Bay of Fundy Campaign (1755)

Bay of Fundy Campaign (1755)
Joseph Blackburn · Public domain · source
Conflict	Bay of Fundy Campaign (1755)
Partof	French and Indian War; Seven Years' War
Date	1755
Place	Bay of Fundy, Nova Scotia
Result	Deportation of Acadians; collapse of neutral Acadian settlements
Combatant1	British America; Province of Nova Scotia (British colony); New England
Combatant2	Acadia; Acadians; Mi'kmaq
Commander1	Charles Lawrence (governor); William Shirley; Robert Monckton
Commander2	Joseph Broussard; Charles Deschamps de Boishébert et de Raffetot; François Dupont Duvivier
Strength1	British Army; Royal Navy
Strength2	Acadian militia; Mi'kmaq militia

Bay of Fundy Campaign (1755) The Bay of Fundy Campaign (1755) was a British operation during the French and Indian War that targeted Acadia settlements around the Bay of Fundy resulting in the deportation known as the Great Upheaval or Expulsion of the Acadians. Ordered by Charles Lawrence (governor) and coordinated with directives from William Shirley, the campaign involved Royal Navy forces and colonial militias under officers such as Robert Monckton. The campaign reshaped settlement patterns in Nova Scotia and intensified hostilities with the Mi'kmaq and French colonial forces.

Background

Tensions in Acadia followed contested claims between Kingdom of Great Britain and Kingdom of France after the Treaty of Utrecht (1713), where the French ceded mainland Acadia to Britain while populations of Acadians and allied Mi'kmaq persisted. The region's strategic importance in the struggle between New France and British America heightened during episodes like the King George's War and the outbreak of the French and Indian War. British authorities, including Edward Cornwallis and later Charles Lawrence (governor), faced pressure from Board of Trade (British) and colonial administrations such as Massachusetts Bay Colony to secure supply lines and prevent Acadian support for Fort Beauséjour and other French positions. Key figures such as Joseph Broussard and Charles Deschamps de Boishébert et de Raffetot resisted British measures, aligning with French commanders including François Dupont Duvivier.

Prelude to the Campaign

In 1754–1755, British intelligence and reports from Nova Scotia Council and agents like John Winslow (Nova Scotia) alleged Acadian noncompliance with oaths to the Crown and clandestine assistance to New France. The seizure of Fort Beauséjour by forces under Robert Monckton and authorization by William Shirley exacerbated fears of Acadian collaboration with French regulars and Mi'kmaq militia. Debates in the British Cabinet and communications with the Board of Trade (British) led to orders executed by Charles Lawrence (governor) to neutralize perceived threats by removing Acadian communities from strategic zones such as Grand-Pré, Île Saint-Jean (Prince Edward Island), and Beaubassin. Colonial militias from Massachusetts Bay Colony and naval squadrons from the Royal Navy were mobilized.

Conduct of the Campaign

British forces employed tactics combining Royal Navy blockades, militia raids, and garrison operations; commanders included Robert Monckton, John Winslow (Nova Scotia), and officers under Charles Lawrence (governor). Operations targeted centers like Grand-Pré, Piziquid, and Chignecto with detachments enforcing orders for removal and seizure of property. The campaign overlapped with operations at Fort Cumberland and followed coordinated actions from provincial governors including William Shirley and administrators reporting to the Board of Trade (British). Military engagements and skirmishes involved Acadian militia and Mi'kmaq militia leaders such as Joseph Broussard and Charles Deschamps de Boishébert et de Raffetot, who conducted guerilla resistance and evacuation efforts toward Île Royale (Cape Breton) and Île Saint-Jean (Prince Edward Island). The role of naval commanders from the Royal Navy and officers associated with HMS Mermaid and other vessels facilitated deportation transports.

Deportation and Immediate Aftermath

Following proclamations by Charles Lawrence (governor), British troops and militia rounded up Acadian families, interned civilians in Halifax prisons and aboard transports, then deported them to destinations including New England, France, Île Saint-Jean (Prince Edward Island), and Louisbourg. Officers such as John Winslow (Nova Scotia) managed embarkation lists and inventories. Many deportees suffered disease and mortality during voyages to ports like Boston and Bristol (England), and some were intercepted by French privateers or found refuge with Mi'kmaq allies. The dispersal disrupted agricultural systems in reclaimed lands near Bay of Fundy dykelands and led to seizure of Acadian properties, with settlement efforts by New England Planters and later United Empire Loyalists and settlers from Scotland.

Impact on Acadian Communities and Mi'kmaq Relations

The campaign devastated Acadian demographic structures, dispersing families across British Isles and French colonies, and severing ties to ancestral dykelands in Grand-Pré and Beaubassin. Survivors who evaded deportation or returned faced reprisals and renewed displacement during later operations such as the St. John River Campaign (1758) and actions around Île Saint-Jean (Prince Edward Island). Relations between the Mi'kmaq and British authorities deteriorated, fueling raids and alliances with New France; leaders like Joseph Broussard coordinated resistance that culminated in recurring conflicts at sites like Fort Beauséjour and along the St. John River. The ruptures influenced Acadian diaspora communities that later coalesced in regions such as Louisiana (the Cajuns), Île Royale (Cape Breton), and Île Saint-Jean (Prince Edward Island).

Military and Political Consequences

Strategically, the British elimination of perceived Acadian neutrality secured lines of communication between Halifax and frontier garrisons, aiding later British operations in Penobscot Bay and the conquest of Louisbourg (1758). Politically, actions by Charles Lawrence (governor) set precedents for colonial administration under pressure from the Board of Trade (British) and influenced imperial policy during the Seven Years' War. The campaign drew criticism and debate in assemblies such as the Massachusetts General Court and among British officials, including discussions in the British Cabinet. French commanders and colonial governments, including New France authorities, used the expulsions as propaganda to rally indigenous allies and refugee networks.

Memory and Historiography

Historiography has treated the campaign through lenses offered by scholars of Acadian history, Mi'kmaq history, and Atlantic Canada studies, with monographs analyzing sources from the Nova Scotia Archives and testimonies like those compiled by John Winslow (Nova Scotia). Memory practices include commemorations at Grand-Pré National Historic Site, scholarly debates about terms such as ethnic cleansing versus military necessity, and cultural works in Acadian literature and Cajun culture. Interpretations have evolved in works appearing in journals of Canadian history, French colonial studies, and Indigenous studies, and are reflected in public history at museums like Citadel Hill and in monuments across Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.

Category:Military history of Nova Scotia Category:Expulsion of the Acadians