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== The Battle ==
== The Battle ==
Immediately after the declaration of [[Dummer's War]], on July 22, 1722, Governor [[Richard Philipps]] commissioned Capt. John Elliot and Capt. John Robinson in two sloops with regiments to protect the fishery at [[Canso, Nova Scotia]] and retrieve the New England prisoners.<ref name="Grenier, p. 60">.(Grenier, p. 60)</ref> Toward this end, Capt. Elliot and Bradstreet attacked thirty nine Natives on a ship at Winnepang (present-day Jeddore Harbour) who were harbouring prisoners. There was a two hour naval battle.<ref>Geoffery Plank, in his book ''An Unsettled Conquest'' (p. 78),</ref> Bradstreet led a boarding party that overwhelmed the natives with hand grenades and disciplined fire.<ref name="Grenier p. 60">(Grenier, p. 60)</ref> Capt. Elliot was badly wounded as were several of his men. Five were killed.<ref>New Brunswick: with notes for emigrants. Comprehending the early history, an ... By Abraham Gesner, p. 35; Grenier reports there was only one New Englander killed and several wounded. (p. 60)</ref>
Immediately after the declaration of [[Dummer's War]], on July 22, 1722, Governor [[Richard Philipps]] commissioned Capt. John Elliot and Capt. John Robinson in two sloops with regiments to protect the fishery at [[Canso, Nova Scotia]] and retrieve the New England prisoners.<ref name="Grenier, p. 60">.(Grenier, p. 60)</ref> There was a Mi'kmaq camping place at near-by [[West Jeddore, Nova Scotia|West Jeddore]].<ref>Bruce Furguson. Place-Names and Places of Nova Scotia, p. 314</ref> There were thirty-nine natives at Winnepang (present-day Jeddore Harbour) who were harbouring prisoners in seven vessels. Capt. Elliot and Bradstreet arrived in the harbour and attacked the natives. There was a two hour naval battle.<ref>Geoffery Plank, in his book ''An Unsettled Conquest'' (p. 78),</ref> Bradstreet led a boarding party that overwhelmed the natives with hand grenades and disciplined fire.<ref name="Grenier p. 60">(Grenier, p. 60)</ref> Capt. Elliot was badly wounded as were several of his men. Five of the men were killed.<ref>New Brunswick: with notes for emigrants. Comprehending the early history, an ... By Abraham Gesner, p. 35; Grenier reports there was only one New Englander killed and several wounded. (p. 60)</ref>


As the Mi’kmaq tried to swim ashore to escape, the New Englanders opened fire on them. Thirty-five Natives were killed. The New Englanders managed to rescue fifteen prisoners from the vessels, while discovering that nine had been killed.<ref>(Beamish Murdoch. A history of Nova-Scotia, or Acadie, Volume 1, p. 399; Geoffery Plank, in his book ''An Unsettled Conquest'' (p. 78), also recounts the battle at Jaddore Harbour. He states that New Englanders set fire to Mi'kmaq vessels. The warriors tried to swim to land, but the New England men fired on them in the water. Twenty two were reported killed. Only five bodies were recovered and the New Englanders decapitated the corpses and set the severed heads on pikes surrounding Canso's new fort. Murdoch's and Plank's versions differ slightly.</ref>
As the Mi’kmaq tried to swim ashore to escape, the New Englanders opened fire on them. Thirty-five Natives were killed. The New Englanders managed to rescue fifteen prisoners from the vessels, while discovering that nine had been killed.<ref>(Beamish Murdoch. A history of Nova-Scotia, or Acadie, Volume 1, p. 399; Geoffery Plank, in his book ''An Unsettled Conquest'' (p. 78), also recounts the battle at Jaddore Harbour. He states that New Englanders set fire to Mi'kmaq vessels. The warriors tried to swim to land, but the New England men fired on them in the water. Twenty two were reported killed. Only five bodies were recovered and the New Englanders decapitated the corpses and set the severed heads on pikes surrounding Canso's new fort. Murdoch's and Plank's versions differ slightly.</ref>

Revision as of 00:33, 26 October 2010

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Battle at Winnepang
Part of Dummer's War
DateJuly 1722
Location
Jeddore Harbour, Nova Scotia
Result New England victory
Belligerents
Mi’kmaq England English colonists
Commanders and leaders
unknown Ensign John Bradstreet
Strength
39 Mi’kmaq warriors unknown New England troops
Casualties and losses
35 killed, several wounded 5 killed; several wounded

