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loo
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CO
HANDBUtND
AT THE
UNIVERSITY OF
TORONTO PRESS
LOUISBOURG
FROM ITS FOUNDATION TO ITS FALL
1713-1758
MACM1LLAN AND CO., LIMITED
LONDON • BUMBAY • CU.CL'TTA • MADRAS
MF.LBOURNF
THE MACMILLAN COMPANY
NEW YORK • BOSTON • CHICAGO
DAM. AS • SAN FRANCISCO
THE MACM1LLAN CO. OF CANADA. LTD.
TORONTO
LOUISBOURG
FROM ITS FOUNDATION
TO ITS FALL
"
J."S. MCLENNAN
WITH ILLUSTRATIONS
MACMILLAN AND CO., LIMITED
ST. MARTIN'S STREET, LONDON
1918
COPYRIGHT
TO THE MEMORY
OF MY SON
HUGH MCLENNAN
BORN IN CAPE BRETON, JANUARY 27, 1 886
WHO, A STUDENT AT THE BEAUX-ARTS, PARIS, ENLISTED
IN AUGUST 1914 IN THE CANADIAN FIELD ARTILLERY,
AND WAS KILLED IN ACTION NEAR YPRES, APRIL 27, 1915
I DEDICATE THIS BOOK
PREFACE
LOUISBOURG, as the seat of French power on the coast of the North Atlantic,
occupied, during the few years of its existence, a unique position.
Contrasts between the progress of Canada and that of adjacent British
colonies frequently have been made. It has been overlooked that the people of
Louisbourg successfully met the competition of their neighbours in the greatest
industry in which both were engaged. Its development illustrates the action of
economic forces many years before the statement of their laws by Adam Smith
met with general acceptance. The captures of the town, both in 1745 and 1758,
connect its history with the general course of events, which, slowly preparing in
the preceding years, culminated in the latter half of the eighteenth century
with such faY-reaching consequences to France and the British Empire.
This work is intended to present in detail the economic and administrative
history of the colony, as well as to bring that history into harmony with the
wider outlook on the events of the time which has been taken by other writers,
notably M. Richard Waddington,1 Mr. Julian Corbett,2 and M. La Cour-Gayet.3
A study of original documents and contemporary writings having verified
the soundness of their views, I have, in many cases, referred to their works rather
than to sources less easily accessible. While I have tried to make complete my
acknowledgments as well as the verification of their citations, I am aware that
the former may not be complete, and that my text may even contain, without
acknowledgment, phrases from works I have so constantly consulted.
There are gaps in the narrative here presented. They are, by intention,
only the leaving out of events or incidents, often picturesque, which are dealt
1 Le Ren-versement des alliances, and La Guerre de Sept Ans. 2 England in the Seven Tears' War.
3 La Marine militaire de la France sous Louis XV.
vii
viii LOUISBOURG FROM ITS FOUNDATION TO ITS FALL
with fully in the works of Parkman, Wood, and others, which it is fair to assume
arc familiar to all who will read this hook.
Some of the views presented differ from those usually taken of this period
and the events herein dealt with. The relative success of the French fisheries, as
compared with those of New England ; the lack of efficiency and armament in
British outposts, and the slackness of some of their officers ; the origins of the
expedition of 1745, and the importance of Pepperrell in securing its adoption by
the legislature of Massachusetts, are instances in which the views presented differ
from those I held in beginning the study of the original documents.
Again, it may be pointed out to those who may feel that it was unnecessary
to include in the narrative the statement that Wolfe's forecasts at Halifax were
inaccurate, that his despondent views only set forth more brightly the indomitable
spirit of the man. It has also seemed desirable to deal at some length, as the
writer is familiar with local topography, with the site and sequence of events on
the 8th of June, when the force under Wolfe's command gained a landing.
There was nothing in the conduct of the war up to that time to lead us to
believe that, had the attack been repulsed, the expedition might not have failed.
The concluding chapter contains an analysis of the causes which led to the
weakness of the French Navy at a time when efficiency might have averted the
gravest disasters to the colonial empire of France. In this chapter, to avoid
repetition, is contained some elucidations of the naval operations at Louisbourg
which demand attention as a basis for a sound understanding of these events.
It may be added that as the documents in the Archives Nationales which
deal with the affairs of the colony are arranged in chronological order in their
respective series, it has not been thought necessary to cite all references to
documents so easily found ; nor for English readers to give the original text
as well as a translation for passages quoted from French writers. I have used
contemporary forms of spelling, usually that of the document on which the text
is based ; and I have, whenever possible, quoted the words of an eyewitness
rather than given my own version. While this course has some obvious dis-
advantages it is hoped that it has added materially to the accuracy of the views
presented.
I most gratefully acknowledge much help cordially given by many people.
PREFACE ix
Earl Grey made it easy for me to obtain access to collections. Dr. A. G.
Doughty of the Dominion Archives, and Monsieur Charles de la Ronciere of
the Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris, both historians, the latter the author of a
monumental history of the French Navy, not yet completed, have aided me with
advice. Mr. H. P. Biggar of the Canadian Archives has placed freely at my
disposal his knowledge of the libraries and archives of Europe. Viscount
Falmouth has sent me copies of Admiral Boscawen's unpublished letters of 1755.
Admiral the Hon. Horace Hood, R.N., has had prepared for me a chart showing
the position of Boscawen's larger ships in June 1758. Colonel Stopford Sackville
has had copied for me Cunningham's letter now in the Archives of Drayton
House. Mr. H. P. Duchemin of Sydney has aided me in the final revision.
Miss Alice J. Mayes of London has been an accurate and intelligent searcher for
me in the Record Office and other depositaries in London. Mr. Herbert
Putnam of the Congressional Library has given me the copy of a rare map ;
md from the officials of many libraries and archives in Canada, the United
States, England, and France I have received much courteous assistance in my
researches.
J. S. MCLENNAN.
PETERSFIELD,
SYDNEY, CAPE BRETON,
CANADA.
P.S. — This book was printed in the spring of 1914, for publication in the
following September. The outbreak of war led to its being held over. The con-
tinuance of the war makes it improbable that, within the near future, there will be
more fitting time than the present for its appearance ; for the events dealt with
in it influence those which are now occurring, and the views as to the importance
of naval power stated in it are being confirmed on every sea.
In the interval since it was printed changes have occurred. The Earl Grey
and Admiral the Honble. Horace Hood have ended splendid careers of public
irvice, and Sir Julian Corbett has had his contributions to naval history recognised.
J. S. MCL.
SENATE, CANADA,
June 1918.
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
IM
14. V Attack and Defence in Three Stages.
»5-J
PAGE
1. Veue de la Ville, 1731. Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris, G 18830 . . Frontispiece
2. Carte de 1'Isle Royale . . . w - . . .9
3. Plan du Havre. By L'Hermitte, 1716 (Marine, Paris) . . . -33
4. Projects of Fortification, Verville, 1717 . . . . . 51
5. Captain Young's Map, 1716. . . . . . . .52
6. Louisbourg, 1734 . . . . . . . . .86
7. Environs, 1738 (Marine, Paris) ....... 89
8. Satirical Print, 1755 . '. .' . . . . . £- 197
9. Boscawen's Ships, June 5, 1758 . . . . . . . 242
10. Coast near Landing Place ... . . . . . 246
11. Coromandiere Cove, 1912 . . . . . . 247
12. First Landing . . . . . . . . .252
268
271
280
1 6. The Prudent and Bienfaisant in Louisbourg Harbour, 1758 . . . .283
17. Demolition of Fortifications (British Museum) . . . . .291
1 8. View of Louisbourg in 1766 (British Museum) ..... 293
19. Louisbourg Medals ...._..... 437
IN POCKET AT END OF BOOK
PLANS
1 A and I B. Plan of Siege of 1745.
2 A and B, 3 A and B. Plans of Siege of 1758.
From Section Hydrographique, Marine, Paris.
APPENDIX VII
Statement of the movements of His Majesty's ships employed in the siege of Louisburg,
1745, with remarks upon weather, etc.
xi
CHAPTER I
THE foundation of Louisbourg was the result of a crisis in French colonial
development. Before the readjustment of territory arranged by the Treaty
of Utrecht, April I7I3,1 France possessed the fairest colonial empire the
world had seen. India knew her fleets and her factories. She held, on the
seaboard of America, from the Arctic to what is now the State of Maine.
Her influence was paramount from the St. Lawrence to the mouth of the
Mississippi, in the vast backlands of the continent, to the westward of the
Alleghanies. The West Indian islands belonging to her were the most
prosperous of European settlements in those seas. At Placentia in Newfound-
land she had an establishment, founded about 1660, which served as a base
for her fisheries, and although weak as a place of arms, it was yet strong
enough to resist English attacks and to send out expeditions which captured
St. John's, the principal seat of the rival power.
Wars between England and France had gone on with brief intermissions
from 1689 to 1713. The War of the Spanish Succession, in which Europe
formed a coalition to resist the pretensions of the Great Louis, had left France
exhausted. Many treaties, signed at Utrecht, settled the terms of the peace,
but certain clauses in the one between France and England alone concern
this narrative. It was agreed that the French should evacuate Placentia,
retaining certain fishing rights on the coasts of Newfoundland ; that Acadia,
unhappily with indeterminate limits, should be yielded to England, but that
France should hold with full sovereignty the islands lying in the Gulf of
the St. Lawrence and its outlets. The most important of these was Cape
Breton.
The first position taken by the English negotiators was that France should not
be allowed to fortify the island. This was, however, yielded. Although England, by
previous ownership, or this Treaty, thereafter held the littoral of North America from
Hudson's Bay to the Spanish territory of Florida, the belief survived in New England
1 Cf. Let Grands Trait/s de Louis XIV, Vast, Paris, Picard, 1893.
2 STRATEGIC VALUE OF CAPE BRETON
for a generation that these terms were the result of the purchase of the English
plenipotentiaries by French gold.1
Acadia was the earliest of European settlements on the northern coast
of America. Its history had been an extraordinary one, made up of neglect
at home, internal strife by rival proprietaries in its forests, and frequent
harryings of its struggling settlements by English colonists. These began
with the foray of the Virginian Argal in 1613, and only ceased in 1710, when
it was captured by New England forces, supported by an English fleet. So
pitiful is its story that it is a cause for wonder that its chief place, Port Royal,
survived, and that there, and at other settlements, lived about 2400 Acadians
on lands so fertile that they excited the cupidity of the invaders.
The pastoral prosperity of these people made them self-supporting. They
contributed little to the trade of France ; therefore the relinquishment of
Acadia, which so inadequately fulfilled the purpose for which colonies were
established, the enrichment of the mother-country, would not justify describing
the consequence in America of the Treaty of Utrecht as making a crisis in
French colonial affairs. That expression is made accurate by two conditions
which were of vital importance : for one affected her retention of Canada,
the most extensive of her dependencies ; the other, the prosecution of a trade,
not only important from its own profits, but indirectly from the commerce
of which it was the source, and the military ~ advantages of its permanent
prosperity.
Newfoundland and Nova Scotia being in the hands of England, Cape
Breton was a sentinel in the gateway of the St. Lawrence,3 through which
passed the traffic of Canada — through which, in event of new hostilities, attack
on that colony would be made. The value of Cape Breton, as a naval base
to protect Canada and French commerce in the Western Ocean, is so obvious
that it need not be more than mentioned.
The trade of such importance was that of the North Atlantic fisheries.
It had been vigorously followed, at all events, from the beginning of the
sixteenth century ; Portuguese, Basques from the Spanish side of the Bidassoa,
those of their French ports, Bayonne and St. Jean de Luz, the fishermen
of Bordeaux, of Normandy, as well as West Country English, visited the
teeming waters of the western coasts of the North Atlantic. New England,
too, about the mid-seventeenth century, turned, with far-reaching effects on
her people, from the demoralizing fur trade.
1 Douglass Summary, Lornlon, 1760, vol. i. p. 3.
8 The Distinction between nival ami military forces was of later date than this time. Macaulay, with his usual
brilliancy and wealth of illustration, states the relation of the sea and land forces which continued in France until
later than the fall of Louisbourg (Macaulay's Hist. En%. vol. i. chap. iii.).
1 The Strait of Belle Isle was not used at this time.
ITS ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE 3
" The two pursuits had very little in common. One partook of the departing barbarism,
the other was a sure harbinger of the incoming civilisation. The one, lusty in its
occasional prosperity, lean in its certain periods of scarcity, bred the lazy lounger of the
trading-post, half-savage, half-pinchbeck citizen. The other, an uncertain chance combined
with industry, made the hardy fisherman and bold sailor of the New England coast." 1
The thrift of her people saved from the harvest of the sea the beginnings
of that wealth which the enterprise of their descendants has made so potent
in developing the resources of this continent. In early times, after providing
for sustenance, they exploited the land as subsidiary to the fisheries, and the
traffic over seas of which they were the origin. First fishing, then coasting,
then deep-sea voyages, the building of vessels for these trades, the providing
cargo for them from their other industries, mark the course of New England's
early economic development. It is fitting that a golden codfish hangs in the
legislative chamber of Massachusetts, to remind the representatives of her
people of the origin of their prosperity.
The importance of the fisheries was of more than colonial significance.
The direct returns of the enterprise were large, and at the beginning of the
eighteenth century were mostly the fruits of voyages made from Europe.
"While many finny fellows have finer tissues and more exquisite flavours,
few survive time, endure salt, and serve daily use as well as the Cod." These
qualities opened for it large markets among the Catholic countries of Europe,
as well as the Mahometan people of the Levant. Trade in other commodities
followed that in fish, with proportional benefits to the nation, so that all
interested in its prosperity set a high value on an industry the indirect
advantages of which were so widespread and conspicuous.2
The industry was fostered, also, by statesmen as a " nursery of seamen."
France, but a few years before, owned a navy which, under Tourville, had
withstood the combined fleets of England and Holland.3 Her naval decline
was still incipient, so the reserve of seamen employed in her fisheries was a
prime factor in its encouragement.4 "As these cost the King nothing in
time of peace, and are immediately available for his ships in time of war, and
are no less skilled in handling a vessel on dangerous coasts than intrepid in
combat," the commercial value of this industry was enhanced by its military
importance.
1 Weeden's Economic and Social History of New England, vol. i. p. 129.
8 As the fisheries of the French increased, English writers expressed alarm over this aspect of the situation. Weeden
has a score of allusions to the importance of this trade.
3 " Of Maritime powers France was not the first. But though she had rivals on the sea, she had not yet a superior.
Such was her strength during the last forty years of the seventeenth century, that no enemy could singly withstand her,
and that two great coalitions, in which half Christendom was united against her, failed of success " (Macaulay, vol. i.
chap. ii.). * Shirley about 1745 estimated the number as 27,000.
4 VALUE OF COMPARISONS
The experience of a century had shown that an establishment near the
fishing grounds was essential. Boat as well as bank fishing was important.
Vessels required a port in which they could refit in security. The taste of
certain markets demanded a fish which had to be dried on shore. The necessity
of selecting a site for this establishment, and removing to it the people of
Placentia, required by the Treaty to be evacuated, so that no delay should
imperil one of the most productive industries of the kingdom, was the crisis
with which Pontchartrain, Minister of Marine, was confronted.
Before going on to recount in outline the progress of the colony which was
carried on under his administration and that of his successors, for colonial affairs
were in charge of this Ministry, it is fair to caution the reader that a narrative
dealing only with the affairs of one colony is quite untrustworthy as a ground
for condemning men or systems. The basis for such a comparison is only sound
when it embraces knowledge of what was happening in other establishments
where conditions were not essentially different.
The perusal of the scores of volumes of documents dealing with the affairs
of Louisbourg leaves an impression that the administrators of that colony must
have been corrupt and inefficient beyond all men then in similar positions ; that
the Minister was indifferent to its fortunes; that its soldiers were ill-fed and
clothed, its fortifications ineffective, its people drunken, its growth trifling, the
establishment more likely to perish from its own corruption than to require
formidable armaments for its capture.
Corruption was also charged against officials in the English colonies.
Ill-clothed soldiers in Nova Scotian winters kept watch wrapped in their
blankets. On the eve of a war foreseen for years, one writes of an English
outpost, " Canso lyes naked and defenceless " ; another, of Annapolis, the chief
seat of English power in the province, as so weak, that even the cow of the
neutral Acadian found its moat and ramparts practicable for assault. The
consumption of spirits during the colonial occupation of Louisbourg shows that
drunkenness was a vice the ravages of which were not confined to the French ;
while the failure of the English colony of Georgia, founded not long after
Louisbourg, proves that disappointing results followed enterprises under other
flags than the white standard of the Bourbons. This introduction is not the
place tor these illuminating comparisons. It must, however, touch on some
general considerations which will make more intelligible the narrative of the
events which took place in Louisbourg.
France applied to her colonies the same paternal system of administration
as at home. Colbert thus stated in one of his letters the principles on which
sound colonial administration was founded :
PRINCIPLES OF ADMINISTRATION 5
" Apply your industry and knowledge of affairs to these three points, the complete
expulsion of foreigners, liberty to all French, and cultivate with care, justice, and good
order." *
Such was the standard Colbert set. Unmodified as an ideal, it guided the
policy of successive ministers.2
But, while they wished the colonies to develop along these lines, other
considerations modified this desire. No foreigner should live in them, nor were
French heretics welcome. One of the advantages of the colony was that to it
might be sent those whose presence in France was a disgrace to their families or
a danger to the community.3 It was in the sands of Louisiana that the frail
grace of Manon ceased from troubling her generation. In its commercial
development passion for working to a plan, often conceived with foresight and
elaborated with intelligence, imposed on its people regulations which checked
their enterprise. Its authorities were ordered to undertake elaborate schemes
for development, beyond their ability and their resources to carry out.
Trades and occupations were regulated ; the wages paid, and the prices
of commodities produced, were determined by enactments, which, in one form
or another, had the force of Royal authority. France with this system had
reached, in the years immediately preceding this period, a commanding
position, not only in military affairs, but in arts, manufactures, and ship-
building.4 Her industries still retain the direction, and in instances the
eminence, they attained in the earlier years of Louis's reign before Louvois
became more powerful in his councils than Colbert. A system which produced
such results, one akin to that under which modern nations are making great
progress, had unquestioned merits. These are, however, most conspicuous in a
country of settled conditions, of regular economic development. Among the
ever-changing circumstances of a new settlement, regulations made by the best
intentioned of bureaucrats were hampering to the settlers. The system accounts,
in part at least, for the centrifugal tendency of the people of the French
colonies. The energetic and the enterprising went to the confines of colonial
civilization to escape rules which fettered their activities. This tendency is most
marked among the coureurs du bois of Canada. It is also seen in Isle Royale, for
Ingonish soon became, after Louisbourg, the principal place in the colony.
This was attributed by the authorities to the absence there of any settled
administration.*" Distance, the lack of supervision, the personal interest of
1 Colbert, Deschamps, p. 161.
2 Cf. Mims, Colbert's ffest Indian Policy, Yale Historical Press, 1912.
8 Instances were not uncommon in Louisbourg.
4 Even when, at a later time, England was destroying her naval power, supremacy in shipbuilding had not passed from
France. It was acknowledged in the saying current in the rival service, "The French to build ships, the English to
fight "em."
6 PRINCIPLES OF ADMINISTRATION
officials, however, made it easy to ignore instructions from the home authorities,
of which the rigid observance was unpopular, inconvenient, or unprofitable.1
These regulations have sometimes been described as if the intention of the
authorities was to gratuitously vex and annoy the colonist. There is abundant
evidence that the intention was to help him. The dependence of English
ministers on parliamentary majorities, of which the members of trading
constituencies were a part, made a care of the commercial interests of the
country indispensable. Their French contemporaries were also zealous in doing
all they could to promote trade. Suggestions were made of means by which
the volume of business could be increased or more effectively carried on. The
early history of Cape Breton furnishes these examples. In 1687 coal was
taken from the island to France and tried in the royal forges ; a little earlier
(1681) trade with the West Indian colonies was considered ; while a scheme for
establishing an entrepot at which seagoing ships would exchange cargoes with
lighter vessels, the former, thus relieved from the tedious voyage to Quebec, to
have time for two voyages a year instead of one, was favourably looked on by
Colbert.2 Coal from Cape Breton was made free of duty, as at a later date
were its other principal products.
The Council of Commerce founded by Colbert in 1664, the scope of which
was greatly extended in i 700, did much to promote French trade and to relieve
it from regulations which fettered it. Many volumes of its deliberations are
extant.3 In these it is rare to find a case in which the decision is not in favour
of the trader. An English writer in 1745 ascribes to its fostering "the Steps
by which the French Commerce and Colonies, from being inferior to ours, have
risen to a dangerous Superiority over us, in less than half a Century." 4
The decisions of this body and the enactments of all contemporary
authorities were dominated by a theory which has had some influence to within
memory of the living, namely, the conception that colonies were entirely for j
the benefit of the mother-country. It was stated as follows by the writer
of a memorial on the settlement of Cape Breton : " Colonies are necessary
only as they are useful to the states from which they take their origin ; they
are useful only in as much as they procure for these states new advantages and
solid means of extending their commerce." When the interests of the
French merchant clashed with those of the colonist, the latter had to give way.5
There does not seem to be any evidence that the French had, as had in a misty
"A de» distance! auui grandes, quellc peut etre 1'cnergie des I"ix de la metropole sur les sujets, 1'obeTssance de«
sujeti a c« loi« »" (Raynal, Iitei Franf.nti, p. 3). The «amc msregard was shown in the English colonies. Cf. Channing,
Hiittrj tftke U.S. vol. ii. chap. viii.
2 Ar. Col. B, vol. i, p. i;-. Other reference* are B. vol. 13, pp. 59 and 6-, and MSS. Ouc. vol. i, pp. 243, 2-6.
1 Ar. Nit. F. 12.
4 Statt ef tke Bnink ax.i Frtnch TraJe CzmptreJ, London, 1745, quoted in "Two Letters on Cape Breton,"
London, 1746. s Instances of this occur in the history of Loui«bourg. Cf. p. 49.
ILLICIT TRADE 7
instinctive way the English, the foreshadowing of the Imperial idea of mother-
country and colony, sharing burdens and mutually adapting production to a
common profit. We do not find in their administration anything to correspond
to the permitted competition on equal terms of the cheaply built colonial ship
with English vessels,1 nor the prohibition of growing tobacco at home, for the
advantage of the southern colonies.
There followed from this theory the prohibition of trade with foreigners.
In this regard the system broke down. Communities in which trade was of
paramount importance evaded and defied those enactments, which interfered
with profits. A course of illicit trade which could scarcely be called smuggling,
so open and well known it was, contributed to the prosperity of every European
establishment over seas. Louisbourg did much trade with New England. The
condition in these British colonies is thus described :
" The existing records of original transactions are few and scattered, yet enough remains
to show clearly that the commercial business of New England went forward under different
forms in the several governments, but always towards one end. That end was money and
profit, parliamentary law and Crown administration to the contrary notwithstanding. The
interesting letter cited from Gilbert Deblois, a Boston official, to Samuel Curwin, a
prominent merchant of Salem, reveals the practice of Boston and Salem in handling
imported merchandise which had escaped the King's duties :
"Bos. Aug. 6, 1759.
" Sam. Curwin, Esq.,
" Sir : I shall Esteem it a fav. you'l take an Oppy to Inform all your
Merchts. & Others, Concerned in Shipping up Wine, Oyl, Olives, Figs, Raisins, &c.,
that I am Determined Publickly to Inform the Collector of this Port, of any those Articles
I can find out, are on board any Vessell Commanded by or under the Care of Captain
Ober, in order they may be Seized. I shall not Concern myself abl any other Coaster, let
'em bring up what they will, but this Capt. Ober has Cheated me in such a manner (tho
to no great Value), that I'm determined to keep a good look out on him, therefore would
have all those Concern'd in that Trade, Regulate themselves accordingly, & if they will
Risque any such Prohibetted Goods in sd Ober5 Vessell, they must not (after such notice
of my Design) think hard of me, as what I may do will be to punish sd Ober and not them
— I have just told sd Ober that I would send this notification to Salem and wd Certainly get
his Vessell & Cargo Seized sooner or Later.
IamSr
Your hble Serv*
Gilbr. Deblois.
" P.S. I'm a lover of Honest Men, therefore dont be Surprised at the above, as I look
upon Ober to be a great Cheat.
" Pray destroy this when done with."
"Answered Aug1 I3th."
1 In 1724 sixteen shipbuilders of the Thames complained to the King that their trade was injured and their
workmen emigrating on account of the New England competition (Weeden, vol. ii. p. 573). (For a brief, lucid statement
of the English position, the reader is referred to Cambridge Modern History, vol. vi. ch. ii.)
8 THE FRENCH IDEAL
" The honest candour of the energetic Deblois in visiting vengeance on Captain Ober
—who had offended the official — is as astonishing as it is naive. Here a public officer
deliberately warns a community of respectable law-breakers that they will suffer the
penalty due any and all transgression, if they presume to ship their goods by a particular
and prescribed captain. c They must not (after such notice of my Design) think hard of
me, as what I may do will be to punish sd Obcr and not them.' Debauched public
sentiment and corrupt official practice was never more plainly manifest in an individual
action. If we had Obcr's counter idea of honesty and cheating, then eighteenth-century
public morality would stand out in full relief." l
These practical and effective modifications of a parental system of
administration, and the exploitation of colonies for the benefit of the merchant
of the home ports, fitted in with the practice of others than the trading classes.
Offices were bought, and the fees attached to them made their salaries com-
paratively unimportant. The command of a British regiment which long
served in Nova Scotia was computed to be worth £4000 a year. Prize money
stimulated the commanders of King's ships, as booty the privateersman, nor did
the commanders in the French navy disdain the profits of trade for which they
carried a store of goods.
Nevertheless the splendid spirit of the seventeenth century which rings out in
Lescarbot's address to France 2 was not entirely dead. The letter of instructions
to each new Governor of Isle Royale brings to his notice that the sole purpose
of the King in colonization was the promotion of religion. This purpose so
far held good, that, notwithstanding the enormous disadvantages at which the
prohibition of the sale of drink placed the French trader competing for the
trade of the natives, that prohibition was enforced. It also finds an expression,
for example, in the letter of the Minister Pontchartrain to the officials of Isle
Royale in which he says : " Nothing can contribute more to the success of the
establishment, nor draw down on it more effectively the blessings of Heaven,
than good order and the repression of license." 3 Nevertheless, it was in the
main true of France, as of her rivals, that " the period is one of peace, uneventful,
almost undisturbed ; its chief crisis due to stock-jobbing ; its chief disputes about
currency ; its chief victories those of commerce ; its type, if not its hero, the
business man." *
Such was the general spirit of the times, the general principles on which
the new colony was to be governed.
The island had long been known. It was possibly a land-fall of the first
explorers. The Basques, who were among its earliest fishermen, claimed that
1 Wecclen, p. 660. 2 Lcscarbot, Ckanflain Softer); vol. i. p. 12. s June 4, 1-15, B, 3-, f. 226.
4 Cambridge Modern History, vol. vi. p. 40.
To fact page 9.
PROJECTS FOR SETTLEMENT 9
long before Columbus their ancestors had visited its ports. It seems to owe
its name to the town which stands at the place where the Adour once flowed
into the Bay of Biscay.1 Traders visited it for traffic with the Indians, and
during each season the fishermen carried on their industry on the adjacent banks.
Each nationality kept to its own ports for mutual help and protection, and the
names of the principal harbours show this usage. Until 1713 Louisbourg was
known as English Harbour (Havre a 1'Anglois) ; as late as the last generation
deeds described lots as situated on the shores of " Sydney or Spanish Bay " (Baie
des Espagnols), and a favourite patroness of the French gave her name, St.
Anne, to the port frequented by the fishermen of that nation. Certain it is
that during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries it was constantly visited by
European fishermen. In 1629 rival and ephemeral settlements were made on
it by Lord Ochiltree for England, and Captain Daniel for France. About
twenty years later Nicholas Denys of Tours had settlements at two places on
Cape Breton, St. Peter's and St. Anne's, so well established that traces of them
had not in a half-century of abandonment been obliterated by the wilderness.
Little was known of it ; even its shape, that of a closed hand, with the index
finger pointing to the north-east, is inaccurately given in all the earlier maps.
Its strategic and commercial possibilities drew attention to it long before its
resources were known. In 1613 it was proposed as the seat of a Viceroy
controlling French interests in it and Newfoundland.2 Under Colbert, in
addition to the efforts to develop its trade already cited, a project was submitted
which looked towards using the coal of the shores of Sydney harbour, the refining
there of West India sugars, and the building of ships with the oak which grew
to the water's edge.
With the beginning of the eighteenth century interest in it was heightened.
The Ste. Maries officers in the colonial troops asked for a grant of the island in
lyoo.3 Memorials flowed in to the Minister. He asked a report from Raudot,
Intendant of Canada, on its settlement, which Raudot sent on in 1706,* and
followed by other papers on the subject. About simultaneously with his first
report, an anonymous memoir was sent to Pontchartrain. Raudot shows in his
dealing with the question not only the capacity of the experienced administrator,
but also of the political thinker. His estimate of the required outlay of the
proposed establishment was not materially exceeded for many years after the
foundation of the colony. Long before Adam Smith published his book, he
recognized the advantages of freer trade. He thus concluded his first memoir :
1 Ducere, Lei Corsaires.
2 Bn. Nat. MSS., Moreau, 781.
3 Arch. He la Fn., Carton 3, No. 130.
4 This paper contains so much that is valuable about Cape Breton, as it was then thought to be more important
than later acquired knowledge of its resources, that a precis is given later, p. 23.
io PONTCHARTRAIN'S ACTION
" If it is desired to establish this Island so that its commerce shall flourish, it is necessary
to open to it intercourse with all the ports of France, of Spain, of the Levant, of the trench
West Indies and of New England." l
One is inclined to ascribe the difficulties of the establishment on Cape
Breton to the incapacity of Pontchartrain, as his defects have been kept alive for
readers of memoirs in the scathing pages of St. Simon. For five or six years
no project concerned with the American colonies had been placed before him
more fully. He was apparently not only interested, but convinced of the
advantages to France of the colony, and deferred action only until the end of
the war. Before the Treaty was concluded he was aware that Placentia was to
be ceded, and therefore that the establishment on Cape Breton was essential.
He had warned his colonial subordinates to prepare for the change.
When the time for action came, Pontchartrain took the ground that he was
inadequately informed, and secured the sanction of the Council for his scheme.
It passed an order that a vessel should be sent with certain officers from the
garrison of Placentia, who with L'Hermitte, major and engineer of that place,
should select the most suitable port. This, the Minister states in his letter of
instructions, must be good, easy for ingress, exit, and defence ; that the fisheries
shall be abundant and near ; that there shall be plenty of beaches and space for
curing ; that there shall be good lands near ; but that the excellence of the port and
the fishing is of prime importance.2
This policy was carried out ; Placentia was handed over to the English, the
inhabitants and the movable property transferred to Cape Breton, but as the
English were not ready to take possession,8 Costebelle4 the Governor and part
of the garrison had to remain there until the transaction was completed, and
until preparations were made for receiving the inhabitants in their new homes.
This disturbing of their organizations for the prosecution of the fisheries
led to appeals from the people of the fishing ports of France to have an
arrangement made with England by which they could carry on in Newfoundland
that industry during 1714. Pontchartrain, however, informed, among others, the
Bayle and Jurats of Siboure and of St. Jean de Luz that this was impossible,
and described to them Isle Royale in attractive colours. St. Ovide de Brouillant 5
was in France in the spring of 1713 and received instructions to go at once to
1 Raudot's paper is summarized by Charlevoix and in Brown's Htittry of C a ft Brit™.
1 B, vol. 35. * English Documents in C.O., Grants and Warrants, vol. 15.
* Philippe Patteur de Co«tcbelle, Lieut, at Pl.icentia, 1692 ; Capt. 1694 ; Lieut, de Roi, 1695 j Governor Placentia,
1706 j Chev. de St. Louis, 1708 ; Governor Isle Royale, 1714 ; died Nov. 16, 1717.
* Ste. Ovide de Brouillant, nephew of de Brouillant, Governor of Newfoundland and Acadia, entered the naval service as
Garde-Marine in 1689. He went to Newfoundland in 1691 and took part in the defence* and attacks of the local war
until i"io, in which year he served on the frigate La t'aleur, received two wounds, and spent some time in prison in
England. Passing to Isle Royale in 1713 as King's Lieutenant, he succeeded Costebelle as Governor in 1717, and retired
with a pension of 3100 livres in 1738.
i7i3 TAKING POSSESSION n
La RochelJe and embark on the Scmslack? commanded by Lieut. Meschin,2
then a young officer whose service in the navy was to extend in all over sixty
years. Ste. Ovide was to command the expedition. On her also were to
embark the officers and men of the Acadian Companies who had been at Oleron
near Rochelle since their surrender in 1710 at Port Royal.
In his course Pontchartrain gave some weight to the representations of
Villien, an officer of long experience in garrison at Port Royal in Acadia, who
represented that the troops from this place, familiar with local conditions, should
form part of the garrison ; that some Acadians, for the same reason, should be
sent, and that great care in choosing a site should be exercised, as mistakes had
been made both in Canada and in Louisiana which had proved costly to the
King and discouraging to the inhabitants ; a frank criticism which is not unique
in correspondence of the Navy Department.
The officers who embarked in France were four in number, with two cadets,
two servants, and fifteen soldiers. At Placentia the Semslack took on board
L'Hermitte, de la Ronde Denys, de la Valliere, and twenty-five soldiers, some
officials, women, and children, the meagre stores which the Minister had ordered
to be sent, and sailed from Placentia on July 23. Pontchartrain ordered
her to proceed after Placentia to Quebec. Vaudreuil the Governor, and
d'Alogny, commander of the troops in Canada, had been ordered to select
from the troops under their charge forty or fifty men, some of them skilled
axemen, but all steady, strong, handy, and industrious. These men, under
command of two officers who were serving in Canada, De Rouville and Pean,
were to form part of the new garrison. The Semslack could not get to Quebec
in time ; Begon the Intendant therefore chartered from Boularderie — a name we
shall continually meet — a vessel in which he, a retired naval officer, was trading,
on which these troops and some provisions were carried to Cape Breton.
The ordinary sources do not give any account of the voyage of the Semslack^
but the declaration of taking possession indicated generally their course, and that
the Quebec detachment had joined them before they arrived. This declaration
runs as follows : —
In the year 1713 and the 2nd day of September, we, Joseph Ovide de Brouillant,
King's Lieutenant at Plaisance, Knight of the Military Order of St. Louis, commanding
His Majesty's ship Semslack with M. L'Hermitte, Major and Engineer, La Ronde and
1 The Semslack was a vessel of 270 tons, captured from the Dutch in 1703, and used by the French as a freighter
and fire-ship. Her crew and armament on a peace footing was 100 men and 14 guns, in war 140 men and 28 guns, half of
which were six and the others four pounders. She was described as an ordinary sailer, and disappears from the Navy
Lists in 1718 (Arch. Nat. Marine, n, and B 5, Marine 3).
2 Jeremie de Meschin, born in 1674, entered as Garde-Marine at Rochefort in 1687, promoted Enseigne in 1700,
commanded a fire-ship in 1711, but did not reach the full grade of Capitaine de Vasseau until 1738. He saw much
service. He died in 1757 (Dicticnnaire de la Noblesse, La Chenaye-Debois, vol. x., Paris, 1775).
iz THE CHANGE OF NAMES 1713
Rouville, Captains, and other officers named below, have seized and taken possession of the
Island of Cape Breton, situated in the entrance to the Gulf of St. Lawrence, following the
orders which we have thereon from His Most Christian Majesty, dated the 20th day of
March of the present year, to place there the inhabitants of Plaisance, St. Pierre, and other
places which have been ceded by the treaty of peace to the Queen of Great Britain.
We declare and testify to all whom it may concern, to have found on the said island
but one French inhabitant and twenty-five or thirty families of Indians, and that the said
Island of Cape Breton was ceded about eighty years ago to Messieurs Denis of Tours, who
established there two forts, one in the Bay of Ste. Anne's and the other at Port St. Peter
near the Strait of Canccau, of which we have still found traces, and after having visited
all the ports in the said Island of Cape Breton which have been indicated to us, we believed
and decided that we could not make a better choice for the present than that of Port St.
Louis, formerly known as English Harbour, in which port we have this day landed the
troops, the munitions of war and provisions which we have left under the orders of Sr.
L'Hermitte. Signed by Decouagne, De Lavalliere, De Laperrelle, P6an Delivandiere, de
Pensens, La Ronde Denys, de Rouville, Duvivier, f. Dominique De Lamarche (Recollet),
L'Hermitte, St. Ovide de Brouillant.
The Semslack sailed back to France with St. Ovide on board, and arrived
in the first part of December at the Isle d'Aix.1 He made his report to the
Minister, and the tentative name of Port St. Louis, which they gave to Havre
a 1'Anglois, was changed to Louisbourg.2 Ste. Anne's was to be called Port
Dauphin ; St. Peter's, Port Toulouse ; and the whole island, Isle Royale.8
The little band of 116 men, 10 women, and 23 children, the founders of
Louisbourg, were left on the thickly wooded shores of that harbour with an
inadequate equipment and an unknown wilderness before them.
The supplies were four fishing boats and their gear, four herring nets and a seine ; six
cannons from St. John's, balls, masons' tools and picks, two hundredweight of resin, a forge
and bellows, and the King's mules and the horses from St. John's ; from Quebec three
hundredweight of flour, ten barrels of peas, one barrel of Indian corn, forty pairs of snow-
shoes, 150 pairs of mocassins, one deerskin, 1000 planks, thirty shovels, eighty little axes,
300 pounds of tobacco, three barrels of tar, and six cows. Costebelle added to this a few
pounds of steel and sixty axes, all he could obtain in Placentia. An ample list had been
made out for supplies from France, but were apparently only partly shipped. The Minister
ordered specially 100 axes from a maker, one Bidard, near Bayonne, as he had the reputation
of being a specially good workman.4
They made their encampment at the Barachois, formed by a little brook,
directly across the south-west arm of Louisbourg harbour from the site on which
the town was afterwards built.5 They made some rough preparations for shelter,
and began thereafter the task which lay before them. The first thing which
1 Marine, B2, f. 135. 2 Arch. Col. B, vol. 36.
3 The importance of the illegitimate children of the King it shown in the honour done to the Comte dc Toulouse,
the son of Madame de Montespan. « Arch. Col. B, 35. f. 230.
8 The advantages of the beaches on the latter side cau«ed some of the people to settle there at once.
I7H THE FIRST WINTER AND SPRING 13
was done was to cut through the woods a road to the Mire, along the banks of
which was the most available supply of timber. At this they were working early
in October, and later the detachments were, sent into the woods to cut timber
for the proposed buildings, in particular the barracks, which L'Hermitte had
at once designed. A detachment of troops under Duvivier was placed at the
head of the river, and that of Rouville about twelve miles lower down. Duvivier
was in a poor district, and a month was wasted before L'Hermitte visited the
encampment and moved him to a more favourable place. The inexperience of
most of the officers told against their effectiveness. L'Hermitte wished for four
or five like Rouville, and while he considered all the soldiers good, the Canadians
proved particularly valuable. On the other hand, he says that only five men
in Duvivier's detachment knew how to saw, and that had it not been for a
small quantity of steel sent by Costebelle, they would have been without axes ;
but in spite of all these disadvantages they got out more timber than they were
able to transport in the next season to Louisbourg.
The season was a bad one ; winter set in early, the men suffered from
scurvy, and as early as December they had to kill the cattle sent from Quebec.
Three of their horses, the spoils of the capture of St. John's, succumbed ; and
out of twenty-one head of cattle with which they began, only two were alive
in the spring, which this year reached almost the extreme limit of the island's
climatic unsatisfactoriness. Snow was on the ground, and drift-ice off the coast,
as late as the end of May. The first vessel to arrive, the Hercule, was in the
icefields for twenty days, and a small vessel laden with provisions for the troops
at Mire was wrecked on her voyage.
La Ronde Denys, Couagne, who was an engineer, and Rouville had been
sent to examine Port Dauphin and to explore the country. They came back
with a good report, having examined the fertile lands on the Bras d'Or about
Baddeck, and found them suitable for settlement.
In the interval L'Hermitte worked over his plans for fortifications, and
submitted them to Vaudreuil and Begon, the Governor-General and Intendant
of Canada, who arrived at Louisbourg on the 2Oth of May and remained there
until the yth of June. He discussed with them on the ground the simple system
of isolated forts which he proposed to build. He received from the Minister
instructions that the works should be built solidly, and, in his trouble, bitterness
of heart showed through the respectful phrases of his reply. There was
neither building stone nor lime, and as the vessels had brought no supplies, his
many workmen were ineffective, for he had neither nails nor iron, and only
eighteen bad axes and twelve picks. He also was without funds, and found that
the Indians would not work without pay.
While this work was going on steps were taken towards the removal of
i4 THE ACADIANS 1714
the Acadians to Isle Royale. By Article XIV. of the Treaty of Utrecht, they
were entitled to remove from Acadia with their personal effects within one year.
C^ueen Anne, to mark her recognition of Louis XIV. having released, at her
request, French Protestants from the galleys, gave special permission to those
who left the country to sell their lands.1
The twenty-four hundred Acadians affected by these provisions were the
descendants of about sixty families brought from Western France in 1633-38,
and of one hundred and twenty or thirty men who settled in the colony
between that time and its cession to England.2 The earliest settlers were
familiar with the reclamation of marsh lands by dyking as practised in their
native districts. They found conditions favourable to this system on the shores
of the Bay of Fundy, " the Coasts whereof and the banks of the adjacent Rivers
abound with Salt Marshes, which by the Force of a Rich Soil, constantly
recruited with marine Salts, and so, not to be impoverished, by constant
Tillage, produce large crops of English grain, with little labour to the
Husbandman."
The waters of this bay are indeed a fountain of perpetual youth, for some
of these lands, never fertilized but by the deposits of its tides, still bear most
abundant crops within dykes built by the French, and in the work of bringing
in the marshes which is now going on about the Isthmus of Chignecto no
change has been made from the methods of the Acadian pioneers. As land of
this extraordinary fertility could be obtained for the most part by co-operative
dyking, and yielded its crops with a minimum of labour, the Acadian was
indisposed to attack the adjoining forest to obtain land relatively poor. Their
settlements, except as determined by the seat of Government, were therefore
at points where these advantages could be obtained. Vetch, who governed
Annapolis for three years, says they had five thousand black cattle " and a great
number of Sheep and Hoggs," indicative of a fair degree of prosperity. The
name of Port Royal had been changed to Annapolis Royal, and there, Francis
Nicholson, who had seen a varied service in all the colonies from Virginia
northwards, had charge of Acadia as Governor-General and Commander-in-
Chief of all the forces in that province and in Newfoundland. His Lieutenant-
Governor was Thomas Caulfield, and these two, with a very small military and
civil establishment, administered a British colony, none of the people of which
were British subjects. The French Court was extremely anxious to accomplish
the removal of its former subjects to French territory. The Ministerial
correspondence contains many letters to Vaudreuil, to the other Canadian
officials, and to the priests of Acadia, asking for their help to incite the Acadians
1 N.S. Arch. vol. i, p. 15. * Hannay, Hiit-.ry cf Acadij, p. 290.
3 Skirttf Afev::irs. 174", p. 3.
i7i4 THE MISSION TO ANNAPOLIS 15
to take advantage of their treaty rights.1 The efforts made went further.
Baron de St. Castin received much praise for not having availed himself of a
leave of absence, but instead spent the winter among the Acadian Indians with
whom he was allied by ties of companionship and blood, in an effort to induce
them to move to Isle Royale. In this he was not successful, but he received
praise for having kept alive their unfriendly feelings against the English, and
these good offices doubtless led the authorities to condone his behaviour in the
previous winter by which he had scandalized the nuns in Quebec.2
L'Hermitte, on the 23rd of July 1714, addressed a letter to Nicholson,
quoting the terms of the treaty by which the Acadians might withdraw. His
orders were that should he learn that the Acadians were hindered in taking
advantage of these privileges he should send an officer to confer with Nicholson,
to whom was addressed the Queen's letter3 granting the additional concessions.
He goes on to say that several Acadians had informed him that Caulfield had
refused permission to certain who wished to leave, and in consequence he sends
to him Captain La Ronde Denys, bearing the orders of the King, to discuss the
matter with him, and trusts that Nicholson has no other views than carrying out
the wishes of his Sovereign, concluding with a request that they should mutually
return deserters for the benefit of each colony. A few days later St. Ovide also
writes that he is sending Captain de Pensens with L'Hermitte's letter, and asks
Nicholson to discuss these questions with the two officers.
They set out from Louisbourg on two vessels, both of which had arrived
at Annapolis before July 23, for on that day they write to Nicholson beginning,
" We de la Ronde Denys and de Pensens, Captains of Companies Franches de
la Marine, which His Christian Majesty maintains at Isle Royale, sent by
Monsieur St. Ovide de Brouillan, Lieutenant du Roy of the said Island to
represent to Monsieur de Nicholson General de la Nouvelle Ecosse et Isle de
Terre Neuve " the rights which Her British Majesty has been pleased to accord
to the inhabitants of the said country, and as the intention of His Most Christian
Majesty is to maintain them, we beg the General to give attention to the
following articles. These were : a request that he would cause to be assembled,
first the inhabitants of Port Royal, thereafter those of the other settlements, and
appoint a British officer who with one of them would hear and register the
decisions of the inhabitants as to remaining in Acadia or leaving ; that those
who decide to go shall have a year from the time permission is given, during
which time they may live without molestation from the authorities, carry away
all their personal property ; build vessels for this purpose ; that there shall be
no obstacles to bringing in French rigging for such vessels ; that the General
1 I.R. Series B, vols. 35 and 36. 2 A.N. C", (Canada), vol. 33, f. 265.
3 June 13, 1713.
16 LA RONDE'S ADDRESS 1714
should publish in all inhabited places permission for them to sell their lands, for
the English to buy them, and that if within the year they cannot sell, they shall
have the right to give a power of attorney to some one to act for them until
buyers are found ; and finally, that justice shall be done to those who have
suffered at the hands of Vetch and Colonel Hobby in the time between the
capitulation and the treaty of peace. To this they add a postscript, saying
that as one of them must return at once to give a report, they beg that he will
assemble the inhabitants no later than Sunday the 25th.
This was immediately taken into consideration by the Council, and, as an
answer, a copy of the minutes was returned. The assembly of the inhabitants
was granted, Major .Mascarene and Lieut. Bennett were appointed to go with
the French envoys to the other settlements and carry out the negotiations in the
same way as at Annapolis, and to arrange with Denys their time of leaving and
the means of transport ; the Governor would not fix the time when the year
of grace was to begin, but would submit the matter to the decision of Her
Majesty, as well as all the other points raised, except the last, on which he asked
for all available information, and promised full justice.
The proclamation calling together the inhabitants was issued and the
meeting held on the feast-day of St. Louis at the fort of Annapolis. The
Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, and the principal officers of the garrison were
present, as were two missionaries, the Fathers Justinien and Bonaventure, and
Father Gaulin the priest. La Ronde Denys alone represented France as
De Pensens was unwell. A list was made of the inhabitants present, they
numbered nine hundred and sixteen, represented by one hundred and sixty-nine
heads of families.1 They encircled the officers in the square, and heard read to
them Nicholson's order for the meeting and the Queen's letter, both of which
were translated for them, and the latter formally compared with La Ronde's
copy. Then, invited by Nicholson, La Ronde made his propositions. If his
letters indicate his oratorical style he was a fervid speaker, careless of grammar,
and not altogether accurate as to facts.2 He, on this occasion, went beyond his
instructions in the promises he made to the Acadians. He spoke of the goodwill
of the King who would furnish to them vessels for their transport, provisions
for a year to those who needed them, freedom from duties on all their trade for
ten years, and added a promise which was of great importance to them, for the
Acadians disliked the land system of Canada, that there would be no seignories,
but that they would hold their lands direct from the King. Nicholson added that
he was ready to receive any complaints of bad treatment. La Ronde thanked
1 151 men, 165 women, 325 boyi, 275 girls.
2 L'Hermitte laid of him that hii flatteries and lies would trouble the universe. The Minister wrote to Beauharnois
May 18, 1728 about La Ronde Denys then serving in Canada, "Of all the officers in the colony he is the least deserving
of consideration " (B, vol. 53).
i7i4 RESULTS OF MISSION 17
him in the name of all the inhabitants for " the civil, upright and frank manner "
in which he had acted with them, and then by his permission they went to
La Ronde's lodgings and there one hundred and forty-six of them signed " avec
toute la joie et le contentment dont nous sornmes capables " the document by
which they pledged themselves to live and die faithful subjects of Louis and to
migrate to Isle Royale.
Fifteen embarked immediately on the Marie Joseph and went to Cape
Breton with De Pensens. Of these only one of those whose age is given
was under forty, and as regards social status they were about equally divided
between those who had a trunk and those who had their property in bags.1
Charles D'Entremont, Sieur de Pobomicou, his wife, son, and daughter, went
on their own vessel with a crew of two, and four passengers. The details
bear out Vetch's statement that these first emigrants were of no very great
substance.
The transaction at Annapolis being thus concluded, La Ronde Denys and
the two British officers went to Minas, where the inhabitants met them, were
numbered, and one hundred and thirty-nine agreed to go to Isle Royale.
[Population : 139 men, 140 women, 306 boys, 289 girls ; total, 874 ; heads of
families, 145.] At Cobequid seventeen signed. [Population : 20 men, 20
women, 52 boys, 44 girls ; total, 136 ; 21 heads of families.] La Ronde Denys
then told the English officers that everything had been done to his satisfaction.
They set sail together and the vessels parted company in the basin of Minas on
September 8, La Ronde on the St. Louis, having with him several inhabitants,
one of them with a substantial quantity of grain.
These transactions were carried out with great formality, certified copies
of all documents were interchanged, and there was no disagreement between the
parties. Nicholson wrote civilly to L'Hermitte and St. Ovide, and both
Governors sent a report of these events to the home authorities. In the accounts
of the meetings at Cobequid and Minas, there is no mention of the priests
having been present. The proportion of signers at these two meetings was even
greater than at Annapolis, so that the inhabitants did not require the direct
presence of their leaders to make them follow wishes, which, however, these
leaders had previously many opportunities of making known to them. In any
community so simply organized that it contains no great landed proprietors and
few, if any, lawyers or professional men, whether the religion of that community
be Roman Catholic or Protestant, the influence of the clergymen in all matters
is great. It seems to have been so in New England at that time ; those who
knew Cape Breton a generation ago, know its force then, and that in civil
affairs the dictum of a Presbyterian divine was as potent as that of a priest. It
1 The live stock they took with them was twelve sheep, three bullocks, a cow and a calf.
1 8 OTHER ACADIAN VISITORS 1714
is inevitable that such power should exist ; its justification is in the results which
follow its exercise.
The mission of La Ronde was highly successful. With a few exceptions
all the people he saw agreed to go to Isle Royale. No obstacle was put in their
way, and the outcome would seem to have depended entirely on the French
authorities carrying out the promises which had been made on their behalf.
The population of Beaubassin and the other settlements about the isthmus of
Chignecto were not visited by La Ronde and Mascarene.1
While but a score or so of Acadians accompanied the Envoys on their
return to Isle Royale, certain others more enterprising had previously gone
there. Two brothers from the head of the river at Annapolis, anxious about
their destiny, " which they could not ascertain in that country," 2 started in a Biscay
shallop towards the end of May, and coasted along the shores of Nova Scotia
to Isle Royale. On the eighth day they arrived at St. Peter's and Isle Madame,
then they spent a day at Louisbourg, another at Mordienne (Port Morien), the
following at St. Anne's, where a Canadian had already settled and the fisheries
were being successfully prosecuted. Returning, they called at L'Indienne
(Lingan), abounding in coal and oysters, with one inhabitant ; at Menadou
(Mainadieu), and came back to Louisbourg on June 15. There they remained,
building a house for M. Rodrigue, lately King's pilot at Annapolis, until
August 12, and then proceeded along the coast, through Canso, home by
Baie Verte. They give a fair picture of Louisbourg, with what they describe
as a large fort which was being built, many cannons landed on the shore, ninety-
three from Placentia, vessels making a good catch of cod, two King's ships
about to sail for Placentia. Reports were abroad that the Char en te would
shortly arrive with supplies, and also the Affriquain from Quebec with
1 The authentic* for this episode are to be found at Ottawa (M. ^^), and Record Office j B.T.N.S. vol. I, has the
English version. The population is based on a table prepared for me at the Canadian Archives, which may be condensed thus :
Men. Women. Boys. Girls. Total. Heads of Families.
ANNAPOLIS.
151 165 325 275 916 169
MlNAS.
1J9 HO 306 289 874 145
CoBroj;iD.
20 20 52 44 157 21
BEAUBASSIN.
55 58 136 102 351 56
365 383 819 710 2277 391
A total population of 2277, which with 123 at outlying points makes 2400. One third of the signers of the declaration*
were able to sign their names ; out of 302 heads of families all but 100 signed with a mark.
a B.T.N.S. vol. 2, 66.
ARRIVALS FROM PLACENTIA 19
Vaudreuil on board. They saw there a Boston trader with boards, salt, and
general merchandise ; and on their way home passed another from Cascoe Bay,
with the same cargo. All these facts they swore to in a declaration made before
Nicholson on their return, but this document is silent as to their destinies.
Another Acadian, one Arceneau, adventurous enough to voyage in a canoe
from Baie Verte to the Baie de Chaleurs, and then in a shallop to Louisbourg,
makes the same report of good fishing not only on the Cape Breton coast but
among the many Basque vessels in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.1 L'Hermitte,
authorized to place people on the land at the King's pleasure, gave, up to the
end of August, permission to twenty-four Acadians to settle on a little river
near St. Peter's. Another party was also sent there, but without any definite
promise of land, as L'Hermitte wished to have them as settlers at Port Dauphin.
After Vaudreuil's second visit in October a party of Acadians was sent under
the leadership of De Couagne to inspect the lands on the Bras d'Or, but
they did not approve of them, and the officials thought that their secret desire
was to go to the Isle St. Jean (Prince Edward Island). The comparison from
a farming standpoint of the best lands in well-wooded Isle Royale, and the
meadows which they had reclaimed, or which lay ready for reclamation, along
the Bay of Fundy, was so obviously to the disadvantage of the former, that it
demanded a genuine loyalty to consider emigration. A council was held at
Louisbourg on October 16, at which Vaudreuil and the Recollect Missionary,
Felix Pain, were present, with Costebelle and the new Commissaire-Ordonnateur,
Soubras. Regret was expressed that the promises made to the Acadians had
not been kept, and they were specifically renewed for another year.
Costebelle had remained at Placentia. He was advised in the autumn of
1713, that to avoid the hardship of moving in the inclement season the
evacuation was off until the spring, and at the close of the year issued a
proclamation to the people announcing the cession of the island and the necessity
for removal to Cape Breton. The English expedition to take possession of
Newfoundland, two regiments under the command of Colonel Moody, had
been driven into Vigo and had spent the winter at Lisbon, and only arrived in
Newfoundland the next year,. During the season the guns and stores were
transported to Cape Breton. On July 23, 1714, Costebelle himself left on the
Heros, and in the autumn the inhabitants straggled over in their own boats.
The weather was bad, some were lost, and all suffered in this difficult voyage.
Thus the year ended. Some building was done, but L'Hermitte was in
despair about the ineffectiveness of the troops, the lack of care of the King's
stores, the use by private individuals of the building material he had gathered,
1 These voyages in small boats may stand to the credit of the Acadians against the many bad reports given of them
by the French authorities.
20 POPULATION OF LOUISBOURG 1714
and the evils of divided authority. Soubras, the newly appointed Commissaire-
Ordonnateur, complained of the bad effects of drink ; of the gambling and
mutinous soldiery, who, nevertheless, were better paid, fed, and clothed than any
troops he had ever seen ; and of the ineffectiveness of L'Hermitte. The soldiers
had not received the bonus for their work which had been promised. This had
not only made it exceedingly ineffective, but had aggravated them to the point
of mutiny, and they had begun that excessive indulgence in drink with which
the authorities were powerless to cope.
It had been intended that the troops should winter in Baie des Espagnols,
but the necessary arrangements were not 'made, and in December it was decided
to place them at Mire, where the cabins left standing from last year could be
utilized. Sickness prevailed, and the first death noted at Louisbourg is that of
M. Du Vivier. On the other hand the fishing had been excellent, fourteen or
fifteen vessels had engaged in it, fewer than would have been the case had there
not been a scarcity of salt in France. As it had been bad in Newfoundland, it
gave the newcomers a favourable impression of the country, arduous as had
been the struggle with the elements by which they reached it.
The population in January 1715 numbered about 720, exclusive of unmarried soldiers,
but including military and civil officers. It was arranged by habitations, and with few
exceptions they were the people from Placentia (men, 118; women, 80 ; children, 170;
servants, 39 ; fishermen, 300). Incidentally this document throws light on the way of life
in the colony. The Governor, Costebelle, whose salary was 4000 livres, lived alone. His
establishment consisted of a secretary, one woman and two men servants, and seventeen
fishermen. St. Ovide had with him his wife, three children, and three men servants, a
gardener, cook and valet, and he employed thirteen fishermen. Soubras kept a bachelor
establishment with two young officers, Fontenay and Pe"an, and had ten fishers. L'Hermitte
had a clerk and eight fishers, and his household arrangements were looked after by his wife
and one servant. St. Marie had twelve fishers and seven men on his boat (batteau), but
La Ronde, Rouville, Legondez, and other officers did not fish.1
The merchants who flourished at Louisbourg, and whose names reappear
from time to time in the scanty records of its commerce, for the most part
came this year, and already had formed establishments, the largest of which
were those of Berrichon, Rodrigue, and Daccarette, respectively of twenty-
nine, twelve, and nineteen men. There were among the women five widows
of the official class, the most recent being Madame Du Vivier, who had
arrived with her children from France only a short time before her husband's
death, and eight others, of whom three had fishing establishments, two of them
of importance, one with twelve and the other with thirteen men. The widow
Onfroy of St. Malo claimed that she was the first to send vessels to Cape
1 I.R.G. 466.
I7H ITS PROSPECTS 21
Breton, and with such satisfactory results that the fleets of St. Malo and
Grandville imitated her.1 This much is certain at this early time, that the
fishing was largely done by Basques. The Acadian explorers of this year
mention only Basque vessels on their voyages in the gulf and on the coasts
of Cape Breton.
The new establishment was amid surroundings which might appear
unfavourable, and while it was inadequately supported by the home authorities,
its personnel could not have found Louisbourg relatively unsatisfactory. Most
of the officers had been a long time in Placentia, and although Costebelle
places both towns " in the most sterile deserts of America," in climate and
other conditions the comparison is not against Isle Royale. Rouville and
his Canadians were now in a less severe climate than Quebec, and the nucleus
of the population were fisher-folk from Newfoundland, skilled in an art which
they began at once to practise under conditions which they found, allowance
being made for the unsettled condition and high prices of a new colony, not
unfavourable. With an Acadian population drawn to Isle Royale, as seemed
probable, its position would be strong. Colonel Vetch, unlikely to overvalue
the Acadians, thus expresses the advantage to France of the conditions which
they expected to find the next year (1715) in Cape Breton :
" And as the accession of such a number of Inhabitants to Cape Breton will make it
at once a very populous Colony ; (in which the strength of all the Country's consists) So it
is to be considered that one hundred of the French, who were born upon that continent,
and are perfectly known in the woods, can march upon snowshoes, and understand the use
of Birch Canoes, are of more value and service than five times their number of raw men,
newly come from Europe. So their skill in the Fishery, as well as the cultivating of the
soil, must inevitably make that Island, by such an accession of people, and French, at once
the most powerful colony the French have in America, and of the greatest danger and
damage to all the British Colony's as well as the universal trade of Great Britain." 2
One, Jethro Furber, who declared vaguely that, being on a voyage, probably
smuggling, he took refuge in Louisbourg, gives an interesting picture, closely
tallying with that of the Acadians, of the new settlement, "with forty vessels
loading and six sail of men-of-warr in its harbour, commodious enough for
five hundred sail of shipps," its fishing so good that the boats twice daily
brought in their loads, and its people elated that " ye English gave them a
Wedge of Gold tor a piece of silver." 3
These testimonies seem to justify entirely the view taken in the first
appeal for funds for Louisbourg which Pontchartrain makes to the King's
Treasurer :
1 Arch. Col. B, 36. 2 Nova Scotia Archives, vol. i, p. 6.
8 An affidavit signed at Kingston in Jamaica, April 20, 1715 (B.T.N.S. vol. 2).
22 APPENDIX TO CHAPTER I
"The English are well aware of the importance of this post, and are already taking
umbrage in the matter. They sec that it will be prejudicial to their trade, and that in
time of war it will be a menace to their shipping, and on the first outbreak of trouble they
will be sure to use every means to get possession of it. It is therefore necessary to fortify
it thoroughly. If France were to lose this Island the loss would be an irreparable one, and
it would involve the loss of all her holdings in North America." 1
APPENDIX TO CHAPTER I
ANONYMOUS MEMOIRS OF
This anonymous memoir is worthy of attention, as it is written by one
who had been on the ground, and sets forth what he conceived to be the
advantages of the proposed colony and its resources. In passages which have
not been reprinted he refers several times to the visit of the fleet of the
Chevalier du Palais to Baie des Espagnols in 1692, and writes of that port as
an eye-witness. It is probable that he was an officer in that squadron.
The memoir begins with a statement as to the purpose of colonies, the
solid advantages of the mother-country and the extension of its commerce. On
these principles the southern colonies are useful, as they produce commodities
which, otherwise, France would have to buy from foreigners, and trade with
them employs many ships and men who consume French products and produce
revenues to the State. Even Canada is important for its furs, and the home
consumption and exportation of beaver hats.
The proposed colony is important for the commerce in cod, one of the
most important in the kingdom, for it uses much salt, sustains many seamen
and fishers and their families, pays heavy taxes, and the new establishment would
place it entirely in the hands of the French. It has, moreover, the advantage
in extreme healthfulness over those of the West Indies.
Cape Breton is selected as the seat of the colony, as it has advantages in the
extent of the commerce which can be carried on with all parts of the world, the
excellence of its ports, the mildness of its climate and its salubrity, the fertility
of its soil, and the excellence of its fisheries.
Then follows a description of the island and its ports, great importance
being given and a plan attached of Baie des Espagnols (Sydney), which the
writer thinks the best in the island, not only as a harbour, but from its situation,
as from it roads could easily be made to all the other principal ports, and thus
easy intercommunication be given to the settlers.
1 Arch. Col. B, vol. 37, f. 26, 1/2.
2 Arch. Col. Cn, Air.erijut du A'or</, vol. 8, in which arc also Raudot's Memoirs.
APPENDIX TO CHAPTER I 23
The land is highly praised on account of the trees it produces — elm, maple,
ash, beech, and birch, the same as Canada, and therefore presumably will produce,
as Canada does, good crops. Its climate, he points out, will improve as it is
cleared, as it is the retention of the snows and the shading of the ground by
the primaeval forest which make Canada so much colder than corresponding
latitudes in Europe — the prevailing view among scientists of the time.
Then follows a description, which subsequent exploration has materially
modified, of the possibilities of the country, its timber, tar, pitch, its gypsum
and marble and other stones, its " porphire qu'on a trouve fort beau a la Cour oh
feu M. le Marquis de Louvois en fit apporter," its coal and its furs, and, above
all, its advantageous position for the fisheries, thus dealt with by the writer :
PRODUCTIONS EXTERIEURES DE L'!SLE DU CAP BRETON
Elles se renferment toutes dans la seule pesche des molues, il ne s'agit pas icy d'en
donner le detail ny la description, le Sieur Denis y a satisfait dans son histoire naturelle de
1'Ame'rique Septentrionale avec toute 1'exactitude qu'on scauroit d&irer, il n'est question
que de faire voir ainsy qu'on se Test propos£ qu'on ne retirera jamais tous les avantages des
pesches qu'en les rendant sddentaires, et que ce n'est que dans 1'Isle du Cap Breton qu'on
peut executter avec succez une enterprise de cette importance.
La pesche des molues se fait en deux manieres, 1'une avec des vaisseaux sur les banes
de terre neuve au large des costes de Canada, 1'autre a terre et sur les bords de la mer, par
la premiere, on salle dans les vaisseaux les molues comme on les tire de la mer, ce qu'on
appelle les poissons verds qui n'est autre chose que la molue blanche dont il se fait une si
grande consommation a Paris ; par la Seconde, on fait se"cher les molues sur les cotes de la
mer apres les avoir sallies, et c'est ce qu'on appelle le poisson sec ou vulgairement merluche,
qui se debite par tout le monde et dont on ne fait presqu'aucun usage a Paris, faute d'en
connoitre le m£rite.
Tous ceux qui ont e"crit des peches se"dentaires, ou qui ont travaille" a les e"tablir jusques
a present n'ont pens£ qu'a la pe'che seche, on se propose de faire voir icy qu'on en peut
faire de mesme de la pesche verte, pourvu qu'on en fixe 1'e'tablissement dans 1'Isle du Cap
Breton, la preference luy en doit appartenir par le droit de sa situation elle est comme assise
au milieu des mers les plus poissonneuses, et dans le centre de tous les banes, sur lesquels
les vaisseaux de France ont accoutum6 de faire la pesche, par consequent Ton y peut faire
1'une et 1'autre pesche et les rendre 1'une et 1'autre s£dentaires dans cette Isle.
L'exp£rience en decide, de terns immemorial, les vaisseaux ont fait la pesche seche sur
les cotes du Cap Breton, le Forillon, 1'Isle plate, 1'Indiane, Niganiche, Achpe" Le Chadie,
carceaux, le Havre a 1'Anglois et la Balaine qui en dependent, ne sont jamais sans vaisseaux
en temps de paix ils y font ordinairement leur pesche complette, a moins de quelqu'ac-
cident, c'est une marque certaine que la morue y est abondante, mais ce n'est pas a dire
pour cela qu'il n'y en ayt prdcis£ment que dans ces endroits la quand on les d^signe icy en
particulier comme des lieux de pesche, c'est que de la maniere que les vaisseaux ont fait la
pesche jusques a present, ils n'ont pratiqu6 que ces endroits la que parce qu'ils ne trou-
voient pas a se mettre a 1'abry ailleurs, et que la petitesse de leurs chaloupes de pesche ne
24 APPENDIX TO CHAPTER I
permettoit pas aux pescheurs dc s'en iloigner beaucoup, pour chercher la molue ailleurs
ainsi on a par!6 a cet 6gard commc s'il n'y en avoit cu qu'au Forillon, a Niganiche, au
Havre a 1'anglois, et coetera, et point du tout ailleurs ; mais ce seroit une erreur de le penser
ainsi, la molue cst aussy abondante par tout le restc dcs costes de 1'Isle que dans ces endroits
fr£qucntcz, on en trouve Igalcmcnt partout ailleurs.
Ainsy des que la pesche sera devcnue sc\lentaire, et qu'elle ne se fera plus que par les
habitans de 1'Islc, il nc sera plus question dc s'assujcttir aux endroits ou les vaisseaux peuvent
sculement sc mettre a 1'abry, pendant le temps de la pesche les habitans pouvant pecher
indirtcremmcnt sur toutes les costes, les couvriront de leurs chaloupes, et feront deux fois
plus dc poisson que celles de France par ccttc raison, et parce quY-tant sur les lieux ils
commenccront plustost ct finiront la pesche plus tard, si les chaloupes ordinaires ne leur
suffisent pas ils auront des barques de toutes grandeurs avec lesquclles ils iront au large sur
les banes poissonneuses ou ils trouveront toujours a charger ; les vaisseaux de France ne
peuvent pas faire la mesme chose faute de barques qu'ils ne peuvent pas aporter aussi
facilement que de petites chaloupcs.
Et c'cst par le moyen de ces barques que Ton se propose de faire voir icy que la pesche
vert peut devenir s£dentaire aussi bien que la sesche, c'est un fait constant que la plus part
des vaisseaux de France viennent faire la pesche verte sur le bane a verd, sur le bane de
Saint Pierre, sur ceux de 1'Isle de Sable ct mcme jusque dans le golfe de Canada. C'est un
autre fait, encore plus constant, que tous ces banes sont a portee de 1'Isle du Cap Breton et
qu'elle en est environnde, il seroit done par consequent plus facile aux habitans de 1'Isle qui
seroient sur les lieux de faire cette pesche avec leurs barques, qu'aux vaisseaux de France
qui ont huit cent lieues, et de grands frais a faire, et de grands risques a courir pour s'y
rend re.
On peut dire de mesme de la pesche verte du grand Bane, les habitans du Cap Breton
qui n'en seroient qu'a quatre vingt lieues, la pourroient faire avec plus de facilitd que les
vaisseaux de France qui font sept cent lieues et de grands frais pour s'y rendre, ces vaisseaux
qui peschent au large et hors de la vue de la terre, sont obligez de sailer la molue telle que
les pescheurs la tirent de la mer, ils en peschent de quatre sortes, de grandes, de moyennes,
de petites, et de plus petites qu'ils appellent " Raquet," sur ce pied la lorsqu'ils retournent
en France, ils emportent de quatre sortes de poissons, qui ont chacun leur prix a la vente,
outre que c'est un embaras que de concilier ces diffeients prix, il arrive souvent que se
trouvant plus de petit et de raquet, que de grand et de moyen, celuy des deux premieres
qualitez ne se vend pas avantageusement.
II n'en seroit pas de mesme, si la pesche verte 6toit sldentaire, quoy que les habitans
du Cap Breton fussent obligez de sailer dans leurs barques toutes les molues telles qu'ils les
tireroient dc la mer, ainsi que les pescheurs de France, ils seroient n£anmoins les maitres
d'en faire le tirage dans leurs barques me'mes, dc n'habiller au verd que le grand et le moyen
poisson, et de r^server tout I'infcYieur pour mettre au sel, par ce moyen les cargaisons de
poisson verd seroient uniformes, les ventes en seroient plus faciles et plus avantageuses, et la
qualit6 du poisson beaucoup meilleure.
La pesche seche y trouveroit aussi son avantage, comme il n'y a que le moyen et le
petit poisson qui puisse s£cher, il arrive souvent qu'on pesche autant de grandes molues que
de petits, on a regret de jetter les grandes a la mer, on risque de les faire s£cher, on con-
somme beaucoup de sel a les sailer, parceque ctant fort epoisses elles pourriroient si on y
APPENDIX TO CHAPTER I 25
6pargnoit le sel, la moindre pluye, le moindre brouillard y met la corruption et 1'on est
oblig6 de les jetter apres avoir perdu beaucoup de sel et de terns a les soigner, cela n'ar-
riveroit plus si la pesche verte 6toit s£dentaire, on ne risqueroit plus de faire s£cher le grand
poisson, on le salleroit au verd et rien ne seroit perdu.
On en a un exemple dans la pesche qui se fait a 1'Isle Perc£e a 1'embrochure du fleuve
de Saint Laurens, il y vient ordinairement sept ou huit vaisseaux en temps de paix, il y a des
Basques et des Normands, les Normands ne veullent point de poisson sec, les Basques n'en
veullent point de verd, ils s'accommodent ensemble, les Normands prennent le grand poisson
des Basques, et les Basques recoivent des Normands deux petites molues pour une grande,
ainsi toute le monde est content et cela d^truit en me'me temps 1'opinion de quelques
particuliers qui pr^tendent que le grand poisson qui se pesche sur les cotes n'est pas aussi
bon que celuy du grand Bane, si cela estoit, les Normands qui scavent leurs intents et qui
n'aportent ce poisson verd au havre que pour Paris, ne se chargeroient pas d'une marchandise
dont ils ne trouveroient pas le d£bit, si done les grandes molues de 1'Isle Percee sont bonnes
a mettre au verd, a plus forte raison celles qui se peschent dans toute le golfe de Canada, sur-
tout autour des Isles de la Madelaine et de Brion, ou elles sont commun6ment d'une grandeur
prodigieuse, fort grasse et d'une meilleure qualit£.
En rendant ainsy sedentaire la pesche du poisson verd et celle du poisson sec, il n'y
aurait plus a 1'avenir que de grandes moliles vertes et par consequent de la meilleure qualit6,
tout le poisson seroit pareillement de la qualit£ propre pour les diff<£rents pays ou le commerce
s'en fait, on en feroit le tirage au Cap Breton, 1'on y tiendroit des magazins assortis de chaque
qualite ou les vaisseaux trouveroient leurs charges de grandes molues vertes pour France, de
petit poisson sec pour Marseille et pour le Levant, de grand poisson sec pour 1'Espagne et le
Portugal, et de moyen poisson sec pour le Royaume, au lieu que jusques a present, ces
vaisseaux ont £t£ obligez de n'emporter que ce qu'ils peschoient, et comme ils le peschoient.
On jugera par ce detail de l'£tendue des productions exteYieures de 1'Isle du Cap Breton,
quoy qu'elles ne soient que d'une espece, on peut dire sans exageVation qu'on en pourroit
faire avec le temps un commerce de plus de deux vaisseaux tous les ans, qui tiendroient en
mouvement tous les peuples de cette Isle, et leur donneroient les moyens de subsister ais6-
ment de leur travail, joint aux productions de leurs terres, il s'agit a 1'heure qu'il est de
trouver dans cette grande Isle un endroit capable de recevoir un Etablissement de cette
importance et dont on en puisse faire le chef lieu, apres quoy on fera voir les avantages que
le Roy, 1'Etat et le commerce en pourront retirer. . . .
LE CHEF LIEU DE I/ETABLISSEMENT
II y a deux raisons principalles de l'6tablir dans la Baye aux Espagnols.
Premierement :
La bont6 de son Port et de ses Rades j
Secondement :
Les communications qu'elle a avec tous les autres ports de 1'Isle et meme avec 1'Acadie par
le Labrador.
On voit par le plan que le Pilote Jean Albert en a lev£ en 1692, et par la description
26 APPENDIX TO CHAPTER I
qu'il en donnc dans son Journal qu'il cst difficile de trouver un endroit plus commode et
plus avantageux pour le commerce, le Sieur de Montagu, Capitaine de frigate dit dans son
journal de la m£me ann£e qu'il a sonde toute cette Baye et quc c'est un des plus beaux ports
qu'on s^auroit voir, la description qu'on en a desja donn^e en marque asses tous les avantages
pour qu'on puisse convenir quc cet endroit mcVitc la preference de cet Etablissement.
On peut entrer ct mouillcr dans ses raJes la nuit commc le jour, on en peut sortir de
memc, on est a couvcrt dans son port des plus mauvais terns et des ennemis, il y a partout
six, sept, huit ct neuf brasses d'eau dans ses rades, dans son port, et meme jusquc tout aupres
de terrc, les fonds sont de sable vazcux, il n'y a aucuns roshers qui puissent endomager les
cAbles ct les anchrcs, les vaisseaux pcuvent charger commode'ment partout, on pourroit batir
la ville principallc cntre les deux bras qui partagent la Baye a une lieue de son entree ; la
situation en seroit avantageuse et magnifique, il ne seroit n^cessaire de la fortifier que du
cost6 dc la terre, on peut a peu de frais la mettre en deffense contre tous les efforts des
ennemis, on pourroit encore la placer avec les me'mes avantages entre la Riviere aux cerfs
et le bras gauche de cette Baye, la longue digue qui paroit dans le plan en fait un port tres
spacicux, tres assure et tres commode, c'est sur quoy il seroit difficile de se determiner sans
£tre sur les licux.
Cette ville deviendroit en peu de terns considerable et d'une grande etendue, les
magazins seuls pour recevoir les poissons, les productions du pays, les sels, les appareaux de
pesche, aussi bien que les marchandises de France, de Quebec et d'ailleurs, occuperoient
beaucoup de terrain, 1'abord d'un grand nombre de vaisseaux, le mouvement continuel d'une
infinite de barques et de chaloupes y atireroient beaucoup de marchands et d'artisans, la
campagne surtout des environs se peupleroit de bourgs et de villages, on cultiveroit la terre
avec d'autant plus de soin que les grains et les denies y trouveroient un prompt debit par la
consommation qui s'en feroit dans le lieu meme et par le transport qui s'en feroit au dehors,
on n'y verroit ny pauvres, ny faineans, on y trouveroit toujours de 1'occupation, jusqu'aux
femmes et aux enfans qui y seroient employez a lavcr, a tourner, a porter et a pr6parer le
poisson sur la grave et sur les vignaux, tout le peuple seroit pescheur, ou laboureur, ou artisan,
les bourgeois et les marchands seroient occupez de leur commerce, les communications que
cet endroit a d'ailleurs par terre avec les autres ports de 1'Isle et mesme avec 1'Acadie par le
Labrador, seroient seules un motif de luy donner la preference de 1'Etablissement principal,
dont il s'agit de faire voir les avantages dans les articles suivans.
LES AVANTAGES DE CET ETABLISSEMENT
Premierement.
II rend le commerce des pesches certain de casuel qu'il a toujours etd jusques a present.
Secondement.
II reunit tout ce commerce dans la seule main des Francois a 1'exclusion des Anglois
qui 1'usurpent depuis longtemps.
Troislhnement.
II devient le Boulvard et le magazin des colonies de Canada, de 1'Acadie et de
Plaisance.
APPENDIX TO CHAPTER I 27
II sera 1'entrepost et le refuge des vaisseaux qui reviennent des grandes Indes, des
Indes Espagnoles, des Isles de I'AmeVique et de tous ceux qui fre'quentent les mers
de Canada.
En parlant avec ordre de ces quatre avantages principaux, on en d£couvrira une
infinite d'autres particulieres qui font d'autant mieux juger du me'rite de cet Etablissement.
Premier Avantage.
De la maniere que Ton a fait la pesche du poisson sec jusques a present, on a £te"
oblig6 de faire partir les vaisseaux de France des le mois de Mars, pour arriver aux cotes
de Canada dans la saison que la moliie commence a s'en aprocher, les mers sont rudes
et les vents violens dans les mois de Mars et d'Avril a cause de 1'Equinoxe, souvent ils
sont contraires pour sortir jusques bien avant dans le mois de May, quand ces vaisseaux
partent trop tard, ils n'ont pas le temps de faire leur pesche quand ils partent ass6s tost,
ils trouvent des tourments a la mer, ils demdtent, ils perdent une partie de leurs sels
et de leurs vivres, ils rel&chent, la defense de leur £quipement est perdue pour les marchands
ou pour les assureurs.
Les vaisseaux qui partent pour le poisson verd, n'ont pas a la veVite" les me"mes risques
a courir, parce qu'ils peuvent sortir dans la belle saison, mais ils ont a essuyer sur le grand
Bane les coups de vent les plus violents qui les empeschent de pescher, qui souvent les
obligent de d^barquer, et quelque fois de rel&cher en France en quelque £tat que soit
leur pesche.
Suposans les uns et les autres de ces vaisseaux heureusement arrivez au lieu de leur
destination, si le poisson n'est pas abondant, si les grands vents les empeschent de pescher,
si les pluyes empeschent de s£cher le poisson, s'ils perdent leurs chaloupes par quelque
tempeste, comme il arrive ass£s souvent, s'ils manquent de vivres, s'ils sont jettez a la
coste par le mauvais temps ou incommaudez sur le grand Bane, on peut compter que
dans les uns ou les autres de ces cas, leur pesche est notablement interrompue, si celle
n'est pas tout a fait perdue.
En quelque saison que ces vaisseaux partent pour la pesche, ils ont une longue et
rude traversed a faire avant que d'arriver aux cotes de Canada ou sur le grand Bane,
personne n'ignore que les vents sont presque toujours contraires pour ces voyages, les
vaisseaux qui font le poisson sec demeurent pres de quatre mois a la coste et ne mettent
guere moins de huit mois a tout leur voyage ; ceux qui font le poisson verd ne sont pas
si longtemps dehors, mais ils sont toujours exposez, ainsi ces voyages qui sont toujours
longs coutent beaucoup aux marchands, qui souvent sont trop heureux de retirer une
partie de leurs avances, bien loin d'y trouver du profit.
On n'obtient que rarement pendant la guerre des Equipages pour la pesche, les
vaisseaux des particuliers auxquels on en accorde sont en proye aux Corsaires Anglois
de Boston, aussy bien sur le grand Bane que sur les cotes de Canada, tous les vaisseaux
pris a 1'Isle Perc£e, a Bonnaventure, a Gaspd, au Cap Breton et sur le grand Bane pendant
la derniere guerre, ne le prouve que trop, mais quand le peu de vaisseaux qui sortent pendant
la guerre pour la p£che des moliies reviendroit a bon port, ce poisson estant rare est toujours
28 APPENDIX TO CHAPTER I
si chcr dans le Royaume, qu'on n'en scauroit trouver la consommation entiere, sans £tre
a charge au public.
Tous ces inconvc'niens ccsseroit si les pesches devenoient sidentaires, ce commerce
scroit aussy florissant en temps de guerre que pendant la paix, les marchands n'en feroient [sic]
plus les avanccs, il n'y auroit presque plus de risques a le faire, les vaisseaux ne partiroient
plus a 1'equinoxe de Mars, assurcz de trouver a rEtablissement la pesche toute faite par
les habitans, ils ne mettoient plus a la mer qu'en May, Juin et Juillet dans une saison
si belle, ils ne risqueroient plus dc perdre leurs sels, leurs vivres, leurs marchandises, ny
de relacher ; leur navigation seroit heureuse, ils ne prendroient que des Equipages ordinaires,
et des vivres qu'autant qu'il leur en faudroit pour se rendre a 1'Etablissement, ils ne feroient
plus la dc-pense d'embarquer les chaloupes ny les autres appareaux de pesche, ils chargeroient
cnticrcmcnt de marchandises et de choses a la ve>it£ n£cessaires a la pesche, mais ce ne
seroit plus pour la consommer par eux-mtlmes en faisant la pesche comme autrefois, ce
seroit un pur commerce, et pour revendre aux marchands de 1'Etablissement qui les
payeroient en poisson tout fait et en d'autres effets ; ils passeroient en quarante jours de
France a Pctablissement, ils n'y scjourneroient qu'autant qu'il seroit nccessaire pour
decharger et recharger, ils repasseroient en France en vingt jours et pourroient faire
tout le voyage en trois mois, ils pourroient en faire deux par an ; ceux qu'on destineroit
pour les Isles de 1'AmeVique, pour le Mexique, pour 1'Espagne, le Portugal, la M^diterrance
ou pour le Levant feroient trois fois leur fret dans la me'me annee de France a 1'Etablisse-
ment, de la dans les pays Etranges, et des pays Strangers en France, ils prendroient des
vivres a 1'Etablissement pour leur retour, en quelqu'endroit qu'ils le fissent, ils y trouveroient
des mats, des vergues, et d'autres pieces s'ils en avoient besoin, ils pourroient mesme s'en
garnir entierement sans autre depense que de les couper quelque difficult^ qu'il y eust
d'obtenir des Equipages en este, pendant la guerre ils en auroient au pis aller vers la fin
d'aoust que les vaisseaux du Roy ont continu£ de dcsarmer, alors ils partiroient en flotte
sous 1'escorte de deux ou trois frigates de Sa Majest£ qui les conduiroient a 1'Etablissement
et les rameneroient en France, par la le commerce de la pesche ne seroit jamais interrompu,
parce qu'il sc feroit par les habitans du lieu, qui comptans sur 1'arrivee de la flotte
prcpareroient le poisson en 1'attendant. Sa Majest£ en recevroit toujours les droits et
la molue seroit a bon march£ dans le Royaume en guerre comme en paix.
Deuxleme AV ant age.
La pesche s£dentaire que les Anglois ont e"tablis a la coste de 1'Est de 1'Isle de Terre
Neuve depuis quarante ans est une usurpation formelle de leur part, cette Isle apartient
sans contredit a Sa Majestc- suivant le partage de I'Amerique Septentrionale entre la
France et 1'Angleterre, le peu d'attention qu'on a cue pour une affaire de cette consequence
a donn£ lieu a la possession que les Anglois en ont prise, il paroit par de bons me'moires
qu'ils y chargent tous les ans plus de cent vaisseaux de poisson sec.
La pesche qu'ils font encore avec les barques de la cote de Baston sur celles de
1'Acadie est une autre usurpation, ils n'en pcuvent pas contester la propri£t£ a la France
puis qu'ils 1'ont rendue plusieurs fois par des traitez de paix, mais quoy qu'ils n'y trafiquent
plus avec les habitans, ils ne discontinuent pas pour ccla d'y faire la pesche des moiues qu'ils
portent s£cher sur leurs costes, le peu d'oposition qu'ils y trouvent de la part des Franfois
APPENDIX TO CHAPTER I 29
n'est pas capable de les en empe'cher, ils font encore par cette pesche au moins la charge de
cent vaisseaux de poisson sec tous les ans.
Comme les Anglois ne consomment presque point de poisson sec en Europe, ils le
portent en Espagne, en Portugal et jusques dans le Levant ou ils le vendent en concurrence
avec les Francois qui devroient estre seuls maitres de ce commerce.
II n'y a que 1'Etablissement propose qui puisse en donner 1'exclusion aux Anglois,
s'ils trouvent la cote de 1'Acadie occup£e par les Barques et les chaloupes des habitans du
Cap Breton on peut compter que d'eux-me'mes ils ne s'y pr6senteroient plus, ainsy meme
en pleine paix, sans recommencer la guerre, sans effusion de sang, sans aucune defense, Sa
Majeste n'usant que de son droit, peut oster pour jamais aux Anglois un commerce usurp£
qui a forme et qui soutient encore aujourd'huy leur Colonie de Baston, ainsy qu'ils en
conviennent eux-memes.
II ne seroit pas si facile de leur oter celuy de la cote de Terre Neuve, comme les
Anglois en ont pris une espece de possession, il semble qu'on ne pourroit les en chasser
qu'en terns de guerre, mais pour lors la chose seroit fort ais6, si quelques Canadiens venus de
Quebec a Plaisance, ou il y a plus de deux cens lieues par mer, ont ruin£ ces dernieres
ann^es toute la c6te angloise, fait le d£gat de leur sel, bruli leurs chaloupes, et leurs
maisons, les habitans du Cap Breton qui seroient en bien plus grand nombre, qui auroient
un interest particulier de d^truire cette cote, et qui n'auroient que trente ou trente-cinq
lieues de mer a traverser pour se rendre a Plaisance, seroient en 6tat de les harceler si
souvent qu'ils les forceroient enfin d'abandonner pour jamais un pays sterile qui ne produit
rien et qu'ils n'occupent que par raport a la pesche qui y est tres abondante.
Suposant done les Anglois exclus de ces pe'ches, comme cela seroit sans doute lorsque
1'Etablissement du Cap Breton seroit forme, ce commerce doubleroit chaque ann£e en
faveur de la France aussi bien que les droits des fermes de Sa Majeste, la chose parle
d'elle-me'me.
Troisilmt ^vantage.
Si 1'on considere avec attention la progression des Anglois dans leurs Colonies de la
Nouvelle Angleterre, on aura lieu de trembler pour celle de Canada, il n'y a point d'annee
qu'il ne naisse parmy eux autant d'enfans qu'il y a d'hommes dans tout le Canada, en peu
d'annees ce peuple sera dangereux et redoutable, et le Canada ne sera gueres plus peupie
qu'il n'est aujourd'huy, soit douceur de climat qui favorise la culture de leurs terres, la
progression de leurs bestiaux, et qui leur permet de naviguer en tout terns, soit Industrie
particuliere, il est certain que leurs colonies sont etablies de ce cote-la comme 1'Angleterre
meme.
II est encore terns de preVoir et de preVenir les suites inevitables de cette superiority
des Anglois, on ne doit pas douter qu'elle ne leur inspire enfin quelque jour, le dessein de
se rendre maitres du Canada et par la de toute 1'AmeVique septentrionale, quoy que le
Canada ne paroisse pas fort important a ceux qui ne le connoissent pas a fond, il est certain
neantmoins que la France perdroit avec ce pays-la le commerce des castors qui ne laisse pas
d'etre n£cessaire et considerable par sa circulation celuy des originaux et des pelleteries qui
se debitent dans le Royaume et chez les Etrangers et de quelques autres effets qu'on en
pourroit tirer, mais on doit adjouter a cela qu'il est de la gloire et de la pi£t£ du Roy de ne
pas laisser tomber un si grands pays entre les mains d'une nation heVetique, jealous du
3o APPENDIX TO CHAPTER I
commerce des Franfois ct qui commenceroit a £touffer dans les coeurs dc ses sujets et des
sauvagcs les scmences de la Religion.
En perdant le Canada la France perdroit encore les pcsches des moltles, les Anglois
pour s'en assurer se fortifieroient dans tous les endroits avantageux, ils couvriroient ces mers
ct le grand Bane de leurs vaisseaux, la navigation en seroit ferm£c aux Francois, les matelots
diminueroient de la moitid dans le Royaume, on seroit oblig£ de racheter la molde des
Anglois, les Francois perdroient la consommation des sels et des efFets propres a la pesche, et
Sa Majcstd les droits que luy ajx>rtoit un si grand commerce, le mal seroit trop grand pour
quc Sa Majest£ le put soufFrir, et ce ne pourroit £tre quc par des defenses prodigieuses et
par la guerre ouverte qu'on pourroit rentrer dans la possession de ce qu'il est ais£ de ne pas
pcrdrc en occupant le Cap Breton.
Cette Isle cst le clef du Canada et de toutes les cotes de la Nouvelle France, en la
fortifiant les Anglois ne pourront plus rien entreprendre de ce cot6-la, ils ne s'aviseront
jamais d'cntrer dans le profondeur du Golfe de Saint Laurens pour monter jusqu'a Quebec,
pendant qu'ils auront derricre eux un poste de cette importance.
L'Acadie et Plaisance ne seroient pas moins en surete par cet Etablissement, le nombre
et la valleur de ses habitans, leur experience au fait de la navigation et des armes dont ils
fcroient un exercise continue), les mettroient en peu de terns en <hat de tout entreprendre,
de faire trembler les Anglois jusques dans Baston, et de d&oler toutes leurs cotes en temps
de guerre.
Le Cap Breton seroit encore le magasin g6n6ral de tous ces pays, les habitans y
trouveroient les marchandises, les efFets et leurs secours dont ils auroient besoin en dchange
des vivres, des denrees et des autres choses qu'ils y apporteroient de Quebec et d'ailleurs.
^vantage.
Tous les vaisseaux qui reviennent des Isles de 1'Ame'rique, du Mexique, du PeYou, de la
Mer du Sud et mesme des grandes Indes sont obligez par la disposition des vents de venir
chercher les hauteurs de Canada, et de passer a la pointe me>idionale du Grand Bane de
Terre Ncuve pour retourner en Europe ; il arrive assds souvent que la plus part de ces
vaisseaux manquent ou de vivres ou d'eau, ou de bois, qu'ils sont d£matez, qu'ils ont des
voyes d'eau ou que leurs Equipages sont malades, il ) a encore pres de sept cens lieues de la
en France, ou ils ne sont pas en estat de se rendre sans estre . . .
Tous les vaisseaux pescheurs et ceux qui passent au Cap Breton en allant a Quebec
s'y refugieront dans la n£cessit6 la navigation de Canada £tant des plus rudes, surtout en
revenant de Qud-bec dans 1'arriere saison, les Equipages et les passagers des vaisseaux qui
auroient le malheur de faire naufrage dans le golfe de Canada pourroient trouver leur
salut dans cet Etablissement. . . .
The writer then takes up objections to his project and concludes.
CONCLUSION
L'Etablissement propos£ re"unit toutes les pesches dans la main des Francois, en donne
1'exclusion absolue aux Anglois, deffend les colonies de Canada, de Terre Neuve et de 1'Acadie
contre tous leurs efforts, empeschent [sic] qu'ils ne se rendent maitres de tous ces grands pays,
et par la mesme de toutes les pesches, il ruine leur colonie de Baston en les en excluant et
APPENDIX TO CHAPTER I 31
sans leur faire la guerre, il est le refuge des vaisseaux incommodez qui fr^quentent ces
mers, ou pour la pesche ou pour les voyages de Canada, il devient le rendez-vous et
1'entrepost des vaisseaux des Indes, des Isles de 1'Ame'rique, de la Nouvelle Espagne, il
augmente le nombre des matelots, il facilite le commerce de Canada et favorise le d£bit
de ses grains et de ses denr^es, il fournira les arceneaux de Sa Majest6 de mits, de vergues,
de bordages, de planches, de pieces de construction, de bray, de goldrons, d'huiles de
poisson, de charbon de terre, de platre et mesme de molttes pour les victuailles des Equipages,
les Strangers qui ont accoutume de fournir tous ces effets n'emporteront plus 1'argent
du Royaume, il augmente la domination de Sa Majest6, le commerce de ses sujets, les
droits de ses fermes, et la consommation de sels et des denr£es du Royaume, e'en est assez
pour faire voir que cet Etablissement est enfin devenu d'une n£cessit6 indispensable,
et qu'il est terns d'y mettre efficacement la main.
II ne reste plus qu'a donner dans un m£moire particulier les moyens de former a peu
de frais un Etablissement de cette importance. — A Paris le trentieme Novembre 1706.
NON SIGN£.
Note. — This document, with the exception of some changes in punctuation, and the
correction of a few mistakes obviously those of a copyist, is printed verbatim. The
soundness of its views as to the importance of Cape Breton, the stability of New England,
the previsions of danger to French rule from its people, merit the attention of the reader.
CHAPTER II
THE declaration of the taking possession of Isle Royale stated that the selection
of Louisbourg was provisional. The reports made and the plans submitted in
person by St. Ovide to the King secured his approval, which was transmitted to
L'Hermitte, with orders to place the fort on the point and the town behind it.
This led to complaints from the latter that his plans had been modified and his
views inaccurately stated by St. Ovide.
These instructions were definite ; but a discussion arose at once as to which
should be made the principal place of the three settlements which were thought
of. These were Louisbourg, Port Dauphin, and Port Toulouse. Each of them
had many advantages, which were dealt with in many letters and memorials.
Costebelle wrote to the Minister expressing his opinion, that great attention
should be given to Port Toulouse, without claiming that it should be the seat of
government, and asked a hearing for Meschin, Commander of the Semslacky
who had revisited Louisbourg. When Meschin sought an audience with
Pontchartrain he was sent on by him to Raudot the younger, who had been
promoted from Quebec to the position of Intendant des Classes (Service Rolls).
The Minister wrote to the latter that he would discuss the matter with him after
his interview with Meschin.
Other letters also were sent to Pontchartrain. Rouville and La Ronde, in
thanking him for their appointments on this pioneer expedition, gave their views
on the three ports. The latter was enthusiastic over Port Dauphin, where they
could do more work for ten thousand livres than for two hundred thousand in
Louisbourg. Trees twenty-eight to thirty-eight inches in diameter and seventy
feet long abound ; there is an abundance of oak, and not an inch of ground which
is not fit to cultivate. He concluded by saying that New England is not worth
one-tenth part of Cape Breton, but that he has seen with his own eyes how
flourishing is the British colony, where every year they build fifteen hundred
vessels.1
Costebelle repeated his first impression that they were working uselessly at
1 These are exaggerations which go far to justify L'Hcrmitte's opinion of La Ronde. See note, p. 16.
32
1714 CONFLICTING ADVANTAGES 33
Louisbourg, and that Vaudreuil, St. Ovide, and Soubras agreed with him, if their
thoughts corresponded to their language. L'Hermitte tried to confine his
expression to a statement of the advantages of the different places, but in sending
his requisitions for material and men he added an estimate that it would take
eight to ten years to build the forts at Louisbourg at a cost, even without the
artillery, of eight or nine hundred thousand livres.
Bourdon, an experienced officer, whose map of Cape Breton was being used,
was sent out with de Saugeon, the officer in command of the Affriquain^ who
was unfamiliar with these waters. Bourdon, too, submitted a memoir on this
vexed and important question.1 The advantages of Louisbourg, in his summing
up the various views, were the ease of access, the excellent fishing close at hand,
and, while the beaches were less in extent than at Port Dauphin, this was
compensated for by the excellent sites found at various adjacent outports. The
Port Dauphin beaches were less useful, as they were shut in by the high hills,
the name of which has descended from the romance of Les Quatres Fils d'Aymon
to Smith's Mountain. Port Dauphin was more easily fortified, the land was
fertile, but the fishing grounds were several leagues from the port, and therefore
required larger boats. Port Toulouse was not then seriously considered, nor does
the name of Baie des Espagnols often appear, notwithstanding the anonymous
memoir of 1706. Its wide entrance would be difficult to fortify, and it was
^istant from the fishing grounds. Louisbourg, moreover, had the advantage of
not freezing over, and of being Jess incommoded by the drift ice in the spring,
although this was not dwelt on and was perhaps unknown to the pioneers.
Bourdon points out in his memoir that the fisheries are the sole object of care,
that the only grain they need to grow is for poultry and fodder, as their
requirements of wheat would make a commerce with Canada. He thus disposes
of the agricultural superiority of Port Dauphin, enforcing this view by the fact
that the Acadians would not go there, as they were seeking for meadows. He
also takes up various questions as to the forts ; says that L'Hermitte's are too
costly, and proposes in their stead two fortifications, one on the island and one
on the point, which, giving protection against a sudden attack, would, as peace
is likely to last, be all that is required. He concludes that, for ease of living,
every one would prefer Port Dauphin, but, for public interest, Louisbourg is
comparably better. The weight 'of local authority was against him. It was
supported by the merchants of France, while the Court was dismayed at the
amount of money which Louisbourg would require.
Instructions were sent out -to Costebelle and Soubras that Port Dauphin
should be made the principal place ; that they, the staff, and the larger part of
the garrison, four companies, should be established in that place ; that St. Ovide
1 C11 I.R. vol. i, p. in.
34 PORT DAUPHIN CHOSEN 1715
should command at Louisbourg with two companies, and De Pensens, aide-
major, should go to Port Toulouse. These instructions arrived in due course,
hut Costebelle, advised by a private letter of the decisions before they came to
hand, had already taken action. In June he sent L'Hermitte to lay out
the work at Port Dauphin. Rouville also went there, and again merited the
praises of his superiors, by doing with his sixty men effective work in building
a storehouse, bakehouse, and forge. In September they were engaged on the
barracks, which were substantial, as it was proposed that they should serve
afterwards as an hospital, and Costebelle, who was on the ground, hoped that
these would be finished before winter.
Port Toulouse, preferred by the Acadians, was allotted a garrison of forty
men under De Pensens, and a small fort for the purpose of giving confidence to
the new settlers was laid out by Couagne. The value of this place had been
considered small on account of the shallow entrance of its harbour, but
soundings proved that there were three channels with deep water — two of
four and a half, and one of three fathoms. Meschin and his pilot went with
Costebelle from Port Dauphin to Port Toulouse, by the Bras d'Or Lakes, and
confirmed the information. The channels were crooked, but could be made
safe by buoys, which in time of war could be removed, making the harbour
"easy to friends, inaccessible to enemies."
Louisbourg was so neglected that Soubras urged Costebelle to send to
Port Toulouse, St. Ovide and most of the Louisbourg garrison, as no work
could be done at the latter place during the winter. L'Hermitte's part of this
work was tentative, for he had been superseded by Beaucour, who arrived in the
autumn, and he had experienced the bitterness of receiving the Minister's
strictures on his slowness before the letters arrived promoting him to the post of
Major at Three Rivers. Thereafter in the more settled conditions of Canada
he did good work, until, returning from France on the Chameau in 1725, his
long career in the public service ended in her shipwreck a few miles from
Louisbourg.
The Acadian situation was not easy ; although Vaudreuil, Costebelle, and
Soubras had signed a memoir begging the Court to do the impossible by sending
a vessel, nothing more was accomplished than sending some of the gear for their
boats.1 Part of it was delivered, but very few of them had come to Isle Royale.
Early in the year 1715 news came to Louisbourg that Nicholson had in the
autumn told the Acadians that those of them who intended leaving must go at
once and not wait until the spring. The King instructed the French
ambassador to ask permission to send a ship for them, and the request having
been made, time was being lost in waiting for a reply, and the action of the
1 Vol. I, 107, October 16, 1^14.
1715-16 THE ACADIAN SITUATION 35
French Government was thus hampered. The solution was left to the local
authorities ; they were to avail themselves of any of the three vessels which had to
come out — the Semslack, the Affriquain, or the Mutine — and send one of them
for the Acadians.
Father Dominique de la Marche, who was Grand Vicar of the Bishop of
Quebec, had been sent on a mission to the Acadians at Port Toulouse, where he
met representatives of prosperous families of Minas who were there, the results
of which he stated in a letter, September 7. In it he recounts the position
and fidelity of the Acadians, and states that promises solemnly made through
the missionaries as well as the envoys, La Ronde and Pensens, had not been
kept, and urges that a vessel should be sent, as he fears further delay.
Although Costebelle was absent at Port Dauphin, a council was held the same
day, at which Soubras, St. Ovide, Villejouin, Renon, Ste. Marie, de la Perelle,
officers of the garrison, met the missionary. They decided that they must have
some pretext for sending a vessel, either the disavowal of the Indian hostilities
against the English or replacing a missionary. They decided that de Pensens,
a favourite with the Acadians, and de la Perelle, who spoke English, should go
on the Mutine (Captain de Courcey), which should be provisioned for bringing
back the Acadians ; but that if they could not make them come, or if opposition
was offered, they should return. The Mutine started on the voyage, but, meeting
heavy weather and contrary winds, returned to Louisbourg without having
reached Annapolis.
In August of the following year (1716) de la Marche left Port Dauphin, where
he was established, and visited Acadia, returning in September. He says that
the Acadians were not to blame for not coming, and acknowledges that they
were no longer in the mood to come, while Costebelle had made up his mind
that they would remain where they were. The authorities wrote to the Minister
that the Acadians were to take an oath that the Anglican Church was the only
true one, that the Virgin was a woman like any other, that the Pretender was a
bastard, and that they would be faithful to the new King ; but this fable, possibly
because it was a fable, moved neither the Acadians to leave nor the Ministry to
come to their aid.1
These are the first of many incidents which mark the care of the French
officials to avoid giving offence to the English. Their attitude was defensive ;
the instructions sent out to them were to avoid quarrels and not to resent
aggressions. The only firm note in many years is La Ronde's letter to
Nicholson, in which he states that the King intends to maintain the rights
accorded to the Acadians by Queen Anne, the outcome of his preference for the
1 " Contenant que la religion Anglicanne est la seule veritable, que la" Ste. Vierge est une femme comme une autre,
<jue le Pretendu Prince de Galles est batard, et qu'ils promettent fidelite" au nouveau Roy " (C11 I.R. 2, p. 90).
36 MESCHIN'S FEAST 1715
grand manner rather than of the instructions given to him. The garrison of
Annapolis, weaker than that of Louisbourg, was powerless to prevent the
Acadians removing. They were entitled to leave ; the question of time had
not been settled, and, had the policy of France been aggressive or a pacific one
administered by strong men, the sending of ships for the Acadians could have
been defended as entirely justifiable. But when we take up later in this chapter
the conditions in France, the causes of many things which happened in Louis-
bourg will be made clear.
The efforts of the French to prevent the Indians of Acadia from ac-
knowledging the sovereignty of England had been successful, and they had
largely moved to Antigonish, nearer Isle Royale, without making any settlement.
The relations of the New Englanders with the Indians of Acadia had not been
friendly. The fishermen who frequented the adjacent fishing-grounds could not
dry their catch on shore, as they were driven off by the savages, although solitary
Frenchmen lived among them and traded with the English vessels. The Indian
hostility was bitter. The Micmacs, finding two dead bodies of their young
men, jumped to the conclusion that they had been killed by the English, and
in revenge pillaged nine or ten vessels. A vessel of twelve or fourteen guns
which was cast away in St. George's Bay was taken and the crew ill-treated, in
spite of the efforts of Father Gaulin to protect them. The cause of this outbreak
was their belief that all their tribe at Minas was dying of poison administered by
the English. A similar case occurred at Beaubassin, and again the crew were
protected by Father Felix. Costebelle, referring to these and similar incidents,
informed the Minister that pillaging was going on which they tried to prevent.
Capon, storekeeper at Annapolis, was sent to Louisbourg in 1715 to complain
of the action of the allies of the French. An account of this mission is found
in Meschin's answer to a charge of wasting His Majesty's stores, brought against
him by the purser of his own ship, who reported that, being a godfather at
Louisbourg, he had fired a salute of one hundred guns and wasted powder to
the value of 1600 livres. Meschin said in reply that he had proved to the
Commandant and Intendant of Rochefort, where the charge was made, that this
was untrue. The facts were that Sieur Capon, Commissary-General, had come
from Acadia to Isle Royale representing General Neilson (Nicholson) to ask for
justice from the Indians, our allies, who had captured some English vessels in
the Strait of Canso and pillaged their crews. On which matter, the heads of the
Colony not being able otherwise to satisfy the envoy, we had tried to content
him with many civilities and feasting (" De le contenter par beaucoup
de caresses et de bonne chere "). Meschin contributed to this end by a
dinner on board the Scmslack, given the third day of Capon's stay, to which he
invited the Governor, Soubras, other officers, and the principal inhabitants to
i/is COSTEBELLE'S SUBORDINATES 37
the number of forty-five. Monsieur Capon desired to drink the health of King
Louis, and Meschin felt bound, as a loyal servant, to fire a salute of nine guns ;
courtesy demanded an equal number when they drank to King George, then
five were fired for the Admiral of France, and an uncertain number for the
principal French and English general officers. The hospitable officer was
forgiven for having only a general knowledge that the number of guns was less
than one hundred. The Navy Board did not make him pay for these feux
de joie}
The guests of Meschin gathered from miserable quarters. The houses in
which they lodged, grouped about the larger dwelling of the Governor, were
built of pickets upright in the ground, a meaner type of construction than
a log hut. On the other side of the little stream was a temporary battery
of twelve guns, and the remainder of the cannon lay on the beach immediately
below the Governor's house.2 The merchants who were bidden came for
the most part from the other side of the arm, where they had already established
their simple dwellings adjacent to the beaches, where their fish were cured,
and the site selected for the fortifications. We have some idea of the military
officers who gathered on this occasion, for Costebelle, in a long letter to the
Minister treating of various subjects, gives a description of himself and his
associates.3 He himself is fifty-four, his passions weakened by years, but his
zeal great. He works from daylight till noon ; at dinner they sit long and
make decently merry. This is borne out by Soubras, who says that, although
Costebelle is despotic, his sociable humour contributes to keep the peace between
them. Besides the difficulties of his office, Costebelle is overwhelmed by private
debts, and is anxious to get to France to find means to extricate himself. St.
Ovide, he says, is devout, and has all the talents of a man of the sword and of
a writer, but he exaggerates. Beaucour has talents, and will find plenty of room
for their exercise. Ligondez is a good officer, is never too slow, sometimes too
lively. La Ronde Denys is also good, independent, energetic, fine, but will be
better when age has modified his temperament and he is free from the influence
of doubtful relations. Villejouin is good. Rouville, a phcenix for labours.
Ste. Marie, Costebelle's brother-in-law, a Proven9al, is inclined to be close.
1 Ar. Nat. Marine, C, 7, 206. 2 Young's Map.
3 " Pour luy deffiner le cours de ma vie presante il est temps que je luy dire que j'ai atteint 1'aage de 54 ans, oil les
passions vives et turbulentes s'affbiblessent d'elle meme, il n'y a que celles de mon devoir que se soient fortfie et je n'ay
jamais eu tant d'occasion de faire briller mon zelle par la situation oil toutes choses se trouvent aujourd'hui, pour d'accuser
juste a votre grandeur je lui diray que je suis vigilant a toutte sorte d'heure de point de jour jusque a midy m'occupe le
plus, apres quoy je reste assa longtemps a table avec 1'elitte des officiers mais il se commet rien dans nos plus riantes
societies qui tiennent de la Crapule, ni que derrange les fonctions militaires, non plus que les travaux projettes que mes
orders ont precedes, nostre honneste gallanterie ne scandalise personne et s'il y a quelque libertinage outre dans le commun
du peuple, il n'est tolerd qu'autant qu'il m'est inconu.
"Monsieur de St. Ovide me ressamble assais avec 15 ans de moins, il prie dieu un peu plus longtemps sans adorer
plus humblemant que moy sa divine providence " (C11 I.R. vol. i, p
38 DISCOURAGING CONDITIONS 1715
Kenon also is good, and all the junior officers satisfactory, especially Couagne,
who deserves promotion. These descriptions testify to his amiability, but
they have to be modified from other sources. Ligondez the Major says :
" Rouville's is the only company looked after, that the other Captains think it
beneath their dignity to care for their men, and that Villejouin is lazy." Ste.
Marie was ordered under arrest by the Minister for allowing a girl to escape
from the primitive hut which served as the town prison, and severe reproofs
were administered to Villejouin.
Costebelle was overwhelmed by the condition in which they found them-
selves in the autumn. It was against both discipline and effective work. The
SemsLick and the Mutine had come out, the former with 5000 livres in money
and a few stores, costing an equal amount, which were spoiled on the voyage,
to meet 180,000 livres unpaid for 1714, and 450,000 livres allotted to the
expenses of this year. The arrival of the Affriquain, which had their supplies,
was expected with more and more eagerness, until, when her arrival became
doubtful, famine seemed imminent. The provisioning of the outports was put
off as late as possible, but as well as they could they worked on. The principal
officers and troops were moved to Port Dauphin. The guns brought from
Placentia, both English and French, were tested by the Aide-Artillerie of the
garrison and the master gunner of the Semslack, and the greater part allotted to
Port Dauphin, although only eighteen were taken there in this season.1
Civil government went on also. Soubras, new to the colonies, made
ordinances regulating the beaches, hospital dues, the prices of fish and the
rates of wages, and the entries and clearances of vessels. These provoked
remonstrances from the outfitting merchants in France as well as the inhabitants
of the town. They also disturbed the Acadians, who, from what a writer calls
the republican state in which they had lived, found all regulations irksome.
Neither effective work could be done nor good morals preserved with the
prospect of famine before the people and the officers. Costebelle had hoped to
have the barracks at Port Dauphin finished by the winter, but in the late autumn
Soubras found that nothing had been done for three months, as the soldiers,
even under de Rouville, the most capable of all the officers, had been building
1 Port Dauphin, Louitbsurg.
6 of 36 Ibs. 3 of 36 Ibf.
24 » 4 » 24
9 „ 18
5 „ 12
8 „ 8
14 „ 6
50 guns 43 guns
26 mortars. i mortar.
Not only the number but the calibre of the gum sent to Port Dauphin were greatly superior.
1715 THEIR CAUSES IN FRANCE 39
themselves huts in the woods. The scarcity of provisions was increased by the
necessity of supplying the Semslack for her voyage back to France. At the end
of the season the authorities, after sending back all the sick and young soldiers,
two hundred and twenty in all, about half the garrison, took from the merchants
of the town, the ships in the harbour, and even from private houses the pro-
visions they could find. Laforest, the clerk who was charged with this duty,
says he made many enemies by undertaking this odious task. Costebelle does
not hesitate to write to the Minister that the Government plunders those whom
it should protect. The condition at Louisbourg, as the declining, although the
most populous place, was worst. Its inhabitants were in consternation, and had
represented to Costebelle and Soubras that their port was the only one ; the
captains of the French vessels also confirmed this view, and held that Louisbourg
must be re-established. If, instead of drawing the good men from all the
companies for Port Dauphin, St. Ovide had been given a few workmen and
the two companies allotted to that place, he could have made it tenable ; as it
was he had three captains, one lieutenant, two ensigns, three corporals, seventeen
soldiers, five workmen, and one sick carpenter.
The fishing had been good on the whole, especially at Port Toulouse and
Port Dauphin. Sixty-four vessels had come out from France, which had three
hundred and eight boats in all. The prediction that the vicissitudes of 1715
would tell on the industry the following year was justified by the results, for in
1716 only twenty vessels came from France. The situation was so bad that St.
Ovide wrote that he feared that the pirates who infested these waters, knowing
the unprotected condition of the town, might attack it after the King's ships had
left. Soubras said the colony by a single repetition of this state of affairs would
be ruined, that the officers were as badly off as the privates, and Laperelle was
sent to Court to represent personally their desperate position.
It is difficult to read the documents from which this narrative has been
compiled and not to believe that the wretched state of Isle Royale was owing to
incompetence and neglect on the part of the home administration. It is equally
difficult to read the accounts of France in the previous score of years, while the
kingly sun of the great Louis was descending behind the clouds, all of which tell
of hideous poverty, of a stagnant commerce, of an almost naked peasantry
suffering from severe winters, from plague and pestilence, of governmental
interference which aggravated the miseries of the people, and not to wonder how
the ordinary expenses were provided for, how pensions could be allotted or
-gratuities given to deserving officers, or a new establishment like Louisbourg
carried on.
The exhaustion not only of the public treasury but of public credit was com-
plete in the last year of Louis XIV.'s reign. The Navy Board met and made their
4o ROYAL INSOLVENCY 1715
arrangements for the season's work. The King had approved the appropriation of
410,000 1. for Isle Royale, a trifle of 10,000 1. had been asked for the Acadians,
but Demarets, the Treasurer, had not sent it. Pontchartrain put himself on
record as to the importance of Isle Royale, in a passage which has been quoted.
No reply was received to this letter. He asks for these funds in March, as the
needs are most urgent and the time is short. At the end of the month he
takes up the question of overdue bills of exchange for Canada. He brings
pressure to bear on the Treasurer, through Monsieur de Nointel, to whom he
suggests a lottery, or a tax on lotteries. Meantime, the usual administrative
details are being carried on for the officering and provisioning of the ships and
providing the cargoes.
Funds for the navy were so low in these years that it was found impossible to equip a
frigate and buy supplies without borrowing fifty to sixty thousand livres from private
sources. (Pontchartrain to Desmarets, April 21, 1713, M. St. M. vol. 50.)
Lettre de M. des Maretz, ministre des finances, a M. le Comte de Pontchartrain
(Versailles, 31 decembre 1/13), extrait :
" A 1'Egard des fonds que vous demandez pour 1'Evacuation de Plaisance, et
I'Establissem1 de 1'Isle Royale, Je prendray incessamment les ordres du Roy pour destiner
a cette ddpense ceux que sa Majest6 jugera apropos sur les premiers deniers qui pouront
estre meViagez. . . ." (Arch. Nat. Marine, 63, 216.)
Three weeks later he writes again, expressing surprise and pleasure that one
of his Intendants had found means to pay the men who had been working on the
ships for Isle Royale, and by the middle of May insists that the money be found ;
otherwise, that colony will fail and England will be mistress of the cod fisheries.
He is disquieted by the news from the outfitting port of Rochefort, where the
long unpaid men refused to work on these ships. Later in the month the
Intendant Montholon writes him that merchants will not supply goods without
prompt payment. Early in June the Sems/ack is sent off to show the troops
and settlers that the King has not forgotten them, but the evil conditions
continue. Other merchants will not sell, even with special assurance of payment ;
other workmen refuse to continue in the King's dockyards ; seamen engaged for
the voyages of these ships have deserted ; there was no money to be found. His
proposal, made in March, to establish a new lottery for the benefit of the colony,
or to impose a tax, for the same purpose, of 3 per cent on existing lotteries, was
not accepted, and the end came on the 2ist of August 1715, three days before
the illness of the King began, when the Minister sent orders to the Intendant of
La Rochelle to have the Affriquain dismantled, as it was too late to send her
to Isle Royale. Compared with the early years of other settlements, Annapolis,
for example, Isle Royale was not badly off; compared with great monarchies,
1715 ADMINISTRATIVE CHANGES 41
few of those which have survived ever found themselves more exhausted than
was France at this time.
On September i, 1715, Louis XIV. died. It is not a necessary part of
this narrative to recount the disposition he made for the Regency during the
minority of his great-grandson. Parliament was summoned at once ; Orleans
triumphed over the legitimized princes and the will of the King, and was made
Regent with the power to nominate the Council of the Regency, to whose hands
was committed the conduct of affairs. The dissoluteness of Philip Duke of
Orleans, the extravagance, the gracefulness of the art of his epoch, Law's
marvellous achievements, his stupendous breakdown, are the things which stand
out in the popular conception of the Regent's history. They are just elements
in that conception, but it is equally true that the Regent is perhaps the most
conspicuous instance of modern times of one in a splendid position whose moral
corruption made impotent, except for evil, a great capacity for affairs.
France saw with relief the ending of the epoch of Louis XIV. Her people
gladly welcomed the declaration of the Regent that he intended to follow the
plans of the Duke of Burgundy, that upright and intelligent grandson of the
late King, the docile pupil of Fenelon, whose advent to the throne, until his
premature death, had been regarded as the promise of better things. Louis
XIV.'s boast that " L'Etat c'est moi " had been as nearly realized as possible, but
it had worked out, in the view of the Regent's supporters, into there being in
administrative affairs an absolute ruler in each department into which the
business of the State was divided. The remedy proposed for this was the
institution of Councils. The " Seven Councils " proposed by the Duke of
Burgundy were established by the Regent. They gave a great subdivision of
labour, and a firmer grasp of administration than under the previous system. In
the division of affairs under Louis XV. a more logical view was taken by the
recognition of the internal affairs of the kingdom as worthy a department, and
by the institution, as an afterthought, of a Conseil de Commerce. One historian of
the Regency speaks disparagingly of the composition of the Councils, but La Cour-
Gayet,1 the historian of the French Navy in the reign of Louis XV., who begins
a chapter, " Banqueroute financiere, banqueroute morale, banqueroute politique,
c'est sous les auspices de cette triple faillite nationale que s'ouvrit le regne de
I'arriere petit-fils de Louis le Grand," and therefore may fairly be assumed to
have no predisposition to apologise for the acts of the Regent, says of the Navy
Board that it would have been difficult to find eleven better names than those
the Regent selected. His only criticism is that Duguay-Trouin was not a
member.
At the head of the Council was the Comte de Toulouse, one of the
1 La Cour-Gayet, La Marine militaire de la France sous Louis XV, Paris, 1902.
42 THE NAVY BOARD 1715
legitimized sons of the King, Admiral of France, owing his place to his origin,
but who, nevertheless, had distinguished himself in command of the French
fleet in battle with those of England and Holland at Velez Malaga. D'Estrees
was President, and he too had shared in the same battle. St. Simon praises
him as honourable, upright, and understanding the Navy. Tesse, Coe"tlogon,
d'Asfeild, and Champigny were officers of merit and brilliant services. Renau
was a naval engineer of resource whose invention of the bomb ketch marked
a distinct advance in naval warfare, De Vauvr6 an Intendant of the Navy
of more than excellent reputation, Ferraud a lawyer. Bonrepaus, a collaborator
of Colbert and predecessor of Raudot as Intendant des Classes, had always
had a reputation as an unequalled administrator. Pontchartrain was dismissed,
although to secure this result his position was promised to his son Maurepas,
then a boy of fifteen. A more systematic way of carrying on the affairs of
the department was instituted. The regulation for the colonial correspondence
was business-like. Instructions were sent out that each letter should deal with
one matter only ; l subordinate officers were to be no longer permitted to write
to the Council as they had to the Minister ; military officers would report to
the Governor, civil officers to the Intendant or Commissaire-Ordonnateur, on
their private affairs ; officials could write to members of the Board, but should
address it only if they were giving information of malversation.
The documents concerning Isle Royale bear out the views of La Cour-Gayet.
Careful agenda for the meetings of the Board were now prepared, business
was disposed of promptly, although precedent seemed slavishly followed,
marginal notes indicated the reference of many questions to the best-informed
officials, such as Raudot and Verville, when he was in France, and all items
of importance were brought to the personal notice of the Regent, who gave
immediate decisions. Whatever may have been his vices, or the soundness
of his views, he attended to the business of Isle Royale.
1 This was ignored at Louisbourg.
CHAPTER III
THE Navy Board took up the direction of affairs with vigour, although they
were seriously cramped by the lack of funds ; for the hope of better things,
which the Regent's government inspired, had relieved, only to the slightest
degree, the scarcity of money. At the earliest possible time, letters were
written to the officials saying that provisions would be sent them from one
of the southern ports early in the spring, and that the deplorable conditions
of the winter of 1715 would not be permitted to occur again. This promise was
kept, for the first merchant ships arrived on the loth of April 1716, and in May
the first provisions sent out had been received. The sufferings of the winter
had not been extreme, although conditions must have been far from comfortable.
At Port Toulouse they were almost without bread, many of their cattle had
died from lack of fodder, and two shipwrecks on Isle Madame had added
to the miseries of their situation. To relieve the distress of the inhabitants
at Louisbourg, St. Ovide had to supply them from the stores of the garrison.
On the other hand, the supply of intoxicants being reduced to a minimum,
the garrison was never in better health.
The change of administration at home leads naturally to an account of the
objects which were sought in the settlement of Isle Royale, the conditions there
which affected the attainment of the end aimed at, and the administrative
machinery which the Navy Board employed. The narrative of what took
place at Louisbourg will show the degree of success its administration attained,
as well as the effectiveness of the methods the Board employed. The object
was to establish at Isle Royale a flourishing settlement based on its principal
industry, the fisheries, and the development of the other resources of the
Island, and an entrepot at which the commerce based on these industries
might be carried on with France, the West Indies, and Canada. The first
encouragement given to this trade before the Board took charge was the
remission of the duties on coal coming from Isle Royale (January 29, 1715).
A year later fish and fish oils were also allowed free importation into France,
and at a later date again, duties on products of the French West Indies, coming
43
44
SOURCES OF SUSTENANCE 1716
by way of Louisbourg, were also removed. The exemptions were each for
a term of ten years, but in each case they were, as the time elapsed, renewed.1
The sustenance of several hundred people on an island which produced at
the time no food for man except its abundant fish and game, was the object of
vital importance. Supplies were to be drawn from France and Canada, which
was entirely in accordance with the economic policy of the time ; also from
Acadia. This trade was on the border-land of the permitted, for although it
was a British colony, the fact that its inhabitants were French, who, it was hoped,
would remove to Isle Royale, made it politic to encourage this intercourse. On
account, however, of the higher state to which agriculture had been developed
in New England, and the keenness for profitable trade of its inhabitants, it was
not only the surest, but the cheapest source of supply for the nourishment of
these French settlers.
The advantages of this commerce, foreseen by Raudot, were felt by Coste-
belle, who wrote proposing that, as far as concerned the products of those
colonies, it should be permitted to Isle Royale. The Board, being advised that
French merchants would cease to send their vessels to Isle Royale if his view
was accepted, decided, instead, to make more stringent rules against all com-
mercial intercourse with foreigners.
The cost of food stuffs from France was very high, the supply in Canada
was uncertain, from both the voyage was difficult, and the cost of transportation
therefore high ; intercourse with Acadia was dependent on the inaction of its
English administration, who complained at a later date that there was often
scarcity in Annapolis when Louisbourg was abundantly supplied. The local
officials therefore found themselves hampered by the prohibition of commercial
intercourse with its most advantageous source of supply.
The administration of the Colony was nominally part of the government of
New France, but the affairs of Isle Royale were directed from the Cabinet of
the Minister, and the Governor and Intendant of Canada were advised about the
affairs of Isle Royale only in as far as the business of the two colonies was
concerned. The connection was kept alive, however, in the phraseology of
Royal documents which were addressed to the authorities of New France as well
as those of Isle Royale, although the subject-matter concerned the latter
colony alone.
The chief official of the Colony was the Governor, and next to him in rank
was, in Isle Royale, the Commissaire-Ordonnateur discharging the functions
which, in more important colonies, as Canada, in the provinces of France, and in
quasi-dependent states such as Lorraine during the reign there of Stanislas of
Poland, were those of the Intendant.
1 Morcau St. Mery, vol. 50, pp. 27, 43, 54, 576.
i7i6 GOVERNOR AND COMMISSAIRE-ORDONNATEUR 45
All military matters except the commissariat were under the exclusive
control of the Governor, as well as the disposition of any vessels, which, however,
he was obliged to supply to the Commissaire-Ordonnateur. Grants of lands and
the maintenance of order were common to both, while the administration of
justice, the supervision of the hospital, the care of the King's stores, and the
providing of supplies belonged exclusively to the Commissaire-Ordonnateur.
The Governor represented the military, the Commissaire-Ordonnateur the civil
element. There was natural antagonism between the two, and every letter of
joint instructions from the Minister inculcated the necessity of harmony. But
the distinction between their departments was not easy to draw, and constant
friction resulted, although the home administration did all that it could to
minimize its causes. Their seats in church, the order in which the sacrament
should be administered, their places in processions were regulated. While the
easy-going Costebelle had no trouble with Soubras, St. Ovide constantly quarrelled
with the three Commissaire-Ordonnateurs who served with him. They quarrelled
about precedence, about the realities of business, about its formalities, and while
probably no staff of a government or corporation is free from jealousy or rivalry,
these motives are not allowed, under a strong administration, to interfere with
efficiency. The conditions at Louisbourg, however, were so bad that, as an
instance, the Council writes that the Governor and the Commissaire-Ordonnateur
seem to agree only in one thing, that being to hamper the engineer in the work
of building the fortifications. Their disagreements reached, in the same year,
such a point that St. Ovide, the Governor, and de Mezy, who had replaced
Soubras, were informed that if they could not agree, remedies would be proposed
to the Regent which would be disagreeable to them both.1 Even so sharp a
threat as this did not make things go smoothly for long. But it would be unfair
to come to the conclusion that the officials of Isle Royale were entirely occupied
in such rivalries. Each in his own department was desirous of doing well, or
at least of standing well with the Minister. Each was jealous of the dignity
of his office, and feared to secure an immediate benefit to the common weal
by making concessions which might diminish the prestige of the position
he occupied.
Verville and Verrier, the engineers of the fortifications, Isabeau and Ganet,
the contractors who built them, saw only the necessity of hastening on this work
to which they were urged by the home Government. They complained of St.
Ovide, who, as military head, was bound to protect the interest of the captains
whose soldiers worked for the contractors. The Commissaire-Ordonnateur,
equally with the Governor, did not care for this work, being in great part inde-
pendent of them, and the latter having to submit to the outlay for the fortifications
1 B, vol. 42, f. 480 and 490, July 9, Sept. 20, 1720.
46 THE SUPERIOR COUNCIL 1714-1758
being kept separate from the current accounts of the establishment. Zeal is not
as likely to produce such friction as slackness, but in an isolated community,
without a supreme head, so distant that it took months to get a decision from
the highest authority, public interest suffered even from the unharmonized zeal
of the officials.
The ordinary course of business was that the Commissaire-Ordonnateur and
the Governor wrote joint letters to the Board, and that each addressed it
separately, on subjects exclusively in his control ; and that in reply the Board,
and afterwards the Minister, wrote in the same way. Sometimes it happened
that the Commissaire-Ordonnateur, in another letter, withdrew statements which
he had signed in the joint letter in the interests of harmony.1 This corre-
spondence and the accounts were taken up at headquarters, analyzed, evidently
by well-informed and able subordinates of the Minister, and the replies sent out
by the men of war which sailed in the early summer ; so that the normal inter-
course was to have letters written in the autumn answered in the following
May or June. It is obvious from Ministerial replies that other sources of
information than the letters of colonial officials were available. One of these
sources was the presence in France of officers of the garrison on leave, who were
given the despatches and probably had an audience with the Minister.2 Another
unquestionably was correspondence which no longer is available, and a third was
the presence in France of officials familiar with the conditions of the Colony.
From one or all of these were gathered the statements on which the decisions of
the Council and Ministers were made.3
A superior council was established in 1717 which consisted of the
Governor, the King's Lieutenant, the Commissaire-Ordonnateur sitting as
first councillor, two other councillors, a procureur-general, and a greffier. This
was a Court of Justice governed by the Coutume de Paris, from which appeals
were allowed to Quebec and France, and only after registration by it did
patents, proclamations, regulations, and grants of land become effective. There
was also established an Admiralty Court4 which had charge of shipping, wrecks,
and marine police. It was sustained by moderate fees on the shipping of the
port, and being under the High Admiral of France, who had certain rights over
prizes, confiscations, and wrecks, created a new source of conflict.
Of greater importance than the " men of the pen," who were officials,
Treasurer, clerks, and the like, under the Commissaire-Ordonnateur, were the
" men of the sword," the officers of the troops which the French administration,
unlike that of England, thought it necessary to keep in an isolated colony even
1 E.g. Soubras, I.R. vol. 3, f. 186.
2 L.i IVrelle, who went with dispatches in 1721, had an audience with the Regent arranged for him (I.R. 2, 378).
» The major of the troops, the Treasurer and officers of the Admiralty wrote annually. The rules of the Board as
to correspondence were not strictly observed. « Edict of Jan. 12, 1-27.
1714-1758 THE GARRISON 47
in time of profound peace. These troops were neither regular regiments of
the splendid armies of France nor " Compagnies Franches de la Marine," which,
formed in 1690, garrisoned the naval dep6ts of France and served on her
King's ships, although in organization and uniform the Louisbourg troops
closely resembled the latter corps. They were apparently supplementary
companies organized on the same basis, for the total number of the Compagnies
Franches l is accounted for in other services than that of the Colony. There
is some looseness in the way the Isle Royale troops are described. La Ronde
and de Pensens announced themselves to Armstrong in 1714 as captains of
" Compagnies Franches." Later these were described as " Compagnies De-
tachees," also as " Compagnies Fransaises." Each company was a separate
unit, and the only purely military officer over the company commanders was
a major in each garrison to supervise the discipline of the companies in the
place. He had so little authority that the supervision was usually ineffective,
and a status so uncertain that he had to have at Louisbourg a declaration that
he took precedence of the captains of the companies.
The strength of the garrison of Louisbourg varied from six of these
companies to twenty-four in the last years. Each consisted of forty-five men,
raised later to sixty, and in 1 742 to seventy, not counting the drummer, under
command of a captain, lieutenant, enseigne (an enseigne en deux was added,
and two cadets a Taiguilette), two sergeants and two corporals.2 The rations
were somewhat better than those of Canada, following in this the custom which
had obtained in Placentia, and for the lower grades of the officers the pay also
was slightly higher, although Soubras states that it was inadequate.3 The
uniform was white with blue facings. At Louisbourg the soldiers were allowed
to marry, and apparently it was a perquisite of the married soldiers to keep
taverns.
The pay of the men was small, but they were supposed to carry on the
work of the King in building fortifications and similar works, for which they
received extra pay. They were also allowed to work for the inhabitants, which
added to their income. The fact that they were only paid twice a year, their
fondness for drink, their captains supplying them with it, and at a profit to
themselves,4 made of these troops an undisciplined and ineffective body,
which punishments did not deter from evil courses nor inducements to settle,
turn into good citizens.
The officers began their career early ; they were entered as soldiers at the
1 The only account I have found of this body, which deals only incidentally with the troops at Isle Royale, is Les
Ancicnnes Troupes de la Marine, by G. Coste, Paris, 1893.
2 B, 35, f. 786. 3 I.R. vol. 2, p. 120.
4 The outfit was inadequate. Soubras pointed out in 1717 that it was impossible that one pair of shoes and stock-
ings should last for a year.
48 THE OFFICERS 1714-1758
earliest age, even unweaned, "a la mamelle," says L'Hermitte, but, counting
this an exaggeration, it is known that the sons, six years old, of officers served
in the ranks, that is, drew rations and pay. They passed through the various
grades reasonably certain of a pension, unless by gross misconduct they forfeited
their positions. An early act of the Regency was to fix the age of entrance at
sixteen. The commissions in these companies were not confined exclusively
to those trained for them. Indeed the militant forces were rather treated as
one, whether their service was on sea or land, and there were not infrequent
instances of company officers taking a position on board ships, and of sea
officers being translated into officers of these companies. The rank of the
captain corresponded to Enseigne de Vaisseau, for practical purposes as well
as precedence.1
The conditions at Louisbourg were bad for the officers as well as for the
men, their relations, the superior making pecuniary profit out of the inferior,
were demoralizing for both parties, and the permanence of residence for both
officers and men added another to the many causes which worked against
effectiveness. There were few changes among the officers except by death, and
in the quietude of Louisbourg, man after man rose slowly through the different
grades, placing his sons in the same service, and passed away without at any
moment discharging the serious duties of his profession.' Eight company
officers signed the declaration of taking possession in 1713, the descendants of
six of them were at the siege in 1745, and in addition to these, many of the
earlier officers were represented by sons and grandsons at the second siege. '
From 1713 to 1744 not more active duty was required of these officers than
garrison service in the town, in one of its outposts, or an occasional mission to
Quebec or Boston. Thus, owing to the trivial distances they travelled, to that
extraordinary genius of the French for dealing with the aborigines, they had
neither the training in adventurous journeys nor in the diplomacy which the
transforming into permanent allies of new tribes gave to the officer serving in
Canada. The glimpses which they got of France in the leave which many of
them enjoyed, brought them in touch from time to time with social conditions
different from their own. The effect of such visits was transitory. The per-
manent pressure on the individual came from the standards of a small place,
with its relationships of blood, marriage, and the social and official adjustments
which propinquity forces on the members of an isolated community. The
fishing which the officers carried on in their own names in 1717, and not
improbably through other parties to a later time, brought them into touch with
the bourgeois merchants, marriages took place, and in time we find children of
these merchants and of civil officials serving as officers of these companies. In
1 St. Ovide in 1-32 was made a post-captain in the navy (B, vol. 5-).
1714-1758 REGULATIONS OF TRADE 49
every respect the conditions were unfavourable to professional and social
development, so that the readiness for service and the zeal we find in many
instances is satisfactory evidence of the tough fibre of sound moral qualities. In
one instance, that of Joseph de Catalogne, an officer spent his leisure in
scientific studies to such effect that his treatise on the magnet gained for him a
seat in the Academic des Sciences. Some of these officers had some training as
engineers, and although the fortifications of Louisbourg were in charge of an
engineer sent out from France, these officials assisted him and were in charge of
the fortifications which were built at the outports. The Couange family were
in this position, and the work of some other young officers was praised by the
authorities, while incidentally it may be mentioned that Lartigue, the King's
storekeeper, an amateur engineer, displayed skill during the first siege, and there
remains to us an admirable map of the siege of 1758 which is his handiwork.1
The garrison was further supplemented by some half companies of the Swiss
regiment of Karrer, which was first formed in 1719, and included in its ranks
many deserters from foreign regiments. It was in 1720 transferred to the
department of the navy, and thereafter detachments were sent out, not only to
Louisbourg, but to the southern colonies of France. One of the advantages of
these troops was that they were a relief to those of France, and furnished a larger
proportion of skilled workmen than could be found among the recruits for the
French companies.
The industry for which this organization was established, the fisheries, and
for the protection of which not only was the garrison maintained but fortifications
were built, was carried on both by vessels filled out in France and by merchants
resident in Louisbourg and its outports.2
A complicated trade of this kind, in which the Government undertook to
regulate wages and prices of the product, gave rise to much controversy. The
disposition of the local authorities was naturally to favour the merchants and
fishermen of the place against their competitors who came out for the season.
Regulations were passed against the traders from France remaining all winter,
against their selling at retail.3 The French merchants as well as the natives
complained of a tax, following the precedent of Placentia, of a quintal of fish
from each boat for the support of the hospital. The Board gave way to the
representations of the merchants, and it was not till some years later that the tax
was imposed. So far did St. Ovide at a later date carry his favouring of local
enterprise that the trade with Quebec received a most serious check on account
of the regulations that vessels from Canada should not leave port with their
cargoes unsold. This placed them at the mercy of a ring of local buyers, so that
1 Arch, de la M. Sec. Hydro, herein reproduced.
2 For details of this trade see Chapter XII. 3 Those were disallowed by the Navy Board.
E
5o CHANGES IN OFFICIALS 1716
the Quebec vessels ceased for a time to come to Louisbourg. Regulations were
also attempted to prevent larger vessels from fishing near the port, as it interfered
with boat fishing, and, in short, in every one of these early years are to be found
instances of flagrant violation of Colbert's maxim, that entire liberty in trade
should be allowed to those whom alone the State recognized, its own citizens.
Under these conditions and with this administration proceeded the develop-
ment of the Colony. It was decided, probably on account of the complaints
against his regulations, that Soubras should return to Dunkerque. His career
had certainly not been marked by success, but his correspondence gives the
impression that he was efficient, although not forceful, for most of the steps he
had taken for what he had considered the welfare of the Colony were either
disallowed by superior authority or proved ineffective. A petition from the
people asking that he should be retained in Cape Breton was forwarded to France,
but de Mezy, who was on the retired list as Commissaire-Ordonnateur, was
appointed to the position in 1718. He did not, however, come out until the
following year.
In the summer of 1716 L'Hermitte returned to Cape Breton and made an
expedition to Sable Island, rumours having reached the Court that its settlement
might be possible. But then, as now, these shifting sand-banks were but a menace
to the navigator. A vessel from Quebec, with a valuable cargo, had been lost
there in 1713, only two of her crew escaping to the Island, whence they were
rescued by a New England vessel.1 L'Hermitte also made some plans of Louis-
bourg and Port Toulouse and in the autumn returned to Paris. Beaucours, who
succeeded him, was apparently not more satisfactory as an engineer, and his
estimates, like those of L'Hermitte, were considered excessive. He was moved
from headquarters at Port Dauphin to Port Toulouse as major, and the Sieur
Verville was sent out from France as engineer in charge of the fortifications.
The instructions given to him were to examine the places, to fortify Louisbourg
against a sudden attack until the works at Port Dauphin were completed, to
prepare complete plans and estimates of cost for the three places, and before
returning to France to leave instructions for the preparation of materials. He
was advised not to forget that it is not necessary to fortify on so large a scale in
the colonies as in Europe. The special grant for this year was sixty thousand
livres.
Verville, to whom these instructions2 were given in June, visited Isle Royale
in the autumn and returned to France, where he made a report to the Board. His
plans and estimates for the fortifications were accepted and work was begun.8
1 Among those lost wai the Marquis d'Alogny, commander of the troops in Canada.
1 June 23, 1716, M. St. M. vol. 51. 3 July 3, 1717.
i7i7 VERVILLE'S PLANS 51
The Board directed that the works at Louisbourg, notwithstanding the previous
decisions which made Port Dauphin the seat of government, should be first gone
on with. . At the former place Verville took as the key of his system of fortifica-
tions the little hillock which dominates the peninsula as well as the plain of
Gabarus lying to the westward, and established there a bastion-redoubt in masonry,
which was to contain a barracks for at least six companies and their officers, and
was to be protected from a surprise by a ditch and covered way. Other bastions
were to be built at the two hills found between this point and the sea ; another
on the hillock " E " on the harbour side, where a demi-bastion would protect this
end of the works as well as cover by its fire the adjacent waters of the port, the
whole occupying a distance of something over one thousand yards (495 toises).
A heavy battery was to be established at the point " K," which would sweep
the upper part of the harbour. These, all of which were to be executed in
fascines and connected by earth-works (retranchements de campagne], together
with the Island battery, formed the basis of the elaborate system of fortifications
which on the same principles and on the same site, were carried out at a very
considerable expense by Verville himself and his successors. The map opposite
indicates his scheme, and incidentally shows the site of the town to have at that
time a considerable number of inhabitants.
Verville, owing to his character or the confidence he felt in the security of
his position, did not confine himself to a narrow interpretation of the scope of his
duties. He pointed out the loss of time in the troops travelling about six miles
to and fro between the barracks and their work. He examined for himself the
shores adjacent to the town, which he had been assured were inaccessible, and
found that in five places it was possible to land without wetting his shoe, thus
proving unfounded the opinion of St. Ovide and Soubras that the only attack to
be feared was by the harbour. He established a battery at " K," afterwards
known as the Grand or Royal Battery, which was intended to sweep both the
upper part of the harbour and its entrance. It was never of any practical use, as
it was exposed on the land side, and as pointed out by Chaussegros de Lery, the
engineer of Quebec, a fort on the easterly side, near the site on which the light-
house was afterwards built, would have been extremely effective in the defence
of the place.1
In a climate like that of Louisbourg, masonry, which Verville substituted for
provisional earthwork and fascines, was not only expensive to build but costly to
maintain. The present condition of the earthworks erected along the coast in
1757 indicates that the latter system of construction would not only have been
vastly cheaper in first cost, but much more permanent, and as the results proved,
equally effective when put to the test. In minor matters his observation was not
1 MSS. Que. vol. 3, p. 267.
52 BEGINNINGS OF COMMERCE 1716-1718
always accurate. He thought, for example, that the environs of Louisbourg would
supply firewood for the town and garrison for a century, and yet within a few
years we find the greater part of this supply brought from places as distant as
Port Toulouse. But the difficulty of ascertaining the resources of an unknown
and heavily wooded country is shown by their considering the value of the
discovery of limestone at Canso of sufficient importance to merit a gratuity ; by
their bringing this material from Port Dauphin to Louisbourg, and by their
establishing a brickyard at Port Toulouse. It is now known that limestone is
abundant at Barasois de Mir£ (Catalone Lake), about six miles from Louisbourg,
and on the Mire River, not far from its mouth, is a bed of perfect brick clay.1
The notes of the Navy Board frequently quote Verville's opinions, or refer
matters to him, although he criticized the policy of the Board in encouraging
soldiers to settle. The chief outcome of his representations on extra-professional
matters was the forbidding of officers to engage in fishing, which was enacted in
1718. He urged this course on the Government on the ground that it was
unprofitable to the officers, detrimental to their soldiers, and unfair to the civilians.
The first year of the settlement (1714) New England vessels came in to
trade. St. Ovide bought four of their cargoes, L'Hermitte says, a fact which
he deplores, as they can undersell the local merchants ; but similar transactions
are not noted in the following two or three years. St. Ovide says four or five
vessels came in for wood and water, but that he only allowed them to remain for
twenty-four hours, and placed on each a sergeant and two men to prevent illicit
trading. In September 1716 he reports that an English frigate visited
Louisbourg to claim eighty deserters from Annapolis. He, mortified that his
own cellar was so low that he could not make this little present, allowed the
captain to buy from merchants of the town a cask of wine and a keg of brandy,
for which molasses was exchanged.2
This was the frigate Rose* twenty guns, cruising from Boston, seeking for deserters
from Annapolis (Captain's letters, 1596). She arrived at Louisbourg on the 2Qth of August,
and saluted the fort with eleven guns, which was properly returned, and after remaining
there till the /th of September left on a cruise to the westward. She was under the command
of Lieutenant B. Young. He reports that a French vessel of forty guns, which was the
Attlante, arrived shortly before his leaving. Lieutenant Young occupied part of his time
by drawing a rough map of the port and the operations then going on, which is now
preserved in the Colonial Office, London.
Legitimate trade shows its first beginnings in those years. A vessel from
Martinique was wrecked at Isle Madame. Boularderie, who had saved the
situation in 1713 as far as the Quebec supplies and garrison were concerned,
1 These were used after 1727 (B, 50, f. 599). J I.R. vol. i, p. 455. l B.T.N.S. vol. 2, p. 96.
•a,
1716-1718 FAILURE WITH THE ACADIANS 53
branched out by sending a vessel for molasses for the supply of the settlements.1
The authorities at Quebec had been urged to establish trade with Isle Royale.
This was carried on from the first, an important part of it being supplies of
flour, peas, etc., for the troops, which were annually sent except in years of
scarcity in Canada. The frigate Attlante loaded coal for Rochefort, and the
fishing industry was prosecuted by an increasing number of vessels, but the
trade which gave the authorities the greatest concern was that with the British
colonies. In addition to the New England vessels a constant trade was carried
on by way of the Gulf by the French inhabitants of Nova Scotia, a development
which was foreseen by Mascarene and Bennett, the officers who had accompanied
La Ronde on his visit to these settlements. The profitable business of supply-
ing Louisbourg with provisions made New England traders indifferent to
regulations, and they took full advantage of this new market.2
The transfer of the Acadians to Cape Breton, so ardently hoped for, the
advantages of which were recognized by both the French and English as of the
utmost value to the new establishment, became year by year more obviously
impossible. One reason, and perhaps the most important, next to the dis-
advantages of Cape Breton from their standpoint as compared with Nova
Scotia, was that the promises of the French Government had not been carried
out ; possibly many of the other reasons alleged by them for remaining, even
under distressing conditions, were meant to conceal the real one. The Regent's
Council was annoyed at a report to the effect that some of those who had worked
for the King had not been paid, a report which Costebelle denied. Soubras
described them as a people naturally froward, distrustful, and irresolute,8 those
of them who had rations too lazy to clear land even for a garden ; the first
statement, in connection with Isle Royale, of that disparagement of the colonial
fellow-citizen which is so difficult for the European to suppress.4
Barrailh, a competent officer, thought that the priests were at the bottom of
their trouble, as they could more completely govern these people and live at
their ease in Acadia, but that if they were moved to Isle Royale the people
would follow them. Verville showed accuracy of observation in stating that he
thought the Acadians were of more service to the new colony where they were
than if removed, and the last time there was talk of sending a vessel for them
was in the instructions given to Barrailh to go in the Charente. These
instructions were as usual pacific, and ordered him to take every care to avoid
a rupture with the English authorities. He was not sent by the Louisbourg
1 I.R. vol. i, p. 455.
2 The traders of New England began by claiming that commerce was free to them, possibly a misapprehension as to
the terms of the Commercial Treaty of Utrecht. This, however, referred only to the European territories of the con-
tracting parties, and, moreover, never went into effect, as its ratification was refused by Parliament.
3 "Ce peuple naturellment indociles diffiantes et irresolus." 4 I.R. 2, p. 52-
54 COSTEBELLE IN FRANCE 1716
authorities, but instead, the Acadians were informed that if they came in their
own vessels they would receive a welcome. So far a fall from the promises of
de la Ronde was followed by an equal abatement in their enthusiasm. De Mezy
saw they would not leave a good for a poor country ; Father de la Marche, while
sure of their loyalty, had to admit that they would not leave Nova Scotia.
Doucette,1 in a letter to St. Ovide, May 15, 1718, took the view that the
agreement might be null and void if the inhabitants of Nova Scotia desired, if
not, that speedy orders might be issued to provide for their retirement into the
dominions of France. This was an adequate warrant for more effective steps
than any of the authorities at Louisbourg took.- Had they removed to Isle
Royale, or had France not sought to retain its influence over them, their
subsequent history had been less tragic. The danger which Vetch feared3 passed
away, for those who did come were a few farmers, many idlers who were
supported by the Government, and a certain number of carpenters, boat-builders,
longshoremen, and tavern-keepers, who found in the activities of Louisbourg
more profitable employment than Nova Scotia afforded them. It was not until
Isle St. Jean was opened up that any considerable number of them again lived
under the French Crown.
Costebelle sailed from Louisbourg on the Attlanteon the 1 2th of October 1716.
Her voyage was so protracted that he landed at Belle Isle no earlier than Christmas
Day. A week later he was at Croisic, whence he forwarded the dispatches he
had brought, as he was so ill that he could not say when his health would
permit him to take horse for Paris.4 His business was to obtain a settlement
of various claims he had against the Crown for outlays at Placentia, which
included supplies to the King's stores, the sending of a vessel to France and
one to Boston with La Ronde in I7ii,5 in that curious attempt to play on the
republican feelings of New England which they had conceived and most un-
successfully carried out after it had received the approval of Pontchartrain. A
more important item was that of 1 8,000 1. for the entertainment of the English
prisoners at his table/' The total amount was 71,000,!. but his vouchers were
inadequate, and there were outstanding claims against him respecting the spoils
of St. John's which came into his. possession after its capture.7
Costebelle obtained from the Regent a gratuity of 2000!., and he remained
in France for some months. He visited, in the following August, his birth-place,
St. Alexandre, a hamlet on the borders of Languedoc, which from the highlands
looks down on Pont St. Esprit and the valley of the majestic Rhone. He
1 Doucette was Lieut. -Governor of Nova Scotia from 1717 to 1726. 2 B.T.N.S. vol. 2.
3 P. 21. •» I.R. i, 45-. « Mass. Arch. vol. 6.
" The sum »eems large, but the Governors apparently entertained constantly. St. Ovide, who in 1717 had not
received his salary for 1714, says that at his table were always twenty to twenty-four persons.
7 I.R. 5, p. n.
1717 HIS DEATH 55
returned to Louisbourg on the Attlante^ and on the voyage was so ill that on
September 6, 1717, in a shaky hand, he made his will leaving 500 1. to his servant,
the chain on which he wore his Cross of St. Louis to his eldest daughter, and
some papers to his brother. The fact that in his will he did not mention his
wife, a member of the De la Tour family, a widow whom he had married in
1 704, at Placentia, indicates his feebleness at the moment and the embarrassment
of his affairs. He was an affectionate husband, who knew the heights of married
felicity, as he wrote to her : " Sans toi je ne sc.aurois gouter que des plaisirs
imparfaits," and with tender courage says, " Ne t'embrasse 1' esprit d'aucune
affaire bonne ou mauvais, ma plus chere amie et laisse-moi supporter les con-
tretemps que la fortune peut nous prepare." * Though in this same letter he
says that he will extricate her from her troubles, this was impossible. He died
leaving her in absolute destitution. Her torments at the hands of pitiless
creditors, until she left Louisbourg were, says St. Ovide, a harrowing spectacle.2
On the death of Costebelle he was succeeded by St. Ovide, a dithyrambic
petition having been sent to the Government asking for his appointment. " Oui,
Monseigneur, 1'officier et le soldat, le marchand et 1'habitant, Jes pasteurs, et
leurs troupeaux, tous elevent leur voix, tous forment des vceux en sa faveur."8
The King's lieutenancy, made vacant by his promotion, was given to de
Beaucours.
