Background
After the capture of Fort Beauséjour in June 1755 by British troops during the Seven Years War, they began rounding up and deporting the local French population. Using Fort Cumberland as a base, British troops and colonial militia made forays into the surrounding countryside, rounding up Acadians and destroying their settlements. Some of the Acadians surrendered, while others fled from the coastal communities into the interior, where they joined with local Mi'kmaq and Maliseet Indians in resisting the British deportation.
Charles Deschamps de Boishébert was a French militia commander who became a resistance leader. Based in the Miramichi River valley, he helped Acadians fleeing the British deportation operations escape to Quebec. After the fall of Beausejour, Monckton sent a naval squaldorn to evict him from the satellite fort at the mouth of the Saint John River. Knowing that he could not defend his position, Bosishebert destroyed the fort. When he received word that the British were planning an expedition to the Petitcodiac River, he hurried to Chipoudy, where he organized 120 Acadians, Maliseets and Mi'kmaq into a guerrilla fighting force.
During Bay of Fundy Campaign (1755), on August 28, Monckton sent Major Joseph Frye with an expedition of 200 provincial militia from Fort Cumberland in two armed sloops, with instructions to clear Acadians settlements on the Petitcodiac River. After setting the buildings on fire at Shepody, New Brunswick, they began moving up the river, torching settlements and taking prisoners along the way.
Read more about this topic: Battle Of Petitcodiac
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