Fort Vieux Logis
Encyclopedia
The site of Fort Vieux Logis is in present-day Hortonville, Nova Scotia
, Canada
(formerly part of Grand Pre
) and was built during Father Le Loutre's War
. The fort was created to help prevent the Acadian Exodus
from the region. The site of the fort is on the field where the Acadian Cross and the New England Planters monument are located. Despite archeological efforts, the exact location of the fort is unknown.
in 1710, Nova Scotia remained primarily occupied by Catholic Acadians and Mi'kmaq. 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).
Within 18 months of establishing Halifax, the British also took firm control of peninsula Nova Scotia by building fortifications in all the major Acadian communities: present-day Windsor (Fort Edward)
; Grand Pre (Fort Vieux Logis) and Chignecto (Fort Lawrence
). (A British fort already existed at the other major Acadian centre of Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia
. Cobequid remained without a fort.)
Initally in 1749, Fort Vieux Logis did not have a barracks. Instead, it simply was three vacated Acadian homes with a fence around them.
was sent to relieve the fort. When he arrived the militia had already departed with the prisoners. The prisoners spent several years in captivity before being ransomed.
In 1750, six British soldiers tried to desert the fort. Cornwallis ordered them to death. Two of them were shot. Three of them were hanged and their bodies left to hang in chains.
Hortonville, Nova Scotia
Hortonville is a community in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, located in Kings County.The site of Fort Vieux Logis is located at the site of the Acadian Memorial Cross and the New England Planters monument in Hortonville, Canada . The fort was built during Father Le Loutre's War.-References:*...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
(formerly part of Grand Pre
Grand Pre, Nova Scotia
Grand-Pré is a Canadian rural community in Kings County, Nova Scotia. Its French name translates to "Great Meadow" and the community lies at the eastern edge of the Annapolis Valley several kilometres east of the town of Wolfville on a peninsula jutting into the Minas Basin, framed by the Gaspereau...
) and was built during 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...
. The fort was created to help prevent the Acadian Exodus
Acadian Exodus
The Acadian Exodus happened during Father Le Loutre’s War and involved almost half of the total Acadian population of Nova Scotia deciding to relocate to French controlled territories...
from the region. The site of the fort is on the field where the Acadian Cross and the New England Planters monument are located. Despite archeological efforts, the exact location of the fort is unknown.
Father Le Loutre’s War
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. 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
City of Halifax
Halifax is a city in Canada, which was the capital of the province of Nova Scotia and shire town of Halifax County. It was the largest city in Atlantic Canada until it was amalgamated into Halifax Regional Municipality in 1996...
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, Halifax County, Nova Scotia
Lawrencetown is a Canadian rural community in Nova Scotia's Halifax Regional Municipality on Route 207. The settlement was established during Father Le Loutre's War.- History :...
(1754).
Within 18 months of establishing Halifax, the British also took firm control of peninsula Nova Scotia by building fortifications in all the major Acadian communities: present-day Windsor (Fort Edward)
Fort Edward (Nova Scotia)
Fort Edward is a National Historic Site in Windsor, Nova Scotia, Canada and was built during Father Le Loutre's War. The fort was created to help prevent the Acadian Exodus from the region...
; Grand Pre (Fort Vieux Logis) and Chignecto (Fort Lawrence
Fort Lawrence
Fort Lawrence was a British fort built during Father Le Loutre's War and located on the Isthmus of Chignecto .-Father Le Loutre's War:...
). (A British fort already existed at the other major Acadian centre of Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia
Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia
Annapolis Royal is a town located in the western part of Annapolis County, Nova Scotia. Known as Port Royal until the Conquest of Acadia in 1710 by Britain, the town is the oldest continuous European settlement in North America, north of St...
. Cobequid remained without a fort.)
Initally in 1749, Fort Vieux Logis did not have a barracks. Instead, it simply was three vacated Acadian homes with a fence around them.
Siege of Grand Pre
On November 27, 1749, 300 Mi'kmaq, Maliseet, and Acadians attacked the British Fort Vieux Logis. The fort was under the command of Captain Handfield. While surveying the fort's environs, Lieutenant John Hamilton and eighteen soldiers under his command were captured. After the British soldiers were captured, the native and Acadian militias made several attempts over the next week to lay siege to the fort before breaking off the engagement. Gorham’s RangersJohn Gorham (military officer)
John Gorham was a New England Ranger and was the first significant British military presence on the frontier of Nova Scotia and Acadia to remain in the region for a substantial period of time after the Conquest of Acadia . He established the famous "Gorham's Rangers". Gorham was commissioned a...
was sent to relieve the fort. When he arrived the militia had already departed with the prisoners. The prisoners spent several years in captivity before being ransomed.
In 1750, six British soldiers tried to desert the fort. Cornwallis ordered them to death. Two of them were shot. Three of them were hanged and their bodies left to hang in chains.