John March (10 June 1658 – July 1712) was in a variety of businesses in

Newbury, Massachusetts Newbury is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, USA. The population was 6,716 at the 2020 census. Newbury includes the villages of Old Town (Newbury Center), Plum Island and Byfield. Each village is a precinct with its own voting district, ...

. He was a colonel in the

Massachusetts Bay Massachusetts Bay is a bay on the Gulf of Maine that forms part of the central coastline of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Description The bay extends from Cape Ann on the north to Plymouth Harbor on the south, a distance of about . Its ...

militia and, in that position, was active in a number of military operations against the French and Indians by the English in

King William's War King William's War (also known as the Second Indian War, Father Baudoin's War, Castin's War, or the First Intercolonial War in French) was the North American theater of the Nine Years' War (1688–1697), also known as the War of the Grand All ...

and

Queen Anne's War Queen Anne's War (1702–1713) was the second in a series of French and Indian Wars fought in North America involving the colonial empires of Great Britain, France, and Spain; it took place during the reign of Anne, Queen of Great Britain. In E ...

. During King William's War, March took part in the

Battle of Port Royal (1690) The Battle of Port Royal (19 May 1690) occurred at Port Royal, the capital of Acadia, during King William's War. A large force of New England provincial militia arrived before Port Royal. The Governor of Acadia Louis-Alexandre des Friches de M ...

and the failed expedition to Quebec. March was injured in the Northeast Coast Campaign (1703) and then was put in charge of the

Siege of Port Royal (1707) The siege of Port Royal in 1707 included two separate attempts by English colonists from New England to conquer Acadia (roughly the present-day Canadian provinces of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick) by capturing its capital Port Royal (now Annapol ...

. The siege was a failure, due in part to his indecisiveness in command. Though superior in numbers, the Massachusetts troops withdrew after some unsuccessful attacks. At least one member of his force, Chaplain

John Barnard John Edward Barnard (born 4 May 1946, Wembley, London) is an English engineer and racing car designer. Barnard is credited with the introduction of two new designs into Formula One: the carbon fibre composite chassis first seen in with Mc ...

, urged a more vigorous offensive. Governor

Daniel d'Auger de Subercase Daniel d'Auger de Subercase (February 12, 1661 – November 20, 1732) was a naval officer and the French governor of Newfoundland and later Acadia. Subercase was baptised a Protestant to Jean Daughter, a rich merchant and bourgeois who had ...

, with able assistance from

Bernard-Anselme d'Abbadie de Saint-Castin Bernard-Anselme d'Abbadie de Saint-Castin (1689–1720) was a French military officer serving in Acadia. He was a member of a successful privateering force at the time of Queen Anne's War, and led native and French forces in the defense of Acadia. ...

, was the successful commander of the French and Indian troops. March almost faced a court martial for his cowardice but there were so many other officers involved that it never took place. History seems to indicate that he had been put into a situation that he had neither the training or skills to execute the orders.

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* People of Queen Anne's War 1658 births 1712 deaths People of colonial Massachusetts People of colonial Maine British military personnel of the Nine Years' War British military personnel of the War of the Spanish Succession People of pre-statehood Maine People from Newbury, Massachusetts {{Massachusetts-stub