A nine-day New England retaliatory raid on Acadia's Isthmus of Chignecto during King William's War, part of Colonel Benjamin Church's broader campaign against Acadian settlements.
Key Facts
- Duration
- Nine days (September 20–29, 1696)
- New England force size
- 400 men
- Commander
- Colonel Benjamin Church
- Conflict
- King William's War
- Provocation
- French and Indian Siege of Pemaquid (1696)
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
The raid was launched in direct retaliation for the French and Indian Siege of Pemaquid in 1696 at present-day Bristol, Maine, which was part of the English Province of Massachusetts Bay. New England colonial authorities sought to strike back at Acadian and allied communities in response to that French-supported attack.
Colonel Benjamin Church led approximately 400 New England troops from Boston against the Isthmus of Chignecto in Acadia, present-day Nova Scotia. The operation lasted nine days, from September 20 to 29, 1696, and was one element of a broader expedition Church conducted against multiple Acadian communities during King William's War.
The Chignecto raid formed part of Church's wider campaign of punitive strikes against Acadian settlements, contributing to the cycle of retaliatory violence between English colonial forces and French-allied communities that characterized King William's War in the northeastern maritime region.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Colonel Benjamin Church.
Side B
1 belligerent