Siege of Port Toulouse

Siege of Port Toulouse
Part of King George's War
French military drawing of Port Toulouse's fortifications, c. 1734
Date 2–10 May 1745 Location Port Toulouse, Île-Royale (present-day St. Peter's, Nova Scotia) Coordinates: 45°55′17″N 59°58′13″W / 45.92139°N 59.97028°W / 45.92139; -59.97028 Result British victory
Belligerents
Great Britain British America	France  New France Mi'kmaq militia Acadian militia
Commanders and leaders
Jeremiah Moulton	Pierre Benoist
Units involved
40th Regiment	Acadian militia Wabanaki Confederacy (Mi'kmaq militia) Troupes de la marine
Strength
270 militia, sailors & marines	23 soldiers; unknown number of Acadians and Mi'qmaw
Casualties and losses
2 killed	some

 Great Britain

The Siege of Port Toulouse took place between May 2–10, 1745 when a New England colonial force aided by a British fleet captured Port Toulouse (present-day St. Peter's, Nova Scotia) in the French colony of Île-Royale (present-day Cape Breton Island) from its French defenders during the War of the Austrian Succession, known as King George's War in the British colonies.

Port Toulouse was of strategic importance to the French because it was the closest settlement to the British occupied mainland Nova Scotia and it was the closest base to the Mi'kmaq. Mi'kmaq chiefs came to Port Toulouse annually for their alliance renewal with the French not only from Île-Royale but also from the mainland. The two greatest ongoing royal expenditures in the southeastern corner of Île-Royale had to do with maintaining the alliance with the Mi'kmaq and with keeping Port Toulouse defensible. The two were inter-connected. Port Toulouse was also the logical location for the French to launch attacks against the British at Canso. Port Toulouse was home to a garrison of 23 soldiers of the Compagnies Franches de la Marine. Port Toulouse was only one of two places on Ile Royale, outside of Louisbourg, assigned any kind of military capability. There were modest earthworks and a palisade at Port Toulouse. The approximately 200 Acadians who were there began vacating the village in the fall of 1744 after the French attack on Canso.Pierre Maillard led a mission of Mi'kmaq at St. Peter's during this time of about 80 families.

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