Canadian Historic Sites: Occasional Papers in Archaeology and History No. 18

A Campaign of Amateurs: The Siege of Louisbourg, 1745

by Raymond F Baker

Preface

The following study of the 1745 siege of Louisbourg involved three months' research among the archival holdings of the Fortress of Louisbourg.¹ It is not a comprehensive study, as time would not permit detailed examination of many phases of the siege deserving further investigation. The following are those phases which I feel are of particular significance, with the thought that subsequent research might be undertaken upon them: the New England vessels participating in the expedition; the provisions used by and the method of provisioning the New England forces during the siege; the relations between Warren and Pepperrell during the siege, as well as the nature and extent of army-navy co-operation; the state of the Louisbourg defences (both fortifications and armaments) prior to the siege; the extent of the disaffection of the Louisbourg garrison prior to the siege, and the influence the disaffection might have had on the final outcome and the provincial scouting parties sent out during the siege, with particular reference to the purposes intended, the results achieved, and the effect the scouting parties might have had on the final outcome of the campaign.