The work on the fortifications had engaged the attention of the authorities,
but up to this time they had been carried on by day's labour under the
supervision of the engineer, the force employed being the troops and various
artisans sent out from France for this purpose. Verville complained of the
extravagance and slow progress made, and the council determined to carry on
this construction by contract. The work was put up to tender " a 1'extinction
de bougie." The successful bidder was a Sieur Isabeau who proceeded to
Louisbourg on the first King's ship which went out in the following year, and
took over the work.4
The Council of the Navy had promised, after the disastrous winter of 1 7 1 5-1 6,
that such conditions would not be permitted to occur again ; but after a famine
in 1717 so bad that the troops at Port Toulouse were, in the spring, reduced to
bread and water,5 in 1718 conditions were again so desperate, there being in
the colony only two hundredweight of bread for four thousand people, that
after contemplating sending the entire garrison back to France or Acadia,6
1 Bib. Nat. N.A. F, 3283.
2 Madame Costebelle found on presenting her claims to the Regent that Costebelle had taken the gratuity referred
in satisfaction of them. She, however, received a pension which she drew for many years. The Alphabet Laffilard says he
died in France, but in this seems inaccurate. His effects at Louisbourg were sold in 1720 for the benefit of his creditors.
3 I.R. vol. 2, f. 217. 4 B, 40, f. 538$, June 28, 1718. 5 I.R. 2, f. 243.
8 St. Ovide abandoned the idea of sending them to settlements about Chignecto, as it might give umbrage to the
56 DEVELOPMENT OF LOUISBOURG 1718
St. Ovide took the step of sending most of it to Quebec for the winter. He
thus left in Louisbourg, at a time which the events to be recounted in the next
chapter will show was a critical one, only some one hundred and forty-one
soldiers. The change, however, in economic conditions was so swift that the
next year, October 1719, Barrailh, who was again out in Isle Royale, says that
there were seventy vessels in the island, which made bread, wine, and brandy
cheaper in Louisbourg than in France. This is generally confirmed by
Bradstreet, an officer of the English garrison at Canso, writing to the Board
of Trade in 1725 saying, "he was familiar with Louisbourg, and had found
there so many vessels from New England and Nova Scotia that two sheep could
be bought there for the price of one at Canso.1
The development of the town is seen not only in the increase of its
population but by the various regulations which were made from time to time ;
on the military side forbidding the erection of any buildings or the planting of
trees within a distance of three hundred and fifty toises from the fortifications ;
on the commercial, by the regulations against the erection of houses higher than
seven feet in the post in order that the free circulation of air, essential to the
successful drying of fish, might not be hampered ; on the civil side by forbidding,
on account of the danger of fire, the covering of the houses with bark. The
town was laid out and a plan made,2 and lands were granted to the people under
the condition that within a year and a day the land should be occupied (d'y tenir
feu et lieu).
The streets of the new town were narrow. Outside of Italian cities of this
period but few towns were drained, and had it not been for the salubrity of the
air of Cape Breton conditions at Louisbourg would have been unwholesome.
The fishing industry is not a cleanly one ; the sheep and goats of the people
were kept by a public herd, who received soldier's ration and small pay, but the
pigs ran at large. An ordinance was passed empowering any one to kill them if
they destroyed property. The regulation states that " they damage the drying
fish and the poultry, and are even so ferocious that there is danger sometimes
for little children."
The necessity for an hospital was recognized from the first, although the
tax proposed by Soubras for its support was disallowed. The treatment given
was unsatisfactory to the people. The Bayle et Jurats of St. Jean de Luz and
one La Mothe, a merchant representing the people of Louisbourg, appeared
before the Board. In the course of their representations they stated that the
hospital was useless, as the people went to the ship's surgeons or used Indian
English. That he contemplated doing so would seem to bear the same construction as La Ronde, Denys, and de Penseni
not visiting these settlements in 1714, namely, that there was no doubt in the minds of any of them that they were in
French territory.
1 B.T.N'.S. vol. 2. s The plan ordered in 1718 did not finally receive ministerial sanction until 1723.
1714-1730 EXCESSIVE DRINKING 57
remedies in place of those supplied by the two local surgeons, and they did not
hesitate to . say that Soubras turned the funds to his own use. The Board
endeavoured to improve matters. They ordered that one of the best surgeons
be sent from Brest, as the reports of La Grange and Le Roux, who had come
from Placentia, were unsatisfactory. It was also decided to place the hospital
in the charge of the Freres de la Charite,1 four of whom had come out in 1716.
A conflict of jurisdiction had arisen in ecclesiastical matters. Spiritual
affairs in Placentia had been under Recollets of Brittany, and Father Dom. de
la Marche had come with the first settlers ; but the Bishop of Quebec, whose
diocese included Nova Scotia and Isle Royale, had appointed the Recollets of
Paris to this cure. The civil authorities temporized with the matter, and allotted
the spiritual care of the Acadians and the services of the King's chapel to the
latter, while the general population was served by monks of Brittany, who finally
remained in possession of the field.2 The importance of the Basque element in
the population was recognized by sending out a priest of that nationality.
The chief drawback to the prosperity of Louisbourg was unquestionably
drink. It impressed Verville so much that he says, in explaining the in-
effectiveness of the work going on, that the troops who should be at work
escape daily to roam the woods and to get drunk, far in excess of these
European nations who were given to drink.
Soubras battled with the evil and proposed and tried many expedients.
Fines, rewards to informers, and severe punishments of those who would not
tell where they obtained drink, were the obvious measures. He tried also the
prohibition of the officers' canteens, in which drink was sold to the soldiers, but
found that this simply increased the number of groggeries. He endeavoured to
restrict the sale to six of the principal people of the place, but found that these
would not act, and he anticipated the Gothenburg system by proposing that the
sale should be exclusively in the hands of the Government. In some of these
proposals he received the support of the Board, but the result justified Costebelle's
view that nothing effective could be done until more settled conditions prevailed.
The echoes of the Regent's experiments were heard in Louisbourg, and
Law's Mississippi Company was imitated in these northern islands. M.
Poupet de la Boularderie, formerly an officer in the Navy and in the troops of
Acadia, but for many years a trader, was given a grant of that beautiful and
fertile island which lies between the great and little entrances to the Bras d'Or
Lakes. It still perpetuates his name. His grant also included the opposite
southern shore to a league in depth, the island at Ingonish, exclusive beach
1 This was a religious fraternity founded in 1540 by the Portuguese, St. Jean de Dieu, at Granada in Spain, thence
it spread to Italy and in 1601 to France. It was of sufficient eminence to have charge of the hospitals de la Charite in
Paris and at Charenton. 2 Their letters patent were not sent out until 1731 (B, 55, f. 577).
58 GRANTS OF SEIGNORIES 1718-1724
rights for one hundred fishers, and the use of the King's ship Le Paon for two
years.1 He undertook to place one hundred settlers the first year, fifty the
next, and employ one hundred fishermen. He was given command for the
King in his lands, and a "safe conduct" for three months, that delightful
opposite of the lettre de cachet, which during its currency made its holder
superior to all judicial and police mandates. He proceeded vigorously to the
development of his grant, first by his unaided efforts, which were undertaken
on so great a scale that he contemplated the building of a ship of twelve hundred
tons ; but, hampered by the shipwreck of one of his vessels in the St. Lawrence,
and the exhaustion of his funds, he turned his grant over to a company of
Malouin merchants, with whom he quarrelled.2 He formed another company
in Havre and Rouen, which accomplished little, so that at his death in 1738 it
was a question whether the grant of the property would be confirmed to his
son.3 There had been obtained for his son in early life a position as a page
in the household of Her Royal Highness, the Duchesse d'Orleans. When he
had outgrown this position at Court, he obtained a lieutenancy in the regiment
of Richelieu, and after a service of seven years obtained a company therein.
When the aged Berwick, that able general whom the deposed Stuarts had given
to France, led her armies to victory over the Austrians, Boularderie went
through the campaigns of Kehl, Phillippsbourg, and Clauzen. Then, through
a reverse of fortune, he had to sell his company, but retained the assistance of
that grand Seigneur, the Due de Richelieu. The death of his father followed
shortly afterwards, and the concessions being confirmed to .him, Boularderie
came out to Isle Royale, with the remains of his personal fortune, the proceeds
of the sale of a house in Paris. He brought with him husbandmen and craftsmen
from Normandy, and according to his own account was most successful. " I
have in my employment twenty- five persons, a very handsome house, barn,
stable, dairy, dovecot, and oven, wind and water-mills, twenty-five cows and
other live stock." He grew wheat, in 1740 he had 150 bbls. of fine wheat
and vegetables as in Europe, and had a large orchard and a garden, but disasters
befell him in this charming establishment.
The earlier grants of the islands in the Gulf, St. Jean and the Magdalens,
having been finally revoked in 1710, a Count St. Pierre took advantage of his
position at Court, that of first Equerry to the Duchesse d'Orleans, to obtain a
grant and found a company for the development of these islands. His enterprise
was unsuccessful. The merchants of St. Malo protested so vigorously against
the exercise by the company of its exclusive fishing rights, and their protection
1 Feb. 15, 1719, B, vol. 41, f. 565. 2 Cor. (Canada), C, n, 64, 172^
3 One account speaks of the older Boularderie as captain in Acadia in 1702, his grant describes him as Enseigne de
Vaisseau. He was given a frigate in 1713 for trading. * Dernieri Jcun de I'sicadie, p. 287.
i7i9 LOUISBOURG CHOSEN AS CAPITAL 59
by an armed vessel (ij22^1 that these rights were curtailed, and notwithstanding
the loan of artillery and an officer, the enterprise was abandoned in 1724 and
these islands reunited to the royal domain in 1730, the fear of a seignorial
establishment having, in the interval, retarded the settlement of the island by
the Acadians.2 M. Ruette D'Auteuil, after a stormy career in Canada, where he
had been at one time Procureur-General at Quebec^ also received a grant of
Isle Madame on substantially the same conditions of settlement, but no vigorous
efforts were made at colonization. After some years St. Ovide reported that it
had also failed, and expressed his disapproval of the system. These companies,
like their great prototype, added three to the long list of failures, both French
and English, to establish in America the profitable corporate administration
of land.
At last the question of the chief establishment of the colony was to be
permanently settled. St. Ovide had been much impressed by the advantages of
Port Toulouse on his tour through the island, thus confirming the good opinion
it had made on him in 1714, and now recommended it warmly to the Council,
and asked them to hear Rouville, who was in France, and to appoint a commission
to make a report on the matter.3
This suggestion was supported by two petitions. One, which described
Louisbourg as a bottomless pit for funds, was signed by officials ; the other by
the principal inhabitants. The latter stated that so soon after coming from
Placentia and other places, they were unable to bear the expense of a second
moving, but if the King would pay the actual cost, they would gladly go to
Port Toulouse, and leave behind the tavern-keepers, who made up two-thirds of
the population of Louisbourg.4 The reply to these petitions, which reflect, on
account of his position, perhaps little more than the personal opinion of the
Governor, was in the negative. Louisbourg was made the principal place, the
irst indication of which had been the mounting of six guns in 1719. But to
mark the decision as final, a medal commemorating its founding and fortification
was designed and struck, and in the following year it was placed in the
foundation of the King's bastion. Six years had passed in uncertainty. Isle
Royale had repeated the mistakes previously made in Canada and Louisiana,
jainst which Villien had warned the Minister without success. However, the
question was at last settled, the administration was concentrated there, and was
coincident with De Mezy's taking the place of Soubras. The troops were
brought together from the outports, with the exception of small detachments,
md a renewal of discipline was hoped for, and in some measure attained.
1 C, ii, vol. 12, p. 78. 2 May 1720, I.R. vol. 5, f. 56. 3 I.R. vol. 4, Jan. 9, 1719.
* This indicates again the prevalence of drinking, as does an earlier letter of St. Ovide and Soubras, who speak of
"Cabaretiers qui ruinent entierrement la colonnie," Nov. 13, 1717 (I.R. vol. 2).
60 THE TROOPS
ARCHIVES DU CANADA— ISLE ROYALE. (I.R. vol. i (St.) Ottawa.)
COMPAGNIES
II y en a sept a PIsle Royale dans chacune desquelles, il y a un Capitaine, un
Lieutenant et un Enscigne, deux Sergents, deux caporaux, quarante-cinq soldats, et un
tambour.
II leur est delivre tous les ans un habillement, une anncc le grand habillement et
Pannce suivante le petit.
Le grand habillement consiste en un justaucorps, une culotte, deux chemises, deux
cravatcs, un chapeau, une paire de bas et deux paires de souliers.
Le petit habillement consiste en une veste, une culotte, deux chemises, deux cravates,
un chapeau, une paire de bas et deux paires de souliers.
Ces habillcments ne doivent estre d£livr£s qu'aux efFectifs et on conserve le surplus
dans les magasins pour les recrues.
La ration du sergent et du soldat est par jour d'une livre et demie de pain, quatre onces
de lard cru ou demy livre de boeuf, quatre onces de 16gumes, un quarteron de beurre et cinq
livres de m£lasse par mois.
Cette ration est plus forte qu'en Canada ou il ne se delivre au soldat par jour qu'une
livre et demie de pain et un quarteron de lard, cette augmentation a £t6 accorded 4
Plaisance a cause du mauvais pays et continue1 a 1'Isle Royale par rapport au nouvel
Etablissement, quand le pays sera establi on la diminuera.
11 est retenu pour l'habillement et ration par mois au Sergent 9 ft". ios., au Caporal
7 ff. ios. et au soldat 7 ft", ios. de sorte qu'il reste de solde toute deduction faire, except^
celle des 45. pour livre, au Sergent 13 ff. par mois, au Caporal 6 ft", et au soldat 305.
La distribution de Phabillement, des vivres et de la solde regarde le Commissaire
Ordonnateur.
Tout le militaire regarde le Gouverneur de 1'Isle et les fonctions de 1'un et de 1'autre
sont les mcmes que celles du Gouverneur Gdndral et de 1'Intendant du Canada.
THE CROSS OF ST. Louis
The correspondence of all the French officers shows an eagerness for the Cross of
St. Louis. This order was founded by Louis XIV. in 1693. There had been up to that
time only two orders — that of St. Michel, founded by Louis XI. in 1469, and the Saint
Esprit, founded by Henri III., 1578-79, the former of which had fallen into such discredit
that Henry gave command that none should be admitted to the splendid order he was
founding save Knights of St. Michel ; therefrom springs the expression so common under
the splendid portraits of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, designating the subject
as of " the King's Orders." The restrictions of the Order of Saint Esprit to those of lofty
descent left Louis XIV. without means of honouring the many officers who distinguished
themselves in his service, so the Order of St. Louis was founded. The King was Grand
Master, the Dauphin or heir-presumptive to the throne was a member, there were eight
Grand Cross, twenty-four Commanders, who could only be admitted as Knights, and as
many Knights as the King might designate. It was reserved to Catholics, officers on sea
or land who had served for ten years.
THE ORDER OF ST. LOUIS 61
Admission to the order carried pensions of considerable value. As the order was at
first constituted the junior Knights, thirty-two had a pension of 800 1. j forty-eight,
loool. ; twenty-four higher, 1500!.; and the highest twenty, 2000 1. ; but in 1719 the
Regent increased the number of Chevaliers from 128 to 413, with pensions decreasing
from 2OOO 1. to 200 1. The recipient at his induction knelt, swore to serve the King
faithfully, and no other sovereign without permission, that he was a Catholic, and that
he would live as a good, wise, virtuous, and valiant Knight ; the Governor drew his sword,
touched him on each shoulder and delivered to him the order, which he was to wear on a
flame-coloured ribbon on his chest. At the death of a Chevalier his Cross was returned.
The large number of Chevaliers of the Order led to abuses, and apparently at Louisbourg it
came almost to be a question of length of service. In 1749 it was so common in France
that, apparently up to that time there had been no danger in representing oneself as
belonging to the Order. In consequence an "ordonnance" was issued forbidding the
wearing its Cross without authority.1 The pensions do not seem to have been paid
regularly. An interesting list of the Louisbourg refugees at Rochefort about 1763, which
gives particulars of the officers, their families, their debts and resources, in no case mentions
the pension of the Chevaliers as a source of income, and in the lively conversation of Le
Neveu de Rameau reference is made to the destitution of some of the Chevaliers.
1 Its history in three vols., VOrdre de St-Louis, has been written by A. Mazas, Paris, 1860. A number of the Isle
Royal Chevaliers are not noted in the lists he gives. A list of officers of Louisbourg, 1744-63 (Arch. Col. D 4)
shows that the Majors, Aide-Majors, and every Captain of ten years' service had received the Cross, usually at the end of
that time.
CHAPTER IV
WHILE fishing was vigorously prosecuted from Louisbourg and its neighbouring
outports, the French fishermen at Isle Madame and the ports to the westward
came, during these years, in contact with those of New England in the
neighbourhood of Canso. English fishermen had freely used the harbours of
Isle Royale, but it soon came to pass that both French and English used the
port of Canceau, or, in its modern form, Canso, situated on an island separated
only by the narrowest of waterways from the mainland of Nova Scotia. The
French had frequented it for a century and a half.1
In 1717 there were six French and five English fishing stations there.
The next year St. Ovide gave orders to the French to withdraw, but was begged
by the New Englanders to leave them, as the latter were threatened by the
Indians.- In August, George Vaughan, formerly Governor of New Hampshire,
was at Canso, and found " all things peaceable and quiet, the French and
English fishing with all friendship and love."
Some of the Canso people had, in June, petitioned the Council of
Massachusetts to the effect that the French were using Canso, and had
threatened the English with removal.4 The petitioners had thought it their
duty to represent this state of affairs to the Council, so that the rights of
Englishmen might not be infringed. The authorities thereupon sent to Canso
Captain Smart of the frigate Squirrel, which had been sent to protect the
shipping of North America from pirates. His instructions were to inquire into
the truth of the French encroachments. He carried a letter from Shute,
Governor of Massachusetts, to St. Ovide, that Shute expected him to
" immediately order the French under his command to pull down their Hutts
and also not to fish any more upon y't shoar." 5
Smart arrived at Canso on September 6, left on the 7th for Louisbourg,
where he had a conference with St. Ovide. The accounts of this interview
1 A Captain Savalcttc of St. Jean He Luz was living a little to the west of Canso in 1565.
8 The French were inclined to believe the territory was English ; English authorities that it was French. I.R.
vol. 3, and the Commissioners of Trade to Townhend, March 14, 1721.
s C.O. 5/867. « C.O. 5/793. » C.O. 5/867. Ad. Sec. In Letters, vol. 2542.
62
i7i8 THE CANSO INCIDENT 63
given, on the one hand, by Smart and Southack,1 and, on the other, by St.
Ovide, are irreconcilable. The Squirrel returned to Canso on the I4th.2 On
the 1 8th Smart seized every French vessel and all French property he could
find, and sailed away to Boston with plunder valued at 200,000 I.3
News of this exploit was promptly brought to Louisbourg, where their
understanding with Southack and Smart seemed to have been generally held to
be satisfactory, for no preparations had been made to deal with the conditions
which confronted the authorities. The news was as much a surprise at
Louisbourg as the event had been to the fishers at Canso. St. Ovide at once
took spasmodic action. He impressed a Malouin trading vessel of thirty guns,
armed her, and put on board forty soldiers, under Ste. Marie,4 and sailors from
other vessels in the harbour to bring her complement up to two hundred and
fifty men. Her captain had none of that spirit which made St. Malo la cite
corsaire. He and his crew made so many difficulties that the condition
bordered on revolt, and by nightfall, when it was intended she should sail, she
was not ready. The weather the next day was bad, and the expedition was
abandoned. Such is the account given in the joint letter of St. Ovide and
Soubras,5 but the latter wrote to the Minister disavowing any share in these
preparations, and severely blaming St. Ovide, with supreme authority, for not
having overcome the difficulties and delays.6
This action of St. Ovide, so deplorably weak that Soubras says he groans
while he writes an account of it, was almost inevitable with an ordinary man in
charge at Louisbourg.7 Its wretched condition must have been evident to
Smart ; they had no cannon mounted, they had no men-of-war, they had no
provisions, and their troops had been reduced to one hundred and forty-
one men.
Instead of a warlike expedition, St. Ovide 8 sent Ste. Marie and Laforest, a
clerk, to Canso. Laforest was to make on the ground a formal protest, to
draw up a careful and accurate account of what had happened, on which, if the
facts warranted, the right of reprisals might be based. Ste. Marie was to order
the French to withdraw, and to remain on the ground until these instructions
were carried out. Ste. Marie was further instructed to tell the Indians to
behave, to do justice to the English, and to make the French pay their debts
before leaving.9
1 Southack was with Smart as a representative of Massachusetts.
2 B.T.N.S. vol. 2 ; I.R. vol. 3.
* The subsequent proceedings outside Cape Breton are too lengthy to be here narrated. The whole incident will
be dealt with in a monograph now in preparation.
4 I.R. vol. 3, Oct. 19, 1718. 5 I.R. vol. 3, Oct. 1718.
6 Some suspicion of the accuracy of St. Ovide's version of what the writer calls the " childish conference with
Smart " is implied in Soubras emphasizing the fact that he was not present at these interviews.
7 I.R. vol. 3. f. 186. « Soubras, Oct. 18, 1718, I.R. vol. 3, f. 186. 9 Letter of Oct. 6.
64 RELATIONS WITH THE ABORIGINES 1715
The part which the Indians of Nova Scotia took in the next incident at
Canso makes it desirable to indicate briefly their relations to the European
colonists of the Atlantic seaboard. This was one of extreme friendliness to the
French and hostility to the English. The Pax Gallica, which for so long
existed throughout so large a part of the wilds of North America, is an
enduring monument to the sagacity of French administrators, the self-sacrifice
of French missionaries, and the savoir-faire of French traders and ' fishermen.
The effects of this have been indicated by reference to the attacks on the
English fishing vessels on the coast of Nova Scotia, the safety which the English
fishers found at Canso in company with the French, and the fact that at the
same time Frenchmen had no fear of living among these savages along this
stretch of the coast on which the English only could land in peril.1
"MEM'L OF CAPT. CYPRIAN SOUTHACK TO GOV'R JOSEPH DUDLEY
AND THE COUNCIL AT BOSTON, SEPTEMBER 15, 1715.
"On 30 Ap. 1715 lie sailed with 2 sloops & one two mast vessel for a fishing voyage
to Nova Scotia. I4th May arrived at Port Rossway & landed I7th, vessels sailed on their
fishing 1 8th. Welcomed by Mons. Tarranguer & Joseph Muess. 23rd. Welcomed by
the chief captain of Cape Sables & 8 Indian Officers. 25th. M. Tarranguer came and
threatened to lead 100 Indians to capture all the fishing vessels on the coast. 28th June
received news of capture of an English vessel and men. 3rd July. Informed of the
capture of another fishing sloop by the Indians, who threatened him with capture and
death; saying Costabelle had given to the Indians a great present, nth July. 2 vessels
came in and told him of a capture of 7 sail at Port Seigneur, that the Indians were on
their way to capture him & his, would kill him. They refused to carry him, his people
& effects away, unless he first gave them a bill of 500 current money of Boston & ^125
to be p'd in Boston. Agreed to. ... Loss sustained at Port Rossway — ^450 & the
fishing season. " -
This condition of affairs has certain causes which are fairly well defined,
chief among which is the different attitude of the French and English to the
aborigines. The former recognized them as independent allies, not as subjects,
acknowledging them as sovereign owners of the land, who permitted the
usufruct of it to their allies. Pownall, Governor of Massachusetts, says the
English, on the contrary,8
"with an unsatiable thirst after landed possessions, have got Deeds and other fraudulent
pretences, grounded on the abuse of Treaties, and by these Deeds claim possession, even
to the exclusion of the Indians, not only from their Hunting Grounds (which with them
is a right of great consequence) but even from their house and home. . . . Upon these
pretences they have drove the Indians off their Lands : the Indians unable to bear it any
1 See also Arceneau's account of his voyage to Cape Breton in 1714. 2 B.T.N.S. vol. 2, f. 7. 3 C.O. 5/518.
FRENCH SUCCESS 65
longer told Sir William Johnson that they believed soon they should not be able to hunt
a bear into a hole in a tree but some Englishman would claim a right to the property of
it as being his tree . . . this is the sole ground of the loss and alienation of the Indians
from the English Interest : and this is the ground the French work upon : on the contrary
the French possessions interfere not with the Indian's Rights, but aid and assist their interest
and become a means of their support."
The splendid heroism of the French missionaries had made these Indians,
as well as those of the tribes of Canada, Roman Catholic, and a passion for the
orthodoxy of that church made their savage converts more hostile to the heretic
than priests and administrators of French origin. St. Ovide objected to the
employment of Swiss troops at Louisbourg, as this toleration of heretics would
have a bad effect on the Indians.1 Vaudreuil 2 expresses the French policy in
these phrases : " But as Father de la Chasse says, grace among the Indians has
often some help from man, and among them worldly gain serves as a channel
of doctrine " (" Mais comme me margue le pere de la Chasse la grace parmis
les sauvages a souvent de la co-operation de rhomme, et parmis eux I'int6r6t
temporel sert de la (sic) vehicule a la foix.")
The standard form of the " vehicule a la foix " was an annual giving of
presents of practical utility to the Indians. These presents were dependent in
amount on the number of warriors in the tribe, and consisted of powder, lead,
flints, and axes. The occasion of the distribution was an important one for
conference, and in the earlier years took place frequently at St. Peter's, but on
at least one occasion St. Ovide contemplated going to Antigonish on the
mainland of Nova Scotia, but was deterred by the not unreasonable objections
which might be made by Phillips.8
This system was more potent in keeping the friendliness of their allies
than the occasional efforts made by the English to win them over. These
efforts were never satisfactory, and the punishments of the Indians for wrong-
doings by the English were, as all punishments of that epoch, harsh, and in
addition they were humiliating and irritated the Indians. The scalp bounties
of the colonies included rewards for the killing of Indian women and children,
although a lesser money value was set on the scalp of a woman or child than
on that of a man.4 The strange conditions, in which we find a benign and
devout clergyman praying that the young men who have joined the Mohawks
in a scalping expedition against the French and Indians may go in the fear
of the Lord, and regarding the bringing in of French scalps as a good omen,
were such as made it easy for the French to retain the goodwill and affection
of their allies. There seemed to have been no resentment among the Indians
1 " Que Ton ne retient que par des motifs de Religion."
2 To Minister, September 16, 1714. 3 1721, 1.R. vol. 5.
4 Reference to this gruesome subject is made in the Appendix. William's Diary, Parkman MSS., May 1747.
F
66 THE INDIANS AS ALLIES
when any of their number were punished by the French. The only important
case in Isle Royale was the murder of Count d'Agrain by two Indians in his
employment ; * the criminals were apprehended and executed, without apparently
causing any irritation among the other members of the tribe.
The attitude of the French Government was throughout consistent. It is
indicated in a reply of the Council to a letter of Costebelle 2 in which he says :
" The savages of the French mission on the shores of Acadia are such irreconcil-
able enemies of the English people, that we cannot, with our most peaceable
speeches, impress them not to trouble their trade." The Council's memorandum
of reply was to maintain the savages in this state of mind, namely, " to allow
no English settlement in Acadia or fishing on its shores, but this should be
done prudently and secretly." This was continued for a generation. St.
Ovide was reprimanded for having conveyed to the Indians, at a somewhat
later time than this, the impression that the small garrison at Isle St. Jean was
to help them in their raids against the English;8 but in 1727 Father Gaulin
was suspected of assisting the Indians in making peace with the English, and
although he was an old man, broken with years of service as a missionary,
the report seriously irritated Maurepas.4
The difficulties inherent in such a situation were increased by braggart
and turbulent Frenchmen, who threatened the English at Canso and elsewhere
on the coast with Indian attacks and made free in their menaces with the
names of Costebelle and St. Ovide. All French accounts of expeditions in
which the Indians took a part show that they were intractable, capricious allies,
following the French leader when his movements suited them ; at other times,
when his persuasions and threats failed, making him yield to their views.
Therefore, while the correspondence gives the impression that the earlier
French authorities were sincere in not encouraging their allies to deeds of
violence, and in protecting the victims when these occurred, with such allies,
it was inevitably the more humane side of their policy which failed.5
The number of Indians in Nova Scotia was small ; an itemized statement
makes in 1721 the total number 289 ° (Isle Royale 36, Antigonish 48, Beaubassin
47, Mines 58, La Have 60, Cap de Sable, 40). The following year,7 however,
in connection with a proposal made by Gaulin the missionary, to remove the
Indians to that island in the Bras d'Or Lakes, which is still their rendezvous,
the total number of savages bearing arms is spoken of as 265, and the entire
Indian population as 838. It seems incredible that so small a number could
have caused such widespread dismay among the English, and so seriously
1 Jan. 22, 1722. 2 Sept. 9, 1715, I.R. vol. i, f. 336.
3 B, vol. 54, t. 517. 4 March 11, 172-, I.R. B, 50.
* Sec Journals of Mann and Boishebert. 6 I.R. vol. 5, Sept. 15, 1721.
7 I.R. vol. 6, Dec. 2-, 1722.
THEIR SUCCESS AT SEA 67
hampered their operations. In many cases the crew of a fishing vessel would
have been as numerous as any of the bands which attacked them. It is to
be expected that fishermen on shore would be at a disadvantage when attacked
by savages skilled in the ways of forest warfare ; but it is surprising to find
that the Indians of Nova Scotia were bold and skilful at sea. In the outbreak
of 1722 the Indians captured trading vessels both in the Bay of Fundy and
off the coast of Nova Scotia.1 They then cruised on the Banks with the captured
sloops, forcing the prisoners to serve as mariners. They threatened to attack
Canso, and the fishermen were breaking up the fishery, when Colonel Phillips
persuaded them to join him in fitting out two sloops, each with a detachment
of troops. In the course of three weeks all the sloops and prisoners, with the
exception of four, were recaptured. In one of these encounters fifteen Indians
fought for two hours with Phillips' schooner manned by sixty men. Ten
of the Indians escaped by swimming ashore. The heads of the other five were
cut off and stuck on the pickets of the redoubt at Canso.2
In the next attack, 1725, which they made on Canso, after the first
onslaught, the English armed a vessel to go in pursuit of the Indians who
were cruising in two of their captures, in which they had taken eight or nine
small fishing craft. In another case3 they took an English schooner from
Newfoundland and brought her back to Isle Royale, while from their establish-
ment on the Bras d'Or Lakes they made annual excursions in open boats to
the Magdalen Islands. The advantages to French industry of these raids
is shown by the statement that the capture of one English fishing vessel off"
Isle St. Jean by Indians4 caused eighty others to leave its waters and return
to Canso, and the view of Maurepas, that in this he saw no inconvenience,
is easily understood. The success of the Indians against the fishermen of New
England was probably the chief reason for the contempt for the military skill
of the British colonists, expressed up to 1745 by the Louisbourg people.
Disturbing as had been the exploit of Smart, its effects lasted longer in
diplomatic circles than it did at its scene. The French returned, or possibly
continued, to fish at Canso. In 1720 Young again visited that port, and says
that there were ninety-six English and two hundred French fishermen off Canso.
He then went to Louisbourg and saw St. Ovide, who said that he would prevent
the French going, as contrary to the Treaty. At the same time it would seem
evident that the fishing was held in common, for the English frequented Petit
de Grat and other places on Isle Madame,5 which was unquestionably French
territory. But while the conditions were not different from those of 1718, the
disturbance of the peace in 1720 came from the Indians.
1 B.T.N.S. vol. 4, Phillips from Canso, September 19, 1722. 2 I.R. vol. 6, f. 22.
3 I.R. vol. 7, f. 179. 4 B, 54, 517$. 8 B.T.N.S. vol. 3, f. 20.
68 THE INDIAN ATTACK ON CANSO 1720
" On l the 8th of August 1720 the port of Canso was attacked by a body of Indians and
some fifty or sixty French. About one or two in the morning the Indians sprang on the
English fishermen, scarcely giving some of them time to put on their breeches, and making
many prisoners, placed them in the house under guard. The remainder were driven into
the boats and then the French stepped in and assisted. Everything was pillaged — fish,
goods, clothes, bedding and even pockets, the loss being said to amount to about ^18,000.
The onset commenced at Capt. Richards' Island, which they made the place of rendezvous.
The fishing vessels having assembled, one was manned to save Capt. Richards' ship, which
was deemed in danger, but after firing on both sides she was forced to retire.
" During this affair 2 Englishmen were shot dead in escaping to the boats, & one
was drowned. At 2 in the afternoon a deputation went to Louisbourg to represent
the grievance, but the Gov'r made light of it, saying any Fr. taken in the act sh'd
make satisfaction, but was not responsible for the Indians.
" In the mean time Capt. Richards had fitted out two small ships, in which he had
pursued the assailants & captured six shallops with plunder on board & 15 Frenchmen.
Two captured Indians said M. St. Ovide had encouraged them & ordered them to rob
the settlem't.
"One Prudent Robicheau, inhabitant of Annapolis, declared that a rumor had been
current in St. Peters that the Indians would fall upon Canso some time in the summer
& he had warned 2 Eng. masters bound to Canso. The firing at Canso was heard
at St. Peters. He left that place in a shallop, with Father Vincent on board, on the gth
of Aug., & met a shallop with Indians who boasted of having taken Canso & forced the
fishermen off their boats, killing I and wounding 4. They had much plunder on board,
Father Vincent rec'd presents from them & applauded their actions. The Indians stated
that 70 Indians in 40 canoes had driven 500 men on to their ships. A master of one of
the ships, being set on board his vessel, fired on the Indians & forced them to retire.
They seized an Eng. shallop and took some of the plunder in her.
"Not receiving any assistance from the Gov'r of Cape Breton, they sent Mr. Henshaw
to Gov'r. Phillips, and five French prisoners with him. Mr. Henshaw returned with
Arms and Ammunition & provisions, accompanied by Major Lawrence Armstrong.
The latter was directed to go to Canso & take all necessary measures for restoration of
peace & security. He was afterwards to proceed to C. Breton & deliver the letter to
the Gov'r demanding restitution to the people & the arrest of the principal actors and
their ships, until the decision of the two Courts can be received. To return with the
Gov'r's answer, calling at Canso on the way.
"Gov'r Phillips' Letter to M. St. Ovide, dated 2Qth Aug. 1720, acknowledged the
receipt of St. Ovide's letter in reply to the deputation from Canso, and informed him
that 5 Frenchmen had been captured with some of the Eng. plunder in their possession.
From the depositions of these prisoners, copies of wh. are sent to him & also to the King
of Gt. Britain, it is evident that the Fr. were not only the framers and promoters of the
violation of the peace at Canso, but also the principal actors, the prisoners declaring they
were ordered by their Masters, Philibert, Massey, &c., to pillage the Eng. goods, to
load the shallops with them, with their Arms in their hands, powder & shot being
distributed to the Natives as in a time of war. He stated that one Renaud had previously
1 B.T.N.S. vol. 3.
:72o THE ROAD OF EQUITY 69
arranged the onslaught with the natives, & questions whether this could have been done
without support from high authority. The Indians who took part had (all but four)
come from Cape Breton, where the affair had been openly discussed for 3 mos. previously.
He cannot credit the assertions of 2 Indian prisoners that Mr. St. Ovid was the one
who encouraged them. Proofs of his desire to preserve the peace demanded his making
full restitution for the losses at Canso, & due satisfaction made on the chief actors, who
with their ships, &c., should be arrested & await the decision of the two courts."1
Armstrong went to Louisbourg, where, notwithstanding the peremptory
tone of his demands, he was received with politeness. St. Ovide, with the
action of Smart and the British authorities before him, was determined to
show the " road of equity " to the English in this transaction. He sent
De Pensens, who was accompanied by Armstrong, to Petit de Grat, where
he examined the French who knew about the affair. It was proved by their
evidence that the Indians were destroying the cod and other property, or
giving it to them. Arquebel thought it only right to make good his losses
through Smart, and therefore took cod. Two other men said the Indians
forced them. Another man saw Indians destroying a good sail, asked for it
and they gave it to him ; and still another had lost by the English in 1718.
The property that had been taken was restored to Armstrong to the value
of ^i6oo.2
As two years had elapsed since the first outrage at Canso, and it was
still unatoned for, the English authorities were not in a position to notice
this incident,8 in which, granted the fact that the French had such allies as
the Indians, the conduct of their local authorities was honourable, straight-
forward, and the action that they took towards righting the wrong was all
that could be expected of them.
The view which St. Ovide wrote to the authorities at home as to the
reason of the outbreak at this particular time was, that the Indians were
incensed by British treatment of their brothers, the Acadians. On the face
of it this does not seem probable. It receives some confirmation from Phillips,
who reports with bitterness that Lieutenant Washington, one of his officers
at Annapolis, went about saying that his severity to the Acadians brought
on this attack.4
Phillips took prompt action. He sent in the autumn a company to
remain at Canso all winter. These he reinforced the following year with
two companies, built a small fort, which he armed with cannon borrowed
1 B.T.N.S. vol. 4, Nov. 20, 1720.
2 The Court approved this action of St. Ovide (B, vol. 44, f. 557, June 20, 1721}.
3 The Commissioners of Trade, nevertheless, wrote to the Lords Justices, speaking of the Indian attack as
reprisals by the French, and urged that restitution be demanded before satisfaction be given Mr. Hirriberry, the chief
victim of Smart (B.T.N.S. vol. 31, Oct. 18, 1720). ' N.S. vol. 4, f. 7.
7°
CANSO A FORERUNNER 1720
from the vessels, and thereafter held the place, on the ground that it was
necessary to protect the fishermen from Indian hostilities. He thus made
Canso, on his own initiative, British territory.
These events at Canso have been set forth in some detail, for they may
be regarded as indicating with clearness the course of the future relations
of the two peoples in North America, which culminated in the obliteration
of French power. On the one hand, there was the commercial aspect ; the
people of both nationalities engaged in the peaceful exploiting of the fisheries,
which were so rich that both together had ample room, and indifferently used
the harbours and waters which belonged to both Crowns. On the other hand,
there is the action of the Governments ; that of Massachusetts, energetic and
forceful, which took steps on false information, for the French were not on
the mainland of Nova Scotia, and in the trouble which followed their action,
an unscrupulous naval captain was vigorously supported by the Admiralty.
On the French side one marks the leaning on the broken reed of English
respect for the law of nations, and a supineness in considering an insult to
the French flag in colonial waters as of little consequence. It is not to be
wondered at that a writer : on French colonial policy, should have a chapter
on the contempt for the colonies in the eighteenth century. The history of
the French action at Canso would justify the heading of his chapter, as well
as the matter he publishes therein.
Again, no comment is necessary on the significance of the action of the
officials. St. Ovide waited for instructions from the Court and supplies from
France. Phillips, as ill -equipped as the French Governor, threw a garrison
into Canso without waiting for instructions, and, without artillery, made those
interested contribute guns from their vessels for its defence. These are
examples of the working out of the two systems on which colonies were
governed, quite as striking as any found elsewhere in the history of New
England and New France.
1 Schon, La Politiyue Csloniale.
CHAPTER V
Louis XV. attained his majority on February 17, 1723. The policy of
Du Bois, friendly to England, was succeeded by that of Fleury, more widely
pacific. Many years of peace were unmarked by any incidents like that of
Canso, which with a more spirited Minister would have led to action, the
consequences of which might have been felt far beyond the confines of this
little colony.
The immediate effect on it of the King's majority was the substitution
for the Navy Board of Maurepas as Minister of the Navy. To his hands,
those of a young man of twenty-two, were entrusted the affairs of the vast
colonial empire as well as the navies of France.1 No striking change took
place in Isle Royale in consequence of this change at Court. The definite
selection of Louisbourg as the chief place of the colony had improved its
position. Its population increased, but to a less degree than that of the
outports. The growth was :
Louisbourg. Other places.
I7l8 . . . .568 815
1720 . . 733 1181
1723 . . 795 1102
1726 .... 951 2180
The number of places at which settlements were made also increased. .
In 1718 outside of Louisbourg there were apparently only four places, while
in 1726 there were settlements of more or less importance in thirteen other
localities, the most important of which was Ninganiche (Ingonish), which did
not exist in 1720* but in 1726 was much larger than any other place, except
Louisbourg, and put out more than twice as many fishing-boats as that port.
Four years later the number of settlements was eighteen. While Ingonish
was a successful competitor in fishing, in general commerce which employed
larger vessels Louisbourg quite surpassed any of the outports or, indeed, all
of them together. Of the sixty-one vessels which came from France in 1726,
1 For the character of Maurepas see Chap. XV. 2 G1, 467.
71
72 PIRATES ON THE COAST 1720-1726
thirty-nine came thither ; of fifty-seven from Canada, the West Indies, New
England, and Nova Scotia, all came to the port of Louisbourg.1
During these years, Isle Royale, like the northern colonies of Britain,
suffered from the ravages inflicted by pirates on the commerce of the high
seas. The increase in the number of these freebooters, brought about by
the disbanding of the men-of-war's men after the Peace of Utrecht, produced
its effects in these waters. It will be remembered that, as evidence of the sad
condition of Louisbourg in 1715, St. Ovide feared that after the leaving of
the King's ships it would lie defenceless to the attacks of pirates.
In the autumn of 1721 the authorities at Louisbourg were dismayed
to find that in the town there was no powder or shot, when the pirates were
on the coast, and the inhabitants were so badly armed that St. Ovide drew
the attention of the authorities to their state. Their condition, in the face
of what was real danger, apparently led them to tempt the soldiers to sell
their muskets, which the authorities punished with a fine of 200 1. The
following year Phillips sent an officer to warn the authorities that a pirate
brigantine and schooner were on the eastern coast of Acadia, and had taken
ten or twelve vessels.2 A vessel of St. Malo on the coast of Isle Royale was
taken by a pirate schooner, her rigging destroyed, her yards broken, and she
was ordered to return to France. She reached Scatari after sixteen days, and
reported the outrage to the authorities at Louisbourg. Further havoc was
done by a vessel of seventy or eighty tons, eight cannon, sixteen swivels, and
one hundred and fifty men. In 1720 the ship of Captain Carey, from London
to Boston, near the Grand Banks, was plundered by a pirate of twenty-six
guns with a consort of ten. The loss was £8000. Carey brought in the
report that they had destroyed the Newfoundland fishery.8
So serious was the menace that Bourville, acting Governor after St. Ovide
had left for France in 1721, found it necessary to fortify Louisbourg, a town
of a thousand people, with a garrison of three hundred against an attack by
pirates.4 He mounted seven large guns of twenty-four pounds on the island,
seven near the fortifications, and six at the ancient fort, the site of the first
settlement.
Throughout this period, apparently some of the freebooters, whose names
have been preserved to history, and throw a lurid glare over modern fiction,
left the richer commerce of the West Indies to come northwards to plunder on
the coasts of New England, Acadia, and Isle Royale. The force of some of
those vessels was so great that it could not have been sent out by the other
1 Its people alto owned most of the vessels used for coasting. 2 I.R. vol. 6, p. 22.
1 Shute to the Lords of Trade, Boston, August 19. C.O. 5/868.
4 Bourville had become Kin? Lieutenant in succession to de Beaucours.
1725 WRECK OF THE < CHAMEAU ' 73
pirates who also preyed on this commerce. These were outlaws largely from
English fishing vessels frequenting the coasts of Newfoundland, who had been
turned adrift for insubordination or drunkenness, or had deserted on account
of low wages and poor fare. Their head-quarters were at Cape Ray. While
possibly the majority of them were English, their rendezvous received accessions
from the French and became the " cave of Adullam " of these coasts. Fisher-
men stole the boats and gear of their masters, notably from Ingonish. De
Mezy's exalted position did not prevent one of his boats being stolen from
under his windows. All such malefactors joined the outlaws. They plundered
vessels on the Grand Banks and on the coasts of Newfoundland. Although the
site of their settlement was known, and the British Government sent out regu-
' D
larly vessels to protect its commerce against the pirates, and a joint French and
English expedition was contemplated, no steps were taken to break it up.
Throughout the whole period of Louisbourg's history, while the freebooters
in its immediate neighbourhood disappeared, both French and English men-of-
war visited the fishermen on the Grand Banks, for the purpose of protecting
them from pirates.1
The incident which marked these years was a shipwreck which de Mezy
described as the most frightful which he had known in the five and thirty years
of his seafaring life.2
The rock-bound coast of Isle Royale is, to the eastward of Louisbourg,
free for some distance from outlying dangers. Near Cape Breton, its eastern
extremity, currents, which are at times impetuous, rush round the low island of
Porto Nova and other rocks and shoals, and so make impossible a safe approach
to this shore.3 At this time, August 1725, the inhabitants of these hamlets,
some six or eight score, most of whom were at Baleine, took refuge before
nightfall of the 25th, in their rude huts ("cabannes"), from an east-south-east gale
which blew furiously on this coast, the steep-pitched beaches of which mark
the force of the seas. It was ten the next morning before any of them ventured
out, and they found in the sea-wrack on the shore the wreckage of a large vessel.
Among it were pulleys marked with fleur de lysy which, when this news was
brought to Louisbourg on the following day, the 27th, indicated to the
authorities that a King's ship had been lost near Baleine. De Mezy himself,
de Bourville, Major of the troops, and Sabatier the Comptroller, at once set
1 The lesser value of the commerce of the North made it unnecessary for the pirates to obtain a foothold on this
coast, although at more than one place in Nova Scotia and Cape Breton are legends of the buried treasure of Captain
Kidd. Rhode Island is the most northern of the colonies whose officials and citizens were accused of complicity in this
piracy ; the French certainly had no share in it. See Weeden, passim, Channing, vol. ii.
2 The intimate connection of colonial administration with the Navy is shown in his expression in writing to a
minister who knew his record, " depuis trente cinq ans que je vais a la mer," although in many of these years he served
in the colonies.
3 The small harbours of Grand and Petit Lorambec, and Baleine, afford shelter to only smaller craft.
74 ATTEMPTS AT SALVAGE 1725
out. They found along the coast, from Grand Lorambec to Baleine, the beach
strewn with wreckage, among which was the figure-head which identified the
vessel as the Chameau> which, under command of M. de St. James, was carrying
supplies, money, and dispatches, together with a distinguished passenger list, to
(Quebec. The first bodies found were those of Chazel, the newly appointed
Intendant of Canada; the ship's pilot, Chointeau, and one which they believed
was that of young de Lages, son of de Ramezay, Governor of Montreal. Papers
came ashore, among them the patent of Chazel. These victims were but the
forerunners of many. In two days, forty more were found by men of the
three detachments which had been promptly formed to make salvage of what
came ashore. The wreck was indeed complete ; the ill-fated ship, evidently
under sail, had been carried over the outlying reefs. She at once broke up ;
part of her starboard side came ashore with the main mast and its rigging ;
another part of the same side with the mizzen mast was found nearly a mile
farther along the coast. The suddenness of the disaster was made evident by
the fact that most of the bodies were undressed. The fury of the sea was shown
by the fact that from the live stock carried on her, not even a pig came ashore
alive ; " les cochons mesmes qui nagent si bien sont venus morts a la coste."
Among the victims who were recognized were two officers of Canada, de
Morrion and Pachot, but if L'Hermitte's body was found it was not identified,
and De Pensens, who was at one time thought to be on board, had not sailed.
The missionary priest at Baleine buried one hundred and eighty ; the total loss
was three hundred and ten.
The authorities acted with effectiveness in this disaster. They advised
those of Quebec, and arranged to lend them ammunition and money from the
Louisbourg supplies which were coming on the Dromedary. There was no sign
of the after part of the ship having come ashore, so it was hoped that some
salvage might be made of her guns and treasure, particularly as the rock on
which she broke up was covered at low tide by only a few feet of water. De-
tachments were kept posted along the shore to save what wreckage they could,
their men being promised a share of whatever was found. The next season
some soldiers who were skilful divers were sent from Quebec and were employed
at the wreck. They were in charge of Sabatier and of young Le Normant,
then acting as clerk under his father. They lodged in an abandoned house of
Carrerrot, a merchant of Louisbourg. It was roofless, except for one room.
It had been occupied by his sister, Madame La Salle, a sprightly lady to whose
attractions Le Normant lightly refers, and to whom he and Sabatier sent a
message of esteem and gratitude in his letter to u Monsieur mon tres cher Pere."
Morpain conducted the actual operations, which were carried on in September,
Le Normant whiling away his spare time by shooting when bad weather inter-
1726 PROGRESS IN TRADE 75
rupted the work. He sent to his father the game which he got, and in his last
letter from Baleine ends his requisition for supplies with " five or six days of
good weather or an order to return." The latter came in due course. No
more striking contrast in circumstances is connected with Louisbourg than that
between young Le Normant in Baleine and Le Normant at the head of the Navy
in attendance on the King, and belonging to the party of Madame de Pompadour.1
Further search was abandoned, but the wreck left its mark on the colony,
although no one connected with it was lost, for almost the latest French maps
mark, on the bleak shore of the cove, the cemetery of those of its victims
which the sea gave up. It lived in the memory of the French of Isle Royale
as the August gale of 1873 is still before the people of Cape Breton, and when
two heavy gales in November 1726 swept Louisbourg with great damage, it
was vividly recalled to its people.
Isle Royale was at this time, thirteen years after its foundation, described as
a colony beginning to be considerable. Its commerce with the West Indies had
by 1726 become important, as had its trade with France and Quebec. Its
principal export, after fish, was its coal, followed in value by furs gathered at
Louisbourg from Nova Scotia.
The trade suffered from a scarcity of ready money not seriously felt within
the colony, but for example making trade difficult with Quebec, whither the
merchants of Louisbourg had to send cash to pay the duties on goods they
exported to Canada.
The regulations which in the earliest stage governed trade between France
and her colonies, established by the Edict of 1716, were irksome. Vessels could
sail for the colonies from only a few of the ports of France.2 Bonds had to be
given that they would return to the port of departure.3 The destination had to
be named before leaving, and a certificate produced, after the round voyage was
finished, that the vessel had been at the port named. This restricted freedom in
seeking markets, and in taking advantage of the triangular trade, which for so
long was the normal course of shipping between Europe and America. This
was modified by an edict in October 1727,* which provided that no foreign
product, except Irish salt beef loaded at a port of France, should be admitted to
Canada or the West Indies, and that none of their products should go directly
to a foreign country, with the exception of refined sugars to Spain. Foreign
1 The value, about 6000 1., of the salvage from the Chameau was trifling, although she had on board 289,696 1. in
cash, for the expenses of Canada (I.R. B, vol. 48, f. 862).
2 e.g. Sables d'Olonne then a fishing port, not, as now, a watering-place, had to apply to the Conseil de Commerce
for this privilege. Previously to its being granted its outfitters had to pay local imposts on the goods they sent out, which
they brought to their port from Bordeaux (Arch. Nat. F, 12, vol. 75).
3 Dugard Le Vieux of Rouen was hampered by this regulation, which was modified on his application. The Conseil
generally decided in favour of freedom of trade (Arch. Nat. F, 12, vol. 87).
4 Isambert, Recueil, vol. 26.
76 ILLICIT TRADE 1728
vessels were not permitted to enter a port in the colonies nor come within a
league of them, under penalty of confiscation, and a fine of loool. Officers
were ordered to seek them out, and men-of-war and privateers to capture
foreigners or French vessels engaged in illicit commerce. An elaborate scale of
division of the proceeds of such confiscation was established, the only relaxation
on humanitarian ground of the stringency of these regulations being that a
vessel in distress could take refuge only in a port where there was a garrison.
A later chapter l deals with the lack of balance of the trade which centred
at Louisbourg. The defiance or ignoring of the regulations made by distant
authorities, enforced in many cases by officials who had a personal interest in
illicit trade, was as important a factor in the economic conditions as official
regulations.
If the margin of profit is adequate, any trade will be carried on in defiance
of law. Vessels from the British colonies had been permitted to come to Isle
Royale from time to time, until, under pressure of necessity in 1726, a pro-
clamation was issued permitting the importation from them of building
materials, live cattle, poultry, etc., but prohibiting everything else.2 This opened
one door, for the returns of the permitted vessels would indicate that none of
them carried full cargoes, the balance of their lading would be contraband goods.
Others apparently depended on corruption, and made no colour of being on a
legitimate voyage. We have the record of an agreement made in 1724 at Boston
between three merchants, — " Johonnot," P. Evarts, Hough, and one Pierre
Grouard, — who undertook to sell the lading of the schooner Hirondelle and
purchase a cargo of fish and bring back in money or taffetas 3 any balance for a
commission of 6 per cent. The Hirondelle was seized at Rimouski, suspected
of spying. Grouard and others were imprisoned, and were the occasion of
charges of official improprieties, and a conflict of jurisdiction.4 While this cargo
went to the Gulf of the St. Lawrence there is no reason to believe that a similar
method of doing business was not carried on with Louisbourg, and that the
merchants named were the only ones in Boston who conducted trade with the
French colonies in this fashion. The ledger of one of the most important of
them, Mr. Faneuil, contains may entries of transactions with merchants of Louis-
bourg. The evidence of Newton, the collector of Customs at Canso, makes this
reasonably certain, fori in no year during the period under consideration did the
number of vessels declared as from British ports come to as many as he says was
the normal number. He wrote, as follows, in speaking of eighteen vessels then
in that port :
"They will without any Restraint Load and carry from thence to several Ports in his
1 Chap. XII. 2 ,-2S> I.R. vol. 10, f. 4.
3 This is so printed. It unquestionably means taffin (rum). * MSS. J)ue. vol. 3, p. 106, and B. 48 (Canada).
ITS EXTENT
77
Majtys Plantations, Brandy, Wine, Iron, Sail Cloth, Rum, Molasses & several other
French Commoditys with which there is from 80 to 90 Sail generally Load with in a Year,
these Vessels generally carry Lumber, Bricks & live stock there, they commonly clear
out for Newfoundland, tho never design to go farther than Lewisburg, often they sell their
vessels as well as Cargoes."
The prosperous farmers of Nova Scotia shared in a simple way in trade with
Louisbourg. Their shipments were made mostly from Baie Verte on the Gulf
coast, although there are instances of vessels of ten tons making the long voyage
from the Bay of Fundy to Louisbourg. Ordinarily they were not interfered
with, and Verville's theory that the Acadians were of more value to Isle Royale
where they were, than if they had migrated, was borne out. At times Armstrong,
then in charge of Nova Scotia, attempted to stop this intercourse, and on one
occasion his reply to St. Ovide being unsatisfactory, de Pensens was sent to him
to declare that they would arm a ship to prevent him making seizures on the
high seas. He desisted in face of this threat, which would have been proved, in
the contrary case, to have been empty, for Maurepas refused permission to fit
out this vessel.1
The entrep6t which should flourish by freedom of exchange, foreseen by
Raudot, was struggling with the enactments of its rulers to come into existence.
The furniture and axes 2 which New England sent there, the winnowing machines
with which Louisbourg supplied Quebec, the rum and molasses, the sail cloth and
iron she exported to the British colonies, none of them her own production,
indicate his sureness of judgment as to the proper foundation for a flourishing
colony situated on Isle Royale. The scanty records of the trade which are
available make tenable the hypothesis that had the civil population of Louisbourg
been left untrammelled to develop its commercial possibilities, it would have been
so prosperous and populous an establishment that its later history would have
been entirely different.
Raudot's views were as far in advance of his time as was the commercial
Treaty of Utrecht, the provisions of which waited until the younger Pitt in 1787
forced them through an unwilling House of Commons. Maurepas' objections
to this trade were held in common with all his contemporaries, and the ineffective-
ness of his opposition was probably owing to his lack of force rather than a
philosophic acquiescence in a state of affairs which was theoretically wrong, but
practically extremely profitable. In at least one instance he connived in it.
When Ste. Marie was pressing, in 1724, for repayment of his expenses, 1893 1.,
incurred in 1718-19 in visiting Boston, Maurepas wrote to St. Ovide that
Ste. Marie brought back goods presumably to sell, and rejected the claim.3
In the earlier days of the colony the merchants of France objected to it, for
1 I.R. vol. 8. 2 1 100 in 1740. 8 I.R. vol. 39, B, vol. 48, f. 716.
78 LOCAL PROTESTS 1728-1738
their chief business was the sale of commodities to the new settlers, later they
were silent on the subject. The merchants of Louisbourg objected from time
to time, notably in 1728, and again ten years later. On the former occasion St.
Ovide was accused with full details of carrying on this trade through De Pensens,
under the names of Dacarette and Lartigue. It appeared as if Maurepas intended
to take some action, for he wrote to De Mezy sending a list of questions about
the trade, with the assurance that his reply would be confidential, so that he
might not be restrained by the fear of incriminating St. Ovide.1 De Mezy replied
on the 3<Dth of November and the 2nd of December, in some fashion which was
satisfactory to the Minister. His replies unfortunately are not extant. St. Ovide
contented himself with a short denial.
In 1738 an anonymous letter was forwarded to the Minister on this com-
merce and its abuses.2 It was followed by a new attack against Du Vivier which
goes into detail. It says he bought the cargoes of two French vessels which he
resold ; that he took a cargo of molasses which he sent to Boston in partnership
with Faneuil, who had traded with Louisbourg through one Morel ; that they
took money from the country, as they sold for cash ; that they put in quarantine
a vessel from Martinique on account of small-pox, because two vessels of Du
Vivier arrived shortly afterwards ; that Du Vivier forestalled the market by
having early news from Quebec ; and they did not hesitate to say that Le
Normant was interested in Du Vivier's transactions ; and that they enriched
themselves by taking provisions from the King's stores in the autumn, selling
them at a high price, and replacing them the following year when they
were cheap.
But however the trade was carried on, it was unquestionably large, profitable,
and essential to Isle Royale. The real complaint of its merchants was of the
competition of military and civil officials, whose influence and command of
information gave them great advantages. The only people to suffer were the
Admiralty officials, who found their confiscations overruled by the Governor and
the Commissaire-Ordonnateur. Ship-owners benefited by full cargoes. None
of them were placed at a disadvantage except vessels with letters of marque, which,
relying on the edict of 1727, made these captures.
In trade, like the fishing at Canso before the incursion of Smart, all things
were peaceable and quiet, the French and English in defiance of the laws trading
" together in all amity and love," a happier state than in the West Indies, where
mutual savagery brought on the war between England and Spain. But the
protests of Mr. Newton to his Government, the prohibition of Maurepas to his
officials, both disregarded, caused less irritation than the guarda costas and the
pirates of Jamaica. Thus prohibited trade in Northern waters led to a friendly
1 I.R. B, 52, f. 605, 60-. - I.R. vol. 20, f. 311. See Appendix.
1728-1738 THE LIGHTHOUSE 79
intercourse between Isle Royale and the sea-ports of the Puritans, not to mutila-
tions which inflamed against the Spaniard both the humanity and the patriotism
of England.1
The fishermen had in the earliest times placed on the knoll of the eastern side of
the harbour a beacon to serve as a guide to its entrance. This proved unsatisfactory
as the commerce of the port grew, and it was visited by other ships than those of
its ordinary trade. The first foreign ship, other than English, which visited the
port, was the Spaniard, Nostra Signora de la Toledo^ homeward bound from
Havana.2 Three years later the Mercury, a ship of the French East India
Company, came into Louisbourg with sixty men ill of scurvy, who in the pure
air of Isle Royale soon became convalescent. When the project for a lighthouse,
to take the place of the beacon, was seriously considered, the difficulty of landing
coal for its fire was an objection to the best site. The home authorities proposed
on this account placing the light on the clock tower of the citadel, but this
project was fortunately abandoned, and the lighthouse was erected on the eastern
side of the harbour, where its ruins are still to be seen. It was first lit in 1734,
and the statement is that it was visible for six leagues at sea. It was burned on
the night of the nth of September 1736, but was immediately rebuilt of fire-
proof materials.3
St. Ovide and De Mezy acted in harmony in only one matter — their efforts
to restrict the excessive consumption of intoxicants. Although De Mezy was
effective in the steps taken in connection with the Chameau, the laxity of
administration in his department shortly thereafter became evident, through the
death of Des Goutins the Treasurer. St. Ovide insisted on having particulars
of De Mezy's accounts, which he was asked to approve, and of verifying the
contents of the Treasurer's chest. It was found empty. Nevertheless, De Mezy
took offence at what he considered an interference with his rights. He took
high ground in writing to the Minister. He expressed his extreme repugnance,
after " thirty-seven years of service, to submitting his documents to a naval
officer, who, although meritorious and of easy intercourse, has neither the
experience, nor other qualities superior to his in a matter concerning my
administration." 4
Maurepas did not accept his views, but replied that he was wrong in putting
the blame on Des Goutins when his own accounts should have been better
1 Camb. History, vol. vi. p. 24. 2 August 10, 1726.
3 In the new lighthouse the light was supplied from forty-five " pots " (about twenty-two and a half gallons of oil),
fed through thirty-one pipes in a copper circle to the wicks which gave the flame. As this oil was held in an open bronze
basin, three feet in diameter, and ten inches deep, there was constant danger of fire. This was provided against by
sustaining this ring on pieces of cork, which, if fire took place, would burn through and let the ring fall into the oil where
it would be extinguished. No wood was used in the construction of the tower.
4 " A un officer de guerre qui quoique homme de merite, et de tres bonne societe, n'a ni 1'usage, ni les services, ni
autres qualites superieures a moi dans une affaire de mon ministere " (vol. 9, Nov. 24, 1727).
80 DE MEZY CRITICIZED AND RETIRED 1731
kept.1 De Mezy admitted that his books were not in perfect order, his excuse
being that the entire financial business for the year was transacted in the fortnight
following the arrival of the King's ship with remittances. He further excused
himself by saying that the records were in extremely bad order when he came to
the colony, and that it had taken them some time to correct them. This is borne
out by the documents themselves. By 1724 they are much fuller, and on the
surface appear more accurate than in the earlier years of the colony.
But the disregard of instructions was evident in more serious ways than
book-keeping. De Mezy admitted having disobeyed orders about rations, not
without justification, for he says he had given food from the King's stores to
four widows who were destitute, but that hereafter he would execute orders
without mercy. Without any charge having been made against him, he assures
the Minister that the only funds he can touch are those of the extraordinary
expenditures 15,000 or 20,000 livres. He was largely responsible for so
important an edict as that of October 1727, in reference to Colonial Trade, not
being registered or put in force in Louisbourg until October I73O.2 Other
tangible evidence of neglect of royal instructions was before the eyes of all. An
ordinance had been passed establishing the width of the quay, and another
forbidding building within 350 toises of the fortifications, yet in a few years
one cronier had built a stone house within the prohibited distance, and there
were also encroachments on the quay. This took place in so small a town that
from any point on the ramparts every house could be seen. That the infraction
of regulations, presumably important, could go so far under the eyes of the
Governor, the Commissaire-Ordonnateur, and the Engineer, that it required
ministerial action to stop it, illustrates the weakness of the system on which the
French attempted to administer their colonial empire.
Whether the complaints of the Minister against De Mezy, founded on
these irregularities and his quarrels with St. Ovide, led to the change in his
department, which was determined on by Maurepas, is uncertain. De Mezy
had completed about forty years in the King's service, and when St. Ovide
heard that he was to be succeeded he wrote to the Minister, saying that he
trusted he would select a new Commissaire-Ordonnateur of a gentle disposition,
with whom the merchants and people could carry on business in comfort.3 The
favourable impression the younger De Mezy (usually known as Le Normant)
had made, or possibly family influence, led to his succeeding his father.4 He
had been in the colony during the greater part of his father's tenure of office,
employed first as a subordinate, and then as principal clerk, and during his
1 R, vols. 52 and 53. » B, 55/5-0. 3 I.R. vol. 12, Nov. 25, 1731.
4 The De Mczys were of the family of that Le Normant who was the husband of Madame de Pompadour, and at
a Fcrmicr-Gencral had great influence before she rose to power. Oct. 8, 1733 is the date on which young Le Normant
wrote to Mnurepas his thanks. The official appointments were made March 23, 1735.
1733 SICKNESS AND FAMINE 81
father's leave of absence had in his place administered the office. He was
therefore well fitted by experience for the position. But he began his admini-
stration with the same quarrels with St. Ovide as had disturbed the relations
between the Governor and his father, and in one of his first important acts
he displayed a lack of judgment which seriously imperilled the well-being of
the colony.
In 1732 the Ruby came into port with small-pox on board. Although from
time to time there had been regulations establishing a quarantine, once against the
plague which raged in Toulon and Marseilles, and at another against a pest in
Boston, at this time no precautions were taken, or if taken were ineffective.
The disease spread throughout the colony and many of all ages died, not
only sailors and passengers of the ill-fated ship, but residents of the colony and
soldiers of its garrison. The ship, however, proceeded to Quebec, leaving those
who were sick on shore, replacing them by sailors taken from the merchant's
vessels. Further misfortune followed the survivors, who late in the year were
shipped to Quebec on a brigantine which was wrecked at Ingonish. This
epidemic was followed by a famine, the cause of which Le Normant explained
by the method by which the inhabitants supplied themselves. The earliest
vessels to arrive were those of the Basque ports. Their captains lent the
provisions of their large crews to the inhabitants. These people counted on
returning them by purchases from the provisions brought from Canada. If this
supply was short, it had for the greater part to be utilized in returning these
borrowings, which the Basques required for their homeward voyage, instead of
being retained by the inhabitants for consumption during the winter.1 While
the Quebec vessels were there in the summer the inhabitants, Jiving on their
borrowings, offered only meagre prices, and therefore, De Mezy said, fewer
vessels came from Quebec.2 This condition was aggravated, as the Quebec
authorities explain, by a local regulation that Quebec vessels should not leave
port without selling their cargoes. But whatever were the causes the situation
was most serious in the autumn of I733,3 and with an optimism for which no
grounds are shown, Le Normant delayed action. St. Ovide changed from
the devotee of Costebelle's description, or justified by the gravity of the situation,
says he trusted Providence less than Le Normant ; but it was not until St.
Ovide declared that he would send a vessel to the Minister with a statement of
their condition, brought about by Le Normant's refusal to supply funds to
purchase supplies in New York, that the latter consented to take action.4 Two
1 I.R. vol. 14, f. 175. 2 This is not borne out by the officials' returns which are available.
8 I.R. vol. 14, f. 126.
4 " De vous seul monsieur depend aujourd'huy la conservation ou la perte de cette colonie, que j'alois faire embarquer
un officier le lendemain sur un bailment qui devait partir pour France a fin d'informer Mgr." (Nov. 14, 1733, vol. 14,
f. 77).
G
82 ST. OVIDE'S PREVISION 1734
small vessels, under charge of De Cannes and Bonnaventure, were sent late in
the year for these supplies, New York being chosen in preference to Boston,
where the plague had recently existed, but they did not return before spring,
and the colony passed a winter in want, mitigated only by the opportune arrival
of one vessel from Quebec and one from New England.
In 1734, at the beginning of the outbreak of war between France and the
Emperor, the unsettled affairs on the continent gave rise to rumours of war
with England, and St. Ovide took up the question of their relations with the
New England colonies. He points out in a letter in cipher l to the Minister
that the English, particularly those of New England, dislike the existence of Isle
Royale as a French colony. He dwells on the necessity of being advised early
of the outbreak of war, as it is important to take the offensive. In another
letter he lays before the Minister the steps which they propose to take to protect
themselves, which were to complete the fortifications between the citadel and
the Dauphin battery, which, although projected from the first had not yet been
carried out, and to protect, by chevaux de frisey the quay where a landing from
boats could be made. He then gives his opinion of what might occur ; which
was, that if England made an attack on Louisbourg it would be by New
England militiamen, of whom he had not a high opinion ; that they would be
supported by English men-of-war, and that they would come very early in the
year in order to prevent the fishermen from France, or vessels of force from
entering Louisbourg ; that they would not make their base at Port Dauphin or
Baie des Espagnols as apparently some thought, as these points were too distant,
but that the landing would be made in Gabarus or Mir£ bays. His plan of
campaign, if the King intends the offensive, with all its advantages, is that two
men-of-war and a frigate should be sent early in the year with four or five new
companies for the garrison and six hundred regular troops and munitions of
war. These, with volunteers from Louisbourg and Indians would make adequate
force to take Annapolis Royal, if secrecy and celerity could be attained. He
points out, notwithstanding the previous views he had expressed to the Minister,
that the Acadians were not to be depended on. He informs him that Annapolis
Royal2 is in a wretched condition, a statement quite within the bounds of truth,
and that the English in Canso are in such a poor condition that its commander
has instructions to abandon the port at the outbreak of war. He intended
further to supplement the force with the forty men of the garrison of Isle St.
Jean, and the Indians of that island. He also assured the Minister that not
only Placentia, but Boston, would easily fall before such an expedition. He
1 Letters of St. O. to Minister, in particular Oct. 28, 1734 (I.R. vol. 15).
2 The garrison of Annapolis and Canso was nine companies : 360 officers and men, five at Annapolis, four at Canto
(1734, B.T.N.S. vol. 33, f. 361). "Canso lies naked and defenceless" (1734^ A. & W.I. vol. 30). Kilby says Canso
is so ill-prepared that 100 men could capture it in one hour (1743, A. & W.I. vol. 594).
1738 DEPARTURE OF ST. OVIDE 83
followed this by a second letter, saying that twenty companies are necessary,
part of whom should be commanded by local officers ; repeated earnestly his
request for munitions ; and referring to his forty-five years of service, said to
the Minister that the experience of the past made him fear for the future.
These representations, made ten years before the war broke out, so accurately
forecast the course of events, that St. Ovide in 1745 might, with a sad satisfac-
tion, have recalled to his associates the predictions which he made at this time.
St. Ovide hoped, if there was no war, that in the troubled conditions France
might again get possession of Acadia by exchange, for it would be of infinite
importance to France. He based this hope on the indifference to Nova Scotia
of the English Government, as shown by the continuous neglect of that pro-
vince from 1710, the year of its capture, to 1734, the time of his writing in this
strain.
General matters of defence probably engaged the attention of the French
authorities at this time. Chaussegros de Lery combated an idea, which he says
was prevalent in France, that Louisbourg was the highway " le boulevard " to
Quebec and Canada. He said that a naval expedition against Canada would
require three squadrons, and that Quebec was more vulnerable by way of the
woods. Were it not for the general policy of France in relation to her colonies
during this period, it might be thought that the views of Chaussegros had more
weight with the Minister than those of St. Ovide and his successors.
In 1737 the colony again suffered from famine, but affairs had so far
adjusted themselves that St. Ovide was able to go to France in the autumn of
1738, leaving, as before, the government in the hands of De Bourvilie, while
Sabatier discharged the duties of Le Normant de Mezy, who was promoted to
the Intendancy of St. Dominique, as the first step towards the highest position in
the administration of the navy. (As Intendant-General he was practically joint
Minister for the few months in which Massiac held the portfolio.) l
St. Ovide does not seem to have thought that he would not return to Isle
Royale. Not long before that he had obtained a large grant at the head of the
harbour, and more recently a splendid tract of land on the Mire River.2 In the
ordinary course of business, after his arrival in France, he wrote to the Minister
about an increase in that garrison, and Maurepas in January said that he would await
his suggestions before dealing with the question of promotions.3 But between this
time and March the Minister had taken a more hostile and determined attitude
than he had yet shown. St. Ovide went, or was summoned, to Versailles, and
had a painful interview with Maurepas, who charged him with many faults. The
Minister told him that he was acquainted with a transaction in which, it was
said, that as far back as 1725 St. Ovide had a pecuniary interest in Ganet's
1 La Cour-Gayet, pp. 211-217. a 1737, B, 65, 451. 3 B, 68, f. i.
84 HIS RETIREMENT 1738
contract for the fortifications.1 St. Ovide admitted that the offer of a share had
been made to him, but declared that he had declined it. He said the sworn
testimony of two survivors of the transaction, Daligrand, a merchant of the
town, and Ganet, the contractor, would bear out his statement. De Pensens, who
was alleged to be his partner, had died, and the incident had become public
through a clause in his will. The Minister does not seem to have been con-
vinced by his explanations. The charges have this much prima facie evidence in
their support, that it was through De Pensens, St. Ovide was said, in the
accusations of 1728, to have carried on his illicit trading.2 No further steps
were taken, and St. Ovide, bearing his wounds? and the burden of his forty-
seven years of service, was permitted to retire with a pension of 3000 livres.
As a civil administrator he had little success, but the evils of his administra-
tion seemed to be as much due to the lack of discipline and inspection as to the
personal faults of the man. His quarrels with both De Mezys, his slackness at
the time of Smart's attack at Canso, the reiterated reports, some of them circum-
stantial, which were made of his complicity in illegal trade, were, beyond occasional
reproofs and exhortations to amend his ways, ignored by Maurepas. During the
whole period no report by an independent person seems to have been made on
the condition of the colony. Those familiar with affairs can well picture the
slackness and abuses which would exist in a distant establishment, uninspected
for nearly a generation, from which no report of irregularity received more than
a rebuke from the central administration. This laxity is the more astonishing as
both the colonies and the navy were under the direction of Maurepas, and
although the correspondence contains remarks on Louisbourg in the reports of
the voyages 4 there is nothing to show that the Minister ever sought information as
to conditions in the colonies from the captains of the ships he annually sent out.
Whether this slackness was the result of indifference, incompetence, or hopeless-
ness, the results were a demoralized administration and a stunted development.
1 St. Ovide, April 4, vol. 21, p. 290. 2 B, 52, f. 605. Cf. Appendix.
1 Thc«c wounds were a shattered shoulder-blade received in an attack on St. John's, Newfoundland, and three others
received in action. 4 Arch. Nat. Marine, B4.
CHAPTER VI
THE connection of St. Ovide with Isle Royale began when he landed with the
one hundred and forty founders of Louisbourg in 1713. Four years later he
became its Governor. By the time of his retirement he had seen most of the
little harbours along the coast become fishing establishments, and the civil
population of the island grow to something over thirty-eight hundred, and the
commerce, which had begun with the few vessels which the people of Placentia
had brought with them, increase to a fleet of great importance. In 1738 seventy-
three vessels came from France, forty-two from New England and Acadia, and
twenty-nine from Canada and the West Indies. At the latter date some fifty-
four vessels of the inhabitants were engaged in coasting and trading, besides sixty
odd schooners and one hundred fishing-boats which pursued the staple industry
of the coast, cod-fishing. The value of this industry was about 3,000,000 livres,
and the overseas commerce of the island, one year with another, was about an
equal amount. Shipbuilding was established in the island and was carried on on
the Mire as well as at Louisbourg, although many vessels were brought from New
England. A little later the British authorities complained that " in the fall,
after the British guard-ship has left Canso, the French go to Pictou, build vessels,
and cut some of the finest mast timber in the world and take it to Louisbourg in
the early spring." l
The project of fortifications as originally laid down was finished. Beginning
at the water front on the harbour side, the Dauphin bastion and spur protected
the principal approach to the town, and swept the water front of the harbour.
Between it and the King's bastion ran an ascending curtain wall to the height on
which the citadel was placed. Across its opening on the town side stood a
stately stone building, the Chateau St. Louis, of four stories with slated roof.
The only entrance was across a draw-bridge thus described by a New England
observer :
" The entrance is by a large gate over which is a draw-bridge over a small ditch through
the whole building, in passing which on the left hand the door opens into a King's
1 C.O. y/. Cf. Appendix.
85
86 THE PRINCIPAL BUILDINGS 1738
Chappell, on the right hand into a dungeon, one of which has a greater resemblance of
Hell than the other of Heaven." l
The Citadel contained, on the southern side, the apartments of the
Governor and the King's Chapel, which served as parish church ; the other
half was occupied by the barracks. The whole work was the Bastion du Roy,
the centre of the system of fortification. Between this and the sea coast were
the Queen's bastion and the Prince's half-bastion. These works by 1735 were
in an advanced state, although but a few guns were mounted, for at this time
the defence of the town depended on the island battery, protecting the mouth
of the harbour with a battery of twenty guns broadside to the narrow entrance,
and on the shore of the harbour, facing its entrance, the Royal battery completed
with its towers and with its guns mounted. After that date there was taken up
by the Engineers the fortifications of the eastern part of the town as shown in
the plans.
There is some material to make a picture of the town. Monsieur Verrier,
the Engineer, whiled away the hours of the winter of 1731 in making a drawing
of the town from the harbour side ; another from the sea, drawn by Bastide,
shows it substantially as St. Ovide left it ; but in the way of description little
exists, except the few references to the condition of the people, given by Don
Antonio d'Ulloa, a Spanish man of science and captain in her navy, who was
at Louisbourg in 1745 under circumstances to be recounted later.2
Verrier's view is confirmed by the written description, and by those which
are found ornamenting some of the maps, notably that of the first siege. The
houses were built for the most part in wood on stone foundations, and were
from eight to eleven feet in height ; but some of them had the first story in
stone, the upper in wood. This description and Verrier's view would seem to
indicate that the restrictions as to height had been disregarded, but justify
D'Ulloa's description. The hospital would, in the general coup */'#/'/, go far to
redeem the appearance of the town, for it dominated it as the Chateau of St.
Louis the citadel, and their slender fleches, so characteristic of French archi-
tecture of the period, would, from sea, have been a guide as certain and as visible
as the lighthouse. It is also characteristic of the methods of the two peoples,
that there seems to have been in all the British colonies no buildings so imposing
as those which the French Government thought suitable for this little establishment.
Beginning at the water front near the Dauphin gate, the principal entrance
to the town, the first buildings were the King's store-houses, and lodged in the
space between this and the inner angle of the King's bastion were the dwellings
1 C.O. Ad. Captains' Letters, No. 2655.
"* B.N. Geo. C, 18,850. Brit. Mus., King's, 119, 9$ A. A facsimile is in the Archives at Ottawa, and another in
the possession of the writer is given as a frontispiece j of the former, Bastide's view is opposite.
1738 HOUSES OF THE PEOPLE 87
of four military officers. Next on the water front were the establishments of
some merchants, and the official residence of the Commissaire-Ordonnateur, which
De Mezy had built for himself in stone at a cost of 20,000 1. Next to this
house was one belonging to Madame Rodrigue, widow of one of the principal
merchants in the place, which was 22 feet square on a piece of land 44 x 150
feet, which Bigot certified in 1739 to be worth 5500 1.1 This family, like many
others of the merchants, were well off, " fort a leur aise," enriched by their
commerce with Europe and America ; their prosperity all founded, to the
amazement of D'Ulloa, on their single product the cod of Isle Royale, which he
states is the best from American waters.
Next to these came the Chapel and Convent of the Recollets, and then
along the water front some properties belonging to the civil staff. About the
centre of the town the Sisters of the Congregation had made a somewhat
improvident bargain, as it was regarded at the time, in buying from De Beaucours
a lot on which they established their convent and school. So large a part of the
town was occupied by government buildings and the properties of the military
and civil staff, that the working population must have been placed along the
shores of the harbour, on which one still sees the foundations of many buildings.
Verrier, the Engineer, had a lot on the corner of the Rue d'Estrees and Scatarie
running through to the newly opened Rue de l'H6pital, where his principal
neighbour was Cailly, Lieutenant of the Swiss, who had bought from the heirs
of Baron de L'Esperance the adjoining property. On this Verrier had built
his modest habitation, not much exceeding, he says, the estimated cost of 6000 1.2
This consisted of a ground floor, which held a kitchen, and annexed thereto a
scullery and a room for a servant, a dining-room, a principal bedroom, and two
small closets, and in the attic his study, and some small bedrooms for his family.
The only other description of a house is that of Delaforest, who came to Louis-
bourg in 1714 as clerk, and in 1728 had risen to be Procureur in the Admiralty
Court. This he had to demolish because it was under the little hill which was
to be occupied by the Dauphin bastion. The house was 50 feet long, 15
wide, built with pickets and was covered with boards. The principal room was
15 feet square, with two large glazed windows looking out on the harbour,
and a glazed door opening out to the garden. It had two cabinets, each
with a window, a kitchen 15 by 14 with two windows, all of them with a
loft over. There was a lean-to store-house, 15 by 12, against the gable
of the house, a court of 30 by 70 in front surrounded by pickets and with
a large gate. At the back was a garden of 60 feet square, also fenced in,
which was in an excellent state as it had been well manured.
The normal increase in the population was good. In 1726 it had been
1 Ulloa, vol. ii. p. 140. 2 Its cost was 28,945 1., for which St. Ovide was reprimanded.
88 OTHER INHABITANTS 1738
951, in 1734 it was 1116, and in 1737 was 1463. They were a fruitful people.
There were 157 families, in which the wife was resident, in 1737, and the
number of children 664. The custom of sending women to the colonies did
not affect Isle Royale. Many Canadians had come and married immigrants
from France, while Acadia supplied all the marriageable maidens the growth
of the population required.
These figures include neither the garrison nor the official classes, nor
apparently the ecclesiastics, of whom there were five Brothers of Charity at the
hospital, three Recollet monks, and five Sisters of the Congregation. The
daughters of some of the officers were sent to Canada or to France for their
education, but after the establishment of the Nuns at Louisbourg their school
seems to have provided adequately for the education of the young people of
the place. There does not seem to have been, however, any school for boys,
and yet they all seem to have written fairly well, and show no more inaccuracy
as regards grammar and spelling than the majority of young New Englanders
of the time.
The population also had become, with the growth of the town, somewhat
more complex. There was a gardener in the town, a Master of Hydrography,
and the ladies of the town had the choice of two dressmakers. One Marie
Paris, born in Louisbourg, apparently had the larger establishment, for with
her lived three sisters and a maid ; while the widow Radoub, who belonged to
St. Malo, lived by herself, and, if her name had any significance, exercised a
humbler form of the art. Nor was the gardener the only person who promoted
the amenities of life ; one Simon Rondel had come from Namur to carry on
his profession as a teacher of dancing.
The earlier disapproval by the authorities of having negroes in Cape Breton
had broken down through the intercourse with the West Indies, and several of
the families had negro servants brought from the French islands.1 They were
baptized, and in the majority of the cases the godfather and godmother were
sons and daughters of the officers of the garrison.
The three bells for the chapel in the citadel were blessed and baptized as
St. Louis, St. John, and St. Anthoine-Marie, the last being named for Sabatier,
who was acting at the time, 1733, as Ordonnateur, and for Madame Bourville,
wife of the King's Lieutenant. The bells for the Recollet church in town were
also baptized, with De Lort, a merchant of the town, as godfather, and Marie,
the wife of Despiet, an officer of the garrison, as godmother.
The illegitimate children of the town were cared for by people of
position taking the responsibility of godfather and godmother to these un-
fortunates. These were not numerous, considering the fact that it was a large
1 St. Ovide to the Minister, Nov. 27, 1724, vol. 9.
1738 THE ENVIRONS 89
garrison town, frequented by fishermen for six months of the year, and was the
home of families from which the husband was often absent. Practically the
full number is known owing to the necessity for baptism among Roman
Catholics.
In the environs the twenty-five years of settlement had developed the
country, as is shown on a contemporary map. A road " on which two
carriages could drive abreast," still passable except for the bridges, had by 1738
been opened through to the Mire, which it reached opposite Salmon River.
On the beautiful meadows which form its banks, St. Ovide had his concessions,
and in his neighbourhood were settled some few retired soldiers.
The Sieur Jean Milly, a principal merchant of Louisbourg, had an
establishment not distant from that of the Governor. It is probable that these
were the two estates which were described by Gibson, who led a party to the
Mire in 1745.*
"We found two fine farms upon a neck of land that extended near seven miles in
length. The first we came to was a very handsome house, and had two large barns, well
finished, that lay contiguous to it. Here, likewise, were two very large gardens ; as also
some fields of corn of a considerable height, and other good lands thereto belonging, besides
plenty of beach wood and fresh water .... The other house was a fine stone edifice,
consisting of six rooms on a floor, all well finished. There was a fine jwall before it, and
two fine barns contiguous to it, with fine gardens and other appurtenances, besides several
fine fields of wheat. In one of the barns there were fifteen loads of hay, and room
sufficient for three score horses and other cattle."
Living people have seen the brick floors of a large byre with the bones of
many cattle on it on the southern side of the Mire, near Albert Bridge. The
properties of M. de Catalogne and the Fathers of Charity ran along the Mir6
River and shore of the bay, into which it empties, and Lagrange, a sergeant, and
Boucher, the Engineer, owned the lands behind the Lorambecs, and caused much
dissatisfaction to the fisherfolk by refusing permission to cut the wood necessary
for their flakes. The description of these farms would indicate that this
outflow of enterprise and population would come from a more thriving town
than the official letters described. Scarcity of food is a serious thing, but
satisfaction, with her offspring comfort and energy, treads close on the heels of
supply. It was only after St. Ovide's time that the accounts indicate stagnation
from want.
The officers were approximately of the same social grade, and that noble.
They were of different origins : some, as Bourville, were Normans ; the Du
1 This identification is not certain. Gibson's distances seem all inaccurate, but Milly was the only known proprietor
likely to have so important an establishment, unless St. Ovide had built after his absence, which is not likely. The
direction by which the scout marched, west-north-west, prevents these being those of the Peres de la Charite and
Catalogne. There is some evidence that Du Vivier had in 1745 a farm on the Miri.
9o THE MILITARY CIRCLE 1738
Chambon and Dangeac families, as well as St. Ovide, were from the south-west
provinces of France ; the Perelles were Parisian, and the Canadian connection
was kept up by D'Ailleboust, after the younger Rouville, born in Isle Royale,
had returned to Canada ; while the families of De Cannes and De la Tour were
Acadian. Catalogne, a Protestant of Beam, who had been admitted to the
Catholic Church, had come to Isle Royale after a distinguished service as
Engineer in Canada, apparently possessed of some means, for he not only bought
property in the town, but an extensive tract of land along the slopes of that lake
which was then known as the Barachois de Mire and is now called by his name.
Among this little group of people marriages were frequent. It might
almost be said that they were all connected. Villejouin, for example, came to
Isle Royale in 1714, dying there four years later. After a widowhood of ten
years, his wife married D'Ailleboust, connected with the Perelles ; their son married
a De Gannes-Falaise, whose mother was a De la Valliere ; while another sister
married Couagne, an officer. La Valliere intermarried with the Rousseau
Souvigni, and a daughter of the latter family became the wife of Chassin de
Thierry, the grandson of an Ecuyer de la Bouche de sa Majeste (Louis XIV.).
The daughters of the De la Tour family married, as might be expected ; Jeanne
was the wife of Rousseau Souvigni, but the brother, judging from the names of
his two wives, married among the bourgeois, and so on through the list. The
older Catalogne came to Louisbourg as a married man, and one of his four
daughters married before she was of age a De Gannes-Falaise. While these
were socially correct marriages, others went outside of their own class. The
young Baron de 1'Esperance, an officer of the Swiss companies, married a
Demoiselle Rodrigue. Young Bois Berthelot married a Des Goutins. Two of
the descendants of the Baron de la Poterie married Daccarettes of the superior
bourgeoisie. A D'lle la Valliere, apparentl) after a hasty courtship, for the
vessel was not long in port, married Fierrot, a lieutenant of a ship of the East
India Company which in 1744 called at Louisbourg. Another sister, Barbe,
married Delort, a merchant of the town, an alliance more unusual than the
military men marrying the daughters of merchants. The Dangeac family
apparently married into the bourgeoisie in the second generation. The first
to serve in the colonies was the older Gabriel, who began his career in 1685.
He was transferred to Cape Breton, where he died in 1737. His son served in
Isle Royale, became Governor of St. Pierre, and died in 1782 after fifty-seven
years in the King's service. He made at Louisbourg in 1735 a misalliance
which enhanced the vigour of his race, for there are letters extant from his two
daughters, one aged ninety-four, and another, Charlotte, aged eighty-nine,
written in 1830. As these old ladies, when Queen Victoria was in her teens,
could have boasted that their grandfather was alive when Charles the Second
1738 THE SWISS COMPANIES 91
reigned in England, it illustrates the extraordinary space of time which can be
covered by three generations.
As somewhat unwelcome members of this community came, in 1721-22,
two detachments of the Swiss Regiment of Karrer, raised by the King to
supplement the naval troops. The officers and men were Protestants, but,
notwithstanding the friction at first, they adjusted themselves. Some of the
non-commissioned officers married ; and the elder De 1'EspeVance, a Baron of
the Holy Roman Empire and son of the Lieut.-Colonel of the regiment of the
Duke of Wurtemburg, was admitted to the Catholic Church and married
Margueritte Dangeac, a step which he represents as costing him his patrimony.
Complaints were made that the Swiss troops held tenaciously to their
privileges as Protestants, but the example of De l'Esp£rance was followed by
not an inconsiderable number of his men, mostly among those who were married
and were householders. Other cases occur. A native of " Hampcher," an English
Calvinist, a Dutch Lutheran, and one " Gyleis," an Irish Anglican, made their
peace with the dominant Church, while here and there occur entries in the
register which indicate that the French wandered into New England colonies.
Couples remarried after living in Massachusetts, children born in New England
were baptized, all this showing the benign influences of mutually profitable trade,
and a zeal on the part of the Recollets or their parishioners, which, like the
care of the negro and the unfortunate, give 'fairer impressions of the community
than we get from some reports of scandalous conduct.
The high-sounding names of these officers did not imply any great
splendour in their way of life. All of these families, by the census of 1734,
except that of the Dangeacs, had two servants. In food they had good
material to work with. Fish and game were abundant.1 Voltaire somewhere
draws a comparison between the splendid equipages of Lima and their absence
in Louisbourg ; a more significant indication of the modesty in life in Isle
Royale is that although every year one or more men-of-war visited it, remaining
usually several weeks in port, none of their officers married into its families,
while many daughters of planters in Martinique and St. Domingo became the
wives of naval men.2
Costebelle was in financial difficulties, but in his time he occupied the first
position in the colony. The returns of his goods sold at auction in 1720 for
the benefit of his creditors give some details. The first article offered was a
yellow satin dressing-gown lined with blue taffeta. It was followed by a scarlet
coat embroidered in gold, a suit of coffee-coloured cloth lined with silk and
1 The latter was cared for, for twice at least the shooting of partridges was prohibited. Forest fires, however, which
also made fuel dear, were their greatest enemy.
2 Among them, two M'Carthys, obviously Irish, and presumably Jacobites, who were in the French Navy, became
rich by such alliances.
92 PUBLIC REJOICINGS 1738
embroidered in silver, which, bringing ninety livres, made it less valuable than
another cloth suit, bordered with gold, which brought one hundred and seventy
livres. Twenty-one shirts were sold and nine cravats. In silver there were
apparently only ten table spoons and forks, and two silver candlesticks, his
table service being made up by three dozen pewter plates and fourteen dishes,
while there were only eight table-cloths and three dozen napkins, which would
indicate either a meagre supply for the position he occupied, or that not all of
his household goods were then disposed of. The proceeds of this sale were
distinctly less than those of a ship's captain who died in port and whose
personal effects, in which were twenty-four gold buttons, brought 1600 francs.
But there were brighter sides to life in Louisbourg than these details of
circumscribed conditions and narrow incomes. It was permanent, for there
were very few changes in the garrison or civil officials. There were the
pleasures of the chase for those who cared for them.1 Gaming was common
and excessive in the later years of the town, and with its prevalence in France
it probably at all times passed away many hours for society.2 The town
appealed to a New England chaplain, who writes of the fine walk along the
ramparts.8
They had public celebrations which kept them in touch with events in
Europe, and made it evident that Isle Royale was a part of a great kingdom.
A Te Deum was sung for the restoration to health of the King in 1721, and
another for the birth of a Princess in 1728, but the greatest entertainment was
at the time of the rejoicing for the birth of the Dauphin.4 On the 26th of October
1730, at daybreak, there was a salvo of artillery, another during the Te Deum at
High Mass, and a third with a discharge of musketry at nightfall. Bourville,
the acting Governor, gave a dinner to eighty military officers, followed by a ball.
De Mezy, at his house, had a dinner of twenty-eight for the civil officers and
the principal merchants, and the following days gave two dinners of sixteen for
the captains in port, and of twenty to the staff, his house being too small to
entertain, at one time, all whom he wished. The festivities closed by the
officers of the garrison giving a feast for eighty, followed, like that of De
Bourville, by a ball. No such rejoicings seem to have taken place in Louisbourg
since Meschin's dinner in 1716, whereat the tally of salutes was lost in the
mists of his exuberant hospitality.
Cape Breton has weather as dreary and disappointing as well can
be conceived. There are weeks in autumn when a dull earth meets a leaden
sea, in winter when the ground is white, the sea sombre. In spring the sea
1 Le Normant'i bag one morning at Baleinc was forty birds.
2 Verrier'* picture of the town designates by the local standard a rather imposing house on the Rue du Port as " le
billard." We have no indication as to whether this was a club or a public place for the game.
8 William's Journal. * Vol. n, f. 21.
1738 THE CLIMATE OF LOUISBOURG 93
is white and glistering with drift ice, the land dreary with dead vegetation.
In early summer sea and land are dank with fog, and at any time occur gales
of wind which are always blustering and often destructive. Although by
the accounting of the meteorologist the difficult or unpleasant conditions
predominate, the good weather so far surpasses in degree the bad, that, the
latter past, it seems but naught. On fine days the moorland is a sheet of
glowing russet and gold, the rocks are so noble a background, for the most
pellucid of seas, the clouds which hang in the overarching blue are so
monumental in shape, the line of coast which dies down to the eastern horizon
is so picturesque in outline, that they, seen through an air sparkling, limpid,
exhilarating in the highest degree, make of Louisbourg a delight which must
have appealed to its people in the past, as it does to the visitor of to-day.
Above all, when the inhabitant reached the turning-point of his promenade at
the ramparts, he looked out over an ocean which stretched unbroken to southern
polar ice. That ocean was the only highway of important news. On it
mysterious sails appeared in the offing and pirates plundered. Each ship
which worked in from its horizon might bring tidings of adventure or of
consequence to the onlooker or the community. With such a prospect life
.might be hopeless but it could not be permanently dull.
CHAPTER VII
MAUREPAS had contemplated improving the administration of Isle Royale
before matters had come to a head with St. Ovide. On his dismissal, the
Minister acted in the best interest of the colony, for from the applications for
the position of Governor he selected Isaac Forant,1 a captain of the ship of the
line. He offered the place to him privately, so that in the event of his
declining, the choice of a successor would not be more difficult. Forant did
not consider the position worthy of his rank, as Isle Royale was only a
dependency of New France, and the Governor-Generalships of New France,
St. Domingo, Martinique, and Louisiana were held by naval officers of his own
standing. After the intimation to him that it was the King's wish that he
should go, he made no further difficulties, and set sail on the Jason for
Louisbourg, where he arrived early in September I739«2
For the first time the colony was placed under a new administration, for
on the same ship was the new Commissaire-Ordonnateur, belonging to a family
distinguished in the magistracy, but untried in colonial administration.8 He
had been principal clerk at Rochefort, and began, as the associate of Forant, a
colonial career which for ever links his name, Fran9ois Bigot, with the darker
passages of the latest years of French rule in Canada.
The ample instructions to Forant and Bigot indicate that the Minister was
familiar with the condition of affairs at Isle Royale, but do not disclose whether
the self-reliance which these officials displayed was the result of instruction or
of personal qualities. The contrast between their administration and that of
St. Ovide shows clearly how far a system may be modified by the character of
the men it employs. St. Ovide and both the Le Normants constantly quarrelled.
1 Isaac Louis Forant was the son of Job <le Forant, Premier Chef d'Escadre des Armees Navales. He passed
through the ordinary course of naval instruction and promotion, in the course of which he visited Louisbourg and other
ports in American waters beginning in 1724. In this year he made charts of the Grand Banks, A. N. Marine, C7, 108,
and B4, 48. The Habitant says that the family was of Danish origin and left their country on account of their
religion.
2 His commission was dated April i, 1739.
* His father was a councillor of the Parliament of Bordeaux, akin to Puysieulx, Minister of Foreign Affairs, so that
the son entered the King's service in 1723 under favourable auspices.
94
1739 FORANT AND BIGOT 95
They lacked initiative, and found, when they did make decisions, that these were
frequently overruled. The merchants, fishers, and officers of the Admiralty
complained of their acts. Their official reports to the Minister seem, at times,
to have been intentionally inaccurate. The new officials took up their duties in
harmony, with vigour and self-confidence, and seem to have had no hesitation in
laying before the Minister the exact condition of affairs under their charge.
Immediately after his installation Forant, calling together the troops at
Louisbourg, which consisted, including the garrison of the outports and Isle
St. Jean, of eight companies of sixty men and one hundred Swiss, told them
that any complaints that any of them might make would be carefully considered
and justly dealt with. His report on them was far from satisfactory.
"With the utmost sincerity I may say that I have never seen such bad troops. We
would not keep one hundred soldiers, if we discharged all those who are below the
regulation height. But without regard to stature and physique I believe that it is better
to discharge invalids, who are pillars of the hospital and occasion much expense, and are of
no use whatsoever, as well as rascals who not only are incorrigible, but are even capable of
leading others into vicious ways. ... It is better to have fewer men than to have them
of this character." l
He deals severely with the conditions in which the troops live. In the
stately barracks their quarters were wretched. They slept two in a bunk, and
Forant immediately requested for them a supply of mattresses and bedding, for
the hay on which they slept was changed but once a year, and, therefore, was
so infested with vermin that many preferred to sleep during summer on the
ramparts. Notwithstanding such conditions and the relations of the men with
their officers, so low a standard had the soldiers, that, in response to his
invitation, no complaints were made.
He then called together the officers of the garrison in his apartment, and
laid before them the complaints of their conduct which had reached the Minister.
These were, that not all the troops were carried on the rolls ; that verbal leave
of absence was given to the soldiers, so that it was said privates had been twelve
or fifteen years in the colony and had never mounted guard ; that new recruits
had to buy unnecessary clothing, which the officers supplied from the uniforms
of the soldiers who had died in the hospital ; that their canteens encouraged
the soldiers to drink ; and that the officers obtained provisions in excessive
quantities from the King's store. The officers seemed much affected by these
charges, and assured him that they were not so bad as they had been represented.
They instituted on the spot certain reforms, and he closed the interview by
saying that the best way to discredit the bad impressions of the past was to see
that in the future no grounds for complaint should occur.
1 I.R. vol. 26.
96 THEIR IMPROVEMENTS AND PLANS 1739
Forant on his previous cruises had visited Louisbourg and was familiar
with its requirements. Knowing its dependence for defence on artillery, he had
provided in France a wooden cannon to serve as a model. He brought it with
him on the Jason, mounted it in the barracks, and thereafter gun drill took
place every Sunday. This he did as preliminary to the establishment of an
artillery company, the necessity of which he urged on the Minister as the troops
were unskilled in serving artillery.
The unsettled state of affairs in Europe directed the attention of Forant
and Bigot to the military condition of Louisbourg. They wrote that in a time
of peace it was suffering from the scarcity of provisions,1 and in time of war a
privateer or two in the Gulf and the Strait of Canso could reduce them by
famine, unless there were more ample stores. It was necessary to send out more
guns with their equipment, and to remount those already on the ramparts, as
their carriages had decayed. They pointed out that it would be inadvisable to
attempt the preservation of guns by dismounting them for the winter, as, if they
were attacked, it would be very early in the year before they could get them
remounted. Forant wrote to urge the Minister to begin the war by attacking
Acadia. With two frigates, two hundred regular troops, two thousand muskets
for the Acadians, whom the English would probably disarm, the expedition under
his command, he would answer for the result. Acadia joined to Isle Royale
would make a flourishing colony,2 and desiring secrecy he wrote in his own hand
a letter,3 displaying his eagerness for attack : " I have the honour to say only,
that in the situation in which we find ourselves we require fewer forts and less
outlay to attack than to defend ourselves." 4 The principle was sound ; when
war came it was, however, the enemies of Isle Royale who acted on it.
The garrison needed strengthening. He pointed out, as St. Ovide had
often done, that it was inadequate to do more than ordinary duty, but he could
get on with the increase of two or three companies and the artillery company.
He begged the Minister not to be deterred by the expense of more barrack
accommodation, for he could provide for eight more companies by giving up his
own house, and utilizing for himself that of Verrier, who was to go to France
the following year.
Bigot was not less active, on his side, in carrying out the Minister's
instructions. He introduced a system of supervision of the King's stores which
was, in his view, called for in a country where officials owned boats, and in
consequence had crews to feed, and were interested in other commercial ventures
1 Vamlrcuil, who commanded the Ja:on, had supplied several vessels with provisions which they could not obtain
in the town.
2 Nov. 14, vol. 21, f. 72. » Nov. 16, f. 86.
4 "J'ay 1'honneur dc vous dire seulement que dans la situation ou nous nous trouvons il nous faut moins de forte* (?)
et dc depanccs pour ataquer que pour nous defandrc."
1739 BIGOT'S EFFORTS TO PROMOTE TRADE 97
which they had more at heart than the interest of the King. He established
an office at the warehouse to supervise the distribution of stores, and made an
attempt to introduce the contract system in the purchase of supplies. His first
effort, asking tenders for molasses for three years, was unsuccessful, on account
of the high price asked by the merchants, who feared war. During the course
of the war with Spain the French merchants had enjoyed the benefit of Spanish
markets for fish over those of England, but its ending would throw them open
to competition with England. This caused Bigot to look to the West Indies
for an extension of the trade in fish, and he suggested to the Minister the
imposition of a duty on salt beef to promote in these islands the consumption of
cod, if it would not hurt the commerce of France.
He promoted experiments for the manufacturing of fish-glue, which seemed
to be successful. He was the first persistent friend of the Cape Breton coal
trade, which seems to have languished, for he at once sent a sample to France,
and, as it again proved good, he continued in later years his attempts to develop
this important industry. He supported his case by pointing out that the coal
mines of Cape Breton supplied New England, and that their produce would be
two-thirds cheaper in France than the coal which the King was then buying.
While their letters of instructions had carefully defined their respective
duties, Forant and Bigot seemed to have worked in entire harmony and acted
together on matters which, strictly, were exclusively entrusted to one or the other
of them. Bigot gave his opinion on military matters, and we find not only a
desire to secure the best interests of the traders of the place on the part of Bigot,
but that he associated Forant in his dealings with these matters. Le Normant
had left an elaborate memoir dealing with the fisheries, which for some years had
been unprofitable. He proposed in it various remedies. Bigot and Forant,
before making any report on the matter, called together the principal traders of
the place, and discussed the subject with them. They also called a general
assembly of the inhabitants and arranged with them the rates to be established
for wintering boats in the little harbour, which had been made in the Barachois
de Lasson.
The business of the colony went on in a satisfactory way. Twelve vessels
had been built in Isle Royale during the year, eight had been bought from New
England, and Bigot urged on the Government to give the same shipbuilding
bounty, 5 1. a ton, as was given in Quebec. The Minister was informed in
relation to foreign trade that only one English vessel had come, which was sent
by Armstrong, Governor of Nova Scotia, with a little flour, the proceeds of
which had been exchanged for French goods. Permission had been readily
granted for this trading, as Forant and Bigot were desirous of placating
Armstrong on account of the missionaries of Acadia. The abundant crops of
H
98 DEATH OF FORANT 1740
Isle St. Jean, where there was now a considerable Acadian population, encouraged
there the further clearing of land.
They secured, by employing these judicious methods, a willing acceptance
of their proposed regulations before they were issued, and in the only case of
conflict of jurisdiction, Forant asserted his supremacy over the officials of the
Admiralty so tactfully that there was no friction about this matter, nor over the
release by him and Bigot of a vessel from the western shore of Newfoundland,
which the Admiralty officials had condemned on technical grounds.
There was no disagreement between them when it came to the consideration
of a most important proposal made by Beauharnois and Hocquart to establish
a warehouse at Louisbourg which, kept permanently supplied, would prevent the
famines to which the colony had throughout its existence been exposed.1 They
said, with sound judgment, that if the storehouse were the King's every one
would depend on it, while if it belonged to a company it would ruin commerce.
The following year, 1 740, was opening with plans for further development
when the career of Forant was cut short, in the inclement spring of Louisbourg,
by an attack of pneumonia, to which he succumbed on May 10, after an illness
of thirteen days. He was buried, at Bigot's instance, and in spite of the criticism
of some of the military, in the chapel of the citadel, Bigot considering that his
position as Governor entitled him to this unusual honour. His eulogy of his
late associate was handsome. Forant knew character, he recalled to better
courses his subordinates who had fallen away, was upright, and inspired by a
sense of justice which was all-important in an establishment full of cabals. Bigot
begged that a successor like him should be sent out. Forant testified in his will
to his high opinion of Bigot, for the latter was made his executor ; and in the
disposition of his property showed his interest in the colony where he had ruled
so short a time by bequeathing a fund for the education of eight daughters of
officers in the Convent of the Sisters of the Congregation. After a short
interval this bequest was made effective.
x The few months in which they administered the colony were too short to
show many results, but the harmony with which they worked, the intelligence
with which they grasped the situation, their interest in trade, their conciliatory
attitude to the people, make it reasonable to believe that had Forant been
appointed at the time St. Ovide became Governor, and ruled as long, the
condition of Louisbourg would have been very different;
Bourville again took charge. At different intervals he had served six years
in all as acting Governor. He now unsuccessfully applied for the position.
While he discharged its duties he continued to make plans for defence, and
representations of the needs of the place in the same strain as his predecessors.
1 Vol. 21, p. 23.
1740 DU QUESNEL APPOINTED 99
He arranged to put, in event of attack, the fishermen and sailors at the outlying
batteries, and reserve his troops, unfamiliar with artillery, for the defence of the
walls. The successor to Forant chosen by Maurepas was Du Quesnel,1 who
hurriedly left France for his new post, where he arrived on November 2, 1740,
and at once assumed the duties of the position.
When Du Quesnel was installed the defence of the town at once occupied
his attention. He stumped forth to inspect the work, for he was one-legged,
a cannon-ball having carried away one leg and shattered the other when he was
on the Admiral's ship in the action off Malaga in 1704. He found the works
of the town in good condition, agreed with the view expressed in one of Forant's
latest letters (February 8), that the royal battery was unsatisfactory on account
of the lowness of the embrasures on the landward side, important in a place
where a surprise was more to be feared than a regular attack. He repeated the
complaints of St. Ovide, Forant, and Bourville, that the garrison was inadequate.2
He asked for fifty more Swiss, as some of the troops knew not their right hand
from their left. Their supply of arms was short, and Bigot joined him in asking
for fifteen hundred more muskets, that the inhabitants might be armed.3
Du Quesnel and Bigot represented that the supply of powder should be
kept up to its present quantity, so that the five tons they had recently received
would be available for privateers should war break out. They asked for six
twelve-pound guns of the new model, which had commended itself to Du Quesnel.
1 Jean Baptiste Louis Le Prevost, Seigneur du Quesnel, de Changy Pourteville et d'autres lieux. I have found little
about his professional advancement. He was made captain, October 1731, and had evidently been in the West Indies,
for his wife was Mademoiselle Giraud de Poyet, daughter of the Lieutenant de Roi at Martinique. The Habitant says,
" Poor man, we owe him little j he was whimsical, changeable, given to drink, and when in his cups knowing no restraint
or decency. He had affronted nearly all the officers of Louisbourg. and destroyed their authority with the soldiers. It
was because his affairs were in disorder and he was ruined that he had been given the government of Cape Breton."
There is no evidence in other sources to confirm this view.
2 An analysis of the guards made in 1741, after the troops had been increased by 80, shows how they
were disposed :
Guards and Reliefs —
Citadel, King's Bastion ..... 94
Queen's Bastion
Port Dauphin Gate
Maurepas Gate
Store-house, Treasury
Hospital Battery
Artillerymen
In Hospital
Royal Battery .
Island Battery .
At Port Dauphin
At Port Toulouse
94
76
76
103
16
20
70
10
25
26
Isle St. Jean .......
A total of 651, while the whole force was 710. With the Island Battery ungarrisoned, it certainly left no effective
combatant force. Bourville wrote in August 1740 that 556 men could not fill the posts (vol. 23, p. 71).
8 They had in store only five hundred at this time.
ioo PLANS OF DU QUESNEL 1740
These cannon were intended for the defence of the town ; but in addition they
asked for a supply of guns and shot, for the same purpose as the extra supply of
powder, the use of privateers.1
The condition of affairs continued so threatening that he asked the officers
who had received permission to go to France (Verrier, Cailly, Commander of
the Swiss, De Pensens, and Sabatier) to remain at their posts, to which they all
cheerfully consented. He also took up a scheme of attack after consultation
with Du Vivier, Du Chambon, the senior officer being at Isle St. Jean.2 They
discussed Forant's plan of attack on Annapolis. They emphasized the necessity
of sending the two men-of-war for which he asked at the same time as the
Basque fishermen who left France in February. They called the Minister's
attention to the fact that, as the English would probably not remain passive,
and Louisbourg would be their objective if they took the field, that the defences
of that place should not be weakened. Du Vivier presented an alternative
scheme to that of Du Quesnel. It was to select two hundred men of the
Louisbourg troops, who were to proceed late in the autumn to Acadia, and lie
hidden in the forests until snow made travelling possible. Then, reinforced by
the Indians and Acadians, the latter being induced to join the expedition by the
payment of lavish prices for their provisions and supplies, these forces should
rush the feeble defences of Annapolis over its snow-filled ditch, and overpower
its small garrison.3 They would require for the expedition two hundred troops,
eight hundred muskets, two hundred haversacks, and 40,000 1. in cash. These,
if the plan was approved, the Minister was asked to send.
While these military matters, being of the most vital concern, were en-
grossing the attention of the authorities, the ordinary commercial business of
the colony was being carried on. The energy of the administration in the
colony seemed to have been reflected in the bureau of the Minister, for the
reports from Isle Royale now received a more careful examination than they had
in the past. Bigot's attention was called to the fact that although the catch of
fish in 1739 was valued at 3,061,465 1., and in 1740 at 2,629,980!., seventeen
more vessels had come from France in the latter year. These either had
returned not fully laden or had bought English cod. Bigot dealt with the
matter with his accustomed openness.4 He admitted that smuggling went on.
1 They asked ror 6 of six pounds with 900 shot, 24 of four pounds with 4500 shot, and copper ladles for hot
shot (I.R. vol. 22, p. 215). As the letter of the Habitant is the most generally known contemporary account of
these years it may be pointed out that in reference to sending out privateers, as well as in other matters, the actions
of the local officials, of which the writer complained, were known to and encouraged by the Minister.
- Letter, December i, 1740. 3 Five companies each of 31 men.
4 He further points out that the captain's personal ventures are not included in returns, nor those of the exports of
Ingonish, the most important place after Louisbourg. I have found no evidence that the practice was different this year
than at previous times, and hazard the surmise that it was the ease with which the excuse passed scrutiny that opened to
him the possibilities of enriching himself by improper means.
i74i BIGOT AND ILLICIT TRADE 101
The new England vessels brought mostly tar, pitch, and planks, and in return
bought rum and molasses, for which there would be an inadequate outlet if it
were not for this trade. He informed the Minister that Sieur Lagarande, the
richest and most charitable merchant of Ingonish, was concerned in this contra-
band trade, but that the principal place where it took place was at Petit de Grat.
This could easily have been prevented by efficiency on the part of the officer at
Port Toulouse, Du Bois Berthelot. A boat to watch this commerce which was
carried on with Canso should be kept, but that unless manned and officered
from a man-of-war, it would be useless. Somewhat later he pointed out that
French and English vessels were accustomed to meet at Martengo,1 a port to
the westward of Canso, where they exchanged cargoes without molestation from
either French or English officials. The new vigour in the home administration,
or confidence in Bigot's representations, is shown by the removal, when these
reports were received, of Du Bois Berthelot from Port Toulouse, and by the
authorization given to Bigot to arrange with D'Aubigny, captain of the man-of-
war on the station in 1741, for the proposed coast-guard, for which a barge of
thirteen oars was sent out. This searching statement of the actual state of
affairs, the proposal of remedies, and the immediate acceptance of the sugges-
tions by Maurepas, are without counterpart in the previous history of Isle
Royale.
The first dispatch received in July by the Louisbourg authorities intimated
to them that the political situation was unchanged, that only through necessity
would the King be drawn into war, but if France should become involved, the
two men-of-war which the King proposed to send to American waters would
be dispatched to Louisbourg to protect the fisheries, and carry out plans
Maurepas had previously sent them. He referred them also to his instructions
to Forant, and with a confidence for which his own acts had given little ground,
expressed the view that while the English might make an attempt on Louis-
bourg, the reports he had received led him to the opinion that it would be
without success. Instead of establishing two more companies he increased the
eight already at Louisbourg by ten men each, sent fifty more Swiss, and enough
recruits to bring all the companies up to their full strength of seventy men.
Fifteen thousand pounds of powder, eight hundred muskets, and some cannon-
ball were shipped out with them. Du Quesnel accepted these supplies, only as
an instalment of what was necessary. They had, he reported, in their armoury,
not a pike, pistol, or sword, and needed mortars as much as small arms. They
were, however, doing all they could. Satisfactory progress was being made on
the fortifications.2 They had increased the number of workers by bringing in
1 I.R. vol. 23, p. 17.
3 The transfer of this work from Ganet to Muiron, the new contractor, was made without loss of time.
io2 PREPARATIONS FOR WAR 1741
the soldiers from the outports, while abolition of Monday as a holiday, and
their efforts to prevent the soldiers getting drunk on rainy days, made the work
more effective. The population was divided into militia companies of fifty men
each, and Verrier projected a small bastion on the landward side of the Royal
Battery 1 to overcome the weakness of that fortification. The only disquieting
reports received, except those from headquarters, were rumours which reached
them from the West Indies of depredations on French commerce by English
privateers, and the appearance off" the port of a suspicious vessel. They sent
out Morpain, the port captain, in search of her. He cruised along the coast
and entered the smaller harbours without any result.
The Swiss had always given some trouble in their dealings with the
Governor, as they were tenacious of the privileges granted to their regiment
the Karrer, possibly because the Louisbourg detachment included its leading
company, " la compagnie Colonelle " ; but this year Cailly, their captain, made
the most serious disturbance by refusing, on a question of precedence, to assemble
his men when ordered by Du Quesnel. His refusal was formal and in writing,
so that Cailly was dismissed ; but his wife having made intercession for him
with Du Quesnel, the latter brought his influence to bear on the Minister, which
led to Cailly's reinstatement.2
The necessity of pushing on the works, and of safe-guarding the morals,
not only of the troops, but of the people of the town, led the authorities to
make, after a long interval, efforts to limit the sale of drink. St. Ovide had
never found the settled season which Costebelle thought was necessary before
it could be effectively dealt with. Du Quesnel and the captains agreed that
the canteens which they had kept, and were a considerable source of profit to
the company commanders,3 should be suppressed. He noted that Du Vivier
had never kept one, having taken the course of giving his men a little money
when they wished to divert themselves, an indication of his being well off"; the
result possibly of those commercial ventures of which the merchants of Louis-
bourg had complained. They dealt with the public sale of drink by regulations
which prohibited traffic in it to any who were capable of earning a livelihood in
some productive employment. Those who engaged in it must have a licence
and display a sign ; they were forbidden to sell to soldiers on duty or working,
to sailors and hired fishermen who were supplied by their masters, or to any one
during the hours of divine service, and after the retreat had been beaten ; the
penalty for an infraction of any of these rules being the confiscation of their
supply and a fine of lool. Further efforts to improve the morals of the place
1 This was not built. 2 Vol. 23, 60, 72.
3 Du Quesnel says that they must shut their eyes to the profit which the officers make from supplying their men,
as the pay of a captain, 1420 1. it too little. He also speaks well of Du Chambon, who succeeded him, as he never engaged
in trade, he was poor.
1742 SCARCITY OF PROVISIONS 103
were made by the Minister sending from the West Indies a negro to apply the
rack to criminals.1
The influence for good exerted by Forant was losing its effect. Du
Quesnel said that things were slipping back into bad ways, that his efforts to
right them had made him unpopular, but that he carried with him the best of
the officers and citizens. He praised Bigot, who, he added, had no other object
than the good of his service. The Minister showed his confidence in them in
the most satisfactory way. Du Quesnel received an indemnity of 5000!. for
the expenses of his removal to Isle Royale, and Bigot, making his request with
a statement that he had never expected to ask for anything but advancement,
says he was compelled, by the expenses of living at Louisbourg, to solicit an
increase in his salary. The Minister sent to him an additional 1200!. with
a commendation of his zeal. Somewhere in the man were the potentialities of
the Bigot of Quebec. They do not appear in the frank, intelligent letters of
one who was a favourite with his associates, who asked for a second Forant as
Governor, from whom a Minister demanded no more than to continue as he had
begun, who placed in him, as years went on, increasing confidence, and, un-
solicited, gave him promotion.
In 1742 Bigot had to deal with those economic conditions which so often
had injured the colony. In May they sent an express to warn Maurepas that
Louisbourg was again on the verge of starvation. They had attempted to
obtain flour at Canso, but without success, and they were further disquieted by
the report that the exportation of provisions from New York and New England
was forbidden. Nevertheless, in the emergency, they sent a vessel there with
some hopes of obtaining a cargo for it, as an officer 2 of Canso was interested in
the venture.
Du Quesnel and Bigot suggested that to avoid the recurrence of these
periods of scarcity a store-house for flour from New England should be
established at Louisbourg. This would have given no immediate relief even if
permission were given to undertake its founding. The situation demanded
prompter remedies. In June the soldiers were persuaded to submit to the
limitation of their bread to a pound a day, which set free about three hundred-
weight of flour to be distributed among the needy. The fishermen also cut
down their consumption, which helped matters ; but the curtailment of food was
uncomfortable, and the dearth of vegetables produced ill-health among the
1 Vol. B, 72, f. 10.
2 It seems a fair surmise that this was Bradstreet, then an officer of this garrison, who was related to several of the
officers at Louisbourg. Bradstreet says that he was thoroughly familiar with Nova Scotia, so that this connection would
have arisen probably through the De la Tour family. He was certainly interested in trade, for in 1741 he visited Louis-
bourg, carrying to Du Quesnel the congratulations of Cosby. He there sold his schooner, bought rum with its proceeds,
and laid out two thousand crowns in the port (I.R. vol. 23, f. 57).
io4 THE FISHERIES A FAILURE 1742
people. This distressing condition continued until August, when some relief
was obtained by the arrival of small vessels from New England and Quebec,
and in September the arrival of the store-ship from France brought abundance.
But to fully justify Du Quesnel's description of Isle Royale as an unhappy
colony, as the fishing had been a failure, the people were too poor to buy food
at the high prices asked. Bigot, who had previously seen the agricultural re-
sources of the Mire, and regretted that so fair an estate on its banks had been
given to St. Ovide, saw this year, on a tour of inspection to the northern parts,
the agricultural lands along the Bras d'Or lakes, which made him certain that
the island might become self-sustaining. The Minister sent a prompt reply
which denied approval to the recommendation of a store-house for New England
flour, although he had previously been told that the merchants of Quebec did
not fear the competition of New England. In this he followed the same policy
as the Navy Board of the Regency which had disapproved in 1716 of Coste-
belle's suggestion of a permitted trade with New England. Costebelle had
accepted the decision without protest. Bigot did not hesitate to warn Maurepas
that, if his views were carried out, the colony would be injured. Crops in
Canada would in the future fail, as they had in two successive years. If Isle
Royale must depend on France alone, without drawing any part of its supplies
from New England, the cost of living would be so permanently enhanced that it
would carry on its business at a great disadvantage. He returned to the matter
the following year, and showed that flour from New England delivered at Louis-
bourg cost less1 than French flour delivered at Rochefort. In addition to this
disadvantage, the shipment of flour with which he made comparison was so poor
in quality that it could only be used by mixing it with that from the British
colony.
Such periods of scarcity as this had been passed through not infrequently.
Nothing, however, had arisen in the past to affect the fundamental advantages
of Isle Royale in its great industry, but in these years complaints of the
quality of the fish it sent to European markets were heard. As we learn
from English sources - that the curing of fish at Canso was bad, these
complaints of the poor quality of French shipments give basis for a confirmation
of the reports that the merchants of Louisbourg bought Canso fish, as they
were cheaper than their own catch.8 In the midst of these discouragements,
the promise of a new trade gave encouragement to its people. It had been
thought that Louisbourg would prove an admirable port of call for French
merchantmen on long voyages. This year the Eakine of Nantes, from
Vera Cruz to Cadiz, called at Louisbourg for provisions and a convoy for
the remainder of her voyage. Her cargo consisted of treasure and such
1 16 or 17 1., as against 17 1., 18 1., 18 1. 10 ». (vol. 25). 2 C.O. 5/5 ; B.T.N.S. 5. 3 Wecden, p. 595/6.
1742 DU QUESNEL'S OPERATIONS 105
valuable commodities as cochineal and indigo. She was followed by other
vessels of the same kind, but this course proved disadvantageous to the port
and disastrous to most of the vessels.1
The possibilities of war seemed in Europe no nearer, although, in July,
Du Quesnel was warned that they might change at any moment. Du Vivier's
plan had been considered, and Du Quesnel was told to get all the information
he could. In reply he informed the Court that an engineer had come to
fortify Annapolis Royal in brick, and to erect fortifications at Canso, which
should not be permitted. He asked for orders, either to openly stop the
work, or to stir up the Indians against the English. A further cause or
uneasiness was the action of an English man-of-war which had prevented
the French from fishing off Canso, but Du Quesnel was not in a position
to act firmly. The Minister had not responded to their demands for further
troops and supplies. He would not consider their proposals for additions
to the fortifications. Those already projected, he wrote, must be completely
finished before any new work should be undertaken. The King was surprised
that after so many years there was so much work in an incomplete state.
Moreover, the state of the Royal treasury was such, that they could not send
out the supplies and munitions for which the Governor had asked. Du
Quesnel's answer was reasonable : they would do the best they could, although
the supplies were essential. He accepted a suggestion of the Minister to
minimize their demands for artillery, by moving the guns from one battery
to another, which they would do if the field carriages were sent. His view
was that the outlay already made on Louisbourg, as well as its importance,
demanded that he should be put in a state to respond to the confidence
placed in him.2
With the long break in its activities caused by the winter season it was
easy for the hopeful to trust that when the season reopened things would
be better, for they had closed in gloom. The colony was in the most
miserable condition it had ever been. The purchases of supplies at exorbitant
prices to avoid starvation made it impossible for the people to carry out
the engagements into which they had entered. Bigot looked forward to a
certain loss on the shipments of provisions which had been sent out to sell
to the people in the two preceding years. The French merchants complained
to the Minister that they could not continue shipments to Isle Royale unless
they were paid for previous ventures. Moreover, they were also deterred
by the fear of finding their market forestalled by arrivals from New England,
and although official information had been given to all the shipping ports of
1 The treasure ships which called in 1744 hampered the military operations and reduced the number of men
in the town by shipping many in their crews. In 1745 the ships were captured. 2 Vol. 24, Oct. 7, 9, 22, 24.
io6 DIFFICULT CONDITIONS 1743
France in the previous autumn of the need of supplies at Louisbourg, this
official intimation produced little effect. Bigot rose to the situation and was
able to report that he had collected from the people 32,000 I.,1 more than he
had expended for supplies, and in the autumn the French ships which had
come out had sold their cargoes well.2
The torpor of malnutrition affected the commerce of the country. The
people would not take up the manufacture of glue, nor the shipment of u nodes
de morues," for which a market had been found in France. Bigot's efforts
to push forward the coal trade had not met with much success. The coal
was too light for the heavy forging on which it had been again tested at
Rochefort. Its export was further hampered by the prohibition to take it
on men-of-war or the store-ships of the navy, on account of the danger of
spontaneous combustion, although merchant vessels made no objections to
carry it to the West Indies. Above all, the fishery was a failure. A fortuitous
circumstance relieved the military aspect of the food supply. Alarmed by
the appearance of caterpillars in Canada, its authorities wrote in July 1743
to those of Isle Royale that they must obtain for them from New England
at least 4000 barrels of flour. They acted promptly, for Hocquart said that
on them depended the salvation of Canada. Du Vivier was sent to Canso
with a credit of 80,000 1. to buy this supply. He had completed the purchase
before a second letter came from Quebec informing them that the pest had
disappeared and the harvest promised well, so there was no longer a necessity
for the supply. Sixteen or seventeen hundred barrels were delivered that
autumn, and more would have been sent had the authorities of Boston and
New York not been advised by the English court to be on their guard.
They had in consequence prohibited further shipments to Louisbourg. The
anonymous Canso agent of the French was at Louisbourg when this news
was received. He said the authorities would not have interfered with further
shipments had he been on the spot, as he would have cleared the vessels for
Placentia, and further promised, should it be at all possible, to continue
shipments the following year even if war broke out ; an incidental verification
of the view that commerce was a more dominant factor in the eighteenth
century than national animosity. Bigot proposed, and the Minister consented,
to use this extra supply as a reserve which would give rations for the troops
until October 1745. There were other foreshadowings of the strained relations
with England than the forbidding of exportation to Louisbourg. The English
man-of-war at Canso captured a vessel of Du Chambon on her voyage from
1 On previous occasions of the same kind his predecessors had never succeeded in making more than trifling collections.
- The returns of commerce do not indicate as serious a falling-off in vessels as might be expected from the phrasing
of these letters.
1743 DU QUESNEL'S REPRESENTATIONS 107
Isle St. Jean to Louisbourg, and Du Vivier returned to Canso, this time in
his military capacity, and made such representations that the vessel was released.
The slackness with which the colonial affairs of England and France were
administered, is shown by the fact that Cosby and Du Vivier had copies of the
Treaty of Utrecht which differed in the points of the compass determining
the fishing boundaries, as had the documents to which Smart and St. Ovide
referred in 1718. In a score or more of years this needless cause of mis-
understanding had not been cleared up.
The year was unsatisfactory in a military way. Men were scarce in France ;
the King's treasury was low and this affected the strengthening of Louisbourg,
but the Minister promised to do the best he could the next year, when they
might expect enough cannon for one flank of each battery. Signals were
arranged for the men-of-war, which were to be dispatched as soon as the
rupture took place. The companies were full, so only thirty recruits were
sent out, which left unanswered Du Quesnel's insistent demand for reinforcement.
Their efforts to push on the work had produced results, the walls were
complete, the parapet and one gate on the quay were finished, as well as the
supplementary batteries at the Prince's Bastion and the Batterie de la Grave.
He pointed out again that the work at the Dauphin Gate was necessary as
well as the razing of Cap Noir, which commanded all the southern fortifications.
This, Du Quesnel said, had never been proposed by the engineers, as the
recommendation of this course would have exposed their mistake in not in-
cluding this eminence within the walls of the town.
As in all emergencies, the ordinary business of life went on much in its
accustomed way, funds were allotted, ecclesiastical and civil matters dealt with,
promotions were made, gratuities distributed. Six young ladies were enjoying
the advantages of Forant's bequest ; and two chats-ceruiers were sent from
Louisbourg for the King's menagerie, to succeed in La Muette the one whose
fondness for music had been the delight of the Royal children.1
The condition of Louisbourg was in the highest degree unsatisfactory.
It was the key to Canada, it gave a base for fishery, but it was inadequately
supplied with provisions and munitions of war ; its garrison was not only
inadequate, but of poor quality ; its artillery required an increase of seventy-
seven guns to make all its fortifications effective. For ten years the plan of
attack, if an attack was to be made, had been laid by its Governors before the
Minister, and these documents had not all been pigeon-holed. They were
known to Maurepas himself, and there exists a memorandum which is marked
"presented to the King" (porte au roi), dated June 20, 1743, which gives
a resumd of the history of Louisbourg.2 This places the responsibility of its
1 De Goncourt, Portraits intimes, p. 8. 2 I.R. vol. 26, p. 219.
io8 MADAME DE POMPADOUR 1743
condition on Louis XV. himself. So much of evil in his career has been
attributed to the malign influence of Madame de Pompadour, that it may be
noted that at this time when, more than in later years, he neglected his colony,
she was Madame d'Etioles, and had never seen His Most Christian Majesty,
except in the hunting field.
CHAPTER VIII
THE declaration of war with England was made on March 18, 1744, and
expedited to Louisbourg by a merchant vessel of St. Malo, which arrived on
May 3. It was accompanied and followed by letter after letter to encourage
privateering. Blank commissions were sent out to Du Quesnel, as Maurepas
was alive to the advantage of being first in the predatory field. His encourage-
ment, however, stopped short of making a gift of the powder and shot which
was sent out for the use of these vessels, for he sent instructions that they
must pay for these supplies. A prompt shipment of food was promised, and
permission was given to Bigot to send to New England for an additional
supply. Orders were given for the two men-of-war to go to Louisbourg, and
referring to the fortification of Canso, Maurepas said that the best way of
settling the question was by the capture of that outpost of the English. The
King, he added, wished that Du Quesnel should use the Indians to continually
harry the English in all their settlements. These instructions, involving
carrying the war into the colonies, and, if they were to be successful, demanding
vigorous execution, found Louisbourg ill-prepared to do its part.
On May 9 there was food in Louisbourg for no longer than three weeks
or a month, although the people were living largely on shellfish.1 This
condition, unusual in the spring, had arisen through the Basque fishermen not
coming out. The authorities foresaw that if help did not speedily come they
would have to send the inhabitants back to France, unless they should migrate
in a body to some foreign country. The fisher folk of Baleine and the
Lorambecs, under the pressure of famine and the fear of war, had come in, and
were plotting with those at Louisbourg to force the government to supply them
from the military stores. Du Quesnel took steps to prevent an uprising, and
lessened its possibility by giving some provisions to prevent the people dying
of hunger. Some vessels arrived, and reduced the distress, although again
in September it was only the receipt of the stores from Quebec which prevented
their abandoning the colony, and even then Du Chambon wrote that " to-day
1 Du Quesnel to Maurepas, vol. 26.
109
no REITERATED WARNINGS 1744
it was more than ever to be feared that this accident would arrive." They
were in no condition, said Du Quesnel in his letter of May I ,* to undertake an
enterprise against Acadia. He was anxious to send out privateers, but he
had only Morpain, who was already at sea, and Doloboratz, then engaged in
the expedition to Canso, and therefore applied to the Governor-General of
Canada for men. It seemed superfluous to say that as they had no pistols or
cutlasses the men of Louisbourg were loath to go unarmed on such expeditions.
He again pointed out to the Minister that their request for troops, artillery,
arms, and provisions had not been granted, and the condition of the place, no
less for defence than offence, was pitiable. Their difficulties were material. It
required no more than the receipt of some further provisions and munitions
of war to cause the Governor and officers to undertake the aggressive operations
suggested to them by the Minister.
Canso was the first object of attack ; its condition was to the last degree
indefensible. Its garrison consisted of about one hundred and twenty men,
commanded by Captain Patrick Heron of Phillips' regiment. In the harbour
was a sloop of war of unspecified strength, in command of which was Lieutenant
George Ryall,2 detached by Captain Young of the Kinsale for the protection of
the fisheries and the prevention of trade with Isle Royale. Its defences were a
blockhouse built of timber by the contributions of the fishermen and inhabitants,
in so poor a condition that to its repair, and that of the huts in which the
soldiers lived, their officers had frequently contributed from their private
purses.8 The military authorities of England were as slow as those of France.
It was not until July 19, I744,4 that the Master of the Ordnance was directed
to order that the Fort of Annapolis be put into a good posture of defence
without loss of time, and that a fort of sod-work be erected at Canso with
the assistance of some of H.M. ships of war, and that General Phillips' regiment
be forthwith augmented to the highest establishment.
On the 23rd of October 1744, a warrant was passed to add 10 sergeants,
10 corporals, 10 drummers, and 392 privates to Lieut.-General Richard Phillips'
regiment serving in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland ; establishment to take place
from 25th August 1744.
Statement annexed of the cost of maintenance of " A Regiment of Foot
o
commanded by Lieut. -Genl. Phillips." 5
1 To Vaudreuil. Du {^uesnel's spirit is shown in a k-ttcr to Maurepas : "trois points de mon discour Monseigneur
troupes vivres et munitions de guerre avec quoy vous devez cstre persuade que cette Place ne craindra rien et que je la
deffenderay au dcla dc ce qu'on pcut espirer " (May n, vol. 26, pp. 55-56).
'2 Captain's letters.
3 Such was its condition as reported by Mascarene, Governor of Nova Scotia, and confirmed by the letters of
Captain Young of H.M.S. kimale.
4 B.T. Jls. vol. 52, p. 137.
8 Consisting of companies of 70 private men in each.
1744 THE CAPTURE OF CANSO in
Field and Staff Officers . ... . . • £* 7 10 per day, i.e.
Colonel, izs. zd. in lieu of servants . . . . o 14 o"
Lt.-Col. . . . . . . . . . 070
Major, 55.; Chaplain, 6s. 8d. ; Adjnt., 45. . . . o 15 8 -£2 7 10
Quarter-Master, 45. 8d. in lieu of servant . . . 048
Surgeon, 45.; Mate, zs. 6d. . . . . . 066
One Company, £3:18:6 per day, including —
Captain, 8s. zd. in lieu of servants . . . .£0100
Lieut., 45. 8d. „ „ 048
Ensign, 33. 8d. „ „ . . . . 038
3 Sergeants at o i 6 each'
3 Corporals at . . . . . . . o i o
z Drummers at . . . . . . . o i o „ -£3 1 8 6
10 Privates at ........ o o
Other expenses ........04
Eight other Companies do. . . . . . .3180
One Company of Grenadiers.
Pay and numbers the same as last, except they had two Lieuts. and no Ensign.
Expense P. diem . . . £3 19 6
Total for Regiment 1 . . . £41 13 10
For the first time, in May of this year, the officers of Louisbourg set out on
a warlike expedition.2 The command was given to Du Vivier, one of the sons
of the first officer who died in Louisbourg, where he and his brother were
brought up by their mother in a modest house on the Place du Port with
dependencies extending to the Rue Royale. In the peace of that place he had
spent his entire life. The force was made up of 22 officers, 80 French and 37
Swiss soldiers, and 218 sailors, mostly the crew assembled for manning the man-
of-war Caribou, built at Quebec. They embarked on the schooner Succes,
Doloboratz' privateer, a vessel of Du Chambon, and fourteen fishing boats.
They met no resistance when they appeared before Canso.3 On May 24 a
capitulation was signed by which the garrison and inhabitants surrendered.
They were to remain prisoners of war for a year, their property was to be spared
and carried to Louisbourg on the schooner of Bradstreet, and Du Vivier under-
took to use his best efforts to have the ladies and children senf at once to Boston
or Annapolis. The same terms were given to the crew of the guard sloop.
News of this exploit was sent to Boston. Shirley asked to have Heron sent back,
but the latter would not abandon his troops. Du Quesnel returned all those
1 In all 815 men, officers included (War Office, 24/232).
2 Boularderie says that, as none of the officers had any experience in war, he was asked by Du Quesnel to go on the
expedition (Derniers Jours, p. 1 88).
3 A. M. St. M. vol. 50. The Habitant, never trustworthy, says Du Vivier had 600 soldiers and sailors. The total
force was 351.
ii2 EXPEDITION TO ANNAPOLIS 1744
captured at Canso, on condition that they would not bear arms against France for
a year from September I, the time of their release, and forwarded to Shirley an
agreement duly signed. Shirley at once repudiated this action, on the ground that
Heron and his men acted under duress ; but Heron and the other officers intimated
that they felt themselves bound by the agreement into which they had entered, and
when there was need of their services the next year it apparently required official
action to free their consciences.1 The vital part of the transaction was the cost
of maintaining these troops, which Shirley did not care to assume, and of which,
in the conditions of Louisbourg, Du ^)uesnel was anxious to be rid. Shirley did
not accept the views of Du Quesnel, but their correspondence was courteous, and
was accompanied by an exchange of presents. Du Quesnel sent with one of his
letters a barrel of white wine. Shirley's reply was supplemented by a cask of
English beer and three turkeys. The Governor of Massachusetts, notwithstand-
ing these marks of good feeling, was firm in maintaining the position he took in
regard to the prisoners. He also refused Du Quesnel's proposition that in any
warlike operations the fisheries of both nations should, as in the beginning of
the century, be neutral and undisturbed, his ground for this being that the
French had been the aggressors.2
It was not expected that Canso would make any resistance, but the con-
ditions at Annapolis were not favourable to a brilliant defence. Its fort was
built of earth of a sandy nature, " apt to tumble down in heavy rains or in thaws
after frosty weather." It had been repaired from time to time with timber, and
there was then assembled on the ground material for its permanent reconstruction.
It was, however, laid out on such a scale that it would require five hundred
men to defend it, and the garrison consisted of five companies, each, at its full
complement, of thirty-one men. The conditions of defence were therefore not
different, except to the disadvantage of the English, from those of Louisbourg.
Its small garrison, commanded by Mascarene, was, for example, so ill-supplied
with arms that there were not enough muskets to arm the reinforcements it
received. Its troops were so ill-clothed that they were permitted to wear a
blanket when on sentinel duty, and the provision of six or seven " watch coats "
made of duffle, worn in turn, added much to the comfort of the garrison during
the next winter. Its people had been thrown into a panic on May 18 by the
report that Morpain, port captain of Louisbourg — so renowned a privateer in
the wars of thirty odd years before, that his name still struck terror into an
English population — was to appear before the place at the head of a band of five
hundred French and Indians. The inhabitants of the lower town, among
whom were the families of several officers and soldiers, began to remove their
1 An order in Council was passed, iith of April 1745, directing both officers and men to disregard the capitulation
forced on them by Du Qucsnel (B.T. Jls. vol. 53). 2 C.O. 5/909.
1744 DU VIVIER'S INSTRUCTIONS 113
goods into the fort. The report proved unfounded, but the arrival of the
Massachusetts galley shortly after, bringing news of the declaration of war,
gave an opportunity for some of the officers to send their families to New
England. These were followed . by as many as two other vessels could carry,
but even after they had left, seventy women and children were quartered within
the fort. Bastide, the engineer, had come on the Massachusetts galley, and
under his direction temporary repairs were made to the fortifications, which work
was carried on by the aid of the French inhabitants, until a band of Indians, on
July i, caused the withdrawal of the French. Mascarene had only a hundred
men in the garrison fit for duty. The workmen from " Old and New England "
on the whole behaved well, but the grumbling of some of the New England
men, who took the ground that they had come to work, not to fight, " Caus'd a
backwardness and dispiritedness amongst their fellows." The loss was small in
the first attack by the Indians, who reached the foot of the glacis, but were
dislodged by the cannon of the fort, which kept them from doing further harm
than marauding, until the arrival of the first reinforcement of seventy men from
Massachusetts caused them to retire. This reinforcement was followed by a
second detachment of forty. Both of them, however, were 'sent without arms,
and the supply on hand was not enough to furnish them with efficient weapons.
The capture of Canso being effected, the next point of French attack was
naturally Annapolis. Du Vivier set forth early in August.1 He had with him
thirty soldiers and various munitions of war on the schooner Sucds and another
vessel. At Isle St. Jean he took on twenty more soldiers. His first duty was to
quiet the Indians at Bale Verte, who were pillaging the Acadian inhabitants. His
instructions from Du Quesnel for his later operations, were to confine the
troops of England within Annapolis Royal, so that the assistance the French
expected to receive from the Acadians should appear to the English as forced
from them, and, still further to protect and encourage the inhabitants, to pay
those who gave them any assistance. The hope of any Acadians joining Du
Vivier was meagre, for only two hundred and fifty muskets were sent to arm
them. Du Vivier was to approach Annapolis Royal, and if he found it possible
to make a sudden attack, " A faire quelque coup sur Eux," he should do so,
taking care, nevertheless, not to compromise the troops or the inhabitants of the
country. If his report was favourable, and no contrary orders were received from
France, Du Quesnel promised to send him some vessels to attempt the taking of
the fort. If it could not be done without endangering themselves too much, and
with a moral certainty of success, he was to withdraw, leaving one or two officers
with the soldiers, and a hundred picked Indians, so as to prevent the English
1 His expenses at Mines began on the zgth, which may be taken as the date of his arrival in the settlements of
Nova Scotia.
I
u4 HIS OPERATIONS AT ANNAPOLIS 1744
disquieting the Acadians. He was to retire by September 15, unless he had
then received word from Du Quesnel ; and he was again cautioned to display
the utmost prudence, to expose no one needlessly, and to protect the Acadians
as far as possible. These instructions, which, it will be seen, were in effect
simply to confine the English within the fort, that the Acadians might be
unmolested, to make a reconnaissance and to report, were not such as to lead to
a dashing or determined attack.
Du Vivier arrived before the fort with colours flying, and then retired to
his encampment about a mile distant. His Indians made disquieting attacks,
night after night, on the little garrison, the commander of which had no intention
of troubling the Acadians, who were left to gather in their harvests, which
Du Quesnel feared they would not be permitted to do. Du Vivier sent word
to Du Quesnel that the attack should be made, and was informed in reply that
the Ardent and Caribou, two ships of force, would be dispatched to his aid.
Du Vivier thus completely carried out his orders. He prepared scaling-ladders
and combustible materials in preparation for the event, and on his own initiative
entered into negotiations with Mascarene.1 He sent his brother, who was
serving with him, on September 14, to Mascarene with a letter saying that he
expected reinforcements by sea, and proposed that Annapolis should surrender,
offering very favourable terms, which were not to be effective until his good
faith had been proved by the arrival of the French ships. He thus evidently
expected no more resistance than he had found at Canso. His views were so
far justified that when Mascarene consulted his officers he found that the
majority of them were in favour of accepting the French proposal.2 Mascarene,
feeling that his hand was being forced, made the heads of the various departments
sign a statement of the condition of the works and of the garrison, and then
permitted, through chosen officers, various negotiations to go on, and consented
(purely as a preliminary) to an acceptance by these officers of Du Vivier's terms ;
but although " desired and pretty much press'd " to sign himself, he absolutely
refused. The truce, which had been arranged for carrying on these negotiations,
was then broken off. Mascarene found that the men of the garrison, whom
their officers had represented as dispirited, were really uneasy over these
negotiations with the enemy, and, to cut them short, had threatened to seize
their officers "for parleying too long with the enemy." He "immediately
sent the Fort Major to acquaint them with what was past, and that, all parley
being broken off, hostilities were going to begin again, to which they expressed
their assent by three cheerful Huzzas to my great satisfaction." Fifty more
men of Gorham's Rangers arrived from Boston, and Mascarene threatened to
1 Mascarene to Shirley, Dec. i~44, N.S. Archives, vol. i, p. 140.
2 " All the officers, except three or four, very ready to accept the proposal."
1744 HIS WITHDRAWAL 115
visit Du Vivier at his camp. Before he did so, word was brought to him that
the French had gone. His first idea was that it was a feint, but he found to
his astonishment that they had left the country, which, not unnaturally, he
attributed to their fear of his making an attack. Thereafter the British
were only disquieted by the Indians, who were dispersed by the rangers of
Massachusetts, incited thereto by scalp bounties which Shirley went beyond his
powers as Governor of Massachusetts in guaranteeing them.1
Du Vivier had withdrawn, not fearing conflict, but on account of orders
he had received from Louisbourg. Capt. De Gannes, who felt that he had
claims to lead the expedition superior to those of Du Vivier, had been appointed
to take charge of the detachment which was to winter in Acadia. He set out,
after making some difficulties, and, as his conduct shows, with no intention to
allow any credit to Du Vivier, but with the purpose of asserting to the utmost
limit his authority over him. He insisted on an immediate withdrawal, would
not wait to destroy the storming materials which Du Vivier had prepared, nor
to hear Mass, although the time of their leaving was a Sunday morning.
Both expeditions returned to Louisbourg, where De Gannes found himself
" sent to Coventry" by his brother officers and the people of the town. He
demanded a meeting with the officers in the presence of the Governor. De
Cannes' excuse at this assembly was that he had no orders to carry on the siege ;
that he had retired from Port Royale because they had no provisions, and from
Mines because the inhabitants begged them to do so. He presented certificates
from his officers, that even when they went armed, to obtain bread from the
inhabitants, they had scarcely any", success ; as well as one from the inhabitants
of Mines begging them to withdraw. The officers remained silent with the
exception of Du Vivier, who absolutely denied everything De Gannes had
said. They then examined Abbe Maillard and Du Vivier. Maillard
sustained Du Vivier's story and denied that of De Gannes. He explained that
the refusal of the inhabitants to give them bread began only when De Gannes
announced that they were to retire ; that previously there was abundance in
the French camp. The Abbe added that when De Gannes arrived at Mines,
1 " For which Reason I think it of such Consequence to his Majesty's Service that the Indians and other New
England Auxiliaries enlisted in it at Annapolis Royal should have premiums for scalping and taking Captive the Indian
Enemy as the People within this Province have, and, as I am inform'd, as promised to the French Indians by Mr.
Du Vivier, that I am determin'd the present Demands of Captain Gorham and his Indians for three Scalps and one
Captive already brought in shall be satisfy'd in some Method or other upon the hopes of a Reimbursement from his
Majesty, and shall endeavour to procure for 'em the same premiums for the future from the Assembly upon the prospect
of their being reimburs'd in the same Way, since I find I can't prevail upon 'em to extend their own Bounty to those
enlisted in his Majesty's Service within his Government of Nova Scotia, which they seem to have an unalterable
persuasion ought to be given at his Majesty's Expence " (Shirley to Newcastle, Nov. 9, 1744, C.O. 5/900).
I have found no reference in the French documents to any bounty offered by Du Vivier. It does not seem probable
that if a bounty had been offered this proof of zeal on the part of the authorities would have passed unnoticed in letters
to the Minister.
1 1 6 DE CANNES' ACTION— DU QUESNEL'S DEATH 1744
the latter held a council with himself and the other priests, Miniac, Lagoudalie,
Leloutre ; that he represented to them the pitiful situation of the Acadians,
whom it would better serve to join with the English than to enter again into
allegiance with France, as Louisbourg was incapable of helping them. De
Cannes had gone on to make the same statement to the principal inhabitants,
with whom in the presence of the priests he arranged for presenting to him the
request to withdraw his force, on which De Cannes relied as a justification,1 and
notwithstanding a letter from Du Chambon blaming him for being so precipitate,
he persisted in his withdrawal. So when, in default of the ships of the line,
which for a variety of causes had not been sent, on the night of October 25 the
frigate Le Castor and two vessels with French troops arrived before Annapolis,
they found all quiet. Bonnaventure went ashore. He, to find out the situation,
aroused an inhabitant and brought him and a companion on board the frigate,
and from him heard the astonishing story that De Cannes had remained only
two days at the camp. The Acadians said that the fort, which contained only
provisions for eight days, was ready to surrender, and that the women and
children were prepared to fly to the head of the river, at the time the situation
was relieved by the departure of the French. After a stay of three days the
expedition returned to Louisbourg, taking with them their captures, two small
vessels with supplies from Boston. The deputies of the Acadians promptly
made their peace with Mascarene.
It is difficult to account for the conduct of De Cannes. His views were
justified by events, but unsuitable to be proclaimed by a French officer. Under
any administration less lax than that of the French Navy at that time, his
conduct would have met with the severest punishment. Du Chambon, who had
succeeded Du Quesnel after the latter's sudden death on October 9, instead of
deposing De Cannes, simply reported to the Minister. Bigot, ready enough
generally to express his opinion, brought no influence to bear on Maurepas, and
De Cannes continued to serve, and eventually passed to higher positions.
The only ones to suffer were the priests. Year after year the priests of
Acadia had been cautioned to confine themselves to their sacerdotal functions
and respect the British power. But the three priests who fell in with De Cannes'
views were deprived of their allowance from the French Government.
Desenclaves was not present, but a captured letter forwarded by Warren
expresses his views on the expedition :
:t Surtout aprcs trop de Le"gerete* que avoit fair paroitre du Terns de Monsr. Du Vivier.
II est 6tonnant que Ton se soit mis dans L'ldfe, qu'avec une petite Poigne"e du Monde qui
n'avoit aucune Ide"e de la Guerre on Voulut essayer de re"duire un Province aux Fortes
' Oct. 10, 1744, N.S. Archives, vol. i, p. 135, printed on p. 125.
i744 THE FAILURE OF MESCHIN 117
de Boston" . . . and, thus, on the way they were treated as priests, "Le Point le plus
Important est celui de la Religion mais nous sommes entierement libre la-dessus, n'ayant
cut d'autre Empechement dans nos Exercises, que celui qui est devenu de la Part de
Francois ; Je pense Monsr. que ces Egards que Ton a la-dessus ne laissent pas d'atterer les
Benedictions de Ciel sur les Puissances qui nous commandent." l
Returning now to the events which had taken place at Louisbourg, we find
that the proceedings of the French men-of-war were as ineffective as those of
the land forces. Meschin was in command of the Ardent^ a vessel of sixty-four
guns, which, although her departure had been planned for April, did not leave
Rochelle until June 18, and then convoyed twenty-six vessels for the West
Indies and Canada. After leaving them, he lost his bowsprit in a gale, shortly
before arriving at Louisbourg on August 16. He found that the Caribou,
a vessel built at Quebec, had been rigged and manned and was privateering
under the command of Morpain. He promised to be ready to sail for
Annapolis by the 5th or 6th of September after his repairs were made and his
crew refreshed ; but when the time came, his version is that Du Quesnel said
that it was undesirable to go, as the English had been reinforced, and that it was
important to guard their own coast from privateers. On the 9th they went
cruising, captured a privateer of twelve cannons, twenty-one swivels, and ninety
men, attempted to find three other Boston privateers at Newfoundland, and
returned unsuccessful on October 1 1 .
