Transcript
Speaker: Welcome back to Tales from the French and Indian War. i am your host, Jackson. And I am your co-host, Matt. And today, once again, we are talking about the Battle of Louisbourg. But this time, they're actually going to be shots fired. Isn't that right, Matt? Yeah, something actually happens now. ah Fun story for our listeners. When we were researching the one prior to this, I thought we were talking about the 1758 siege, which we will talk about today. Yeah.
Speaker: whereas we were going to to be talking about 1757 siege and i text jackson before the episode that i was so excited to you know hear about amherst's victory and triumph in this one and he said ah wrong wrong battle so that was a little hard but now uh since i did all that research now now we're finally here and uh We get to talk about, no, I guess spoiler alert, we get to talk about a British victory, which I'm excited about. The listeners are like, wait, those two words together? i'm i'm not familiar. What do you what do you mean?
Speaker: It is funny. So like, you know, a lot of my in-depth research that we do for this podcast involves Wikipedia and Wikipedia always, you know, in their in their column of a battle will say like, you know, the result, whether it's a French victory or a stalemate. And I think this is like one of the first times I've seen a British victory on their page. So it's ah it's a nice change for us pro pro-British supporters, I guess. I'll admit, you guys have been patient. You've sat through several years of war. You know, you've earned you've earned some some good news, some victories. And well, as we're getting into 1758, there's going to be quite a few of those victories coming up for the Brits. So we're eager to dive in deep with this very interesting siege, amphibious warfare here on the Battle of Louisbourg, 1758.
Speaker: yes all right jackson quiz for you okay okay so louisburg was known among the british colonists in the british military as the what of the north oh i think uh is it carthage now oh that i know hold on hold on uh of the oh oh gibraltar of the north that's right of the north i don't remember if we talked about that in our first episode or not but i think it might have been a ah quick mention i think i think so another fun name i found for it was america american dunkirk uh because at that time dunkirk was also a very strong uh fortress so But needless to say, Louisburg was looked upon by the British peoples and the British military as being kind of an impregnable fortress. And it was and we when we say that word, you think of you know ah a huge castle on a hilltop that has steep sides and you can't really attack it from any angle. ah
Speaker: Louis Berg on Cape Breton Island. And I think Jackson, I touched this on this a bit in our last episode on this topic. Um, it's a very, it's a desolate Island and really there's just one little town on it, which would have been Louis Berg. Um,
Speaker: And because of like how spread out it was, the british or the the French had like artillery batteries just set up on like high points. It was very rocky terrain.
Speaker: ah So it wasn't really like a fortress fortress as we would think of. It was more like, you know, this island is just incredibly hard to take because of one, the terrain. And then two, there was French batteries posted on almost every high point, especially like in the few harbors the island had.
Speaker: So it was um it was nearly impossible to try to get ships in close to the island because of the batteries. And then it was even more impossible to try to land troops. it was it was less, wasn't so much compact. It was more spread out, but still heavily fortified. And there was even an island approaching the harbor where they, like you said, they had those artillery batteries everywhere. They even had an artillery battery on the island where you would have to pass right by to get into the harbor. so
Speaker: Just because, yeah like Matt said, it's not a singular compact fortress does not mean it is not a very secure location and difficult to reach and attack.
Speaker: Yeah, and Louisbourg was, I mean, if we think of it now, it would be mostly a military town. There wasn't, frankly, much to do there. There's a lot of journals that I came across and read about of French soldiers that were stationed there that were you know basically said, you know, this is the worst place to to be stationed, the worst place to live. um Because for two reasons. One, as I said, it was desolate. There wasn't much there. It was a small town and a large island in the North Atlantic. So it was cold. And then two, France really, and Jackson i touched on this in our previous episode about William Pitt, but France really ah sort of abandoned ah the call the its colonies at this time. And not so much abandoned, but the
Speaker: The goods and the rations that were coming over from France were so little that the soldiers in Louisburg, despite it being such a strong outpost, post were starving. They did not have a good quality of life at all. so And we'll see this kind of play into the battle as we go forward. the you Morale was definitely not at a peak in Louisburg at the time, despite its defensive performance. Yeah, i I think I had read, especially in 1757, even though that British expedition didn't end up attacking the fort at all, all of the naval disruption that went on and the the blockade, that did reduce the garrison very close to starving. And it took like the next eight months, 10 months ah to slowly and surely restock the restock the shelves, get a few more troops in there, few more supplies trickling in from France. But Yeah, it took a while for the fortress to get to a more stable supply condition after the last year. And now the British are back again in force.
Speaker: Maybe this would be a good point to for me to talk a little bit about why some of those supplies were only just trickling in to Louisbourg at this point.
Speaker: So we had covered... One naval engagement earlier in the war, the Battle of Menorca, the sea action there, and then the French invasion of the island. And we talked about some things going on in Europe.
