Attack at Mocodome
Encyclopedia
The Attack at Mocodome (present-day Country Harbour, Nova Scotia) occurred during Father Le Loutre’s War on February 21, 1753 when allegedly, a Mi’kmaq "militia" attacked a British vessel with four crew members, two of whom were killed and two of whom were taken into captivity. The battle ended any hope for the survival of the 1752 Peace Treaty signed by the British and chief Jean-Baptiste Cope
.
in 1710, Nova Scotia remained primarily occupied by Catholic Acadians and Mi'kmaq. To prevent the establishment of Protestant settlements in the region, Mi'kmaq raided the early British settlements of present-day Shelburne
(1715) and Canso
(1720). A generation later, Father Le Loutre's War
began when Edward Cornwallis
arrived to establish Halifax with 13 transports on June 21, 1749. By unilaterally establishing Halifax the British were violating earlier treaties with the Mi'kmaq (1726), which were signed after Dummer's War
. The British quickly began to build other settlements. To guard against Mi'kmaq, Acadian and French attacks on the new protestant settlements, British fortifications were erected in Halifax (1749), Dartmouth (1750), Bedford (Fort Sackville) (1751), Lunenburg
(1753) and Lawrencetown
(1754). There were numerous Mi'kmaq and Acadian raids on these villages such as the Raid on Dartmouth (1751)
.
There was a raid on those in the Dartmouth area in 1749 (See History of Dartmouth). In response to the raids, Governor Edward Cornwallis
offered a bounty on the head
of every Mi'kmaq. The British military paid the Rangers
the same rate per scalp as the French military paid the Mi'kmaq for British scalps.
After eighteen months of inconclusive fighting, uncertainties and second thoughts began to disturb both the Mi’kmaq and the British communities. By the summer of 1751 Governor Cornwallis began a more conciliatory policy. For more than a year, Cornwallis sought out Mi’kmaq leaders willing to negotiate a peace. He eventually gave up, resigned his commission and left the colony.
With a new Governor in place, Governor Peregrine Thomas Hopson, the first willing Mi’kmaq negotiator was Cope. On 22 November 1752, Cope finished negotiating a peace for the Mi’kmaq at Shubenacadie. The basis of the treaty was the one signed in Boston which closed Dummer's War
(1725). Cope tried to get other Mi’kmaq chiefs in Nova Scotia to agree to the treaty but was unsuccessful. The Governor became suspicious of Cope’s actual leadership among the Mi’kmaq people. Of course, Le Loutre and the French were outraged at Cope’s decision to negotiate at all with the British.
which had a crew of four at Country Harbour, Nova Scotia. The Mi'kmaq fired on them and drove them toward the shore. Other natives joined in and boarded the schooner, forcing them to run their vessel into an inlet. The two English men witnessed the Mi'kmaq kill and scalp two of their crew. The Mi'kmaq killed two English men and took two others captive for seven weeks. After seven weeks in captivity, on April 8, the two English men killed six Mi'kmaq and managed to escape.
According to Mi’kmaq accounts, the English schooner accidentally was shipwrecked, some of the crew drowned. They also indicated that two men died of illness while the others killed the six Mi'kmaq despite their hospitality. The French officials -who were allied with the Mi'kmaq - did not believe the Mi'kmaq account of events.
in his history We Were Not the Savages. The documentation begins with a report by a British surveyor named Morris to Lord Cornwallis in England, dated April 16, 1753:
This entry is followed in the Documents Sur L'Acadie by the following contemporary French observation:
and the Mi'kmaq attacked another 10 crew English schooner in a battle between Outique Island and Isle Madame in which the Mi'kmaq attacked an English schooner. There were nine English men and one Acadian who was the British interpreter. The Mi'kmaq killed the English and let the Acadian named Anthony Casteel off at Port Toulouse, where the Mi'kmaq sank the schooner after looting it. Cope's peace treaty was ultimately rejected by most of the other Mi'kmaq leaders. Cope burned the treaty six months after he signed it. Despite the collapse of peace on the eastern shore, the British did not formally renounce the Treat of 1752 until 1756.
