastern Quebec, the Maritime provinces, and modern-day Maine. At the end of the 16th century, France claimed territory stretching as far south as...
and Île Royale (Cape Breton Island
Cape Breton Island
Cape Breton Island is an island on the Atlantic coast of North America. It likely corresponds to the word Breton, the French demonym for Brittany....
), and leaving the British forces in control of the frontier between Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
and Acadia. For leading the resistance against the British occupation of Acadia, Le Loutre was captured and imprisoned for eight years. Joseph Broussard
Joseph Broussard
Joseph Gaurhept Broussard , also known as Beausoleil, was a leader of the Acadian people in Acadia; later Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. Broussard organized a resistance movement against the forced Expulsion of the Acadians...
escaped and continued to fight.
Aftermath
The British victory, combined with the surrender of other French garrisons in the area, removed most of the French military presence from Acadia, and opened its interior to the British, with catastrophic impact on the local Acadian population. Some French-speaking Acadians who had previously declared neutrality in French-British conflicts participated in defense of the fort. This open breach of neutrality was viewed by the British officials in Halifax as being unacceptable. Governor Charles Lawrence of Nova Scotia used the presence of these Acadian irregulars at Fort Beauséjour as a pretense and excuse to order the deportation of the Acadian populationGreat Upheaval
The Expulsion of the Acadians was the forced removal by the British of the Acadian people from present day Canadian Maritime provinces: Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island...
from the colony. Monckton and his expeditionary force were placed in charge of executing the directive. The effects of the deportation resonate to the present day throughout Atlantic Canada and as far afield as Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
in the United States where many Acadians settled. The name Acadian was corrupted in Louisiana becoming Cajun
Cajun
Cajuns are an ethnic group mainly living in the U.S. state of Louisiana, consisting of the descendants of Acadian exiles...
.
Fort Beauséjour was renamed by the British to Fort Cumberland. It saw little further military action in the French and Indian War, and was used as a base for organizing the deportations. It was abandoned in 1768, refortified in 1776, and besieged
Battle of Fort Cumberland
The Battle of Fort Cumberland was an attempt by a small number of militia commanded by Jonathan Eddy to bring the American Revolutionary War to Nova Scotia in late 1776...
by Jonathan Eddy
Jonathan Eddy
Jonathan Eddy served for the British in the French and Indian War and for the American Patriots in the American Revolution. After the French and Indian War he settled in Nova Scotia as a New England Planter, becoming a member of the General Assembly of Nova Scotia. During the American...
and a mixed band of rebels from Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
and Nova Scotia in November 1776.