The French and Indian War, pt. 6: New France's Last Stand at Ile aux Noix
- Timothy Dusablon
- Sep 27
- 16 min read
The Endgame: 1760
As the calendar turned to 1760, the end of the French and Indian war seemed imminent. The British had captured Quebec, New France’s heavily fortified stronghold on the St. Lawrence River. They had also captured Fort Niagara on Lake Ontario, and in the Champlain Valley, had captured Fort Carillon and Fort St. Frederic from the French. The British controlled Lake Champlain, and Montreal was surrounded on all three sides.
For the British, confidence was at an all time high. The colonials benefited from the economic boost of the war effort, and joined in the sense of confidence that the war was nearing its end. Commander in Chief Jeffrey Amherst had a clear path for victory, a three pronged procession that would give the French no chance at escape, and finally bring this bloody conflict to a close. His road to complete victory was well within reach.
On the other side, things had never been so bleak for the French. The French crown had made the decision that the war efforts would focus on the European front of the worldwide conflict, known globally as the Seven Years War, and as such would give very little assistance to the French in North America. Louis-Antoine de Bougainville had travelled back to Paris in a desperate attempt to plead for more resources. The answer he received was largely a no. Only a handful of vessels were sent to North America with badly needed provisions and French regular troops. Of the five vessels, not a single one made it to Canada. They were intercepted by the British blockade, or never made it out of Europe.
For Amherst, his road to victory rested on General James Murray proceeding up the St. Lawrence River from Quebec to Montreal. To the west, Amherst himself would lead the most difficult of the three prongs of attack up the St. Lawrence, eventually to Montreal. And to the south, Colonel William Haviland, an Irish-born veteran of the Battle of Carillon in 1758, would lead the Champlain Valley army.
Haviland would lead 3,500 men north from Crown Point, the new British fortification started the year prior, and proceed north to Ile aux Noix. His route was considered to be the easiest of the three.
For the French, they had retreated from Lake Champlain the year prior in 1759, abandoning Fort Carillon and destroying Fort St. Frederic at Crown Point. They retreated back to Ile aux Noix, an island in the middle of the Richelieu River just 12 miles north of the outlet of Lake Champlain
Fortifications at Ile aux Noix
Ile aux Noix has an incredible history - one that is almost unmatched in the Champlain Valley. As late as the early 1940’s, the island was impacted by war. Ile aux Noix was used as an internment facility for Jewish refugees from Britain during World War II. However, those refugees were forcefully removed from Britain, and were treated as enemy aliens until 1941, when they were properly treated as refugees.
After the War of 1812, the British constructed Fort Lennox on the island, which is a historic site operated by Parks Canada. This was the counter to Fort Montgomery built by the Americans at Rouses Point, and was garrisoned until 1870. Interesting side note: the stone used to construct Fort Lennox was purchased from the Fisk Quarry on Isle la Motte in Vermont. That's right, the stone used to build a fort to protect against the Americans purchased stone from an American quarry! During the War of 1812, Ile aux Noix was used as a naval base for the British, where most of the Lake Champlain fleet that surrendered to the American navy during the Battle of Plattsburgh, was constructed.
During the American Revolutionary War, Ile aux Noix was used as an American base of operations for the invasion of Canada in 1775 led by Richard Montgomery. During the retreat from Canada in 1776, the American forces had some of the darkest days of the Revolutionary War on the island. The retreating Americans were not only dealing with the pursuing British, they were also fighting smallpox. By some estimates, almost 900 American patriots are buried in unmarked graves on the island, most casualties of smallpox. For as much as Valley Forge is an example of the tenuous times for American forces, I would make the argument that what the retreating colonial army dealt with at Ile aux Noix surpasses Valley Forge. And of course, back to the French and Indian War, the French would fortify the island as their last significant line of defense against the British.
The island got its name, which translates to Island of Nuts, because the first French settler of the island had to pay rent to his seigneur of a bag of hazelnuts, found in abundance at the time on the island every year.
