Ile Saint-Jean Campaign
Encyclopedia
The Ile Saint-Jean Campaign was a series of military operations in fall 1758, during the French and Indian War
, to deport the Acadians that either lived on Ile Saint-Jean
(present-day Prince Edward Island
) or had taken refuge there from earlier deportation operations. Lieutenant-Colonel Andrew Rollo
led a force of 500 British soldiers to take possession of Ile Saint-Jean.
The percentage of deported Acadians that died during this campaign made it the deadliest of all the campaigns during the Expulsion (1755–1762). The total number of Acadians deported during this campaign was second only to Bay of Fundy Campaign (1755)
.
happened in 1710. Over the next forty-five years the Acadians refused to sign an unconditional oath of allegiance to Britain. During this time period Acadians participated in various militia operations against the British and maintained vital supply lines to the French Fortress of Louisbourg and Fort Beausejour. During the French and Indian War
, the British sought both to neutralize any military threat Acadians posed and to interrupt the vital supply lines Acadians provided to Louisbourg by deporting Acadians from Acadia.
The first wave of these deportations began in 1755 with the Bay of Fundy Campaign (1755)
. Many Acadians fled those operations to the French colony of Ile Saint-Jean, now known as Prince Edward Island
. Ile Saint-Jean's major and commandant was Gabriel Rousseau de Villejouin. Villejouin occasionally sent Mi'kmaq to Acadia to pillage and harass the English during this time. In the summer of 1756, for example, Villejouin sent seven Mi'kmaq to Fort Edward
where they scalped two English people and returned to Villejouin with the scalps and a prisoner.
After the capturing Louisbourg
on Ile Royal (present-day Cape Breton, Nova Scotia
) in 1758, the British began operations to deport Acadians from Ile St. Jean, Ile Royale, and present-day New Brunswick
. According to one historian, this wave of operations was more brutal and considerably more devastating than the first.
led the British deportation operations. Amherst ordered Rollo to take possession of Ile Saint-Jean, build Fort Amherst on the site of Port-la-Joye
, and deport the Acadians.
On August 17, Rollo approached the harbour at Port-la-Joye on the war ship Hind with four transports and a schooner. Commandant Villejouin surrendered immediately. On August 18, Rollo's men travelled up what is now called the Hillsborough River
and brought back French prisoners, as well as three cannons that had probably been installed by the French at present-day Rams Island, near Frenchfort.
As the deportation operation continued, on October 14, a schooner arrived at Port-la-Joye from Pointe-Prime (now Eldon, Prince Edward Island
) carrying Noel Doiron
and 50 other Acadians. On October 20, Doiron and his family embarked on the ill-fated transport the Duke William
. Of the three thousand deportees included, roughly 600 that has been shipped over to Ile Royale earlier and then sent across the Atlantic well before Nov. 4 on the Mary. On November 4, 12 transport ships headed out of Port-la-Joye. One was wrecked in the Strait of Canso
, one on the Azores
and two sank off Land’s End. Eight transports that made it to France. About 1,500 Acadians died enroute to France by disease or drowning.
All the settlers from the largest village Havre Saint-Pierre (St. Peter's Harbour) were deported. Acadians were deported from left from areas far from Port-la-Joye, such as Bedec (Bedeque
), La Traverse (Cape Traverse), Riviere des Blonds (Tryon), and Riviere au Crapeau (Crapaud
), as well as other settlements in present day Kings County, Prince Edward Island
.
While the majority of Acadians surrendered along with Villejouin, roughly 1,250 Acadians (30%) did not. Many of these Acadians fled the island. The French and Acadians arranged for four schooners, one mounted with six guns, at Malpec (present day Malpeque Bay, Prince Edward Island
) to transport Acadians fleeing the island. Because of Malpec's distance from Port-la-Joye, it was out of reach of the British patrols. Acadians manage to leave the island and to reach French military leader Charles Deschamps de Boishébert et de Raffetot
's refugee camp, known as "Camp de l’Espérance", on Beaubears Island
near present-day Miramichi, New Brunswick
. The Acadians also managed to reach Baie des Chaleurs
and the Restigouche River
. On the Restigouche River, Jean-François Bourdon de Dombourg also had a refugee camp at Petit-Rochelle (present-day Pointe-à-la-Croix, Quebec
). Acadians Joseph Leblanc dit Le Maigre and the brothers Pierre and Joseph Gautier played important roles in assisting these Acadians to escape. The Mi'kmaq offered some assistance to the Acadians escape.
