A casualty of the 1696 French attack on Ferryland, Newfoundland

North Atlantic Archaeology Vol. 3, 2014 A CAsuAlty of the 1696 frenCh AttACk on ferrylAnd, newfoundlAnd Eric Tourigny and Barry C. Gaulton I n 1689, King Louis XIV’s Nine Year’s War escalated with his declaration of war against Britain. Although the majority of the warfare remained on the European continent, rising tensions extended to British and French colonies in North America. After decades of relatively peaceful co-existence, conlicts emerged between French and British settlements sharing space and ishing territory on Newfoundland’s Avalon Peninsula (Pope 2004). The following article focuses on the tensions, as evidenced in the archaeological record, between two of these settlements: Ferryland and Plaisance (modern-day Placentia) (Figure 1). The former is located on the peninsula’s east coast and represents the fourth permanent English settlement in Newfoundland. It was founded in 1621 by Sir George Calvert, then the Secretary of State for King James I and later the irst Lord Baltimore. In 1637, Ferryland came under the management of the merchant-gentleman, Sir David Kirke where it prospered as a ishing station and played an important role in transAtlantic commercial trade (Gaulton and Tuck 2003; Pope 2004). The French colony of Plaisance, located on the western coast of the Avalon, was irst settled in 1662 by a small group of settlers and soldiers. It soon became the centre of the oficial French colony in Newfoundland and the largest concentration of French Figure 1. The Avalon Peninsula of Newfoundland. 119 North Atlantic Archaeology Vol. 3, 2014 settlers on the island throughout the seventeenth century (Proulx 1979; Crompton 2012). One of the irst signiicant conlicts occurred on February 25th, 1690, when Plaisance was attacked by an English party of privateers, mostly composed of Ferryland residents. Arriving by sea, the English took the community by force, killing at least two soldiers and imprisoning members of the community inside the local church for approximately six weeks as they looted and ransacked the town (Costebelle 1690 in Crompton 2012; Proulx 1979). This was only the beginning of harassments by the English toward the French. One year later, a failed English raid resulted in the transfer of a written message to the residents of Plaisance: “in tyme, I will establish m[y]self heare. I will come soone to see you with great companie & you will pay the fault” (Anon., August 1691 in Crompton 2012). Following up on their promise, a larger English contingent attacked on September 14th, 1692 but was unsuccessful in inlicting much damage. Nearly a year later, in August of 1693, the English tried again but were forced to retreat after discovering the harbour was very well defended by the French (Crompton 2012). These attacks would not be forgotten. Ferryland itself was dificult to access by land and located in a defensible harbour, whose only entrance was through a narrow passage well protected by cannon. The French tried to retaliate in 1694, but their efforts were unsuccessful as the English community managed to stay the attack. However, two years later, the English would be on the receiving end of a coordinated effort by the French to disrupt isheries all along the Avalon Peninsula’s English Shore, from Conception to Trinity Bays, including St. John’s, Bay Bulls and, of course, Ferryland (Pritchard 1999; Williams 1987). Based in Plaisance, the French commander, Pierre Le Moyne D’Iberville, was responsible for coordinating the events. He would lead forces from his community, on foot, across the Avalon Peninsula, towards Ferryland while at the same time, Jacques-François de Monbeton de Brouillan, Governor of Plaisance, set sail from his post with nine French warships and over 700 men to attack the English Shore (Williams 1987). The naval forces arrived in Ferryland on September 21st, 1696 and lay siege to the community. Amidst the canon ire, the surprise, and the panic, residents barely had enough time to stash away their most valuable belongings let alone mount a successful defence strategy. After only a brief battle, Ferryland’s settlers surrendered and the French took possession of the community. After capitulation, Ferryland’s residents stood by helplessly and watched as the “enemy […] burnt all our houses, household goods, ish, oil, train vats, stages, boats, nets and all our ishing craft […]” (Clappe 1697 in Pope 1993). 120 North Atlantic Archaeology Vol. 3, 2014 All residents were taken prisoner and most of them sent to the English West Country. Certain unlucky individuals were held by the French in the hopes of fetching a high ransom. These include Sir David Kirke’s three surviving sons; George, Phillip and David, who were taken back to Plaisance. Unfortunately, the following winter proved to be cold and unforgiving. Two of the brothers passed away during captivity while the third passed away shortly after his release in St. John’s (Gaulton 2013; Pope 2004). Many of those forced to winter in England eventually returned to Ferryland the following spring where they would rebuild their community. However, most residents resettled in a slightly different location within the harbour. ArChAeologiCAl exCAvAtions Although Ferryland re-established itself and kept the same name, it continued as a small ishing community and never again achieved the political and economic importance it once held on the island. The exact location of the seventeenth-century settlement was lost until survey excavations held by Memorial University of Newfoundland in the 1980s relocated its remains. Funding was then granted