Fort Beauséjour facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Fort Beauséjour |
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| Aulac, New Brunswick | |
Fort Beauséjour and Cathedral (c. 1755)
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| Coordinates | 45°51′53″N 64°17′29″W / 45.86472°N 64.29139°W |
| Type | Fortress |
| Site information | |
| Controlled by | France (1751-1755), United Kingdom (1755-1835), Parks Canada (1926-present) |
| Official name: Fort Beauséjour – Fort Cumberland National Historic Site of Canada | |
| Designated: | 1920 |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1751 |
| In use | 1751-1835 |
Fort Beauséjour is an old fort in eastern Canada. It's on a narrow piece of land called the Isthmus of Chignecto. This land connects the provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. This area was very important for Acadia, a French colony that included parts of what is now eastern Canada and northern Maine.
The French built the fort between 1751 and 1752. They lost it to the British in 1755 after the Battle of Fort Beauséjour, which was part of the Seven Years' War. The British then renamed it Fort Cumberland. The fort was a key location during the wars between France and Britain from 1749 to 1763. Later, in 1776, British soldiers at the fort stopped an attack by people who supported the American Revolution.
Since 1920, the fort has been a National Historic Site of Canada. It is called the Fort Beauséjour – Fort Cumberland National Historic Site. Some parts of the fort have been rebuilt, and there is a museum and visitor center. About 6,000 people visit the fort each year.
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Why Fort Beauséjour Was Built
In the 1600s and 1700s, European countries were often at war. England and France were always fighting for power in North America. New France, the French colony, was often attacked by the British. Acadia, a part of New France, was especially easy to attack by sea. Its capital, Port-Royal, was captured by the British in 1710.
In 1713, the Treaty of Utrecht was signed. This treaty gave mainland Nova Scotia to Great Britain. But France kept control of Cape Breton Island and Prince Edward Island. The treaty did not clearly say who owned the land between Nova Scotia and Quebec, which is now New Brunswick. So, the Missaguash River on the Isthmus of Chignecto became the unofficial border. This area was home to the successful Acadian village of Beaubassin.
By the mid-1700s, France and Britain were getting ready for another big war, the Seven Years' War. At this time, over a million British colonists lived along the Atlantic coast. New France had about 70,000 people, with 18,544 French-speaking people in what is now the Maritimes.
Building Fort Beauséjour
As tensions grew, the British built forts in Nova Scotia in 1749. They built Citadel Hill in Halifax and Fort Sackville in Bedford. The French rebuilt the Fortress of Louisbourg and used Fort Nerepis as part of their defenses.
In 1750, the French sent more soldiers to their colony. In April, Governor Edward Cornwallis of Nova Scotia sent British Major Charles Lawrence to take control of the Isthmus of Chignecto. On the north side of the Missaguash River, Lawrence met French soldiers led by Louis de La Corne. De La Corne had orders to stop the British from moving forward. He made the people of Beaubassin leave and then burned the village. This was to stop the British from using it. Lawrence did not fight and pulled back.
Later in 1750, Lawrence returned with more soldiers. They defeated a group of Indigenous people and their French allies. In the autumn of 1750, Lawrence built Fort Lawrence near the burned village of Beaubassin.
In November 1750, the French Governor General, de la Jonquière, ordered two new forts to be built. These forts would block the British at both ends of the Isthmus of Chignecto. One was Fort Gaspareaux on the Northumberland Strait, and the other was Fort Beauséjour on the Bay of Fundy.
Construction of Fort Beauséjour started in April 1751. By 1751, the gunpowder magazine, a well, four casemates (bomb-proof rooms), and officers' living areas were ready. The barracks (soldiers' living areas) were added the next year. By 1753, the fort had palisade walls and an earth wall about five-metre-high (16 ft). It was shaped like a pentagon, with strong earth and picket walls at its corners.
In 1754, Louis Du Pont Duchambon de Vergor became the commander of Fort Beauséjour. Some people believed he was not a good military leader and was very greedy.
The Battle for Fort Beauséjour
The French position at the fort might have been weakened by Thomas Pichon. He was a clerk at the fort who was paid by the British to give them information. Pichon gave the British details about French activities and plans of the forts. He also told them how to capture the forts. This information was used by Lieutenant-Colonel Robert Monckton in his attacks. Pichon even told the French that the British would not attack that year, which made them delay strengthening the fort.
On May 19, 1755, a group of 31 transport ships and three warships left Boston. They carried almost 2,000 soldiers from New England and 270 British regular soldiers. They arrived near the Missaguash River on June 2. The next day, the soldiers, led by Lieutenant-Colonel Robert Monckton, landed a few kilometers from Fort Beauséjour.
To defend the fort, Commander Louis Du Pont Duchambon de Vergor had only 150 soldiers from the Compagnies Franches de la Marine and about a dozen cannon operators. On June 16, a large British bomb went through the roof of a casemate and killed many people inside. Vergor decided to surrender. The fort was given to the British and renamed Fort Cumberland. The next day, Fort Gaspereau also surrendered without a fight.
The capture of these forts settled the border dispute in favor of the British. It also marked the beginning of the Expulsion of the Acadians. The French government believed the forts were "very ill defended." Vergor was put on trial in Quebec in September 1757, but he was found not guilty.
Fort Cumberland's Role
After the British captured the fort, they ordered the Acadians living nearby to sign an oath of loyalty to the British King. However, the Acadians refused, wanting to stay neutral. Some Acadians said they were forced to help defend Fort Beauséjour. The British used this as a reason to start the Expulsion of the Acadians. Acadian homes were burned to stop them from returning.
The British army moved to Fort Cumberland and burned Fort Lawrence in October 1756. Fort Cumberland became one of the places where the British held Acadians during the nine years of the expulsion. Other places included Fort Edward (Nova Scotia) and Saint John, New Brunswick.
Acadians and Mi'kmaq people, led by French officer Boishébert, fought against the expulsion. In 1756, a group of Acadian and Mi'kmaq fighters attacked British soldiers cutting wood for Fort Cumberland, killing nine. In April 1757, they raided Fort Cumberland, killing two men and taking two prisoners. In July, Mi'kmaq captured two British rangers outside the fort. In March 1758, Acadians and Mi'kmaq attacked a ship at Fort Cumberland, killing its captain and two sailors. In 1759, five British soldiers were killed in an ambush near the fort.
In 1776, during the early days of the American Revolutionary War, Fort Cumberland was attacked by local fighters. These fighters supported the American Revolution and were led by Jonathan Eddy. However, the British soldiers at the fort successfully defended it.
After the American Revolutionary War ended, the British left Fort Cumberland in the late 1780s. When fighting with the United States started again in the War of 1812, Britain sent soldiers to fix up the fort and guard it. But there was no fighting at the fort during that war. In 1835, the British military decided the fort was no longer needed and left it for good.
Fort Beauséjour Today
In 1920, the fort was named a National Historic Site of Canada. This was because of its importance in the history of France and Britain in Canada. It is now called the Fort Beauséjour – Fort Cumberland National Historic Site. Parts of the fort have been rebuilt. There is also a museum and places for visitors.
The museum tells the story of the conflicts between France and Great Britain in the 1700s. It also covers the later fight between the American colonies and Britain. About 6,000 people visit the fort each year, making it an important place for heritage tourism in the Maritimes.
Images for kids
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Marker at the site of Beaubassin
See also
In Spanish: Fuerte Beauséjour para niños
