Despite the British Conquest of Acadia in 1710, Nova Scotia remained primarily occupied by Catholic Acadians and Mi'kmaq. Father Le Loutre's War began when Edward Cornwallis arrived to establish Halifax with 13 transports on June 21, 1749.[2] The British quickly began to build other settlements. To guard against Mi'kmaq, Acadian and French attacks on the new Protestant settlements, British fortifications were erected in Halifax (1749), Dartmouth (1750), Bedford (Fort Sackville) (1751), Lunenburg (1753) and Lawrencetown (1754).[3]
Copy of French Map, c. 1753 by Louis Franquet, (inset) Nova Scotia Archives
Within 18 months of establishing Halifax, the British also took firm control of peninsula Nova Scotia by building fortifications in all the major Acadian communities: present-day Windsor (Fort Edward); Grand Pre (Fort Vieux Logis) and Chignecto (Fort Lawrence). (A British fort already existed at the other major Acadian centre of Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia. Cobequid remained without a fort.)[4]
The only land route between Louisbourg and Quebec went from Baie Verte through Chignecto, along the Bay of Fundy and up the Saint John River.[5] With the establishment of Halifax, the French recognized at once the threat it represented and that the Saint John River corridor might be used to attack Quebec City itself.[6] To protect this vital gateway, at the beginning of 1749, the French strategically constructed three forts within 18 months along the route: one at Baie Verte (Fort Gaspareaux), one at Chignecto (Fort Beauséjour) and another at the mouth of the Saint John River (Fort Menagoueche).
Copy of French Map, c. 1752. (inset) Nova Scotia Archives
Effectively a fortified warehouse manned by a small garrison, it was built in 1751 by the order of the Marquis de la Jonquière as a way station between Fort Beauséjour and Louisbourg and Québec. It was originally a palisaded earthwork, measuring 180 feet (60 metres) square and surrounded by a ditch. At each corner was a blockhouse equipped with small bore cannon. By 1753, there was never more than 12 or 14 soldiers stationed at the fort at the same time.[7]
Communication with Fort Beauséjour across the Isthmus of Chignecto was at first via an ancient portage route, but, in 1754, a road was built linking the two forts. Communication by sea was possible in the summer to Québec, Louisbourg and France.
Seven Years' War
British Gravestones from the Mi'kmaw Raid on Fort Monckton (1756) - oldest known military gravestones in Canada[8][9]Fort Gaspereau by John Brewse (inset of A map of the surveyed parts of Nova Scotia, 1756)Fort Gaspereau by Charles Morris (inset of A chart of the sea coasts of the peninsula of Nova Scotia, 1755)
During the Seven Years' War (also known as the French and Indian War), immediately after the Battle of Fort Beauséjour in 1755, the British sent 300 men, led by Colonel John Winslow, to take Fort Gaspareaux, then under the command of Captain Villeray. This was quickly accomplished, and the fort was renamed Fort Monckton (after colonial administrator Robert Monckton) and put under the charge of an English garrison.[10] In the spring of 1756, Mi’kmaw militia ambushed a wood gathering party from Fort Monckton (former Fort Gaspareaux), and scalped nine of them.[11] These soldiers' remains are in a small military graveyard at the fort.[12] The British abandoned the fort later in the same year.[13]
Fort Gaspereau by John Brewse (inset of A map of the surveyed parts of Nova Scotia, 1756)
A stone cairn was erected by the National Historic Sites and Monuments Board in the 1930s to commemorate the fort. The site today consists of a ditched enclosure. Palisaded grounds once surrounded the grounds on the inside of the ditch. There is a small cemetery - the headstones are now illegible. An unmanned light structure was erected in 1972.
^Grenier, John. The Far Reaches of Empire. War in Nova Scotia, 1710–1760. Norman: U of Oklahoma P, 2008; Thomas Beamish Akins. History of Halifax, Brookhouse Press. 1895. (2002 edition). p 7
^John Grenier. The Far Reaches of Empire: War in Nova Scotia, 1710–1760. Oklahoma University Press.
^John Grenier. The Far Reaches of Empire: War in Nova Scotia, 1710–1760. Oklahoma University Press.
^From Daniel F. Johnson’s Newspaper Vital Statistics Vol 83 Number 1647 August 17, 1892 Westmoreland Moncton, The Times
Special correspondent of Halifax ‘Herald’ – In a ramble around the old fort near Port Elgin (West. Co.) N.B. I found the military cemetery just outside of the moat and with the help of an old and very intelligent resident I was able to trace the inscriptions on seventeen of the headstones. It will be remembered that this fortification fell into the hands of the English in 1755. I will number the stones as you approach them from the entrance of the grounds: Headstone No. 1 – Here lies the body of Capt. Joseph WILSON? died Oct. 7th, 1755. Aged 50; No. 2 James WHITCOMB killed by the Indians July 24th, 1755 Age 23. There are indistinct letters before the name of this unfortunate young man who met his fate so sadly – probably they spelt ‘Lieut’. No. 3 is a fragment. The face of an angel is carved at the head and underneath is found the name of Nathaniel HODGES No. 4 a few years ago lay in the water just outside the bank. It was carefully removed by friends and placed within the sacred enclosure. The following inscription tells its own story. ‘Here lies the body of Sergeant McKAY who with eight men were killed and scalped by Indians in bringing in firewood, 1755?; No. 5 soft sandstone, inscription could not be deciphered No. 6 Moss covered, could not be deciphered No. 7 Give us a hint of New England puritanism, for on it we find the name of Mr. McCrease ROBERTSON died October 1755.
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