All the families from the communities of Malpec, Tracadie and Étang des Berges seem to have evaded the deportation as well as a number of families settled on the rivière du Nord-Est who seem to have gone to Ristigouche with the Gauthiers, Bujolds and Haché-Gallants.
Approximately 150 Acadians remained on the island by mid-1759. Although the other military campaigns against the Acadians during the war included burning their villages, the orders in this campaign did not include instructions to do so. Rollo was instructed to save the homes for British-sponsored settlers that might come later.
to the northeast along the coast in the Gulf of St. Lawrence Campaign (1758)
. After Wolfe had left the area, the 1760 Battle of Restigouche
led to the capture of several hundred Acadians at Boishébert's refugee camp at Petit-Rochelle (which was located at present-day Pointe-à-la-Croix, Quebec
)
The British also went along the northern shore of Baie Françoise (present-day Bay of Fundy
). In November, Major George Scott and several hundred men from Fort Cumberland sailed up the Petitcodiac River
in a number of armed vessels destroying the villages as they went, including Beausoleil, home to the Broussards. Simultaneously, Colonel Monckton, in command of 2,000 troops, engaged in a similar campaign
on the St. John River. The British also conducted a similar campaign on Cape Sable Island.
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War is the common American name for the war between Great Britain and France in North America from 1754 to 1763. In 1756, the war erupted into the world-wide conflict known as the Seven Years' War and thus came to be regarded as the North American theater of that war...
, to deport the Acadians that either lived on Ile Saint-Jean
Isle Saint-Jean
After 1713, France engaged in a reaffirmation of its territory in Acadia. Besides the construction of Louisbourg, France was resolved in organizing a colony on Isle Saint-Jean After 1713, France engaged in a reaffirmation of its territory in Acadia. Besides the construction of Louisbourg, France...
(present-day Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island is a Canadian province consisting of an island of the same name, as well as other islands. The maritime province is the smallest in the nation in both land area and population...
) or had taken refuge there from earlier deportation operations. Lieutenant-Colonel Andrew Rollo
Andrew Rollo, 5th Lord Rollo
Andrew Rollo, 5th Lord Rollo, was a Scottish army commander in Canada and Dominica during the Seven Years' War, who led the British land forces in the capture of Dominica on June 6, 1761....
led a force of 500 British soldiers to take possession of Ile Saint-Jean.
The percentage of deported Acadians that died during this campaign made it the deadliest of all the campaigns during the Expulsion (1755–1762). The total number of Acadians deported during this campaign was second only to Bay of Fundy Campaign (1755)
Bay of Fundy Campaign (1755)
The Bay of Fundy Campaign occurred during the French and Indian War when the British ordered the Expulsion of the Acadians from Acadia after the Battle of Beausejour . The Campaign started at Chignecto and then quickly moved to Grand Pré, Rivière-aux-Canards, Pisiguit, Cobequid, and finally Port...
.
Historical context
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...
happened in 1710. Over the next forty-five years the Acadians refused to sign an unconditional oath of allegiance to Britain. During this time period Acadians participated in various militia operations against the British and maintained vital supply lines to the French Fortress of Louisbourg and Fort Beausejour. During the French and Indian War
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War is the common American name for the war between Great Britain and France in North America from 1754 to 1763. In 1756, the war erupted into the world-wide conflict known as the Seven Years' War and thus came to be regarded as the North American theater of that war...
, the British sought both to neutralize any military threat Acadians posed and to interrupt the vital supply lines Acadians provided to Louisbourg by deporting Acadians from Acadia.
