St. John River campaign

Saint John River campaign
Part of the French and Indian War
Robert Monckton, British commander in the Saint John River campaign
Date November 1758 – February 1759 Location Saint John River, present-day New Brunswick Result British victory
Commanders and leaders
Robert Monckton George Scott Joseph Gorham Moses Hazen Benoni Danks Silvanus Cobb William Stark Jonathan Brewer John McCurdy †	Joseph Broussard (Beausoliel) Charles Deschamps de Boishébert et de Raffetot Joseph Godin dit Beauséjour Charles Germain[1]
Units involved
40th Regiment of Foot Gorham's Rangers Danks' Rangers Roger's Rangers[2]	Acadia militia Wabanaki Confederacy (Maliseet militia and Mi'kmaq militia)

The St. John River campaign occurred during the French and Indian War when Colonel Robert Monckton led a force of 1150 British soldiers to destroy the Acadian settlements along the banks of the Saint John River until they reached the largest village of Sainte-Anne des Pays-Bas (present day Fredericton, New Brunswick) in February 1759.^[3][4] Monckton was accompanied by Captain George Scott as well as New England Rangers led by Joseph Goreham, Captain Benoni Danks, as well as William Stark and Moses Hazen, both of Rogers' Rangers.^[2][3]

Under the naval command of Silvanus Cobb, the British started at the bottom of the river with raiding Kennebecasis and Managoueche (City of Saint John), where the British built Fort Frederick. Then they moved up the river and raided Grimross (Arcadia, New Brunswick), Jemseg, and finally they reached Sainte-Anne des Pays-Bas.

The Acadian militia was led by French officer Charles Deschamps de Boishébert et de Raffetot and Acadian Joseph Godin dit Bellefontaine. There were about 100 Acadian families on the Saint John River, with a large concentration at Ste Anne.^[5] Most of them had taken refuge there from earlier deportation operations, such as the Ile Saint-Jean campaign.^[6] There were also about 1000 Maliseet.^[7]

According to one historian, the level of Acadian suffering greatly increased in the late summer of 1758. Along with campaigns on Ile Saint-Jean, in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, at Cape Sable, and the Petitcodiac River campaign, the British targeted the Saint John River.^[8]