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 to 1763, was a colonial conflict in North America between Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of France, France, along with their respective Native Americans in the United States, Native American ...

. The battle was fought between the British colonial forces from

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

and Acadian militiamen led by French officer Charles Deschamps de Boishébert et de Raffetot on September 4, 1755. It took place at the

Acadia Acadia (; ) was a colony of New France in northeastern North America which included parts of what are now the The Maritimes, Maritime provinces, the Gaspé Peninsula and Maine to the Kennebec River. The population of Acadia included the various ...

n village of Village-des-Blanchard on the Petitcodiac River.

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. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

initiated a campaign to deport the

Acadians The Acadians (; , ) are an ethnic group descended from the French colonial empire, French who settled in the New France colony of Acadia during the 17th and 18th centuries. Today, most descendants of Acadians live in either the Northern Americ ...

, French colonizers in

. Using Fort Cumberland 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'', ''Mi'kmaw'' or ''Mi'gmaw''; ; , and formerly Micmac) are an Indigenous group of people of the Northeastern Woodlands, native to the areas of Canada's Atlantic Provinces, primarily Nova Scotia, New Bru ...

and

Maliseet The Wolastoqiyik, (, also known as the Maliseet or 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 terri ...

forces and resisted the deportation efforts. Charles Deschamps de Boishébert et de Raffetot was a French militia commander who became a leader in the resistance to the deportation. Based in the Miramichi River valley, he helped Acadians fleeing the deportation operations escape to Quebec. After the capture of Fort Beauséjour,

Robert Monckton Lieutenant general (United Kingdom), Lieutenant-General Robert Monckton (24 June 1726 – 21 May 1782) was a British Army officer, politician and colonial administrator. He had a distinguished military and political career, being second in com ...

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 with an expedition of 200 provincial

militia A militia ( ) is a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or se ...

from Fort Cumberland in two armed sloops, with instructions to clear Acadians settlements on the Petitcodiac River. After setting the buildings on fire at Shepody, New Brunswick, 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 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 Human settlement, 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 in ...

known as "Camp de l'Espérance" on Beaubears Island 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 Gulf_of_St._Lawrence.html" ;"title="Gaspé Peninsula is to the north and the Gulf of St. Lawrence">Gaspé Peninsula is to the north and t ...

and the

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. The river flows in a northeasterly direction from its source in the Appalachian Mountains of nort ...

. 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 (), was a pivotal battle in the Seven Years' War (referred to as the French and Indian War to describe the North American theatre). The battle, which took place on 13 Sept ...

. 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