FEBRUARY 10, 1747

MI’KMAQ & MALISEET HELP FRENCH CAPTURE GRAND PRE’ NOVA SCOTIA

During the North American front of the “War of Austrian Succession,” Grand Pré, Nova Scotia (NS), had been the staging ground for French & Mi’kmaq sieges of Annapolis Royal in 1744 & 1745. After another failed siege in 1746, Massachusetts Governor William Shirley, who then-administered NS, sent New England soldiers to secure Grand Pré. On January 21, 1747, the French, with Maliseet & Mi’kmaq allies, began a 21-day march on snowshoes. On February 10, amidst a blinding snowstorm, the French & Native allies launched a surprise wintertime attack on the New Englanders’ billets killing over 60 men in fierce close-range fighting and capturing the fort at Hortonville & 2 British sloops. The defenders fell back to a stone house. As the New Englanders could not fight their way out & French were unable to storm it, the New Englanders agreed to capitulate under honorable terms. The victory was short-lived. In March, the New Englanders returned and took possession of the stone house. 

Sources:
  “Acadia, Bk.1, Part 5; Ch. 3, Battle at Grand Pre (1747),” History of Nova Scotia.  Retrieved 7/12/2022, History of Nova Scotia; Acadia, Bk.1, Part 5; Ch. 3, Battle at Grand Pre (1747). (blupete.com)
Wikipedia
Art: Charles William Jeffreys (1869-1951), 1/2/1920. Battle of Grand Pre. Public Domain.