Louisbourg History

4,000 Yankees Attack Canada

2010-03-26T04:07:00.000-07:00

How North America's richest man
managed America's 1st military victory

We won. But who remembers the first major military victory in American history? It made England rejoice, France despair and set the wheels in motion for an American Revolution three decades after. And it all started here.
New England attacked Canada in 1745 -- and won. The largest colonial militia ever assembled in the New World to that date, 4,000 men, lay siege to the great walled French city at Louisbourg until the fortress fell. Thousands of French citizens who occupied the strategic port on what is now Cape Breton Island were shipped home to France. Nearly 1,000 New Englanders -- men of Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut -- died at Louisbourg, most from exposure and disease, and their bones can still be found in the nearby Nova Scotia fields.
Yet it's difficult to fathom the impact of the Louisbourg victory today. Life-sized full-length paintings of both winning generals loom over the reading room just inside ornate doors of the Portsmouth Athenaeum. On the left is a dully-dressed British admiral Sir Peter Warren. To his right, an oddly- shaped man with a bright red suit and Richard Simmons hair commands attention.

"Who is he?" visitors inevitably ask, looking up at the uniformed figure, bombs bursting in mid-air behind him.
"That’s Sir William Pepperell of Kittery, Maine," a learned guide will answer. "He won the siege at Louisbourg."
"Uh-huh," the visitor says, and that's often the end of it.
The first problem is geography. We defeated New France? Where was that? In Cape Breton?
The second problem is alliance. First we’re fighting the French and Indian Wars, then suddenly they are our allies against the British. Then we’re in a Quasi-War with France. Go figure.
The third problem is timing. In 1745 at the defeat of Louisbourg, New Englanders were British subjects, not yet full-fledged flag-waving American patriots. Maine was still part of Massachusetts and Pepperrell (eventually the first colonial ever knighted by the British crown) was arguably the richest man in North America. Unassuming and likeable, Pepperrell was a successful merchant and judge. Heir to his father's fortune, native-born Pepperrell could walk from Kitery to Saco, Maine without stepping off his own land.
With France and England again at war in 1744, somebody had to rout the enemy from its Canadian stronghold. Pepperrell, at first, flatly declined the job. But Royal Governor William Shirley of Massachusetts pressed. No one in New England had more resources and a better reputation. Pepperell relented, but still had to convince enough men to do the job in an era with no standing colonial army.
As American presidents do so well today, Shirley launched a pre-war propaganda campaign. The French station at Louisbourg was a palpable threat to the lives of every New Englander, he explained. A pre-emptive strike now was the only solution.
Yes, the large stone fortress did give the French (who had arrived there in the late 1500s well before the British) power along the St. Lawrence River and access all the way to the Great Lakes. Yes, the troops at Louisbourg had recently attacked the British outpost at Canso in nearby Nova Scotia. Yes, a few Maine towns had been terrorized by marauding French warships. But it wasn't until French privateers stationed at Louisbourg began picking off New England fishing boats and merchant ships that the locals took notice. Fish were to 18^th century economics what oil is today, and the Grand Banks were loaded with fish. So the men of New England signed on with Gen. Pepperell for $25 per month and a free blanket per man. Ultimately, it was the lure of looting Louisbourg that brought many aboard the transport ships.
And one more thing – largely Protestant New Englanders were quite certain that God favored them over the Catholic French. Louisbourg made an ideal proving ground for the Almighty to make His will known.
Although Admiral Warren became an English hero after the siege, much of the credit for victory must go to Pepperrell. According to Joe Frost of Eliot, Maine, a direct descendant, Sir William was a truly popular guy, a man's man. It was an era, unlike today, when the chief commander actually went to war. Although in his early 50s, Pepperrell personally accompanied his rag-tag militia of farm boys and fishermen, often speaking to them directly, running the show with a loose hand.