Bigot and Du Chambon proposed to him to attempt Annapolis, to which
he willingly agreed. The news of this venture having spread abroad, the
captains of eight vessels of the Compagnie des Indies made formal representations
to him, and, as well, to Du Chambon and Bigot, in which they said that they had
orders to come to Louisbourg to be convoyed thence to France by the King's ships.
Meschin proposed that they should accompany him to Acadia, as he might not
be able to regain Louisbourg on his way to France. As these vessels from
China and India were without moorings, their captains justly said that it would
be an enormous risk to their valuable cargoes to accompany him into the
Bay of Fundy. It was decided that he should take them to France, but, as the
voyage turned out, he might as well have gone to Acadia, for the fleet of fifty-
two sail which had left Louisbourg under his convoy became dispersed, and he
arrived towards the end of December without any of them.
A knowledge of this fleet of East Indiamen comes to us through a
deposition made by two men " of full age " who appeared in Boston in
September.2 They had been in the East Indies, and being minded to return
1 Desenclaves to the Superior of St. Sulpice, Sept. 25, 1765, Ad. Sec. In Letters, No. 2655. Desenclaves was a
severe critic of his compatriots. Maillard also was not hopeful about French prospects ; see Canadian Archives, 1906, p. 45.
2 C.O. 5/900, f. 122.
n8 FRENCH AND NEW ENGLAND PRIVATEERS 1744
home, had taken passage in the spring on a French East Indiaman the Mars,
and sailed for France in company with the Baleine. Five other ships left the
undesignated port in the East about the same time : three of which were from
China, loaded with tea and porcelain ; two others from Bengal and Pondicherry,
loaded with piece goods and coffee ; and the fifth from the Isle De Bourbon.
Off the Cape of Good Hope they fell in with a French vessel, which advised
them that war was about to be declared. At Ascension, where they arrived
about the latter end of May, a packet boat from France was waiting for them
with orders to proceed direct to Louisbourg. They arrived there, with one
exception, in July and August, and in the latter month also came in two armed
vessels of the company, with three or four merchantmen with provisions
and reinforcements for the armament and crews of the ships from the East.
The Mars and Baleine, after this strengthening, mounted upwards of fifty
guns, each with a crew of three hundred and fifty men. The Fullavie (?),
Philibert, Argonaute, and the Due cT Anjou mounted thirty guns with
a crew of one hundred and fifty. The deponents seem to have returned
from Louisbourg with the Canso prisoners, and at once gave this information
to Shirley.
Meschin was an officer of good reputation, and his letters shows willingness
to act. The moral effect of Shirley's unarmed and untrained reinforcements,
in deterring Du Quesnel from sending vessels against Annapolis, was of vastly
greater importance than the services of these levies in the actual defence against
the skirmishing of Du Vivier.1
The New England colonies had remained on the defensive during the year.
All that they did was to lay an embargo with very severe penalties on trade with
Louisbourg and Martinique. Dissatisfied as were the officials of Louisbourg
with the number of privateers they were able to send out, those that they did, as
well as the privateers from France, making Louisbourg or ports in the West
Indies their head-quarters, seriously interfered with the extended commerce of
New England. Even with the towns of Isle Royale there were eighty or ninety
vessels regularly employed. The fishing fleet of New England was very large,
and their coasters plied along the littoral of the North Atlantic from Newfound-
land and the Gulf of St. Lawrence to the West Indies. In addition to Morpain,
Doloboratz was in command of a privateer of twelve cannon and as many
swivels, in which he assisted at the reduction of Canso, and then proceeded to
cruise on the New England coast. There he was captured, after a spirited
encounter in which no one on either side was injured, by Captain Tyng in the
Prince of Orange, the first " man-of-war " of Massachusetts.2 Nine vessels
1 In addition to document* referred to, ice also othcr$ in I.R. vol. 26 ; Acadie, vol. 8 ; Marine, B4, vol. 56,
and C.O. 5/900. a Prjntc(j jn fu,, on ^
1744 H.M.S. 'KINSALE' IN NEWFOUNDLAND 119
were taken on the banks by two Louisbourg privateers early in June, and a
merchantman coming from Ireland,1 with a number of women on board, who
were sent on to Boston with the Canso prisoners. These unhappy women were
thrown into terror by the statement of the master of the vessel on which they
were to make the voyage, that he had the right to sell them as slaves. Du
Quesnel informed Shirley of this, and . begged his offices on their behalf, which
the latter effectively used. In another detachment Shirley received one hundred
and seventy prisoners, and Du Quesnel sent in addition seventy-seven to Placentia,
which would represent a not inconsiderable loss inflicted on the commerce of
New England.2 Some measure of it is shown by the fact that the sale of eleven
vessels taken at sea, and at Canso and Annapolis Royal, produced at Louisbourg
a total of 114,409!., according to the account rendered by the treasurer of
Louisbourg.3 These were the vessels taken on the King's account, others were
captured by private parties, and Bigot in his defence says that he sold, to the
great advantage of himself and partners, the prizes which he sent to France
instead of to Louisbourg.
The damage inflicted by the English during this year was vastly greater
than the losses suffered by her maritime commerce, although it was greater
than that of France. The Kinsale (44), Captain Robert Young, was again
sent out to this station. She left Plymouth on the yth of May. On her
way to St. John's, Newfoundland, where she arrived on the 23rd of June, she
captured five vessels. By the 2nd of August, on a cruise to the westward, she
had destroyed St. Peter's and everything between Cape Ray and Placentia, and
had sent an expedition northwards, about Trinity, to take, sink, burn, and
destroy what French they met ; a kindly office which was also performed by
Louisbourg privateers for the abandoned English fishing stations on Newfound-
land. At Fishott, Young's expedition met with resistance, which lasted for five
hours, but they were rewarded with 18,000 quintals of cod and " 80 ton " of oil,
and another expedition captured five French privateers.4 The nature of these
exploits justifies their inclusion in the record of privateering rather than that of
military operations.
On the coast of Isle Royale and in the Gulf of St. Lawrence English privateers
were most active, and interrupted the commerce between Quebec, Louisbourg,
and Martinique, so that Beauharnois and Hocquart wrote that it was necessary
to have a convoy to protect their trade. Their representations were supple-
mented by petitions of the syndics of the merchants of Quebec and Montreal,
1 Possibly the Hope. Cork to New England, reported in London, Nov. 8.
2 " A List of 769 Ships taken by the Enemy which the merchants of London have received an account of, from the
Commencement of the War, March 31, 1744, to the nth of March 1745-6 inclusive," gives the name of six taken to
Cape Breton, all on deep-sea voyages.
3 I.R. vol. 27, f. 116. * Captains' Letters, No. 2732.
120 CONFLICTS AND CAPTURES 1744
who stated that, on account of Boston privateers, the previous year there had
been only half the ordinary trade, and that in the next year there would be
none. In September four of these privateers had taken five St. Malo fishermen,
and had other prizes even in sight of Louisbourg. The situation was so serious
that these officials did not hesitate to refer to the complaints of the merchants
against ships of the navy. These vessels arrived late in the season, their
officers were indifferent and remained in port. They went so far as to say that
four vessels manned by sailors of St. Malo, commanded by a townsman to be
selected by the King, would be a more efficient protection to commerce.
Boston had sent out since June, when the news of the declaration of war
was received, fifteen privateers, and four more were being built. Rhode Island,
a nursery ground (Pepiniere) of privateers, sent out twenty - three, and
Philadelphia seven or eight, which were fitted out with money borrowed from
Quakers, whose scruples did not permit them to engage directly in the lucrative
sport. Captain Jeffo, in the Swallow, brought to Boston not only the declaration
of war, but the news that he had captured a French merchantman bound for
Isle Royale, and set free an English ship homeward bound from Jamaica.1 New
York gave a great reception to Commodore Warren, who in the Launceston
brought in the St. Franfois Xavier with a rich cargo of sugar and specie. Captain
Spry of H.M. ketch Comet, received at Boston a handsome piece of plate in
recognition of his capture, off Nantucket, of a noted French privateer fitted out
at Louisbourg. She was more heavily armed and carried a crew of ninety,
compared with sixty-four men of the Comet. The fight lasted over five hours,
and was in doubt until Le Gras, the privateer captain, described by Shirley as a
brave commander, was shot through the temple by a musket-ball.2
A Massachusetts privateer did almost as much damage as H.M.S. Kinsale
and the expeditions Captain Young sent out. He broke up eight fishing
settlements within the space of five leagues, burned the houses and works, sunk
nearly one thousand boats, took seventeen ships, five of which were armed with
from eighteen to twelve carriage guns, and took nearly seven hundred prisoners.8
French accounts do not permit the identification of the scene of these exploits.
They would appear to have taken place in the Gulf, and the sufferers to have
been the vessels of St. Malo and the shore fisheries at Gaspe. Even allowing
for exaggeration, for there do not seem to have been outside of Louisbourg any
settlements which would have yielded so rich a spoil, it seems probable that this
one vessel did more damage to the French than was inflicted by all the Louis-
bourg privateers on British commerce.
1 Shirley to Newcastle, Nov. 9, 44, C.O. 5/900, f. 135.
1 Among her crew were twelve Irishmen, one of them lately a soldier at Canso. They were detained in jail, and
the others exchanged at Louisbourg for the men of New England privateers captured by the French.
3 Shirley to Newcastle, C.O. 5/900.
1744 DOLOBORATZ' REPORT 121
The practice of privateering lacked official encouragement as little on one
side as on the other. Newcastle's letter to the Governor of Rhode Island
enclosing the declaration of war, ends with a command to do everything in his
power to encourage privateering, and to distress and annoy the French in their
settlements, trade, and commerce.1 The authorities of Massachusetts broke up
the comfortable custom of the old war by which privateers avoided each other,
and made those to whom commissions were given give bonds that they would
fight privateers as well as capture merchantmen.2 Governor Shirley sent for the
owners of a vessel commanded by one Captain " W.," who had allowed a small
French privateer to escape, with the result that the latter had since captured
several American vessels. This the Governor pronounced to be " scandalous
behaviour." The minutes of Council,3 August 16, less discreet than the
newspaper, says Capt. Samuel Waterhouse, of the brigantine Hawk privateer,
was severely reprimanded for " not vigorously attacking a French privateer of
much lesser force." Having promised " to manage his affairs for the future
more agreeably to the honour of his Commission," his commission was continued
on trial (News-Letter, August). This rebuke, or the chances of war, led, the
next week, to his sending three prizes to Boston.
The occupation was so attractive that one hundred and thirteen privateers
were sent out by the British colonies the next year.4 It was difficult to obtain
crews, as they were fitted out faster than they could be manned, so that special
inducements had to be offered to obtain a crew for the Prince of Orange, the
ship of the Commonwealth.
The effect of war naturally told on the commerce of Isle Royale, although
the chances of the sea gave some opportunity, even amidst privateers and men-of-
war, to carry on trade. In 1743 one hundred and seventy-two vessels from
other places than Nova Scotia and New England had come to Isle Royale. In
1744 there were fifty less, while the intercourse with these British colonies
almost completely stopped, for in place of seventy-eight in the last year of peace
only twelve came, and it is possible that these were prizes brought in and not
traders.
War, however, was the predominant interest of the time. Doloboratz was
captured in the vicinity of Boston, and while there as a prisoner a great deal of
liberty was given him. After his return to Louisbourg he presented to the
authorities a memoir stating the condition, not only of Boston, but of other towns
as far south as Philadelphia. He said that he knew Boston perfectly, had
previously been at Rhode Island, and had spent five days there at this time, where
1 R.I. Records, vol. 5, p. 80. 2 News-Letters. s C.O. 5/808.
4 The Boston News-Letter proudly says that this is a greater fleet than the Royal Navy in the time of Elizabeth.
The Gentleman's Magazine says one hundred were fitted out.
122 REPORTS OF ATTACK FROM NEW ENGLAND 1744
he consulted with a native of France, residing in that place (Newport), from
whom he had bought a thousand barrels of flour to be delivered in April. His
view was that the defences of these places were weak. He would risk his life
on laying them under contribution if he had five or six vessels of war, a fire-
ship, and some small merchant vessels. He excepts from these New York,
which, being under a Royal Government, would be more difficult to attack,
as order is well maintained there, better than in those other towns where every
one is master.
Although Du Chambon's experience had been entirely at Isle Royale he
seems to have done what he could with vigour. As to warning the Minister, he
did so as forcibly as his predecessors, and had more specific information to give
him.1 He sent on Doloboratz' memoir,2 which contained the report that an
enterprise against Louisbourg was being prepared in England, and that the
four northern colonies had offered the English Government the services of six
hundred men and a money contribution amounting to ^ 800,000 of provincial
money, if they would send fifteen men-of-war for an expedition against Louis-
bourg. The merchants of Boston believed so firmly that this offer would be
accepted that they had laid in extra stores to sell to this fleet. Du Vivier also
brought back word from Acadia, that an enterprise against Louisbourg was to be
attempted in the spring, and the matter had been so fully discussed with his
English acquaintances that he was able to add that the English hoped to arrange
devices by which the Island Battery could be shrouded in smoke long enough
for their ships to enter the harbour. The authorities impressed on the Minister
that if he did not forestall the English, who would follow the ice to blockade
the port and prevent their receiving any help, the position of Louisbourg would
be a sorrowful one, as the English intention was to starve out the inhabitants,
and thus compel the reduction of the place. Du Chambon was doing all he
could for its defence, and attempted to provide a large quantity of faggots on
the quay for the use of the fire-ships. He proposed a battery on the top of Cap
Noir, and asked the Minister to send out more cannon and bar iron for use in the
guns of the Island Battery. Their efforts were not confined to preparations for
defence. They sent a new memorandum of the requirements for an expedition
against Annapolis more powerful than the preceding ones, as Annapolis was
to be strengthened, and recommended for its command Du Vivier, who, on
account of his health, had been allowed to go to France for the winter.8
They also pointed out that an expedition could be sent against Placentia
with fair prospects of success, for its defences consisted of pickets, a battery
in bad order, and a garrison of forty-five soldiers and three officers. These
1 See p. 124. a MSS. Que. vol. 3, f. 211.
3 The Minister was urged to send him out with the first vessel in the spring
1744 THE MUTINY 123
were the final events of the active season of Louisbourg and this warfare of
unwilling amateurs.
The somnolent condition of a Louisbourg winter was broken into by an
extraordinary event. Serious efforts, which have been recounted, were made by
Forant and Bigot to remedy the conditions of the troops, and there is no
evidence in the official correspondence to show that after this time, and the
subsequent steps taken by Du Quesnel to suppress the canteens, there was any
unusual degree of dissatisfaction among the troops. But as told by Du Chambon
and Bigot,1 on the 2yth of December, in the dreary dawn, the Swiss troops armed
themselves, and took their ranks in the parade ground of the citadel. Their one
officer who was on duty made them return to their quarters, after having promised
them all they wanted. Instead of remaining quietly there, they went into the
quarters of the French troops and so effectively reproached them for not having
joined them as they had promised, that the whole garrison formed up in the
court. They then sent the drummers of the garrison, threatened by the bayonets
of twenty men, to beat to arms throughout the town. All the officers rushed
immediately to the citadel, which some of them entered only by craft or supplica-
tion. The others were unable, even sword in hand, to move the sentinels, whom
the mutineers had placed. De la Perelle, the major, placed himself before the
drummers in the town in an effort to stop them, but was unable to do so, as he
was covered by the muskets and bayonets of the soldiers. They even surrounded
him and carried him off his feet to some distance, but he at last prevailed on them
to cease the drumming, and by agreement followed them into the fort, where the
officers by this time had got the soldiers to form themselves in their companies.
Order being restored, they promised to recognize De la Perelle as their
major, and Du Chambon, who had been on the scene, asked them the reasons
why they had so signally failed in their duty to the King. They said that each
company required half a cord more wood, the return of five cords which had
been kept back from them on account of their having stolen the same quantity ;
that there should be given their proper rations to those soldiers who had been
in the expeditions to Canso and Acadia ; that the recruits of 1741 should receive
their clothing, which had not been given them, as it had not been sent out for the
extra ten men then added to each company. All this was accepted, and Bigot at
once began to carry out the agreement. The Swiss again came out under arms
after the dispersal of the French troops, although their officer had promised
them all they demanded, and they refused to recognize M. Cherrer (Cailly)
for their commander. They had been uneasy for some time, and he had been
in bed for a month, which prevented him appearing in person.
The officials thought the object of the troops was to take possession of the
1 Letter of Dec. 31, vol. 26, pp. 231-234.
i24 THE MINISTERS' ACTION 1744
magazines and of the treasure and to yield the place to the enemy in the spring.
They had not given up this idea of rebellion, although their demands had been
complied with. The situation was intolerable.* All the officials were their
slaves ; the mutineers caused all the disorder which they wished ; made the
merchants give them, at their own prices, all they asked for ; for as there were
only forty or fifty of these merchants and these not armed, they were unable to
join together to resist. They were in consequence more dead than alive, and
intended to go to France the following autumn, if they were permitted to
live so long. The revolt was complete, for there was not a single soldier who
had not joined the mutineers. All the Swiss corporals and sergeants had sus-
tained their soldiers, and the only men who stood firm were the sergeants of the
French companies and the small company of French artillerymen. At the time,
the 3 ist of December, when Du Quesnel and Bigot wrote this letter there happened
to be in the Port two small vessels bound for the West Indies. They wrote it
secretly, as they were under observation night and day, and they did not send
the vessels direct to France for fear that some vessel coming out would warn the
mutineers that they had asked for help. If this were known the soldiers would
first ransack the town, and then deliver it to the enemy, for they were aware of
their strength, and knew that the six hundred civilians in the colony would be
easily overpowered. The situation became less alarming, and the soldiers behaved
not badly during the winter, owing to some extent to the tact of Bigot, and the
fact that nothing was required of them by their officers.
The condition of the King's finances was so low that in February Maurepas
felt that he could do little for Isle Royale ; he accepted all the suggestions that had
been made, even to sending a captain of St. Malo to cruise with Morpain in the
Gulf, which the syndics of Quebec and Montreal had thought desirable. The
Vigilant, La Renommte, and Le Castor were intended for Isle Royale, and as
M. Chateaugue, who had been appointed Governor, was too ill to leave France
the command of the colony was given to Perrier de Salvert, who was commander
of the Mars, in which ship he was to proceed to Louisbourg.
APPENDICES
A. BOSTON WEEKLY NEWS-LETTER, June 29, 1744
On Monday last Capt. Tyng in the Province Snow, returned from a Cruize, and
brought in with him a French Privateer Sloop with 94 Men, mounted with 8 Carriage
and 8 Swivel Guns, burthen between 70 and 80 Tuns, commanded by Capt. Delebroitz,
which was fitted out from Cape Breton, and sail'd about 3 Weeks before : Capt. Tyng
discover'd her last Saturday Morning about 9 o'Clock, as he was laying too off of Crab
1744 APPENDICES 125
Ledge, 15 Leagues from Cape Cod, it being very Calm : Perceiving she had a Topsail and
was bearing down towards him, Capt. Tyng took her to be the Province Sloop commanded
by Capt. Fletcher ; but soon afte^ as she drew nearer, he suspected her to be a French
Cruizer under English Colours, whereupon, in order to prevent a Discovery he ordered
his Colours to be struck, his Guns to be drawn in and his Ports to be shut close, and at
the same Time the Bulk Head to be taken down. When the Privateer had got within
about Gunshot of Capt. Tyng, taking the Snow to be a Merchantman, they fired upon
him : upon which Capt. Tyng threw open his Ports, run out his Guns, hoisted his Colours
and fired upon them : Perceiving their Mistake, they tack'd about, put out their Oars and
tug'd hard to get off" after firing two or three Guns more. It continuing very calm, Capt.
Tyng was obliged to order out his Oars and to row after her, firing several Times his Bow
Chase at her, in which the Gunner was so skilful, that 9 Times the Shot did some Damage
either to her Hull or Rigging : About Two o'Clock the next Morning he came up pretty
close with them being very much guided by 4 Lanthorns which they had inadvertently
hung out upon their Rigging in the Night ; finding they were bro't to the last Tryal,
attempted to board Capt. Tyng, which he perceiving, brought up his Vessel and gave them
a Broadside, they having before thro' Fear all quitted the Deck : The Mast being disabled
by a Shot, it soon after broke off in the middle : Upon firing the Broad-side they cry'd for
Quarter ; and then Capt. Tyng order'd them to hoist out their Boat and bring the Captain
on board, but they answered that their Tackling was so much shatter'd that they could not
get their Boat with it j they were then told they must do it by Hand : Accordingly they
soon comply'd and the Captain being brought on board deliver'd his Sword, Commission,
&c. to Capt. Tyng, desiring that he and his Men might be kindly us'd, he was promised
they should, and then the other Officers, being a 2nd Captain, 3 Lieutenants, and others
Inferiour, were brought on board, and the next Day the rest of the Men who were secur'd
in the Hold.
The Night after Capt. Tyng brought them into this Harbour, they were convey'd
ashore and committed to Prison here ; and the next Morning 50 of them were guarded
to the Prisons at Cambridge and Charlestown : The Officers and Men are treated with
Humanity and Kindness.
1 Tis remarkable that notwithstanding the great number of Men on either Side, in the
attack and surrender, there was not one kill'd or wounded.
Capt. Morepang in a Schooner of no Tuns, mounting 10 Carriage Guns, 4 Pounders,
and 10 Swivels, with 120 Men, came out with Delebroitz from Cape Breton, and we hear is
appointed to Guard the Coast there till a Vessel of greater Force arrived for that Purpose.
B. ACADIAN PETITION TO DE CANNES
To M. De Ganne, Knight, Captain of infantry commanding the troops and the
savages united, at present in the country.
We the undersigned humbly representing the inhabitants of Mines, river Canard,
Piziquid, and the surrounding rivers, beg that you will be pleased to consider that while
there would be no difficulty by virtue of the strong force which you command, in supplying
yourself with the quantity of grain and meat that you and M. Du Vivier have ordered, it
126
APPENDICES
r744
would be quite impossible for us to furnish the quantity you demand, or even a smaller,
since the harvest has not been so good as we hoped it would be, without placing ourselves
in great peril.
We hope, gentlemen, that you will not plunge both ourselves and our families into a
state of total loss ; and that this consideration will cause you to withdraw your savages and
troops from our districts.
We live under a mild and tranquil government, and we have all good reason to be
faithful to it. We hope, therefore, that you will have the goodness not to separate us from
it ; and that you will grant us the favour not to plunge us into utter misery. This we
hope from your goodness, assuring you that we are with much respect, gentlemen,
Your very humble and obedient servants — acting for the communities above mentioned.
Oct. 10, 1744.
Then follow the names of ten signers.
Mr. Alex Bourg, Notary at Mines,
I am willing, gentlemen, out of regard for you, to comply with your demand.
DE GANNE.
Oct. 13, 1744.!
Estat des pieces d'artillerie qui sont en Batterie pour la deffense du port et place de
Louisbourg, et des poudres de Guerre qu'il Faut pour tirer cinquante coups par
canon, et autant par mortiers et le moindre nombre d'hommes que L'on peut mettre
a chaque Batterie pour Les Servir.2
Canons et Mortiers. Poudres. Hommes.
Boulets.
Bombes.
Batterie Royalle
. , de
36
28
19,600 196
1400
...
Morticr .....
. ' de
I2p.8
I
75° 7
50
Mortier .....
de
9p.
1
650
4
1 5°
Batterie dc L'lslc
de
24
32
1 5,200
192
1600
Mortier .....
de
9P.
2
1,300 "8
1OO
Batterie dc La pec. .
dc
36
12
8,400
84
550
...
de la grave ....
de
24
6
2,850
36
3OO
Batterie dauphine
de
24
10
4,75°
60
500
Barbette .....
de
12
6
1,650
30
3OO
Epcron .....
de
6
6
1,500
24
3OO
Bastion dc Roy
de
18
6
2,250
3°
300
sur le cavalier)
du cap noir J
de
8
4
900
20
2OO
Bastion Maurcpas)
Morticr /
de
I2p
2
1,200 | 14
IOO
Bombc poudre quil Faut .
* i
1,300 J
I
1 6 62,300
705
5450
300
1 Translated in N.S. Archives, vol. I, p. 135. 2 I.R. vol. 26, f. 60.
3 p. = inches in calibre. From this statement it is clear that the representations of the Governors from St. Ovide to
Du Chambon, that Louisbourg was undermanned and inadequately supplied with munitions of war, were well founded.
1744
APPENDICES
127
Total des munitions de guerre en
provision dans cette place
66,921 1. de poudre
1,772 Bombes de 12 pouces
833 Bombes de 9 pouces
284 Bombes de 6 pouces
1,867 Boulets de 36
2,147 Boulets de 24
2,520 Boulets de 18
1670 Boulets de 12
1214 Boulets de 8
280 Boulets de 6
1929 Boulets de 4
Du CHAMBON.
A Louisbourg, Ce ioe 9bre 1744.
CHAPTER IX
THE events of 1744, and the condition of New England at the close of that
season, did not indicate that so remarkable an event as the expedition against
Louisbourg would take place in the following year. Massachusetts, the most
enterprising and the most important of the northern colonies, had placed herself
in a " posture of defense," and levies from her people had succoured Annapolis.
There does not seem to have been any disposition to do more. The Memoire
du Canada for this year states that an Indian Chief sent by Vaudreuil to Boston
brought back a report that Shirley took an oath in the presence of eighty
Councillors that he would not begin operations against the French, but that
if even a child were killed, he would exert all his powers against them and
their savage allies.1
Massachusetts was in no condition to undertake any serious expenditures.
Her treasury was empty. A lottery was authorized by the legislature (Dec.
14, 1744; Jan. 7, 1745), to raise £7500 for the pressing necessities of the
province in " its present difficult circumstances." Her debt was excessive.
Through her issues of paper money, the rate of exchange was much more
unfavourable than that in the other colonies, and was sinking to a rate of
ten to one, which was reached in 1 747. Her fisheries were declining ; and
but one favourable material condition existed — the harvests of the year had
been abundant.
There had been, however, talk of military movements. A Boston
newspaper published, on August 2, a London letter stating that a body of
troops was to be sent to the northern colonies, " to undertake an expedition
of great importance against France on that side." This is probably the basis
for the report of Doloboratz, for it might well have risen to his definite figures in
passing to the social stratum in which the privateer moved during his detention
in Boston. Du Vivier brought back to Louisbourg from the Annapolis expedition
the same report ; and the Malouin fishermen taken by New England privateers
1 June 30, 1744, " Divers Delegates from the Six Nations of Indians living to the Westward of Albany . . . had
a conference this day with his Excellency in the Council Chamber in the presence of both Houses " (Minutes of Assembly,
Mats., C.O. 5/808 ; MSS. Que. 3, p. 215).
128
1744 WILLIAM SHIRLEY 129
were told by their captors that an expedition against the French was in con-
templation for the following year. As indicating the temper of the people
of Massachusetts, it may be noted that Doloboratz said that it was only those
engaged in the fisheries who were interested, that while the country folk would
like to see such an expedition succeed, they did not seem to him inclined at
all to support it in person, and but little as taxpayers. After speaking of
the difficulty of getting men for Annapolis he goes on :
" I have talked to many of these people. I believe on the whole that the townspeople,
except the bourgeois and the superior artisans, are privateering, and that the country people
will not engage without large promises and rewards. It is true that there was very easily
found plenty of men to engage in the expedition to Carthagena and elsewhere in the
Spanish Indies, but beyond the fact that they were disgusted with the ill success of this
enterprise, they were attracted to it by the hope of the gold and silver of that country,
and they are persuaded that there are more blows to suffer than gold pieces to capture
in an expedition against Isle Royale, and they are free men (maistres de leur volont£)."
Of two hundred and fifty sent away from Rhode Island in the West India expedition not
twenty had returned.1
The impressions of Doloboratz seem reasonable. He underestimated the
resources of these plain people, " masters of their will," acting under the influence
of two men, the one the Governor of the province, the other its principal
citizen, President of the Governor's Council.
William Shirley, the Governor of Massachusetts at this time, was an
Englishman who emigrated to Boston in 1732, where he practised as a barrister
and occupied subordinate official positions, until in 1741 he was appointed
Governor. His preliminary experience was of great value to him, for he
gained from it a knowledge of the people, among whom he was to represent
the Crown. He was tactful, and thus found it easy to deal with the repre-
sentatives of the people. He was as keen to persuade them to courses which
he believed to be in the interests of the province, as to strain the authority
of his commission in carrying them out. His policies were progressive, and
in these troublous times expensive, and were based on the fundamental view
that there was not room enough on the continent for colonies of both France
and England.2 He was industrious, a voluminous, persuasive, and clear writer,
undismayed by responsibility, and to these solid qualities added a taste for
military strategy, the results of which in the Seven Years' War tarnished the
reputation gained by his antecedent career.
William Pepperrell was a merchant of Kittery, born in 1697, the son
of a Welsh or Devonshire man who had founded the business, which his son
1 R.I. Rec. vol. v. p. 146. Massachusetts also suffered severely.
2 Douglass is his bitter critic. He says that the financial condition of the colony was due to his policy, and that
the Louisbourg expedition was a source of gain to Shirley.
K
1 3o WILLIAM PEPPERRELL 1744
prosecuted with such success that he was one of the richest men in the country.
He was not born in the purple of New England life, among those who, in the
ordinary course of family events, go to Harvard College ; his education was
that of the country school, with some special instruction. His biographers
note that his grammar was imperfect in early life, a thing not uncommon in
more exalted circles in the eighteenth century, and certainly not unique in
New England. He had received that splendid practical training of an old-
time merchant, whose dealings brought him into contact with men of all
conditions in his own country, and with many foreigners. No occupation is
more broadening in its effect on a mind weighted by responsibility and capable
of learning from a life widely diversified in its daily occurrences. His sense
of responsibility to public duties is shown in his acceptance of office. At the
age of thirty he was elected to the House from his own district, and after
one term was appointed to the Council, to which he was annually called until
his death, thirty-two years later. For eighteen years he was President of
the Board. He was also colonel of one of the militia regiments of Maine.
Any man whose dealings extended from the lumber camp and the fisheries
to the transportation and exchange of their products in the markets of the
world, a man of wealth and of position, must possess great influence in any
community, the people of which are largely dependent on his activities. The
fact that Pepperrell's command of the Louisbourg expedition made enlistment
popular, indicates that his character inspired confidence and his disposition
liking, not only in his neighbourhood, but wherever his reputation extended.
The prominence given to these two names is not meant to reopen a
discussion as to the person to whom is due the credit for proposing the
expedition. The project had for years been considered as possible by French
and English. When in November 1744 Shirley wrote to Newcastle proposing
that an expedition against Louisbourg should be sent out from England, he
was following up what Clark, Governor of New York, had written home in
1741. The latter, in his turn, held the same views as his predecessor Crosby.1
At the same time as Clark's second reference to the matter, Shirley had sent
through Kilby a description of Louisbourg and the means of attacking it,
which the latter vouched for, as it was made by a kinsman of his own. Kilby,
who was agent of Massachusetts in London, wrote the 3Oth of August 1743,
recommending projects against the French, and closed his letter by urging an
early attack upon Cape Breton, " the situation, Strength, & every other Circum-
stance relating whereto, I am possess'd of a perfect & Minute account of . . .":
Warren was in possession of this document or similar information, for he
discussed this project not only in his letters to Corbett, Secretary to the
1 N'.Y. Col. Doc. v. 961, 970; vi. iS;, 229. 2 C.O. 217/31, p. 157.
1745 PROJECTS TO ATTACK LOUISBOURG 131
Admiralty,1 but also in private letters. Therefore, the proposals of Vaughan,2
of Bradstreet, of Judge Auchmuty, the writer of a valuable pamphlet on the
Importance of Cape Breton, of a Merchant of London, who wrote in 1744 to
the Ministry urging the reduction of Louisbourg, dealt with a matter that
had been much discussed.
The project was in the air. The British colonist of the eighteenth century
turned his back on the potential opulence of the vast continent on the shores
of which he lived, exploiting it only for a sustenance and for material with
which to engage in maritime trade, of which the fisheries were the foundation.
French and English from before the time that Louisbourg was settled pictured
to themselves the superb monopoly which would fall to the nation which
succeeded in dispossessing its rival.
Such play of the imagination is the poetry of practical affairs, and the spring
of political events. The people of New England were of an intellectual temper
to feel this speculative impulse. It is as certain that the capture of Isle Royale
was the theme of discussion long before conditions made the project at all
practical, as that many then held the opinion that the colonies, if prosperous,
would not remain faithful to the Crown ; although a score of years elapsed
before events brought these slowly germinating impulses to a head. In the
same way the startling accuracy of French forecasts of the method of attack
on Louisbourg came from the discussions with which St. Ovide and the others
relieved the dreariness of their idle hours.
Shirley's proposition to Newcastle in December had been that six or seven
ships could force the harbour and land troops, of which 1500 to 2000 would
be enough. At this time he contemplated a regular expedition sent out by
England, but the knowledge he gained in the next few weeks led him to
propose, and finally to carry through, the expedition which was the crowning
achievement of his career.3
The General Court of Massachusetts was in session on January 9. Shirley,
apparently without taking any one into his confidence, asked its members to
take an oath of secrecy as to the subject of a communication he desired to make.4
1 Ad. Sec., In Letters, 2654, Sept. 1744.
2 Vaughan's work in promoting the expedition, and in self-effacing services therein, were unquestionably great.
His own account of them is given in pp. 360-9. Read in connection with other accounts, they give the impression
that he was a man of great energy, public spirit, and self-sacrifice, but lacking in judgment and the power of working
with others. The type of man in our times most likely to be found among inventors. These documents make
interesting reading, and throw some light on the events narrated, and are on this ground commended to the attention
of the reader.
8 This was based on the reports of the Canso prisoners, and of other persons who had visited Louisbourg. In New
England there must have been many scores of sea-faring people who knew Louisbourg as well as any but their native
towns, all of which confirmed the news that the garrison was small, all of it discontented, the Swiss on the verge of
mutiny, and the inhabitants suffering from a »carcity of provisions, the result of Shirley's own policy.
4 Parkman, Half-Century, vol. ii. p. 85.
132 SHIRLEY'S PROPOSAL TO GENERAL COURT 1745
This they did, and he presented an address on the subject of an expedition
against Louisbourg. This document begins by recounting that in the course
of the present war Massachusetts must expect from Louisbourg " annoyance in
trade, captures of provision vessels, and destruction of fisheries " ; that the
interest of the province would be greatly served by the reduction of the place ;
that the time was opportune, for from information which Shirley had he
believed that if two thousand men were landed on the island, they could damage
the out-settlements and fisheries, and lay the town itself in ruins, and might
even make themselves masters of the town and harbour. He asked for suitable
provision for the expenses of the expedition, which if partially successful would
pay for itself, " and if it should wholly succeed, must be an irreparable loss to
the enemy and an invaluable acquisition for this country."
The next day the House appointed a Committee of eight, of whom four
were Colonels and one a Captain, and the Council added seven to their number,
with instructions " to sit forthwith and report as soon as may be." The result
of their deliberations appears in a short address to his Excellency from both
branches of the legislature, on January 12, in which, while they express
approval of the scheme, they are convinced that they are unable to raise a
sufficient sea and land force, and " dare not by ourselves attempt it." They
pray the Governor to lay before the King the danger of the colonies from
Louisbourg, and to express the disposition of the province to aid in its
reduction in conjunction with other Governments.1
During this time Pepperrell was presumably absent from Boston. He at
all events was not present at these sittings of the Council. Shirley had, unaided,
made his proposal, and had failed in carrying the legislature with him. He was
much cast down by their refusal. James Gibson, once an officer in the British
army, then a merchant in Boston, tells that the Governor came to him and
asked him if he felt like giving up the Louisbourg expedition. This led to
Gibson undertaking to obtain signatures for a petition from the merchants of
Boston and Marblehead, asking for a reconsideration.2
Pepperrell came back to town, if he had been absent, and presumably was
won over by Shirley. Gibson's influential petitions were presented to the
Legislature, which was addressed on the I9th and 22nd by Shirley. A new
Joint Committee, with Pepperrell at its head, was appointed. It examined
witnesses, and reported on the 25th, to the effect that they were convinced that
it was incumbent on the Government to embrace this opportunity, and proposed
that the Captain-General, Shirley, issue a proclamation to encourage the enlist-
1 Shirley at once took the matter up with Newcastle in a long letter about the advantages of Cape Breton, the
danger of an attack from Louisbourg on British ships and colonies. He lays more emphasis on the advantages which
would follow its capture than on these dangers (Shirley to Newcastle, Jan. 14, 1744/5, C.O. 5/900).
* Vaughan was active in this work. See Biographical Appendix.
i745 HIS PROPOSAL ADOPTED 133
ment of three thousand volunteers under officers to be appointed by him. It
recommends the rate of pay of the men, that they shall have all the plunder,
that warlike stores be provided, and provisions for four months, that a
transport service be organized so that the force could leave by the be-
ginning of March, and that application be made to the other colonies to furnish
respectively their quotas of men. This report was concurred in by both
branches the day of its presentation, and consented to by Shirley. The House
voted that half a pound of ginger and a pound and a half of sugar be given
to each soldier, and unanimously voted against impressing any part of the three
thousand men. The majority was small. It is said that it would have been a
tie had a member not broken his leg as he was hastening to vote in opposition.
Other accounts say that the majority was narrow, some members known to be
opposed having remained away from the House, a result which might well
have been produced by the influence of important merchants who favoured
the project.1
It seems certain that the influence of Pepperrell, exerted personally and
through his associates, was paramount in bringing about this result. His later
statement,2 " it must be confessed that there would have been no Expedition
against this place had I not undertook it," must refer to his course at this time
rather than to his acceptance of the chief command which immediately followed.
Shirley could unquestionably have found another leader. Without Pepperell's
influence he failed with the General Court. When it was exerted in support
of his scheme, Shirley obtained for it the necessary legislative sanction.
Both French and English historians for the most part agree that the
attacks on Canso and Annapolis Royal, the interruption of fisheries, and the
devastation of privateers led the colonies to take a desperate step to avert
an impending calamity.3 There is much in a superficial reading of the official
documents, e.g. Shirley's address already quoted, to sustain this view. This
aspect, moreover, would be the most serviceable one to present to the legislators
of provinces in acute financial distress. An expenditure to protect the state
from an impending danger is always legitimate, but with a vigorous people
the hope of gain is a stronger incentive than the fear of loss. It may be
maintained that the real motives which led to the acceptance of Shirley's
proposal, when all the facts were before the Assembly, were aggressive, not
defensive.4
1 The House Journals do not mention the oath of secrecy or the majority. Governor Wanton says it was one (R.I.
Rec. vol. v. p. 145).
2 Pepperrell to Stafford, Nov. 4, 1745, Preface to An Accurate "Journal and Account, etc.
3 "Lettre d'un Habitant," Parsons's Life of Pefperrell.
4 "The Motives, which have induc'd the Assembly to set this Expedition on foot before Spring, are the weak
Condition of the Garrison and Harbour of Louisbourg in comparison of what it will be when they shall have rec'd
their supplies of Provisions, Stores and Recruits from Old France by that time, besides that the Season of the Year
1 34 THE DETERMINING CAUSES 1745
It is said also that fishermen thrown out of employment by the war formed
a considerable part of the troops raised ; but the fact that New England privateers
could not find crews, that the press-gang was organized, if not used, to secure
sailors for the vessels of the province,1 is not compatible with this statement.
When the British colonies sent out about ten times as many privateers as the
French, the latter being vastly less effective, it is not reasonable to believe that
New England was seriously dismayed by French privateering or failed, in
irritation at her small losses, to calculate her surpassing gains.
These considerations lead to the conclusion that, describing Louisbourg
as the Dunkirk of America as an oratorical flourish, New England had
no real fear of invasion, but that the monopoly of the fisheries meant such
prospective wealth,2 that sound business insight in the leaders of her people
led to their grasping an opportunity to benumb French competition in the
markets of the world. This opportunity presented itself when war existed :
Louisbourg was short of provisions,3 its fortifications weak, its garrison small
and mutinous.
Shirley carried with him the most influential merchants, for their care for
public advantage was stimulated by the prospect of private gain. They found
a following, for at no time in its history were the people of Massachusetts more
recklessly enterprising. Every motive was appealed to, as is always the case
when the success of a policy depends on the support of an independent people.
The expedition against Louisbourg, to the fanatic was directed against Romanism;
to the timorous was a preventive of invasion ; to the greedy a chance for
plunder ; and to all, an object for the self-sacrifice of every patriotic Briton.
Shirley's activity in the week which followed the decision to undertake the
expedition was prodigious. On February I he wrote a long dispatch to
Newcastle. He laid before him plans for the expedition, informed him about
the artillery he could provide.4 He had also communicated with the other
governments, and had received a favourable reply from New Hampshire and
Rhode Island. The plan for the expedition was based on that handed into the
Committee,5 but modified by Shirley with the help of Bastide, the engineer of
Annapolis Royal, who was in Boston at the time.
Shirley had already discovered the impossibility of arranging matters for
will be most Advantageous in March for Attacking the Town, the present Spirit of the People in this Province to
attempt it at this time, and the Advantage which the Surprize of such an Expedition as well as from New England
and Great Britain (in case his Majesty shall support it from thence) will give his Majesty against the Enemy " (Shirley
to Newcastle, Feb. i, 1745, C.O. >/9OO, f. 15-). l Parsons.
- "Besides we had not the same dependence upon, and expectation of advantages from the fishery as Massachusetts
and New Hampshire had, which undoubtedly was a main inducement to their people to list so cheerfully as they did"
(Governor Wanton, R.I. Records, vol. 5).
3 The burden of Shirley's reproaches to Captain W. was that the privateer he let slip captured several vessel!
laden with provisions, to the benefit of the French at Louisbourg, " who so much wanted "em."
4 Eight 22's, one 24, two 9 and 11 inch mortars. 5 Apparently by Vaughan (Parkman, Half-Century).
1745 DETAILS OF THE PLAN 135
the expedition to sail by March i, as recommended by the Committee, and at
this time was in hope to get it away by the middle of the month. All saw the
great importance of blockading the port before the arrival of the ships from
France, which, from what was known of Louisbourg and its condition, the New
Englanders felt would be sent out at the earliest moment. Some merriment
has been created by the proposal of Vaughan to take Louisbourg by surprise.
It may be said the plan with undisciplined men under untrained officers required
too many accurate conjunctions to be successful. In defence of its projector, it
may be recalled that Du Vivier, certainly familiar with the conditions of Nova
Scotia, proposed to enter Annapolis when its ditches were filled with snow ; that
the drifts at Louisbourg, at least once, were deep enough to make it necessary
to dig sentries out of their boxes, and that its Governors had united in holding
that a surprise of the place was more to be feared than a regular attack. It is
to be noted that this element in the preliminary plan on which the legislators
voted to undertake the expedition was abandoned by Shirley. "As to that
Part of the Scheme, which is propos'd for taking the Town by Surprise, so
many Circumstances must conspire to favour it, and so many Accidents may
defeat it, that I have no great dependence upon it, and shall guard as well as I
can by Orders against the Hazard that must attend it." His project was at
this time, February i , to make a base at Canso, land near the town and make
an attack on the Royal Battery, the weakness of which on the landward side
was known to him and his advisers. The bombardment of the town was to
follow, without, it would appear, any prospect of carrying it, but with fair hope
of holding the position until the arrival of an English naval force.1 In event
of being unable to do this, he felt sure that the buildings and fishing gear, not
only of the environs of Louisbourg, but of other places on the island, could be
destroyed, and that the colonial forces could retire to Canso and there encamp
until advices were received from Great Britain as to whether or not the King
would support the expedition with ships and troops.2
Shirley carried with him Benning Wentworth, Governor of New Hampshire,
so far that he was induced to strain the credit of his province in a case of such
urgency, by issuing more paper money, Vaughan being his representative in
these delicate negotiations. Having succeeded in this, Shirley complicated the
situation by a flourish of diplomatic courtesy, in intimating to Wentworth that
had it not been for his gout, Shirley would have appointed him to the chief
command. Wentworth assured Shirley that this would not prevent him
serving. Shirley was thus forced to throw the onus of not accepting this
offer on various people of consideration whom he consulted in the matter.
1 To Newcastle, Feb. I, 1745.
2 Although Shirley did not think well of a surprise, it is included in his instructions to Pepperrell, as he was about
sailing (M.H.S. first series, vol. i).
136 ENTHUSIASM OF THE PEOPLE 1745
They were clearly of the opinion that a change in the command would be
prejudicial.1
The pay offered was 255. per month and a blanket, besides the ginger so
promptly voted by the House. Other inducements were offered, such as that
those who enlisted were not liable to be pressed for service on the vessels of the
province, and for them processes of law for the collection of debt were suspended
until their return from the campaign.
While the determination of causes which led to the taking up of an
expedition like this is hypothetical, there is no question that the decision having
been made, the people threw themselves heartily into the project. The complete
militia system of New England made this easy, and it was along the lines of an
existing organization that recruiting proceeded. There was some hesitation in
certain districts at the outset, on account of doubt as to whom the command of
the expedition would be given, as well as about the company officers. Various
officers took active steps to secure their men ; one Captain Sewall began his
work by giving the men of his militia company a dinner ; he also increased their
pay from his own pocket, and offered to provide for any wives and families
that might be left destitute. Others were as eager, if less free-handed, and very
shortly complaints arose of the officers poaching on each other's companies.
The allotment of commissions gave trouble to Shirley as well as to Wentworth,
who said he would rather be a porter than a Governor. But these are the
drawbacks of earnestness and activity. Shirley was active and foresighted, his
legislature prompt in passing acts, and the officers of the forces and members of
committees were efficient. The course of events as detailed in the records of
these busy weeks displays the actions of a capable people, trained to the dispatch
of business. Chief among the active was Vaughan, who was too unbalanced to
be trusted with an executive office, but whose zeal had done much to ensure the
undertaking of the expedition, for he had gathered witnesses, secured signatures
to the petitions, and harangued. When it was determined upon he rode post
here and there, and his impetuous haste must have appeared to Shirley and
Pepperrell, who considered means as well as ends, that of a meddler.
" I have desired ye gentl at York to march one compa next Mondy to Boston, to give
life & Spring to ye affair. I hope yoou'l encourage ye same. I have written to Doctor
Hale to desire ye Govr. to ordr. to be at Boston next week, for dispatch is ye life of
businesse. I have proposed ye 2000 men, if no more, be ready to sail by ye twentyeth day
of ye month. Portsmo, Feb. 8, i"44."2
The general eagerness to serve and the importance of Pepperrell's opinion
are shown in the letters received by him from willing participants in the
1 Ualf-Ccntury, vol. ti. p. 91.
8 M.H.S. sixth series, vol. 10. Vaughan accompanied the expedition as a member of the Council of War.
1745 ASSISTANCE FROM OTHER COLONIES 137
expedition. One gentleman, rejected as a surgeon, wrote begging that he might
go in any capacity, and reported to the General that he had already made some
progress in enlisting. A clergyman informed Pepperrell with inexpressible
pleasure, that he had been appointed a captain ; another friend expressed his
regret that the legislature of New Hampshire, of which he was a member,
would not allow him to serve. A gentleman, whose iconoclastic zeal has been
quoted by Parkman in Half-Century (vol. ii. p. 98), wrote in terms of such
perfervid piety that it is difficult, with our changed standards, to find in them
the note of sincerity ; particularly, as his excuse for not going on the expedition
is the only one of those given which seems inadequate.1
Mr. John Gibson followed up his work in stirring up the merchants of
Boston and Marblehead to approach the legislature, by raising a company at
his own charges and commanding it on the expedition. He had the unusual
distinction, when the Parliament of Britain defrayed the expenses, to be named
in the Act with the colonies. The response of the other Northern Colonies
was considerable and prompt. In view of the emergency Wentworth ignored
the royal prohibition to issue any more paper-money, and the little Province of
New Hampshire sent a regiment of 500 men, 150 of them being at the
charges of Massachusetts.2 Connecticut raised 516 men, and to their
commander, Roger Wolcott, was accorded the rank of Major-General, which
made him second to Pepperrell.
Rhode Island on the 5th of February authorized her sloop Tartar* to
assist in the expedition ; a month later, the raising of 1 50 men. Its legislature
reconsidered this action on learning that Shirley was acting on his own initiative,4
but later, at an unspecified date, passed an act encouraging soldiers to enlist
for service in the expedition. The full regiment of 500 men authorized
by this act did not serve, but apparently three companies went, which were
incorporated in Pepperrell's regiment, under commission from the Governor of
Rhode Island, which was dated early in June. They thus arrived at Cape Breton
too late to take part in the siege. The response from the Southern Colonies was
much less satisfactory. New York loaned some guns to Shirley ; but its legisla-
ture debated ten days as to what they could do, and voted ^3000 ; but a new
legislature being elected, this sum was by it increased to ^ooo.5 New Jersey
1 M.H.S. sixth series, vol. 10, contains letters which display the attitude of Massachusetts and New Hampshire.
2 304 men were in the New Hampshire regiment.
3 The Tartar was the colony vessel. She carried fourteen guns and twelve swivels.
4 Their defence, a sound one, is in R.I. Rec. vol. 5, p. 145. Extracts therefrom at the end of this chapter.
B ADMIRAL WARREN TO GOVERNOR WANTON
LOUJSBOURG, September 13, 1745.
..." You see, sir, I speak here as an American and a well wisher to the colonies : and am therefore really sorry the
particular one I mean, New York, to which I am nearest related, has not had a greater share in this great acquisition ; for
it's a mistaken notion in any of the colonies, if they think they are not greatly interested, even the remotest of them, in
138 PEPPERRELL AND HIS SUBORDINATES 1745
gave £2000 in July, which was laid out in provisions, and Pennsylvania, prevented
by the peaceable principles of some of its people from providing arms, gave
£4000 for provisions and clothing.
The brigadiers to the expedition were Samuel Waldo, like Pepperrell a large
land-owner and merchant, and Joseph Dwight, who was Colonel of the artillery.
Its active head was Richard Gridley, to whom we owe that map of Louisbourg
which has been so frequently copied. The success of the enlistment was so great
that 3250 men were raised. The Committee of War, whose chairman was Mr.
John Osborne, was active in providing for these troops. A naval force and
transport was of the utmost importance. Massachusetts bought a new brig of
about four hundred tons, armed her as a frigate, and placed her under the
command of Capt. Edward Tyng, who had previously served the Commonwealth,
and distinguished himself as the captor of Doloboratz. He was in command of
the flotilla.
Pepperrell discharged the military duties he had assumed as he would carry
on any business operation. He asked advice from Mr. J. Odiorne,1 a merchant
of Portsmouth, who was familiar with the coasts of Acadia and Cape Breton.
Odiorne urged a prompt attack, at which he thought their men would be better
than at a regular siege, and, as a second resort, to hold their ground until rein-
forcements arrived, "if itt should cost us halfe our substances." Advice was
volunteered to him by the Rev. John Barnard, probably on the ground that that
gentleman had in 1 707 been at the siege of Annapolis. In the universal
enthusiasm and the certainty that the expedition was favoured by Heaven,2 it
may be noted that he is one of the few who modified his statement on this point
by saying, " I doubt not but the cause is God's, so far as we can well say any cause
of this nature can be." Shirley made efforts in every direction to obtain armed
vessels, as the colonial armed vessels were inadequate to protect the transports or
themselves from the forces they might expect to meet. The men-of-war on the
American station which were within easy reach were under orders from the
Admiralty to act as convoys,3 and he found himself without any promise of
assistance from them with the exception of the Bien Aime, a prize commanded
by Captain Gayton.
the reduction and support of this conquest, which will quiet them all in their religious and civil rights and liberties, to
latest times, against a designing, encroaching, and powerful enemy, and increase our trade in the fish, fur, and many other
valuable branches, to such an advantageous degree to the colonies, and our mother country, as must ever induce them to
be extremely grateful to those who have opened so fair a channel for the increase of wealth and power " (Rhode Island Colonial
Records, vol. 5, p. 144).
' Mr. Odiorne spells the name of the place '• Lcwisbrug," possibly a phonetic effort, for the same pronunciation is still
cx'.nnt locally. The New England form of " Chapcau Rouge," which appears in the documents for the Bay, always spelled
by the French Gabori or Gabarus, seems to have come from the " little knowledge " of the " linguisters " of the expedition,
who would be more familiar with the spoken than the written name. The local pronunciation of Mainadieu preserves its
more ancient form of spelling Menadou.
2 M.H.S. vol. 10, pp. 108 and 114. 3 E.'tfam, Riptsr.'s Pr'nt.
1745 SHIRLEY SEEKS NAVAL ASSISTANCE 139
Shirley applied to the Commodore of the station for assistance,1 sending a
dispatch to him to the West Indies, where the fleet was then cruising. This
officer was Peter Warren, a native of County Meath, who had entered the navy
at fifteen as an ordinary seaman. His professional advancement was rapid and
at forty-two he found himself a Commodore, somewhat broken in health, and
anxious to obtain an appointment as Governor of the Jerseys or to reach the
" pinickle " of his ambition by succeeding Clinton as Governor of New York.
Mrs. Warren, a native of New York, did not care for the " Beau Mund," so that
at this time he looked forward to retiring from the sea and spending the remainder
of his days, if a Governor's chair were denied him, on a property he owned at
Greenwich, Long Island.2 Notwithstanding these views, he had applied in
September for command of all ships in North America, which was given to him.8
Before he received Shirley's letter the project of an expedition against Louisbourg
was familiar to him. As already stated, he also wrote about it to Corbett,
Secretary of the Navy,4 and to his friend the Hon. Geo. Anson, then Lord of
the Admiralty, with whom, notwithstanding the differences in social and pro-
fessional rank, he was on terms of frank intimacy. Warren was fully alive to
the importance of reducing the French power, and set forth clearly in a letter to
Anson its many advantages. He goes on :
" Yet I think it wou'd be in vain to attempt Lewisbourg, without a moral Certainty of
Success. As it is a very regular fortification, and has always a Strong Garrison of regular
troops in it, I submit whether it is not likely, that it will hold out a Siege longer than the
season will allow the Besiegers (if not numerous enough to take it by storm) to keep the
Field, and what can they do in that case in the winter ? — It is certain if Ships go into the
Harbour to attack it the people must determine to Succeed or dye. Where that is the case,
there shou'd be (I believe the world will allow) a Strong possibility of Success.
" What I have here sett forth, being granted, how is it to be effected ? What number
of ships from England of Regular troops or artillery and other Ordnance Stores will be
necessary ? And what quantity of Provisions, and other Stores, of all kinds, will be proper
for such an undertaking ? And what part will the Colonies themselves take in such an
attempt ? Whether they will assist in it heart and hand ? What assistance, and in what
Shape, will each different Government that is willing to assist give its assistance. Whether
in Money, Shipping, Men or Provisions ?
"By forming all this into a proper plan, it will not be very hard to judge of the
probability of succeeding, or not, in such an attempt. And the formation of it previous to
the Execution, cannot be any Expense to Great Britain, or the Colonies. And when it is
form'd, and approv'd, then let it be Executed with all the Intrepidity, that becomes good
Officers, and Men, both of Sea and Land.
1 Jan. 29, Ad. Sec., In Letters, No. 3817. He also asked assistance from Sir Challoner Ogle and Admiral Darvers,
who replied in the negative (Ad. Sec., In Letters, vol. 233).
2 In an article on Greenwich Village by T. A. Janvier, Harper's Magazine, Aug. 1893, is a pleasant account of
Warren's life there.
8 In Letters, 2654 j Out Letters, 486. 4 Sept. 8, 1744, from New York (Ad. Sec., In Letters, vol. 2654.
1 4o WARREN'S VIEWS 1745
" But to undertake an affair of such consequence and Expence, too rashly, that must, if
they fail in it, Involve both England and the Colonies, in a large debt to no purpose, I
think wou'd be madness, both in the Advisers, and the Executors, of such an attempt.
"What you mention with regard to an Expedition in Embrio against Cape Britton, is
what I have long consider'd as of the greatest consequence to our Country, this my good
friend Mr. Corbet and myself have exchang'd some private letters upon, and I have, tho' in
a very Inaccurate manner, formerly run over some of the benefits that wou'd accrue from it,
and some steps necessary to be taken previous to the attempt, which I beg leave to address
to you, for your Private and Candid opinion, as the Inaccuracy of it will not bear the light,
tho' the matter, if well digested, is worthy of the Ministrys most serious deliberation.
" What the event will be of Mr. Shirleys scheme, who is a very worthy man, I won't
take upon me to prejudge, but when time lets me more into it, you shall know.
" I beg leave to assure you, nothing shall be wanting on my part, so farr as I have power
or Capacity to serve my King and Country, and I am persuaded, I can do it in no shape
better, than in that scheme, if attended with success, and I have none more at heart, tho' I
cou'd have pitch'd upon none attended with a prospect of greater uneasyness, and less personal
advantage, I mean where Booty is esteem'd so, which I hope will never be so with me." ]
Shirley's letter to Warren, dated January 29, went over much the same
ground as his dispatch to Newcastle of February i, but dwelt, as was natural, on
the military aspect of the expedition, and clearly set forth the importance of the
naval assistance, which he assumed Warren would send. " I must acknowledge
that the hopes I have Entertained of it have been of no small Encouragement
to me in forming this Expedition." He goes on then with the arts of the
politician, displayed as in the case of Wentworth, to say, " and if the service in
which you are engaged would permit you to come yourself and take upon you
the command of the Expedition, it would, I doubt not, be a most happy event
for His Majesty's service and your own honour." Two fifty or forty gun
ships in March were what Shirley asked for, or even one, and with Warren to
follow with his force, Shirley was persuaded the place might be taken in May,
or invested until help from England could be received in June.8 This letter
found Warren in trouble, his effective force diminished by the loss of the
1 B.M. A.id. MSS., i>,<)<;7, <"• i?2.
8 Shirley's care to placate all who could help him makes inexplicable to the writer his springing the project on
the Aisembly.
Shirley, hail he to deal with a touchier man than Peppcrrell, might again have gratuitously created embarrassment as
in the case of Wentworth. He placed himself in a position to make trouble with Pepperrell and with Warren. He
wrote to the former, April 22 : " I doubt not, Sir, from the extraordinary conduct and vigilance with which you have
hitherto acted for His Majesty's service, that you will instantly give orders to Tyng and the other cruisers to follow the
Commodore's directions and orders to them, and omitting of which may create a most unhappy disagreement and variance
between you and Mr. Warren, which may prove fatal to the service. Had I not received these precise orders from hit
Majesty, which so evidently give Mr. Warren a general command at sea, in all expeditions from hence, I should have
insisted upon my command given you over the sea forces (which, as it is, is only suspended during Capt. Wr.rren's presence,
and would revive upon his going off) against every person whatsoever, and you must be sensible that this is not a preference
given to him by me, but only acting in obedience to his Majesty's orders" (M.H.S. i. p. 19, Shirley to Pepperrell).
3 Ad. Sec., In Letters, N'o. 3817.
1745 THOSE OF HIS CAPTAINS 141
Weymouth, Warren consulted his captains,1 who unanimously reported that
the proper course for Warren was to send the North American ships to their
stations, the Mermaid to New York, and the Launceston to New England, and
to forward Shirley's letter to the Admiralty by an express ; and that, until receipt
of a reply, Warren should not alter the ordinary course of proceeding, but
remain cruising in the West Indies. The grounds for this decision were that
the expedition had not received his Majesty's approbation, nor had they received
orders thereon from the Admiralty ; that taking the ships off their stations
would greatly weaken the British West Indies, at a time when a report was
current that a French squadron was expected shortly at Martinique, " and can be
of no great service in such an undertaking"
This italicized expression of opinion is so extraordinary over the signatures
of the captains of a naval squadron, that it must be interpreted in the light of
Warren's opinions that Louisbourg was a strong place, defended by a garrison
of regular troops, with no convenient anchorage in the vicinity for ships of war
and transports, that the expedition had been hastily planned, and might be
abandoned before they arrived,2 so that the opinion was held by them that it
was foredoomed to failure. It has never been the opinion of seamen that in
conjoint expeditions their branch was of lesser importance. Warren gave orders
to the Launceston and Mermaid to go north, and was on the point of setting out
on a cruise when Capt. Innis arrived in the sloop Hind? He had been
dispatched from England, early in January, with orders for Warren, which, if he
were in danger of capture, he was instructed to sink.4
The instructions in the usual sources 5 contain only Warren's commission as
Commander-in-Chief, for which he had asked power to hold court-martials and
warrants to impress seamen ; but Warren's letter speaks of definite orders to
proceed with Launceston^ Mermaid^ Weymouth^ and Hastings to Boston. Corbett,
Secretary to the Admiralty, in sending these documents6 heartily wishes him
success in all his operations against the enemy. The colonial Governors were
advised by Newcastle that Warren had been ordered to go northwards to
protect the colonies and fisheries, and, " as occasion shall offer, attack and distress
the enemy in their settlements, and annoy their fisheries and commerce." 7 This
we may take as the substance of the orders which Warren received, for his
intention, when he left Antigua on March 13, was to act in concert with
Clinton and Shirley. He took for his flagship the Superbe, which gave great
offence to Knowles, her former captain, his irascible and influential second, from
which Warren feared disagreeable consequences. He sailed for Boston with
1 Feb. 23, 1744/45, Harbour Antigua. 2 Warren, March 10/45, In Letters.
3 March 8. 4 Out Letters, 486 and 63, f. 55.
5 Ad. Sec., Out Letters, vol. 486 and 63, also the Newcastle correspondence in the British Museum.
6 Jan. 4., Ad. Sec., Out Letters, 486. 7 R.I. Doc. vol. 5, p. 132, Shirley, April 3 ; C.O. 5/809.
1 42 WARREN PROCEEDS NORTHWARDS 1745
her, the Launceston, and Mermaid, on March 13, in company with two small
armed vessels and ten sail of merchantmen.1
If Warren's preliminary views were cautious his actions were eager. Unless
his instructions were more definite than those of which records are extant, he
interpreted them in the widest sense, and put into adequate action the opinions
he had a few days before expressed to his friend. " These are considerations
worthy of a discreet Officer, who should not, but upon the best grounds, attempt
to put his Country to Expence, and probably himself to shame. When these
difficulty's that occur to such an Officer are obviated, by the Sound reasoning
of others, or by Self conviction, he will then go on with becoming Vigour and
Gallantry, that cannot fail to have a good effect upon all that serve under his
command." His fleet fell in, on April 10, with a schooner from Marble-
head, "who Informed us that a Fleet of 63 Sail had sailed 14 days on Sunday
last with 5000 Men for Canso under the Command of ' Generall Pepperall.' '
Warren took the master on board to act as pilot, as he was unfamiliar with the
waters,8 and proceeded direct to Canso. He sent word to Shirley of his course,
greatly to his relief,4 for Warren's refusal to join the expedition had been
communicated by the former only to Pepperrell and one or two important
people. Shirley had, however, pushed on with his preparations, amid difficulties
and delays. At last he saw the troops gathered together and embarked on the
transports, which with the armed vessels lay in Nantasket Road, whence, much
to the relief of the wearied Governor, the Massachusetts contingent sailed on
March 24 for Canso, which had been selected as their base.
Warren also gave instructions to Captain Durell of the Eltham, which had
wintered in Boston, to act as convoy to mast ships from Piscataqua. On the
1 6th of April the ships he was to protect had dropped down the river, and the
next day they all were actually under way when Warren's orders arrived,5 so " that
5 minutes delay would have put him out of our reach." Durell's account is,
" Just as I was ready to sail with the Mast Ships from New England to
return Home I received orders from Commodore Warren to join him off this
Harbour (Canso), which commands were so agreeable that I made all despatch
possible."
Newcastle's response to the representations of Shirley, and others which have
been noted, did not stop with sending Warren for the defence of the Northern
Colonies. When he was informed of the Louisbourg expedition, he sent out
1 His letter of March 10. - R.O. Logs, vol. 820. 3 He had been once there in the Squirrel.
4 Shirley in a speech, April 17, thus acknowledged Warren's action: "The cheerfulness and zeal with which
Mr. Warren undertakes this Service, It the great Concern he had for the success of it, & the Prosperity of the»e
Province* . . . greatly recommends him to our respect k affections." ^50 worth of live stock were presented to
Warren by the Assembly of Massachusetts as a token of respect (C.O. 5 809).
3 M.H.S. vol. 10, p. 129. b A Particular Account.
1745 ARRIVAL AT CANSO 143
with the utmost dispatch no less than eight men-of-war to augment Warren's
force before Louisbourg and as guardships.1
The vigour of Pitt had been so often contrasted with the sloth of Newcastle,
that it is interesting to note that in this matter Newcastle's Government acted
with the greatest promptness. Captain Joshua Loring arrived in London with
four letters of Shirley's2 on March 16. The Admiralty met at once, ordered the
Hector and Princess Mary to sea to assist Warren, and sent Loring, who had
only been in London a few hours, with the express " at half-past midnight " to
return to Cape Breton on the Princess Mary?
After a passage,4 which the General describes as " rough and somewhat
tedious," the Massachusetts contingent arrived at Canso on the 4th of April,
where the New Hampshire troops had landed on the ist. The day after
landing Pepperrell called together his Council of War, which, even without any
representatives of Connecticut, had seventeen members present. He submitted
to them the instructions he had received, and the army was divided into four
sections, to land at a selected point on Gabarus Bay, three miles from the town
and four from the Grand Battery. Canso was seen to be a suitable place. A
blockhouse, brought with them ready framed, was erected, armed with eight-
pounders, and called " Cumberland " in honour of that Royal Duke. It was
resolved to push on to Gabarus Bay with the first favourable wind and weather,
although the train of artillery and part of the troops had not arrived.
A projected attack on St. Peter's, about eighteen miles across the Bay, was
deferred, but the expedition to cut off the vessels with provisions believed to be
at Baie Verte was sent out. The ice on the coast fortunately prevented them
from pushing on to Louisbourg without artillery, and with their provision
vessels, so uncertain in their arrival, owing to the prevailing winds, that
Pepperrell writes on the loth "that they soon would be put in greater danger
of famine than sword." Their two principal cruisers, the Massachusetts and the
Shirley, had provisions for only ten days, and, by computation, the army only for
a month. This was a situation serious enough to justify Pepperrell's appeal
for help to the Chairman of the War Committee. But the activity of their
cruisers brought some aid : two vessels with rum and molasses, both valuable
commodities to their army, were captured and brought to Canso. Captain
Tyng and the other armed vessels had been sent to cruise off Louisbourg.
There they had a running fight with a French frigate, the Renommee, Captain
Kersaint, which left France for Cadiz on the yth of February, where she waited
1 These vessels were the Lark, Hector, Princess Mary, Princess Louisa, Canterbury, Chester, Sundcrland, and Wagtr
(Ad. Sec., Out Letters, vol. 63).
2 5-9-i4th Jan., ist Feb. 3 C.O. 5/900 ; Ad. Sec., Out Letters, 50, 63.
* " Our men was exeding sick and did vomet very much as they would Dy the seas running mountaining," is the
account of another diarist.
i44 FONES'S BRILLIANT STRATEGY 1745
until the loth of March, and after crossing the Atlantic had this encounter in
the fog and ice off Louisbourg. She then cruised to the westward. On the
Cape Sable shore she fell in with the seven transports carrying the Connecticut
troops under the convoy of the Connecticut sloop and the Tartar belonging to
Rhode Island. The ever-active Shirley had suggested that the Tartar should
make the voyage with the Connecticut forces as a safeguard. It was fortunate
that his proposal was accepted, for Fones, her captain, was a bold and skilful
sailor. He led Kersaint to chase him away from the little fleet, which reached
Canso in safety, and having accomplished this, the Tartar escaped from the
frigate after nightfall.1 Kersaint then proceeded to the Baie des Castors in
Acadia, and after remaining there attempted to make Louisbourg, but was
driven off by contrary winds, and then returned to Brest on June 19*
The situation was changed on the 22nd by the arrival of the Eltham>
followed the next day by Warren and his other ships. No time was lost in
visits or exchange of courtesies between the Commanders. Letters passed
between them, and Warren sailed at once to blockade Louisbourg. The
Connecticut contingent reached Canso on the 25th. With the forces thus
complete, the first part of the movement had been carried through with
remarkable celerity. They were in possession of their base ; their armed vessels
were off Louisbourg ; the provincials were on the eve of putting to the test the
value of their preparations and the steadfastness and skill of the officers and men.
APPENDIX
GOVERNOR WANTON TO THE AGENT OF RHODE ISLAND IN LONDON
NEWPORT, ON RHODE ISLAND, Xber 20, 1745.
Sir : The conduct of this colony relating to the Cape Breton expedition having
been, as your letters advise, very unjustly misrepresented at home, with a view to prejudice
the ministry against us, the General Assembly have directed that a true account thereof
should be transmitted to you, which, we doubt not, will enable you fully to vindicate our
colony, which hath always distinguished itself by joining with readiness and zeal in all
expeditions ordered by the crown.
1 R.I. Rcc. vol. 5, p. 138 and 155.
2 A.M.B.4 vol. 56, p. 228, and vol. 57, p. 291, contain the precis of this voyage, and that of De Salvert's squadron,
which returned to Brest on the 12th of October. The latter took some prizes, among them the Prince of Orange, from
whom they learned of the fall of Louisbourg, and the large fleet on the coast of Isle Royale. De Salvert attempted to meet
the vessels of the India Company, but in bad weather and fog missed them all. He made for Newfoundland on his return
to France, in which two of his ships were dismasted. The documents themselves are wanting, so that this is the little
information which can be given of the French expedition to relieve Louisbourg. From a captured letter we learn that
Du Vivier had come on De Salvert's squadron, and had been placed by him in command (although he had never been at lea)
of the frigate Le Parfait. He took The Two Friends, which was again recaptured off Louisbourg (Ad. Sec., In Letters,
No. 2655).
1745 THE CASE FOR RHODE ISLAND 145
The reduction of Louisbourg, we always thought, would be of very great importance,
as well to the trade and commerce of Great Britain, as of the northern plantations, and
therefore expected and hoped it would be undertaken at home in the course of the war ;
but we judged the attempt to reduce that prodigiously strong town, regularly fortified,
and furnished with a garrison of regular forces, to be much too hazardous, as well as too
expensive for New England, as not having one officer of experience or even an engineer,
and the people being entirely ignorant in the art of encamping and besieging towns, and
were therefore greatly surprised at hearing that the Province of the Massachusetts had
voted to make said attempt.
At first, while it was supposed that Governor Shirley had secret instructions to raise
men, and an assurance of a sufficient addition of sea and land forces from Great Britain,
our people were zealous in the affair ; but when it was known that he had no orders at
all, not so much as a discretionary power to stop some of His Majesty's ships then at
Boston, a thing of the last importance to the blocking up the harbour of Louisbourg, no
assurance that the ministry would approve of the undertaking, or make any provision to
support it, or that the state of affairs in Europe would permit the sending such a force
from Great Britain, as seemed necessary, to render the expedition successful, surely, 'tis no
wonder that our zeal abated, and that we were not very forward to precipitate an attempt,
in which a failure must needs have been a fatal consequence, as it would have exposed
the weakness of the northern plantations, and disabled them from assisting, if the
crown should think fit to order such an expedition ; that the Massachusetts themselves
were very doubtful of success, cannot be denied, for the undertaking of the expedition was
carried but by one single voice, in their house of representatives.
. . . But notwithstanding all this, the General Assembly voted to send our colony sloop
well manned, permitted the Governor of Boston to endeavour to raise men in the pay of
the Province, and voted an additional bounty of forty shillings a man to induce them to
list, but to no effect.
On further application to us in March last, the General Assembly voted to raise
three companies of fifty men each, exclusive of officers ; and offered a large pay, and
a higher bounty than the Province of Massachusetts had given ; but it being found
impracticable to fill the companies in season, the then Governor, after we have been at a
considerable expense, ordered the men that were raised to be disbanded. However, our
colony's sloop, mounting fourteen carriage and twelve swivel guns, well fitted and manned,
convoyed the Connecticut forces, and proved of singular service, by preventing their entire
ruin from a French two-and-thirty gun ship ; and afterwards in the Gut of Canso, by
repelling, in conjunction with two other cruisers, a large body of French and Indians, who
were going to the relief of Louisbourg.
... In May, we had advice that the ministry approved of the expedition, and that
Commodore Warren was arrived off Louisbourg with a squadron of His Majesty's ships.
The General Assembly did then renew their vote to raise three companies ; and that it
might be effectual, increased the bounty, and raised the pay to ^10 per month a man,
double of what the Massachusetts allowed theirs. But to complete said companies (we)
were notwithstanding obliged to order that men should be impressed into the service, as
several actually were ; a thing not done by order of Assembly in any other part of New
England, and scarce ever practised here before ; and on notice that seamen were wanted to
L
146 THE CASE FOR RHODE ISLAND 1745
man the ship Vigilant^ voted to raise two hundred, allowing a bounty of ^17 to a man.
But such was the scarcity of men, that though the bounty was so large, and the most
effectual means used (for we had again recourse to impressing, and allowed said bounty
even to the impressed men), that we could raise only about seventy. The good news of
the surrender of Louisbourg had reached Boston before our transports sailed from thence,
having lain there some days for convoy ; vet they proceeded (on) the voyage, and are now
in garrison ; and we have lately sent a vessel to Louisbourg, with clothing and provisions
sufficient for their support till late in the spring.
This is the assistance we have given, which was really the utmost we were able to
give, the colony having never exerted itself with more zeal and vigour on any occasion ;
and it ought to be observed, that no other of the neighbouring governments, besides
Connecticut and New Hampshire, could be induced, at the first, to give any assistance at
all ; nor afterwards, of all of them together, to give so much and such effectual assistance,
as this little colony cheerfully afforded, at the hazard of leaving our sea coast unguarded,
and our navigation exposed to the enemy's privateers, from the beginning of April to the
latter end of October, during which time our colony's sloop was in the service.1
1 Rhode Island Colonial Records, vol. <;, pp. 14.5-147.
CHAPTER X
PEPPERRELL had many causes for anxiety. His stores were inadequate, and
many of the small arms were in bad order. Rioting had taken place at Canso,
so he had to find, and did find, that middle way between a severity to which his
levies would not submit, and a laxity perilous to the success of the expedition.
The detachment which was sent against St. Peter's had acted without dash,
" which party returned without success, not having carefully conformed to their
orders, for landing in whale boats by night, and finding there several vessels, which
though of no force, yet well manned for trade, and a number of Indians being
alarmed ; their whole force appeared so considerable, that our party did not
think it safe to land." l
These were indications that neither his materials nor his men would stand
much strain ; and yet his officers had urged him to push on to Louisbourg
without waiting for the transports laden with his artillery. The ice on the Cape
Breton coast made impossible this advance. The vessels with this part of his
armament had arrived before the sea cleared. As soon as navigation to the east-
ward became practicable, the movement on Louisbourg began. The expedition
started from Canso early on the morning of the 29th of April. That day, the most
warm and pleasant since their arrival at Canso, opened with light winds, which,
after a calm, rose again to a gentle breeze from the north-west. It, being a fair
wind, enabled the fleet of about one hundred vessels to reach along the coast to
:heir appointed position in Gabarus Bay. Here, after passing Warren's cruising
jhips, they arrived in the morning of Tuesday the thirtieth.2
Du Chambon had been in doubt as to what was going on, or perhaps was
in that frame of mind which tries not to see indications of a crisis to which he
:elt himself unequal. The vessels in the offing, and reports that there was
unusual activity at Canso, were disquieting. But the former, it was hoped,
1 Pepperrell to Shirley, Massachusetts Historical Society vol. i, p. 24.
2 The large map of this siege can be used with great advantage in following its course. Its comparison with
vritten accounts shows its substantial accuracy.
It is necessary to collate the letters which passed between the officers and the minutes of the Council of War. The
atter and some of the letters are in Massachusetts Historical Society, sixth series, vol. 10. Other letters are in vol. i of
ts first series. These are referred to as vol. i and vol. 10.
147
148 DU CHAMBON'S UNCERTAINTIES 1745
might be the succour from home for which they had asked ; the latter the
carrying out of English plans for the fortification of Canso, of which they had
knowledge. He ordered Benoit in command at Port Toulouse (St. Peter's) to
ascertain what was going on. The latter sent out a civilian, an Indian, and a
soldier, who captured four of the enemy. These in turn overpowered their
captors, and brought the Frenchmen in as prisoners, the Indian having escaped.1
The miscarriage of this scout left Du Chambon still uncertain. Nor could
the people of Louisbourg tell the nationalities of the combatants, in seeing from
the land the running fight between the Renommte and the provincial cruisers.
There was little room left for doubt when a vessel from St. Jean de Luz arrived
safely, and reported that on the 25th she had exchanged three broadsides with
the enemy. Whatever uncertainty still existed in their minds was dispelled by
the capture of three coasting boats.2
Du Chambon, thus driven from the position that there was no cause for
alarm, in conjunction with Bigot, sent word to France of their condition.8 The
Societt slipped successfully through the blockade, and bore to the court their
evil tidings, which falsified the optimistic previsions of Maurepas. The pre-
parations for defence which Du Chambon had made in the autumn seem to have
been held in abeyance by the mutiny of the garrison. Officials, officers, and
townspeople feared the purpose of the troops was to deliver the place without
striking a blow, so its condition was one of suspended animation. The conduct
of the soldiery during the winter had been orderly. When the crisis came it
was spirited. Du Chambon and Bigot appealed to their patriotism, and promised,
in the name of the King, a pardon for their past offences. The troops responded
to their appeal, returned to their duty, and behaved well during the siege.4
Although arrangements had been made for calling in the people of the
outlying settlement of Baleine and Lorambec, who joined the townspeople in a
militia for its defence, there seems to have been no settled plan of action in event
of these threatening appearances proving to be the prelude of an attack.
Du Chambon was Governor by accident. Neither Chateaugue, appointed
to succeed Du Quesnel, nor De Salvert, his substitute, had been able to reach
Louisbourg. Du Chambon was inexperienced. Neither he nor any of the
officers of the troops had even been in action, so that this siege is the culminating
event of that warfare of amateurs which began at Canso a year earlier. The New
Englanders at least made plans ; Du Chambon seems to have been incapable of
1 Mais. Hist. Soc. vol. i, p. 23 ; Que. Hist. Mass. vol. 3, p. 238. 2 One was a large sloop loaded with game.
3 Bigot does not seem to have been in doubt.
4 Bigot says none deserted. This is almost literally true, there were only two desertions. The promise of pardon
was repudiated after the return of the garrison to France. Certain of the soldiers were executed. The alleged ringleader
had died in prison. Bigot made a statement in favour of the soldiers, which the court-martial did not admit (Colonies, B,
vol. 82). Bigot, however, wrote to the Minister, Oct. 9, 1745, taking a different view. He said, it is of the utmost
importance to the colonies that an example be made ("^u'on fassc un cxemple d'une pareille sedition ").
1745 THE LANDING 149
foresight. His disastrous lack of judgment was shown in his dealing with the
force of Marin. This officer had been sent with a strong detachment from
Quebec for a winter journey to Acadia, there to act against Annapolis or to help
Louisbourg. It left on January 15. Du Chambon informed Marin in April
that it was unnecessary for him to come to Louisbourg. He consequently
attacked Annapolis. It was not until the provincial artillery had begun to fire
on the town, May 5, that Du Chambon attempted to avail himself of this
reinforcement. At this late day, Du Chambon sent a messenger on the long
journey to Annapolis. Marin set out, penetrated to Isle Royale, after an
encounter with provincial cruisers in the Gut of Canso, and arrived too late to
of any help.1
It was not until the French saw from the ramparts on the morning of the
}oth a disembarkation begun, its boats moving towards two points, one near, the
)ther much more to the westward of Flat Point, that the question of resistance
was raised. Two civilians were the spokesmen of those who desired action.
One was the retired officer of the Regiment de Richelieu, de la Boularderie, who,
on hearing of the cruisers off the port, had come in an open boat from his estate
at Petit Bras d'Or. Morpain, now port captain, but at the beginning of the
century a privateer of Port Royale, was the other.
De la Boularderie said that, under cover of the woods, a force could advance
within half a pistol-shot of the beach ; that half of the garrison should be sent out
to fall on the enemy, who would be in that confusion which always attends
landings ; that they would be chilled from exposure, and that they were, moreover,
but poor creatures (" miserables "). Morpain recounted his exploits in 1707 and
appealed to Du Chambon to give him leave to go out with those of the towns-
people who were willing. Du Chambon, who had taken the view that he had no
men to spare, at last gave way. Fifty civilian volunteers and twenty-four
soldiers, the latter under Mesillac Du Chambon, the Governor's son, the
youngest officer of the garrison, set forth from the town with vague instructions
and under uncertain command.
When they were about half-way across the marsh, Boularderie thought
the attempt was hopeless, as fifteen hundred men had landed and were taking
regular formation. Morpain was for keeping on. Marching in solid formation,
they came under the fire of the ships,2 and alarmed the landed troops. The
French had reached a depression when the enemy closed in on them. Morpain,
heedless of De la Boularderie's expostulations, withdrew all the men except
twelve soldiers. These momentarily withstood the provincial attack made in
1 The first news they received in Quebec of the fall of Louisbourg was from the younger Marin, who was dispatched
by his father with this disappointing intelligence (MSS. Que. vol. 3, p. 217).
2 " We were covered in our landing by Fletcher, Bush, and Saunders, who fired their cannon smartly on the enemy "
(Pepperrell's Journal).
1 5o DIVIDED COUNSELS AMONG THE FRENCH 1745
overwhelming force. De la Boularderie was twice wounded and surrendered,
five of the soldiers were wounded, but escaped, and seven were killed. Morpain
was wounded, but watched over by a faithful negro slave, was later brought
into the town.1 The losses were trifling : only two or three provincials
wounded, and on the French side sixteen or seventeen killed and wounded.
From the English accounts there does not appear to have been the delay of
which the French speak, nor the number of men landed at the time the
attempt at a repulse was made.
The provincial troops, after dispersing this tardy and ill-led expedition,
were emboldened to advance freely. In a few hours irregular groups of them
emerged from the woods overlooking the town, in which their exultant cheering
could be heard. Order was maintained among some others, for regular squads
advanced through the woods, and came into the open in the neighbourhood
of the Grand Battery.
Two thousand were landed before nightfall, and the work of encamping
was begun. The site of the camp was on either side of a small brook which
runs into Gabarus Bay, between Flat Point and the boggy plain which
stretches to the outworks of the fortress. The land is dry, and the wisdom
of Pepperrell's officers is shown by the fact that Amherst's engineers in 1758
found no better place for the encampment of a much larger force.2
While morning of this day brought to Du Chambon these perplexities,
the evening brought another, of no less moment. This was the report of
Chassin de Thierry, Captain in command of the Grand Battery, that, in his
opinion, the post was not tenable. He proposed to blow it up, as it would
be of great value to the enemy, and spike the cannon. A council of war was
held, and the opinion of the engineer, Verrier, confirmed Thierry's statement.
At its best, the fort was commanded by higher ground ; in its present state,
difficult to defend, for on the landward side its defences had been levelled
preparatory to their repair. The council without a dissenting voice voted
for its abandonment, and, with the exception of Verrier, thought that it should
be blown up. His protests against the destruction of the work were so vigorous
that the point was given up, and Thierry was ordered to spike the guns and
withdraw his men and as many provisions and warlike stores as he could bring
away. This he did with such haste that the guns were not properly spiked,
and the garrison was back in the town about midnight. A detachment had
to be sent to complete the evacuation. Other detachments, on the ist and 2nd
1 Morpain set free the man as a reward. Boularderie was taken to Boston, made a good impression on its authorities
and people, took charge of the other prisoners, and left for France with a certificate that he had behaved like a gentle-
man, and was of great service to the pmoncrs. This was signed and sealed on September 2 by various distinguished
gentlemen, among whom were members of Council and B. Pemberton, its Secretary (C11, Canada, vol. 87).
2 The earthworks which enclosed the latter camp are still quite visible.
i745 THE GRAND BATTERY OCCUPIED 151
of May, sunk at their moorings the vessels near the town, those at the head
of the harbour, and brought away from the lighthouse its supply of oil. A
third force, a mixed detachment of French and Swiss, protected those who
demolished the houses between the Dauphin Gate and the Barachois, and
while at this work beat off an attack.
The disembarkation was completed on the ist, but for a fortnight the
troops, landing stores and artillery on an exposed shore in cold and foggy
weather, and in bringing the artillery over rocks, through woods and bogs,
suffered the severest hardships. They worked so effectively that, on the
fifth day after the descent, a battery was in position opposite the citadel at
a distance of 1550 yards, and then opened fire on the town.
On the night of the ist a strong detachment marched through the
woods and destroyed the houses at the head of the harbour. The next
morning, William Vaughan, returning from this expedition, reconnoitred the
silent Grand Battery, and, preceded by an Indian, entered its court and found
it deserted, a condition which scarcely justifies the opening of his letter to
Pepperrell :
"May it pleasure your Honour, to be informed yt with ye grace of God and ye
courage of about thirteen men I entred this place about nine a clock and am waiting
here for a reinforcemen1 and flag." l
Another account speaks of this event from a different standpoint, and
incidentally illustrates the conditions of the troops in these early days.
" This Morning we had an alarm in the Camp suposing there was a Salley from the
town against us We Ran to meet them but found ourselves Mistaken : I had a Great
Mind to se the Grand Battery So with five other of our Company I went towards it
and as I was a Going about Thirty more fell in with us ; we Came in ye Back of a hil
within Long Muskitt Shot and fired att ye sd fort & finding no Resistance I was Minded
to Go & Did with about a Duzen men setting a Card to ye Norward Should We Be
asolted who Espied two french men whom we Imeadately Took Priseners with two
women & a Child then we went in after some others to ye sd Grand fort & found itt
Desarted." 2
Before Vaughan was reinforced, he beat off four boat-loads of men, covered
by the fire of the town and island batteries. Colonel Bradstreet was sent with
a reinforcement, and began at once getting the guns into order, in which he
was so successful that the next day, the 3rd of May, at noon, one gun had
fired on the town, and a second was in service at seven the same evening.
This, Colonel Waldo, who had taken over the command, reports with satisfac-
1 Vol. 10, p. 138.
2 Gidding's Journal, Essex Inst. vol. 48. The " some others " I take to be the men under Vaughan.
1 52 WALDO GIVEN COMMAND OF GARRISON 1745
tion, and enlivens his letter to the General by a jest in the manner of the
times over the poor quality of the bombs fired at them by the French.
His regiment continued to garrison this fort, and the artillery officers
soon had enough cannon drilled and in service against the town to amply
justify, by the effects of their fire, the view of the importance of this position
held by the planners of the expedition. Waldo made daily reports to Pepperrell
while he was at the Grand Battery, in which the most striking feature was
the constant clamour for rum. Day after day it was asked for, and it was
not quantity alone, for in one letter they beg for French rather than the
home-made drink. The quantity required apparently seemed excessive to the
Commissariat, for Waldo writes :
"The short supply of rum, the severall Captains tell me, is of prejudice to the people.
Should one from the dead tell the soldiery anything, in the prejudice of it, 'twould have
no weight." l
In warlike stores the supply was short. Waldo was constantly on the
point of being left without powder, and feared at one time that their battery
would have to be silent, which he felt sure would lead to a revival of the
drooping spirits of the besieged, and possibly to an attempt to retake it.2 He
reported that its cannon were twenty-eight of 42 pounds and two of 18 pounds,
" as good pieces as we could desire. I fear the only badd quality in them will
be in the opinion of our principalls that they devour too much powder." He
wrote to Pepperrell that his men were poor, and " we are in great want of
good gunners that have a disposition to be sober in the daytime " ; and again,
that he would answer for the flag provided he had men and good officers.
" Three fourths of the men which you apprehend . . . are here are partly
employed in speculation on the neighbouring hills and partly employed in
ravaging the country."
While the excessively arduous work of establishing batteries and serving
them was going on, it is evident from the journals of individuals, that the troops
were not all engaged in this legitimate work, but parties of them went out on
expeditions, the purpose of which was plunder and destruction of property, as
well as taking prisoners. It is quite evident from the numbers taken, either that,
owing to the short notice given by signals, all the inhabitants of the outports
did not come in, or that people of the town passed to and from their properties
on the shores of the harbour. The scanty records show that both the dwellers
in the environs, and those who left the town, fell into the hands of these roving
bands, who apparently had at best no other commission than the permission of
1 Vol. 10, p. 158.
8 One diarist notes that a sermon was preached on the morning of the 5th in the chapel of the Grand Battery from
the text : "Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise."
1745 PLUNDERING BY THE PROVINCIALS 153
their regimental officers. The records of one diarist1 begin on the day of
landing with the capture of five cows, from which, as only three of them were
killed, follows in natural sequence, that he breakfasted the next morning on
milk. Horses and cattle were both taken and killed ; houses were plundered.
Forty - eight hours later he says again, that " our men keep continually
plundering," and on the first Sunday they were on shore, May 5, he records
that one of the General's men killed himself with drink in a house he was
looting. The same day two unhappy Frenchmen, clearly non-combatants, for
they were carrying their goods from the city to a hiding-place in the woods,
were killed by a party numbering a score. Their boat-loads of property and
two bags of gold became a richer booty to a more unscrupulous squad
than was usual. Another writer, in recounting the events of May 2, says, " and
after that (we) took the grand Batry and several cows and horses and sum plunder
viz. sum pots sum kitles sum grid irons sum one thing and sum another." 2 The
value of the spoils impressed the enemy. Gibson later describes handsome farms
on the Mire. It is said that in one house, burned at St. Peter's, there were
1000 bushels of wheat,3 and more than once the good looks of the women
captured are mentioned, " 4 of which is hansom ladeys," 4 but it was not
always so easy as in these instances.
Friday 10, Gibson's Journal :
" A small scout of twenty-five men got to the north-east harbour. I and four more
being in a house upon plunder, 140 French and Indians came down upon us first, and fired
a volley, with a great noise. Two jumped out of the window and were shot dead. With
great difficulty the other two and myself got safe to the grand battery. They afterwards
killed nineteen of the remaining twenty." 5
The authorities were seriously concerned about this plundering. Waldo
wrote to Pepperrell soon after he went to the Grand Battery :
"I fear yr Honr will be under necessity of appointing a moroding officer with ye
powers, & without it, should an obstinate siege be our portion, a train of ill consequence
must ensue which I doubt not you'll be pleased to consider of."
Pepperrell was evidently determined to arrange some means of dealing with
the matter, for he wrote to Warren the same day :
" The unaccountable irregular behaviour of these fellows (the masters of transports) ot
some moroders is the greatest fatigue I meet with ; hope to reduce them to a better
discipline soon."
War is a cruel thing even with a disciplined army ; with irregular troops it
1 Bradstreet. 2 Giddings, p. 6. 3 From French sources there is no evidence of such abundance.
4 Vol. 10, p. 155.
5 The next day forty prisoners were taken by the force which set out to bury the dead. It made a clean sweep of
the place, chapel, fish stages, and a hundred fishing-boats.
PLANS OF ATTACK 1745
is a scourge to the people of the invaded territory. Neither Pepperrell's corre-
spondence, nor the journal of the Council of War, shows what measures were
taken, but the later entries of the diarists narrate no such barbarities on the part
of the provincials as the records of the earliest days.1
Having abandoned a surprise on the town, in the securing of the Grand
Battery, and the encampment of the army, Pepperrell had carried out in the
main the instructions of Shirley. He was left, supported by his Council, to
devise further action ; except in one respect, the destruction of all French
property. This work was steadily prosecuted, until in three or four weeks,
either by land expeditions or the forces of Warren, no hamlet or settlement on
the island was left unravaged.
The question of sending a summons to Du Chambon was the first considered
by the Council on the 3rd. The matter was under consideration intermittently
until the yth, when it was decided on. Some of the seniors, among them
Waldo, held that Du Chambon would be justified in hanging the bearer of their
message, " unless we had made a more formidable genl. appearance than we
have yet been able to make."
The Council took up the erection of batteries. Beginning at the Green
Hill, these were pushed forward with a celerity which was possible only among a
force made up of men, some with the dexterity of seafarers, others with that of
woodsmen accustomed to handle mast timber from the stump in the forests of
New Hampshire to its berth in the vessel. By the 2Oth, a fifth battery,
sweeping across the little Barachois, completed the attack against the fortifica-
tions towards their northern end, where the ground was most suitable for these
operations and an assault. (The boggy grounds south of the citadel protected
the place from attack on that side.) Other projects against the town were con-
sidered and attempted. Warren proposed an operation against the Island
Battery, which guarded the mouth of the harbour. It was tried unsuccessfully,
as the boats withdrew on account of the surf. It was determined in the Council
on the 9th to storm the town that night. When news of the decision spread
through the camp, so much dissatisfaction was expressed that a hastily
summoned meeting of Council was held in the afternoon, and abandoned the
project. There were seventeen members present in the morning and six in
the afternoon. The latter passed the following :
"Advised, that in as much as there appears a great dissatisfaction in many of the
officers & soldiers at the design'd attack of the town by storm this night, and as it may
1 The only officer whose diary shows any sympathy with plundering was Gibson, who was not a Ne\v Englander,
but had held his Majesty's commission in the Foot Guards at Barbadoes (Gibson's Journal, p. 21). Pepperrell and hit
second. Waldo, were strongly opposed to it.
8 Vol. to, p. 141. Thi», written by Waldo on the 3rd, confirms the impression given by other records that the
disorder was great.
i745 DISCOURAGEMENT OF THE BESIEGERS 155
be attended with very ill consequence if it should not be executed with the utmost vigour
whenever attempted, the said attack of the town be deferr'd for the present.1
Warren was present at both meetings.
The outlook was not as brilliant as the leaders had hoped. Du Chambon
had returned a spirited answer to the summons to surrender. The guns of
their siege batteries were burst by overloading,2 and, firing at long range, did
little damage to the French defences ; and it was found impossible to arrange
an attack on the Island Battery. Discouragement dictated the decision of the
Council of War which met on the nth ; for this was virtually to abandon the
offensive, and to attempt no more than to hold the harbour until reinforcements
were sent to them. The Council decided at its meeting as follows :
" Advized, that the battery begun at the west part of the Town be compleated with
all possible expedition, and the eight 22lb cannon be mounted there.
" Advized, that two regiments be posted on the west part of the town to guard the
batteries there, and to intercept succours that may attempt to get into the town that way.
"That one regimt be posted at the Grand Battery.
" That a battery be thrown up, and the New York train of artillery and some cannon
from the Grand Battery be mounted between the light-house and careening place, and that
the remaindr of the army with the stores encamp in some proper place abt the North East
Harbour, & intrench there and place the field pieces round the camp, that so they may
be able to keep possession of the harbour till measures can be taken for the effectual re-
duction of the town.
"That some guard-boats be prepared & kept in readiness in the North East Harbour
to intercept small vessells from getting to the town with succors."3
It was also decided that Shirley send down a reinforcement of one
thousand men. The battery was begun, no steps were taken to remove the
troops, and by the i8th the action was reconsidered in Council and the project
abandoned. Vaughan wrote, on the nth, that he could take the Island Battery
if given control of an expedition against it. He busied himself with preparations,
but was obliged to write Pepperrell that the indiscipline of the men made the
expedition impossible. A bungling attempt to burn a vessel from France, which
had passed through the cruisers unhurt by their fire and that of the Grand
Battery, and had been anchored or was beached close under the walls of the
town, was also made and failed.
Warren was getting uneasy. He pointed out to Pepperrell that the
St. Lawrence was open, and that reinforcements might be sent down from
Quebec as well as from France. Pepperrell's letters to Shirley became apologetic
in their tone, for he and his officers were receiving letters which showed that at
home hopes were held that they were in Louisbourg when they had not landed.4
1 Vol. 10, p. 17. 2 Many accidents of this kind took place to their own guns and men.
3 Vol. 10, p. 1 8. 4 Parkman, also vol. 10.
156 THE CAPTURE OF THE 'VIGILANT' 1745
Warren proposed an attack on the town, by the combined land and sea forces,
for which he secured the approval, not only of his own captains, but of Rous
and Fones, of the colonial cruisers. The Council determined that the circum-
stances of the army did not justify its immediate undertaking. Warren was
unquestionably disappointed, and some irritation appears in his letters to
Pepperrell. Before this had risen to any plain expression one event occurred
which materially affected the course of the siege. This was the capture of the
one ship sent out from France which could have helped Du Chambon in his
defence. The Vigilant was a new ship mounting sixty-four guns. It was said
that she was so heavily laden that her lowest tier of guns was not available in
battle. Her command was given to Maisonfort, who was given instructions
to succour Louisbourg without uselessly exposing his vessel.1
The Vigilant, on her voyage from Brest, captured two British vessels, on
which she put prize crews to bring them in to Louisbourg. On the 2Oth of
May she was off the coast of Isle Royale, proceeding with a fair north-east wind
for her destination. She fell in with and chased the Mermaid^ of forty guns,
Captain Douglass. The latter, replying with his stern guns to the fire of the
Frenchman, was pursued towards the northwards where Warren's ships lay.
Douglass signalled to them the presence of the enemy. When Maisonfort 2 (at
2 P.M.) discovered the British ships, conditions were reversed. He turned
south-westwards to sea, and was chased by the Mermaid. He crowded on all
sail. The British ship was joined at six by Rous, in command of the Shirley,
who " Ply'd his Bow Chase very well." At eight the Eltham and Superbe came
up, and after an hour's action Maisonfort struck. In the darkness of night-time
and fog they all but lost the prize. Maisonfort had made a gallant fight, and
did not surrender until his ship was unworkable, and was so much shattered
that she had to be towed into Gabarus Bay the next day, so that he had no
chance of escaping. Sixty of her crew of 500 were killed or wounded.
Douglass was put in command of her, and with difficulty a crew was obtained
from the transports and army.8 The Superbe s master's log, No. 722, has a
slightly different account, agreeing that the Vigilant fought until completely
disabled. " She could make no sort of sail." The logs all show that she
inflicted considerable damage on the three ships which overpowered her.
Had the Vigilant successfully entered the harbour the effect on the siege
must have been great.4 Its crew would have about doubled the number of the
defenders of the town. The stores she carried would have most opportunely
1 I.R. B, vol. 82, f. 59 and 70. 2 Sec Biographical Appendix.
3 This in brief is the account of the Mermaid' s log (R.O. Captains' Logs, 820).
• If she had got in, I believe she would have put them in such a condition as to prevent any Fleet in the World's
coming in the Town " (Capt. Ph. Durell of the Superb<}. " If the Ship had got into the Harbour we should never hive
taken the place" ("an officer of Marines" in Durell, Captain M'Donald (?).
ITS GREAT ADVANTAGES
157
supplemented those of the defence, which were so low that the powder was
sparingly used. The rashness of De la Maisonfort would have animated the
defence with the spirit it needed. The courage and tenacity with which he and
his crew fought on the Vigilant until she was completely disabled, we must
believe, would have proved too much for the few and unskilled gunners of the
Grand Battery. Had they silenced these guns, then, from some such position as
the Arethuse occupied in 1758, the siege batteries would have been laid open to
the devastating broadsides of the Vigilant}- The fortunes of France suffered
grievously from the rashness of her commander.
Powder from her stores was found very useful by the provincials in adding
to their stores, which, like those of the French, had run low. But the fire of
their batteries was not very effective. With regard to other operations, the
officers had not enough control over their men to order them to the attack on
the Island Battery, and to have that order obeyed. The organization of this
expedition was being attempted continuously from the time that it was first
spoken of, but night after night it was put off. The first of the attempts
which were serious was made on the 2ist. Warren had two hundred men
ready to assist, but the disorderly mob which appeared at the Grand Battery was
in no condition to make an attack.
" The night, owing to the moon and the northern lights, was not so agreeable as may
happen the ensuing one, and the appearance of small detachments of men without officers
was much less pleasing, many of which only under the conduct (not influence) of a sarjeant
& many others only centinells without any officer of any kind, & not a few of them noisy
& in liquor." 2
Waldo wrote that only fourteen of his men would go ; although he
claimed that the spirit of his regiment was better than others. The men
believed the French had wind of their design. D'Aillebout, in command of the
island, was erecting a fascine battery to protect its landing-place. The council
had an examination of witnesses the next day. Their decision was that
Colonels Noble and Gorham, who were in command, were not chargeable with
misbehaviour in the affair. The council also " advised, that if a number of men
to the amount of three or four hundred appear as volunteers for the attack of
the Island Battery, they be allowed to choose their own officer and be entitled to
the plunder found there." 3 This offer produced some effect.
1 See map. 8 Vol. 10, Waldo to Pepperrell, p. 213.
3 Vol. 10, p. 21. Had plunder been much of an inducement, the adventurers would have been sorely dis-
appointed had the island been taken. Young d'Estimauville was burned out when in command of the detachment at
Fort Guillaume, at Table Head, in September 1752. His claim for reimbursement of his losses represents that he
had the following property: 10 shirts, 10 handkerchiefs, n stockings, 2 vests, 2 shoes, 8 towels and bedding; also an
overcoat, a silver couvert, and a goblet, a hunting knife, etc., a canteen of 5 bottles, demijohn of wine, 8 glasses, 2 flasks,
etc. He was probably better supplied than any officer in 1745, and the four or five on the Island Battery and their
eighty men would have given little to divide.
158 THE REPULSE AT THE ISLAND BATTERY 1745
The officers chosen found over four hundred adventurers assembled at the
Grand Battery on the night of the 2bth. As they embarked they gave the
impression to Waldo that the greater part of them never intended to land in
the attack. The surf was as heavy as any Warren had known on the coast.
" I am very sorry for the miscarriage and loss of men in the attempt on the Island Battery.
There was as great a surff the night it was undertaken as I have known here, and I desired
Captain Durell to acquaint you, if you wou'd lend us your whale boats we wou'd attempt it
from the ships the first favourable opportunity, tho' I must own I think wee ought not to
unmann them upon any account, as the sea force of the enemy may be daily expected, whom
we ought to be in a condition to receive." l
The foremost boats reached the island and landed their men. The garrison
was ready for them and a conflict began. The garrison was small. One account
says 60 to 80 soldiers. There were also about 140 militiamen. After three hours
of fighting, which ended at four in the morning, the victory was with the French.
The loss was i 89 men,2 and it paralyzed for the moment the besieging forces. The
next day the batteries were silent for some time ; that of the Grand because it
had no powder, nor men to work it ; the others presumably on account of the
confusion. Waldo sent one of his vigorous letters to Pepperrell :
"The silence of all our batterys after the misfortune of last night is very prejudicial to
our interests. I humbly apprehend we ought rather to have doubled our zeal ye way."
" From all accounts from shore we learn the men are prodigiously discouraged." 3
Warren's impatience increased. On the 24th he again sent a plan approved
by his captains. It proposed that 1000 men from the army should embark on
the vessels, that 600 men more should be found from the land forces to man the
Vigilant, that the harbour should be forced, the transports to be under cover of
the men-of-war, and that a vigorous attack in boats should be made from the
ships, and that Captain M'Donald should land the marines and lead the
land attack.4
The council on the 25th "maturely weighed" this plan, pointed out that
the reduction of the Island Battery, and of that circular battery with which
Du Chambon 5 had replaced and reinforced the guns at the Dauphin Gate, would
be of great service to the attack on the town, and that they would endeavour it,
1 Vol. 10, p. 253. 2 Pepperrcll to Warren, May 28, vol. i, p. 33.
3 Diary of Rev. Joseph Emerson, Chaplain of the Molincux frigate j published by Sam. A. Green.
* The marines on the men-of-war were about 300 in number. Capt. James M'Donald came to Shirley highly
recommended, and received from him a Colonel's commission to command the marines under Pepperrell, if they served on
shore (Shirley to Pepperrell, May 10). Pepperrell thought he was boastful and a martinet. u I am well assurd. he never
wa», put it all together, one hour in any of ye trenches, Sc he might be on shore before we came in ye citty three days at a
time in ye camp, & then to be sure we were glad to get rid of him, for ye most he did was to find fault that our encamp-
ment was not regulr., or yt the soldrs. did not march as hansome as old regulr. troops, their toes were not turned enough out,
&c." (Pcppcrrcll to Shirley, vol. 10, p. 330). * Lartigue, a civilian, was very active in this work.
1745 FRICTION BETWEEN THE COMMANDERS 159
while the Vigilant was refitting. They then summarized the difficulties of the
situation :
" That as the difficulties of communication between the army and shipping are often so
great that boats cannot put off nor reland for several days together ; there being a consider-
able degree of sickness in the army ; there being reason to apprehend that a number of French
Indians may be dayly expected on the back of our camp ; also that our men being unused
to the sea would be soon unfitted for service by being on shipboard j it is by no means
advizeable to send off any number of the land forces to go into the harbour in the ships,
lest if by any accident the ships should not go in at the time proposed, the land men might
not be able immediately to repair on shoar, which might be attended with the worst
consequences to the army.
" That a general attack be made on the town by the army and naval force as soon, and
in such manner, as shall be determined upon by their united Councils [and submitted an
alternative plan] :
" Vizt. That five hundred men be taken out of the cruizers and transports, and distri-
buted in the ships of war, in order to facilitate the manning the Vigilant.
"That the ships and other vessels proceed into the harbour at the time agreed upon in
such manner as Comre Warren shall direct.
"That five hundred land men and what men can be spared from the cruizers be in
readiness at the Grand Battery to put off in boats upon a signal, and to land and scalade
the wall on the front of the town, under the fire of the ships' cannon. The marines and
what seamen Comre Warren thinks proper to attack at the same time and place.
" That five hundred men, or more if to be had, scalade the wall at the southeast part of
the town at the same time.
" That five hundred men make an attack at the breach at the West Gate, and endeavour
to possess themselves of the Circular Battery.
" That five hundred men be posted at a suitable place to sustain the party attacking at
the West Gate."1
Warren's impatience showed in his letters. He transmitted his plan of the
24th in a letter beginning with these words :
" I am sorry to give you the trouble of so many plans of operation against the garrison
of Louisbourg, and beg leave to assure you, most candidly, that they all have been such as
appeared best to my weak judgment, under the several circumstances that you were in, at
the different times of my proposing them." 2
Pepperrell replied in a calm tone on the same day in transmitting the report
of the council, which drew from Warren a brusque answer, the basis of which is
in two of its passages. " For God's sake, let us do something, and not waste
our time in indolence," showed Warren's frame of mine. The reasons for this
impetuous appeal Warren stated as follows :
" I sincerely wish you all the honour and success imaginable, and only beg to know, in
what manner I can be more serviceable, than in cruizing, to prevent the introduction of
1 Vol. 10, p. 23. 8 Vol. i, p. 32.
160 THE LIGHTHOUSE BATTERY 1745
succours to the garrison. I fear that if that be all that is expected from the ships, or that
they can do, Louisbourg will be safe for some time j for my part I have proposed all that I
think can be done already, and only wait your answer thereto."1
Pepperrell replied on the 28th with a statement of what the army had done
and its condition.
"In answer to yours of 26th inst. I beg leave to represent to you that this is now the
29th day since the army first invested the town of Louisbourg, and drove the inhabitants
within their walls. That in this time we have erected five fascine batteries, and with hard
service to the men, drawn our cannon, mortars, ball, etc. ; that with 16 pieces of cannon, and
our mortars mounted at said batteries, and with our cannon from the royal battery, we have
been playing on the town, by which we have greatly distrest the inhabitants, made some
breaches in the wall, especially at the west gate, which we have beat down, and made a
considerable breach there, and doubt not but shall soon reduce the circular battery. That
in this time we have made five unsuccessful attempts upon the island battery, in the last of
which we lost about 189 men, and many of our boats were shot to pieces, and many of our
men drowned before they could land ; that we have also kept out scouts to destroy any
settlements of the enemy near us, and prevent a surprise in our camp . . . that by the
services aforesaid and the constant guards kept night and day round the camp, at our
batteries, the army is very much fatigued, and sickness prevails among us, to that degree
that we now have but about 2100 effective men, six hundred of which are gone in
the quest of two bodies of French and Indians we are informed are gathering, one to the
eastward, and the other to the westward." !
He promised that he and some of his council will wait on Warren as soon
as possible, but told him that an attempt on the Island Battery by boats was
impracticable ; a tribute to the vigour of D'Aillebout's defence on the 26th.
Warren writes again on the 29th after being
"three days in a fog that I could not see the length of my ship, nor one of my squadron j
when that is the case I look on myself to be as far from you as if I were in Boston." He
quotes Shirley's letter in which the Governor refers to Warren's command. This Warren
says he mentions "but to show that my opinion, which I shall ever give candidly to the
best of my judgment, might have, in conjunction with the captains under my command,
some weight and force with you."
A most important step was now taken, one which might have been earlier
begun, had the technical skill at Pepperrell's disposal been more adequate.3
The nearest point to the Island Battery was the land across the mouth of the
harbour on which the lighthouse was placed. A distance of about one
thousand yards separated these points. It was not, however, until towards the
end of May that it occurred to the besiegers to attack the Island Battery from
1 Vol. i, pp. 34-35, May 26. 2 Pepperrell to Warren, vol. I, p. 35.
3 "We being poorly provided with persons experienced in engineering" (Pepperrell to Bastide, June 2, vol. 10, p. 239).
Bastide arrived at Louisbourg about June 5. The lighthouse battery was then under construction.
1745 THE LAST DAYS OF THE SIEGE 161
this point. The first mention of the project in letters to Pepperrell is in that
of Waldo, who wrote on the 26th :
" I have been over to the Lighthouse side, where have found a very convenient place
for electing a fine battery to the seaward . . . and a flank or bastion to ye said battery
that will mount four or five guns that will range the Island Battery ... I have determined
as Col. Gorham's have leisure enough that they this evening and the ensuing night thr6
up another . . . which will greatly annoy the Island Battery, being the best-situated in
my poor apprehension for the purpose." l
Guns and materials were conveyed by sea to the position, and the work
carried on. No movement made by the besiegers was more effective. Warren's
ships were held outside the harbour by the Island Battery. The injuries to
the walls of the town were being repaired as the damage was done, or when
the permanent works were destroyed, they were,, as at the Dauphin Gate,
replaced by newly erected defences of earthwork and fascines. The French
thus deferred the possibilities of a successful land attack. They guarded, in
the event of the harbour being forced, against boats landing from the ships
or from the Grand Battery on the beaches and quays, by stretching a chain
between the Dauphin Works and the Batterie de la Grave. Du Chambon and
his men, with dogged tenacity rather than Gallic dash, were doing all they
could to hold the place. Eager as Warren was, his captains had on June 7
declared that it was inadvisable to attempt to force the harbour without
silencing the Island Battery, nor would the pilots then with them bring the
ships close enough to bring their guns to bear effectively on it.2 Warren's
captains added that if they could get pilots who would anchor the ships half
a cable length from the battery, and they had five hundred men from the army
with officers, who would land where Warren directed, they would attempt
its reduction. Such pilots did not exist, and Pepperrell replied :
" I cannot think it advisable to attempt it again in whale boats which a few musket
balls will sink." 3
The progress of the siege was almost blocked when the Lighthouse
Battery began its work.
Shirley's account of the later days of the siege clearly and briefly sets forth
the conditions and course of events.
"And by the I4th, four more Guns were placed on the nth, fuftained by 320 Men.
Powder growing short, the Fire had for fome days been very much flacken'd, and the
French began to creep a little out of the Cafmates and Covers, where they had hid
1 Vol. 10, p. 224. As Waldo gave orders to proceed with the work, it is likely that the project had been discussed
before. There is no entry in the minutes of the Council of War about this battery until June 9, then only about
transferring to it one of their largest mortars.
2 June 7, vol. i, p. 41. 3 Pepperrell to Warren, June 8.
M
1 62 CAPITULATION 1745
themfclves, during the greateft Fiercenefs of it ; but this being the Anniverfary of his
Majefty's happy Acccflion to the Throne, it was determined to celebrate it as became
loyal Subjects and good Soldiers ; and Orders were given for a general Difcharge of all the
Cannon from every Battery, at Twelve O'Clock, which was accordingly done, and follow'd
by an inceflant Fire all the reft of the Day : which much difheartened the Enemy,
efpecially as they muft be fenfible what muft be the Confequence of this new Battery.
It was now determined, as foon as poflible, after the Arrival of the Canterbury and
Sunderland, to make a general Attack by the Sea and Land : Accordingly they arriving
the next Day, all the Tranfports were order'd off to take out the fpare Mafts and Yards,
and other Lumber of the Men of War. The Soldiers were employ'd in gathering Mofs
to barricade their Nettings, and 600 men were fent on board the King's Ships at the
Commodore's Requeft. The large Mortar was order'd to the Light-houfe Battery ; and
a new Supply of Powder arriving, the Fire was more fierce from this Time to
"The 1 5th, than ever. When the Mortar began to play from the Light-houfe
Battery upon Ifland Battery ; out of 19 Shells, 17 fell within the Fort, and one of them
upon the Magazine, which, together with the Fire from the Cannon, to which the
Enemy was very much expofed, they having but little to fhelter them from the Shot
that ranged quite through their Barracks, fo terrified them, that many of them left the
Fort, and run into the Water for Refuge.
"The Grand Battery being in our Pofleflion ; the Ifland Battery being fo much
annoy'd by the Light-houfe Battery ; the North-Eaft Battery fo open to our Advance
Battery, that it was not poflible for the Enemy to ftand to their Guns ; all the Guns in
the Circular Battery except three being difmounted, and the Wall almoft wholly broke
down ; the Weft Gate demolifhed, and a large Breach in the Wall adjoining ; The Weft
Flank in the King's Baftion almost ruined ; all the Houfes and other Buildings almoft
torn to Pieces, but one Houfe in the town being left unhurt, and the Enemy's Stock of
Ammunition growing fhort, they fent out a Flag of Truce to the Camp, defiring Time
to confider upon the Articles of Capitulation. This was granted till the next Morning
when they brought out Articles, which were refufed, and others fent in by the General
and Commodore, and agreed to by the Enemy : Hoftages were exchanged and
"On the 1 7th of June, the City and Fortrefles were furrendered, and the Garrifon
and all the Inhabitants, to the Number of 2000, capable of bearing Arms, made Prifoners,
to be tranfported to France with all their perfonal Effects. During the whole Siege, we
had not more than 101 Men killed by the Enemy and all other Accidents, and about 30
died of Sicknefs. And according to the beft Accounts, there were killed of the Enemy
within the Walls about 300, befides Numbers that died by being confined within the
Cafemates." !
This was brought about by the hopelessness of the situation, well described
by Shirley. The principal inhabitants of the city begged Du Chambon to
capitulate. VervUle, the engineer, at his request, made a report on the battered
state of the fortifications ; Ste. Marie, another on their exhausted munitions
of war. A council of war met, and unanimously decided the proper course
was to offer to capitulate.2
1 Shirley, p. 30. - The originals of these documents or at least contemporary facsimiles are in M. St. Mery, vol. 50.
i745 THE TERMS 163
Du Chambon sent an officer, young Eurry de la Perelle, who had recovered
from his wound received in the defence of the Island Battery, with a letter
asking for a suspension of hostilities to arrange terms for a capitulation. It
was high time. We know the condition of the town. There were but forty-
seven barrels of powder in its stores. The men-of-war cleared for action, their
crews supplemented by 600 provincials lay ready in Gabarus Bay, over against
the camp, to force the harbour. The land forces were prepared with scaling
ladders and fascines to storm the breaches in the walls. Warren had landed,
and the regiment drawn up on parade listened to his inspiring words. The
suspension was granted until nine the next morning. Negotiations were
carried on during the i6th, Sunday, and resulted in the following letter from
Warren and Pepperrell, which was modified by later arrangements : l
11 We have before us yours of this date, together with the several articles of capitulation
on which you have proposed to surrender the town and fortifications of Louisbourg with
the territories adjacent, under your government, to his Britannic Majesty's forces, now
besieging said place, under our command, which articles we can by no means conceed to.
But, as we are desirous to treat you in a generous manner we do again make you an offer
of terms of surrender proposed by us in our summons sent you the jth may last ; and
to further consent to allow and promise you the following articles," viz. :
First. — "That if your own vessels shall be found insufficient for the transportation
of your persons and proposed effects to France, we will provide such a further number
of vessels as may be sufficient for that purpose, also any provisions necessary for the
voyage which you cannot furnish yourselves with."
Secondly. — "That all the commission officers belonging to the garrison, and the
inhabitants of the town may remain in their houses with their families and enjoy the
free exercise of their religion, and no person shall be suffered to misuse and molest any
of them till such time as they can be conveniently transported to France."
Thirdly. — " That the non-commission officers and soldiers shall immediately upon the
surrender of the town and fortresses, be put on board of his Britannic Majesty's ship till
they also be transported to France."
Fourthly. — " That all your sick and wounded shall be taken tender care of in the same
manner as our own."
Fifthly. — " That the commander in chief now in Garrison shall have liberty to send off
covered waggons to be inspected only by one officer of ours, that no warlike stores may
be contained therein."
Sixthly. — " That if there are any persons in the town or garrison which shall desire
may not be seen by us, they shall be permitted to go off masked."
" The above we do consent to, and promise upon your complyance with the following
conditions : "
First. — " That the said surrender and due performance of every part of the aforesaid
premises, be made and completed as soon as possible."
Secondly. — " That as a security for the punctual performance of the same, the Island
1 See end of chapter.
1 64 SURRENDER OF THE TOWN 1745
Battery or one of the batteries of the town shall be delivered together with the warlike
stores, thereunto belonging unto the possession of his Brit. Majesty's troops, before six
of the clock this afternoon."
Thirdly. — "That his said Brit. Majesty's ship of war now lying before the port, shall
be permitted to enter the Harbour of Louisbourg without any molestation as soon after
six of the clock this afternoon as the commander in chief of said ships shall think fit."
Fourthly. — " That none of the officers, soldiers, non-inhabitants in Louisbourg who are
subjects of the French King shall take up arms against his Brit. Majesty, nor any of his
allies until after the expiration of the full term of twelve months from this time."
Fifthly. — "That all subjects of his Brit. Majesty who are now prisoners with you
shall be immediately delivered up to us."
"In case of your non-compliance with these conditions we decline any further treaty
with you on this affair, and shall decide the matter by our arms, and are, Sir, Your
humble servants, P. WARREN,
W. PEPPERRELL."
The point on which Du Chambon held out to the last was the granting the
honours of war, that is marching out with their arms and colours flying. An
interchange of letters between Pepperrell and Warren showed that their senti-
ments agreed on this point, " the uncertainty of our affairs that depends so much
on wind and weather make it necessary not to stick at trifles." l Hostages from
the town were sent to them. It was arranged that Warren should take posses-
sion of the Island Battery and Pepperrell of the town. The inexperience of the
civilian General led to precipitancy, of which Du Chambon complained to Warren.
Pepperrell did not, apparently, know that taking possession was irregular until
after the ratification of the articles of capitulation. These were hastened to
completion, and on the iyth the town was yielded up.
"Monday, 17. This day, the French flag was struck, and the English one hoisted up
in its place at the island battery. We took possession early in the morning. We hoisted
likewise the English flag at the grand battery, and our other new batteries ; then fired
our cannons and gave three huzzas. At two o'clock in the afternoon, Commodore
Warren, with all the men-of-war, as also the prize man-of-war of sixty guns ; (the
Vigilant], our twenty guns ships; likewise our snows, brigantines, privateers and trans-
ports, came all into Louisbourg harbor, which made a beautiful appearance. When all
were safely moored, they proceeded to fire on such a victorious and joyful occasion.
About four o'clock in the afternoon, our land army marched to the south gate of the city,
and entered the same, and so proceeded to the parade near the citadel ; the French troops,
at the same time, being all drawn up in a very regular order. Our army received the
usual salutes from them, every part being performed with all the decency and decorum
imaginable. And as the French were allowed to carry off their effects, so our guards took
all the care they possibly could to prevent the common soldiers from pilfering and stealing,
or otherwise giving them the least molestation. The guard and watch of the city, the
garrisons &c., were delivered to our troops" (Gibson, p. 52).
1 Vol. I, F. 45-
1745 DISORDER IN THE TOWN 165
The terms gave little satisfaction to the rank and file. The prospect of
booty was as potent an influence in favour of enlistment as it was in all other
armies to a much later time than 1 745, and the troops, after a campaign which
was full of hardship, if not of fighting, saw French property secured to its
owners. Warren had foreseen the possibility of disorder. He wrote to
Pepperrell on the i6th :
" I rejoice at our success : be assured, sir, that I shall always be glad of your approba-
tion of my conduct. I beg we may all behave to the prisoners that fall under our pro-
tection by the chance of war, with the humanity and honour becoming English officers,
and be persuaded it will add greatly to the reputation which we acquire by the reduction of
this formidable garrison." l
His words of caution were justified by the result. The French had been
irritated by irregularities in the official conduct of affairs. They commented on
Bradstreet being sent in at the head of the detachment which took possession
of the town. He had broken, from their point of view, his parole, given at
Canso, by serving in this campaign. They later laid stress on the infraction
of the terms of capitulation in some of the prisoners being sent to France by
the way of Boston instead of directly from Louisbourg. They had now more
substantial grievances. The arrangements to protect the inhabitants were
inadequate. Pillage, rioting, and insult were the lot of these people who had
already been subjected to the hardship of so long a siege. Du Chambon com-
plained to the authorities. Pepperrell entered in his diary on the I9th, " Many
complaints of abuses done by the English soldiers to the French inhabitants."
Rejoicing took place and dinners. Haste was made in removing the troops to
the town and destroying the entrenchments, for there were rumours that a large
force of French and Indians were close at hand. The inhabitants were shipped to
France as rapidly as possible. Eleven transports sailed on the 4th of July. It
was found that as there was scarcely accommodation in the vessels for the people,
they had to leave behind much of their property, so that to a great extent they
lost the benefits of the capitulation. They were deprived of their own vessels,
which fell as spoils to the victors. Bigot, however, secured the King's cash,
200,000 1., by representing it as the property of private parties.2
1 Vol. i, p. 45.
2 Bigot Memoire. The losses of this siege were not great in men. About one hundred on the English side. A
French return gives their force and losses as follows :
Statement of the soldiers, inhabitants, sailors, and fishermen who were in the town of Louisbourg at the beginning
°fthe8ieSe: Soldiers 500
Inhabitants, sailors, and fishermen . . . 762 1262
AT ILE DE L 'ENTREE
Soldiers . . . . . .90
Inhabitants, etc. . . . . .138 228
1490
1 66 THE REWARDS OF THE COMMANDERS 1745
The garrison of St. John's Island resisted an attack made by provincial
cruisers, and the younger Du Vivier, its commander, carried off his soldiers in
safety to Quebec.1 The inhabitants, unlike those of Isle Royale, were allowed to
remain undisturbed.
A joint letter to the Prime Minister was dispatched. Shirley and the other
Colonial Governors were advised of this victory.2 The mother country and the
colonies rejoiced over the capture of a fortress the reputation of which for
strength had been supposed to be much more nearly commensurate with its
strategic importance.
Britain was not ungrateful. Warren was promoted and made Admiral of
the Blue, and hoisted his flag amid the salutes of his ships when the news was
received at Louisbourg on the 25th of September. It had been proposed to make
him a Baronet, but apparently his own representations caused this offer to be with-
held. The prospect of an hereditary title brought too closely to him, as the full
tide of his success was in flood, the disappointment of his most personal hopes.
" Lord Sandwich in his letter mentions the intention to create me a Baronet. I
have no son, therefore if that cou'd without offence be let alone, I shall take it
as a favour." 3
Pepperrell was made a Baronet. To him and Shirley was given the right
to raise regiments. This in itself was a large pecuniary reward, as the perquisites
of a colonel were very considerable. Pepperrell, although Warren, a little later,
thought that he on no account would accept the Governorship of the new de-
pendency, had on July 30 applied to the Duke of Newcastle for the position.
"My Lord Duke, I beg leave to trouble yr. Grace to request yr. favour in my behalf
to His Majesty, that if my Services in ye Expedition against this place have merit'd His
Majesty's Gracious Notice, I may obtain His Royal Commission for ye Government
hereof." 4
Now that the expedition had been found a success, the outlay incurred by
the provinces in raising and supplying it became of the first importance to them
in their impoverished condition. Massachusetts could not have undertaken it
had ready money not been supplied by contributions of its citizens.5
To be deducted :
Killed during the siege . . . . -5°
Wounded . . . . . So i^o
Remaining alter the siege i ;6o
Besides the Srs. de Souvigny, la Frcsilliere, and Loppinot, officers, killed (M. St. M. vol. 50, p. 495). This seem« to
include only the combatants, the actual number of inhabitants, including those of the outports, was nearly 8000.
1 He arrived there on August 7.
- The news reached Boston e.irly on the morning of July 3.
3 Warren to Anson, Oct. 2.
4 Pepperrell to Newcastle, Louisbourg, July 30, 1745. C.O. ;/.
3 Mr. Dudley Pickman was the largest subscriber to this fund, with the exception of Pepperrell. A handsome piece
of silver presented by Massachusetts in recognition of his services is still extant.
1745 REPAYMENT OF COLONIAL OUTLAY 167
The custom in the old wars had been to reimburse the colonies for such
expenditures. All their expeditions had been undertaken by authority from
home, but in this case, Massachusetts having been its prime mover, the question
was raised as to whether the reimbursements should be a matter of grace or
justice. There was considerable delay in the verification of accounts, and when
the amounts were settled there were again difficulties on account of exchange.
While the negotiations were in progress, the value of the bills of the Province
of Massachusetts had fallen so materially that it was a question as to whether
one hundred and eighty-three thousand pounds or one hundred and four
thousand pounds sterling should be remitted. Bollan, who was acting for
Massachusetts, displayed ability in dealing with all these matters. Finally the
larger amount was paid over and divided among Massachusetts, New Hampshire,
and Rhode Island. The share of the larger province was wisely used in reducing
its paper money.1 Pepperrell's contribution to the expedition was ten thousand
pounds. It was presumably repaid, but it is probable that Pepperrell's perquisites
of two and one-half per cent commission on the disbursements made the expedition
not unprofitable to him. Douglass does not hesitate to say that it was remunera-
tive to Shirley.2
When the French garrison and inhabitants had left, some attempt to clean
the town was made, and to put it in a state to resist an attack which might be
made by the squadron of de Salvert.3 Colonel Bastide now became important.
The return which he and Gridley made of the warlike stores in the town bore
out the contentions of Du Chambon. There were but 27 bbls. of powder found
in it. Bastide made an estimate of the cost of repairs which were immediately
required. This amounted to £9000 sterling. While the army, defrauded of
their hopes of plunder by the capitulation, were engaged in unexciting tasks,
they saw the navy, which from their point of view had done little, now reaping
a rich harvest. The day after the capitulation a well-laden French vessel found
itself becalmed off the mouth of the harbour. It was towed in, a capture, to
1 The sums paid over were :
Massachusetts .... £183,649 2 j\
New Hampshire . . . 16,355 13 4
Connecticut .... 28,863 *9 J
Rhode Island . . - » . . 6,332 12 10
James Gibson . . " . . 547 15 o
2 Waldo had to write to the home authorities in Feb. 49/50 for ^1339 pay due him. He says Pepperrell was
also unpaid. C.O. 5/.
"As writers and preachers forbear publifhing . . . which are fingular, rare or new, left they fhould prove of bad
example, I fhall only fum up thefe perquifites in this manner: In the fpace of four years, viz. 1741, the introductory
gratuities from the province, and from ... of many thoufand of pounds and the unprecedented perquifites in the three
expedition years of 1745, 1746, and 1747, from a negative fortune, was amaffed a large profitive eftate and the loofe corns
built a country-houfe at the charge of about fix thoufand pount fterling " (Douglass' Summary],
3 De Salvert heard at sea of the fall of Louisbourg and returned to France.
1 68 NAVAL PRIZES 1745
the port, which its master had thought French. The ships of the French East
India Company had been ordered to rendezvous at Louisbourg. Three of
them came to that port, where they expected to find refitment and a convoy
across the Western Ocean. Warren's dispatches tell their fate :
" On the 22il June a large Ship appear'd in the Offing which I took to be a Sixty Gun
Ship, and the next morning at daylight I sent out the Princess Mary & Canterbury, &
had the pleasure to see them from the Rcmparts take her, without opposition, they brought
her in the day following, & she proves to be the Charmante, a French East India Ship of
about five or Six Hundred Tuns, Twenty Eight Guns & Ninety Nine Men Commanded
by Mr. Nouoal of Contrie, who assures us that she is except Mr. Ansons, as good a Prize
as has been taken this war."
Thus Warren wrote to the Secretary of the Admiralty on the 25th of July.
By the fortunes of war he was able in his next letter, that of August I, to go
on as follows :
"And have now only to acquaint you that the Chester & Mermaid have brought in
here the Heron, a French East India Ship from Bengal, pretty rich, by her we learn that
the Triton is on her passage, and that this is the appointed Rendezvous for their Indian
Trade."
Again :
"On the 2nd inst. the Sunderland and Chester brought in the French ship, Notre Dame
De la Dfliverance, Capt. Pierre Litant, Twenty two Guns, and about Sixty men, from
Lima in the South Seas, for which place she sail'd from Cadiz in the year Forty one, she
has on board in Gold and Silver upwards of Three hundred thousand pounds Sterling, & a
Cargo of Cocoa, Peruvian Wool, and Jesuits Bark ; She came from Lima with two others,
each of them much richer than this."
These were Warren's official accounts of these events so interesting to him
and to the crews of the ships concerned.1
The personal aspect he touches on in the letter to Anson :
"The Captains that I now send home under Captain Edward's Command carry home
the South seamens money, and they will pay one hundred thousand pieces of Eight, to my
Attorneys, and the Eighth of her cargo, and that of the two India Ships when sold, and
settled, and also of the Vigilant, all of which you will please to vest in the best Funds you
can for my advantage."'
1 Ad. Sec., In Letters No. 2655.
'2 Warren to Anson, October 2, Brit. Mus. Acid. MSS. 15,957, f. 160.
From the 6th to the 1 8th of August the Canterbury took on board, according to her Captain's Log, R.O. No. 1 6 1,
the following treasure :
"Came on board from the Deliverance South Seaman 39 bags said to contain 1000 Dollars & 9 bags, each bag said
to contain 300 ' Double Loons in Gould.'
Received from Deliverance 3 boxes id. to contain 2000 dollars each.
• • »» I 11 -i I GOO „
7 pigs of virgin silver.
i745 A MUTINY AVERTED 169
Such captures as these show the enormous growth of Law's one success, the
French East India Company, founded less than thirty years before, as well as
the effect of the system of prize money, which made a naval command during
these wars one of the most remunerative enterprises in which one could be
engaged.1
Warren was appointed Governor, but his commission not arriving, he and
Pepperrell remained at Louisbourg until the spring of 1746 and jointly
administered the affairs of a new establishment. The problems with which
they had to deal were as trying, if not as critical, as those which arose during
the siege. The rank and file, as well as many of the officers of the provincial
forces, began as soon as they had entered the town to turn their thoughts to
getting back to their homes. Shirley's proclamation for raising the troops was
loosely worded, but the preservation of this important capture, open, it was felt
by the authorities, to attack from France or from Canada, made the retention
of these forces at Louisbourg until the arrival of regular troops absolutely
indispensable. Pepperrell dealt as well with the matter as was possible. The
sick were sent home ; as many as could be spared of those whose affairs urgently
required them were also returned, and, showing the importance of one of the
principal industries of New England, those who had contracts for the supply of
mast timber were also allowed to go.
The temper of the troops was, however, unsatisfactory. Shirley was sent
for, and he arrived, together with Mrs. Warren and his own family, on the iyth
of August. The troops by this time were mutinous. However, they received
the Governor with due form and ceremony.
"The whole army was mustered and placed in the most Genteel manner to Receive
the Govr. the Genl. walk't foremost the Governors Lady at his Right. Then his Excellency
&c. The men Stood on Each Side with their arms Rested from ye Gate By ye
Comondores To ye Barracks att ye Govrs : Landing ye Cannon fir'd from ye Batterys &
from ye men of war ; when the Battallian was Dismissed there was fireing with Small arms
for two Hours. His Excellency's arrival was verry Rejoycing To us all."2
The dissatisfaction of the troops was at its height in September. On the
iyth they had plotted to lay down their arms on the next day. Acting after
consultation with the Council, Shirley addressed the troops and promised an
Received from Deliverance 32 boxes sd. to contain 2000 dollars each.
i „ „ 1140 doubleoones.
1 8 bars of gold sd. to weigh 65 \ Ibs.
1000 dollars in silver & 39 bales of wool.
22 chests sd. to contain 2000 dollars each,
ii „ „ 3000 „
40 „ „ 3000 dollars each."
1 Warren also retained of his specie 100,000 Spanish dollars to meet the immediate expenses of the ships
2 Bradstreet's Diary, p. 33.
i7o FEARS OF ATTACK 1745
increase of pay to forty shillings a month.1 His efforts to placate the soldiers
were successful. On October 2 the members of Council, answering his inquiry,
" Unanimously declared that it was their opinion that His Excellency's said declarations
and measures had quite appeased and delayed the spirit of discontent, and that the soldiers
appeared well satisfied with his declaration to them, claiming that many of them were
uneasy in their prospects of being detained here from their families till Spring, some of
them for want of cloths." '•
When these exciting events had ceased to occur, the garrison settled down
to what to them would have seemed a dreary winter, with their only occupation,
the repair of the fortifications and buildings. It proved more than a dreary
autumn and winter. Louisbourg at its best was a town of narrow streets and
lanes. The interruption to ordinary life of the siege had resulted in an
accumulation of filth that turned the town into a midden. The change from
sleeping in the open, to infected barracks and houses was unwholesome, and the
entries in the diaries of these months is a dreary repetition of sickness and
burials. Warren, in addition to the " scorbutick disorder " which afflicted him,
had a touch of the prevailing disease from which he recovered. The Rev.
Stephen Williams was at death's door for weeks with sufferings which he bore
with fortitude, ceasing his ministrations to the men only when his strength was
completely spent.
In October the garrison, reduced by mortality and the return of the troops
to New England, was nominally two thousand men. About one-third of them
were on the sick list. Warren, who was recovering, more than once, in a long
letter, touches on the danger of an attack on a garrison of this size where from
eight to fourteen of its members die daily.3
There were causes for alarm. Some of de Salvert's smaller ships touched
at a port in Newfoundland, which Warren thought might be a base from which
an attack would be directed. Word was brought that a force of six thousand
men would be sent down from Canada to retake Louisbourg.4 It followed the
same lines as the first scheme for the British attack in 1758, namely, a landing
in Mire Bay and an advance overland. The town itself was strengthened as
much as possible. A boom was made ready to protect the mouth of the
harbour. Guns which could be spared from the ships were mounted on the
walls and the Grand Battery was dismantled. The adequacy of these
preparations was not tested.''
1 Vol. 10, p. 45. 2 Vol. 10, p. 4'.
3 Douglass' estimate that New England lost two thousand of its able-bodied people as the price of this victory wa»
exaggerated. Warren said in the spring that two thousand had died since the occupation.
4 This project, that of Beauharnois and Hocquart, was set forth in a letter to the Minister, Sept. 12, 1745,
A.X. C", vol. 83.
* Warren was dismayed at the expense, and assured the Lords of the Admiralty that the utmost economy wai
practised by Pepperrelt and himself.
not cxaggcr
i745 PEPPERRELL AND WARREN 171
One loose thread may be fastened in. The friction between Pepperrell
and Warren was only during the period when the troops were inactive, and
Warren saw that unless more progress was made the expedition would fail.
Then, irritated by the lack of attention paid to his proposals, the inefficacy of
the Council's actions, his letters lose their courteous phrasing. It is fair also
to infer that his bearing in personal intercourse during these days may have
been very different from that which made him so great a favourite with the
colonists among whom he had been stationed.1
Pepperrell's tone in his letters never varied. It commands admiration.
He retained his calmness in his dealings not only with Warren, but in those
with his Council. He was undismayed by the failure of plan after plan, shaken
neither by the jealousies of his officers, the recklessness of some, the sluggishness
of others, nor by the unreasoning rashness nor the equally unreasoning
despondency of his men. For some weeks, under less momentous circumstances,
for diplomacy made their victory ephemeral, the colonial merchant - general
displayed many of the qualities which have made immortal the name of William
the Silent. Pepperrell and Warren busied themselves in providing for the
future of the colony. They urged that it should be made a free port in so far
as the Acts of Trade would allow, confirming in this the soundness of the view
of Raudot and Costebelle. They thought Louisbourg would be an admirable
port of call. They insisted that it must have a civil government, for settlers
would not come under a military governor and toleration for all Protestants,
and they parted with mutual esteem, Pepperrell to dignified colonial activities,
Warren to professional advancement and an early death. There was opportunity
later for misunderstandings, had these men been of different calibre.
New England had taken fire when the news came that the town had
surrendered to Warren. The Legislature of Massachusetts was precipitate in
stating its dissatisfaction. The keys were delivered up by Du Chambon to
Warren. He apparently handed them to Pepperrell, who in turn, at the parade
on Shirley's arrival, delivered them over to the Governor.
Pepperrell sums up the matter in a letter to Shirley on July 1 7 :
" I am very sorry you should meet with anything to damp yor. joy relating to any
dispute between the Comodore Warren & myselfe, & considering that we are both quick
in our tempers, I do think ye land & sea have agreed in this expedition as well as ever they
did on ye like occasion, & if it had not been for some who have had yor. favours I dont
think there would have been any, and I was well assurd. that before we got possession of
this place and since that it was of absolute necessity to keep from disputes & differences
(or otherwise ye grand design might have sufferd.) & I have strove to my uttermost to
keep things easey. It is true Mr. Warren did tell me he was the chief officer here. I
1 He certainly placed Pepperrell's character, position, and conduct in the most favourable light in all his letters to
the home authorities.
i72 WARREN'S OPINION OF THE PROVINCIALS 1745
told him, Not on shoar. I look upon it that these disputes are all over, as we both aim
at ye good & security of this place."
Warren wrote to Anson about the attitude of Massachusetts :
" As it is very probable you will see in some of the New England papers, or hear of
an address from the Council & General Assembly of the Massachusetts Bay to Governor
Shirley, upon his departure for this place, I think it proper as it carrys a reflection in it,
both upon the General, and me, upon him for submitting to, and upon me for assuming
(if it had been true), an undue authority to tell you of it as my Friend, to prevent any 111
impression with regard to my Conduct, this was done without any manner of foundation
by 111 dispos'd people, to make a breach between the General and me, to serve some dirty
end. The General, and I have resented it both to Governor Shirley, and his Council and
Assemble, who all declare their concern at it, and say they are now convinc'd it was done
too rashly, upon a misrepresentation, and that they will give us publick satisfaction for it
when the two houses meet ; I resented this treatment so warmly, that I have had many
letters of excuse from numbers of the people concern'd in the address." l
A curious afterglow is thrown on Warren's dealings with the provincial
officers and men by a posthumous quotation of his opinion of them, given by
Lord Sandwich in the House of Lords during the troubles with the colonists
in 1775.
" As to their prowess, I remember very well, when I had the honour to be at the Board
at which I now preside, I had the curiosity to inquire about the surprising feats said to be
performed by those people (the Americans) at the siege of Louisbourg, of the great naval
officer who commanded on the expedition, as able and honest a seaman as ever lived
(Sir Peter Warren), who told me very frankly they were the greatest set of cowards and
poltroons he ever knew ; they were all bluster, noise, and were good for nothing. I
remember a particular instance he told me, which, from the ludicrous circumstances
attending it, made a very deep impression on my mind. Soon after their landing, there
was a battery, called the Island Battery, which commanded the entrance of the harbour.
Sir Peter having ordered them to attack it, they engaged to perform it ; but what was the
consequences r They ran away on the first fire. And how did you manage ? Did you
employ them afterwards, or upbraid them with their cowardice, says I ? — No, answers
Sir Peter, neither would it have been prudent ; I formed the marines and part of the ship's
crews into a body, to act on shore ; and instead of upbraiding them, I told them they had
behaved like heroes ; for, if I had acted otherwise, I should have never taken the town, as
their presence and numbers were necessary to intimidate the besieged."2
This is at best a free report of an off-hand statement by Warren, obviously
inaccurate as a statement of facts. Its tone differs completely from all we
know of Warren's expressions. Still, this may well have been his opinion of
these troops. We have instances of individual recklessness like that of the
man, who enraged by the injury to a borrowed coat, killed many Frenchmen
1 Warren to Anson, Nov. 23, 1745 > A(ili- MSS. 15,95-, f. 164. s Vol. i, p. 109.
1746 THE ENGLISH GARRISON 173
on the walls from a position he took in the open ; and like that privateer, who
in his eagerness in the chase of the Marguerite was driven under and disappeared
in the Gulf. The indifference they displayed to ineffective fire from the walls is
common among raw soldiers. But if with the qualities of cheerfulness, ingenuity,
and self-will they did not display military virtues, it makes more significant the
course of events. The aggressive upholding of colonial claims which we
associate with the name of Pitt gave in the next war seven years of training to
these men and their fellows. This training, and the inspiration of a nobler cause
than the capture of Louisbourg, turned a population, in their first essay as
soldiers such as Sandwich describes, into troops before whom, at Saratoga and
Yorktown, the armies of England laid down their arms.
The winter wore away. In the spring the provincial troops were relieved
and returned to New England in May. Their places were taken by two
regiments from Gibraltar, and Pepperrell's and Shirley's newly raised regiments.
Until the return of the island to France, the garrison was maintained at an
effective strength of twenty-five to eighteen hundred men. The force of
June 2, 1746, was :
Fuller ..... 613
Warburton . . . .613
Shirley . . . . . 517
Pepperrell . . . . 417
Artillery . . . .64
Framlon .... 300
2524!
On September i, 1747, the effective strength was 1919, of whom 1709
were fit for duty.2
Pepperrell and Shirley found great difficulty in getting recruits. Shirley
said it was easier to get 10,000 men for an expedition against Canada, than
1000 for garrison duty.3 The state of these regiments in May 1746 shows that
recruiting had given them
Pepperrell's. Shirley's.
Massachusetts . . . 400
Pennsylvania ... 150
New York 20 70
Connecticut 50
New Hampshire 50
Louisbourg 300 150
When one notes that 890 had died in Louisbourg between December and
April, and that for weeks, in the weather described by Knowles, living and dead
1 C.O. 5/13. 2 C.O. 5/901. 3 Shirley to Warren, Sept. Z2, 1745 (C.O. 5/900).
1 74 THE EXPEDITION OF D'ANVILLE 1746
had remained under the same roof, it is not surprising that the adventurous
preferred a campaign in the open to such service.1
Vice-Admiral Townsend took Warren's place in the sea command. Com-
modore Charles Knowles, Warren's former junior, became Governor. Warren
returned to Boston with Shirley on the Chester, sailing June 7, 1746, and all
misunderstanding having been cleared away, the warmth of his reception was
scarcely less than that of Sir William's.
One-tenth of the forces destined by a mortified minister to rescue Louis-
bourg and deliver a counterstroke, which might restore in America the prestige
of French arms, would have saved the place from capture. Slowness in gather-
ing together this great armament prevented its dispatch until June 1746.
The command of the expedition was given to De Roye de la Rochefoucauld,
Due d'Anville, then in his thirty-seventh year, described by one subordinate as
worthy to be loved and born to command. In the latter capacity he succeeded
his father as Lieutenant-General of the Gallies at eleven years of age. Without
any sea service he was made Lieutenant-General of the Naval Armaments of the
King, than which but one grade higher was held by those not of royal blood.2
Whatever may have been his qualities, every disaster known to the seafarer was
the lot of his armada. Tempest, the thunderbolt, collision, an appalling epidemic,
and starvation ruined the expedition. D'Anville died in Halifax of apoplexy, or,
some said, poison. D'Estournel, who succeeded him, overwhelmed by responsi-
bility committed suicide, and it fell to La Jonquiere to bring back to France the
ships and men which had survived. Those who would read its fate will find in
Parkman 8 pages in which lucidity no less than picturesqueness adorn the tale of
its ill fortune.4
Not only Louisbourg and Annapolis, but New England was alarmed by
the news of this expedition. The hardy provincials marched from their inland
homes to defend Boston with an eagerness that they had not displayed before
the Island Battery. Townsend and Knowles prepared to hold Cape Breton and
Nova Scotia. The best disposition possible was made of their resources.
Knowles, looking back over the events of the summer, thought that if the
French fleet had arrived before August, Louisbourg might have fallen, as there
were but five or six guns mounted to the land and the breaches made were not
repaired.5 But so sturdy was his spirit that with a garrison of only 2015
effective men, he wrote on September 19, when the arrival of D'Anville was
expected, " M. le Due with all his force shan't have Louisbourg this Trip " 6
Knowles knew of the movements of the French fleet. He sent a flag of
1 C.O. 5/901 and C.O. 5/13. 2 A.\. Marine, C1, v.-l. 161. 3 A Half Century of Conflict, ch. xxv.
* The official documents on the French side are in A.N. Marine. B4, vol. 59. Bigot was a commissary in the
fleet (Memiirt f>cur Messire Francois Bigcr, Paris, MDCCLXIII).
5 Ad. Sec., In Letters, No. 234. 6 C.O. 5/44.
i746 KNOWLES'S OPINION OF LOUISBOURG 175
truce to D'Anville with prisoners, and learned something of their condition.1
Spies whom he sent later gave him the information, that La Jonquiere, who had
succeeded to the command, sailed to attack Annapolis.2 Warren at Boston got
the same news, and while he felt that Louisbourg was secure, grieved for poor
Spry 3 at Annapolis. Spry awaited the attack which never came, with more
solicitude for chances of British victory than about what might befall him.
He wrote to Knowles, " Good God, Sir, if you had but Ten Sail of Ships now
how easy it would be to compleat the Destruction of this Grand Armament." 4
No further warlike alarm disturbed Knowles. The administration of
Louisbourg occupied his attention. He did not share the optimistic views
of Shirley, Warren, and Pepperrell. He held the worst possible opinion of
the place. It would cost five or six hundred thousand pounds to put it in
proper condition. He thought the soil barren, the climate either frost or fog
for nine months of the year, and within a few weeks of his taking command
had stopped the carrying out of the designs of Pepperrell and Warren, except
completing the necessary barracks. He had sound views of the command of
the sea, and therefore thought little of the importance of Louisbourg as a
fortress.
" Neither the Coast of Accadia nor any of the Harbours in Newfld. (except St. John's
and Placentia) are fortifyed and these but triflingly and yett we continue masters of them,
and whatever nation sends the Strongest fleet into these seas will always be masters of
the Cod fisheries for that year whether there be a Louisbourg or not." 5
Of the people who came he also had a poor opinion. He sent back the
parish beggars of New England who hung about. He said that rum was
the chief trade in which were engaged every one in the New England army
from the General down to the Corporal,6 and he describes vividly the ravages
of alcohol.
" As the Commerce of this Place was changed from Fish to Rum and the loss of so
many of the New England troops last year was principally occasioned by that Destructive
Liquor, I found myself obliged for the preservation of His Majesty's Forces to endeavor
to put a stop to the vending of it in such unlimited quantities and as Admiral Warren
just before his Departure had published an order for every suttler to lodge what spiritous
Liquors they were possessed of in the Cittadel casements," 7
he got possession of 64,000 gallons ; but from secreted stuff, often as many
as one thousand men daily were drunk, until the supply ran short. A rate
1 Capt. Scott, C.O. 5/44. 2 Co. 5/44.
3 Spry was an officer of whom Warren thought highly, and had been sent to Annapolis in the Chester to guard that
position. He was followed by Rous, now a captain in the navy in command of H.M.S. Shirley, bought from Massa-
chusetts. On Nov. 4, 1744, Spry had gained reputation among the people of New England by his capture of a Louis-
bourg privateer. Shirley to Newcastle, Nov. 9 (C.O. 5/900).
4 Chester at Annapolis, Oct. 4 (C.O. 5/44). 8 C.O. 5/44. 6 Letter of July 9. 7 C.O. 5/44.
176 HOPSON GOVERNOR 1748
of consumption which had such results must have rapidly depleted the stores
of the traders.
His judgment in certain respects was sound. He foresaw that a change
in the stoppages of the regiments would lead to disturbances and mutiny. He
was right in this, for when about June 26 Knowles communicated to the
mustered troops instructions he had received with regard to stoppages, and
gave an order that they should be deducted from their pay,
"... in a few hours after the whole garrison was in a general mutiny & the troops
ran & returned their provisions into store in a tumultous manner & swore that they were
no longer soldiers. It was impossible to discover any leader, for in an instant there were
more than a thousand assembled together ; as I thought no time was to be lost to prevent
the threatening danger I immediately order'd them under arms & met them upon the
parade & informed them it was His Majesty's Order & that nothing but the exigencies
of the state for money to carry on the War could occasion this stoppage being made.
They remonstrated regiment by regiment that they were ready to obey His Majesty's
commands with their lives, but they must perish in this climate if those stoppages were
made, that it was scarce possible for them honestly now to supply themselves with
necessarys and the Common Refreshments of Life in this Scarce and dear place but it
would be absolutely so with those deductions & that therefore, if they had not their
full Pay they could be no longer soldiers, all reasoning proving ineffectuall, and perceiving
many to be heated with drink, I found myself obliged to order their pay & provisions
to be continued to them till His Majesty's further Pleasure should be known, when
they huzza'd & said they would serve faithfully. I told your Grace in several of my
former letters that I dreaded the consequences of such an order being issued & I may
now rejoice that nothing worse had happened, for I will venture to affirm that had four
hours been neglected to have given them satisfaction no reasoning would have been
able to have stopped their rage & force we had not to quell it with." l
Much to his delight he was relieved to take command of the West Indies
squadron. On the i8th of September 1747 he resigned the government to Col.
