Colonel Benjamin Church's 1704 raid on French Acadian settlements was a major New England military operation during Queen Anne's War, targeting Grand-Pré and surrounding communities.
Key Facts
- Departure date
- 25 May 1704 from Boston
- Militia force size
- 500 provincial militia plus Indian allies
- Minas Basin arrival
- 24 June 1704
- Days spent at Grand-Pré
- 3 days
- Return to Boston
- Late July 1704
- Pretext for raid
- Retaliation for French-Indian raid on Deerfield
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Earlier in 1704, a French and Indian raid struck the Massachusetts frontier town of Deerfield. New England colonial authorities organized a retaliatory expedition under Colonel Benjamin Church, authorizing him to strike French Acadian settlements along the Atlantic coast during the broader conflict of Queen Anne's War.
Departing Boston on 25 May 1704, Church led 500 militia and Indian allies to raid settlements at Penobscot Bay, Passamaquoddy Bay, and the Minas Basin. At Grand-Pré, he spent three days destroying the town and attempting to flood the agricultural dikes with saltwater, before striking Beaubassin and other communities.
Although Church flooded the Acadian croplands with saltwater by breaching dikes, local Acadians repaired the dikes shortly after the raiders departed and restored the land to agricultural production. The raid caused temporary disruption but failed to permanently damage the Acadian settlements or meaningfully alter the strategic balance in the region.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Benjamin Church.
Side B
1 belligerent