in 1991, allowing archaeologists under the direction of Dr James A. Tuck to undertake excavations on a larger scale. These excavations have been ongoing since 1992 and a variety of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century structures have been fully excavated revealing a small community built very much like an English port town. There is a stone quay next to waterfront buildings along the inner harbour and a row of tenements, dwellings and outbuildings are located on the south side and connected by a cobblestone street (Gaulton 2006; Gaulton and Tuck 2003; Tuck and Gaulton 2012). Over a million artefacts have thus far been recovered, some of which are associated with George Calvert and the irst settlers, others with David Kirke and his family, and some to that day in 1696 when it all came to an end. A complex of structures known as the Mansion House was centrally located within the seventeenth-century community and must have had a prominent presence in the landscape of the time. Archaeological and documentary evidence suggest that these were built around 1625 by Captain Edward Wynne with the purpose of housing Ferryland’s sponsor, George Calvert, upon his arrival. The complex later housed Sir David Kirke, the irst Governor of Newfoundland, and other prominent citizens throughout the seventeenth century. At the time of the attack, it is likely that one of Kirke’s sons inhabited the building. The main structure was two storeys tall and built with stone walls that were two and a half feet thick. It had a wooden loor, a slate roof, a large ireplace, glazed windows and plastered walls. The main structure led to a private courtyard used to access a service wing composed of a two storey cellar/buttery structure and a kitchen building. The cellar/buttery likely 121 North Atlantic Archaeology Vol. 3, 2014 served as a storage area where casks or ‘butts’ illed with food and drink were kept. It also contained a wood cellar that was excavated to a depth of over 2 m (Tuck and Gaulton 2012). The Mansion House was uncovered by archaeologists in the summer of 2005 and its archaeology revealed what happened on that fateful day in 1696. A layer of destruction capped most of the seventeenth-century community including the Mansion House, as evidenced by the rubble from collapsed stone walls, burnt loors and layers of charcoal. An impact crater was uncovered in the centre of the cobblestone courtyard, at the bottom of which was an iron bar shot, evidence of cannon ire used by the French. It appears at least one of the Mansion House’s occupants had the time to stash away their valuables as a cache of seven silver coins and two inger rings was recovered hidden within a ireplace (Gaulton 2013: 284). The cellar/buttery was also burned and destroyed during the attack. Recovered amidst the rubble representing the upper loor’s collapse was the skeleton of a fully grown, adult dog. The majority of its bones were recovered in a well preserved state (Figure 2). A few of its phalanges as well as some caudal vertebrae remain Figure 2. Excavation of a dog from the cellar/buttery rubble. 122 North Atlantic Archaeology Vol. 3, 2014 missing. A baculum was never recovered suggesting that it may be a female. All of its epiphyseal plates were fully fused throughout the body with no evidence of epiphyseal lines, indicating that it was a fully mature adult. The dog was approximately the size of a fully grown Labrador retriever, although metrics have not yet been undertaken to suggest any kind of breed. Most interestingly, a bullet wound was found through its upper right tibia along with fragments of embedded lead shot surrounding the entry wound (Figure 3). Figure 3. Bullet wound in the upper left tibia of a dog. Note the two pieces of lead shot embedded above the entrance wound. It appears that, amidst the chaos of that September’s day, this four-legged Ferryland resident was shot in the leg, either intentionally or by hazard. After it was shot, it must have limped to what it thought would be a safe location, in this case the upper loor of the cellar/buttery, where it might have tried to nurse its wounds. Losing its strength, the dog may have succumbed to its injuries and later have the building collapse with it inside or perhaps the building collapsed with little warning, giving the dog no chance to escape. Either way, this dog represents the only known direct casualty of the French attack on Ferryland on September 21st, 1696. referenCes Crompton, A. 2012 The Historical Archaeology of a French Fortiication in the Colony of Plaisance: The Vieux Fort Site (ChAl-04), Placentia, Newfoundland. PhD dissertation, Department of Anthropology, Memorial University. 123 North Atlantic Archaeology Vol. 3, 2014 gaulton, B. 2006 The Archaeology of Gentry Life in Seventeenth-Century Ferryland. Ph.D. dissertation, Department of Anthropology, Memorial University. 2013 The Commercial Development of Newfoundland’s English Shore: The Kirke family at Ferryland, 1638-96. In: Exploring Atlantic Transitions: Archaeologies of Transience and Permanence in New Found Lands edited by P.E. Pope with S. Lewis-Simpson, pp. 278-286. The Boydell Press, Woodbridge, U.K. gaulton, B. and J.A. tuck 2003 The archaeology of Ferryland, Newfoundland until 1696. Avalon Chronicles 8:187-224. Pope, P.e. 1993 Documents Relating to Ferryland, 1597-1726. <http://www.heritage.nf.ca/ avalon/history/documents/default.html>. [Last modiied June 30, 1993] 2004 Fish into wine: The Newfoundland plantation in the seventeenth century. University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill. 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