The Battle of Petitcodiac was an engagement which occurred during the Bay of Fundy campaign of the

French and Indian War The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was a theater of the Seven Years' War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various Native American tribes. At the ...

. The battle was fought between the British colonial forces from

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

and Acadian militiamen led by French officer

Charles Deschamps de Boishébert et de Raffetot Charles Deschamps de Boishébert (also known as Courrier du Bois, Bois Hebert) was a member of the Compagnies Franches de la Marine and was a significant leader of the Acadian militia's resistance to the Expulsion of the Acadians. He settled an ...

on September 4, 1755. It took place at the

Acadia Acadia (french: link=no, Acadie) was a colony of New France in northeastern North America which included parts of what are now the Maritime provinces, the Gaspé Peninsula and Maine to the Kennebec River. During much of the 17th and early ...

n village of Village-des-Blanchard on the

Petitcodiac River The Petitcodiac River is a river in south-eastern New Brunswick, Canada. Referred to as the "chocolate river" by local tourist businesses, it is characterized by its brown mud floor and brown waters. The river has a meander length of and is lo ...

Background

After the capture of Fort Beauséjour in June 1755 during the

, the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

initiated a campaign to

deport Deportation is the expulsion of a person or group of people from a place or country. The term ''expulsion'' is often used as a synonym for deportation, though expulsion is more often used in the context of international law, while deportation ...

the

Acadians The Acadians (french: Acadiens , ) are an ethnic group descended from the French who settled in the New France colony of Acadia during the 17th and 18th centuries. Most Acadians live in the region of Acadia, as it is the region where the des ...

, French colonizers in

. Using

Fort Cumberland A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

as a base, British forces made forays into the surrounding countryside, rounding up Acadians to deport and destroying their colonial settlements. Some of the Acadians surrendered, while others fled from the coastal communities into the interior, where they joined with local

Miꞌkmaq The Mi'kmaq (also ''Mi'gmaq'', ''Lnu'', ''Miꞌkmaw'' or ''Miꞌgmaw''; ; ) are a First Nations people of the Northeastern Woodlands, indigenous to the areas of Canada's Atlantic Provinces and the Gaspé Peninsula of Quebec as well as the nort ...

and

Maliseet The Wəlastəkwewiyik, or Maliseet (, also spelled Malecite), are an Algonquian-speaking First Nation of the Wabanaki Confederacy. They are the indigenous people of the Wolastoq ( Saint John River) valley and its tributaries. Their territory ...

forces and resisted the deportation efforts.

was a French militia commander who became a leader in the resistance to the deportation. Based in the

Miramichi River The Miramichi River is a river located in the east-central part of New Brunswick, Canada. The river drains into Miramichi Bay in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The name may have been derived from the Montagnais words "Maissimeu Assi" (meaning Mi'km ...

valley, he helped Acadians fleeing the deportation operations escape to Quebec. After the capture of Fort Beauséjour,

Robert Monckton Lieutenant-General Robert Monckton (24 June 1726 – 21 May 1782) was an officer of the British Army and colonial administrator in British North America. He had a distinguished military and political career, being second in command to General J ...

sent a naval squadron to evict him from the satellite fort at the mouth of the Saint John River. Knowing that he could not defend his position, Boishebert and his men destroyed the fort.Faragher, p. 350 When he received word that the British were planning an expedition to the Petitcodiac River, he hurried to Chipoudy, where he organized 120 Acadians, Maliseets and Mi'kmaq into a guerilla force. During Bay of Fundy campaign, on August 28, Monckton sent Major

Joseph Frye Joseph Frye (March 19, 1712 – July 25, 1794) was a renowned military leader from colonial Maine (then a part of Massachusetts). Life Born in Andover, Massachusetts, he obtained the rank of general in the Massachusetts militia after serv ...

with an expedition of 200 provincial

militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

from Fort Cumberland in two armed sloops, with instructions to clear Acadians settlements on the

. After setting the buildings on fire at

Shepody, New Brunswick Shepody (formerly Chipoudy) is a small community in Southeastern New Brunswick on Route 114. It was founded as an Acadian village in 1698 and destroyed in 1755. The current settlement has a population of approximately 20, and is located just off t ...

, they began moving up the river, torching settlements and taking prisoners along the way.

Battle

On September 2, Frye's expedition began these clearing operations on settlements in and around the Village-des-Blanchard. While the main body worked on the eastern bank of the river, a detachment of between fifty and sixty militiamen under John Indicot was despatched to the western bank. When they set fire to the village church, Boishébert and three hundred men attacked. Indicot's men retreated behind a dyke and were in a near panic when Frye landed with the remainder of the force and took command. After three hours of spirited fighting, Frye eventually extracted the force to the boats and retreated. Twenty-two provincial militiamen were killed and another six were wounded. Ranger

Joseph Gorham Joseph Gorham (sometimes recorded as Goreham, 1725–1790) was an American colonial military officer during King George's War and later a British army commander during the Seven Years' War and the American Revolutionary War. He is best known ...

was wounded in the battle.

Aftermath

The battle was a stinging defeat for Frye's forces. Abbe Le Guerne wrote that it "made the English tremble more than all the cannons of Beausejour." For many in the provincial militia, this was their first experience with combat and over 50 percent of those who participated became casualties. The battle was the first French military success in Acadia during the war. Boishébert rescued thirty captive Acadian families and captured large quantities of military supplies and food. He subsequently created an Acadian

refugee camp A refugee camp is a temporary settlement built to receive refugees and people in refugee-like situations. Refugee camps usually accommodate displaced people who have fled their home country, but camps are also made for internally displaced peo ...

known as "Camp de l'Espérance" on

Beaubears Island Beaubears Island (french: Île Boishébert) 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 th ...

near present-day

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 Miramichi Valley is the second longest valley in New Brunswick, after the Saint John River ...

. The Acadians also managed to reach camps in

Chaleur Bay frame, Satellite image of Chaleur Bay (NASA). Chaleur Bay is the large bay in the centre of the image; the Gaspé Peninsula is to the north and the Gulf of St. Lawrence is seen to the east.">Gulf_of_St._Lawrence.html" ;"title="Gaspé Peninsula ...

and the

Restigouche River The Restigouche River (french: Rivière Ristigouche) is a river that flows across the northwestern part of the province of New Brunswick and the southeastern part of Quebec. The river flows in a northeasterly direction from its source in the App ...

. On the Restigouche River, Boishébert created another refugee camp at Petit-Rochelle.Faragher, p. 414; also see History: Commodore Byron's Conquest. ''The Canadian Press''. July 19, 2008 Boishebert again led Acadian forces during the

Battle of the Plains of Abraham The Battle of the Plains of Abraham, also known as the Battle of Quebec (french: Bataille des Plaines d'Abraham, Première bataille de Québec), was a pivotal battle in the Seven Years' War (referred to as the French and Indian War to describe ...

. The British would return three years later to destroy the village in the 1758 Petitcodiac River campaign. The site is marked by a plaque from the national Historic Sites and Monuments Board. It is the earliest recognized National Historic Event in the country, having been designated on May 16, 1918, prior to the establishment of the Board.

Footnotes

References

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Primary sources