Jean-Baptiste Cope
Jean Baptiste Cope was also known as Major Cope, a title he was likely given from the French military, the highest rank given to Mi’kmaq. Cope was the sakamaw of the Mi'kmaq people of Shubenacadie, Nova Scotia...
.
Historical context
Despite the British Conquest of AcadiaSiege of Port Royal (1710)
The Siege of Port Royal , also known as the Conquest of Acadia, was conducted by British regular and provincial forces under the command of Francis Nicholson against a French Acadian garrison under the command of Daniel d'Auger de Subercase, at the Acadian capital, Port Royal...
in 1710, Nova Scotia remained primarily occupied by Catholic Acadians and Mi'kmaq. To prevent the establishment of Protestant settlements in the region, Mi'kmaq raided the early British settlements of present-day Shelburne
Shelburne, Nova Scotia
Shelburne is a town located in southwestern Nova Scotia, Canada. It is the shire town of Shelburne County.-History:-Settlers:...
(1715) and Canso
Canso, Nova Scotia
For the headland, see Cape Canso.Canso is a small Canadian town in Guysborough County, on the north-eastern tip of mainland Nova Scotia, next to Chedabucto Bay. The area was established in 1604, along with Port Royal, Nova Scotia. The British construction of a fort in the village , was instrumental...
(1720). A generation later, Father Le Loutre's War
Father Le Loutre's War
Father Le Loutre’s War , also known as the Indian War, the Micmac War and the Anglo-Micmac War, took place between King George's War and the French and Indian War in Acadia and Nova Scotia. On one side of the conflict, the British and New England colonists were led by British Officer Charles...
began when Edward Cornwallis
Edward Cornwallis
Lieutenant General Edward Cornwallis was a British military officer who founded Halifax, Nova Scotia with 2500 settlers and later served as the Governor of Gibraltar.-Early life:...
arrived to establish Halifax with 13 transports on June 21, 1749. By unilaterally establishing Halifax the British were violating earlier treaties with the Mi'kmaq (1726), which were signed after Dummer's War
Dummer's War
Dummer's War , also known as Lovewell's War, Father Rale's War, Greylock's War, the Three Years War, the 4th Indian War or the Wabanaki-New England War of 1722–1725, was a series of battles between British settlers of the three northernmost British colonies of North America of the time and the...
. The British quickly began to build other settlements. To guard against Mi'kmaq, Acadian and French attacks on the new protestant settlements, British fortifications were erected in Halifax (1749), Dartmouth (1750), Bedford (Fort Sackville) (1751), Lunenburg
Lunenburg, Nova Scotia
Lunenburg , is a Canadian port town in Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia.Situated on the province's South Shore, Lunenburg is located on a peninsula at the western side of Mahone Bay. The town is approximately 90 kilometres southwest of the county boundary with the Halifax Regional Municipality.The...
(1753) and Lawrencetown
Lawrencetown, Nova Scotia
There are several locations in Nova Scotia with the name Lawrencetown:* Lawrencetown in Annapolis County* Lawrencetown in Halifax County* Upper Lawrencetown, also in Halifax County* West Lawrencetown, also in Halifax County...
(1754). There were numerous Mi'kmaq and Acadian raids on these villages such as the Raid on Dartmouth (1751)
Raid on Dartmouth (1751)
The Raid on Dartmouth occurred during Father Le Loutre’s War on May 13, 1751 when an Acadian and Mi’kmaq militia from Chignecto, under the command of Acadian Joseph Broussard, raided Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, destroying the town and killing twenty British villagers...
.
There was a raid on those in the Dartmouth area in 1749 (See History of Dartmouth). In response to the raids, Governor Edward Cornwallis
Edward Cornwallis
Lieutenant General Edward Cornwallis was a British military officer who founded Halifax, Nova Scotia with 2500 settlers and later served as the Governor of Gibraltar.-Early life:...
offered a bounty on the head
Scalping
Scalping is the act of removing another person's scalp or a portion of their scalp, either from a dead body or from a living person. The initial purpose of scalping was to provide a trophy of battle or portable proof of a combatant's prowess in war...
of every Mi'kmaq. The British military paid the Rangers
United States Army Rangers
United States Army Rangers are elite members of the United States Army. Rangers have served in recognized U.S. Army Ranger units or have graduated from the U.S. Army's Ranger School...
the same rate per scalp as the French military paid the Mi'kmaq for British scalps.