Work began on the fortification under Francois Charles de Bourlamaque and Francois Fournier, with the engineer of Fort Carillon, Michel Chartier de Lotbiniere, assisting the following year in 1760. The French fortification on Ile aux Noix consisted of two walls, zig zagged in an irregular shape at the south end of the island. The island is just north of a curve in the Richelieu River, giving the French an advantage. In addition, two rivers converge in the Richelieu River to the west of the island, the Ruisseau Goyette and the Rivière du Sud. The Riviere du Sud was considered both a strength and a weakness, as a British force could potentially land in Missisquoi Bay, and with a small portage, approach Ile aux Noix from the river.
In addition to the fort at the southern end and the redoubts at the northern end of the island, two log booms were built in the east and west channel of the Richelieu River. These booms were constructed of logs and iron chains that ran from the island to the shore and prevented naval vessels from bypassing the island. In addition, both the east and west shore opposite the island were wetlands, making the construction of opposing batteries very difficult.
The Battle of Point au Fer
Back on Lake Champlain, Colonel William Haviland waited patiently for instructions from Amherst to proceed north and engage with the French at Ile aux Noix. But rather than waiting idly, Haviland and his men set about repairing Fort Ticonderoga and Finishing the new massive fort, His Majesty’s Fort at Crown Point. This was the largest British fortification ever constructed in North America.
In addition, Haviland sent none other than Rogers Rangers north to harass the French and make their forces uncomfortable. Robert Rogers and 250 men proceeded north on Lake Champlain aboard the HMS Duke of Cumberland, in addition to the two captured French naval vessels from Lake Champlain, the HMS Brochette and the HMS Muskelongy. They sailed north into Missisquoi Bay where a group of 50 men under Lieutenant Roger Holmes would attack the Abenaki settlement known as Wigwam Martinique on the Yamaska River.
The fleet then proceeded to Isle la Motte, where Rogers and his force boarded whaleboats to Kings Bay, adjacent to Point au Fer. Not long after Rogers landed, he was told that a force of 350 French and First Nations Warriors were marching south to engage with Rogers. He took an advantageous position on Point au Fer to ambush the enemy. As soon as the time was right, Rogers and his rangers unleashed their ambush. A fierce fight ensued, which would be known as the Battle of Point au Fer. The fighting was so fierce and close, that some natives took to throwing rocks when their ammo ran out. Some of Rogers men outflanked the French force, while Rogers led another charge forward. The French and the natives had to retreat through the thick swamp just to the west of Point au Fer. This was the biggest battle in the Champlain Valley since 1758 and the Battle of Carillon. Rogers and his Rangers had won the day. Roger’s force had suffered 27 casualties, while the French and Native force suffered 51, for a total of 78 casualties.
After the battle, Rogers retreated back to Isle la Motte to bury the dead and plan the next move. With 220 men, Robert Rogers skirted around Ile aux Noix to prepare for an attack on Fort St. Therese. When the gate to the fort was opened for a hay wagon, Rogers and his men stormed in, and captured the fortification without a shot being fired. They proceeded to burn the fort, destroy a small French flotilla near the island, and kill all of the horses. They retreated back through the east side of the Richelieu with 800 French and natives in pursuit, and made it back to Windmill Point in Alburgh, where they boarded the Duke of Cumberland. The force under Holmes that was supposed to attack the Abenaki at Wigwam Martinique never made it there.
The Final Move North
Meanwhile back at Crown Point, the British force waited patiently for the queue to proceed north, which Haviland had not yet received from Amherst. The delay was in large part due to the logistical strain on the supply base of Albany for both the Lake Champlain expedition, in addition to Amherst’s force at Oswego. The men at Crown Point passed the time by swimming, drinking, and with boat races with the colonials taking on the British regulars. All were effective in combating the brutal July heat. On the sixth of July, the priest at Crown Point cancelled his sermon and instead decided to drink wine in the shade next to a shed.
