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=== Raid on Gaspé Bay ===
=== Raid on Gaspé Bay ===
After participating in the [[Siege of Louisbourg (1758)]], on September 5, 1758, Wolfe arrived on the Royal William at [[Gaspé Bay]].<ref>Another of General Wolfe’s aide-de-camp, Captain Hervey Smyth, was a military artist whose sketches of the Louisbourg and Quebec campaigns, including one of ‘Gaspé Bay’, were later published as etchings. </ref> At the beginning of the war the village had 300 inhabitants. The [[Seigneurial system of New France|seigneur]] was a Mr. Revoke. Sir [[Charles Hardy]] took possession of the village. Acadians fled to the woods. Over the following weeks, Hardy burned the The summary report of the raid states that 15 houses, a saw mill and a smith’s forge were destroyed. Also 200 fishing vessels were destroyed and Hardy took 200 Acadians prisoner. <ref>J.S. McLennan, Louisbourg: From its Founding to its Fall by , Macmillan and Co. Ltd London, UK 1918, pp. 417-423, Appendix 11 (see http://www.archive.org/stream/louisbourgfromit00mcleuoft/louisbourgfromit00mcleuoft_djvu.txt) Also see http://gaspesie.quebecheritageweb.com/article_details.aspx?articleId=366</ref>
After participating in the [[Siege of Louisbourg (1758)]], on September 5, 1758, Wolfe arrived on the Royal William at [[Gaspé Bay]].<ref>Another of General Wolfe’s aide-de-camp, Captain Hervey Smyth, was a military artist whose sketches of the Louisbourg and Quebec campaigns, including one of ‘Gaspé Bay’, were later published as etchings. </ref> At the beginning of the war the village had 300 inhabitants. By the time of the raid there were only 60. The [[Seigneurial system of New France|seigneur]] was a Mr. Revoke. Sir [[Charles Hardy]] took possession of the village. Acadians fled to the woods. Over the following weeks, Hardy burned the The summary report of the raid states that 15 houses, a saw mill and a smith’s forge were destroyed. Of the sixty settlers, thirty-seven were taken on the British transports and returned to France (many of them were originally from St. Malot), while six Acadians escaped. About eighteen were unaccounted for. <ref>J.S. McLennan, Louisbourg: From its Founding to its Fall by , Macmillan and Co. Ltd London, UK 1918, pp. 417-423, Appendix 11 (see http://www.archive.org/stream/louisbourgfromit00mcleuoft/louisbourgfromit00mcleuoft_djvu.txt) Also see http://gaspesie.quebecheritageweb.com/article_details.aspx?articleId=366</ref>


=== Raid on Miramichi Bay ===
=== Raid on Miramichi Bay ===

Revision as of 09:16, 24 September 2010

The Gulf of St. Lawrence Campaign (also known as The Gaspee Expedition) occurred during the French and Indian War when, under the command of General Wolfe, British forces raided Acadian 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 (1758), Wolfe and Hardy led a force of 1500 troops in nine vessels to the Gaspé Bay arriving there on September 5. From there he dispatched troops to Miramichi Bay (Sept. 12), Grande-Rivière, Quebec and Sainte-Adelaide-de-Pabos (Sept. 13), and Saint-Maxime-du-Mont-Louis, Quebec (Sept. 14). [1]

Historical Context

Raid on Gaspé Bay by Capt. Hervey Smyth (1758)

After the Siege of Louisbourg (1758), the second wave of the Expulsion of the Acadians began. Moncton was sent on the St. John River Campaign and the Petitcodiac River Campaign. Commander Rollo accomplished the Ile Saint-Jean Campaign. And Wolfe was sent on the Gulf of St. Lawrence Campaign. In the Gulf of St. Lawrence Campaign, the British wanted to clear the Acadians from the villages along the Gulf of St. Lawrence to prevent any interference with the Siege of Quebec (1759). [2] As well, the Gaspe Bay and Miramichi settlements were vital to Quebec, supplying the capital with Fish.

Raid on Gaspé Bay

After participating in the Siege of Louisbourg (1758), on September 5, 1758, Wolfe arrived on the Royal William at Gaspé Bay.[3] At the beginning of the war the village had 300 inhabitants. By the time of the raid there were only 60. The seigneur was a Mr. Revoke. Sir Charles Hardy took possession of the village. Acadians fled to the woods. Over the following weeks, Hardy burned the The summary report of the raid states that 15 houses, a saw mill and a smith’s forge were destroyed. Of the sixty settlers, thirty-seven were taken on the British transports and returned to France (many of them were originally from St. Malot), while six Acadians escaped. About eighteen were unaccounted for. [4]

Raid on Miramichi Bay

Raid on Miramichi Bay - Burnt Church Village by Captian Hervey Smyth (1758)

On September 15, dispatched by Wolfe at Gaspe Bay, Commander James Murray arrived with 800 troops at the mouth of Miramichi Bay. Murray’s vessels got caught in the tides and had to wait until the tide rose before he could enter the Miramichi Bay. This delay gave the Acadians time to escape.

The Raid on Miramichi Bay started with a attack on present day Bay du Vin.[5] In the village, were about 40 Acadian refugees that had fled peninsula Nova Scotia. They were led by Father Bonaventure.