Peregrine Hopson, the senior officer of the garrison, and sailed the next day for
Jamaica. Hopson's occupancy of the position was not marked by any events
more serious than an attack on a block-house at Table Head, erected by the
English to protect the coal mines. The occasional capture by bands of Indians
of an imprudent officer, and the incursion of Marin into Cape Breton in i 748,
which Hopson claimed was a breach of the peace which had then been established,
broke the monotony of the place. While the officers of its garrison were still
uncertain as to their fate,2 diplomacy had dealt with the situation.8
1 Knowles to Newcastle, June 28, 1747, C.O. 5/901, p. 128. Choleric and unpleasant as Knowles was, he
acted in this instance with excellent judgment.
3 "Some say we shall battle the elements in this damned place for six or eight months longer" (Lawrence to
Knowles, Oct. 12, 1748, B.M. MSS. 15.956, f. 177).
3 The forecasts of Knowles proved nearer correct than those of Shirley or Warren. The holding of Cape Breton
had not proved the advantage to New England which they and many others had hoped. The settlers were few, but
APPENDICES 177
APPENDICES
A. THE CAPTURE OF THE "VIGILANT"
The principal accounts of the engagement are in the Logs. That of the
Mermaid is as follows :
MERMAID, zotA May.
Hazey Wear., Gave Chace to the S.W. at i wore Ship to the No. Wd. the Chace
hoistd. a French Ensign & Pendt. We fired our Stern Chace on her wch. she returned
from her Bow we made ye Sigl. of Discovering a Strange Ship to ye Fleet who were
all in shore at 2 the chace perceivg. our Fleet wore to ye So. Wd. & gave us his Broadside
we wore after him and returned it he made all the Sail Possible we kept Close under his
Starboard Quarter he kept Plying his stern Chase as we did our Bow we Portd. our Helm
twice and gave him two Broadsides at 6 Came up Capn. Rouse in a Privateer Snow who
Ply'd his Bow Chace very well at 8 the Commodr. in the Superbe and Eltham Joyn'd
us the Chace Engaged us Large the Superbe on the Starbd. & we on the Larboard quarter
at 9 the Chace, struck sent on bd. our boats and brot. from thence the ist and 2d. Caps.
& part of the Officers it being a Thick Fogg could see no other Ship but the Prize wch.
was a French Man of War of 64 Guns & 500 Men Called the Vigilant Capn. Maisonfort
Am Imployed shifting Prisoners & Securing our Riggin Reed, on board 130 Prisoners
at 8 A.M. the Commodr. Joynd us. ...
2 ist May. — Modt. & Foggy sent on board the ist Mate i Midshipman 20 Men
Laying too in Compy. the Eltham and Commodr. at 4 A.M. the Commodr. stood in for
the Land sent on bd. the Prize I Midshipman and 15 Men to Assist she being much
shattered (R.O. Captain's Logs. No. 820).
The Captain of the Eltham on the 2Oth enters :
At 7 P.M. came up with chace she tackt. & Came Close to our Larboard side &
Discharged a broad Side & A Volley of Small arms which killed one man & wounded two :
we immediately Returned a broad side a low & a loft with a Volley of Small Arms which
Shott his fore top saile Yard & mizon Yard away in ye Slings and he called out for good
quarters, we had Several Shott holes in all our Sailes ye fore Spring Stay was Shott
away Main braces Driver yard : ye Cacsce (sic} proved to be a french Ship of Warr
called ye Vigilant of breast of 64 guns bound to Lewisbourg : Reed, much damage in
ye rigging (R.O. Master's Logs No. 393).
Pepperrell, than whom none could be better authority, as he would get
an authentic account from Warren, thus relates the incident :
About noon a large French ship (which proved to be the Vigilant a ship of war
this was accounted for by the disturbed conditions of these few years. At least two thousand men died as the result
of the siege, a large proportion of the young and adventurous of the people of sparsely settled Colonies. The projected
expeditions against Canada in 1746 and 1747 so upset the normal course of events that New England was unable to
adequately exploit industries her people had already developed. War and commercial depression rather than any local
conditions accounted fully for the stagnation of Louisbourg during the years it was under the British flag.
N
178 APPENDICES
mounting 64 guns) came up with the Mermaid (in sight of the camp) & fired upon her,
& soon after with Capt. Rouse in ye Shirly Gaily. Both of those ships fired frequently
at the Vigt. but did not care to come too near therefore bore away towards the Commodore
& other of our ships which were nearer ye shore. The Com. & other ships soon discovered
yr. fire and motions & being to windward of her bore down & in the evening came up
with her. We heard a pretty constant firing all the Afternoon & in ye evening at a
considerable distance & hopd they will be able to give a good acct. of her to-morrow. . . .
After some dispute the Frenchmen having about 20 men killed & abt. as many wounded,
strook, but it being foggy & a large sea, the Com. not hearing ye cry for qr. gave him
a broadside & then lost the prize, it being dark, but the Mermaid being near and knowing
she had strook sent her boat with 4 men on board the prize where yy. stayed all nt. The
next morn, the Com. discovd. her at a little distance in much confusion her rigging, yards
& masts much hurt & soon went to work to make ye proper distribution of the prisoners
& rectifie the ship in order to bring her in. [The discrepancies are illuminating.]
B. THE SUMMONS AND REPLY
LETTER FROM MESSRS. PEPPERRELL AND WARREN TO MONS. Du CHAMBON
THE CAMP BEFORE LOUISBOURG, May 7, 1745.
Whereas there is now encamped upon the Island of Cape Breton near the city of
Louisbourg, a number of his Brittanic Majesty's Troops under the Command of the
Honble. Lieut. General William Pepperrell, Esq., and also a Squadron of His Majesty's
Ship of War, under the Command of the Honble. Peter Warren, Esq., is now lying
before the Harbour of said city ; for the reduction thereof to the obedience of the Crown
of Great Britain. We, the said William Pepperrell and Peter Warren, to prevent the
effusion of Christian Blood, do in the name of our Sovereign Lord George the Second, of
Great Britain, France and Ireland King, etc., Sommons you to Surrender to his said
Majesty's obedience, the said city, fortresses and territories ; together with the Artillery,
arms and stores of War, thereunto belonging.
In consequence of which surrender, We, the Sd. William Pepperrell and Peter
Warren, in the name of our said Sovereign do assure you that all the subjects of the
French King, now in said city and territories, shall be treated with the utmost humanity ;
have their personal Estates secured to them and have leave to transport themselves and sd.
effect to any part of the French King's Dominions in Europe. Your answer hereto is
demanded at or before five of the clock this afternoon.
WM. PEPPERRELL.
P. WARREN.
To the Commander in Chief of the French
King's troops, in Louisbourg, on the Island
of Cape Breton.
LETTRE DE MONSIEUR Du CHAMBON A MM. WARREN ET PEPPERRELL
A LOUISBOURG, le 18 mai 1745.
Nous, Louis Du Chambon, Chevalier de 1'ordre militaire de St. Louis, Lieutenant du
APPENDICES 179
Roy, Commandant pour Sa Majestic" Tres Chrdtienne des Isles Royale, Canso, St.-Jean et
terres adjacentes.
Sur la semination qui nous a e"t6 faite ce jour septieme may vieux stylle, de la part du
Sieur honorable Pepperrell, Lieutenant Ge'ne'ral, commandant les troupes qui forment le
siege de Louisbourg, et du Sieur honorable Pietre Warren, commandant 1'escadre des
vaisseaux du Roy de la Grande Bretagne, mouilles pres du port de la dite ville, que nous
ayons a lui remettre la dite ville, avec des d^pendances, artillerie, armes et munitions de
guerre sous I'ob&ssance du Roi leur maitre.
Le Roi de France, le n6tre, nous ayant confi£ la defense de la dite ville, nous ne
pouvons qu'apres la plus vigoureuse attaque £couter une semblable proposition ; et nous
n'avons de re"ponse a faire a cette demande que par la bouche de nos cannons.
C. LETTERS RELATING TO CAPITULATION
LETTER FROM MESSRS. WARREN AND PEPPERRELL TO Gov. Du CHAMBON
CAMP, June 15, 1745, at 1/2 Past 8 o'clock, P.M.
We have yours of the date proposing a suspension of hostilities for such a time as shall
be necessary for you to determine upon the conditions of delivering up the garrison of
Louisbourg, which arrived at a happy juncture to prevent the Effusion of Christian Blood
as we were together and had just determined upon a general attack. We shall comply
with your desire until eight of the clock to-morrow, and in the meantime you surrender
yourselves prisoners of war, You may depend upon honour and generous treatment. — We
are, your humble servants, P. WARREN.
W. PEPPERRELL.
LETTER FROM M. PEPPERRELL TO Gov. Du CHAMBON
CAMP BEFORE LOUISBOURG, June 16.
SIR, — I have yours by an hostage signifying your consent to surrender of the town
and fortresses of Louisbourg and the territories adjacent, etc., etc., on the terms this day
proposed to you by Com. Warren and myself; excepting only that you desire your troops
may march out of the garrison with their arms and colours flying, to be there delivered
into our custody till the said troop's arrival in France, at which time to have them returned
to them which I consent to, and send you a hostage for the performance of what we have
promised, and have sent to Com. Warren that if he consents to it he would send a detach-
ment on Shore to take possession of the Island Battery. — I am, Sir, your humble servt.,
W. PEPPERRELL.
LETTER FROM COM. WARREN TO Gov. Du CHAMBON
"SUPERBE," OFF LOUISBOURG, June l6.
SIR, — I have received your letter of this date, desiring that His most Christian
Majesty's Troops, under your command, may have the honours of war given them so far
as to march to my Boats at the Beach, with their musquets, and Bayonets, and colours
i8o APPENDICES
flying, there to deliver them to the officers of his Brittanic Majesty whom I shall appoint
for that purpose, to be kept in my custody till they shall be landed in the French King's
Dominions, then and there to be returned to him, which I agree to in consideration of
your gallant defense, upon the following conditions.
First. — That you deliver up immediately to the officers and troops, whom I shall
appoint, the Island Battery with all the ammunition, cannon warlike and other King's
stores belonging in the condition they now are.
Secondly. — That all the ships of war and other vessels do enter the Harbour without
molestation at any time after daylight to-morrow morning, and that the keys of the town
be delivered to such officers and troops as I shall appoint to receive them, and that all the
cannon, warlike and other King's stores in the town be also delivered up to the said officer.
I expect your immediate complyance with these terms and beg to assure you, that I
am with regard, Sir, your most obt. and humble servant, P. WARREN.1
1 Quebec MSS. vol. 3 ; Moreau St. M. vol. 50.
CHAPTER XI
THE Treaty of Aix-k-Chapelle was finally signed October 18, 1748. Its main
provisions were arranged in the preliminaries of peace definitely agreed to by the
contracting parties on the previous 3<Dth of April, and forthwith communicated
to their colonial governors. The places taken during the war were mutually
restored, which gave Cape Breton back to France. This disappointed bitterly
its New England captors, and blasted the hopes of making it the seat of a
prosperous English colony, of which Shirley and Warren had been the most
prominent exponents. Pamphleteers of the metropolis expressed the public
dissatisfaction.1 Public opinion was dissatisfied with the terms of the Treaty,
the language, French, in which it was expressed, and the indignity to England
of giving hostages for the fulfilment of her agreements.2
The terms of the Treaty were not better thought of by the French, and
with more reason. Louis XV. returned the Austrian Netherlands, Maestricht,
and Bergen-op-Zoom, the two frontier fortresses of Holland, Madras, and with
it command of the whole Coromandel Coast in India. The former concessions,
giving up the command of the narrow seas, which it was England's secular
policy to hold inviolate at any cost,3 made the action of Louis XV. a kingly
largess, rather than a business transaction. More humiliating to French self-
respect were the renewal of the agreement to dismantle the fortifications of
Dunkirk, and the public withdrawal of the long support given to the House of
Stuart by the expulsion from France of Charles Edward.4
1 The London Evening Post, from October 25 to November 12, 1748, deals frequently with this matter, and severely
criticizes the terms of peace. On November 10-12 it publishes verses, of which the following is a specimen :
"A NEW BALLAD, ON THE GLORIOUS TIMES
(To the tune of'Derry Down.')
Cape Breton's expensive, as well hath been prov'd,
And therefore, the Burthen is wisely remov'd j
Which Burthen French Shoulders we settle again on,
And add — our own Stores, our Provisions and Cannon."
A history of the negotiations and the text of the Treaty are in La Paix a" Aix-la-Chapelle, par le Due de Broglie,
Caiman, Levy, Paris, 1892.
8 E.g. "A Letter from a Gent in London ..." 1748, B.M. 101, K, 58 ; " The Advantages of the Definite Treaty,"
1749, 8135, aaa 20; "The Preliminaries Productive of a Premunire," 101, K., 57. The references are to the British
Museum Library. 8 Corbett, England in the Seven Tears War, vol. i. p. 10. 4 La C. G. p. 205.
181
182 THE BOUNDARIES COMMISSION 1749
Louisbourg was duly returned. The advantages of a port in Acadia had
been made evident to British administrators by the three years of possession.
Louisbourg being no longer available, made necessary the development of Nova
Scotia, which had lain fallow since 1710. Chebuctou Bay was decided on as the
site for its capital, to which, in honour of Lord Halifax, President of the Lords
of Trade and Plantations, his name was given. Colonel the Honourable Edward
Cornwallis was named the first Governor. He and the first settlers arrived in
June 1749. The project was carried on with such vigour that in three years,
Halifax had over 4000 subsidized and more or less satisfied inhabitants, about
as many as had been gathered in forty years at Louisbourg.
That town, until the actual breaking out of hostilities, was in an eddy of the
stream of pregnant events which took place elsewhere. These events demand a
brief statement even in a history of Louisbourg of the narrowest scope, for they,
more than any local cause, determined its fate as part of the great colonial
empire which France was holding with so loose a grasp.
Commissioners were appointed for the delimitation of the American
boundaries of the possessions of the two Powers.1 Their sittings were dragged
out. Disputes as to procedure, and the language in which documents were to
be presented, occupied undue time. Claims, widely different, were presented.
Much irrelevant matter was produced. Little disposition was shown to arrive
at a common ground of fact, or to abate pretensions which made impossible any
fair chance of development for the rival. Failure was the inevitable result of
such procedure. Their deliberations proved fruitless to form a basis for a
lasting peace, as their records fail to give the later student any clear view of the
merits of the controversy.2 It was also agreed that, pending the findings of the
Commissioners, the status quo ante should not be disturbed by such acts on either
side as the erection of fortifications, or the placing of troops on the disputed
territory. The two courts agreed expressly to this stipulation, " that no forti-
fication, new settlement, or innovation, should be attempted in those countries
the fate of which was to be finally determined by their sentence."
The boundaries of Acadia and of the territories to the westward of the
Alleghanies were the two principal subjects of difference in America. The
action which England took assumed that her greatest claims to both these
territories were sound. This action was not that of the active colonial
administrator eager to distinguish himself by straining his instructions. It was
carried out by him under specific warrant of the highest authority.
1 La Galissoniere and Silhouette for France, Mildmay and Shirley for England. Their proceedings opened in
September 1750, and the English Commissioners left Paris in the latter part of 1754. Shirley returned to America to
tarnish a brilliant reputation by his military exploits ; La Galissonierc to active service and the defeat of Byng off
Minorca, and Silhouette to carry on private efforts to adjust the differences between his country and England.
z For the diplomatic correspondence see R.O. State Papers, Foreign, France, vols. 232 and 233. The suggestion
seems fir»t to have been made by France, June-July 1749. 3 ffiitory of the latt War, p. 7, Glasgow, 1765.
1749 THE VIRGINIA COMPANY 183
The first question which arose was that of a grant to the Ohio Company.
This was an association of Virginians of the highest standing, with English
partners, of whom John Hanbury, a London merchant of great repute and
influence, was the chief.1 It petitioned in 1748 for a grant of 200,000 acres on
the western side of the Great Mountains, upon some of the chief branches of
the Mississippi. Gooch, Governor of Virginia, "was apprehensive such Grants
might possibly give Umbrage to the French, especially when we were in hopes
of entering into a Treaty for establishing a General Peace, which was the only
Objection he had, and made him and the Council (of Virginia) think it advisable
to wait His Majesty's pleasure and Directions." This, in part, is the
memorandum of the Lords of Trade to the Committee of the Privy Council
(September 2, 1748) on which is based the recommendation of the former that
the grant be made.2
Instructions were given to Gooch to issue the grant,3 and it was recom-
mended, on the 23rd of February 1749, by the Lords of Trade to be extended
to 500,000 acres on the Ohio, one of the conditions being that on the first
200,000 acres a fort must be erected and the Company place therein a
sufficient garrison for the security and protection of the settlers.4 This was
agreed to in Council on the i6th of March.
It was, it may be noted, the colonial Governor who, before the Treaty was
signed, recognized the territory as disputed. It was the highest administrative
body in the realm which, after peace was concluded, ignored the implications,
if not the words, of the agreement so recently executed by one of their number.5
With this spirit informing the Privy Council it is not surprising to find the
pamphleteer discussing the development of the northern colonies from the
standpoint of one who expects a new war ; nor that the proximate cause of that
war was the operations of the Company so brought into being ; 6 nor, that
succeeding historians have described the conditions between 1748 and 1756 as
an imperfectly kept truce rather than a peace.
The Evening Post praised the French management of colonies as superior to
the English, and urged war, as Great Britain is as yet superior to France in naval
power :
" Let us therefore strike when we are able, without regarding the conveniency of the
1 " The Ohio Company established and composed of merchants belonging to Virginia and Maryland and several rich
commoners and lords in the Mother Country" (Burk's Virginia, i8z2, vol. 3, p. 170).
2 C.O. 5/1366, pp. 411-417. 3 Pp. 422-425, December 13, 1748. * Pp. 427-433 and 434-439.
5 Lord Sandwich, Minister Plenipotentiary at Aix-la-Chapelle, was admitted to the Privy Council, ist February 1749,
and was present at the meeting of i6th March.
6 " Meanwhile, the English traders were crossing the mountains from Pennsylvania and Virginia, poaching on the
domain which France claimed as hers, ruining the French fur trade, seducing the Indian allies of Canada, and stirring
them up against her. Worse still, English land speculators were beginning to follow. Something must be done, and that
promptly, to drive back the intruders, and vindicate French rights in the valley of the Ohio. To this end the Governor
sent Celoron de Bienville thither in the summer of 1749 " (Parkman, Montcalm and Wolfe, vol. i. p. 37).
1 84 THE ACADIAN BOUNDARY 1750
Dutch, the Views of the Austrians or the safety of H— - (Hanover), lest the time come
when we are not able to help them nor ourselves." l
The claims of England in Acadia were as extensive as in the Ohio, but not
as promptly made. There was no pressure from " rich commoners and lords "
to expedite matters. But within a few weeks after Cornwallis arrived in
Halifax he had instructions from the Lords of Trade in reference to the
northern part of the province : 2
" And as there is great reason to apprehend that the French may dispute the right of
the Crown of Great Britain to these territories, we further earnestly recommend to you to
have a watchful eye to the security thereof and upon the proceedings of the French." '
England stated her rights even more strongly in the instructions to the
Commissioners, Shirley and Mildmay :
" And therefore you are to insist that his most Christian Majesty has no right to any
Lands whatsoever lying between the River Saint Lawrence and the Atlantick Ocean,
except such Islands as ly in the mouth of the said River and in the Gulph of the same
name."4
La Galissoniere, then Governor of Canada, was equally clear that these
lands, now the province of New Brunswick, and that part of Quebec lying
between the northern boundary of New Brunswick and the St. Lawrence
River, were part of Canada and not of Acadia.
Leaving untouched the pretensions of the Powers, we can deal with the facts.
The population consisted of a very small settlement on the St. John River, and
some hamlets to the north of the isthmus peopled by the overflow of the Acadians
on the peninsula of Nova Scotia, as well as somewhat important fishing stations
on the Miramichi, the Baie des Chaleurs, and the south shore of the St.
Lawrence. In 1732 the people of St. John River had taken the oath of
allegiance to England.5 In the same year the people of Chippody, one of the
settlements of Acadians, had applied to Armstrong for grants of land.6
La Galissoniere admitted that this was the case :
" Most of the poor people are of Acadian stock, they have been almost entirely abandoned
by Canada and France since the Peace of Utrecht, and the English have made them believe
that, having been subject formerly to the French Governor of Port Royal, they owed the
same obedience to the English Governor."7
As regards sovereignty, it would appear that there was not much difference
between the Powers. France abandoned, as regards administration, the people
1 Sept. 17, 1745.
2 The Duke of Bedford wrote Cornwallij on September 26 and November 6, 1749. One of these letter* dealt
probably with this matter. These letters are not now in the Record Office.
* N.S. Arch. vol. I, p. 362. * C.O. Nova Scotia, vol. 39.
* N.S. Arch. vol. I, p. 98. • Ibid. p. 92. ~ Can. Ar. Report, 1905, vol. ii. p. 304.
1750 STEP TAKEN BY FRANCE 185
along the northern shore of the Bay of Fundy. The officials of England never
penetrated to the more northern settlements of the territory which she vigorously
claimed. It was, however, used by France down to what the French claimed
was its extreme southern limit, the isthmus of Chignecto, as the route between
Canada and Isle Royale ; while, owing to economic and ecclesiastical conditions,
the intercourse of the people living thereon was closer with Louisbourg than with
Annapolis. At an earlier time in the winter of 1718, St. Ovide considered
placing part of the troops of Louisbourg at the isthmus. His choice of Quebec
was not apparently influenced by any notion that the territory was not French.1
The territory, it is clear, was disputed. Mutual distrust, the curse of
international relations, began to work its evil effects. Gorham, that active and
seasoned leader of New England levies, visited in force the St. John River in
the autumn of 1748, alarmed the inhabitants and carried off to Boston two
Indians. Their return was demanded by La Galissoniere, and became the
subject of a pungent correspondence between himself, Mascarene, and Shirley,
and led to the instructions to Cornwallis already cited.
La Galissoniere sent in the spring of 1749 Boishebert and a detachment
from Quebec to hold the St. John River as French territory. His successor as
Governor of Canada, La Jonquiere, sent the Chevalier La Corne in the autumn
to hold inviolate the territory on the north of the isthmus. In the spring of
1750 Cornwallis dispatched an expedition under Major Lawrence to dislodge
La Corne, who was encamped on the isthmus with a military force, supported by
Indians and Acadians. The numbers of the last were augmented by the burning
of Beaubassin by the Indians as the forces of Lawrence appeared. Its inhabitants
were driven to the French side, where, alone, they felt safe from the threats of
the savage allies of their country.
La Corne met Lawrence in a parley, April 22, and maintained that he was
to hold and defend his position till the boundaries between the two Crowns should
be settled " by Commissioners appointed for that purpose." 2 In short, " his
replies were so perimptory and of such a nature as Convinced me he was
determined in his purposes." La Corne's force was superior, " his situation in
respect to ground was properly chosen, and an argument of his good judgement "
. . . " til I (Lawrence) to much feared we had no pretensions to dispute that
part of the country with him."
Lawrence withdrew to his vessels in the pouring rain, and gave himself up
to unpleasant reflections. He saw that to dislodge the enemy was impossible,
and was of opinion that " to have Sat down on one side of the River and Leave
1 I do not find any reason why Mascarene and Bennett, and the French envoys Denys and De Pensens, did not visit
in 1714 Beaubassin and more northern settlements. It leaves open, to the bold, the view that both French and English,
before any question of boundaries had arisen, held that this territory was French.
2 Canadian Archives Report, 1905, vol. ii. p. 321.
186 THE SUCCESS OF THEIR ACTION 1750-1754
the Enemy possession of the other was a tacit acknowledgment of the Justice of
his claim." After considering "whether we could Annoy or Molest them
further elsewhere at Chipodie or Memim Cook " (Memramcook), against which
his officers were unanimous, the force returned to Minas Basin on the 25th. It
would seem that in Lawrence's mind, if not in that of his superiors, the scope of
the expedition under his charge embraced the harassing of non-belligerent
inhabitants, as much as dispossessing an armed French force from territory
claimed as British. Lawrence's superiors evidently did not agree with him, that
occupation of the isthmus was a tacit acknowledgment of the justice of the French
claim, for he was sent back in September, and he erected a fort on what the French
admitted was English territory.
La Corne was recalled to Canada, and was replaced by St. Ours des Chai lions
(October 8), who, in the following spring, began the erection of a fort on the
French position, which was given the name of Beausejour.1
Skirmishes took place between the English garrison and the Indians and
Acadians. Captain How was treacherously murdered, but eventually the
garrisons settled down to a peaceful and friendly existence, broken at times by
friction, cemented at others by friendly offices on either side, and with illicit trade
as a constant bond.2
When Vergor 3 took charge, he at once notified Du Quesne that the position
was not capable of successful defence (November 1754).
Boishebert, on the St. John, took the same position as La Corne when he
was visited by Rous, and as successfully held it. Rous, in command of the
Albany, captured French vessels on the high seas.4 This led to friction and
reprisals as well as to diplomatic correspondence.5
The activities of French and English on the Ohio and the adjacent territories
did not reach a condition of stagnation as in Nova Scotia, but passed on to conflict
so serious, that in the end of 1754 Great Britain took the momentous step of
sending out regular troops to support its Virginian levies, repulsed in their
advances into the debatable land. Parkman gives a vivid and picturesque
account of De Bienville's expedition to strengthen the effective occupation of this
1 Lawrence's account and that of La Corne are printed in the Canadian Archives Reforrt, 1905, vol. ii. pp. 320 et
sty. There is also in it a Journal of the events, from September 1750 to July 1751, written by De la Valliere, who was
detached from Louisbourg with tifty picked men in response to La Corne's appeal for reinforcements. DC la Valliere was
the descendant of an Acadian seigneur, and from the heights of Beausejour looked down on Isle la Valliere, midway
between Beausejour and Fort Lawrence, once the home of his family.
2 The building of Beausejour proceeded very slowly. After La Corne (i~49-5o), its commandants were: St. Ours
des Chaillons (1-50-51), De Vassin (1751-53), DC la Martiniere (1753-54), and De Vergor du Chambon (1754-55).
3 He was the son of the Governor of Louisbourg in 1745, and it was through his lack of vigilance that Wolfe's army
gained its foothold on the plains of Abraham.
4 They were returned.
5 The first four vessels which arrived in Louisbourg in 1751 were seized and eventually sold (C.O. 117/395
Captains' Letters, vol. 2382).
1749 THE TRANSFER OF ISLE ROYALE 187
territory by France, as well as some description of the forts and settlements which
previously existed.1
It is not necessary to carry further the narrative of events elsewhere than in
Isle Royale. Louisbourg had felt only the indirect effects of these occurrences,
for it was so unquestionably a French possession, that any action against it was
not considered within the scope of British operations.
The transfer of Isle Royale and its dependencies to France had been made
without difficulty. Charles des Herbiers, Sieur de la Raliere, a naval captain of
distinction, was chosen as French Commissioner and Governor, and furnished
with voluminous instructions, which included drafts of the letters he was to
write. He left France with the men-of-war Tigre and Intrepide, which con-
voyed transports, carrying about five hundred troops from Isle de Rhe and
civilian inhabitants of Isle Royale. The frigate Anemone was dispatched after
him to make more imposing his important mission.
On the 29th of June 1749 the Tigre was a league off Louisbourg. Des
Herbiers transcribed his model letter to Hopson, its Governor, and sent it into
the town by two officers. He chose as his envoys Des Cannes and Loppinot,
both of whom had been officers in its former garrison.2 At noon the next day
the flotilla entered the harbour and exchanged salutes with the shore batteries.
That afternoon Des Herbiers and his staff were received with all the
honours, by Hopson and his officers. There were difficulties about the trans-
port of the British troops and people and other minor matters. In the end they
were satisfactorily settled. The opportune arrival of Cornwallis at Halifax set
free British transports which came to Louisbourg. They were supplemented
by French ships, and so effectively were the arrangements made and carried
out, that on the 23rd of July Des Herbiers marched into the town, and received
its keys from Hopson. The French flag replaced that of England over the
citadel and batteries. Hopson received a certificate that the transfer was
complete and satisfactory, and the English forces and people withdrew to
Halifax.
The English ships did not begin to sail, however, till the 3Oth, and the
Te Deum for the return of peace was deferred, out of consideration for them,
until August 3.3
1 See Montcalm and ffolfe, chap. ii. On colonial wars and reprisals, see Corbett, vol. i. p. 24.
2 Des Cannes was to be major and Loppinot adjutant of the troops in the new establishment (B, 90, p. 42).
3 Des Herbiers' account of the transfer is printed in Quebec MSS. vol. 3, pp. 439 et seq. He acknowledges
handsomely in it the courtesy of Hopson, and the zeal and efficiency of his own officers. The French version of the
certificate is given in Canadian Archives, vol. ii., 1905, p. 282. See also R.O. France, vol. 233. The difference in the
calendars used by the French and English, accounts for the apparent discrepancy of eleven days in all dates up to 1752.
An incident shows the disorders to which such upheavals of population tend. On the 27th of July was baptized, and
no doubt cared for, an English child aged about three months, abandoned by parents of whom the new-comers could find
no trace :
1 88 GOVERNMENTAL CARE OF THE COLONISTS 1749
The same care to make prosperous and safe the returned colony as to
provide for its proper transfer was shown by the Minister. Bigot, who had
gained with Rouille, now Minister of the Navy, the same standing as he had
held with Maurepas, was sent to Louisbourg to reorganize the civil service. On
his recommendation, Prevost, who had been his chief clerk, succeeded him as
Commissaire-Ordonnateur. Bigot went there on the Diane, and for some weeks
gave Des Herbiers and Prevost the benefit of his great abilities.1
The former inhabitants returned from Canada and France. They found
the houses in poor condition, as but few of them had been repaired by the
English during their occupation. Bigot ordered two hundred cows for distribu-
tion among the people, and for two years they were supplied with rations from
the King's stores. The fishing was good, but they were hampered by a lack of
boats. They did their best to make up for the deficiency, by buying the boats
of the departing English and by activities in the building yard. Ninety to one
hundred boats were built by October, and many were still on the ways. The
French who had remained during the English occupation 2 sold boats to the
new-comers, and row-boats and canoes were used as substitutes for fishing-boats.
The partly cured cod of the English merchants was bought by the French,
but, even with the abundant fisheries, there was too small a catch to load the
unusual number of ships which had come out from France. The merchants of
Louisbourg, as well as the shipowners, pressed Prevost for permission to buy
from the English. Notwithstanding the justice of the request, and the hardships
involved, he refused, but, with a frankness in which he imitated Bigot, he adds
that in the confusion of the new settlement it is probable some infractions of the
laws against trade with the English took place.3
An augmented garrison, twenty-four companies of fifty men each and a
company of artillery, were placed at Louisbourg and its dependencies. This
force was made up from new companies formed for the purpose, and the old
companies, which had been in Canada since their return from the English
prisons, after the defeat of La Jonquiere by Anson. Instructions to Des Herbiers
" ANGELIOJJE'S BAPTISM
"This 27th day of the month of July, 1749, I, the undersigned, have baptized conditionally a young English girl about
three month* old found in Louisbourg when we arrived from France and took possession of the said town, without our
having to be able to ascertain anything of her father or her mother. Godfather and Godmother were Gilles Lemoine and
Angelique Lestrange, who gave her the name of Angelique, as witnesses thereof they signed in the Royal Chapel of Saint
Louis, the Parish Church, for the time being, of Louisbourg, on the same day and year as above.
X the Godfather's sign.
" Angelique Lestrangc, P. Pichot.
"Fr. Isodore Caubct, R.R., officiating for the Reverend Father Superior."
(Etat Ci%-il Louisbourg, 1746-1752, f. 179, pp. 6--.)
1 Bigot was in Louisbourg from about the time of Des Herbiers' arrival until August 21. He then went to Quebec.
Bigot succeeded Hocquart as Intendant of Canada in March 1748.
J In all, 94 people. s Cn, vol. 28, f. 1 60.
REFORMS: IN AN INCREASED GARRISON 189
recounted the abuses which had created such disorder among the troops before
the capture of the town, and asked for such reorganization as would remedy these
evils. The most important step he took in this direction was the suppression of
the canteens kept, as a perquisite, by the captains, recognizing as legal only that of
the Major. In the meantime Des Herbiers received Franquet, an engineer of
distinction, who was sent out to Louisbourg as director-general of the fortifications.
The Marquis de Chabert, detached from sea duty, was instructed to correct the
maps of Acadia, Isle Royale, and Newfoundland, and to fix by astronomical
observations the principal points therein. He made Louisbourg his headquarters
in 1751-52, and the results of his labours, endorsed by the Royal Academy of
Sciences and by the Academic de Marine, were printed in a handsome volume
in 1753^
The ordinary courtesies were exchanged with Cornwallis at Halifax. Good
feeling on the part of Cornwallis was further marked by his co-operation in
sending to Louisbourg the body of the Due d'Anville. Le Grand St. Esprit
bore it from Chibuctou to French territory, and, with fitting ceremony, it was
reinterred at the foot of the high altar in the chapel of the citadel.2
The general instructions of the Minister were to co-operate with La
Jonquiere in maintaining the rights of France to the disputed territory, to repel
force by force,3 and to harass, by the Indians, the new settlement in Halifax,
but to do so secretly. He was also directed to encourage the settlement of
Acadians on Isle St. Jean, many of whom had been driven from their homes
by the disturbed state of the border-land, and the menaces of the Indians against
those who remained on British territory. They readily passed over to the island
in such numbers that its population rapidly increased. The instructions to the
Governors of Isle Royale and of Canada as to their dealings with the English
might be quoted many times. One memorandum dated August 29, 1749, shall
suffice, as it sets forth the policy of France. It was read to the King, its apostille
states, and presumably received his sanction, for the policy it lays down was
not departed from. After stating briefly the advantages to England and the
disadvantages to Isle Royale, in particular, of the settlement of Nova Scotia, it
goes on :
" Such are, in general, the unfortunate consequences which will necessarily spring from
these projects if the English can succeed in accomplishing them. As it is impossible to
openly oppose them, for they are within their rights in making in Acadia such settlements
as they see fit, as long as they do not pass its boundaries, there remains for us only to
bring against them as many indirect obstacles as can be done without comprising ourselves,
and to take steps to protect ourselves against plans which the English can consider through
the success of these settlements.
1 Franquet and Chabert were fellow-passengers on the Mutine, which sailed from Brest, June 29, 1750.
2 Sept. 3, 1746, Quebec MSS., 3, p. 455. 3 To Des Herbiers, Sept. n, 1750, B, vol. 91, p. 49.
1 9o RELATIONS WITH THE ENGLISH 1749,1758
" The only method we can employ to bring into existence these obstacles is to make
the savages of Acadia and its borders feel how much it is to their advantage to prevent the
English fortifying themselves, to bind them to oppose it openly, and to excite the Acadians
to support the Indians in their opposition (to the English) in so far as they can do without
discovery. The missionaries of both have instructions and are agreeable to act in
accordance with these views." l
A fortnight before this memorandum was prepared for the King, Des
Herbiers and Prevost wrote from Louisbourg (August 15, 1749) that the Abbe
Le Loutre was carrying out this policy. Bigot had given him, as supplementary
to the ordinary presents to the Indians, cloth, blankets, powder and ball, in case
they might wish to disturb the English in their settlement in Halifax. " It was
this missionary's task to induce them to do so."
The history of these wretched years on the border-land shows with what
ardour, self-sacrifice, and cruelty he encouraged the Indians under his charge to
carry out instructions which had the Royal sanction.3 In this course the priest
was not alone. Young Des Bourbes gave Surlaville, April 15, 1756, a budget
of news from Louisbourg containing this passage :
"Four savages, two Abenaquis and two Miquemacs, arrived here from Quebec, on the
3 ist of March. They informed us that a band of outaouvis and chaouenons had raided
Virginia, they took about 600 scalps, burnt many villages, and took five hundred prisoners,
all women and children. . . . On the 2nd of April our Governor feasted these savages ;
they danced before him and presented him with a dozen scalps, taken in the neighbourhood
of Chibouctou ; they were handsomely paid for their journey and given several presents
besides." *
This continued during the season, for Du Fresne du Motel wrote on the
ist December :
" Our savages have taken a number of English scalps, their terror of these natives is
unequalled, they are so frightened that they dare not leave the towns or forts without
detachments, with the protection of these they go out for what is absolutely needed." 5
Des Herbiers had accepted with reluctance the post of Commissioner and
1 French text in Can. Arch. vol. ii. p. 292. 2 «' Ce missionaire doit les y engager."
3 Vol. 28, f. 1 60. It was later felt at Court that Le Loutre must be restrained. The Minister wrote him on
Aug. 27, 1751, that he must not give the English any just cause of complaint, although he praises Le Loutre 's wisdom
in this respect.
4 "{,>uatre sauvages, dont deux Abenaquis et deux Miquemacs, arriverent icy, de Quebec, le 31 mars. lit nous ont
appris qu'une partie de sauvages outaouvis et chaouenons, avoient fait coup sur la Virginie, qu'ils avoient leve environ six
cents chevelures, brusle plusieurs villages et cmmene cinq cents prisonniers, tous femmes et enfants. ... Le 2 avril,
notre Gouvcrneur regala ces sauvages, ils danserent et luy presentment une douraine dc chevelures qu'ils ont faitcs aux
environs dc Chibouctou j on leur a payc leur voiage fort grassement et fait, en outre, plusieurs presents '' (Dernieri
Jours, etc. p. 187).
8 " Nos sauvage* ont beaucoup leve de chevelures anglaises, qui (sic) ont une terreur sans 6gal dc ces naturels du pais,
dont ils sont si cfFreics qu'ils n'osent sortir de leurs villes ou forts, sans avoir de» detachments a la faveur desquels ils vont
chercher leurs besoins les plus urgcnts" (Dtrniers Jours, etc. p. 205). (For the English use of Indian methods tee
Appendix.)
i75i RAYMOND SUCCEEDS DES HERBIERS 191
Governor, and as soon as his functions as the first were finished, he began to
press for leave to return to sea duty.1 The Minister was not ready to make a
change until 1751. The Minister then named as Des Herbiers' successor the
Comte de Raymond, Seigneur d'Oye, Lieut.-Colonel of the Vexin Regiment ; so
for the first time a military officer governed Isle Royale. To add weight to the
position Raymond was promoted to the grade of Marechal de Camp (Major-
General), and, to give effectiveness to his administration on its military side, he
was accompanied by Surlaville, Colonel of the Grenadiers of France, to whom
was given the position of Major of the troops and the commission of disciplining
them, as well as to report on the coasts of the island and Acadia.2
Raymond set forth from Angoul£me, of which town and its castle he had
been the King's Lieutenant, towards the end of May, embarked on L'Heureux,
and, after a voyage of fifty days, landed in Louisbourg on the 3rd of August
1751. He took over the reins of government, and at once Des Herbiers
returned to France by the same ship.3
There was thus a girding of the loins in the bureaux of the French
Admiralty, when Louisbourg was again under its care. Stores were abundantly
supplied. The arts of peace were fostered by the expedition of the Marquis
Chabert. The presence of an engineer of such eminence as Franquet, of a
soldier of such experience as Surlaville, the raising of the garrison until it
approached in number that of Canada,4 showed that a high value was set on
Louisbourg and its security.
Raymond was an active man, who made many efforts to improve the
colony. He visited its various ports and those of Isle St. Jean. He established
settlements on the Mire River, he was interested in the crops, and looked with
optimistic eye on the yields of cereals in the rude clearings of the settlers. He
also proposed the building of redoubts and the opening of roads which were
strongly opposed by Franquet, Surlaville, and the home authorities.5 He was
apparently vain, for he bought the property of St. Ovide, and desired it should
be erected into a seigneury and countship. While his administration was
apparently honest, his request for a gratuity of 20,000 livres so astonished the
Minister that in Raymond's own interest he did not put it before the King.6
He was fully alive to the ceremonial side of his functions, and found an
1 In this he brought to bear the influence of his distinguished kinsman, De 1'Etanduere.
3 An outbreak took place in the small garrison of Pt. Toulouse in 1750. See vol. 29, p. 369."
8 Raymond brought with him, as secretary, one Thomas Pichon, a native of Vire in Normandy, to whom we owe
the Lettrei et memoires pour serttir h fhistoire naturelle, civile et politique de Cap Breton, published La Haye, 1760, and
London, an engaging and valuable book. He was able and brilliant, but his papers in the library at Vire, and those
from his hand known as the Tyrell papers, preserved in Halifax, show him as a libertine, and a spy, completely
selfish and sordid.
4 Louisbourg, 1200 ; Canada, 1500. 8 Derniers jfours, etc. p. 14.
8 According to Prevost, Raymond overdrew his account 26,417 1. (C11, vol. 33).
192 RAYMOND'S FESTIVITIES 1752
opportunity for ingratiating himself with the Court in the instructions he
received to have a Te Deum sung for the birth of the Due de Bourgogne :
" On Sunday i8th of May this important news was announced at day-break by a salute
from all the artillery of the place and the King's ships, the frigates, Fldele and the Chariot
Roya/y which had dressed ship.
"M. le Comte de Raymond gave a dinner to the staff, the engineers, the officers of
artillery, and to the other principal officers, to the Conseil Superieur, the Baillage, the
Admiralty, and to the ladies of the place.
" He had two tables with 50 covers, served in four courses, with as much lavishness as
elegance. They drank in turn freely every kind of wine of the best brands, to the health
of the King, Queen, the Dauphin, Mme. la Dauphine, M. le due de Bourgogne, and to the
Royal Princesses.
" Many guns were fired, and the band increased the pleasure of the f£te.
" About 6 o'clock, after leaving the table, they repaired to the King's chapel to hear
vespers. At the close of the service, the Te Deum was sung to the accompaniment of all
the artillery of the town and of the ships.
" They then went in a procession, as is the custom in the colonies, to the Esplanade of
the Maurepas gate.
" The governor there lit a bonfire which he had had prepared ; the troops of the
garrison, drawn up on the ramparts and the covered way, fired with the greatest exactness,
three volleys of musketry, and the artillery did the same. After this ceremony, the
Governor distributed several barrels of his own wine to the troops and to the public.
"The 'Vive le Roi ' was so frequently repeated, that no one could doubt that the
hearts of the townspeople, the troops, and the country folk, which this festival had
attracted, were truly French.
" He had given such good orders in establishing continual patrols in command of
officers, that no disorder was committed.
" About 9 in the evening, the governor and all his guests went to see set off the fire-
works and a great number of rockets, which he had prepared, and were very well done.
" On his return home, the ball was opened, and lasted till dawn ; all kinds of refresh-
ments, and in abundance, were handed round. His house was illuminated with lanterns
placed all round the windows, looking on the rue Royale and the rue Toulouse.
" Three porticoes, with four pyramids, adorned by triple lanterns and wreaths of
flowers, rare for such a cold climate, were erected opposite the rue Royale.
"At the opposite angle, where the two roads cross, two other pyramids were also
illuminated ; and on the frontal of the three porticoes were painted the arms of the King,
the Dauphin, and the Due de Bourgogne.
" At the end of the same street, opposite the three porticoes, were also represented, by
means of lanterns, three large fleurs de lys and a ' Vive le Roi,' very visibly placed on a
border above.
" Between these two principal illuminations is situated the large gate of the Government
House, which was also adorned at the columns and cornices, by triple lanterns ; above was
the King's portrait.
" All round the courtyard there were also fire pots and triple lanterns, as high as the
retaining wall of the garden. These illuminations were charming in their effect and lasted
1752-1755 HIS TROUBLES WITH SUBORDINATES 193
till the end of the ball ; all the houses in the town were also lit up as well as the frigate
la Fidele.
" The government house being too small to accommodate all the distinguished members
of the colony, M. le Comte Raymond gave a big dinner the next day to the clergy and the
Sunday following to several ladies, officers, and others who had not attended the first fe"te.
" It can be said that the Governor spared nothing for these festivities and that he gave
on that happy occasion very evident proof of a rare generosity." l
This account is anonymous but it so closely resembles, both in style and
self-praising, the other writings of Raymond, that there seems no doubt it is
his. It accounts in part for the overdrawing of his salary, of which Prevost
complained.
In spite of his good will, his activities were ineffective. He found the
difficulties of his position excessive, for he alienated all with whom he had to
work. Prevost had many griefs against him. Page after page of Raymond's
memoirs and letters are annotated by the bitter and often unjust pen of Surlaville,
whose pocket he had touched in the disposition of the canteens.
He dismissed Pichon on account of an affair of gallantry, which the latter
resented, as quite outside the Governor's province, for in his view a tender
heart was perfectly compatible with official capacity. Pichon became his bitter
enemy, and later wrote in substance that his former patron was " perhaps the
most foolish of all animals on two feet." 2 Raymond gave him a certificate,
however, on the loth of October 1753, that he had discharged his duties with
" all the intelligence, fidelity, exactitude, and disinterestedness possible."
Surlaville's administration was apparently effective. He lost no time in
beginning his duties, but the material he had to work on was not promising.
He visited the fortifications the day following their landing and the official
reception of Raymond which took place at Prevost's house. The works were
in a worse state than he imagined. When he held a review, the troops
performed their evolutions badly, some of them did not know how to handle or
carry a gun, they were noisy in the ranks, their uniforms were worn and dirty,
and were badly put on. Surlaville increased the number of drills and made the
cadets take part in them. He enforced the rules about coming into barracks
at night, and in a few days was able to note some improvements.8
The improvements instituted continued, for, although Johnstone found the
works " with more the look of Antient Ruins than of a modern fortification,"
1 This anonymous account is dated May 28, 1752, but we cannot vouch for it being an official date. See
Moreau St. Mery, vol. 50, pp. 420-423. 2 Tyrell Papers, N.S. Archives, vol. 341.
3 Surlaville went as the official representative of Raymond to announce to Cornwallis his arrival in Isle Royale, and
brought back a full statement of the military and civil conditions at Halifax. The impression he made there found an
echo on the frontier, for the English officers at Fort Lawrence sought to obtain from the French at Beausejour con-
firmation that the functions of Surlaville at Louisbourg portended war (Derniers Jours, etc. p. 31).
O
i94 SURLAVILLE AND THE SOLDIERY 1751
he also bears testimony that " the service was performed at Louisbourg with as
much regularity as in any fortified place in Europe. . . . This made the town to
be looked upon as the Athens of the French colonies."1
Surlaville endeavoured to enforce the regulations made by Des Herbiers
and Prevost (October 10, 1749) establishing the price which soldiers should
be charged for articles supplied by their officers, and made a strong statement
of the defects of the uniforms worn by the troops. The cloth and linen were
poor in quality and badly made, the shoes were thin, and it cost a private six
months' wages to buy a new pair. He rightly thought white was a bad colour
for uniforms, as it soon got dirty, and the soldier himself followed it. The
strictures on the clothing supplied for the barracks, in which the men slept
two and two in unclean box beds, and on the exactions of their officers, make
quite credible his statement that their recruits were drawn from the dregs
of the people, for such service could not attract the self-respecting or the
ambitious.2
Surlaville also busied himself in trying to improve the condition of the
officers, by economies in the lighting and heating, and to benefit both officers
and men by a better canteen system. He also dealt ably with the purchase of
the King's stores. His memoranda on these subjects show that he was an active
and intelligent officer, who remained in Isle Royale too short a time to carry
into effect any serious part of the reforms he saw there necessary.3
The improvement in the troops, which unquestionably existed, even if less
marked than that described by Johnstone, had been helped, not only by the
attention given to it by the home authorities, but by the new elements introduced
into the garrison. The new companies were officered in the main by subalterns
of the regiments disbanded at the Peace. These gentlemen had served in good
regiments in the campaigns of Germany and the Netherlands, and brought to
Isle Royale standards and a point of view different from those of the " family "
officers who had alone held these positions before this time. There was also
more interchange with Canada, arising from the alternating garrisons of
Louisbourg and Canada at Beausejour and Fort Gaspareaux, its dependent
establishment on the Gulf side of the isthmus of Chignecto.
These years were for the inhabitants of Louisbourg probably the best they
had ever seen. It was obvious that the settlement was valued by the Government,
1 Johnstone ascribes this to Des Herbiers. Quebec MSS. 3, p. 482. Des Herbiers says he set for Louisbourg the
standard of a French fortress.
2 The following sums up his criticisms : (i) cloth too thin ; (2) badly cut and costly to make over ; (3) white bad
colour; (4) stockings bad; (5) shoes thin; (6) paying only once a year bad; (7) only three sizes of gaiters sent out,
making many misfits ; (8) hats bad ; (9) no distinguishing marks for corporals ; (10) bad linen for shirts ; (n) should
have caps, ami (12) black instead of white collars (Pap. Surlaville in Laval Univ., Quebec).
3 Papicrs Surlaville. His comments on letters of Raymond and others show him as a severe and meticulous critic.
His collection of sixty-six "sottises" of Raymond, if alone preserved, would indicate that he was a malevolent trifler.
i754 DRUCOUR SUCCEEDS RAYMOND 195
and this gave confidence to the people. The expenditure was large ; the fisheries
in some of these years gave an abundant yield. Commerce flourished ; many
vessels were built and bought from New England.1 And while smuggling
vessels were condemned and sold, it is not probable that these seizures seriously
interfered with the trade. The official statements show that it was large, and
Surlaville says, in one of his notes, that these were untrustworthy in minimizing
the imports from New England. The trade with Canada largely consisted in
French and foreign goods, and that with New England, of products of the
West Indies.
The Governors promoted the settlement of Acadians in Isle St. Jean, and
Baie des Espagnols (Sydney) and other points in Cape Breton, returned and
received deserters from Nova Scotia, and on the whole kept on terms of courtesy
with its Governor. Raymond retired from the Governorship in 1753, and was
succeeded by the Chevalier Augustin Drucour, who came in 1754, and was but
little more than installed in his office when occurrences in the west produced a
condition in which war seemed inevitable.
The British Cabinet followed the news of the defeat of Washington at
Fort Necessity (July 1754) by a decision to reinforce the American colonists,
driven again, as a consequence of this French victory, to the eastward of the
Alleghanies. General Braddock was ordered to America with two regiments of
the line. Newcastle hoped that this might be done secretly, but it was made
public by the War Office, and was soon known in France. The action of
England in pressing her rights to the debatable land has been noted.2 The
French were now to be driven from all positions which they held on it, by
expeditions against Beausejour, Crown Point, Oswego, and the Ohio. Never-
theless Newcastle urged Lord Albemarle, the British Ambassador at Paris, to
assure the French Ministry that the sending out of Braddock was purely a
defensive measure. The French determined on their side to dispatch forces to
Canada and Louisbourg. For the latter point two battalions, the second of the
regiments of Artois and Bourgogne, were embarked at Brest on April 15, I755-3
These forces and the four battalions for Canada were in excess of the forces
previously sent out under Braddock, but as it was a move of the same kind,
and but little greater in number, it does not seem that the British Ministers
were justified in finding it as offensive as they did. Parliament had acquiesced
in the King's " securing his just rights and possessions in America," and voted
him a million to that end. The Cabinet, fortified by the public feeling, which
Mirepoix, the French Ambassador at London, recognized as bellicose, determined
to send a squadron to cruise off Louisbourg, with instructions to " fall upon any
1 In 1749 there were twenty-four, of which three were for the West Indies.
2 Ante, p. 183. s Arch. Guerre, vol. 3404, 89.
196 ACTION OF THE ENGLISH MINISTRY 1755
French ships of war that shall be attempting to land troops in Nova Scotia or
to go to Cape Breton or through the St. Lawrence to Quebec."
The strength of this squadron was first fixed at seven ships, but as the
gravity of the step impressed itself upon the Cabinet, its number was afterwards
increased to fifteen. Its command was given to the Hon. Edward Boscawen.
He had seen service under Anson and Vernon, and had been the commander-in-
chief of the fleet in Indian waters in 1749, when the results were in favour
of Dupleix.
Mirepoix was assured at his own dining-table by Lord Granville and by
Robinson,2 who had just come from Council, that "the information I had
of the offensive orders given to Admiral Boscawen was absolutely false."
When one remembers that Granville was the Minister who, " in one of his
occasional bursts of strong rugged speech which came from him, and a good
deal of wine taken into him," 4 objected to " vexing your neighbours for a little
muck," 5 who also was revered as a master by Pitt, it became obvious that
the charges made by France against the Punic faith of England were not the
mere effervescence of Gallic sensitiveness. The Ministry took apparently the
view of Monk at the outbreak of the Dutch War in 1665. "What matters
this or that reason ? What we want is more of the trade the Dutch now have." a
The basis of the orders given to Boscawen has been quoted. Those given
to the French commodore who was to escort the fleet for Canada, off the coasts
of Europe, were in the ordinary terms :
" You should, if possible, avoid meeting English squadrons. If you do fall in with them,
be on guard against their manoeuvres, and if they give ground for supposing that they mean
to attack, I shall be content that you avoid an engagement in so far as it is possible without
compromising the honour of my flag."7
The troops for Louisbourg were on the Defenseur, Chariot Royal, and
rEsperance, which did not fall, like the Alcide and Lys, as captures to Boscawen
off the banks,8 but arrived safely at Louisbourg on June 14. Their debarka-
tion was mostly effected by the I9th, although the barracks were not ready
for them.9
Admiral Du Bois de La Motte went to Quebec and returned by the Straits of
Belle Isle, a daring feat, while De Salvert conducted the Louisbourg ships.10
Boscawen, letting the French fleet slip through his fingers (with the exception
of the Alcide and Lys) in the bad weather off the banks, hurt the standing of
1 In the Secret Committee, March 24 ; in Cabinet, April 10, 1755.
2 One of the two Secretaries of State for Foreign Affairs. 3 Corbett, p. 46. 4 Carlyle.
5 Corbett, vol i. p. 61. " Jane, Hereiies of Sea- Power, p. 151. ~ Waddn. i. p. 106.
8 Boscawen, post, p. 206. Guerre, 3404, 159. 9 Guerre, 3404, 161.
10 A.N. Marine, C1, 170, sub nom. Pellcgrin.
" '"*':»', ^
... .
• sMfA Vr~ $< ^ ^S/;.;;"'
•^!»^!-:^iilS?:A^'
i755 BLOCKADE OF LOUISBOURG 197
England, and produced the minimum of damage to France.1 After sending
his captures to Halifax, he cruised with his fleet off Louisbourg.2 Many
captures were made, mostly of French ships with provisions, which seriously
curtailed the food supply of the town.
On June 18, the Somerset, for the second time, ran in close, and the log
of Captain Geary reports that she was fired on.8 The Somerset bore away, not
knowing the effect of the shot. It was from a gun on the battery upon the
island. " On its discharge the carriage and the platform flew into a thousand
pieces, and if the English had known our position their fleet might have come
into the Harbour without any risk from our batteries not having a single cannon
fit to be fired."
" They might have burned all the vessels in it and battered the town from
the harbour, which must have immediately surrendered. But luckily for us they
had no knowledge of our infirmities." 4
Thus Johnstone describes the incident, and says that it showed to all " the
dismal situation of Louisbourg."
The events elsewhere in 1755 were more important than at Louisbourg.
To the west of the Alleghanies the sanguinary defeat of Braddock threw the
command of the region and the alliances of its Indians to the French. The
capture of Dieskau at Lake George was a barren victory for the English, and
Shirley tarnished the laurels he had won as an administrator by his conduct of
the absolutely unsuccessful expedition against Niagara. In the east Beausejour
and Gaspereaux had fallen. " Seven bombs which fell in Beausejour have
obliged Vergore to yield," 5 and the Acadian population, suffering like Issachar
from the difficulties inherent in choosing either burden, was deported.
The blockade of Louisbourg roused Franquet from his lethargy. Five
years had passed since he had come to the country. A diarist thus speaks of
1 He was dissatisfied himself with the operation ; see Appendix at end of this chapter.
a It consisted of fifteen ships : Torbay, Gibraltar, Terrible, Grafton, Augusta, Monarque, Yarmouth, Edinburgh,
Chichester, Dunkirk, Arundel, Somerset, Northumberland, Nottingham, and Anson.
3 On July 3 Boscawen left for Halifax.
BoSCAWEN, MOSTYN, AND HoLBURNE
July 3, 1755. — Boscawen sailed from Louisbourg, leaving Mostyn with the Monarch, Yarmouth, Chichester, Edinburgh,
Dunkirk, and Arundel. To be relieved by Holburne.
The Torbay was accompanied by the Somerset, Northumberland, Nottingham, and Anson, to Halifax.
July 9, 1755. — Mostyn sailed from Louisbourg, arriving at Halifax on the nth.
Holburne was left off" Louisbourg with the Terrible, Grafton, Defiance, Augusta, and Litchfield. The Edinburgh,
Dunkirk, and Arundel were to join him in a few days. They did so on August 10, and the Success in September.
Seft. 15, 1755. — Holburne and his fleet entered Halifax harbour.
Oct. 19, 1755. — Boscawen sailed from Halifax with Mostyn, Holburne, and fleet.
(Taken from the logs of Torbay and Terrible, and Boscawen's letters to Cleveland of July 4 and iz and Nov.
'5, 1755)-
4 De Salvert's ships escaped Boscawen and Holburne, who succeeded him in the station (Quebec MSS. 3, p. 470).'
5 Derniers Jours, p. 146.
198 THE ENGLISH POLICY 1755
him, and what he says perhaps explains the little Franquet accomplished during
that time : " He was a man of military experience, loving good, all his actions
tended towards it, an honest man, a good citizen, but unhappily a malady so
ravaged him, and had so enfeebled his bodily energies, that we find only now and
again the man he was."
Every observer is agreed that the fortifications were in wretched condition.
Des Herbiers, Surlaville, Pichon 2 are all unanimous.8 Franquet had sent home
alternative plans of new works on the scale of the great frontier fortresses of
Europe, but little had been done to make effective the existing defences until
Boscawen's blockade indicated the seriousness of affairs.
In Europe the action of England was even more energetic and unscrupulous
than in America. Three hundred French mechantmen were seized on the
high seas and in English ports. France contented itself with protests, and
with an accumulation of evidence of England's improper action, which her
Ministers hoped would stir Spain to take part with her against the violator of
international laws. In this she did not succeed, although Spain had griefs of
her own against England. The sole benefit of the representations of France
was that Holland did not take the side of England, as by treaty bound, for
by the treaty between them neither party was to assist the other in a war in
which either was the aggressor.4 This the Dutch declared was the position
of England.
It is hard to credit that a nation which in America was arming savage
allies secretly against the settlers of the rival power, could be so meek and
magnanimous in Europe. Hawke ravaged French shipping. France sent
back to England the frigate Elankford, captured off Brest, and instructed
the Intendant of Toulon to provision an English fleet cruising in the Mediter-
ranean should it call at that port.5 This was only some two score years before
Burke, lamenting in rolling cadences the sorrows of Marie Antoinette, exclaimed
that the age of chivalry was dead. Under Louis XV. it survived in this
fatuous and futile treatment of an enemy which had proved itself insensible
to the influences d'un beau geste.
The comparative insignificance of colonial events as compared with those in
Europe, to which reference has already been made, is demonstrated by the fact
that, while in 1755 there was armed conflict at every point where the French
1 Le Chef du Genie est homme de Guerre, aimant le bien, toutes ses actions sont portees a Cela, honncte homme,
bon citoyen, mai« malheureusement une maladie qui le minoit avoit tellement affoibli la machine qu'on ne Retrouvoit
plus 1'homme en lui il n'avoit que des momcns " (Journal du Siege de Louisbourg, 1758, Arch, de la F. 236 F.).
- See the latter's reports to Cnpt.iin Scott when he was in the pay of England (Tyrell Papers).
* See the letters to Surlaville from his friends at Louisbourg.
4 Corbctt, vol. i. p. 20. 5 La C.-G. p. 242.
1756 DECLARATION OF WAR 199
and English came in contact in America, it was not thought necessary by the
Powers to declare war until operations began in Europe. The action between
Byng and Galissoniere took place only two days later than the declaration of
war by England, signed by the King on the i8th of May 1756, and followed
by that of France on the 9th of June.
Minorca fell on June 29, and the brilliant operation of the French
terminated in the triumphal re-entry of La Galissoniere and Richelieu into
Toulon on the i6th of July, three months after setting out. The outcome of
this disappointing opening of a war, for which the English people had clamoured,
was the execution of Byng " for failure to do his utmost." He was shot on
the quarter-deck of the Monarque, which had been one of the fleet with which
Boscawen had begun hostilities.
France occupied herself with land operations and projects for the invasion
of England. She contented herself with regard to America in reinforcing the
garrison of Canada. Beaussier de L'Isle was given command of a squadron
which took out the regiments of La Sarre and the Royal Rousillon ; with them
went, to gain immortality, le Marquis de Montcalm, as successor to the
captured Dieskau.
The English ships, Fougeux, Litchfield, Centurion, Norwich, and the
smaller Success and Vulture, had wintered in Halifax, and were joined in the
spring of 1756 by the Graf ton and Nottingham. The squadron was placed
under the command of Commodore1 Holmes, who detached the Grafton and
Nottingham with their tenders to blockade Louisbourg.
The appearance of Beaussier's ships, returning from Quebec to Louisbourg,
put to flight the tenders of the English, which were on the point of capturing a
French merchantman, driven into Mainadieu. The ships of the line came in
sight of each other on July 26, off Louisbourg.2
Beaussier's impulse was to engage, at the risk of repeating the mistake of
Maisonfort. Wiser counsels prevailed. He went into Louisbourg, landed
the treasure he had for the place, and cleared his ships of hamper. The next
morning he engaged the English ships, having supplemented his crews by only
200 men, although the whole garrison volunteered. Beaussier's ship Le Heros,
a seventy - four, had only forty-six guns mounted, and was not supported by
Montalais in the Illustre. The action was indecisive.8
After this action Holmes returned to Halifax for a few days, but on the
7th of August was back again. However, he did not get in touch with
1 Admiralty List, Book 30.
2 French ships : Le Heros, 74/46 ; L'lllustre, 64 ; and the frigates La Licornc and La Sirine. English ships : Graftcn,
70 ; Nottingham, 60 ; and tenders Hornet and Jamaica.
3 It is, however, so interesting that accounts of it are printed verbatim in Appendix at end of chapter.
200 NAVAL OPERATIONS 1756
Beaussier when he sailed for France on the I3th. Holmes carried his operations
further than along the coasts of Cape Breton. He dispatched on August 7
the Fougueux and Centurion to the St. Lawrence, the Success to Newfoundland,
and the Litchfield to Ingonish,1 to distress the enemy. The larger ships
destroyed the village of Little Gaspe, flakes, stages, and shallops ; Spry adding
in his report, superfluously it would seem, as the inhabitants were defenceless,
" without the least accident."
Things were dull and unpleasant in Louisbourg. The English ships cruising
off the port made various captures, the most important of which was the
frigate U Arc- en- del, bringing out money and recruits for the garrison.
Louisbourg itself was unmolested, but at least three descents were attempted
on its outports. " They hoped to burn all the dwellings, but, unfortunately
for them, troops and Indians, placed in ambush in these harbours, hacked a
number of them to pieces and took the remainder prisoners ; not one escaped,
and many scalps were taken."
[The only landing mentioned in the log-books is that from the Norwich,
September i , at the Gut of Canso :
" 6 A.M. sent our Barge & Yaul in Compy. with the Success's Barge and Cutter in
shore after a shallop about 1/4 past when the Barges got along side of the shallop we
observ'd they rec'd a very brisk Fire of small Arms from the Shore, which oblig'd them
to put oft", on which the Shallop was shoo'd afloat & pursued the Boats, the Fire continuing
incessantly from the shore as well as the Launch, One of the Barges by this Time row'd
only 2 Oars, which the Shallop came up with & took in a little Time, the other Boats
came along side in about 3/4 of an Hour after viz. our Barge in which 2 Men Killed & 3
dangerously wounded, 2 of the Success's Bargemen who had jump'd into the Shallop &
when the attack was made into the Sea & Swam to our Barge One of whom was
dangerously wounded, our yaul was safe & the Success Cutter had one Man wounded,
several Shot went through the Barge & not a Mast or Oar in her but had one or more
Shot in or thro' them."
The other landings must have been from English privateers.]
In consequence of the stringent prohibition of commerce with the French,
enforced as far as was possible by the English Governors, and the presence of
these men-of-war off the port, the French believed that the policy of England
was trying to reduce the place by famine.
"Some of our fishermen, taken prisoner and then liberated at the beginning of this
campaign, relate that the English intend to intercept all aid and provisions which may come
to us from Europe, they wish to subdue us by famine and oblige us to give up the keys
without striking a blow. In spite of the fact that this squadron has seized our ship U Arc-
en-Ciel, a 54, with 150 recruits on board . . . they will not succeed in their enterprise.
1 Ad. DCS. 1/481. a The Grafton and her consorts remained cruising off Louisbourg until October.
1756 PITT'S ACCESSION TO POWER 201
We have at the present moment food enough to last the entire colony nearly two
years." *
The optimism of Des Bourbes was repeated by M. Portal, an engineer,
who about the same time wrote, " Du monde, des vivres de 1'argent, de la bonne
volonte, voila notre position." 2
Facts, however, seem not to have justified this cheerful statement ; the
fortifications were wretched, the garrison was inadequate, and within a twelve-
month the lack of provisions in the town was causing the greatest anxiety.
The perspective of time enables us to accurately gauge the relative
importance of the events of this year.
It was not the loss of Minorca, which Newcastle felt equal to that of any
possession in the world except Ireland, nor the alarm of the country over this
loss, nor the fear of invasion, which has always been so potent in its effect over
the mind of the English people, nor the fall of Calcutta, though it heightened
the alarm, nor the capture of Oswego by Montcalm, thus closing one of the
avenues to Canada ; the event of the year was the coming to power of Pitt.
Newcastle had resigned after his long tenure of office as Prime Minister.
His place was taken nominally by the Duke of Devonshire, but the real head
of the administration was Pitt, for whom the people of England had persistently
clamoured.
At once a new spirit animated the Ministry, new confidence was felt in the
nation. The importance of warfare in America was recognized, and prepara-
tions were made for carrying it on with vigour. Pitt's policy was sound in
that he had no intention of " trying to win America in Europe." A French
observer saw the justice of his views : " The victory over M. Braddock,
which has been made so much of in Europe, has done nothing to decide our
fate. The naval strength of the English was a hydra against which we had to try
and oppose a like hydra. France should have built and equipped a number of
ships equal to those of the English, with her gold and her men, instead of
seeking for them a tomb in Germany, an abyss which has always been our ruin."
1 " L'intention des Anglais, suivant le rapport de quelques-uns de nos pecheurs, qui ont et£ pris et relache's dans le
commencement de cette croisiere, est d'intercepter tous les secours et les vivres qui peuvent nous arriver d'Europe, dc
reduire notre place par la famine, et de nous forcer de leur en porter nos clefs sans coup fe>ir. Quoyque cette escadre
nous ait pris le vaisseau L'Arc-en-Ciel, de 54 pieces de canon, dans lequel il y avoit cent cinquante homines de recrue
. . . ils ne r£ussiront pas dans leur entreprise. Nous avons actuellement pour pres de deux ans de vivres pour toute la
colonie" (M. des Bourbes a M. de Surlaville, 10 Aoust 1756, Dernier s jours de I'Acadie, p. 190).
2 Dernier s yours, etc. p. 195.
3 " La victoire contre M. Bradock qu'on fait tant valoir en Europe, n'a rien moins que d£cid6 de notre sort. Les
forces maritimes des Anglois sont une hydre a laquelle il fallait tacher d'opposer une hydre semblable. C'6toit a la
construction et a 1'armement d'un nombre 6gal de vaisseaux qu'il fallait employer les hommes et 1'or de la France, et
non leur chercher un tombeau en Allemagne, gouffre qui a toujours 6t6 notre ruine " (Pichon, Histoire du Cap Breton,
pp. 268-269).
202 HIS AGGRESSIVE PLANS 1757
Pitt began that prodigious activity which marked his tenure of office. It
was devoted not only to affairs of state, but to the military and naval operations
which embraced the protection and extension of the Empire, at all points in
both hemispheres, where it had a foothold.
Lord Loudon was the Commander-in-Chief in America. His plan of
operations, communicated to Pitt, coincided with that which Pitt had himself
formed. The most important feature in Pitt's policy was a coup de main against
the French strongholds in America, the reduction of Louisbourg in the early
part of the season, to be followed by an attack on Quebec. Pitt urged on this
work, and attempted to animate and unite the colonial Governors in raising
forces to assist the regular troops, not only in this expedition, but in land attacks
on the outlying French positions.
Before his retirement Newcastle had determined to send one regiment to
America. This was quite inadequate for Pitt's schemes. Early in February
he wrote to Lawrence that the second battalion of the Royals and six regiments,
each of 8 i 5 men, are ordered for embarkation, and he hoped would be able to
sail by the end of the month.1 The base of operations against Louisbourg was
Halifax, and, with the expectation that the fleet would sail before the end of
February, Lord Loudon's plan that he could capture Louisbourg and then
proceed to Quebec in June was not unreasonable. However, the vigour of
Pitt was not equal to expediting matters as he had hoped. There was great
lack of organization in the military services.2
Conditions improved, but all the movements were behind the time set in
Pitt's plans. Loudon had concentrated his forces in New York, and was ready
at the end of April with a body of about 6300 men and abundant siege material.
No news came of Holburne, who was to bring out the fleet ; and the naval
forces in New York, a fifty-gunship and four small cruisers under Hardy, were
inadequate to cope with the French squadron.
In June they embarked the troops, but just as they were on the point of
sailing, they got news that De Beauflremont had been in the West Indies and
was probably coming north. Further delay took place, for it would have
been grossly imprudent to move this force without adequate protection. The
impatience of Loudon and Hardy increased. Finally Hardy sent out two
cruisers, who reported that the sea was clear of the French between New York
and Halifax, and in the last third of June they successfully made the voyage.
There was no sign as yet of Holburne, but the troops were disembarked at
1 Kimhall, vol. i. p. 2.
- This last is indicated by the conditions in the previous year. The troops for Loudon lay at Portsmouth until
June, without transports being hired for them. Cannon were shipped on one vessel, their carriages on another, ammuni-
tion on a third, and powder on a fourth. The loss of one vessel would make useless the safe arrival of the other three.
The powder was bought without a test, and proved to be no better than sawdust (Entinck, vol. i. p. 488).
i757 ENGLISH AND FRENCH NAVAL MOVEMENTS 203
Halifax, and exercised in attacks on such positions as they would be likely to
meet ; they were taught to grow vegetables, and later, when an indignant and
disappointed nation reviewed the failure of Loudon's expedition, this was part
of the source of ridicule. Holburne's late arrival in American waters (July 9)
was the chief cause of failure which so completely characterized the movements
of the British forces in this campaign, but French seamanship and French
strategy accounted for the decided advantage her fleets had over the enemy.1
While Pitt, in February, was vainly pressing on the elaborate preparations
for attack, France was preparing her forces for defence. A squadron of four
ships under Du Revest sailed from Toulon to Louisbourg in April. Saunders'
attempt to stop them with an equal force in the Straits of Gibraltar was un-
successful, and Du Revest arrived at his destination on June 19.
On January 27 De Beauffremont sailed unmolested from Brest to the West
Indies, the English Admiralty not having perfected its arrangements to blockade
that port by the time the French squadron was ready to sail. He had a force
similar to Du Revest's, and arrived in St. Domingo on March 19 after very
heavy weather, and left on May 4, reaching Louisbourg on the jist of the
same month.
Du Bois de la Motte left Brest with nine of the line and two frigates.
Temple West, who Was then blockading the port, had been driven off in a gale
of wind ; so that the English efforts to destroy any part of the French reinforce-
ments failed through the unpreparedness of the Admiralty or the fortunes of
the sea.
Du Bois de la Motte, Lieutenant-General, arrived in Louisbourg on the night
of the 2Oth of June. He was in command of the united squadrons, which gave
him a force superior to that of Holburne's.2
The junction of the three French squadrons at Louisbourg was ascertained
by scouts sent out from Halifax. The men from the English ships were
1 Holburne received a sharp letter from the Admiralty for indulgences granted to his captains (Ad. Out Letters,
vol. 518).
" I believe you have never heard of this A. Holburne, and are anxious to know from whence he came, he is a Scot,
you know I don't think well of that nation for upper leather, nor was he ever thought much of in our service, he is rich
and has contrived to insinuate himself into the good graces of Lord Anson, made an Admiral and sent here in my
assistance, you see by this I don't like him or ever did, having known him from my first entering into service. . . ."
(Boscawen to his wife, June 26, 1755, Falmouth MSS.).
2 Le Formidable, 80. UHector, 74. Le Vaillant, 64. La Brune, 30.
Le Tonnant, 80. Le Glorieux, 74. Le Superbe, 70. La F/eur de Lys, 30.
Le Deffenseur, 74. Le Dauphin Royal, 70. U Inflexible, 64. L'Abenatkiie, 38.
Le Due de Bcurgogne, 80. Le Bizarre, 64. Le Belliqueux, 64. La Comette, 30.
Le He'ros, 74. VAchille, 64. Le Sage, 64. La Fortune, flute, 30.
Le Diademe, 74. L'E-veille, 64. Le Celebre, 64. L'Hermione, 26.
(B4, Marine, 76.^
204 THE FORCES AT LOUISBOURG 1757
sickly, 500 had to be left on shore in hospitals at Halifax, and 200 had died.
On the 4th of August, Loudon wrote Holburne a short note, the point of
which was : " In view of intelligence rccvd. from Louisbourg is there any
chance of success in its attempted reduction ? " To which Holburne replied on
the same day, " that the season is too far advanced, and enemy too strong,
for attempt to be successful." 1 Thereupon they determined to abandon the
siege. A strong garrison was left in Halifax, as in the forts in the Bay of
Fundy ; but most of the troops retired with Loudon to New York. The fleet
of Holburne began to cruise off Louisbourg on August 19 ; it kept this position,
making more than one attempt to draw La Motte out from the port.
The latter refrained from action ; the point in his instructions which most
impressed itself on him was that he must secure Louisbourg from attack. The
men from his ships, together with the garrison, occupied themselves in throwing
up earthworks and in fortifying every cove, both to the east and west of
Louisbourg, where a landing might be effected, and in keeping in them a
sufficient garrison to resist a first attack.
The forces which Du Bois de la Motte had at his disposal were :
Artois .... 437
Bourgogne .... 536
Louisbourg Companies . 805
Militia . . . 200 77 , . r/
volunteers from the Fleet.
(Quebec Soldiers ... 30
Acadians and Indians . . 260 Officers . . 31
Artillery . -5° Men . . . 600
Officers . . . .150
2468
The cannon, 68 in number, and two mortars, mounted in entrenchments,
were all served by these forces, with the exception of the Acadians and Indians,
who were with Boishebert at Gabarus.
The frigates of his fleet made occasional cruises about the coasts, and the
diaries speak of several prizes brought in, mostly by privateers.2 Holburne kept
his position off Louisbourg till after the middle of September. On Sunday the
2 fth the most violent storm known for years proved disastrous to the greater
part of the English fleet, and upset Holburne's plans for any attack on the vessels
of Du Bois de la Motte, who after repairing the comparatively slight damage
done to the Tonnant, returned safely to France.3
Holburne got his ships refitted in Halifax, and left there for the winter,
1 Ad. De». 481. 2 Marine B4, vol. 76. Also journal of Fleur de Lys, Ottawa, F, 1-3.
3 Sec Appendix, p. 207, for the account of the storm.
APPENDICES
205
according to instructions, eight men-of-war and brought the others successfully
back to England, a highly creditable piece of seamanship, which helped to lessen
the resentment of Pitt.1
APPENDICES
A. LIST OF PRIZES TAKEN OFF LOUISBOURG
1755.
June 8. Torbay and Dunkirk took Alcide^ 64.
8. Fougueux took French dogger.
9. Fougueux and Defiance took the Lys, 64.
19. Litchfield took a brigantine from Martinico for Louisbourg.
20. Mars captured a snow, UAigle^ Rochelle to Louisbourg.
26. Arundel took a snow, St. Maloes to Cape Breton.
July 2. Arundel took a fishing schooner, G. of Cancer to Louisbourg.
2O. Defiance took a French snow, Prudent^ to Dunkirk, from Bordeaux to Louisbourg.
20. Arundel took a sloop from Louisbourg.
21. Terrible took a schooner from Louisbourg to Nants.
25. Arundel took a schooner from Martinico to Louisbourg.
Aug. 13. Terrible took a snow, Bourdeaux to Louisbourg.
13. Litchfield took a snow, also schooner and shallop.
19. Dunkirk took a snow, Michault^ Martinico to Louisbourg.
21. Edinburgh and Dunkirk took two French ships, the St. Antonia and Duke de las
Court, Bourdeaux to Louisbourg.
22. Dunkirk took the St. Clear^ Bourdeaux to Louisbourg.
22. Litchfield took a French ship.
23. Litchfield took the Emmanuel^ Bourdeaux to Louisbourg.
21 to 23. Arundel employed sacking and destroying fishing-station at Port a Basque.
24. Dunkirk took a French snow.
Aug. 25. Dunkirk and Litchfield took the snow, Three Friends^ St. Malones to Louisbourg.
26. Augusta took a French schooner.
Sept. i. Success took a French snow, Bourdeaux to Quebec.
i. Success took a French dogger, Bourdeaux to Louisbourg.
1756.
May 22. Success captured French schooner.
24. Success fired on an Indian boat. Also on Indians on shore.
29. Norwich took French dogger, Rochfort to Louisbourg.
1 Ad. Orders and Instructions, vol. 79, p. 376, see also Ad. Out Letters, No. 521.
The eight ships were : Northumberland, Terrible, Kingston, Orford, Arc en del, Sutherland, Defiance, Somerset, also the
frigates, Portmahon and Hawke. The Ha-wke, which arrived in Halifax on Nov. 5, brought to Holburne the erroneous
report that the French fleet was still in Louisbourg. See Holburne to Pitt, Nov. 4, 1757, P.S. Nov. 5, Ad. Des. i, 481,
and Kimball, vol. i. p. 125. In Chapter XV. is a statement of the dismay felt when the news of the storm reached London.
The Stirling Castle and three other ships were ordered on Nov. n to cruise for twenty-one days between Ushant and
Cape Clear, for the protection of trade and the security of the disabled ships of Holburne's fleet expected from America.
206 APPENDICES
May 29. Fougueux took French dogger, Old France to Louisbourg.
29. Litchfield took Douchess of Pontchatrain^ Rochfort to Louisbourg.
June 2. Success took French schooner.
13. Litchfield and Norwich took L* Arc-en-Ciel, 52 guns, 550 men. L'Oruebt to
Louisbourg.
1 6. Centurion took storeship Equity^ Rochfort to Louisbourg.
20. Hornet took schooner.
July 8. Jamaica captured brig, Rochfort to Louisbourg.
10. Grafton took two fishing-boats.
21. 'Jamaica took a French ship which she chased ashore. Seized also a fishing-
shallop.
Au^. 13, 14. Schooner and sloop chased on shore — captured by the boats of the Litchfield
and Grafton.
13. Centurion drove a vessel into the harbour of Neganish.
14. Centurion and Hornet captured do., a schooner from Quebec to Louisbourg.
24. Jamaica took a schooner, an illicit trader, from Piscadue to Newfoundland.
Sept. 4, 5. Litchfield landed at Leganish Bay — took fish, burnt stages, shallops, etc.
7. Centurion took sloop loaded with fish.
7. Fougueux took three French shallops and a small sloop in Gasp6e Bay.
9. Fougueux and Centurion took a snow, Quebec to Gasp£e.
10. Fougueux and Centurion took a schooner, St John's to Quebec.
11, 12. Fougueux and Centurion employed in destroying the fishing village of Little
Gas pee.
PRIZES TAKEN 1757 BY HoLBURNE's SHIPS
May 13. Dunviddie recapture.
19. Snow.
June 4. La Hercule, St. Domingo to Bordeaux.
6. Dauphin, Cap. Francois to Bordeaux.
9. Ship, St. Domingo to Bordeaux.
24. Schooner, St. Eastatius to Salem.
Aug. 24. Ketch, Rochefort, an illicit trader to Louisbourg.
28. Providence, Rochefort to Louisbourg.
Nov. 6. English Snow, recapture.
This statement has been compiled from Log-Books in the Record Office. The spelling
has not been changed.
B. LETTER FROM BOSCAWEN TO HIS WIFE
"June 26, at 8 A.M., 1755.
" My dearest Fanny cannot think how easy I find myself since I despatched the Gibraltar
for England, the account I have given of myself good or bad being gone from me, has taken
a great burden from my spirits, thus to begin a war between two great and powerful nations,
without an absolute order, or declaration for it, now and then gives me some serious thoughts,
APPENDICES 207
some will abuse me, but as it is on the fighting side, more will commend me, had I been
lucky enough to have fallen in with more of them I should have been more commended,
not but that I have the secret satisfaction to know that I have done all that man could do
in this part of the world, which no man that has not seen can be any judge of, the sudden
and continual fogs the cols [«V] in this Southern latitude at midsummer and our first coming
on the coast the dismal prospect of floating islands of ice sufficient to terrific the most daring
seaman, I know what I have done, is acting up to the spirit of my orders, I know it is
agreable to the King the ministry and the Majority of the people, but I am afraid they will
expect I should have done more, the whole scheme is the demolishing the naval power of
France, and indeed the falling in with those that have escaped me and demolishing them,
would have been a decisive stroke and prevented a war, but what I have done will add fewel
to the fire only, and make them complain at all the Courts in Europe if our great men dare
begin first in Europe they will yet take some of them on their return, they have no
provisions to stay here all the winter, if they attempt to stay all their men will perish. . . ."
THE STORM IN 1757
" When the month of September Came, the Equinox brought the most furious tempest
ever known in the memory of man. The sea at the same time rose to such a prodigious
height, Ferdinand de Chambon, the officer on guard at the " Grave " was obliged to quit
his post with his detachment, to avoid being drowned, after standing their ground until the
water was up to their knees. It began about twelve at night, and continued with the same
force until twelve next day at noon. The evening before being fair, clear and calm, the
English fleet was in its usual station near the entry of the harbour, and everybody imagined
it impossible for them to get clear of the land and avoid being dashed against the rocks.
The next morning we expected to see the coast all covered with wrecks.
"The inhabitants of the Country brought us each moment news of the dismal state of
the English fleet.
" All their ships were shattered and dispersed ; five of them were seen together driving
before the wind towards Newfoundland without masts.
"Several others were in the same Condition. A fifty-gun ship was lost at the distance
of four leagues from Louisbourg; but the crew being saved, a detachment was immediately
sent to them to prevent their being butchered by the Indians. In short it was evident
that five French men of war, if they had gone out of the harbour in quest of the English,
would have been sufficient to pick up and take all that was left of the English fleet. . . . " l
An officer on the French vessel Fteur de Lys tells the same tale of woe :
" We have gone through the most violent gale of wind seen here for a long time,
though they are frequent. Last Thursday (the 22nd) it was fine and quite calm ; out at
sea we noticed a mist which spread towards the harbour in the night. On Friday there
was a slight S.E. wind with a little fog. Saturday it veered from S.E. to E.S.E. nice and
fresh. An English vessel was at that time very near the shore, she set sail as fast as she
1 Chevalier Johnstone, Quebec Hist. Soc., Campaign of Louisbourg.
208 APPENDICES
could for the open sea ; after mid-day the wind veered to the E. so that was in her favour.
The wind got stronger from this direction so I let go the big anchor before night fall, very
carefully so that it should hold fast. At 1 1 o'clock at night the wind got very violent, but
two hours after midnight it was even stronger, till 1 1 o'clock this morning, when it veered
to the south and soon to the S.W. I have never seen anything like it. At 3 A.M. the
Dauphin Royal dragged her anchor, fouled the Tonnant and broke her bowsprit ; the
Dauphin RoyaTs rudder was broken. At u the Tonnant was ashore, but the wind having
changed by then to the South, she floated with the tide, her rudder was carried away, her
mizzcn mast cut off, and she is now much like the others, but without bowsprit, mizzen
mast or rudder, worst of all she is taking much water.
" The hawser of /' Ablnaqu'ne parted, this frigate has been thrown ashore, and I do not
doubt but many of our ships would have had the same fate if the wind had lasted another
hour. . . ." — Sunday, z$th Sept. 1757. Log-Book of the Fleur de Lys.
We read also in the Anonymous Journal written by one of the officers of
De La Motte's squadron, on board L' Inflexible :
"Since the 23rd the winds in the E. and S.E. parts of the island, were constantly from
the S.E. and were fresh enough, with much fog and rain to make us fear a storm, and so it
began on the 24th in the afternoon, without much violence at the outset, but at I o'clock
in the night it turned into a most terrible hurricane, there was not a single ship of our
squadron that did not drift, although each had four anchors under her bows ; by daybreak
our situation was lamentable. During the night Le Dauphin Royal fired a canon as signal
of distress. In spite of our wish to assist them, we were unable to do so. The sea was so
dreadful that it made us shudder. The cable of the Dauphin Royal broke, she was instantly
thrown on Le Tonnant where she broke her rudder, the whole of the gallery of the poop
was destroyed, but these damages were inconsiderable compared with those sustained by Le
Tonnant) whose bowsprit was broken, also the figurehead and cut- water ; and she was
thrown, while thus entangled, on the Royal battery, where she struck with violence.
We were even surprised that she could resist the shock, the mizzen-mast was promptly cut
away to lighten the stern which was the portion that was suffering most ... If at noon
the wind had continued for another hour and not changed to the south and south-west,
nine or ten of our vessels, including that of our Admiral, would have been driven ashore.
It is impossible to imagine such a dreadful spectacle as that which met our eyes. The
frigate, rAbenaquise^ the cable of which was parted, was instantly thrown up on the beach,
along with 25 merchantmen, several of them high and dry. More than 80 boats and
skiffs of the squadron were tossed by the waves and smashed, most of them on the shore, a
number of the men on board them perishing. More than 50 schooners and boats met the
same fate. By 3 P.M. the hurricane having greatly abated, I went in our boat to help ours.
Sailors, who have been more than 50 years afloat, say that they never saw the sea so awful.
The ramparts of the town were thrown down, and the water inundated half of the town, a
thing which has never been seen. The sea dashed with such tremendous force on the
coast that it reached lakes two leagues inland. ..."
The incidents connected with her salvage are briefly told as follows by one
of the French officers at Louisbourg :
APPENDICES 209
" During the afternoon of the 2yth a boat arrived with a report that whilst passing
St. Esprit they saw a number of people on the shore, and also many others on the prow.
Upon this information we sent, next morning, four schooners with sixty grenadiers and
one hundred soldiers, who were forced back by contrary winds, and went by land. The
same day a person of the locality brought in his boat Captain Thems (Thane), second
captain of the said ship who is on board with us, also two sailors. We learn that it was
the Tilbury 60 guns, formerly part of the Holburne squadron. The Captain, and the
commander of the grenadiers were drowned, as well as half the crew. Our troops had
great difficulty in reaching the scene of the wreck, owing to the floods in many localities
which the gale had caused the sea to submerge. We were anxious to give the shipwrecked
prompt assistance, for fear of the fury of the Indians, who might possibly get there first.
This they did, but they behaved very well under the circumstance, their conduct surprising
us. When a company of savages, 150 strong, made their appearance, not one of the
English, although half dead with hardship, expected to escape, but a chief came forward and
reassured them, saying : c Fear not, since the hurricane has brought you to shore we are
coming to your relief, but if you had come to make war upon us, not one of you would be
safe, and we would take all your scalps.' The Indians themselves went on board the ship to
help the others get off. The living were not plundered at all, but as the dead arrived on
the shore they searched them. . . " 1
The following facts are taken from the log-books of the English squadron :
Captain^ Sept. 25, 1757. — "Fore stay sail, Main and Mizen stay sail all blown away
and Main sail split to pieces .... 9^ foot water in the Well, and 9 in the Magazine
which washed away all the Powder . . . but the Wind shifting and with the assistance
of an Iron Tiller got clear of the Rocks."
Devonshire^ Sept. 25, 1757. — "At £ past 3 A.M. the mainsail split all to Pieces. At
6, the Mizen split to Rags, it then blowing a meer hurricane of wind and a very high sea
which made a free passage over us."
Lightning^ Sept. 25, 1757. — "At 4 A.M. it blowing an excessive hard Gale of Wind
we split our Mainsail which blew quite away. At 7, we Shiped a Sea Abaft which stove
in the Dead Lights, very much damaged our stores and a great quantity of our Bread. . . .
The Breakers scarce a cable's length from us."
Newark, Sept. 25, 1757. — "Excessive hard gales. Cut away best bower anchor lest
it shoud bulge the ship. Threw overboard 6 upper deck guns and carriages to ease the
ship, 8 vessels seen with masts gone, etc. . . ."
Terrible^ Sept. 25, 1757. — "Sunday. The first part strong gales and squally, the
middle and latter very strong gales and squally thick weather, with Rain. . . . Saw 15
Sail of Ships, 10 with their masts gone, in Distress. At 10 freed the Ship of Water,
| past Saw the Land betwixt St. Esprit and Fouch6, W.N.W. about 2 miles, and not one
mile from the Breakers. . . . Saw one Ship in the Breakers, some near the Shore, Some
to an Anchor with their masts gone, and some standing off as we did."
Orford) Sept. 25, 1757. — ". . • At noon wore ship to the S'ward saw several of our
Ships some of them having lost their Masts. Saw the Land from the N.W. to N. distance
4 or 5 Miles the Wind shifted to the Westward."
1 Moreau St. Mery, vol. 24, f. 3.
210 APPENDICES
State of the Squadron under the Command of Vice-Admiral Holburne,
September 28, 1757.'
"1757, Sept. 28. — Windsor, Kingston, Northumberland, Newark, Orford, Terrible,
Somerset. In company with all their Masts standing.
" Bedford, Dtfianct. All their Masts sent to the Eastward to take two ships in tow.
" Invincible, Captain, Sunderland. Fore masts and Bowsprits standing, and have raised
jury masts to carry them into Port : are in tow.
" Nottingham. Spoke to by the Orford, yesterday, wants no assistance ; has a Fore
Mast Bowsprit and jury mast.
" Graf ton, Nassau. Have been seen with no Masts nor Bowsprits standing.
" Devonshire, Eagle. Have been seen their Fore Masts and Bowsprits only standing.
" Prince Frederick, Centurion, Tilbury. We have no certain Accounts, but some of
these must be the Ships the Bedford and Defiance went after.
" Nightingale. Has lost her Mizen Mast and Maintopmast.
" It is generally thought that the Tilbury is lost, and every soul perished, and we are in
some pain about the Ferret, as she must have been in the Storm ; We had lost Company
for two days, and she is a very indifferent Sloop, sails badly and very crank. The cruizer
who I had sent to Halifax to hasten the water out to us was very near foundering having
been under water several times, with the loss of his boats, guns, and mizen mast and every
one thing above water ; some of the Ships have lost a few Men and guns and Anchors j
Bread and Powder greatly damaged, having had so much Water in them. Booms and
Boats many gone.
(Signed) "FRA. HOLBURNE." 2
Holburne's fears proved groundless with the exception of the Tilbury.
She was wrecked on those rocks near St. Esprit, which still bear her name, and
it may be that the gold which has been in recent years found on this shore, was
cast up by the ocean from the ship's hold. Her Captain, Henry Barnsley, was
drowned, but her First Lieutenant, Thane, was among those saved. Her com-
plement was 400 men, of whom 280 were saved.8
C. THE FIGHT BETWEEN HOLMES AND BEAUSSIER
SIR, — I desire you would please to acquaint their Lordships that on the 26th July I
was Cruizing in His Majesty's Ship Grafton with the Nottingham, Hornet, and Jamaica
Sloop off Louisburg about Three Leagues S.b.E. at Eight A.M., the Man at the Mast head
discovered four sail to the N.E. which was directly to Windward, we gave Chace and made
our first Board to the Southward, they steering directly for us till within two Leagues we
tacked in hopes to have cut them from their Port, and they hauld in for it. Half past one
P.M. they came to an anchor in their Harbour and a little after we brought too about a
League from it and hoisted our Colours, the lighthouse bearing North where we lay, at
four made Sail to the Eastward, soon as it was dark dispatched the Hornet with the in-
closed Letter to Captain Spry and then stood on as before till three o'clock, when we
1 Admiral's Despatches, vol. 481. 2 A.I. Dea. vol. 1/481. 8 Ad. List Book, 32.
APPENDICES 211
tacked and stood in for the Land at seven in the Morning (the 2yth)j the Man from Mast-
head call'd he saw six sail under the Land about Eight o'Clock. I could see four ships in
chace of us, and I could with my Glass make them to be Men of War, and see the French
Commodore's white Pendant very Plain, on which I stood from them to the S.E., about
a point from the Wind which drew them from their Harbour and thought it the best of our
sailing, for I judged them above our match, or they would not have come out of Port
again in so few hours, I believe they only put their Sick and Lumber on Shore and took
Troops off for they were very full of Men ; half past One P.M. the headmost of the French
Squadron a Frigate of about Thirty-Six Guns, fired on the Jamaica sloop which she Return'd
and rowed at the same time, on the Nottingham and our firing at the Frigate she hauld
her wind and the Jamaica bore away to the S.W., which the French Commandant observ-
ing made a Signall for the two Frigates to chace the Sloop which they immediately obey'd,
about two the Nottingham fired her Stern Chace at the French Commandant which he
returned with his Bow, and soon after I fired mine, finding our Shott reach'd each other,
Hauld up my Courses, bunted my Mainsail and Bore down on the French Commodore,
being about a quarter of a mile from him it fell calm and we began to Engage, he being
on our Starboard side, the other large French Ship a Stern of him, and the Nottingham on
our Larboard Bow, the two Frigates a Mile from us and the "Jamaica something more.
Tho' the French Commandant held us so cheap at first by sending his Frigates away, he
was so Sensible of his mistake that soon as there was wind he made the Frigates signal to
rejoin Him and fearing they did not come fast enough to his Assistance bore down to them,
and we followed, at Seven they were all close together, at dusk the Action ceased, they
standing to the Southward and we to the S.S.E., light airs, our Men lay at their Quarters
all night expecting to renew the Action, in the Morning at day light the French ships
bore N.W.b.W. distance four or five Miles, going away with little wind at E.S.E. right
before it for Louisburg, we wore and stood to the Westward, but they never OfFer'd to
look at us, the wind fresh'ning, they sailing much better than our ships and the Weather
growing hazey, lost sight of them about noon, their chief fire was at our Masts, which
they wounded and cut our Stays and Riging pretty much, I had one Lower deck Gun dis-
mounted and one upper, Six Men kill'd, and Twenty odd wounded, which is all the damage
the Grafton received. I here inclose you Captain Marshall's Letter with his Boatswain
and Carpenter's reports of the Damages received in the Action. The Jamaica's Mainmast
was shott and is Condemned by Survey, I sent her to Halifax with the inclosed letter and
the worst of my wound'd men, Employ'd fishing my Main Mast, the 2gth being thick
Weather could not venture in with the Land as was the 3Oth till noon, when stood in
and at 4 brought too, little wind at South, at 6 Cabroose point N.b.W. £ W. Three
Leagues and Louisburg lighthouse N.b.E. \ E. Four Leagues no ships off the Harbour
nor could I see plain what was in, it being hazey over the Land, soon as it was dark stood
away to the Westward for Halifax with the Grafton and Nottingham the ist August join'd
our ships there and as I wanted much to know the force of the french Ships and from
whence they came on my arrival at Halifax I advised with Govr. Lawrence and Detach'd
Major Hale of the Garrison to Louisburg with a Flag of Truce in a Schooner on pretence
of treating for the Exchange of Captain Lieut. Martin of the Train who was taken by the
Indians in the Harbour of Passmaquady, and carried to that place, one of my Petty Officers
I have sent as Master of the Schooner, but as she is not return'd I can only give their
212 APPENDICES
Lordships my Opinion of the ships. The Commandant I judge, to be a 74, the other a
64, and two Frigates of 40 and 36 guns. On the jth I saild from Halifax with his
Majestys ships, Grafton^ Fougueux^ Litchfield^ Norwich^ Nottingham^ Centurion^ Hornet^
and Jamaica sloop, the Success has since Join'd us and [I] am now with the Squadron off
Louisburg, — I am, &c., CHAS. HOLMES.
" Grq/lon at Sea,
"Louisburg N.W.b.N. Six Leagues,
"the 2jth August 1756."
EXT. OF LOG OF THE Grafton (70)
July 26, 1756. — ". . . At \ past 10 saw 4 Sail in the N.E. made sail and gave Chace
Do. Clear'd ship for Action they bore down to us we kept our Wind which they
Observing hauld in for Louisburg. Continued our Chace but they having the Advantage
of the Wind of us got into Louisburg Harbour we found as follows a 74 gun ship a 64
with 2 frigates of 32 Guns each Come from Quebeck."
July 27, 1756. — ". . . Still Continuing our Chace at i past I P.M. they Anchord in
Louisburg Harbour Brought too and Hoisted our coulers at 5 the Hornett parted
Company for Halifax ... in Company the Nottingham and Jamaica ... at 7 A.M. saw
4 sail under Scatary which we judged to be the french Squadron Come out wore and
bore away they gave us Chace out all reefs and made all the Sail we Could set Clear'd
Ship for Action. In Company the Nottingham & Jamaica the French squadron bearing
N.W. about 2 Leagues we being becalm'd & they Having a fresh breeze Coming up to us."
July 28, 1756. — ". . . At i past i a french frigate gave Chace to the Jamaica &
began to fire at her but upon the Nottingham and our fire at him he hauld his wind the
french Comodant at the same time began to Engage the Nottingham Do. we haild the
Nottingham desiring he would drop a stern that we might Come to a Closer Engagement
with the french Commandant. Continued engageing him with the Nottingham on our
Larbd. bow & the french Commadant on our Starboard side with the 64 gun ship on
our Starbd. quar. till 6 o'clock in the Afternoon at which time the Commadant set his
foresl. & bore away Do. set Our foresail & followed him he made Sigl. as we suppose for
Assistance by hoisting a white Flag at His Main Topmt. Backstay from His mast head down-
ward, and two white Pendants at his Larbd. main yard Arm on which the 2 Frigates drew
Close to him and Engaged till 40 minutes after 7 when they hauld to the So. wd. & we
to the S.S.E. being both Sides pretty much Shattered in our rigging we had 5 Men kild
& 13 Wounded several Guns Dismounted at 6 A.M. saw them N.W. 5 miles wore Ship &
Stood to the Wt.wd. in Company the Jamaica and Nottingham. . . ."
Aug. I, 1756. — "In Halifax Harbour."
26, 1756. — "Heard the report of several guns in the harbour of Louisburg."
(Cruizing about Louisburg until 7 Oct. No mention of entering the harbour.)
EXT. OF LOG OF THE Nottingham (60)
July 28, 1756. — " . . . Begun to fire our Stern Chaces on a Frigate that was Going to
Bd. the Jamaica & keeping a Continual fire on her Obliged her to Sheer off a short time
after we begun to Engage the French Comdr. with our Starbd. Guns Do. hauld up the
APPENDICES
213
main Sail at £ pt. I Our Comdr. begun to Engage the 64 Gun Ship at £ pt. 3. The
French Comdr. made the Frigates Sigl. to Chace the Jamaica we keept on a Continual
fire we Received from them Shott through our Sails two Shott through the Head of the
Main Mast, one through the Main Topmast an other that splinterd him abaft, beside
several Shott in our Hull. The French squadron Consisted of one of 74 Guns one of
64 one of 40 the other of 36 Guns. At \ pt. 7 left off Engaging the French hauld
the Wind and Stood to the westwd. with a Light Brieze Employed securing the Main
Topmt. at 12 getting Pouder filld and getting Shott up and making Wadds ready to
Engage at 4 A.M. Tackd to the Wt.wd. the Ship ready to Engage as before. At 7
Empld. overhaulg. the Rigging and Repairing what was Shott away, & Securing the
Lower Deck Guns & Gunners Stores at 9 Saw the French squadn. Bearing N.N.W.
4 Leags. Steering for Louisbourg. The Comdr. & "Jamaica In Company."
Aug. i, 1756. — "In Halifax Harbour."
7 to 27, 1756. — "Another cruize off Louisbourg. (No mention of her entering the
Harbour.)"
" Grafton AT HALIFAX 7* 8th October 1756.
" SIR,
" As I had certain Intelligence that the French Men o' War that were in America were
sail'd for Europe and there being no Danger to be Apprehended from anything they could
attempt on this Coast, I thought it most Conducive to the good of His Majesty's Service
and to distress the Enemy to seperate the Squadron. . . . While they were on these
different Services I continued with His Majesty's Ships Grafton and Nottingham on the
Station of Louisburg, where I received the enclosed letter from Major Hale of Colo.
Lascelle's Regt. who Govr. Lawrence and I prevaild on to go in a Flag of Truce to
Louisburg (he being Master of the French Language) in order to discover what we could
of their Men of War and to learn if there were more Expected. He went under pretence
... to treat for the exchange of Capn. Lieut. Martin. As their Lordships will by these
letters receive an Account of what Damage the French sustain'd in the Engagement, I
inclose you my Officers reports of ours.
" I am, &c.,
"JOHN CLEOLAND, Esq." " CHAS. HOLMES.
GUNNER'S REPORT OF THE DAMAGES
" An Account of Carriages Disabled, and Powder fired in the Engagement with four
French Men of War on board His Majesty's Ship Grafton Commodore Chas. Holmes
Esqr. Commandt. off of Louisburg on the 27 July 1756."
_. /-Broke by a Shot from the Enemy .... Fore . One.
"32 Pound T, i o U 1 £ • T-» !?•
Axeltrees \ Bad sPrung b7 long finng Do- .-.Five.
'[ Do. Do. Do. Hind ... One.
" 1 8 pound Axeltree Broke by a Shot from the Enemy . . Hind ... One.
" 32 pound Cap Square Broke . . . . . One.
"The above render'd Eight Guns unfit for Action till repaired. Powder fired in the
Action Barrls. & pds. . . . Ninty-nine, & ten pds.
(Sign'd) «JNO. SMYTH, Gunr."
2i4 APPENDICES
COPY OF THE CARPENTER'S REPORT OF THE DAMAGES.
"The Report of the Damages done to His Majesty's ship Grafton Charles Holmes
Esqr. Commander on the 27 July 1756 by engaging with four sail of French Men of War
of Louisbourg.
To THE HULL OF THE SHIP
" Received Seven Shott between wind and water.
" Do. In the Ships Sides Twenty Nine Shott.
" Do. In the Counter of the Ship Two Do.
" The Stern laid open, and quarter Gallerys Shott to pieces, the quantity of Glass broke,
One Hundred and Ninety Seven Pains.
"The Cistarn of the Chain Pumps part of the Bottom and end entirely Shott away.
" Part of the Supporter of the Catt head shott away and the Round House and Tunnel
shot all away.
" Ten Iron Stantions in the West and quarter Shot away with the Mens Hammocks
and Twenty Broke.
" The Three Poop Lanthorns Shot to pieces and the Top Light much Damaged.
" Two Cranes of the Gangway Shott to pieces.
" Sundry Dammages done to Ladders, Grating, Boats, &c."
To THE MASTS OF THE SHIP
" One Large Shott through the Body of the Main Mast Eleven foot from the uper
Deck. The Cheek of the Main Mast Shott to pieces about the Middle of the Cheek
in length.
"The Foremast One Shott of two Inches & a half Diamiter five Inches in Just above
the Collar of the main Stay.
"The Flying Jib Boom One Third in from the outer end the upper part Cut Two
Inches in with a Shott.1
(Sign'd) "MELBOURNE WARREN, Carpr."
(Copy)
" Nottingham at Sea,
"28/A July 1756.
" SIR, — I herewith send you the Boatswain & Carprs. Reports of the Damages Received
on board his Majesty's Ship Nottingham under my command, yesterday in the Time of
Action with four sail of French men of War. I hope the Main topmast will stand till I
have an Opportunity of Rigging an other, it being very much Wounded, but I have
secur'd him with the Hatch bars and a strong wolding over 'em, the Head of the Main
Mast, being shot afore & abaft the Mast, just above the Barrel of the Main Yard, is only
what the Carpenter can Repair, without getting out the Mast, so that we shall soon be
to rights again. — I am, &c.,
"S. MARSHALL.
"To CHARLES HOLMES ESQR."
1 There is also a long report of damages given by the boatswain — 2 full foolscap pages. This has not been copied.
APPENDICES 215
" DEAR SIR, — I desire you will immediately send me out any Ship that may be ready
to come to Sea to Join me of St. Esprit or between that and Louisburg. I have had an
Action with the French Squadron who I have made bear away for their Port. My Main
Mast being much Wounded I was afraid could not secure him at Sea but hope I have by
fishing him very well and am now going to see if the said Gentlemen have a Mind for
any more of it. I would have the Ships Join me as fast as they can get Ready, without
waiting for Each Other. After any One ship Joins me I shall Cruize off Louisburg and
Scatary agreeable to our Rendezvous. Capn. Hood will give you the Particulars of the
Action and of their Force. — I am &c.,
(Sign'd) " CHAS. HOLMES.
" Grafton at Sea
"at Noon Louisburg bore N.E.b.N. 10 or 12 Leagues
"July ye zgth, 1756.
"To Capn. Spry, Fougueux by the Jamaica Sloop."
D. CAPTAIN HALES' REPORT
"HALIFAX, Septem. the i3th, 1756.
"SiR, — I take the opportunity by Mr. Clewitt to give you some Account of my
Expedition to Louisburg and to Assure you how Sorry I am that I could neither get out
of that Harbour time Enough to inform you of what it was of the Greatest Consequence
for you to know, nor get a Sight of your Squadron when the French thought proper to
dismiss me.
" On the Third of August as you may remember I saild from Halifax and on the fth
I arrived at Louisburg where I found Le Heros Monr. Beaussier of 74 Guns Ulllustre,
Montallete 64, La Serene Brugnon 36 L? AH crone ^ Larrigaudiere 30 Guns being the same
Ships which you Engaged. Le Heros close to which I was moor'd had 22 Shott which I
counted in her Larboard Side about a Dozen in Different parts of her Stern. One Shot in
her Rudder, Her three Topmasts disabled her Main Main Mast fish'd from top to Bottom,
Her shrouds & rigging Cutt to Pieces, and altogether in a Condition which did great
Credit to the Grafton, her kill'd and Wounded upon a Comparison of all Accounts
Amounted to one Hundred the other Ship and the Frigates had not Sufferd any damage
at all that I could learn, these Ships came from Quebec and their Orders to Land a Sum
of Money at Louisburg was as they say the Occasion that they did not Engage you the
Evening you first Saw them, but I have good reason to think that they put into Louisburg
for a Reinforcement of Men, etc. The Reason that they did not renew the Engagement
the Next day but run into Harbour was, as an Officer of the Heros confess'd to me
because that ship was so much disabled. I cannot omit in this Place a Compliment which
a French Captain paid you, Mr. Brugnon the Capn. of the Serene in a Letter which he
sent by me to a French Officer at Halifax has these Express'd Words, Les Englois ont
fait des Merveilles leurs Cannon a e^e" Services Comme de la Musqueterie.
"These have arrived at Quebec this Summer the Abovementioned Ships together with
Le Leopard of 64 Guns the Concord and Sauvage Frigates who brought over two
Regiments Le Sarre & Rousillon. The three last sailed Seperately for France before my
Arrival at Louisburg the four others of your Acquaintance after waiting till the Heros was
216 APPENDICES
ready (upon which they had work'd incessantly) sailed out of Louisburg Harbour at about
7 o'Clock on Friday Evening I3th August, and I supposed according to Intelligence they
had Received from without steer'd a Course all night by which with the assistance of a
Fogg in the morning they had the good luck to Escape you. On Saturday the i-fth as the
True reason for which I was detain'd Ceased the Governour dismissed me and the Instant
I got my Letters which was 5 in the afternoon I stood out of the Harbour towards your
station we steer'd S.E. some time and then brought too the wind blowing fresh at S.W.
on Sunday morning being 12 Leagues to the Eastward of Scatery we stood in for the
Land and as it was Clear and we Saw Nothing of your Ships I flatterd my self you had got
Sight of and was in pursuit of the French Ships and immagining my Stay could be of no
Service I made the Best of my way to Halifax where I arriv'd on Wednesday the i8th
there is not at present a Single Ship or Frigate at Quebec or Louisburg that I am sure of
and have reason to think that none are Expected.
" By a Calculation which I made by Counting the Officers I have good reason to think
there are not above eleven Hundred men at Louisburg 'tis probable they have Spared part
of the Garrison to Cannada, they are greatly distress'd there for meat drink and Shoes
and I assure you fish dress'd different ways makes up great part of their Entertainments ;
what I have farther to Add is with Regard to One Baptisto Dion who is on bd. the
Fougueux and whose history is as follows, he Came Pilot last Summer to a French Flag of
Truce and was detain'd by One of the Admirals as an English Subject and was put on
board The Fleet in Quality of a Pilot. Mr. Beaussier the Captain of the Herat and Mr.
Drucour the Governour of Louisburg have both made Strong remonstrances to Mr.
Lawrence about his being detain'd and Mr. Beaussier said he had as much right to detain
my Pilot, it is Certain the Man was formerly an Inhabitant of Nova Scotia but it is as
Certain that he Abandoned long since his Habitation and that his wife and children are
now at Louisburg. If I may be Permitted to give my Opinion I should think it better
to Release him for otherwise the French will detain the first person they get into their
Hands or do something that will put an End to all Commerce and Understanding between us
which an Exchange of Prisoners or other Business renders often Necessary during a war.
" Your most obedient Servant,
(Sign'd) "JOHN HALE."
E. CAPTAIN HOOD'S REPORT
" Jamaica at Sea,
" August 25th, 1856.
"SiR, — Agreeable to your orders I have had a look at Louisburgh. Falling in to the
westward Monday afternoon I stood very near in, then ran close along shore to the
Eastward, so that nothing in the Harbour escap'd my Notice, where were only Two
Topsail vessels. And as I thought it of some consequence to know where the men of war
were gone to, that engag'd you on the 2/th past I did my utmost to gett a Fishing Shallop ;
and not succeeding with the Sloop, made all the sail I cou'd off the Land just at dusk, and
as soon as it was dark stood in again : At 12 sent the Lieutenant in the Pinnace to go &
lie under the Land to the Eastward of the Lighthouse, with directions to seize the first he
APPENDICES 217
cou'd. In the meantime I stood off and on ; and at day light was close in, took up the
pinnace & a shallop she had taken with four men, whom I have examin'd seperately, and
found to tell the same story. One of the Topsail Vessels in the Harbour is the large
storeship, that unloaded at Millidue quite unrigged, & the other a snow from Rochfort.
The Men of War sail'd for France fifteen days since, and were join'd at Sea by a Frigate
call'd the Concord, from St. Ann. There names and force are as follows ; The Hero, a
new ship of 74 guns, the Illustrious of 64, the Perfect of 36, & Serene of 30. Upon my
asking how the French came not to engage the English on the 26th they say they went
in to put some money on shore, and gett men, and that they press'd a great number that
night. I then asked them, whether it was not expected, by the people on shore, that the
English wou'd be taken ; They reply'd every one made sure of it ; and it is allow'd the
English behav'd well. They likewise tell me that their Commandant had 26 men kill'd
on the Spot, that Fifty died of their wounds in three or four days, and that above a hundred
more were wounded : that her Lower masts were so shatter'd, as scarcely to be made
serviceable by Fishing to carry her home. Her sides full of shot Holes, and had Nine and
Twenty shot between wind and water ; many of them thro' and thro'. The other large
Ship but little damag'd ; and the Frigates came off in the same manner. I have made
enquiry about Major Hale, who went with the Flag of Truce. They say he was detain'd,
till the men of war were gone, and sail'd next day. . . .
" This is the amount of what I have collected from the French Men (who are inhabit-
ants of JLouisburgh) who are now on board the Jamaica, and shall be glad to know whether
I may be permitted to let them go : I promis'd I would interceed in their behalf with you,
if they wou'd tell the Truth ; and I believe they have done it, by their agreeing so exactly
in what they have said. — I am &c.,
"SAMUEL Hooo.1
" To CHARLES HOLMES ESQR."
1 Samuel Hood was the future Admiral Viscount Hood.
CHAPTER XII
As English blockades had suspended the normal activities of the people of
Isle Royale, it is well, at this point, to measure the degree of success they
reached in carrying on the business for which they had settled in Louisbourg
and its outports. What else remains of the history of the place is mainly a
narrative of military events, of its siege and capture ; implicitly, therefore,
of its failure to protect its people, to maintain French influence on this Atlantic
seaboard, and to safeguard the sea approaches to Canada.
The manner of carrying on the fisheries has been described in the
memoir of 1706 at some length. As its writer, so the present, refers the
reader interested in the details of this trade to the Sieur Deny's elaborate
description.1 A rare book 2 has some pages dealing specially with the Cape
Breton trade. It may be noted that the Island is spoken of as Cape Breton
Island instead of Isle Royale, the same survival of a name in common use,
after an official change, which finds a later exemplification, in the continuance
to-day of the name of Cape Breton in cases where the correct official designation
has been since 1820, Nova Scotia.
The following is a free and somewhat condensed translation of this
description of the trade :
Vessels are sent out in three different ways to Cape Breton.
Some go there simply for fishing, and leave about the I5th of February,
or, at the latest, in the beginning of March.
Those which go for both fishing and trading leave during April.
The others who go simply for trading alone leave in May or June. These
voyages are usually of seven or eight months, and the vessels return to our
ports in November and December.
Fishing is carried on at Cape Breton as in the Petit Nord, but the vessels
which are sent there are generally only of from 50 to 100 tons and need
1 Deny's Description of AcaJia, Champlain Society, p. 257 et ie$f.
* Rfmaryues sur plusieurs (?) branches dt commerce et de nai'igathi, M.DCC.LVII.
218
THE FISHING INDUSTRY 219
consequently only from four to six boats (Chaloupes) which are bought from
the people of Cape Breton in barter for fishing gear or merchandise.1
The goods sent out are delivered at Louisbourg. The captain lands and
remains on shore with his trading stock, while his lieutenant goes fishing with
one or more inhabitants, who under a written agreement for a wage, payable
in kind, fishes on the ship's account. The captain chooses men skilled in
catching and preparing cod. The vessels of 100 tons have ordinarily twenty-
five or twenty-six men, sometimes hired at a monthly wage, sometimes on shares.
In either case the owner makes them advances.
The captain keeping shop at Louisbourg sells his goods for ready money,
that is to say, payable at the end of the fishing season, which ordinarily lasts
four months, either in cod at an agreed price, or in Bills of Exchange.
A vessel of 100 tons for this voyage costs usually 24,000 livres : its cargo
about 18,000, and the wages and provisions for twenty-five men, about 10,000
livres.
The cargo of a vessel of 100 tons for trading at Cape Breton would
consist of salt provisions, fishing implements, ship chandlery, stuffs, boots
and shoes, lead, iron, linen, a small quantity of brandy, wine and spirits. The
only touch of luxury among the commodities is, that in mentioning shoes
(Souliers) for women, the list adds for the most part, coloured ones.2
The principal consumption of dried cod is at Marseilles, where the greater
part of the vessels discharge.3 Thence some is sent to Italy. Cadiz and
Alicante take from Marseilles nine or ten cargoes, and the balance is distributed
to Bordeaux, La Rochelle, Nantes, St. Malo, and Havre.
In fishing for dry and green cod, Granville sends 55 to 60 vessels. The
ports between Agon and St. Malo 65 to 80 ; Nantes, Olonne, and neighbouring
ports, 55 to 60 vessels.
From St. Malo, Nantes, La Rochelle, Bordeaux, and Bayonne 60 to 80
vessels go to Cape Breton for fishing and trading.
The voyages for dry and green cod, including those to Gaspe and Labrador,
employ fifteen or sixteen thousand seamen, and the air of the climate is so
healthy that in ordinary seasons there scarcely die ten out of this whole number.
With these there are from eighteen hundred to two thousand apprentices.
The same writer devotes a few pages to the fisheries of New England,
in which he says that from Boston, Plymouth, Barnstaple, Cape Ann, and
Marblehead, are sent out annually 180 vessels of 35 to 40 tons, and from
Nova Scotia (Canso) 1 7 or 1 8 vessels, and that each of these makes three trips
a season, taking from 200 to 250 quintals each voyage.4 He speaks of the
1 The number of boats seems overstated by the official returns. 2 " Surtout en couleurs."
8 New England also did a large trade with this port. 4 His estimate is less than that of Douglass'.
220 THE LOUISBOURG MERCHANTS
illicit trade with foreign ports, and estimates the number of men employed
as from seventeen to eighteen hundred.
He concludes his sketch with a panegyric on the people of this industry,
and notes the lack of attention to the services of the sailor-fishermen in
comparison with that of the soldier. " One will recognize that the latter is
useful to the State only in time of war, and nevertheless, that he costs at all
times at least 125 livres a year, and that the sailor who serves his country
at all times, who even enriches it by his labour and industry, costs the State
only when the King makes him serve on his vessels ; these men, brought up
so to speak among the dangers of the coasts, whom the greatest perils do
not amaze, are as nimble in handling vessels, as intrepid in conflicts. Does
not this class of men justly deserve a high place among the objects of the
State, of which to-day its only rival is a Maritime Power ? "
In addition to the fisheries conducted from French ports, there was the
shore fishery of Isle Royale carried on by its own people, and occupying the
labours of its permanent inhabitants, and the capital of the merchants resident at
Louisbourg. Many of these merchants were, judging by such names as
Rodriques and Daccarette, originally Basques, and long in the business. The
representatives of the Rodriques in 1781 appealed to the Assemblee Nationale
for a loan to carry on their business. They recounted in their memoir that
they had lost all, first, at the capture of Port Royale in 1710, then at that of
Louisbourg in '45 and in '58, wherein their losses were 240,000 1., and, again,
at the capture of St. Pierre-Miquelon in 1778. They stated that at Louisbourg
they had employed 200 to 300 fishermen.1 Early in the history of Louisbourg,
Normans also came there, although the majority of the names are Basque.
Indeed a Widow Onfroy claimed to have begun this trade, in which she was
followed by other outfitters of St. Malo. The traveller in France at all times
has been struck with the business capacity of the Frenchwoman. The conduct
of a fishing business at an outport of Isle Royale is a striking example of this
capacity, which was exercised by more than the Malouin bourgeoise. Other
women at various times are noted as administering fishing stations, usually
established by a deceased husband.2
The boat-builders seem to have been Acadians, and it is early noted that
scarcely a vessel came out which did not require a mast or spar, the supplying
of which gave employment to the habitant. It also led to poaching on British
1 Their many purchases of vessels from the New Englanders in '49 and '50 would seem to substantiate their
statement.
3 In 1753 at Petit Lorambec, we note four widows. One owned five chaloupes and had twenty-five fisher-
men. Another, four fishermen. The third owned two chaloupes and had nine fishermen. At Mire, one widow,
Marie la Boyne, owned a schooner and grew wheat, corn, and fruit. At Port Dauphin we note another woman owner
of property.
THE ADVANTAGES OF ISLE ROYALE
221
territory, for many fine sticks were brought from Pictou, presumably rather for
these refittings than for the vessels which were built on the island.1
The proximity of Isle Royale to the banks,2 the excellence of the shore
fishing, that is the catch made in open boats, which a more or less fabulous
New England statement said was so good that the fish were taken with grapnels,
and the skill of the French fisherman made Louisbourg a place of the first rank
in this industry. Its annual catch was about 150,000 quintals. How great,
relatively, is measured by the fact that in its best days, the Marblehead district
caught 120,000 quintals, and that from the establishment of Louisbourg the
New England fisheries declined.3
The commerce which resulted from these products of the sea was large :
some 7000 or 8000 tons of valuable commodities to be transported. In
consequence, Louisbourg and its outports had a splendid concourse of vessels
during its busy season. Below is tabulated the shipping of Isle Royale for ten
normal years, 1733-1743 (1741 being wanting) of its industry.4 It shows that one
year with another 154 vessels visited its ports, principally Louisbourg. Again a
comparison shows how important was its trade. Only three ports of the
populous, enterprising, and sea-faring British colonies saw more vessels come in
from sea than those which visited this outpost in Isle Royale of French
commercial enterprise.
1 A minor industry was the brewing of spruce beer, the valuable antiscorbutic qualities of which made a demand for
it not only from merchantmen, but also from men-of-war. Pichon, p. 69, says that the Acadian women chew spruce
gum, and that it whitens their teeth and keeps them in good condition. A well-equipped brewery existed in the outskirts
of the town.
2 TABLE SHOWING DISTANCES FROM FISHING PORTS TO THE PRINCIPAL BANKS
Louisbourg.
Lunenburg, N.S.
Gloucester, Mass.
Virgin Rocks, Grand Banks
370
574
868
Green Bank
206
410
699
Artimon
91
251
553
Canso
5°
170
468
Middle Grounds
83
156
450
Sable Island Bank
150
132
405
Cape North
69
295
589
North Bay .
20 1
3*8
623
St. Pierre Bank
156
350
651
Prepared by Mr. H. C. Levatte, of Louisbourg.
3 Marblehead's fleet declined from 120 schooners in 1732 to 70 in 1747 (Douglass, vol. i. p. 302.
total catch of B.N.A. as 300,000 in 1747, which seems to include Newfoundland).
4 Local fishermen and coasters are not included.
He states the
[TABLE
222
ITS IMPORTANT SHIPPING
SHIPPING OF ISLE ROVALE
Year.
From France. From Canada.
From French
West Indie*.
From New England !
and Acadia. TotaL
'733
70 17
25
46 158
1734
53
3'
'9
46
'49
'735
68
25
16
52
161
1736
60
23
'4
35
'32
'737
43
6
'5
f 35 1
-j 5 = Acadia V
[30= English]
99
1738
73 '4
'5
42 144
'739
56 20 24
49
'49
1740
** •?
/ i
19 22
50
164
'74'
Wanting
1742
57
9
24
67
'57
•743
58
7
32
78
'75
ENGLISH COLONIES (FROM DOUGLASS)
Place.
Date.
Entries.
Portsmouth .....
Xmas '47-48 121
Newport .....
March 25, '47-48 56
,, .....
'48-49
75
New York .....
Sept. 29, '50
232
Boston ......
Xmas '47-48
540
Philadelphia .....
Xmas '47-48
303
Salem and outports ....
^l
Marblehcad .....
Cape Anne .....
I Xmas '47-48
'3'
Ipswich . . . . .1
Ncwbury . . . . . I
Prevost wrote on January 4, 1753, a letter dealing with the trade of Isle
Royale,1 which supplements the statements just quoted. Fishing, he pointed
out, was the base of the commerce with France, the West Indies, and Canada.
The shore fishery was carried on by residents, in fishing-boats, which did not
go more than four or five leagues off shore. The larger boats (" batteaux ")
and schooners went to the Scatari, Green, Sable Island, and St. Pierre banks, as well
as to those in the gulf, although the home banks are better.
Shore fishing was the easiest, and produced better fish, but the bank fishing
1 C11, vol. 38.
THE RESULT OF THE FISHERIES 223
was preferred as it was easier to get men, and the schooners employed in it could
be loaded for French ports in the autumn.
When a quintal of fish would buy a barrel of flour or one of salt, the trade
was on a sound basis. PreVost estimated the profits of the merchants at twenty-
five or thirty per cent. They obtained six months credit on many French
goods, such as those of Montauban and Beauvais, and on sailcloth, and they did
a good trade with the French Windward Islands in their schooners. The trade
with these islands would be much improved if their merchants were prohibited
from sending rum to St. Eustache and the other foreign islands, for if it all came
to Louisbourg it would greatly increase the trade of that place. The traffic in
New England vessels was an advantage, for the old vessels in which the purchasers
came from the southern colonies were not broken up, but were bought by the
inhabitants for the coasting trade.
Two causes, therefore, forced Louisbourg into being the entrep6t at which
a distribution of commodities from various sources could be carried on. These
were the abhorrence of the shipowner for a voyage in ballast or partly laden, the
equal abhorrence of the trader for an adverse balance compelling payment in
money for his purchases.
More shipping capacity was required to export the fish of Louisbourg than
to carry thither the imports of the place. The owners loaded the vessels to their
capacity, and this surplus had to find an outlet. Thus Louisbourg became a
trading centre, as it were, a clearing-house, where France, Canada, New England,
and the West Indies mutually exchanged the commodities their vessels had
brought, to avoid making unprofitable the round voyage, which would have
unduly enhanced the cost of its fish. The tobacco, rum, and sugar of the West
Indies, the cloths of Carcassone, the wines of Provence, sailcloths and linens,
came to Louisbourg, far in excess of the possibilities of local use, and were sent
out again. The permitted trades with Canada and the French islands could not
absorb them, so the thrifty Acadian housewife bought from Louisbourg the few
luxuries of her frugal life. The more prosperous New England trader, who
supplied Louisbourg with building materials, with food, with planks and oaken
staves, thence exported to the sugar islands, took in exchange the commodities
of France and the rum-stuff of these islands. The towns of France furnished
part at least of the sailcloth for his many vessels engaged in freighting and trade
from Newfoundland to the West Indies. Much of this trade was illicit. The
meagre returns of the commerce show this clearly. We have for 1740 the
number of vesssels and their tonnage, as well as their declared cargoes inwards
and outwards. The number of vessels from New England was 39, their
aggregate tonnage 1131, their cargoes were :
224
TRADE WITH NEW ENGLAND
Inwapls.
No.
Value.
Cows .
Bricks, M. .
Planks, M. .
Sageaux Bus.
Indian corn .
Shingles, M.
Pork(lbs.) .
Pipes (gross)
Bureaus and chest
of drawers
Rice (cwt.) .
Axes .
Pigs .
Oxen .
Sheep .
Pears and apples,
etc. (qts.).
Value
24 @ 50 1.
58 15
443 3°
239
1237
446
6300
316
3
2
9
0.5
3
95
100
1122
52
18
445
486
60
20
4
20
75
10
Outwards.
Rum (bbls.). .
Molasses (bbls.)
Brandy (kegs)
Iron (cwt.) .
Sailcloth
Cordage
Coal (bbls.) .
Iron for anchors (cwt.)
Value
No.
Value.
7'5
& 05 1.
460
40
200
5
48
20
7^3
i
23
40
670
3
5
40
70,678
49>H7
Unless the measurement of vessels has materially changed it seems obvious
that neither inward nor outward was an adequate lading declared. Incidentally
one may note the higher state of New England industry. The surplus of their
fields and their handicrafts were exported. Isle Royale returned to her the
products of other places with the exception of the trifling shipment of coal.
The advantages of her superb situation for the fisheries, the skill and enterprise
with which her people prosecuted them, were minimized by her unfortunate
position as regards the sparsity of her population, the uncertainty and high cost
of its sustenance.
Much of this trade was done with Louisbourg, much of it through Canso,
where so important a merchant of Boston as Faneuil l had a resident partner.
The trade was known to the authorities, both English and French.
This intercourse had a further development. The French bought the fish
of the New Englanders. The intercourse for this trading begun before the war,
continued at Martengo, the first harbour to the westward of Canso, where both
met and exchanged their commodities untroubled by officials. It has been
interpreted that this meant that the superior enterprise of the New England man
enabled him to catch fish cheaper than the French.2 A sounder view would
seem to be that through Louisbourg was the easiest channel for him to get the
French commodities the British provinces required, and that he found that the
1 See p. 399.
2 Wceden, p. 596.
THE INFLUENCE OF FRENCH MERCHANTS 225
Louisbourg merchant could dispose of his fish to better advantage than he had
found as the result of his shipments to Toulon and Marseilles.1
In the commercial interest of France and England is found the cause of
complacency with which their Governments looked on this illicit trade. The
merchants of these countries were continually in a position to point out that an
outlet for home manufactures and other products would be lessened if the trade
were checked, so that nothing was done in this direction. It was not the
peculiar offence of the colonist. The impulses of commerce are ever towards
expansion and to profits. The predominant share of outfitters in the mother
country in these trades, the greater ease with which, as compared with the
colonist, their influence could be brought to bear on the official, so frequently
a sharer in mercantile ventures, made it easy to ignore laws which checked
profitable trade. The influence of the City was potent in Westminster and
Whitehall. When the Ohio Company embroiled France and England, its
English shareholders prevailed on the Ministry to take a firm position, with a
promptness which would have been wanting had its only shareholders been
Virginian planters and merchants. A seizure of a contraband trader in Isle
Royale touched the interests not only of the Louisbourg agent, but of his
principal in Bordeaux, Bayonne, or Marseilles, and he, like his London confrere,
had means of bringing influences to bear on Ministers, which led to the
discouragement of too zealous administrators. These influences, creditable or
the reverse, were backed by the fact that French industry or French commerce
in a particular case would be hurt.2 The concrete prevailed over the general
theory, with peculiar ease, as the theory was unsound.
This line of argument is supported by the fact that where interests of the
French merchant'came into conflict with those of the colonist the latter suffered.
Raudot, it may be said again, with remarkable prescience saw that if Isle Royale
was to really flourish, it should have free trade with New England. Costebelle,
an experienced administrator, after a little experience at Louisbourg, saw the
necessity of this, and recommended it to the Regency (April 19, 1717) ; but he
adds with bitterness :
" He is persuaded that the merchants of France will always strenuously oppose it, being
aware that the restriction (on foreign trade) will leave them always able to keep under their
yoke like slaves the inhabitants of the colonies, whom they will sustain and support only in
as much as their labours contribute to the profit of the commerce " (of France).
In this he was right, for the threat of the French merchants to send no
vessels to Isle Royale, if this were permitted, ended the matter. Had it been
1 This New England trade with these ports was, nevertheless, very important (Weeden, p. 659). On these trades as
well as that of Isle Royale he quotes Bollan, 118-120 (Mass. Arch. 14, p. 560, and 22, p. 21).
2 See Appendix on illicit trading.
Q
226 ENGLISH RECOGNITION OF
proposed later when the illicit trade with New England was in full operation,
their view would have been different; but by 1727 the question was no longer
open. In that year the Government of Louis XV. had committed itself to pro-
hibition of foreign trade.
Again Bigot, who was an accomplished official, and understood the value of
making no troublesome suggestions to an easy-going Minister, wished Isle Royale
cod to take the place of Irish beef in the sugar islands. He spoke of it as only
possible if it were not detrimental to the interests of the merchants of the
kingdom.
The comparisons which had been made between the economic conditions of
New England and Canada, not only in English, but by Charlevoix and other
French writers, the assumption that in industries connected with the sea the
English always had a marked superiority, make the conclusions as to the
economic importance of Louisbourg surprising. We find that it was a source of
wealth to France, that it surpassed the colonies of England engaged in the same
trade, and that the most important in which the northern colonies of both France
and England were engaged.
The facts as to the trade on which this opinion is based are given later in
this work. There is also abundant evidence that English and colonial observers
were fully alive to a progress which excited their admiration, envy, and fear.
Shirley's estimate is that the fisheries were worth annually a million sterling.1
A French writer says that the whole value of the fishing of New England is
worth^ 1 38, ooo.2 This is confirmed by an English writer who says that in 1759
the French had nine hundred ships, and that the English trade was declining.
Auchmuty, the first to get in print with a proposal to capture Isle Royale, says
its fisheries were worth £2,000,000, confirmed again by a " Gentleman of a Large
Trade in the City of London" (London, 1746), who says French trade is in-
creasing, English diminishing. The English fleet outnumbered the French in
1700 five to one, and now was less than the French, and he confirms or repeats
Shirley's estimate of its value as a million. The writer adds with wisdom that
Fleury contributed to this result by promoting competition with England, and
made " war upon this Kingdom by all the arts of peace." " An Accurate
Description of Cape Breton," 1758, speaks of Raudot's scheme for its settlement
as "a beautiful and well-digested project," and confirms the other opinions of its
value. "A Letter to the Right Hon. W. P." (Exon., 1758) says that if things
had gone on as they had been, the French " would have beat us out of the Trade
of Europe." "The Advantages of the Definite Treaty" (London, 1749) says
that had the French not been molested, in a few years they would have totally
ruined British foreign trade ; " as it was, they had in a manner beat us out of our
1 C.O. 5/900, f. 212, and Appendix. a Hiit. et commerce det colonies ang!sises, Paris, 1755.
THE DANGERS OF FRENCH COMPETITION 227
Levant Trade, our Fishing Trade, and our Sugar Trade " ; and " A Letter from
a Gentleman in London to his Friend in the Country" (London, 1748), in a
eulogy of Cape Breton, says, " in no part of the world is the cod fishing carried
on with better success."
Every chapter of Weeden which deals with the fisheries speaks of their
fundamental importance. Douglass (vol. i. p. 6) says :
" The French had already the better of us in the fishery trade, and in a few years more
would have supplied all the markets of Europe, and, by underselling, entirely excluded us
from the cod fishery, which is more beneficial and easier wrought than the Spanish mines of
Mexico and Peru."
This the writers of the Memorials to Pontchartrain, 1706-9, foresaw. The
alarmed pamphleteer in 1746, about the same time as Douglass wrote the
above, says :
" In that Piece the Author having observed that the English Nation is too apt to have
a mean Opinion of the Trade and Navigation of its Rivals, especially the French, and was
not convinced of its Mistake, 'till the Incidents of the present War, the numerous French
Fleets, and large Prizes Open'd our Eyes ; he proceeds to shew the Steps by which the
French [Commerce and Colonies, from being inferior to ours, have risen to a dangerous
Superiority over us, in less than half a Century.
"For this Purpose a Council of Commerce was established in the Year 1700. . . .
" Since this Establishment, and in Consequence of the Memorials presented by them to
the Royal Council, containing Propositions for Regulations and Remedies in Trade, being
thoroughly executed, c the Trade of France has been extended to the Levant, the North
Africa, North America, the South Seas, and to the East and West Indies, even so far as to
make more than double the Value in Sugar, Indigo, Ginger, and Cotton, in their IVest
India Islands than what is now made by the English, who before that Time exceeded the
French in this Branch of Trade abundantly.'
"In the Article of Sugar they are increased from 30,000 to 120,000 Hogsheads
English in a Year (i.e. as 3 to 12 or I to 4). Two Thirds of which are shipped to
Holland, Hamburgh^ Spain and other foreign Markets.
" In the same Time the English have encreased from about 45,000 to no more than
70,000 Hogsheads, i.e. as 9 to 14, not near double, 'of which they now send but little to
foreign Markets, altho' they had formerly the best Share of that Trade, and even supplied
France with Sugars.' And moreover the French have already engrossed the Indigo Trade
from the English, and have greatly encreased in the Fisheries, and Beaver and other Fur
Trade in North America, since their Settlement of Cape Breton, which they have fortified
at a vast Expence ; — and it is from this last mentioned Trade, and their Fisheries, that they
find a Vent for most of their Molasses and Rum that the English do not take off
their Hands.
" These Advantages gain'd by the French are conspicuous from the immense Sums
which 'They drew annually from other Countries, and which enable them to maintain
powerful Armies, and afford such plentiful Subsidies and Pensions to several Powers and
228 SMALL COST OF THESE RESULTS
People in Europe : From hence they build their Ships of War, and maintain Seamen to
supply them.
"It is computed that they draw from two to three Millions of Pounds Sterling per
annum from foreign Countries, in return only for Sugar, Indigo, Coffee, Ginger, Beaver
manufactured into Hats, Salt-Fish and other American Products, and near one Million
more from Great Britain and Ireland only, in Wool and Cash, in return for Cambricks,
Tea, Brandy and Wine, and thereby fight us in Trade, as well as at War, with our own
Weapons. But it is to be hoped that the Measures lately taken by the British Legislature
to prevent the Importation of foreign Cambricks and Tea, and the taking and keeping
of Cape Breton, will be attended with considerable national Advantages." l
The opinions of London pamphleteers were confirmed by the soldier on
the ground, Amherst's instructions to Whitmore, August 28, 1758 :
"I would have the settlements in the different parts of the island absolutely destroyed,
it may be done in a quiet way, but pray let them be entirely demolished, & for these
reasons, that in the flourishing state this island was growing to many years wd not have
passed before the inhabitants wd. have been sufficient to have defended it."5
Further and conclusive testimony is borne to the soundness of the trade
of Louisbourg, by the fact that it was always on a specie basis. Its commerce
never suffered from paper money, as did that of the British colonies and
Quebec. The expression that Louisbourg was a clearing-house is further
justified by a statement of Prevost to the effect that the New England traders
could pass there Spanish gold and silver which was not current in the French
West Indies.
This consensus of opinion,8 in addition to the returns of the trade, shows
that Isle Royale had completely justified the memorialists who had urged its
establishment. Nor was this trade — in value, say, three million livres a year —
brought into being at an excessive price. Roughly speaking, for to analyze
the figures contained in returns would require an expert accountant ; the
outlay of the Government, including the cost of the fortifications, which
was yearly about 130,000 1., was, say, ten per cent of the trade. In other
words, had a private Company taken up Isle Royale, as was proposed before
its settlement, and carried on its business, had such a thing been possible, even
spending as lavishly on administration and defence as the King, it would have
been a not unprofitable venture. There has been much exaggeration as to the
outlay on the fortifications. Contemporary and later writers have spoken
lightly of millions. The accounts do not indicate any large total. The
1 ''Two Letters concerning some further Advantages and Improvements that may seem necessary to be made on the
taking and keeping of Cape Breton " (London, 1746). It quotes "State of the British and French Trade to Africa and
America considered," London, 1745. 2 C.O. 5/53, Amherst to Whitmore, Aug. 28, 1758.
3 I have found no other view expressed by any writer of the period.
THE COMMERCIAL SUCCESS OF ISLE ROYALE 229
memoir on this subject1 given to the King in 1743, makes the total about
3,500,000!., a larger amount than seems justified by the returns of the
Treasurer.8
Isle Royale was not the only fishing establishment, but it was most
important ; as an entrep6t, it as fully served its purpose as the economic
principles of the age permitted. The course of the narrative has indicated that
the unfavourable conditions at Louisbourg were not peculiar to that place,
for those of Canso and Annapolis Royal were as bad as under the French
regime. The British Government was as deaf to the appeals of its local
officials, and as late in taking action, as was Maurepas. Newfoundland had a
population of 4000 in 1713 and 6000 in 1755. Canso remained about
stationary throughout this period, so that the progress of Isle Royale compares
well with that of the two British settlements nearest to it, not only geographically,
but in the pursuits of their people. The fisherman justified himself commercially
at Isle Royale. His rulers made no gains in Europe to counterbalance the
injuries to the commonwealth resulting from their neglect to safeguard his
industry. When the victories of peace come to be as highly esteemed as
those of war, the French historian, who then writes of the colonial development
of his country under the Bourbon kings, will have more pride than our con-
temporaries in writing of Isle Royale. He can then point out that the
American colonies of his country were lost, by her rival, beaten in the arts
of peaceful development, wresting them with a strong hand from the govern-
ment of his ancestors incapable in the last resort to force of defending possessions
so valuable.
After this digression, it seems desirable to touch on the human side
of life in the little town before narrating the culminating incident of its
history.
The increase in its garrison overcrowded it, and pushed settlements of
others than farmers out into the environs.8
Under ordinary circumstances such increase of the population would have
raised prices. When the effect of a heightened demand was increased, through
a diminished supply, the aggravation of the economic position was extreme.
Important sources of supply were cut off" by the embargo on exportation from
the British Colonies, the active efforts of Cornwallis to stop any supply from
Nova Scotia, and the captures of vessels by the blockading fleets.
1 C11, L.R. vol. 26, f. 219.
8 There are two sources of information on this subject, besides occasional references in the general correspondence,
Arch. Col. Amerique du Nord Isle Royale, vols. 8 and n, and Arch. Marine G, vols. 52, 53, and 54; the latter gives
a short annual statement from 1733, of various statistics about the colony.
8 Chassin de Thierry, Senior Captain of the garrison, lived about five miles from town on the Mir6 Road
(Dcrniers Jours, etc. p. 215).
230 A MEAGRE WAY OF LIFE 1749-1758
It was at best of times a community with little money ; military salaries
were low, as were those of other officials.1
This involved a meagre life, occasionally relieved by a place at the table
of the more fortunate. Drucour recounts the following incident in a letter
to Surlaville:2 " Mme. de la Boularderie has just dined here; we drank your
health, and she told us you made her so merry that she saw eight candles
instead of one ; we did not carry things as far."
Johnstone was delighted to have permission to embark ten or twelve
days before the vessel sailed on a voyage to France, " in order to repair the
bad fare which I had during a year at Louisbourg, which ordinarily consisted
during the winter solely of cod-fish and hog's lard, and during the summer,
fresh fish, bad salt rancid butter, and bad oil."
Captain Hale wrote after being in Louisbourg with a flag of truce in 1756 :
" I assure you fish dressed in various ways makes up a great part of their entertainment "
(Ad. Des. i, 481).
M. Joubert writes in January, 1757 :
" II n'y a rien de nouveau ycy depuis mes dernieres ; nous sommes tous r^duits a
la sapinette (spruce beer) . . ." 4
The cuisine of Louisbourg had other resources than cod : Johnstone's
servant,
"an excellent Jack of all trades, expert for furnishing my table, bringing generally
eight or ten dozen of trouts, in two hours' fishing with the line, the streams in the
neighbourhood being very full of fish."5
The prevalence of gambling circumscribed the opportunities of the poorest
of the officers for going into society. Des Bourbes writes :
" I am a useless member of a society where there is nothing but gambling, I am not
in demand as I do not wish to play, and cannot do so. I go out only to pay my respects,
and find gaming tables everywhere ; I watch the players for a second or two ; I sit
in an armchair out of decency and this politeness on my part is most boring . . ." 6
Johnstone found :
". . . the society of the ladies of the place very amiable, but having always cards
in their hands, my avocations would not permit of me daily to make one of their parties . . ."7
1 Captains, loSo 1. ; lieutenant, 720!.; enaeigne en pied, 480!.; cnscigne en second, 360!. So hard was the
position of the junior officers that after 1754 a bonus of 6000 1. annually was divided among the lieutenants and
ensigns. The Governor's salary was 9000 1., with a bonus of 6000 1. Surlaville says the Governor's position in salary,
bonus, and allowance was worth 19,800!., and that the nominal salary of the Commissaire-Ordonnateur of 2400!. was
raised in the same way to 6000 1. Compared with similar positions to-day these emoluments were not inconsiderable,
but in all the subaltern positions the pay was small, and was eked out by frugality or commercial ventures.
J See Demurs yours, etc. p. 128. 3 Memoirs of the Chevalier Johmtone, vol. ii. p. 172.
4 Dernien Jourt, etc. p. 213. 5 Memoirs, etc. vol. ii. p. 179.
* Dernieri yours, etc. p. 182. 1 Memoirs, etc. vol. ii. p. 178.
1749-1758 JEALOUSIES AMONG THE OFFICERS 231
Both he and Des Bourbes speak with thankfulness of a taste for study which
lightened the dreariness of their narrow life. Others had less innocent
pastimes. Duels were not infrequent, and we have one instance of the
misery caused by jealousy in the suicide of the unfortunate Montalembert.
He was driven to distraction by the liaison of his wife with one of the officers
of Bourgogne, whom even at the time of her marriage she preferred to the
elderly husband chosen by her mother.1
The rivalries and jealousies between different factions in the service
were many. Few towns could have had more. There was the common one
of antagonism between the gens de I'epJe and the gens de la plume,
the military and civil orders of the administration, mitigated in this case by
the ascendency Prevost had gained over Drucour.
There was the antagonism not only between the army and the navy,
but also between naval officers serving afloat and on shore. The old Companies
officers had grievances against those of the Companies raised in 1749. All
these were on indifferent or hostile terms with the officers of Canada, who
were occasionally transferred from Beausejour to Louisbourg ; while Artois
and Bourgogne aroused in the breasts of the ordinary garrison those feelings
which it seems the fate of regular troops of all countries to excite among
their colonial fellows ; while all of them were agreed in thinking the honours paid
to Franquet were excessive.
At Louisbourg this jealousy produced its evil effects ; Du Caubet, an
officer of the Louisbourg garrison, was detached for service at Beausejour.
There he met the Langis brothers, officers of Canada, and a quarrel broke
out. It reached, at Louisbourg, where they had both returned, its fatal
end. One evening Du Caubet was found in his quarters dead from many
barbarous wounds. It was an open secret that the elder Langis was the
instigator of the deed. An inquiry was held, but led to nothing, and
Langis escaped punishment. Pichon looked on this as significant, for he
says, " The colonial officer would like to do as much to the last of the French
officers." 2
It was Prevost, however, who drew down on himself the most universal
dislike. Such was the fate of the Intendant or his equivalent the Com-
missaire-Ordonnateur in most colonies, unless he were a man of rare tact
and judgment. This Prevost was not. Neither Des Herbiers nor Raymond
approved of him, but on the other hand he succeeded in making himself
indispensable to Drucour. On one side there are incidents to show that
Prevost was a man of independence. He refused, for example, to assist in
1 See Derniers Jours, etc. pp. 149, 214.
2 "L'Officier colon voudroit en faire autant au dernier des officiers de France " (Derniers Jourt, etc. p. 131).
232 PREVOST 1749-1758
carrying out the categorical orders of La Jonquiere to seize English vessels in
the Port of Louisbourg ; and his correspondence with the Minister is that of
a man of parts.
On the other hand, there are incidents which show that he was small
and vindictive, perhaps to a greater extent than might be expected from
any man of low birth and unattractive manners, occupying a position which
gave him power to retaliate for the annoyances and indignities inflicted on
him by his social superiors. He tells himself of the humiliations to which
he was subjected on his official visit to De BaufFremont's ship. De Bauffrcmont
was absent, but his officers were of the same opinion as their commander, who
" always treated him (Prevost) as the last of miscreants." The officers of
the colonial troops, as well as those of Artois and Bourgogne, also sent him
to Coventry and refused his invitations.
Johnstone relates one striking instance of his insubordination :
"When the English fleet appeared before Louisbourg in 1757, all the troops marched
out upon the instant to man the intrenchments ... in order to oppose their landing,
and . . . our surgeon-general having given M. St. Julien a recipe for a sling, some
spirits, and other things necessary for dressing wounds. Provost replied to M. St. Julien,
commandant by seniority of all our troops, that * there was nothing at all in the King's
magazines, that if the English forced our entrenchments, it would fall to them to take
care of our wounded, and if we repulsed them, they would have to look after them.' M.
St. Julien reported immediately the affair with his complaints to M. Bois de la Motte,
who at the instant landed at nine o'clock at night, proceeded directly to Prevost's house,
and having threatened to set it on fire, and to send him back to France, if everything
which the store contained was not ready by the next day, in the morning, all was
furnished, to the great disappointment of this inhuman monster, who wished from his
hatred to all the officers, to make these brave people perish for want of assistance,
and he wept through rage." 1
Nevertheless, he managed to have some friends, partly owing to the chance
of his having married on February 14, 1745, a very attractive demoiselle
Marie Therese Carrerot, the daughter of one of the principal merchants of
the place. The power of conferring benefits gave him some allies and associates.
Their sentiments find expression in a madrigal, the joint efforts of the Pere
Alexis of the Freres de la Charite, and M. Beaudeduit, one of the Conseil
Superieur. The poem was presented to him at an entertainment in his house,
and goes as follows :
A la paix toujours tranquille
Prcvost donne un sure asile.
Qu'il est doux de vivrc sous ces loix !
Les plaisirs renaisscnt a sa voix.
1 See Memoirt cf the Chevalier Jthnstone, vol. ii. p. 181, note.
1755-1758 DRUCOUR 233
Provost veut tout obeir ;
La paix vient, le trouble fuit ;
Sous luy Ton voit la justice
Triompher de 1'artifice.1
The most striking figure in Louisbourg at this time, even by standards
other than that of official position, was the Chevalier de Drucour, its Governor,
a younger son of a noble Norman family, who entered the service in 1719.
His career was successful ; while still a lieutenant he was appointed Lieutenant
of the Gardes de la Marine (Midshipmen) at Brest, and later Commandant of
that corps, a responsible position, for which he was selected without personal
solicitation, on account of his wisdom and good conduct. In discharging the
social duties of this position by entertaining the young noblemen under his
charge, he exhausted not only his salary and income, but seriously cut into his
patrimony, which he completely exhausted in the expenses incident to taking
up the Governorship of Louisbourg. He further involved his affairs by
obtaining advances from his brother, the Baron de Drucour, and the expenses
of his administration left him penniless. It is obvious from this conduct of his
affairs that Drucour was one of those nobles who preferred to maintain the
dignity of any position to which his sovereign had called him, rather than
exercise a reasonable regard for his private interests. He even did this with a
liberality which seems unnecessary, for in rearranging the canteens he abandoned
to the Majors of the place that share of the profits which had been the perquisite
of every preceding Governor.2
In the arrangements he made, he went contrary to the opinion of the
Company officers, but neither this nor any other of his acts gave rise to any
criticism excepting that PreVost had gained an undue ascendency over him, and
that his judgment of men was not discriminating. No one writes of him except
in praise, and his good sense and firmness are more than once spoken of. The
one personal letter we have from his hand is that of a pleasant and capable
writer, who speaks of his difficulties without discouragement or vexation.
