Battle of Fort Beauséjour The Battle of Fort Beauséjour was fought on the Isthmus of Chignecto and marked the end of Father Le Loutre ’ s War and the opening of a British offensive in the Acadia / Nova Scotia theatre of the French and Indian War , which would eventually lead to the end the French Empire in North America . The battle also reshaped the settlement patterns of the Atlantic region , and laid the groundwork for the modern province of New Brunswick . Beginning June 3 , 1755 , a British army under Lieutenant - Colonel Robert Monckton staged out of nearby Fort Lawrence , besieged the small French garrison at Fort Beauséjour with the goal of opening the Isthmus of Chignecto to British control . Control of the isthmus was crucial to the French because it was the only gateway between Quebec and Louisbourg during the winter months . After two weeks of siege , Louis Du Pont Duchambon de Vergor , the fort ' s commander , capitulated on June 16 . Historical context . Tensions between the English and the French concerning the Acadian territory date back to the seventeenth century , when France established its Acadian colony , which made them neighbors with the Puritans in New England . One of the main reasons for tensions was the question of jurisdiction , especially after the conquest of Acadia ( 1710 ) . The isthmus of Chignecto was claimed by both the French and English whereas present day Nova Scotia was claimed by the English . The border differentiating the two was the Missaguash river ; however , Acadians settled on both sides of the river . English claim to present day New Brunswick , and Northern Maine conflicted with small French presence and Acadian settlement on the area . Despite this , France ’ s Louis XV encouraged Acadians to migrate to the land west of the Missaguash , and toward Fort Beauséjour . In the 1750s , New Englanders were subject to drought , depression , high taxes and violence , all of which were further manipulated by Puritan and Protestant priests to garner support for an impending attack on the Catholic French . Furthermore , the close relationship between the French and the Mikmaq in the area angered the English . Acadians often married the Mikmaq people , leading to an ethnic accord and the creation of a unique local population . The English especially resented the Acadians for holding the best land and for the support they had from the Mikmaq , which prevented the establishment of a Protestant settlement . A major problem for the New Englanders was the close relationship between the Acadians , the French , and the Mikmaq . Abbé Le Loutre , the priest at Fort Beauséjour , created yet another source of tension as he was a representative of the French government , and therefore also allied to the Mikmaq . Le Loutre was loyal to France and to ensure the Acadians allegiance , he threatened physical and spiritual damage to the Acadians if they were ever to enter English territory . In the face of religious and military excommunication , Acadians subdued any English support they may have had . Le Loutre also encouraged the Mikmaq to continue to align themselves against the British which they had done since King William ' s War ( 1689 ) . The British put a bounty on Le Loutre . Lieutenant - Colonel Lawrence and the Nova Scotia Council , along with many previous governors , had noted that on many occasions , the Acadians did not act neutral . Lawrence had evidence that at least some Acadians clearly favoured the French and hoped to force all of the Acadians to take an oath of allegiance to the English . The English in New England considered the Acadians traitors to Britain and as “ French bigots ” , whom they hoped would be moved to Philadelphia . Lawrence had little regard for the unique lifestyle of the Acadians and their declaration of neutrality . Consequently , some historians have suggested the Lawrence was motivated by wanting to clear rich land for New Englanders . Others have noted that the deportation was primarily based on military reasons to remove any military threat Acadians posed in their alliance with the Mi ' kmaq people and the Acadian support of Louisbourg . In 1753 , French troops from Canada marched south and seized and fortified the Ohio Valley . Britain protested the invasion and claimed Ohio for itself . On May 28 , 1754 , the French and Indian War began with the Battle of Jumonville Glen . French Officer Ensign de Jumonville and a third of his escort was killed by a British patrol led by George Washington . In retaliation the French and the Indians defeated the British at Fort Necessity . Washington lost a third of his force , and surrendered . Major General Edward Braddock ' s troops were defeated in the Battle of the Monongahela , and William Johnson ’ s troops stopped the French advance at Lake George . In Acadia , the primary British objective was to defeat the French fortifications at Beausejour and Louisbourg . The British saw the Acadians ' allegiance to the French and the Wabanaki Confederacy as a military threat . Father Le Loutre ' s War had created the conditions for total war ; British civilians had not been spared and , as Governor Charles Lawrence and the Nova Scotia Council saw it , Acadian civilians had provided intelligence , sanctuary , and logistical support while others had fought against the British . Throughout all of this , the British were nervous about French and native invasion . As a result of native raids supported by the French some British settlers left their settlements ( see Raid on Dartmouth ( 1751 ) ) . As a result of the military build up at Chignecto , as part of the larger coordinated effort of the French and Indian War , the Governor of Massachusetts , William