Finally, Haviland received his orders from Amherst to depart Crown Point on August 10th as part of his coordinated approach on Montreal. Before departing, the rallying cry of “Remember Fort William Henry” was heard throughout the camp. The force departed on August 11th, sailing north on Lake Champlain. Of the 3,500 men, 1,600 were British Regulars. Included in this was Forbes 17th Regiment of Foot, and included Richard Montgomery, the aforementioned future American General responsible for the invasion of Quebec via the same route during the Revolutionary War.
The radeau Ligioner led the flotilla of 380 boats, but contrary winds and torrential rain storms hindered their approach. After leaving Crown Point, they made it just a few miles north on the lake to present-day Potash Bay. The following day on August 12th, again battling contrary winds, they made it only to Buttonmould Bay, or Button Bay as it is known today, near present-day Ferrisburgh Vermont. The next day was no better, and battling a horrible storm, they took cover in Ligonier Bay and Schuyler Island. On August 13th, they finally had a south wind which propelled the fleet all the way to Isle la Motte. At Isle la Motte, the force prepared for an engagement the next day by cleaning their weapons and preparing their supplies.
The next day, the flotilla moved north into the Richelieu River, where the French naval vessels the Vigilante and Grand Diable engaged the British, but eventually drew back. The army landed on the east shore, about a mile and a half south of Ile aux Noix and began the construction of breastworks on the east side of the island.
Leading the French forces on Ile aux Noix was none other than Louis-Antoine de Bougainville, Montcalm’s Aide de Camp during the siege of Fort William Henry, who had departed for Montreal before the subsequent “massacre”. He was also present at the Battle of Carillon in 1758, and was near Quebec during the siege in 1759, but was ultimately too late to help Montcalm, who lost his life in the battle.
Bougainville was an incredibly brilliant man, and even at his young age was by many regards a very capable military leader. He had the artillery, but was very low on ammunition. In addition, his forces, totaling 1650 men, had little experience firing a cannon. The force was only half of what the fortification was designed to defend with. It was clear that the French force at Ile aux Noix was meant to delay, not defeat, the British.
The Siege of Ile aux Noix
The British continued to build batteries on the southeast shore, and built a bridge over the Ruisseau Goyette to begin construction on northern batteries. The log booms made it impossible for the British naval vessels to take a position north of the island. As they were building the batteries, the modest French cannon fire routinely missed well over their heads, mostly destroying the tops of trees.
On the morning of the 17th, one of the British radeaus neared the fortification after a lack of gunfire and thinking that the island had been abandoned. The French very cleverly remained silent until the radeau came well within firing range. The French then opened up, injuring several men on board. The injured men were taken to an island just south on the Richelieu River. The island to this day is known as Hospital Island.
Finally on August 23, the British batteries opened fire, as did the Duke of Cumberland ship. Then, Robert Rogers and Lieutenant Danby set about leading a force to destroy the French naval fleet. The Grand Diable’s commander had his head shot off from a shoreline cannon, and shortly after the rest of the crew surrendered. The rest of the French fleet, in a desperate attempt to escape, weighed anchor, but eventually ran aground near the outlet of the Riviere du Sud. The French fleet was gone, and the siege had turned undeniably in favor of the British thanks to Robert Rogers and his men. The destruction of the fleet was the beginning of the end for Bougainville’s men.
On August 26th, the northern British batteries opened up, exposing the French batteries on the northern end of Ile aux Noix. The following day on the 27th, the French fired with more ferocity than they had up to that point. This was done under orders from Bougainville.
Bougainville had received two letters. One from Governor Vaudreuil, the other from the Commander of French Forces, the Chevalier de Levis. The letter from Vaudreuil told Bougainville to evacuate or surrender when he thought it appropriate. However, the letter from Levis told him to defend Ile aux Noix to the last extremity. Bougainville was torn, but the brilliant man who had already written a two volume book on calculus before the war reasoned that the force was needed for the defense of Montreal, and that if they were captured, they would be useless.
