Newfoundland expedition (1702)
Newfoundland expedition | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Part of Queen Anne's War | |||||||
Extract of a 1744 map showing southeastern Newfoundland | |||||||
| |||||||
Belligerents | |||||||
England | France | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
John Leake |
Sébastien Le Gouès Philippe Costebelle | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
9 ships | Unknown number of French colonists and militia | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
none |
51 merchantmen captured several merchantmen destroyed |
The Newfoundland expedition was a naval raiding expedition led by English Captain John Leake between August and October 1702 that targeted French colonial settlements on the North Atlantic island of Newfoundland and its satellite, Saint Pierre. The expedition occurred in the early days of Queen Anne's War, as the North American theater of the War of the Spanish Succession is sometimes known.
Leake's fleet descended on French settlements on the southern shore of Newfoundland, destroying fishing stages and other infrastructure. They captured fishing and trade ships, and destroyed most of the settlement at Saint Pierre. In a final flurry of activity before returning to England, Leake captured several ships from the French merchant convoy as it headed for Europe. More than 50 ships were taken in total, and six seasonal settlements were destroyed. The strongly fortified French base at Plaisance was not attacked.
Background
Hostilities in the
Newfoundland had been the site of much conflict during
Permanent French settlements on Newfoundland were relatively few. Most of their settlements, such as those in
The French also had a small settlement on the island of
Raids
Newfoundland
Leake's fleet arrived in late August at Bay Bulls. From the inhabitants they learned that two French fishing ships were loading at Trepassey Bay, and that two French warships were at anchor near the French capital at Plaisance.[10] He also learned that the French routinely posted spies to observe activities at Bay Bulls, and were likely to report the fleet's presence to Plaisance—a three-day overland trek.[11]
Leake consequently moved with speed, heading south and west toward the French settlements. On 28 August the fleet made its first captures, taking a French ship recently arrived from the French West Indian isle of Martinique, the two at Trepassey Bay, and two more that Lichfield chased down. The next day Leake captured another French ship in St. Mary's Bay, and was rejoined by Montagu, which had taken three prizes the day before. Ordering Montagu, Lichfield, and Charles Galley to make for Colinet, Leake took the rest of the fleet to St. Mary's, where he chased a ship aground, and then sent out boats to refloat her.[11] Landing parties were sent ashore, where they destroyed fishing stages, houses, shipbuilding equipment and unfinished ships, and many small boats.[12]
After destroying the facilities at Colinet, the fleet regrouped on the 30th. Leake ordered a few of his ships to escort the captured prizes to St. John's, and then to cruise off Cape Race for 14 days looking for prizes. Leake detached Montagu and Lichfield to destroy St. Lawrence while he sailed for Saint Pierre.[12]
Saint Pierre
Leake's account places his first arrival off Saint Pierre on 1 September.[12] Bad weather prevented him from entering the harbour until the next day. He was therefore only able to capture two of the eight ships that had been in the harbour, because the rest got away through a shallow channel.[13] On the 3rd he again approached the harbour, but did not report landing, and left then Saint Pierre to head for St. John's.[14]
Leake's fleet reassembled at St. John's on 7 September. He then detached about half the fleet, led by the Medway and Charles Galley, to return to Saint Pierre to destroy it, while he took the other half north toward Bonavista. There he hoped to acquire experienced pilots with knowledge of other French harbours. Failing in this endeavour (none of the pilots he found had the needed experience, and also expressed concerns over the advancing winter conditions), he returned to St. John's.[15] He was met there on 2 October by the other half of the fleet, which had completed the destruction of Saint Pierre.[16]
Saint Pierre's Governor Sourdeval reported in a letter dated 11 October (presumably New Style, thus 30 September Old Style) that the English had twice landed men, on 7 and 8 October. He reported the second landing to consist of 400 men, who besieged him in his small fort. He surrendered after they exchanged gunfire for several hours, after which the English destroyed most of the facilities. They then deposited 52 French prisoners captured earlier in the expedition, and left.[9]
Cruising for the French convoy
Leake then divided the fleet to begin the return to Europe. Montagu and Looe were assigned to convoy merchants and prizes destined for Portugal, while Reserve, Charles Galley, and Firebrand were set to escort those destined for England. Leake took the rest of the fleet and cruised off Cape Race for several weeks, hoping to intercept the French convoy that would have to pass nearby before winter set it. Weather conditions were often quite stormy, but Leake managed to take eight prizes before he finally sailed for England in mid-October.[17]
Aftermath
Leake reported taking 51 ships. Sixteen were sent to England, six to Portugal, and five were sold at St. John's. He left two ships at St. John's as part of its defence force. The remaining ships, including their cargoes and trade goods that had not been loaded before they were taken, were destroyed. Six French settlements were destroyed: Trepassey, St. Mary's, Colinet, Great and Little St. Lawrence, and Saint Pierre.[18] Upon his return to England, Leake was received with favour by Queen Anne.[19] He was promoted to rear admiral for his actions,[10] and went on to have a distinguished career for the rest of the war, serving in European waters.[20]
Newfoundland continued to be contested throughout the war, with each side waging economic war against the other's settlements, destroying fishing stages and other infrastructure. The main English settlement at St. John's was
Notes
- ^ Campbell, pp. 280,347–348
- ^ Unless otherwise indicated, dates in this article are in the Julian calendar. French sources dealing with these events would record them in the Gregorian calendar.
- ^ Leake, p. 91
- ^ Leake, pp. 92–94
- ^ Cambell et al, p. 365
- ^ See timeline in Prowse, pp. 208–209
- ^ a b Prowse, p. 185
- ^ Salagnac, Georges Cerbelaud (1979) [1969]. "Pastour de Costebelle, Philippe". In Hayne, David (ed.). Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Vol. II (1701–1740) (online ed.). University of Toronto Press. Retrieved 18 February 2011.
- ^ a b Morandière, Charles, de la (1979) [1969]. "Le Gouès, Sieur de Sourdeval, Sébastien". In Hayne, David (ed.). Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Vol. II (1701–1740) (online ed.). University of Toronto Press. Retrieved 31 March 2010.
{{cite encyclopedia}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ a b Godfrey, Michael (1979) [1969]. "Leake, John". In Hayne, David (ed.). Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Vol. II (1701–1740) (online ed.). University of Toronto Press. Retrieved 31 March 2010.
- ^ a b Leake, p. 96
- ^ a b c Leake, p. 97
- ^ Leake, p. 98
- ^ Leake, p. 99
- ^ Leake, p. 100
- ^ Leake, p. 101
- ^ Leake, pp. 101–102
- ^ Leake, p. 103
- ^ Leake, p. 104
- ^ Leake, pp. 106–182
- ^ Prowse, pp. 246–250
- ^ Prowse, p. 258
- ^ Prowse, p. 313
References
- Campbell, John; Berkenhout, John; Yorke, Henry Redhead (1812). Lives of the British admirals: containing also a new and accurate naval history, from the earliest periods, Volume 3. London: C. J. Barrinton. OCLC 156196463.
- Leake, Stephen Martin; Callender, Geoffrey (1920). The Life of Sir John Leake, Rear-Admiral of Great Britain. London: Navy Records Society. OCLC 1866227.
- Prowse, Daniel Woodley (1895). A History of Newfoundland: From the English, Colonial, and Foreign Records. New York: Macmillan. p. 242. OCLC 287728152.