Speaker: And we saw the French Navy hold its own against the British and even force them to retreat so that the island could be taken. However, by this point in the war in 1758, it's no longer an open open combat, I guess, for supremacy of the seas. It's in 1758 that the British really start to consolidate control, and after several years of warfare, of attacking French shipping and a few other engagements, the British are they good slowly getting more and more of an overwhelming strength on the seas.
Speaker: And that means that for France to send across troops, ships, supplies, it's getting much it's getting much more riskier because there's a higher and higher chance of interception by the British.
Speaker: Now, one battle that happens earlier this year in 1758 that is kind of emblematic of, well, it ties directly into the fate of Louisbourg, actually.
Speaker: So you may remember from the when we talked about the Battle of Menorca, the French fleet that you know went into action. They left from Toulon, which was France's main like Mediterranean seaport fort, and they fought the British and they secured the island.
Speaker: Since that time... that fleet didn't really do much of anything. It kind of just remained in Toulon. And one of the reasons for that was because it was getting very hard for the French to even just recruit and find enough sailors, especially as the the war was going on.
Speaker: But eventually... This fleet, after like 18 months of not doing anything, they depart from Toulon and their goal is to head to Louisbourg and reinforce it just like the French were able to do in 1757. And that is what saved the fortress, pretty much. You know, that huge French fleet sitting in the bay, ready to fire on the British if they were to try to to land their troops and and approach.
Speaker: However, as they are getting, just getting out into the Atlantic Ocean, a storm scatters the fleet led by Admiral Le Clu, which kind of sounds like a Pink Panther kind of name. yeah But he, the fleet kind of regathers in a neutral port of, I think it was Cartagena, however that would be pronounced. I can't remember if that was in Portugal or Spain. But, you know, on the Iberian Peninsula, the fleet, they gather in the one of the ports after a storm. However, unfortunately, the British fleet is right behind them.
Speaker: You know, they have the British base at Gibraltar. So there's always British fleets active in that area. And they want to keep the French penned in the Mediterranean as well. So they pursue the scattered French fleet. They blockade them in this neutral port of Cartagena.
Speaker: uh eventually duquesne admiral duquesne does that name sound familiar matt it does it does i think there's going to be a university in pittsburgh later founded in his honor yeah so this is the same duquesne that was the governor general of new france for a few years and he was the one that ordered the the string of forts to be built in the ohio country But he's still he's not in New France anymore, but he is still active in the French military, maybe.
Speaker: So he leads a few ships of the line to go support Le Clou and also try to eventually make it to to Louisbourg once they meet up.
Speaker: However, British fleet, which is blocking in Le Clou, led by Admiral Henry Osborne, they engage Duquesne's, I think he's got four ships with him on this engagement.
Speaker: um Yeah, so he's got four like heavy, heavy ships, lots of guns. la Osborne, he keeps some of his ships to pen in Le Clou and he sends others to go engage with Duquesne.
Speaker: The result is pretty negative for the French. Of his four ah ships, you know he's ends up having to ah he's forced to scatter to try to not get all of them taken. He's just outgunned.
Speaker: Two of the French ships of the lines are captured in about two out of the four. Another is purposely run aground just to let to to not let the British take control of it. And only one of the four ships escapes.
Speaker: So that kind of seals the fate for Le Clou's fleet. And he is there's no possible way he can make it across the sea to Louisbourg now. and he had Or find the Pink Panther diamond. Yes. None of none of those things he'll be able to do. I did not record how many ships were in Le Clou's suite, but eventually, i don't i don't know exactly how, but he slips he slips out, but he returns back to Toulon in the Mediterranean. so ah there's that It would have been at least 10, maybe up to 20 heavy warships that could have made it to Louisbourg. But here in February 28th of 1758, they are defeated and harassed by a superior British fort ah force and forced to retreat.
Speaker: ah oh Interesting. Yeah. And this is a good reminder. I think we mentioned this in the last Louisbourg episode, but Lévis, one of the higher ups in the new france New France military command sent from France, he mentions that for Louisbourg, it's only the naval forces leaving from Europe that can save that place.
Speaker: Yes. Yeah. And they, as we just went over, could not really arrive in any great numbers. The only there was a few, i think, seven to ten ships. They had seven ships in line that I had. They had seven ships of line, four frigates and one flute.
Speaker: So that's, and those are just trickling across the Atlantic in small numbers to try to evade these British fleets that are roaming the oceans, but not nearly as many as were sent. 24 ships were designated to be sent to Louisbourg. Less than half of that end up arriving before what we're about to discuss happens.
Speaker: Yeah, and for comparison's sake, the the British fleet that will sail on Louisbourg in 1758 is comprised of 40 warships and 150 transport vessels. So, yeah, we're talking about a pretty massive armada here. So, ah first to get into this, I want to just briefly touch on the commanders on each side. Yeah. This force for the British is kind of like a who's who of the British commanders, and we'll see a lot of these guys pop up later on in the war. But the the major general on the British side is Geoffrey Amherst.