Madame Drucour, a daughter of the Courserac family which had given
many officers to the French navy, did her part in making his regime popular.
She was a woman of intelligence, gracious towards every one, and succeeded in
making Government House extremely attractive.
Later events show that, in addition, she was a woman of rare heroism and
1 His Etats de Service shows that, notwithstanding the dislike of his associates, he had the confidence of successive
Ministers, and received promotions. It also shows the hardships to which an officer was exposed in the Colonial Service
in those days. It was not until 1763 that there was any effective examination of his conduct. In consequence of the
trial of de la Borde, treasurer of 1'Isle Royale, Prevost, by order of April 18, was arrested, and taken to the Bastille
(Marine B, vol. 117). On the loth April 1764 he was set at liberty, but was never again to be employed in any
position of confidence (Marine B, vol. 120).
2 The right to sell to the troops brought in about 3000 1. to the Governor (Papiers Surlaville).
234 HIS CONTINUED DIFFICULTIES 1755-1758
a devoted wife. It may be noted, in passing, that the first and last Governors
of Louisbourg both married widows, were splendidly mated, and left them in
extreme poverty. Madame de Drucour was the widow of a Savigny. She
received a pension of loool., but died only a few weeks after her husband,
about the time, October 1763, it was granted. In granting the pension,
Drucour's character was recognised. He " s'etoit comporte dans cette place
avec la plus grande desinteressement et la plus grande probite." The authorities
therefore believed him when he wrote in 1757 :
"J'aurai 1'exemple d'un seulgouverneurqui aura mang^son bien au lieudel'augmenter."1
Drucour's government was a time of continuous trial. In the first few
months he was embarrassed by the multitude of promises which Raymond had
made before leaving. But these embarrassments and the ordinary trials of the
head of a community, with such clashing interests as that of Louisbourg, were
trifling compared with the difficulties which confronted him in the succeeding
years. He had no control over the fortifications, the condition of which was
unsatisfactory, owing to the Jack of activity of Franquet, and the sufficient
supply of men, materials, and money for their repair. The finances were not in
his charge, and part of the inadequate supply of funds was stolen by La Borde,
the Treasurer.
The garrison was too small. He pointed out the necessity for its increase,
proposing that the companies be increased to 70 men each, and eight more
added ; he emphasised the advantage of this course by pointing out that the
colonial troops of 104 officers and 2446 men, the force he proposed for the
establishment, would cost annually 166,325!., whereas 164 officers and 1050
men of regular troops, like those of Artois and Bourgogne, would require an
annual expenditure of 250,109 1.
But more insistent than the necessity of making the place effective as
the guard of French supremacy in America, were the claims of subsistence
for its garrison and its people. Each year the port was blockaded, each year
its supplies were curtailed, and in 1757, after a winter in which not a family
had an ounce of flour in the house, a winter so protracted that there remained
eighteen inches of snow on the ground on the I2th of May, there was cause
for the greatest anxiety. In June a vessel arrived which relieved the tension,
but it was not until January 6, although Du Bois de la Motte had left all the
spare provisions from his ships, that they felt assured of sufficient food for
the winter. Doloboratz arrived with a cargo of provisions from France on
that date, far later than had been thought possible to navigate these seas
(Johnstone). The people and the garrison believed during the greater part
1 A.N. Marine C1, vol. 489.
1755-1758 HIS THWARTED PLANS 235
of this time that the Royal storehouses contained provisions for two years,
a tribute to the firmness and tact of Drucour and Prevost. It is equally to
Drucour's praise that during the blockade of Holburne he had kept in touch
with Halifax. His scouts, notably Gautier, haunted the outskirts of the
English settlement, occasionally making captures, sometimes bringing with them
a willing deserter, at other times returning empty-handed. This information
he passed on, and, in addition, he promised the Government that he would
destroy the new buildings at Halifax if provisions arrived by the middle of
November. They did not arrive, and the project fell through. In this
discouraging condition, but undismayed, Drucour awaited an attack which
he knew was inevitable.1
1 Le Loutre's Indians, who flocked to Pile Royale after the fall of Beausejour, where they had been so bountifully
supplied, were a source of trouble, and an additional drain on the inadequate store of provisions at Drucour's disposal.
He speaks several times of their misery. He intended to use them and the Acadians in the foray against Halifax.
Boishebert had been in command of this force (280 men) which had remained in Port Toulouse all summer.
CHAPTER XIII
THE war had been, so far, barren of results satisfactory to the English people.
It had yielded only a succession of failures or defeats. Pitt described the
operations of 1757 as " the last inactive and unhappy Campaign," and prepared
" for the most vigorous and extensive Efforts to avert by the Blessing of God
on His Arms, the Dangers impending in North America." 1
On the same day he wrote to Loudon :
"My Lord, I am with concern to acquaint Your Lordship that the King has judged
proper that Your Lordship should return to England."2
Loudon was superseded by Abercromby, to whom Pitt addressed a long,
masterly and lucid statement of his plans for I758.3
The reduction of Louisbourg was their first objective, and lavish prepara-
tions were made for its success. Engineers were ordered to Halifax to prepare
siege material, and in his first letter to Abercromby Pitt said that the supplies
gathered for Loudon were to be cared for and held in readiness. Troops and
ships were to be concentrated at Halifax, so that the siege of Louisbourg might
begin as early in the year " as the Twentieth of April, if the season should
happen to permit.4 Abercromby was to apply himself to other operations.
Fourteen thousand troops, the greater part regulars, were provided, and
a General officer appointed for the command. Colonel Jeffrey Amherst, then
serving in Germany, was selected and promoted to the rank of Major-General.5
Amherst's brigadiers were Whitmore, Lawrence, and Wolfe. Boscawen was
given command of the fleet, which was a force of twenty-three ships of the
line, from which Boscawen had to provide convoys for the transports.6 Hardy,
Boscawen's second in command, had preceded him to take up the blockade
of Louisbourg with eight ships of the line and two frigates. He arrived at
Halifax on March 19, and left there on April 5 ; but the first time the French
1 Dec. 30, 1757. Pitt to Governors of the Northern Colonies (Kimball, vol. i. p. 136 from C.O. 5/212).
a Kimball, vol. i. p. 143 from C.O. 5/212. * Kimball, vol. i. p. 143 from C.O. 5/212.
4 Orders were given to rendezvous at Halifax, not later than April 12.
8 600 Rangers were to be sent, but the number of Regulars was not to fall below that planned, Dec. 30, 1757.
8 His Instructions arc in Ad. O. and I., vol. 80.
236
1758 ENGLISH PREPARATIONS 237
note his appearance so close to the town that his force could be counted was
on April 28, although early in the month his ships had been sighted off Scatari.
The safe arrival of French ships, hereafter stated, shows that his blockade, like
most, was not effective. He sent into Halifax, however, as captures the
Diane, 22, a frigate "full of Provisions, Cloathing and Arms," and four other
provision ships.
Boscawen's voyage was extremely slow. He was clear of the Channel
on February 24, but did not arrive in Halifax until May I2.1
The forces had not all arrived, and Amherst was still at sea. Boscawen
and Whitmore had received instructions for preliminary steps to be taken in
the event of such delay as had occurred. They were to land on Cape Breton,
either at Gabarus Bay or at Mira.2 But before this could be attempted,
preparations were complete. The fleet and forces straggled into Halifax a
month behind Pitt's appointed time.
The account of an eye-witness,3 who regretted not to have been appointed
to serve on the expedition, gives a livelier account of these days in Halifax
than a transcript of diverse official documents.
"Ox BOARD THE 'LuoLOW CASTLE' AT SEA,
May 30/A, 1758.
"MY DEAR LORD — ... In my letter to your Lordship from Boston dated in March
I informed you of what was at that time transacting on this Continent and of my motives
for proceeding to Halifax, and I cannot say that I repent of the Voyage I made ; I must own
I was a good deal mortified that my situation obliged me to quit a service I was so deeply
interested in, and in which some intimate friends of mine have so great a share ; both my
gratitude to General Abercromby in appointing me his Aid de Camp, and obedience to your
Lordship's intentions, that I should serve with him, soon determined what part to take.
" April iyd. — I imbarked with General Lawrence, his Battalion and Frazers at Boston.
"28^. — We arrived at Halifax where we found that from the I5th to that day the
Prince Frederick and Juno, Transports with Amherst's Regiments on board, and some
Ordinance Store Ships, had arrived from England. The Prince Frederick had lost her masts
in a gale of Wind, and had replaced them from the Le Arc en Ceil [sic] of 50 Guns — which
lay at Halifax. One transport had sprung a leak at Sea, was lost, but the Troops saved.
We found the Royal 4Oth, 45th and 47th Regiments that wintered at Halifax, employed in
making Fascines and Gabiens, etc., and 90 Carpenters that had been sent from New England
employed under the direction of Colonel Basteed, in making six Block Houses of Squared
Timber, upon the upper part of which a Platform is made for small Cannon, with a Parapet
1 Wolfe gives, in a letter to Lord George Sackville, an account of the voyage (Ninth Report, Hist. MSS. Com.
P- 74)-
2 C.O. 5/213. In the preparation of these instructions to his commanders, Pitt had before him a communication
from Brigadier Waldo, second in command to Pepperrell in the siege of 1745. Waldo recommended the attack, actually
carried out by Amherst. The document is to be found in R.O. Secret and Miscellaneous Papers, 1756-61, and has been
reprinted in Can. Archives Reports, 1886.
3 James Cunningham on Abercromby's staff, letter to Lord Sackville.
238 EVENTS AT HALIFAX 1758
Musquct proof, and underneath Musquetry may likewise be used through loop holes. The
Timbers are marked, and the edifice may be constructed in a few hours. They will answer
the end Ridouts for the protection of the Camp. They were likewise employed in making
a sort of Sling Cart, with wheels Eight Feet high, of a great breadth to transport Cannon
over Marshy Ground, this at Mr. Boscawen's request. The Troops remained on board the
Transports and were extremely healthy.
"At this time General Hopson was Ignorant of his destination, and Continued to
command. It was determined to send to Boston for fifty Horses and fourty Yoke of Oxen
to adjust [sic] in drawing Artillery Horses, etc., at the Siege.
" March igth. — Sir Charles Hardy arrived in the Captain from England, and found the
Squadron that had Wintered at Halifax in great forwardness.
" April 5//;. — Sir Charles sailed to cruize off Louisburg with the following ships.
Northumberland 74 Summerset "O Terrible 74/ Orford JO/ Deffence 6o/ Captain 6^./ Kingston
6o/ Southerland 5O/ and one Frigate. Sir Charles sent into Halifax Four Provision Ships
taken off Louisburg.
" 30//;. — He sent in a French Frigate of 22 guns, called the Diana. She sailed from
Rochfort in Company with the Prudent of 70 Guns and another Frigate that are supposed
to have got into Louisburg.
" May 2nd. — She was full of Provisions, Cloathing and Arms.
" The Juno Frigate sailed to join Sir Charles Squadron, and the same day the Trent
Frigate that had been separated ten days from Mr. Boscawen's Fleet off the Island of
Barmudas, arrived.
"8M. — A Fleet was seen to the Eastward of the Harbour.
" 9//J. — Admiral Boscawen arrived with the following Ships. Namur go/ Princess Emelia
8o/ Royal IVilllam 84/ Burford jo/ Pembroke 6o/ Lancaster 68/ Prince of Orange 6o/ Bedford
&4/ Nottingham 6o/ Shannon Frigate, Etna and Tylo Fire Ships.
" The same day arrived the 35th/ 48th/ and Monckton's Battn. of R. As/ under Convoy
of a 20 Gun Ship from Philadelphia.
" The whole Fleet immediately on their arrival begun to take in Water and clean — the
ships all healthy, except the Pembroke and Devonshire.
" 12th. — Arrived Captain Rouse in the Sutherland of 50 Guns from the Squadron off
Louisburg. Sir Charles says in a letter of the 8th of May, that after a Storm of Snow which
Continued thirty-six hours, upon its clearing up, he perceived several Ships within him, near
to the Harbour, to which he gave chase, but they escaped him. Soon after he stood into
the Harbour, and perceived Seven Ships at Anchore, three of which he imagined were of
war. In Chaberouse Bay they perceived the enemy throwing up an Intrenchment.
" I3//J. — Sailed the Beaver to Piscatua for Masts. Sir Charles's Squadron seems to have
Cruized off Louisburg as Early as the Season would permit. The cold was extremely severe,
and the Ice floating very troublesome. They saw a French ship catched in it, which they
could not reach, &: some of his Squadron at times stuck fast.1
" i^th. — Sailed the Squirrell and on the I4th the Scarborough to join the Fleet.
" ibth. — Arrived Commodore Durrell from New York, with the Devonshire of 66 Guns,
the Ludlow Castle of 40, and three Frigates, with Brigadier General Whitmore the I7th/
and 22nd/ Regiments, all the Artillery and Stores intended for the Siege of Louisburg last
1 The Magnifijut j see p. 244.
1758 EVENTS AT HALIFAX 239
year, except some Howitzers kept by General Abercromby Three Companys of Artillery,
Thirty-two empty Transports and Victuallers. Those empty Transports were provided at
home for the Troops to be imbarked at New York, but General Abercromby that no time
might be lost had imbarked his Troops from different places ordering them to proceed to
the place of Randesvouse in Separate divisions. And when your Lordship considers, that
the orders for this Imbarkation did not reach General Abercromby before the nth March,
Great dispatch must have been used, to mark [sic'] the Troops from these Cantonments about
Albany and elsewhere, to have them imbarked, and the last of them at the place of randes-
vouse by the i6th of May. All the Transports from the Continent are Victualled for four
months. They will find full employment for the empty Transports to carry Fascines, etc.
" ijth. — Arrived the Centurion of 60 Guns from Plymouth, and informed us that General
Amherst was to Imbark in the Dublin which was to replace the Invincibly want of canvass
prevented the Centurion from proceeding with Admiral Boscawen from Plymouth. The
same day arrived the York Man-of-War of 64 Guns, and Anstruther's Regiment which are
sickly. The York in her passage ran foul of the America^ lost her head, and carried away
the Masts of the America.
" 2Oth. — Royal William and Prince Frederick sailed to join Sir Charles Hardy's Squadron.
The same day the Massachusetts Province Ship, 20 Guns, brought in three Prizes, two of
which were bound to Louisburg with provisions.
" 2ist. — Brigadier Lawrence received a letter from Admiral Boscawen, acquainting him
that he should be ready to sail on the 23rd May, no objection occurring it was determined,
but calm thick weather and Contrary winds prevented them.
" A Body of Rangers were formed consisting of 1 100 from Detachments of the several
Corps and 500 were sent from New England, all under the Command of Captain Scott of
the yoth Regiment, who has been accustomed to that service. Their Clothes are cut
short, & they have exchanged their heavy Arms, for the light fusils of the Additional
Companies of Erasers that are left at Halifax. This body of Troops will be of excellent
service in protecting There Camp from the Insults of the Indians. The Company of
Carpenters consisting of 90 men will be extremely useful as they have been accustomed to
the drawing of Masts.
" During the recess there stay at Halifax afforded them, the Generals did not fail to
accustom the Troops to what they were soon to encounter. Some Military operations
were dayly carried on. They frequently landed in the boats of the Transports and practised
in the Woods, the different Manuvres they were likely to act on the Island of Cape
Breton. In all these operations you may imagine that Gen. Wolfe was remarkably active.
The Scene afforded Scope for his Military Genius. We found it possible to land 3500
Men in the Boats belonging to Transports, and when the Boats from the Men of War
assisted, 5000 Men could be landed.
" To facilitate the landing at Chaberus Bay the following Scheme was that they seemed
inclined to put in execution, and which the following scetch of the Coast will explain. It
was proposed to detach Brigadier-Genl. Wolfe with the ifth/ 48th/ Eraser's Battn. of
Highlanders & noo Rangers, to perfect a landing at Miray Bay, 15 miles from Chaberus
Bay, and to force his march thro' the Woods along the road, against whatever might
oppose him, making short marches in case of opposition, & securing his Camp every night
in the best manner.
24o EVENTS AT HALIFAX 1758
" Colonel Monckton to be detached, to perfect a landing with two Battalions at Grand
Lorcm Beck, and to secure his small force with an Intrenchment.
" The rest of the force under cover of the Cannon of the Ships, to land at Chaberus
Bay, but I suppose they will delay making that attempt, should any formidable force
oppose them, untill the other two Bodys of Troops can co-operate, in making a diversion
in their favour.
" Your Lordship doubtless knows that General Whitmore was directed from Home to
Command in Nova Scotia, & to detach General Lawrence, in case General Amherst did
not arrive in time, to proceed in the operations of the Siege.
" 28M. — The wind coming fair in the night, the Admiral made the Signal to
unmore at daylight, at seven she weighed, and the whole Fleet were under Sail at Eight
O'clock, little Wind, including the whole they amounted to 180 Sail. The Pembroke
having: 200 Men sick, the Devonshire sickly. The U Arc en Cell whose Masts were taken
to refit the Prince Frederick were left at Halifax with orders to join the Fleet when in
a proper condition, from hence you will find that Mr. Boscawen sailed from Halifax with
Twenty-one Sail of the line, & fourteen Frigates. I mean when he joins Sir Charles, his
Fleet will amount to that number. He was fortunate in meeting with a fair Wind, &
clear Weather for three Days together, which must have afforded them an opportunity of
surveying the Coast, & making their disposition.
" The inclosed return will show you the effective strength of the Troops on the
expedition, & those left at Nova Scotia, & I dare say that you must approve of General
Abercromby's doing everything in his power, to forward the service, in many things at
the expence of that he is himself to Conduct.
" It is impossible for me to express to your Lordship, the harmony, Spirit, and
confidence, that reigns universally thro' the Army and Navy. I parted with my friends
General Lawrence, Gen. Wolfe and the Admiral on board the Namur when they were
under Sail, and I cannot say but that I earnestly wished that I had been destined for that
service. I imbarked on board the Ludlow Castle of 40 Guns with General Hopson,
we cleared the Harbour before the Fleet. We met the Dublin, and saw her join the
Fleet. I suppose that General Amherst was on board. I esteem myself unfortunate in
not meeting him before my departure, as he possibly might have dispatches for General
Abercromby.
" As the Enemy will certainly exert the whole Regular Canadian and Indian Force of
Canada against General Abercromby so soon as they are at a certainty of our design
against Louisburg, I cannot persuade myself that he will be able to act offensively against
the enemy unless a diversion is immediately made up the River St. Lawrence, which may
oblige the Enemy to divide their force. I had several opportunities of urging this point
to Admiral Boscawen, and he desired me to inform General Abercromby that he proposed
sending some Men of War and Troops up the River St. Lawrence to make a diversion the
moment that he was persuaded that he could spare them. We all have the utmost
confidence in Admiral Boscawen's zeal and activity in the service and when we heard that
he was to command the Fleet we assured ourselves that the Campaign would be vigorous
& Active. The unanimity that presides at Home seems to defuse itself abroad, whereas of
late we have been a divided and distrustful people. A successful Campaign will I hope
give Peace to America. Without it I fear the Country will be exhausted and provisions
1758 WOLFE'S CRITICISMS 241
for the supply of a large Army must grow scarce from so many hands being employed in
the Field.
"Capt. Boyer who lately got a ^10,000 Ticket has promised me to deliver this letter
to your Lordship, he is a particular friend of mine. — I am, my dear Lord, Your faithful
servant, JAS. CuNiNGHAME."1
Wolfe, who landed at Halifax from the Princess Amelia on May 8,
was eager and dissatisfied. He thought the troops were too few, as deaths,
wounds, sickness, and a necessary garrison would take up three thousand men,
and suggested reinforcements. He spoke well of the Highland regiments,
both officers and men, then beginning their glorious service in the British
Army. " The Highlanders are very useful serviceable soldiers, and commanded
by the most manly corps of officers I ever saw.2 The Rangers he described as
" little better than la canaille.'" 3
He had a poor opinion of the Americans as soldiers.
"The Americans are in general the dirtiest, most contemptible cowardly dogs that you
can conceive. There is no depending upon 'em in action. They fall down dead in their
own dirt and desert by battalions, officers and all. Such rascals as those are rather an
incumbrance than any real strength to an army." 4
But these strictures were but little more severe than those he wrote about
the regulars, who, like the Rangers, as the event proved, so willingly and
successfully followed his leadership. Of their spirit he had no doubt, but
otherwise they fell far below his standard. " Too much money and too much
rum necessarily affect the discipline of an army." " I believe no nation ever
paid so many bad soldiers at so high a rate."
The siege supplies were inadequate in important respects ; the muskets were
in poor condition.
"We ought to have had a dozen of the largest sort (Howitzers) for this business. I
am told too, that his Excellency had a great mind to keep the tools, in which case there
was an end of the siege of Louisbourg altogether, and I believe it will now be found that
we have not one pick axe too many.
"Our Cloaths, our arms and accoutrements, nay even our shoes and stockings, are all
improper for this country. . . . The army is undone and ruin'd by the constant use of
salt meat and rum ... so your lordship may rest assured that the enterprize of Louisbourg
will cost a multitude of men." 5
Although Wolfe was dissatisfied with the forces gathered at Halifax, Pitt
had nevertheless placed at the disposal of the commanders a powerful armament.
1 I owe the full text of this letter and the map, not reproduced, to the kindness of Colonel Stopford Sackville of
Drayton House. A few lines of it are quoted in Ninth Report Hist. MSS. Com. p. 75.
2 Ninth Report Hist. MSS. Com, p. 74. * Ibid. 4 Ibid. p. 77.
5 The above quotations are all from Wolfe's letters to Lord Sackville (Ninth Report Hist. MSS. Com. pp. 74 to 77).
R
242 THE DEPARTURE FROM HALIFAX 1758
On the naval side it was made up of 23 men-of-war and 16 smaller vessels,
mounting 1842 guns, and carrying crews of 14,005 men.
The land forces consisted of 13,142 men and officers. Lord Ligonier had
responded to the call of Pitt, in a lavish supply of munitions of war.
Detailed statements of the forces and supplies are printed later, in which
will also be found the quantities used, which show that Wolfe's fears were
groundless ; as well as for purposes of comparison, the resources in men and
ships of the French.
On Monday, May 29, the advance was begun.1 At dawn the signal to
unmoor was given from the Namur. At nine the fleet was under way, and
saluted with seventeen guns by the little citadel, was passing out of the harbour.
The breeze was so light at 10.30 that the ships' boats towed them out, and by
the afternoon they were still off Cape Sambro. Even at the last it was augmented.
The vessels carrying Bragg's, and some detachments from the Bay of Fundy
and the new settlement of Lunenburg, joined the fleet and continued with it.
The Dublin came in from sea, transferred Amherst to the Namur, and went on
into the harbour, as her crew was sickly.2
With varying but not unfavourable weather, the fleet tacked along the
coast of Nova Scotia and Cape Breton. When the weather cleared, on Friday,
June 2, Boscawen saw Louisbourg, and with light airs came slowly to his chosen
anchorage in Gabarus Bay, which he reached about four that afternoon. He
was followed that evening and the next day by the rest of the fleet. As they
passed in, Amherst and his men saw rise above the circumvallation the slender
spires of the principal buildings, and beyond them the slenderer masts of the
ships in the harbour.
The position taken by Boscawen was dangerous. His principal ships were
anchored about the middle of Gabarus Bay, six miles from the entrance of
Louisbourg harbour, and little over two from the shallow water at the head of
the bay.3 As happens yearly at this season, there was much fog, and the
prevailing winds were easterly, so that ships leaving the harbour could have run
down on the anchored enemy crowded in a bay with a lee shore close aboard.
On Sunday, Boscawen's account of conditions is as follows :
"At 4 A.M. it was little wind with a thick haze, the Kennington and Halifax still
continue firing. At 5 the breeze began to freshen and it came on foggy. ... At 8 the
gale increased, got down topgallant yards and the Sheat Anchor over the side, and at noon
1 The time in naval records of the period wa» from noon to noon. Thus Boscawen say» ''at 4.30 A.M., Sunday,
May 28," where Gordon says " Monday, May 29." May 28 is, in the former case, from Sunday at noon to noon on the
Monday, 29th. The dates in the text follow the reckoning of landsmen.
a The Gramnint was dispatched to reconnoitre G.ibarus Bay, and discover the best landing-place ; the Kenningta*
and a transport arrived from sea. The number of transports reported by Boscawen is 127.
1 Their position is indicated on the map, p. 243, from data furnished by the chief Hydrographer of the Navy.
List of Ships
(l.) Namur
(2.) Princess Amelia
(3.) Burford
(4.) Bedford
(5-) Lancaster
(6.) Princess Frederick
(7.) Prince of Orange
(8.) York
(9.) Nottingham
(10.) Sutherland
X
English Statute Miles
? ? 3
Scale of Latitude and Distance
9 I 2
Position of
BOSCAWEN'S LARGE SHIPS
JUNE 5th.-7tfa. 1758.
a
O
^
Vs
*
^
^
b.
^
ASTlbTS ILLUtT
To face page 242.
1758 A BAD POSITION IN BAD WEATHER 243
struck yards and topmasts." Although the weather fell lighter in the afternoon, it was not
until 5 the next morning that they " got up topmasts and Yards."
The Kennington and other frigates, with the sloop Halifax, ranged on
shore close to the French batteries with which they were engaged, had to be
towed by the ship's boats into deeper water. The Trent took the ground, but
was got off with a damaged rudder. " It looked," says Gordon, " as if many
vessels would go ashore and many suffered the loss of anchor and cables."
It would appear that the disposition of the British fleet was the least
favourable for defence. Its first line, the frigates, were dragging ashore under
the fire of the batteries, while the battleships, to leeward of the transports, were
dismantled, and incapable of speedily protecting these ships on which were the
troops and warlike stores. The conditions were most favourable for attack.
Fog at times hung over all to obscure movements of the French, who had a
wind favouring them, strong enough to produce disorder among the British,
but, as it was not so heavy as to prevent the working of the fleet's boats, it was
favourable .to the manoeuvring of the French ships. The easterly winds were
against any assistance coming from Hardy and his ships. Everything was
prepared for a disaster, which would have stood out in naval annals with
Quiberon and La Hogue, had the French grasped the overwhelming value, at
critical moments, of an aggressive defence.1
The French defence, instead of being greater than that of 1757, in face of
the greater forces arrayed against Louisbourg, was weaker. The supply of
money in the treasury of France was low, and was engaged for the land war in
Germany. The British captures of her men-of-war and her merchantmen had
diminished the number of seamen. The appalling mortality of the autumn and
winter, through plague brought back to Brest by Du Bois de la Motte's fleet, had
further reduced the forces available for manning the ships.2 Insubordination
and desertion, the results of ill-treatment, lowered the quality of those who
embarked. So few were the men, that La Clue was nearly a year recruiting for
the six ships under his command.3 So bad was their quality that Le Chevalier
de Mirabeau refused command of a squadron, giving his reasons to the Minister
in these outspoken words :
" My life, Sir, and not my honour, belongs to the King. They have broken pledges to
the sailors in an unheard of manner. Not paying these wretches is a cruelty, palliated here
(Toulon) by necessity without doubt, but marked by incidents which make one shudder
when they happen before one's eyes. . . . Du Quesnel's men failed him before the enemy}
I cannot, nor do I wish to expose myself to the same hazard." 4
1 This condition is further dealt with in Chap. XV.
2 See Chap. XV. 3 La Cour-Gayet, p. 179. * La Cour-Gayet, p. 282.
244 FAILURES TO STRENGTHEN LOUISBOURG 1758
With such crews La Clue left Toulon, November 8, to repeat, if possible,
the voyage to St. Domingo and Louisbourg which De Beauffremont had so
successfully made in the spring. Admiral Osborne held for England the Straits
of Gibraltar, and forced La Clue to take refuge in Carthagena, where he was
joined in January by some ships under De Motheux, which brought his strength up
to thirteen vessels. Preparations to strengthen Louisbourg, notwithstanding this
delay, were continued by the French. Du Quesnel, lately Governor-General of
Canada, by drawing on men recently returned from a cruise, was able to sail from
Toulon in command of the Foudroyant, 80, one of the finest ships of the French
Navy, and peculiarly endeared to that service as she had been La Galissoniere's
flagship at Minorca. She was accompanied by the Orphte, 64, and two smaller
vessels. In sight of La Clue, Du Quesnel engaged the English ships off
Carthagena on the 28th of February. The Qrphte fell at once, and after a
combat carried on by the Monmouth, 70, with unabated (pertinacity, after the
death of her captain, Du Quesnel struck to the smaller ship.1 La Clue had to
return to Toulon, for the superior forces of the British, with Gibraltar as its
base, blocked the passage to the Atlantic.
The strengthening of Louisbourg from the Mediterranean being thus
rendered impossible, efforts were made elsewhere, and the intendants of the naval
dep6ts on the Atlantic were ordered to hasten the dispatch of ships for Isle
Royale. The Magnifique left Brest early in March, and arrived in the drift ice
off Louisbourg on the Jist of that month. She hung there with appalling
sufferings of her crew. One hundred and twenty of her men died, twelve from
cold in one night. On another, the ship was unworkable from a " silver thaw."
Villeon, her commander, abandoned the voyage, and with only thirty men,
including officers, fit for duty, arrived back on May 5, at Corunna.2 Another
vessel never got away from the French coast . the Raisonable, 64, commanded by
the Prince de Montbazon, was overpowered and captured just after leaving Brest
for Louisbourg.3 The Prudent, 64, commanded by the Marquis des Gouttes,4
arrived at Louisbourg on March 24, and on the 28th Beaussier brought into port
his squadron consisting of :
U Entreprenant, 74 (Beaussier). Le Caprideux, 64 (De Tourville).
Le Bitnfaisant, 64 (Courserac). Le Ctlebre^ 64 (De Marolle).
La Comhe, 74 (Lorgeril).
The two first named were fully armed ; the other three were en flute, that
is, serving as freighters and transports. They brought provisions, and a battalion
of Volontaires Etrangers under D'Anthonay.5 The supplies brought by these
1 Corbctt givci a brief and picturesque account of this action and its significance to the two services, vol. i. 259.
1 Marine, B«, 80. 3 La Cour-Gayet, p. 311. * See Appendix. » See Appendix.
i7s8 REINFORCEMENTS AND SUPPLIES RECEIVED 245
vessels and others 1 placed Drucour in a position to carry on his defence without
further anxiety about munitions or supplies.2
The Court was anxious to supplement Drucour by officers of experience in
warfare. Blenac de Courbon 3 was transferred from his position as Commandant
at Brest to Louisbourg with the grade of Commander of its sea and land forces.4
He set sail on the Formidable on May n, found Louisbourg blocked, and
returned to Brest on June 27. 5 His appointment was made on April 10, so
that there was no haste displayed in his setting out, while his report to the
Minister, that he was " exceedingly happy to bring back to a good port the ship
which had been entrusted to me," 6 would indicate a lack of energy which made
his absence no great loss to the defence. On March 30, De la Houliere was
appointed to command the land forces, and arrived in Louisbourg by the Bizarre
on the 3<Dth of May. The troops were assembled and his position proclaimed on
June i.7 On the same day there came to the town an officer of the Dragon,
and the adjutant of Cambis, with the welcome news that DuchafFault had arrived
at Port Dauphin. His force consisted of six vessels ; only two of them and a
frigate had then arrived, but these had on board a battalion of Cambis as a
reinforcement for the garrison. An officer was sent with instructions for
DuchafFault to land this regiment, and to come with his ships to Louisbourg
as soon as possible.
v
The sight of Boscawen's fleet was no surprise to Drucour and his officers.
Indians had come with the news that they had seen the fleet off Fourchu. His
vigilance was fully awake. He had, as early as the 28th of April, manned the
entrenchments along the shores which Du Bois de la Motte had planned and
erected in 1757 against Loudon's threatened attack. In consultation with
Franquet, he had visited the shore and agreed on the sites at Pointe Blanche and
Pointe Plate for cannon (May I and 3), and forthwith proceeded to prepare for
their emplacement (May 5), while on the eastern side of the harbour he
established posts of 100 men, afterwards increased to 250, drawn in part from
the fleet, at L'Anse a Gautier, the most practicable landing near the lighthouse,
as well as at the Lorembecs.
The garrisons of Port Toulouse and Port Dauphin were brought in on
the 7th, and Drucour for the first time this spring had authentic news, but
1 The Apollo, April \$\Le Che-vre, April 24 ; La Fidele, frigate, May 10 ; three merchant vessels on May 19-27 j the
frigates Bizarre and Arethuse on May 30, the former enjiute.
2 He says that Louisbourg was fully provisioned for a year for the first time since 1735 (Drucour's Journal).
3 See Appendix. 4 I.R. B, 107.
5 Marine, B4, vol. 80. 6 Waddington, Guerre de Sept Ans, vol. ii. p. 336.
7 For further details of De la Houliere's interesting career see Appendix. De la Houliere had seen much service, had
taken part in nine sieges, and had been since 1735 King's Lieutenant at Salces, near Perpignan.
246 FINAL PREPARATIONS OF THE FRENCH 1758
not later than early April, that the ships which had wintered in Halifax were
refitting.1
Various bands of Indians and Acadians came in, and the younger Villejouin
brought ninety Acadians from L'Isle St. Jean, who were sent to a camp at
Gabarus Bay. In expectation of harassing the besiegers by these irregulars and
Indians, two depots of provisions were made on the Mire. A battery was even
erected at Port Dauphin and abattis and other siege material prepared. The
troops in the entrenchments were relieved weekly, but, before the month had
ended, the chapel of the spacious hospital had to be turned into a ward, to
accommodate the men who had fallen ill from exposure to the fog and rain. A
council of the captains of the ships of the navy was held on the 1 5th of May, to
concert measures for the defence of the port. It was decided to prepare fire-
ships, and an armed chaloupe, and to range the men-of-war in positions most
favourable for the defence of the port. The larger ships lay in their new
positions in a crescent between the Royal Battery and the Bastion de la Grave.
Those of the men-of-war which had arrived en fl&tc, had mounted their
guns, but were otherwise inactive. An English frigate more than once came
along past the town and penetrated, with her boats out, taking soundings, into
the very bottom of Gabarus Bay ; she lay at anchor another night, only two
cannon-shot offPointe Blanche; and although in the former case no supporting
ships were within four or five leagues, no attempt was made to attack her.
Drucour notes with admiration the daring of her commander.
A few words will describe the site of the impending conflict. The shores
of Gabarus Bay slope upwards from beaches and rocky points to a considerable
height, which is reached at about a mile distant from the water. This tract,
except where the morass or moorland extends to the shore, or the rocky ledges
rise in bare shoulders, is covered with forest or scrub growth. The farthest
point to the westward, which the French guarded by seventy troops under the
younger Villejouin, was the Montague au Diable, from which a footpath led to
the Mire road, giving by it access to the town. About 4000 yards nearer was
L'Anse a la Coromandiere, which French and English strategists alike had
picked out as a vulnerable point. It was, therefore, the object of attack, but
also the place where were made the most elaborate preparations for defence.
The distance between its headlands is about 660 yards, but on neither of these
points did it seem possible to land. Midway on the arc of its shore is a rocky
point, and on either side of it a beautiful sandy beach, from which the cliff rises
abruptly about 15 or 20 feet from high water. Along this higher land the
trenches were strengthened by an abattis of trees felled with their tops outward,
thickly strewn along the beach below. So thickly were they planted that they
1 Eleven Indian! brought back 7 prisoners and 16 scalps in a schooner they had captured.
« -C
^T^ O
O |
fc
h '5
«3 »
< fe
8 a
1758 INCREASE OF THEIR SHORE BATTERIES 247
appeared as a natural grove. A little brook runs into the sea close to the
eastern point of the cove. This point is a shoulder of land high enough to
hide from the shores of the cove all the coast and sea to the eastward. This
disadvantage of the position had been foreseen in the defences made in 1757.
A nid de 'pie or watch-tower had been erected on or near this ridge, from which
could be seen the whole range of the shore towards the town, say about four
miles ; and during the time in 1757 that a descent by the English was possible
had been occupied by a detachment.1 It was now left unoccupied. Pointe
Platte and Pointe Blanche were strongly entrenched and guarded. The stretches
of coast between these defences was most difficult to land on, and, by the more
sanguine of the defenders, thought inaccessible. Tourville, perhaps the most
accurate of the observers of events in Louisbourg, however, took a less hopeful
view. He walked forth one day, the 7th, to inspect the defences at these
nearer posts, and was satisfied with them, and knew Coromandiere was good ;
but, while the coast was rock strewn, the intervals between the defences were
great, and he believed there was danger of an unexpected landing.2
The gale of Sunday subsided, and Monday was a day of calm and thick
fog, so that both sides were ignorant of what the other was doing. The French
heard the sounds of hammering without knowing its cause, the carpenters of
the fleet working at the Trent's rudder. While the fog continued Wolfe
reconnoitred the shore to see if a landing was practicable. Boscawen, possibly
not to have to depend on the decision of a marine question by an impetuous
soldier, sent Commodore Durell on the same mission, but there was no difference
of opinion between the sea and land officers. They agreed that a landing could
not be made.
As was known to Amherst, the French were strengthening their defences.
An 8 -inch mortar was mounted on the 5th on a small hillock between
Pointe Platte and the Coromandiere, and fired that day until the fog came
down.3 The same day the encouraging news came in that eleven companies of
Cambis had arrived at Mire, and that De Chaffault had worked out of Port
Dauphin with the remaining six on his ships, and lay under Cibou Islands, at
the mouth of that harbour, in the most advantageous position, to sail with the
first fair wind for Louisbourg.4
Details of men from their ships in the harbour were engaged in hauling a
24-lb. cannon to its position at the battery of the Coromandiere, an arduous
task, delayed by the nature of the ground and the breaking of its carriage.
Although the Bay of Gabarus was occupied by the enemy, in whose sight
1 Johnstone says he served there. 2 " Je croy qu'il a lieu de craindre a cet igard " (Journal of the Cafricieux).
3 Lartigue, in a note on his map, says a battery should have been placed at this point, but Drucour's account is
confirmed by the Anon. Jl. 4 Ten arrived in Louisbourg the next day, the other on the 7th.
248 THEIR FORCES IN THE OUTPOSTS 1758
they performed the feat, two boats' crews of Basque fishermen, volunteers for
the service, carried two heavy cannon to Pointe Blanche ; where they were at
once mounted.1
The disposition of the regular troops in the field was finally :
Cannon. Swivel*. Mortari. Men.
At Coromandiere under St. Julhicn, fiof24J ,
Col. of Artois \4 „ 6/
Pte. Platte. Marin, Col. of Hour- {,5^6 , q^o
gogne \4 " /
Pte. Blanche. D'Anthonay, Col. fi „ 24 i
ofV.E. 16 „ 6/
Cape Noir . . . . 2 „ 24 75
2355
On the eastern side of the port :
The Lighthouse
Anses a Gautier ^4 „ 6j- ... 350
Grand Lorembec
And detachments of 50 soldiers
each at La Montagne du
Diable and Petit Lorembec, \ ... ... ... 100
at the west and east of the
fortified entrenchments
2805
In addition there were the militia, Acadians, and Indians, making the total
force over 3<DOO.2
While these preparations for defence were being carried on the plans of the
besiegers were modified by fresh discoveries of local conditions. The landing-
force was to be divided in three parts : Whitmore^Sj the white division,^waTto
form the right wing ; Lawrence's, the blue, the left; and ^JVolFe was to lead a
body of Highlanders, Light Infantry, and Irregulars. Amherst's general orders
of the 3rd indicate that his purpose was to attack at three places, at White and
Flat Points, and Wolfe's force3 further to the west. A heavy surf prevented
an attempt being made that day ; and it was, moreover, discovered that the
water off White Point would not allow the frigates to approach that point near
enough to have their fire cover effectively the landing troops of the right
division. A modification of the first plan was made in the orders of the 4th.
Amherst determined to have the white division, Whitmore's, distract the
enemy's attention at White Point, and then to follow Lawrence's division, the
1 Drucour's Jl. 7th.
3 There is no great discrepancy between this list and the number of guns taken as given by Gordon, p. 1 16.
3 It was, after a landing, to join that of Lawrence.
1758
AMHERST'S PLANS
249
blue, which was to land on the shore opposite their station, Flat Point, or to
follow the Grenadiers. The reconnaissances along the shore had obviously
failed to give Amherst and his staff any adequate idea of the French strength,
for these orders state that :
"The General, not to lose a moment of time, has thought proper to order that an
attack be made upon the little Intrenchments within the Fresh Water Cove with four
companies of Grenadiers. That no Body, regulars or irregulars, may dare stand before
them. These detachments are to be commanded by Brigadier General Wolfe. . . . The
Army is to land and attack the French in three different Bodies and at three different
places, all the Grenadiers and detachments of the right Wing land upon the right in the
bay within White Point, the Light Infantry, Irregulars, and Highlanders are to land in
the Fresh Water Cove in order to take the Enemy in the flank and rear, and cut some
of them off from the Town. The Highlanders, Light Infantry, and Irregulars, are to
Rendezvous to the right of the Island lying before the Fresh Water Cove to be ready
to run in the cove when the Signal is given."
It seems probable that Amherst's Fresh-Water Cove was at the outlet of
the stream which falls into the sea near Flat Point. Here is an islet only about
a furlong from the shore to the right of which might advantageously be placed the
supports of the four companies which were to effect the landing. From this
point they could best " take the enemy in flank and rear," and cut some
of them off from the town. If Fresh- Water Cove was the same place as
Coromandiere, the supports of the four companies were to rendezvous at an
islet six or seven times as far from the shore as the one at Flat Point, and the
position, if the landing were effected, the least favourable for cutting the enemy
off from the town. The operation would have been a pursuit, as in the
event it was, not an intersection of a line of retreat. Moreover, if Fresh- Water
Cove was the same as Coromandiere, as it was in the usage of the navy,1 it
would be absurd to assemble the force for an) attack on it, at the most distant
part of the line, " the right of the right attack." But if there be doubt as to
Amherst's intentions on different days, it is clear that attempts to effect a landing
were being made.
On the 6th, a day which opened with south-west wind and fog, Boscawen
signalled to prepare to land, in an interval when the weather showed signs of
clearing. The boats were sent to the ships, and by eight the troops were
in them, under the immediate supervision of Lawrence and Wolfe. Boscawen
and Amherst went later to order the disembarkation, but it fell calm, the fog
came down with heavy rains, and, following a rising breeze, "a large swell
tumbled in from the sea." The men, after rowing in shore and finding it
1 Boscawen's Jl. speaks of Cormorant, and Captain Jacobs of Fresh- Water Cove, referring to the same place (Captains'
Logs, 499).
250 THE EVE OF ATTACK 1758
impossible to land, were recalled and ordered back to the ships, Amherst " first
acquainting them with the reason for so doing." With the knowledge fresh in
his mind of the irritation in subordinate officers, and the rank and file, over the
faint-hearted attack on Rochefort, the previous year, Amherst doubtless did not
wish to damp the ardour of his force by an appearance of a lack of enterprise.
Wednesday, the yth, the weather was clear, but the surf was still high,
though operations at sea could be carried on, and Wrolfe spent the early morning
in sounding at the head of the bay. Bragg's regiment, which were still in the
small vessels in which they had come from the Bay of Fundy, were detached,
under convoy of the frigate Juno, to make a feint on the lighthouse point and
L'Anse a Gautier. This had little effect, for the French recognized it as being
not serious. Hoping that the next day would bring better weather, Boscawen
gave orders to the captains to have their boats at the transports at midnight,
and that profound silence should be observed. Amherst again, on the yth,
issued general orders. The boats of the right were to assemble at the transport
I'iolet) to which they were to be guided by three lights hung on the seaward side
at the water's edge. The left wing, under Lawrence, assembled at the St. George,
which hung out two lights ; and Wolfe with the Grenadier Companies, the
Highlanders, Light Infantry, under Major Scott, picked marksmen from all
the regiments, and colonial irregulars, was to be in readiness at the Neptune,
distinguished by a single lantern. After midnight no other lights were to be
shown on the transports, and the men were cautioned to prevent the accidental
discharge of a musket, as the General's intention was to surprise the French as
well as attack them. He asked for the care and vigilance of the officers of the
transports, and expressed his confidence in the good disposition of the troops,
and added that should the Admiral and General decide to alarm the enemy
earlier, the troops were to take no notice.
Although the fire from the French positions, well maintained between the
4th and yth, indicated that they were stronger than Amherst had thought,
it did not alter his later dispositions,1 and the attack was arranged for in
this order :
The right wing directed against Pointe Blanche :
Brigadier Whitmore
Colonel Burton and Colonel Foster
Regiments 1st Royals 48 Webb's
47 Laselles' 58 Anstruther's
2nd Batt. Americans 17 Forbes'
Bragg's, which should have formed part of this brigade, was detached to make a feint
to the eastward to distract the enemy.
1 The fog lifting on the 7th disclosed to some degree these positions to the British (Gordon Jl. 7).
1758 THE ATTACK
The left wing directed against Pointe Platte :
Brigadier-General Lawrence
Colonel Wilmot and
22nd Whitmore's
3rd Batt. Americans
45 Warburton's
25I
Colonel Handfield
35 Ot way's
40 Hopson's
15 Amherst's.
The 63 Eraser's were detached from this brigade to form part of
The Left Attack
Brigadier Wolfe
Colonels Murray and Fletcher
The Grenadier Companies of the I5th, 22nd, I7th, and 1st Regiments
The Irregulars and Light Infantry
The 63 Eraser's Regiment and the Grenadier Companies of the 4Oth, 4yth,
45th, 35th, 58th, and the 2nd and 3rd battalions of the 6oth and 48th
Regiments in the order named.
The right wing took up its position behind its supporting frigates, the
Sutherland and Squirrel ; the left were, until the decisive moment, to be drawn
up behind the Gramont, Diana, and Shannon ; while the left attack was supported
by the Kennington frigate and the Halifax snow, which were close in shore at the
Coromandiere, to which the frigate has since given her name.1
Nothing but success was counted on. The troops were to take in their
pockets bread and cheese for two days, and leave their blankets to follow after a
landing had been secured.
Thursday, June 8, Durell rowed along the shore unmolested by the
French, and came back to report that there was not so heavy a surf as to prevent
landing, at least in Coromandiere. The French batteries began firing at the
nearer ships, and their troops were mustered in the entrenchments. The frigates
fired briskly on them for about a quarter of an hour. It being then light, the
watchers from the ramparts of the town, drawn there by the heavy firing giving
poignancy to their anxiety, saw three to four hundred boats row in divisions
from between the sheltering ships. The attack they thought was being delivered
on the eastern points. In a little time, before these boats had reached the shore,
they were seen to turn towards the Coromandiere. As Wolfe's force, the
weakest of the three in numbers, but made up of picked men, rowed into the cove,
" the enemy," says Amherst, " acted very wisely, did not throw away a shot
until the boats were close in shore," and then poured in on them so deadly a fire,
as the soldiers in the trenches were provided with spare loaded muskets, that
1 The Kennington, Captain Jacobs, had taken up her position on the 3rd (Captains' Logs, No. 499). As they were
being damaged by the fire from the shore, she and the other frigate were ordered by Boscawen to warp further off on
the 4th (Boscawen's Journal). On the morning of the 8th, she took her position within a musket-shot of the shore
(Captains' Logs, No. 499).
252 REPULSE, AND FINAL SUCCESS 1758
landing was impossible. It looked as if Wolfe's first experience in command was
to be a disastrous failure, for, notwithstanding his eagerness and the courage of
his men, his advance was decisively checked. He gave the signal to retreat, and
his boats turned to the open. In Amherst's orders, the officers in charge were
cautioned to " avoid huddling together and running into a lump." Three boats
on the right of Wolfe's force drifted or rowed towards the east and there found
themselves sheltered by the ridge from the fire of St. Julhien's men. Just at its
foot is still a little space of sand among the rocks of the shore. They effected
a landing on it. Wolfe saw the movement, or was advised of it by one of them,
and turned again to the point. The repulse had not chilled the ardour of his
men. A sergeant in one of the boats, as they rowed into the first attack, stood up
in his boat and cried out, " Who would not go to Hell, to hear such music for half
an hour ? ' A shorter time was given him, for he was shot dead as he stood ; but
there were many among the soldiery as reckless of consequences. Some of the boats,
when they reached the rocky shore, were dashed to pieces or stove in by collision.
The men, Wolfe among them, leaped into the water. Those who kept their
feet waded ashore, those who fell were drowned or crushed by the heaving boats.
Some of them had taken regular formation on the higher ground before the
other brigades reached the shore. St. Julhien, his outlook obscured by the
smoke of his own fire and that of the frigates, was busy serving his guns at an
enemy which he thought was still in the boats in front of his position. The
distance was too great for Marin at Flat Point to know what was taking place.
Some skirmishing between irregulars and Wolfe's men occurred.2 When St.
Julhien was advised of the landing, he hesitated, lost time, and, instead of a
brilliant attacked delivered by him, on a handful of men with wet muskets, what
took place was an attack of his flank and rear by an enemy pouring over the
ridge. His troops, which had been in the trenches in bad weather, some for a
week, others for a fortnight, were in no condition to stand such an onslaught.8
They broke and fled towards the town, pursued by Wolfe and the light troops.
So rapid was the advance that it was only by travelling with seven-league boots,
" a pas de geant," that Marin's men were not cut off in their retreat from Flat
Point. The French rallied for a little above the Barachois, but were there in
danger of being surrounded by the two forces in which the British advanced.
The pursuit was only ended by a cannonade from the walls, which marked for
Amherst the point at which he could safely put his advanced camps. The
artillery and stores at Coromandiere and Flat Point fell into the English hands.
D'Anthonay held his ground at White Point until he received orders to retire,
1 Hamilton MSS. - "Our troops killed and scalped an Indian Sachem the day we landed" (Wolfe to Sackville).
1 " Ye Rangers Started them first, they Ran and Hollow'd and fired on behind them and they left their Brest
work" (Knap, p. 8).
1758 ITS SIGNIFICANCE 253
and then came in, after destroying his material.1 It was after four when the
attack began, it was six when Boscawen landed, and at about eight the French
troops were under the protection of the guns of the town. So short a time
had this decisive event taken, but little more than twice as long as leisurely
and unmolested pedestrians would take to land and go over the same broken
ground.2
The young officers who turned the tide were Lieutenants Hopkins and
Brown and Ensign Grant of the 35th Regiment.3 Their exploit may well have
been one of the foundations for the tradition as to the luck of the British Army.
Wolfe's attack was a direct frontal one on an impregnable position. Had St.
Julhien allowed his enemy to land and become entangled in the abattis, the
appalling disaster which befell at Ticonderoga4 the equally gallant troops of
Abercomby would have been anticipated at the Coromandiere. Had a corporal's
guard been on the ridge, the first boats might have been beaten off. Had Wolfe
been no quicker to act than at least one of his fellow-brigadiers,5 or had St.
Julhien been as quick as Wolfe, success would have continued with the French.
Neither Wolfe nor Amherst mention the incident ; we know of it through
private accounts both French and English.
The three young officers leading Highlanders, says Hamilton, the light
infantry, says Gordon, struck a new note in the Seven Years' War. Vacillation
and an excess of caution had marked its conduct, but later its most brilliant
exploits were in the form which they first gave, accomplishing the impracticable.
Perchance to them had filtered down the opinion of Wolfe, " The greatness of an
object should come into consideration as opposed to the impediments that lie in
the way." Its spirit surely informed their action. Wolfe, himself, but followed
their example at Quebec ; and like them, Lambart " by attempting a place where
1 He did not spike his guns.
2 After much hesitation I have adopted this version of the sequence ot these events. It follows Amherst's account
in so far as the main attack, being intended against the Coromandiere. There are, however, difficulties in accepting this
view. If the attacks of the main brigades were not to be serious, why did Whitmore come under fire ? (Anon. Journal).
If it was the well-ordered operation which appears in Amherst's account, it is difficult to explain Wolfe's view of the
event, except by attributing to him a talent for exaggeration quite phenomenal. That opinion was, " Our landing was
next to miraculous. ... I wouldn't recommend the Bay of Gabarouse for a descent, especially as we managed it " (Wolfe
to Sackville, Hist. MSS. Com. Ninth Report, p. 76).
The losses at the landing were : —
British Regulars : — Killed 3 officers, Captain Baillie and Lieut. Cuthbert of Fraser's. Lieut. Nicholson of Amherst's,
4 sergeants, i corporal, and 38 men. Of these only 8 were shot, the others were drowned. Wounded : 5 lieuts., 2
sergeants, i corporal, and 51 men.
Rangers : — i ensign and 3 men killed, i wounded and i missing. They took 4 French officers and about 70 men
prisoners, 17 guns, 2 mortars, and 14 swivels, with supplies and stores of all kinds.
The French loss is stated by Drucour as 114, including deserters from the Volontaires Etrangers. Three officers
were wounded.
3 For the meagre details I have been able to find about these officers, see end of Chapter.
4 July 8, 1758. See Parkman, Montcalm and Wolfe, chap, xx., and his App. G.
5 " Whitmore is a poor, old, sleepy man " (Wolfe to Sackville, Ninth Report Hist. MSS. Com. p. 76).
254 BROWN, HOPKINS, AND GRANT
the mounting of the rocks was just possible" won a foothold at Belle Isle.1
True it may be that had there been above the rocks of Coromandiere a post
in the " magpies' nest," had a more vigilant officer than Vergor held the outpost
at L'Anse a Koulon, had the force under the gallant De Ste. Croix been larger,
failure and not success had befallen the British arms on these decisive occasions,
but greatly daring, and promptly succoured, they all won, through unexpected
ways, the crucial foothold.
APPENDICES
A. MEMO, re LIEUTENANTS HOPKINS AND BROWN, AND ENSIGN GRANT
It is impossible to say with any certainty who these three were. An examination of
the records of the time reveal one Lieut. Hopkins, 3 Lieuts. Grant, and no less than 6
Lieuts. Brown, all serving in America at the time of the siege of Louisbourg, and probably
all serving at the siege itself.
Hopkins. — Among the "Commissions granted by the Earl of Loudoun during his
command in America."'
Thomas Hopkins is appointed a Lieutenant in the 48th (Webb's) vice Gordon, pd., on
the 6th June 1757. A Return of killed and wounded, sent in Amherst's dispatch of
27 July 1758, includes the name of "Lt. Hopkins, of Webb's," among the wounded.3 Presum-
ably he resigned in America, as among the Commissions granted by Amherst in America
we read, "Jno. Clarke, Lt., 48th vice Hopkins, resd., 8 Mar. 1759." The Army List for
1759 (War Office copy) also has Hopkin's name crossed out and a MS. addition — "Res.
—John Clarke, 8 Mar. '59." This appears to be the only Lieut. Hopkins who served at
the siege of Louisbourg.4
Grant. — John Grant was appointed Lieutenant to the 58th (Anstruther's) 28 January
I758.3 He appears to have been the only lieutenant of the name at Louisbourg at the actual
time of the surrender, but among the "Commissions granted by Amherst at the camp at
Louisbourg " appear commissions to 5
Allan Grant, as Lieutenant of the Royal Americans, 2d Batt., vice Hart, killed,
28 July 1758 ; and
Alexander Grant, as Lieutenant of the Royal Americans, 3d. Batt., vice Longsdon,
dead, 23 August 1758.
Broivn. — The Army Lists of 1758 and 1759 give the following :—
22d (Whitmore's) Lt. Henry Brown 25 Oct. 1756.
28th (Bragg's) Lt. Frans. Brnun 9 April 1756.
35th (Otway's) Lt. Thomas Brown 16 Feb. 1756.
6oth (Amherst's) Lt. John Brown 9 Feb. 1756.
1 In 1760 (see Corbctt, vol. ii. pp. 160-167, f°r an account of this event, in which we read the names of places
familiar to us in the pages of Dumas).
8 (W.O. 25/25 Commission Rooks 1757-60), C.O. 5/53. 3 W.O. 25/25.
« Army List, 1759. 3 W.O. 25/25.
BROWN, HOPKINS, AND GRANT
255
In addition to these, the E. of Loudon in America granted a commission to Lieut.
William Brown of the 6oth vice Ridge, pd. 13 Dec. 1756 j1 and Amherst at the camp at
Louisbourg granted a Lieutenant's commission to William Browne of the 35th (Otway's)
vice Thomas Comeford, killed 31 July 1758. A "Lt. Brown of Otway's" is included
among the wounded in Amherst's Return of killed and wounded at Louisbourg. This was
probably the above-named Lt. Thomas Brown, as William Browne was only an ensign
until July 31, four days later than the date of the return.
LIEUTENANTS BROWN 2
Henry Brown, 25 Oct. 1756, Lieut. (Disappears in I76i.)8
Francis Brown, 9 April 1756, Lieut. (In the Army List for 1763 there is written against
his name, " Francis Brown 28 Mar. '63." After this his name disappears, so that is
probably the date of his death, or may be retirement).4
Thomas Brown, 16 Feb. 1756, Lieut. (Disappears in 1761. )5
John Brown, 9 Feb. 1756, Lieut., 15 Sept. 1760, Capt. (Disappears in 1764, but reappears
in 1765 as): — 14 Jan. 1764, Capt.; Army Rank, 15 Sept. 1760; 22 Sept. 1775,
Major ; 14 June 1777, Retired.6
William Brown, 13 Dec. 1756, Ensign; 31 Oct. 1759, Lieut. (Disappears 1769.) [Toolate.]
ENSIGNS GRANT 7
Allan Grant,8 I Feb. 1756, Ensign; 28 July 1758, Lieut; 7 Oct. 1763, Regt. Rank.
(Continued in Army Lists until 1772, when his name is crossed out and a Ml.
note written against it. " David Alexandre Grant, 1 1 May '72." He does not
appear later.)
Alexander Grant,9 2 Feb. 1756, Ensign ; 23 Aug. 1758, Lieut. (Crossed out in the Army
List of 1760 and marked "dd.")
Commissions were granted at the camp at Louisburgh to : —
Allan Grant, Rl. Americans, 2d Battn., as Lieut, vice Hart, killed, 2d July 1758.
Alexander Grant, Rl. Americans, 2d Battn., as Lieut, vice Longsdon, dead, 23 Aug. 1758.
By referring to Amherst's account in Gordon's Journal it will be seen that the
boats on the eastward of Wolfe's attack contained officers and men of the ist, of
the Irregulars, Fraser's, the 35th and 48th regiments, and next to the last named,
the 6oth. The head of the flotilla having actually got into the cove, the boats
most likely to get beyond the sheltering front were those to the rear. I therefore
hazard the opinion that these officers were Thomas Brown of the 35th (Otway's),
Thomas Hopkins of the 48th (Webb's), and one or other of the Grants in the
6oth, for it does not seem probable that a boat of the 58th, in which John
Grant was Lieutenant, would have got from the extreme left of the detachment
to its extreme right.
1 W.O. 25/25.
4 28th Bragg's.
1 Army Lists and Commission Books.
2 Army Lists.
5 35th Otway's.
8 6oth Regiment.
3 22nd Regiment, Whitmore's.
6 6oth Amherst's.
9 6oth Regiment.
256 THE LANDING
B. VARIOUS ACCOUNTS OF THE LANDING
Boicawetff "Journal
THURSDAY, %th June 1758.
At Midnight sent all the boats with proper Officers in them to assist in landing the
troops. The Generals went with them, attended by their Aide de Camps. The
Commodore with Captains Buckle, Lindsay, Balfour and Goostree went likewise to assist
in the Disembarkation. By the Dawn of the Day all the Troops were in the Boats and
ranged in their proper Divisions. The Enemy upon observing of this motion, began to
throw Shells amongst the Frigates and Transports. The Kennington and Halifax ran close
into Cormorant Cove, and at 4 I saw the Boats rowing towards the Shore with the Troops
and at the Sun's rising the Kennington and Halifax began to fire upon the Enemy to cover
the Landing, which was followed by the Sutherland^ and rest of the Frigates placed in
Shore. About 5 o'clock the Enemy began a very smart Fire at the Boats with both
Cannon, Swivels and Small Arms, which continued about 15 minutes, when it ceas'd, part
of the Troops having Landed and driven the Enemy out of their Entrenchments.
Gordon s y ournal
When the Fire from the Ships was thought Sufficient the Signal was made for the
Grenadiers to row into the Cove which they accordingly did. The Enemy began a very
hot fire of Musketry and Swivels, from their Entrenchments, and the same with Grape
from their Batteries in Flank. After standing this some time still making for the shore, a
small body of Light Infantry Commanded by Lieutenants Hopkins and Brown and Ensign
Grant of the 35th Regiment seeing a convenient place on the right of the Cove that is
free from the Enemy's Fire, the Surge being equally or more violent than in the Cove,
made for it and getting ashore, were soon followed by the Whole ; came upon the Flank
and back of the Enemy drove them, and Brigadier Wolfe, with a small body, pursued them
within Cannonade of the Town.
The right and Left Wings landed afterwards and were followed by the second Em-
barkation. The Line was formed and marched nearer the Town, laid out the Encamp-
ment for the Army, every Corps taking up their own ground.
Amherrfs 'Journal
On the 8th The Troops were in the Boats before the break of Day, in three Divisions
according to the Plan annexed, and Comodore Durell having viewed the boats by order of
the Admiral and given me his opinion that the Troops might land, without danger from
the Surf, in the bay on our left the Kennington and Halifax now began the fire upon the
left followed by the Grammont^ Diana^ and Shannon Frigates in the Centre and the
Sutherland and Squirrell upon the right, when the fire had continued about a quarter of an
Hour, the Boats upon the left rowed into the Shore under the Command of General Wolfe,
whose Detachment was composed of the four Eldest Companys of Grenadiers, followed by
the light Infantry (a Corps of 550 men chosen as Marksmen from the different Regiments,
serve as Irregulars and are commanded by Major Scott, who was Major of Brigade) and
ACCOUNTS OF THE LANDING 257
Companys of Rangers, supported by the Highland Regiment, and those by the Eight
remaining Companys of Grenadier.
The Division on the right under the Command of Br. Genl. Whitmore consisted of
the Royal, Lascelles, Monckton, Forbes, Anstruther and Webb, and rowed to our right
by the White Point as if intending to force a landing there.
The Centre Division under the command of Br. Genl. Lawrence was formed of
Amherst's, Hopson's, Otway's, Whitmore's Lawrence's and Warburton's, and made at
the same time a Shew of landing at the fresh water Cove : this drew the Enemy's atten-
tion to every part and prevented their Troops posted along the Coast from Joining those
on their right.
The Enemy acted very wisely, did not throw away a Shot till the Boats were near in
shore, and then directed the whole fire of their Cannon and Musketry upon them : the Surf
was so great that a place could hardly be found, to get a boat on shore ; notwithstanding
the fire of the Enemy and the Violence of the Surf, Brigadier Wolfe pursued his point, and
landed just at their left of the Cove, took post, attacked the enemy, and forced them to
retreat. Many Boats overset, several broke to Pieces, and all the Men jumped into the
water to get on shore.
As soon as the left Division was landed the first Detachment of the Centre rowed at
a proper time to the left and followed, then the remainder of the Centre division as fast as
the boats could fetch them from the Ships, and the right Division followed the Centre in
like manner.
It took a great deal of time to land the Troops, the enemy's retreat, or rather flight,
was through the roughest and worst ground I ever saw, and the pursuit ended with a
canonading from all the town which was so far of use, that it pointed out how near I could
encamp to invest it, on which the Regiments marched to their ground, and lay on their
Arms. The Wind increased, and we could not get anything on shore.
Anon. Journal (Brit. Mus. Add. MSS. 11,813, f. 82-88).
The morning very Clear, Little wind and Surge. The Troops Rendezvoused
according to order at \ past 3 o'clock in the morning. Our Bomb Ketch then Began
to Exchange shells with the Enemy at 4 o'clock our Frigates and Sloops Cannonaded
furiously. \ past 4 the Left wing rowed close in with the shore, in Fresh Water Cove,
the Enemy kept so brisk a fire from their Entrenchments and from three Batterys with
Grape shot that our troops were order'd to retreat and Land to ye Right of ye Cove,
which they perfected with Great Difficulty, One Boat in which were Twenty Grenadiers
and an officer was stove, and Every one Drowned. The African Rangers 1 under the
Command of Major Scott, were the first that Landed. Fifty of these repulsed above
a hundred French, who were coming to oppose the landing of our men, the Difficulty
of Landing at this place was such that they thought the Devil himself would not have
attempted it.
An Authentic Account^ June 8.
About 4 this morning under cover of the Ship's Guns, the Boats with a Division of
the Troops, after a general Rendezvous near White Point^ made an Attempt of landing
1 An obvious mistake for "American."
S
258 ACCOUNTS OF THE LANDING 1758
to the Left at Kennington Cove with 600 Light Infantry. The whole Battalion of
Highlanders, and 4 Companies of Grenadiers, under the Command of Brigadier General
Wolfe ; while a Feint of landing was made to the Right towards White Point conducted
by Brigadier General Whitmore ; and the Brigades in the centre were commanded by
Brigadier General Laurence, who made a Shew at Fresh-Water Cove, the move to distract
the Enemy's Attention, and to divide their Force.
The Left Wing finding the Shore at Kennington Cove impregnable, withdrew with
some loss from the warm fire of two Batteries discharging Grape and round Shot upon them
in Flank ; while several Swivels, and small Arms almost without number showered on them
from the Lines, that were about 15 feet above the Level of the Boats.
As the Enemy had for some Tears been preparing against such a probable attempt ;
they had now been some Days in Expectation of our Visit : They had accordingly posted
3000 Regulars, Irregulars, and a few of the native Indians, in all the probable places of the
landing, behind a very strong Breast-work fortified at proper Distances with several pieces
of Cannon, besides Swivels of an extraordinary Calibre, mounted on very strong perpen-
dicular Stocks of Wood, driven deep into the Ground : They had also prepared for flank-
ing, by erecting Redans mounted with Cannon in the most advantageous Situations —
Nothing of the Kind has perhaps been seen more complete than these Fort ific ation s.
Besides, all the approaches to the Front fines were rendered so extremely difficult by
the Trees they had laid very thick together upon the Shore round all the Cove, with their
Branches lying towards the sea, for the Distances of 20 in some, and of 30 Yards in
other places, between the Lines and the Water's Edge ; that, had our people not been
exposed to such a Fire from the Enemy, the bare attempt of possessing these Lines,
would have been like that of travelling towards them through a wild Forest, from the
interwoven Branches of one Tree to those of another with incredible Fatigue and endless
Labour.
Nor, was this Stratagem possible to be suspected at any great Distance, as the Place
had the Appearance of one continued Green of little scattered Branches of Fir. And, but
very few of the Guns on their Lines were to be distinguished out of the Reach of their
Metal, the rest were artfully concealed from our View with Spruce-Branches until the Boats
advanced towards the Shore, with the Resolution of forcing the Works — The latent
Destruction was then unmasked, by the removal of the Spruce-Branches and the adventurous
Spectators were soon convinced, those works were not capable of being forced by numbers
much superior to theirs. The Enemy depended much on their Strength here, which perhaps
occasioned them to be somewhat premature in their exertion of it. For, before our Boats
came near the water's edge, they began with great alertness to play their Batteries, and to
fire red hot Balls, besides a continual Discharge of their small Arms among them. The
consequence had been much more fatal to our People, few if any of whom would have
escaped, had the enemy timed their fire with more Judgment, by permitting the Boats to
have actually landed their men on that narrow Shoal beach, taking no other notice of them
until they had been all in their Power, than they had done before of the Fire from our
Frigates, and of some Boats that had been with Commodore Durell to reconnoitre the
Shore, before any of the Troops had put off from the Transports.
Exasperated, not discouraged, at this Repulse from the Enemy's irristible Fire, the
1 Authentic Account, etc., June 8.
1758 ACCOUNTS OF THE LANDING 259
troops of that IVing, drew off with all convenient expedition towards the Centre, determined
to rush on Shore wherever they saw any Probability of Success, whatever Loss they might
sustain. Soon after this the Lieutenants Browne and Hopkins, with Ensign Grant and
about 100 of the Light Infantry happily gained the Shore over almost impracticable Rocks
and Steeps to the Right of the Cove. Upon which Brigadier Wolfe directed the Remainder
of this Command to push on Shore as soon as possible, and as well as they could — which
heightened their eager Impatience so much, that the Light Infantry, Highlanders and
Grenadiers intermixed, rushed forward with impetuous Emulation, without Regard to any
previous Orders, and piqued themselves mightily which Boat could be most dexterous and
active in getting first on Shore. In this manner, though all the while exposed to the Fire
of a Battery of three Guns, that sometimes raked, sometimes flanked their Boats very
furiously, and of small arms within 20 yards of them, they were all expeditiously landed
with little loss, besides about 22 Grenadiers, who were unfortunately drowned by having
their Boats stove in the Bold Attempt.
Among the foremost of these parties was Brigadier Wolfe, who jumped out of his Boat
into the Surf to get to the Shore, and was readily followed by numbers of the Troops amidst
a most obstinate Fire of the Enemy. Soon after landed Brigadier Lawrence, and was
followed by the rest of the Brigades with all possible expedition. After him in a little
time Brigadier Whitmore, and the Division of the Right Wing, gained the Shore, amidst
a continual Charge of Shot and Shells, from the Enemy's Lines, several of the latter reach-
ing also as far as the Brigades in the Centre. And last of all landed the Commander in
Chief. Major-General Amherst in the Rear, full of the highest Satisfaction from seeing
the Resolution, Bravery and Success of the Troops on surmounting Difficulties and
despising Dangers.
The Lieutenant of Warburton's (" Valbetone "), who died at Louisbourg
after the siege, who was in the division which attacked the Sandy Cove
(Coromandiere), " said to me that their landing on the left of the Cove was
made by chance, that they had not believed this place possible for landing, that
three boats had sought there refuge from our fire (s'y etaient jettees pour eviter
notre feu), and that they had signalled the others to come on" (avaient fait signal
aux autres d'advancer). — (Poilly's Journal.)
Princess Amelia. — Captain's Log. No. 736. Captn. John Bray.
June 8, 1758. — Sent boats "to assist landing Coll. : Fraizer Grenadiers first & then
what other Troops that remained not Landed a Cutter with a Mate to Land the Rangers
at sun rising the Sutherland & all the Frigates began a Cannonading the Enemy's Batteries
& Breast Works the Boats with the Troops at the same time begun to Approach the shore
the Enemy suffer'd them to Come within pistol shot of the shore before they began to fire
and then begun to fire with Great Guns & small arms excessively hot which continued
14 minutes, but some Boats getting into some Rocks a little to the Eastward of the Bay
Landed about 40 Rangers which Clamber'd up them & got into a small wood which
Flank'd the Enemy's Breastworks, which when perceived by them on receiving their Fire
quitted their Battery & Breastworks & took to the woods with the utmost Precipitation
in the Battery & Breastwork were upwards of noo men, the Landing then became
260 ACCOUNTS OF THE LANDING 1758
General they now and then firing single musquets out of the woods at the Boats." They
5 killed & 10 wounded.
FRENCH ACCOUNTS
Three barges of this division to avoid our fire, rushed (ce sont jette") behind a head
Cap called Cap Rouge, which encloses the left of this Cove (Coromandiere). On this head
thev had built a "nid de pie," where unhappily there was no detachment for what reason
I know not. These barges found here a nook or two where they landed their men, and
the third went to seek the others. — (Anon. Journal.)
This division (Wolfe's) thus shattered (Rompie) sought to retire beyond our fire.
Their right sheltered themselves by the rocks which ended our entrenchments unmolested
(Comme ils Voulurent). Seeing that they were not observed they tried to land among
the rocks, and did it so diligently that they had already put a considerable number of men
on shore before they were seen. — (Poilly.)
The W.S.W. winds drove the smoke of the cannon on shore, and in this they were
favorable to the enemy, nevertheless of the first boats which entered the Coromandiere
there were a score destroyed by our artillery. One noticed that the others curved toward
the second division with the exception of five or six which through fear or through a
knowledge of the ground went into the cove Nid de Pie twelve or fourteen yards across in
sand surrounded by steep rocks situated between the Coromandiere after Sandy Cove and
Flat Point, a place where there had been last year a detachment of twenty-five or thirty
men, and this year none. Thus the first barges landed troops without opposition and the
first success drew on the others. — (Drucour.)
Capricieux. — At four o'clock in the morning, a little before the enemies made a general
attack in Gabarus, all (of them) who appeared before the entrenchments were driven back,
but the second line of the forces which had attacked the Coromandiere seeing the first
repulsed drew off to the left, and having found a ravine got on shore there, some boats of
the first line followed them.
Jeuly 8 a 4 heures du matin un peu avant les enemies ont fait une ataque gdneYale
dans Gabarus, tout ce qui s'est presente devant les retranchements a £t£ repousse, mais la
seconde ligne de troupes de dibarquement qui avoient ataqud la Coromandiere voyant la
premiere repousee a fi!6 sur la gauche, et ayant trouv6 un ravin y a mis pied a terre, quelques
barges de la Pre ort suivis. — (Tourville of the Capricieux.}
They advanced their barges towards two large bays. . . . The English maintained
their attack a long time without being further advanced than the loss of a great number
of men, and without being able to force the retrenchments. A struggling barge that in
appearance had been repulsed from the bays discovered a small creek, where two boats
could enter at the same time. This creek was on the left of the regiment of Artois, and
through negligence was left without a guard, although it was so surely comprehended in
the general plan of defense the year before that in the summer of 1757 I was posted there
with a detachment. . . . This barge gave a signal to the others to follow, and at last they
all slipped away from the two bays (Coromandiere and Flat Point) without being remarked
by the French in their retrenchments until several thousand of English soldiers had been
landed and drawn up in battle array, having cut off the regiment of Artois from the rest
of our troops. — Johnstone (Que. Lit. and Hist. Soc.).
FORCES AND ARMAMENTS
261
LIST OF ENGLISH FLEET, 1758
Rate.
Ships.
No. of
Guns.
No. of
Men.
Commanders.
Lieutenants.
Sailed from
England.
Disposition.
znd
Namur
90
780
Hon. Adi. Boscawen
Phil. Afflick
15 . 2. 1758
Matw. Buckle
from
Portsmouth *
In No. America
23d from
under the
2
Royal William .
84
765
Sir Chas. Hardy
Wm. Dumaresq
Plymouth
Do.
commd. of the
Honble. Adi.
Thos. Evans
3
Prs. Amelia
80
665
Commre. Durell
Wm. Hall
Do.
Boscawen.
John Bray
3
Dublin .
74
600
G. B. Rodney
Jams. Worth
16. 3 . 1758
In No. America
3
Terrible .
74
600
Rd. Collins
Wm. Chads
16 . 4. 1757
under the
3
Northumberland
70
520
Rt. Hble. Ld. Colville
Edwd. Thornborough
16 .4. 1757
- command ol
3
Orford .
70
520
Rd. Spry
Ridgwl. Sheward
16 . 4. 1757
Vice- Adi.
Holbourne.
3
Somerset ,
70
520
Edwd. Hughes
Robt. Mortimer
12.7. 1757
Gone to No.
America.
3
Vanguard
70
520
Robt. Swanton
Humphy. Rawlins
8.4.1758
3
Burford .
66
520
Jas. Gambier
Thos. Pemble
23 • 2. 1758
11
3
3
3
3
Lancaster
Devonshire
Captain .
Bedford .
66
66
64
64
520
520
480
480
Hble. G. Edgcumbe
Wm. Gordon
John Amherst .
Thorpe Fowke
Thos. Barker
Salkd. Jno. Proctor
Saml. Spendlove
Lews. Davies
23 . 2. 1758
29 . 6 . 1757
2O . I . 1758
23 . 2 . 1758
Gone to No.
America under
• the commd. ol
Honble. Adi
3
Gr. Frederick .
64
480
Robt. Man
Jno. Gordon
29 . I . 1758
4
Defiance , ,
60
400
Patk. Baird
Heny. Phillips
2-5- 1757
ijOScawen.
4
Pembroke .
60
420
Jno. Simcoe
Geo. Allan
23 . 2 . 1757
4
York
60
480
Hugh Pigot
Thos. Fitzherbert
30 . I . 1758
4
Kingston .
60
400
Wm. Parry
Wm. Cock
16.4. 1757
In No. America
4
4
Pr. of Orange .
Nottingham
60
60
400
400
Jno. Fergusson
Saml. Marshall
Jno. Jarden
Wm. Bunyan
23.3 . 1758
23 .2 . 1758
under the
command ol
4
Sutherland
50
350
Capt. Rous
Isah. Hay
6.4. 1756
Honble. Adi.
from Cork
4
Centurion , .
50
350
Wm. Mantell
Jno. Barnsley
16 .4. 1757
Hoses wen.
5
Juno
32
220
Jno. Vaughan
Chas. Wood
29 . i . 1758
5
Diana
32
220
Alexr. Schomberg
Jos. Norwood
14. i . 1758
6
Boreas .
28
200
Hble. Rt. Boyle
Jno. Bernard
21 . I . 1758
6
Trent
28
2OO
Jno. Lindsay
Patk. Calder
23 .2 . 1758
6
6
Shannon .
Portmabon
28
24
200
1 60
Chas. Medows
Paul H. Ourry
Jno. Mann
Thos. Piercy
23 . 2 . 1758
23.12. 1754
6
Hind
24
1 60
Robt. Bond
Thos. Ellis
25 . I . 1758
6
Scarborough
20
1 60
Robt. Routh
Robt. Carpenter
24. 9 . 1757
6
i
Squirrel .
2O
1 60
Jno. Wheelock
Crean Percival
15 . i . 1758
6
Kennington
20
1 60
Maxm. Jacobs
Lewis Gordon
23 . 2 . 1758
Frig.
Gramont .
18
125
Jno. Stott
Petr. Baskerville
IS . 2 . 1758
Slo.
Hunter
10. 14
110
Jno. Laforey
Jno. Sharpe
25 . I . 1758
Slo.
Ha-wke
10.14
no
Robt. Hathorne
Wm. Denne
16.4. 1757
Fires
Lightning
8.6
45
Wm. Goostrey
Hy. Ashington
23 . 2 . 1758
Vessel
Fires
Altna
8.6
45
Geo. Balfour
Wm. Bloom
23 . 2. 1758
Vessel
Armed
Tagloe
40
Davd. Pryce
25 . I . 1758
...
Vessel
Eighteen of these Captains had served as recently as 1757 in American waters.
262
FORCES AND ARMAMENTS
LIST OF THK LAND FORCES IN 1758
Commanding Officers on the Expedition against the Fortress of Louisbourg
Major-Gcneral JKKFRY AMHKRST, Commandcr-in-Chicf of His Majesty's Forces.
Brigadier-General RDW\RD WHITMORK. Brigadier-General CHARLES LAWRHNCK. | Brigadier-General JAMKS WOLKK.
Train of Artillery commanded by Colonel GEORGE WILLIAMSON.
Chief Engineer — Colonel JOHN HENRY BASTIDE.
Rangers commanded by Lt. -Colonel SCOTT.
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Regiment.
Modern Name.
i
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East Yorkshire Regt.
Leicestershire Regt. .
Cheshire Regt. ....
ist Batt. Gloucester Regt.
Royal Sussex Regt. (ist Batt.) .
Prince of Wales' Volunteers (South L
ist Batt. Sherwood Foresters (Derbys
Loyal North Lancashire Regt. (Wolfe
ist Batt. Northamptonshire Regt.
2ml Batt. Northamptonshire Regt.
King's Royal Rifle Corps .
King's Royal Rifle Corps .
The Seaforth Highlanders
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FORCES AND ARMAMENTS 263
MUNITIONS OF WAR.
Supplied. Expended.
Canon .... 88 13
Mortars .... 52 I
Howitzers .... 6 8
Shot .... 45,86i 14^30
Shells and carcasses . . 41,962 339°
Grenades .... 4000
Powder bbls. . . . 4888 1493
Sand-bags . . . 115,000 39,5oo
Cartridges .... 53,513 3°>23°
Musket .... 726,756 750,000
Fuzes .... 45,261 I4)II9
It may be noted that only in musket cartridges was the supply short. In other things
only about one-third of the supply was used. The above statistics are from Gordon's
"Journal.
No such accurate figures are available for the French forces in Louisbourg. They
seem to have been :
SHIPS.
Guns. Men.
Prudent . . . .74 680
Entreprenant . . .74 680
Capri 'deux . . . .64 440
Cltebre / . . . .64 440
Bienfaisant . . .64 440
Apollo . . . .50 350 *
Ar&thuse .... 36 270
Fidtte . . . -3° 27°
Chh)re . . . .16 150
Biche . . . .16 150
494 387°
LAND FORCES (FRENCH).
Artois ...... 520
Bourgogne ...... 520
Cambis ...... 680
Volontaires Etrangers . . . .680
Compagnies D6tach£es .... 1000
Gunners 120
3520
There was an overwhelming superiority on the side of the attack, demonstrating the
value of fortifications, which in this case were neither well placed nor substantial.
1 The complement of the four smaller ships have been estimated.
CHAPTER XIV
THERE was great caution displayed by the British leaders in carrying out their
careful preparations. The site of the camp was the same as in 1745. It was
now strongly entrenched. Blockhouses or other protective works were erected :
three on the west side, another to the north, and a fifth on the Mire road,
beyond which was placed the camp of the Rangers. These works were to
protect the army from the attacks of the Indians and irregulars, and to prevent
such disturbance as had befallen other British commanders in American warfare.
Similar works, three in number, were placed on the other side of the camp, to
guard against operations from the town, and to make secure a way to the site
of the batteries for its bombardment.
Louisbourg was open to attack from both land and sea ; on the latter side,
success involved the destruction of the Island Battery, and the men-of-war in
the port. It may be recalled that Warren strongly expressed the opinion that
it would be madness, even when there were no ships in the port, to attempt to
force a passage past the Island Battery. It follows that, until this battery and the
French ships were reduced to defensive inefficiency, the function of Boscawen's
fleet was that of an adjunct to the land forces.1*
When, however, a way into the port was made clear, or, by a desperate
coup de main, it was forced, the town, scantily protected on this side, was doomed,
without one shot having been fired against its walls. Equally, a destruction of
its land defences would place the men-of-war in the harbour in a cul-de-sac
between the guns of the conquered town, the batteries which had reduced it, and
the hostile fleet waiting at the harbour mouth. It is obvious that carrying on,
together, both attacks, would expedite the fall of the fortress, but the only
means of attack on the ships, and the Island Battery, was by artillery on the
Lighthouse Point. The reports of Hardy's frigates, and the result of a night
expedition sent on June 2 to discover the enemy's strength to the eastward, gave
Amherst reason to believe that the landing-places were then occupied, and that
1 Attention is directed to the large map of the siege operations.
2 For its great importance see Logs of the Fleet, Wood, Champlain Society.
264
1758 PREPARATIONS FOR ATTACK 265
to some degree, on a landing on that side, the attack on the Coromandiere would
have to be repeated.
Not only was there this operation to face, but when hostilities actually
began, there were five men-of-war and one frigate in the port to supplement the
land defences of the French. These ships of the line mounted twice as many
guns as the shore batteries. Their crews, if fully manned,1 equalled three-
quarters of the troops and militia. Their mobility added greatly to their
powers of offence. Boscawen's and Hardy's ships kept them, it is true, in the
harbour, but it afforded safe anchorage for the largest of them within four or
five hundred yards of the places on the shore where any effective batteries could
be erected. The power of the ships to impede the siege operations was fully
recognized by the British,2 but that power of the fleet was minimized by the
independence of its commodore. The regulations of his service made necessary
the Governor's permission for him to leave port. He had to consult with
Drucour, but in other respects he disposed of his ships at his discretion.
The weather continued bad,3 and there was great delay in landing materials.
It was the i6th before a moderate reserve of twelve days' provisions was landed,
and no heavy artillery had yet been put on shore. On the nth some 6-lb.
guns were landed ; on the i8th the first 24-lb. gun ; as late as the 3rd of July
we find in Boscawen's journal that they were still landing stores, so that it was
a month before all the materials and guns were transferred from the ships and
transports to various points on the shore.
These preliminary works of encampment and defence seemed so important
to Amherst that he did not, until the iyth, personally look over the ground.
He, then, accompanied by Bastide and McKellar, chief and second engineers, and
Williamson, in command of the artillery, rode out toward the citadel.4 The
tone of Amherst's remarks indicates that he was not entirely in accord with
Bastide, who, Amherst says, "was determined in his opinion of making
approaches by the Green Hill, and confining the destruction of the ships in the
harbour to the Lighthouse Point and the batteries on the side." 5
In the meantime operations had been begun under the command of Wolfe.
The first deserters, a sergeant and four men of the Volontaires Etrangers, came
in on the loth, and with false information as to the spirit of their regiment, told
the truth in informing Amherst that the detachments to the eastward had been
called in, and the Grand and the Lighthouse Batteries destroyed. This
1 There was, however, much sickness among their men, and in some cases at least they were below their full
complement.
2 " The opinion of most people here, sea and land, who had a terrible notion of their broadsides " (Wolfe Hist. MSS.
Com. ix. p. 76). 3 See logs of ships for weather conditions.
4 The ground was familiar from 1745 to Bastide, who since then had served at Port Mahon.
6 Amherst to Pitt, June 23, C.O. 5/53.
266 WOLFE AT THE LIGHTHOUSE 1758
determined the place at which to begin. Four hundred Rangers, as an advanced
guard, started at two in the morning of June 12. Wolfe, with his force, 1220
men drawn from all the regiments, and four grenadier companies,1 in light
marching order,2 set out at five.
The weather favoured them. They marched round the harbour in a fog
so thick that they could not see the men-of-war, although they were so near
that they " heard very plain the noise they made on Board in the course of their
duty." Unseen and unheard by the ships, they escaped cannonade, and by the
late afternoon had visited Lorembec and made two encampments, one under
Major Ross at the head of the North East Harbour, and another, the main
camp, under Wolfe by the Lighthouse.3 They found in the French camps the
tents still standing, the cannon useless, and a considerable quantity of tools.
They opened the entrenchments so that the artillery, which was being sent by
sea to the camp, could be landed. While these things were being done, the
Rangers returned to the main camp. It was found when the Island Battery
opened fire on them the next morning (ijth) that it reached Wolfe's camp
which was, therefore, moved back to a place of more security, and the work of
making roads to the sites selected for batteries was vigorously pushed on. Wolfe
was now, for the first time, in command. His orders show the vigour of his
actions, the care he took not only of the health but of the comfort of his men,
his judiciousness not only in equalizing duties but in the rewards of rum and
fresh fish he gave to those who had worked hard. Their tone inspired his men,
and his reputation for fearlessness and activity soon spread from this detachment,
not only throughout the army but even to the French.
The latter had been busy on their side with results which made a greater
show than those of the English. The latest landed companies of Cambis
arrived in the town on the 8th. Duchaffault was warned, by an express
overland, not to attempt to gain Louisbourg. Hardy had taken his position,
on the loth, close to the harbour-mouth to prevent any vessels slipping out,
but the Bizarre to Quebec, and the Comete carrying news to France, successfully
eluded him. The Echo, which sailed on the I3th was, however, pursued and
captured.
Drucour's forces and materials were complete. It was his duty with them
to save the town, or at worst to delay its capture to the latest possible day.
He had made the repulse of landing the vital element of his defence ; when
it failed he felt the town was lost.
Those of Otway's, Hopson's, Lascelles', and Warburton's. 3 " The officers must be content with soldiers' tentt."
3 A few shot were fired on them from the Island Battery.
1758
DRUCOUR'S DISCOURAGEMENT
267
" This unfortunate occurrence which we had hoped to overcome, casts dismay and
sorrow over all our spirits, with every reason, for it decides the loss of the colony ; the
fortifications are bad, the walls are in ruins and fall down of themselves, the outer defences
consist only in a single covered way which, like the main works, is open and enfiladed
throughout its length ; everything predicts a speedy surrender. What a loss to the State
after the enormous expenses made by the King for Isle Royale since 1755 ! "
" Get eVenement malheureux qu'on espeYoit surmonter jette de la consternation et
de la tristesse dans tous les esprits, avec d'autant plus de fondement qu'il decide de la perte
de la colonie, le corps de la place est mauvais, les murs sont en ruines qui tombent d'eux-
me"mes, les fortifications extdrieures ne consistent que dans un simple chemin couvert qui
est donn£ et enfil£ de partout ainsi que le corps de la place, tout annonce une r£dition
prochaine. Quelle perte pour 1'Etat apres les defenses im menses que le Roy a faites pour
1'Isle Royale depuis 1755 !"
At five the next morning (9th) a council was held at the Governor's
house. Its members were the officers of the place, of the Battalions, and of
the principal ships. Des Gouttes, the Commodore, demanded permission to
take his ships out of the port as they were of little use. He said that his
action was founded on the repeated demands of his Captains, made to him
in writing.1 Des Houlieres and Prevost were the only land officers who, at
the council, sided with Des Gouttes and his Captains. The result of the
council was that the ships were to remain and hold the harbour against
Boscawen.2 Most of the opinions were like Drucour's, that the place was
doomed. D'Anthonay alone said that, notwithstanding its bad condition it
might be saved.3
With such a spirit the defence began, but while hopeless, the efforts of
the French did not lack vigour. Five companies of Rangers were formed
from the townspeople. The demolition of buildings and of the limekiln near
the Dauphin Gate was carried on, skirmishes took place, and three officers,
the seniors of whom were the two Villejouins, were sent with a dozen soldiers
and seventy Acadians to the Mire, to join sixty Acadians who had arrived
there from Isle St. Jean. They had orders to remain in the woods and harass
the enemy. A sally of three hundred men was made on the I3th, which,
although repulsed, did some damage. After false alarms on the night of the
1 4th, based on a report that the enemy was marching in three columns on
the town, Vauquelin anchored the frigate Ar&thuse broadside to the Barachois
to rake the enemy should it appear within range.4 In this position she
1 Tourville, of the Capricieux, says that Des Gouttes asked for their opinions at a preliminary meeting, in writing
and at once, " par 6crit et pr^cipitamment."
2 There can be no question of the soundness of this view. The Island Battery was made almost useless by the 25th
of June. Had Des Gouttes and his ships gone out, Boscawen would have come in and destroyed the town at once. It
was approved at headquarters. A.N. B, vol. 107.
3 These letters are at the end of Drucour's Journal, A.N. Am., du N., vol. 10, Prise de Louisbourg.
* His position is marked by an anchor on Plan I.
268 WOLFE'S BATTERIES OPEN FIRE 1758
commanded, through a depression in the land, a wide extent of the ground
over which any advance against the town had to be made.
Further efforts at defence were completed by work on the walls, the
establishment of shelters to prevent the raking of them, the necessity for
which had been pointed out by Drucour, and much of the powder was
removed from the citadel to the ice-house and limekilns outside the eastern
walls. These buildings were protected by hogsheads of tobacco " that was
in great plenty in Louisbourg, from the English prizes, brought there by the
French privateers (Johnstone)." l
Wolfe continued work at his roads and batteries, being supplied with
guns and materials, by sea, in boats and lighters. These were protected by
a frigate and sloop, which were attacked by an armed chaloupe, with two
24-lb. guns, which did not interrupt the work, although it caused some damage
to the nearest frigate (i4th). The work was pushed on, but it was not until the
night of the i9th-2Oth that fire was opened. The reputation of the French
army made the besiegers act with caution. Sentinels were posted to overlook
the harbour. The troops were cautioned against surprise. Although Wolfe
stated in his orders that he thought an attack was scarcely possible, when he
was ready to open fire, a plan of defence against a boat attack had been
perfected. A strong detachment was moved out from the main camp, the
Rangers occupied the ground between it and Ross's post, at the head of the
North East Harbour, and a system of signals and bonfires was arranged,
not only to give warning, but to deceive the enemy as to the strength of the
position. The fire of Wolfe's batteries was brisk, and as briskly returned by
the Island Battery and ships. Ross's post was strengthened by guns on the
shore, Wolfe's at the Lighthouse was added to, and under fire from the ships
a new battery was begun at the head of the harbour (June 23). They were
too distant from each other to do damage, and two new batteries were later
erected, which, firing over the Grand Battery, reached the shipping. Wolfe's
works had now covered much more than half way round the harbour from
the Lighthouse. Its batteries kept up a fire on the island, which on the 25th
seemed much shattered. The besiegers surmised rightly, from its firing only
shells after four on that afternoon, that its guns pointed towards the active
enemy were disabled, so the British fire on it was reduced to an occasional
shell for the purpose of retarding the work of reconstruction.
The battery at Rochefort Point was used to supply its place, and the
men-of-war fired constantly, but with little effect. The engineers of the town
did their best to make repairs to these most important guns on the island.
1 So large was this quantity that notwithstanding its free use as protection for the men-of-war and buildings, after the
capitulation Amherst sold a part of what was found in the town for £1500. Amherst to Pitt, Aug. 30.
40 BO
3 X
-SOUTH WEST
' Shallow water
breaks heavily
Town of |
ULOUISBOURG
G^\
0
»Black Rock Pt.
ATTACK & DEFENCE
on JUNE soth, 1758.
White Pt?
Furlongs 01
Scale of One Mile.
2^456
o I 2
i
A. Bienfaisant.
B. Prudent.
C. R*tr,Kr*»»«
EXPLANATION
TRATORS LTC
POSITION OF SHIPS FROM MAY 18™ TO JUNE 20™.
E. Capricieux. i. Lighthouse Battery of 7 guns
F. Position of same ships from zoth erected by Wolfe on igth June.
1758 WOLFE'S STEADY ADVANCE 269
A sally was made from the town on the i st of July, and the troops advanced
towards the Grand Battery. The engagement was kept up for two hours.
Then the French gave ground rapidly, and retreated to the shelter of the
outposts, while Wolfe's force, which pursued them closely, had to retire under
a heavy fire from the ships and the town. This gave him the advantage of
fighting over ground he had already, June 30, intended to occupy. " When
the cannon and mortars are placed in battery, the Brigadier proposes to carry
one Establishment nearer to the Town, and to take possession of two Eminences
not far from the West Gate." l
At dusk, July i, he took possession of the mound he had coveted, and
the next day, under heavy fire, his men at this advanced post skirmished with
the French from cover, and succeeded in making the redoubt practicable,
and carrying on other works, so that on the 5th, a battery of five guns and
two mortars opened from this new position.
Their fire was damaging to the town and the ships. It raked the walls,
rising from the Dauphin Gate to the Citadel, and demolished the Cavalier
at the Dauphin Bastion, which gratified one of Wolfe's many personal
animosities.
" You know I hold Mr. Knowles in the utmost contempt as an officer, and an engineer
and a citizen. He built a useless cavalier upon the Dauphin Bastion which fell to my
share to demolish, and we did it effectively in a few hours." 2
The new battery damaged the town and the shipping with a fire to
which, on account of the elevation, the latter could not successfully reply.
The position also enabled Wolfe to send out a detachment every night, to
hold the French pickets on the town side of the bridge over the Barachois.
As up to this time these were the only operations which had produced the
slightest effect against the defence, it is not to be wondered at that Wolfe's
celerity became famous. None knew where or when he was to be found,
but certain they were that " wherever he goes he carries with him a mortar
in one pocket and a 24-pounder in the other." 3
For the first four weeks events had not gone badly with the French.
The Island Battery, it is true, had been destroyed, but the men-of-war amply
protected the harbour. Not a gun, until the last few days, had been fired
against the main works, and for a longer period the French were in doubt
as to the place, in their defences, where the serious attack would be delivered.
The elaborate approaches of the enemy were impeded by the fire of the
1 Wolfe's Orders, June 30.
2 His
3 An
the French.
rolfe's Orders, June 30.
1st. MSS. Com. ix. p. 76. Knowles, as Governor of Louisbourg, built this work in 1746.
n Authentic Account, June 30. The writer attributes this saying to the " Garrison," which I take to
_i_
270 DRUCOUR'S TROUBLES WITH IRREGULARS 1758
until shells and grenades, from a battery erected for the purpose, drove her
on July 6 from her position. Even in the camp of the enemy the French
condition was not regarded as hopeless. Deserters came into the town with
more or less accurate information as to the strength, the movements, and
the projects of the force they had left (June 25 and 30). The troops were
doing well. Their pickets held the ground beyond the outer works, and
engaged in constant skirmishes with the outposts of the enemy. Sorties were
made, siege material was brought in or destroyed, and the English harassed
in their operations. In this desultory warfare, the soldiery was helped by
the town militia, under command of volunteer officers of the garrison, and
Daccarette, a merchant of the place.1
But in other respects Drucour's position was less satisfactory. The
elaborate preparations of Amherst to protect his camp indicated how effective
would have been a force of irregulars, particularly in the early days before his
redoubts and entrenchments were completed. The Indians and Acadians did
nothing, however, but capture wandering sailors, and rush, at intervals, a
sentinel on outpost duty. News had come in on the 23rd, that Boishebert,
the most famous of Indian leaders, had arrived at Port Toulouse, and from
him and his forces much was expected. The Minister had sent to Drucour
the Cross of St. Louis, to present to Boishebert, as a reward for his distinguished
services, but he was a dreary and astonishing failure. He who, as a lad, had
performed amazing feats of endurance and leadership, had driven back the
New England forces at the St. John River, was useless at Louisbourg.
Further embarrassments were caused by the action of the Abbe Maillard
and his Indians.
"We counted on that in all security (supplies of powder, ball and provisions sent to
the Mir£ River for the use of the irregulars). But the Abb£ Maillard, Missionary Priest
to the Indians in this Island and Head of the Missions, who was in town the day the
English landed at Gabarus, having departed hence on the evening of the same day, out
of precaution and care for his person, took with him for greater safety all the Indians who
were here at the time ; and presumably he left Louisbourg in the firm belief that within
a few days it would fall into the power of the English. At least we must piously think
so, because of his conduct, for being accurately informed where the munitions and stores
were placed, the Indians who accompanied him, with great care, took away the one and
the other. His care should have been to prevent their doing so by his exhortations, the
supreme power of a Missionary to the Indians, but once again we assume that he truly
believed the colony was lost, nevertheless the number of years during which the King
1 The elder Daccarette, Michel, was long settled in Louisbourg. His son, also Michel, was born there in 1730,
married a daughter of La Borde, the treasurer of the colony, and was more likely at twenty-eight to be the leader of the
irregulars than his father. The latter was a man of substance and exemplary life, although he had embroiled himself with
the Church by marrying his deceased wife's sister, a marriage which was rehabilitated by the Bishop of Quebec under
authority of a Bull of Pope Clement XII. Two of his daughters married officers. La Valliere and Denis.
- r *attinf 'gb^
ATTACK & DEFENCE
on JULY 3rd, 1758.
Scale of One Mile
Furlongs 0 I 23456
7 8
White PtT
Scale of Cables
1234567
9 10
A. Bitnfjiiant.
B. Prudent.
C. Entrtfrrnant}
D. Celebrt \ Burned July 2 ist.
E. Cafrideux
EXPLANATION
POSITION OF SHIPS, JULY 2ND
F. Arithuu.
3. Battery erected against this frigate.
G. Works to destroy which batteries
were erected at 4.
H. Island Battery destroyed June *
i. Wolfe's Battery,
z. Battery of 6 guns and a mortar.
5. Battery of two heavy mortars.
To face page 271.
1758 AND WITH THE NAVAL COMMANDER 271
has given him a stipend, the favours he has received from him in the form of a pension
founded on a benefice, and those conferred on him by the head of the colony, should have
been powerful enough to give him the thought that this store, in spite of his opinion,
might be of use to his Majesty's service. However this may be, everything was carried
off, and the Missionary, with foresight for himself, thought rather of securing abundant
provision for his escort, than of the good of the state, and these are the reasons why it has
been necessary to re-establish the stores and to have them sent by sea at infinite risk.1
" The conduct of the Missionary is remarkable ; not only should he have made every
effort to prevent the stores being taken away, but, moreover, ought he not to have
remained in the town ? His staying would have meant the Indians remaining also,
and they numbered about sixty.2
The effects of the incapacity of these irregulars were negative. The
attitude of Des Gouttes and his captains seriously weakened Drucour's defence,
and caused him the gravest concern. Throughout his own restrained account,
in the tone of his letters to Des Gouttes, in the comments he makes on events
as they pass, one feels the serious situation. There breathe through his words
the emotions of a man strong enough to be patient under the depression of
fighting without hope, and yet not of the uncommon force which can impose
his purpose on the unwilling and the backward.
The view of the possibilities of the ships, already stated (p. 265), is
not merely retrospective. Drucour says about the evacuation of the ships :
" If it is carried out, it would have been as well, had they (the ships) not been here.
Instead of that, such splendid floating batteries should have been in constant motion
so as to prevent the besiegers establishing their batteries around the harbour and
opposite the place." 3
English and French accounts agree that the ships kept up a brisk fire ; *
it was not effective at any time, and decreased, while that of Wolfe's batteries
became more damaging as they gained positions of greater vantage. When
the attack was begun the ships ranged in a crescent between the Batterie de
la Grave and the Royal Battery. A night's fire from the lighthouse made
them move nearer the town. A few days later they came nearer in, and
finally on the 2nd of July they took positions so close to the town that in it
fell shells which overpassed them.
" The vessels U Entreprenant and the Clllbre have again approached so near the quay
that both of them have risen about eight to ten inches higher at low tide, the Prudent
is so near the angle of the batterie de la Grave that she is touching ground also."
They were in water so shallow that three of them were aground. Des
Gouttes renewed his request to leave ; proposed once to remain himself and
1 This was accomplished by one Paris, a pilot of the town. 2 Drucour's Journal, July i.
3 Drucour's Journal, July i. 4 Marolles says he fired 3500 shot from the Cilibre.
272 DES GOUTTES' PROPOSALS 1758
defend the port, and let Beaussier's four ships sail ; gave orders, without
Drucour's consent, to the captains of the Celebre and the Entreprenant to sail
at the first favourable opportunity ; and gave only the assistance of a midshipman
in securing the blocking of the entrance of the port.1 He also prepared for
the worst by arranging with his captains a signal on the display of which they
should scuttle their ships.
The climax of his unwillingness and incapacity was reached on the ist
of July. Then the captains held with Des Gouttes a council, at which they
discussed the evacuation of the ships, and in consequence Des Gouttes gave
each of them a formal order to disembark their crews, leaving on board only
a guard of twenty-five to thirty men.
Prevost got wind of this before any one in the town. He hastened to
Drucour, with whom he found at the moment Des Gouttes, Beaussier of
the Entreprenant, and Marolles of the Celebre. Prevost addressed the
Governor : " Have you asked, Sir, that the crews of the squadron should
all land to-day in the town to reinforce your garrison ? " The Governor,
surprised, answered that the idea had not as yet occurred to him ; then M.
Prevost showed how prejudicial it would be to the King's service and to the
safety of the place that these five vessels should be abandoned, and recalling to
the memory of these gentlemen to whom the King entrusted their ships, his
regulations of 1689, he asked whether they had received up to the present
other losses than the death of two officers, a midshipman, two sailors, and a
cabin-boy. He represented that with a guard of twenty-five to thirty men in
each, of which the enemy might be informed through deserters, he (the enemy)
would arrive with barges and carry them off in the night, and that then the
King's own ships would destroy and reduce his town.
"That rather than abandon them they should be used to destroy the deadly works
formed by the enemy and still being formed around the harbour and in the environs of
the place. All these reasons decided the officers to return on board their ships.
"Some remarks should be made on this so extraordinary conduct, first of all, that
this evacuation of the ships was founded on a written statement (proccs verbal) of these
gentlemen made in a council on board the Prudent, which written statement Monsieur
Beaussier refused to sign to-day mid-day, though he was the moving power in the affair,
for the reason that he held in his hand before signing, M. Des Gouttes' order.
" In the second place that it was probably stipulated in the written statement that
the evacuation of the ships should only be executed as a result of the Governor's request
in order to have the crews as reinforcements to the garrison and to make sorties on the
besiegers. There is a reason to believe that such are the terms of the written statement,
since in Monsieur Des Gouttes' order to each vessel the crews are to be so employed ;
1 Four ships were sunk on the z8th and zgth of June, the Apolhn^ Fidtle, CMvre, and the Pi He dt Saint Ma/o,
and, on the 3oth of June, another.
1758 THE CREWS LANDED 273
however, the Governor did not only not make the request, but he did not know that he
was involved in the affair." l
The return to the ships was temporary, for a request to Des Gouttes for
150 men to assist in the work of the defence was taken as what must seem a
pretext to land the crews. Those of the Cafricieux and the Bienfaisant were
sent on shore on the 4th, although, on the 6th, Tourville,2 for whom no work
was found on shore, took his crew back on board to fire on Wolfe's new
batteries. The crews of the other three ships were withdrawn on the 6th. The
orders were in the following form :
COPY OF A LETTER FOUND IN A DROWNED MAN'S POCKET AT LOREMBEC
" In the evening of the 27th of June the English bombarded the Squadron, and the
Capricieux received a small shell on her Forecastle, which notwithstanding every obstacle
it mett with, went thro' both decks a lower deck beam, and bursting, sett her on fire,
which was with much difficulty extinguished. As the Danger of the Squadron becomes
each Day more evident by the increase of the Enemy's Bomb Batteries, I went immediately
to consult the Governor upon the necessary measure to be taken to prevent the ships
being blown up, and we determined to bring them as close to the town as we could and
to moor them with 4 anchors each, so as to bring Broadsides to bear as much as possible
on the passage j also that their powder should be landed, some few rounds excepted ; that
they should put on shore as much of their Provisions as would subsist their Complement
in case they should be totally evacuated with a reserve of 6 weeks for each ship ; that
they should each raise Tents in such places as the Governors should appoint for the
looping the seamen to be landed for the service of the Garrison : These articles having
been well thought and agreed on with the Consent of Mr. Drucour, it is ordered that
Mons. Beaussier de 1'Isle Capitaine de vaisseau du Roy, Commdnt. of the Entreprenanty
shall conform thereto and cause the above orders to be put in execution with all the
vigilance & exactness he is capable of." 3
It seems probable that the drowned man was one of the executive officers,
to whom a copy of Des Gouttes' letter was given officially.
This happened while the ships were seaworthy, and practically undamaged
by the fire against them, for there is mentioned in the Journals that up to this
time only one shell had struck the Prudent^ on the 29th. The casualties were
trifling : from the I9th of June to the 6th of July, two officers, a midshipman,
and seven men were all that were killed on these ships.4
If these actions of Des Gouttes neither raised the indignation of Drucour
1 Drucour's Journal, July z.
2 So, Drucour. Tourville does not mention this, though his journal reads as if he were daily on his ship after this date.
8 Bell MSS.
4 The number of men put ashore : Prudent, 330 ; Entreprenant, 500 ; Celebrc, Capricieux, Bienfaisant, 660. Total,,
1490.
T
274 CONTRAST WITH VAUQUELIN 1758
high enough to take action against such incapacity, nor even adequately to
express it in his account of these events, others were not so reticent.
"To-day, the fourth of July, the vessels have just confirmed the idea which their
unceasing bad manoeuvres had given to all. Can it ever be believed that five pieces of
artillery, placed on an eminence, at less than a quarter of a league from the shore, could
have obliged M. Desgouttes and his Captains to abandon their ships, leaving in each
one a guard with two officers, which were to be relieved every four and twenty hours ?
This, however, is the result of the council of war these gentlemen have held and dared
even to execute, leaving shamefully their vessels in front of five cannon while they had
three hundred to defend them with. ... If these commanders are treated according to
the regulations, I believe their heads are in the greatest danger."
"Aujourd'hui, quatrieme de Juillet, les vaisseaux viennent de confirmer 1'idee que les
mauvaises manoeuvres qu'ils n'ont cess£ de faire, avoient donni d'eux a tout le monde.
Croira-on jamais que cinq pieces de canon placdes a un petit quart de lieue de la mer,
sur une montagne, ayent pu obliger Monsieur Ddgoute [sic] et les capitaines de ses
vaisseaux de les abandonner ; ne laissant dans chaque, qu'une garde avec deux officiers, qu'on
devoit relever toutes les vingt et quatre heures : c'est cependant le r£sultat du conseil que
ces messieurs ont tenu, et qu'ils ont bien os£ ex£cuter, abandonnant honteusement leurs
vaisseaux, devant cinq pieces de canon, tandis qu'ils en avoient trois cent quarante, pour
les deTendre. ... Si Ton traite tous ces capitaines selon 1'ordonnance, je crois leurs t£tes
fort hazard£es." x
Johnstone confirms this : — " It is true that all of them (the land forces) had the most
sovereign contempt for the sea officers of the French squadron, which contempt their
dastardly and base conduct justly merited."2
There was the sharpest of contrasts between the effectiveness of the ships
of the line and that of the Arethuse, a frigate of thirty-six guns, commanded by
Vauquelin. The land officers had nothing but praise for him. When he
proposed to Drucour, now that he could no longer impede the English attack,
that he should escape through their fleet and carry dispatches to France, Des
Gouttes, present at the interview, gave his opinion that Vauquelin might still
be useful at Louisbourg. To which Vauquelin replied : " Yes, by God, if you
will give me one of your men-of-war of the line that are laid up doing nothing,
you will see that I will do much more yet than I have done hitherto with
the frigate." 3
After the first days of July, Drucour's defence was weakened while the
vigour of the attack increased. The advantages of Wolfe's new position have
been pointed out. The first batteries brought into action were one of six
guns, another of two mortars, specially directed against the Arlthme. This
1 Arch. Nat. B4, vol. 80, f. 82.
2 Quebec Lit. and Hist. Soc. znd Series. Tourville says DCS Gouttes' view was that seeing the ships could not
silence Wolfe's batteries, it would save life to employ their crews on shore, to which Drucour consented (July 3).
Tourville received orders at 1 1 P.M. He saw to his anchors and landed his crew.
1 MS. relatifs a la Nouvclle, France, vol. 3, p. 480. See Appendix for biographical details on Vauquelin.
J758 DAMAGE TO THE TOWN 275
made her position untenable, and on the 6th she withdrew. The testimony as
to the result of her guns is unanimous. She had, although under-manned,
seriously impeded the advances of the besiegers.1 An elaborate and costly
epaulement " about a quarter of a mile long, nine feet high and sixteen feet
broad," had been erected to protect the workers from her fire. When she
was driven away work was carried on more rapidly, so that by the loth Wolfe
had completed a line of batteries from behind the Grand Battery to the slopes
above the Barachois. His admirers, contrasting his activity with the slowness
of the other Commanders, hoped that the most startling proof possible of his
superiority as a leader might be given :
"... he is very Alert, Lives as his soldiers and Acts with such Vigour that it is
Expected by many that he will make a Breach at ye West Gate in a few days and Desire
the Generals on ye Right to walk in."2
Notwithstanding the protection given to the French ships by cables,
tobacco, and other materials, they were pierced by the nearer guns and began
to suffer.
On the 6th, the city was damaged from the shells thrown into it. The
besiegers took as marks the spires of the principal buildings. One shell fell
in the courtyard of the citadel, another in the ditch, and just before the fire
slackened for the night, another exploded in the crowded hospital, killing the
surgeon of the Volontaires Etrangers, and dangerously wounding two of the
Freres de la Charite. Drucour, the next morning, sent a letter to Amherst
proposing to set apart a place for the sick and wounded, which would not be
fired on. An answer was not returned until the evening, as Amherst sent for
Boscawen before replying. It was to the effect, as there seemed no place
within the town where they might be secure, that under certain somewhat
stringent conditions the sick should be placed on Battery Island, on one of the
French men-of-war detached from the fleet, and anchored in the upper part
of the harbour, or placed among Boscawen's fleet outside. Drucour felt that he
could not accept this offer. The buildings which might have been used on
Battery Island were in ruins, and to detach a ship, as an hospital, would
apparently weaken their naval force. His own view was that the ship was
useless as she was, but that this could not be thought possible by the English
commanders. So the civilians, nearly four thousand in number, the soldiers off
duty, the sick and the wounded, as well as the combatants, all in a town, the
area of which was about 600 yards in one direction, and about 400 across,
Jiad to undergo the fire of the besiegers from the lighthouse, which reached
1 Vauquelin kept a man at the masthead to give directions to his gunners.
2 An account of the expedition, etc., B.M. Add. MSS. 11,813.
276 A SLOW ADVANCE 1758
as far as the citadel, and from Wolfe's new batteries. In two days, the 6th
and 7th, 125 or 130 shells and 60 or 70 shot had fallen in the town. The
purpose of the enemy seemed in the early days of the bombardment rather to
destroy the buildings of the town than its defence.1
This communication was not the first which had passed between the
commanders. No summons to surrender had been sent, but early in the siege,
choosing a way which would give most information to the messenger bearing
a flag of truce, says the observant Tourville, Amherst sent a polite note to the
Governor, and a present of two pineapples to Madame Drucour. An equally
polite note was returned, and Drucour again displayed his lavishness by sending
back some bottles of champagne (June 17 and 18). This promptly brought
back again more pineapples, one at least of which was not good (Tourville).
The present in return included some fresh butter, which indicates that the
ordinary activities of life in the town had not been entirely suspended. Inquiries
and replies as to the missing officers taken prisoners at the landing had been
exchanged ; effects had been sent to them ; and never, said one diarist, was war
carried on with more courtesy.
During a truce many officers talked together.
" The Sieur Joubert, Captain of a Company of Volunteers while the drummer was in
camp, was visited at the Barachois, by an English lady, whom he thinks is his cousin, three
officers introduced her to him, they offered him refreshment, he thanked them and made
the same offer ; the lady asked for permission to pick a salad, this was accorded her '*
(Anon., July 6-7 ).2
The slowness with which the town was invested surprised the French.
They thought the army was deficient in good troops, as so long a time was
spent in fortifying their camp and making roads. " The sluggishness (indolence)
of the English General in approaching the city makes me think he expects
reinforcements." This was the opinion of Tourville on June 22. The engineer,
Poilly, ten days later speaks of the slowness of their approach as exhibiting a
prudence beyond bounds (" Nous fait montrer d'une prudence plus que mesuree ").
These are indications that this was owing to divided counsels. There was
obviously a difference of opinion between Amherst and Bastide later than that
on the i 7th. Amherst again writes on the 24th :8 "Colonel Bastide remained
1 As Amhcrst gave orders on July zz to fire at the fortifications rather than the buildings, it is probable that thit
view of the French is correct.
* Joubcr.'s relationship with the English lady must have been through some European connection. He wai one
of the French officers who came to Isle Royale in 1750, after service in the regiments of Picardic and Grassin. He
served in the old war in Bohemia, Bavaria, in the Rhine, and in Flanders ; received many wounds ; carried a ball from
Raucoux, which could not be extracted, and at Langenfield was galloped over by the enemy's cavalry. He, some thought,
should have commanded the irregulars instead of Boishebert. He served in the Windward Islands as Major in 1760^
and was ma Ic Governor of Marie Galante in 1763.
s Letter of July 6, C.O. 5/55.
1758 NEVER DECISIVELY CHECKED 277
fixed in his opinion of advancing by Green Hill." The first work was pushed
in this direction until about the I4th of July, when batteries were traced out on
the shore, between Cap Noir, still in the French possession, and the English
redoubt which had been begun on the ist. It would, therefore, appear that the
elaborate epaulement, to cover the depression which was open to the Arhhuse^
was not necessary ; nor were the trenches in the vicinity, for the attack was not
made by Green Hill. Even if there had not been a change of plan, work,
which in any case must have been slow, was drawn out by the adoption of
European methods in road-making. " Instead of laying hurdles and fascines
on the surface of this swamp the sod had been pared away injudiciously, which
caused a miserable waste of time and materials." Boscawen's cart1 was not
apparently used, nor were sledges such as colonists employed to bring up their
heavy guns in 1745. The expedients possible to those familiar with the country
were not suggested, for smallpox ravaged the New England carpenters, the loss
of whom Amherst regrets.2
Notwithstanding delays, the advance was steady, and no position once
gained was afterwards lost. On the 9th, a sortie in force was made from the
town to check the English advance on the right. Seven hundred and twenty-
four men, under the command of Marin, Lieut.-Col. of Bourgogne, divided
into two parties, left the town about midnight and advanced along the shore,
They surprised the advance post of the English, who were asleep or careless,
carried this with the bayonet, and followed the fugitives to the second line, where
they found a detachment drawn up to receive their charge. The English broke
under it, and left Marin in possession.
The workmen he brought with him, began to demolish the entrenchment.
The alarm was now a general one, supports came up from a detachment of the
1 5th near at hand, daylight was near, and Marin accomplished little in the way
of destruction, but led his forces back to the town in good order, bringing with
him two officers and twenty-eight grenadiers as prisoners. The accounts of this
sortie differ.3
1 Wolfe's orders mention on the 7th " a machine lately provided for that purpose," i.e. drawing guns from the Mire
road to his battery.
2 " Colonel Messervy and his son both died this day, and of his company of carpenters of 108 men, all but 16 in the
smallpox, who are nurses to the sick, this particularly unlucky at this time" (Amherst to Pitt, June 28, C.O. 5/53).
Knap says the Colonel's son, John, was buried on June 29.
* It was stated that a good many of the French had been drinking. The French loss was 50/60 men and 2 officers.
It seems certain that time was lost, and although all nocturnal movements are difficult, the alarm was the sooner spread
to the British supports by the French having fired on the retreating foe, instead of having pursued them with the bayonet.
Drucour's account is the most favourable to Marin and his men. Amherst admits that his men were taken by surprise,
but claims that the result was not important.
The casualties in this sortie on the English side were, Lord Dundonald killed j a Lieutenant of the I7th and
Capt. Bontein of the Engineers taken ; 4 men killed, 12 missing, and 17 wounded (Amherst).
The French loss was 50 or 60 men killed, and 2 officers (Drucour). Other figures are given in different journals.
Lord Dundonald, the 7th Earl, was born at Paisley in 1729, served in the Scots regiment in the service of Holland
278 VAUQUELIN ESCAPES 1758
The French tried to check the main attack. Small guns were erected at
Cap Noir, and new cannon brought into position on the Queen's Bastion. The
range was so long that their fire could not be effective. The condition of the
walls was so bad that Poilly said that the fire of their own cannon would make
in their own walls a breach for the English ; but to his superiors the need of
replying, even ineffectively, to the attack seemed so urgent, that he was as one
crying in the wilderness. The progress of the besiegers, which was satisfactory
to them, and discouraging to Drucour, was still that of the left attack. New
batteries were established, and bombs were thrown into the town, some days
numbering as many as a hundred and twenty or thirty. The enemy carried
stores from the eastern shore of the harbour to the Royal Battery unmolested by
the ships. Their supineness made Drucour fear it would suggest to the
English a project for cutting them out.1 Fire was reopened on the Island
Battery, and its wretched garrison had to seek shelter among the rocks, unable
to defend themselves. On the night of the I5th the Arhhuse, having been
repaired, slipped out of the harbour, was seen by the watchers of the Lighthouse,
who gave signals to Hardy's fleet, which unsuccessfully pursued her.
Wolfe's account of this episode is worth quoting, as an illustration of the
power of the point of view. After saying that he had often been in much pain
for Hardy's squadron in the rough weather it encountered, he goes on : "a
frigate found means to get out and is gone to Europe chargt de fanfaronnades. I
had the satisfaction of putting two or three haut-vitzer shells into his stern, and
to shatter him a little with some of your lordship's 24 pound shot, before he
retreated, and I much question whether he will hold out the voyage." 2
When one knows that Vauquelin had impeded the progress of the siege for at
least a fortnight, that Wolfe had erected a mortar battery for the purpose of
dislodging him, that Vauquelin was a gallant man and a skilful sailor, Wolfe's
reference to his escape shows a less generous spirit than that of Boscawen.8
The French, uninspired by any success of moment, disheartened by the
ineffectiveness of the ships, and by the prompt restoration of the damage their
guns inflicted on the works of the British, toiled on at a task which was
patently hopeless. The discouragement shows at length in Drucour's Journal.
On the 1 3th he writes :
"The garrison becomes weaker from day to day, the ordinary fate of that of a besieged
town, but this is an uncommon and special plight, it has no secure shelter for rest, so he:e
returned to Scotland, and, after 1753, joined the I7th Regiment, and with it went to America in 1757, wintered there,
and was Captain of the Grenadier Company of Forbes at the time of his death. (From note* for a history of the
Cochrane family by Mrs. Parker).
1 July 12.
9 Hist. MSS. Com. ix. This was as bad a prophecy as Wolfe's at Halifax. The Arlthuu nude an extraordinarily
rapid voyage, notwithstanding her condition. 3 See Chap. XV.
1758
ADVANCED BATTERIES
279
the soldier who is on duty by day passes the night in the open, on the ramparts or in the
covered way. He is overcome with weariness, nevertheless always shows good will which
delights, but he cannot hold out. We estimate to-day a diminution of a quarter of the
troops compared with the day of the landing."
His weariness shows in this, for on the next page of his Journal he states
the loss, which is one-third.1
A further step was made in advance on the i6th. Towards evening the
French picket at the Barachois bridge was driven in. In the night, a body of
troops massed just beyond it, rushed the position, entrenched themselves, and
held the ground against a belated fire from the ramparts. This gave them a
position about 200 yds. from the Dauphin Gate, which they held under the
heavy fire of the walls. The trenches were extended, preparations for a new
battery were made,2 although the loss in officers and men was heavy. The spur
was silenced, the Cavalier damaged, and the fire from the ships was much
slackened. From the I9th of June, when fire from the Lighthouse began, to
the 1 6th of July, Wolfe had extended batteries from the former point to ever
closer quarters, and his men were at the latter time holding a position within
250 yards of the walls. The forces he had at his disposal were not great,
apparently never more than 2000 men. Amherst had apparently overruled
Bastide. The main attack was erecting batteries which had not yet fired a gun,
the nearest of which was more than three times as far away from the walls as
Wolfe's advanced position. When the first of the batteries of the main attack
were ready, a day or two later, their fire was directed against the Queen's
Bastion and the southern side of the Citadel, from which it was separated by
ground most difficult for troops to cross. Therefore, even if a breach had been
made in that part of the walls, it would have been practically useless for assault.
The fire of cannon and musketry from the walls was very hot. Officers and
men in the trenches constantly fell before it,3 and it was vigorously returned
from the batteries above the Barachois. These mounted 16 guns and 2
mortars.4 The French heard the enemy at work, fired on them, and longed for
1 On the 1 3th the muster was :
The loss in killed am
Artois .
Bourgogne . .
Cambise
Volontaires Etrangers
Colony Troops
Civilians
wounded up to the I2th :
Officers. Soldiers.
7 27
6 55
i 6
4 17
4 5i
Volontaires Etrangers ....
Grenadiers
Militia
Battery Island
2200
A battery of heavy guns on the I7th.
26
22 156 26
* " 1 8 officers and men killed in trenches in 48 hours."
4 Drucour says 4 mortars.
280 THE BURNING OF THE SHIPS 1758
a ship in the position of the Artthusc from which the enemy in their trenches
would have been uncovered down to their shoes. The ships remained as they
were, firing occasionally, but with direction so bad that on the i8th their grape
fell among their own men in the covered way. Cartridges began to be scarce,
also balls for their 24-lb. guns. Iron scraps were used in the mortars, English
shot were picked up and fired back. Houses had to be torn down for wood to
repair fortifications, and such work had to be carried on under a fire which
swept not only the defences, but the streets of the town. The work of repairs
and the fire of the town were kept up with spirit. A lieutenant, and a handful
of men of the Volontaires Etrangers, seized an outpost in front of the trenches,
and held it all the afternoon of the I9th, until at nightfall they were given
orders to come in — a gallant feat, but, like all that the garrison had done, of no
avail. Amherst had not only his army, but the crews of the ships to draw on.
As the fire drew nearer, and became more accurate, it the more incommoded the
town. It was concentrated on the Citadel between eleven and two, when the
whole garrison assembled there for dinner.
Des Gouttes was being roused from his torpor as far as to make a promise.
He had arranged for the Bienfaisant and another ship to move out so that
they could fire on the advance works, to prepare for and support a sortie of
1500 men in the early hours of the 2ist. He failed to keep his word for that
night, but promised again for the 22nd. In the early afternoon of the 2ist, a
shot struck the poop of the Celebre, which set off some cartridges stored there.
The fire caught her mizzen mast, and the score of men on board were unable to
check it. She swung so that sparks from her caught aft on the Entreprenant.
While her men were working at this blaze, fire had been smouldering on her
bowsprit. It broke out freely in a quarter of an hour, and she in turn set fire
to the C:ipricieitXj unable to move. The Prudent escaped, for she was to wind-
ward, the Bienfaisant by swinging on her cable. The enemy poured their
heaviest fire on the ships, and on the boats plying between them and the town.
The French speak quite calmly of this as an ordinary incident in warfare. It
impressed more deeply some of the enemy. Gordon says, " in short, to
humanity tho' an enemy, the scene was very shocking." Hamilton saw both
sides of such occurrences and thus comments on them in his Journal :
" About i A.M. (?) as I was patroling the heights in the neighborhood of the Camp over-
looking the Town and harbour, I perceived a thick column of smoke and presently a great
explosion announced some fatal accident, this proceeded from the accident, as I afterwards
heard, of a shot from one of our batteries firing the powder magazine on board one of the
French ships of war in the harbour. I was soon joined by some stragglers, among others
our Chaplain, who highly enjoyed the scene, confounded the French &c. On our return
to camp a great smoke arose from that part of the encampment where our Regiment lay. —
•SOUTH WEST
40 «°
ARM
^ Shallow water
/ breaks heavily
.. -JOf
L LOUISBOURG
r
»Black Rock Pt.
0
ATTACK & DEFENCE
on JULY 27th, 1758.
White Pt.
Furlongs 0
Scale of One Mile.
2 3 45 <
Scale of Cables
01234567
10
Miners U.LUST
A. Bienfaisant, captured Z5th July.
B. Prudent, burned 25th July.
EXPLANATION
1. Battery 6 guns, zznd July. 3. Battery of 4 guns only used on July 26th.
2. Battery mortars. 4, 5, 6, 7. Batteries firing on July 22nd.
1758 THE LAST BATTERIES ERECTED 281
Oh, Lord, cried an officer, I am afraid our hospital is on fire, what will become of those
poor fellows, lame and wounded. The sober divine exclaimed, I am afraid that idle rascal,
my Cook, has set the hut on fire and my piece of beef will be burnt to ashes. It was not
in effect so bad as either."
The horror of the conflagration was increased by the loaded guns of the
ships, as they became hot, going off and taking effect on the other ships, on the
boats, and town. The ships made a prodigious blaze all night, and finally drifted
with the tide to the Barachois shore, where they lay with their guns and iron-
work tumbled into their holds.1 As their flames died down, there must have
sunk with them the hopes of the most optimistic of the defenders. The sortie
was abandoned, nothing more could be done with exhausted troops than repair
works, which before the siege began were known to be faulty in plan and
hopelessly bad in condition, and to keep up a fire from their crumbling walls
on an enemy with resources so superior that its advance could not be checked
by any effort the defenders had made. This was done with spirit. The defection
of the navy spurred the garrison to greater efforts and a stalwart endurance.
Nor do we find any record of pressure to surrender brought on them by the
non-combatants ; indeed, Madame Drucour daily walked the ramparts, and
fired three cannons to encourage the troops.
Thus far the storm which they had endured had been heavy. It now
became a tempest. The batteries now on the 22nd playing against the
town were :
Gun Batteries. Weight of Metal. Mortar Batteries. Size of Shell.
i of 7 32 and 24
i „ 6 32 and 24
" and I2
Left attack, Wolfe's
I „ 2 32
i „ 2 24 i of 2 13 inches.
U „ 2 12 i „ 2 8 „
fi 8 24 i „ 3 13 and 10 „
Right attack o
U „ 5 24 J » 4 »
Total . 8 „ 37 4 „ ii
In addition there were great numbers of coehorns, royals, etc.,2 which during
the day were added to by the erection of an advanced battery of four guns, and
a mortar battery, which almost drove out the French from the covered way.
About seven that morning a large shell fell in the barracks to the north of
the belfry in the building, which closed, on the town side, the parade ground of
the Citadel. It was thought to have done no damage, but about half an hour
later a brisk fire broke out in the roof. The efforts made to stop it were
1 Forty-seven guns were afterwards recovered. 2 Gordon, p. 139.
282 THE FURY OF THE BOMBARDMENT 1758
unsuccessful, and all except the Governor's apartments at its southern end was
destroyed. The English during this fire, which lasted five or six hours, showered
bombs and ball with the greatest activity into this area ; nevertheless all the
workmen of the garrison and the ship's carpenters gathered there and worked
with uncommon courage and energy. Without both these parties the fire would
have made greater progress. There was a sad and moving sight during this time.
"The few casemates are placed in the inner part of the citadel, in them were shut in
the ladies and some of the women of the town, and one was kept for wounded officers.
There was every reason to fear that the fire would reach the protection which had been
placed in front of these casemates, and by the direction of the wind the smoke might stifle
the women shut up in them, so that all the women and a great number of little children
came out, running to and fro, not knowing where to go in the midst of bombs and balls
falling on every side, and among them several wounded officers brought out on stretchers,
with no safe place to put them " (Drucour).
"All the above-mentioned batteries played extremely smart the whole time it lasted'*
(Gordon).
The six-gun battery fired 600 balls that day, although three of the guns
were dismounted by the fire from the walls, and remounted again. Three times
in this wretched day did the wooden barracks in the Queen's Bastion, " as
inflammable as a pack of matches," catch fire, and three times they were
extinguished. All night long bombs, some of them charged with combustibles,
were hurled into the town, and at daylight it was worse. The siege at length
was conducted with fury. The works were suffering on the left and right, and
while shells passed over their heads the soldiers in the covered way and in the
trenches exchanged a continued fire of musketry. In the evening the barracks
were set on fire beyond control. Little help was sent in the first hour, and
later, only by pulling down the neighbouring huts and a favouring wind, was the
fire prevented from spreading to the town. The next day, the 24th, there was
no abatement in the bombardment. Deserters who came in to the camp said the
townspeople had entreated the Governor to capitulate, and this inspired the
artillerymen in the trenches with the hope that the end was near. The Dauphin
defences were down, the gunners were driven from the artillery of the Citadel,
but they managed to serve a few guns, the fire of which seemed to Drucour
more like the minute guns at a funeral than a defence (" Qu'il ressemble plut6t
a des honneurs funeraires qu'a une deffense ").
Part of the English fire was directed against the walls, to make a breach,
but the destruction of the town was the main object of the British, it seemed to
Drucour (" II parolt aussi que leur intention n'est pas encore a battre serieuse-
ment en breche, mais auparavent de tuer du monde et d'incendier la ville "). Fire
now seemed concentrated on the hospital and the houses near it, all filled with
1758 LOSS OF THE TWO LAST SHIPS 283
wounded.1 The breaching began seriously on the 25th. Franquet alone, of
those who inspected it, thought its result did not yet make an assault practicable.
The town was no longer defensible, and scaling ladders were ready in the trenches.
The British had seen great pieces of the wall fall into the moat after every
successful shot, and meantime the fire of the bombs, as many as 300 in a night,
was continued, so that there was not a house in the town which was uninjured.
There were only five cannon to reply to this bombardment — two on the wall
between the Dauphin Bastion and the Citadel, and three on its northern flank.
The condition of the town was desperate, but the two battered ships were
still in the harbour, and to some degree effective, or with possibilities of effect-
iveness. No precautions had, however, been taken to afford them the extra
protection needed after the burning of the others. They were now to fall, and
with them the last hope of protracting the siege.
The entrances of the harbour had been reconnoitred by Boscawen's orders,
and the report of Balfour, Captain of the Etna fire-ship, being favourable,
Boscawen determined to give the navy more special work than supplementing
the forces on shore. During the morning of July 25, the larger boats, pinnaces,
and barges of both squadrons were manned and armed. Those from the ships
in Gabarus Bay went down to Sir Charles Hardy's station off the harbour mouth,
in small detachments, in order not to attract the attention of the town. The
boats were divided in two divisions ; the command of one was given to Balfour
of the Etna, and of the other to John Laforey, Commander of the Hunter?
The night was thick, and the expedition entered the harbour undiscovered.
The division under Laforey was directed against the Prudent, which was anchored
near the Batterie de la Grave, resting on the ground. The men on board, with
the exception of the sentinels, were below decks ; the highest officers were ensigns.
The sentinel hailed a boat. A voice from it replied in French that it was from
the town, and coming on board. An officer mounted to the deck, saw all clear,
called over the side, " Monte [sic] cinq ou six hommes." Before the French
bluejacket suspected anything, there were two hundred men in possession of
the deck. The officers were taken, guards placed on the hatchways, twenty
English prisoners released, combustibles placed in the gun-room and at the
foot of the masts, ignited, the sentries withdrawn, and the English made off to
the north. The few shots that were fired aroused the town. Drucour hurried
to the battery, and directed a fire of cannon and musketry on the ships. Within
half an hour the midshipmen and the men, some sixty or seventy in number,
1 Parkman has admirably paraphrased Drucour's account of the effect of this fire on the wounded and their attendanti.
8 John Laforey was the descendant of a French Huguenot family settled in England in the reign of William III.
In 1748 he became a lieutenant, was with Holburne in 1757, at Quebec in 1758, was made a Baronet in 1789, Admiral
of the Blue in 1/95, and died in 1796.
284 CAPITULATION DISCUSSED 1758
came ashore. The capture of the Bienfaisant was as expeditiously made. A
short conflict took place. Seven of the assailants were killed, nine were wounded,
before she was carried. Then she was towed by the boats of the squadron to
the head of the harbour, and the port lay open to the British. The anonymous
officer of the garrison comments thus on this disastrous event : !
"One is at first surprised to see two great ships letting themselves be taken by
little boats, but one's astonishment diminishes when one knows that the officers and the
crew (equipage) kept themselves hidden in the hold of the ships for fear of blows, that they
had only a few men on deck to give warning. I do not undertake to say that all the ships
did the same, but this is certain (mais ce qu'il a de sur) that most of them acted in the
same way. It is claimed (on prdtcnd) that a naval officer is dishonoured when he hides
himself a moment in the hold. On this principle what should one think of these gentlemen
who were so long hidden there ? The officers on guard on the Prudent and their midshipmen
were quartered in the boatswain's storeroom (la fosse aux lions) where they were so safe
and comfortable (si en suret£ et si tranquilles) that the English were already masters of the
ship before they knew anything about it, that there was only one officer got on deck before
the English had placed sentinels on the hatchways. The others only came out when they
were told to come up and surrender."
The service of the naval officers on shore was equally condemned.
Poilly says :
" Our batteries entrusted to the naval officers were entirely abandoned, there was in
them not even a lighted match (linstock) in readiness. We have received no help from
this essential part of our forces. Their reasoning is as hard-hearted as their conduct. I
should erase the word. It (their conduct) merits a greater scorn."
When daylight came the bombardment was resumed. A new battery
erected by volunteers, under Gordon, as was the one before this, was brought
into play. The senior officers of the town inspected the fortifications, from
which only three guns could play on the enemy, and met in council. Franquet
held that the breaches were not yet practicable, and after hours of discussion
it was decided to ask for a truce, in which terms of capitulation might be
discussed. While this was going on, Boscawen was composing a letter to
Drucour, directing him to surrender at discretion, acquainting him that he would
this night be attacked by sea and land.
" I went on shore and communicated this Letter to Major General Amherst, who
approved of it, and was Sealing the said Letter when a Letter was brought to Us from
Monsr. de Drucour, offering to Capitulate."2
Loppinot, who, in the glory of a new position and a new uniform, had been
rowed in from the Tigre^ on June 29, 1749, to arrange the preliminaries of the
return of Louisbourg to the French, was now, July 26, 1758, worn with the
1 A.N. Marine, B4, vol. 80. * Bosc .wen's Jl.
1758 THE TOWN DELIVERED UP 285
siege, conducted to the tent of Amherst, to tender Drucour's offer of capitula-
tion. The reply of the victors was, that Drucour and his garrison, as a pre-
liminary to a capitulation, must yield themselves prisoners at discretion, than
which no surrender is more humiliating, and that only an hour would be given
for their decision.1 Drucour and his council were horrified at such hard terms.
D'Anthonay was sent out to endeavour to obtain better. Whitmore, who com-
manded in the trenches, refused to let D'Anthonay pass beyond, and would
send no message from him to Amherst. The council resolved to stand the
storming. While D'Anthonay was in the enemy's lines, the engineers were
assembled to arrange some interior entrenchment in case of the place being
carried by assault. As, in the defence of Gabarus, no rendezvous for the de-
tachment had been arranged, so now no provision for failure had been made,
and this new problem had to be faced on the spur of the moment. Franquet
was in favour of the Princess Bastion, but it was pointed out to him that it
would not hold 150 men, and a place was required for the whole garrison.
The Brouillan Bastion on the Eastern walls was proposed, and visited, while
there they were surrounded by so great a crowd of the townspeople that they
could do nothing. D'Anthonay returned from the enemy's lines, unsuccessful,
and Loppinot set forth with a letter to say that the town would submit to assault
rather than accept the terms offered. Then Prevost presented a memoir to the
council. It pointed out the hardships to the people, the discouragement to
colonization, the difference between soldiers whose professional duty it was to
face horrors, and civilians forced to undergo such terrors as awaited them.
His view prevailed. D'Anthonay and Du Vivier overtook Loppinot with
powers to capitulate. The news spread through the town. With whatever
joy it may have been received by the populace, and the sick and wounded, it
enraged and humiliated the troops. The attitude of the officers verged on
sedition (" il y eut un mouvement violent parmi Les Officiers de la Garnison
qui tendoit a la sedition "). Drucour was blamed for not surrendering two
days earlier, when they could have obtained the honours of war, or for sur-
rendering now when they could have held out for two days more. The men
of Cambis, in rage, broke their muskets and burned their colours.2 The
capitulation was signed, the barriers to the Dauphin Gate were cleared, the
bridge repaired. The vaulted roof of its gate rang the next morning to the
tread of the advanced guard of the victors, the grenadier companies of the
Royals, Hopson's, and Amherst's. At noon, the garrison laid down its arms.
It had been " good, brave, and patient," and felt the humiliation to which its
men were subjected.
The terms were hard ; even Wolfe admitted this ; but the taking of
1 The term was softened to prisoners of war. 2 Johnstone and Poilly.
286 IMPORTANCE OF WOLFE 1758
Louisbourg was the first important success in a war which had begun with
Boscawen's high-handed action in 1755. He and Amherst determined to make
the most of it, and bring back to Britain not only a long-deferred victory, but
a striking one.
Such was the course of events in this siege. The summing up of its salient
features seems necessary to make clearer, than the foregoing narrative, the causes
which produced this result. At first sight it appears that the overwhelming
superiority of the British in men and material made the result a foregone
conclusion. Careful reading of the documents leads to a modification of this
opinion. While the fortifications were bad in design and condition, the
resistance made by their defenders indicates that had they been seconded by the
men-of-war with anything like the fervour of which Vauquelin displayed in fighting
his frigate, the difficulties of the British would have been greatly increased.1
As the defection of the fleet was not sporadic, although the annals of the
French Navy has perhaps no darker page than this, the next chapter deals with
this subject at length. There was a fine spirit in the rank and file on both sides.
There was on the British the stupendous advantage, rarely enjoyed, of complete
harmony between the sea and the land commanders. Boscawen was on shore
every day when it was possible to land. His men were drawn on to supplement
the land forces, and the handiness and the celerity of the sailors seems to have
been marked.2 Whatever were the difficulties of the French, and they were
many, it must be evident that no commanding officer on that side displayed the
dash, the keenness, the military science of Wolfe, any more than that these
qualities were shown by any other officer of high rank on his own side. Amherst
stands as a shadow in the background, Whitmore and Lawrence seem to have
done nothing but routine duty. Wolfe was the moving spirit of the attack.
The table on p. 281 shows how many batteries he had erected, with his small
force, compared with the two the right attack had brought into action up to
that time, and that table does not include three other batteries, the usefulness of
which was then overpast. It was, however, his leap into the surf among his
men, his appreciation of their good actions, his tireless activity, that made a
spirit almost invincible among the British. Had there been a Wolfe in command
of the French, there had been a battle of the Titans. Harsh as are his comments
on many of his associates, unlovely as were some aspects of his character, Wolfe
was a great leader, and to his presence at Louisbourg the result was largely due.
The comments of the diarists indicate that there were in the place men who
chafed at what was done, even more at what was left undone, just as a year
1 Wolfe's opinion was : " that, to defend the Isle Royale it is necessary to have a body of four or five thousand men in
readiness to march against whatever force of the enemy attempts to land. In short, there must be an army to defend the
island. . . . We must not trust to the place or to any of those batteries now constructed " (Hist. MSS. Com. ix. p. 76).
8 The quickness with which they erected batteries was noticed.
1758 HIGH QUALITIES OF DRUCOUR 287
before Wolfe had been indignant with the incapacity and slowness at Rochefort.
It must be admitted that the task at Louisbourg was difficult. Two-thirds of
its whole force was required for manning the defences. Their troops had no
secure resting-place, and were soon exhausted. The most difficult expeditions
to manage are night attacks, and these required a moral which could not be
expected from tired men, and yet these sallies were the most effective means of
checking the advance. Much of the cannon fire from the walls did far more
damage to the walls themselves than to the works of the besiegers. It was
exhaustion again which prevented the French from utilizing the mortars they
had, against the batteries, after they had once mounted them to protect the
harbour. The difficulties which oppressed and overwhelmed Drucour were
such as his character ill-fitted him to cope with. The tact, the high-mindedness,
the generosity, which made him an admirable head of a naval school, were not
the qualities best fitted for the rough work he had to do in Isle Royale. He
naturally had no experience in land warfare. He had, indeed, mostly held a
shore appointment ; and the engineer, and commandant of the troops, were both
dull, and one a cripple. The quality of Drucour's mind, which makes one
respect his memory, is his scrupulous fairness. He was Governor ; his reputation
was at stake. He states every case fairly, he blames little, he emphasizes every
good action, he minimizes every failure in his account of the siege. Rare and
worthy of respect as is such a character, it must be admitted that it is not the
temper of which successful commanders are made.
The townspeople merit great praise. We have only the evidence of a
deserter to show that they were eager for capitulation before the assault was
inevitable and imminent. Daccarette's company, made up of the principal
merchants, when the attack was so far advanced that they could no longer
skirmish outside, took charge of the battery in the southern flank of the citadel,
and served its guns with a brilliancy which surprised and delighted an observer
(" ils ont surpris et charme "). Others of the bourgeoisie worked with the
garrison in other batteries, undaunted by danger, and displayed the calmness of
veterans (" avec autant de tranquillite que 1'homme du mondeUe plus aguerri "1).
Louisbourg was in extremities when Drucour surrendered.
" Indeed when our ships came into the Harbour, there was hardly any part of it, which
had not the appearance of Distress and Desolation, and presented to our View frequent
Pieces of Wrecks, and Remnants of Destruction — Five or Six Ships sunk in one Place with
their Mast-Heads peeping out of the Water — the Stranded Hull of Le Prudent on the
muddy shoal of the other Side, burned down to the Water's Edge, with a great deal of her
Iron and Guns staring us in the Face — Buoys of slipped Anchors bobbing very thick upon
the Surface of the Water in the Channel towards the Town — a number of small Craft and
1 Poilly.
288
LOSSES OF FRENCH AND ENGLISH
1758
Boats towards that Shore, some entirely under Water, others with part of their Masts
standing out of it ; besides the stranded Hulls, Irons, and Guns of the three Ships
burned on the list upon the Mud towards the Barrassoy — and in the N.E. Harbour little
else to be seen but Masts, Yards and Rigging floating up and downy and Pieces of burned
Masts, Bowsprits, etc. driven to the Water's Edge, and some parts of the shore edged with
Tobacco Leaves out of some of the ships that had been destroyed — the whole a dismal Scene
of total Destruction." l
If this were the appearance of the harbour with the advantages of its
effacing waters, the imagination can picture more vividly, than any written page
can convey, the condition of the town. There was great outlay of materials in
reaching the final conclusion of the siege. The loss of life was not, however,
great : 195 of the British killed, and 363 wounded ; on the French side, accord-
ing to De la Houliere, between 700 and 800 killed and wounded.2
A compilation of the troops on the eve of hostilities makes the total 3520.
The French loss, therefore, was 411.
Officers.
Soldiers fit
Sick and
Total
for Duty.
Wounded.
24 Companies and 2 of Artillery .
76
746
'95
1017
Artois, 2nd Batt.
32
407
27
466
Bourgogne, 2nd Batt. .
30
353
3i
414
Cambis, 2nd Batt.
38
466
104
608
Volontaires Etrangers .
38
402
86
526
Total Garrison ....
214
2374
443
3°3'
Sea officers and seamen
'35
1124
1347
2606
349
3498
1790
5637
Great stores of artillery and munitions of war fell, by the terms of the
capitulation, as spoils of war.
Hardy entered the harbour on the 3Oth. Boscawen came in on August I.
The town was occupied. Arrangements were completed for the embarkation of
the French troops and to clear the entrance of the harbour.3
The news of this victory, the first important one of the war, was received
with great rejoicings, when Captains Edgecumbe and Amherst, on behalf of
Boscawen and the General, arrived on the i8th of August. Comparisons were
drawn between the attitude of the people when they heard of the fall of Port
IVLihon and that with which they exulted over this success. Addresses were sent
1 An Authentic Account. 2 To Minister, Aug. 6.
3 Cambis and Artois and some seamen on the Burjord ; Bourgogne and Vol. Etrangers and some seamen on the
King iron ; the Companies on the Northumberland; the Naval Officers on the Dublin; Drucour, his lady and retinue, and
forty officcrt on the Terrible. These ships sailed about Aug. 14/15. The other prisoners and inhabitants were embarked'
as rapidly as possible. Some of them were fortunate enough to go directly to France for exchange, among them De»
Gouttes, who did not deserve this good fortune.
1758 REJOICINGS IN ENGLAND AND HER COLONIES 289
to the King from the Universities and the principal towns of the kingdom. The
colours taken were deposited in St. Paul's. (These have disappeared.)
"HISTORICAL CHRONICLE, Sept. 1758*
Wednesday^ 6.
" Whitehall. The king having been pleased to order the colours taken at Louisbourg^
which were lately brought to the palace at Kensington^ to be deposited in the cathedral church
of St. Paul; proper detachments of horse and foot grenadiers were ordered to parade at
Kensington at ten o'clock, and marched before his Majesty in the following order :
"A serjeant, and twelve horse grenadiers.
"A field officer, and officers in proportion.
" A detachment of fourscore of the horse grenadier guards.
" Then eighty of the life guards, with officers in proportion, with their standard, kettle
drums and trumpets.
" Then a serjeant and twelve grenadiers of the foot guards.
"Then eleven Serjeants of the foot guards carrying the eleven French colours, advanced.
" Then the four companies of Grenadiers of the foot guards closed the march.
" In this manner they proceeded from Kensington^ through Hyde Park, the Green Park,
into St. James's Park, and through the Stable yard St. Jameses, into Pall Mall, and so on
to the west gate of St. PauPs, where the colours were received by the dean and chapter,
attended by the choir ; about which time the guns at the Tower and in St. James's Park
were fired.
" These colours are put up near the west door of the cathedral, as a lasting memorial of
the success of his majesty's arms, in the reduction of the important fortress of Louisbourg,
the islands of Cape Breton and St. John." — London Gazette.
When Boscawen returned, the rejoicings broke out again. He received an
address, when he took his seat in the Commons, and an address was also sent out
to Amherst, conveying the thanks of Parliament for their achievement.
The rejoicings in the colonies were no Jess widespread. All grasped the
significance of the victory.2
Drucour had saved Canada for the year. It had been decided by Amherst
and Boscawen that it was too late to go up the St. Lawrence. While they were
engaged in removing the army into the town, and sending away the prisoners,
the news came to them, August I, of the defeat of Abercromby at Ticonderoga.
It determined Amherst to hasten to his assistance. British troops were sent to
Halifax on the I5th ; Amherst himself sailed to Boston on the 3Oth, and landed
there on September 13. Meantime, expeditions were sent out to the Bay of
Fundy, to Isle St. Jean, under Lord Rollo of the 22nd Regiment, and to Gaspe
and other French settlements on the Gulf, under Wolfe.3 The last was, like
1 Gentleman's Magazine, 1758, vol. 28, p. 447.
2 The Last Siege of Louisbourg, C. Ochiltree MacDonald, London, Cassell & Co., contains many interesting details of
these rejoicings.
8 See Appendix for an account of this expedition from the unpublished Bell MSS. lent me by Dr. A. G. Doughty.
U
290 PITT PROPOSES ITS DESTRUCTION 1760
Spry's in 1757, a pillaging of unarmed people, which excited the disgust of
Wolfe ; that to Isle St. Jean resulted in the deportation to France of 3540 people.
This number added materially to the task of providing transport, so that it is not
until the end of September that Boscawen's journal ceases to include items as
to the sailings of transports. Boscawen left on October i, and reached the
Channel a month later, and Durell, promoted to be a Rear-Admiral, took charge
of the fleet left in these waters. The garrison left in Louisbourg consisted of
Whitmore's, Bragg's, Hopson's, and Warburton's, under command of Whitmore.