The first wave of these deportations began in 1755 with the Bay of Fundy Campaign (1755)
Bay of Fundy Campaign (1755)
The Bay of Fundy Campaign occurred during the French and Indian War when the British ordered the Expulsion of the Acadians from Acadia after the Battle of Beausejour . The Campaign started at Chignecto and then quickly moved to Grand Pré, Rivière-aux-Canards, Pisiguit, Cobequid, and finally Port...
. Many Acadians fled those operations to the French colony of Ile Saint-Jean, now known as Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island is a Canadian province consisting of an island of the same name, as well as other islands. The maritime province is the smallest in the nation in both land area and population...
. Ile Saint-Jean's major and commandant was Gabriel Rousseau de Villejouin. Villejouin occasionally sent Mi'kmaq to Acadia to pillage and harass the English during this time. In the summer of 1756, for example, Villejouin sent seven Mi'kmaq to 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...
where they scalped two English people and returned to Villejouin with the scalps and a prisoner.
After the capturing Louisbourg
Siege of Louisbourg (1758)
The Siege of Louisbourg was a pivotal battle of the Seven Years' War in 1758 which ended the French colonial era in Atlantic Canada and led directly to the loss of Quebec in 1759 and the remainder of French North America the following year.-Background:The British government realized that with the...
on Ile Royal (present-day Cape Breton, Nova Scotia
Cape Breton County, Nova Scotia
Cape Breton County, officially, County Cape Breton, is a county in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, on Cape Breton Island.Taking its name from Cape Breton, the most easterly point of the island which was called after the Bretons of Brittany, this municipality has what is probably the oldest...
) in 1758, the British began operations to deport Acadians from Ile St. Jean, Ile Royale, and present-day New Brunswick
New Brunswick
New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...
. According to one historian, this wave of operations was more brutal and considerably more devastating than the first.
Campaign
Under orders from General Jeffery Amherst, Lieutenant-Colonel Andrew RolloAndrew Rollo, 5th Lord Rollo
Andrew Rollo, 5th Lord Rollo, was a Scottish army commander in Canada and Dominica during the Seven Years' War, who led the British land forces in the capture of Dominica on June 6, 1761....
led the British deportation operations. Amherst ordered Rollo to take possession of Ile Saint-Jean, build Fort Amherst on the site of Port-la-Joye
Port-la-Joye–Fort Amherst
Port-la-Joye—Fort Amherst is a National Historic Site of Canada in Prince Edward Island, Canada, commemorating the location's double distinction in hosting both the oldest permanent European settlement on Ile Saint-Jean and the first military fortification on the island to be built by the British...
, and deport the Acadians.
On August 17, Rollo approached the harbour at Port-la-Joye on the war ship Hind with four transports and a schooner. Commandant Villejouin surrendered immediately. On August 18, Rollo's men travelled up what is now called the Hillsborough River
Hillsborough River (Prince Edward Island)
The Hillsborough River, also known as the East River, is a Canadian river in northeastern Queens County, Prince Edward Island.-Battle at Port-la-Joye :...
and brought back French prisoners, as well as three cannons that had probably been installed by the French at present-day Rams Island, near Frenchfort.
As the deportation operation continued, on October 14, a schooner arrived at Port-la-Joye from Pointe-Prime (now Eldon, Prince Edward Island
Eldon, Prince Edward Island
Eldon is a Canadian community in Queens County, Prince Edward Island southeast of Charlottetownin the township of Lot 57.- History :The Acadians arrived in Pointe Prime, Ile St. Jean in 1750...
) carrying Noel Doiron
Noel Doiron
Noel Doiron was a leader of the Acadians, renown for the decisions he made during the Deportation of the Acadians. Doiron was deported on a vessel named the Duke William . The sinking of the Duke William was one of the worst marine disasters in Canadian history...
and 50 other Acadians. On October 20, Doiron and his family embarked on the ill-fated transport the Duke William
Duke William (ship)
The Duke William, was a ship, a transport vessel from England, which was part of the Ile Saint-Jean Campaign during the French and Indian War. While the Duke William was transporting Acadians from Ile St Jean to France, the ship sank in the North Atlantic on December 13, 1758 with the loss of...