Speaker: He commanded the land forces, which they approximately had around 11,000 to 14,000 troops, and these were mostly regular infantry They had American Rangers, including roberts or Rogers Rangers, and also Gorim's Rangers, another another unit of Rangers. So as we've talked about before with Rogers Rangers, they more Ranger units were were popping up following his successes on the battlefield. And Gorim's Rangers, they had a lot of a lot of experience in Acadia. So this is kind of like their home territory almost, where they're deployed ah often.
Speaker: Yes, definitely. And then he had three brigadiers under him. um Those would be James Wolfe, Charles Lawrence, and Edward Whitmore. Wolfe is going to be the superhero of today's episode, so um we will talk about him quite a bit. And then the admiral on the fleet was Admiral Edward Bosquen. And we've seen his name before. We have, yes. And yeah, he he takes some pretty cool actions and in this battle. So i'm I'm excited to talk about him as well. Their force, as I talked about, they had about 23 ships at the line. So about triple what France had. 18 frigates and lighter and lighter vessels. And then about, like I guess said, 150 transports. About total personnel, so between Army and Navy, we're talking about a force of about 26,000 soldiers.
Speaker: So why are we this is a huge force in in like that day and age. like this is a how i mean we're thinking We're talking about... like D-Day levels essentially in in this. like And it's also going to be ah amphibious assault, which is even easier. There was a lot of similarities when I was reading up on this battle. between It made me think of D-Day or I guess just any kind of grand, risky amphibious assault. You know, transports hitting the hitting the shores under fire.
Speaker: We'll get into that later. but yes yeah Huge force. I think it might be the biggest we've seen in North America at this point. Or, I mean, in some of the episodes we'll be talking about very soon that I think that's going to be broken again, that record. But yeah, British have committed a lot to the colonial war here in 1758. And I mean, the the troops are there. The ships are there. Certainly. And jack Jackson, do you remember how many troops Loudon had in the 1757 expedition? Because it's not coming to me, but I think it was about 10,000. That's okay. That's what I thought as well. Yeah.
Speaker: Yeah. So, I mean, we said that was a huge force at that time. And so we're talking oh more than double that size of a force now, sadly on Louisburg. And it wasn't because, you know, it wasn't because that siege had failed because of lack of men. That was completely out of the equation. But ah Britain is not playing around. And, you know, we've talked about, too, before the strategic importance of Louisburg. If Louisburg falls, then Britain has a straight path to Quebec down to St. Lawrence. So, yeah.
Speaker: think of what is That is their goal. They want to hit Louisbourg and Quebec in the same in the same attacking season here in 1758. That's the plan. am Think of if you're playing any strategy game or anything, Louisbourg's like your choke point. If if that falls, then the the rest of the of New France is wide open for the taking. um So I mean, extreme strategic importance here. So that's probably why you know yeah you're committing this many numbers of troops to take it. But yeah, so that's that's the British side. The French side, ah really the the main player here is the governor of the island, and the commander, which Jackson, go I'm going to butcher this name, but ah it's Chevalier Agastin de Bouchonry de Ducor.
Speaker: which we're just going to call him to your core for this episode. Yeah. smart yeah ah So he was the governor of the island. Like I said, the garrison had about 3000 3500 men. said regular infantry, mostly and then they also had some some Canadian militia and a few Micmac natives.
Speaker: station there so a pretty small force uh and then when you include the navy as we talked about they had ship seven ships in the line there um the total amount between the both the army navy would be about six to seven thousand so in all respects uh britain quadruples the size of the the french force um on the island so they definitely have the numerical advantage um And then I did want to talk about, too, there was this in the book I was reading by is it Walter Boardman. Is that Ray Jackson? Is that the author's name of the French Indian War? We were just talking about. Yeah. Yes. Yeah. so I was reading in that book about kind of the power struggle of like the British
Speaker: the British hired command, you had these three, ah you know, bigger name, brigadiers, Wolf, Lawrence, and Whitmore. And they had arrived.
Speaker: Well, one, they were they when Britain sailed to Louisburg, they were posted outside the harbor kind of deciding how they were going to attack. um And you'll notice Amherst wasn't there.
Speaker: He was late arriving to the battle. but They actually thought he wasn't going to make it because of like high like high winds and storms on the seas. And he so he had never even touched ground in...
Speaker: the colonies, he was still coming over from England. so when The battle was supposed to take place and he was very late. So Whitmore, ah Wolf and Lawrence, they they came up with their own battle plan essentially between the three of them. They were like, okay, we're going to land at this. And I don't know it off the top of my head exactly, but they had certain landing points there they were going to attack. And I believe that plan had them landing at like three different spots to kind of overwhelm the French defenses.
Speaker: And right when they were about to launch that attack, Amherst's like ship like comes through the fog. It was very foggy in June at this time. It comes through the fog, and they he completely throws out their plan, and yeah he immediately takes charge. And Wolf, I think, writes in his journal that they weren't super pleased with with this happening. But I did want to also talk about Wolf really quick. He's kind of funny if he if you learn about him. He's a very yeah despite his cool name, he's a very lengthy man.