On the 27th, when the French force opened up a barrage of cannon, the French began their evacuation of the island under nightfall. Bougainville left a force of 40 men under Officer La Borgne to continue firing to cover the evacuation, and to keep watch over the sick and wounded. Early in the morning, over a dozen French deserters had approached Haviland’s camp and informed them of the retreat. During daybreak, Le Borgne raised the flag of surrender. Thus ended the last substantial defense for New France before her demise. Yes, there were smaller skirmishes at Fort Chambly (more on that in a bit) and outside of Montreal, but this was the last significant defense made before the surrender of Montreal. And it was here in the Champlain Valley.
In what was a recurring theme of British Regulars getting preferential treatment, the colonials were not allowed to enter the fortifications, only the British Regulars. This despite the fact that it was the provincial troops who bore the brunt of the work, were fatigued, and were exposed to danger far more than the regulars. The provincial troops were relegated to loading the artillery back onto the boats for a siege at St. Jean. This animosity was a trend throughout the entire conflict, with British regulars automatically outranking any colonial soldier, even if they were a regimental leader.
The American colonials were relegated to grunt work, cutting roads, building bridges and fortifications, while the regulars from overseas received the more glorious tasks. Little did they know it, but they were training their future enemy. All of this “grunt work” gave the Americans valuable experience in building roads and fortifications. In fact, many British Generals commented during the Revolutionary War regarding the skill and quickness of the colonials in their ability to build roads and earthworks.
Later in the day, just after the surrender of Ile aux Noix, the British cut away the log boom and were able to maneuver their fleet north along the Richelieu. Haviland’s force continued northwards, finding Fort St. Jean burnt to the ground. Meanwhile, Robert Rogers and his men moved ahead of the force and were administering the Oath of Allegiance of the Canadians to the King of England.
The force was under strict orders not to harass the Canadian populace under any circumstances, under penalty of death. Any goods procured had to be exchanged with hard money, as the locals were weary of paper money from the French government which had depreciated to almost no value in Canada. There was a lot of pent up anger, especially amongst the New Englanders who had endured a century of Canadian and Native raids, and were fervently anti-Catholic. But Amherst, Murray, and Haviland gave strict orders that the populace of Canada were now the King’s subjects, and as such the rights of his subjects were applicable. This was done before the term counter-insurgency was created, but that is exactly what it was, and it worked with abundant success. In fact, some of the local populace helped the British forces bring their artillery to Montreal in a rather surprising turn of events.
Haviland’s force then moved north to Fort Chambly. Fort Chambly was a wooden fort built at the same time as Fort St. Anne on Isle la Motte in the 1660’s. It was eventually turned into a stone fort in the early 1700’s during Queen Anne’s War. As Haviland’s force approached the fort, a rather amusing ceremonial encounter took place.
A prisoner stated to Haviland that the commander of Fort Chambly would not surrender without a shot being fired. This despite the horrible condition the fort was in, and his force being only 60 men.
Haviland knew exactly what that meant, and brought two cannon forward. Each cannon fired two volleys at the fort. Once the volleys were fired, the flag of surrender was raised. The commander of Fort Chambly was able to say he didn’t surrender his fort without a shot being fired to his superiors. It was truly a ceremonial engagement.
The Surrender of Montreal
Just as had been planned, Amherst, Murray, and Haviland arrived in Montreal almost in perfect harmony. Amherst’s execution was brilliant. On September 6th, Louis Antoine de Bougainville approached Amherst under a flag of truce, as previously mentioned in part three of the French and Indian War series. The irony being that it was Bougainville who had approached Monro at Fort William Henry three years earlier under a flag of truce to suggest he surrender.
Bougainville asked for a truce until the French military commanders heard back from the French crown. Amherst denied, giving them until noon to accept his capitulation agreement. This agreement denied the French the “Honors of War”, with Amherst specifically citing the Fort William Henry Massacre as his reasoning for this decision. In protest, the French regimental flags were burned, rather than be given up to Amherst.
