|
American Colonies |
Kirke takes Quebec |
English Newfoundland
| Phips |
Treaty of Utrecht |
War of Austrian
Succession |
Capture of Louisbourg
| Treaty of Aix la
Chapelle | Halifax |
French Indian Wars |
Governor Murray
The War
of Austrian Succession had begun in 1740 and eventually
drew France and England into conflict against each
other. By the spring of 1745 the New England colonies
were busy preparing to launch an expedition against the
French fortress of the Atlantic, Louisbourg on
Cape Breton Island. Louisbourg was the capital of the
colony of Ile Royale and Ile St Jean.
The British had established
forts at Annapolis Royal and Canso in Nova Scotia and
were somewhat vulnerable to the French in Louisbourg.
The Micmac Indians were also encouraged to cause trouble
for the British. The French struck at Canso, which was
sixty miles from Louisbourg, 350 soldiers under Captain
Francois Du Pont Duviver. The British with only 87
soldier quickly faltered and surrendered who were
interned at Louisbourg.
The next phase of the
conflict escalated into a sea war with French and
English privateers raiding each others shipping until
the French were finally bottled up in Louisbourg.
The
centre of attention in this Atlantic Seacoast theatre
shifted back to the land and Annapolis Royal once again.
The French encouraged the Micmac to attack the fortress
and between July 13 to July 16 they attacked the
English. The attacks by the Micmac failed and
reinforcements from Boston arrived in Annapolis Royal.
Additional French forces and natives arrived and the
fort was threatened through the summer but did not fall
and the French were forces to retreat in October.
Thee was
a realization in New England that the key to the
Atlantic theatre was Louisbourg and that as long as the
French held it there would be a dagger pointed at the
heart of the English Colonies. In the winter of 1744 -
45 the debate over Louisbourg developed into he question
of whether to continue reacting to French actions or
invade Cape Breton and take Louisbourg. On the 5th of
February, the House of Representatives in Massachusetts
voted on a motion to participate in an action to sail
for Louisbourg and attack it, with the support of other
colonies.
The
argument had centred on the believed strength of the
Louisbourg and the impenetrable defences that the
colonists would have to face. This point was overcome by
information from many New Englanders who had visited the
fortress on business and testified to the many weakness
and issues the French were having such as low morale and
masonry weakness in the building of the walls.
Governor
Shirley of Massachusetts took the lead and assembled a
force of more then 4,000 or 7 regiments and Connecticut
and New Hampshire each contributed 1 regiment. At that
time Maine was a part of Massachusetts and so their
security was the most at risk from the French.
The
leader of the expedition, William Pepperrell, left for
Canso where the men would be landed as the first part of
the invasion plan. The fleet was scattered by storms but
the ships eventually trickled into Canso and training
was imposed upon the men in preparation for the attack
on Louisbourg.
May 3
brought good news with the arrival of the HMS Eltham.
Several additional British warships were to arrive and
join in the attack. This scale of preparation for attack
had all escaped the notice of the French in Louisbourg
who had a very low opinion of the ability of the British
colonies to act in concert and launch an attack without
the British. The had sent messages to France asking for
additional forces and believed they would arrive before
the British could arrive to lead the colonist against
them.
On May
7th the French commander of Louisbourg, Louis Du Pont
Duchambon received word that the British had captured
Canso. During that winter, a detachment f Swiss and 8
companies of French Marines had mutinied and their
reliability was questionable. Duchambon was unsure of
when the British would come and whether his position was
would be defensible. He had little time to prepare
because on May 11th the British fleet arrived and
quickly sent troops ashore in long boats. The French
raced to the landing spot to oppose the assaulting New
England militia, but were quickly pushed back and
retreated into the Fortress.
The
colonists then turned upon the fort and began to advance
in a rather unorganized manner and were brutally met by
French canon which forced their hasty retreat. That
ended the hostilities for day one and the following days
saw both sides preparing for the main assault that was
sure to come. The French withdrew from the Royal Battery
which lie outside the main fortress and required almost
1/3 of the troops available for defence.
The
British prepared for the siege by surrounding Louisbourg
and moving canon into position while insuring that
Louisbourg was isolated. They slowly built canon
emplacements closer and closer to the walls of
Louisbourg and keep up a steady stream of fire on the
fort. The New Englanders suffered few combat casualties
but many fell sick from dysentery.
The
French attempted to send relief supplies and support
form France but the 32 gun frigate Renommee which had
left France in February was unable to enter the harbour
at Louisbourg and was forced to return to France. The
2nd relief ship, the Vigilante, left France in April and
tried to fight her way into the Fortress but was
captured with her 500 man crew.
The
battle ground on through June with various attacks and
counter attacks. The unceasing combat was taking it's
toll on the French who were running low on gunpowder,
were exhausted from fighting and repairing damage to the
fortress and fewer and fewer operational canons.
Finally,
on June 26th, Pepperrell was ready to make a massive
assault with the navy supporting the attack. Duchambon
realized that his situation was desperate with no relief
in sight and decided that he would need to negotiate a
surrender. The capitulation was arranged and according
to its terms the French were permitted to march out from
Louisbourg with honours and the civilians were to be
sent back to France for repatriation.
The
reaction in France was one of stunned surprise. The fact
that New England colonists had conducted most of the
operation and been he main English combatants was very
discouraging to the French government in Paris. The
reverse was true in Boston and London where the
celebrating and joy were overwhelming. This success of
the colonial militia should have been a lesson well
learnt by the British military authorities but was
quickly forgotten by 1775.
Although
the number of casualties was relatively minor from
combat, for the colonists, the number that died over the
next year from garrison duty was almost 600. This made
the news that the peace treaty, the Treaty of
Aix-la-Chapelle, to end the war had given
Louisbourg back to the French in exchange for Madras in
India. The British did take action to counter the
presence of Louisbourg after this war by building the
great Naval base of Halifax, a short distance along the
Nova Scotia coast. The war had not solved the tense
situation but had only put it off until the next war
which was to come soon.
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