The French expected British naval reprisals. The star-shaped fortress at Louisbourg had been built for just that purpose. What they hadn't expected was the sheer number of plucky New Englanders who sailed to the defense of their precious fishing grounds. They hadn't expected the troops to begin the siege by land, quickly knocking out the Royal Battery, the weakest defense point, and turning the French cannons on the city.
Luckily for the French, there were few trained gunners. Cannons were as likely to explode as to fire on target. For many New Englanders, the trip was, initially, more like a holiday, than war. Men who were not misfiring the cannons might be wrestling, drinking, wasting ammunition with target practice, raiding local homes or playing an early version of tennis -- much to the chagrin of their general -- who dared not inflict harsh discipline for fear of losing control.

Life inside the fortress of Louisbourg was harsh even in the best of times with killing Nova Scotian winters and the cutting Atlantic winds. Food was always in short supply and the reluctant French soldiers defending the populace were often ragged, over-worked and poorly trained. Pepperrell and Warren, who often disagreed on strategy, knew a great deal about the workings and layout of the fortress. New England and British traders, defecting French soldiers and exchanged prisoners had documented its weaknesses. Highest on the list were low soldier morale and crumbling fort walls rebuilt with wood. Worst, the whole city was vulnerable from a high ground attack on the King's Bastion.
So that's where Pepperrell eventually attacked, dragging cannon over swampy areas thought impossible to navigate. The siege itself lasted 45 days, from the end of May until the 7^th of July. A steady rain of shot battered the walls and terrorized civilians. French accounts offer horrible details of suffering townspeople. One report tells of a baby, blown to pieces while sitting in his father's lap. The father was untouched, but the cannon ball passed through a wall, killing to more children.
Soldiers on both sides of the battle were often so close they could taunt eachother over the collapsing walls. Yankees offered the starving French some of King George’s bread and asked if there were any good looking girls in side. "Come in and see for yourself!" the French called back.
Just 100 New Englanders died in battle, 60 of those in an abortive night raid to storm the badly damaged Dauphin's Gate. At the first attempt, the moon was too bright. At the second, the officers in charge did not show. At the third, the men were too drunk to row. In the fourth, a noisy New Englander alerted French sentries who killed or captured most in the raiding party.
In the end, the greater luck was with New England. After Warren captured a critically important French supply ship and Pepperrell got his cannons to the high ground, the handwriting was on the fortress wall. The French surrendered to the British king. But it was the end of luck for the men of New England. The farmer boys and fishermen who won the day were then required to hold the fortress until the British regulars arrived. They did not arrive until the following Spring of 1746. Through the winter as many as 17 men died per day, a total of 800 Yankees dead and over 1,000 ill from cold and disease. Too tired and weak even to dig graves, New Englanders dropped the corpses of comrades beneath the floorboards of abandoned French homes.
Three years after the battle of Louisbourg, in a political maneuver, the British gave the fortress back to the French. This greatly angered the residents of New England, already ired by the needless loss of Yankee life following the siege. The men of New England, tested at Louisbourg, felt a growing territorial pride and a sense of American, not British, nationalism. With little more than willpower, New England had defeated a supposedly invincible foe. Evolving from a raucous gang of privateers, the colonies had worked together, been tested, and emerged more united.

