Siege of Annapolis Royal (1744)

Siege of Annapolis Royal

Nova Scotia Lt. Gov. Paul Mascarene, commander of the 40th Regiment, portrait by John Smibert, 1729

Date	1 July – 6 October 1744
Location	Fort Anne, Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia
Result	British victory

Belligerents

Great Britain

France
Mi'kmaq Indians
Maliseet Indians

Commanders and leaders

Paul Mascarene
John Gorham
Edward How
Edward Tyng

Jean-Louis Le Loutre
François Dupont Duvivier
Pierre Maillard
Joseph-Nicolas Gautier
Joseph LeBlanc

Strength

100 (first siege)
250 (second siege)

300-500 (first siege)
600-700 total; 24 Acadians, 56 French soldiers, 100 Mi'kmaq from Ile Royal, 30 Mi'kmaq from Nova Scotia (second siege)

Casualties and losses

"considerable British casualties each night" (Sept.9-15)Maliesst

The Siege of Annapolis Royal (also known as the Siege of Fort Anne) in 1744 involved two of four attempts by the French, along with their Acadian and native allies, to regain the capital of Nova Scotia/Acadia, Annapolis Royal, during King George's War. The Siege is noted for Governor of Nova Scotia Paul Mascarene successfully defending the last British outpost in the colony and for the first arrival of New England Ranger John Gorham to Nova Scotia. The French and Mi'kmaq land forces were thwarted on both attempts on the capital because of the failure of French naval support to arrive.

The conquest of Acadia by Great Britain began with the 1710 capture of the provincial capital, Port Royal. In the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht, France formally ceded Acadia to Britain. However, there was disagreement about the provincial boundaries, and some Acadians also resisted British rule. With renewed war imminent in 1744, the leaders of New France formulated plans to retake what the British called Nova Scotia with an assault on the capital, which the British had renamed Annapolis Royal.

With the outbreak of the War of the Austrian Succession (whose North American theater is also known as King George's War) in Europe, the French colony of Île-Royale (present-day Cape Breton Island) received the news first and took immediate action. French officer François Dupont Duvivier led an attack on raided the British outpost at Canso, capturing the small garrison of the 40th Regiment of Foot without incident. Du Vivier's next plan was to take the only other British outpost in Nova Scotia, Annapolis Royal.

...
Wikipedia