The salient point in the letter in which Amherst encloses Whitmore's appointment
as Governor, is Amherst's opinion of the island : l
" I would have the settlements in the different parts of the island absolutely destroyed, it
may be done in a quiet way, but pray let them be entirely demolished, & for these reasons,
that in the flourishing state it is growing to, many years wd. not have passed before the
inhabitants wd. have been sufficient to have defended it."2
The next year, 1759, Louisbourg was the base from which sailed the
expedition against Quebec. It gathered there in May, and sailed for the
St. Lawrence on the 6th of June.
The possibility of its being given back to France was before all. Pitt,
however, unshaken in his determination to break the maritime power of France,
and to make it impossible for her to prosecute the fisheries, decided to make the
return of Isle Royale to France, if it should be given back again by diplomacy,
a barren one. He wrote to Amherst :—
"WHITEHALL, February yth, 1760.
"SiR, I am commanded by His Majesty to acquaint you, that after the most serious and
mature Deliberation being had, whether It be expedient to maintain, at so great an Expence,
the Fortress at Louisburg, together with a Numerous Garrison there. The King is come
to a Resolution, that the said Fortress, together with all the works, and Defences of the
Harbour, be most effectually and most entirely demolished ; And I am in consequence
thereof, to signify to you His Majesty's Pleasure, that you do as expediously as the Season
will permit, take the most timely and effectual Care, that all the Fortifications of the Town
of Louisburg, together with all the Works, and Defences whatever, belonging either to
the said Place, or to the Port, and Harbour, thereof, be forthwith totally demolished, and
razed, and all the Materials so thoroughly destroyed, as that no use may, hereafter, be ever
made of the same. You are not, however, to demolish the Houses of the Town farther than
shall be found necessary towards the full and entire Execution of the Orders for totally
destroying all, and every, the Fortifications thereof; And in the Demolition of all works,
You will particularly have an Eye to render, as far as possible, the Port, and Harbour, of
Louisburg, as incommodious, and as near impracticable, as may be.3
1 Aug. z8, C.O. 5/53.
a Whitmore, at far as is shown in any documents I have seen, Hoes not seem to have carried out these orders.
s On the same date he confirmed these instructions to Whitmore (C.O. 5/214). The Hon. John Byron,
grandfather of the poet, was sent to Louisbourg in 1760, with a small squadron, to assist in this work.
' •
ITS DEPORTED INHABITANTS 291
Amherst dispatched these orders to Whitmore by Captain De Ruvyne, a
Captain of Miners, April 21, I76O.1 The view of the town shows that the
intention that the final state, " which is not to have the least appearance remaining
of having had any works about it," was not entirely realized.
The people of Louisbourg who returned to France were wards of the State.
The Louisbourg companies were kept together for some time. Some of the
officers were given commissions in similar regiments in the southern colonies of
France ; all of them received pensions or were provided for. Dangeac and the
Baron de l'Esp£rance became Governors of St. Pierre and Miquelon, Joubert of
Marie Galante, and Villejouin of the island of D6sirade. Many of the families
received pensions. An effort was made to have many of them emigrate to
Cayenne,2 but they feared the tropics, and asked to be allowed to remain in
France. The Minister had his troubles with them. De la Boularderie was
given a pension on the condition that he would not come near the Court. The
Henriau family for many years received a pension as Acadians to which they
were not entitled. Their daughter Sophie, moreover, was not eligible although
born in Isle Royale, as she was singing in the Chorus of the Opera.3 But much of
the correspondence which deals with these people consists in replies to letters from
Tours, Loches, Tonnay Charente, and other provincial towns, asking for increases
of pensions for survivors. They carried with them to France the robustness
given them in the colony. Madame Costebelle did not die until 1779, and her
pension began in I72O.4 Madame De la Perelle lived until 1784. The law
made by the Assemble Nationale when, in 1791, it was setting in order the
affairs of France, shows that there were still a goodly number of people drawing
pensions.5
Madame Eurry De la Perelle, to whom reference has just been made, came
to Louisbourg when it was founded, a young woman of twenty. Her husband
was the first officer who died in the new settlement. She lived there until the
second capture ; her three sons were officers in the troops. She did not die for
twenty-four years after the demolition of the town, all of the fortunes of which
passed before her eyes. That the life of a town should fall so far short of that
of one of its people suggests the instability of the unimportant. Yet against this
one background, with this unity of space and time, developed events which
displayed the genius administrative, economic, military, of two peoples. The
two score and six years of Louisbourg's existence show forth causes and conse-
quences as clearly as the colonial history of two centuries.
1 Notwithstanding delays the work was completed November 1760. The last mine was sprang on the 8th (Gibson
Clough's Journal).
2 Forant's legacy was applied to the missions of that colony. 3 B, vol. 164, 1778.
4 B, vol. 165. 5 See Appendix.
<3
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APPENDIX A
293
For comparison is added the guns captured at Quebec. In large cannon
Louisbourg was much superior.
(C.O. 5/51). An Account of the Guns, Mortars, Ammunition & arms, etc., found in
the City of Quebeck upon its surrender to H.M.'s troops the i8th September 1759.
Vizt.—
Brass Ordnance
Iron Ordnance
Brass Mortars
„ Howitzers
Iron Mortars
r6-Pounders
4 „
36-Pounders
24
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10
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770
150
90
with a considerable quantity of powder, ball, small arms & intrenching tools, etc., the
number of which cannot at present be ascertained.
WILLIAM SALTONSTALL
Commissary Artillery.
CHAPTER XV
THE ineffectiveness of the French Navy in connection with the military events
which occurred at Louisbourg is striking. These events were of such a character
that the action of naval forces, as it seems to be in all conjoint operations, was
of paramount importance. The French recognized these crises. Even at a time
when their naval forces were lowest, they did their best to send a strong force
to protect or recover Louisbourg. The fleet of D'Anville in 1746 was an
Armada, that of Du Bois de la Motte in 1757 was superior to Holburne's. Had
the plans of the Minister not miscarried, the naval force for the defence in 1758
would have been less inferior to the fleet led by Boscawen to the attack on the
position which held secure the French dominions in America.
In these major operations nothing was accomplished adequate to the re-
sources placed at the disposal of the French commanders. The inaction of
Meschin in 1744, the disastrous lack of judgment of Maisonfort in 1745, the
betrayal of Beaussier de 1'Isle by his supporting ships in the conflict with the
Grafton and Nottingham, less critical episodes, show the same inertia, slackness, or
incompetence.
This condition, if we, the English-speaking, are not to fall back to the
absurd point of view of the boys' book of adventure or the naval novel, demands
explanation.
The condition is summed up, from the practical standpoint, in the state-
ment of a gallant French officer,1 Coetnempren de Kersaint, who fell in the
Homeric fight at Quiberon. He wrote to the Minister in 1755 :
"The Deffenseur (a new 74) distinguished herself in our meeting with the English by
sailing qualities superior to those of our other two ships. 'Tis a merit, my lord, in the heart-
rending necessity in which we find ourselves for so long a time, to fly at sea before the
English, or to be overwhelmed by their numbers."5
The general state of the French navy in the years we have been dealing with is
shortly stated as a gradual decline. At the beginning of the eighteenth century it consisted
1 "The best jailor that we had " (A French Account of Quiberon, Brit. Mus. Add. MSS. 35,898).
3 Arch. Nat. Marine, B4, vol. 68.
294
FRENCH DEFICIENCY IN SHIPS 295
of 281 vessels, while that of England at the death of William III., in 1702, had 271
vessels.
In 1751 Effective. Building.
England had . . . . 116 21
France had ..... 38 22
In 1755 the forces were as follows, but it must be noted that the French included
ships building, the English effective vessels :
Guns. no 100 90 80 74 72 70 64 60 54 50 Smaller.
English . i 5 13 8 5 o 29 o 39 3 28 112
French . o o o 621 i 431 2 o 6 32
Seventy-one French ships mounted, therefore, 4790 guns, while 131 English ships
mounted 8722 guns, not far from double the PVench strength.1
This was the deplorable weakness of the French at a time when a vast
colonial empire was at stake, the prize of naval strength. The extent of that
empire is measured by the fact, that not only off the coasts of Canada and
among the West Indian Islands, but along the shores of India, thundered the
broadsides which gave that empire to England.
After the influence of Louvois overpowered that of Colbert in the councils
of the Great Louis, European conquests alone appealed to the absolute Monarch.
Under the Regent and the young Louis XV., the policy of the Cardinal-
Ministers, Du Bois and Fleury, the one anxious to placate England, the other for
peace, was to neglect the navy lest they should alarm and give offence to their
only rival in overseas expansion. The consequences of that neglect were to
some slight extent enhanced by the personal qualities of Maurepas, from 1723 to
1 749, in full control of the navy.2
Maurepas knew the necessity to France of a strong navy. His memoir3
states most ably this necessity. He, as a Minister, was the prototype of her
Prime Ministers from his time to the Revolution. They knew that things were
wrong, but were incapable of setting them right. A government, like an
individual, exhausted by excess, retains insight into what should be done, long
after the power to execute has failed. Maurepas accepted the trifle given for
the navy and expended it judiciously. He was unwilling by a vigorous protest
against a fatal parsimony to imperil the power, the patronage, the perquisites of
a splendid position.4
1 Entinck, vol. i. p. 119.
2 St. Simon speaks of " commoners born in the purple " ('• Bourgeois porphyrogenetes "). To no family does this
expression apply more justly than to the Phelypeaux, Counts of Pontchartrain and Maurepas, who succeeded each other as
Secretaries of State from 1610 to 1755 (La Cour-Cayet, p. 86). s Arch. Marine, G4.
* It is gratifying to quote in support of this view the latest work touching on Maurepas. The Marquis de Segur,
Au Couchant de la Monarchic, Paris, 1910, p. 50, says, "II discernait nettement le bien, il le desirait de bonne foi ; le
courage lui manquait pour le realiser." Jos. Yorke, son of Lord Hardwick, wrote to his brother-in-law Anson from
296 EXCELLENCE OF HER SHIPS AND NAVIGATORS
This great office he lost through an inability to restrain a facile and mordant
pen. Its play, directed against Madame de Pompadour, sent him into exile
until I "'74. Then the accident of a broken spur gave time for palace intrigue to
divert the messenger from the road to Machault, at Arnouville. Maurepas, with
age added to his other weaknesses, was recalled from his domain of Pontchartrain,
to the more splendid position of Prime Minister of Louis XVI.
The lack of the French Navy was in the numbers of ships, not in their
quality. The models on which its vessels were built were surpassingly excellent.1
They were apparently well handled, although one admirable British officer, quoted
below, thinks, " our officers are better seamen." The accuracy with which
various squadrons joined each other, the greater celerity with which the French
fleets crossed the Atlantic as compared with the English against which they
were acting, and the remarkable instances of certain voyages show that there
must have been some very good navigators among the French commanders of
the mid-century. Vauquelin, for example, escaped from Louisbourg on July
15 with his little frigate patched up after the bombardment of the English
batteries, and with only sixty men fit for service. He drove her across the
Atlantic at such a rate that, after attempting to get into Bayonne, he was able on
the 2nd of August to write from St. Andero of the plight of Louisbourg.2
" The clever concentration of the French was drawing to a head.3 All these ships got
through, and in remarkably quick time. Boscawen had been more than a month out
when they started, and was still struggling with baffling winds somewhere between the
Canaries and Bermuda, with seven more weeks before him. Yet Beaussier reached
Louisbourg by the end of the month, nearly a fortnight before Boscawen made Halifax.
Beaussier actually made the passage (from Brest to Louisbourg) in twenty-four days, April 4
to 28, a feat not consoling to British seamanship. Boscawen made Madeira, the Canaries, the
Bermudas, and the Isle of Sable. Rodney took seventy-two days, and Hardy two months."4
Drucour, however, acknowledges the superiority of the British in handling
vessels in port. After recounting, that there were 33 vessels of war, including
frigates, together with 80 or 90 transports, brought into Louisbourg after the
capitulation, he goes on, " all these vessels are ranged in an admirable way in
this roadstead, where the FYench last year scarcely found space enough for
25 vessels and frigates."5
Warren, an active, capable officer, wrote to his friend and superior,
George Anson :
Paris, March 8, 1749 : "The Marine of France don't seem to get up so fast as some people fancied it would, though I
believe Msr. dc Maurepas does all he can to put it on a good footing again, and he is allowed to be capable, indefategable
and to have it much at heart" (B.M. Add. MSS. 15,957, f. 338).
1 Warren said the I'igilant, a sixty-four, was larger than an English eighty (Feb. 14, 1745/6, Ad. Des. 1/480).
2 Arch. Nat. Marine, R4, vol. Sc, f. 285.
3 Corbctt, vol. i. p. 168. * Vol. i. p. 316. 5 Drucour'* Journal, Aug. 9, 1758.
COURAGE IN ENCOUNTERS 297
"I am greatly pleas'd to hear it has been propos'd with a Prospect of Success to
Augment the Number of men, and weight of Metall, in all the different classes of our ships,
to putt them upon a Parr with those of the French. When that is the Case, there will
no excuse be left for ill behaviour ; and I dare say upon all occasions when no Extraordinary
or unforeseen accident shall Intervene, our Ships, and people, will give a good account of
their Enemys of equal Force, when and wherever they meet. For I cant help thinking,
we have this advantage of them that our Officers are better Seamen than theirs, and I hope
as valiant, and our Men in general more Robust, and Stronger, and never were thought to
want courage, tho' they have very little virtue of any other kind." 1
This letter does not convey the impression that Warren felt any over-
whelming sense of English superiority, unit for unit, over the French.2
His view is borne out by the fact that the French preferred boarding and
close combat to cannonading, which implies a confidence in their crews.3
These considerations point to the conclusion that, in general, the French
lacked in numbers of ships, rather than in the quality of the ships themselves,
or their armament, or the way in which they were placed to give the best results.
There are many instances of heroic courage. Maisonfort, in the trap in which
he allowed himself to be caught, fought the Vigilant gallantly against an over-
whelming force. In 1755, L'Esperance, an old tub, with only 22 guns
mounted, fallen behind the fleet of Du Bois de la Motte, on its way back to
France, was overtaken by the Qrford, 70 guns. The Vicomte de Bouville, her
commander, twice drove off the English ship. In the third attack the Orford
was reinforced by the Buckingham^ also of 70 guns, and the Esperance was
surrendered in such a state that she had to be sunk, and the Orford had to
hasten to Plymouth for repairs. Anson and Warren won a great victory over
La Jonquiere off Cape Finisterre, on May 14, 1747. The French fleet had
384 guns, the English 938, yet so sanguinary was the conflict that nearly 800
were killed on the French ships.4
But while disparity in numbers accounts for many English naval victories,
it does not affect the conditions at Louisbourg, where twice the superiority was
with the French. The efficiency of a navy depends, in a peculiar degree, on
the temper and professional attainments of its officers of all ranks, because to
all of them, above the subaltern grades, some important degree of independence
is left from time to time. It is difficult to picture, for land forces, circumstances
1 Warren to Anson, April 2, 1745, Brit. Mus. Add. MSS. 15,957.
2 How badly things were managed in the British Navy, only a few years before he wrote, is seen in the opening
chapter of Anson's voyage.
3 " For the reason that M. de Beaussier had determined to board, having a crew superior in numbers and quality to
those of the English, who prefer always cannon fire (" la maniere de se battre au canon ") to that of boarding, which with
them rarely succeeded against the French " (Du Fresne du Motel to Surlaville, Derniers yours, p. 193).
4 Prevost gives an account of the losses, written from the Devonshire entering Plymouth. The staff and garrison of
Louisbourg, which had been sent back to France, were being returned to Canada on La Jonquiere's fleet.
298 EFFECTS OF INFERIORITY IN STRENGTH
in which so young an officer as the officer of the watch, on a battleship, would
have dependent on his immediate action the safety of so many men, the
preservation of so potent an engine of war. The work of a Foreign Secretary
is hampered to the slightest degree by the mediocrity of his clerks ; so it is
with other Departments of State. But in a fleet, until new orders are received,
the captain is in absolute command of his ship. General orders are of necessity
vague in many points, so that even to the commander of the smallest vessel
there is left scope for their interpretation, a chance for initiative, and in
unforeseen contingencies, nowhere more likely to arise than on the sea,
opportunities for independent action. It is on account of the scope the
necessities of the service give them, that in a navy the moral of its officers of
all grades, and the standards of performance to which they are held by their
superiors, are of the most vital importance. We have to look into the internal
administration of the French Navy, and the effect on its personnel of that
administration, to find explanations of conditions fully accounted for neither by
numerical inferiority nor the character of the unit.
One of these explanations is closely connected, however, with relative
strength of opposing navies. The most serious consequence of inferiority was
not the difficulties it created for the staff" trying to dispose of it to the best
advantage, but its effect on the sea officers. This can be illustrated from the
world of business. The merchant, with abundant capital which is constantly
earning ample profits, will take more risks than any competitor other than one
who is on the verge of bankruptcy, ready to risk all on a desperate venture.
England was in the position of the former. France was not yet in the straits
of the bankrupt. Her naval policy was similar to that of the man who fears
bankruptcy and struggles to avoid it by husbanding resources, the inadequacy
of which he clearly recognizes. Instructions, even when relations with England
were strained, were pacific, to avoid the enemy's ships, and not to fight unless
required by the honour of the flag. Thus, the native hue of resolution in her
commanders seems often sicklied o'er by the thought that imperilling his ships
was of vastly more consequence to his service than a similar risk in the enemy's
fleet. To be exact, this consequence to the French, in 1755, was as one to one
hundred and three ; to the English, as one to two hundred and forty-three.
Clear proof that great gains were probable, would condone a miscarriage in the
view of superiors with the ampler resources at their disposal. The relative
weakness of the French sea forces, therefore, not only dictated a cautious policy
to its staff", but benumbed the energy of those who were carrying it out. From
this point of view, the prudent course for the French captain was to preserve
his ship, for the English to risk his with any fair prospect of success.
The cautious temper which these inadequate resources would induce, was
MINISTER CONTENT WITH INEFFICIENCY 299
confirmed and heightened by the ineffective discipline of the French Navy.
Those amiable qualities of Maurepas, which preserved for him, throughout his
exile, a host of friends, made him a poor head for such a service as a navy.
His ordinary attitude, however disappointing might be the result, was that
the officer had presumably done his best. There are many bulky folio
volumes,1 dealing with the personnel of the French Navy, covering his adminis-
tration and those of his ephemeral successors. They give the origin and the
family connections of the officers and notes on their character. It is the rarest
thing to find in these records any evidence of discipline for ineffectiveness.
Maisonfort was never given a sea command after his error contributed so
largely to the fall of Louisbourg in 1745. He, however, received pensions in
due course, which could not greatly " encourager Jes autres." 2 The two com-
manders who failed to support Beaussier de 1'Isle were acquitted by an easy
board of inquiry,3 aided by the magnanimity of Beaussier. One of them
forthwith committed suicide ; the other not only retained his position, but was
promoted to the command of a larger ship, which was sunk with all her
crew at Quiberon.
The most striking instance of accepting a poor performance when
opportunities' were given for an effective one, was in the case of Du Bois de
la Motte. A skilful junction of three squadrons at Louisbourg, which there
came under his flag, gave him command of a fine fleet. He passed the summer
in making defensive works, while the inferior fleet of Holburne blockaded the
port. A tempest in September, which did little damage to his ships, so
shattered the enemy's fleet that it was a fine feat of seamanship, even after
refitting at Halifax, to bring it home across the Atlantic. Du Bois, instead of
issuing out and crushing Holburne, remained inactive in Louisbourg. His
instructions were reasonably explicit. After recounting the forces to be placed
at his disposal, the document goes on :
" His Majesty has chosen the Count Dubois de la Motte to take command of all these
vessels and frigates, and the proofs he has given at all times of his zeal, of his skill and
of his experience, makes His Majesty hope that he will fill to his satisfaction this high
office, which is one of the most important which can arise in the navy in the present war.
" Its purpose is to foil (faire echouer) the projects which the enemy have made against
Louisbourg or Quebec, and perhaps even against both projects for the execution of which
they have made efforts which they will not likely be in a state to repeat if they do not
succeed this year. ... If the junction of the men of war of His Majesty can be made
at Louisbourg, there is ground for believing not only that the enemy will not venture
to undertake anything against Louisbourg or Quebec, but even that Count Dubois de
1 Marine, C1. 2 Arch. Nat. Marine, C1, vol. 167.
8 It was headed by the Cte. du Guay, who was the mouthpiece for the noble officers in their protest the next year
against the promotion of "officiers bleus " (La C.-G. p. 225).
300 DU BOIS DE LA MOTTE
la Motte will find himself able to attack them with advantage. . . . His first object must
be to assure the safety of the places which the enemy may wish to attack or threaten. . . .
He can render a great service without question if he can prevent them succeeding in their
projects by making useless their efforts. Not only the best means of securing the failure
of their plans will be to destroy their fleet and transports, but the advantages of an engage-
ment (combat) will be moreover of great importance for the glory of His Majesty's arms,
for the honour of His Navy, and for promoting a peace. . . . With such forces he should
have superiority over the enemies. Every reason makes His Majesty wish that he
(Du Bois) should profit by his superiority."
So far, these instructions show a grasp of the conditions and their possibilities.
They are so stated as to be stimulating to an officer eager to distinguish himself,
or even adequately to carry out his orders, but they go on as follows :
" His Majesty, however, does not positively order him to attack the enemy. Assured
as is His Majesty of his zeal, his valour and his prudence, His Majesty can only refer in
this manner to what he believes ought to be done in this regard, without too greatly risking
the forces committed to his care, the safe keeping of which so vitally affects the Navy." J
Here is the loophole for the cautious, so commonly was it taken advantage
of, that Du Bois returned home feeling that he had done well. He asked that
he should be given the baton of a Marshal of France, or appointed Vice-
Admiral of France. The first seemed too great a step. There were difficulties
in the way of the second, but he was given a pension of 12,000!. until he was
made Vice-Admiral, which grade he reached in 1762.' While he accomplished
the principal purposes of the expedition, the failure to do his utmost again
suggests, in the effect on the service, a comparison with Byng.3
The chance which Du Bois de la Motte let slip seemed in England one
fraught with the greatest possibilities —
". . . but it seems much to be feared that the French may have come out of Louis-
bourg, and picked up our almost wrecked ships. . . . Such is the lamentable end of that
more boasted than well planned, and as ill-conducted as unfortunate American Expedition,
which was to have restored this country j and here I suppose concludes all the schemes,
if there were any, upon which part of this fleet was ordered to winter in America. God
grant us a tolerable peace if possible before we are more undone, for to go on is sure not
possible" (Brit. Mus. Add. MSS. 35,376, f. 143. This letter was written from the
Admiralty, Oct. 31, 1757).
These are not the views of an irresponsible pamphleteer or a re-echoing of
the opposition to the Government. They were written by Lady Anson, wife
of the First Lord of the Admiralty, daughter of Lord Hardwicke, the Vice-
Chancellor, than whom no one could be closer to the Ministry.
1 Arch. Marine, B*, vol. 76. No italics in the original. 2 Arch. Nat. Marine, B4 and C1, 165, 166.
3 The sweeping condemnation of Ailmiral Matthews and his captains in 1744 is an earlier example of the severity
in the English service.
DES GOUTTES 301
In justice to Du Bois de la Motte, it should be said that his force was
seriously weakened by sickness ; on his return to Brest, November 23, he
disembarked 4000 sick, which spread typhus and scurvy in the town, so that
not only the crew died, but over 10,000 of the inhabitants of the seaport were
victims of the contagion which his squadron brought back.1 The Inflexible
states that 2000 sailors died, and that they brought back more than 2400
sick.2 Du Revest, commander of the Hector, died at Brest, December 3i.3
Des Gouttes again lost a chance for a dashing exploit. He, with his
command of six ships of the line and frigates, was blockaded in Louisbourg
by Boscawen's twenty-two ships of the line. Unless they all could escape
through the blockade, a most improbable performance, they were bound, as
the event proved, to be " burnt, sunk, or destroyed." Loss being thus most
probable, there was little additional risk in taking an active course. When an
easterly gale sprang up on the 5th of June it found Boscawen's principal ships
either dispersed or at anchor well down in Gabarus Bay, that is on the lee
shore, and encumbered by scores of transports mostly to windward of them.
The possibilities of the situation are stated by an eye-witness :
" It is well to note that if the commander of the squadron which is in our port had
wished he might have immortalised himself, but that glory which is gained by danger to
life is not that which this officer seeks. He has proved this in many circumstances. The
hostile fleet was well down, as I have said, in the bay, by winds favourable to him (Des
Gouttes), and by a fog, which would have hidden his movements from the enemy, he might
have driven in to the fleet and with his six vessels destroyed it entirely. The worst
would have been to lose his ships. . . . They could have beached them and saved them-
selves on shore under the fire of our entrenchments. This manoeuvre was easy. I have
heard it said by sea officers, M. de Brunion (Brugnon), a man whose zeal equals his
capacity, wished to do this with his ship, the Bizarre. They gave to his project the name
of the vessel he commanded, and the commander . . . looked on what he did not dare to
undertake, as an ill-considered and impossible project." *
The bitterness of Poilly is surpassed by that of another writer, an officer
of the garrison, on the events discreditable to the navy, in the later days of the
siege. He to disguise his identity wrote his version in capitals, but, as it is
preserved among official documents,5 it must have fallen under the eyes of those
in authority. There was no question of the naval commanders having " risked
their heads." 6 Des Gouttes continued in the service unscathed, and retired from
it in 1764 with high rank of (Chef d'Escadre) Rear-Admiral.
These instances show that no high standard of performance was demanded
from officers, not only under Maurepas, but his transient successors. Equally
1 La Cour-Gayet, p. 360. 2 Canadian Archi-vei, 1906.
3 Etat sommaire, p. 178. * Poilly.
5 Arch. Nat. Marine, B4, vol. 80, f. 82. 8 This officer is quoted in Chap. XIV. pp. 274 and 284.
3o2 SLOW ADVANCEMENT IN THE FRENCH SERVICE
one fails to find the converse of this, recognition and reward of brilliant and
effective services. The records show for the most part a series of jogging,
monotonous advancements from step to step, appointments given by seniority
rather than capacity. It was not until Choiseul took charge of the French Navy,
that some degree of the same life reanimated a dormant and discouraged service
which Pitt instilled earlier into the forces of England.
Seniority counted for too much. Meschin,1 on whose action hung, in
1744, the fate of Acadia, had commanded the Semslack, from which the first
settlers of Isle Royale landed in 1713. Du Bois de la Motte2 was an
excellent officer. The disposition of his ships on the voyage and in Louis-
bourg seems to a layman admirable, but he was seventy-four. A Schomberg,
whose leadership at eighty inspired confidence in a nation, is the rarest of
commanders. Retirement at a ripe age with a pension was sure of attainment
to any one who did not disgrace himself. The incentive of prompt reward
was lacking. Boscawen inquired, when he landed, about Vauquelin. When
he heard that it was the captain of a little frigate who had handled his vessel
so brilliantly, he said that if Vauquelin were in his command he would
recommend him for captain of a ship of the line. It would have been
difficult for the French officers to whom he said it to find a similar instance
in their own service. His remark might well have been made in the presence
of one of his own captains, whose recent promotion was a proof that
Boscawen's disposition was that of the Lords of the Admiralty.
On the New Year's Day, 1758, the Adventure •, Captain Bray, lay at anchor
in Dungeness Roads, and saw a snow reach in. They engaged. By good
seamanship and great personal bravery, Captain Bray and his pilot passed his
mizzen topsail sheet and a hawser round the Frenchman's bow-sprit and made
it fast to his capstan, and then after an hour's sharp fighting, the privateer,
hailing from Dunkirk, surrendered. Before the January number of the Grand
Magazine had gone to press it was able to announce that from the fifth rate,
Adventure, 44 guns and 250 men, Bray had been promoted to the third rate,
Princess Amelia, 64 guns and 600 men, in which he joined Boscawen's fleet.
The capture of a privateer mounting 14 nine-pounders by a ship of 44 guns
was insignificant. The great reward was given for good seamanship and personal
courage.8
1 He entered the service in 1683, and completed in all fifty-nine years.
- Entered the service in 1698. He had, therefore, served fifty-nine years when he was placed in command of this fleet.
3 Four promotions were made in Louisbourg in consequence of the boat expedition. Balfour was given command
of the Bienfahant, which was repaired and sent to England ; Laforey was made captain of the Echo. Affleck and
Bickerton, senior lieutenants of the Namur, took command of the JEtna and Hunter, vacated by these promotion*
(Boscawen to Pitt, July 28, 1/58). In 1745 also, Douglas, who, in command of the Mermaid, had been instrumental
in the capture of the figilant, was promoted to her immediately after he towed her safely to Gabarus.
THE FRENCH SERVICE ARISTOCRATIC 303
Another characteristic of the French service, which one naturally contrasts
with the system of its rival, was that the former was aristocratic. The young
noble who entered as garde-marine was clothed in scarlet and gold lace. He
found himself not only among his social equals, but in very many cases among
his kinsmen, or others of naval families allied in the service to his own. In his
list of the fleet sent out to America in 1757, La Cour-Gayet1 gives biographical
details of the twenty captains. Twelve belonged to naval families. The
influence of these social conditions would tend to give a high sense of personal
dignity insistent on personal rights ; to some extent, a feeling of superiority to
drudgery, and hostility, or at least coldness to the outsider among them,2 and, it
is not to be doubted, the disadvantages as well as the extraordinary advantages
which one naturally looks for in a body of men united not only by efprit de
corps, but by social equality and the ties of blood.
There were, owing to relaxation of the conditions as to noble birth, some
officers who were from a lower social stratum. They were not well received in
the service. Beaussier de 1'Isle was a son of the Port Captain of Toulon, and
it was hinted that his supporting captains hung back in the engagement already
referred to, to embarrass and discredit one who was an outsider in their own
service. He rose to a high rank in the service (Chef d'Escadre), but the
officiers bleus^ who came in from outside, rarely were as fortunate. Vauquelin,
a ship-master of Dieppe, whose services, not only at Louisbourg but at
Quebec, were so extraordinarily brilliant, never rose to a higher command
than that of a king's freight-ship (flute], although he remained in the service
until I772.3
Rosier was said to be the son of an important merchant of Bordeaux. The
brilliant defence which will shortly be recounted, gained for him a lieutenancy,
and after some years the rank of a captain of a fire-ship, which seemed to be
the highest rank he reached before his death in 1769.
The relations between Anson, one of the most brilliant and distinguished
naval men of his time, and Warren, whose social origin was relatively humble,
were probably not exceptional in the English service. I have found in French
documents no evidence that it would have been possible in that service for an
1 P. 508.
2 ''It is incredible the magnificence of the table on board the French men-of-war, served with all the elegance that it
is possible to do on land, which the captains of English vessels would never be able to imitate, for as soon as they receive
orders to sail with the first favourable wind, of which they render an account to the Admiralty, which they do daily
in all the ports of England, they are not allowed to remain longer, as the French ships are obliged to do, sometimes
during three weeks, to wait for provisions on the table ; and the English captains are often sufficiently unfortunate as to
be obliged to content themselves with salt beef and bacon like the sailors, with this difference, that the captains have the
choice of the pieces. It is true that the Commissioners of the Admiralty take great care that the provisions of the ships
should be of good quality, well-conditioned and in good case" (Memoir t of the Chc-valier Johnstone, vol. ii. p. 174, note).
The gossip of the New England camp had it that Maisonfort's service of plate was worth £5000,
3 Arch. Nat. Marine, C1, vol. 174, f. 1656.
3o4 CONTRAST WITH THE ENGLISH
officer of Warren's origin to write to his superior as freely as Warren wrote to
Anson ten days before their crowning victory over La Jonquiere.
"April 23, 1747.
" Dear Sir : I am glad you have alter'd your Line of Battle for I observed it as you did
yesterday weak in the Center, where tis most probable ye Enemy (should wee be so happy
to meet them) will be strongest. You see Sir how necessary 'tis to Exercise fleet. 'Tis
pretty difficult to keep a good Line close by the Wind — and I think when you next
please to Exercise the Fleet in separate Divisions, and a Breast, The Lines should be
form'd at a distance one Division to windward of the others as you shall judge proper, and
the Windward one, to go down on the Leeward, in order of Battle, so near as you wou'd
have them Engage an Enemy you'l pardon my taking this Lyberty."1
The momentous consequence to the French Navy of this difficulty of
entrance to others than those to the manner born, was that it lost the services
of many who had a taste for the sea, a capacity for command, and a desire to
serve in the fleets of their country. Scores of men rose to high rank in the
English service who entered it as ordinary seamen or as volunteers. This was
the case of Warren, and of many others. The flag of an admiral was in the
kit-bag of the English sailor, generations earlier than the staff of a marshal was
placed, by Napoleon, in the knapsack of the French soldier. The tradition in
one English family is, that the talk of an admiral, who, through the breaking
down of his carriage, took shelter in a clergyman's house, led the two sons to
run away to sea. Two peerages ultimately rewarded the success of their careers.2
There is found an explanation of the prodigious exploits of French privateers3
during this period, in what well may be a fact, that many of them were
commanded by men who, had the fleets of France been as open as those of
England, would have fought on her King's ships as valiantly as they made
conquests of the British mercantile marine. The magazines of the period give
lists of captures on both sides, and the bravery of the privateersmen and the
commanders of armed merchantmen, the skill with which they handled their
vessels, show the large numbers of men who might have been available for
service in the French Navy, had that service been made attractive to them.
The following is the narrative of a voyage printed in full, as a condensation
cannot give, as well as the main actor's own words, the impression of capacity,
modesty, and courage it conveys.
" Narrative of the engagement between the Robuste of Bordeaux, Captain Jean Joseph
Rosier, freighted by the King for Quebec, and armed with 6 eight-pounders and 18 six-
1 B.M. Add. MSS. 1^957, f. 172.
a The captain of the Jamaica, whose skilful manoeuvres in search of information off Louisbourg harbour are
recounted, wa» one of these boys (Ad. DCS. 1/4X1).
3 The privateer Mackavlt, which Bray captured, apparently did not hesitate to engage a man-of-war of 44 gum.
The latter only avoided being raked by very skilful manoeuvring.
ROSIER'S VOYAGE 305
plunders, with a crew all told of 77, and 150 soldiers of the regiment of Volontaires
Etrangers, and an English frigate of 30 guns in a tier and a half ('dans une batterie
et demie').
"The I3th April 1757, on my voyage towards Quebec, in latitude 44° 55', and longi-
tude (of Paris) 5' 35", at daybreak I saw a vessel on my lee, pointing northwards, the wind
W.N.W., carrying her four principal sails, her mizzen and mizzen-top sails without top-
gallant masts.
" She changed her course to my wake and gave chase. I set her down as a merchantman
obliged to approach in tacking. Her greater speed gave her the advantage of coming at
noon as near as the gunshot of a twelve-pounder. I then watched her and saw she was a
frigate with a tier and a half of guns, crowded with people, and extraordinarily high out of
water. Not being able to withdraw, and thinking it useless to parley, I clewed up my
lower sails to wait for him. When he stood across my course, I showed him my colours,
and, as customary, fired a shot. He broke out his, with all his broadside. Then the
engagement began and was most sanguinary, always side by side up to 7 o'clock,
when our common disorder compelled us to draw off to set things to rights. I had my
main and main top-sail yards broken, my mizzen and fore top-sail yards brought down,
all my sails in tatters and useless. I had in this attack 18 instantly killed and 42
wounded, several mortally, and several cannon-shot (ca fleur d'eau') between wind and
water.
"Our plight seemed so sorry that after making an inspection of my ship I decided,
with my staff, that we should turn back on account of the impossibility of making repairs
at sea. In consequence I set my course for Perthuis, or the River of Bordeaux ; the wind
being favourable, I proceeded all day and the next night under easy sail.
"About noon on the ifth my look-out saw a vessel about four leagues to leeward,
which was manoeuvring to come up with me. My few sails did not permit me to avoid
him ; he was within a long cannon-shot at 6 o'clock in the evening. He showed a white
flag and fired a shot ; not perceiving that he showed any special sign of need, I kept on
my course. I took his bearings at sunset, and thought he was in my wake, and the flares
and rockets which he was throwing out made me think he was in chase. At nine he was
within earshot, and hailed me. I answered him. He said to me in a compassionate tone,
1 Poor prisoner, I advise you to strike and not to make any resistance ; I will give you
good terms.' His exhortation was followed by his broadside in my stern, where I was
exposed, his sails giving him this advantage over me. In consequence I handled my ship
so that it was broadside to him. Then the battle became general from stem to stern,
and was more savage though less fatal than the former one. I had in this attack, which
finished at one o'clock in the morning, my main and mizzen top-masts smashed, and my
sails more destroyed than the former ones, 5 men killed and 1 1 wounded. My adversary,
drawing off, favoured me in making repairs, which I did at once. I refitted my mizzen
and foretop-gallant yards, these being the only ones I could trim to keep on my course,
which I did.
" At daybreak my enemy, which had watched me all night, manoeuvred to rejoin me,
which he accomplished at 1 1 o'clock. I recognized him as the same frigate with which I
had my first affair. I counted his guns, which were fifteen on each side, and some of my
officers assured me that they had seen cannon on his forecastle and quarter-decks. The
x
306 ROSTER'S VOYAGE
engagement began anew and did not stop until 6 o'clock, when he hailed and I answered.
He said to me, 'Yield, gentlemen, yield, you will be treated as you deserve. We will
give you good terms. We are a frigate of the English King's, so be undisturbed.'
Thereupon he hoisted a square flag at his foretop. I answered, not being able to hoist a
square flag like him, as I had no mast standing, that I was flattered to have intercourse
with my equals, that I had still powder and shot, that I regretted extremely that I had no
canvas to show him a course contrary which he would compel me to take, and, moreover,
that he had only now to do his duty, and I would keep on doing mine. I gave him three
Vive le Roi, my broadside of guns and musketry, at which we kept steadily until half-past
seven. My enemy, as crippled as I was, was pumping out water at all his scuppers and
steered with galley sweeps. I gathered that his rudder was useless, and at the same moment
discovered that mine was also damaged. I had it repaired at once. In vain then would
either have yielded to the other. Our condition allowed us only to think of ourselves.
The night which followed put us out of sight of each other.
" I worked hard to effect repairs. At daybreak I saw a ship ahead coming toward
us. We came together at ten, and I made him out as a privateer of 16 guns and
several swivels, with a large crew. He began the fight, but drew off at the end of an
hour, setting his lower sails and making a following wind, satisfied with our response
and our gunnery. In these two last attacks we had 3 killed and 8 wounded. At
noon I sighted the land at Oleron. At eight that evening I cast anchor a league
from Chassiron.
"My situation is most pitiable. I have standing my mizzen, and that without its top-
mast, and my bowsprit, not a working bit of rigging from stem to stern. At least fifty
shot above the water-line and a prodigious number in the hull. I think that on one side
and the other there were fired 3000 shot, and we fired 15,000 rounds of musketry, which
I have verified by counting the remaining cartridges. I have had 29 soldiers and seamen
killed and 61 wounded.
" M. Diaparraguerre, my chief officer, received a ball in the right thigh in the
first fight and is dangerously wounded. This accident greatly alarmed me, knowing
his worth.
"M. Charriolle et Du Salier, my two lieutenants, bore themselves with all imaginable
bravery. The latter, who was wounded in the right shoulder in the first fight, was found
faithfully at his post in the three following, and behaved himself with distinction.
M. Biere, second lieutenant, was also wounded in the first fight in the right thigh, and
is unfit for service.
"MM. the officers of my passengers, the Volontaires Strangers, distinguished them-
selves. In particular M. de St. Rome, the Captain, who threw into the sea a fire-pot,
which fell into the midst of twenty men, and never ceased rallying his men, and by his
worthy example making their volleys effective.
" M. de Gagnereau, his lieutenant, does not merit less praise, and although wounded by
a splinter in the arm, was always at his post.
"M. de Coussade, whom the Court had sent as a passenger, has died from his wounds.
He bore himself with distinction.
"The soldiers, slack at first, afterwards displayed an intrepid bravery, and I know not
how to give them praise enough.
THE INCENTIVE OF BOOTY 307
" I was also excited to make a most vigorous defence, not being ignorant of the
importance of my cargo to the King's service. ROSIER." 1
The sense of responsibility for a few hundred tons of stores for Quebec
which animated so desperate a defence, indicated a temper of mind which
would not be uncommon among such men. The vividness of impressions of
one in a novel position enhances greatly the sense of the importance of its
duties. The incident gives rise to the thought that had the resources of Des
Gouttes been at the disposal of Vauquelin, Rosier, or Brugnon, there would
have been found at Louisbourg as many of the militant righteous as would
have saved the city.
In support of this view it may be pointed out that there was not a great
difference in motive between the privateersmen and the merchant captain on the
one hand, and the naval officer on the other, in times when every merchantman
was armed, when regulations regarding naval prize money and letters of
marque were issued at the beginning of every war. Prize money was an
important factor in the career of the naval officer, while the privateer was
not devoid of patriotism. In a crucial case, the former would be expected to
sacrifice gain for the honour of the flag, a lower standard would suffice for
the man whose voyage was primarily for booty. The order of the motives
might, however, be reversed, without necessarily any material change in their
normal power. The richness of the fleets of the French East India Company,
the extent of French commerce revealed in the War of the Austrian Succession,
whetted the appetite of the British naval officer. Warren, a portionless Irish
lad, through his captures on his long term on the North American station
and at Louisbourg, had the reputation of being very rich.2 There are many
1 Arch. Nat. Marine, B4, vol. 76, f. 377. Guebriant, Intendant at Bordeaux, transmitted this account to the Minister
with his approval, and recommended a bonus to them all, as they had lost everything.
This account is so interesting, and displays on the part of this French merchant captain such a vigorous fighting
quality, not always found in commanders of the King's ships, that a search has been made for a verification of his state-
ments. A search through the Admirals' list-book showed that no frigate of the size of his adversary was in a position to
have taken part in this fight, nor were there any sidelights found in the Admiralty papers, nor did the best of current
news, namely, the Magazines or the London Gazette, give any trace of this encounter. The London Chronicle, however,
prints the following account, which shows that the vessel with which the Robuste was engaged was an English privateer :
" Bristol, May jth. — By a letter received from an officer on board the Ceesar privateer, brought by a Spanish vessel
arrived at Plymouth, we have an account that besides taking two prizes (viz. the Black Prince from Bordeaux for Cape
Breton, a snow of about 180 tons, laden with 1200 barrels of flour, 25 tuns of wine, etc., and the Jo/ie Pontac, of about
120 tons, bound from Bordeaux to Mississippi, laden with flour and wine) they had an engagement with a French frigate
of 36 guns, the I3th, I5th, and i6th ult., which was very obstinate and continued seven hours the last day j and when
the Ctesar left her she looked like a wreck, having lost all her masts and rigging. The Ctfsar had but a corporal of the
marines killed and 22 men wounded. During the engagement she fired 8000 musket and 700 cannon shot, besides an
incredible number of Largin and Partridge shot, and three 30 Hand Grandes (?) out of the tops, which did great execution.
This account was dated April 25th, in J,at. 45,00, Long. 4,50, at which time the Casar was in sight of two sail to
windward, supposed to be part of a fleet from Bordeaux, two of them of 30 guns each, 9 and 12 pounders, which she had
seen for seven days, and hoped to meet with some English Men of War or Privateers to assist her."
2 His correspondence with Anson refers more than once to the investment of his prize money. It may be noted
308 COMPLAINTS OF ENGLISH PRISONERS
fair mansions built, with some remote suggestion of a flagship in their
architecture, by retired and enriched naval commanders. The dignity of
more than one peerage is maintained by the investment of the prize money
of those on whom they were conferred for naval victories. These possibilities
were ever present to the naval commander. Warren proved his zeal in not
murmuring in leaving the rich hunting-grounds of the West Indies for the
barren seas off Isle Royale.1 When Boscawen was in the fogs off Newfoundland,
uncertain of his position, he writes to his wife :
u I own I was in hopes never to have seen America again, but now I earnestly wish
tor it, not but that I think of home, and for amusement this morning, drawn a house
after Lady Essex's plan, sure I am you will like it, and if we have a war, it is hard if I
dont get enough to build and maintain it." :
Land officers were interested in privateering. General Whitmore had a
privateer schooner, while Governor of Louisbourg.3
There were other examples, differing from these, in which the desire for
prize money was pushed to undue lengths. West Indian merchants complained
that men-of-war captured in the old war French and Spanish merchantmen,
instead of ridding those seas of the many privateers which were destroying
English commerce. A more striking instance was that of Rodney, who was
bringing out Amherst to the armament which was awaiting him at Halifax.
Rodney lost over a fortnight in securing a very rich prize he made off Brest.4
Such keenness led to a lack of decency in carrying out captures. The officers
of the Alcide and Lys complained bitterly of being ill treated, and robbed
of personal effects.5
Don Antonio d'Ulloa, a Spanish scientist, had the misfortune to be a
passenger on the No /re Dame de la Deliverance, when she was captured in
that he wrote to Anson in 1747 (i9th May), saying that if an accident befell him he must "leave his wife and pretty
Babes to the mercy of his King and Country," as his private affairs were very unsettled (B.M. Add. MSS. 15,957).
1 "I cou'd have pitch'd upon none attended with a prospect of greater uneasyness, and less personal advantage, I
mean where Booty is esteem'd so, which I hope will never be so with me" (Warren to Anson, April 2, 1745, B.M.
Add. MSS. 15,95-, f. 152).
8 Torbav at sea, May 25, 1755, Falmouth papers. Boscawen's tombstone states that he
DIED OF A FEVER
ON THE IOTH OF JANUARY IN THE YEAR 1761,
THE 5OTH OF HIS AGE,
AT HATCHLANDS PARK, IN SURREY,
A SEAT HE HAD JUST FINISHED AT THE
EXPENSE OF THE ENEMIES OF HIS COUNTRY. Etc.
s Clough's Jl. u Oct. 1759.
4 "Considering that he was engaged in the special duty of carrying to the seat of war the belated commander-in-chief
of the main operation of the campaign, the incident will hardly commend itself as a precedent to modern judgment"
(Corbett. vol. i, p. 315). » Arch. Nat. Marine, B4, vol. 68, f. 267, and Pichon MSS., Halifax.
FRENCH AND ENGLISH SERVICES COMPARED 309
1745 off Louisbourg. He says that they were stripped naked before the
crew, from apprentice to Captain, and searched in the most humiliating manner
possible, so that not a penny might escape, and most astonishing of all, that
in this search the English captains themselves took a foremost part. It was
obviously professional, for one of these captains turned over to the Spaniards
for their use a house in Louisbourg, of which he had taken possession and
did not require, as he remained on board his ship.1
The French naval officer also knew the charm of prize money and of
gain. The documents the writer has searched deal little with their success.
It was far less than the English. The motive, however, seems as potent,
and the official encouragement in prize money was as great. A contemporary
attributes the lack of zeal among them to three causes : they remain too long
idle in port, they look to their profession as a means of enriching themselves,
and often their share of goods for trade (la petite pacotille] which they have
on board is their only fortune.2
These explanations, illustrated for the sake of local colour, with incidents
connected with Isle Royale, may be summarised in saying that a neglected
service 3 was opposed to one high in favour with its court and country. One
which was starved in money, men and equipment, had to meet in conflict
another on which were lavished the resources of a country constantly growing
in wealth. The commanders of one were drawn from a single class, of the
other, from a whole nation. Officers, whose experience led them to expect
defeat, were opposed to others flushed with victory, or desirous of emulating
the exploits of their colleagues ; those knowing that neither victory nor
defeat made a vital difference in their careers ; these, assured of all the rewards
of success, speedy professional advancement, rank, wealth and glory.
That period during which Louisbourg existed covers, save for a score
of earlier years, that in which these striking changes in the two services were
brought about. Up to a certain point the strength and morale of the French
navy, if not superior, was at least not inferior to that of England. Her
colonies, and still more, the vast territories brought under her sphere of
influence by the energy and intrepidity of her explorers, was the vastest the
1 D'Ulloa, Voyage Historique, vol. 2, book ill, p. 1 1 6.
2 Surlaville, Derniers jfours, p. 273. All commerce was forbidden to officers of the Navy, 13 March 1717, Isambart
Recueuil, xxi. p. 139.
There were rumours afloat not only in Isle Royale, but also in France, that Vauquelin had carried in his
Arethute a valuable cargo when he escaped from Louisbourg. One of the New England carpenters, Knap, says it was
thought " she had much Riches on board." This was the gossip of a camp. The Minister wrote to Vauquelin
(October 26, B, vol. 108), asking him if he brought any cargo and for whom, which would point to some suspicion
that this might be the case. I have not found Vauquelin's reply. The implication seems to be that he was acting for
some one else. An " officer bleu " would be careful to obey the regulations.
8 The Almanack Royal gives a little more than a page to the Navy.
3 io THE IMPORTANCE OF SEA POWER
world had ever seen. The advantages to France of this Colonial Empire were
enormous. It was not until after that Empire was broken up that the growth
of her maritime commerce ceased to compare favourably with that of the
greatest of her rivals. The turning point seems to have been reached in 1692,
when at the end of May the combined fleets of England and Holland in
overwhelming force destroyed the fleet of Tourville at La Hogue. The
exiled James saw in it only another disappointment; the English ministry, a
proof that their fleet could be depended on ; the English people, a passing of
the fear of invasion. Louis XIV., at the height of his glory, with the inviolate
fortress of Namur at his feet, saw in this naval disaster only " the burning of
a few ships." The perspective of time enables us to see that from it, and the
subsequent neglect of the French Navy, ensued consequences, which were
not written on the page of history until the signing of the Treaty of Paris
in 1763. The revival of France's navy about this time, and the essential aid
it gave to the revolted colonies of America, led to a loss to England, which
seemed for generations greater, as far as America is concerned, than that of
Canada, and proves how an earlier revival might have avoided disaster to France.
Facile generalisations about the special aptitudes of one people for successful
colonisation, and pre-eminence in the arts which are based on sea-faring, do not
bear examination. History shows that such pre-eminence passed in distant
centuries from one people to another about the shores of the Mediterranean.
An Italian town, now without sea trade, once gave to the world a code of
maritime law based on the practice of its merchant adventurers. Spain and
Portugal were each in their turn foremost. Later, at a time when exploration
for England was most successfully conducted by foreigners hired by her Tudor
monarchs, native-born Frenchmen were establishing for their kings claims to the
possession of vast and fertile spaces. Holland once stood in the forefront in
maritime adventure. For a long time England has held this position, but it is
to be remembered that, three score years since, the marine of her most splendid
offshoot, the American Union, was, in quality at least, becoming the most formid-
able of her rivals. If more northern nations may not succeed England in the
front rank it is for reasons which were understood close on two centuries
ago. These periods of expansion have been for each people most glorious and
fruitful. Conquering on the sea, and the struggle with its dangers, have always
produced an energy and a breadth of outlook which have invigorated every activity
of the corporate life of these nations. If one would seek light for the future
from the lessons of the past, it is found in the page of La Cour-Gayet on which he
says, the imperial crown of overseas possessions rests on three supports — colonies,
a mercantile marine, and an adequate navy. The history of all ages makes
clear that the latter cannot be neglected.
THE IMPORTANCE OF SEA POWER 311
It was not through ignorance of the supremacy of sea power that France
fell from her pre-eminence as a colonial power. Maurepas shows a firm
grasp of this doctrine. Even Desenclaves, a priest in Acadia, implies a
knowledge of it in writing ; " What good is Louisbourg ? It would be good
if France were as strong at sea as England." A Monsieur Du Plestay wrote
in 1759:
"France under Henri IV. and since has had no other object in its wars than to lessen
the power of the House of Austria, which it suspected of aspiring to a universal monarchy.
We have nothing more to fear on that side, but we are about to suffer the same
disadvantage (on va tomber dans le meme inconvenient) in allowing England to usurp
the sovereignty of the sea, which is at least as dangerous as the other, in this respect, that
she increases her riches and prevents France enjoying hers, as you prove in the present
war, and with her money produced by commerce, she excites against you enemies on land,
who put it out of your power to use against them the resources, which otherwise ought
to have been the case " (I.R. vol. 38).
Indeed, the doctrine was never more succinctly stated than by a French
poet of the period :
" 3Le trfoent toe $epttme, c'est U sceptre tot ffiontoe."
APPENDICES
313
APPENDIX I
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES
" So much depends upon the abilities of individuals in war, that there cannot be too great care in the choice of
men for the different offices of trust and importance." — WOLFE.
THE notes which follow give biographical details of the chief French officers and their
families, drawn for the most part from the dossiers in the Archives des Colonies and the
Archives de la Guerre. The " dossier " of Prevost is given at length, as showing the
varied service of a civil officer. The letter about Du Chemin indicates that at a time when
Madame de Pompadour said that officers were resigning rather than serve in Canada, he
was of a more heroic type. La Ronde Denys was a specimen of the colonial officer
habituated to hardship and adventure rather than warfare. Johnstone is so picturesque a
figure that more space is given to him than his importance in Louisbourg would
justify.
It has not seemed necessary to give any account of the British officers. Such notes
would be only abridgements of the articles in the National Dictionary of Biography.
Parson's Life ofPepperrell^ Wright's Life and Letters of Wolfe^ and Mr. Beckles Willson's
Life and Letters of Wolfe deal with the two principal characters. But on Wolfe this
sketch of his appearance may be added from the little known Hamilton Manuscript in
Harvard College Library.
" General Wolfe was 5 feet 1 1 or six in heighth, very straight, his air and carriage
perfectly military, his action free, his gestures open as those of an actor who feels no
constraint, — his hair red, generally worn in a queue, his face of a long oval, complexion
very fair and much freckled — his eyes were light, I think grey, and his mouth large, his
nose, tho long, was large and open. Yet tho this assemblage of feature may not appear
favorable there was a certain animation in the countenance and spirit in his manner that
solicited attention & interested most people in his favor. To a small 8 vo. edition of the
life of Eugene printed at Vienna in 1745 is prefixed a portrait of that great Prince,
the lower part of the face strikes me as bearing a strong resemblance to that of
Wolfe."
William Vaughan, however, deserves to be made an exception. His zeal was great,
even if his judgment in practical matters was unsound. Various documents dealing with
his activities are, therefore, printed in full.
3i6
APPENDIX I
THESE NOTES AND DOCUMENTS REFER TO
D'Anthonay.
Blenac Courbon.
Drucour.
Madame Drucour to the Minister.
Des Gouttes.
Johnstone.
La Ronde Denis.
Marchaut de la Houliere.
Maisonfort.
Marin.
Prdvost.
St. Julhien.
Surlaville.
La Tour du Chemin.
Vauquelin.
List of Officers.
Etats de Famille 1763 (?)
Law of Feb. 25, 1791 — extracts.
Vaughan.
HENRY VALENTIN JACQUES D'ANTHONAY
He was born on the 23rd November 1723, in Auxonne Bourgogne. He was
Volunteer in the Regiment Royal Comtois in 1740 ; in the Life Guards, Compagnie de
Noailles, 3Oth January 1746 ; "Captain en Second" on the 25th April 1748 ; Lieutenant-
Colonel of the "Volontaires Etrangers," ist June 1756; Lieutenant-Colonel of the
Volontaires d'Austrasie, ist January 1760. He was retired in 1/63. He died on the
9th March 1783. He had obtained the grade of Chevalier de Saint Louis. (Archives de
Guerre. Dossier d'Anthonay.)
LE CHEVALIER DE BLKNAC COURBON
Of Saintonge. Grandson of a former Post-captain who died when Governor-General
of the West India Islands ; son and nephew of six Post-captains who died in the service.
He was appointed Naval cadet (Garde Marine) 30th August 1725 ; Lieutenant, ist July
1735 ; Post-captain, ist January 1746 ; Rear-Admiral, ist January 1757 ; Commandant at
Brest, I5th February 1758; Lieutenant General, ist October 1764. He died on the
23rd August 1766. (Marine, C1, 166.)
He was born in
LE CHEVALIER AUGUSTIN DE DRUCOUR
He was appointed Garde de la Marine in 1719, Enseigne de
Vaisseau in 1731, Lieutenant de Vaisseau in 1741, Lieutenant des Gardes de la Marine,
1743, made Chevalier de Saint Louis on the I4th March 1749, appointed Captain de
Vaisseau 17th May 1751, and Governor of L'Isle Royal on ist February 1754. He
returned to naval service on the ist January 1759. He died on the 28th August 1762.
All his sea service was as a midshipman or ensign — Constantinople 1723, Martinique 1727,
Louisiane 1717, 1730-31. Copenhagen 1733, 1734, 1735 and 1736. (A. Marine, C7, 89.)
22. December 1758.
Letter from Madame Drucour
MR. ACCARON, 6. "Janvier 1759.
MY LORD, — After having undergone with great steadfastness the dangers and events of
the Siege of Louisbourg, after having borne the fatigue of a long and perilous crossing, to
APPENDIX I 317
go from England to France, my health has in the end given way under the weight of the
cruel anxieties and the sorrow which consume me I was obliged to rest on the way and
have not been able to reach Paris and bring you the letter and memoir which M. de
Drucour honoured me with for you.
Dare I ask you, my Lord, by what fatality the bravest officer, the most honest of men,
and the best citizen who ever existed, finds himself to-day reduced to justify a conduct
which (I dare assure you) has won for him the most marked consideration, the most
perfect esteem, and the sincerest praise of the entire garrison which he had the honour to
command ? It is not, my Lord, by praise and exaggeration of what happens to be done well,
nor by evasions, subterfuges and excuses for what may have been done badly, that M. de
Drucour justifies his conduct. Two memoirs which he sends you will allow you to view
the unfolding of his conduct, one is an accurate journal and a detailed account of all that
happened day by day, and so to speak hour by hour, since the time when the enemy came
before Louisbourg till the surrender of the place. There are no reflections, no com-
mentaries in this account, nothing but orders given and received, the facts testify for
themselves, our sense of equity and our judgment will know how to appreciate them fully.
The second memoir contains the detailed account of all that passed between the
Marquis Desgoutes (des Gouttes) and the Governor of Louisbourg, the opposition which
arose, and the difficulties proposed by the Commandant de la Marine. On the other hand,
it contains the account of obstacles removed and the Governor's replies in accordance with
the King's commands.
There remain two points, my Lord, on which M. de Drucour can throw no light,
because they are quite outside his province, one concerns the state of finances, the other
the fortifications. These two points have contributed so much in bringing about the
unfortunate catastrophe of the surrender, that it is only fair and even necessary to examine
them with all possible care and severity.
We must therefore keep constantly before our eyes the state of the fortifications of
Louisbourg when the Governor was sent out there, we must know what has been done to
them in these four years, whether the Governor placed difficulties, obstacles, and delays in
the way, whether the work was thoroughly done and with appropriate thrift and economy,
whether funds were sent out, and what they amounted to, to whom they were given in
France, to whom they were passed on in Louisbourg, and whether proper use was made of
them according to their quality and quantity.
Ask, my Lord, for the memoirs and instructions which pertain to these matters, just
as M. de Drucour gives you his for all which concerns his administration, prosecute
embezzlement everywhere it may have occurred, independently of where it may be
discovered, follow the evil to its roots, and if you find it, cut it ofF boldly, even if it be the
head of M. de Drucour himself, he would be the first to take it to the scaffold j the good
of the service, the interest of truth and of a good example, exact it, I speak according to
M. de Drucour, my Lord, for his true feelings are those I am having the honour to lay
before you.
Will you permit me, my Lord, to end with a few remarks on the unhappy Governor
of Louisbourg ; he has been for over forty years in the King's service, he has never left
departmental or colonial service, the commanders under whom he has served, have all
written the most flattering accounts of his conduct. He was appointed, because of his
3I8 APPENDIX I
wisdom and good conduct, without solicitation, commander of the "Gardes du pavilion"
(Midshipmen) in Brest ; he began at that time to cut into his patrimony, his income not
sufficing, he said, to maintain with respect and dignity his position as commander of the
young noblemen under his charge, whom, in order to gain their friendship and confidence,
he entertained in turn at dinner every day.
The King honoured him later with the Governorship of Louisbourg, without his
having asked for it ; he ran through the remainder of his patrimony to comply with the
expenses of his departure, which reduced him to borrowing money ; the drain is so real, that
now he is without estate and without fortune ; he defies whomsoever will to indicate in
France or elsewhere a spot where he possesses a coin in income of any kind whatsoever.
M. de Drucour does not blush for his poverty, because he flatters himself that he has gained
honour and repute, but he could not survive his honour compromised. Guilt is to him an
overwhelming thought which he could never bear with, he does not ask your favour, my
Lord, he demands justice, and I implore you urgently to give it him.
I have the honour to be, with all possible respect, my Lord, your very humble and
very obedient servant,
CoURSERAC DE DRUCOUR.
FROM BERNAY,
Forgive the erasure, my Lord, and put it down to the weakness of my head.
(Archives Nationales. P"- No. 4. Dossier C7y 89.)
MR. ACCARON, MAD6- DE DRUCOUR,
6 Janvier 7759. 22 X*"- /7J&
MONSEIGNEUR. — Apres avoir soutenue avec assds de fermet£s les dangers et les
cvenements du Siege de Louisbourg, apres avoir essaye" les fatigues d'une traversed longue
et peYilleuse pour passer d'engletere en france, ma sant£ a enfin succomb£ sous le poids des
cruelles inquietudes et du chagrin qui me deVorent, j'ay 6te" contrainte de rester en chemin
et je n'ay pu me randre a paris pour y porter la lettre et les m£moires que M. De Drucour
m'avoit charg£ d'avoir 1'honneur de vous remettre.
Oserais-je vous demander, Monseigneur, par quelle fatalit£, le plus brave officier, le
plus honncte homme, et le meilleur Citoyen qui fut jamais, se trouve r£duit aujourd'hui a
justifier une conduite qui (j'ose vous Passurer) lui a valu la consideration la plus marquee,
restime la plus parfaitte et les dloges les plus sinceres de toutte la garnison qu'il avoit
1'honneur de commander ? Ce n'est point, Monseigneur, par des loiianges et des exageYations
sur ce qui peut etre bien fait, ce n'est point par des ddtours, des subterfuges et des excuses
sur ce qui peut y avoir de mal fait, que M. De Drucour justifie sa conduitte, elle se trouvera
developpee a vos yeux par les deux m£moires qu'il envoie, 1'un est un journal exact et un
detail suivi de tout ce qui s'est passe jour par jour et pour ainsi dire heure par heure depuis
que les ennemis ont paru devant Louisbourg jusqu'a la reddition de la place, il n'y a dans
ce detail ni rdflections ni commentaires, ce sont les ordres donn6s et re^us, ce sont les faits
qui doivent deposer par eux-mCmes, et que notre 6quit£ et notre discernement sauront bien
aprdtier.
Le segond m£moire contient le Detail de tout ce qui s'est pass6 entre M. le Marquis
Desgoutes et le Gouverneur de Louisbourg, ce sont les ©positions qui ont 6t£ formers, et les
APPENDIX I 319
difficultes qui ont &t& proposees par le Commandant de la Marine. Ce sont de 1'autre
part les obstacles leve's et les re"ponses faites par le Gouverneur en conse'guance des ordres
du Roy.
II reste, Monseigneur, deux objets sur lesquels M. De Drucour ne peut donner aucun
e'claircissement parce qu'ils sont absolument 6trengers a son administration, 1'un regarde
1'^tat des finances, et 1'autre celui des fortifications. Ces deux parties ont tellement
concuru a amener la malheureuse catastrophe de la reddition de la place, qu'il est bien
juste et me'me indispensable de les examiner avec toutte 1'attention, et aussi avec toutte la
seVeYite" possible.
II faut done faire demeurer constant en quel 6tat £toient les fortifications de
Louisbourg lorsceque le Gouverneur y a it& envoye", savoir ce qui y a 6t& fait depuis
quatre ans, s'il y a eu des difficultes, des obstacles, et des d61ais occasionne"s par le
Gouverneur, savoir si les travaux ont &t& faits solidement, et avec les epargnes et les
oeconomies convenables, savoir s'il y a eu des fonds envoyes et combien, a qui ils ont &t£
donnas en France, et a qui ils ont 6ti remis a Louisbourg, si on en a fait 1'usage ordonne"
suivant la qualite" et quantite.
Faites vous donner, Monseigneur, les mdmoires et les instructions qui regardent ces
objets, comme M. De Drucour en donne pour ce qui regarde son Administration, poursuiv£s
la malversation par tout et indistinctement ou elle poura £tre apercue, suives le mal jusques
dans la racine, si vous la trouves, Monseigneur, coupe"s-la hardiment, fut-ce la tete de M.
De Drucour, il sera le premier a la porter sur 1'echafault, le bien du service, 1'interest de la
ve'rite et le bon exemple 1'exigent, c'est, Monseigneur, d'apres M. De Drucour que je parle
et ce sont ses vrais sentiments que j'ai 1'honneur de vous exposer.
Qu'il me soit permis, Monseigneur, de finir par quelques reflections sur le malheureux
Gouverneur de Louisbourg, il sert le Roy depuis plus de quarante ans, il n'a jamais quitte"
les d^partements ou la Mer, les g£n£raux sous lesquels il a servi ont tous donne les
apostilles les plus flatteuses sur son compte. II a &t6 nomm6 par sa sagesse et sa conduitte
et sans sollicitation commandant des gardes du pavilion a brest, il commenca pour lors a
entamer sa legitime, son revenu ne sufisant pas, disoit-il, pour usure avec defence et dignit£
a la t£te de la jeune noblesse qu'il commandoit et auxquels pour s'attirer leur amide" et leur
confiance il donnoit a manger tous les jours alternativement. Le Roy 1'a ensuitte honore*
du Gouvernement de Louisbourg sans 1'avoir encore demand^, il y a achieve7 de manger sa
16gitime pour satisfaire aux avances de son depart, ce qui 1'a r£duit a des emprunts pour
lesquels la cotione" il est si vray et si re"el [«V] qu'il est actuellement sans aucun bien et sans
aucune fortune, qu'il defie qui que ce soit de pouvoir indiquer en France ou ailleurs un
endroit ou il possede un Ecu de revenu dans quelque genre que ce puisse estre. M. De
Drucour n'a point rougi de sa pauvret£ parce qu'il s'est flatt6 d'avoir acquis de 1'honneur et
de la reputation, mais il ne pouvoit survivre a son honneur compromis, Coupable, c'est
pour lui une idee accablante qu'il ne pourra jamais suporter, il ne vous demande pas de
grace, Monseigneur, mais il vous demande justice, et je vous suplie instament de la lui
vouloir bien accorder.
J'ay 1'honneur d'estre avec tout le respect possible, Monseigneur, Votre tres humble et
tres ob&ssante servante, COURSERAC DE DRUCOUR.
A BERN AY,
pardonnds la rature, Monseigneur, a la foiblesse de ma t6te.
32o APPENDIX I
LE MARQUIS CHARRY DES GOUTTES
of Moulins. The eldest son of Count des Gouttes, who died when Commandant of
the Gardes-marine at Rochcfort ; grand-nephew of a Lieutenant-General in the navy and
Grand Prior in Acquitaine ; he had five cousins who died in the service.
He was appointed Naval Cadet (Garde Marine), May 25, 1725; Lieutenant, May I,
1741; Post - captain, January i, 1746; retired with the pension of Rear-Admiral,
September 16, 1/64. (Marine, C1, 166.)
LE CHEVALIER JOHNSTONE
The Chevalier Johnstone was in Louisbourg with one interval from 1752 until the
eve of the capitulation. The senior Captain of Prince Charles Edward's army, after
escaping to France, he was pre-eminently unfortunate among unfortunate Jacobites. He
did not succeed in having his rank in the Prince's army acknowledged by a corresponding
grade in the French service, but took instead a commission as Enseigne en Second in the
Louisbourg troops. The quotations given show that he wrote with a loose picturesque-
ness, not suitable to a historian, but to him we owe touches, which let us see glimpses of
the real life of the place, which we do not find in official correspondence.
He began well with his brother officers by appearing as a man of spirit. On his first
arrival he gave, on the ramparts of the town, the favourite promenade of its people, a
thrashing to the captain of the ship on which he had come out. The cause of this
outbreak was the captain's ill-treatment of him and his fellow passengers. It was so well
thought of that Loppinot, the Major, remained away until he thought the rascal had
enough. Johnstone kept the good opinion he thus gained by refusing to take sides in
any quarrels, and busied himself with his garden, fishing the trout streams of the environs,
and his books. He got promotion to a lieutenancy in 1754 together with the appointment
of King's Interpreter, which gave him an income larger than a captain's. Not wishing,
after the siege had ended, to fall into the hands of troops he had helped to break at Culloden,
he escaped to Acadia and to Quebec, where Montcalm placed him on his staff. One
wishes that more of his literary remains, which were considerable, had been concerned with
Louisbourg. The edition of his memoirs quoted herein is that published by Wylie,
Aberdeen, 1870-1871. It is probably as bad a translation as has ever been printed. Another
memoir by him is "The Campaign of Louisbourg, 1750-1758," published both in Quebec
MSS. Hist. vol. iii. p. 465, and in the Quebec Historical Society Publications, Second
Series, 1868.
Johnstone appears in fiction as Maxwell in The Span o Life by William McLennan
and Miss Jean N. Mclllraith, New York, Harpers.
[Duplicata.J A M. JOHNSTON.
28 Sore /7jg.
MONSEIGNEUR. — Etant Lieutenant de la compagnie de Mezilliac Je me suis trouv£
detachc avec cette compagnie a 1'Jsle St. Jean I'ann6e derniere lorsque Louisbourg fut prise.
En apprenant la Reddition de cette place et que PJsle St. Jean fut comprise dans la capitula-
tion, le zele et ardeur que j'ay toujours eu de me rendre utile au service m'avoient engag£
APPENDIX I 321
a me retirer en Canada. J'ay servi cette eampagne aidecamp a*M. Le Chevr. de Levis
jusqu'a apres 1'affaire de 31 Juillet qu'il a parti de 1'arm^e de Qudbecq pour visiter les postes
des Rapides et 1'Isle aux Noix ; a son Depart de Beaufort Je restai avec M. de Montcalm,
et Je servai en qualit£ de son aidecamp jusqu'a sa mort. Je suis bien persuade^ Monseigneur,
qu'il vous en reviendra des t£moignages favorables de mes services par M. de Levis, et il
seroit inutile de dire combien J'£tois estim£ par le brave, mais infortune' M. de Montcalm ;
J'6tois pr£pos£ par luy de porter ses pacquettes en france, et Je ne doute pas que votre
Grandeur auroit eu des Egards pour sa recommandation en accordant ses demandes en ma
faveur. Sa mort m'est prejudiciable d'autant plus que J'aurois pu, par ses moyens, m'attirer
1'Influence, Monseigneur, de vos bonnes Grices.
M. le Marqs. de Puysieulx et M. le Marshal de Lhomond, qui me font 1'honneur de
me prot^ger, vous diront, Monseigneur, le d£sagr6ment que J'ay eu au service des colonies.
J'6tois capitaine d'une compagnie en 1745, et M. Rouill6 en 1750 m'envoyoit a 1'Jsle
Royale avec la simple commission d'Enseigne, que J'avois accepr.6 par soumission aux ordres
de M. de Puysieulx et par ses promesses d'avoir toujours soins de mes intents. Comme je
suis icy le premier Lieutenant, ma commission de Lieutenant pour 1'Isle Royale 6tant dat£e
le ier d'Avrile 1754, il seroit un effet de votre Equit6 et bont^, Monseigneur, de m'accorder
une de deux compagnies vacantes par la mort de M. la perriere et M. de St. Ours, qui furent
tu6s dans I'affaire du 13 de Sepre. Je tacherai autant qu'il m'est possible par mon zele et
application au bien du service de mdriter 1'honneur, Monseigneur, de votre bienveillance.
J'ay 1'honneur d'etre avec un tres profond Respect, Monseigneur, Votre tres humble
et tres ob£issant serviteur,
JOHNSTONE.
P.S. — J'aurois pass6 en France cet automne mais M. de Vaudreuil m'en avoit refus6
la permission.
A MONTREAL,
le 28 Octobre
A Monseigneur de Sartine^ Ministre et Secretaire d'Etat de la Marine.
77 Mars.
MONSEIGNEUR. — Jacques Johnstone de Moffat, Chevalier de 1'ordre de St. Louis,
Descendant de la Maison de Johnstone Marquis d'Annandale, Paire d'Ecosse, et 1'HeVitier
de cette Pairie a la mort du present Marquis d'Annandale, il 6toit le premier capitaine
de l'Arm6e du Prince Edouard par sa commission de capitaine en date du 21 de Septembre,
1745, et a servi avec sa compagnie depuis le commencement jusqu'a la fin de 1'Expedition
de eel Prince en Ecosse. S'^tant sauv£ en France en 1746 apres la Bataille de Culloden
II auroit pu £tre plac£ en 1747 Lieutenant Collonel en Espagne, Collonel en Russie ou II
cut alors un oncle, le Comte Douglas, Lieutenant G6ne>al et Gouverneur de Revel et il
auroit pu ^tre plac6 tres avantageusement en Suede ou II cut un autre oncle S6nateur : II n'a
pas profit^ de ces offres, favorables pour sa fortune, par les vaines espeVances qu'il entretenoit
alors que la cour de France auroit renvoy6 le Prince Edouard en Ecosse avec une Arm£e.
Lorsque le Prince Edouard fut arr£t6 en 1748 et chass£ hors du Royaume M. le
Marquis de Puysieulx, qui estimoit et prot£geoit particulierement le chevalier Johnstone,
demandat de M. Rouill6 une compagnie pour lui a St. Domingue ou a la Martinique, dont
la lettre de M. de Puysieulx doit se trouver aux Registres du Bureau de la Marine : Mais
Y
322 APPENDIX I
M. Rouillc', nouvellement Ministre, au lieu d'une compagnie, fit exp£dier pour lui un Brevet
d'Enseii^ne en Pied a 1'Isle Royale. Choqu6 d'etre le seul Ecossois r£trograd£, tous ses com-
patriotes ayant M place's dans les troupes de terre par M. le Comte D'Argenson avec les me'mes
commissions qu'ils avoient eu du Prince Edouard, il refusa d'abord de 1'accepter ; mais sur
les promesses rc'itc're'es de M. de Puysieulx de lui faire obtenir incessamment une compagnie,
et sur les assurances trompeuses de M. de la Port£ que sa commission de capitaine seroit a
Louisbourg aussttot que lui, il s'embarquat et se rendit a Louisbourg en 1750, victime en
plein de sa bonne foy et cr£dulit£.
Apres la prise de Louisbourg en 1758 il se sauva en Accadie et dela en Canada ou il
continual ses services avec distinction, zele et utilit£ en qualitd d'Aide-de-Camp de M. de
Levis, ensuite Aide-de-Camp de M. de Montcalm jusqu'a sa mort le 21 de Septembre,
1759, et alors il se remit avec M. de Levis. En outre ses fonctions d'Aide-de-camp,
n'avant pas suffisamment des Ing6nieurs dans notre arm6e pour fortifier 1'Etendtle de deux
lieues de terrein occupd par notre camp pres de Quebec, il se chargeat de tracer et conduire
les fortifications de la Gauche de notre Arm£e, et c'6toit a la Redoute et Batterie qu'il
avoit fait ou les Anglois firent leur Descente le 31 de Juillet 1759 et furent repousses; II
avoit encore 1'occupation de traduire en francois tous les papiers Anglois ainsi que les
Depositions des Prisonniers et des D6serteurs. II y a cy-joint une Lettre et un certificat
de ses services par M. de Levis. Accabie et totalement £puis6 de fatigue par tant de
difF<£rentes emplois, sans autre lit que la terre toute cette campagne, sans avoir le terns de
dormir deux heures dans les vingt-quatre, et sans jamais oter ses Habits que pour changer
de Linge ni ses Bottes que pour changer des Bas, II espeVoit, Mon seigneur, pouvoir parvenir
aux premiers Grades militaires par son application continuelle a PEtude des difFerentes
Branches de 1'Art Militaire, par son Experience, par 1'Exces du zele qu'il t^moigna dans
toutes les occasions ou il pouvoit contribuer au bien du service et par sa naissance. Mais
le sort 1'avoit condamn£ a croupir dcsagr<^ablement au service de France, et a vieillir dans
les Pel nes sans relAche ; le seul de ses compatriotes qui avoit entr£ au service de la Marine,
et le seul qui avoit £t£ honteusement retrograde par une commission inferieure a celle du
Prince Edouard. II se croyoit fonde de demander le Brevet de Collonel sans appointements
afin de lui donner de consideration parmi ses compatriotes en Ecosse, qui 1'avoient vu
Capitaine en 1748 et servir a la te'te de sa compagnie avec honneur et Distinction.
Lorsqu'il revint en France en 1760 prisonnier avec les troupes de Canada M. Berryer
lui accordat en Recompense de ses services une pension de trois cents livres sur le Tremor
Royal. En 1761 £tant pret a partir pour rejoindre le corps de 1'Isle Royale a Rochefort il
apprit que M. Accaron, 1'ayant cru appartenir au corps de Canada, 1'avoit reform^ avec les
Canadiens, en lui accordant six cents livres de retraite sur les fonds des colonies ; et II fit
son possible sans parvenir a faire retracter cet Erreur impardonnable de M. Accaron. Est-
ce done, Monseigneur, sa faute s'il n'a pas continue en activit£ de service ? Le BeVeu d'un
premier commis doit-il rejaillir sur lui et lui fermer la porte des Graces qu'il eut lieu
d'esp£rer par ses services ? Est-ce que la cour de France ne recompense que les services
presents sans aucun 6gard aux services passes ? M. le Due de Choiseul convertit en pension
ces 600 liv. de Retraite, et M. le Due de Praslin transferrat sur les fonds des colonies en
rdunissant les deux pensions en une seule de 900 liv. II vous supplie, Monseigneur, de faire
exp£dier un Brevet pour sa pension de 900 liv. selon la nouvelle ordonnance afin qu'il le
porte chez M. de Savalete.
APPENDIX I 323
Jacques Johnstone de Moffatt, maison de M. Jourdan rue fromantau, Quartier du
palais royal a Paris.
LA RONDE DENIS CHEVALLIER DE ST. LOUIS
Enseigne de vaisseau et capitaine d'une compagnie du de"tachement de La Marine en
Canada vous repr£sente tres respectueusement, qu'il y a quarante-deux ans qu'il a 1'honneur
de servir Le Roy premierement en qualite de garde de La Marine et d'Enseigne de vaisseau,
et ensuitte de capitaine dans laquelle il sert actuellement. II a command^ des vaisseaux
e"tant garde de la Marine et n'a pas discontinue d'armer tant qu'il a 6td dans le service.
1687. 11 a 6t6 fait garde de la Marine et a servy au departement de Rochefort jus-
qu'en quatre-vingt-neuf.
1689. II a arm£ dans le St. Michel avec Mr. de gabaret chef d'escadre ou il a passe
en Irlande Le Roy Jacques, et dans la mesme campagne il s'est trouvd au combat de bantry.
1690. II a arme dans le courageux commande par Mr. de Sevigny monmoron, et fut
au combat de la Manche.
1691. dans Fexcellent avec Mr. du Rivaux huet ou il croisa tout 1'hyver dans la
Manche et fit la campagne de Large.
1692. dans 1'envieux avec Mr. de bonaventure faisant fonction d'Enseigne pendant
la campagne qui fut en Canada, et de la croiser sur les cotes de la nouvelle angleterre.
1693. dans la suzanne francoise avec Mr. de bonaventure pour aller a 1'acadie ou il
servoit lieutenant.
1694. dans 1'Entendu avec M. du guesne ou il servoit d'officier et furent dans la
Mediterranee ou ils prirent palamos et gironne.
1695. dans 1'envieux avec Mr. de bonaventure ou il e"toit Enseigne et fut a 1'acadie
ou ils se battirent centre une fregate angloise et furent de la a plaisance ou il trouva Mr. de
belair capitaine de vaisseau qui commandoit le fourbe lequel manquoit de Lieutenant ayant
perdu le sien nomme du bretiil en se battant, ce qui fut cause qu'il le prit en sa place, et
dans la traversee ils prirent un vaisseau anglois de seize canons qu'il luy donna a commander.
Etant a 1'aterrage de france il fit rencontre d'une Escadre angloise qui le prirent et le
menerent prisonnier en irlande.
1696. II a reste dans les prisons d'irlande.
1697. II a arm^ dans le vesp commande par le chevallier de chastrier dans 1'escadre de
Mr. d'Iberville, pour aller a La baye d'hudson ou il servoit de Lieutenant, ils prirent les
forts et coulerent a fond L'amiral anglois, prirent un vaisseau et mirent le reste de 1'escadre
angloise en deroutte.
1698. dans 1'envieux a la cote de 1'acadie ou il 6toit Enseigne.
1699. dans le nioport avec Mr. de courbon St. Leger pour croiser a la cote de 1'a-
cadie contre les forbans, il etoit Enseigne et avoit la charge du vaisseau par ordre du Roy
par la parfaite connoissance qu'il avoit de cette cote-la.
1700. dans la renommee avec Mr. d'iberville pour aller au Misissipi, y £tant enseigne
II fut pendant cinq mois dans le fleuve a en faire la d£couverte suivant les ordres qu'il en
avoit du Sr. d'Iberville.
1701. Sa Majeste" luy donna le commandement de L'enflamme pour aller au
Misissipi y porter des munitions ; il resta dix-sept mois dans sa campagne.
324 APPENDIX I
1702. dans la Loire commanded par le chevallier de gabaret, ou il (-toil Lieutenant
pour aller en Canada y mener Mr. de Beauharnois Intendant et dans la traversed ils prirent
un vaisseau anglois la nuit ou il fut dangereusement blessl a lY-paule et fut contraint de
rester en Canada nYtant pas gucYi au depart du vaisseau.
1703. II revint en France dans la seine commanded par Mr. Le chevallier de
Beauharnois y faisant fonction dc second Lieutenant dans la traversed.
1704. dans la Seine avec Mr. Le Chevallier de Maupeou pour aller en Canada ou il
Itoit second Lieutenant ; dans la traversed ils firent rencontre de la flotte de virgine
composite de cinq vaisseaux dc guerre qui les attaquerent et apres dix-sept heures de combat
dtant tout dlsempares ils furent pris et mencs en angleterre.
1705. dans le profond avec Mr. cauvet pour aller a Pacadie faisant fonction de
premier Lieutenant dans la traversed, en arrivant a 1'acadie il prit Le commandement d'une
frigate de quatorze canons que le Roy y avoit fait construire pour croiser sur la cote de la
nouvelle angleterre.
1707. Etant en rade dans la frigate du Roy La biche pr£t a faire voile pour aller
croiser il entra une flotte angloise dans le port Royal qui venoit pour Passilger, il fut
contraint dYchoiier sa frigate sous le fort, et fut detachd par Mr.de subercase a la t£te de
cent trente hommes pour aller s'opposer au passage de la petite Riviere, ou devoient passer
Les ennemis qui etoient au nombre de quinze cents, il les repoussa deux fois, mais a la
force il fallut elder et il revint au fort en se battant toujours en retraitte. Pendant le siege
il commanda toujours le bastion Royal qui faisoit face aux ennemis, Et apres La Levle du
siege il s'embarqua sur la frigate pour en porter la nouvelle au Roy.
1708. II commanda La vlnus pour aller a L'Acadie porter des munitions de guerre
dans le cour de Phyver et arriva au commencement d'avril, de la il fut croiser sur les cotes de
la nouvelle angleterre ou il fit plusieurs prises et fut dlsarml a plaisance.
1709. II fit un armement avec Mr. de St. ovide de brouillant dans le mois de
dlcembre avec cent soixante hommes pour aller prendre la cote angloise, ou ils rlussirent
fort bien, puisqu'ils prirent les forts de St. jean Le premier de Janvier, ou ils trouverent
plus de mille hommes portant les armes, tant trouppes qu'habitants, ils firent sauter au
printemps tous les forts et ranconnerent La cote et amenerent dans la virtus toute
Partillerie a plaisance il mena a qulbec Le Gouverneur, les officiers et soldats de la garnison
de St. jean, et les remit entre les mains de Mr. Le Marquis de vaudrettil par lequel il fut
retenu L'ltl entier pour commander la Marine pour la deffence de qulbec qui Itoit menace"
d'estre attaqul, apres quoy il porta des vivres a la garnison et colonie de plaisance, qui sans
ce secours seroit plrie de faim pendant Phyver, tous ces voyages furent dans des saisons tres
mauvaises et ont pensl le faire plrir plusieurs fois.
1710. II arma dans la Loire pour venir a L'Acadie Itant arrive" a plaisance ils
apprirent qu'elle Itoit prise, ce qui fit qu'il resta a plaisance par ordre de Mr. de Costebelle.
1711. II fut dltachl par Mr. de Costebelle gouverneur pour aller a boston y nlgocier
slcrettement la neutralite de ces peuples avec ceux de Canada pour affbiblir par ce moyen
les secours que la nouvelle angleterre donneroit pour la conqueste de La nouvelle france, a
quoy il auroit rlussy sans les contretemps qui arriverent (dont sa Majestl fut informle
exactement par led. Sr. de Costebelle), qui mirent plusieurs fois sa vie en danger.
1712. II receut un ordre du Roy pour aller Itablir L'isle Royalle, il passa dans le
samselac avec Mr. St. ovide de brouillant.
APPENDIX I
325
1713. Pendant 1'hyver il fut occupe" a parcourir la profondeur des forests et les Lacs de
cette isle dont il donna la carte au commandant de Louisbourg, mise au net par le Sr. de
couagne sous-inge'nieur, apres quoy il fut command^ pour aller au port Royal, aux mines, et
a beaubassin, cotes de L'acadie pour empescher les habitants de se soumettre a la domination
angloise, parce que ces lieux-la ne font pas partie de la nouvelle £cosse ou accadie suivant les
anciennes limites c£ddes par le traitt£ d'utrecht, il r£ussit si heureusement que ces peuples
consentirent de ne prefer jamais serment de fid61it£ au Roy de la grande bretagne, et de se
conserver fidelles au Roy de france leur souverain.
1714. II fut command^ a son retour de 1'Acadie dans le mois de Janvier pour aller en
france porter les pacquets de Mr. Costebelle a la cour, il cut le malheur de faire naufrage
en arrivant a La cote de bretagne, d'ou il prit la poste pour se rendre a Versailles, ou il se
trouva nomme commandant du Port-thoulouse, s'y 6tant rendu apres beaucoup de difficultez
il a continu6 d'y servir jusqu'en mil sept cent vingt.
1720. II receut un ordre du Roy pour aller servir en Canada. Etant pre't de partir
pour s'y rendre il cut ordre de Mr. de St. ovide de suivre Le sr. gaudeville, commandant la
flotte de L'isle st. jean pour contribuer a l'6tablissement de cette isle, ce qu'il fit.
1721. II resta par ordre du Roy dans liste pour second commandant.
1722. II receut un ordre du Roy pour commander a la place du Sr. gaudeville, ce
qu'il n'a pas pu exdcuter, Mr. de Beaucourt Lieutenant de Roy de L'isle Royalle ayant eu
un pareil ordre.
1723. Mr. Le Marquis de Vaudrettil jugea a propos de 1'envoyer par terre a Baston
avec le Sr. Lagesse officier des trouppes, son ordre est du cinq octobre mil sept cent vingt
trois, il s'y rendit avec beaucoup de difficultez et executa L'ordre et les instructions qui luy
avoient ete donne'es a la satisfaction de Mr. de vaudretiil mais ce voyage et la plus part des
precedents luy ont beaucoup coute", par ce qu'il n'a pas et£ rembource' des defences qu'il y
a faites.
1724. II a 6t£ nomm£ par M. Le Marquis de beauharnois pour aller commander a la
pointe de chaouarigon qui est a six cents lieues de Quebec ; Etant arriv6 dans ce poste il
a retir£ un collier de cette nation qui avait 6t£ envoy£ de la part des iroquois pour detruire
les francois et la remis a Mr. le Marquis de beauharnois. II a fait la de"couverte d'une mine
de cuivre Rouge dont il a apport6 un morceau qu'il a remis h. Mr. le Marquis de
Beauharnois et donn£ par ecrit la connoissance du Lieu ou elle est ; ces services luy font
esperer que Mr. Le Marquis de Beauharnois, gouverneur et Lieutenant general pour le Roy,
voudra bien 6crire en sa faveur a la cour.
MATHIEU HENRI MARCHAUT DE LA HOULIERE
He was born in Paris on the 6th of March 1717. His father was Francois Marchaut,
" Interess£ dans les affaires du Roi."
He was appointed Ensign and Lieutenant in the Lyonnais in 1733, Captain in 1734,
Lieutenant Colonel in 1746, Major in 1747, King's Lieutenant (Bellegarde) in 1751,
King's Lieutenant (Salces) in 1753, Brigadier in 1770.
After Louisbourg de la Houliere apparently returned to Salces in the same position,
and brought back from his imprisonment in England the art of casting cannon with coal
instead of charcoal. He superintended an experiment to this end at Nantes in 1776. The
326 APPENDIX I
spirit of the times seized him. In 1789 he addressed a memoir to Vergennes advocating
free maritime trade, and saw this splendid vision: "What glory will accrue from it to
Louis XVI., who has already freed the Americans and the French, in becoming the
universal peacemaker among the nations who inhabit both hemispheres, in destroying the
seed of almost all wars, and of being seconded in so splendid a task by the National
Assembly and his Ministers ! ' (" ^)uelle Gloire en servit a Louis XVI, qui a d£ja rendu
les Americains et les Francois libres, de devenir le Conciliateur universe! des peuples qui
habitent les deux hemispheres, de d6truire le germe de presque toutes les guerres et d'etre
scconde dans une Si Belle Entreprise par 1'Assemblce Nationale et ses Ministres ! ")
Such was not the lot of Louis XVI. De la Houliere, like the optimists of the time,
was swept on with the title. In 1793 he was a General of Division in the Republican
army of the Eastern Pyrenees, and meeting disaster wrote to his chief, General Flers : "I
hope that you wiil not be angry, and that you may not be, like me, a victim of treacheries,
this I fear for you, for the Republic. Adieu. — THE FAITHFUL REPUBLICAN." (" Je souhaite
que vous n'en f&chiez pas, et que vous ne soyez pas comme moi Victime des Trahisons,
ce que je crains pour vous, pour la Republique. Adieu. — LE FIDELLE REPUBLICAIN."
On another sheet he wrote : "Suspect no one of my death, have delivered to you my
letters, you will be enlightened ; I am dying as a brave man, grievously afflicted by the
misfortunes of his country, and I die as a faithful Republican this i8th of June 1/93. —
LA HOULIERE, Blameless Patriot." (u Ne soup^onnez personne de ma mort, faites rendre
mes Lettres, vous serez dclaircis ; je fais la mort d'un brave homme douloureusement
affect^ de sa patrie, et je meurs en fiddle R£publicain ce 18 Juin 1793. — LA HOULIERE,
irr£prochable patriote.")
Flers wrote to the Minister on the 24th June that de la Houliere had shot himself and
died three or four days afterwards.1 So ended, in Perpignan, a career begun in Paris seventy-
six years before, which touches our narrative for a few months. In these months he did
what he could is the verdict of one observer : " His (Drucour's) assistant, who joined him
some days before the arrival of the Enemy, had somewhat the same cast of temperament,
he has talent and goodwill, he has seen lengthy service, but nevertheless he is not one of
those men made to command, besides he was hampered by a bad leg, which prevented him
from acting as he would have wished, and he arrived too late to have a wide enough
knowledge of the work that had to be done, he did what he could." ("L'Adjoint qui lui
parvint quclques jours avant I'arriv^e des Ennemis £toit a peu pres de la meme trempe, il a
de 1'Esprit de la bonne Volonti, il a servi Longtemps, mais malgre Cela Ce n'dtoit point
de Ces homines faits pour Commander, d'ailleurs incommod£ d'une jambe qui 1'empechoit
d'agir Comme il auroit Voulu, et arriv6 trop tard pour prendre une connaissance assez
Etendue de la besoigne qu'il avoit a faire, il ne Pouvoit faire que ce qu'il a fait.")2
DE LA MAISONFORT
Alexandre Boisdescourt de la Maisonfort was a son-in-law of Mons. Chicoyneau,
Premier Medicine du Roy, Principal Physician to the King, and Chancellor of the
University of Montpellier. He began his life as page to the Comte de Toulouse, became
1 Archives de Guerre. Dossier de la Houliere. - Journal du Sitge de Lcuisbsurg, 1758. Poilly.
APPENDIX I
327
a Garde de la Marine 1699, Ensigne 1703, Lieutenant 1712, and Captain in 1731. He
was in the Indies in 1704, but his service was mostly on shore. He commanded a vessel
only on three cruises before he was given the Vigilant. In 1732 he served on the
Brilliant or Fleuron^ which made a voyage to Louisbourg. On a plan made by him is
his journal. His pleasure-loving instincts which made him prefer shore service betrays
itself in these notes. Regretting orders which gave them no shore leave at Cadiz,
he speaks of this beautiful and magnificent city, full of very many young ladies whose
acquaintance is easy to make, "Peuplez de grande quantite" de demoiselles avec qui la
connoissance est facile k faire." 1 He was never given a sea command after 1745, or rather
after his return from an English prison in the spring of 1746. His gallantry is obvious
from the account of the fight with Warren's ships.2 It may be noted that in the wider
outlook on the course of events his judgment was sound. Don Antonio D'Ulloa was a
fellow-prisoner with him in England, and to him Maisonfort gave his views on the New
England colonies. Maisonfort claimed that in a century the Province of Boston would be
a nation so extensive and populated that it would surpass in these respects that of England,
and would be in a position to impose its will on all neighbouring countries. The context
shows that he includes in the Province of Boston all the colonies from Pennsylvania north-
wards. He speaks with enthusiasm of the people and their condition.3
He was ordinarily spoken of as the Marquis de la Maisonfort. His title of Marquis
was not recognized officially, which places him among those who made up the crowd in
the first scene of Cyrano de Bergerac. The official transcript of his services says : " Le
commandement qu'il a eu d'un V'au pour 1'Isle Royale ne lui a pas fait honneur." 4 (" The
command which he had of a ship for Isle Royale did him no credit.")
MARIN MICHEL DU BOURZT,
Seigneur et Marquis de St. Colombe, born January 24, 1706, at Pergau. Ensign in Gensac,
August 30, 1724; Lieutenant in Gensac, July 16, 1725; transferred to Bourgogne,
April 17, 1727; Captain in Bourgogne, January n, 1738; Captain of Grenadiers in
Bourgogne, July 24, 1747 ; Commandant de Bataillon, January 6, 1755 ; rank of
Lieutenant-Colonel, February 19, 1755; Lieutenant-Colonel, June 24, 1758; retired
with pension, May 21, 1766 ; died, March 22, 1782.
He is described as "a good officer, fit to be Lieutenant-Colonel without however
having very superior abilities." He received a pension of 600 livres for his distinguished
services at Louisbourg, February i, I763-5
STATEMENT OF THE SERVICES OF M. PREVOST, COMMISSAIRE GENERAL DE LA
MARINE, ORDONNATEUR
1729, Under Clerk; 1732, Clerk to the King; 1735, Chief Clerk. — During these
six years he was engaged in turn at the Ports of Rochefort, with various details concerning
the construction and repairing of ships, building sheds, principal store-house, fitting out of
ships, enrolment of seamen, and artillery. He made a voyage to Canada, and in 1735 was
1 The map is Bib. Nat. C. 3714.
3 Voyage au Perou. liv. iii. chap. ix.
2 His technical judgment is dealt with in Chap. XV.
4 C1, vol. 167. 5 Archives de la Guerre.
328 APPENDIX I
singled out by M. Maurepas to go to PIsle Royale in the capacity of Commissioner under
the orders of M. Ic Normand de Mezi, who was at that time " Ordonnateur."
1737, Acting Commissioner. — He was sent to France with two ships, the Marie
Angllique and U Union, by order of Mrs. de St. Ovide de Brouillant and le Normant,
Governor and " Ordonnateur," as the result of a council held in consequence of a scarcity of
provisions, in order to set forth before the Minister the deplorable state of the colony, and
obtain aid, which M. dc Maurcpas charged him with taking back himself. He returned
to the colony the following October, with the relief granted, but he had to go through
ice-fields, and the weather was so stormy that both he and the crew fell ill, and in 1738 he
was obliged to return to France and recover his health.
In 1739 M. Maurepas ordered him again to the Colonies, at the time when there was
a change of Governor and " Ordonnateur " ; he was charged with the details concerning the
warehouse, the hospitals, and artillery; he was added to the "Conseil Superieur."
Louisbourg was attacked and taken in 1745 ; he was wounded in this siege, and lost the
greater part of his property as well as his wife's fortune.
He was appointed "Commissaire de la Marine" on the 1st of April 1764, and
Maurepas, satisfied with his services, considered him capable of filling a position as
"Ordonnateur" in countries which M. le Due d'Enville (Anville) might conquer.
M. Prevost received an order that, so as to conceal his destination, he should place all
his furniture, provisions, and personal property on a little ship from La Rochelle, called
La Di/igtntfj which was following the Armada (Tarmle navale\ and to embark on the
King's ship La Boree. This voyage was as difficult and disheartening as exhausting, but
he (Prevost), more than any one, experienced its misfortunes, for the Diligente was lost on
Sable Island in the storm of September 13, 1746, with all his belongings on board. And
in the following December the Boree, on which he was, also got shipwrecked on entering
Port Louis, so that he was saved almost naked and was confined to his bed for all the
winter with scorbutic rheumatism, of which he will feel the effects the remainder of his days.
Maurepas, still anxious to reward him for his services and misfortunes, singled him out
once again for confidential work in Canada, until 1'Isle Royale, where he wished him to be
"Ordonnateur," should be restored.
M. Prevost was ordered to embark on the King's ship Le Rubis, of M. de la Jonquiere's
squadron ; it took part in the famous fight off Cape Finistere on May 14, 1/47. He was
again captured, and for the third time made destitute. He was exchanged immediately
through the goodness of the Minister, who still felt kindly towards him, and ordered to
resume his duties at the Port of Rochefort. In November 1748 Maurepas had him
appointed by the King to fill the place of " Ordonnateur " in 1'Isle Royale ; it had just been
restored to the King.
According to his Majesty's commands he went to 1'Isle Royale in 1749 in order to
retake possession of it with M. Desherbiers, captain of a ship of the line, appointed
Governor. He fulfilled all the royal commands to the satisfaction of the King and his
Ministers, and he has only busied himself since then with the re-establishment of this colony
and its dependencies, with the King's service, improvement of trade, and in maintaining
the inhabitants in concord and in the fidelity due to his Majesty, in exercising justice in his
quality as President of the Conseil Superieur in Louisbourg, and as King's sub-delegate of
the Intendancy of New France in 1'Isle Royale, where he was appointed Commissioner for
APPENDIX I 329
War in 1755, so that he has received nothing but marks of satisfaction from his master and
his Ministers during the ten years of this laborious and in every way costly administration.
In 1757 the King sent him the commission of " Commissaire Ge'ne'ral de la Marine,"
which Mrs. Rouill£ and Machault had already told him of. Beyond the ordinary service of
the colony, he was given care of the large squadron commanded by the Count Dubois de la
Motte, and had to help save the King's ship Le Tonnant and the frigate U Abenaquise^ cast
ashore by a gale in the harbour of Louisbourg, and it is generally owing to his wise
arrangements that the flute UOutarde escaped from the Enemy in 1755. He was given
charge in 1757 of the hospitals and of all the sick left by Dubois de la Motte in Louis-
bourg, and he was fortunate enough to come to their aid and supply them with medicine,
so that the majority were saved, because he stopped the epidemic with the necessary care
and precautions.
In 1758 he busied himself entirely, conjointly with M. le Chevalier de Drucour, the
new Governor, with the means necessary to place the colony in a good state of defence, to
prepare for the enemies' attacks ; he fortified it, and provided for the needs of land and naval
troops, before and during the siege of Louisbourg, where he was to be for the second time.
It is well known what enormous difficulties, what labour and perils are undergone at such a
deplorable time ; once more he had the misfortune to lose all he and his family possessed,
and was taken for the second time in the same place.
He was busied in 1759 with the giving in of accounts of his administration, and he
dares flatter himself that he fulfilled this to the complete satisfaction of the Minister.
In 1760 a letter from his Majesty brought him orders to go from the port of La
Rochelle to that of Rochefort, to work there as " Commissaire General," and he was
retired on the ist of April 1762 and given a modest pension, hardly in proportion to his
grade, his wounds, his good and worthy services, at a time when he hoped to get, because
of them, rewards which were promised and deserved after thirty-three years of successive
toil and misfortune.
DE ST. JULHIEN,
a native of Lunel, entered Artois, May 6, 1709 ; became Lieutenant, October 22, 1710 ;
Captain, November 22, 1727 ; Captain of the Grenadier Co., December 30, 1744 ; Major,
January i, 1746; Commandant de Bataillon, March 12, 1748; rank of Lt.-Colonel for
Louisbourg position, February 19, 1755 ; died in I759.1
LE COURTOIS DE SURLAVILLE, MlCHEL,
born in Bayeux, Normandy, June 17, 1714. His father was an avocat^ his mother
was of an aristocratic family, but notwithstanding this connection with the class from
which military officers were drawn, it was only his great merit and the support of in-
fluential friends which enabled him to overcome those obstacles to a military career which
lay in the path of all not of noble birth.
He entered the regiment of Foix in 1734, became Captain in La Couronne in 1745,
received the Cross of St. Louis for his conduct at Fontenoy, and in 1751, before leaving for
Isle Royale, was raised to the rank of Colonel of the Grenadiers of France. On his return
1 Archives de la Guerre.
33o APPENDIX I
he served in the army of the Lower Rhine, 1754, and as Inspector-General of the Coast
Guards of Provence, Languedoc, and Roussillon, was made Brigadier in 1761, and Major-
General in 1762. So far his advancement had been rapid, but the fall from power of the
Due de Choiseul, his protector, stopped his advancement, and it was not until 1781 that he
became Licutenant-Gencral. He died in Paris on January 8, 1796. Les Dernien Jours
de r Acadie, by M. Gaston du Boscq de Beaumont, Lechevalier, Paris, 1899, gives his
correspondence, with many letters to him from officers who remained in Louisbourg after
he left. These make, with the other papers not reprinted in that book, but now in Laval,
the most important source of information about the personal side of life in Louisbourg
during its latest years.
LA TOUR DU CHEMIN
Alemoire pour obtenir une Commission de Lieutenant-Colonel, ce trois Septembre^ I755-1
(Joint a la lettre de M. le Chev. de Drucour du 9 Octobre 1755.)
" Le Sr. de la Tour Duchemin a commenc6 a servir en qualit£ de mousquetaire gris,
depuis le 15 Janvier 1732 jusqu'au 20 fdvrier 1734 que le Roy lui a accord^ 1'enseigne de la
Colonelle du Regiment d'Artois, a <k£ fait lieutenant le 30 mai 1735, aide-major le 15
septembre 1741, capitaine le 28 juillet 1743 ; il s'est trouvd au siege de Philipsbourg,
menin, ispre, furne, a celui de Fribourg, Mons et Charlerey, a 1'affaire d'Eteinguen, a
celle de Richenaux, a la bataille de Ramoux, aux retranchements du col de Laffiette, ou il
a recu deux blessures, il a 6t£ fait Commandant de St. Lo le 7 avril 1744, ayant remplac£
son pere dans le dit commandement dont il dtait pourveu depuis 1710 et qui servait
auparavant en qualit<5 de Colonel d'infanterie, le Sieur de la Tour Duchemin, qui continue
toujours ses services capitaine au regiment d'Artois, se trouve le premier factionnaire du
bataillon qui s'est embarque, il vient d'heriter de deux cents mille francs, quelque necessaire
que fut sa presence pour placer cet argent, il n'a point hcsit6 de partir des que le bien du
service 1'exigeoit, et la perte qu'il pourra faire ne luy cause pas le plus petit regret, il
demande depuis longtemps la commission de lieutenant-colonel, il renouvelle ses instances
dans cette occasion, et la desire avec plus d'ardeur que jamais pour estre a me'me de rendre
ses services plus utilles." ;
ST. JULHIEN, Lt. Colonel commandant le dit bataillon.
JEAN VAUQUELIN,
according to Ar. Marine C1, 174, f. 1656, was the son of a merchant captain of Dieppe.
His first regular commission in the navy was as captain of a fire-ship November 5, 1761,
and then he became Lieut, de Vaisseau October I, 1764. He served in the West Indies
in 1764-65, in India 1766 to December 1/69. On his return to France he was im-
prisoned and released in 1770, fell ill at Nantes in 1772, returned to Rochefort, where
he died November 10 of that year. His skill and bravery are noted, and the fact that he
had made twenty-one voyages and been in three engagements before entering the service.
Beyond these official notes (C1, 167) some further facts have been gathered by the late
1 He Roy ale, 1755, vo'- 35- '• '^8, PP- 9°-9>'
• Drucour praises La Tour's zeal and experience. He was in command of the Island Battery £I.R. vol. 38).
APPENDIX I 331
Faucher de St. Maurice, and in part published by M. Gabriel Gravier under the title,
"Notice sur Jean Vauquelain de Dieppe," etc., Rouen, 1885. Vauquelin (I follow the
spelling in the official records) was born in 1727, went to sea at the age of twelve with his
father, and in 1745 delighted his father with his coolness and courage displayed in an
encounter with an English frigate. In 1750 he bought a vessel of his own. On the
breaking out of war he was, among others, in the scarcity of officers and men, attached to
the navy and given command of a frigate, and cruised on the English coasts. His services
at Louisbourg have been recounted ; he greatly distinguished himself the next year at
Quebec, served on the Plains of Abraham, escaped from the town before its capitulation,
withdrew his frigates into winter quarters. In 1760, having burned all his powder, the
English took his burning, stranded and defenceless Atalante^ with her flag nailed to the
masthead.
Swanton, Commodore in command of the Vanguard^ received Vauquelin as a hero.
Contemporary English documents add : " The Admiral considered this officer so highly,
that he gave orders to despatch a vessel to take him to Europe with orders to the captain
to obey Vauquelin, and to land him in the French port he chose."
The tale is so picturesque that I have foreborne verifying it.
The cause of his imprisonment is unknown. His release was due to the influence of
the Duchesse de Mortemart. He was assassinated in the street, according to one account,
but this does not accord with the official register above quoted. In 1775 an investigation
cleared his memory.
Capitaines
Lieutenants .
ISLE ROYALE
LISTE DES OFFICIERS, 1747!
1080 liv. Enseignes en pied .
720 Enseignes en second
480 Jiv.
360
mort le 21 mars 1747.
rentre au service de la marine
pr. janer. 1759.
GOUVERNEUR
Le Moyne de Chateaugue.
Chev. de St. Louis.
Lieutenant de Roy a la Louisianne.
Lieut, de Roy a la Martinique
1727.
Gouverneur a Cayenne per. juillet
1737-
Gouvr. a 1'Isle Royale pr. Janvier
1745-
Garde de la marine 1719.
Enseigne de Vaisseau 1731.
Lieutenant de Vaisseau 1741.
Lieut, des gardes de la Marine 1743.
Capitaine de Vaisseau 17 mai 1751.
Gouverneur a L'Isle Royale pr.
f(6vrier 1754.
1 24 Compagnies. Une Compagnie de Canoniers Bombardiers de 50 hommes. — Off den militaires Colonies, 1747-
1763. (Serie D 2. No. 4.)
Chev. de Drucour.
Ch. de St. Louis, 14 mars
1749.
332
APPENDIX I
rcpassc en francc en 1751
pour y rcprcndre son
service dans la marine.
repa^ccn francc en 175 3 avec
unc pension dc 4000 liv.
sur Ic Trcsor Roval.
rcvcnu en France en 1758
aprcs la reddition dc Louis-
bourg.
COMMANDANT
Dcsherbicrs.
Chcv. dc St. Louis.
Cte. dc Raymond.
Chcv. de St. Louis.
Lahoullicrc.
Chcv. dc St. Louis.
Garde dc la marine 1716.
E^nscigne dc Vaisscau 1727.
Lieutenant dc Vaisscau 1738.
Capitainc de Vaisscau pr. avril 1748.
Commandt. a 1'Islc Royale pr.
Janvier 1749.
Lieut. Colonel dcs Grenadiers dc
f ranee.
Brigadier dcs armccs du Roy 1748.
Marechal de camp 1751.
Commandt. a 1'Isle Royale pr.
mars 1751.
Commandant des troupes de terrc
et de celles dc 1'Islc Royale par
ordre du 31 mars 1758.
LIEUTENANTS DE ROY
f. Lieutenant de Roy aux
Trois Rivieres en Canada
Ic per. avril 1754.
a reformc en 1751.
retire le 20 juillct 1753 avec
I 200 liv. de gratiffon. an-
nuclle sur les Invalidcs.
mort a Rochcfori I ~6o.
D'aillcbout D'Argentellil.
Chev. de St. Louis, avril
'745-
Dupont Duvivier.
Ch. de St. Louis, avril
'745-
Denis de Bonnavcnture.
Ch. de St. Louis.
Enscigne 1710.
Lieutenant 1720.
Capitaine 1730.
Lieut, de Roy a Louisbourg pr.
mars 1749.
Garde de la marine 1718.
Enseigne a 1'Isle Royale 1719.
Lieutenant 1730.
Ayde major 1732.
Commission de capitaine 1732.
a quitte le service 1747.
Lieutent. de Roy commandant a
1'Isle St. Jean per. avril 1750.
Cap'e de fregate 15 avril 1750.
Enseigne 1720.
Lieutenant 1730.
Ayde Major avec Comon. dc Cap'e,
„ '737.
Capitaine en pied per. avril 1738.
Major des troupes, commandant a
1'Islc St. Jean pr. avril 1751.
Lieut, de Roy a Lotlisbourg pr.
avril 1754.
APPENDIX I
333
retire le per. Janvier 1747.
fait Lieut, de Roy des Trois
Rivieres en Canada le per.
avril 1752. mort a 1'Isle
Royale le 24 8bre. 1752.
retire le per. fevrier 1 754 avec
une pension de 800 liv.
sur le Tre"sor Royal.
mort a Brest en Xbre. 1757.
ft. gouvcrneur a 1'Isle
La Desirade 1763.
de
MAJORS
Eurry De La Perrelle.
Ch. de St. Louis 1736.
De Cannes.
Ch. de St. Louis, gbre.
1746.
De Surlaville.
Ch. de St. Louis.
Duhaget.
Ch. de St. Louis feVrier
1748.
Rousseau de Villejouin.
Ch. de St. Louis fevrier
1748.
Enseigne 1708.
Lieutenant 1714.
Capitaine 1730.
Major a Lotlisbourg 1741.
Enseigne 1719.
Lieutenant 1725.
Capitaine 1730.
Major a Lotlisbourg per. mars 1749.
Ayde major des Grenadiers de
france.
Colonel d'Infanterie 1751.
Major des troupes de 1'Isle Royale
per. avril 175 I.
Enseigne en second 1723.
Enseigne en pied 1728.
Lieutenant 1730.
Ayde Major avec Comon. de Cape.
„ '738.
Capitaine en pied per. avril 1739.
Major a Lotlisbourg 1753.
Enseigne en second 1723.
Enseigne en pied 15 mars 1730.
Lieutenant 8 mai 1730.
Ayde Major avec Comon. de Cape.
1739-
Capitaine en pied pr. avril 1741.
I mai 1764 retraitte comme
comand. les troupes ayde.
de 1'Isle Royale avec
1 200 liv. de pension sur
les fonds des Colonies en
france mort le 22 feV.
1765 a Rochefort sur ce
que M. de Mansville 1'a
marque par sa lettre du
23 du dit mois.
ft. capne. dans les troupes
nationales a la Guyanne
I mai 1764.
mort le — mai 1758.
AYDE-MAJORS
Loppinot.
Ch. de St. Louis 1754.
De La Bregonniere.
Denis.
Enseigne en second 8 mai 1730.
Enseigne en pied pr. avril 1737.
Ayde Major des troupes per. Janvier
'747-
Ayde Major a Louisbourg pr. mars
1749.
Common, de Capite. pr. mars 1749.
Cadet a 1'aiguillette.
Enseigne en pied per. Janvier 1747.
Lieutenant 15 avril 1750.
Ayde Major a 1'Isle St. Jean 1753.
Commission de Cape. pr. avril 1754.
Expectve. d'Ense. en 2d. pr. Janvier
17.47-
Enseigne en second 15 fevrier 1748.
Lieutenant 15 avril 1750.
Second Ayde Major a Lotiisbourg
pr. avril 1754.
334
APPENDIX I
INGENIEURS
mort.
mort le 3 juillct 1753.
a abandonne en 1745.
passe au service dc Canada
par ordrc du pe. mai I 750.
retire en Xbrc 1754.
retire" en Xbrc 1754.
retire en Xbrc 1754.
Passe a St. Pierre et Mi-
quelon 1763.
rcntre au service de terre en
'759-
passe en Canada.
rcntre au service de tcrre en
avril 1759.
destine A passer a la Martin-
ique en I 760.
destine id.
Vcrricr.
Ch. dc St. Louis.
Boucher.
Ch. dc St. Louis.
Vcrricr fils.
CoQagne.
Chev. de Riddc.
Chcv. dc Montalan.
De CoQagne.
Franquct.
Ch. de St. Louis.
Pontlerey.
De Poilly.
Doumet.
Daubcrtin.
Ingenicur en chef.
Lieutenant reforme.
Capitaine reforme pr. avril 1739.
Sous jngcnicur.
Ingenicur en Canada per. jancr.
• 74.7-
Ingcnieur a 1'Isle Royalc.
Sous ingcnicur.
Sous ingcnicur per. Janvier 1747.
Ingcnicur pr. mai 1752.
Sous ingcnieur per. mai 1752.
Sous ingenieur per. mai 1752.
Sous ingcnieur per. Janvier 1747.
Ingenicur per. avril 1754.
Capnc. reforme 15 mars 1756.
Brigadier des armecs du Roy Di-
recteur des fortifications de la
Nouvclle France per. mai 1754.
Ingr. per. jancr. I 755.
Ingenieur per. Janvier 1755.
Sous ingenieur 15 mars 1756.
Ingenieur \ , -i „ 8
Lieut, reforme/ "
destine a passer a la Martinique
1760.
Ingenieur pr. avril 1758.
destine a passer a la Martinique
1760.
mort a Roc he fort le 20
aoust 1749.
AUTRES OFFICIERS
Morpain.
retire le per. avril I754avcc : Hcrtel.
le grade ct les appointc-
mcns dc Capitaine reforme.
Capitaine de flute 1720.
Capitaine de port.
Cape, de Brulot 15 avril 1744.
Cape, des portes 8 juin 1744.
APPENDIX I
335
mort.
suprime en 1759.
retire le 1 5 mars 1758 avec
500 liv. de pension sur la
marine et 300 liv. sur les
Invalides.
Enseigne de port a Brest,
retire en 1759.
rentre dans la marine.
suprime en avril 1759.
Valle"e.
Berlin.
Barbudeau.
Dolabaratz.
Ch. de St. Louis 18 mars
1758.
Dolabaratz le fils.
Lambert.
Marchesseau.
Na. cet ordre de Cape,
de Port a ete renvoye
par M, Prevost le 3
Fbre. 1761 n'ayant
point eu son execution.
II dit reste joint a sa
lettre dud. jour 3
Fbre.
Rocher, arpenteur.
Ducasse.
Arpenteur.
Chirurgien major a Lotlisbourg a
600 liv. du mois d'avril 1759.
Chirurgien entretenu au Port La
Joye 1752
Capitaine de Br&lot pr. avril 1748.
Capite. de port per. avril 1750.
Enseigne de port 10 juillet 1753.
Capne. des portes 4 Lotiisbourg per.
avril 1754.
Lieutenant de fregate.
Cape, de port a Louisbourg 1 5 mars
1758.
chirurgien du Port dauphin.
COMPAGNIES DE CANONIERS BOMBARDIERS
Passe a St. Domingue 1762.
Passe a St. Domingue 1762.
passe £ Quebec par ordre du
10 avril 1750 pour y
servir en sa meme qualite.
De Ste. Marie.
Chev. de St. Louis mars
1749.
Vallee.
Ch. de St. Louis 1760.
Jacau de Piedmont.
Enseigne en pied 1730.
Lieutenant pr. avril 1739.
Capitaine de la Compagnie des
Canoniers Bombs, pr. mai 1743.
Cape, de la pe. compie. per. fevrier
1758.
Lt. Cl. d'artillerie commission ex-
pediee au Bau. de la guerre 1 8
octobre 1765.
retire la meme annee avec 1800 liv.
de pension.
Lieutenant de la Compagnie des
Canoniers pr. mai 1743.
Commission de Cape. pr. avril 1754.
Cape, de la 2e. Compie. fev. 1758.
Enseigne de la Compagnie des
Canoniers per. avril 1748.
336
APPENDIX I
Passe a la Louisianne pour y
servir en sa mc'mc qualitc
suivant le choix quc M.
Daubigny commandt. la
Marine A Rochefort en a
fait d'aprcs la dcpechc du
ministrc du 7 Janvier
1762.
ft. Lt. dcs Canonicrs Homb.
a St. Dominguc le 16
avril 1762. Sans distinc-
tion dc Compagnic.
retire le 10 aoust 1758.
Passe a la Louisianne en sa
mc'mc qualite suivt. le
choix que M. Daubigny
Comt. la Marine a Roche-
fort en a fait d'aprcs la
depcchc du ministre du 7
fev. 1762.
Passe a Cayenne 1762.
La Bouchcric Fromcntcau.
Du Trac.
Desbourbcs.
Loppinot dc Beauport.
Bcnoist.
Enseig. en second 15 avril 1750.
Sous Lieutenant dc la Compie. de
Canonicrs Bombardiers 1755.
Lieut, dc la ze. Compie. fev. 1758.
Enseignc dc la compic. dc Canonicrs
Bombardiers pr. avril 1755.
Enscig. en pied de la pre. compie.
1758.
Lieut. d'Infrie. pr. avril 1754.
Lieut, dc la prc. compic. fev. 1758.
Enseigne en second pr. avril 1754.
Enseig. en pied de la zc. compic.
1758.
Enseigne en second per. avril 1754.
Enseigne en pied pr. avril 1755.
Lieut, de la pre. compie. per. avril
1760.
retire le per. Janvier 1747.
mort le — -1755.
mort en aoust i 757.
galantc 1763.
CAPITAINES
Despiet De La Plagne.
Ch. de St. Louis 1747.
Thierry de Chassin.
Ch. dc St. Louis 1754.
Cher, dc Montalembert de
Ccrs.
Ch. dc St. Louis 1754.
ft. gouvcrncur dc marie Joubert.
Ch. dc St. Louis 1754.
Commandt. d'un detachemt.
de 300 hommes destine a
passer aux Isles du Vent
avec le Rang et les
appointemens de major de
Place ordrc du 1 5 mai
1760.
Enseigne 1723.
Lieutenant mai 1730.
Capitaine per. avril 1737.
Enseigne en pied 1730.
Lieutenant per. avril 1737.
Capitaine per. avril 1744.
Cape, au Regt. des Vaisscaux
^ '744-
Cape, a 1'Isle Royale I 5 avril I 750.
Cape, au Regimt. dc Grassin 1746.
Cape, a 1'Islc Royale 15 avril 1750.
Lt. -Colonel rcformc d'Infic. 13
8bre 1762.
APPENDIX I
337
Prisonier capitulation.
de Montreal 1760 Gouver-
neur de St. Pierre et
Miquelon.
retire le premier avril 1754
avec 400 liv. de demie
solde sur les Invalides de
la Marine.
tue au Siege de Louisbourg
le 9 juillet 1758.
a St. Domingue.
retraitte de 600 liv. sur les
fonds des Colonies du
le. mai 1764.
Retraitte de 600 liv. sur les
fonds des Colonies le. mai
1764.
retraitte de 600 liv. sur les
fonds des Colonies I mai
1764.
mort le 3 aoust a Rochefort
Lettre de M. de Franc de
1'Eguille du 4 dud. mois.
retraitte de 600 liv. sur les
fonds des Colonies du I
mai 1764.
ft. major comandant les
Troupes nationales de La
Guyanne I mai 1764.
mort dans le retour de la
Baye des Chaleurs en
france suivant que 1'a
marque M. Dangeac par
sa lettre du 21 juillet
1761.
lort le
1752.
Dangeac.
Ch. de St. Louis 1754.
Cher, de Pensens.
Ch. de St. Louis 1754.
Garssemant Dorfontaine.
Dufresne.
Ch. de St. Louis 1757.
D'Estimauville.
Chev. de St. Louis 1755.
Chev. de Coux.
Ch. de St. Louis 1755.
Du Chambon 1'aine.
Chev. de St. Louis 1755.
Benoist.
Chev. de St. Louis 1760.
Duvivier de Gourville.
Ch. de St. Louis 1760.
De La Valliere.
Chev. de St. Louis 1756.
Chev. Duvivier.
Ch. de St. Louis 1760.
De Renon.
Enseigne en second 1723.
Enseigne en pied 1730.
Lieutenant 16 juin 1732.
Capitaine per. Janvier 1747.
Enseigne en second 1727.
Enseigne en pied 1730.
Lieutenant 20 mars 1736.
Capitaine pr. Janvier 1747.
Cape, en france 6 aoust 1 747.
Cape, a 1'Isle Royale 15 avril 1750.
Cape, au Regt. de Lowendal 20
mai 1748.
Cape, a 1'Isle Royale 15 avril 1750.
Cape, de Brulot per. juin 1748.
Cape, a 1'Isle Royale 15 avril 1750.
Enseigne en pied 1730.
Lieutenant per. avril 1737.
Capitaine pr. mars 1 749.
Enseigne en second 8 mai 1730.
Enseigne en pied per. avril 1737.
Lieutenant per. avril 1744.
Capitaine pr. mars 1749.
Enseigne en second 1723.
Enseigne en pied 1730.
Lieutenant pr. avril 1738.
Capitaine 15 avril 1750.
Enseigne en second 1730.
Enseigne en pied 1736.
Lieutenant per. juin 1748.
Capitaine 15 avril 1750.
Enseigne en second 1730.
Enseigne en pied, 20 mars 1736.
Lieutenant per. mai 1743.
Capitaine 15 avril 1750.
Enseigne en second 1732.
Enseigne en pied per. avril 1738.
Lieutenant per. Janvier 1747.
Capitaine 15 avril 1750.
Enseigne en second 1732.
Enseigne en pied pr. avril 1741.
Lieutenant per. Janvier 1747.
Capitaine 15 avril 1750.
z
A St. Domingue.
Dc La Houssayc (Poilvillain).
Chev. dc St. Louis 1759.
(Embarquc A Rochefort pour
St. Domingue cst fait
prisonnicr 1762.'
Arrive A St. Domingue ou il
a etc" incorporc dans le
Rcgt. dc Quebec en 1763.
A obtcnu sa rctraittc dans
cc Regt. en 1768.)
Enscig. en 2d. A La LoUisianne
'733-
Enscigne en pied 1734.
Lieutenant per. octobre 1740.
Cape. A 1'Islc Royale 15 avril 1750.
passe en Canada par ordrc du Dc Rcpcntigny.
per. mai 1757.
rctraittc dc 600 liv. sur les | Denis De la Ronde.
fonds dcs Colonies du I Chev. de St. Louis 1760.
mai 1764.
passe au service dc Canada j De Vergor Chambon.
par ordrc du per. avril
1751.
mort a Rochefort le 9bre
18.
Dangcac Mervillc.
ft. cape, dans les Troupes | D'Orfontaine.
Nationalcs & la Guyanne Ch. de St. Louis 1760.
i mai 1764.
mort le 2 7bre 1760 a
Rochefort.
D'Aillebout de Boulassery.
Chev. de St. Louis 1760.
mort le 30 9brc 1760 a , Benjamin de Villeray.
Rochefort.
Ch. de St. Louis 1760.
mort le 26 juillet 1758. Ballade de Bellcfossc
mort le — —1755.
Chev. de Chabot.
Knscig. en zd. en Canada 9 mars
1734-
Enscigne en pied 10 avril 1742.
Lieutenant 15 fevricr 1748.
Cape, a 1'lslc Royale 15 avril 1750.
Enseig. en 2d. en Canada 1737.
Enscigne en pied per. mai 1743.
Lieutenant 15 fevricr 1748.
Cape. A 1'Isle Royale 15 avril 1750.
Enseigne en second per. avril 1737.
Enseigne en pied per. mai 1743.
Lieutenant per. mars 1749.
Capitainc 15 avril 1750.
Enscigne en second per. avril 1738.
Enscigne en pied per. avril 1744.
Lieutenant 15 fevrier 1748.
Capitaine 15 avril 1750.
Expve. d'Enscig. en second 1738.
Enseigne en second per. avril 1741.
Enseigne en pied per. Janvier 1747.
Lieutenant premier mars 1749.
Capitaine 15 avril 1750.
Enseig. en zd. en Canada 13 avril
1734-
Enscigne en pied 10 avril 1742.
Lieutenant per. mai 1749.
Capitainc per mai 1751.
Enscig. en 2d. en Canada per. avril
1733-
Enseigne en pied per. avril 1739.
Lieut. A 1'Isle Royale 15 avril 1750.
Capitainc per. mai 1751.
Lieut, dans le Regimt. des Bretons
volontaires Lieut. A 1'Islc Royale
i 5 avril 1750.
Capitaine premier avril 1754.
Lieut, dans le Regimt. de Pied-
mont.
Lieut. A 1'Isle Royale 15 avril 1750.
Capitaine premier avril 1754.
APPENDIX I
339
passe en Canada par ordre
du per. mai 1757.
mort a St. Domingue.
a St. domingue dans le Regt.
de foix.
a St. Domingue.
ft. major des Troupes natio-
nales de la Guyanne I mai
1764.
ft. capne. dans les Troupes
nationales a la Guyanne
I mai 1764.
ft. capne. dans les Troupes
nationales a la Guyanne
I mai 1764.
ft. capne. dans les Troupes
nationales a la Guyanne
I mai 1764.
ft. capne. dans les Troupes
nationales a La Guyanne
I mai 1764.
ft. Cape, dans les Troupes
nationales a La Guyanne
I mai 1764. ,
De Maiziere.
Chev. du Chambon.
De Mezillat.
Chabot de Brion.
St. Aigne (Came).
Ch. de St. Louis 1760.
Chev. de Vcrteuil.
Eurry de La Perelle.
Le Neuf de Boisneuf.
De Trion.
Dumaine (dupont du Cham-
bon).
Expectve. d'Enseigne en zd. en
Canada.
Enseigne en second pr. avril 1741.
Enseigne en pied pr. avril 1745.
Lieut, a 1'Isle Royale 15 avril 1750
Capitaine pr. avril 1/54.
Expectative d'Enseig. en second
1739-
Enseigne en second per. avril 1741.
Enseigne en pied per. Janvier 1747.
Lieutenant 15 avril 1750.
Capitaine per. avril 1754.
Cadet a 1'aiguillette Enseigne en
second per. mai 1743.
Enseigne en pied per. Janvier 1747.
Lieutenant 15 avril 1750.
Capitaine 15 mars 1756.
Lieut, dans le Bataillon de Saumur.
Lieut, a 1'Isle Royale 15 avril 1750.
Capitaine 15 mars 1756.
Cadet a 1'aiguillette Enseigne en
second 1743.
Enseigne en pied 1747.
Lieutenant 1750.
Capitaine 1757.
Lieut, dans les Grenadiers Royaux.
Lieut, a 1'Isle Royale 1750.
Capitaine 1757.
Expve. d'Enseigne en second I avril
1744.
Enseigne en second 1747.
Enseigne en pied 1748.
Lieutenant 1750.
Capitaine 1759.
Enseigne en second 1747.
Enseigne en pied 1749.
Lieutenant 1750.
Capitaine 1759.
Lieut, dans le Regimt. de Navarre.
Lieut, a 1'Isle Royale 1750.
Capitaine 1760.
Cadet a 1'aiguillette Enseigne en
second 1749.
Enseigne en pied 1750.
Lieutenant 1755.
Capitaine 1760.
34°
APPENDIX I
retire.
CAPITAINES REFORMES
Tonty.
retire.
DC La Boularderic.
Chcv. dc St. Louis 1760.
DC Thorigny.
ancicn Lieutenant Capitainc rc-
formc per. juin 1742.
Capitainc rcformc per. avril 1746.
Capitainc rcfc. per. juillet 1753.
tu6 au combat de M. dc la
Jonquierc le 14 mai 1747.
LIEUTENANTS EN PIED
Chcv. dc Bcllcmont.
mort le
>754-
Rctraittc de 400 liv. sur Ics
fonds dcs Colonies du l
mai 1/64.
retire le per. mai 1757.
Commission dc Cape, du
30 avril 1764 ordrc de
rctraittc du I mai dud.
an avcc 600 liv. de pension
sur les Colonies.
n'a pas joint.
n a pas joint.
;; abandonnc en 1757.
mort le — — I 752.
Du Caubet.
Bourdon.
Ch. de St. Louis 22 mai
'775-
D'aillcbout D'argenteuil.
Duvivier Chev. de Vannes.
Chev. dc St. Louis, ordre
du 22 juin I 770.
De Hastrel.
Chev. dc Hastrel.
Dc Chabot.
Le Brun Tame.
ft. Capitainc dans Ics Troupes Dc Lcry cadet,
nationalcs dc la Guyannc
i mai 1764.
Enscignc en second 1736.
Enseigne en pied per. avril 1739.
Lieutenant per. Janvier 1747.
Cadet a raiguillcttc Enseigne en
second per. mai 1743.
Enseigne en pied per. Janvier 1747.
Lieutenant 15 avril 1750.
Cadet a Taiguillettc Enseigne en
second pr. janr. 1747.
Enscignc en pied pr. mars 1749.
Lieutenant 15 avril 1750.
Lieutenant 15 avril 1750.
a servi dans la Gendarmerie ct dans
Royaux Vaisseaux.
Lieut, a 1'Islc Royale 15 avril 1750.
Lieut, dans le Regimt. Royal Lieut,
a PIsle Royale 15 avril 1750.
Lieut, dans le Regimt. dc Trcmel.
Lieut, a 1'Isle Royale 15 avril
1750.
Lieut, dans le Regimt. dc Navarre.
Lieut, a 1'Isle Royale 15 avril
1750.
Lieut, dans le Regimt. d'Alsacc.
Lieut, a 1'Islc Royale 15 avril
1750.
Expve. d'Ensc. en 2d. en Canada
i 744-
Enseigne en second per. avril 1745-
Ens. en pied a 1'Jslc Royale 1750.
Lieutenant per. mai 1751.
APPENDIX I
tue dans le combat que le
Vau. le Mis. de Marigny
a soutenu centre une fre-
gatte angloise Le 2 gbre
1762. Suivt. que M. Le
Chev. de . . . 1'a marque
dans ce temps par une
lettre non dattee.
a quitte en 1758.
mort le 8 juillet 1758.
ft. Cape, dans les troupes
nationales de La Guyanne
le I mai 1764.
retire.
a abandonne en 1755.
ft. capitne. dans les troupes
nationales de La Guyanne
I mai 1764.
Passe a la Desirade dans
1'Etat major.
Prisonnier capitulation de
Montreal. Porte sur le
Registre de Canada en
qualite de Lieutenant.
ft. Lieut, de la pre. compie.
des canoniers Bombardiers
le per. fevrier 1758.
De Carvoisin.
Du Blaizel de La Cloye.
Chev. de Serres.
La Pillette.
Du Lesche.
Saillart.
du Boisberthelot.
Villejouin (Rousseau).
Jonshtone (Johnstone).
Pension de 300 liv. sur le
I. R. 24 mars 1761.
Ch. de St. Louis 6 mars
1762.
Desbourbes.
Lieut. d'Infanterie en france.
Lieut, a 1'Isle Royale per. juillct
I752-
Volontaire dans le Regt.
Etranger. Ense. en pied
Royale 15 avril 1750.
Lieutenant pr. avril 1754.
Royal
a 1'Isle
Lieut, en second des Grenadiers du
Bataillon de Troyes. Ense. en
pied a 1'Isle Royale 15 avril 1750.
Lieutenant pr. avril 1754.
Lieutent.du Reg. d'Armis Infanterie.
Enseig. a 1'Isle Royale 15 avril
.175°-
Lieutenant pr. avril 1754.
a servi dans le Regimt. de La
Marck. Ense. en 2d. a 1'Isle
Royale pr. juin 1749.
Enseigne en pied 15 avril 1750.
Lieutenant pr. avril 1754.
Cornette dans le Regimt. de ferrary.
Enseig. en pied a 1'Isle Roye.
15 avril 1750.
Lieutenant pr. avril 1754.
Ens'eigne en second pr. Janvier 1747.
Enseigne en pied 15 avril 1750.
Lieutenant pr. avril 1754.
Enseigne en second pr. janv. 1747.
Enseigne en pied 15 avril 1750.
Lieutenant pr. avril 1754.
a servi dans 1'Armee du Prince
Edoiiard.
Ense. en pied a 1'Isle Royale 15
avril 1750.
Lieutenant pr. avril 1754.
Passe en Canada lors du siege de
Louisbourg.
Lieutenant pr. avril 1754.
342
nc peut allcr a St. Dominguc
ou il a deja servi sa same
nc pouvant soutcnir cc
climat ft. Cape, aux Jslcs
St. Pierre ct Miquclon Ic
I Janvier 1763.
ft. cape, dans les troupes
natiunalcs dc La Guyanne
I mai 1764.
retraittc dc 400 liv. sur les
fonds des Colonies I mai
1764.
ft. Cape, dans les Troupes
Nationales de la Guyanne
I mai 1764.
mort dc scs blcssures a Ritti-
gouche sous le Com-
mandemt. de M. Dangeac.
rctraitte dc 400 liv. sur les
fonds des Colonies I mai
1764.
ft. Cape, dans les Troupes
nationalcs dc la Guyanne
l mai 1764.
a St. Dominguc.
ft. Cape, dans les Troupes
nationales dc la Guyanne
I mai 1764.
en 1762 a St. Domingue
incorporc dans Ic Regt. de
Boulonnois en a etc re-
forme en i 763 avec 300 liv.
de traitcment.
rctraitte dc 400 liv. sur les
fonds des Colonies I mai
1764.
ft. Lt. dans les Troupes
nationalcs de la Guyanne
I mai 1764.
APPENDIX I
Lc Baron dc L'Esperance.
Pommeroy.
Villcdonne.
Desgoutins.
Loppinot.
Duplessis Faber.
DC La Poucrie (Lc Neuf).
Ferdinand Du Chambon.
D'Aillebout St. Vilme.
Pennand de Boisbcrthelot.
ne en 1732 a Louisbourg,
du Portal.
Lasvoutcs.
Cadet 1735
[dans
^aa . Rcgt.Suisse
hnscignc en 2d. 1742) j ir
Enscignc en pied i| A ui, de
St. Domingue 1748 ^ HaFUwyl
Lieutenant a 1'Islc Royale premier
avril 1754.
Cadet a 1'aiguillctte.
Enscignc en 2d. pr. mars 1749.
Enscignc en pied 15 avril 1750.
Lieutenant per. avril 1755.
Enseigne en pied 15 avril 1750.
Lieutenant 15 mars 1756.
Enseigne en second 15 avril 1/50.
Enseigne en pied pr. avril 1754-
Lieutenant 15 mars 1756.
Enseigne en 2d. 15 avril 1750.
Enseigne en pied per. avril 1754.
Lieutenant 15 mars 1756.
Enseigne en second 1750.
Enseigne en pied 1754.
Lieutenant 1757.
Enseigne en second 1750.
Enseigne en pied 1754.
Lieutenant 1757.
Enseigne en second 1750.
Enseigne en pied 1754.
Lieutenant 1757.
Enseigne en second 1750.
Enseignc en pied 1754.
Lieutenant 1757.
Cadet I Janvier 1747.
Enseigne en 2d. 15 avril 1750.
Enseigne en pied I avril 1754.
Lieutenant I avril 1760.
Enseigne en second 1750.
Enseigne en pied 1754.
Lieutenant 1760.
Enseigne en second 1750.
Enseignc en pied 1754.
Lieutenant 1760.
ft. per. ayde major des
Troupes nationales a la
Guyanne I mai 1764
avec Commission de Cap'e.
retire.
retraitte de 300 liv. sur les
fonds des Colonies I mai
1764.
mort le 5 juin 1757 dans
une embuscade d'Anglois
aux environs du fort
Duquesne.
fait Lieutenant en Canada le
premier fevricr 1760.
passe en la meme qualite au
service de Canada par
ordre du per. mai 1757.
Retraitte de 300 liv. sur les
fonds des Colonies I mai
1764.
a quitte le service.
passe a La Martinique en la
meme qualite" par ordre du
25 aoust 1758.
Prisonnier Capitulation de
Montreal.
ft. second ayde -major des
Troupes Coloniales a la
Guyanne I mai 1764.
a St. Domingue.
mort a la Presqu'isle le
II 7bre 1757.
l6v. ordre de retraitte sans
pension I mai 1764.
mort a Rochefort le 3 7bre
'759-
ft. Lt. dans les Troupes
Nationales de la Guyanne
I mai 1764.
APPENDIX I
Laforest.
Chev. de La Noug Bogard.
Des Noyelles La Noix.
Vanier de La Saussaye.
Sabrevois de Bleury.
Hertel de St. Francois.
Chev. de La Boularderie
(Lc Poupet).
343
Enseigne en second 1750.
Enseigne en pied 1755.
Lieutenant 1760.
Ense. en pied per. avril 1754.
Ense. en 2d. 15 avril 1750.
Ense. en pied pr. avril 1755.
Ense. en second 15 avril 1750.
Ense. en pied pr. avril 1755.
Ense. en second 15 avril 1750.
Ense. en pied pr. avril 1755.
Ense. en 2d. per. mai 1751.
Ense. en pied per. avril 1755.
Ense. en 2d. per. avril 1754.
Ense. en pied pr. avril 1755.
ft. Lieut, par M. de Drucourt gouverneur en vertu de la lettre du
Ministredu 31 mars 1757. 25 juillet 1758.
Petit.
Rousseau D'Orfontaine.
Catalogne.
Hertel Cournoyer.
D'Aillebout de Carreyon.
Souvigny de Villejoiiin.
Boisberthelot de Peline".
De Villeray.
Cournoyer de Chambly.
Ense. en 2d. 15 avril 1750.
Ense. en pied 15 mars 1756.
Ense. en 2d. pr. avril 1754.
Ense. en pied 15 mars 1756.
Ense. en 2d. pr. avril 1754.
Ense. en pied 15 mars 1756.
Ense. en 2d. pr. avril 1754.
Ense. en pied 15 mars 1756.
Cadet a 1'Equillette i 9bre 1749.
Ense. en 2d. pr. avril 1754.
Ense. en pied 15 mars 1756.
Enseigne en 2d. 1754.
Enseigne en pied 1757.
Enseigne en 2d. 1754.
Enseigne en pied 1757.
Ense. en second 1754.
Ense. en pied 1757.
Ense. en second 1754.
Ense. en pied 1757.
344
APPENDIX I
14. ENSEIGNES EN PIED
retire Ic per. Janvier 1747 ct Lc Ncuf dc La Vallicre.
mort i Rochcfort Ic 13
avril suivant.
retire.
De Langy.
mort Ic 9 juillct 1755 Chev. de La Peiradc.
dans le combat livre aux
Anglois prcs Ic fort Du-
qucsnc en Canada.
ft. Enscignc de Vau.
mort le
retire Ic pr. avril 1755 avec
une grattiffication annuclle
de 300 liv. sur les Invalides
de la Marine.
D'Aillcbout.
Raimbault Desmazures.
Hertcl de Rouville.
Passe au service de la Loui- Le Brun le cadet,
siannc en sade. qualite
d'Enseigne en pied par
ordre du per. avril 1755.
retire.
mort.
passe au service dc Canada
par ordrc du per. mai
'757-
mort le 17 juillct 1758.
ft. Lieutenant en Canada le
per. fevrier 1760.
Augier DCS Courgeats.
Eurry.
De Varenne.
Chassin De Thierry.
Rousseau de Villejollin.
pass£ au service de Canada : Cournoyer.
par ordre du per. mai
'757-
Enscignc en 2d. avril 1737.
Enscignc en pied pr. juin 1742.
Ensc. en zd. en Canada 1 5 fevrier
1748.
Ensc. en pied a 1'Islc Royale 1 5
avril 1750.
Expcctat. d'Ense. en zd. en Canada
le I 5 fevrier 1748.
Ensc. en zd. per. mai 1749.
Ensc. en pied A 1'Isle Royale 15
avril 1750.
Cadet a 1'aiguillette.
Ense. en zd. pr. Janvier 1747.
Ense. en pied 15 avril 1750.
Ense. en pied 15 avril 1750.
Ense. en 2d. en Canada 1 5 fev.
1748.
Ense. en pied a 1'Isle Royale 1 5
avril 1750.
Lieut, en zd. du Regimt. d'Alsace.
Ensc. en pied 15 avril 1750.
Volontaire au Rcgt. de Lally.
Ense. en pied 15 avril 1750.
Cadet a 1'aiguillette.
Ense. en 2d. per. Janvier 1747.
Ense. en pied per. mai 1751.
Ense. en 2d. 15 avril 1750.
Ense. en pied per. avril 1754.
Ense. en second 15 avril 1750.
Ense. en pied per. avril 1754.
Ense. en 2d. 15 avril 1750.
Ense. en pied per. avril 1754.
Ense. en 2d. 15 avril 1750.
Ense. en pied per. avril 1754.
APPENDIX I
345
passe en Canada par ordre du
per. fevrier 1758.
ft. per. sous ayde major des
Troupes nationales I mai
1764.
ft. Lt. dans les Troupes
Nationales du I mai 1764.
ft. second aide -major des
Troupes nationales a la
Guyanne I mai 1764.
ft. Lieut, dans les Troupes
nationales de la Guyanne
I mai 1764.
ft. Lt. dans les troupes
nationales de la Guyanne
I mai 1764.
ft. Lt. dans les Troupes
Nationales de la Guyanne
I mai 1764.
ft. Lt. dans les Troupes
Nationales de la Guyanne
I mai 1764.
A quitte. Voyes la lettre de
M. de VillejoUin du 6
7bre 1760.
ft. Lt. dans les troupes natio-
nales de la Guyanne I mai
1764.
ordre de retraitte du 13 7bre.
1760 avec pour mission
d'Etudes au service dans
les Troupes de france.
Ft. Sous Lt. dans les Troupes
Nationales de la Guyanne
I mai 1764.
ft. Lieut, dans les troupes
nationales de la Guyanne
I mai 1764.
aide -major a 1'Isle de la
Desirade.
Charly.
D'Aillebout de Perigny.
De Coux.
Chev. de Villeray.
Sabattier.
Carrerot.
Villedonne fils.
Chev. d'Aillebout de St.
Vilme.
Boisberthelot Lanrivain.
Came de St. Aigne.
Bache.
Fermanel.
Chev. de Boisberthelot.
Loppinot de Lafresiliere.
Ense. en second 15 avril 1750.
Ense. en pied per. avril 1754.
Enseigne en second 1754.
Enseigne en pied 1760.
Enseigne en second 1754.
Enseigne en pied 1760.
Enseigne en second 1754.
Enseigne en pied 1760.
Enseigne en second 1754.
Enseigne en pied 1760.
Enseigne en second 1755.
Enseigne en pied 1760.
Enseigne en second 1755.
Ense. en pied 1760.
Ense. en second 1755.
Ense. en pied 1760.
Ense. en second 1755.
Ense. en pied 1760.
Ense. en second 1755.
Ense. en pied 1760.
Ense. en second 1755.
Ense. en pied 1760.
Ense. en second 1755.
Ense. en pied 1760.
Ense. en second 1756.
Ense. en pied 1760.
Ense. en second 1756.
Ense. en pied 1760.
346
APPENDIX I
rrtraittc de 300 liv. sur les
ibnds dcs Colonies i mai
1764.
ft. Sous Lt. dans les Troupes
nationalcs dc La Guyannc
I mai 1764.
ft. Sous Lt. dans les Troupes
nationalcs a la Guyannc
I mai 1764.
rctraittc de 300 liv. sur les
fonds des Colonies I mai
1764.
retraiuc dc 300 liv. sur les
fond dcs Colonies I fe"v.
1764.
ft. Sous Lt. dans les Troupes
nationalcs de la Guyannc
I mai 1764 sous les
noms de Lepoupet de
Bcnncvillc.
Provost.
de Couagnc.
Rondeau.
Bonnaventure.
Mauriet.
Bcnncvillc De La Boular-
dcrie.
Ensc. en second 1756.
Ense. en pied 1760.
Ensc. en second 1756.
Ense. en pied I 760.
Ensc. en second 1756.
Ensc. en pied 1760.
Ense. en second 1756.
Ense. en pied 1760.
Ense. en second 1756.
Ense. en pied 1 760.
Ense. en second 1757.
Ense. en pied 1760.
17. ENSEIGNES EN SECOND
mort Ic
1754-
I 8 v. passe a la Louisiannc.
passe en Canada.
retire.
Prisonnicr capitulation dc
Montreal.
ft. Garde de la Marine.
[feuil/e detachce epinglee a la
suite des Emeignes en second J\
Ense. en second pr. juin 1741.
Ense. en second 15 avril 1750.
Ense. en second 15 avril 1750.
Ense. en second pr. mai 1751.
Hartcl.
Bcaurans.
Dc RoUillon.
La Cousiniere.
Hertel le cadet. Ensc. en second pr. avril 1754.
Na. passe par conge de 1'Isle Royalc en Canada ou il a e"te retcnu
par le Gouverneur dc prisonnier suivant la Capitulation de
Montreal.
Gourville.
M. dc Poilly.
Ense. en second per. avril 1755.
Cadet a 1'Eguillcttc.
fait enseignc en zd. par ordrc de
M.de Drucour du25Juilletl758.
Est encore cadet mais n'a pas paru a Rochefort. M. de Villejouin
rend de lui les mcillcurs Temoignagcs.
APPENDIX I
347
ROCHE FORT
COLONIES
ETAT DES FAMILLES DE MRS. LES OFFICIERS DE L'!SLE ROYALE, $9AvoiR
a
« ^
Noms.
Ages.
|!
Dettes.
Due par
le Roy.
Observations.
Officier s Majors
Mrs.
liv.
liv.
liv.
Loppinot, Major
59
90
IOOO
1104
est en Etat de payer ses dettes puisqu'il luy
Mme. Loppinot
45
est iiu par le Roy plus qu'il ne doit et d'ail-
leurs ne paroit pas dans 1'Jndigence, ce dont
Je ne Suis cependant pas certain, il m'a
dit devoir eu partie pour un de ses enfans
tud a Ristigouche, c'est un officier qui doit
avoir de Bonnes apostilles de Mrs. de
Drucourt et de la houliere, et qui me paroit
les meriter.
Famille
Loppinot, Beauport, sous-
deMr.
Lieutenant a la Louisianne
25
5°
500
a contract^ ses dettes lorsqu'il fut commande
Loppinot.
pour la martinique, il est party pour la
Louisianne, il est a presumer qu'il pourra
payer ses dettes lorsque le Roy le payera.
on le dit tres bon sujet.
Loppinot, de la frezilliere,
Enseigne d'Infanterie
20
40
zoo
est selon les aparences en Etat de payer ses
Melle. Magdelaine Loppinot
22
dettes lorsque le Roy le payera. On le
Melle. Victoire Loppinot .
H
dit bon sujet.
Melle. Charlotte Loppinot .
10
Loppinot, deshalon
9
de la Bregeonniere, Capne.
aide-Major
46
90
600
est Charge d'une grosse famille, a peu d'aisance
de la Bregeonniere fils
16
et malgrd sa Bonne Conduite Je ne le crois
Famille de
Melle. Anne de la Bregeon-
pas en dtat de payer ses dettes quoiqu'il ait
Mr. de la
niere ....
ii
Eti aide de quelques fersonnes Charitables.
Bregeon-
Melle. Joseph de la Bregeon-
niere.
niere ....
9
Variel de la Bregeonniere .
7
Melle. Helaine de la Bre-
geonniere
3
Laforest, Lieutenant aide-
Major ....
37
60
800
me paroit un officier de mdrite, entendu,
Mme. Laforest, ensainte
fort actif et plein de zele, il fait les fonc-
Laforest, son fils .
tions d 'aide-major depuis 10 ans, il mcrite-
Famille
roit d'en avoir le Brevet, il me paroit fort
de Mr.
en £tat de Bien remplir cette place, quoique
Laforest.
dans la mediocrite, Je ne la crois pas dans
L'Jndigence et si le Roy le payoit de ce qui
luy est du, Je pense qu'il seroit en 6tat de
payer ses dettes.
APPENDIX I
c
Nomi.
Ages.
Appointenv
par mois,
Dettes.
)ucpr
cRoy.
Observations.
Capituinei i/' Inf.
Mrs.
liv.
liv.
liv.
Dcitimauville, capitaine
49
90
'49
a une famille fort nombrcuse ct on le dit
Mmc. Dettimauville .
32
m:il a ton aise.
Charles Dcstimauvillc, son
fils ....
•3
Gabriel Dcstimauvillc, Id. .
14
Famille
Robert Dcstimauvillc, Id. .
q
dc Mr.
Andre Dcstimauvillc, Id. .
7
5
Destimau-
villc.
Jean Btc. Dcstimauvillc, Id.
Mcllc. Louise Dcstimauvillc,
3
sa fille ....
