Siege of Louisbourg

This article is about the siege of 1758. You may be looking for the siege of 1745.

The Siege of Louisbourg was a prolonged naval engagement fought between the Royal Navy and the French Navy during the French and Indian War, for control of the fort of Louisbourg in New France. The battle was considered a turning point in the war, as France's defeat and loss of Louisbourg ended its dominion in Atlantic Canada and enabled the British to eventually win the war a few years later.

Background

After the death of Colonel George Monro, the former Assassin Shay Cormac was formally inducted into the Colonial Rite of the Templar Order by its Grand Master, Haytham Kenway. A few days later, Cormac and Kenway met in New York, and after a brief discussion about Isu temples, Haytham informed Shay about Assassin activity near the Fortress of Louisbourg.

Shay was also informed about the Royal Navy officer and explorer, James Cook, and his usefulness to the Templars, despite the lack of knowledge of the Order's existence on the captain's part. Shay and his quartermaster, Christopher Gist, subsequently met with Cook and Haytham aboard the former's Man O' War, HMS Pembroke. Cook informed the Templars that a Royal Navy fleet had already set sail for Louisbourg, but that he was worried about the French defenses. Haytham insisted on attacking the fort and eventually convinced Cook to participate. Cook in turn offered command of his ship to Shay, for the duration of the battle.

The battle

On the day of the siege, HMS Pembroke was approaching Louisbourg, escorted by two frigates. As the ships neared the fort, mortars fired by the French Men O' War destroyed one of the escort ships. In retaliation, Shay used the Pembroke's firepower to destroy a considerable portion of the French fleet.

After a successful counter-attack, the Assassin Adéwalé, captaining the Experto Crede, led several fireships into the fray, destroying the last British escort. On the advice of Gist, Shay did not attack the Assassin's brig, focusing on the fireships instead. After destroying about ten of them, another wave of French ships arrived along with four more fireships. Cook, thinking the situation was hopeless, advised Shay that they should fall back, but the Templar continued to press the attack instead.

Eventually, the fireships were joined by French reinforcements, but they were immediately assaulted by the arrival of British reinforcements. This allowed the rest of the Royal Navy, which later arrived with an astonishing forty Men O' War, to launch an offensive on the fort itself and capture Louisbourg.

Aftermath

The Siege of Louisbourg proved to be the turning point of the Seven Years' War, weakening the French's dominion over the North Atlantic and eventually leading to the capture of Montreal and Quebec by Jeffery Amherst and James Wolfe, respectively.

Adéwalé's interference during the battle made him a target for the Templars, who spent the months after their victory at Louisbourg tracking down the elusive Assassin. They eventually located him in late 1758 and killed him at Vieille Carrière, dealing a great blow to the Colonial Assassins' morale.

Gallery

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  The Templars and Cook aboard the Pembroke
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  The Pembroke firing at French ships
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  The Experto Crede leading the fireships
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  French ships sailing against the Pembroke
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  British reinforcements joining the battle

Appearances

• Assassin's Creed: Rogue