Speaker: He is very frail and typically like described to be a very like, you know, kind of sickly guy not he doesn't really look like what you would think of as a commander and he's ah specifically really bad uh at sailing he's not he's not sailor at heart um he actually writes in his journal a few times about how like the journey to england and back to uh and back to the colonies would probably kill him sooner than any battle would um
Speaker: So just, the o yeah you know, i mean, that aside, it is true that in these wars at this period, I mean, disease or starvation or other kinds of sickness was was much more likely to kill you than action. So even though he was saying that because of his specific health issues, he's really not wrong about the dangers of of illness and sickness in these wars. For sure. And I think he had some pretty treacherous journeys across the ocean too. And that would be, i mean, that would be kind of terrifying doing that multiple times and being sent back out there. He even like protested when he got back to him when the first time after being sent back from the colonies that he would never go back. And then they told him he had to go back. He was very upset about it. So he's kind of a funny guy, but he'll have a big role in this. So ah anyway, like I said, Amherst comes, throws out the plan that his brigadiers had made. Amherst's plan is that,
Speaker: What he will do is he will have Wolf's Detachment, so Wolf's Battalion. They will land on Louisburg. And I they but i believe they pick one certain cove, which I believe is Kennington Cove, and nearby points of that, and I think it's Gabaris Bay is where the landing occurs or is set to occur. I'm looking at the Google Maps right now.
Speaker: There's a place called Wolf's Landing now, but that is also listed as Kennington Cove. And then, yes, just southwest of Louisbourg, there's a small bay and there's a town there called Gabaris. So I'm assuming the bay is also, yes, called Gabaris Bay.
Speaker: Okay. Okay, so I did have that right in my notes. um Yeah, so anyway, so Amherst orders Wolf to land at Gabrus Bay. is also called Kennington Cove, and now it's Wolf's Landing, which is very appropriate. And Whitmore and Lawrence were to sail in like opposite directions around the island to, you know, keep the French guessing as to where they were going to land or where a landing was going to take place. um it really yeah there there were limited areas to land right because of this rocky northern atlantic coast like you couldn't just pick anywhere around louisbourg there was there there was only some a few decent places right yeah there was only i mean a handful of places that you could actually land uh because these are like very rocky cliffs and stuff so you need a flat beach or something near that to get troops on especially the number of troops that we would be talking about here so yeah no Great Point Jackson. So there wasn't a whole lot of options. So they that's why the diversion was pretty necessary. you know i think the the points were on separate sides of the island as well. So if the French saw one ship of the line going north, they would assume that they're landing at a different point. So it it was ultimately a good tactic. However,
Speaker: when the landing went to occur, Wolf's a battalion fell under very heavy fire as they were you know trying to land on the beach.
Speaker: And even though the diversion didn't work, so Whitmore and Lawrence going different directions did take some fire off of them, but they were still you know a few hundred French defenders that were sparsely around the point that Wolf was landing at that were peppering them as they were trying to land. And it got to a point where Wolf is said, and he's noted down by other soldiers that saw him do this. He's standing in his landing craft and he takes off his hat and he's waving it back at Amherst.
Speaker: And it's a very debated topic on what he meant by this. ah We don't know one, whether he was trying to call off the attack or two, whether he was like saying, oh over here, come with me, like follow me. And Amhert, like he was asked about this after the battle and after the siege of Louisburg. And he basically says, we'll never know what he meant by that. So it's kind of interesting. But in the first set in the first stages of the landing, it was very hard for him and his men. they came like i said this I think this is where most of the British casualties were suffered and the entire siege was during the landing.
Speaker: But thankfully to Wolf's surprise and luck, he finds a small rocky inlet in Cunnington Cove or Gabrus Bay where he is able to get aground and he's in his men see him and they funnel into this rocky inlet. And pretty soon then you have Lawrence's ah lawrence's battalion in Whitmore. They also land and funnel into this rocky inlet.
Speaker: And so you then you have about, you know i think, she's probably about 20,000 British soldiers or 14,000ish British infantry rushing the island through this rocky inlet. And you can guess how that goes for the French. As I said, they were sparsely defended around the island. So the line at Gabaris Bay was pretty easy work for the the British regulars. And then the other areas kind of crumbled in on themselves once they saw it that the one line was compromised. And most of them fell back to the to the fort. so by june And this all happened, I should say, on June 8th in 1758. So And maybe you had read, i think I did too, that they had wanted to attack earlier, but there were like several days. You mentioned the fog at this time in this area, but for for several days, the seas were too rough and visibility was poor. So they were just you know itching, waiting to get at them. But finally, they're putting their their boots on the ground on what you said, June 8th.
Speaker: Yes. Yeah. They arrived on June 2nd. So that's a good point. Yeah, they did. it They have to wait offshore. um and they waited about three miles away from like the Island or so they were you know somewhat offshore. The French definitely knew they were there, but, uh, they waited six days until they did the landing. So, um, even more time for the French to prepare. So I think that's, uh, you know, even more surprising that the, that the landing occurred successfully. Um,
Speaker: But really, Wolf is the superhero of that story. um Now, whether he was trying to call it the attack or not, We'll never know, basically, as he says.
