Fort Lawrence - Father Le Loutre's War

Father Le Loutre's War

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. By unilaterally establishing Halifax the British were violating earlier treaties with the Mi'kmaq (1726), which were signed after Dummer's War. 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), Bedford (Fort Sackville) (1749), Dartmouth (1750), Lunenburg (1753) and Lawrencetown (1754).

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.)

In 1750, a British Army expeditionary force under Major Charles Lawrence arrived at Beaubassin. The village was ordered burnt by a French priest Jean-Louis Le Loutre to ensure that the British could not profit from its seizure. The British forces soon found they were outnumbered by Acadians and Mi'kmaq.

Lawrence's troops retreated but returned in September 1750 in greater numbers and engaged in the Battle at Chignecto. After Le Loutre's militia retreated, the British began construction of a palisade fort on a ridge immediately east of the Missaguash River, along the disputed border between Acadia and Nova Scotia since the Treaty of Utrecht was signed. Lawrence began to build Fort Lawrence and the facility was completed within weeks.

On August 15, 1752, Lt. Col. Robert Monckton took command of Fort Lawrence.

In 1753 Captain George Scott took command of Fort Lawrence. In May 1753, Natives scalped two British soldiers at Fort Lawrence. Scott made contact with the spy Thomas Pichon. Scott relinquished command of Fort Lawrence in the autumn of 1754 and Captain John Hussey took over command. Preparations were then being made for an attack on Beauséjour, and he was appointed to command one of the two battalions of Massachusetts troops. He played a considerable part in the brief siege.

Fort Edward, Fort Lawrence and Fort Anne were all supplied by and dependent on the arrival of Captains Cobb, Rogers or Taggart, in one of the government sloops. These vessels took the annual or semi-annual relief to their destination. They carried the officers and their families to and fro, as required.