12
M. Joscttc Dcstimauville, Id.
10
M. Elizabeth Dcstimauvillc,
Id
6 mois
Mrs. De Coux, Capitaine .
a2
90
1300
a fait naufrage en 1760 oil Jl a perdu tout ce
qu'il avoit, cst fort casse ct a une grosse
famille, il eit hvn d'Eiat Je fairc hcnneur a
Set dettes et a eu Beioin qut/fuefoii del
Ckarith secret rei four I'i-vre, j'en suit siir.
De Coux, fils, Enseigne en
Famille
pied ....
24
40
600
Son fils ense. en pied est jeune et derange
dc Mr.
Louis Marie De Coux, autre
quoique bon Sujet d'ailleurs a ce qu'on m'a
De Coux.
fils ....
1 1
dit.
Gabriel De Coux, Jdem
7
Mclle. Jannctte Dc Coux,
Sa fille ....
23
M. Margueritte De Coux,
Mem ....
21
M. Louise De Coux, Jdem .
9
M. Duchambon, capitaine .
5'
90
800
a Etc pris en 1760 et a perdu tout ce qu'il
ramnic ,. .-. T-\
. ... tran90is Dupont Ducham-
avoit, un peu derange et hors d'Etat de
bon, son fils
Ducnam- ... „ ^ ,
, M. Jeanne Dupont Ducham-
10
payer ses dettes.
bon, Sa fillc .
12
Mr. Benoist, Capitaine
75
90
370
Vieux ct fort casse, de tres bonne conduite.
henry Benoist, Lieutenant
Je le crois hors d'Etat de payer ses dettes,
Famille
iir Mr
d'Artillerie a Cayenne
Mcllcs. Marie annc Benoist,
27
/'/ a une grone famille ijuil EHei-e flrt biea,
dont lei Dfnoise.'/es trai-aillent fcur -vivre.
Sa fil!e ....
38
Benoist.
Nanon Benoist, Idem
24
Emilie Benoist, Idem
22
Jannctte Benoist, Idem
'9
...
Mrs.
de Gourville
53
9°
on le dit en Demence, hors d'Etat de servir,
Mme. de Gourville
44 /
il a une grosse famille, Je ne luy connois
Michelle Dupont de Gour-
point de Bien.
ville, son fils, Ense. de
Famille
Vaisscau
24
de Mr. de
Gourville.
Melles. Anne Dupont de
Gourville, sa fille .
20
Marie Anne Dupont ce
Gourville, autre fille
18
Ante. Dupont Duvivicr, son
nevcu .
12
APPENDIX I
349
a
u .
Noms.
Ages.
Appointem
par mois
Dettes.
Due par
le Roy.
Observations.
Mrs.
Louis Leneuf de La Valiere,
liv.
liv.
liv.
Capitaine
5°
90
1000
4200
il a une grosse famille, bon Sujet et sans Bien,
Mme. La Valiere
ayant tout perdu par la prise de Louisbourg.
Melle. Charlotte Le Neuf,
Sa fille ....
Famille
Le Neuf, Son fils
de Mr.
La Valiere, Idem • .
Le Neuf de
Beaubassin, fils . . .
La Valiere.
Melle. Marguerite Le Neuf
de La Valiere
fille de Mr. de la Valiere major des Troupes
de 1'Isle Royale, orfeline de Pere et de mere
depuis 1 8 ans, infirme, agee de48 ans,qui n'a
Subsistee que par le secours de M. son frere
qui se trouve hors d'Etat de luy donner
aucun secours par la prise de 1'Isle Royale.
Famille
Mrs.
Denis de La Ronde, capitaine
90
800
11 a etc pris en 1760, ou 11 a perdu tout ce
de M.
La Ronde.
Mme. La Ronde, En Canada
La Ronde, Son fils, En Canada
29
ii
qu'il avoit, il est hors d'Etat de payer ses
dettes.
Famille
Mr.
de Mr.
Rousseau Dorfontaine, Capi-
Rousseau
taine ....
45
90
a depense le peu qu'il avoit.
Dorfon-
Mme. Dorfontaine, son
taine.
Epouse ....
45
Mrs.
Came de St. Aigne
5°
90
a depense le peu qu'il pouvoit avoir, on le dit
Famille de
Mme. Ste. Aigne, Son
Bon Sujet et de Bonne conduite.
M. Came
Epouze Prette d'acoucher
27
St. Aigne.
Came de St. Aigne, Son fils
10
...
Melle. Josette de St. Aigne,
sa fille ....
3
Mrs.
Famille de
Le Nceuf de Boisneuf, capne.
Mme. de Boisneuf, son
45
90
580
Sa famille a etc souvent malade, // se conduit
bien et "vlt a-vec beaucouf (P Economic, il passe
Mr. Le
Epouse Sur le point
pour un tres bon Sujet.
Neuf de
d'acoucher
28
Boisneuf.
Boisneuf, son fils
10
Montenay, Idem
3 .
La Potterie, Idem
1 8 mois
Mrs.
Eury de la Perelle, capitaine
40
90
800
a £te destin£ pour la martin ique, a fait de la
depense en consequence qui a tourne a Sa
perte, il passe pour bon Sujet a la guerre,
Mais d'ailleurs a une mauvaise conduite et
est derange dans ses affaires.
Le Chev. de Trion, Idem .
41
9°
300
11 est dans le meme Cas que M. de la Perelle.
Dumaine, Idem
35
90
300
11 est dans le Meme Cas que M. le Chev. de
Trion.
35°
APPENDIX I
£ .
Noms.
Ages.
S'i
c ^
Is.
Dettcs.
Due pa
leRoy
Observations.
0.
Capite. Reform/.
Mrs.
liv.
liv.
liv.
Famille
Lepoupet de la Boullarderie
Me. dc la Boullarderie
57
47
60
600
Sa femme et luy Sont connus pour dcs Etour-
dis, leurs enfans sont de Bons sujcts et
de M. Lc
Poupct de
I i Dmil 1 -»••
La Boullarderie, fils, Enscigne
Le Poupet Bcnneville, Id.,
24
40
1S6
920
rigulicrs a payer juand ill peui-ent, ct tous
n'ont ricn au monde que les apointemens
Ensc
21
40
210
du Roy, le Pere vit Je ne sais comment a
dene.
Richar le Poupct Vcly, Idem 19
Paris et ne pcut donner aucun Secours a Sa
Le Poupct dc Vcly, Idem .
Lc poupct Vcrderonnc, Idem
"4
•3
famille in tone jue Sa femme en Jam la ptut
gJe. misere.
Lieutenants.
Famille
,i_ \tr
M. Bourdon, Lieutenant
Me. Bourdon a Alifax
42
34
60
2~OO
2940
11 doit Beaucoup, mais 11 luy est du davantage
par le Roy, il a Beaucoup souftert a Risti-
uc ivir.
Bourdon.
Melle. Margueritte Bourdon,
Sa fille audt. Lieu
7
gouche avec sa femme, Je ne luy ay pu
decouvrir aucun Bien, il est estropii d'une
Mcllc. Louise Bourdon, Idem
3
main par accident.
Lc Chev. Du Vivier de
Vanne, Lieutenant
47
60
1000
Passe pour mediocre sujet.
Famille de
Me. Duvivier dc Vanne,
Mr. le Chev.
Prettc d'accoucher .
37
Duvivier
Melle. Dupont Duvivier, Sa
de Vanne.
fille ....
3
Charles Dupont Duvivier,
Son fils .
17 mois
Famille de
M Rous- Rousseaux de Villejouin,
seaux de Lieutenant .
3°
60
600
1740
Passe pour Bon Sujet, il doit mais le Roy luy
Villejouin.
Mme. de Villejouin .
•9
doit davantage.
Pottier de Pommeroy, Lieutt.
33
60
1065
A tout perdu a Ristigouche, c'est un Bon
Famille de
Mme. dc Pommeroy .
26
Sujet qui a Beaucoup Souffert avec sa
M. Pottier
Jean Bte. Pottier de Pom-
femme qui a etc fort Exposce avec Son
de Pom-
meroy, son fils
1 6 mois
...
Enfant pendant trois mois a 1'accadie, lit
meroy.
ont rt(u du Secourt par let Ckaritet publijuet
pour let aider a vivre.
Famille
dc Villedonne, Lieutenant .
47
60
650
3«5
au-dessous du Mediocre, n'a rien.
dc Mr. de
de Villedonne, fils, Enseigne
22
40
375
Villedonne.
Melle.de Villedonne, sa fille
1 I
Famille de
Du Portail
34
60
Passe pour bon Sujet mais il est d'une fort
Mr. Du
Mme. Du Portail
25
mauvaise sante et hors d'Etat dc Scrvir, Je
Portail.
ne luy Connois Rien.
Lery, Lieutenant
35
60
A fait naufrage en 1760. a depense toutes
les avances qu'on luy avoit donnees, toutes
les voix se concilient a dire que c'est un
tres bon sujet.
Louis Fougue* de la Pillette,
Id
33
60
700
a etc pris par un Corsaire a Ristigouche en
1760 ; bonne conduite.
Du Boisbcrthelot, Id. . j 33
60
200
on le dit bon Sujet et bonne Conduite.
Degoutin, Lieutenant . | 33
60
pris par les Anglois en allant a Ristigouche, a
depense tout ce qu'il avoit, passe pour avoir
une tres Bonne conduite.
Lasvoutes, Idem. • • 37 60
passe pour un Bon Sujet et de Bonne conduite.
APPENDIX I
351
d
Noms.
Ages.
H
F
Dettes.
3uepar
le Roy.
Observations.
Enseignes en pied.
liv.
liv.
liv.
de Noyelle, Ense. en pied .
40
40
470
160
Est toujours malade a L'hospital et ne passe
pas pour un grand sujet.
r» Ml
Catalogne, Idem
29
40
720
160
a Servy en Canada et demande a y retourner
r amilie
Mme. Catalogne, en Canada
24
pour Joindre sa famille.
de Mr.
Melle. Louise Catalogne, Sa
Catalogne.
fille, en Canada
5
Cournoyer, Idem
28
40
300
480
Est clans la plus Igrande ndigence.
Pellinee Duboisberthelot, Id.
24
40
621
fort mau-vais sujet.
Perigny, Idem .
25
40
900
passe pour un Bon sujet Mais derange.
de Villeray, Idem
25
40
200
On le dit bon sujet, il a Made, sa mere qui a
ete Secourue pendt. un terns des Charites du
Sabattier, Idem .
26
40
300
public qu'on luy a retranc he par la Suite.
on le dit bon sujet.
Carrerot, Idem .
27
40
600
on le dit bon officier mais derange.
Chev. D'ailleboust, Idem .
28
40
880
Idem.
Came de St. Aigne, Idem .
22
40
150
Bon sujet, fort sage.
Sermanel, Idem
30
40
49-12
on le dit Bon sujet.
Chev. Duboisberthelot
22
40
1 80
Idem.
Prevost, Idem .
18
40
Bon Sujet, est fils de M. Prevot Comre. ordon-
nateur cy-devant a Louisbourg et n'est pas
dans le cas de manquer du plus necessaire
comme tous les autres.
De Couagne, Idem
23
40
too
On le dit bon Sujet.
Rondeau, Idem .
23
40
600
a ete employe sur les Batteries de L'Isle made.
depuis 8 mois, on le dit bon sujet.
Bonnaventure, Idem .
«4
40
fils de Me. Bonnaventure, Ve. du Lt. de Roy
de Louisbourg qui est sans bien, elle desire-
roit qu'il entra dans la marine ou servoient
Mauriet, Idem .
28
40
ses autres, il m'a paru Joly sujet.
On le dit Bon Sujet.
Enseignes en Second.
Andres Carrerot, Ense. en
2d
21
3O
coo
On le dit bon sujet, il est Beau frere de M.
prdvost ordonnateur.
Villeray la Cardonniere
21
30
190
...
On le dit bon sujet.
Tournay, Ense. en Second .
40
30
950
officier parvenu par les grades d'offr. soldat,
Mme. Tournay .
30
Brave et honneste homme, sa femme et ses
Louis Tournay, Son fils
5
enfans depuis qu'ils sont dans cette ville
Nicolas Tournay, Id. .
2
ont Ete et Sont en partie encore malades,
Melle. Marie Tournay, Sa
cette famille est dans les plus grandes be-
fille ....
6
soins, si elle ne peril pas de misere ce n'est
Famille
qu'aux Charites publiques a qui Elle en n
de Mr.
1'obligation, ils n'ont pas de quoy avoir une
Tournay.
simple servante, c'est la femme qui fait le
menage et a soin des enfans, cette derniere
apostille n'est point un ouidire, Je le sais
pour 1'avoir vu ; une soeur nourie chez une
tante qui Vient de mourir a 6te obligee de
venir partager la misere de sa sceur et de
Son beau frere, ce qui I'augmente encore.
OFFICIERS DESTINES POUR
ST. DOMINGUE.
Capitne. cTartillerie.
Famille de
Mr. Vallee.
Mr. Vallee, Cape, d'artilrie.
Mme. Vallee, Son Epouse .
53
42
IOOO
Etoit destine pour passer a St. Domingue, est
tombe malade 3 fois, ce qui 1'a empe'ch6 d'y
Melle. Josette Vallee
16
passer, a present il est fort en Etat de servir,
avec le Terns il y a lieu d'esperer qu'il
payera ses dettes.
352
APPENDIX I
c .
Norm.
Age*.
i.E
~ i
c £
1*
0. 0.
Dette*
Duepai
le Roy
Observation*.
Cafttne. if Infanterte.
liv.
liv.
liv.
le Vcrtcuil, Cape. d'Infc. . 40
400
A Ete pris en 1762 en passant .i St. Domingue.
Mmc. dc Vcrtcuil 27
11 a perdu tout ce qu'il avoit, c'rst un Bon
Henry dc Verteuil, Son fils 4
sujet ct Charge dc famille.
Famille I'icrrc de Vertcuil, Id.
3
de Mr. dc
Mclle. Victoire dc Vcrtcuil,
Vcrteuil.
Sa fille ....
7
Mclle. Anne Josctte dc
Vcrteuil, Mem
2
Mcllc. Louise dc Vertcuil,
Idem ....
Lieutenants.
Dnillcboust de St. Vilmc .
3°
900
A etc pris par un Cor»aire anglois en 1-62 et
Famille
Mine. St. Vilmc
22
conduit a Gennes d'oii 11 est rcvcnu par >
dc Mr.
St. Vilmc, Son fils .
6 mois.
Terre aprcs avoir perdu tout ce qu'il avoit ;
Dailleboust
Mclle. St. Vilme, Sa fille . i*.
ct sans un Mariage qu'il a fait ce *eroit un
St. Vilmc.
La mere dc Mme. St. Vilmc
42
Bon sujet, sans pain, sa destination pour ,
St. Domingue le mettra avec le Terns a i
meme dc payer ses dcttcs.
Mrs.
Duplessy Fabcr, Lieutt.
4'
Est derange dans ses affaires quoiqu'il n'ait
point voulu avoir de detteg, Jt nay fu lu? \
en deccu^•rir qu une de 292 li-v. Je souhaitte
que sa destination le mctte a meme de faire
honneur a Ses affaires.
Le Neuf dc la Potterie, id.
32
300
A etc pris en 1762 et a perdu tout ce qu'il
avoit. on le Dit Bon Sujet.
Enseignes.
Rousseau Dorfontaine, En-
j
seigne ....
27
500
On in "a dit que cet officier avoit etc pris 2 ,
fois en joignant sa garnison, ou il a perdu
tout ce qu'il avoit, il est d'une mauvaise '
sante et hors d'Etat de scrvir.
Chambly Cournoyer, Idem
27
640
A Etc pris en 1762, a perdu tout ce qu'il
avoit, on le dit bon Sujet, Sa destination ;
pourra le mettre a meme de faire honneur .
a ses dcttes.
Lieutenant d'artie.
La Boucheric . . .38
1665
A Etc pris et Conduit a la Barbade ou Mrs.
Famille de Mme La Boucherie . 27
Mr de la '-oui» Benjamin La Bouchene 2
le Comte de Jumillat, D'Abbadie ct Mignot
ont etc obliges de luy pretcr pour payer son
Boucheric. Mrl>- Margueritte Victoirc
passage en france, ce qu'il leur doit encore,
La Bouchene . .3 mois.
Etant place a Miquclon il y a lieu d'espcrer j
qu'il Sera a meme de liquider peu a peu ses
dettes.
t'eui-cs.
Mmc. <ie Bonnaventure,
Veuve du Lieutent. dc
Roy . -to
F-« i i ' jj
...
600 dc
N'a pour toute Ressource que 600 liv. de
amiile de
Me. Bonna-
Melle. Bnnnaventure, Sa j
pension
pension du Roy pour vivre avcc sa fille.
Elle desireroit que son fils cntra dans la
venture.
fil'.e
marine mais n'avant ricn i! me semble
qu'il seroit plus a meme de subsister etant
place dans les Colonies ; die a reju des
Secours de Charitcs. Voyez I'apostille de
son fils Ense. en pied.
APPENDIX I
353
£ ,
Noms.
Ages.
Appointem
par mois
Dettes.
Ouepar
e Roy.
Observations.
Mme. Duhaget, Veuve du
liv.
liv.
liv.
Major ....
46
300 de
fort incommodee d'une jambe par une para-
Dension
lisie Elle ne peut faire que quelques pas
dans la Chambre avec Bien de la peine et
ne se soutient que par une tres grande
Economic.
Mme. Denis, Veuve d'un
Capitaine aide-Major Sans
ressource
34
500
fille de M. Laccaret officier de Milice Bour-
Famille de
Melle. Margueritte Denis,
geoise qui fut tud au premier siege de Louis-
Me. Denis.
Sa fille ....
9
bourg, cette Dame respectable a tous
Egards, ne pouvant subsister icy, a vendu
la majeure partie de ses meubles pour aller
vivre avec sa fille au Convent a La Rochelle,
et cette petite Ressource une fois Epuisee
Elles se trouveront sans pain.
Mme. Thiery, Vve. d'un
Cape. d'Infie.
45
200 de
Est chargee d'une Grosse famille. Je ne luy
Melle. Magdeleine Thiery,
pension
Connois d'autres Ressources que sa pension
du Roy de 200 liv.
sa fille ....
18
Melle. Victoire Thiery,
Idem ....
15
franfois Thiery, Son fils
13
Charles Thiery de Chatillon,
_ . .
Idem ....
9
Mme. de Montalembert,
de Me.
Thiery.
fille de Me. Thiery et Ve.
d'un Capne. d'Infie.
27
Pre. Michel de Montalem-
bert, Son fils .
Mme. Chauvelin, fille de
Me. Thiery et Vve. d'un
Cape, au Regt. de Bour-
gogne Tu6 au Siege de
Louisbourg
25
200 de
pension
Melle. de Chauvelin, Sa fille
4
Mme. Villeraye, Vve. d'un
Famille
Cape, sans ressource
47
400
a 6te Secourue des Charites publiques qu'on
de M. de
Melle. de Villeraye, Sa fille
19
luy a retranchdes.
Villeray.
Josette de Villeraye, Id.
2i
Chev. de Villeraye, Son fils
9
Chirurgien major des
Troupes.
M. Bertin, chirurgien Major,
ses appointemens ont etc
reduits de 1000 liv. a
600 liv. par Mgr. Berryer
60
5°
IOOO
Eleve de 1'hopital de Rochefort, est d'une
Famille de
Mme. Bertin, Preste d'ac-
mauvaise sante, doit et a beaucoup de peine
Mr. Bertin.
coucher ....
42
a vivre a Cause de la reduction de ses
Bertin, Son fils employ^ au
apointemens, on le dit fort honneste homme.
Bureau des Colonies r£duit
11 demanderoit a Rentrer au Service dans
de 600 liv. a 250 liv. par
ce port.
Mgr. Berryer et remis a
600 liv. du pr. avril 1762
26
50
400
1
Charles Bertin, autre fils
8
2 A
354
APPENDIX I
' c
tl •
Norn*.
Ages, c =
'Due par
Dette> leRoy.
Observation*.
2-3.
B.
1
Bernard Bravet St. Dues*
Etoit Chirurgicnentretcnu j
au port Dauphin pour les
troupe* depuis 1752 a
550 liv. par an, il est icy
ai'tc ta ftmmc prctt J'ac-
coucher et deux enfans. Us
nt t'fi'rnt ju'j L'uiJe des
.1
stcours publics.
Desgoutin Cadet
. . ... ... ... : ctoit destine rour St-Domineue. a Etc fait
prisonnier en passant avec Irs troupes, a
etc Blessc au Siege de Louisbourg et dan*
son dernier rmbarquement, doit avoir de
Bonnes apostilles dc Mrs. cle Drucourt, La
houlierc et Villejouin, le premier luy ayant
donne un ordre pour faire fonction d'officicr.
PENSIONS TO FAMILIES OF ILE ROYALE
Loi de 25 fev. 1791.
LOI,
RELATIVE AUX SECOURS ACCORDES AUX OFFICIERS TANT CIVILS QUE MILITAIRES,
ACADIENS & CANADIENS, & A LEURS FAMILLES.
Donn^e a Paris, le 25 fcvrier 1791.
Louis, par la gritce de Dieu & par la Loi constitutionnelle de 1'Etat, ROY DES
FRANCOIS : A tous presens & a venir ; SALUT.
L'ASSEMBL^E NATIONALS a dccr£t6, & nous voulons & ordonnons ce qui suit :
DiCRET DE L'ASSEMBLEE NATIONALE,
du 21 feVrier 1791.
L'ASSEMBLEE NATIONALS, aprcs avoir entendu le rapport du Comitd des pensions sur
l'£tat ou se trouvent les habitans de 1'Acadie & du Canada, passes en France lors de la
cession de ces pays aux Anglois, decrete ce qui suit :
ARTICLE PREMIER.
Les secours accordes aux Officiers, tant civils que militaires, Acadiens & Canadiens,
& a leurs families, dont l'£tat nominatif est annex6 au present Decret, continueront d'etre
payes comme par le passe par le Tresor public ; a 1'effet de quoi les fonds de 50 mille livres
fournis prccedemment au deparement de la Marine pour cet objet, cesseront de lui etre faits a
compter du premier Janvier 1791.
(Articles II. III. IV. omitted.)
Suit 1'etat annonce dans 1'article premier du present Dtcret.
APPENDIX I
355
SUBSISTENCE DES HABITANS DE UAMERIQUE
SEPTENTRIONAL
MATRICULE
NoMS ET SURNOMS.
Jour de la
Naissance.
Residence.
Traitemens.
Jusqu'a
1 8 & zo ans.
A Vie.
Officiers d' Epee.
B
Benok (Anne), fille d'un capitaine des
troupes de 1'ile Royale .
22 sep. 1728
Charente
300
Benoit (Emilie-Jeanne), sa sceur
4 nov. 1739
Idem
200
Benoit Jeanne Gervaise), sa sceur
29 aout 1744
Idem
2OO
Bourdon (Adelaide), fille d'un lieutenant
des troupes de 1'ile Royale
27 oct. 1759
Rochefort
250
Bourdon (Henriette-Marguerite), sa sreur .
12 juin 1767
Idem
2OO
Bourdon (Gabriel-Pierre-Bonaventure), leur
frere (Volontaire) ....
29 dec. 1770
Idem
1 08
...
D
Dorfontaine (Angelique Leneuf de la
Valliere), epouse d'un capitaine reforme
des troupes nationales ....
19 sep. 1759
Taillebourg
3OO
Du Chambon (Marie-Anne Roma), veuve
d'un capitaine au regiment de Bourbonnois
4 fev. 1736
Fontenay-
2OO
D'Ailleboust de Saint- Vilme (Louise-Mar-
le-Comte
guerite), fille d'un ancien officierdu Canada
14 nov. 1728
Loches
2OO
De Bonnaventure (Louise-Denis de la
Ronde), veuve d'un lieutenant de Roi a
Louisbourg ......
Rochefort
40O
De Bonnaventure (Marie-Louise), sa fille .
7 aout 1758
Idem
4OO
Denys de la Ronde, ancien ofKcier du
Canada ......
Paris
2OO
Denis (Marie-Jeanne Dauarot), veuve d'un
capitaine ci-devant major de 1'ile Royale,
epouse de M. de Pommeroy .
21 juin 1720
Saintes
20O
Denis (Marie-Charlotte), sa fille
21 oct. 1755
La Rochelle
30O
Dangeac de Merville (Marie-Marguerite) .
19 aout 1752
Rochefort
30O
Dangeac de Merville (Genevieve-Antoi-
nette), sa sceur .....
26 oct. 1756
St-Jean-
3OO
D'Entremont (Marguerite), fille d'un ofHcier
d'Angely
servant a 1'Acadie ....
5 nov. 1724
Fontenay-
...
250
le-Comte
356
APPENDIX I
Norm et Surnoms.
Jour de la
Niiuance.
Residence.
Traitemeni.
luiqu'a
A Vie.
IB AC 2O ans.
Dupontdu Chambon dc Mczillac(Henricttc)
I 5 mai I 763
Paris ... 200
Dupont du Chambon dc Mczillac (Mar-
gucritc-Fclicitc-Honorinc), sa sceur
27 fcv. 1772
St-Jcan- 200
Dupont du Chambon dc Mczillac (Annc-
d'Angely
Klconorc Charlotte), sa sceur
2 mai I 766
Idem ... 200
Dupont du Chambon dc Mczillac (Maric-
Adela'fdc Sophie), autrc sceur
Idem
2OO
Dupont du Chambon dc Mczillac (Francois),
leur frere ....
I 5 juil. I 768
2OO
Dupont du Chambon de Mezillac (Pierre),
autrc frcrc ......
30 nov. I 769
200
Sous-lieutenant au regt. de Boulon-
nois, doit jouir ju
s ju'.'i ce qu'il
soil Capit. en zd.
Decoux (Jeanne-Anne), fillc d'un capitainc
des troupes de 1'ile Royalc
10 mai I 741
Exdeuil
2OO
Dubois Bcrthelot (Annc-Sarligne), veuve
d'un ofHcicr du Canada
28 dec. 1734
Saintcs
4OO
Dubois Bcrthelot (Marie), sa sceur
23 ans
Idem
300
Du Chambon (Jcanne-Fran^oisc), fille d'un
capitaine des troupes de Pile Royale
7 mars 1751
Compicgne
4OO
De Cannes (Marie Charlotte), fille d'un
ancicn major de Pile Royale .
23 juin 1738
Lochcs
3OO
De Cannes (Julie), sa sceur, belle sceur de
M. de la Calernerie
4 mars 1740
Rochcfort
400
Dc Cannes (Maric-Fran^oisc dc Coignc),
vcuved'un capitaine aide-major du Canada
Lochcs
2OO
De Cannes (Charlotte-Fran^oise), sa fille .
20 oct. 1755
Idem
300
Dc Chauvelin (Marie-Joseph Chassin de
Thierry), veuve d'un capitainc du regi-
ment dc Bourgogtie
9 dec- J737
Poitiers
400
De Chauvelin (Marie Julie), sa sceur . I
10 janv. 1759
Saint-Cyr i
20O
Dc Villedonne (Louise-Margueritc-Char- :
lottc), fillc d'un Capitaine reforme des
troupes dc Pile Royale .
18 aout 175 I
Orleans ... 200
Dc Saint- Rigne (Louise-Marie-Charlottc de
1'Oppinot), veuve d'un major des troupes
dc Pile Royalc . . ' . . .
24 sept. 1735
Bordeaux
60O
Dc Saint -Rignc (Marie-Marguerite), sa
fillc 1
19 aout 1759
Idem
2OO
D'Estimauvillc (Louise-Marguerite Char-
lotte), fillc d'un capitaine rcforme des
troupes dc Pile Royalc .
4 sept. 1751
Palczeau
250
pres Paris
D'Estimauville (Louise), sa sceur
28 juin 1 752
Idem
250
D'Ailleboust de Cery (Marie-Marguerite),
fille d'un capitainc des troupes dc Louis-
bourg .......
Tours
2OO
APPENDIX I
357
Noms et Surnoms.
Jour de la
Naissance.
Residence.
Traitemens.
Jusqu'a
18 & 20 ans
A Vie.
De Cailly (Marie-Anne), fille d'un lieu-
tenant-colonel du regiment de Karrer
29 mai 1736
St-Jean-
2OO
D'Ailleboust (Fran9oise - Charlotte), fille
d'Angely
d'un lieutenant de vaisseau peri sur la
Bayonnoise ......
23 fev. 1765
Saint-
2OO
D'Ailleboust, son frere, lieutenant dans les
Aignon
troupes de Cayenne, repasse en France
pour cause de demence
...
...
2OO
Dupont du Chambon (Ondoy6), fils d'un
capitaine au regiment de Foix
Sous - lieutenant au
Cambresis, doit jo
qu'il soit capitain
regiment de
uir jusqu'a ce
e en second .
2OO
Dupont du Chambon (Louis), son frere
Sous-lieutenant en s
econd au regi-
2OO
ment de Touraine
doit jouir idem
Dupont du Chambon (Ondoye), son frere .
Sous-lieutenant au r&
giment d'An-
2OO
goumois, doit jou
r idem .
De Verteuil (Marie -Joseph Dupont du
Vivier), epouse d'un capitaine des troupes
de 1'ile Royale .."...
16 sept. 1737
Isle-Dieu
2OO
De Verteuil (Victoife), sa fille .
1 8 fev. 1756
Rochefort
3OO
De Verteuil (Anne-Joseph), sa soeur .
3 aout 1758
Isle-Dieu
2OO
De Verteuil (Louise), autre soeur
27 dec. 1763
Id.
2OO
De Verteuil (Marie-Victoire Adelaide),
autre soeur ......
Hi •'ft"
Rochelle
...
2OO
l/U/
De Verteuil (Mathieu), leur frere
22 avril 1765
Sous-lieutenant
2OO
au regiment
de Languedoc
De Verteuil (Jacques-Franfois), id.
24 aout 1766
Eleve de pre-
miere classe
2OO
(Marine)
De Verteuii (Michel), autre frere
25 sept. 1773
Isle-Dieu
1 08
De Gourville (Anne), fille d'un capitaine
de 1'ile Royale, & epouse de M.
Foucerny ......
3 fev. 1744
Poiffy
2OO
De Ligneries (Marie-Therese Marchand),
fille d'un capitaine des troupes de 1'ile
Royale ......
21 fev. 1750
Loches
...
150
De 1'Esperance, fille du baron du nom
150
De 1'Esperance, sa sceur ....
I50
E
Eury de la Perille (Charlotte-Marguerite),
fille d'un capitaine au depot des recrues
des Colonies .....
20 janv. 1766
2OO
Eury de la Perille (Marie-Adela'ide), sa soeur
9 fev. 1767
...
20O
Eury de la Perille (Josephine), autre soeur .
9 feV. 1767
...
2OO
L
Le Poupet de la Boularderie (Eleonore-
Jeanne), veuve d'un ancien capitaine des
troupes de 1'ile Royale ....
5 oct. 1783
Tours
...
500
APPENDIX I
Norm et Surnom,.
Jour de la
Naissance.
Residence.
Traitcmens.
Jusqu'a
.8 & 20 an,. AVle'
Lc Coudrc de Bourville (Maric-Angeliquc-
Francoise), fille d'un ancicn lieutenant dc
Roi a id.
17 juil. 1731
St-Gcrm.-
2OO
cn-Layc
Lc Coudrc de Bourville (Anne-Marguerite),
sa sceur ......
19 aout 1735
Id.
200
Le Neuf dc la Valliere (Marguerite), fillc
d'un major dcs troupes dc 1'ile Royalc
15 juil. 1715
Rochcllc ... 300
Lc Neuf dc Bois-ncuf (Elisabeth), fille d'un
chevalier de Saint-Louis ci-devant capi-
taine dcs troupes de Cayenne
25 fev. 1769
Rochcfort ••• 300
Lc Neuf de Bcaubassin, fillc d'un capitaine
dcs troupes dc Cayenne
L'Orient
2OO
Lc Neuf de Beaubassin, sa soeur
Id.
2OO
Lc Neuf dc Bcaubassin (Jacques-Philippe),
son frere ......
26 nov. 1775
Bordeaux
2OO
Le Neuf de Beaubassin (Joseph-Marie),
r *
| MMJ^
D_^rJ__t. v
^ on
son ircre ......
p
i>uructiu x
*. \j\j
Poticr de Pommeroy (Marie-Anne-Julie),
fille d'un capitaine des troupes nationales
de Cayenne ......
20 fev. 1770
Cornis Rile.
200
Poticr dc Pommeroy (Jean-Baptiste), son
frere .......
8 oct. 1766 ... 200
Potier dc Pommeroy (Louis-Rene), autre
Jusqu'a ce qu'il soil ca pitainc en 2nd.
frcrc .......
8 juin 1767 id.
2OO
...
R
Rousseau de Villcjoint (Adelaide), fille d'un
major a la Dcsirade ....
1 6 nov. 1764
Rochcfort
400
Rodriguc (Olive-Antoinette)
Bordeaux
150
y
VareilledelaBregeonniere(Marie-Fran9oisc),
fille d'un capitaine reforme des troupes
nationales 2 janv. 1765
Poitiers
300
Varcillc dc la Brcgconnicre (Marie-Julie),
sa sceur
Id.
3OO
Vareillc de la Brcgconniere (Madeleine),
autre sceur ......
...
Id.
30O
APPENDIX I
359
Noms et Surnoms.
Jour de la
Naissance.
Residence.
Traitemens.
Jusqu'a
18 & 20 ans.
A Vie.
Qjficiers d' Administration & de "Justice.
B
Berlin (Marie-Anne-Bertrand), veuve d'un
chirurgien-major a 1'ile Royale
4 mars 1720
Bordeaux
250
C
Carrerot (Ren6-Marie), fille d'un ecrivain
de la marine a 1'ile Royale
2 juin 1738
Rochelle
3OO
D
Delord (Angelique), fille d'un conseiller a
1'ile Royale, epouse du sieur De Cres
13 mars 1755
St-Jean-
d'Angely
250
L
Levasseur de Saint-Laurent (Marie-Anne),
fille d'un lieutenant-general de 1'amiraute
a 1'ile Royale .....
Le Neuf de Beaubassin (Anne-Julie), sa
fille, epouse de M. Blosfeld .
Le Neuf de Beaubassin (Marie-d'Accarette),
veuve d'un conseiller ....
30 juil. 1745
1 8 mai 1724
Agde
Charente
Id.
2OO
2OO
2OO
M
Martissans (Marie-Anne), fille d'un con-
seiller du Roi .....
Martissans (Marie-Charlotte), sa soeur
Milly (Louis), fille d'un juge de Saint-
Pierre & Miquelon ....
17 janv. 1739
17 sept. 1740
Rochelle
Angers
Rochelle
300
300
168
There is annexed the pensions to bourgeois and to those whose families were not connected
with Isle Royale.
From a broadsheet in the author's library. It bears the number 806, was printed at the
Imprimerie Royale, and has in handwriting of the period, "seance 13 juin."
360 APPENDIX I
VAUGHAN i
BOSTON, Janry. 14, 1744/5.
MAY IT PLEASE YOUR EXCELLENCY, — To be inform'd that I tallc'd with Captn.
Loring & endeavour'd to get that Gentleman, Captn. Bradstreet & Mr. Kilby together at
Mr. Vardy's in a private Room this Day to see if we cannot solve the many Difficulties
rais'd against the late transacted Affair, about a Descent on Cape Breton, which if we think
we can do, then to present a Memorial to the General Court to revive the Affair if your
Excellency think it proper after being further consulted on the Affair, & directed by
yourself therein.
All Englishmen, & all Friends to Great Britain, by me now press your Excellency to
make one Push more at this Time in the Affair, praying that Men knowing in these
Affairs may be brought Face to Face before the Opponents. Your Excellency I hope will
give me Leave to say that I have the Interest of my Country & the Honour of yourself as
much at Heart (according to my weak Capacity) as any Man in it. I am willing to
sequester myself from my own private Business to serve the Publick, and am well assured
I can procure 1000 able Men to act in the Affair, if it be your Excellency's Pleasure to
commit the Conduct of the Affair to myself. If your Excellency thinks it proper to give
the same to another (in case there is an Opportunity) I am ready with the same Diligence
by Night and Day at my own Expence to encourage Men to act in the Affair with the
utmost Vigour & then to retire to my own private Business. I do assure your Excellency
that I should be exceedingly pleas'd if your Excellency could be the Means of effecting this
great Work, wh. must be the greatest Honour & Establishment to yourself, but at the
same time if it can't be brought to pass here, I purpose to proceed further Westward &c.
where I doubt not of Success ; but should infinitely more desire that it might take Effect
here. I should have intimated these Things this Morning if your Excellency's Leisure had
permitted the same, & am assuredly, Your Excellency's most obedt. Servt.,
W. VAUGHAN.
Govr. Shirley.
Memo. — That the 3 Gentlemen before mention'd were so discouraged on the Genl.
Assembly's reporting against, & giving up the Affair as impracticable that they wd. not
meet. W. Vaughan thereupon went to Marble Head where there were plenty of Seamen
and Vessels where they gave him Encouragement to furnish Vessels in 14 Days for 3500
Men, and more than 100 sign'd a Petition for the Revival of the Affair, wh. he preferr'd
to the Genl. Assembly with another sign'd by more than 200 principal Gentlemen in
Boston, upon wh. the Affair was carried into Execution & accomplish'd.
1 c.O. S/-53.
APPENDIX I 361
To the King's Most Excellent Majesty.
The Memorial of William Vaughan of Damariscotta in the Eastern Parts of the Province
of the Massachusetts Bay in New England, Gent., Son of the Honble. George
Vaughan late Lieutenant Governor of the Province of New Hampshire in said New
England, Esq. deceased, and Grandson of William Vaughan, late President of the
Council of said Province Esqr. deceased.
Humbly
That the Ancestors of your Memorialist being the principal Family of those Parts of
your Majesty's Dominions have been the constant Support of the infant Province of New
Hampshire from the Year 1643 to 1708, against the Invasions of the French and Indian
Enemies. That on all emergent Occasions they have advanced considerable Sums for
building Fortifications, & providing Warlike Stores for the poor distress'd Settlers in said
Province ; and kept open House for all Officers and Soldiers stationed in or travelling
through those Parts.
That your Memorialist, the better to enable himself to serve his King and Country,
in the year 1726 removed himself and Family from said Province fifty Leagues Eastward,
near Pomaquid, towards Nova Scotia, where he has ever since lived, using his utmost
Endeavours to encourage the Settlement of that Part of Your Majesty's Dominions, altho'
situated between two of the most powerful and warlike Tribes of Indians in New England.
That for the more effectual carrying on of said Design, your Memorialist has
expended the Sum of two thousand Pounds Sterling in building the largest & strongest
Garrisons belonging to any one private Man in New England, erecting Mills for the
neighbouring Settlements as well as several Dwelling Houses, and in cultivating a large
Tract of Land, till then little better than a Wilderness.
That your Memorialist has for these twenty Years last past made it his constant
Business to enquire after the Number, Strength, & Situation of the French and Indian
Settlements between New England and Newfoundland, their Communication with each
other and with Canada, in order to reduce them to the Obedience of the Crown of Great
Britain ; which has been attended with great Expence, as well as infinite Hazard of his
Person and Settlements.
That the Declaration of a War with France (affording a favourable Opportunity to
put in Practice what your Memorialist had so long meditated) he quitted without Hesitation
his said Eastern Settlements, at a Time when his Presence was more than ordinarily
requisite to encourage the defence of what he had done at so great an Expence : And it is
currently reported that the said two powerful Tribes have since made Incursions to within
eight Miles of his dwelling House, have killed many Men and Cattle, and destroyed many
Houses & Mills ; wherefore he has all the Reason in the World to apprehend that his
Settlements are likewise fallen into their Hands.
That your Memorialist's Design in thus quitting his Settlement was to travel through
the Provinces of Massachusetts Bay and New Hampshire to enquire into the Strength and
Circumstances of Louisburgh, & the other French Settlements on, or adjoining to the
Island of Cape Breton : & this he performed with infinite Fatigue & Hazard during the
last Winter.
That your Memorialist met with several intelligent Men who had been Prisoners
362 APPENDIX I
there the Summer before & were good Pilots ; from whom he learnt the Strength (or
rather Weakness) of the Enemy & such other Particulars as might encourage an
Undertaking against them.
That your Memorialist likewise calculated the Force that might be raised to attack
them, & having digested the whole into a regular Scheme, about the first of December
last he waited on their Excellencies William Shirley & Benning Wentworth Esqrs. two
Governors of New England & laid the same before them.
That about the /th Janry. last your Memorialist's Scheme was by His Excellency
William Shirley Esqr. Govr. of the province of the Massachusetts, laid before both Houses
of the General Assembly then sitting, & a Committee was chosen of both Houses to
consider the Affair & make a Report thereon. The Difficulties of the Undertaking &
the Improbability of Success appeared so great to the Committee, that the Scheme was for
that Time laid aside, & judged impracticable.
That your Memorialist (still possessed with the Probability of carrying his Designs
into Execution) thereupon doubled his Diligence, & at his own proper Costs & Charges
sent Expresses through the Provinces of the Massachusetts & New Hampshire to procure
authentic Evidences of the weak State of Louisbourg, & the ready Dispositions of the
People to undertake the Reduction of it ; which Evidences were subsisted at the sole
Expence of your Memorialist. He next procured Petitions to be signed by some Hundreds
of the principal Men in New England, & preferred to the General Assembly ; praying that
due Encouragement might be given to such as should voluntarily engage in said Expedition.
Whereupon the Attempt upon Louisbourg was revived & carried in the Affirmative, in
both Houses of the General Assembly of the Massachusetts. It was now necessary to
promote so good a Design in the Province of New Hampshire. To which Purpose your
Memorialist went thro' all Sorts of Difficulties to carry Advices from Governor Shirley to
his Excellency Benning Wentworth Esqr. of the Proceedings of the General Assembly
of the Massachusetts. These were immediately laid before the General Assembly of the
Province of New Hampshire, then sitting, & it was thereon instantly agreed to raise two
hundred and fifty men : Hereupon your Memorialist represented that the Charge would
fall too heavily on the Province of the Massachusetts, unless more Men were raised by that
of New Hampshire ; & offer'd to mortgage his Estate in New Hampshire worth four
thousand Pounds Sterling for the Subsistence of two hundred and fifty Men more for four
Months, to make up a Regiment of five hundred Men : Whereupon said General Assembly
passed a Vote for the raising of one hundred Men more. Your Memorialist then obtained
general Orders from Governor Wentworth to all military Officers in his Province to
muster their Companies at his your Memorialist's Call, with which Orders he rode twice
thro' all the principal Towns of New Hampshire, & many of those of Massachusetts
furthering <Sc encouraging the enlisting of Volunteers for the Expedition with great and
surprizing success ; never desisting till the whole Number was complete.
Things being brought to this forwardness by the indefatigable Pains & Industry of
your Memorialist, he offer'd himself to Governor Shirley either to embark for Great
Britain with any Dispatches which his Excellency should think fit to send thither, or to
go with the Army to Cape Breton. The latter Duty was assigned him, & he immediately
embarked in the Province Sloop of War, and landed soon after at Gabarose Bay on the
Island of Cape Breton. Your Memorialist here performed the Office of a Guide to the
APPENDIX I 363
first Column of Forces for three Miles thro' the Woods, till he brought them to a fair
View of the City at a Mile's Distance, where they encamped that Night. The next Day
he in the same manner conducted a Body of four hundred Men thro' the Woods undis-
cover'd to the North East part of the Harbour to seize upon all Vessels, Men or Cattle
that could be found beyond the Grand Battery. The third Day your Memorialist went
with twelve Men only to a Cliff within a quarter of a Mile of said Grand Battery, to view
it, & discover the most commodious Place for erecting a counter Battery : When by all
Appearances he had Reason to judge that said Grand Battery was deserted by the Enemy ;
he & his twelve Men marched up and took Possession of said Grand Battery for your
Majesty. Soon after he discover'd seven large Boats full of Men coming from the City to
the Battery-Side of the Harbour ; and concluding their Design was to repossess or destroy
said Battery with about one hundred Houses between it & the City, left four of his Men
in the Battery, & marched out with the other eight along the Shore for near half a Mile :
and (picking up four Men more by the Way) opposed the landing of said Men in the
Boats with such Success that he beat them back to the City, notwithstanding that the
Cannon of the City (within point blank Shot) played incessantly on him & his small
party.
Your Memorialist had further the good fortune to find in one of the French Houses
two English Ships Ensigns, which on his Return he hoisted on the said Grand Battery, &
there remained till he was reliev'd by a Regiment sent by the General.1 Soon after this
Relief your Memorialist went to the Camp & acquainted the General with the Situation
of the Ground for an advanced Battery within two hundred Yards of the City Wall. A
Fascine Battery was immediately order'd, and five Cannon were mounted thereon that
Night. Your Memorialist staked out the Ground with his own Hands, & directed a
Trench to be thrown up sufficient to cover a thousand Men adjoining the Fascine Battery
& fronting the City, with a three Gun Battery at the other End of said Trench : In this
Trench your Memorialist continued four successive Days & Nights doing Duty and under-
going excessive Fatigues, scarce allowing himself common Refreshments.
Your Memorialist likewise assisted at the erecting the Light House Battery ; which
so annoy'd the Enemy's Island Battery, that after one Day's playing upon them, they
capitulated.
During the Siege your Memorialist was thirty five days in the Trenches & different
Batteries ; and ten Days in the Camp where he was unwillingly detained by a Hurt he had
received the Winter before in prosecution of this Cause, which was now greatly increased
by his constant Fatigues, Watchings & Sufferings.
Your Memorialist was likewise one of those who embarked three times in Boats in
order to attack the Island Battery, tho' that Service could not be performed by reason of
the Difficulty of the Place.
In order to discover the Breach made in the City Wall by the advanced Battery, your
Memorialist went in the Night with one Man only, to the Picket of the hollow Way
adjoining the Foss ; where being discover'd, his Companion was shot down from the Breach.
To sum up the whole, your Memorialist (besides his previous Thoughts & Endeavours
in these Affairs) has been constantly employ'd in this great Work for twelve Months past,
at great Expences and thro' infinite Dangers and Difficulties ; exposing himself Night and
1 Waldie's.
364 APPENDIX I
Day in all Places, and doing the Business of an Engineer, as well as the Drudgery of a
common Soldier upon all Occasions.
Your Memorialist humbly begs leave to observe, That when the Scheme for reducing
the Island of Cape Breton was first set on Foot, your Memorialist had an Offer from
Governor Shirley of a Regiment on this Occasion : But your Memorialist declined accept-
ing the same, that he might the more effectually apply himself to the enlisting of Men for
the Service, and doing such other Offices as the Emergency might require as well as attend
the Council of War, of which he was a Member.
For the Truth of the above Facts your Memorialist humbly begs Leave to appeal to
Certificates under the Hands of their Excellencies, Governor Shirley, Governor Wentworth,
Genl. Pepperrcl, & to Letters from said Gentlemen & other Officers &c. in your
Majesty's Service there.
Your Memorialist humbly recommends to your Majesty's gracious Consideration what
his Ancestors have formerly done in supporting the Province of New Hampshire ; and
what his Father did towards the Reduction of Nova Scotia, to your Majesty's Obedience,
as by a short Memorial hereunto annexed l may more fully appear.
For all these his Services, Hazards and Expences your Memorialist has received no
Sort of Gratification ; which he humbly hopes he has in some Degree merited by being so
instrumental in the Conquest of the Island and Territories of Cape Breton, those Countries
so famous for the Fish and Fur Trades : Acquisitions of infinite Value, for the Goodness
of the Soil, the many large & safe Harbours on the Sea Coast, most commodious for the
fishing Trade ; & for the advantageous settling of an hundred thousand Families of
Protestants, which with proper Encouragement may in Time be brought thither. The
Reduction of this Island will also be an additional Nursery for twenty or thirty
thousand Seamen to be employed annually in the Fishery ; as well as a very great
Increase of Trade to your Majesty's Dominions by the Consumption of Woollen &
other Manufactures of Great Britain. Canada is hereby in a great Measure blocked
up ; that great Mart of our Enemies, the French ; where they carry on a great Trade
& in return have fine Men of War built, are furnished with many naval Stores, & the
finest of Furs.
By this acquisition the Trade of your Majesty's Subjects from the West India Islands,
the Provinces of Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Pensylvania, New Jersey, New York, New
England, Nova Scotia, New North and South Wales, Newfoundland and Bermudas is
much protected and secured ; whilst by these Means our Enemies are deprived of these
great Advantages.
Your Memorialist having thus constantly shewn his Zeal and Attachment to your
Majesty's Royal Person and Government, cannot doubt of such Recompence for his
Services as your Majesty shall in your great Wisdom &: Bounty think meet. And as an
Instance of his Detestation of the Machinations and Malice of your Majesty's inveterate
Enemies, he humbly offers his best Services to disappoint as far as in him lies, all their
future Designs against your Royal Person and Government. Nothing doubting but with
proper Encouragement (concurring with the great Zeal and Affection which your Majesty's
Subjects in those Parts sincerely profess, and are ready to demonstrate for your Protection
& Increase of Happiness) he may be able on any Emergencies to do signal Services to your
1 [Not copied.]
APPENDIX I 365
Colonies & Settlements in New England, Nova Scotia & the adjacent Countries, even to
the raising any Number of Men either for enlarging of those Settlements, or duly protecting
such as are at present under your Majesty's Dominion there.
And your Memorialist shall as in Duty bound for ever pray.
(Signed) W. VAUGHAN.
(Endorsed : — To the King's most Excellent Majesty. The humble memorial of
William Vaughan, Gent., 1745.)
By his Excellency William Shirley, Esqr. Capt. Genl. & Govr. in Chief in &
over his Majesty's Province of the Massachusetts Bay in New England.
These are to certify That Wm. Vaughan of Damariscotta in the County of York &
Province aforesaid Gentln. was very instrumental in setting on Foot the present Expedition
agst. the Fr. settlements on Cape Breton by first proposing it to me thro Col. Robert Hale,
informing me of the general Spirit of the People in the Eastern Parts of this Province for
undertaking it, & representing to me the favourable Opportunity of attempting it at this
Juncture ; that he was very serviceable in procuring Intelligence of the present weak
Circumstances of the Town & Harbour of Louisbourg, & producing it to the Committee
of both Houses of the Genl. Assembly in order to induce 'em to come into a Supply of the
Treasury for supporting the Expedition, & very much promoted within this Province the
Enlistment of Voluntiers into his Majesty's Service by personally encouraging the People
for that End. That he also voluntarily offer'd to take a Journey to the Province of New
Hampshire in order to promote his Majesty's Service by influencing Men to enlist there for
the aforesd. Expedition, & accordingly has been very indefatigable & successful in doing it,
& that he freely offer'd himself to proceed as a Voluntier in the Expedition to Cape Breton
& undertake any Service there, & to embark in the first Vessel wh. shall be order'd by the
General to proceed from thence to Great Britain with any Dispatches of Importance to his
Majesty ; All wh. the sd. Wm. Vaughan has done at his own Costs & Charges.
In Testimony whereof I have hereunto set my Hand & Seal at Arms at Boston the
eighteenth Day of March 1744, in the eighteenth Year of his Majesty's Reign.
W. SHIRLEY.
Province of the Massachusetts Bay, Boston,
March 236, 1744. Recorded in the .„ T ,,r
, ' _ /T7 _ .. _ Att. J. WILLARD, Secry.
Secretary s Office in the Book of rowers
of Attorney, &c. Page 284 &c.
By His Excellency Benning Wentworth Esq., Captain, Genl. & Govr. in
Chief in & over his Majesty's Province of New Hampshire in New England.
These may certify that Wm. Vaughan of Damariscotta in the County of York in the
Province of the Massachusetts Bay, Gentleman, & a native of New Hampshire, was very
instrumental in setting on Foot the present Expedition, agst. the Fr. Settlements on Cape
Breton, & first proposed it to me, whether, if an Expedition shd. be carried on by the
366 APPENDIX I
Govt. of the Massachusetts, I wd. give a proper Encouragemt. to the Inhabitants of New
Hampshire, wh. I engaged to do, to the utmost of my power. The sd. Vaughan has also
been very industrious in promotg. & encouraging the enlistmt. of Voluntiers for the present
Expedition, & made a Journey fm. Boston to this Province for that End, He has also
attended me in reviewing several Regts. in this Province, & by my authority went to
several Towns the Captains whereof, had Orders fm. me to put their Companies under Arms,
in order to inlist Voluntiers for the Expedition, in wh. the sd. Vaughan used his utmost
Endeavours to promote the Soldiers to enlist, wh. has been attended with Success.
In Testimony whereof I have hereunto set my Hand & Seal at Arms at Portsmouth
the 20th Day of March 1744. In the eighteenth Year of his Majesty's Reign.
B. WENTWORTH.
Province of the Massachusetts Bay, Boston,
March 23d, 1744. Recorded in the
Secretary's Office in the Book of Powers
of Attorney, &c. Page 285 &c.
By His Honour Wm. Pepperrell, Esqr. Lt. Genl. & Commr. in Chief of his
Britannick Majesty's Troops raised in N. England, for the Expedition against Cape
Breton.
These certify That Wm. Vaughan of Damariscotta in the County of York &
Province of the Massachusetts Bay in New England, Gentleman, some Time past of the
Province of New Hampshire, & Son of the Honble. George Vaughan Esqr. late of sd.
Province deceased, did as a Voluntier without Pay, embark with me for the sd. Expedition,
& has attended his Majesty's Service in the Field, & behaved with Loyalty, Zeal &
Industry j & that he sustain'd no Office but as one of the Council of War, by the Order
of Govr. Shirley.
Louisbourg, June list 1745. Given under my Hand & Seal at Arms.
WM. PEPPERRELL.
These may certify all whom it doth or may concern That in the Month of December
last came to me the Subscriber at Portsmouth, New Hampshire in New England, Coll.
Wm. Vaughan, pressing me to give him an Accot. of the French Settlements on the
Island of Cape Breton where I had been 4 Mos. Prisoner, also to draw him a Plan of
the Town & Harbour of Louisbourg wh. I did in the best manner I could. Immediately
after he the sd. Vaughan made it his whole Employment Day and Night while at
Portsmouth and other towns in sd. Province to stir up the People too, and encouraging
them to undertake an Expedition agst. sd. Fr. settlements. That he was the whole
winter driving about with great Rapidity at his own Expence wh. must be great, until
the Troops were formed & imbarked after wh. he the said Vaughan went down to Cape
Breton a Volunteer in the first Vessel & landed in Chapeau Rouge Bay with the first
Column of Men, & marched, driving the Fr. before them, until they came in open view
of the city of Louisbourg. That the 2d day he marchd. with a party of Troops to thfe
North East Harbour beyond the Grand Battery & the 3d day in the morng. enterd.
APPENDIX I 367
the sd. Grand Battery with 12 men finding it deserted. A small Time after about
200 Fr. in boats made an Attempt to regain sd. Battery wh. Detachmt. of French he
with his 12 men beat back again & hoisted 2 English Flags, and soon after was re-inforced
with 500 Men from our Camp. That he the sd. Vaughan had the direction at the
advance Trenches wh. was done with the utmost Expedition.
That he sd. Vaughan was continually in the Trenches & Batteries working &
encouraging the People Day & Night. That he also came over to the Light House
Point where he commanded & assisted me in raising a Battery against the Island Fort
putting himself in the most dangerous Post & hazardous Employment during the whole
of the Campaign. The above I was an Eye-witness to & am ready to give Oath to.
JOHN TUFTON MASON.
LONDON, October ye 25th 1745.
Middx. to wit :
Sworn voluntarily before me this THOS. DE VEIL.
z8th of October 1745.
These may Certify to all whom it doth concern That I, the subscriber, being Captn.
of a Compy. of Volunteers from New England agst. the Fr. Settlements at Cape Breton
& Parts adjacent, was ordered by the Genl. on the 3rd day after our landing to go with
a small detachmt. to guard a quantity of Powder & Provisions to the Grand Battery ;
where I found & became acquainted with Coll. Wm. Vaughan, who had that Day
entered the aforesaid Battery with 12 men ; and also beat back a Number of Boats with
about 200 French who attempted to re-enter sd. Battery again, but the sd. Vaughan
marched out of sd. Battery with 8 men & picking up 4 more that were moroding
proceeded directly to the shore within point blank shot of the City Wall, where he
fired briskly on the aforesd. Boats & also reed, a continual fire fm. the cannon of the
city. A confirmation of wh. I had from 3 of my soldiers who were with the sd. Col.
Vaughan in the Action. And the sd. Vaughan was the Director of the advance Trenches
& most indefatigable in Duty with common Soldiers almost Day & Night, & embarked
several times for the attack of the Island Battery all wh. Slavery he did with great
difficulty being lame most of the Time. And the sd. Vaughan was continually
encouraging the Army to keep up their Spirits wh. were almost cast down through their
extraordinary Fatigue & Slavery. And in Testimony of the Truth hereof I have
hereunto set my Hand this 25th Day of Oct. 1745.
DAVID WOASTER.
Middx. to wit :
Sworn voluntarily before me this THOS. DE VEIL.
z8th of October 1745.
Francis Nicholson, Esqr., Genl. & Commr.-in-Chief of her Majesty's Forces
on the Expedition agst. Port Royal now Annapolis Royal, etc.
These may certify whom it may concern, That George Vaughan, Esqr., after
having been at the Court of Great Britain whither he went Agent from the Govt. of
368 APPENDIX I
New Hampshire in New England, with sundry Addresses to her Majesty wh. were
graciously reed. & answered, by a Supply of Cannon, Stores of Powder, etc., & returning
home when the Expedition for the Reduction of Port Royal now Annapolis Royal was
intended. He the sd. Vaughan freely ofFer'd himself as a Voluntier in the sd. Expedition
under my Command, & accordingly was by the Council of War then sitting, directed
on Board the Dragon Man of War commanded by Capt. George Martin who was
Commandore [*/V], imbark'd, landed & march'd with me into the Field, & bchav'd himself
with good Courage & Diligence, & was the chief Gentleman Voluntier of New England
in that Expedition.
Given under my Hand & Seal at Arms at Annapolis Royal the I4th Day of Octor.
1 710, in the ninth Year of the Reign of our Sovereign Lady (^)ueen Ann.
FR. NICHOLSON.
York Ss. Received Jany. 3, 1732, & Recorded
with the Records for Deeds &c in sd. County Attest. JOSEPH MOODY.
Libo. I 5, Folo. I 54.
Province of Ncwhampsh., Janry. 5, 1732. Re-
corded the above in my Office in my znd JAMES JEFFRY, No. Pubic.
Book of Records of No. Pubk. p. me.
Prov. of the Massa. Bay, Boston, March 23,
1744. Recorded in the Secrys. Office in the Attest. J. WILLARD, S(fty.
Book of Powers of Attorney, etc., Page 283.
LONDON, October 3151, 1745.
MY LORD DUKE. — My coming to this Country at a time so troublesome to yr.
Grace, & others, and having Attempted three times to make my case known to Your
Grace, which your great hurry of Buisnesse did not allow of, That I may be ye less
troublesome I have judged it My Duty to Inclose my Memoriall and some coppys of
Certificates yt. I have, and Deliver ye same to One of your Officers, to be Deliverd to
Your Grace. Praying ye Reading of ye Same, and Recommendation to His Majesty, I
think it my happyness yt. I had such an Oppertunity of serving his Majesty, and hope
throu Your Grace's favor, to have it in my Power to Do further, if not greater, Services
than these, and that I may as Soon as Your Graces Leisure will admit of ye same, be
allowed your hearing, as I am with Greatest Respects to Your Grace. — Your Most obt.
humble Servant, W. VAUGHAX.
His Grace the Duke of Newcastle.
5 May 1/46. If. ^aughan — D. of Newcastle [urging former Memorials].
"... Give me Leave to say that from the small Knowledge I have of the Affairs of
these Countries it must be far more for the benefit of this Kingdom for his Majesty to
give up Nova Scotia & Cape Breton to the French, without being at any further Expence
about them, unless a truly new Method is taken to settle & secure these places. If that
be done they will be the most beneficial provinces belonging to this Realm, if not it
may be best to give them up as aforesaid. It may cost this Nation ten Millions to
keep these Provinces in such a Situation as they are at present, and after all ten Thousand
APPENDIX I 369
to one but they fall into the Hands of the French, if so these Expences must be lost &
the Trade of the Nation that Way ruin'd. There is no remedy but one, vizt. That
Encouragement be given to such as understand these Affairs & will go on the spot &
execute them, notwithstanding the Difficulty, Dangers & Hardships attending the same,
according to a Scheme I deliver'd in to your Grace's Office, to Mr. Stone (long since) or
someone better of that Nature."
Offers of service & request for a post. Suggests the Govt. & Regt. of Nova Scotia.
1 6 May 1746. W. Vaughan — D. of Newcastle [abstracts].
Has been 7 months in attendance — his private affairs suffer from his absence — asks
reward & dismissal.
Asks allowance of expenses & losses & "some civil Patent Posts in New England"
for his maintenance. "There are the Collectors Posts in the Massachusetts Bay,
Surveyor-General of the Woods & Customs, there being none other that I know of that
are beneficial, except the Govt. of Massachusetts Bay, wh. I have done all that could be
in my Power to establish Mr. Shirley in, by moving the Expedition against Cape Breton
in wh. affair (to his Honour) he has been very active."
Vaughan died in London in December 1746.
2 B
APPENDIX II
EXPENDITURE ON ISLE ROYALE
Year.
I72I
-22
723
724
725
726
727
728
729
730
731
732
733
734
735
736
737
Expenditure.
Year.
162,954 9
0
1738
129,660 10
i
1739
151,103 15
4
1740
161,086 17
o
1741
120,901 7
6
1742
H5,79i 7
o
1743
159,829 i
8
1744
146,346 17
i
1745
151,795 6
9
1749
311,162 10
1 1
1750
300,427 17
8
1751
296,682 13
7
1/52
310,703 12
4
1753
313,586 II
1 1
1754
338,481 15
5
1756
337,370 6
4
1757
346,044 14
2
Expenditure.
349,455 4
304,904 17
355,845 o
365,345 13
495,468 13
547,436 H
1 1
8
1 1
4
6
i
9
o 9
1,406,086 19 8
1,369,560 10 6
1,305,355 4 o
892,834 12 2
960,907 17 II
1,069,574 17 7
i,!33,69i 5 o
COST OF THE FORTIFICATIONS IN LOUISBOURG
Years.
17H
1716-23
1724
1725
1726-42
!743
1744
1754-58
Expenditure.
40,000 livres.
40,000 „
610,000 „
150,000 „
150,000 „
2,359,335 „
128,100 „
128,100 „
3,605,535
480,000
Total 4,085,535
The figures from 1714 to 1742 are from the Memoir to the King (C, vol. 26, fol. 219).
From 1743 to 1744 they are taken from the same series, and the years 1754-58 come
from Moreau St. Alery, vol. 51, p. 478.
The total expenditure was almost certainly less than five millions.
1 Amerique du Noni, He Royale, C11, vol. 2, f. 2-.
370
APPENDIX III
TABLES OF POPULATION IN L'lLE ROYALE
THESE statements are compiled from the Series C11, Isle Royale ; that of Louisbourg in 1752
from the Surlaville Papers (Laval University). The census of the island in 1752 by the
Sieur de la Roque is republished in full in Can. Archives Report, 1906.
LOUISBOURG
1716.
1717.
1720.
1723.
1724.
1726.
1734-
1737-
Men
40
58
69
68
H3
i53
"59
163
Women
29
37
5°
50
84
98
128
157
Children .
103
H5
142
1 60
239
3°3
389
664
Fishermen
338
358
372
5i5
377
3H
296
250
Servants
...
...
95
i57
229
Engages
...
...
Total .
510
568
633
793
813
963
1129
1463
Chaloupes
65
103
55
38
23
50
Vessels
...
'9
39
61
37i
[TABLE
372
APPENDIX III
LOUISBOURG, 1752
1*
8
c
c
c
£
.I"
c
c
c
£ 5'
o
M
3
n
0
E
n
jjj
w
5
_c
u
u
n
1 1
u
JS
I
u.
0
u.
(/)
Q
CU
>
U .*-
U
R. du ^uay
6
5
22
7
2
34
"5'
5
8 18
3
R. du Pont
'5
16
36
33
5
3'
1 06
II 12
1 1
Royale
20
22
43
26
24
69
78
13
I 12
4
d'Orlcans .
37
29
34
28
9
47
24
5
13 21
i
dc France .
10
'7
'7
'9
5
3
8
2
5 ..-
de Scatarv .
16
•7
2?
22
6
16
7
n 4
2
Toulouse .
4
7
1 1
10
4
18
108
4
16
3
St. Louis .
20
21
32
29
4
27
47
6
2 10
2
dc 1'Etang .
26
27
4'
29
3
16
12
3
2 I
Dauphine .
12
17
24
18
2
'4
18
5
10
du Ramparc
6
12
8
12
i
3
I I
de 1'Hopital
/
7
8
8
I
10
i
5 3
d'Estrecs
9
10
18
13
10
i
3 44
I_,c Fort
r
I 2
16
1 1
1
g
R. du Hn. Dauphin
4
3
3
6
2
7
6
8
2
Total of town
•97
222
338
273
68
311
561
67
79 H2
28
Harrachois .
7°
JO
72
74
3
49
100
1 1
8 12
5
Fond de la Bayc
7
7
1 1
8
6
13
i
i
Total of town and
environs
2/4
299
421
355
7i
366
674
79
87 154
34
Les Maisons du Gouvcrncur et C.O.
Habitants newly arrived
Garrison officers and soldiers, inhabitants
Total Louisbourg ....
Posts and harbours, Isle Royale
BALLAIXE
Total
30
200
1500
4^74
1671
5845
1716.
• -17-
1720. i
•23. 1724.
1726. 1-54. 1-37. 1753.
Men ....
IO
15
13
12
12 12 14 6
Women
7
1 1
10
7
ii 9 10 6
Children
'7
24
26
22
28 33 34 21
Fishermen
>59
1 80
,76
82
109 164 271 21
Servants
2
6 6
Engages
1
7
i
Total .
193
230
225
132
167 224 335 54
Fishing-boats
32
17
35 52 7
Vessels ....
i
APPENDIX III
373
LE PETIT LOREMBEC
1716.
1717.
1720.
1723.
1724.
1726.
1734-
1737-
'753-
Men ....
Women
Children
Fishermen
Servants
2
2
7
21
...
6
3
7
55
5
2
9
5»
21
15
I?
l62
17
13
55
157
i
16
20
62
I9I
Engages
Total .
32
...
7i
67
241
243
289
Fishing-boats
Vessels
5
ii
8
2
36
29
44
Chafaux
21
Heads of cattle
C
Arpents en prairie .
I c
Arpents de terre en friche
4.
SCATARY
1716.
1717.
1720.
1723.
1724.
1726.
1734-
1737-
1753-
Men ....
Women
Children
Fishermen
Servants
22
18
46
319
20
15
51
26l
21
15
39
323
17
16
29
325
H
1 1
32
137
H
14
40
148
8
12
II
50
198
IO
8
9
46
1 60
1 1
7
8
3i
35
Engages
10
Total .
405
347
398
387
204
224
28l
234
81
Fishing-boats
Vessels
65
9
10
27
2
18
1 1
32
IO
Chafaux
2
374
APPENDIX III
L'INDIENNE
1716.
>7'7-
1720. 1713.
1724.
1726. 1734.
'737- «753-
Men ....
Women
Children
Fishermen
Servants
4
3
10
22
14
7
9
'75
'4
1 1
32
71
I I 2
8 2
31 9
85 6
6 2
6
6
21
'5
En pa PCS
7
Total .
39
205
'3'
HI 21
48
Fishing-boats
Vessels .
5
35
IS
2
17 2
I
4
Chafaux
?
Heads of cattle
22
GABARUS
ILE MICHAUX
1716.
'753-
Men
i
7
Women
6
Children .
5
Fishermen
10
19
Servants .
Engages .
Total
i i
37
Fishing-boats
2
4
Vessels
Chafaux .
2
PORT TOULOUSE
1724.
1726.
«734-
Men
Women
Children .
Fishermen
Servants .
Engages
Total
. | i
. ' i
4
10
I
I
5
19
i
5
2
16
16
27
28
Fishing-boats
Vessels
2
4
1716.
1720.* 1723.
1724.
1726.
'734-
'737-
1750.
Men ....
2 I
35 5°
47
59
34
27
46
Women ....
'5
2 7 45
40
S2
30
26
4i
Children ....
73
95 3°
'43
188
120
123
118
Fishermen
112
'5
I I
77
Servants ....
i
'9
7
6
Engages ....
16
22
Total
109
269 12)
262
34°
202
182
282
Fishing-boats
4
Vessels . i
14
17
o
Cattle . . . . 1
06
i
(18 horses,
66 pigs)
1 In 1720 include* Petit <ie Grat.
APPENDIX III
375
ST. ESPRIT
1716.
1720.
1713.
1724.
1726.
1734.
1737.
1753-
Men ....
Women ....
Children ....
Fishermen
Servants ....
2
4
20
4
2
6
40
ii
6
17
'75
6
18
20
8
8
26
177
22
6
27
183
1 1
26
15
55
440
10
«4
16
40
53
Engages ....
9
Total
26
52
209
58
241
234
546
123
Fishing-boats
Vessels
4
35
4
37
38
88
13
Chafaux . . . .
4.
Heads of cattle .
21
Arpents en prairie
(i horse)
*o
Arpents de terre en friche .
2
BARRACHOIS— FOURCHE
NERICHAC
1723-
1724.
1726.
1734-
I737-
1753-
Men .
2
5
2
Women
2
2
Children .
5
7
10
Fishermen .
40
67
122
Servants
2
Engages
Total .
42
...
72
138
...
H
Fishing-boats
8
'4
38
Vessels
Heads of cattle .
8
Arpents in prairie
60
1724.
1726.
1734-
Men .
3
2
2
Women
i
2
I
Children .
6
7
I
Fishermen .
...
...
Servants
Engages
...
••
...
Total
10
1 1
4
Fishing-boats
2
. . .
Vessels
...
376
APPENDIX III
PETIT DE GRAT
1720.' 1723.
1724.
1726.
•734-
•737-
1750.
Men
10
16
12
8
18
'9
Women
8
'3
1 I
8
'4
13
Children .
20
44
47
28
50
37
Fishermen
135
74
87
I I I
>35
168
Servants .
2
8
20
i
Engages
2
Total .
'73
'5'
165
'75
218
237
Fishing-boats
27
'4
'5
'9
27
Vessels .
3
3
2
Cattle
2 C
1 Population in 1720 included in Pt. Toulouse.
ILE MADAME
L'ARDOISE
1716.
1750.
1750.
Men ... 2
20
Men ... 9
Women . . I
20
Women .
9
Children . . 2
55
Children . . 33
Fishermen . . 50 34
Fishermen . . j 15
Servants . .
Servants
Engages
Engages .
Total . . 55
129
Total .
66
Fishing-boats . 1 10
Fishing-boats . .
Vessels . . .
Vessels .
Chafaux
Chafaux ...
Heads of cattle . ... 49
Heads of cattle
43
(l horse,
(4 horses,
31 pigs)
1 1 pigs)
RIVER INHABITANTS
1750.
Men
5
Women .
5
Children
H
Fishermen
10
Servants .
Engages .
Total .
34
Fishing-boats .
Vessels .
Chafaux .
Heads of cattle
5'
(4 horses,
10 pigs)
LE RET
377
LARSALEJNE
1716.
Men
Women
Children .
Fishermen
Servants
9
7
«4
92
Engages
Total .
122
Fishing-boats
Vessels
I*i
Heads of cattle .
...
1723.
Men
9
Women .
7
Children .
17
Fishermen
75
Servants .
Engages .
Total .
1 08
Fishing-boats
'5
Vessels .
Heads of cattle .
1726.
Men . . .
10
Women
8
Children .
Fishermen .
Servants
Engages
Total
19
99
9
«45
Fishing-boats
Vessels
20
2
Heads of cattle
Nord Est,
Petit Havre,
1753-
'753-
Men .
3
4
Women
4
3
Children
22
1 1
Fishermen .
18
16
Total
47
34
Fishing-boats
5
6
Chafaux
2
3
Arpents en prairie
i
Bras du Sud, 1753.
Bras del'Ouest, 1753.
Menadou, 1753.
Men
32
24
I
Women ....
33
24
3
Children ....
126
60
5
Fishermen ....
...
...
4
Total ....
191
1 08
13
Fishing-boats
i
Chafaux ....
i
Heads of cattle .
4°
29
i
Arpents de terre en friche .
8
...
APPENDIX III
Men .
Women
Children
Fishermen .
Total
Bouille, 1753.
Allcmanti, 1753.
Mordienne, 1753.
.
20
18
1 1
,6
8
5
3
3
17
.
49
29
23
tic .
errc en frichc .
2
20 (2 horses)
MIRE
Fausie Baye,
1753-
Bale <les Espagnols,
'753-
I
1734-
>7S3-
Men ... 1 3
Women . . 4
Children . . 36
Fishermen . . i
6
6
20
Men ... 8
Women . . .14
Children ... 14
Fishermen
Servants . . . | 10
18
20
44
"16
Total . . 4;
32
Engages . . ....
Heads of cattle . 28
22
Total ... 36
98
(i horse)
Fishing-boats .
Vessels . . . ...
5
Heads of cattle
26
(cows)
PETIT BRADOR
1724. 1726. 1734.
i
1737-
1750. 1753.
Men ....
Women
Children .
Fishermen
Servants
Engages .
Total .
3 3 3
2 2 3
676
1 9
i
6
3
5
18
28 13
22 I I
77 29
32 73
3
12 13 21
32
159 129
Fishing-vessels .
Vessels
17
Chafaux
Heads of cattle .
9
403 5 (cows)
(17 horses,
149 pigs)
APPENDIX III
379
NINGANICHE
1723.
1724.
1726.
'734-
1737-
Men
19
'9
39
37
32
Women
10
15
27
29
30
Children .
'9
28
76
no
124
Fishermen
400
214
424
375
500
Servants
...
43
66
55
Engages .
13
Total .
448
289
609
617
74'
Fishing-boats
80
33
33
59
IOO
Vessels
5
5
i5
PORT DAUPHIN
1716.
1717.
1720.
1723-
1724.
1726.
1734-
1737-
'753-
Men .
Women
Children
Fishermen
16
H
18
2
18
17
3^
66
3
2
4
6
5
9
c
7
6
20
I
26
12
5
20
4
9
18
Servants
10
16
7
i
Engages
A.
Total
5°
133
9
29
43
57
44
32
Fishing-boats
Vessels
i
i
...
APPENDIX IV
A COMPUTATION OF THE FRENCH FISHERY AS IT WAS
MANAGED BEFORE THE PRESENT WAR1
(Abstract}
FROM the Gut of Canso to Louisbourg & thence to N. of Cape Breton, 500 shallops were
engaged annually.
These required 5 men each ....
& 60 Brigs, schooners, Sloops, &c., 15 men ea.
The 500 shallops would catch 300 qt. of Fish each in the
Summer season ......
& the 60 brigs &c. 600 qts. each ....
2500 men.
900 »
3400
150,000 qts.
36)000 »
1 86,OOO
93 ships of 2000 qt. burthen each would be required to carry fish to Europe.
These need :
20 men each to navigate them
Fishermen empd. to catch fish
Men in Cape Breton fishery
1860
3400
5260
At Gaspay at the entrance of Canady or St. Lawrence River are empd. 6 ships, which
come out manned to catch their cargoes with shallops left there during the Winter &
have at least 60 men each, these are 360 men, wh. added to those on the N. side of
Newfoundland in the undermention'd Harbours, Ports, Gulfs, &c., amt. as follows & may be
allowed 3000 qts. of Fish each, vizt. : —
6 ships
6 „
6 „
3 »
• 93 »
• 300 „
414 24,520 1,149,000
1 C.O. 5/900, f. 212.
3SO
At Gaspay
At Quadre
Port au Basque
At Les trois Isles
At Cape Breton
360 men
18,000 quents fish.
36° »
1 8,OOO „
360 „
18,000 „
1 80 „
9,000 „
5,260 „
1 86,000 „
18,000 „
900,000 „
APPENDIX IV 381
The last mentioned 300 sail are fitted out from St. Malo & Granville on the fishing
voyage carried on at Fichaute Petit Nord &c. to N. of N'foundland & the Straits of
Belleisle, thence to G. of St. Lawrence & round to Gaspay. Some of these are included
in the above calculation among those of Gaspay, Port au Basques &c., but in lieu no notice
is taken of those fitted out at "St. Jean de Luz Bagonne .nants Havre de Grace &c."
which go into those seas & number more than the 21 ships above mentioned.
The mud fishery, so-called by the English (Morice Vert [sic] by the French),
employs : —
From the River Leudre . . . .40 Sail of Ships.
From Olune & Poiteux . . . 60 „
Havre de Grace . . . . .10,,
St. Malo . . . . . 20 „
& from other Ports . . . . 20 „
150
These are manned with 1 6 to 24 men each, & catch from 22,000 to 30,000 fish by
tale, which averages 20 men & 26,000 fish each, — in all, 300 men & 3,900,000. This may
be undervalued, as some say the fishery consists of 200 or more sail.
A large quantity of train oil is produced here, which is necessary to France, at home
for her woollen manufactures, lights, &c., & in their Sugar Islands.
Recapitulation : —
Mud Fishery . . . .150 ships & 3000 men.
554 27,500
employ'd from France on the banks of Newfoundland & adjacent shores, "and no less
quantity than 1,149,000 quints, of Baccaleau and of mud fish 3,900,000 in number Cacht
there and Transported in their own Bottoms by the French to North and South France as
much as they can consume and the Surplusage to Spain, Italy &c., & as to the quantity of
Oil it may be Relyed on that to every Hundred Quentals of Fish they actually do (or with
care may) make I hogshead of oil clear drawn off from the blubber & this will produce
11,490 hhs. oil (i.e. hhs. of 60 Gallons each) & allowing 4000 Fish in number equal to one
hundred Quentals when cured & then the 3,900,000 mudfish by the same rule will produce
975 hhs. of oil & these added to the other 11,490 hhs. make in the whole 12,465 hhs. of
oil which is equal to 3116 Tons & ^."
1,149,000 Qt. of Fish @ i of- pr. qt. only . . £574,500 o o
3116^ Tons oil @ £18 p. ton .... 56,092 10 o
£630,592 10 o
Mud fish @ gd. each ..... 146,250 o o
Add freight of 1,114,000 Qt. of Dry Fish @ 3/-
Sterg. P. Qt. ..... 172,350 o o
Making in the whole . £949,192 10 o
Generally supposed to be worth £1,000,000 sterg. a year as well as a nursery of
able seamen.
[Endorsed : — ] In GOVR. SHIRLEY'S of July 10, 1745.
APPENDIX V
SHIPPING OF L'lLE ROYALE
Year.
From
France.
From
Canada.
From
W. Indie*.
From New Eng. and
Acadia.
Total.
723
77
77
726
61
1 5
9
33
118
727
64
29
12
22
127
730
81
3»
'9
37
168
73'
84
29
25
3'
169
733
70
'7
25
46
158
73+
53
3 '
'9
46
149
735
68
25
16
32
161
736
60
23
'4
35
132
( 5 = Acadia
737
43
15
3>\3o = New Eng.
99
738
73
'4
'5
42
'44
739
56
20
24
49
'49
74°
73
'9
22
5°
164
742
57
9
24
67
'57
743
5«
/
32
78
'75
FISHING IN ILE ROYALF
Year.
Quintals.
Barrels (Oil).
Value in Livrcs.
7I8
166,500
3,130
719
156,520
2,2}6
723
I 2 I, l6o
,672
3,2I2,920
726
140,900
,4°9
2,958,900
727
114,680
,146
2,385,280
73°
165,530
,776
3,490,200
73'
167,540
,6751
3,5'8,35o
733
165,365
,653
3,500,185
734
139,810
,508
2,962,080
735
'42,495
,425
3,019,850
736
151,110
,5"
3,202,710
738
152,470
,724
3,239,040
739
143,660
,7"
3,061,465
740
I23,I50
,231
2,629,980
74'
2,585,440
742
2,818,420
743
88,720
1,237
1,922,840
744
69,430
774
1,481,480
750
90,560
9°5
1,919,860
75'
95,580
955
2,026,200
/S2
83,130
9"
1,771,960
753
2,084,450
755
72,000
382
APPENDIX V
VESSELS INWARDS, LOUISBOURG
Year.
From
No. of
Vessels.
Tonnage of each Vessel.
Total
Tonnage.
1717
St. Malo .
3
65, 25, 20
HO
Bordeaux .
4
10, 34, 30, 13
8?
St. Jean de Luz .
5
48, 40, 21, 10, 40
*59
Bayonne .
6
27, l6, 12, II, 22, 12
IOO
Quebec
3
5, *5> 45
75
Martinique
3
9, 10, 12
3i
Nantes
2
30, 15
45
Guadeloupe
I
90
90
La Rochelle
3
17, 47, '9
83
Rochefort .
i
53
53
Colonies —
Louisbourg
3i
...
...
Gaberg .
3
42. 3°> 25
97
Baleine .
3
7, 12, 10
29
Ance aux Cannes .
i
60
60
Menadou
2
45,45
90
Scatary .
4
19, 37, 10, 4
70
Ninganiche .
2
64, 60
124
lies Michaux
I
25
25
He Madame .
4
60, 35, 42, 10
H7
1723
Louisbourg
76
6348
Port Dauphin
16
1280
Nerichac
2
250
1740
Beaubassin
I
3°
3°
Restigouche .
4
8, 30, 30, 20
88
Baie Verte
i
20
20
Port Royal
5
12, IO, 12, I I, 2O
65
Chibeuctou .
i
6
6
Cap de Sable .
i
IO
10
Mines .
3
19, IO, 12
4i
Canada —
Quebec .
17
1196
New England —
Boston .
'9
30, 28, 30, 30, 1 6, 24, 30, 20, 30,
500
25, 20,12, 25, 20, 20, 20, 30, 30,
60
Canceau
7
20, 30, 30, 25, 30, 28, 30
193
Piscado .
5
15, 50, 25, 12, 36
138
Newbay
4
30, 40, 40, 80
190
Roddan
i
30
3°
Espthick
i
20
20
Debchig
i
30
3°
Falmouch
i
3°
30
lies d'Amerique —
La Martinique
10
40, 50, 40, 40, 60, 60, 40, 70, 45,
545
IOO
Cap St. Domingue
2
40, 40
80
La Guadeloupe
I
40
40
Les Garre
4
40, 70, 60, 60
230
La Grenade .
i
60
60
Cap Francais
2
3°, 4°
70
Fort St. Rene
2
no, 80
190
I
APPENDIX V
VESSELS OUTWARDS, LOUISBOURG
Year.
Destination.
No. of
Vcsseli.
Tonnage of each Vessel.
Tottl
Tonnage.
1740
La Martinique .
'7
40, ioo, 40, 40, 90, 20, 80, 40,
950
100, 30, 40, 40, 60, no, 60,
120, 40
St. Domingue .
7
40, 90, 50, 60, 70, 50, ioo
460
New England —
Boston .
16
3, 28, 30, 30, 24, 30, 30, 25, 30,
387
12, 2O, 25, 20, 30, 20, 30
Nc wherry
• ' 3
30, 40, 8O
150
Piscadouct
4
15, 2j, 50, 36
126
Canceau
2
3°. 25
55
Esphiche
. | 1
2O
20
Falmouch
. : I
30
30
Canada —
(Quebec .
6
450
VESSELS INWARDS, LOUISBOURG
Year. From _^°
Ves
Tonnage
sels.
of each Vessel.
Total
Tonnage.
1752 France —
St. Jean de Luz
2 60, IOO
I 60
St. Malo
9 ioo, 1 50, 120,
90, 55, 50, 80, 10,
1055
4OO
Bayonnc
7 70, 66, 50, 70,
ioo, 150, 1 80
686
Bordeaux
C 120, 120, 150,
140, 90
620
Sables d'Olonne . 4 150, 105,80,
10
445
Rochefort
2 IjO, 10)
255
Nantes .
2 60, 80
140
Dunkcrquc
I 90
9°
La Rochelle . . ! 4 ioo, 200, 120,
4OO
820
Canada —
Quebec .
f
465
lies de L'Amerique —
La Martinique . 16 21O, 60, 1 60,
288, 280, 40, 435,
2894
406, 55, 300, 90, 60, 150, 60,
120, I 8O
Du Cap . . 12 60, 80, 55, ioo, 80, 1 60, 60, 80,
1065
70, ioo, 1 50
. 7°
La Guadeloupe
3 4°. 35.4°
H5
Lcs Garrc . . 1 2 65, 80
'45
St. Domingue .1 2 85, 60
"45
APPENDIX V
VESSELS OUT OF LOUISBOURG
Year.
Destination.
No. of
Vessels.
Tonnage of each Vessel.
Total
Tonnage.
1752
...
78
Unknown
Unknown
VESSELS BOUGHT IN L'lLE ROYALE FROM THE ENGLISH IN
1749, i75o, AND 1754
Year.
No. of Ships.
Total Tonnage.
Total Cost.
'749
1750
I7S4
24
30
24
1330
1668
1773
170,600 livres
ETAT DES BATIMENS £>UI ONT ETE ACHETES DES ANGLOIS A L'ISLE
ROYALE PENDANT L'ANNEE MIL SEPT CENT QUARANTE NEUF, SCAVOIR1
Nom des Acheteurs.
Especes des Batimens
Port Tonneaux.
Destination.
Les Sieurs.
Jean Charpentier .....
Bateau
45 \
Nicolas Hamelin .....
id.
20
Baubassin et Silvain .....
Seneau
IOO
Jean Laborde ......
Godette
25
Antoine Rodrigue pr Route "\ TT i •
A • r» j • -n i >riabitans
Antoine Rodrigue pr BaudeyJ
Mathurin Josset .....
f id.
I id.
id.
60
15
25
Pour le
George Desroches .....
Andre Tompic ......
id.
id.
20
20
compte des
habitans
Etienne Heguy .....
id.
30
Bertrand Imbert .....
id.
70
Antoine Rodrigue pr la pe"che
id.
25
Antoine Rodrigue .....
id.
no
Antoine Castaing .....
Brigantin
70 /
Antoine Rodrigue pr\
Ferret Ameriquaine /
Bateau
33 '
Charles Plantard
id.
50
Charles Guillemin .....
id.
60
Jean Baptiste Blanchard ....
id.
60
Pour le
Dieu-Donne ......
id.
60
compte des
Pierre Augreau ......
Michel Maux ......
id.
Goelette
35
27
i
Ameriquains.
Clignet de la Motte . . . •'.
Brigantin
IOO
Jean Baptiste Dumas .....
id.
70
Louis Azemar ......
Navire
200 ,
24 Batimens
A Louisbourg, le 30 octobre 1749. — PROVOST.
1 Isle Royale, 1749, vol. 28, pp. 2OI-2O2.
2 C
386
APPENDIX V
ETAT LES BATIMENTS QUI ONT ETE ACHET^S DES ANGLOIS A L'ISLE
ROYALE PENDANT L'ANNEE MIL SEPT CENT CINQUANTE, SQAVOIR1
Achcteun.
Batimenti.
Leur
Port.
La Floury, habitant .....
Bateau
I 5 tonncaux.
Castant Dubouquet, ncgociant a la Louisanc .
id.
30
id.
Pierre Rodrigues, habitant ....
id.
100
id.
Boivin, negociant a la Guadeloupe .
id. 50
id.
Antoine Rodrigues, habitant ....
id. 50
id.
Pierre Rodrigues id. ....
id. 45
id.
Michel Delort id. ....
Goelette 80
id.
Dclort 1'aine id
id. 40
id.
Pierre Augaux, Capitaine dc 1'Amerique
Bateau
60
id.
Bcaubassin, habitant .....
id.
60
id.
Jean Baptiste Ferret, Capitaine de 1'Amerique.
Goelette
4°
id.
Louis Delort, habitant .....
id.
IOO
id.
Jean Mcrcure, habitant ....
id.
25
id.
Pierre Rodrigues id. .....
id.
6
id.
Louis Dclort id. .....
id.
60
id.
Nicolas Petitpas id. .....
id.
20
id.
Francois Fretcl id. .....
id.
30
id.
Pierre Cadis, Capitaine de rAmerique
id.
85
id.
Jean Claparede, habitant ....
id.
90
id.
Louis Janet .......
id.
60
id.
Nicolas Larcher, rnarchant a Louisbourg .
id.
40
id.
Antoine Rodrigues, habitant ....
id.
80
id.
Simon le Cler id. ....
id.
12
id.
Jean Francois Boutin, negociant a la Martinique
id.
5°
id.
Pierre Rodrigues, habitant ....
id.
5°
id.
Jean Dagcs, negociant de la Martinique .
Brigantin
80
id.
Fran9ois Castaing, habitant ....
id.
90
id.
Imbert id. ....
id.
60
id.
Pierre Cadis, Capitaine de 1'Arnerique
id.
80
id.
Le m£mc .......
id. 80
id.
30 Batiments
Fait a Louisbourg, le 9 xbre. 1750. — PREVOST.
1 lilt Ro\altt 1750, vol. 29, F. 161, pp. 202-203.
APPENDIX V
387
ETAT DES BATIMENTS ANGLOIS ACHETES A L'ISLE ROYALE
EN L'ANNEE 17541
Nom des Acqu6reurs.
Noms de Bailments.
Fabrique.
Leur Port.
Leur Prix.
Le Sieur Laborde
La Fortune
Goelette
Tonneaux.
40
Livres.
3,5°°
„ Larcher
La Anne .
id.
50
4,000
Les Sieurs Delort Freres
La Sallee .
id.
130
12,500
Le Sieur Salaberry
La Dauphine
id.
38
3,8oo
, Le"on Roussy .
La Merimac
id.
90
12,000
, Beaupert
La Renommee .
id.
IOO
13,000
, Brisson ....
L'Aventure
Bateau
55
4,500
, Lustre ....
Le Dauphin
Goelette
40
4,000
, Boullot
La Samuel Joseph
id.
45
5,000
, Laborde de 1'Isle St. Jean
La Charles Nanette .
id.
IOO
7,500
, Augreau
Le Saint Jean .
Navire
130
24,000
, Vital Chevalier
La charmante Louise .
Goelette
20
1,050
, Boullot
L'Arc
id.
^5
12,500
, Remougin
La Bethy .
id.
70
1 0,000
Milly ....
La Phanie
Bateau
5°
4,500
, Mesillac
L'Elizabeth
Goglette
60
3,5°°
, Dumoncel . . .
Brigantin
90
4,000
, Le Sieur La Borde
Le Cheval Marin
Goelette
80
1 0,000
Les Sieurs Solignac de Dulong
La charmante Sally .
id.
60
4,000
Le Sieur Menadier
Le Neptune
Brigantin
80
5,500
„ Hiriart ....
L'Esperance
Goelette
1 20
12,650
,, Lemoine
La Anna .
id.
5°
6,000
„ Lemoine
La Sally et Polly
id.
60
12,600
„ Chavigny
La Salisberry
id.
IOO
10,500
Total
...
...
170,600
A Louisbourg, le 18 decembre 1754. — PROVOST.
It is to be noted that many of these vessels were bought for the French West Indies and
Louisiana. In 1749 about an equal tonnage was bought by natives and for the southern colonies.
In 1750 the greater number were bought by natives.
1 Isle Royale, 1754, vol. 34, F. 167, p. 175.
388
APPENDIX V
VESSELS BUILT IN ISLE ROYALE
'733-
1736.
«737-
Place. No.
Tonnage.
No.
Tonnige.
No. Tonnage.
Louisbourg .
Bras d'Or . . j 4
Port Dauphin . 3
Ingonish . . 3
Scutari . . 2
Port Toulouse . 2
90, 30, 45, 20
1 60, 50, 30
9°, 35, 35
15, 12
4°, 35
M
0
0
N
Q/
5
7°, 45, 25, 35, 38
2
2
2
80, 120
ioo, 25
120, 50, 70
30, 50
Total . 14
5
9
Bot. from N.E. . 16
7
EXPORTATION
MERCHANDISE EXPORTED FROM LOUISBOURG IN 1740 TO THE WEST INDIES
Nature of the Goods.
Quantities.
Price. Total.
Quintals of dried Cod .....
16,522
Liv I.iv.
12 198,264
Feet of Oak Planking .....
3,9°°
4 975
Planks of the Country .....
3,09'
80
2,4/2
Casks of Fish Oil
39
65
2,535
Bureaus .......
18
60
1,080
Quarts of Peas ......
i~7
IO
1,770
Quintals of Fine Flour .....
2,336-60
12
28,039.4
Barrels of Coal ......
475
3
1,425
Thousands of Shingles .....
157
9
i,4'3
Thousands of feet of N.E. planks .
94
30
2,820
Casks of Salmon ......
'3
80 1,040
Etc.
Total ....
...
242,988-4
APPENDIX V
389
MERCHANDISE EXPORTED FROM LOUISBOURG IN 1740 TO CANADA
Nature of the Goods.
Quantities.
Price.
Total.
Liv.
Liv.
Casks of Tafia
632
90
56,880
„ „ Molasses ......
262
60
15,720
Quintals of Raw Sugar .....
222
50
II,IOO
„ „ Coffee
163-80
IOO
16,380
Casks of Tafia Spirit .....
I
...
2OO
Rolls of Tobacco Leaves ....
183
4
732
Barrels of Rice . . . .
50
80
4,OOO
Casks of Bordeaux Wine ....
38
IOO
3,800
Barrels of Tar ......
128
25
3,200
Quintals of Gayac Wood ....
47
18
846
Fans to Winnow Grain .....
97
6
582
Etc.
Total ....
...
...
114,776
MERCHANDISE EXPORTED FROM LOUISBOURG IN 1740 TO N'EW ENGLAND
Nature of the Goods.
Quantities.
Price.
Total.
Casks of Tafia . . .
715
Liv.
65
Liv.
46>475
„ „ Molasses ......
460
40
1 8,400
Veltes l of Brandy .....
2OO
5
I,OOO
Quintals of Iron ......
48
20
960
Ells 2 of Sail Cloth
713
I
713
Quintals of Rope ......
23
40
930
Coal ........
670
3
2,OIO
Quintals of Iron Anchors ....
5
40
200
Etc.
Total .....
...
...
70,678
1 Velte : an old measure containing thirteen imperial pints.
Aune : an old French measure for cloth, etc., equal to i m. i8z mill., or 46-5 Eng. inches.
39°
APPENDIX V
IMPORTATION
BRIEF STATEMENT OF THE MERCHANDISE IMPORTED FROM THE WEST INDIES INTO LOUISBOURG,
YEAR 1740.
Nature of the Goods.
Quantities
Price.
Total.
Liv.
Liv.
Casks of Tafia l ......
2,308
65
I 50,040
„ „ Molasses ......
1,969*
40
78,780
Pounds of Coffee ......
9,420
40-12
5»652
Quintals of White Sugar ....
149-69
5°
7,484-10
„ Soap .
15
45
6,977-14
Casks of Provence Wine ....
H5
50
5»75o
Cases ? of Olive Oil
182
30
5,460
Rolls of Tobacco Leaves ....
1,206
4
4,824-16
Quintals of Raw Sugar .....
94-44
20
1,888
„ „ " sucre commun ct de teste "
55-45
40
2,218
Pounds of Cotton ......
1 20
2
240
Etc.
Total ....
...
269,315
1 Tafia : a kind of rum.
BRIEF STATEMENT OF THE MERCHANDISE IMPORTED FROM CANADA INTO LOUISBOURG, YEAR 1740.
Nature of the Goods.
Quantities.
Price.
Total.
Liv.
Liv.
Quintals of Fine Flour .....
6,956-98
12
83,483-I5-2
„ ,, Flour entire ....
711-24
10
7,112-8
„ „ Flour second quality .
1,666-4!
9-IO
15,831-17-18
„ „ Biscuits .....
7,500
10
75,000
Quarts of Peas ......
726
10
7,260
Quintals of Tobacco .....
63-82
40
2,552-16
Planks of Pine Wood (i 2 ft.)
810
11-15
607-10
Quintals of Nails ......
40-71
40
1,628-8
,, „ Candles .....
5
60
300
,, ,, Iron ......
95
2O
1,900
Etc.
Total ....
...
...
196,403-5
APPENDIX V
391
BRIEF STATEMENT OF THE MERCHANDISE IMPORTED FROM NEW ENGLAND INTO LOUISBOURG,
YEAR 1740.
Nature of the Goods.
Quantities.
Price.
Total.
Liv.
Liv.
Cows ........
24
5°
I,2OO
Thousands of Bricks .....
58
15
870
Thousands of Planks .....
443
3°
13,290
Bushels of " sageaux " .
239
3
717
Bushels of Indian Corn .....
^237
2
2,474
Thousands of Shingles .....
446
9
4,014
Pounds of Pork ......
6,300
ii. 5
!»575
Gross of Pipes ......
316
3
948
Bureaus and Chests of Drawers
95
60
5,700
Quintals of Rice ......
IOO
20
2,000
Live Pigs .......
52
20
1,040
Hatchets .......
1,122
4
4,488
Live Oxen .......
18
75
M5°
Quarts of Apples and Pears ....
286
8
2,288
Sheep, etc. .......
445
10
4,45°
Etc.
Total ....
...
...
49.H7
BRIEF STATEMENT OF THE MERCHANDISE IMPORTED FROM ACADIA INTO LOUISBOURG, YEAR 1740.
Nature of the Goods.
Quantities.
Price.
Total.
Liv.
Liv.
Live Oxen .......
155
75
11,625
Cows ........
20
50
I,OOO
Natural Skins ......
322
15
4»83o
Quintals of Flour ......
95
12
1,146
Barrels of Oats ......
349
12
4,188
Barrels of Peas ......
18
20
360
Fowls ........
246
II
246
Sheep .... r-a... - .
60
IO
600
Quintals of Down .....
5.9.50
80
440
Quintals of Salt Bacon .....
io>9'8o
35
378
Quintals of Dried Cod
21-9
12
252
Pigs, etc
10
2O
200
Etc.
Total ....
...
25,959-12
392
APPENDIX V
STATEMENT OF THE MERCHANDISE IMPORTED FROM CANADA INTO LOUISBOURC, 1752.
Nature of the Good*.
Quantities.
Price.
Total.
Liv.
Liv.
Thousands of Bricks
26
*5
650
Casks of Fish Oil .
6*
9°
585
Thousands of Shingles
56*
12
678
Feet of Planks ....
25,269
50 the mile
1263-9-11
Casks of Bordeaux Wine .
37
IOO
3700
Rolls of Tobacco Leaves .
1,943 pounds
I5S.
1457-5
Barrels of Salted Salmon .
7*
90
675
Horses ......
4
200
800
Haberdashery .....
170 pounds
6
IO2O
Etc.
Total .
I3,276-I4-II
STATEMENT OF THE MERCHANDISE IMPORTED FROM THE WEST INDIES INTO LOUISBOURG, 1752.
Nature of the Goods.
Quantities.
Price.
Total.
Liv.
Liv.
Casks of Molasses Sirop .
9,877*
55
543,262-10
„ Tafia ....
4,953
90
445,77°
Quintals of White Sugar .
409-77
155.
3,057-I5
,, „ Ordinary Sugar
486-19
60-9
27,171-8
,, ,, Raw Sugar
914-76
50
45,738
„ Olive Oil
75-60
195.
5,670
Gross of Pipes for Smoking
2IO
5
1,050
Butter ......
IO3-2O
jo
5, 1 60
Negro and Negress ....
2
2,000
Coffee
523-77
2OS.
52,377
Cocoa ......
22-74
305.
i,i37
Jars of Liqueurs ....
55°
6
3,3oo
Rolls of Tobacco Leaves .
5,526
4
22,104
Quintals of Oakum .
31-80
30
954
Casks of Bordeaux Wine .
80
IOO
8,000
Quintals of Assorted Ropes
25
40
1,000
Pounds of Jam ....
279
3
837
Ells of " Sciamoise "
45°
3
1,350
Quintals of Starch ....
30
5°
1,500
Pounds of Cotton ....
861
40$.
1,722
Etc.
Total .
...
...
1,180,246.13
APPENDIX V
393
STATEMENT OF THE MERCHANDISE IMPORTED FROM FRANCE INTO LOUISBOURG IN 1752.
Nature of the Goods.
Quantities.
Price.
Total.
Liv.
Liv.
Casks of Salt
6,494i
15
97,417-10
Quintals of Assorted Iron
159-60
25
3,99°
„ „ Nails
379-79
45
17,090-1 I
„ Small Anchors
304'35
40
12,174
Casks of Thick Barley
236
30
7,080
Quintals of Ham ....
75-25
75
5,643^5
Mackerel and Herring Nets
128
45
5,760
Ells of Sail-Cloth ....
21,667
22
23,833-H
Olive Oil
12,896
I5S.
9,672
Quintals of Biscuit
2,090
22
45,99 *
Casks of Aubagne Wine .
79
IOO
7,90°
Quintals of Butter ....
3,989-36
50
44,918
,, Salt Bacon
447-88
35
15,675-16
„ Flour ....
1,676-25
18
30,172-10
Casks of Vegetables
443i
40
17,74°
Quintals of Fishing Lines
156-75
IOO
15,675-16
„ Assorted Ropes
2,532-30
40
101,292
„ Balls of Lead
88-60
45
3,987
Pairs of Ball Slippers
7,732
3
23,196
„ Boots ....
232
15
3,48o
Ells of House Cloth
16,216
403.
3M-32
Changes pour Matelots .
527
20
10,540
Quintals of Haberdashery
167-31
6
100,386
Casks of Bordeaux Wine .
1,318
IOO
131,800
Quintals of Candles
I93-I4
60
11,588
Squares of Window-Glass
9,400
8s.
3,76o
Assorted Caps ....
984
403.
1,966
Quintals of Ironmongery .
109-11
3
32,733
Ells of Cloth from Brittany
6,670
303.
10,005
Quintals of Salt Beef
869-90
25
21,747-10
Casks of Saintonge Wine
348
80
27,840
Quintals of Copper Ware
36-56
3
10,960
Pounds of Silk Goods
1,165*
20
23,310
„ Groceries
1,464
12
17,568
Ells of Montauban Cloth
5,986
4
23,944
Etc.
Total .
...
...
1,124,139
394
APPENDIX V
EXPORTATION
MERCHANDISE EXPORTED FROM LOUISBOURG IN 1752 TO NEW ENGLAND.
Nature of the GoocU. Quantities.
Price.
Total.
Liv.
Liv.
Casks of Molasses Sirop ....
6,056
55
333,°80
„ „ Tafia . . . 2,595
90
233,55°
(Quintals of Raw Sugar . . . . . I 807
50
4°, 3 5°
„ Coffee . 270
100
27,000
Casks of Bordeaux Wine .... 155
100
15,500
Pounds of Cocoa ......
600
I OS.
300
Veltes of Brandy ......
700
7
4,900
Etc.
Total ....
654,680
IMPORTATION
STATEMENT OF MERCHANDISE IMPORTED FROM FRANCE INTO LOUISBOURG IN 1753.
Nature of the Goods.
Quantities.
Price.
Total.
Liv.
Liv.
Casks of Salt .....
9,617
21
201,957
Quintals of Fishing Lines
84-85
I 2O
I0,l82
„ ,, Assorted Ropes
722-37
40
28,894-16
„ „ Biscuits
2,434-34
25
40,858-10
„ „ Butter ....
512-21
70
35,854'H
„ ,, Flour ....
838-80
18
15,098-8
Ells of Sail-Cloth ....
19,285
305.
28,927-10
Casks of Bordeaux Wine .
3,3i3
75
248,475
Veltes of Brandy ....
5,352
5 the gallon
26,760
Quintals of Olive Oil
112-78
1 8s.
10,150
,, ,, Candles
3i5-2i
75
23,640
„ „ Soap .
269
50
13,450
„ „ Almonds
239-86
50
>i,993
„ „ Ironmongery
34-60
3 the pound
10,380
„ „ Haberdashery
100-67
6 the pound
60,402
Ells of Montauban Cloth
5,370
4
21,480
Pairs of Men's Shoes
3,859
3
n,577
Ells of White Cloth
6,161
3
18,483
„ „ Household Cloth
9,530
405.
19,060
Etc.
Total ...
...
',063,337-6
APPENDIX V
395
STATEMENT OF MERCHANDISE IMPORTED FROM THE WEST INDIES INTO LOUISBOURG IN 1753.
Nature of the Goods.
Quantities.
Price.
Total.
Liv.
Liv.
Casks of Molasses Sirop .
8,998
60
539,880
„ „ Tafia ....
Quintals of Raw Sugar
4,854
1,233-22
90
436,860
30,830-10
„ „ Coffee ....
226-1 I
1 8s. the pound
20,349-18
Casks of Provence Wine .
392
60
Etc.
Total
...
1,112,883-3
EXPORTATION
MERCHANDISE EXPORTED FROM LOUISBOURG IN 1753 TO FRANCE.
Nature of the Goods.
Quantities.
Price.
Total.
Quintals of Cured Cod .
37,855
Liv.
16
Liv.
605,680
Casks of Bank Cod ....
430
90 •
38,700
„ „ Fish Oil .
680
70
47,600
„ „ Salmon ....
51
90
4,59°
„ „ Coal ....
1, 208
4
4,832
Feet of Oak Planks.
23,360
no the metre
2,569-12
Martens .....
1,898
3
5,694
Natural Skins .....
256
16
4,096
Otter Skins
548
6
3,288
Ox Hides
209
12
2,508
Etc.
Total
...
735,805-12-2
396
APPENDIX V
MKRCHANDISE EXPORTED FROM LOUISBOURG IN 1753 TO CANADA.
Nature of the Goods. Quantities. Price. Total.
Liv.
Casks of Tafia . . . . i 664 90
Quintals of Coficc .... 79">8 i8s.
Rolls l of Tobacco Leaves . . 1,420 3
"Manoqucs"2 of Tobacco Leaves in
quintals ... . I 87-5 75 the quintal
Quintals of Tobacco (de Hollande
r3pe) . . . . . .1 '5-15 3 tne pound
Ells of Carcassonne Cloth . . 528 12
Pairs of Men's Shoes . . . 980 3
Morse Skins . . . . . i 140 packets 20
Etc.
Total . !
i
Liv.
59,760
7,162-
4,260
6,528-
4»545
6,336
2,940
2,800
4
'5
111,157-
'9
1 Andoiulle : roll of tobacco leaves.
2 Manoque : small bundle of tobacco leaves.
MERCHANDISE EXPORTED FROM LOUISBOURG IN 1753 TO THE WEST INDIES.
Nature of the Goods.
Quantities.
Price.
Total.
Liv.
Liv.
Quintals of Cured Cod .
40,688
12
488,256
Casks of Bank Cod ....
321
90
28,890
Stave Wood .....
482,269
50 the metre
24>I>5
Feet of English Planks .
608,584
40 „
24,343-7-2
Planks of the Country
15,921
10 the cent.
'7o'3-2
Casks "knocked down" (Boucaux
en bottes) .....
4'247
5
21,235
Horses ......
89
200
17,800
Etc.
Total
...
...
673,863-19-6
APPENDIX VI
ISLE ROYALLE— CORRESPONDANCE GENERALE, 1728-1729, VOL. 10
M. DE SAINT-OVIDE, GOUVERNEUR
Isle Royalle. — Sur le Commerce Stronger
17 mars 1728.
IL est marque a Mrs. de St. Ovide et de M&zy le 10 juin 1727 qu'il avoit est£ porte" des
plaintes au sujet du Commerce que les Anglois faisoient a 1'Isle Royalle, que cependant Sa
Majest£ vouloit bien en attendant que la colonie fut mieux dtablie leur permettre de con-
tinuer d'y admettre des Bestiaux, des raffraichissements et des Bois a Bitir, mais qu'ils
devoient empescher 1'Introduction d'aucunes marchandises ny mesme des farines a moins
de disette et qu'on n'y en portat pas suffisamment de france et de Canada.
1 6 novembre 1727.
Mr. de St. Ovide Marque que la crainte que les N£gocians de France ont eu que
les habitans de 1'Isle Royalle ne fussent pas en 6tat de faire la pesche a cause du d&ordre
arrive1 par le Coup de vent du mois de novembre 1726, a fait qu'ils ont envoye" une tres
petite quantit6 de Bdtiments, ce qui a caus6 dans la Colonie une tres grande disette de toutes
choses et particulierement de Sel, viandes salves et boeurre, cela 1'a d£termin£ et M. de M6zy
a la Solicitation des habitans d'en avoir des Anglois qui en ont fourny une assez grande
quantit6 pour continuer la pesche.
II dit que sans le secours des Anglois la Colonie auroit presque manque" de tout, Us
ont eu attention que les payements des marchandises port6es par les Anglois fussent faits en
denrees du pays comme charbon, vins, Eau de vie et autres effets de france.
La pesche a e"t£ parfaitement bonne, ce qui en partie a remis Phabitant de ses grandes
pertes.
Le Canada a fourny abondamment des farines, biscuits et pois, mesme a un prix tres
raisonnable.
26 novembre 1727.
Mrs. de St. Ovide et de Me"zy en envoyant la carte du Commerce par laquelle il
parroist qu'il a este 22 B&timens de la nouvelle angleterre ou de 1'accadie Marquent qu'ils
ont tol£r6 le commerce Stranger par raport a la disette ou s'est trouv£ la Colonie a cause
de 1'Ouragan de 1726, et qu'ils n'ont permis aux Anglois de prendre en troque que des
denrees du pays et de france.
II fut recommand6 en 1726, a MM. de Beauharnois et dupuy de ne point ne"gliger la
397
398 APPENDIX VI
subsistance de 1'Isle Royalle, mesme d'ayder cette Colonie en engageant les Commerceans
d'y porter des farines et autres denrdes.
Us rcpondent qu'ils auront toujours attention a fournir 1'Isle Royalle des denr^es du
Canada, mais que peut estre cette Colonie ne r^pondra pas a leurs intentions par ce qu'on
y a bientost pris le party, sous un l£ger prd-texte, de s'en fournir a la Nouvelle Angleterre
qu'il y a bien de 1'apparence que cette route une fois fray£e continuera d'estre fr£quent£e, ce
qui fait un tort £gal au Canada et au Commerce de France, parce que d'un costd 1'Isle
Rovalle essaye a se passer du Canada et de 1'autre elle introduit dans le Canada une grande
quantitc de marchandises ^trangeres lesquelles entrant a present dans la Colonie par deux
voyes dirtcrentes ne laisseront bientost plus d'espeYance aux Batimens Francois de debiter
en Canada les marchandises qu'ils y portoient de France.
Plainte des Armateurs et Negocians de St. Malo.
Us representent que Mr. de St. Ovide souffre les Anglois traitter a 1'Isle Royalle, qu'il
les ravorise mesme jusqu'a faire achetter par gens a Sa devotion leurs denr^es comme pain,
sel, farine, viandes salces, Boeurre, fromages et toutes marchandises seches.
Que les Anglois dpuisent la Colonie d'espcces d'or et d'argent, qu'ils enlevent mesme
le poisson quand ils ne trouvent plus d'especes.
Que ce n'est pas la le seul mal que cause a I'e'tat et au commerce 1'avarice de ce
Gouverneur, car les deniers comptants estant epuisez, II empesche les habitans de livrer
leurs morlles aux vaisseaux marchands qui leur ont fourny les Cuires, marchandises ct
ustensiles pour la pesche, qu'apres la my /bre quelque Traitt£ qui ait estd fait, Et que dans
cet intervalle ceux qui font le commerce clandestin avec les Anglois pour le compte du
gouverneur ont le temps de se faire payer et les francois sont forces d'attendre 1'arriere
saison a charger, ce qui est cause qu'ils ne peuvent quitter la coste qu'en novembre ou
D^cembre et par la ils sont exposez a pdrir comme il arriva a plusieurs 1'ann^e derniere.
Cette conduite ruine absolument le Commerce de la Colonie, met les n^gociants hors
d'dtat de la continuer et ils y ont fait des pertes considerables depuis plusieurs ann£es.
Ils se plaignent aussi que Mr. de St. Ovide employe son autorit£ et pousse ses menaces
a tel point que les Capitaines marchands quoique munis de Commissions en guerre de M.
PAmiral, n'osent agir centre les Anglois qui traittent et qu'il fait mesme emprisonner ceux
qui contreviennent a ses ordres, comme cela est arriv6 le mois d'octobre dernier au Sr.
Cotterel fils Capitaine du navire : Le Prudent de St. Malo qui a est£ emprisonnc avec ses
ofHciers et matelots par autorit£ de ce Gouverneur pour avoir arrest^ un Batiment Anglois
qui traittoit impun^ment dans le port de Louisbourg.
Ils demandent qu'il luy soit fait deffenses et a tous autres charges des ordres de Sa
Mate, de faire ou ToleVer le Commerce Etranger, d'y troubler le Commerce des n^gociants
de france en empeschant ou retardant 1'expedition de leurs Traittes et I'effet des Commissions
qui leur sont accord^es par 1'amiral contre les Anglois Traittants.
ILE ROYALLE, CORRESPONDANCE GENERALE, 1738, VOL. 20
M. DE BROUILLAN, GOUVERNEUR
Lettre des habitans pescheun de ride Royalle et ceux de Louisbourg^ du 26 novembre 1738.
MONSEIGNEUR. — Les habitans pescheurs de 1'Isle Royalle et particulierement ceux de
Louisbourg ont 1'honneur de repr£senter a Vostre Grandeur que le Sieur Duvivier Capitaine
APPENDIX VI 399
d'Infanterie du de'tachement de la Marine en cette garnison qui fait depuis plusieurs ann^es
une partie du commerce de cette Isle au prejudice des habitans, a achett£ le printemps
dernier la plus grande partie des cargaisons des navires venant de France, ce servant pour
cest effet de deux de ses freres officiers et du nomm6 Lascorret son commis qui conjoincte-
ment avec luys travailloit pour cella, ce qui a fait un tort considerable a tous les habitans
pescheurs de Louisbourg et nottament a ceux des havres circonvoisins qui ont pour la plus
part est£ obliges de rachetter de luy des denr^es pour leur pesche n'en pouvant trouver
ailleurs au prix qu'il a vouleu et a constraint les pescheurs a r£pondre pour leurs maitres,
ce qui ne c'^toit jamais pratiqu£ jusqu'a present et qui empeschera par la suitte que ces
mesmes pescheurs qui ce voyent ge"nez par cest endroit ne voudront plus continuer la pesche
a 1'Isle Royalle pour les habitans et prendront plutot le party de faire la pesche pour leur
compte ou d'aller pour les battimens sist a la grande Baye Gasp6 et ailleurs et par cette
mesme raison les habitans pescheurs ne seront plus en 6tat de continuer leur pesche, ce qui
faira tomber entierement cette Colonnie qui ne peut subsister que par la pesche de la mortte
qui est la base fondamentalle du commerce dans ce pais.
Niganiche qui est un port de cette Isle ou on fait la pesche des morues 6tant assez bien
muny des provisions pour le commencement pour la pesche d'est6, un des habitans dudit
endroit qui avoit pour lors deux de ses battimens dans ledit port et qui savoit que Louisbourg
manquoit totalement de denrees pour la pesche y en envoya un avec la plus grande partie
de sa cargaison, ledit Sieur Duvivier trouva le moyen par 1'entremise du Sieur Carnoyer a
qui ce navire avoit est£ recommand£ d'avoir par preff£rance a tous les autres ce qu'il voulait
de cette cargaison qu'on d^chargea en partie la nuit, tandis qu'il y avoit beaucoup d'habitans
pescheurs de Louisbourg, Loranbec, Baleine et Scatary qui n'avoit pas de quoy faire sortir
leurs chaloupes en pesche.
La premiere cargaison de la MeYique qui est arrived dans ce port a est£ pareillement
achett^e par ledit Sieur Duvivier et quoy qu'il n'y cut point pour lors de m£lasse dans 1'Isle
pour faire la biere, boisson dont uzent les pescheurs et de laquelle on ne scauroit ce passer,
cette dit cargaison fut charged dans une goualette angloise et envoy£e a Baston pour son
compte a la consignation du Sieur Morel qui fut envoy6 audit lieu par ledit Sieur Duvivier
pour arretter aussy pour son compte tous les vivres qu'il y auroit audit endroit, avec 1'ordre
de former une sossiette avec le nomm£ Pierre Faneuil, fran£ois reffugi6 a Baston qui a
envoy£ dans ce port plusieurs cargaisons de vivres a 1'adresse dudit Morel qui a mis le tout
en magazin et en a fait la vente payable en argent, ce qui a fait aussy un tord considerable
a 1'habitant pescheur qui avoit accoutum6 d'achetter les vivres eux-me"mes des Battiments
anglois a beaucoup meilleur compte et avoit d'ailleurs la facillit£ de les payer en denies de
la M6rique et de France sur lesquelles ils trouvoit encore une douceur avec lesdits anglois
qui leur prenoit en retour lesdites denr£es a quelque choze plus haut que le cours.
Le nomme Renault, capitaine et propri£taire d'une goualette de la Martinique qui est
pareillement arriv£ dans ce port avec une cargaison de m<§lasse et guildive qu'il vendit icy ;
dans ces entrefaittes arriverent deux battiments ou ledit Sieur Duvivier estoit inteVesse
charges pour lors de pareilles marchandises ; que fit pour lors ledit Sieur Duvivier, il se
servit du pr£texte de la picotte qu'on disoit estre a bord de ladite goualette, qui a la ve>it£
y avoit est£ pendant le voyage mais qui avoit pour lors cess£, et trouva par ce moyen de
lire chasser ladite goualette de ce havre, ce qui obliga ledit Renault de monter a Quebec,
I'ayant peu obtenir la permission de livrer sa cargaison a ceux a qui il 1'avoit vendue.
400 APPENDIX VI
Le depart de cette dite goualette donna lieu audit Sicur Duvivier de fairc valoir ses
deux cargaisons de la MeVique a un prix beaucoup plus avantageux qu'il n'eust fait si ledit
Renault avoit rest£, ce qui a tourn£ au d&avantage de 1'habitant pescheur qui d'ailleurs
avoit a craindre la me'me maladie des deux battiments dudit Sieur Duvivier qui avoit party
de la Martinique de mfime endroit que la goualette de Renault, il y cut me'me deux ou trois
hommes de l'6quipage de ses deux batitnents qui moururent a 1'hospital de Louisbourg
presque en y entrant.
Ledit Sieur Duvivier a aussy trouv£ le moyen d'avoir le detail de la boucherie qu'on
a dtably dans cette ville qu'il fait tenir dans une de ses maisons faisant agir pour cella le
nomme Joseph Duga a qui il en a estd passd un bail de six ans et pour empescher les
habitans d'entreprendre ladite boucherie, on a fait mension dans le bail qu'on tireroit une
certaine quantit6 de bceufs du Canada pour fournir ladite boucherie 1'hiver comme l'est£, a
quoy on n'obligera pas seurement ledit Duga, attendeu que cette affaire retomberoit sur
ledit Sieur Duvivier qui en est le plus fort int6ress£.
Le Sieur Gourville, frcre dudit Sieur Duvivier, fait a peu pres un pareil commerce de
sorte que Ton ne voit sur les graves que ses deux officiers qui I'£p6e au cottd achettent et
livrent des morQes aux Capitaines avec qui ils font affaires et auxquels ils font prendre en
pavement des mortles telles qu'ils les jugent a propos, ce qui par la suitte empeschera lesdits
capitaines de continuer leur commerce dans cette Isle Sy Vostre Grandeur n'a la bonte" d'y
metre ordre.
Ledit Sieur Duvivier a envoy£ un brigantin au petit d^grat qui est un port dans cette
Isle a trois lieux de canceau habitte" par les anglois avec lesquelles il a traitte" pour des
morUes qu'il a eu pour la charge de sondit batiment, et cella sans crainte d'estre prix en con-
travention, raport a la protection de Monsieur Le Normant ; ce commerce est encore tres
prejudiciable a celuy de Louisbourg attendu que 1'introduction de les morQes e*trangeres fait
que le compagnon pescheur a de la peine a trouver a vendre ses moriies et est oblig£ de
les donner a un bas prix dont ledit Sieur Duvivier tire encore un double avantage en les
achettant et les faisant prendre aux capitaines a un plus haut prix.
Vostre Grandeur sera pareillement instruitte que l'ann£e derniere dans le mois de May
les gouverneur et Intendant du Canada donnerent ordre a un batteau qui partait de Quebec
pour la Martinique de toucher a Louisbourg pour donner avis a Messieurs les Gouverneur et
Ordonnateur de cette Isle de prendre leurs precautions attendu que le Canada n'etoit pas en
etat de fournir des vivres pour la subsistance de cette colonnie ; ce batteau arriva dans ce
port entre neuf et dix heures du soir, ledit Sieur Duvivier ne manqua pas suivant sa coutume
d'envoyer ou plut6t d'aller luy-meme a bord pour savoir les nouvelles et ayant aprix cc qui
ce passoit en Canada le lendemain a la pointe du jour, avant que personne de cedit batteau
fut dessendu a terre, il feut dans toutes les maisons ou il savoit qu'il y avoit des vivres a
vendre qu'il achetta et revendit ensuitte au prix qu'il voulust, ce qui est contraire aux senti-
ments d'un chrdtien qui ne doit jamais se preValoir en pareille occasion et surtout dans un
endroit comme celuy-cy ou on est obligd de tirer d'ailleurs tout ce qui concerne la vie
animalle, il est a craindre, Monseigneur, sy Vostre Grandeur ne met pas des justes bornes
a 1'ambition dudit Sieur Duvivier et des autres officiers qui a leur exemple pourroient faire
comme eux par la suitte que les habitans pescheurs seront obliged malgr£ eux de ce retirer
ailleurs ou ils pourroient faire leur commerce de pesche sans trouble et sans genne.
II est aise de concevoir par tout cest expozd qui est veritable combien le commerce
APPENDIX VI 401
que ledit Sieur Duvivier fait dans 1'isle est ruineux a 1'habitant pescheur, luy e"tant d'ailleurs
tres facille de le tout entreprendre, e"tant aid<§ d'argent et de l'authoritt£ de Monsieur Le
Normant que tout le monde croit estre inteYess£ dans toutes les affaires dudit Sieur
Duvivier, qui a eu 1'agrement d'avoir 1'automne derniere du magazin du Roy tous les
vivres qu'il a voulu pour faire son commerce, et qu'il a remplaci cette annde avec des
farines qu'il a fait venir de France et de chez les Anglois qui ne luy reviennent par cette
raison qu'a un juste prix, tandis que le malheureux habitant pescheur a est6 oblig£ de payer
les memes vivres qu'il a eu du magazin du Roy, a seize et dix-sept livres le quintal.
Nous avons lieu, Monseigneur, d'esperer de Vostre Grandeur, qu'elle recevra avec bonte"
les representations que nous avons 1'honneur de luy faire avec tout le respect et la soumission
dont nous sommes capables, et qu'elle aura pour agreable d'empescher par la suitte que nous ne
soyons point inquiett^s dans notre commerce par Monsieur Duvivier ny par tous autres qui
voudroit le faire et dont nous prendrons la liberte d'instruire Vostre Grandeur sy cella arrivoit.
Nous ne discontinuerons pas, Monseigneur, d'adresser nos voeux au ciel pour la con-
servation et prosp6rit£ de Vostre Grandeur.
A Louisbourg le 26 novembre 1738 :
DACCARETTE jeune.
A. BENOIST.
B. CASSAIGNOLLES.
G. MILLY.
GEORGES ROSSE.
NOEL ROSSE.
R. E. marque d'EREGNY.
N. G. marque de NICOLAS GAUDIN.
F. MILLY.
SUFLOURIE THESSON fils, faisant pour mon
G. CHAUVIN.
Y. CANNET.
B. LAGOANERE.
Louis CAUSSE.
CHARLES YVON.
D'ECHEVERRY.
LOUIS GuiLLEMET.
LACHAINNE.
SANTOUX.
Illisible.
perre PETHER BRETON, 1738.
Le soussign£ a 1'honneur de reprdsenter a Vostre Grandeur que depuis seize ann£es il
m'a est£ adress6 de quatre a cinq navires par ann£e appartenant a Monsieur Viltreux Perre'e
de Nantes avec des cargaisons convenables pour fournitures de pesche, mais depuis quelques
ann£es que ledit Sieur Duvivier et compagnie ce sont mis en train de fournir les habitans
pescheurs, j'ay estd oblig6 voyant que c'£toit de 1'avantage des interests dudit Sieur
Villetreux de I'informer qu'il n'eut plus a continuer de me faire des remises en si fortes car-
gaisons, seulement certaine quantit£ et pour la consommation des trois ou quatre goualettes
avec une dixaine de chaloupes que j'&juipe par ann£e, luy estant plus avantageux pour le
surplus des retours de ses navires d'achetter des morties icy en argent ou lettres que non pas
a ce trouver charg6 des marchandises a fournir aux me"mes personnes que ledit Duvivier peut
fournir, et que les personnes comme il arrive souvent n'ayant a beaucoup pres par la non
pesche de quoy satisfaire lesdits fournisseurs, il ne faut pas s'atendre d'aucun retour que ledit
Sieur Duvivier ne soit satisffait de sa fourniture entiere, et me'me peu permis de nous
plaindre parce qu'il est d'un autre rang a avoir l'authorit£ sur les marchands pour entrer au
prorata pour des fournitures pareilles qu'on £toit en uzage de pratiquer parmy les marchands,
a cette occasion Monsieur Le Normant a pris mauvaisse opinion de moy et devoit s'en
plaindre des l'ann£e derniere a Vostre Grandeur pour le peu de vivres qu'il trouvoit que
ledit Sieur Villetreux envoyoit icy desquels cependant il en dispose d'une partie a tel prix
qu'il juge a propos. D. MARTISSANS.
2 D
402 APPENDIX VI
ISLE ROYALLE: AMIRAUT& DE LOUISBOURG, 27 D£CEMBRE 1738
COMMERCE QUE LES ANGLOIS FONT EN CETTE ISLE
Lorsque les batimens anglois vicnnent au Port de Louisbourg, le Major des troupes
suivant les ordres du gouverneur y envoye des soldats auxquels on fait payer 5 liv. par jour
et souvent les Anglois les nourrissent pour n'estre pas inquiettez quoy que les maitres de ces
bAtimcnts ayent fait leurs declarations a 1'amirautd et obtenu permission du gouverneur et
de POrdonnateur pour la vente de leurs effets et qu'en outre ils ayent fait leurs soumissions
de repr£senter a leur depart les effcts dont la vente ne leur en seroit pas permise sous peinc
de confiscation des batimcns et de leur cargaison.
L'on observe meme que les 5 liv. par jour que les maitres de ces batimens donnent aux
soldats dc la garnison reviennent a 1'Etat Major et que les soldats n'en ont que la plus
petite part.
Que 1'Etat Major de concert avec le Gouverneur font rester ces soldats a bord de ces
batimens le plus longtempsqu'ils peuvent, il y a meme des maitres qui ont payd jusqu'a 70 liv.
a 80 liv. a 1'Etat Major pour les gardiens.
Second abus : Messieurs le Gouverneur et Ordonnateur permettent a quelques
francois d'aller faire la pesche a la coste angloise de Canceau avec I'agr^ment du Com-
mandant de cette coste et sous ce pr^texte de pesche les francois y portent toutes sortes
de marchandises et en introduisent de contrebande dans la colonie par le moyen des
chaloupcs et charroys qui vont et viennent continuellement.
* Par les lettres patentes du mois d'avril 1717, article vingt-six, il est deffendu aux
habitans des Isles de porter aucunes marchandises du cru desdites Isles dans les Isles
etrangcres, et 1'article vingt-sept fait aussy deffences d'en charger aucunes dans lesdites
Isles a peine de confiscation et de mille livres d'amende.
OBSERVATIONS
Le dix juin 1737, Monsieur le comte de Alaurepas a mande aux officiers de l'Amiraut£
que 1'intcntion du Roy £toit qu'au moyen de la declaration que les Anglois sont oblig£ de
faire a leur arrivee au GrefFe de I'Amirautd de la quantitd et qualit£ des efFets de leur
chargement qui seront exactement dnoncez dans les permissions des Gouverneur et
Ordonnateur a 1'efFet d'en faire la vente, il n'^toit pas a propos qu'on 6tablisse a bord de ces
batimens des gardiens, leur charge estant ordinairement de trop peu de valeur pour supporter
une pareille d<:pense qui retomberoit sur les habitans par 1'augmentation des denies et qu'au
cas qu'il se trouve dans ces batimens d'autres effets que ceux contenus dans leurs declarations
et qui ne seroient pas £noncez dans les permissions, que la cargaison et le bdtiment seroient
confisquez.
Pour empescher cet abus Ton pense qu'il conviendroit que le Roy r£glae ce qui doit estre
pay 6 par jour a chaque soldat gardien, qui cesseroit de faire la garde aussitost que les maitres
de ces butimens auroient fait leurs declarations au GrefFe de 1'Amiraute et fait enregistrer la
permission du Gouverneur et Ordonnateur pour la vente de leurs efFets.
Et qu'a lY'gard des franfois qui font la pesche sur les costes angloises il leur soit
defFendu d'y aller ou que sy on leur en accorde la permission avant leur depart ils fourniront
APPENDIX VI 403
au Greffe de I'Amiraut^ un e"tat de leurs b&timentts et de leur Equipage avec un 6tat des effets
qu'ils y porteront qui ne pourroient consister qu'en aux choses propres pour faire leur
pesche et qu'a leur retour, qui ne porroit estre qu'au Port de Louisbourg, avant de rien
debarquer, ils avertiroient les officiers de 1'Amiraute' pour faire la visite de leurs bdtiments
sous peine de confiscation des effets qu'ils auroient de"barquez, moide" aplicable aux
denonciateurs et moiti£ a 1'Amiral.
Qu'au surplus il seroit mime tres a propos que les permissions des Gouverneur et
Ordonnateur pour aller faire la pesche aux Isles angloises, fussent enregistr^es au Greffe.
(Not* Sign*.)
ILE ROYALE, VOL. 33
MEMOIRE SUR LE COMMERCE DE L'IsLE ROYALE JOINT A LA LETTRE DE M. PREVOST,
ORDONNATEUR A L'!SLE ROYALE DU 4 JANVIER 1753
La traitt£ que les marchands de la Nvlle. Angleterre viennent faire a Louisbourg n'est
tol6r£e que pour des simples rafraichissemens, des planches pour couvertures, des briques,
fardeaux en essentes, merrains et autres bois de charpentes et en un mot pour les ba'timents
de mer a 1'usage de la pesche et du cabotage, elle est n^antmoins aussi avantageuse que
n£cessaire, non seulement pour 1'Isle Royale qui en tire des secours essentiels qu'elle ne peut
espeYer d'ailleurs, mais aussi pour les colonies meYidionales qui y trouvent a placer des denr£es
et liqueurs qui n'ont absolument que ce d6bouche, a se fournir de batteaux et goelettes qu'ils
ont a meilleur rnarch£ qu'en France, ou on ne connoit guerres ces especes de constructions
propres a touttes nos colonies, les Anglois preTeYant surtout pour former leurs carguaisons les
sirops ou melasses qui ne sont point prohibds dans leurs colonies, ils les vendent avantageuse-
ment pour en tirer de 1'eau de vie qu'ils appellent Roumme dont la consommation est
considerable a la Nvlle. Angleterre.
Ils emportent aussi des guildives, quelques vins et eaux de vie, lorsqu'ils sont a bon
march6 et plusieurs autres marchandises d'Europe, dont ils ne prennent cependant que
lorsqu'ils ont de 1'argent a employer et qu'ils ne trouvent pas suffisamment de melasses.
II arrive aussi lorsqu'ils ne conduisent point de Ba'timents a vendre, que le produit de
leurs mediocres carguaisons ne suffisant pas a former leurs chargements ils apportent des
especes Espagnoles d'or et d'argent pour faire leurs emplettes et tant qu'ils ne seront point
receus dans nos Isles meYidionales, ils seront obliges de venir prendre a Louisbourg ces
mdlasses dont ils ne peuvent se passer et que leurs colonies ne fournissent pas ass6s abonda-
ment pour la consommation de toutte la Nouvelle Angleterre.
ILE ROYALE, VOL. 30
COPPIE DE LA REPONCE DE MR. HESHERBIERS DU 7* AVRIL 1751 A LA LETTRE DE
MR. DE LA JONQUIERE A LUY ECRITTE, EN DATTE DU 2QK NOVEMBRE 1 7 SO,
QU'lL N*A RE9UE QUE LE y AVRIL 1751
. . . Je vous avoue, Monsieur, que j'ex^cute avec douleur les ordres que vous me faittes
1'honneur de me donner a cet £gard, par raport aux b&timents qui sont actuellement dans ce
404 APPENDIX VI
port ; nous avons nous-mfimes sollicit6 ces malheureux capitaines a venir icy de primeur
apportcr les rafraichissements que nous prcVoyons bien qui manqueroient dans cette ville,
nous leur avons don 116 permission de vcndre leurs effets, et d'en retirer le produit en tafia et
m61asse, et autrcs effets des isles, qui sont abondans dans cette ville, de plus ils sont dans k
bonne foy, et contreviennent aux ordres du gouvernement d'Angletcrre qui leur deffend
d'apporter aucuns vivres et secours a Louisbourg sous peine de confiscation, ils se sont ecposes
a tout pour commercer avec nous et par leur moyen nous avons eu des rafraichissements qui
nous sont absolumcnt necessaires pour le courant de la vie ; de plus, Monsieur, permett6s-
moy de vous representer que le commerce des isles de 1'AmeVique avec cette colonie va cesser
entieremcnt parcequ'il est certain que les Bastonois ne viendront plus icy prendre les tafias
et melasses dont viennent charges les b&timents des isles, et qu'ainsi voila la principale
branche du commerce de cette colonie ann^antie.
CAPT. ROBT. YOUNG & ILLICIT TRADE (abstract)
Sept. i, 1/43. — Hibbert Newton, Collector of the Customs to Capt. Robt. Young,
dated from Canso.1
Methods for suppressg. illegal trade carried on by the smugglers on the coast of Nova
Scotia & particulars about the vessels engaged therein :
A vessel shd. be left to cruize off Lewisburg this fall — this wd. be the most effectual
stop. The sloop, captured while engaged in that trade, wd. be the most suitable. Her
wintering here wd. enable her to check the fraudulent practices of the French in the Spring,
carried on thro' the Gut of Canso. As soon as Young leaves, the sloops, schooners, &c.,
going daily to & from his Majesty's Plantations, as well as 18 sail now at Lewisburg, "will
without any Restraint Load & carry from thence to several Ports in his Majtys. Plantations,
Brandy, Wine, Iron, Sail Cloth, Rum, Molasses & several other French Commoditys
with which there is from 80 to 90 Sail generally Load with in a Year these Vessels generally
carry Lumber Bricks & live Stock there, they commonly clear out for Newfoundland, tho*
never design to go farther than Lewisburg, often they sell their Vessels as well as Cargoes"
& are paid in the abovementd. goods. The fish caught & cured at Canso last year & this
were almost entirely sold to the French also for the sd. goods. They yearly carry fm.
Lewisburg 6000 Hhds. of Rum & Molasses, besides brandy &c., few or none paying any
duty, & run their cargoes into his Majesty's ports.
In spite of treaties of peace, the Fr. for many years have traded with British subjects
of Nova Sc. thro' the Gut of Canso in French bottoms — have introduced French goods
among them — & endeavoured to alienate them fm. his Majesty.
The " Natives of Accadie " are 5000 men fit to bear arms, & many children growing
up. Their vessels, in Fr. ports, wear Fr. colours. Some declare they believe themselves
French subjects, as the limits of British rule have not been settled. The Fr. have recently
settled St. Johns, erected it into a Govt., & fortified it. The above 5000 supply the
French at Lewisburg, and St. Johns, secretly, with 6 or 700 Head of Cattle, & about 2000
Sheep in a Year. But for them Lewisburg wd. probably starve, & at the same time,
Annapolis Royal & Canso (in their neighbourhood) are in great want, & can get beef &
mutton only fm. New England. These Accadians are dependent on the Fr. & get their
linens & woollens fm. Lewisburgh. Hopes the sloop will be left.
1 C.O. 217/31, f. 167.
APPENDIX VI
405
Sept. 2, 1743. — Patrick Heron to Captain Young, dated from Canso.1
Particulars as to the illicit trade carried on betn. Lewisburg & H.M's Northern
Plantations can be best obtained from the Collector of H.M.'s Customs at Nova Scotia
[Mr. Hibbert Newton]. 80 or 90 vessels are reported to load annually at Lewisburg, so
it must be considerable & shd. be stopped. Other things also require stopping.
" At a River called Pictou in Nova Scotia in the Bay of Vert, the French in the
fall of the year go from Lewisburg, St. Johns & other Places, Winter there, & build
Vessells, Cut Oak Timber & a large quantity of fine large Masts & carry them off before
the Man of War arrives here in the Spring without which Timber they cou'd not well
build nor go on with their Fortifications & Fishery as they do, you found the Account I
gave you about their carrying Cattle & Sheep from this Province too true, & you saw what
a stir there was about it, & their claiming a sort of right for so doing, by a long forbearance.
. . . You know they drew together a Number of Indians to revenge it on you & this
Garrison at St. John's an Island till of late look'd on as belonging to the province of
Nova Scotia, tho' now settled, fortified & hath a Garrison & a Governor separate from
that of Lewisburg, if this affair of Pictou is not look'd into, they'l next Settle & Claim
that as they have done St. John's. I have just now reced. certain advice of a Frenchman's
having contracted to deliver a large quantity of masts at Lewisburg, & other parts of the
french Settlements in this Neighbourhood, that he intends to cut at Pictou before mention'd
where there is vast quantity's of as fine Masts as in the Universe, from 4 foot Diameter
downward & of great Length's, which I think ought not to be destroyed by the French."
Fine land is by the river side — rivers large & navigable. French goods are Introduced
among the inhabitants, who supply the Fr. with provisions, &c. A Sloop needed to stop
these practices. Promises to procure a pilot for her in the spring, & assist in every way
to send her " early in the spring to Pictou to take & destroy what Vessels & other things
the French may do there this Winter," & to visit other places to check malpractices, &
to encourage loyalty.
Dec. 6, 1743. — Captain Robt. Young, of the Kinsale^ Hamoze, to the Commrs. for
Trade & Plantations.2
Report on the Trade & Fishery at Canso & parts adjacent.
As far as practicable he encouraged the legal trade & fishery at Canso — unable to
prevent many abuses. The fish taken during his stay there was well cured, husbanded
& dried, but was all sold to the French. There was little trade carried on " but in a
smugling Way from Lewisburg, which I endeavoured to prevent." Illicit trade has been
carried on for years by the Fr. with H.M's subjects of Nova Scotia. Young captured one
of their vessels soon after he arrived at Canso. " They Supply the Nova Scotians from
Lewisburg with Spanish Iron, French Linnens, Sail Cloth, Woollen Cloths, & almost all
sorts of Goods, with Rum, Molasses, Wine, & Brandy, & this in considerable quantitys,
the Inhabitants being computed to be 20,000 great & small." A great illicit trade also
carried on by Massachusetts Bay & New Hampshire, which shd. be suppressed, it being
very detrimental to Plantation trade & all fair Traders. Young kept several vessels cruizing
to intercept them from Lewisburg & in the Gut of Canso, & left one to winter there to
prevent smuggling & the destruction of our naval stores by the French. " While I was
1 C.O. 217/31, f. 170. a C.O. 217/31, f. 172.
4o6 APPENDIX VI
at Canso I found the French incroach greatly in fishing on our Coast & claiming a Right
to do so, which I by every Means I could think of endeavoured to prevent, by Seizing
their Shallops, confiscating them & driving them from Our shore, insomuch that the
Govr. at Lewisburgh sent One of his principal Officers to know the Reason of my doing
so, his Querys & my answers thereto are herewith enclosed, by which you'll see they claim
fishing S.E. from their own Shore, and even ye Islands of Canso, & great Part of the Main
of Nova Scotia." A draught & particulars sent to the Admty. They have fortified and
garrisoned St. John's. The Nova Scotians in the captured sloop declared they considered
themselves French, as no Commissaries had been sent to settle the bounds. The St. John's
settlemt. is not above 3 or 4 leagues from where the 20,000 Nova Scotians live, & was
doubtless established to keep them in the Fr. interest. Annual presents given by the
French to the Indians. The Indians fm. the S. coast of N. Sc. go to Lewisburg for their
presents, & those from the N. parts of Accadie, B. of Chaleur & Gapee to St. Johns, " where
last year I heard there was at least 500, & that they offered to bring 1000 more, if the
French would suffer them to come & destroy our Settlement at Canso."
"The Fishermen at Canso told me the Reason of the great Decrease of ye Fishery
there is owing to their not having any Fortification at Canso nor any thing to protect
them, no Guns mounted no Batterys no Castle no Shot no Powder but for the
Musquetry, no Barracks, 'tis true they have 200 Souldiers, but that woud not hinder any
Vessels of half a Dozen Guns to come & destroy all the Fishery there & their Craft, I
own I was surprized when I came there to find the Place in the Condition 'tis in, consider-
ing 'tis a Frontier next the French."
BOSTON, Nov. 2o///, 1747.'
My Lord — This will be deliver'd your Grace by Mr. McCullock, who had some
thoughts of returning to England in the fall, to get Instructions from Your Grace relateing
to his Office, (as without Assistance from the Governour he never will be able to discharge
his duty ; wch. as it is a Military Govt. I conceive the Govrs. must have Authority from
Your Grace for so doing, or they will be subject to the malicious prosecutions of any
Masters of Vessels ;) but he has much stronger reasons lately, having Seized a Ship with
Contraband Goods from Leghorn (which was design'd by people in Louisbourg to be
introduced into the Colonies,) and the Deputy Judge of the Admiralty would not condemn
her, being an Officer in the Army, & her Cargo belonging to some of his Brother Officers ;
I assisted Mr. McCullock all in my Power (as being recomended by Your Grace ; which
will ever be commands to me) & sent him Govr. Shirley's opinion & the Judge of the
Admiraltys here, but as I cou'd not be present my self I apprehend the greatest fee,
weigh'd most with the Judge, but Mr. McCullock will be able to inform Your Grace
more particular ; all I can say is, if such irregular proceedings are suffer'd to go on, the
Colonies (who already are too well supply'd with the Manufactorys of other Nations,) will
never take any thing from Great Britain they can avoid.
This leads me to mention to Your Grace a Practice of the Govr. of Rhode Island, as
base in itself as Lawless, which is his sending 40 or 50 flaggs of Truce a Year, to the
French & Spanish Ports in the West Indies, with often times not more than two Prisoners
1 Brit. Museum Add. MSS. 32,713, f. 472. This letter is added to show that irregular practices were known during
the British occupation, and in other British coloniei.
APPENDIX VI 407
in them, & the vessels laden with provisions & Naval Stores ; who brings back French
Rum & Molasses. Since my being here I have had information of fifteen arriving, &
when there is no Prisoners in Rhoad Island Govt. they send to the other Neighbouring
Provinces for them, nay give money to gett them. One of my cruizers has taken two of
these Fictious Flaggs of Truce, which for my part I shall always look upon as worse then
the Common Enemys to my Country. There are several of the more Southern Govts. I
hear practices the same methods, wh. I hope Your Grace will be pleased to forbid & limit
them to a fixed number of Prisoners without which they shou'd not have leave to send a
Flag of Truce, nothing is more certain then that the Spanish squadron wh. has layn so
long at the Havanah could not have subsisted, had not our Colonies Supply'd them with
Provisions & as I am honored with the comd. at Jamaica it will be impossible for me to
distress the enemy so effectually as my zeal & Inclinations leads me, without a stop is put
to such unwarrantable proceedings. — I am, &c.,
CHAS. KNOWLES.
APPENDIX VII
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APPENDIX IX
STATE and CONDITION of the FORTIFICATIONS Publick and Private Buildings of LOUISBOURG
and the out Batteries, as they were on the lath day of July 1749 when the Place was
returned to the French, with a general Account of Works done while in the Possession
of His Brittanick Majesty.1
Art. ist. — The Breach made by the New England Troops in the half face of the West
Gate Bastion, has been made good, and the Ruined Gate and Gateway with the Guard
Rooms entirely Repaired.
2nd. — The Battery facing the Inner Harbour, called by the French la Dauphine,
which was ruined by the Besiegers, has been totally taken down, and in lieu thereof, a
Grand Cavallier Erected, with Timber and Masonry for Eight Battering Pieces, facing
the land.
3rd. — The Batardeau cross the ditch of the West Gate having given way at the Sluice,
and the outside wall of the Guard Room, threatening Ruin, both have been taken down
and new Built, but the Free stone Facing of the Batardeau next to the Ditch, was discon-
tinued, when orders came to stop the Works.
4th. — The Parapet of this Bastion Southward, has been intirely revested in the
Inside with masonry Coped with Sod work, Six Embrazures opened, and as many new
platforms made.
5th. — The Powder Magazine at the Foot of the Rampart of this place, has been
repaired and a new Covering put upon its Arch.
6th. — The South Flank of this Bastion, the Merlons and Embrazures being intirely
Ruinous, they have been taken down, and Rebuilt with more thickness and a greater Talus
from the Foundation to the Cordon. The Merlons and Embrazures are Secured against the
Efforts of the Frosts by Strong Oak Frames, they want about one Foot and a half of their
Height to compleat them.
7th. — Two Strong Traverses of masonry and Earth have been Built, and raised on,
and along the Curtain, which joins the above Flank, to the Cittadel Bastion, and two
Embrazures with their Platforms made above the upper Traverse.
8th. — The next Flank having been much Shattered during the Siege, and the Parapet
quite demolished a retired Battery for five Guns has been made Eighteen Foot Broad, with
1 C.O. 5/44, ff. 239-2424.
409
4io APPENDIX IX
Framed Timber, well filled with Cement, and a Platform of Twenty Eight Feet, projecting
over the inside face of the Rampart, on large Timber Supporters, the Inside Wall of the
Parapet of the next face has been Rebuilt, Four new Embrazures made and the Platforms
deepened in the manner beforemention'd.
gth. — The greatest part of the Stone Platform which covers the Casemates of the next
Flank, has been taken up, the deficiency of Stone made good and lay'd in Terras, to keep
those Casemates dry.
ioth.— The Roof of the great Pile of Barracks (in the Gorge of this Bastion) which is
400 Feet long, was Totally beat down, during the Siege, an I mire new Roof has been
Built, and the whole Set of windows in both Fronts, with Jambs, Cills and Arches made
new, as well as the Coins Faciees and Brick Pillasters of this whole Building.
i ith. — The Inside Cielings of the Chapel have been repaired Two Galleries Erected,
and the Area filled with proper Seats and Pews ; large window Frames and their Sash Sliders,
have also been made, but are not placed.
1 2th. — The Pavilion of the Citadel, Contiguous to the above Pile of Barracks, where
the French Governour usually did live, has been repaired & Some Chimnies added.
1 3th. — In the next Bastion called Denmark, are Erected four Buildings, two Stories
high Each, which contain besides the Officers, the men of Two Regiments the wings are
200 Feet long, the upper and lower ones 132, and form a Quadrangle, whose Court is
about Sixty Yards by Fifty. The lower Building intended for Offices is not Finished.
1 4th. — At South Gate in the midle of the next Curtain and Contiguous to the Guard
houses Two Barrack Sheds of hundred feet long each, and of one Story only, were at first
run up in great haste, to lodge some of the New England Troops.
1 5th. — On the Face of Prince of Oranges Bastion and adjoining to the above Curtain,
the Rampart has been Raised and made Broader — a Strong Timber Platform for Ten Guns
en Barbette has been made, and the Gallery under this Battery fitted and turned into a
Powder Magazine.
1 6th. — In Prince Henry's Bastion a Powder House for Two Thousand Barrels has
been Built (with Timber and Brickwork, well Secured against fire) to keep the Powder dry,
which upon an Enemy's approach was to be moved into Arches and magazines Bomb Proof.
i yth. -A strong Fence of three Inch Plank (Palissade way) has been made on the
long Stockaded Bridge, which makes the Curtain between Prince Edwards Bastion and the
Dukes Battery.
1 8th. — All the Gates except that of Maurepas have been put in Serviceable order, all
the Platforms made new or Repaired, and the linings and Casings of the Walls next to the
Harbour Stript or damaged by the Besiegers Shots, have been made good, and the whole
Strand from the Market House to the West Gate, which was in a miserable Condition has
been raised, with a great quantity of gravel, lay'd to proper Currents and the drains opened
and cleared. Several of the Principal Streets which were intolerably dirty and bad, have
been cleaned, mended, and put in good order, and the filth which was found in the Place
totally gathered up as low as the gravel and Carried away.
APPENDIX IX 411
1 9th. —The whole Front of the Parapet of the Line from the West to the Sluice Gate,
has been enclosed with Palissades, to prevent the Easy access in and out of the Garrison,
along this part of it which is very low.
STORE HOUSES, MAGAZINES & BUILDINGS
2Oth. — In the Artillery Yard, and opposite to the old French Shed a Storehouse (for
dry things, the small Arms and petty Emptions) of 125 feet length by 32 Ft. Broad and
of three Stories, has been Built.
