page_title: Battle at St. Croix
section_title: Battle
hierarchical_section_title: Battle at St. Croix / Battle
caption_attribution_description: English: 40th Regiment Of Foot By David Morier, 1751
context_page_description: The Battle at St. Croix was fought during Father Le Loutre's War between Gorham's Rangers and Mi'kmaq at Battle Hill in the community of St. Croix, Nova Scotia. The battle lasted from March 20–23, 1750.
context_section_description: On December 17, upon recently building a road from Halifax to Grand Pre, Cornwallis ordered Gorham to clear the road of natives who might hinder communications. On March 18, 1750, according to British accounts of the battle, a group of Rangers under the command of John Gorham (military officer) left Fort Sackville (now Bedford, Nova Scotia), under orders from Cornwallis to march to Pisiguit (in present-day Windsor). Their mission was to establish a blockhouse at Pisiguit (i.e., Fort Edward), and to seize the property of Acadians who had participated in the Siege of Grand Pre.
  Arriving at about noon on March 20 at the Acadian village of Five Houses beside the St. Croix River, Gorham and his men found all the houses deserted. Seeing a group of Mi'kmaq hiding in the bushes on the opposite shore, the Rangers opened fire. The skirmish deteriorated into a siege, with Gorham's men taking refuge in a sawmill and two of the houses. During the fighting around "Battle Hill", the Rangers suffered three wounded including Gorham, who sustained a bullet in the thigh. As the fighting intensified, a request was sent back to Fort Sackville for reinforcements.
  On March 22, responding to the call for assistance, Cornwallis ordered Captain Clapham's and Captain George St. Loe of the 40th Regiment of Foot, equipped with two field guns, to join Gorham at Pisiguit. The additional troops and artillery turned the tide for Gorham and forced the Mi'kmaq to withdraw.
caption: 40th Regiment of Foot by David Morier, 1751
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