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Researching the
Fortress of Louisbourg National Historic Site of Canada
Recherche sur la Forteresse-de-Louisbourg Lieu historique national du Canada
Extracts of Matters of Historical Interest from "The Huissier, News For and About the Fortress of Louisbourg Heritage Presentation Staff" By The Fortress of Louisbourg Heritage Presentation Staff
THE HUISSIER
(July 7, 2003)
The Capture of le Cantabre
By Sandy Balcom, Historian
On the morning of
July 4, 1744, Joannis d'Olobaratz, commanding the Louisbourg privateer, Le
Cantabre, was cruising 15 leagues off Cape Cod. He had sailed three weeks
earlier in consort with le César commanded by Philippe Leneuf de Beaubassin.
Weather had separated the two, but now d'Olobaratz spotted a snow "laying
too" in the calm winds and guessed it to be a British merchantman.
Confident in his 94-man crew, 8 carriage guns and 8 swivels, d'Olobaratz
approached under English colours. He then raised French colours and fired to
demand the vessel's surrender. The supposed merchantman was actually the Prince
of Orange, a Massachusetts coast guard, armed with 20 carriage guns and a
150-man crew. It responded by hoisting English colours and firing a broadside
that raked the French vessel. D'Olobaratz had his sloop tack about, had its oars
run out and rowed off in the light winds. Captain Edward Tyng of the Prince of
Orange quickly followed suit and a wearisome chase ensued into the early morning
hours. Tyng felt his pursuit was aided by four lanterns the French left lit in
the rigging, but these may well have been a signal for assistance intended for
Le Cantabre's consort. In an attempt to gain the upper hand, d'Olobaratz finally
turned and tried to board the Massachusetts vessel. As the vessels closed, the
French crew avoided a New England broadside and small arms volley by sheltering
below, but a shot seriously damaged the sloop's mast. Unable to now flee or
fight effectively, d'Olobaratz had to take his long boat to the Prince of Orange
to surrender his sword and commission.
Tyng kept d'Olobaratz and his officers on board the Massachusetts snow, and took
the now dismasted sloop under tow. Although the Prince of Orange was a
provincial coast guard, prize money was still a consideration. The vessels'
arrival in Boston that same day (July 5) created a sensation, as this was the
first French privateer taken off of the New England coast. Tyng received the
gratitude of the town and a silver cup weighing one hundred ounces, while his
crew received a bonus of £267 amounting to £3 each. A newspaper noted " 'Tis
remarkable that notwithstanding the ... great Number of Men on either side ...
there was not one kill'd or wounded,". This proved a premature observance,
as a later report noted four French had been killed and buried at sea prior to
the surrender. Another Boston paper remarked that d'Olobaratz was "a
Gentleman well known in Town, and has a Son at School about six miles off."
As d'Olobaratz had "been kind and serviceable to the English on many
occasions at Louisbourg," the paper happily reported that he was now being
"civilly treated himself." He and his men spent the summer and early
fall in Boston as prisoners awaiting exchange, with some working as farm
labourers. A less happy fate awaited four Irish soldiers from the British
garrison at Canso, who had been recruited into the privateer's crew, while
prisoner in Louisbourg. Recognized by sailors on the Massachusetts snow, they
were sent to their regimental headquarters at Annapolis Royal, where three were
subsequently sentenced to death.