St. John River campaign

For the 1777 American expedition, see St. John River expedition.
Saint John River campaign
Part of the French and Indian War

Robert Monckton, British commander in the Saint John River campaign
DateNovember 1758 – February 1759
Location
Saint John River, present-day New Brunswick
Result British victory
Commanders and leaders
Units involved
 Acadia militia
Wabanaki Confederacy (Maliseet militia and Mi'kmaq militia)

The St. John River campaign occurred during the French and Indian War when Colonel Robert Monckton led a force of 1150 British soldiers to destroy the Acadian settlements along the banks of the Saint John River until they reached the largest village of Sainte-Anne des Pays-Bas (present day Fredericton, New Brunswick) in February 1759.[3][4] Monckton was accompanied by Captain George Scott as well as New England Rangers led by Joseph Goreham, Captain Benoni Danks, as well as William Stark and Moses Hazen, both of Rogers' Rangers.[2][3]

Under the naval command of Silvanus Cobb, the British started at the bottom of the river with raiding Kennebecasis and Managoueche (City of Saint John), where the British built Fort Frederick. Then they moved up the river and raided Grimross (Arcadia, New Brunswick), Jemseg, and finally they reached Sainte-Anne des Pays-Bas.

The Acadian militia was led by French officer Charles Deschamps de Boishébert et de Raffetot and Acadian Joseph Godin dit Bellefontaine. There were about 100 Acadian families on the Saint John River, with a large concentration at Ste Anne.[5] Most of them had taken refuge there from earlier deportation operations, such as the Ile Saint-Jean campaign.[6] There were also about 1000 Maliseet.[7]

According to one historian, the level of Acadian suffering greatly increased in the late summer of 1758. Along with campaigns on Ile Saint-Jean, in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, at Cape Sable, and the Petitcodiac River campaign, the British targeted the Saint John River.[8]

  1. ^ Johnson, Micheline D. (1979). "Germain, Charles". In Halpenny, Francess G (ed.). Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Vol. IV (1771–1800) (online ed.). University of Toronto Press.
  2. ^ a b Loescher, Burt Garfield (1969). The History of Rogers' Rangers: The First Green Berets. San Mateo, California. p. 34.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  3. ^ a b Grenier (2008), pp. 199–200.
  4. ^ Note that John Faragher in the Great and Nobel Scheme indicates that Monckton had a force of 2000 men for this campaign. p. 405.
  5. ^ Plank, p. 61
  6. ^ Maxwell, p. 25.
  7. ^ Patterson, p. 126
  8. ^ Grenier (2008), pp. 19–200.