Speaker: I wouldn't have blamed him if he was. it would it would have been It would have been very similar to a D-Day experience. However, instead of like going up on a sandy beach, you're trying to run into a rock wall against like you know defenders that are perched against rocks and just withering musket fire. it was pretty heroic.
Speaker: I'm here looking at Google Maps on the Wolf's Landing National Historic Site. If you scroll over a couple pictures, if anyone else, if you're by computer or something while listening, you can see yeah and exhibit a picture of this rocky beach. And yeah, just thinking about walking on this would be like a broken ankle just waiting to happen. And the sea doesn't look too kind either. So that that can give you a visual to how rough and dangerous this amphibious attack was.
Speaker: Yes. And then one thing I forgot to to note, when the British arrived to or in the waters around ah Louisbourg, the French actually sank two of their own ships in the in the harbor of Louisbourg to prevent the the British fleet from getting any closer to bombard the islands. that was... interesting They also did it to prevent a landing and in one of the ports. But as Jackson mentioned, you were time about that naval battle earlier, the the French destroying their own ships. yeah they I think they they knew a naval engagement was pointless, especially when yeah the British like tripled them in numbers at sea.
Speaker: yeah So actually, so I had read that the French admiral that was leading the ships that were kind of holding it tight in the harbor there in the bay, he kept asking Drukour to leave so that they could escape and get to France rather than, you know, like fight and...
Speaker: die or or get captured in this battle because they knew the overwhelming odds they faced against but Drukour just kept saying like no like we all have to fight defend together ah and basically that the few friendships we have their guns are enough to do a lot of damage and keep it keep the fortress from immediately falling So he keeps ordering the admiral to, I think it's Degout was his last name, to stay in the harbor, keep his ships, you know, minus the ones that they tried to sink to impede the British progress. But, you know, they want to keep all their firepower by the fortress so that they can just keep fending off and make the British advance. And as they slowly encircle the fortress, you make it as slow as possible.
Speaker: And Drakour's goal here is really, he knows at this point, it's it would be a miracle if the French can win against all these these troops and ships. So his goal really is just delay the British as long as possible for Quebec's sake. You know, the British want to take Louisbourg and Quebec,
Speaker: as part of William Pitt's military plans. And if he can just draw them out just long enough to where the campaign season starts to get chilly and cold and no more large scale actions can be taken, just like one of the the main issue with 1757 expedition, then he'll have done his job. So he's keeping the friendships there. Uh, and they will try to hang out as long as possible.
Speaker: Yes. No, that's a good point. Um, Unfortunately for Dracor, keeping the ships close to the harbor and the fort does not pay off well for him. So on June 12th, Wolf, after landing, immediately goes and sees his lighthouse point, which is an elevated point which near the entrance of the harbor.
Speaker: to to the fort of Louisburg. And once he seizes that point, the British station batteries on the point and start firing into the harbor and on the island battery that was like right off of the right out of the harbor. And for listeners in the little bay that Louisburg is in the harbor, it's on the the southern edge sticking out into the east, into the Atlantic.
Speaker: And so the British and Wolf, after they've secured their landing southwest of Louisburg, His units have moved up north and then east. And on the opposite end of the harbor from the fortress of Louisbourg is that lighthouse point that Matt mentioned. So they are now fully encircling by land the fortress. And of course, the Navy's right there, too.
Speaker: Yes. Just for some geography. Yes. ah Yeah. So from Lighthouse Point, the the British start firing. As I mentioned, Louisburg doesn't have a ton of walls. It has some. They they target the walls. But really what they're targeting are the French ships in the harbor. It pays off on July 21st. The fire. So, I mean, we are talking about a month of bombardment here. So we were talking about, I said June 12th. So this is going to going on until July 21st. In this time, the the British are steadily you know building out their trench works. They build like parallel to the wall, and then they do zigzags up, and then parallel to the wall, you know the typical colonial can listen to our episode on the Battle of Oswego for a more in-depth treatment of siege tactics at the time.
Speaker: Yes. But the more pressing concern for them so much wasn't so much the fortress, it was the the Navy in the harbor and those guns on those ships. So they target them from Lighthouse Point. And then on July 21st, after a month of firing, they ignited the French ship, the Celebré. Is that right, Jackson? Celebré?