Meanwhile, inside the walls of Montreal, the French leadership knew their time was up. There was less then 3,000 men to defend Montreal, whose walls were built to withstand Native raids, not a heavy artillery bombardment. The Chevalier de Levis was so upset about being denied the honors of war that he proposed what was essentially a suicide mission, by retreating to Ile Perrot and making one last stand there. However, Governor Vaudreuil would have none of it. There was no further reason for bloodshed. It was over.
Vaudreuil signed the capitulation agreement, and thus essentially brought an end to the French and Indian War in North America, although it would not be finalized until 1763. Just like that, New France was no more, and Canada was in the hands of the British. Celebrations on both sides of the Atlantic took place. Aboard a British vessel, the French military commanders were escorted back to France. This included Louis Antoine de Bougainville. However, Bougainville would get his revenge against the British, fighting alongside the Americans during the Battle of Yorktown, as a naval commander. Bougainville played a crucial role for the French Navy, which secured American victory. The Battle of Yorktown was the major American victory which brought an end to the Revolutionary War.
Back in Montreal, Amherst had agreed to some pretty astounding concessions for the French populous that remained in Canada. They did have the option of going back to France, which a few did. Those who stayed would be allowed to continue to speak French. In addition, they were able to continue practicing the Catholic faith despite the Protestant English taking control of Canada. Land owners also were able to keep their land under a modified seigneurial system. This was a stroke of genius for Amherst, and largely kept the Canadians from wanting to join the Americans during the Revolutionary War.
The Calm Before the Storm: Peace in the Champlain Valley
Back in the Champlain Valley, the men returned to Ile Aux Noix to a horrific scene of smallpox. This horrific scene would play itself out again in 1776 during the American retreat from Canada. Amherst himself came back to Lake Champlain. He decided not to fortify Ile aux Noix, but rather take the cannon from the island and transport them to the mega-fort at Crown Point. Work continued at Fort Ticonderoga and Crown Point until the formal peace agreement was signed in 1763. The French gave up all North American landholdings east of the Mississippi River, save for two small islands off of Newfoundland for a fishing fleet. These two islands are St. Pierre and Miquelon, which to this day are still official French territories that use the Euro and whose populace are considered French citizens.
After the peace agreement, the Lake Champlain forts fell into disrepair. Fort Ticonderoga was rather dilapidated. Worse yet, in 1773 there was a chimney fire which led to a large explosion at Crown Point that all but leveled the woodwork of the fort. The explosion could be felt all the way at Ticonderoga. The fort was all but unusable after the fire to the chagrin of the British leadership in North America.
Thomas Gage, the Commander and Chief in North America, finally ordered the 7th Regiment of Foot to commence badly needed repairs to Fort Ticonderoga and Crown Point. But before they were scheduled to begin, the two forts were taken over by a group of rebel forces under the leadership of Ethan Allen, Benedict Arnold, and Seth Warner. The year was 1775, and the American Revolution had begun.
This is Part 6 of a six part series on the French and Indian War. Click here for Part 5.
Sources:
Anderson, Fred. “Crucible of War: The Seven Years War and the Fate of Empire in British North America, 1754-1766”
Bellico, Russell P. “Empires in the Mountains: French and Indian War Campaigns and Forts in the Lake Champlain, Lake George, and Hudson River Corridor”
Charbonneau, André. “The Fortifications of Île Aux Noix”
Cohen, Eliot A. “Conquered Into Liberty: Two Centuries of Battles Along the Great Warpath That Made the American Way of War”
Cubbison, Douglas R. “All Canada in the Hands of the British: General Jeffrey Amherst and the 1760 Campaign to Conquer New France”
Eccles, W.J. “The French in North America 1500-1783”
Everest, Allan S. “Point au Fer on Lake Champlain”
Millard, James P. “Lake Passages: A Journey Through the Centuries Volume I 1609-1909”
