The action of 15 June 1745 (also known as the Battle of Famme Goose Bay) was a naval encounter between three New England vessels and a French and native relief convoy en route to relieve the

Siege of Louisbourg (1745) The siege of Louisbourg took place in 1745 when a New England colonial force aided by a British fleet captured Louisbourg, the capital of the French province of Île-Royale (present-day Cape Breton Island) during the War of the Austrian S ...

during King George's War. The French and native convoy of four French vessels and fifty native canoes carrying 1200 fighters was led by

Paul Marin de la Malgue Paul Marin de la Malgue ( bap. 19 March 1692 – 29 October 1753) was the eldest son of Charles-Paul Marin de la Malgue and Catherine Niquet. He was born in Montreal and, as many of the prominent historical figures of his time, had a military ca ...

and the New England forces were led by Captain David Donahew. The New Englanders were successful. The Governor of Ile Royal

Louis Du Pont Duchambon Louis Du Pont Duchambon ( Chalais, Charente January 1, 1680 – 1775?) was a French military officer who served as a member of the French Army during the King George's War. Louis Du Pont Duchambon arrived in Acadia in 1702 as an ensign in a new c ...

thought that the New Englanders would have ended their siege of Louisbourg had Marin arrived. (There were 1800 French soldiers at Louisbourg versus 4200 New Englanders.) Instead, the day following the battle, Duchambon surrendered Louisbourg to New England.

Background

At the outbreak of the war, in May 1744, Captain David Donahue of the Resolution took prisoner the chief of the Mi'kmaq people of Ile Royale Jacques Pandanuques with his family to Boston. In May 1745,

led 200 troops and hundreds of Mi'kmaq joined a siege against Annapolis Royal. The siege was ended after three weeks when Marin was recalled to assist with defending the French during the Siege of Louisbourg. During the Siege at Annapolis, the

Wabanaki Confederacy The Wabanaki Confederacy (''Wabenaki, Wobanaki'', translated to "People of the Dawn" or "Easterner") is a North American First Nations and Native American confederation of four principal Eastern Algonquian nations: the Miꞌkmaq, Maliseet ( ...

(Mi'kmaq and Maliseet) took prisoner

William Pote William Pote (15 December 1718 – c. 1755) was a British surveyor and ship captain who wrote one of the few captivity narratives from Acadia/Nova Scotia when he was captured by the Wabanaki Confederacy during King George's War. Early life and ...

and some of Gorham's Rangers. During his captivity, Pote wrote one of the most important

captivity narratives Captivity narratives are usually stories of people captured by enemies whom they consider uncivilized, or whose beliefs and customs they oppose. The best-known captivity narratives in North America are those concerning Europeans and Americans ta ...

from Acadia and Nova Scotia. While at Cobequid, Pote reported that an Acadian said that the French soldiers should have "left their

he English He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...

carcasses behind and brought their skins." He also wrote about the Naval battle off Tatamagouch.

Battle

Captain Donahew in ''Resolution'' (12 guns, 50 crew) was travelling with Captain Daniel Fones in (14 guns, 100 crew); and Captain Robert Becket in ''Bonetta'' (six guns). The two latter ships left ''Resolution'' to pursue smoke from what they believed to be a French and native encampment. Shortly after they left, four French vessels appeared, led by Marin. Upon seeing the native canoes, Captain Donahew hoisted a French flag on his own sloop so the natives would think it was a French privateer with a prize. The wind dropped off and the Resolution was becalmed and surrounded by the French vessels and canoes. At 10:00 am on 15 June 1745, Donahew raised the British flag on his ship and a fierce two-hour battle ensued. Donahew reported firing at the four vessels two hundred rounds from his four pounders; fifty-three rounds from his three pounders, and "my swivel and small Arms continually playing on them." The British reported there was a "considerable slaughter" of the French and natives. The four French vessels were about to board Donahew's vessel when relief arrived, Captain Fones and Captain Becket returned. As a result, the French retreated to Gouzar. The two other French vessels went up near-by Dewar's River. The natives remained behind a seawall. The convoy eventually retreated to Tatamagouche. They built defenses on land, anticipating an attack by the New Englanders. Another New England vessel appeared. A week after the initial attack, presumably because of the number of their losses, the

Huron Huron may refer to: People * Wyandot people (or Wendat), indigenous to North America * Wyandot language, spoken by them * Huron-Wendat Nation, a Huron-Wendat First Nation with a community in Wendake, Quebec * Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi ...

decided to abandon the convoy and return to Quebec.

Aftermath

Daniel Fones Letter, Battle off Tatamagouche, 1745

The battle was significant in the downfall of Louisbourg because Marin's relief envoy was thwarted. Without the relief of the convoy, the following day Louisbourg fell. Weeks after the fall of Louisbourg, Donahew and Fones again engaged Marin, who was now nearing the Strait of Canso. Donahew and 11 of his men put ashore and were immediately surrounded by 300 Indians. The captain and five of his men were slain and the remaining six were taken prisoner. The Indians were said to have cut open Donahew's chest, sucked his blood, then eaten parts of him and his five companions. This tale significantly heightened the sense of gloom and frustration settling over the fortress. On July 19, the 12-gun provincial cruiser of Donavan's, ''Resolution'', sailed slowly into the harbour with her colours flying at half-mast. The horrifying tale of the fate of her captain, David Donahew, and five crew members spread rapidly through the fortress.

Legacy

In commemoration of this battle, the Historic Sites Monument Board, in August 1939, erected at Tatamagouche a monument in a spot overlooking the waters of the harbour. (Se
Battle of Tatamagouche Monument
) Captain Fones brought ''Tartar'' (14 guns) back safe to her home port in Rhode Island. Two cannon from ''Tartar'' are on the lawn of the Newport Historical Society (See
Tartar's Guns
, which were formerly mounted close to the Oliver Perry Monument at Washington Square,

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and northeast of New Yor ...

Ralph M. Eastman. "Captain Noah Stoddard" in Some Famous Privateers of New England. 1928. p. 68

References

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