Almost bankrupt by the costly raid, New Englanders finally collected the debts of war from Britain. Sir William Pepperrell eventually got Shirley’s old job and was appointed royal governor of Massachusetts. When, a few years later, the British again battled France and retook Louisbourg and razed it to the ground, he was appointed Lieutenant General, but died in 1759 and was buried in Kittery. Following the second siege, the ruins of Louisbourg lay almost forgotten until a small museum was dedicated on the distant Cape Breton site in the early 20^th century. An obelisk, raised near a rocky beach by Americans in 1895, is the only memorial to the Yankee dead.
And that would be the whole story, a footnote in the high school history texts of four nations. Then in the 1960s the Canadian government authorized a bold $25 million restoration project, the largest ever seen in North America. Fortress Louisbourg has been rebuilt, timber by timber, stone by stone. Today one-fifth of the entire city stands on its original foundations, scrupulously renovated from millions of documents found in French archives.
Today Cape Breton re-enactors, men, women and children, walk purposefully through the streets of the fortress – feeding animals, baking bread, serving meals, guarding the gates. It is, for them, 1744 – the fateful year before the men from New England will arrive. Visiting Louisbourg is as close to the real thing as imagination gets – far more authentic than anything a Hollywood film or theme park can deliver.
Among the souvenirs taken from the first siege, according to historian Joe Frost, was the bell from a Louisbourg church. One of Pepperell’s men donated the bell to the Queen’s Chapel, what is today St. John's Episcopal Church in Portsmouth. When St. John's burned in 1806, the Louisbourg bell was sent to Paul Revere in Boston for repair. Now that patriotic name rings a bell, while the Pepperrell legacy remains as foggy as the view from a Nova Scotian bay.

By J. Dennis Robinson
Louisbourg Sources & Additional Reading:

Louisbourg Colourguide by Susan Biagi, Formac Publishing, 2001

Louisbourg From its Foundations to its Fall by JS, McLennan, 1918

New Englanders Take Louisbourg, Cape Breton's Magazine, 1998

Sir William Pepperrell by Neil Rolde, Harpswell Press, 1982

Yankees at Louisbourg by George Rawlyk, Breton Books, 1999

Heritage Notes in the Louisbourg Seagull: March, 1998

2010-03-08T04:31:00.000-08:00

Heritage Notes in the Louisbourg Seagull: March, 1998
The 1891 Census of Louisbourg

The 1891 census gives us a snapshot of Louisbourg 110 years ago. It was completed by James Dowd of Big Lorraine and records the population of half of Big Lorraine Harbour, Louisbourg, Old Town, the Louisbourg Road towards New Boston and the Garbarus Road towards Kennington Cove.

About Louisbourg

2009-11-30T09:09:00.001-08:00

Louisbourg (2001 pop.: 1,157) is a community in Nova ScotiaNova Scotia
Nova Scotia is a Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada located on Canada's southeastern coast. It is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada....
's Cape Breton Regional MunicipalityCape Breton Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia
Cape Breton Regional Municipality , often shortened to simply CBRM, is a regional municipality in Nova Scotia's Cape Breton County, Nova Scotia....
.

History
The town's name was given by FrenchFrance
France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....
military forces who founded the Fortress of LouisbourgFortress of Louisbourg
The Fortress of Louisbourg is a Canada National Historic Site and the location of a partial reconstruction of an 18th century France fortress at Louisbourg, Nova Scotia, Nova Scotia....
and its fortified seaport on the southwest part of the harbour, in honour of Louis XVLouis XV of France
Louis XV ruled as List of French monarchs and of List of Navarrese monarchs from 1 September 1715 until his death on 10 May 1774. Coming to the throne at the age of five, Louis reigned until 15 February 1723, the date of his thirteenth birthday, with the aid of the R?gence, Philippe II, Duke of Orl?ans, his Cousin, thereafter taking formal p...
. The French fortress was demolished after its final capture in 1758 and the site was abandoned by British forces in 1768.