After eighteen months of inconclusive fighting, uncertainties and second thoughts began to disturb both the Mi’kmaq and the British communities. By the summer of 1751 Governor Cornwallis began a more conciliatory policy. For more than a year, Cornwallis sought out Mi’kmaq leaders willing to negotiate a peace. He eventually gave up, resigned his commission and left the colony.
With a new Governor in place, Governor Peregrine Thomas Hopson, the first willing Mi’kmaq negotiator was Cope. On 22 November 1752, Cope finished negotiating a peace for the Mi’kmaq at Shubenacadie. The basis of the treaty was the one signed in Boston which closed Dummer's War
Dummer's War
Dummer's War , also known as Lovewell's War, Father Rale's War, Greylock's War, the Three Years War, the 4th Indian War or the Wabanaki-New England War of 1722–1725, was a series of battles between British settlers of the three northernmost British colonies of North America of the time and the...
(1725). Cope tried to get other Mi’kmaq chiefs in Nova Scotia to agree to the treaty but was unsuccessful. The Governor became suspicious of Cope’s actual leadership among the Mi’kmaq people. Of course, Le Loutre and the French were outraged at Cope’s decision to negotiate at all with the British.
The Battle
According to British accounts, on February 21, 1753, nine Mi'kmaq from present-day Antigonish (Nartigouneche) in canoes attacked an English vessel from Canso, Nova ScotiaCanso, Nova Scotia
For the headland, see Cape Canso.Canso is a small Canadian town in Guysborough County, on the north-eastern tip of mainland Nova Scotia, next to Chedabucto Bay. The area was established in 1604, along with Port Royal, Nova Scotia. The British construction of a fort in the village , was instrumental...
which had a crew of four at Country Harbour, Nova Scotia. The Mi'kmaq fired on them and drove them toward the shore. Other natives joined in and boarded the schooner, forcing them to run their vessel into an inlet. The two English men witnessed the Mi'kmaq kill and scalp two of their crew. The Mi'kmaq killed two English men and took two others captive for seven weeks. After seven weeks in captivity, on April 8, the two English men killed six Mi'kmaq and managed to escape.
According to Mi’kmaq accounts, the English schooner accidentally was shipwrecked, some of the crew drowned. They also indicated that two men died of illness while the others killed the six Mi'kmaq despite their hospitality. The French officials -who were allied with the Mi'kmaq - did not believe the Mi'kmaq account of events.
Original account
Original documentation regarding this account from the British and French points of view is found in "Documents Sur L'Acadie" and quoted by Daniel N. PaulDaniel N. Paul
Dr. Daniel N. Paul, C.M., O.N.S., is a Mi'kmaq Elder, author, columnist, and human rights activist. Paul is perhaps best known as the author of the book We Were Not the Savages. Paul asserts that this book is the first such history ever written by a First Nation citizen. The book is seen as an...
in his history We Were Not the Savages. The documentation begins with a report by a British surveyor named Morris to Lord Cornwallis in England, dated April 16, 1753:
- Yesterday arrived from the Eastward two men, in an Indian canoeCanoeA canoe or Canadian canoe is a small narrow boat, typically human-powered, though it may also be powered by sails or small electric or gas motors. Canoes are usually pointed at both bow and stern and are normally open on top, but can be decked over A canoe (North American English) or Canadian...
, who have brought six scalps of IndiansScalpingScalping is the act of removing another person's scalp or a portion of their scalp, either from a dead body or from a living person. The initial purpose of scalping was to provide a trophy of battle or portable proof of a combatant's prowess in war...
