Sit of Louisbourg
History of the fortress of Louisbourg
The Forteresse of Louisbourg is located on the Ile of Cape-Breton the at the mouth of the Fleuve the St. Lawrence. It was built in
1713 by the French crown in order to impose its rights on the benches of fishing of
Newfoundland. Thereafter, it acquires a great military importance by giving the control of the mouth of the Fleuve the St. Lawrence and thus access to the
News-France.
It was captured at the time of the
War of succession of Austria in
1743 but was returned to the
France at the end of the war (1748). At the time of the bursting of the
Seven Year old War in
1756, it then constitutes a privileged target for the
Great Britain of which the goal is to make itself main of all the possessions Frenchwoman of
North America.
The first forwarding is organized in
1757 by English but it stops with Halifax for lack of organization on the British side and because of the presence of an important French fleet.
the countryside of 1758 and the fall of Louisbourg
In
1758, English sets out again with the attack with even more means. At the beginning of June, an important fleet of 40 ships under the orders of the admiral
Edward Boscawen arrives at broad of the island of Cape-Breton the with, on its board, 14.000 troops ready to unload. The bad weather and the active defense of the French delay the English unloading. But, the
June 8th, ordering it Wolfe manages to unload its men with the handle of Cormorandière. Thereafter, the French troops reprocess in
Louisbourg and, the
June 12th, start to take possession of the French cuttings off out of Louisbourg. June 19th, the bombardment of
Louisbourg can start. It is not an easy operation for English because the fortress is firmly defended and the French guns retort vigorously. The
June 26th, Green Hill is taken and gives to English a good position to install batteries overhanging
Louisbourg. The construction of these batteries is very difficult because, in addition to the batteries of
Louisbourg, the French ships bombard the English pioneers.
The
July 9th, French tries an exit but without great successes. The pressure of English is done stronger and, the
July 25th, the French ships all are unusable and the first breaches appear in the walls of the fortress. The French commander
Drucourt does not have an other choice only to start negotiations of capitulation. The terms wanted by English are very hard, not granting the honors of the French war to the troops. Those are very ready to refuse and to fight until the end, but the intervention of the Prévost police chief-director proposes the risks for the civilians. Drucourt accepts finally the terms and, the morning of the
July 27th, the doors are opened and the garrison goes (except the regiment Cambris which, outraged by the terms of rendering, decides to break its mousquets and to burn its colors rather than to deliver them to English).
Assessment
The loss of
Louisbourg offers a base of ideal attack towards the town of
Quebec. But the season being already quite advanced, English decides to wait the following year. The end of the year is devoted to the strengthening of the English seizure on the mouth of the the St. Lawrence (many villages of sinners of Gaspésie are shaved and the off-set prisoners).
The fortress in itself leaves in sorry state this seat. In spite of that, it always represents a threat for English if it would be taken again by French or returned after a peace treaty (as it in
1748 was the case). They thus decide to shave the fortress. This demolition will be complete only after much work, in January
1761. Constructions of Louisbourg had cost approximately 30 million the royal Treasury.
Sources
- Louis the YOUNG PERSON, “Louisbourg”, in general Dictionary of biography, history, literature, agriculture, trade, industry and of arts, sciences, manners, habits, political institutions and nuns of Canada , vol. II, Ottawa, University of Ottawa, 1931,829p., pp. 176-177 (extracted on the Marianopolis site)
- Rene Chartrand, Louisbourg 1758 , Osprey Publishing, 2000