Subsequent English settlers built a small fishing village across the harbour from the abandoned site of the fortress. The village grew slowly with additional Loyalists settlers in the 1780s. The harbour grew more accessible with the construction of the second Louisbourg Lighthouse in 1842 on the site of the original French lighthouse destroyed in 1758. A railway first reached Louisbourg in 1877, but it was poorly built and abandoned after a forest fire. However the arrival of Sydney and Louisburg RailwaySydney and Louisburg Railway
The Sydney and Louisburg Railway is a historic Canada Rail transport. Built to transport coal from various mines to the ports of Sydney, Nova Scotia and Louisbourg, Nova Scotia, the S&L operated in the eastern part of Cape Breton County, Nova Scotia, Nova Scotia....
in 1894 brought heavy volumes of winter coal exports to Louisbourg Harbour's iceSea ice
Sea ice is formed from ocean water that freezes. Because the oceans consist of saltwater, this occurs at about -1.8 ?Celsius .Sea ice may be contrasted with icebergs, which are chunks of ice shelf or glaciers that calve into the ocean....
-free waters as a winter coal port. The harbour was used by the Canadian government ship Montmagny in 1912 to land bodies from the sinking of the RMS TitanicRMS Titanic
The Royal Mail Ship Titanic was an Olympic class ocean liner superliner owned by the White Star Line and built at the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland....
.

Incorporated in 1901, the Town of Louisbourg was disincorporated when all municipal units in Cape Breton CountyCape Breton County, Nova Scotia
Cape Breton County is a county in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, on Cape Breton Island.Taking its name from Cape Breton, the most easterly point of the island which was called after the Brittanys of Brittany, this municipality has what is probably the oldest surviving European name to have been used to designate part of North Ameri...
were merged into a single tier regional municipalityRegional municipality
A Regional Municipality is a type of Canada municipal government similar to and at the same municipal government level as a county, although the specific structure and servicing responsibilities may vary from place to place....
in 1995.

Name
Pronounced "Lewisburg" by its largely English-speakingEnglish language
English is a West Germanic language that originated in Anglo-Saxon England and has lingua franca status in many parts of the world as a result of the military, economic, scientific, political and cultural influence of the British Empire in the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries and that of the United States from the mid 20th century onwa...
population, the present community has been identified by slightly different spellings over the years by both locals and visitors. The town was originally spelled Louisburg and several companies, including the Sydney and Louisburg RailwaySydney and Louisburg Railway
The Sydney and Louisburg Railway is a historic Canada Rail transport. Built to transport coal from various mines to the ports of Sydney, Nova Scotia and Louisbourg, Nova Scotia, the S&L operated in the eastern part of Cape Breton County, Nova Scotia, Nova Scotia....
adopted this spelling. On 6 April 1966, the Nova Scotia House of AssemblyNova Scotia House of Assembly
The Nova Scotia Legislature, consisting of Her Majesty Canadian monarchy represented by the Lieutenant Governor and the House of Assembly, is the legislative branch of the provincial government of Nova Scotia, Canada....
passed "An Act to Change the Name of the Town of Louisburg" which resulted in the town changing its official name to the original French spelling Louisbourg.

Economy
Louisbourg's economy is dominated by the seasonal tourism industry and seafood processing. The depletion of ground fish stocks has negatively affected local fish processing operations in recent decades.

In the 1960s Parks CanadaParks Canada
Parks Canada is a Government of Canada agency that is mandated to protect and present nationally significant examples of Canada's nature and cultural heritage and foster public understanding, appreciation and enjoyment in ways that ensure their ecological and commemorative integrity for present and future generations....
completed a partial reconstruction of the Fortress of LouisbourgFortress of Louisbourg
The Fortress of Louisbourg is a Canada National Historic Site and the location of a partial reconstruction of an 18th century France fortress at Louisbourg, Nova Scotia, Nova Scotia....
. Today this National Historic Site of Canada is the town's dominant economic engine, employing many residents and attracting thousands of tourists every year. The fortress holds large scale Historical reenactmentHistorical reenactment
Historical reenactment is a type of roleplay in which participants attempt to recreate some aspects of a historical event or period. This may be as narrow as a specific moment from a battle, such as the reenactment of Pickett's Charge at the Great Reunion of 1913, or as broad as an entire period....
s every few years to mark important historical events and attract visitors to the town. The most recent in July 2008, commemorated the 250th anniversary of the first British siege victory over French forces in July 1758. The town's more recent history is preserved at the Sydney and Louisburg Railway Museum located in the restored railway station in the centre of town.

