Guerre de 1812: La defense de St. Andrews
English on left
No hard feelings
Have a look across the St. Croix River to the land on the other side of Navy Island; that the United States you can see! When the War of 1812 broke out, the citizen of St. Andrews had little to fear from their neighbors in Maine. Not everyone in New England was in favor of the war: trade with Atlantic Canada was brisk and around here the main threat to security was from privateering, not invasion. Despite the conflict, resolutions were passed on both sides of the border declaring a local truce, although in 1814 the British in Halifax invaded Northern Maine, which they occupied until 1818.
The privateering menace
In the early 1800, St. Andrews was a prosperous garrison town with a busy commercial seaport. Licensed American privateers would undoubtedly be drawn to the ships for their valuable cargoes or loot homes and businesses. During the American Revolution, privateers attacked and robbed every port in the Maritimes except for Halifax.
Three gun batteries were quickly erected and three blockhouses - including this one - were added soon after to defend them. From inside, soldiers armed with muskets and a small cannon could defend the batteries and help protect shipping along the river and harbour. These 18-pounder guns - so called because the shot they fired weighed 18 pounds - could fire as far as Navy Island. The defenses worked. Although privateers captured many ships at sea, they never attached St. Andrews.
Privateering: a two-way street
Privateering was a common wartime practice until the mid-1800s. In wartime, governments licensed private businesses and ships to seize enemy vessels and cargoes as "prizes." These (for the most part) completely legal raids by American and British privateers were frequent along the east coast during the War of 1812.
French on right
Sans rancune
Jetez un coup d?oeil de l?autre c?t? de la rivi?re Ste. Croix, au-del? de l?ile Navy: ce sont les ?tats-Unis que vous voyez! Lorsque la guerre de 1812 ?clata, les citoyens de St. Andrews avaient peu ? craindre de leurs voisins du Maine. Les citoyens de la Nouvelle Angleterre n??taient pas tous favorables ? la guerre: le commerce avec la r?gion de l'Atlantique ?tait florissant, et la population redoutait devante les corsaires qu?un ?ventuel envahisseur. Malgr? les hostilities, des rolutions furent adopt?es de part et d?autre de la fronti?re pour d?clarer un tr?ve ? l??chelle locale, m?me si, en 1814, les Britanniques d?Halifax envahirent le Nord du Maine, qu?ils occup?rent jusqu?un 1818.
Le menace des corsaires
Au d?but du 19ᵉ si?cle, St. Andrews ?tait un village de garnison prosp?re, et son port de mer commercial fourmillait d?activit?. Il ne faisait aucun doute que les corsaires sanctionn par le gouvernement am?ricain chercheraient ? saisir la pr?cieuse cargaison des navires ou a piller les demeures et les entreprises. Pendant la guerre de l?Ind?pendance, les corsaires avaient attaqu? et pill? tous les ports de Maritimes, sauf celui d?Halifax.
Trois batteries de tir furent ?rig?es ? la h?te, et trois blockhaus - dont celui-ici - furent construits peu apr en guise de protection. De l?int?rieur, les soldats arm de fusils et d?un petit canon pouvaient d?fendre les batteries et contribuer a prot?ger les navires marchands qui circulaient sur la rivi?re dans le port. Le canon de 18 livres - appel? ainsi parce que le boulet pesait 18 livres - pouvait atteindre des cibles aussi ?loign?es que l?ile Navy. Les ouvrages de d?fense produisirent les rultats souhaites. Les corsaires captur?rent de nombreux navires en mer, mais jamais ils n?attaqu?rent St. Andrews.
Les guerres de course, profitables aux deux camps.
La course demeura une pratique courante en temps de guerre jusqu?au milieu du 19ᵉ si?cle. En p?riode de conflict, les gouvernement autorisaient des entreprises priv?es et des navires ? s?emparer de cargaisons et des navires ennemis comme ?butin?. Pratiqu en toutes l?galit? (la plupart et temps) par les corsaires am?ricains et britanniques, ces raids ?taient fr?quents le long de le c?te Est pendant la guerre 1812.
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