Battle of Restigouche The Battle of Restigouche was a naval battle fought during the French and Indian War on the Restigouche River between the British Royal Navy and the small flotilla of French Navy vessels . The French vessels had been sent to relieve New France after the fall of Quebec . Supplies were extraordinarily important because France ran their colonies such that the colonies were wholly dependent on products and manufacturing of the motherland . The loss of the Battle of Restigouche and the consequent inability to supply the troops , marked the end of any serious attempt by France to keep hold of their colonies in North America , and it severely curtailed any hopes for a lengthy resistance to the British by the French forces that remained . Background . Quebec had fallen to the British in September 1759 , but French forces still remained in New France in large numbers . Several appeals to the French government for reinforcements met with indifference or neglect , partly because the French navy had been smashed at the Battle of Quiberon Bay in November 1759 . On April 10 , 1760 , the frigate " Le Machault " under Lieutenant Francois La Giraudais sailed from Bordeaux with 5 merchant ships carrying 2 , 000 casks of provisions and 400 troops . Francois - Gabriel D ' Angeac commanded reinforcement troops because of his familiarity with the area . Things did not go well for the flotilla on the outward journey . On April 11 , they were forced to disperse in order to run the British blockade off France . Two merchant vessels were seized , and two weeks later another ran aground in the Azores . The three remaining vessels rendezvoused in the Gulf of St . Lawrence on May 15 , only to find that a British fleet had already arrived in Quebec . Seeking a safe harbour , they sailed for Chaleur Bay and anchored in the estuary of the Restigouche River near the Mi ' kmaq settlement of Listuguj on May 18 . Here they enlisted the help of the locals and some Acadien refugees in exchange for feeding and arming them . In the meantime , a force of Royal Navy ships under Captain John Byron sailed from Louisbourg to intercept the French flotilla . They arrived in Chaleur Bay on June 22 , blockading any attempt by La Giraudais to escape . He responded by sailing further upriver where the deeper draft British ships would have difficulty following . There he turned " Le Machault " broadside , scuttled some schooners as a barrier and placed a battery of cannon ashore to strengthen his position . The battle . Despite La Giraudais ' positioning , Byron was able to negotiate the shallower waters and on July 3 , confronted the French defensive line . At close range and in calm winds , the battle commenced . Despite being outgunned , the French inflicted heavy damage on the British before Byron succeeded in silencing the shore batteries . " Le Machault " and the merchant ships " Bienfaisant " and " Marquis - de - Malauze " then withdrew further upriver with the British in pursuit . For the next several days the two forces engaged in a running battle , but La Giraudais recognized that he could not win a battle of attrition and on July 8 he had " Le Machault " and " Bienfaisant " scuttled to prevent the capture of their cargo ( the " Marquis - de - Malauze " was spared due to the prisoners that it contained in its hold ) . The remaining French force then withdrew to the shore and the safety of Listuguj while Byron returned to Louisbourg . Aftermath . The loss of important provisions hastened the fall of New France . Without outside support and surrounded by three separate British forces , Montreal fell on September 8 . La Giraudais finally surrendered on October 29 , six days after hearing the news of the capitulation . Byron later commanded the British fleet that was defeated at the Battle of Grenada in 1779 , as well as becoming Governor of Newfoundland . Legacy . Today , the site of the battle is a National Historic Site of Canada known as Battle of the Restigouche National Historic Site . An interpretive centre located in Pointe - à - la - Croix , Quebec features artifacts recovered from the site , displays and a film about the battle , and a 1 : 32 scale model of the 18th century frigate The Machault . In the summer , costumed interpreters portray the Acadians , Micmaq , sailors and French soldiers who participated in the 1760 battle .