Siege of Fort Nashwaak facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Siege of Fort Nashwaak (1696) |
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| Part of King William's War | |||||||
 Colonel Benjamin Church: Father of American ranging |
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 France Mi'kmaq, Acadians |
 New England |
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| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
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Benjamin Church John Hathorne |
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| Strength | |||||||
| 100 | 400 New England and native troops, | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| one killed and two wounded | conflicting reports: British: 8 killed and 17 wounded; French report 20-25 killed many more wounded | ||||||
The siege of Fort Nashwaak happened during a big conflict called King William's War. This war was fought between English colonists from New England and French forces, along with their Native American allies. In October 1696, soldiers from Boston in New England attacked Fort Nashwaak. This fort was the capital of Acadia, which is now Fredericton, New Brunswick in Canada.
The attack was a way for the English to get back at the French and Native Americans. Earlier that year, the French and their allies had won the Siege of Pemaquid (1696) in what is now Bristol, Maine. Colonel John Hathorne and Major Benjamin Church led the New England army of 400 men. The siege of Fort Nashwaak lasted for two days, from October 18 to 20, 1696. It was part of a larger plan by Church to attack several French and Native American settlements in Acadia.
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Why the Siege Happened: Historical Background
King William's War was the first of four major wars known as the French and Indian Wars. These wars were fought between Great Britain and France, along with their Native American allies, for control of North America.
Earlier in 1696, the French and Native Americans had a big win at the Siege of Pemaquid (1696). They destroyed Fort William Henry, a fort that Benjamin Church had helped build. To get revenge for this defeat, Benjamin Church led a strong attack on a place called Chignecto. After that, he moved on to attack Fort Nashwaak, the capital of Acadia.
Fort Nashwaak was a fort made of logs, built by Governor Villebon between 1691 and 1692. He decided to move the capital from Fort Jemseg because he thought a spot further up the river would be safer from attacks. Governor Villebon called it Fort St. Joseph. It was located on the north side of the Nashwaak River, where it meets the Saint John River. This spot was also good because it was close to the Maliseet Native American capital of Meductic. It was also on a traditional route used for carrying boats and goods over land.
Events on the Saint John River
On October 1, 1696, Governor Villebon learned that an English ship had entered the harbor at Saint John. He sent a man named Sieur Neuvillette with seven soldiers on October 5. Their job was to scout the lower part of the river and deliver supplies.
On October 9, Neuvillette sent a message back to Fort Nashwaak. He reported that six English ships had entered the Saint John harbor. They had landed 200 English and Native American soldiers after attacking Sieur Chevalier. By October 12, Neuvillette and his men had to retreat to Fort Nashwaak. On their way, they picked up seven or eight French soldiers who had been saved by Native Americans from Fort Nerepis. This fort was also under attack by the English.
The English forces moved slowly and carefully. On October 16, Sieur Neuvillette spotted them a short distance below Jemseg. Governor Villebon had been warned and had prepared his defenses. On October 11, he asked Father Simon-Gérard de La Place to gather Maliseet Native American fighters from Meductic. These fighters would help defend the fort.
On October 16, Father Simon and an Acadian named Sieur de Clignancourt led 36 Maliseet fighters to Nashwaak. They came to defend Fort Nashwaak. To get ready, Villebon cleared the area around the fort by taking down a house. This gave his cannons a clear shot. He also hid extra gunpowder and assigned his men to their fighting spots.
The Attack on Fort Nashwaak
On October 18, the English troops arrived across the river from the fort. They brought three cannons with them. They set up two cannons that worked well, but the third one was too close to the fort and got hit by a lot of musket fire from Villebon's soldiers. The English also built earthworks, which are mounds of earth used for defense, on the south bank of the Nashwaak River.
Baptiste arrived at the fort on October 17 with ten Acadian settlers from the Saint John River. He joined the Maliseet Native Americans from Meductic to help defend the capital during the siege.
There was a fierce exchange of cannon fire for two days. The French cannons were in a better position and had the advantage. Besides the cannon fight, Sr. Clignancourt and Sr. Baptiste, with their Mi'kmaq Native American allies, fought against English-allied Native Americans who were moving along the Nashwaak River.
On the second day of the siege, around noon, a man named M. de Falaise arrived from Quebec. He immediately joined the fight against the English. The French managed to disable one English cannon. They also slowed down the firing of the last English cannon with continuous shots from the fort.
The New Englanders were defeated. They had 8 soldiers killed and 17 wounded. They left their position and retreated down the river. The French kept firing muskets at them as they left. This made the English believe that Native Americans were following them. The French lost one soldier killed and two wounded, including Mathieu d'Amours.
What Happened Next
After Church's attack on Fort Nashwaak failed, Acadian Rene d'Amour of Aukpacque and Father Simon-Gérard went on an expedition with the Maliseet fighters. This was one of the largest groups of Native Americans ever gathered in Acadia, but it didn't achieve much.
When the British left the Siege of Fort Nashwaak, they left behind two small boats. Baptiste used these boats to go to Grand Pre. While there, he armed the boats and found Acadian crew members. His plan was to attack the coast of New England.
In March 1697, Baptiste captured eight English fishing vessels near Casco Bay. Baptiste was wounded three times during this raid. However, he managed to capture the vessels and take many prisoners. Two English privateer ships, which were privately owned ships used for warfare, arrived. But Baptiste was able to fight them off and safely return to Grand Pre with his captured ships.
Before leaving Chignecto, Church had threatened the Acadians. He said he would return if more New Englanders were harmed. He did return to raid Chignecto again during Queen Anne's War. This was part of a larger campaign against Acadia that also included the Raid on Grand Pre. Two years later, the capital of Acadia moved briefly to Saint John. Then it moved back to Port Royal, Nova Scotia.
