Siege of Pemaquid ( 1696 ) The Siege of Pemaquid occurred during King William ' s War when French and Native forces from New France attacked the English settlement at Pemaquid ( present - day Bristol , Maine ) , a community on the border with Acadia . The siege was led by Pierre Le Moyne d ' Iberville and Baron de St Castin between August 14 – 15 , 1696 . Commander of Fort William Henry , Captain Pasco Chubb , surrendered the fort . Iberville killed three of the soldiers and sent the other 92 back to Boston . The victory at Pemaquid was one of the most significant the French had during the war . The siege resulted in a retaliatory raid by New England forces on Acadia . Historical context . During much of the seventeenth century , Pemaquid ( present - day Bristol , Maine ) was the most northern coastal settlement of New England , and Pentagouet ( present - day Castine , Maine ) was the most southern Acadian settlement , a colony of New France . During King William ' s War , the area became a battleground as the French and English fought to determine the boundaries of their empires . In 1689 Baron de St Castin and the Wabanaki Confederacy ( Abenaki ) was captured and burned down the wooden stockade fort at Pemaquid . By 1692 , the English regained control of the region , and Sir William Phipps ordered construction of Fort William Henry to replace Fort Charles ( the original fort built in 1677 by order of Governor Andros ) . The English built Fort William Henry as a fortress to protect the northern boundary of New England . The fort was the largest in New England . The Massachusetts government used one third of its budget to build the fort . The fort was built with stone and mortar . There were eighteen cannon mounted in the gun ports of six - foot thick walls that rose ten to twenty feet above the ground . The fort was rebuilt under the direction of Captain John March with the assistance of Benjamin Church . The commander of the fort was Captain Pasco Chubb . He violated an assembly that was held under a flag of truce , by killing a number of the Abenaki chiefs who were present . D ' Iberville knew that he would require both a land - based cannon assault and war ships to conquer the fort . Led by Saint - Castin , the Abenaki Nation joined forces with D ' Iberville at Pentagouet . The siege . On August 14 , D ' Iberville led a force of 500 in the siege of Fort William Henry . Five hundred warriors descended onto Fort William Henry in their canoes . The warriors surrounded the fort , thereby pinning the English inside . This strategy allowed D ' Iberville to enter the harbor and unload his cannons . D ' Iberville arrived with three French ships . They immediately began to lay siege to the fort . Captain Chubb refused to surrender . The assault went on until the afternoon of the next day . In the terms of his surrender , Chubb arranged for his men to be escorted to Boston and exchanged for French and Indian prisoners held there . Aftermath . D ' Iberville and the natives continued on to the English colony of Newfoundland and raided many villages in the Avalon Peninsula Campaign . Major Church retaliated for the siege by going to Acadia and engaging in the Raid on Chignecto . Chubb was tracked down by the natives two years later in his home in Andover and was massacred along with his family . References . Secondary sources : Primary sources : Endnotes :