The Mud, The Rum, and the Governor’s Bar Tab: The 1696 Siege of Nashwaak

If you think New Brunswick politics are messy today, imagine 1696. The "Capital of Acadia" wasn't a sprawling city—it was a wooden star-fort built in a swampy confluence in modern-day Fredericton (Barker’s Point).

The Siege of Nashwaak¡was less of a glorious military engagement and more of a soggy, freezing, 48-hour argument fueled by high-priced brandy and low-grade rum.

▪︎The "Grand Strategy" (aka Stuck in the Mud)

In October 1696, a New England force under Major Benjamin Church and Colonel Hawthorne showed up at the mouth of the Nashwaak. Their goal? Evict the French Governor, Joseph Robineau de Villebon, from his fort.

There was just one problem: October in the Maritimes.

The English landed on the south side of the river (near where the walking trails are today) and immediately realized they were knee-deep in freezing mud. They spent two days trying to aim cannons at a fort they could barely see through the mist, while the French took potshots at them from behind sturdy palisades.

▪︎Liquid Courage: The Rum Rations

Why didn’t the English militia just pack up and go home? Rum. In the 17th century, "fatigue rations" weren't protein bars—they were high-proof spirits. To keep the men from mutinying in the sleet, the English officers distributed "Kill-Devil" rum.

▪︎The Result: You have a small army of cold, miserable farmers trying to operate heavy artillery while arguably "three sheets to the wind."

 The Outcome: Most of the English cannonballs missed the fort entirely, sinking harmlessly into the Nashwaak silt (where they probably still sit today, waiting for a LiDAR-wielding detective to find them).

▪︎Governor Villebon: The 17th-Century Bootlegger

Inside the fort, things weren't much more dignified. Governor Villebon was a man with a "side hustle."

While he was supposed to be defending the honor of King Louis XIV, he was actually running a **monopoly on the fort's liquor supply.

▪︎The Scam: Villebon controlled all the brandy and wine. He charged his soldiers and local settlers (like the D'Amours family) up to **300% markup for a drink.

 ▪︎The Snarky Reality: The soldiers defending the capital weren't just fighting the English; they were fighting to pay off their massive bar tabs to their own boss.

▪︎The John Gyles Connection: The Clerk in the Crossfire

So, where was John Gyles during all this? He wasn't just a captive bystander; he had been sold to the **D’Amours family**, who lived right there at the Nashwaak.

During the siege, Gyles was essentially a "clerk" for the people who were providing the supplies that Villebon was trying to monopolize.

 - Gyles watched the "Great Guns" shake the walls of the fort.

 - He saw the tension between the military (Villebon) and the merchants (D’Amours).

 - He was the only person in the room who spoke English, French, and Maliseet—meaning he likely understood exactly how much everyone was lying to each other.

▪︎The Aftermath: A Hangover for the Ages

After two days of ineffective shooting and shivering, the English decided they had seen enough of the Nashwaak mud. They climbed back into their boats and sailed away, leaving Villebon to celebrate his "victory" by likely selling more overpriced brandy to his exhausted men.

The fort was abandoned just two years later because—shocker—it kept flooding.

▪︎The Takeaway

The Siege of Nashwaak proves that history isn't just made by heroes; it's made by people who are cold, poorly paid, and looking for a drink. The next time you walk the banks of the Nashwaak, remember: under that mud lies the "ghost" of a star-fort built on bad debt and expensive brandy.

Think the 1960s archaeologists missed the "liquor cabinet" of Fort Nashwaak? With the river shifting every spring, the real "spoils of war" might be buried exactly where the LiDAR shows those unexplained soil anomalies.