Guysborough, Nova Scotia (community)

Raid on Chedabucto (1688)

In August of 1688, during King William's War, raiders from New England pillage the fort and fishery.^[4] The fort is taken when a soldier opens the gate in the morning and all the others are still asleep, leading to the lone soldier being overwhelmed by the raiders hiding near the gate. The pillaging of the fort is a financial disaster for the company, with several large ships being captured. In the aftermath of this failure, the Company of Acadia is reorganised and a garrison of French Troupes de la Marine are stationed at Fort St. Louis, and the defences are enhanced by a French military engineer.

Battle at Chedabucto (1690)

Later in King William's War, as part of Sir William Phips's expedition to destroy the capital of Acadia, Port Royal, Phips sent Captain Cyprian Southack to Chedabacto with 80 men to destroy Fort St. Louis and the surrounding French fishery. Southack landed his troops at present day Cook's Cove and proceeded overland to attack the fort. The French garrison of 25 soldiers defended the fort for over six hours, inflicting loses on the New Englanders. Southack led his men close to the fort and used fire bombs to set the fort ablaze, with the French troops surrendering. Southack spent several days demolishing the fort and destroying the enormous amount of 50,000 crowns of fish.^[5]

The fort was reopened in 1692 to protect the Acadians of Chedabuctou from further attacks. The Company of Acadia once again reformed and reestablished itself at Chedabuctou in 1697, but encountered a variety of difficulties on the way to its final disappearance in 1702.^[6] In 1712, the area was granted to French privateer Bernard Lasonde for services during Queen Anne's War. Lasonde swore allegiance to the British following the Treaty of Utrecht, but also worked against them for the French, who still claimed the Chedabuctou/Canso region. Per a British survey in 1718, there were approximately 300 Acadians living in the area, including both settled families and seasonal fishermen.^[7]

Raid on Chedacacto (1718) - The Squirrel Affair

Shortly after Southack established himself at Shelburne, Nova Scotia, the Mi'kmaq raided the station and burned it to the ground.^[8] In response, from 17–24 September 1718, Southack led a raid on Canso and Chedabucto in what became known as the Squirrel Affair. Southack first destroyed the fishing village on the Canso Islands. Southack then laid siege for three days to Fort St. Louis, which was defended primarily by the local Acadians.^[9] On 18 September, British marines landed across the harbour from the fort on Lasonde's Grave (today McCauls Island) and seized the entrance to Chedabucto Harbour. The following day HMS Squirrel landed troops at Salmon River, who proceeded to the rear of the village. HMS Squirrel made its first attempt to enter the harbour but was beaten back by the Acadian cannon fire from the fort. Later in the day the village was captured by the landed troops. On 20 September HMS Squirrel made a second attempt to enter the harbour, and successfully fired upon the fort. On 23 September, Southack burned the village and loaded the goods onto the French transports that had been captured in the harbour. On 24 September, after pillaging and burning the village, Southack released his Acadian prisoners onto the Canso Islands and sailed back to Boston.^[10] Some Acadians fled to Isle Madame after the attack.^[11]

The village of Chedabucto recovered after the 1718 attack, but the fort was never reestablished. The Acadian community here sold food and boats to Louisbourg. When the Acadian expulsion began in 1755, Chedabucto became an important stopping point for Acadians fleeing to Isle Royale. The village encountered hard times after the fall of Louisbourg, and the Acadians are recorded to have fully left the region by 1764, at least 70 of whom settled on Saint Pierre and Miquelon.