. Of the three thousand deportees included, roughly 600 that has been shipped over to Ile Royale earlier and then sent across the Atlantic well before Nov. 4 on the Mary. On November 4, 12 transport ships headed out of Port-la-Joye. One was wrecked in the Strait of Canso
Strait of Canso
The Strait of Canso , is a strait located in the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. It divides the Nova Scotia peninsula from Cape Breton Island....
, one on the Azores
Azores
The Archipelago of the Azores is composed of nine volcanic islands situated in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean, and is located about west from Lisbon and about east from the east coast of North America. The islands, and their economic exclusion zone, form the Autonomous Region of the...
and two sank off Land’s End. Eight transports that made it to France. About 1,500 Acadians died enroute to France by disease or drowning.
All the settlers from the largest village Havre Saint-Pierre (St. Peter's Harbour) were deported. Acadians were deported from left from areas far from Port-la-Joye, such as Bedec (Bedeque
Central Bedeque, Prince Edward Island
Central Bedeque is a village in Lot 26, Prince County, Prince Edward Island. The village is north of Borden-Carleton. Its primary industry is agriculture.-History:...
), La Traverse (Cape Traverse), Riviere des Blonds (Tryon), and Riviere au Crapeau (Crapaud
Crapaud, Prince Edward Island
Crapaud is a Canadian village in Queens County, Prince Edward Island , North of Victoria in the township of Lot 29.- References :...
), as well as other settlements in present day Kings County, Prince Edward Island
Kings County, Prince Edward Island
Kings County is located in eastern Prince Edward Island, Canada.It is the province's smallest, most rural and least-populated county. Kings County is also least dependent upon the agriculture industry compared with the other two counties, while being more heavily dependent on the fishery and...
.
While the majority of Acadians surrendered along with Villejouin, roughly 1,250 Acadians (30%) did not. Many of these Acadians fled the island. The French and Acadians arranged for four schooners, one mounted with six guns, at Malpec (present day Malpeque Bay, Prince Edward Island
Malpeque Bay, Prince Edward Island
Malpeque Bay is a settlement in Prince Edward Island....
) to transport Acadians fleeing the island. Because of Malpec's distance from Port-la-Joye, it was out of reach of the British patrols. Acadians manage to leave the island and to reach French military leader Charles Deschamps de Boishébert et de Raffetot
Charles Deschamps de Boishébert et de Raffetot
Charles Deschamps de Boishébert , was the leader of the Acadian resistance to the Expulsion of the Acadians. He settled and tried to protect Acadians refugees along the rivers of New Brunswick. Fort Boishebert is named after him...
's refugee camp, known as "Camp de l’Espérance", on Beaubears Island
Beaubears Island
Beaubears Island is an island at the confluence of the Northwest Miramichi and Southwest Miramichi Rivers near Miramichi, New Brunswick. The island is most famous for being the site of an Acadian refugee camp during the French and Indian War. The camp was under the command of leader of the Acadian...
near present-day Miramichi, New Brunswick
Miramichi, New Brunswick
Miramichi is the largest city in northern New Brunswick, Canada. It is situated at the mouth of the Miramichi River where it enters Miramichi Bay...
. The Acadians also managed to reach Baie des Chaleurs
Chaleur Bay
frame| Satellite image of Chaleur Bay . Chaleur Bay is the large bay opening to the east;the [[Gaspé Peninsula]] appears to the north and the [[Gulf of St...
and the Restigouche River
Restigouche River
The Restigouche River is a river that flows across the northwestern part of the province of New Brunswick and the southeastern part of Quebec....
. On the Restigouche River, Jean-François Bourdon de Dombourg also had a refugee camp at Petit-Rochelle (present-day Pointe-à-la-Croix, Quebec
Pointe-à-la-Croix, Quebec
Pointe-à-la-Croix is a town located on the Restigouche River in the Gaspésie region of eastern Quebec, Canada. The town is situated across from the city of Campbellton, New Brunswick. As of 2001, the town had a population of 1,513....