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The Battle at Winnepang (Jeddore Harbour) occurred during Dummer's War when New England forces attacked Mi’kmaq at present day Jeddore Harbour, Nova Scotia.[1] The naval battle was part of a campaign ordered by Governor Phillips to retrieve over 82 New England prisoners taken by the Mi'kmaq in fishing vessels off the coast of Nova Scotia.[2] The New England force was led by Ensign John Bradstreet and fishing Captain John Elliot.[3]

Historical Context

Dummer's War occurred as a result of an expansion of New England settlements along the Kennebec River (in present-day Maine) and of the movement of more New England fishermen into Nova Scotia waters (particularly at Canso, Nova Scotia). The Treaty of Utrecht (1713), which ended Queen Anne's War, had facilitated this expansion. The treaty, however, had been signed in Europe and had not involved any member of the Wabanaki natives. None had been consulted and they protested through raids on British fishermen and settlements.[4] For the first and only time, Wabanaki would fight New Englanders and the British on their own terms and for their own reasons and not principally to defend French imperial interests.[5] In response to Wabanki hostilities toward the expansion, the Governor of Nova Scotia Richard Phillips built a fort in traditional Mi'kmaq territory at Canso, Nova Scotia (1720) and Massachusetts Governor Shute built forts on traditional Abenaki territory at the mouth of the Kennebec River.[6] These fortifications escalated the conflict.

In July 1722 the Abenaki and Mi’kmaq created a blockade of the capital of Nova Scotia Annapolis Royal in an attempt to starve the capital. They captured 18 fishing vessels along with prisoners between present-day Cape Sable and Canso. They also captured vessels and took prisoners from the Bay of Fundy. One of the captured vessels had been dispatched from Canso to Annapolis Royal by Governor Phillips and contained a year supply of provisions for the capital.[7] The Maliseet seized another vessel and used it to transport 45 warriors up the bay to join with 120 Mi'kmaq from Shubenacadie and Cape Sable in preparation to march against Annapolis Royal.[8] In response, to protect the capital from native attack and secure the release of the New England prisoners, Lieutenant Governor John Doucett took 22 Mi'kmaq hostage at Annapolis Royal. Soon after the blockade began, Massachuetts Governor Samuel Shute declared war on the Abenaki and Mi'kmaq.[9] (Lieutenant Governor William Dummer, after whom the war is named, took the position of Acting Governor in 1723.)

The Battle

Immediately after the declaration of Dummer's War, on July 22, 1722, Governor Richard Philipps commissioned Capt. John Elliot and Capt. John Robinson in two sloops with regiments to protect the fishery at Canso, Nova Scotia and retrieve the New England prisoners.[10] There was a Mi'kmaq camping place at near-by West Jeddore.[11] There were thirty-nine natives at Winnepang (present-day Jeddore Harbour) who were harbouring prisoners in seven vessels. Capt. Elliot and Bradstreet arrived in the harbour and attacked the natives. There was a two hour naval battle.[12] Bradstreet led a boarding party that overwhelmed the natives with hand grenades and disciplined fire.[13] Capt. Elliot was badly wounded as were several of his men. Five of the men were killed.[14]

As the Mi’kmaq tried to swim ashore to escape, the New Englanders opened fire on them. Thirty-five Natives were killed. The New Englanders managed to rescue fifteen prisoners from the vessels, while discovering that nine had been killed.[15]

Only five native bodies were recovered from the battle and the New Englanders decapitated the corpses and set the severed heads on spikes surrounding Canso's new fort.[16]

Aftermath

Elsewhere in the campaign to retrieve the New England prisoners, James Blinn negotiated a prisoner exchange at Canso and won the release of 24 fishermen.[13] Blinn later kidnapped another three or four natives at Cape Sable.