Annually, the community hosts the Louisbourg Crab Fest.. A large golf course and residential resort is under development near the community. Designed by Nick Faldo, the resort is expected to open in 2010.

Louisbourg is home to the Louisbourg Playhouse, a theatre company operating in an Elizabethan theatre that was used as a prop in the live action 1994 Disney motion picture Squanto: A Warrior's TaleSquanto: A Warrior's Tale
Squanto: A Warrior's Tale is a 1994 theatrical live action Walt Disney Pictures film. It was written by Darlene Craviato and directed by Xavian Koller....
.

Fictional usage
Louisbourg (spelt Louisberg) was mentioned in Nathaniel HawthorneNathaniel Hawthorne
Nathaniel Hawthorne was an American novelist and short story writer.Nathaniel Hathorne was born in 1804 in the city of Salem, Massachusetts to Nathaniel Hathorne and Elizabeth Clarke Manning Hathorne....
's story FeathertopFeathertop
"Feathertop" is a short story by Nathaniel Hawthorne, first published in 1852....
. The town is also a major setting for Thomas H. Raddall's 1946 novel Roger Sudden.

Sources and references
•Places Names of Nova Scotia, Nova Scotia Archives and Records Management, p. 375

See also
•Fortress of LouisbourgFortress of Louisbourg
The Fortress of Louisbourg is a Canada National Historic Site and the location of a partial reconstruction of an 18th century France fortress at Louisbourg, Nova Scotia, Nova Scotia....

•Monarchy in Nova ScotiaMonarchy in Nova Scotia
The Monarchy in Nova Scotia is the constitutional system of government in which a hereditary monarch is the Sovereignty and head of state of the Canada Provinces and territories of Canada of Nova Scotia, forming the core of the province's Westminster system Parliamentary system democracy....

Brief History

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The French founded Louisbourg in 1713 on Île Royale, known today as Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia. With its ready access to an abundant fishery and links to colonies in the French West Indies, North America and France, the settlement quickly became a thriving town and seaport. Between 1713 and 1758, Louisbourg commanded the approaches to the Gulf of St. Lawrence. This fortified town was also the capital of the colony of Île Royale and one of the most significant fishing and commercial ports in North America. By 1750, Louisbourg was the second largest settlement in New France after Québec.

Louisbourg's harbour was among the most heavily fortified places in North America, protected by massive stone walls and large detached batteries. Louisbourg's massive fortifications, based on the geometric style of Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban (1633-1707), were designed to resist attack from the sea. [Has accent]

Unfortunately, Louisbourg was vulnerable to attack by land. Between 1745 and 1758, the settlement was captured twice by enemy forces attacking from the rear. Louisbourg surrendered to 4,000 New Englanders in 1745. Returned to the French in 1749, it surrendered again nine years later, this time to a combined British force of 27,000 men. After capturing the fortress town, the British blew up the fortifications in 1760. They abandoned the town in 1768.

The fortress of Louisbourg became a National Historic Site in 1928. In 1961, Parks Canada began reconstruction of approximately 25 percent of the fortified town. Today, Louisbourg protects hundreds of significant unexcavated cultural resources and is a major tourist attraction. It is also the site of one of Canada's best-known 18th-century battlefields.

Light houses

2009-10-12T16:58:00.000-07:00

The Louisbourg Lighthouse, site of Canada’s first lighthouse and North Louisbourg Light houseAmerica’s second (The Boston Light, 1713, is the oldest). First lit in 1734, the Louisbourg light could be seen for 18 miles. The light was supplied from codfish oil in an open bronze basin (3 feet in diameter, 10 inches deep) fed through 31 pipes in a floating copper ring to the wicks which gave the flame. Not surprisingly, fire destroyed the first lantern in 1736; a second lantern was lit in 1738 and mysteriously demolished sometime before 1798. The lighthouse built in 1842, burned in 1922 and was quickly replaced.