Speaker: I think it was Célèbre, but I'd have to see it written to see if there's an accent on the last E or not. Which then, which was a ship of the line, and then that play spread to the Entrepreneurs and the Capra show. just like i mean, that's a three for one. Whoever fired that cannon and got the the fire to start on the ship and then watched it spread to the other two, he must have been so happy. because that's so much damn and we've talked a long time ago we talked about how expensive and how long it took to make these huge ships of the line and boom boom boom there goes three heavy warships for france okay yeah it was a huge morale blow um to the garrison uh and we'll see that play out i did want to talk about one thing really interesting that i learned about this battle So we talked about European chivalrous warfare, how you know, conducting yourself like a gentleman. Throughout the siege, so throughout June to July, ah the I think it would have been Amherst, yeah, Amherst and Drakor are sending each other gifts back and forth. And
Speaker: and It's kind of interesting. So Drukor's wife was like baking goods for Amherst and they would have a rider from the fortress under a flag of true or the truce. or i guess ah I'm sure they would fly some sort of a flag saying that they're a messenger, but they would ride to the front or to the British camp, deliver it to Amherst. And the only gift Amherst ever had to give back was a pineapple. i Apparently that must been the only fruit
Speaker: Yeah, failable, really the only thing that was, you know. It could have been like a luxury gift because, I mean, pineapples don't grow anywhere near Cape Breton Island in Canada. is This is true. found it from somewhere. i was I found it funny because this happened. There were several exchanges of Drew Cora's wife, like, you know, baking cakes and stuff. And then they would take it to... to amper and he would always send back a pineapple so uh well when balls are raining down this these exchanges are happening yeah so like obviously the french natives were furious like the the big mac allies of the fort were like what it like this guy you know the british are is they're blowing up our ships there yeah and then they're uh sending gifts back and forth and even so there's like british uh you know british regulars that are questioning the affair of it and a lot of uh scholars write about this and i i read some online where they said it was probably more for uh intelligence gathering than it was for anything else like it wasn't really like oh hey i mean they did want to show some form of chivalry but having your scout constantly going to the enemy's camp yeah taking a quick look around look at the state of affairs Yes. Yeah. So just imagine that, that the guy that is sieging your town and starving out your people and your troops is sending you pineapples. So you have to have your wife bake him a cake instead of, you know, coga the propriety demands it.
Speaker: Another fun note, you mentioned Drakur's wife. She is also well known during the siege. She's kind of well liked by everybody. I wish I knew her first name. but and most i did I do not either. Yeah, yeah most of the things I read just said like Drakur's wife or Madame Drakur. But ah she...
Speaker: at Each day throughout the siege, she fired three guns, cannons to encourage the French troops. It's really like it's like the French like Molly Pitcher or something, you know, this heroic woman in the middle of a siege, in the middle of ah a great battle, doing what she can to support support the troops and be a ah symbol of resistance. So she seemed like a pretty awesome character, pretty awesome woman.
Speaker: Yes. Yeah, that's ah that's funny. Yeah, she's like a like a Betsy Ross figure for a for a doomed garrison. But yeah, her efforts do not work, unfortunately. So we've talked about that there were three ships that were set ablaze on one day. in july um so if that wasn't the straw that broke the camel's back on july 25th boscoons fleet um this was kind of that you probably can make a movie of this and if anyone has ever seen um
Speaker: the it's like ah oh the Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare. Have you seen that, Jackson, about the U-boat fleet? No, you told me. I have to see it. It's so good. yeah um But anyways, this reminded me of a lot of that. So Bosquen's fleet at night under fog entered the harbor ah to the unbeknownst to the French and they burnt the Prudent ah to the ground. And that was ah another one of the ah ships of the line in the harbor, the French ships of the line. And then they captured the Bien-Faizant and towed it away throughout the harbor. So they burnt ah one of the last of the two ah ships of the line for the French and then they stole the other one, which was yeah the special operations stuff right there. Yes, yeah. If you watch the Ministry of Vengemally Warfare, they do exactly that. So it's ah that's kind of funny. but So those like I said, those were the last two ships of the line. These were the last major big guns that the fort of Louisburg had. so And the walls were crumbling. and The men were starving. There wasn't really much to do. There's a good amount of civilians there too because it is ah it's a fortress, but it's also a town. And there's at least, I think,
Speaker: and I might be mixing some numbers, but there could have been up to 3000 civilians there. I don't know if I'm mixing that up with the permanent garrison on site or the permanent population of Louisbourg, but regardless, there could be at least a couple of thousand civilians sheltering in this town under bombardment for over a month and a half.
Speaker: Yeah, no, you're exactly right. I think that was the number I had, a few thousand ah a few a few thousand civilians in the town. So yeah, yeah they're they're suffering and dying and under constant fire. So eventually, Drakor does request terms of surrender on July 26th.
Speaker: He's hoping that... something similar to like at Fort William Henry would be granted, not the aftermath of Fort William Henry, but of course, the honors of war, that's what he requests to be granted. So for most of his garrison to be able to leave, take a cannon with them under their colors and not become prisoners of war. Despite the pleasantries that Amherst and Ducor shared, they did not ah Amherst did not agree to honor Sephora. Amherst and Bosco and both refused that request and they demanded that the garrison become prisoners of war. So basically unconditional surrender. um
Speaker: Drakor had his back against the wall. he kind of i mean He had no room to negotiate, and the civilian population was starving. So it spared them. yeah Yeah, I think he i had read he was when he heard that response, he was determined, well, then we'll fight to the end. You know you got to come take it by bayonet. But... some of his officers counseled him and said, hey, for the sake of the civilians, like you know it's a matter of time until the fire spreads to where they're sheltering. It it kind of reminded me a little bit of like Helm's Deep in the two towers. We have the the citizens sheltering in the cave behind the castle, ah although they were less protected here in Louisbourg. So after discussing with his officers, then he decides, all right, all right, I'll i'll accept these conditions and let it be done with.