2 1 st. — The Grand General Magazine for Provisions has been totally Repaired, fitted
in the inside with Binns and Partitions ; a new rough Shed made in the Yard Eighty foot
long. Two others for the Same use Repaired and an Additional one of 50 Feet and two
Stories Built near the Pond.
22nd. — The Ruinous Store House opposite to the beforementioned Grand magazine,
has been repaired and properly fitted for the Agent Victualler in that Capacity, and as
Paymaster to the Garrison.
23rd. — On the ground at the Back of the French Artillery Shed, Four good Houses,
with proper Shops have been Built, for the Master Smith, Master Armourer, Master Mason,
and Master Cooper, and adjoining to these a good masonry Foundation has been raised, on
which a Timber Building was designed for the Sub Engineers.
24th. — An open Frame for a house has been Improved for the Storekeeper and Clerk
of the Cheque's offices, and for lodging the Master Carpenter, and a large Comodious House
Built in the yard of two Stories, for the Carpenters to work in, with Shops for the Glaziers
& the Painters.
25th. — The Intendance where the English Governour's have lived since the Place
belonged to them, and which was very much Shattered by Cannon, has been totally
Repaired, Improved and Several additional outhouses made.
26th. — All other Buildings or dwellings under the Denomination of Kings houses, as
well as all the Guard Rooms, have been put in very good order, and the whole of the rest
well repaired ; many additional Chimnies and fire places made, and every house without
Exception intirely Glazed ; the Artillery during the Siege, having Shaken off or broke all
the windows in the Town.
2yth. — One new House for the Clerk of the Cheque to the Office of Ordnance has
also been Built.
28th. — The Slip at the Governour's Gate, has been turned into a Wharf, Carried out
60 Feet further, with a Head of 70 Feet Front, all on Strong Piles, and the whole well
Boxed, and Secured on the outside, with large Fenders and Capcills.
29th. — At the Water Gate contiguous to the Ordnance Timber Yard, a new Peer,
hundred Foot long, has been carried out, on Piles to facilitate the landing of Materials, and
secure the Lighters and Boats.
3Oth. — New Flag Staffs have been Set up, many new carriages placed in lieu of
decayed and unserviceable ones, and the whole of them painted over.
4i2 APPENDIX IX
•jist. — Several Sheds for holding the Ladles, Spunges and other Utensils for the
Batteries Round the Place, have been made, and a great number of new Centinels Boxes.
32nd. — As to the Walls and Enceinte of this Garrison they are by the badness of
Materials and careless manner of Building, in very bad order, where they have not been
based in, and every Spring, some part or other of the former falls down, The worst places
are at the Faces and Angles of the King's Bastion one of which is Intirely parted from the
Solid Masonry, and the Contrescarpe at the Traverse of the Place of Arms, near South Gate
Bridge, is fallen down into the Ditch, and the Revetement is every where Mouldring.
Maurepas Gate is quite Shaken, and all the Palissades round the Covered way are Rotten
and Useless.
33rd. — The Island Battery is in pretty good order. The Merlons and Embrazures
only, want some Repair.
34th. — The Grand Battery has been Palissaded in by the English, the Barracks made
more lodgeable and well repaired, but the old Platform is very much decayed.
35th. — The Artillery in the Town and Batteries is all in order, and left with proper
proportions of Battery Utensils &c.
P. HOPSON.
J. H. BASTIDE.1
1 Enclosed in Col. Hopson s letter of July 14, 1749.
APPENDIX X
A Statement of the Movements of the fleets under Admiral Edward Boscawen, Commander
of the Namur^ and Rear Admiral Sir Charles Hardy, Commander of the Royal
William^ outside Louisburg, from June I to July 31, 1758. (Compiled from Logs.
The spelling follows the originals with all their variations.)
DATE.
"NAMUR."
"ROYAL WILLIAM."
1758.
June i.
»» 3-
» 4-
» 5-
, 6.
» 9-
Fresh gales and cloudy. W. pt. of Gabarus Bay N.E.
4 leagues. Chased a fleet to the N.E. Spoke the
Gramont from Gabarus Bay.
Moderate gale and hazy. Joined by Royal William and
Prince Frederick. Saw snips in Louisburg Harbour.
Light airs and hazy weather. In Gabrous Bay. Boats,
manned and armed, rowed away to raise an alarm.
Gun fired from shore. Kennington fired on the enemy
from Cormorant Cove. Enemy replied with guns
and musquetry.
Light airs and hazy. The Kennington and Halifax en-
gaged the enemy. Gale.
Fresh gales and thick weather. Kennington ceased
firing.
Little wind and hazy, later foggy. Futile attempt
made to land troops. Boscawen, Amherst, Lawrence,
and Wolfe returned.
Moderate and foggy. All boats returned. Juno sailed
with Bragg's Regiment to make a feint of landing at
Laurembeck. Boats ordered to assemble silently at
midnight.
Moderate gales and fair. Troops landed. Boats fired
on by enemy. Kennington and Halifax still engaged.
Juno and Bragg's Regiment returned. 63 men killed
and 116 wounded.
Fresh gales and hazy, later very foggy. Men sent to
level a passage through the breast works.
Light airs and thick fog.
Fresh breezes and hazy. Ordered Royal William to
chase. Bedford, Pembroke, and Captain ordered to
join the Royal William and Prince Frederick.
Moderate and fair, later foggy.
Fresh gales and hazy. W. pt. of Gabruss Bay 3
or 4 miles. Saw 6 sail in Louisburg Harbour.
Saw Boscawen's fleet to S.W.
Moderate and cloudy weather. Joined Boscawen's
fleet.
Hazy weather.
Light airs and hazy. Anchored in Gabruss Bay.
Moderate gales and foggy, with rain. Assisting to
land troops.
Little wind and foggy.
Moderate gales and foggy. Made sail to sea.
by Prince Frederick, Chased to N.E.
Somerset.
Joined
Spoke the
Moderate gales and foggy. Saluted Admiral Hardy
in the Captain.
Fresh gales and hazy weather. Anchored in Gabruss
Bay. Sir C. Hardy hoisted his flag on the Royal
William. Assisting to land soldiers and baggage.
Little wind, later fresh gales and hazy. Terrible,
Orford, Somerset and Boreas anchored.
Fresh gales and hazy. Made sail to sea. Signalled
Prince Frederick to chase. Joined by the Bed-
ford, Captain, Pembrook, Shannon and Gramount.
Anchored again.
Moderate and hazy. Off and on Louisborg.
413
414
APPENDIX X
DATE.
1758.
June i j.
14.
•v
1 6.
18.
'9-
'NAMUR."
ROYAL WILLIAM."
Fresh breezes and hazy. Hunter sent with a fascine
ship, etc., to Laurembeck. York and Scarborough
sent to reinforce Rear - Admiral. Boats landing
stores.
Strong gales, later fair.
Fair, then thick fog, later moderate and cloudy. Boats
as before.
Fair weather. Nightingale sailed with sloops for
Laurembeck.
Fair weather. Landed ordnance and military stores.
Erected tent on shore for sick.
Fair weather. Landed ordnance and military stores.
Squirrel cruizing off Scatari.
Fair weather. Juno and her French prize, the fccho,
arrived. Sutherland and Portmahon sailed to join the
R car-Admiral.
Fair weather. Rockets thrown by Wolfe and repeated
by Hardy and Amherst. Wolt'e fired on ships in
the harbour and enemy returned it. Continued all
night.
Light airs and hazy. Great guns firing all night.
Haicke and Nightingale sailed to join Hardy.
Marines ordered to be ready to land to scour Indians
from the bottom of the bay.
Moderate weather, later fresh gales and thick fog.
Great guns firing all night.
Fresh gales and foggy.
24. Moderate breezes and cloudy. Sent small arms on
shore.
„ 25. Light airs and fair. Firing all day from Wolfe's
Battery upon the Island Battery. Returned by it
and the ships in harbour.
„ 26. Fair weather. Building a hospital near the camp.
Cornwallis' and Drucour's regiments landed at Ken-
nington Cove. Guns landed for Wolfe's use. Can-
nonading continued.
„ 27. Moderate and cloudy.
„ 28. Moderate breezes. Hunter and Scarborough sailed to
join Hardy.
„ 29. Fresh gales and cloudy. Dublin and Devonshire arrived.
3 French ships of war seen. Gramont sent to Hardy
with orders to chase.
30. Moderate and cloudy. Royal William and 4 ships in
chase.
July I. Moderate and cloudy. Dublin, Devonshire, and Captain
sailed to cruize off Louisburg. 2 guns landed from
the Dublin for Wolfe.
2. | Moderate and cloudy. Sutherland and Hynd arrived.
Hardy's squadron off Louisburg. Marines sent to
Wolfe's camp.
3. Moderate and fair. Surprize, Scarborough, and Captain
arrived. Also the Squirrel with a Spanish brignntine.
„ 4. Moderate and cloudy.
Moderate gales and thick weather. Landing itore*.
Juno in chase to the S.E.
Fresh gales and hazy. Made sail.
Light gales and fair weather, later thick fog. Fired
signal gun. Landing stores.
Little wind and cloudy.
Moderate and fair weather. Off and on Louisborg.
Little wind and fair weather.
Light airs and fair weather. Scarborough and Juno
joined the fleet with a French prize. Joined by
Sutherland.
Moderate and hazy weather. Wolfe began to fire at
the enemy. The French men-of-war in Louis-
borg Harbour warped close to the town.
Little wind and cloudy. Wolfe began to bombard
the Island Battery.
Fresh gales and hazy, fog and rain. Lost the long-
boat. A great sea from the S.W.
Moderate and hazy. French continued to fire at
camp to E. of the harbour.
Moderate and fair. Continual firing on shore.
Moderate and fair. Wolfe opened a 6 gun battery
under the Lighthouse. Continual firing ashore.
Fresh gales and fair. The Captain sailed for Gabruse
Bay. Diana signalled that the Island Battery was
much damaged by Wolfe's battery.
Moderate and fair.
Moderate and fair. Sent the Gramont on shore with
guns and shot for Wolfe. Continual firing ashore.
Moderate and fair. The Dublin and De-vonMre went
into Gabruse Bay. Gramont sent to sea after
2 sail. The French sunk 5 sail in the harbour'*
mouth.
Moderate and fair. In company, Bedford, Pembrook,
York, Shannon, Diana, and Gramont, Diana in
chase. Squirrel parted company.
Moderate and fair. Prince Frederick and Shannon in
chase.
Little wind and fair weather. Gramont joined.
Anchored off" Scatery Rock.
Moderate and fair.
Little wind and foggy. Wolfe opened a new battery
against the town and ships. Continual firing ashore.
APPENDIX X
DATE.
;NAMUR."
'ROYAL WILLIAM."
1758-
July s-
„ 6.
„ 12.
» 13.
„ H.
» 15-
„ 1 6.
„ 1 8.
» 19-
21.
22.
23.
» 24.
Little wind and foggy.
Fresh breezes. Surprize sailed. 3V£ and Ha-wke
arrived.
Moderate and fair. Two 32-pounders and shot landed
for the army. Hind and Scarborough sailed to cruize
off the Bay of Verte.
Little wind and fair. Diana arrived. Guns and shot
landed. Vanguard arrived.
Fresh breezes and cloudy.
Moderate and fair. Privates of Drucour's Regiment
and miners sent on shore.
Moderate breezes. Directed Hardy to send the Bedford
to Gabrous Bay. Guns and gunners' stores sent on
shore.
Little wind and hazy, later gales and thick weather,
with much rain. Bedford arrived.
Moderate and foggy. Vanguard sailed to join Hardy.
Fresh breezes and fair weather. Boreas with 2 sloops
and a schooner arrived. Also the Prince Frederick.
Fresh breezes and fair weather. Several vessels arrived
with fascines, etc.
Fresh gales and hazy weather, later clear. Boreas
sailed. Hardy's squadron gone to sea.
Fresh breezes and cloudy. Haivke reconnoitred Black
Point. Lancaster, Captain, Prince Frederick, York,
Nottingham, and Centurion sent to cruize off Louisburg.
Squirrel sailed.
Little wind and clear. Hardy's squadron returned.
Light airs and fine weather. Arrived the Lancaster,
Captain, Nottingham, York, and Centurion. Nightingale
arrived with a Spanish ship bound for Louisborg.
Fresh breezes and hazy. Seamen sent on shore to
assist in building batteries.
Moderate and hazy. Men sent ashore to build batteries.
Moderate gales and fair weather. Entreprennant blown
up in the harbour. Celebre and Capricieux burnt.
Marines, etc., landed. 2 batteries completed which
played on the town.
Moderate and clear. Men landed. Gramont arrived
with a Spanish sloop bound for Louisburg. Gramont
sailed.
Moderate and clear. Men landed. Etna sent to re-
connoitre Lighthouse, shore, and entrance of Louis-
burg Harbour.
Little wind and foggy.
Do. Do.
Moderate and fair weather. A flag of truce from
Louisborg came aboard with baggage for French
officers.
Little wind and hazy.
Moderate and fair. Gramont in chase. Chase proved
an English schooner.
Moderate and fair. Gramont in chase. An English
privateer who joined the fleet.
Little wind and cloudy.
Little wind and cloudy, later fresh gales. Prince
Frederick parted her cable and stood to sea.
Uncertain weather, fresh gales. Devonshire parted
her cable and stood to sea. Vanguard arrived from
Gabruse Bay.
Moderate and fair weather.
Moderate and hazy. 7 sail seen standing in for
Gabruse Bay.
Fresh gales and hazy. Received a private signal
from the lighthouse. The frigates in shore. Fired
several guns. Answered the signal by a gun.
Made sail to the Eastward. Clear'd ship. Spoke
the Nightingale and her prize, a Spanish provision
ship for Louisburg. All the ships joined us.
Fresh gales and fair weather. 6 sail of our ships at
anchor off Louisburg. Continual firing ashore.
Moderate and fair weather. A frigate got out of the
harbour. Anchored off Louisburg and found lay-
ing there the Lancaster, York, Captain, Prince
Frederick, Nottingham, Centurion, Squirrel. The
above ships went into Gabruse Bay, except Prince
Frederick and Squirrel to sea.
Little wind and fine weather.
Moderate and fair weather.
Fresh gales and cloudy weather.
Moderate gales and fair weather. Saw 3 French
ships in the harbour on fire. The citadel of Louis-
burg also on fire. Gramont sent to chase in the
N.E.
Moderate and fair. Gramont brought in her chase, a
Spanish sloop. Ordered them into Gabruse Bay.
Shannon in chase to N.E.
Little wind and hazy,
barracks on fire.
Shannon returned. Saw the
416
APPENDIX X
DATf.
1758.
». 27-
„ 28.
» 29-
„ 30.
NAMUR."
Moderate breezes and hazy. Men landed. Barges and
pinnace*, armed and manned, sent off in 4 divisions
to join Sir C. Hardy. These, and the boats of his
squadron to be divided into 2 divisions under Captf.
Laforcy and Baltour, and to attempt to take or
destroy the ships in Louisburg Harbour.
Little wind and hazy, later moderate and foggy. Men
ordered on shore to help fight the battery guns. The
Prudent burnt and Bienfaiijnt captured. Received
letter from Drucour offering to capitulate. Articles
of Capitulation agreed upon.
Little wind and hazy. Louisburg delivered up and
English colours hoisted. Men received from the
shore.
Moderate breezes, thick fog. Miners, etc., received on
board. Entrance of Louisburg harbour sounded.
Little wind and foggy, later clear. Directions issued
for position of squadron in the harbour. Scarborough
and Boreas arrived.
Moderate and fair weather. Squadron weighed.
Anchored off Louisburg Harbour. Hardy and part
of his squadron in the harbour. Directions issued
for squadron to row-guard.
Fresh breezes and clear, later foggy. Shannon sailed for
England with news of the capture of Louisburg.
Anchored in Louisburg Harbour.
ROYAL WILLIAM.
Little wind and hazy weather. Gramonramc out of
Gabruse Bay and stood to sea.
Do. weather, 2 P.M. Two boats from each ship in
Gabruse Bay came aboard manned and armed, with
an officer in each boat. At 6 sent a boat manned
and armed with a Lieutenant in each boat, with
the other boats. At 10 a great firing ashore. At
^ past 4 saw a fire in the harbour. The boats had
set the Prudent on fire and towed the Bienfaimnt
into the N.E. harbour. At 10 they left off firing.
Little wind and foggy weather At 10 the town
surrendered.
Moderate gales and foggy.
Moderate gales and foggy. Made sail in order for
Louisborg Harbour.
Moderate and fair. Anchored in Louisborg Harbour.
Boscawcn anchored off the harbour.
APPENDIX XI
1758— GASPEE
MY JOURNAL OF THE GASPEE EXPEDITION & OTHER MATTERS
(Bell MSS.)
fUGUST 2<)TH. — . . . Sailed from Louisbourg Harb. for Gaspee in the Royal William,
>ir Charles Hardy, Bedford ; Capt. Fouke, Vanguard ; Cpt. Swanton, Devonshire ; Capt.
jrdon, Lancaster ; Cap. Man, Pembroke ; Capn. Simcoe, "Juno & Kennington frigates
fireship, six sail of Transports having Amherst's, Anstruther's & Bragg's Regiments on
>ard & an ordnance sloop with some six Pounders & 2 Howitzers, & anchored at the
rrand Grave in Gaspee Bay the 4th of September. . . .
... It was about 2 o'clock when we anchored in the Bay, the General went directly
jp to reconnoitre & sent me with a letter & flag of truce to Mr. Revoke, the Lord of
the Seignury. I got up to Gaspee about 5 the people imagined we were enemies- &
lad fled into the woods, the General who got up rather before me, mett with one pierre
irbour & his wife, who submitted & rejoiced to find Quarter given them, they were sent
bring in the other Inhabitants, the Genl. also took five more with Revoke's Comysy.
rho were sent also to bring in the rest, we did not go on shore in order to prevent
Blundering & returned on board the Juno after having escaped drowning very narrowly. The
icxt morning we went up again with Coll. Murray & Howe, found about 3000 Quentil
)f fish in staks in the Magazine were great numbers of netts,, Hooks, fishing Lines, some
Jarrells of Gunpowder, some Brandy, & Pork, there were also a few Cattle, sheep, Ducks,
Fowls belonging to Revoke (who died a little before with the hearty curses of the whole
slace). Amherst's Light Unfantry landed and took poyseysion of this great settlement,
insisting of Revolts House, a good Magazine, a Smith's shop with its utensils, about 5
lutts, the Fish ; 25 Shaloupes 6 Canoes & a large Shaloupe going to Quebeck Arbour
ras there & said the Inhabitants were fled up the two arms, the Comysy. left a letter to
iy he was gone after the Inhabitants, spent this Day without vivres & had the pleasure of
:onsoling myself at night on the Boards next to Coll. How, on the 6th next morning very
irly we went up the hither arm, Arbour was Pilott, a very difficult Channel, the shoals
>f sand running from both shores, so as to make it very narrow, Shaloupes only can go up
it high water, the Tide flows 6 feet we saw in a little Bay above 50 Shaloupes (they always
ly them up there in winter) a mile further some people hawling a shaloupe laden with fish,
)n receiving a good many assurances of Quarter, they at last promised to go down with
417 2 E
4i8 APPENDIX XI
their shaloupe, about 5 mile farther at the upper end of the arm saw a number of people I
rowed towds. them, but after getting about 2 mile we found the Channel ceased, two of
the people came to us in a Canoe, the General sent me back in the Canoe, to assure Madam
Revolte & the rest of the kind treatment the English always give to their prisoners, she
said, she &c the rest only waited for the Tide to carry them to the Penisle where we all
returned & spent the remainder of the evening in picking Cranbery's & Raspberry's, the
above arm winds a little, in some parts 3/4 and I mile & 1/2 over, the marks to go up are
particular Hills which 'tis not possible to lay down so as to be of any service : on the 7th
at day break we went up the farther arm having heard some of the people were there, 'tis
ten mile up to the Morass, the Channel the same in regard to its difficulty as to other, we
took 8 men here & sent them down in the Barge (i an Indian) then went to a saw mill
just bye where we found a vast number of plank, we immediately fell to work & sett fire
- to the Moulin, plank & 3 houses which blazed very handsomely to the no small grief of
the poor people we found a great many shaloupes here & there ; we came back by land
along the shore, which was not the pleasantest walk in the world, nothing but stones
extremely slipperay & every 3 yards a great Tree to get over ; it may be walk'd up both
arms at low water on the left hand side, this farther arms runs in two small Channels thro*
a marsh about 15 mile up the Country the hither arm runs thro' a marsh also in 3 Channels
the General went down in the afternn. to the R. William & left me to take of the people
& stores, we found on our coming down to the penisle some women & Children. On the
8th the Army & Navy had some fish & the Cattle distributed among them, in the afternoon
we had the pleasure of seeing Madame Revolte, who said that there were about 16 men
would not come in, a party was sent to day but they could not find them.
gth. — The General came up again & sent a party at low water (about 12 at night)
who brought in next morng., except six who escaped by its being so very dark.
loth. — The General gave orders for every thing being burnt, & this day and the nth
was employed in executing those orders, we all returned with the General to the Camp at
the Grand Grave. On the I2th sailed Coll. Murray with Amherst's & part of Bragg's
under Convoy of the 'Juno to Miramichi. On the I3th Cap. Irvine was detached with
several small parties in Shaloupes under Convoy of the Kennington to destroy Pas beau &
Grand Riviere and any other settlement to the Westward. On the I4th Mayor Dalling
was detached to Mont Lewis about 130 mile up the River, (we remained with a few of
Bragg's & Anstruther's encampt.)
ijth. — Sailed Sir C. Hardy, he left the Devonshire to take care of the Transpts.
iyd. — Returned Major Dalling.
24/A. — Returned Sir C. Hardy.
25/A and 26th. — Embarked the Troops.
2jth. — Sailed.
3O//J. — Arrived at Louisbourg & went on board Adml. Boscawen with ye General.
GASPEE
The Bay is a very fine, good anchoring Ground any fleet may ride here in safety, the
inward Bay formed by the sand is perhaps one of the best in the world, an excellent for a
rendezs. for ships going to Quebeck, the water is remarkably good the property of fishing
there belonged to a Mr. Revolte, who paid the King or at least the Intendant a certain sum
APPENDIX XI 419
year, there were about 300 inhabitants here when the war broke out, who finding by
?ap. Spry of the Fougueux's visiting them, they would in all probability be one Day
:arried off & their settlement destroyed, quitted it. This Gentleman soon after he sailed
from Gaspee got to the Harbour of Pas beau & told the Land officers that where he was
/as a bad place for his ship to lay in, and therefore if they did not go on shore directly &
)urn every thing, he would not stay for them as His Majts. ship was in danger, observe
lis Capt. Jacobs was sent purposely to protect & wait till the Land officers thought it
)roper to come off. the General's Instructions to them were to go on shore with the
rreatest Circumspection & endeavour by all manner of means to assure the Inhabitants of
>d treatment & bring them to Gaspee, which they would have done had not they been
ireatened being left, and also that if they did not burn the places Mr. Jacobs would, who
linted as if the going on shore at all was not agreeable, they immediately went, landed &
sund the Inhabitants all fled & every thing was burnt.
PAS BEAU
[s 15 Leagues to the westward of Gaspee I forget who had the Segniory, they burnt
17 good Houses about 17 indifferent ones about 3500 Quentil of fish, a very good sloop
iden with fish, vast Quantities of netts hooks, Lines Great Quantity of salt destroyed,
leir Magazine was large & contained all their winter stock, Cloathes, Brandy etc. & I
jgether with a good deal of plank and about 40 Shaloupes were all burnt & then the
troops embarked, having left the miserable inhabitants in the woods destitute & deprived
of everything.
GRAND RIVIERE
Is 12 Leagues to the Westwd. of Gaspee. A Mr. Bellfeuille, Lord of the Seignory,
the Troops who landed here proceeded in the same manner with those at Pas beau, by the
most scandalous timidity of Cap. Jacobs who made the signal twice to come off before they
had been on shore 3 Hours which was not a Quarter time enough to burn every thing :
Bellefeuille's House was situated upon a little Island in the River, had 8 rooms on a floor
vast Quantities of things packed up in Bureaus and Chests to send in safety to Quebeck,
the people fled leaving the victuals on the fire, about 60 Houses were burnt, many good
ones & all the goods in them about 80 shaloupes : there were sheep, oxen, Fowls etc.
both at this place and Pas beau : the Magazine was very large and contained a considerable
Quantity of Brandy and salt : 2OO Chests of warm dreses, valuable in this country, 60
Casks of molasses whose worth an American need not be told, & numbers of other things
that they took no account of 8000 Quentil of fish & netts Lines Hooks without number,
all the above valuable things were destroyed.
There needs no great discernment to perceive the bad Consequences of Cap. Jacobs'
presuming to stint the Land officers in time (indeed if they had behaved properly they
would not have heeded him, but let him have gone, as they might reasonably have supposed
the General wd. have taken care of their being fetched back), for had they gone on shore
agreeable to the General's intentions & stayed 2 or 3 days without destroying any thing,
and sent the french men (they carried on purpose) into the woods to assure their Country-
men of the good treatment they wd. meet with & that they might keep anything they
420 APPENDIX XI
chose, the Consequences would have been totally different, they would have been happy
and the troops benefittcd, but as it was, what could these unhappy people hope for when
they saw their all in flames with the least Ceremony, surely they could not expect any
thing gentle at our hands — not that they deserved better, but for our own Honor we ought
to have proceeded differently.
The General when the Kennington came back, finding how matters had gone on, out
of compassion to the Inhabitants, sent a Shaloupe to Bellfeuille with French men in to tell
him, that he was sorry his officers were obliged to act in the manner they did, far from
their own Inclinations or His Intentions, but as he thought he & all the Inhabitants must
perish in the winter having no subsistence & thinking it too late to march to Quebeck he
sent that Shaloupe to fetch him, & would send others for his people but if he & his people
preferred Liberty, the Shaloupe was at his service & the men in her had their Liberty — an
offer worthy of the General — we sailed, no answer having come. The Seamen at both
places, shewed their accustomed rage for plundering in a very shameful manner, they got so
drunk that a shaloupe full of our soldiers owed their lifes to a french man who managed
the Boat.
The fish which was destroyed amounted to a very considerable value at Quebeck
'twas 30 shillings a Quentil at Martinique — £3 & 3.10 — ships from Europe came to fish
and load here every year before war. These settlements were the most flourishing they had
for they had been no burden to the Government for a great while (the Government supplies
& supports all settlements at first) — the people had not had leisure to cultivate the Earth,
there were only some Turnips & Cabbages — they were supplied with every thing from
Quebeck of late, before the warr from Europe — they had not seen corn for 16 months.
Bigaut (Bigot) the Intendant not suffering any to be carryed to ye out settlements.
lyd. — I have said Major Dalling came back to Gaspee with his Party from Mt.
Louis where they arrived the igth. they took about 35 People women & Children included,
the Seignory belonged to a Mr. Maillett (who was taken) who gave the King ^3000 for
it, only 3 shaloupes were there, all his fish had been sent to Quebeck except 2000 Quentil,
there was but little in the Magazine Maillett offered ^3500 ransome for the place : while
the Major was there, a sloop appeared off the place, he made use of the usual signal to call
her in. She stood in and was taken, she had on board wine & Provisions for the settlement,
having delivered which, she was to gett Intelligence of our Squadron, there was on board a
good jolie fille enough Mile. Le Bruys going to Gd. Riviere & a Reverend Pere going to
Miramichi — he found by them that Mons. Chaufort1 was getting under way from the
Kamaruska's the iyth Sept. with the Dragon, Eelliqueux & 4 other 64 Gun ships with
two frigates & 3 or 4 Merchantmen, was to go thro' the streights of Bell Isle & so
to Brest.
The march to Mt. Louis was extremely bad, all the way along the sea shore upon
sharp stones & rock, they were obliged to wait for the Tides going out at 2 places & only
sutt into the wood a League the whole march they returned to Gaspee in the sloop and
Shaloupes. . . . Thus ended our proceedings.
We were extremely ill fitted out for such an expedition, having no small craft by
which means the Enemy ever were apprized of our coming & we never could catch them
unprepared, small sloops & Boats with Guns in their Prows & others without, are the
1 Du Chaffault.
APPENDIX XI 421
proper veysels for the kind of work we were sent upon of which we had none and were
obliged to shaloupes for transporting our soldiers which can't live in the East Sea ; The
General as soon as he found what a small Game he had to play wanted Sir C. Hardy to go
to Quebeck, if not so high as that, to go some way up in order to destroy their settlements
but Sir Charles urged many reasons & difficulties which timidity ever suggests & which
great souls have a pleasure in encountering and almost always over come : such a bug bear
was the River to him (& indeed to every one else of the Navy) that he even would not trust
any of his seamen to carry Provisions in Shaloupes along shore for Mr. Balling's Detachment
tho' he knew loo's went up every year in short tho' he knew he would infallibly meett
Chaufort's l Squadron and might gain immortal Honor that way tho' all the people we
took assured us in great measure the danger of the River was a lye tho' ^we had Pilots to
carry us up, & lastly tho' he knew all the Canadians were on the Tiendirago 2 side & had
left the River all free yet no notice could induce him to make his ships head point westward
but contented himself with cruizing between Anticosti & Gaspee for a few Days (never
out of our sight) and then came back leaving Chaufort1a free Passage home. Had Sir
Charles Hardy pursued Gen. Wolfe's advice, Quebec must certainly have fallen.
PURPORT OF COLL. MURRAY'S REPORT OF HIS PROCEEDINGS AT MIRAMICHI
(40 LEAGUES FROM GASPEE)
That all the people fled upon the sight of the fleet ; expecting no Quarter ; that they
consist of neutral french that fled from Nova Scotia.
(They arrived there the I5th September anchored in an open road 7 Leagues from
the Settlement & 3 from the Bar that runs arroys the entrance of the place.)
That Pere Bonaventure (a famous Priest) was with them, their number about 40 ;
that there are several habitations dispersed all over the Bay for many Leagues, both above
and below where they were ; That many Indians inhabit the Bay, but chiefly about where
they were ; In summer always rambling but fixed in winter ; that on the other side the
Bay there was a Settlement of about 30 family's to which the Coll. detached a party who
found it just deserted. That 10 Leagues up the River there was another very considerable
settlement of Neutrals and some family's who fled from the Island of St. John since the
taking of Louisbourg (for want of small craft the Coll. could not go up there). That the
whole were in a starving Condition & had sent all their effects to Quebeck and were all
to follow without Delay as they every hour expected the English and besides could not
subsist, since they could not now be supported by Sea as they were before the Reduction of
Louisbourg ; That the Inducement for settling in that River was the furr Trade which is very
considerable, no less than 6 vessels having been loaded there this summer with Furr. That
Mr. Boisbert commands the whole as well as the settlement on St. John's River ; That
he is at present near fort George, against which he is to act with a Detachment from
Montcalm's army & is no more to be return (sic) to Miramichi, which is deserted for the
above reasons. That the Channel was narrow to the Settlement 10 Leagues up, but water
enough for a sloop, (our ships chaced two sloops into the Bay who escaped by going up
this River the one a Privateer of six Guns, the other going to Quebeck with an officer &
25 men who escaped from Louisbg. after the Capitulation, the officer & men on getting
1 Du Chaffault. 2 Ticonderoga.
422
APPENDIX XI
back directly sett out for Quebeck by Land1). That there is a Communication from the
head of Miramichi River to Quebeck by River & Lakes a few portages excepted ; The
Colonel, after hunting about 2 Days & rinding nothing destroy'd all the Houses etc. &
a good stone Church, there were found 3 Hogsds. of Beaverskins, some Cattle & sheep
& then embarked for Louisbourg coming thro' the Gutt of Canso.
[Copy]
ADMIRALS' DESPATCHES, Vol. 481
AN ACCOUNT OF THE DAMAGE DONE IN THE GULPH OF ST. LAWRENCE
Sept. 17, 1758. — The Detachment sent upon the Western shore under the command
of Capt. Irving, burnt & destroyed as follows. Vizt. :
Houses . . . . . 60 "I
Shallops & Boats . 80 A , ^ , D • •
f r. , o f At the Grand Riviere.
Stacks of fish . . . . o
All the Stages & Nets and a considerable Fishery. J
Houses .....
Shallops & Boats ....
A sloop with fish and a considerable Fishery.
Houses .....
Shallops & Boats ....
Brought off a man & his Family & 5 French-
men that came in & surrendered & burnt
their Habitations & a Sloop.
Houses .....
Shallops .....
27]
15 j- At Pas Beau.
61
16
i- At the Bay de Sauvage.
j- At the Isle Bonaventure.
Sept. 1 8, 1758. — The Detachment under the Command of Capt. Byrd burnt &
destroyed on Gasp6 side :
Shallops . . . . . . .2
Do. round the point over the Bay . . . -34
Houses near Gaspd Mills . . . . .7
Sent on board the Fleet French prisoners . . .22
The party under the command of Lt. Warren burnt & destroyed at Gaspd :
Houses . . . . . . . .6
Houses up the North West River . . . .2
A Smith's Forge at Lower Gaspd.
Shallops . . . . . . . .11
Ditto brought off . . . . .2
Canoes brought off . . . . . • 4
With 13 Men, I Woman & a child Prisoners.
Sept. 23, 1758. — Major Dalling with a Detachment under his Command marched to
Mount Lewis, and on his march surprised 6 people curing fish at Les Grand Etangs, and
1 Probably the Chevalier Johnstone.
APPENDIX XI- 423
took three of them, destroyed their fish & rendered their Shallops useless, but~the others
got into the Woods. At Le Grand Vale he took another prisoner.
After 5 days' march to Mount Lewis he burnt & destroyed at that place :
Houses . . . . 9
Storehouses . \ . . 7
Quintals of Fish . . . 6,000
With Stables, Outhouses & a Cellar with Molasses.
Schooner . . . . i
Shallops . . . . ' . 2
Boats , . . . «• 2
With Fish Stages
Found there :
a Barrel of Powder
4 Barrels of Musquet Balls
2 Cows & a calf.
And brought from thence :
Cannon .... 4
Swivels .... 2
Drums .... 2
Fuses . . s ... r . 1 6
Colours . . V . i pair.
He also took a sloop with Provisions on board for 7 men for a month, & some of
Monsieur Mackett6's Effects, & took Monsieur Mackette, his wife with 22 men, 4
Women & 14 Children Prisoners.
According to Calculation the Fish burnt & destroyed in the Gulph of St. Lawrence
amounted to 36,000 Quintals Vizt. :
At Mount Lewis . . 5,000
Gaspe .... 6,000
Grand Riviere . . "". 10,000
Pas Beau .* . . 2,000
In a sloop .-- » . 1,000
At Miramiche . . . 12,000
With Stores in the Magazines of Miramiche, Pasbeau, Gasp£, & Mount Lewis to a
considerable Value.
N.B. — A Quintal of dried Cod sells at Quebec from 36 to 40 Livres.
Coll. Murray who was detached to Miramichi destroyed 16,000 Quintals of Fish,
the Kings Magazins, & brought off some of the Inhabitants, but as the water was so
shoal, & they had but one sloop, could not proceed higher up the River.
Sir Charles Hardy took 4 Sloops or Schooners, destroyed about 200 shallops in the
B. of Gaspe, and brought off about two hundred Prisoners.
(Signed) E. BOSCAWEN.
APPENDIX XII
SCALPING
THE French have had an evil pre-eminence, at all events in the minds of most English
readers, on account of their use of Indians and their savage customs in warfare. This was
the consequence of French skill in attaching the savages to their side, rather than to any
abhorrence of the English colonist to the use of Indians and their methods in warfare
against hostile savages as well as the French.
We find that most of the English colonies sanctioned, and encouraged scalping
Indians, and sometimes their French allies, at one time or another. Massachusetts in 1694
gave ^50 a head for every Indian, great or small, killed or captured. Similar enact-
ments were passed with varying amounts in 1695, 1697, 1703. In 1706, 1707, and
1712 the law was again amended.1 In 1723 there was further legislation.2
An unusual occurrence on the frontier attracted attention even in the capital of the
Province : "James Cochran the Youth that came into Brunswick Fort with the two
Scalps came to Town on Monday last, and on Tuesday produced the said Scalps before
the Honourable Lieut. Governor and Council, for which he Received a Reward of Two
Hundred Pounds, and for a further encouragement to Young Men and others to perform
Bold and Hardy Actions in this Indian War, His Honour the Lieut. Governor has been
pleased to make him a Serjeant in the forces."3
In New Jersey it is stated that in 1/56 friendly Indians were killed for the bounty.4
Colonel Sir W. Johnson writes to the Governor of New York on the 7th of May
1747 : "We shall soon have abundance of prisoners and scalps v/herefore will require a
great deal of money, which they expect will be ready here at their return."6
On October 25, 1/44, Shirley recommended the establishing of a premium for scalps
and prisoners, which act was passed the same day. In his message of Jan. 7, 1744-45, he
says : " I cannot but suggest to you how serviceable it may be for the Interests of this
Province if you would allow our own troops at Annapolis the Premium for Scalps and
Prisoners which you do to those of them that are in the Pay of this Government."
Connecticut, in 1746, gave by enactment a reward of ^150 for the scalp of every
Indian over 16 years, and for every scalp of such Indian, female or child, half as much,
to be paid by the Committee on the production of such prisoners or scalps. In another
1 Mass. Province Laws, vol. i, pp. 176, 211, 292, 530, 558, 594, 600, 696.
2 Acts and Resolves, vol. 10, p. 263. 3 Baitgn Neva Letter, April 29, 1729.
4 N.J. Archives, vol. 20, p. 40.
* N.Y. Colonial documents, vol. 6, p. 361. See alio Narrative and Critical Hitt., vol. 6, p. 681.
424
APPENDIX XII 425
enactment of the same state the reward for scalps of male Indians was ^350, for those of
women and children, ^175.
In 1 744, the Governor of New Hampshire sent a message to the Assembly asking
their sentiments for the premium it might offer for scalp money. A vote of ^5500 for
soldiers, powder, scalps, etc., was sent up.1 In 1747 the Assembly prayed his Excellency
to give proper encouragement to all suitable persons who may appear as volunteers to go
out upon the first scalp vote. In 1747 Mr. Samuel Walton had enlisted 20 men to go
out after the Indians upon the scalp bounty.2
We find the Rev. Mr. Stephen Williams making in his diary the following entries :
May 5, 1747. — "I hear as if or. Mohawks are gone out a scalping agst. ye french —
and yt. many of ye English are prepareing to go upon ye same design. I pray God to go
with those yt. are called forth, and cause oh Lord yt. ye issue may be ye leaveing of ye
inhumane manr. of manageing ye war between us and Canada this day" (p. 248).
May 6, 1747. — "This evening I hear ye man at Numbr. 4 are returned, yt. others
are gone in yr. rooms and yt. people are preparing to go a scalping. Oh yt. they may go
forth in ye fear of ye Lord, and with Entire dependance upon him " (p. 248).
May 8, 1 747. — " This day we hear yt. ye Mohawks have been out and killed severall
frenchmen and Brot in their Scalps. I hope this is a good omen : but I desire we may be
carefull not to put or. trust in men " (p. 249).3
"For which Reason I think it of such Consequence to his Majesty's Service that the
Indians and other New England Auxiliaries enlisted in it at Annapolis Royal whould have
premiums for scalping and taking Captive the Indian Enemy as the People within this
Province have." 4
1 New Hampshire Province Papers, vol. 5, pp. 231, 236.
2 New Hampshire Province Papers, vol. 5, pp. 424, 532.
3 Diary of Rev. Stephen Williams, Ottawa. See Journal at Louisbourg, vol. 70, M. 643. The pages are given
from the copy in the Canadian Archives, copied from that in the Library of the Mass. Hist. Soc., Boston.
4 Shirley to Newcastle, C.O. 5/900, ff. 135-7, Nov. 9, 1744.
APPENDIX XIII
BIBLIOGRAPHY
SINCE the bibliographies of Winsor's Narrative and Critical History, vol. v., and of
the American Library Association have been printed, besides the more widely known
works of Waddington, Corbett, Wood and Bradley, and some works referred to in the foot-
notes, there may be mentioned :
The Cambridge Modern History, vol. vi.
Lavisse, Histoirt de France.
G. L. Beer, British Colonial Policy, 1754-1765 (Macmillan, 1907).
Lucien Schcine, La Politique Coloniale sous Louis XV (Challamel, Paris, 1907) ; also
Etat sommaire des Archives de la Marine (Paris, Baudoin, 1898).
La Marine militaire de la France (La Cour-Gayet, Champion, 1902).
Kimball, Correspondence of William Pitt with Colonial Governors, 2 vols. (Macmillan,
1906).
H. S. Burrage, Maine at Louisbourg (Augusta, 1910).
Stewart L. Mims, Colbert's West India Policy, Yale Historical Studies, 1912.
Although published earlier, attention may be called to the great value of two printed
accounts, one of the siege of 1745, the other of 1758 : A Particular Account of the
Taking of Cape Breton, etc., by Philip Durell, Capt. of His Majesty's Ship Superbe, etc.
(London, W. Bickerton, 1745);* An Authentic Account of the Reduction of Louisbourg,
by a Spectator, etc. (London, Owen, 1758). The Spectator may have been Valentine
Nevill of Greenwich in Kent, in 1746 Secretary to the Honourable Admiral Townshend.
He wrote a poem, which is still extant, although, even with the popular interest in the
siege, it seems never to have found a printer, entitled "The Reduction of Louisbourg."
It was " wrote on Board His Majestys Ship Orford in Louisbourg Harbour " and dedicated
to Boscawen. The revised and corrected copy is dated Aug. 7, 1/58, which shows that
the work was promptly done.
Les Derniers yours de T Acadie, by Du Bosc de Beaumont (Lechevalier, Paris, 1899),
has also great value, as it is so largely transcripts of documents. The author's notes are
valuable. The original letters are in Laval University, Quebec. I have given (after
verification) references to the book rather than to the documents, following what seems to
be the sound practice of choosing the reference most easily found by the reader.
Two works well known have been sparingly used. One, the Lettre cTun habitant^
1 The copy in the Boston Public Library it said to be unique.
426
APPENDIX XIII
427
is a pamphlet written as a libel. The other, Pichon's Histoire, was written by a man who
ras a spy in English pay, and had not been in Louisbourg for some years before the siege
)f 1758. His account of it is a compilation from English sources.
DOCUMENTS
Archives Nationales, Paris (removed from the French Colonial Office).
Correspondence Gentrale^ C. n
Isle Royale, vols. 1-38.
Isle Royale, Ame*rique du Nord, vols. 7-10.
Acadia, vols. 6-10.
Canada, vols. 31-124.
B Series, vols. 35-189.
F Series, Moreau St. Mery, particularly vols. 50 and 51.
D Series, Troops.
G1 Series, Etat Civil, vols. 406-411. Copies in Ottawa (Census of Isle Royale}.
GG2, Judicial Records.
GG3, Notarial Records (not shown in Paris, no copies in Ottawa).
Ministere de la Marine, Series G.
Ministere de la Guerre, Personnel and Documents, 1756-58.
London
Colonial Office Records.
Record Office — War, Navy, and Board of Trade, etc.
British Museum, Warren, Newcastle : Knowles MSS.
Massachusetts
State House Archives.
Harvard University (Journal of Hamilton).
Essex Institute, Salem, Mass.
American Antiquarian Society, Worcester, Mass. (Pepperrell's Journal).
Massachusetts Historical Society and others : Parkman MSS.
Laval University, Quebec : Surlaville Papers.
Canadian Archives, Ottawa.
PRINTED RECORDS
New York State Documents.
New Hampshire Records.
Rhode Island Records.
Massachusetts Historical Society, particularly Series I. vol. I, and Series VI. vol. 10.
American Historical and Genealogical Register (Bidwell Journal).
Connecticut Records.
428 APPENDIX XIII
Documents rclatifs i 1'Histoire de la Nouvelle France, 4 vols. (Quebec, 1884.).
Reports Canadian Archives.
Nova Scotia Archives.
Nova Scotia Historical Society. The fifth volume of the Collection of this Society
contains the Journal of Gordon at the Siege of 1758, which is extremely valuable.
The author of this journal was William Augustus Gordon, son of Capt. David
Gordon of Col. Lascelles* 47th Regt. of Foot. The origin of Capt. David is unknown.
William Augustus Gordon is supposed to have been born in 1739, because of the
statement in Hake's History of Chinese Gordon that the Duke of Cumberland stood sponsor
for him six years before 1745. He was appointed Adjutant in the 47th, May I, 1745;
Qr.-Master, July 30, 1751 ; Ensign of the 4Oth, April 24, 1755. 1 It would seem
remarkable that he was appointed Adjutant when only six year old, and Qr.-Master at
twelve years of age ; but funny things happened in those days.2 As he was serving in the
same regt. as his father, perhaps the father did the work, or else he was born some years
before he was honoured by the Duke of Cumberland.
He is said to have embarked for America with his father in 1750. He was appointed
Lt., 4Oth, July 2, I755.8 He fought at Minorca in 1756, and served with distinction at
the siege of Louisbourg in 1758. In 1759 he was with Wolfe on the Plains of Abraham,
and in 1762 was at the surrender of Navo Castle, Havana. He was placed on h.p. as
Capt.-Lt., 1763-64. From h.p. he was appointed Capt.-Lt. of the nth, Dec. 12, 1767 ;4
Capt., Jan. 30, 1770 ;6 and retired May 12, 1776.°
In 1773 he married Anna Maria Clerke, daughter of the Rev. ? (S)laughter Clerke.
He died in iSog.7 He was grandfather of General Gordon of Khartoum.
The original MSS. of Capt. W. A. Gordon's Journal of the Siege of Louisbourg is now
(August 1908) the property of Col. Louis A. Gordon of the 32nd Lancers, a nephew of
"Chinese" Gordon. He is now serving in India. It is, however, under the guardianship
of his sister, Miss S. B. Gordon of Hove, Sussex, England. It is written very clearly,
neatly and legibly, although the ink and paper are rather yellow with age. There are
45 Pagesj *3 x 8£ inches, and the original MSS. with paper cover has on it :
JOURNAL
OF THE
SIEGE OF LOUISBOURG
IN 1758.
Note. — This information was supplied by Mrs. Constance Skelton to Ray C.
Archibald, Esq., of Brown University, and was incorporated by him in a paper since
published by the Nova Scotia Historical Society.
(The above list is not intended to be exhaustive, but only to indicate the principal
sources used by the writer.)
1 MSS. Army List, 1752, p. 369, Record Office.
a One Gordon, Lord George, got a ccmmission at eight years of age.
3 Army List», 1754-63. 4 London Gazette.
5 Ibid. « Ibid. ; Army Lists, 1768-76.
1 Hake, Genl. Mag., vol. 66, p. 256 j vol. 78, p. 557 ; vol. 102, Pt. I, p. 464 ; Aberdeen Journal, Jan. II, 1768.
APPENDIX XIII 429
MAPS, PLANS, AND VIEWS
In addition to the lists given in the reports of the Canadian Archives, the following
collections may be named :
A. Archives Nationales, Paris (C. u, Carton 125).
B. Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris.
C. Service Hydrographique de la Marine, Paris. (Lists below.)
The collection of maps, etc., in the Archives, Ottawa, is to be consulted. The
Congressional Library at Washington is rich, and there are a considerable number in the
Public Library and the Athenaeum in Boston, Mass.
MINISTERS DES COLONIES
SeVie C. u, Carton 125.
Plan sign£ de la main de Chaussegros de LeYy. Quebec, 26 Oct. 1719.
Croquis du Fort de Ponchartrain et du Village des Hurons.
Plan de Louisbourg, 1723.
Plan de la Porte Dauphine de Louisbourg, 1733.
Plan de Louisbourg "ou on a represent^ en couleur jaune les Ouvrages auxquels on
travaillera I'ann6e 1739." Signe de la main de Verrier.
" Plan, Profil et Elevation, pour le r£tablissement de la Lanterne qui doit estre placee
sur la Tour scitu£e a L'Entrde du port de Louisbourg, dans laquelle il y aura un feu a huille
pour la suret6 de la navigation." Sign£ de la main de Verrier.
La Porte de la Nouvelle Enceinte de Louisbourg. Sign£ de la main de Verrier.
Plan de la Ville de Louisbourg en 1'Isle Royale, joint a la lettre de M. frauquet du
20 xbre 1756.
Plan, Profil et EleVation de la Porte de la Reine, dans une des Courtines de 1'Enceinte
de la Ville de Louisbourg.
"Plan du terrain dans lequel est marqu6 les limites de 1'emplacement que Mr. le
gouverneur occupe au fond du havre de Louisbourg, etc."
" Plan d'une Partie de la Ville de Louisbourg ou est repr£sent£ en jaune la corection
que 1'on peut faire pour le bien public et pour 1'arengement des maisons qui sont hors des
Alignements de la rue du Quay." Signatures autographes de S' Ovide de Brouillan,
Bessiere, Verrier.
" Estat des Emplacements concedes a Louisbourg dans 1'Enceinte de la Place, relatif
au plan de 1723."
"Le Plan, Profil et EleVation du Clocher de 1'hopital du Roy a Louisbourg, 1729."
" Profil et EleVation de la Tour de la Lanterne scitu£e sur un Rocher a l'Entr£e du
Port de Louisbourg, 1733."
"Le Plan, EleVation et Profil de 1'Horloge des Cazernes de Louisbourg,. 1733."
" Plan de Louisbourg ou on a r£present£ en couleur jaune les ouvrages projet^s qui
doivent se faire pendant l'ann£e 1737, pour la perfection de 1'Enceinte et de ses dehors."
Sign£ de la main de Verrier, joint a la lettre de M. Verrier du 10 9bre 1736.
"Louisbourg 1737, Plan d'une partie du Bastion Princesse et de la Batterie du cap
43°
APPENDIX XIII
noir au prolongement dc laquclle on a repr6sent6 en couleur jaune 1'Eperon projet£ pour
emp£cher de mer basse la communication dans la Ville." Sign6 de la main de Verrier.
"Plan et profil Color6 en jaune du Battiment propos£ pour les prisons, logem1 du
Gcolier et chambre du Conseil SupeVieur a Louisbourg, 1739." Sign6 de la main de
Verrier.
" Partie du plan de Louisbourg ou sont reprdsent6s les Terrains qui seront occup£s par
la Nouvelle fortification color6e de jaune, 1738." Verrier.
" Projet d'un Corps de Cazernes pour huit Compagnies de soldats et trente-deux
officiers, et qui sera Etably Contre le mur Cr6nell£ de 1'Enceinte de Louisbourg, 1739."
Sign£ de la main de Verrier.
" Plan du Fauxbourg de la Porte Dauphine a Louisbourg, ou on a represent^ en jaune
1'Estacade de pieux a faire pour retablir le chemin public et les graves que la mer a degrade^
par le coup de vent arriv6 le 12 Janvier 1740." Sign£ de la main de Verrier.
" Plans et Profil d'une Digue et d'une porte busquee, avec les Ecluses ; que Ton
propose d'Etablir vers le fond du Port de Louisbourg, pour former un bassin, dans lequel les
battimts pescheurs hiverneront, 1739."
" Plan de Louisbourg ou on a repr6sent£ en couleur jaune les ouvrages a faire 1'annee
1740." Sign£ de la main de Verrier.
"Louisbourg, 1751. — Premier plan des Ouvrages Projettes, sur les deux fronts de
fortification, compris, 1'un entre le Bastion de la Reine et celui Princesse j Et 1'autre d'entre
ce dernier Bastion, et celui Brouillan."
"Louisbourg, 1751. — Premier projet sur la porte Dauphine."
"Louisbourg, 1751. — Plan du front de fortification d'entre le Bastion du Roy, celuy
de Dauphine et la tenaille de la Porte Dauphine a Louisbourg."
"Louisbourg, 1751. — M£moire sur le front de fortification, d'entre le bastion princesse
et le bastion de la Reine."
" Profils du front de fortification."
"Louisbourg, 1751. — M£moire sur la Batterie de 1'jslot, cott£e 47, au Plan de la
Place." (L'lle aux chevres.)
"Louisbourg, 1751. — M^moire sur la piece de la Grave cott£e 7, au Plan, et des
ouvrages projettes pour la remettre dans son premier Etat de deffense."
" Plan, coupd sur la ligne L.M. dans le milieu de la face gauche de la piece de la grave
cottee 7 au Plan."
"Louisbourg, 1751. — M^moire sur 1'Etat des ouvrages du front de la Tenaille de la
Porte Dauphine, et de ceux qu'on y propose en augmentation."
"Plan, Profils sur le Petit Front de la Tenaille de la Porte Dauphine."
"Louisbourg, 1751. — M6moire sur le front d'entre le demy-bastion de Maurepas et
demi-bastion Brouillant."
Plan.
"Louisbourg, 1751. — M£moire sur le front de fortification d'entre le bastion du Roy
et celui de Dauphin."
Plan.
"Louisbourg, 1751. — M£moire sur la Batterie Royalle Cottee 48 au plan ; Eloign^e
de cette Place de 1600 Toises par terre, et 750 par mer."
" Profil coup£ sur la ligne No de la redoute projett£e, sur la hauteur du Cap Noir."
APPENDIX XIII 431
" Plans des cales Fr£de>ic, de 1'Etang, Dauphine avec leurs prolongements projet£s ;
profil de construction." Joint a la lettre de M. Franquet du 14 x 1751.
" Plan de la Batterie de 1'Islot a 1'Entrde du Port de Louisbourg."
" Plan, Profil et Elevation du mur cr&iele' Projett£ pour fermer totalement Pint6rieur
de la Batterie de 1'Islot."
"Toise definitif des ouvrages qui ont Est£ faits pour la construction du bastiment
destine pour une brasserie a huit chaudieres a 1'usage des troupes, tant en terre que maconnerie,
*ierre de taille, charpente, gros fer, Et autres, par le Sr. Claude Creuzet Entrepreneur, En
:ons6quence de son march6 pass£ a Louisbourg le 13 aoust 1752."
Plan, Sign£ de la main de Boucher.
"Louisbourg, 1752. — Plan pour servir au projet du r^tablissement du batardeau cott^e
26, et d'une Estacade ou digue de gros pilots pour garantir la piece de la grave contre
rimp&uosite' de la mer."
"Lettre de M. Franquet au ministre, II annonce 1'envoi du plan ci-dessus et de
1'estimation." Sont signees de la main de M. Franquet.
" Plans, coupes et Elevations du Bastiment de l'H6pital de Louisbourg, fait sur la
prolongation de 1'aille gauche de 1'ancien Bastiment achev6 au mois de Mai 1752." Sign6
de la main de Boucher.
" Plan et Profil du Batardeau de la piece de la Grave et de la ligne des Pilots enfonc^s
pour la conservation de cet ouvrage et de k face de la dite piece." Sign6 de la main de
Boucher, joint a la lettre du 20 9bre 1752.
"Louisbourg, 1756. — M^moire sur I'e'tat actuel des ouvrages du front des fortifications
d'entre les Bastions du Roy, et du Dauphin et la mer."
" Profil coup6 sur la ligne a, b, c, d, e, f." Joint a la lettre de M. Franquet du
20 xbre 1756.
"Plan coupe sur la ligne a, b, de la hauteur de la justice." Joint a la lettre et au
m£moire de M. Franquet du 20 xbre 1757.
" Profil coup6 sur la ligne h, i, K, L, de la face droite de la Tenaille de la Porte
Dauphine." Joint a la lettre et M^moire de M. Franquet du 20 xbre 1757.
" Plan du front d'entre les Bastions du Roy, celui de Dauphin et la mer." Joint *a la
lettre de M. Franquet du 20 xbre 1756.
Lettre de M. Franquet au ministre, Louisbourg, 4 novembre 1755. II rend compte
des "ouvrages faits en augmentation, et en reparation pendant Campagne, aux fortifications
le cette place."
Duplicata de la lettre du 14 octobre 1755 de M. Franquet au ministre au sujet des
>rtifications de Louisbourg.
Louisbourg, 1755. — "Plan depuis 1'angle flanqu6 du Bastion du Roy jusqu'au bord du
'ort, et des changements proposes." Joint a la lettre de M. Franquet du 4 9bre 1755.
Louisbourg, 1755. — " Plan des changements ordonnei aux fortifications sur le front du
lur cr£neleV' Joint a une lettre de M. Franquet du 4 9bre 1755.
Louisbourg, 1755. — "Plan des changements ordonn^s au front du mur cr£ne!6 et a
:lui d'entre le Bastion Princesse et celui de la Reyne." Joint a la lettre de M. Franquet
iu 4 9bre 1755.
Louisbourg. — " Plan des ouvrages projett^s sur le front d'Entre le Bastion Princesse et
:lui de la Reyne." Joint a la lettre de M. Franquet du 20 xbre 1756.
432
APPENDIX XIII
"Etat des papiers concernant la fortification de cette place qui ont M extraits du
cabinet de M. Boucher a la leve'e du scel£ qui en a e"t6 faite en presence de M. PreVost
ordonnateur en 1'Isle Royale le 22 d'Aoust 1753." Joint a la lettre de M. Franquet du
" Louisbourg, 1755. — Plan des ouvrages faits et a faire entre le Bastion du Roy et celui
de Dauphin et la Tenaille de la porte Dauphine." Joint a une lettre de M. Franquet du
49brc '755-
" Retranchements de 1'anse a la pointe Platte, 1757."
" Plan de la ville de Baston."
" Plan de la Baye de Baston."
Lettre dc Chaussegros de L6ry au ministre (16 8brc 1734) au sujet des fortifications de
Montreal.
Description de Tile Perc^e. L'lle Perc£e, le Cap Breton et Terreneuve servent toujours
de port pour "embarquer les Castors que les habitants du pays font passer en fraude en
Europe."
"Croquis du fleuve St. Laurent."
"Additions au Projet de Lettre a M. Franquet sur les fortifications de Louisbourg."
" Observations Particulieres sur la Batterie roiale qui deffend le Port de Louisbourg."
" Proposition pour la carte de 1'Isle de sable, du Golfe et du Fleuve St. Laurent."
" Plan et profil du Bastiment a faire au port Toulouze pour servir de Magasins des
vivres, de chapelle, de Boulangerie, 1733." Sign£ Verrier.
"Profil et Elevation du Logement du Commandement du port Toulouze, 1733."
" Plan ge'ne'ral pour L'Etablissement de la Batterie et des Logements a faire au port
Toulouze, 1733."
" Plan du magasin des vivres et du Logement des officiers, four, etc., a faire au port
Toulouze, 1733."
"Plan du Logement pour le Commandant du port Toulouze, 1733."
"Plan des Cazernes a faire au port Toulouze, 1/33."
5{ Profil et Elevation des Cazernes a faire au port Toulouze, 1733."
"lie Royale, 1752. — Profil d'une Redoute a construire avec fossd sur un plateau de
terres ordinaires."
Lettre de M. Franquet au ministre au sujet des fortifications de 1'Ile Royale
(Louisbourg, le 14 Janvier 1752).
"Etat Estimatif des ouvrages proposes a la Construction d'une des Redoutes projettees
le long des Cotes de 1'Isle Royalle." Joint a la lettre du 14 Janvier 1752.
Lettre du Ctc de Raymond au ministre au sujet des fortifications de 1'Isle Royale.
Louisbourg, le 14 Janvier 1752.
"Copie de la lettre de Mgr. Rouill6 au Sr. Franquet," au sujet des fortifications de
Louisbourg et rcponse de celui-ci.
" Plan de la pointe a Rochefort."
" Carte des environs de Louisbourg."
[TABI
APPENDIX XIII
433
PLANS DE LOUISBOURG
A LA BIBLIOTHiojJE NATIONAL!, PARIS
La Cote,
Reg. C. 3714 •
Louisbourg (plan de), cote d'Acadie. Manuscrit. 1723 .
i fll. gm.
S. nom.
Reg. C. 3715 .
Louisbourg (plan de). MS. 1734 .....
1 f. gf.
S. nom.
Reg. C. 4141 .
Louisbourg (plan du port et de la ville de). MS.
i f. aig.
S. nom.
C. 7484 Barb. 1884
Louisbourg (Plan du port de). MS. ....
i f.
C. 7485 Barb. 1885
Louisbourg (Environs de) dans 1'ile Royale. MS.
i f .
S. nom.
C. 7486 Barb. 1886
Louisbourg (Environs de). S. nomenclature. MS. .
i f.
S. nom.
C. 7487 Barb. 1887
Louisbourg (plan du port de) ......
i col.
de La Rigaudiere
C. 7488 Barb. 1888
Louisbourg (plan du port et de la ville de). 1742
i f.
Nic. Bellin.
c. 13522(3) •
Louisbourg. MS. ........
ijes.
S. nom.
C. 15980. 148
Louisbourg (plan du port de) et ses batteries
i col.
S. nom.
C. 15980. 149
Louisbourg (plan de). MS. en coul. 1723-1724
i col.
S. nom.
C. 15980. 150
Louisbourg (plan de la ville de). MS. ....
i aig.
S. nom.
C. 15980. 151
Louisbourg (profils du terrain p. les batteries de). 1722
5 pieces
S. noms.
C. 18830
Louisbourg (Vue de la Ville de) prise en dedans du port.
..1
MS. 1731
i bande jes.
Exposition No. 215.
C. 19971
Louisbourg (plan de) .......
i aigle. -
Le Rouge.
CC. 267 .
Louisbourg (Vue de la Ville de). 1731 • . .
Verrier.
Ge. D. 1348 .
Louisbourg (plan de la ville de) en 1757 (s.l.s.d.). MS.
i"f.
. . .
Ge. D. 3455 .
Louisbourg. — Vorstellung einiger Gegenden und Plaetze in
Nort- America unter Franzoesisch und englichen Justiziren.
Nurmberg, 1756 ........
FF. 3949 Plan XII.
Plan de Louisbourg. 1757-58 ......
DB. 1501 pi. 37
Louisbourg (Plan du port et ville de) dans 1'Isle Royale.
i8eme si
• • .
128. (No. 16) .
Louisbourg (Rade de). (s.d.) Carte. MS. iSeme siecle
128. (No. 15) .
Louisbourg (Plan de). (s.d.) Plan MS. legende. iSeme
siecle ..........
FF. 4693 pi. 23
Louisbourg (Port de) dans 1'Isle Royale. 1764
...
Bellin.
FF. 4693 pi. 24
Louisbourg (Plan de) dans 1'Isle Royale. 1764.
Bellin.
FF. 8726 pi. 109
Louisbourg (Attack of), the Fleet commanded by the Honble.
Adml. Boscawen, etc. 1772 .....
CC. 1184 pi. 5
.Louisbourg (Plan de la Ville et du Port de) Iev6 en 1756.
Paris, 1779 .........
...
DD. 675 Pl. 5.
Louisbourg (Plan de la Ville et du Port de) levd en 1756.
Paris, 1779
...
CC. 1123 pi. 19
Louisbourg (Plan de la ville et du port de) leve en 1756 par
ordre de Mr. de Sartine. 1779 .
CC. 1076 pi. 5
Louisbourg (Plan de la ville et du port de) leve en 1756 par
ordre de Mr. de Sartine 1779
Archive 2865 .
Plan du Port et ville de Louisbourg dans 1'Ile Royale.
P.V.B. ing. de la M. 1744
SERVICE HYDROGRAPHIQUE DE LA MARINE
tefeuille.
Division.
2
10
Piece.
10
DOCUMENTS RELATIFS A LOUISBOURG
Cote S. E. de 1'isle Royale depuis 1'isle
Guion jusques a la Pierre a fusil, de
Chabert
Chemin Royale de Mir£ depuis Louisbourg
jusqu'au Lac avec les rivieres, ruisseaux,
lacs, estangs et fleuves qui s'y trouvent,
0.130 pour 1000 toises (envoy£ par Mr.
de St. Ovide 1725) ....
1756-57 imprim6
manuscnt
2 F
434
Portefcuillc.
'3'
APPENDIX XIII
Diviiion.
10
Pltcc
4
'3'
10
10
'31
10
IO
10
10
'31
'31
1 1
1 1
1 1
1 1
Carte des environs de Louisbourg avec la
riviere partie du grand lac et le chemin
de Myrd ensemble les concessions des
terrains accorddes i diffdrens particuliers,
o.i 1 2 pour 2500 toises (joint a la lettre
du Sr. Brouillan du 29 mars 1738) . manuscrit
6 Carte des environs de Louisbourg depuis la
baye de Gabarus jusques a la riviere
Mird, 0.107 pour 1200 toises . . „
7 Carte topographique du port, ville et environs
de Louisbourg ou sont reprdsentds les
ouvrages d'augmentation des fortiffica-
tions qu'a fait faire Mr. le Comte Dubois
de Lamothe, Vice-Amiral de France lors
du siege avec les Anglois en 1745 (0.078
pour 600 toises), avec plusieurs plans
particuliers des anses et des ports des
environs ...... „
8 Plan du port et des environs de Louisbourg
avec les Sondes marquant les endroits
du ddbarquement des Anglois en 1745,
0.109 pour £ lieue .... „
9 Carte des environs de Louisbourg, 0.090
pour 1000 toises. Communiqud par
M. de la Rigaudiere en 1756 . . „
1 1 Plan de la Ville et du Port de Louisbourg
avec ses environs assidgd par les Anglois
cette presente annde MDCCLVIII.
par Lartigue, avec divers plans des anses
et ports environnants, 0.104 pour 600
toises ....... „
12 A plan of the city and harbour of Louisbourg
with the French batteries. Siege in
1758, avec plan particulier de la ville et
forts de Louisbourg par J. Jefterys,
0.076 par mille ..... imprimd
1 Plan du Havre de Louisbourg, 0.135 pour
500 toises, par 1'Hermitte, 1716 . . manuscrit
2 Veue perspective du port de Louisbourg,
1717 .... „
3 Plan du port de Louisbourg avec des projets
de fortifications et les sondes, 0.106 pour
400 toises „
4 Plan de la rade et forts de Louisbourg, 0.098
pour 500 toises (dddid au Comte de
Portefeuille. Division. Piece.
ii
ii
ii
ii
ii
ii
APPENDIX XIII
Toulouse, Amiral de France, par les
gardes : O'brien, de Parcevaux, Du
Rougelm, de St. Reveul, de Kuzout,
de Chancy) .....
Plan de la ville et du port de Louisbourg, de
ses batteries avec sa perspective ou 1'on
voit les ouvrages et fortifications faites
par les Anglois pour 1'attaque de la place
en 1745, o.i pour 400 toises — avec des
vues et divers plans particuliers
Plan de la rade et baye de 1'isle Royale a
1'entree de la riviere Canada, Iev6 par
Mirabert en 1753, 0.080 pour 250 pas
435
8
Plan de la rade de Louisbourg leve par le
Sr. S&igny 6crivain sur le vaisseau le
Bisane command^ par Mr. Hoquart,
1753, 0.054 Pour 4°° toises. . .
10 Plan de Louisbourg avec les attaques des
Anglois centre cette place lors du siege
en 1758 (Communique par Mr. le Chev.
de Drucourt, capitaine de vaisseau
Gouverneur) .....
1 1 Plan de la ville et du port de Louisbourg Iev6
en 1756 par ordre de Mr. de Sartine,
0.097 Pour 4°° toises ....
12 A Survey of Louisbourg harbour, 0.073 Pour
300 brasses (Laurie et White, 1798) .
manuscrit
imprim6
APPENDIX XIV
EXTRACT FROM "MEDALS & DECORATION OF THE
BRITISH ARMY AND NAVY" (page 96)
No. 120.
BY J. H. MAYO
SIR ALEXANDER SCHOMBERG,^ «
GEORGE YOUNG, Midshipman,/ '
Gold Medal
Obv. — A sailor and a soldier supporting a globe inscribed CANADA AMERICA, above
supporters PARITER . IN . BELLA (sic\ under globe prostrate figure of France.
Rev. — Fort firing on the Prudent and the Bienfaisant.
Leg. — LOVISBOURG . TAKEN . MDCCLVIII.
Circular, 1-7 inch.
Struck.
Ring for suspension.
Blue and yellow ribbon.
Artist, Thomas Pingo.
This medal was presented to Sir Alexander Schomberg for his distinguished services
at the second siege of Louisbourg, in command of the Diana frigate, 36 guns. The
medal is in the possession of his great-grandson, Lieutenant-Colonel Schomberg, Roj
Marine Light Infantry.
It was also awarded to Senior Midshipman George Young, afterwards Sir George
Young. He was serving on board the York, under Captain (afterwards Sir) Hugh Pigot,
and was in charge of one of the boats, which, carrying in all 600 men, started at midnight
on the 26th July 1758, and divided into two squadrons, one of which, led by Laforey,
attacked the Prudent, the other under Balfour surrounded the Bienfaisant. Giving three
hearty cheers in reply to the fire of the sentinels, on the order being given, the crew
seizing their arms with the most intrepid activity followed their brave leaders and boarded
the ships on each bow, quarter, and gangway. Both ships were taken, with the loss to us
of one officer and three or four seamen.
This notable exploit, performed under the batteries of Louisbourg, is the subject of a
contemporary oil-painting in the possession of the present Baronet, Sir George Young, who
says in a letter to The Times, 2nd July 1895 : "The story is told that long after, when the
416
I
APPENDIX XIV 437
Revolution had driven many naval officers from their country, one of them was brought
by a neighbour to luncheon with Sir George Young at Formosa, who, entering the dining-
room, threw up his hands, exclaiming, ' Ah, voila mon pauvre Prudent ! ' He had been a
midshipman on the ship that was destroyed. The picture was painted by Swaine, from a
sketch by Sir George Young. The medal is in the possession of his descendants. . . ."
LOUISBURG TAKEN, 26th July 1758. (404.)
The British flag waving over the globe, marked CANADA AMERICA. On one side a
sailor waves his hat ; on the other a grenadier points to a female figure writhing beneath
the globe, pointing to English boats approaching, and dropping the French Lily into the
sea ; above, a flag and a band inscribed, PARITER . IN . BELLA. (Equal in wars.) Above
hovers Fame with her trumpet and a laurel wreath. T . PINGO . F.
Rev. — Batteries firing j the English Fleet in the offing ; a French ship in flames and
another towed away by English boats.
Leg. — LOVISBOVRG . TAKEN . MDCCLVIII. Somewhat rare.
Louisburg was captured from the French 26th July 1758 ; Generals Amherst and
Wolfe commanded the land forces, and Admiral Boscawen the fleet. The time chosen for
the representation on this medal is when an attack was made upon the two remaining
ships of the French squadron, which were in the harbour ; one was towed away ; the other,
being aground, was necessarily destroyed. The perfect harmony which prevailed between
the military and naval commanders is alluded to in the legend on the obverse. Mr. Thomas
Hollis, who had much intercourse with artists, and exercised great influence in the carrying
out of the designs of medals struck about this time, appears to have superintended the
execution of this one. The specimen in silver in the British Museum was in his own
collection, and by his own direction was inscribed upon the edge, EDWARD . BOSCAWEN,
ADMIRAL . IEFFERY . AMHERST . GENERAL . COMMANDING. WILLIAM . PITT . ADMINISTRING.
LOUISBURG TAKEN, 26th July 1758. (405.)
Bust of Britannia, /., head bound with fillet, hair twisted into a knot behind, no
drapery ; behind, a trident projecting from the neck.
Leg. — O . FAIR . BRITANNIA . HAIL.
Rev. — Victory, bearing a laurel wreath and a palm branch, walking r., on the prow
of a vessel. Leg. — LOVISBOVRG . TAKEN . MDCCLVIII. Not uncommon.
This medal was executed by Thomas Pingo, probably under the auspices of Mr.
Thomas Hollis. It varies a little from the following one. On the obverse the trident, if
prolonged, would cut the letter H in HAIL. On the reverse the wreath extends between
the legend and the date. The legend on the obverse is from Dr. Akenside's " Ode on
leaving Holland."
LOUISBURG TAKEN, 26th July 1758. (406.)
There is a variety of the preceding. On it the trident, if prolonged, would not
touch the letter H, and the wreath nearly touches the bottom of the first letter of the date.
rery rare.
This specimen belonged to Mr. Thomas Hollis, and on the paper in which it was
APPENDIX XIV
wrapped he stated it to be unique. This was not quite correct, for there was another also
in lead in the collection of the late Mr. Dimsdale.
LOUISBURG TAKEN, 26th July 1758. (407.)
Bust of Britannia, /., head bound with fillet, hair twisted into a knot behind, no
drapery ; in front, the cap of Liberty ; behind, a trident. Leg. — O FAIR . BRITANNIA .
HAIL. I . Kirk . F.
Rev. — Victory, running, r., bears in her left hand a trophy consisting of a palm
branch, armour, and shield with the French lily, and in her right a large fish, from whose
mouth issues a number of small ones. Leg. — LOVISBOVRG . TAKEN . MDCCLVIII. Rare.
The trophy shows that the conquest was obtained from France : the fish alludes to the
valuable fishery which existed near the coast. This medal was designed by Cipriani at
the request of Mr. Thomas Hollis.
There is a variety of this medal, differing only in having a cornucopia instead of a
fish in the hand of Victory. It was probably the earlier of the two, and is extremely rare.
ADMIRAL BOSCAWEN; LOUISBURG TAKEN, 26th July 1758. (408.)
Bust of Admiral Boscawen, r., hair in twisted tail behind, in coat, and riband across
the breast ; in his right hand is a baton, Leg.— ADMI. BOSCAWEN TOOK CAPE BRETON.
Rev. — View of the harbour of Louisburg : ships entering, castle on the left. Leg. —
LOUISBURG HARBOUR. Ex. — iuL . 26 . 1758. Rare.
This and the following brass medals are rare because they are of very inferior work-
manship, and at the time were thought not worth preserving.
Admiral Edward Boscawen was the second son of the first Viscount Falmouth ; he
was born in 1711 and died loth Jan. 1761. Lord Chatham bestowed upon him the high
praise of always finding expedients, whilst others were looking out for objections. No
reason has been discovered why the Admiral alone should be commemorated and no
allusion made to General Amherst, who commanded the army with great skill and success.
Louisburg is the capital of Cape Breton.
ADMIRAL BOSCAWEN; LOUISBURG TAKEN, 26th July 1758. (409.)
Bust of Admiral Boscawen, r., etc., similar to the preceding.
Rev. — View of the harbour of Louisburg with ships and castle on the left. Leg. —
LOUISBURG. Ex. — IUL . 26 . 1758.
ADMIRAL BOSCAWEN; LOUISBURG TAKEN, 26th July 1758. (410.)
There is a variety of the preceding piece differing slightly in its type, and smaller.
ADMIRAL BOSCAWEN; LOUISBURG TAKEN, 26th July 1758. (411.)
Bust of Admiral Boscawen, r., with hair long, and tied behind, in armour, mantle, and
riband across the breast. Leg. — ADMI . BOSCAWEN . TOOK . CAPE . BRETON.
Rev. — View of the harbour of Louisburg with ships ; a mortar firing a shell agaii
the castle on the right. Leg. — LOUISBOURG. Ex. — JUL . 26 . 1758.
APPENDIX XIV
439
ADMIRAL BOSCAWEN ; LOUISBURG TAKEN, 26th July 1758. (412.)
There is a variety of the preceding piece, scarcely to be distinguished from it, except
that there is no shell proceeding from the mortar.
ADMIRAL BOSCAWEN ; LOUISBURG TAKEN, 26th July 1758. (413.)
Bust of Admiral Boscawen, r., etc., similar to No. 411. Leg. — TO . BRAVE . ADMI .
BOSCAWEN.
Rev. — A French Officer, kneeling, delivers his sword and the key of the citadel to
Admiral Boscawen. Leg. — I SURRENDER PRISONER. Ex. — 1758.
The French Officer who commanded the defence of Louisburg was the Chevalier
de Drucour.
The medal struck in 1719 to commemorate the foundation of Louisburg, and that
by the Society of Colonial Wars, are the other two principal medals.
INDEX
AB&NAQUISE, F, 208-9
Abercromby, General, Pitt's instructions to, 236 sqq. ;
defeat of, at Ticonderoga, 253, 289
Acadia (see also Nova Scotia), British claims in, 184
Chabert's map of, 189
Early history of, 2
Forant's plan for attack on, 96, 100
French policy as to (1749), 189-90
Piracy off, 72-3
Settlers and pioneer visitors from : on Isle Royale,
17-19
Sovereignty problems (1750), 184-5
Trade of Louisbourg with (see also Illicit Trade),
44 et alibi
Acadian Brides, in Isle Royale, 88
Cruise to Louisbourg (1714), 18-19
Petition to De Cannes, 115, text, 125-6
Settlements on Isle Royale, 195
Acadian Companies, the, 1 1
Acadians, boat-building by, 220
Ecclesiastical affairs of, 57
French attitude to (1744), 113-14
Removal of, to Isle Royale : delays, difficulties, and
failure of, and the reasons, 14 sqq., 34-6,
40, 53-4, 197
Share of, in defence of Louisbourg, 246, 248
Untrustworthiness of (1734), 82
Verville on, 53, 77
Admiralty Court, French, set up, 46
Affriquain, the, 18, 33, 35, 38, 40
Agrain, Count d', murder of, 66
Aillebout, D', — , and the defence of Louisbourg,
157, 160
Aix-la-Chapelle, Treaty of, and the restoration of
Isle Royale : other exchanges and agree-
ments under, 181
Albany, the, activities of, 186
Albemarle, Earl of, 195
Alcide, the, capture of, 196
Alex, Pere, 232
Alleghany Mountains, in French sphere of influence,
i ; difficulties concerning, 182, 183 n. 6
logny, d', — , French Commander in Canada, 1 1
Lmerica, British Colonies in, see New England, &c.,
see also Colonial, Provincials, & Rangers
French and English relations in, 70
French possessions in, before 1713, i
Boundary delimitation of,
Pax Gallica in, bases of, 64 sqq.
America (contd.) —
Piracy on coasts of, 62, 72, 73, & see Piracy
Trading regulations for shipping between, and
Europe, 75
War with France waged in, by Pitt, 201 sqq.
American Colonies, tension in (1748-56), 183
Opinion on the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, 181
Amherst, Captain, 288
Amherst, Major-General Jeffrey, and the siege of
Louisbourg (1758), 150, 236, 237, 242,
248 sqq., the capitulation, 285 ; thanked
by Parliament, 289 ; and the demolition
of Louisbourg defences, 228, 290-1
An/mone, the, 187
Angelique, the Louisbourg foundling, i87«. 3
Annapolis Royal, 14, 174; early years of, and bad
conditions at, 40, 82, 229 ; siege of
(1708), 138
Fortifications of, 105, no, 112, 113
French operations against (1744), 113 sqq. ; re-
inforcements at, 113, 122, moral effect
of, 118 ; Meschin's baulked attempt on,
117; vessels taken off, 119; new expedi-
tion proposed against (1744), 122 5 results
of the attacks, 133 ; Marin's attack on,
149 5 La Jonquiere's voyage to, 175
Anne, Queen, and the Acadians, 14, 16, 35
Anse, L', a la Coromandiere, 246 sqq., 249 & n. i
Anse, L', a Gautier, 245, 250
Anson, Admiral Lord, 196, 203 n. i ; defeat by,
of La Jonquiere, 188 ; victory of, off
Finisterre, 297 ; and Warren, relations
between, 168, 172, 296-7, 303-4
Anson, Lady, on the chance let slip by Du Bois de
la Motte, 300
Anson, W., 168
Anthonay, Henri Valentin Jacques D', at the siege of
Louisbourg (1758), 245-6 &n. i, 252, 285
Biographical note, 316
Antigonish, Acadian Indians at, 36, 65
Anville, Due d', French expedition under, against
Louisbourg (1746), 174, 294; body of,
sent to Louisbourg, 189
Arc-en-Ciel,' L' , capture of, 200, 237
Arceneau, — , canoe-voyage of, to Isle Royale, 19,
64 n. i
Ardent, the, 117
Ar/t/iuse, the, 137, 269, 274-5 <£•». x, 277> 2?8
Argal, — , foray of, 2
441
442
INDEX
Argonaute, the, 118
Armstrong, Major Lawrence, 184 ; and illicit trade,
77 ; and the Indian attack on Canso, 68,
69, 97
Asfcild, — , d', 42
Atlante, the, 52, 53, 54, 55
Aubigny, Captain D', 101
Auchmuty, Judge, on the "Importance of Cape
Breton" (pamphlet), 131, 226
H.\ IK PIS EsPAGNOLS, 9, 25, 33
Baic Vcrte, 77, 143
Baillie, Captain, 253 n. a
Baleine, 73 n. 3, 92 n. i, 109, 118, 148
Balfine, the, cargo of, 104-5
Balfour, Captain, of the fire-ship Etna, 283, 436
Barnard, Rev. John, 138
Barnsley, Captain Henry, 209, 210
Barrailh, — , 56 ; sent to remove Acadians, 53-4
Basques, the, and Cape Breton, 8, 9, 19, 21, 81,
109, 220 ; feat of, at the siege of Louis-
bourg (i758). *48
Bastide, Colonel J. H., 113 ; drawing by, of Louis-
bourg, 86 ; and the two attacks on
Louisbourg (1745). '34. '67; (i7S8)»
237, 265, 276-9
Beaubassin, burning of, 185
Beaucour, — (or Beaucours), 37 ; and the Louisbourg
defences, 34, 50, 55
Beaudeduit, — , 232
Beauffremont, — , De, 232 ; English fieet evaded by,
202, 203, 244
Beauharnois and Hocquart, convoy demanded by,
119; storehouse proposed by, 98
Beausejour Fort, Acadia, ana its commandants, 186
,i- >:;;. i <{• j, 194; fall of, 197,235^.1
Beaussier de Lisle, — , sea-fight of, with Holmes,
199-200, 210 sqq., 294, 299 ; squadron
of, at siege of Louisbourg (1758), 244,
272
Bea<ver, the, 238
Bedford, Duke of, instructions to Cornwallis, 184
Begon, — , Intendant of Canada, n, 13
Bennett, Lieut., see Mascarene and Bennett
Benoit, — , and the lost Scout, 148
Berrichon, — , firm of, 20
Berwick, Duke of, 58
Bibliography, 426-32
Bien Aimt, the, 138
Bienfaisant, the, at the siege of Louisbourg, 280 ;
crew landed, 273 ; capture of, 284, 436
Bienville, — , De, Ohio expedition of, 186
Bigot, Francois, Commissairc-Ordonnateur, activities
of, in Isle Royale, 94 sqq., 188 ; and the
siege of Louisbourg (1745), 148 <{,-«. 4, the
King's cash secured by, 165 ; later offices
held by, 188 n. i
On the cost of living in Isle Royale, 103, 104 ; on
sales of prize ships, 119 ; on illicit trade,
100-1, and on trade with New England,
104, and with the West Indies, 226 ; on
the Swiss mutiny, 123-4; on value of
land in Louisbourg (1739), ^7
Biographical Notes on persons mentioned in the
body of the book, 315 sq<j.
Bizarre, the, 245, 266, 301
BlankforJ, the, capture of, 198
Boarding, French love for, 297
Bois Berthelot, Du, — , and illicit trade, 101
Hois, Cardinal Du, attitude of, to England, 71, 295
Bois de la Motte, — , Admiral Du, and his fleet,
196, 203, 205, 232, 234, 245, 294, 297,
304; chance lost by, 299-301 ; maladies
conveyed by, to France, 243, 310
Boishebert, — , at St. John River, 185, 186, at
Gabarus, 204 ; and the proposed Halifax
raid, 235^.1 ; failure of, at Louisbourg,
270
Hollan, — , 167
Bonaventure, Father, 16
Bonnaventure, — , and De Cannes, 82, 116
Bonrepaus, — , 42
Bonteur, Captain, 277
Booty, incentirc of, 307
Borde, La, — , 270 ». i
Boscawen, Admiral Hon. Edward, and Amherst'f
expedition against Louisbourg, 196, 236
sqq., 267 Jen. ?, 286, the surrender, 284-5,
entry into the town, 288, thanks of
Parliament to, 289
Epitaph of, 308 n. *
Fleet of (1758), 197 n. a, 237 iqq., 264
List of, 261, and movements of, 413 iqq.
Letters to his wife, 203 n. i, 206-7, 308
Medals showing bust of, commemorating the tak-
ing of Louisbourg, 438-9
On Holbourne, 203 n. \ ; on damage done in the
Gulf of St. Lawrence (1758), 422 ; on
hopes of prize-money, 308 «t n. i
Boston, privateers of, 1 20
Reception at, of Warren and Shirley (1746), 174
Warren ordered to (1745), '41
Boucher, — , 89
Boularderie, see de la Boularderie
Boularderie Island, 57
Bourbes, — , Des, optimism of, 200-1 «fc«.i
gambling, &c., 230, 231 ; on India
scalpings, 190
Bourdon, — , on the relative advantages of Louis
bourg and other ports, 33
Bourville, Major De, Acting - Governor of Is
Royale, 73, 83, 92, 98-9 ; Louisboi
fortified by, 72 ; "origin of, 89
Bourzt, Marin Michel du, Marquis de St. Colomt
see Marin
Bouville, Vicomte de, sea-fight of, 296
Boyer, Captain, 241
Braddock, General, sent to America, 195 ; defeat
197, 20 1 <fc». 3
Bradstreet, Colonel, and the Louisbourg expeditic
131, 151 ; trading interests of, 103*. *\
on prices at Louisbourg, 56
Bragg's detachment, 242, 250
Bray, Captain, of the Ad-venture, capture by, of
Machault, 302, 304 «. 3
Brest, blockade of, 203
INDEX
443
Brick-clay of Isle Royale, 53
British (see also English) action in America after the
defeat at Fort Necessity, 195 sqq.
British Colonial administration, defects of, 105,
106-7, no, 229
Failure to handle Indians, 63, 64, 65 sqq.
Forces at the siege of Louisbourg (1758)
Land, 262
Sea, i97». 2, 237 sqq., 261, 264, 413 sqq.
Smallpox in, zj-j&n.z
Brouillant, St. Ovide de, see St. Ovide de Brouillant
Brown, Lieut., exploit of, at siege of Louisbourg,
253, Memo, re, 254-5
Brugnon, — , de, 301
Bureaucracy and the Colonist, 5
Burgundy, Duke of, 41
Burton, Colonel, 250
Byng, Admiral, defeat of, 182 n. i ; execution of, 199
CAILLY, Lieut., or M. Charrer, of the Swiss regi-
ment, 87, 100, 123, trouble with, 102
Calcutta, fall of, 201
Cambis, battalion of, 245, 247, 266, 285
Canada, 59
Cold of, theory on, 23
Coureurs du bols of, 5, 2 1
French troops from, 1 1
Furs of, 22
Lands claimed for, 184
Menace to, of New England, 22, 29-30
Proposed expedition from, to retake Louisbourg, 170
Reinforcement sent to, 199
Saved by Drucour ; British proceedings against,
289-90
Scarcity in, 106
Trade with Isle Royale, 43, 44, 49-50
and the Treaty of Utrecht, 2
Troops of, 194-5, 231, quality of, 13
Value of, to France, 22, 30
Canadians in Isle Royale, 88, 231
Canso, 103
Bad fish-curing at, 104
Base for Louisbourg expedition (1744), 142, 143, 147
British garrison established at, 69-70
Capture of, 109, 110-12, 113, 118, 133
Conditions at, 4, 82, 229
Defences of, 4, 69-70, no, 148
French and English fishery at, 62, difficulties over,
62-3, 67, 78, 105, 106-7
Illicit trade from, 76-7, 101, 224, 405-6
Indian turbulence at, and attack on, 64 sqq.
Limestone found at, 52
Canterbury, the, 143, captures by, i68<fc«. 2
Cape Breton, see also Isle Royale
"Anonymous Memoir of 1706, on its advantages,
fisheries, ports, trees, possibilities, &c.,
22 sqq.
Climate, 22, 23
Coal of, 5, 23, & see Coal
Correct present name of, 218
Currents off, 73
Early history, 9 sqq.
as Entrep6t, 26-7 sqq.
Cape Breton (contd.) —
Famous gales at, 75, 207 sqq.
Fisheries of, see also Fisheries, and passim
Memoir on, 22, 23 sqq.
French ownership of, 1-2 passim (see also, and
chiefly, Isle Royale)
French possession retaken, 10-12
Maps of, 33, 429
Name changes, 12
Ports or harbours of, 9, 18, 19, 22, 25, 32, 33 ;
names changed, 1 2
Strategic value of, 2, 30, 31
Cape Finisterre, British victory off, 297
Cape Ray, pirate headquarters, 73
Cape Sable, 144
Capon, — , mission of, to Louisbourg, 36-7
Capricieux, the, 273, 280
Carey, Captain, and the pirate, 72
Caribou, the, in, 117
Carrerot, Marie The>ese, Madame Prevost, 232
Carthagena expedition, 129
Carthagena, English victory off, 244
Castor, Le, 124
Catalogne, Joseph de, learning of, 49, and lands
of, 90
Caubet, — , Du, fate of, 231
Caulfield, — , Lieut.-Governor, 14
Cayenne, benefited by Forant's legacy, 291/7.2
Cflebre, the, 271, 272, 280
Chabert, Marquis de, map-making by, 1 89
Chaffault, — , De, 247, 421
Chambon, De Vergor du, i86«. 2
Chambon, Louis, Du, Governor of Isle Royale, 100,
1 1 6, memorandum of, on the defence-
needs of Louisbourg, 122, text, 126-7 >
position of (1745), 148, and defects of,
148-9; and the siege of Louisbourg,
147 -f77-, 154, i55> .l6l» 162 sqq., 171;
and the Swiss mutiny, 123 ; vessel of,
taken by the English, 106-7 ; on scarcity
in Isle Royale, 109-10
Chambon, Mesillac Du, 149
Chameau, the, wreck of, 73 sqq., 79
Champigny, — , 42
Chapeau Rouge, see Gabarus
Charente, the, 18, 53
Chariot Royal, the, 196
Charmante, French Indiaman, capture of, 168
Charrer, — , see Cailly
Chassin de Thierry, — , 90, 150, 229 n. 3
Chateau St. Louis, Louisbourg, 85-6
Chateaugue", — , Governor of Isle Royale, 125, 148
Chaussegros de Lery, — , on defence problems, 83
Chazel, Intendant, death by shipwreck, 74
Chebuctoo Bay, renamed after Lord Halifax, 182
Chester, the, 143 n. i, 174, 175 n. 3 ; capture by, 168
Chignecto, Isthmus of, opposition forts on, 186;
marsh-reclamation at, 14
Chointeau, Pilot, death of, 74
Clark, — , Governor of New York, and the Louis-
bourg expedition, 1 30
Clerical Influence, New England, Cape Breton, &c.,
17-18, 53, 116-17
444
INDEX
Clinton, — , Governor of New York, 139, 141
Clue, — , La, voyage of, 243, 244
Coal of Cape Breton (Isle Royale), 5, 6, 9, 23, 43,
75, 97, 106, 176, 224
Coastguard established, 101
Cobequid, Acadian removal from, 17
Cod-fishery, importance of, 3, 22, 23 sqq. et passim,
see also Fisheries
CoCtlogon, — , 42
Colbert, — , 6, 42, 295 ; on French colonial ad-
ministration, 4-5, 50
Colonial and British attitude on American boundary
questions, 182, 183
Free trade, French views on, 4-5, 9-10, 50, 77,
"5
Prosperity, and prospects of separation from
England, i 3 1
Troops (see also Provincials, and Rangers), evolu-
tion of, 173
Colonies and Colonials, European attitude to, 22,
53, 70
Participation in the Louisbourg expedition, i 35/97.,
repayment of, 1 66 «t n. 5, 1 67 *fr nn. 1-2
Rejoicings in, on fall of Louisbourg, 209
Comet, the, 120
Comet e, the, escape of, 266
Commerce, damage to, by privateering, 1 19
and Officialism, 225-6
Commissaire-Ordonnateur, functions of, 44-5
Compagnie des Indes, see French East India Company
Compagnies Franches, the, 47
Connecticut, share of, in Louisbourg expedition, 137,
144, 146
Corbett, — , Secretary to the Admiralty, 130, 139,
140 ; on the Carthagena fight, 244
Corne, Chevalier La, and Lawrence, at the St. John
River, 185-6
Cornwallis, Colonel the Hon. Edward, first Governor
of Nova Scotia, 182, 185, 187, 229
Costebelle, Philippe Pasteur de, Governor of Isle
Royale, 10, 13, 19, 20^ 32 sqq., 37, 38,
45) 53, 64, 102 ; possessions of, 91-2 ;
voyage to France, pecuniary claims,
return, death and will, 54-5
On Acadian Indians, 66 $ on advantages of Port
Toulouse for capital, 32 ; on need for
trade with New England, 225 ; on his
position and associates, 37-8
Costebelle, Mme., fate of, 55 <fc n, 2 ; long life of,
291
Couagne, — , De, 12, 13, 19, 34, 27, 90
Couange family, engineering work of, 49
Councils, set up by the French Regent, 41
Cour-Gayet, — , La, on the French Navy Board,
41, 42
Courbon de Blenac, Chevalier, 245 ; biographical
notes on, 316
Courcey, Captain de, 35
Coureurs du Bois, 5, 21
Crosby, — , Governor of New York, in favour of
attacking Louisbourg, 130
Cross, the, of St. Louis, 60-1, 270
Holders of, at Louisbourg, 61 «t-n. i
Cunninghame, James, on preparations at Halifax for
Amherst's expedition, 237 sqq.
Cuthbert, Lieut., 25 3 n. a
DACCARETTE, firm of, 20 ; and illicit trade, 78
Daccarette family, marriages of, 90, 270 n. i
Daccarette, Michel, the elder, 270 ». i
Daccarette, Michel, the younger, at the siege of
Louisbourg, 270 <L- n. i, 287
Dangeac, — , 291
Dangeac family, 90-1
Daniel, Captain, 9
Darvers, Admiral, 139 n. «
Dauphin Bastion, 269
Dauphin Royal, the, 208
Deblois, Gilbert, on trading methods (1759), 7-8
Defenseur, the, 196
Defensive offensive, instance of, 133, 134
de la Borde, Treasurer of Isle Royale, 234 ; trial of,
233 n. i
de la Boularderie, Poupet, n, 52 ; and the Canso
expedition, in n. * ; and the defence
of Louisbourg, 149, taken prisoner,
150 <fr n. i ; grants of land secured by,
57-8 ; pension to, 291 ; ventures of, 58
i n. 3
de la Boularderie, Mme., 230
de la Boularderie, — , the younger, 58
de la Chasse, Father, on grace among Indians, 65
Delaforest, — , house of, 87
De la Houliere, Mathieu Henri Marchant (or Des
Houlieres), biographical notes on, 325-6 ;
Commander of land forces at the defence
of Louisbourg (1758), 245 <t ». 7
De la Maisonfort, see Maisonfort
de la Marche, Father Dominique, 12, 54; on the
Acadians, 35
De la Martiniere, — , 186/1.2
de la Perelle, Eurry, and the capitulation of Louis-
bourg, 163
de la Perelle, Mme. Eurry, life of, 291
de la Perrelle, Major, 12, 35, 46 n. 2 ; and the Swi»
mutiny, 123
De la Tour, family, 90, 103
de la Valliere, — , 11,12
de la Valliere, family, 90, marriages of, 270 n. \
de 1'Esperance, Baron, marriages of, and of his
descendants, 90, 91, and later life, 291
De 1'Etanduere, — , 191 n. i
Deloit, — , marriage of, 90
Demarets, — , 40
Denis, — , marriage of, 270 n. \
Denis, Messieurs, of Tours, and Cape Breton, u
Deny, Sieur, on the Fishing Industry of Isle Royal
2 1 8 sqq.
Denys, see La Ronde Denys
Denys, Nicholas, settlements of, on Isle Royale, 9
De Ruvyne, Captain, 291
Dcsenclaves, — , 116, on- sea-power, 311
Devonshire, Duke of, 201
Devonshire, the, 238
Diana, the, 436
Diane, the, 188, capture of, 237, 238
INDEX
445
Dieskau, capture of, 197, 199
Doloboratz, the privateer, no, 117, 118, 124, 125,
234; capture of, 118, 138, report by,
on New England towns, 121-2, 128
Doucette, Lieut.-Governor of Nova Scotia, 54 •& n.i
Doughty, Dr. A. G., 289 n. 3
Douglass, Captain, of the Mermaid, 156 ; on the
French colonial fisheries, 227 ; on Shirley,
129 n. 2, 167
Dragon, the, 245
Dromedary, the, 74
Drucour, Chevalier Augustin de, Governor of Isle
Royale, 230, biographical notes on, 316
sqq. ; character of, 287 ; reliance on
Provost, 231 ; earlier career, 233 ; diffi-
culties, &c., at Louisbourg, 233 ; and the
blockades of Louisbourg, 195 sqq., 245
sqq., 266 sqq. ; capitulation of, 284-6 ; on
British handling of ships in port, 296
Drucour, Mme., 276 ; charm and courage of,
233-4, 281
Due d'Anjou, the, 1 1 8
Duchaffault, — , 245, 266
Dudley, Governor Joseph, 64
Duguay-Trouin, — , 41
Dundonald, 7th Earl of, killed, 277 «. 3
Dunkirk, dismantling of, 181
Dupleix, — ,196
Durrell, Captain, of the Eltham, 142 ; as com-
modore at siege of Louisbourg, 158, 251,
squadron of, 238 ; as Rear-Admiral of
British American fleet, 290
Durrell, Captain P., of the Superbe, on the capture
of the Vigilant, 156 n. 4
Dutch view on the Franco-British conflict of 1755, 198
Dwight, Joseph, Colonel of Artillery, Louisbourg
expedition, 138
ECHO, the, capture of, 266
Edgecumbe, Captain, 288
Edward, Captain, 168
Eltham, the, 142, 144, 156 ; log of, on capture of
Vigilant, 177
Emerson, Rev. Joseph, diary cited, 158 <fc«. 3
England, and control of the narrow seas, 181
Naval strength of (see also English Navy), 201
Punic faith of, 70, 196
English anticipations of war (circa 1753-5), 193 «. 3
Colonies, shipping of, table of, 222
Cargoes carried, list of, 224
Garrison of Louisbourg, 173
Difficulties of recruiting, 173
Navy, non-aristocratic character of, 304
Movements of (1757), 202 sqq.
Numbers and guns (1751 & I755)> 295
Promotion in, 302
Opinion on the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, 1 8 1
Trade with Louisbourg, documents on, 402-3
D'Entremont, Charles, Sieur de Pobomicpu, Acadian
settler, 17
Entreprenant, the, 271, 272, 273
Esp/rance, L', 196 ; fight of, with Orford, 297
d'Estimauville, — , property owned by, 157 ». 3
D'Estournel, — , suicide of, 174
D'Estre"es, President, French Navy Board, 42
Etna, fire-ship, 283
Eugene, Prince, Wolfe's likeness to, 315
Evening Post, on French colonial administration, 183
FANEUIL, — , of Boston, trade of, with Louisbourg,
76, 78, 224
Felix, Father, 36
Ferraud, — , 42
Fierrot, Lieut., 90
Fish exports of Louisbourg, 75
Fish-curing defects, 104
Fish-glue trade, 97, 106
Fisheries of the North Atlantic, 2 sqq. passim
Chief concern of British iSth-century colonists, 131
and Commerce, 33, 43
French regulations and resultant friction, 49
Neutrality of, proposed and refused (1744), 112
Seamen from, 32, 220, 228
Vicissitudes of, 39 et alibi
Fishermen of Isle Royale, value of, 3, 21, 220,
228
Fishery troubles, as occasioning the Louisbourg ex-
pedition, 133
Fishing Boundaries, defective documents on, 107
Fishing Firms of Isle Royale, memorial of, on trading
by officers, 78, 398 sqq.
Flat Point, Gabarus Bay, British landing at, 149, 150
Fletcher, Colonel, 251
Fleur de Lys, log of, on the storm of 1757, 207-8
Fleury, Cardinal, and Isle Royale Fisheries, 226 ;
and the Navy, 295
Fones, Captain, of the Tartar, 144, 156
Forant, Captain Isaac Louis, Governor of Isle Royale,
94 <fc «. i ; improvements and plans (with
Bigot), 95 sqq. ; death of, and summary
of character, 98 ; legacy of, 98, 291 ». 2
Formidable, Le, 245
Fort Gaspareaux, 194, fall of, 197
Fort Necessity, French victory at, 195
Foster, Colonel, 250
Foudroyant, surrender of, to Monmouth, 244
France, colonial trade with, restrictions on and
results (see also Illicit trade), 75 sqq.
Financial state of, at end of Louis XIV.'s reign,
as reacting on Isle Royale, 37, 39 sqq.
France and England, war between, see War
Franquet, — , Director-General of Fortifications at
Louisbourg, 189, 191, 197-8, 234, 245,
283, 285
Free trade of Colonies, Colbert on, 4-5, 50, Raudot
on, 9-10, 77, 225
French accounts of the British landing at Louisbourg
(1758), 260
Admiralty, increased vigour of, at Louisbourg
(1751), 191
Chivalry, instances of, 198, 209
Colonial administration, principles of, 4 sqq., 50, 84,
183, 228, weakness of, 66 sqq., 80, 170
Colonial empire, before 1713, i, advantage of,
to France, 310, extent of, 295, loss of,
causes of, 310-11
446
INDEX
French (contd.) —
Colonial policy, and relations with the English,
35-6, 70, 82-3, 189-90/97.
Competition in colonial trade, English recognition
Of, 226 !(](].
Council of Commerce, 6
Encroachments at Canso, Smart's action, St.
Ovide's attitude, 62-3
Fishing Rights, off Newfoundland, 1-2, 10
Forces at siege of Louisbourg (1758)
Military, 245, 248, 263, 265
Naval, 244/90., 263, 265
Merchants, and the Isle Royalc-New England
trade, 224-5
Military characteristics, 161
Missionaries, self-sacrifice of, 64, 65
Navy, 3, 41-2
Compared with British, 294 tyq., 304, 309
Fleets in American waters (1757), list of, 203 n. *
Ineffectiveness at Louisbourg (1758), causes,
286, 292, 294/77., 302, 303-4
Numbers and guns (1751 & '755), 295
Operations (1756-7), 199-200, 202/77.
Seamanship and strategy of, 203, 296, 297
Deterioration in (1758), 243-4, and revival
(1763), aid given by, to America, 310
Navy Board, 41, and Isle Royale, 42, 43/77.
Naval minister substituted for, 71
Promises to Acadians, 16 ; non-fulfilment of,
53,54
Reinforcements for Canada and Louisbourg (1754),
195, 196
Rights in America, English violation of, 183 <L-n. 6
Skill in handling Indians, 64/77.
Territories returned in 1748, 181
Troops in America, set Canada, Troops of, <t
Indians
French East India Company, growth of, 169, ships
of, 307, capture of, 117-18, 168
French West Indies, trade with, 43-4
Freres cle Charitc, the, 57 <t n. i
Fresh Water Cove, location of, problem of, 249,
<f- 247
Fresnel du Motel, — , Du, on Indian scalpings, 190
Fulla-vie, the, 1 18
Fundy, Bay of, fertile shores of, 14, 19
Fur entrepot trade of Louisbourg, 75
Fur trade, the, 2, 3, 22
Furber, Jethro, on Louisbourg, circa 1715, 21
GAB ARCS BAY (Chapeau Rouge), 51, 138 n. i, 204 ;
described, 246-7 ; landings at, 143, 147,
'49-5°, 237, 242, 25i-3«fc». a
Gallissonnierre, Roland Michel Barrin, Count de la,
Governor of Canada and Acadia, 184,
185-6 ; career of, defeat by, of Byng,
182 n. i, 244
Cannes, Captain De, 82 ; and the Annapolis opera-
tions, 115-16 ; Acadian petition to, 115,
text, 125-6
Cannes Falaise, De, family, 90
Gaspce Expedition and other matters, Journal of,
417-22
Gaulin, Father, 16, 36, and the Indians, 66
Gauticr, the scout, 235
Gayton, Captain, of the Bun Aim/e, 139
Geary, Captain, of the Somerset, 197
Georgia, failure of, 4
Germany, "as ruinous abyss" to France, 201
Gibraltar, the, 206
Gibson, John, or James, and the siege of Louisbourg,
'3Z> '37 \ iited, 89; on the siege and
surrender of Louisbourg, 15 3-4 <{.-»., 164
Gooch, — , Governor of Virginia, on umbrage given
by grants, 1 8 3
Gordon, William Augustus, and his Journal of the
Siege of Louisbourg in 1758, 428, cited, 280
Gorham, Colonel, and the attack on Island Battery,
157, 161 ; raid by, on the St. John
River, 185
Goutins, — , DCS, Treasurer, 79
Gouttes, Captain le Marquis Charry Des, 244 ;
biographical notes on, 320 ; inefficiency
at siege of Louisbourg, 267, 269, 271-3
Jen. 3, 274, 280, 301
Governors, functions of, 44, 45
Instructions to, 8
Graf i on, the, 294
Grand Banks, the, distances from, table of, 22 1 «£• n. » ;
piracy at, 72, 73
Grand Battery, Louisbourg, 150-1, 268, 269
Grand St. Esprit, Le (ship), 189
Grant, Ensign, exploit of, 253, memo re, 255
Granville, Earl, 196
Gras, — , Le, privateer, 120
Gridlcy, Richard, of the artillery, 167 ; map of
Louisbourg by, 138
Grouard, Pierre, & others, illicit trading by, 76
Guay, Comte du, 299/1.3
Guebriant, — , 307
Gulf of St. Lawrence, see St. Lawrence, Gulf of
HALE, Captain, on fish-fare at Louisbourg, 230
Halifax, Nova Scotia, 308
Base for British operations against Louisbourg,
i97«. 3, 236/77.
Death at, of D'Anville, 1 74
Foray against, planned by Drucour, 233 <t». i
Garrison of, 204
Naming of, 182
Reinforcements sent to, 289
Surlaville's report on, 193
Halifax, the, engaged, 242-3
Hamilton, — , on the burning of the French shi|
at Louisbourg, 280-1
Hanbury, John, 183
Handfield, Colonel, 251
Hardy, Rear- Admiral Sir Charles, captures by, i<
237, 238
Second-in-command to Boscawen in the attack
Louisbourg (1758), 236/77., 265, 288
Squadron under (1757), 202 ; (1758), 236,
264, movements of, 413/77., 417 /7
Hastings, the, 141
Hawk, the, privateer, 121
Hawke, Admiral, naval doings of, 198
INDEX
447
Hector, the, 143 & n. i
Henriau family, 291
Henshaw, — , 68
Herbier, Charles Des, Sieur de la Ratiere, first
Governor of the restored Isle Royale
(1749), J87 5 an^ Prdvost, 231 ; reforms
of, 188-9 5 relations of, with the English,
189-90; retirement of, 190-1 ; on Eng-
lish trade with Louisbourg, 403-4
Hercule, the, 13
Heretics, Indian hostility to, 65
Hermitte, Major L', an engineer, 10*77., 18, 48 ;
and the Louisbourg fortifications, 13,
19, 20, 32, 33, 34, 50 ; later career and
death of, 34, 50, 74 ; letter of, to
Nicholson, on Acadian removal, 15 ;
views of, on Acadians as settlers ,19, on
Canadian soldiers, 13
Heron, Captain Patrick, and the fall of Canso, in,
112, 113
Heron, French Indiaman, capture of, 168
Heros, the, 19
He'ros, Le, Beaussier's ship, 199
Heureux, U (ship), 191
Highland Regiments, dash of, 253 ; Wolfe on, 241
Hind, the, 141
Hirondelle, the, illicit trading by, 76
Hobby, Colonel, 16
Hocquart, see Beauharnois and Hocquart
Hogue, La, French defeat at, 243, Louis XIV. on, 310
Holbourne, Vice - Admiral, squadron under and
blockade by, of Louisbourg (1757), 197
n. 3, 202-3 &n- *> 2O4» 2O5 <fc«- 1, 210, 294,
235, 299, failure of, 204-5 5 prizes taken
by, list of, 206
Holmes, Commodore Charles, fight of, with Beaussier,
ships engaged, and accounts of, 199,
210*77., other operations by, 200
Hopkins, Lieutenant, exploit of, at siege of Louis-
bourg, 253, memo re, 254-5
Hopson, Colonel Peregrine (later General), as
Governor of Isle Royale, 176, Louisbourg
handed over by, on the Peace, 187 ; and
the siege of Louisbourg (1758), 238, 266
n. i, 285
How, Captain, murder of, 186
Hunter, the, 283
.LICIT trading, 7, 76, 77, 78, 84, 100, 101, 188,
223, 224*77. ; documents on, 404*77.
'lustre, the, 199
idia, English gains in, by Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle,
181
lians, see also Micmac, and Mohawk
Acadian, aid given by, to crew of the wrecked
Tilbury, 209 ; attack by, on Canso, 68-
70 ; captures by, 176 ; number of, 66 ;
pillage by, 113 ; relations with French
and English, 31, 63*77., I9° > seaman-
ship of, 67
Allies of the French, 54, 65, 66, 109, 113, 114,
185, 197, 240, 246, 248, 424-5
lexible, L' (ship), 208
Ingonish or Ninganiche, 57-8 ; fishery of, 71 ; illicit
trading at, 101 ; piracy at, 73 ; rise of,
5 ; settlement at, 7 1 ; wreck at, 8 1
Innis, Captain, of the Hind, 141
Intrfyide, the 187
Isabeau and Ganet, and the Louisbourg fortifications,
45. 55
Island Battery, the, 122, 155, 157, 158, 160-2, 164,
172, destruction of, 268, 269
Isle Madame, attempt at settlement on, 59 ; English
fishers at, 67 ; wreck on, 52
Isle Royale (see also Cape Breton, and Louisbourg),
5» 19. 21
Administration, see Maurepas, Navy Board, Pont-
chartrain, Governors, under their names,
&c., passim
Chabert's map of, 189
Climate, 5, 92-3
Commerce and Trade (see also Coal, Fisheries, and
Illicit trade), 5-6*77., 22*77., 43'4> 52-3,
75» 97, 224*77.
Effect on, of privateering, 121
Foreign trade, documents on, 397 sqq.
Defence of, Wolfe on, 286 n. i
Defences, see Fortifications, under Louisbourg
Drink prohibitions (see also Drunkenness, under
Louisbourg), 8, 102
Early settlements, 9, 1 2 *77-
Entrepot for trade, 6, 26, 27, 30, 43, 77, 229
Families from, on return to Rochefort
Pensions to, 291, 354, 355*77.
of Officers, on the return to Rochefort, list of,
347 *77.
Famine and frequent scarcity at, 4, 13, 39, 43*77.,
81-2, 98, 103, 104, 106, 109-10, 131-3,
229, 230, 234-5
Farms and private estates in, 89
Fisheries, 8, 20-1, 22 sqq., 33, 38, 43, 48, 52, 62,
71-2, 85, 97, 104, 106, 218*77., 226
Computation as managed before 1745, 380*77.
Quantities and values (1718-55), 382
French expenditure on (1721-57), 370
Game regulations, 9 1 n. i
Negro servants in, 88
Piratical attacks on, 72, 93
Population, growth of, 71, 85
Tables of, 371-9
Restored to France (1748), 181, 187
Roads in, 89
Shipping of, tabulation, 221, 222
Vessels in and out, bought and built, 382, 383*77.
Smallpox brought to, by the Ruby, 81
Sources of sustenance, 44
State of, early i8th century, 32*77., causes, 37,
39*77.
Trees of, 9, 23, 32
Troops and Officers, see under Louisbourg
Under British rule (cf. Louisbourg), 1746, 174*77.
a Victory of Peace, 229
Isle St., Jean (Prince Edward Island), and the
Acadians, 19, 54, and Indians, 66 ; agri-
culture at, 97-8 ; attacks on, 166, 289, re-
sults, 290; attempts at settlement on, 589-
448
INDEX
JACOBS, Captain, of the Kfnnington, 251 /;.
Jamaica, pirates of, 78
Jiimaun, the, and her Captain, 304 n. 2
Jaion, the, 94, 96
Jeffo, Captain, of the S-iua//nv, privateer, 120
Johnson, Sir William, 65
Johnstonc, James, of Moffat, Chevalier, 247 n. t ;
biographical notes on, 320-3 ; on Louis-
bourg before and during the siege, 193
^77., 230, 231, 274; on the storm of
'757, 207
Jonquicre, — , La, Governor of Canada, 1745 and
the Acadian territories, 185-6 ; defeat of,
by Anson, 188, 297 d-n. 4 ; and Prevost,
232 ; reply to, of Des Herbien on English
trade with Louisbourg, 403-4 ; and the
survivors of D'Anville's expedition, 174
Joubert, Sieur, biographical notes on, 276 d-n. 2, 291 j
on spruce beer at Louisbourg, 230
Juno, the, 250
Justinien, Father, 16
KARRKR Regiment, ue Swiss Regiment
Kennington, the, engaged, 242-3
Kersaint, Captain, of La Renommie, 144
Kersaint, Coetnempren de, on the state of the French
Navy (i75S), 294
Kidd, Captain, treasure of, 73 n. i
Kilby, — , attack on Louisbourg urged by, 130
Kinsalf, the) noitn. 3, damage done by (1744),
119, 120
Knowles, Captain Charles, and the Superbe, 141, 173,
269; Governor of Isle Royale, 174-6,
foresight of, 174, ij6<L-n. 3, promotion
of, 176 ; on irregularities in British
Colonies, 406-7
LAFOREST, — , 39, 63
Laforcy, Commander John, of the Hunter, 283 <fc n. a,
436
Lage de Ramczay, — , de, death of, 74
Lagoudalie, Father, 116
Lagrande, — , and illicit trade, 101
Lambart, — , at Belle Isle, 253
Langis brothers, and Du Caubet, 231
Lark, the, and other reinforcements, for Warren,
143;;. i
La Rondo Denis or Denys, Captain, Chevalier de
Saint Louis, 11, 12, 13, 20, 47, 54 ; and
the Annapolis Mission, 15-17, 53, 185 ».;
biographical notes on, 323-5 ; Costebelle
on, 37; oratory of, 16; Port Dauphin
favoured by, 32 ; on the Acadians, 35-6
Lartigue, — , attainments of, 49 ; and illicit trade, 78 ;
at the two sieges of Louisbourg, 49,
158 n. 4, map by, 49 ; on the defences of
Louisbourg, 247 ». 3
Lascelles, — , 266 n. t
Law, John, of Lauriston, schemes of, 41, 57, the one
successful, 169
Lawrence, Major, expedition of, against La Corne,
185-6
Lawrence, Brigadier-General, and Amherst's expedi-
tion against Louisbourg, 202, 236179.
Lcscarbot, — , 8
Lighthouse Battery, Louisbourg, 161-2, 266
Ligondez, Major, Costebelle on, 37 ; on the Louis-
bourg officers, 38
Ligonier, Lord, and munitions, 242
Limestone of Isle Royale, 52
Litant, Captain Pierre, taken prisoner, 168
London, rejoicing in, on fall of Louisbourg (1758),
288-9
Loppinot, — , and the capitulation of Louisbourg
(1758), 284-5
Lorambec, Grand ct Petit, 73 ». 3, 109, 148
Loring, Captain Joshua, 143
Loudon, Lord, Commander-in-Chief in America,
plans of, 202, failure of, 203-4; superseded
by Abercromby, 236
Louis XIV., 37; and the Acadians, 34, 35, 40;
and European conquest, i, 295 ; France
under, 5, decline or, 39 sqq. ; and Louis-
bourg, 32 ; death of, 41 ; on the defeat
at La Hogue, 310
Louis XV., accession of, 41 ; end of the Regency,
71 ; foreign trade prohibited by, to
colonies, 226 ; French Navy in reign of,
41 ; neglect by, of Louisbourg, 107-8 ;
policy of, as to Isle Royale and Nova
Scotia, 1 89-90 ^77. ; and the Seven Coun-
cils, 41 ; and the Treaty of Aix-la-
Chapelle, 180 ; on using Indians as
allies, 109
Louis XVI., 296
Louisbourg, Foundation and Naming of, i iqq.
After its return to France (circa 1749), '82, '8? *77-
Bells of, 88
Blockades of, 195 iqq., 197, 200, 204, 218, 229,
234. =35, 236-7
British garrisons at (1748 & 1760), 173, 176, 290
Choice of, as capital, 32 ^77., 59
as Clearing-House, 228
Commerce, Industry and Trade at (see alto Fisherie
under Isle Royale, and Illicit trade), 21,
53, 56, 218 fqq., 221 <t n. 3*79., 226-7,
228-9
Exports to various markets, 388-9, 394, 395,
396
Imports from various markets, 390 - 3, 394,
395
Lack of balance of, 76, cf. Ch. XII.
Merchants' attitude to illicit trading, 77-8
' Documents of the Service Hydrographique de la
Marine, relative to, 433-5
Drunkenness and canteens at, 4, 20, 37, 47, 59,
79, 95, 102, 123, 152, 189, 193, 194,
237, 277 n. 3
Early days of (i7'3)» '» '2-13, ('7'4)» 18-19,
(»7i5)» 37, (>7i6), 43 '77-» ('730, 86*77.
Ecclesiastics and their properties at, 87, 88, 89
Embargo on trade with (1744), "8
as Entrep6t, 75, 77, 97, 223, 224-5, 229, 280
Expeditions against (1744), 122, 128,
(1758), 236*77., 428
INDEX
449
Louisbourg (contd.} —
Fortifications at various periods, 4, 13 sqq., 34, 37,
45, 49> 5°, 5*. 55, 59, 72, 85, 99, 101,
i°7, i93-4» !98» 228-9, 234, 246-7* 370,
409 sqq-
Hospital, and tax for, 34, 49, 56-7, 86
Illegitimacy at, 88-9
Lighthouse built at, 79
Map of, by D wight, 138
Medals relative to, 436-9
Merchants of, see Daccarette, Onfroy, cfc others
Munitions at (1740), 99<t«. 2, (1745), 408, (1759),
292, 293
Naval action off (1756), 199, <fc see Beaussier
Pitt's policy as to, 202
Plans of, list of, 429 sqq., 433
Population in 1715, composition and occupations
of, 2o-i, 56, 87-8, 175
Possible return of, to France (1758), Pitt's in-
structions in view of, 290
Principal buildings, 85 sqq. ; merchants' and other
houses, 87
Prizes captured off, 167-8, 229, 238, 266, list
of, 205-6
Refugees from, in France, 61, provision for, 291,
354, 355 SW-
Reinforcements sent to (1758), 244-5
Religious houses at, 87
Reshipment of inhabitants to France, 165
Return of the former inhabitants, 188
Scarcity at, see Famine and Scarcity, under Isle
Royale
Shipbuilding at, 85
Social life at, 92, 229 sqq.
Spelling and pronunciation of, 138 n. i
Storehouse for, 98, 103, 104, 235
Storms, memorable, at, 75, 204, 207 sqq.
Strategic importance of, 9, 21, 22, 83, 107
Troops and Officers (French) at (see also Drunken-
ness, Swiss Regiments, and Officers under
their Names), 4, 20, 34, 36-8, 43, 46^.,
63, 89 sqq., 95, 101 sqq., 105, 107,
148 & n. 4
Officers, Families of, at Rochefort, list of, 347
Fishing by, forbidden, 48, 52
List of (1747), 331-46
Marriages and means of, 90-1
Uniforms, rations, pay, &c., 46 sqq., 60
Louisiana, 5, 59
Loutre, Le, Abbe, 1 1 6 ; French policy carried out
by, in Acadia, 190 <&n. 3 ; Indians of, in
Isle Royale, 2 3 5 «. i
Louvois, Marquis de, 5, 23, 295
Ludlow Castle, the, 238
Lys, the, capture of, 196
MACDONALD, — , book by, on last siege of Louis-
bourg, 287
MacDonald, Captain James, Pepperrell's opinion of,
1 5 8 <fc w. 4 ; on the capture of the Vigilant,
156 n. 4
lachault, privateer, fine fight of, 304 n. 3
IcKellar, — , 265
Magnifique, the, in the drift ice, 239 «. i, 244
Maillard, Abbe, and his Indians, troubles caused by,
270-1 ; on the Annapolis affair, 115-16
Maisonfort, Captain Alexandre Boisdescourt de la,
biographical notes on, 326-7 ; fight of,
in the Vigilant (q.v.), 156 <fc n. 4, 157,
»77, i99». 297
Marguerite, the, 173
Marie Joseph, the, 1 7
Marin, Lieut.-Col. (Marin Michel du Bourzt), bio-
graphical notes on, 327-9 ; and the siege
of Louisbourg, 149, 176, 252, 277
Marolles, — , 271 n. 4
Mars, the, 1 1 8, 124
Martengo, illicit trade at, 101, 224
Mascarene, Major, Governor of Nova Scotia, negoti-
ations by (with Bennet), at Annapolis, 16,
53 ; in command at Annapolis, 112-14,
1 1 6 $ on Canso defences, 1 10 n. 3
Masonry v. Earthworks, 5 1
Massachusetts, Finances of (1744), 128
Fisheries of, decline of, 128
and the Louisbourg expedition, 128 sqq., 172
Massachusetts, the, 143
Massachusetts, privateer, exploits of, 120
Massey, — ,68
Massiac, — , 83
Maurepas, — , as Minister of the Navy, 7 1
Attitude of, to intercolonial trade, 77 sqq.
and Isle Royale, its Governors and requirements,
66, 67, 79-8°, 83-4, 94, 99, 100-1, 103,
105, 107, 109, 122, 148, 180, 229
and the Navy, 295 &nn. 2 & 4, 296, 299
Mercury, the, at Louisbourg, 79
Mermaid, the, 141, 142, 157 ; ^captures by, 168 ;
log of, on capture of Vigilant, 177
Meschin, Lieut. Jerdmie de, of the Semslack, 1 1 <£• n. 2,
32, 1 17, 1 18, 294 ; feast given by, 39, 92 ;
on Capon's mission, 36-7
Messervy, Colonel, 277 n. 2
Mezy, — De (see also Normant, Le), Commissaire-
Ordonnateur, 45, 50, 54, 59, 78, 92 ;
long sea-faring life of, 73 <fc n. a ; general
slackness of, and supersession of, 79-80 ;
piratical robbery from, 73 ; residence of,
87; on Foreign trade, see St. Ovide and, 76
Mezy, — De, junior (see also Normant, Le), made
Commissaire-Ordonnateur, 80-1
Micmac Indians, 36
Milly, Sieur Jean, estate of, 89
Minas, Acadian removal from, 17
Miniac, Father, 116
Minorca, loss of, 182 «. i, 199, 201, 244
Mirabeau, Chevalier 3e, refusal by, of a squadron, 243
Miramichi, Murray's proceedings at, 421-2, 423
Mir£, or Mira, 13, 237 et alibi
Mirepoix, — , 195, 196
Mississippi Company, the, 57
Mohawk Indians, English with, on scalping expedi
tion, 65
Monarque, the, Byng executed on board, 199
Monckton, Colonel, 238, 240, 248
Monk, General, on English needs (1665), 196
2 G
450
INDEX
Monmoutti, the, success of, 244
Montalais, Captain, of the lllustrt, 199
Montalembert, — , suicide of, 231
Montbazon, Prince dc, ship of, captured, 245
Montcalm, Marquis de, 199 ; capture by, of Os-
wego, 20 1
Montholon, Intendant, 40
Moody, Colonel, 19
Morel, — , agent of Fancuil, 78
Morpain, — , Port -captain of Louisbourg and
privateer, 74, 102, 110, 112, 117, 118,
1 24, 125; and the defence of Louisbourg,
149-50 d- n. i
Morrion, — , de, 74
Mostyn, — , ships commanded by, and actions of,
197 n. 3
Motheux, — De, vessels under, 244
Muiron, — , contractor for Louisbourg fortifications,
101 n. 3
Munitions of war at siege of Louisbourg (1758),
242, 263
Murray, Colonel, 251
Proceedings of, at Miramichi, 421-2, 423
Muline, the, 35, 40, 189;*. i
A'.-f.vr.K, the, 242, 413
Nantasket Road, 142
Narrow Seas, English command of, secured (1748),
181
Naval efficiency, essentials of, on what depending,
297-8
Negroes in Isle Royalc, 88
Neven, Lc, de Raineau, 61
Newcastle, Duke of, 176, and the American colonies,
195-6, privateering encouraged by, 121 ;
and the Louisbourg expedition, 130, 134,
142-3; Pepperrell's request to, for
Governorship, 166 ; resignation of, 201 ;
on Warren's instructions, 148
New England, attitude of, to d'Anville's expedition,
'74
Commerce ot, and the Treaty of Utrecht, 33 «. 2
Compared with Cape Breton, 32
Fisheries of, 2, 3, 67, 219-20, 226
Increasing population of, as menace to Canada
(1706), 29-30
Piracy along shores of, 72
Privateers of, 118/77.
Stability and progress of, 31, 32
and the Surrender of Louisbourg, 171 ; cost of, in
lives, 170 H. 2
Timber trade of, 169
Towns of, Doloboratz's memoir on, 121-2
Trade and relations of, with Louisbourg, 7, 44,
52, 53, 82-3, 223, 224/77.
Trade embargoes of (1744), 1 18
Newfoundland, Chabcrt's map of, 189
English take possession of, 19
Fisheries, troubles concerning, 28, 29, and injury
from pirates, 72, 73
French fishing rights oft', 1-2, 10
Slow growth of, 229
New France, 44
New Hampshire, share in Louisbourg expedition,
'3S« "37, "46
New Jersey, and the Louisbourg expedition, 137
New York, share of, in Louisbourg expedition, 137
Newton, — , on illicit trade at Canso, 76-7, 78
Niagara expedition, failure of, 197
Nicholson, Francis, Governor-General and Com-
mander-in-Chief of Acadia and New-
foundland, 14, and the Acadians, 34,
French mission to, on their removal,
15/77., La Ronde Dcnys and, 35-6
Nicholson, Lieut., 253 n. 2
Ninganiche, see Ingonish
Noble, Colonel, and the attack on Island Battery,
'57
Nointel, — , de, 40
Normant, Le, see also Mezy, DC, 74, 75, 80-1 ; and
the fisheries, 97 ; and illicit trade, 78 ;
promotion of, 83 ; quarrels of, 94-5
North America, see America
Norwich, the, landing from, at Louisbourg (17565,200
Nostra Signora de la Toledo, at Louisbourg, 79
Notre Dame de la Deliverance, capture of, 1 68, 308-9 j
specie on board, i68<£n. 2
Nottingham, the, 294
Nouoal, — , Commander of the CJtarmante, 168
"Nodes de monies," shipment of, 106
Nova Scotia, see also Acadia, Acadians, and Indians
Development of, impetus given to (1749), and
success of, 182
Ecclesiastical arrangements, 57
English neglect of, 83
Furs of, 75
Relations of, with Isle Royale, 195
Timber of, 85, 220-1
Trade (illicit) with Louisbourg, 77, 97
OBER, Captain, 7, 8
Ochiltree, Lord, 9
Odiorne, J., advice on attacking Louisbourg, 138
Ogle, Sir Challoner, 139 n. i
Ohio Company, and its grant, 183, French and
English quarrels concerning, 186, back-
ing of its English shareholders, 225
Onfroy, Mine. Veuve, fishing vessels of, 20-1, 220
OrforJ, the, fight of, with L , Esptrance, 297
Orleans, Duchesse d', 58
Orleans, Philip, Duke of, Regent of France, 41 ; and
Isle Royale, 42, 46 n. z ; neglect by, of
the Navy, 295
Orphie, the, 244
Osborne, Admiral, 244
Osborne, John, and the Louisbourg expedition, 138
Oswego, capture of, 201
Otway, — , 266 n. \
PACHOT, — , 74
Pain, Father Felix, 19
Palais, Chevalier du, at Cape Breton (1692), 22
Paon, Le (ship), 58
Paper money, issues of, in North American Colonies,
135, 137, 167, and in Canada, 225
Paris, Treaty of (1763), 310
INDEX
Parkman, — , cited on De Bienville's expedition, 186-7
Pean Delivandiere, — , n, 12, 20
Pemberton, B., i$on. i
Pennsylvania and the Louisbourg expedition, 138
Pensens, Captain De, 34, 47, 74, 100 ; and the
Annapolis mission, 15-17, 35, 18511.1;
and Armstrong, 69, 77 ; and St. Ovide's
illicit trading, 78, 84
Pepperrell, William, President of the Governor's
Council, Massachusetts, career and char-
acter of, 129-30
Commander of the Louisbourg expedition, 1 30 sqq.,
conduct of the expedition by, 138,' 142
sgq., danger from ice, 143, 147, reinforce-
ments for, 155, staff and subordinates,
138, terms offered by, 163-4; success,
164-5, reward, &c., 166, 167
Contribution by, to expenses of Louisbourg ex-
pedition, i66«. 5, i67<fctf. 2
Joint administration at Louisbourg ( 1 745), 1 69 sqq .,
later career, 171
Optimism of, on the future of Louisbourg, 171, 175
Request for Governorship of Isle Royale, 166
and Warren, letters between, 159-60
On the capture of the Vigilant, 177-8 ; on his
relations with Warren, 171-2
Petit de Grat, 67, 69, illicit trade of, 101
Philibert, —,68
Philibert, the, 1 1 8
Phillips, — , Governor of Cape Breton, 65, 67, 72,
and the Indian attack on Canso, 68, 69-70
Phillips, Lieut.-General Richard, regiment of, no,
cost of, in
Pichon, Thomas, Raymond's secretary, writings of,
191 n. 3, 193, 221 n. i, 231
Pickman, Dudley, i66<t-«. 5
Pictou, French wood-grabbing at, 85, 220-1
Pigot, Captain (Sir^Hugh), of the York, 436
Piracy and its causes, early i8th century, 72-3
Pitt, William, the younger, 196 ; accession of, to
power, results on the war, 201 sqq., 236
sqq. ; and colonial claims, 173 ; and the
Commercial Treaty of Utrecht, 77 ; demo-
litions ordered by, at Louisbourg, 290-1
Place-names in Isle Royale, 138 «. i
Placentia, i ; evacuation of, 4, 10 sqq., 19 ; guns from,
38 ; proposed expedition against, 122
Plestay, — , Du, on Sea power, 311
Poilly, — , on British army, and French navy at
Louisbourg (1758), 276, 284
Pompadour, Mme. de, exonerated as to Louisbourg,
1 08 ; and the Le Normants (De Mezys),
75, 80 ». 4 ; and Maurepas, 296
Pontchartrain, Count, Minister of Marine, 4, 295 n. 2,
dismissal of, 42 ; and Isle Royale and
Louisbourg, 4, 8, 9, 10, n, 21, 22, 32,
40, 54, Memorials to, on the fishery, 227
Port Dauphin, 12, 32, 33-5, 38*77., 50
Port Mahon, 265;?. 4
Port Rossway, Southack's report from, on Indian
captures, 64
Port Royal, Acadia, 2 ; privateers of, see Morpain
Port Toulouse, 12, 32, 33, 34, 35-6, 43, 59
Porta Nova Island, currents off, 73
Pownall, Governor, on English relations with
Indians, 64-5
Prevost, — , Commissaire- Ordinaire at Louisbourg
(1749), 1 88, 190, 22 8, 235,297;*. 4; attitude
of, to Raymond, 193 ; independent actions
of, 231, 232 ; later career, 233 n.i ; and
the siege of Louisbourg, 267, 272-3 ; on
the fish trade of Isle Royale, 222-3
Priests, influence of, on Acadians, 17-18, 53, 116-17
Prince Edward Island, see Isle St. Jean
Prince Frederick, the, 237
Prince of Orange, the, 118, 121
Princess Mary, the, 143 <Ln. i, captures by, 168
Privateering during the War (begun 1744), in, 112,
117 sqq. ; official encouragement of, 109,
121, results, alleged, of, i33<fcw. 4
Privateers (see Doloboratz, & Morpain), prisoners of,
118-19
Privateersmen, courage of, 304
Prize money, equivalent to Booty as incentive, 307-8
French, 309
System of, effects of, 168, 169
Prizes, Naval, 205-6, 237, 238, 239, 244 j sums
realized by, 119
Provincial Troops (see also Colonial, <£• Rangers),
characteristics of, 113, 152-4, 155, 157,
159 sqq., 165 ; at Louisbourg, 144 sqq.,
Warren on, 172, Wolfe on, 241
Evolution of, during the Seven Years' War, 173-4
Value of, as reinforcements (1744), IT^
Prudent, the, 238, 244, 271, 272, 273, 280 ; capture
of, 283, 436-7
Puysieulx, — , 94 «. 3
QUEBEC, British expedition against (1759), Dase f°r>
290 ; munitions found in, 293 ; trade of
Isle Royale with, 75 ; Vergor's share in
the fall of, i86w. 3 ; the vulnerable side
of, 8 3 ; see also 42 1
Quesne, — Du, and Vergor, 186
Quesnel, — Du, former Governor-General of Canada,
defeat of, by the Monmouth, 244
Quesnel, Jean Baptiste Louis Le Prevost, Seigneur du,
Governor of Isle Royale, 99 &n. i, plans
of, and events of his period, 99 sqq., 123 ;
courtesies exchanged with Shirley, 112 ;
and the defences of Louisbourg, 105, 107 ;
and the conduct of the war, 109/77.;
death of, 1 16 ; successors of, 148 ; on the
military needs of Louisbourg, 105, 107
Quiberon, 243
RAISONABLE, the, capture of, 244
Rangers, Colonial, 236 n. 5, 239, 241 ; at siege of
Louisbourg, 252 <k n. 3, 266
Raudot, — , Intendant des Classes, 42 ; report of, on
Cape Breton, and freedom of trade, 9-10,
77, 225
Raudot, — , the younger, 32
Raymond, Comte de, Governor of Isle Royale, 191,
234 ; ceremonial and festivities of, 191-3 ;
difficulties of, with his staff, 193, 231
452
INDEX
Kecollct missionaries, 12, 19, 87
Renau, — , naval invention of, 42
Rcnaud, — , and the Indian attack on Canso, 68-9
Rrnommt'f, La, 124, Tyng's fight with, 143, 148
Rcnon, — , 35, 38
Revest, — Du, Commander of the Hector, death of,
301 ; squadron of, 203
Rhode Island, lawless practices of, Knowleson, 406-7 ;
privateers of, 73 ». i, 120, 121 ; share of,
in Louisbourg expedition, 137, Wanton
on, 144*77. ; ana the West India ex-
pedition, 1 29
Richards, Capt., and the Indian attack on Canso, 68
Richelieu, Due de, 58
Richelieu, regiment of, 58
Robicheau, Prudent, 68
Robinson, — , 196
Robiiite, the, voyage and fight of, 304-7 <L-n. i
Rochefort, outfitters' strike at, 40
Refugees at, from Louisbourg, 61, pensions of,
355 W-
Rodney, Admiral, and keenness for prize-making, 308
Rodrigue family, 90
Rodrigue, firm of, 20
Rodrigue, Mine., house of, 87
Rodrrguc, — , pilot, 18
Rollo, Lord, 289
Rise, the, 52
Rosier, Captain Jean Joseph, of the Robuste, voyage
and fight of, 304-7 «fr n. \
Ross, Major, 266, 268
Rouille, — , French Minister of the Navy (1749), 188
Rous, Captain, 156 ; capture by, of French vessels,
Rouse, Captain, of the Sutherland, 238
Rouville, — de, 12, 13, 32, 34 ; character of, Costc-
belle and Ligondez on, 37, 38
Royal If'i/liam, the, 239, Hardy's flag-ship, 413
Ruby, the, smallpox imported by, 81
Ruette, — , D'Auteuil, and Isle Madame, 59
Rum, as staple trade of Louisbourg, 175
Ryall, Lieut. George, at Canso, no
SABATIER, — , Comptroller, 73, 74, 83, 100
Sable Island, plans for settlement on, 50
Sackville, Colonel Stopford, 241 n. i
Sackville, Lord George, letters to, from those con-
cerned in the attack on Louisbourg, 237,
241 <(• n. 5
St. Andero, 296
St. Castin, Baron de, and the Acadian removal, 15
Saint Esprit, Order of, 60
St. Francois Xa<vier, the, made prize, 120
St. James, — de, Commander of the Chameau, 74
St. John's, Newfoundland, French capture of, t
St. Julien, or Julhien, Lieut. -Colonel De, 232, 252 ;
biographical notes on, 329
St. Lawrence, Gulf of, expeditions up, under Rollo,
Wolfe, &c., 289-90, 422-3
Islands in, ceded to the French, i, 2
Privateers in, 119-20, 124
Strategic command of, by Cape Breton (y.i1.), 2, 30
St. Lawrence River, diversion up, planned by Bos-
cawen, 240
St. Louis, the, 17
St. Malo, merchants of, and the Gulf Fisheries, 58-9
et alibi
St. Marie, — , 35, 162 ; and the Canso affair, 63 ;
character of, 37, 38 ; and international
trade, 77
St. Michel, Order of, 60
St. Ours des Chaillons, — , at the St. John River,
1 86
St. Ovidc dc Brouillant, — , io«fr". 5, 48 n. i, 51, 72 ;
Commander of the Setmlack, takes posses-
sion of Cape Breton, 11-12; and the
Acadian removal, 15, 35; becomes
Governor, 55, 85, 98, administration of,
84 ; and the Canso affair, 62, 63, 68-9,
84 ; characterized by De Mezy, 79 «fr n. 4 ;
and tl\e choice of Louisbourg, 32, 33, 59 j
Costebelle on, 37 ; defences of Louis-
bourg, cared for by, 72, 131 ; and illicit
trading, 78, 84 ; and intercolonial trade,
49, 77 ; lands of, 83, 89, 104, 191 ; origin
of, 90 ; relations of, with Indians, 65, 66,
with the Le Normants or De Mezys, 79,
80,81,84,94-5; final return to France, 83,
and retirement, 84
On relations between Isle Royale and New
England, 82-3 ; on early commerce at
Isle Royale, 52 ; on English neglect of
Nova Scotia, 83 ; on the Indian attack
on Canso, 69
St. Ovide and de Mezy, on Foreign trade of Isle
Royale (1728), full text, 397*77.
St. Peter's, 12, 65 ; expedition against, 143, 147
St. Pierre, Count, schemes of, 58
St. Simon, — , Memoirs by, 10, on the Count of
Toulouse, 42 j on Pontchartrain, 295 n. a
Salle, Mme. La, 74
Salvert, Perrier de, Governor of Isle Royale, 124,
148, 167, 170 ; escape of his ships from
Boscawen, 196, 1 97^.4
Sandwich, Earl of, and Warren, 166 ; on the Pro-
vincials, 172
Saratoga, 173
Saugeon, Captain de, of the Affriquain, 33
Saunders, — , 203
Scalp-bounties, 65, 1 1 5 <fr «. i, 424-5
Scalp-hunting, 246 «. i
Scarborough, the, 238
Schomberg, Sir Alexander, medal presented to, for
his services at the siege of Louisbourg
(«75»). 436
Scott, Captain, and the Rangers, 239, 250
Seamen, fisheries as furnishing, 3, 21, 220, 228
Sea-power, importance of, 310-11
Segur, Marquis de, on Maurepas, 295 n. 4
Semslack expedition, the, 11-12, 35, 38, 39, 40
Seven Years' War, the, 129 ; effects of, on American
troops, 173 ; first important success in,
286 ; new note in, 253
Sewall, Captain, recruiting methods of, 136
Shipbuilding bounties, 97
INDEX
453
Shirley, Sir William, Governor of Massachusetts, 1 1 1,
112, 119, 139, 141, 144, 155, 1 66 ; career
of, and policy, izy&n.z, 182 K.I, 197;
expedition against Louisbourg urged
and promoted by, 129, 130, 131 sqq.,
despatches on, 1 34 ; letters of, to Warren
and Pepperrell, and to Wentworth,
140 <&w. 2; at Louisbourg, 169, mutiny
averted by, 169-70 ; Pepperrell's letter to,
on his relations with Warren, 171-2 y
and the prisoners of Canso, u 2 ; scalp
bounties of, u$&n. i; support of, to
privateering, 121
On the latter days of the siege of Louisbourg,
1 6 1-2 ; on value of Louisbourg Fisheries,
226, optimism unfounded, 176 n. 3, 181 ;
on Warren's acceptance of the Louis-
bourg expedition, I42tfc«. 4
Shirley, the, 143, 156, 173 n. 3
Shute, Governor, and the Canso affair, 62
Silhouette, — , and the Acadian Boundary, 182 n.t
Smart, Capt., and the Canso incident, 62-3, 67, 69,
70, 78, 84
Smoke screen, proposed naval use of, 122
Soci/ti, the, 148
Somerset, the, at Louisbourg, 197
Soubras, — , Commissaire-Ordonnateur, 19, 20, 33,
34» 35> 37. 38, 39> 45» as civil Governor,
38 ; and the Canso affair, 63 ; and the
defences of Louisbourg, 51 ; and the
drink problem, 57 ; and the hospital,
56-7 ; retirement of, 50 j successor, 59 ;
on the Acadians, 53
Southack, Capt. Cyprian, 63
Memorial of, on difficulties with Indians, 64
Spanish Succession, War of, results of, i
Spruce beer brewing at Louisbourg, 221 n. i, 230
Spry, Captain, of the Comet, 175 ; capture by, 120,
17 $n., 290
Squirrel, the, 62, 63, 238
Stoppages, and the Louisbourg garrison, 176
Stuart, Prince Charles Edward, expelled from
France, 181
Prince James Edward, 35
Succes, privateer, in, 113
Sunderland, the, 143 n. i, captures by, 168
Super be, the, Warren's flagship, 141-56
Superior Council, the, in France, 46
Surlaville, Michel Le Courtois de, biographical notes
on, 329-30 ; functions of, 191, diffi-
culties in exercising them, 193 ; improve-
ments effected by, 193-4 ; relations with
Raymond, 193 ; on Raymond, 1 94 ». 3 ;
on uniforms at Louisbourg, i94<fc«. 2
Sutherland, the, 238
Swallow, the, 120
Swiss (Karrer) Regiment, at Louisbourg, 49, 87, 91,
101 ; trouble given by, 102 ; mutiny of,
123-4, 131 «• 3
Sydney Harbour, coal at, 9
TABLE HEAD, attack on, 176
Tarranguez, — , 64
Tartar, the, 137, 144
Tesse, — , 42
Thame, — , first officer of the Tilbury, 209, 210
Ticonderoga, 253, 289
Tigre, the, 187, 284
Tilbury, the, wreck of, 209, 210, Indian aid to wrecked
sailors of, 209
Tobacco used as defensive, 268<fc«. i
Tonnant, the, 204, damage to, 208
Toulouse, Comte de, Head of French Navy Board,
41-2
Tour, La, du Chemin, — , biographical notes on, 330
Tourville, — , 273, 274*1.2, 276, 310
Townsend, Vice-Admiral, Warren's successor, 174
Trade, as casus belli, 196
Illicit, see Illicit trade
Liberty in, Colbert on, 4-5, 50, Raudot on, 9-10,
225
Treaties, see under Names
Trent, the, 243, 247
Triton, French Indiaman, 168
Tyng, Captain Edward, of the Prince of Orange,
capture by, of Doloboratz, 118, 124-5,
138 ; fight off Louisbourg with La
Renomme'e, 143, 148
Tyrell papers, 191 n.^et alibi
ULLOA, DON ANTONIO D', 86, 327 ; on English
treatment of prisoners, 308-9
Utrecht, Treaty of, as affecting Acadia, Cape Breton,
Newfoundland, &c., i sqq., 14. sqq.
Commercial, far-sightedness of, 77 ; and New
England commerce, 53 n. 2
VASSIN, — DE, 186 «. 2
Vaudreuil, — , Governor-General of Canada, n, 33,
34, 128 ; and the Acadian removal, 34 ;
at Louisbourg, 13, 19 ; on French policy
as to Indians, 65
Vaughan, George, on the Canso fishery, 62
Vaughan, William, biographical and other notes on,
and letter from, to Shirley, 315, 361 sqq. ;
and the expedition against Louisbourg,
131 &n. 3, 135, 136 &n. 2, 151, 155 ; on
indiscipline of troops, 155
Vauquelin, Captain Jean, of the Arfihuse, biographical
notes on, 330-1 ; at Louisbourg, 274-5
«fe«. i, 277, 286, escape of, 278, 296, 309
n. 2, Boscawen on, 302, Wolfe on, 278
Vauvre, — De, Intendant of the French Navy, 42
Velez Malaga, sea fight at, 42, 99
Vergor du Chambon, — De, i86«. 2
Vergore, — , at Beausejour, i86<fc«. 3, surrender of,
197
Vernon, Admiral, 196
Verrier, — , engineer, drawings by,' of Louisbourg,
86 ; and the fortifications of that place,
45, 1 02 ; house of, 87
Verville, — , engineer, 42 ; and the fortifications of
Louisbourg, $osqq., 162; on the Aca-
dians, 53, 77, on drunkenness at Louis-
bourg, 57
454
INDEX
Vetch, Colonel, Governor of Annapolis, 14, 16, 17,
54 ; on Louisbourg as menace to Great
Britain, 21
yigilant, the, 124, 146, 158, 159, 327, capture of, 156,
details of, 177*79., &*'"* from, 157
Villejouin, — , 35, character of, 37, 38, death of, and
marriages of his family, 90
Villt-jouin, — , the younger, 246
Villeon, Commander, 244
Villien, — , advice of, to Pontchartrain, 1 1, 59
Vincent, Father, 68
Vivier, — Du, 285
Vivier, Captain Du (or Duvixier), 12, 13, 102, 122,
128; Annapolis scheme of, 100, 105,
135, and operation against, 111*77.,
capture by, of Canso, 1 1 1 ; trading by,
memorial on, of fishers of Isle Royale,
78, 398*77.
Vivier, Mme. Du, fishing establishment of, 20-1
Vivier, — Du, the younger, retreat of, to Quebec,
1,66
Volontaires Etrangers, the, 244, 265
WALDO, Brigadier-General Samuel, and the Louis-
bourg expedition, 138, 151-2, 157, 158,
161, 237/7. 2; back-pay of, 1678.2
Wanton, Governor on Rhode Island, and the Louis-
bourg expedition, 144*77.
War, see a/so Seven Years' War
of the Austrian Succession, 307
between England and France, long menace of,
82-3, 99, 100, 101, 105, 107-8 ; outbreak
of, 109, events of, 110*77.; begun in
America (1755), 198-9 etpraecv.\ declara-
tion of, in Europe (1756), 199
Warburton, — , 266 n. i
Warren, Commodore Peter, Commander-in-Chief of
North American naval forces, 139*77. 5
capture by, 120; and the d'Anvillc
expedition, 175 ; and the Louisbourg
expedition, preliminary views and letters,
139*77., 2^4 i orders to (1745), '41 5 re-
inforcement, 143 <t». -t ; the blockade,
144, 147 *77_ ; illness during, 170, 174 ;
joint letters from, stating terms to Du
Chambon, 163-4, 178-80 ; letters from, to
Anson, 139, to Corbett, 1 30, to Wanton,
i 37 «. 5 ; optimism of, as to Louisbourg,
175, 181 ; prize money of, 307 <t«. 3,
308 ; promotion as reward, 166 ; relations
with Pepperrell, 142, 153, 155*7*77.,
171 ; friction between them, 159-60,
171-2, their joint administration at
Louisbourg (1745), '^9 > 'Unc55* '7O;
rise of, 303-4
Warren, Commodore Peter (ccntd.) —
On the Acadian expedition, 116-17; on the
Americans at the siege of Louisbourg,
172 ; on the attitude of New England
on the fall of Louisbourg, 172 ; on
capture of French East Indiamen, 168 5
on the French Navy, 296-7 ; on naval
prizes, 168 ; on his relations with
Pepperrell, 172; on the success at
I ouisbourg, 165
Warren, Mrs., 139, 169
Washington, George, French defeat of, at Fort
Necessity, 195
Washington, Lieut., 69
Waterhouse, Captain Samuel, of the Haivt, privateer,
rebuked for lack of vigour, 121
Weeden, — , on the importance of the French
Colonial fisheries, 227
Wentworth, Benning, Governor of New Hampshire,
and the Louisbourg expedition, 135-7
West, Temple, and the blockade of Brest, 203
West Indies, the
English privateering off, 102
Expedition to, i 29
French menace to (1745), 141
Friction in, 78
Trade with, 75, 97
Wey mouth, the, 141
Whitmore, Brigadier-General, and the siege of Louis-
bourg, 236; 237*77. ; instructions to, on
demolitions, 228, left Commander at
Louisbourg, 290; privateer owned by, 308
Williams, Rev. Stephen, 170
Williamson, — , of the Artillery, 263
Wilmot, Colonel, 251
Wolcott, Major-General Roger, second in command
at siege of Louisbourg (1745), '37
Wolfe, Brigadier-General, appearance of, 315 ; and
Amherst's siege or Louisbourg, 236 sqq.,
268-9, celerity of, 269, 295, as com-
mander, 266, summary of his activities,
286-7 ; expeditions under, up the St. Law-
rence, 289-90 ; at Quebec, 186 n. 3, 253
On the Highland and Colonial troops at Halifax,
241, on Vauquelin, 278
A:, the, 436
Yorke, Hon. Jos., on Maurepas, 295 n. 4
Yorktown, 173
Young, Captain Robert, of the Kinsa/f, and the
Canso fishery, 67, no, 119; and illicit
trade, documents on, 404-7
Young, Lieut. B., of the Rose, 52
Young, Midshipman (Sir George), of the Tort,
medal given to, for siege of Louisbourg,
43^-7
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