. The account they gave of the affair, upon their examination, was that James Grace, John Conner (a one eyed man, formerly one of your bargemen), with two others, sailed from this port about the middle of February last in a small SchoonerSchoonerA schooner is a type of sailing vessel characterized by the use of fore-and-aft sails on two or more masts with the forward mast being no taller than the rear masts....
, and on the 21st were attacked in a little harbour to the Westward of TorbayTorbay, Nova ScotiaTorbay is a small Acadian community in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, located in the Municipality of the District of Guysborough in Guysborough County.-References:**...
by nine Indians, to whom they submitted, and that the same day on which they landed the Indians killed their two companions in cold blood; that Grace and Conner continued with them till the 8th of the month, when some of them separating, they remained with four Indian men, a squawSquawSquaw is an English language loan-word, used as a noun or adjective, whose present meaning is an indigenous woman of North America. It is derived from the eastern Algonquian morpheme meaning 'woman' that appears in numerous Algonquian languages variously spelled squa, skwa, esqua, sqeh, skwe, que,...
, and a child: that the four Indians left them one day in their WigwamWigwamA wigwam or wickiup is a domed room dwelling used by certain Native American tribes. The term wickiup is generally used to label these kinds of dwellings in American Southwest and West. Wigwam is usually applied to these structures in the American Northeast...
with their arms and ammunition, upon which hoping to recover their liberty, they killed the woman and child, and at the return of the men killed them also, and then taking the Canoe made the best of their way to this place. - This is the substance of their story; but as the Indians complained, a little after the sailing of this Schooner, that one exactly answering her description put into JedoreJeddore, Nova ScotiaJeddore is a Canadian community in Nova Scotia's Halifax Regional Municipality. The community itself comprises several smaller communities. Oftentimes the inner communities are referred to on their own but much of the time simply the encapsulating region of Jeddore is simply used...
where they had their stores, and robbed them of forty barrels of provision given them by the Government, it is supposed that these men might afterwards have been apprehended by some of this Tribe, whom they killed as they describe. - If this be the case, it is a very unhappy incident at this juncture, and time only can discover what the consequences will be. The Chiefs of every Tribe in the Peninsula has sent in messages of friendship, and I believe would have signed the Articles of Peace this Spring, if this incident does not prevent them.
This entry is followed in the Documents Sur L'Acadie by the following contemporary French observation:
- Thus for Mr. Morris's account. But the fact was still blacker than he suspected. After having robbed the Indian store houses, the crew of this unfortunate Schooner was obliged to encounter the fury of the deep. They suffered the shipwreck; were found by the Indians drenched with water, and destitute of everything; were taken home, cherished, and kindly entertained. Yet they watched their opportunity, and to procure the price of scalps, murdered their benefactors, and came to Halifax to claim the Wages of their atrocious deed.
- The Indians, as may well be supposed, were exasperated beyond measure at this act of ingratitude and murder. (Revenge boils keenly in their bosoms, and their teeth were set on edge.) To procure immediate retaliation, they sent some of their Warriors to Halifax, to complain of the difficulty they found to keep their provisions safe during the fishing season, and to request that the Government would send a small Vessel to bring their families and stores to Halifax.
Aftermath
In response, on the night of April 21, Jean-Baptiste CopeJean-Baptiste Cope
Jean Baptiste Cope was also known as Major Cope, a title he was likely given from the French military, the highest rank given to Mi’kmaq. Cope was the sakamaw of the Mi'kmaq people of Shubenacadie, Nova Scotia...
and the Mi'kmaq attacked another 10 crew English schooner in a battle between Outique Island and Isle Madame in which the Mi'kmaq attacked an English schooner. There were nine English men and one Acadian who was the British interpreter. The Mi'kmaq killed the English and let the Acadian named Anthony Casteel off at Port Toulouse, where the Mi'kmaq sank the schooner after looting it. Cope's peace treaty was ultimately rejected by most of the other Mi'kmaq leaders. Cope burned the treaty six months after he signed it. Despite the collapse of peace on the eastern shore, the British did not formally renounce the Treat of 1752 until 1756.