Battle of Tatamagouche Memorial

On June 15th, 1745, three New England sloops intercepted a combined force of French, Huron and Mi’kmaq, who were attempting to leave Tatamagouche with supplies for Fortress Louisbourg. The ensuing British victory in what has become known as “The Battle of Tatamagouche” was yet another example of British naval supremacy in North America. This event demonstrated the inability of the French ships to supply their own forts in New France. In the end, for the French, this failure directly contributed to the fall of Louisbourg and the eventual defeat of their colonies in Quebec and Acadia.

Partly because of the strategic importance of the Tatamagouche area as an Acadian centre, the British decided to begin the Expulsion of the Acadians here. The officer chosen for this task, Abijah Willard, arrived in Tatamagouche with 100 soldiers, on August 14th, 1755. Willard issued orders to the Acadians that all male inhabitants were to assemble at 9:00 a.m. the following day. When they had gathered at Willard’s Headquarters on August 15th, he immediately imprisoned them. The British then burned the village, including the chapel. By the following morning, the village was left in ruins, and the men had been marched away, leaving the women and children behind. For the next sixteen years, the area remained unoccupied and the forests quickly began to encroach on the cultivated lands of the Acadians. The only activity during that time was the construction of Fort Francklin at Bayhead in 1768. The Fort however, was soon abandoned, as the British troops were needed elsewhere.

(Courtesy of the Village of Tatamagouche)

Inscription

[plaque/plaque]

HISTORIC SITES
& MONUMENTS
BOARD of CANADA

NAVAL ENCOUNTER AT
TATAMAGOUCHE
(15TH JUNE 1745)

IN THIS HARBOUR, CAPT. DAVID
DONAHEW OF NEW ENGLAND WITH
THREE ARMED VESSELS SURPRISED
LIEUT. PAUL MARIN’S ALLIED FORCE
EN ROUTE FROM ANNAPOLIS ROYAL
TO LOUISBOURG. HE DROVE THEM
ASHORE, DISHEARTENED THE CANA-
DIAN INDIANS, AND PREVENTED THE
FRENCH AND MICMACS FROM REACH-
ING LOUISBOURG BEFORE ITS FALL.

DANS CE PORT, LE CAPITAINE
DAVID DONAHEW, DE LA NOUVELLE
ANGLETWRRE AVEC TROIS VAIS-
SEAUX ARMES SURPRIT LES FORCES
ALLIÉES DU LIEUTENANT PAUL
MARIN EN ROUTE D’ANNAPOLIS
ROYAL À LOUISBOURG. IL LES FORCA
À ATTERRIR, DÉCOURAGEA LES INDI-
ENS DU CANADA ET EMPÉCHA LES
FRANÇAIS ET LES MICMACS L’ARRI-
VER À LOUISBOURG AVANT LA CHUTE.

Érigé par la Commission des lieux et monuments historiques du Canada, ce mémorial est dédié en souvenir de l’affrontement naval britannique (américain) avec les Forces françaises à Tatamagouche, le 15 juin 1745.

Le texte de l’inscription figure dans la section anglaise.