Speaker: Yes. So, ah yeah. So that is the official end of the siege of Louisburg. So the formal surrender then took place on July 26, 27. So we're talking about the totals two month siege, seven weeks, casualty figures.
Speaker: you know, surprisingly, the casualty figures were relatively light for the number of troops involved. Uh, British only had about 172 killed and 355 wounded out of a force of 14,000, uh, infantry, uh, landing. That's, that's pretty solid. That's a, that's a good number. Um, most of those would probably just be from that, that first couple of days, like the first landing. And then as they're closing the knot around the, uh,
Speaker: the fortress, but other than that, it was pretty much just shelling and maneuvering around the fortress. They never had to like storm it by a bayonet point, which would have definitely pumped up the casualties.
Speaker: Correct. Yeah. Yeah. I think about half of the the total killed on the British side came from the landing. A few dozen were killed in the landing and then the rest would have just been tangential like siege related casualties. The French side was actually pretty similar. Um, they had about a little over a hundred killed, uh, 300 wounded in the garrison. ah most of those again, that were killed were killed in the initial landing when there was more of, uh, kind of a line battle or a typical European warfare style and in the open as opposed to siege warfare. So yeah actually pretty similar casualty numbers.
Speaker: I think I'd read this there was like 70 French soldiers or Canadian soldiers that In that right after the landing and the confusion as the British you know suddenly found a foothold and became pouring in, there was like a group of 70 that became prisoners of war because as the French started to fall back all the way to the to the fortress, there was a lot of confusion and some groups ended up getting surrounded much quicker than than they thought. Because that rocky cove that they had found, yeah the French didn't have visibility into it. So I think before they before they realized, there was suddenly British right there in front of them storming up up the up the hills.
Speaker: So, there I mean, there's 70 troops just either killed or captured right there. That certainly makes sense. And they didn't, I mean, it was just a spread out thin line around the island as well because they were trying to protect every entrance point. Yeah. There wasn't great communication amongst the lines. So that no that that makes perfect sense. um But the bulk of the defenders that we're talking about 5600 to 6600 soldiers, sailors end up becoming prisoners of war. And then the smaller French ships that survived were either captured or destroyed. So ah kind of complete annihilation for the French.
Speaker: So, are yeah, the army and the Navy that started the battle do not emerge as any kind of. There's no leftovers for the French. Yes. like And Dracour, one of the reasons he was hoping for like an honors of war was because that is what was granted to the British at Menorca. And the garrison there was just like moved over to Gibraltar and you know allowed to continue serving. And we've seen some other agreements where, like with George Washington, when he surrendered at Fort Necessity, he you know he's allowed to leave with the men, have the honors of war, and he just had to like promise not to enter the Ohio country for the next year or something like that. So there's other arrangements where like you're on parole, like you swear, like no, I'm not going to serve in the armed forces for X amount of time after the surrender.
Speaker: However, most likely because of all of the the negative aftermath and especially the negative publicity after the Battle of Fort William Henry and how the the surrender and the the the handoff gets a little out of control, the British are in no mood to grant honors of war.
Speaker: you know, they're A lot of the British leaders are just fed up at this point with French and Indian raids, scalpings, massacres, things like that. Whether in their mind it is more exaggerated or accurate, they are not granting honors of war to Drakor and his men.
Speaker: Yes. Now, originally, when I had first read this years ago, I was like, oh, Dan, those darn British not giving honors of war. But...
Speaker: When we were going through this podcast and we got to Oswego and I was reaching researching that, then I was like, oh, wait, Montcalm didn't give the garrison ah honors of war and he took them all as prisoners of war because he didn't think their defense was worthy enough. like you just like You didn't just shut the book when you were reading that. Like, oh, no, no. Yeah. now was like i mean i guess it was a little underwhelming on the british side but oh i guess the french were the first to refuse honors of war to a defending force oops ah i think there was also some uh kind of some pent-up tension too against louisbourg uh because as we talked about like this was a british uh fortress and then the treaty of ace la chapelle happened so then it went back to the french uh and ever since then the british were pretty sour about ever giving And they spent so much time and money trying to take it last year and it came to nothing. So yeah, I think you're absolutely right that there's a lot of simmering tension, especially on this front.
Speaker: Especially. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, there were, I mean, I was just, when I was reading about this, there were like a bunch of like reports of colonists saying that, ah you know, this was the worst decision or worst mistake they ever made was giving up Cape Breton Island. So I think they really wanted to get it back and they were going to kind of take their vengeance out on whoever was holding it. Um,
Speaker: And I will say, too, that and you know we talked about our last episode that Pitt really wants to take Quebec. He really wants to cut the head off the snake. And I think it makes sense that if you're going after, like if if you know that Louisburg, obviously, it's not your final target. It's not just the one for you want to take. It's a strategic goal.
