Historica Wiki
Advertisement

The Battle of Fort Baie Rouge was a battle of the French and Indian War that was fought between the British privateer Morrigan and the French garrison of Fort Baie Rouge on mainland Canada.

Having engaged in several battles with the French Navy in the North Atlantic, Irish ship captain Shay Cormac decided to take on the challenging task of capturing the powerful French fortress at Baie Rouge, which controlled the waters between mainland Quebec and Newfoundland. In addition to five gunnery towers, the fort was defended by the frigate Indiscrete and the brigs Pallas and Fleur de Lys. Cormac captained his Morrigan into battle with the French Navy whilst also bombarding the fort with his mortars; he captured the French brigs and harvested their wood to repair his ship's damages, while giving command of the captured Indiscrete to his crew member Josep Penhaligon. After destroying the French ships, the Morrigan destroyed the fort's towers, and Cormac proceeded to infiltrate the fort alone and assassinate its commander Wildrum Ameorel, while also sabotaging its powder stores and killing its scouts. This enabled a regiment of Royal Marines to occupy the fortress, thus strengthening Great Britain's control over the North Atlantic and imperilling French ships leaving the St. Lawrence River for the open sea.

Advertisement