H H 51: Research Report [Public Archives of Canada]

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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

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Research Report
[Public Archives of Canada]

[Selections from the Report]

H H 51

By

Julian Gwyn

June, 1963 [July 4, 1963]

Fortress of Louisbourg

[Editor's Note]
The following is an extraction of interesting comments from the Report

[Editor's Note]
[To ascertain which repository yielded Louisbourg material for the Fortress of Louisbourg Collection, please check the following databases:

Manuscripts - ALL FORTRESS HOLDINGS / INVENTAIRE GENERAL (General Inventory and Location of all Research Holdings at the Fortress / Inventaire général et locations de tous les fonds à la Forteresse


Published Monographs - MONOGRAPHS HOLDINGS / MONOGRAPHIES (Books, and Articles, in a Printed or Microform Format / Livres et articles)


Published Serials - SERIALS HOLDINGS / JOURNAUX, REVUES ET PERIODIQUES (Serials and Periodicals, in a Printed or Microform Format)


Maps - HISTORICAL MAPS AND PLANS COLLECTION / CARTES ET PLANS HISTORIQUES (Description and Analysis of the Louisbourg and Isle Royale Map and Plan Collection / Descriptions de la Collection des plans et cartes de Louisbourg et d'Ile Royale)

Louisbourg Reconstruction; June, 1963

Introduction

Nothing vital has come to light concerning the fortifications of Louisbourg, which was not already known.

A great deal of information (over 3,000 items) shedding light on the historical background of British interest in Cape Breton has been identified and is presently being analyzed. Between 1713 and 1768 no year went by without the frequent mention of Louisbourg in the colonial correspondence; and for a few months in 1758 at least Louisbourg became a household word for Englishmen. These frequent references dealt with a wide variety of subjects, chief among which were:

a. pre-1713 discussion of the dangers of allowing the French possession of Cape Breton;

b. proposed re-settlement of the Acadians on Isle Royale;

the alleged religious influence exercised by the clergy of Isle Royale over the Acadians;

d. the clandestine trade with Isle Royale conducted both by the Acadians and the New Englanders;

e. Anglo-French fishing disputes especially off Canso;

f. boundary negotiations;

g. the mineral value of Cape Breton after its capture by the British in 1758;

h. the granting of tracts of land in Cape Breton to various memorialists after 1763;

i. the withdrawal of the British garrison in 1768.

Much of the information collected deals with two brief periods, both concerned with the sieges of Louisbourg, 1744-1749, 1757-1763. Here the chief incidents discussed in the documents were:

a. threat to Nova Scotia as a result of the French attack in 1744;

b. preparations for an expedition against Louisbourg, 1744-45.

Completed Documentary Collections:

Documents from the following collections held by the Public Archives of Canada have been consulted:

a. Manuscript Group 11;
b. Manuscript Group 18;
c. Manuscript Group 21,.
d. Manuscript Group 23;
e. War Office Papers.

The sign (*) indicates that a research report for the particular collection has been prepared. Only for those collections which yielded more than fifty item was a report written.

1. Manuscript Group 11:

CO 5 * vols. 4, 10, 13-20, 83-6, 112, 114, 161-66,189-90, 192, 194-203, 211-15, 243-46, 886, 898-901, 898-901, 1066-67.
CO 42 vols. 1-7, 13-4, 23-8.
CO 43 vol. 1
CO 194 vols. 5-16, 21, 23-6.
CO 217* vols. 1-25. 30-4, 38-40, 43-6, 103.
CO 218* vols. 1-6.
CO 219 vol. 37
CO 221 vols. 28-31, 36-7.
CO 226 vol. 1.
CO 323 vols. 7-23.
CO 390 vol. 6.
Nova Scotia A * vols. 1-84.
Nova Scotia B * vols. 1-17.
Nova Scotia C vols. 1-7.
Nova Scotia D vols. 1-8.
Supplementary 1 #6-79 18-9.
Supplementary II #12-3.

B. Manuscript 18:

F 8 Macarene Papers.
F 9 Letters from Nova Scotia 1745-51.
F 10 Charles Morris Papers.
F 12* Pichon Papers.
F 13 Lawrence Papers.
F 14 Sieur do la Rochette Papers.
F 19 Nova Scotia Settlement Accounts: 1749-56.
F 20 Chalmers Collection.
L 1 Colville Papers.
L 4* Amherst Paper packets. 1-13, 15, 17, 19-34, 36-44, 56-60, 64-7.
L 5 Wolfe Papers.
M 1* Monckton Papers. Items / 1-43, 56, 81, 88.
M 3 Separate Items: /3, 23, 24.
M 10 Louisbourg Expedition, 1745.
N 15 Campaigns, 1745-60.
N 16 Capture of Louisbourg, 1757-58.
N 21* Williamson Papers.
N 22 Demolition of Louisbourg
N 28 Short History of Louisbourg: 1750-60.
N 29 Louisbourg: 1745-4.
N 32 Pepperell Papers.
N 40 Clough Papers.
N 41 Gordon Papers.

C. Manuscript Group 21:

E 3 Warren Papers.
H 9 Anson Papers.
H 14 Perry Papers.
H 17 Report on Stores and Expenditures
1 8 Dayrolles Papers.
1 10 Bedford Papers.

D. Manuscript Group 23:

A I Dartmouth Papers Series I, vols. 1-13; Series III, vols.1-5.
A 2* Chatham Papers. vols. 1-11
A 3 Sydney Papers.
A 5 Barrington Papers.
1 1 Emmet Collection. #7765,8682.
1 3 Customs Papers, 1759-62.
K 1 Fraser Papers. vol. 1.
K 6 Records of Individual Service (John Knox)
M 1 Graves Papers.

E. War Office Papers:

WO 34* Amherst Papers vols. 1-34, 42-46b, 57-102, 197-201, 261.

P.A.C. Collections yet to be consulted:

...

Collections to be consulted (outside Canada)

...

A. Abercrombie Papers:

The P.A.C. posses only an inadequate 40-page calendar for the collection which is in the Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

According to the National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collections: 1959-1961 (p. 481, MS 61-1439), the Abercrombie Papers consist of about 1,000 items, chiefly for 1758. One of the nine sections into which the collection has been divided is entitled, "Louisbourg and Canada".

B. Loudoun Papers:

It seem clear from a study of Pargellis' Lord Loudoun in North America that the Loudoun Papers also in the possession of the Huntington Library should be studied.

According to the National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collections: 1959-1961 (p. 481, NS 61-1433) there are more than 8,000 separate items in the collection. Only a part of these would be of interest for the collection contains papers relating to every period of his life.

...

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