Shirley planed to take Fort Beausejour . Shirley ' s intelligence fermented the idea that the only way of saving Massachusetts was to attack Beauséjour . Fort Beauséjour : Construction and Espionage . In 1750 , the Governor of New France Jacques - Pierre de la Jonquière heard that the English were building a fort in the region of Acadia . This fort later became Fort Lawrence . In response , the French decide to build the fort of Beauséjour . The building of the fort commenced in 1751 and the plans created by a military engineer named Jacau de Fiedmont , who became a lieutenant in 1752 . Fiedmont was responsible for the construction of the fort as well as for the plans of its defence . The fort was supposed to be strong enough to withhold bombardment , but Fort Beauséjour was not completely finished in 1755 , for multiple reasons . To begin with , the fort ' s priest Abbé Le Loutre decided to reallocate manpower to an irrigation project . Also , Louis du Chambon de Vergor , the military commander at Fort Beauséjour in 1754 , was more concerned with keeping the money for himself and was therefore not putting the resources to use strengthening the defences of Fort Beauséjour . It is important to note that Jacau de Fiedmont ' s journal , The Siege of Beauséjour in 1755 : A Journal of the Attack on Beauséjour , puts emphasis on the point that if the fortifications would have been completed by the beginning of the siege , the Fort would have had higher resistance against bombardment which would have increased the morale of the French and Acadian defenders . Fiedmont continually insisted on working on the defences because of the fort ’ s weaknesses , yet this work was never completed . Another important figure at Fort Beauséjour at this time was Thomas Pichon , who having originally studied medicine in France , was the Commander ' s secretary at Fort Beauséjour . When Fort Beauséjour was affected by an epidemic of food poisoning , Pichon traveled to Fort Lawrence to discuss his medical notes with the English surgeon . The final conclusion was that a poisonous herb was being used in food , instead of the parsley the French thought they were using . From this , Pichon became friendly and on good terms with the English at Fort Lawrence , visiting the fort regularly as he felt that people did not recognize his value at Fort Beauséjour . Pichon did not trust either Commander Vergor or the priest Abbé Le Loutre who , while underneath Vergor in the hierarchy , was the real figure in charge . Pichon eventually met the commander at Fort Lawrence , a man by the name of Captain George Scott , and was hired as a spy . Pichon stated that he agreed to become a spy because he believed that the British nation was superior to the French nation , but it is more likely that he wanted monetary gain and despised his superiors at Fort Beauséjour . For a year preceding the Siege of Beauséjour , Pichon gave crucial military information such as maps and battle plans to the English . After the events of 1755 , Thomas Pichon began his new life as Thomas Tyrell , a subject of King George II . Later in his life Pichon came to regret his treason against the French . The Siege . Recruitment for an attack on Beauséjour was done by Colonel Shirley of Massachusetts . He was able to gather 2000 men , who would be led by Colonel Winslow , Lieutenant - Colonel George Scott , and Robert Monkton . The expedition left Boston on the 22nd of May , and arrived at Fort Lawrence on the 2nd of June , where an additional 400 men joined the expedition . The English expedition then started moving towards Fort Beauséjour on 4 June . In the meantime , Vergor received news of the impending attack , and started to put into place measures of defense . He first issued a call to arms to the surrounding Acadian population , who answered it very begrudgingly . In fact , the Acadians asked their governor to threaten them , in order to be protected from execution for treason from the English . In total , Fort Beauséjour had a maximum of a thousand men to defend it . At the same time , Vergor sent letters to Québec , Louisbourg , as well as settlements on the St . John river and on the Islands of St . John for help . He also sent a letter to Fort Gaspereau , which was located the closest to Fort Beauséjour . While Vergor was technically in charge of the fort , it was Jacau de Fiedmont who coordinated all of the defense plans and preparations for the attack . He was well aware that the only way Beauséjour would survive the siege would be by strengthening its defenses . He was therefore very insistent that the extra work be done before the English arrived . Other preparations included destroying roads and bridges . The first confrontation between the French settlers and soldiers of Fort Beauséjour and the English took place on June 4 at the Missaguash river . There were a total of 400 French , Acadian , and Indian men , facing off against British soldiers in battle formation . It was clear from the start that the Acadians were not good fighters and lacked fighting spirit and motivation , which would have given the English a strong sense of Fort Beauséjour ’ s weaknesses , lack of ability , and deficiency of courage . After the confrontation , it was said that the English suffered a loss of eighty men , but this was most likely a fabricated number to boost the already low morale of the Acadians , as their aim was extremely atrocious . In fact , the English started rebuilding the bridge over the Missaguash river which Vergor had destroyed under fire , and suffered no casualties . The night of June 4 , Vergor continued to put into place defense mechanisms , this time setting all of the surrounding buildings , shops , and