Siege of Annapolis Royal (1745)

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

Date	2–23 May 1745 (old style)
Location	Fort Anne, Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia
Result	British victory

Belligerents

Great Britain

France
Mi'kmaq Indians
Maliseet Indians

Commanders and leaders

Paul Mascarene
Edward Tyng

Paul Marin de la Malgue
Antoine Le Poupet de La Boularderie

Strength

250?

500 French soldiers and natives

The Siege of Annapolis Royal in 1745 involved the third 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. During the siege William Pote was taken prisoner and wrote one of the rare captivity narratives that exist from Nova Scotia and Acadia.

The conquest of Acadia by Great Britain began with the 1710 capture of the provincial capital, Port Royal (which the British renamed Annapolis 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.

During King George's War, the French began to retake what the British called Nova Scotia with an assault on the capital. There were only two British outposts in the colony: Canso and Annapolis Royal. The French under the command of Devier immediately defeated Canso and then made an unsuccessful attempt on the capital. The French made another attempt on the capital the following year.

Within days of New England starting to lay siege to Louisbourg, French officer Paul Marin de la Malgue led 200 troops, and hundreds of Mi'kmaq on a three-week siege against the British at Annapolis Royal. This force was twice the size of French officer Duvivier's expedition against Annapolis Royal the previous year. During the siege the English destroyed their own officers fences, houses and buildings that the attackers might be able to use. Marin captured two schooners and took one prisoner. The siege was ended when Marin was recalled to assist with defending the French during the Siege of Louisbourg (1745) and commodore Edward Tyng arrived to raise the siege.

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