The Acadian Exiles : a Chronicle of the Land of EvangelineDoughty, Arthur G. (Arthur George), Sir
History
The Acadian Exiles : a Chronicle of the Land of Evangeline
Doughty, Arthur G. (Arthur George), Sir
Acadia; Nova Scotia -- History
The deportation did not bring peace to Nova Scotia.
Acadians of New Brunswick and of those who had sought
refuge in the forest fastnesses of the peninsula and Cape
Breton joined with the Indians in guerilla warfare against
the British; and there was more killing of settlers and
more destruction of property from Indian raids than ever
before. Early in the month of January 1756 British rangers
rounded up over two hundred Acadian prisoners at Annapolis,
and put them on board a vessel bound for South Carolina.
The prisoners, however, made themselves masters of the
ship and sailed into the St John river in February. French
privateers, manned by Acadians, haunted the Bay of Fundy
and the Gulf of St Lawrence and carried off as prizes
twelve British vessels. But in 1761 the British raided
a settlement of the marauders on Chaleur Bay, and took
three hundred and fifty prisoners to Halifax.
We have seen in a preceding chapter that from time to
time numbers of Acadians voluntarily left their homes in
Nova Scotia and went over to French soil. Many of these
took up their abode in Ile St Jean at Port La Joie
(Charlottetown), where they soon formed a prosperous
settlement and were able to supply not only the fortress
but the town of Louisbourg with provisions. Those who
were not engaged in agricultural pursuits found profitable
employment in the fisheries. There were also thriving
settlements at Point Prince, St Peter, and Malpeque. It
is computed that in 1755 there were at least four thousand
Acadians in Ile St Jean. A much larger estimate is given
by some historians. Now, on the fall of Louisbourg in
1758, some of the British transports which had brought
out troops from Cork to Halifax were ordered to Ile St
Jean to carry the Acadians and French to France. The
largest of these transports was the Duke William; another
was named the Violet. Some of the Acadians made good
their escape, but many were dragged on board the vessels.
On the Duke William was a missionary priest, and before
the vessels sailed he was called upon to perform numerous
marriages, for the single men had learned that if they
landed unmarried in France they would be forced to perform
military service, for which they had no inclination. Nine
transports sailed in consort, but were soon caught in a
violent tempest and scattered. On December 10 the Duke
William came upon the Violet in a sinking condition; and
notwithstanding all efforts at rescue, the Violet went
down with nearly four hundred souls. Meanwhile the Duke
William herself had sprung a leak. For a time she was
kept afloat by empty casks in the hold, but presently it
became evident that the ship was doomed. The long-boat
was put out and filled to capacity. And scarcely had the
boat cleared when an explosion occurred and the Duke
William went down, taking three hundred persons to a
watery grave. The longboat finally reached Penzance with
twenty-seven of the castaways. The other vessels probably
found some French port.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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