). Acadians Joseph Leblanc dit Le Maigre and the brothers Pierre and Joseph Gautier played important roles in assisting these Acadians to escape. The Mi'kmaq offered some assistance to the Acadians escape.
All the families from the communities of Malpec, Tracadie and Étang des Berges seem to have evaded the deportation as well as a number of families settled on the rivière du Nord-Est who seem to have gone to Ristigouche with the Gauthiers, Bujolds and Haché-Gallants.
Approximately 150 Acadians remained on the island by mid-1759. Although the other military campaigns against the Acadians during the war included burning their villages, the orders in this campaign did not include instructions to do so. Rollo was instructed to save the homes for British-sponsored settlers that might come later.
Aftermath
After the Ile Saint-Jean campaign began, Major General Amherst dispatched Brigadier James WolfeJames Wolfe
Major General James P. Wolfe was a British Army officer, known for his training reforms but remembered chiefly for his victory over the French in Canada...
to the northeast along the coast in the Gulf of St. Lawrence Campaign (1758)
Gulf of St. Lawrence Campaign (1758)
The Gulf of St. Lawrence Campaign occurred during the French and Indian War when British forces raided villages along present-day New Brunswick and the Gaspé Peninsula coast of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence. Sir Charles Hardy and Brigadier-General James Wolfe were in command of the naval and...
. After Wolfe had left the area, the 1760 Battle of Restigouche
Battle of Restigouche
The Battle of Restigouche was a naval battle fought during the French and Indian War on the Restigouche River between the British Royal Navy and the small flotilla of French Navy vessels. The French vessels had been sent to relieve New France after the fall of Quebec...
led to the capture of several hundred Acadians at Boishébert's refugee camp at Petit-Rochelle (which was located at present-day Pointe-à-la-Croix, Quebec
Pointe-à-la-Croix, Quebec
Pointe-à-la-Croix is a town located on the Restigouche River in the Gaspésie region of eastern Quebec, Canada. The town is situated across from the city of Campbellton, New Brunswick. As of 2001, the town had a population of 1,513....
)
The British also went along the northern shore of Baie Françoise (present-day Bay of Fundy
Bay of Fundy
The Bay of Fundy is a bay on the Atlantic coast of North America, on the northeast end of the Gulf of Maine between the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, with a small portion touching the U.S. state of Maine...
). In November, Major George Scott and several hundred men from Fort Cumberland sailed up the Petitcodiac River
Petitcodiac River Campaign
The Petitcodiac River Campaign was a series of British military operations from June to November 1758, during the French and Indian War, to deport the Acadians that either lived along the Petitcodiac River or had taken refuge there from earlier deportation operations, such as the Ile Saint-Jean...
in a number of armed vessels destroying the villages as they went, including Beausoleil, home to the Broussards. Simultaneously, Colonel Monckton, in command of 2,000 troops, engaged in a similar campaign
St. John River Campaign
The St. John River Campaign occurred during the French and Indian War when Colonel Robert Monckton led a force of 1150 British soldiers to destroy the Acadian settlements along the banks of the Saint John River until they reached the largest village of Sainte-Anne des Pays-Bas in February 1759...
on the St. John River. The British also conducted a similar campaign on Cape Sable Island.
Secondary sources
- Earle Lockerby. The Deportation of the Prince Edward Island Acadians. Nimbus Press. 2008.
- Earle Lockerby, "The Deportation of the Acadians from Ile St.-Jean, 1758". Acadiensis. XXVII, 2 (Spring 1998), pp. 45–94.
- John Grenier. The Far Reaches of Empire: War in Nova Scotia, 1710-1760. Oklahoma University Press. 2008.
- Geoffrey Plank. "New England Soldiers in the Saint John River Valley: 1758-1760" in New England and the Maritime provinces: connections and comparisons By Stephen Hornsby, John G. Reid. McGill-Queen's University Press. 2005. pp. 59–73
- John Faragher. A Great and Noble Scheme. Norton. 2005.