Murray then deployed troops across Miramichi Bay to the present day community of Burnt Church.[6] The community had about 30 Acadian families. By the time the troops arrived the Acadians had also vacated the village. Murray’s troops also destroyed their provisions, livestock, wigwams and houses. He also burned a stone church, after which the community is named. Murray Louisbourg 24th. September 1758. [7]

Murray’s troops were unable to travel the 10 leagues up the river to Boishebert's's refugee camp, known as "Camp de l’Espérance", at Beaubears Island. The Acadians had escaped the Ile Saint-Jean Campaign. Murray was unable to navigate the river because their boats were too large. Murray returned to Louisbourg Sept. 24.

Raid on Grande-Rivière

On the I3th Cap. Irvine was detached with several small parties under Convoy of the Kennington to destroy Grande-Rivière, Quebec. There were 60 houses in the village and about 80 fishing vessels. The Signuery was Bellfeuille. Upon the arrival of Captain Irvine, the Acadians fled the village. All the houses and fishing vessels were burned. And there was a man and his family along with 5 other prisoners captured.[8]

Raid on Sainte-Adelaide-de-Pabos

Three leagues west of Grand Riveire, was the small village of Sainte-Adelaide-de-Pabos, Quebec. When Captain Irvine arrived, the Acadians fled to the woods. Capt. Irvine had the 34 homes and buildings burned along with the 40 Shaloupes, leaving the Acadians deprived of everything. [9]

Raid on Mont Louis

From Gaspe Bay, on September 14, Wolfe sent Major John Dalling to march 130 miles along the shore up the St. Lawrence. There he reached Saint-Maxime-du-Mont-Louis, Quebec on Sept 23, after marching for eleven days. The siegury was Mr. Maillett. Along the way they took 4 prisoners. When they arrived at the village they burned 16 buildings and 5 fishing vessels. Dalling managed to capture Monsieur Mackette, his wife with 22 men, 4 Women & 14 Children Prisoners. [10]

Aftermath

Destroying the villages would destroy the valuable French fishery along the coast and cut off supply to Quebec, which experienced a famine that winter.[11] The following year the British were successful in the Siege of Quebec (1759).

The Acadians also managed to continue to take refugee in Baie des Chaleurs and the Restigouche River.[12] On the Restigouche River, Boishébert also had a refugee camp at Petit-Rochelle (which was located across from present-day Campbellton, New Brunswick).[13] 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.[14]

References

Primary Sources

  • Letter by J. A. Murray . Louisbourg 24th. September 1758. Public Record Office in London, where it is classified officially as C. O. 5, Vol. 53, (formerly A. W. 1, Vol.79).
  • Journal of Captain Bell, A.D.C. to General Wolfe and the official dispatches of Admiral Boscawen.

Secondary sources

Links

Endnotes

  1. ^ J.S. McLennan, Louisbourg: From its Founding to its Fall by , Macmillan and Co. Ltd London, UK 1918, pp. 417-423, Appendix 11 (see http://www.archive.org/stream/louisbourgfromit00mcleuoft/louisbourgfromit00mcleuoft_djvu.txt)
  2. ^ From Life of General the Honourable James Murray by R. H. Mahon, p. Page 70
  3. ^ Another of General Wolfe’s aide-de-camp, Captain Hervey Smyth, was a military artist whose sketches of the Louisbourg and Quebec campaigns, including one of ‘Gaspé Bay’, were later published as etchings.
  4. ^ J.S. McLennan, Louisbourg: From its Founding to its Fall by , Macmillan and Co. Ltd London, UK 1918, pp. 417-423, Appendix 11 (see http://www.archive.org/stream/louisbourgfromit00mcleuoft/louisbourgfromit00mcleuoft_djvu.txt) Also see http://gaspesie.quebecheritageweb.com/article_details.aspx?articleId=366
  5. ^ (Esther Clark Wright, p17).
  6. ^ (There is a contemporaneous image of the raid on Burnt Church published in the article The History of Neguac and Burnt Church By W. F. GANONG. ACADIENSIS, October 1908)
  7. ^ J.S. McLennan, Louisbourg: From its Founding to its Fall by , Macmillan and Co. Ltd London, UK 1918, pp. 417-423, Appendix 11 (see http://www.archive.org/stream/louisbourgfromit00mcleuoft/louisbourgfromit00mcleuoft_djvu.txt)
  8. ^ J.S. McLennan, Louisbourg: From its Founding to its Fall by , Macmillan and Co. Ltd London, UK 1918, pp. 417-423, Appendix 11 (see http://www.archive.org/stream/louisbourgfromit00mcleuoft/louisbourgfromit00mcleuoft_djvu.txt)
  9. ^ J.S. McLennan, Louisbourg: From its Founding to its Fall by , Macmillan and Co. Ltd London, UK 1918, pp. 417-423, Appendix 11 (see http://www.archive.org/stream/louisbourgfromit00mcleuoft/louisbourgfromit00mcleuoft_djvu.txt)
  10. ^ J.S. McLennan, Louisbourg: From its Founding to its Fall by , Macmillan and Co. Ltd London, UK 1918, pp. 417-423, Appendix 11 (see http://www.archive.org/stream/louisbourgfromit00mcleuoft/louisbourgfromit00mcleuoft_djvu.txt)
  11. ^ From Life of General the Honourable James Murray by R. H. Mahon
  12. ^ Lockerby, 2008, p.17, p.24, p.26, p.56
  13. ^ Faragher, p. 414; also see History: Commodore Byron's Conquest. The Canadian Press. July 19, 2008 http://www.acadian.org/La%20Petite-Rochelle.html
  14. ^ John Faragher, p. 415
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