Speaker: like linchpin in your entire plan you would want the troops de defending it not placed somewhere else on an island that could further disrupt you in the future yeah like ah send them what what send them back to quebec city the next uh place they want to attack like yeah yeah so they they shipped all of the prisoners back to england um some of the civilians that were shipped back ended up uh being relocated to france so it's kind of funny that the british prisoners and they're like oh we actually don't want the the french civilians so they they put them back in the france or the french mainland um but yeah so they're they're all gone so we're talking about like 6 000 uh french soldiers and natives taking out of the area So this is huge, huge for the British. However, at Jackson mentioned before, Dracor's plan to, you know, hold out as long as possible and delay the capture of Louisburg to prevent anything else from happening does work out. As I mentioned, this, the final capitulation of the fort happened in the end of July.
Speaker: So then by the time that the British actually are able to control of the town and everything, You're talking you know mid to late August, and then we're getting into the fall season. And that far north, you know it's getting pretty cold. ah Water starts freezing. So the British can't make any movement on Quebec, which was originally planned um like to happen right after the fall of Louisbourg. So now the the attack on Quebec will be delayed a year. by this or not full year, but it will it will it won't occur until 1759. um, Dracor's plan does does work at least for that point that he does delay the the British into the winter months and it makes it harder on them to keep going down the St. Lord's River. But yeah, so that's, that's the siege of Louisburg. We get a, I've got a, one more aftermath effect here.
Speaker: Yes. So we've did a, done an episode covering the Acadian deportation that happened, that started happening in 1755. And then, It continued onwards as the British tried to assert their control over newly conquered Acadia.
Speaker: When Louisbourg falls, there is another Acadian deportation because now the last main French military installation in the area has been taken.
Speaker: That opens up a lot of areas for British soldiers now to go along, keep rounding up. Acadians because a lot of them fled to Cape Breton Island where Louisbourg is located now what is now known as Prince Edward Island but at that time was is San John that is now much more open up to British attack and so we'll see a few thousand more Acadians over the following months after the siege of Louisbourg will be rounded up and deported and just like the ones previously about half of them are going to die from drowning disease shipwrecks and those kind of things as they're being dispersed throughout the and british colonial empire or back in europe thats poor those poor acadians they cannot catch a break
Speaker: Yeah, it's ah it's a rough time to be a French Acadian. Well, it's a rough time for a lot of the 1700s because that area has been so so violent a back and forth, you know, ever since part of Acadia was given to the British as a result of the War of Spanish Succession.
Speaker: But yes, that the the deportation operations do continue. um We might um well think about doing a video about some of these British operations in the rest of Acadia in 1758 as they're kind of doing a scorched earth.
Speaker: policy essentially maybe that'll be an episode or maybe just a mention that sounds yeah that sounds like an interesting part to kind of dig into we're in no rush although i you know i i don't like episodes that would highlight negative warfare aspects of the british but i guess i'll have to listen have to see it happen by this point in the war we both ah we both have to recognize there's a lot of terrible things on all sides here no one is innocent True, for sure. um But yeah, that was ah that's the Siege of Louisburg in 1758. Much more interesting than the Siege of Louisburg in 1757. And this will be the last Siege of Louisburg for this war. um
Speaker: So was there one in the revolution? I thought there was, actually i think there was one in the 1800s. I could be wrong. I have idea. But ah maybe I might be wrong. if um I will say though, definitely it's the last one for this war. So Louisville will not change hands again. It will remain a British possession. So this is is one of the I love that we're getting into the more massive engagements of this war. Now you talk about some like real battles, not just like just snowshoes in the woods. Yeah. um But yeah, so ah Pitt's plan so far is going pretty well.
Speaker: um And could that have been, as we discussed in the last episode, that he contributed about 10 times as many soldiers to to the colonies as as France did? Maybe. but i hope That'll help. It paid off, yes.
Speaker: ah Yeah. So yeah, his first leg, his first prong, half works. They take the big bad fortress. Can't make it back in the timeframe, but overall, yeah, I would agree. That's still that's still a success. ah you know They've eliminated a huge threat.
Speaker: We'll talk more about the other prongs of the attack and how they go, but ah spoiler, it's going to keep going mostly mostly pretty well for the British this year. yeah i think ah in Crucible of War, I think the chapter about this time was called, I think in that book he mentioned the British referred to 1758 in latin as like annas miraculous or something like the year of miracles because so suddenly all their fortunes were reversing and they're starting to win battles again and this sir is why you live in pittsburgh yes pittsburgh not fort duquesne yes
Speaker: All right. Sounds good. Well, thanks everyone for listening. Keep leaving us comments, episode suggestions. Obviously, like we want this to go on as long as possible. So whatever, whatever detour episode ideas you can give us, please do. And I'm sure we will take you up on it.
Speaker: But yeah, I've been enjoying reading all the comments. We'll be getting a lot more on Spotify and Facebook and yeah we'll try to reply when we can. But yeah, thanks for listening.