In Captain Robinson's expedition, he captured ten of the vessels and killed three Abenaki.[17] Robinson warned the Mi’kmaq not to harm the New England prisoners because they still had Mi’kmaq hostages at Annapolis Royal.[10] He then arrived at Malagash harbour where the natives held five of the fishing vessels along with twenty prisoners. Robinson paid a ransom and they were released.[18]

Captain Southack killed one Mi’kmaq and took the other five as prisoners off the Gut of Canso.[10]

The Natives had sent sixteen prisoners to Richibucto, New Brunswick.[17]

References

Secondary Sources

  • Beamish Murdoch. A history of Nova-Scotia, or Acadie, Volume 1
  • John Grenier. Far Reaches of Empire: War in Nova Scotia 1710-1760. University of Oklahoma Press. 2008.
  • Faragher, John Mack, A Great and Noble Scheme New York; W. W. Norton & Company, 2005. pp.  ISBN 0-393-05135-8
  • N.E.S. Griffiths. 2005. Migrant to Acadian, McGill-Queen’s University Press. pp. 
  • Dickason, Olive Patricia. Canada's First Nations: A History of Founding Peoples from Earliest Times. (See Dickason, "Louisbourg and the Indians", p. 77; Dickason, "La guerre navale des Micmacs contre les Britanniques", p. 244). Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1992.

Endnotes

  1. ^ Beamish Murdoch names the site of the battle site as "Winnepang". Rev. Silas Rand's "MicMac Grammar" states Jeddore was called "Wineboogwechk", which is likely a corruption of Winnepang. The place name Wineboogwĕchk' and the descriptive of "to flow roughly" translates to winpĕgitk or winpĕgijooik, that is, Winnepang. (Rand, Rev. S.T. A First Reading Book in the MicMac Language: Comprising the MicMac Numerals, and the Names of the Different Kinds of Beasts, Birds, Fishes, Trees, &c. of the Maritime Provinces of Canada. Also some of the Indian Names of Places, and many Familiar Words and Phrases, Translated Literally into English. Nova Scotia Printing Company. Halifax 1875. pp. 90; also see Bruce Furguson. Place-Names and Places of Nova Scotia. Nova Scotia Archives. p. 314).
  2. ^ The minimum of 82 New England prisoners is calculated by adding up the number of prisoners retrieved and those who were known to have been killed or taken elsewhere.
  3. ^ (Grenier, p. 60).
  4. ^ William Wicken. "Mi'maq Decisions: Antoine Tecouenemac, the Conquest, and the Treaty of Utrecht". in John Reid et al (eds). The Conquest of Acadia, 1710: Imperial, Colonial and Aboriginal Constructions. University of Toronto Press. 2004. pp. 96
  5. ^ William Wicken, p. 96
  6. ^ The French claimed the same territory on the Kennebec River by building churches in the Abenaki villages of Norridgewock and Medoctec further up the Kennebec River. (See John Grenier. The Far Reaches of Empire. University of Oklahoma Press. 2008. p. 51, p. 54)
  7. ^ Brenda Dunn. Port Royal, Annapolis Royal. Nimbus Press. 2005. p. 122
  8. ^ Grenier, p. 56
  9. ^ (Beamish Murdoch. A history of Nova-Scotia, or Acadie, Volume 1, p. 399
  10. ^ a b c .(Grenier, p. 60)
  11. ^ Bruce Furguson. Place-Names and Places of Nova Scotia, p. 314
  12. ^ Geoffery Plank, in his book An Unsettled Conquest (p. 78),
  13. ^ a b (Grenier, p. 60)
  14. ^ New Brunswick: with notes for emigrants. Comprehending the early history, an ... By Abraham Gesner, p. 35; Grenier reports there was only one New Englander killed and several wounded. (p. 60)
  15. ^ (Beamish Murdoch. A history of Nova-Scotia, or Acadie, Volume 1, p. 399; Geoffery Plank, in his book An Unsettled Conquest (p. 78), also recounts the battle at Jaddore Harbour. He states that New Englanders set fire to Mi'kmaq vessels. The warriors tried to swim to land, but the New England men fired on them in the water. Twenty two were reported killed. Only five bodies were recovered and the New Englanders decapitated the corpses and set the severed heads on pikes surrounding Canso's new fort. Murdoch's and Plank's versions differ slightly.
  16. ^ Geoffery Plank, An Unsettled Conquest, p. 78; Grenier reports that only five natives survived and that all were wounded. He reports that two Mi’maq heads were place on spikes at Canso. (p.60).
  17. ^ a b New Brunswick: with notes for emigrants. Comprehending the early history, an ... By Abraham Gesner, p. 35
  18. ^ Murdoch, p. 399

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