Battle of St . John ' s The Battle of St . John ' s was the French capture of St . John ' s , the capital of the British Colony of Newfoundland , on , during Queen Anne ' s War . A mixed and motley force of 164 men led by Joseph de Monbeton de Brouillan de Saint - Ovide , king ' s lieutenant to Philippe Pastour de Costebelle , the French governor of Plaisance , quickly overwhelmed the British garrison at St . John ' s , and took about 500 prisoners . Costebelle , whose resources were too limited to hold St . John ' s , destroyed its fortifications and abandoned it in April 1709 . It was later reoccupied by the British . French colonial outposts in Newfoundland were abandoned after France ceded control of the island to Britain in the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht ; most of the French settlers were relocated to Île - Royale , now known as Cape Breton Island . Background . The island of Newfoundland had been contested territory between France and England for some time before Queen Anne ' s War broke out in 1702 . French raids during King William ' s War in the 1690s had completely destroyed English settlements , including the principal port of St . John ' s . The English rebuilt , occupying permanent and seasonal sites on the eastern side of the Avalon Peninsula , while the French occupied the western side , with their capital at Plaisance . In 1702 , English Captain John Leake raided a number of French settlements in Newfoundland , but avoided Plaisance because of the presence of French warships in the harbour . In the winter of 1704 – 5 Daniel d ' Auger de Subercase , the French governor at Plaisance , led a siege of St . John ' s in which much of the town was destroyed , but Fort William was not taken . In the following year , French and Mi ' kmaq raiding parties continued to harass English settlers , and the English sent naval forces that destroyed French settlements , although Plaisance was seen as too strong to assault . Philippe Pastour de Costebelle , who succeeded Subercase as governor at Plaisance , was presented with an opportunity to once again assault St . John ' s directly when a number of French ships stopped at Plaisance in late 1708 , including the frigate " Vénus " and some French privateer s from the West Indies . To capitalise on the opportunity , he sent his lieutenant , Joseph de Monbeton de Brouillan de Saint - Ovide , to recruit a company of men for an overland assault on St . John ' s , which would be supported by " Vénus " captain , Louis Denys de La Ronde . Saint - Ovide recruited a force of 164 from the various ships , the local settlers , and the Mi ' kmaq , and set out for St . John ' s on 14 December 1708 . Major Thomas Lloyd returned to the command of St . John ' s in the winter of 1705 - 6 , after having been maneuvered out of the post by John Moody , who had defended the fort during the 1705 siege . Lloyd had previously served in the post from 1696 , and had acquired a reputation amongst the colonists for a violent and temperamental disposition that had contributed to his original ouster from the post in 1704 . On his return to London he had various accusations against himself cleared , and was reinstated despite of Moody ' s successful defence in 1705 . From 1705 to 1708 he ran the colony without significant incident , and participated in a raiding expedition in 1707 against French fishing settlements . He organised militia companies and constructed new fortifications large enough to hold most of the population . He persuaded most of the people to spend the winter within the fortifications in 1708 because of the ongoing French and Indian raids . Battle . Saint - Ovide led the attack on the unprepared British garrison early on 1 January 1709 . Although the attackers were spotted and the alarm was given , Fort William , the older fortification , and where Lloyd was roused from his bed on the alarm , was quickly overwhelmed . A sally port connecting the old and new fortifications was locked , and the defenders in the new fort were unable to assist in the defense of the other . After a brief resistance , George Vane , leading the defence of the new fort , surrendered . Aftermath . The French occupied St . John ' s until April . Costebelle , rather than holding St . John ' s , ordered it to be abandoned and its fortifications destroyed . The British reoccupied and rebuilt on the site . France ceded most of its claims to Newfoundland in the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht , and Costebelle oversaw the relocation the French inhabitants to the new outpost of Louisbourg on Île - Royale ( present - day Cape Breton Island ) . Saint - Ovide was awarded the Order of Saint Louis for his actions , and succeeded Costebelle as governor of Île - Royale in 1718 . St . John ' s fortifications have been commemorated as National Historic Sites of Canada , although the structures involved in this conflict were destroyed , and later superseded by other fortifications .