homes on fire . This did nothing to improve the already worsening morale of the Acadians , as these were their homes . Vergor , Abbé le Loutre , and Fiedmont were doing anything they could to improve the morale of the Acadians and of the soldiers . Vergor emphasizes the coming help from Louisbourg . Fiedmont also worried about the level of motivation of the Acadians , as he desperately needed them to work in order to continue to fortify the defenses . The few men he found who were willing to work were not nearly enough . On June 7 and 8 , Native allies of the French had captured an English officer called Hay , and brought him to Fort Beauséjour as a prisoner , as well as an English deserter . The English officer made clear to the officers at Fort Beauséjour that the English had a very strong force and heavy artillery . On June 9 , intense rain gave the Acadians yet another perfect excuse not to work on strengthening the defenses , but no such excuse was used by the English , who continued to build their trenches and prepare to start the siege . On June 11 , Fiedmont tried once more to motivate the Acadians to finish the defenses but no to avail . On June 12 , an officer by the name of Officer Vannes left with 180 men to attack Lieutenant Colonel Scott , but came back later that night without ever having fired a single shot . The entire situation definitely did not help raise the morale of his fellow officers and soldiers . The English started bombing Beauséjour on the 13th of June , with artillery that was much stronger than anything Beauséjour had . The men at Fort Beauséjour were rapidly losing what little morale they had left , and many Acadians were simply deserting . On the 14th of June , Vergor received news that the port of Louisbourg was being blocked by the English , and could therefore not send any help . As the general morale was already at its ultimate low , Vergor decided to keep this news secret . However , his valet , whose wife Vergor was having an affair with , overheard and spread the news . The next day , all of the Acadians and soldiers had completely lost any hope and morale they may have had left , and started pushing for capitulation . In fact , upon hearing this news , eighty men deserted Beauséjour . Desertion was quickly becoming such a problem that orders had to be put in place in order to forbid the men from speaking out about deserting . Many Acadians , who hadn ’ t really participated in any of the fighting , were becoming increasingly worried that they would be captured and sentenced to death by the English . Beauséjour continued to be bombed until the 16th of June , when one bomb in particular hit the officer ’ s mess hall , killing a few French officers as well as the English prisoner Hay , who was the only Englishman to lose his life in the siege . The white flag of surrender was then raised , and the capitulation signed on June 16 , 1755 . The written capitulation included clauses which protected the Acadians , dictated what the English could take in terms of material goods from Beauséjour , and stated that the French could not bear arms in America for the next six months . Fort Beauséjour was taken possession by the English at 7 : 30pm in the evening of June 16 . The English offered Fort Gaspereau the same conditions , which were immediately accepted and signed . Aftermath . The capture of Fort Beauséjour was a deciding factor in relations between the British Empire and the Acadian population of Nova Scotia . For decades Britain had been struggling to extract an oath of allegiance from the Acadians , who maintained that the “ conventions of 1730 ” had secured their neutrality in all future Anglo - French conflicts . Such refusal , combined with French colonists ’ repeated attempts to incite rebellion among their fellow French - speakers , left British officials — especially Governor Charles Lawrence — increasingly wary of an attack from within . The battle of Fort Beauséjour sealed the Acadians ’ fate both militarily and politically . With the fort ’ s capture the French Catholics lost their only overland escape route to the mainland . Having also conceded their guns to Lawrence , the colonials were left “ at the mercy of their British overlords . ” The British , meanwhile , discovered that several Acadians had participated in the defense of Beauséjour . Lawrence had enough evidence of some Acadians continuing to breach neutrality that he and the Council decided to solve the “ festering Acadian problem ” once and for all . On July 31 , 1755 , he ordered the forcible removal the Acadian population from the colony . Historians have debated the Empire ’ s probable plans for Acadia prior to the taking of Beauséjour . By refusing to swear an oath of allegiance , Acadians had long resisted assimilation into a British Protestant mainstream . Lawrence ’ s letters reveal a marked hostility toward the Acadians by 1754 , at which point he was planning with Massachusetts Governor William Shirley to draw British battalions into Nova Scotia . As with many previous governors , Lawrence and Shirley had often discussed the possibility of removing the Acadians , but , before 1755 , lacked the means for such measures . If not for General Edward Braddock ’ s humiliating defeat that same year , Lawrence might have extended British control well beyond Acadia , eliminating the perceived need for mass deportation . Fort Beauséjour was renamed Fort Cumberland by the British . It quickly became a major hub of Acadian expulsion , but saw little military activity during the rest of the Seven Years ’ War . The fort would face another siege with the 1776 Battle of Fort Cumberland during the American Revolution . References . Endnotes Texts cited