The Ghost Ship

In the fall of 1757, the English fleet launched raids along the coast of Baie des Chaleurs to capture Acadian families who had fled the deportation.

The invader made every effort to capture and take prisoner the members of the Acadian and Mi'kmaq militias who defended these same families.

It is said that pirates took advantage of the confusion to seize a ship carrying Acadian refugees.

These pirates burned the French ship in the open sea off the island of Caraquet.

Survivors who reached the shores were terrified some evenings at the sight of a ship on fire, of shouts and moans.

This same boat returns periodically and gives birth to the legend of the ghost  ship.

At the Oyster Eco-Museum in Caraquet, there are photos in a vault of the last passage of the ghost ship.

July 26 is the feast day of Saint Anne, the protector of the Acadians who fled the deportation of 1755 by sea.

-- Story by Gaétan Dugas, Caraquette N.B. / Acadia

Le Bateau Fantôme

A l`automne de 1757 , la flotte anglaise lance des raids le long de la côte de la Baie des Chaleurs afin de capturer les familles Acadiennes qui ont fui la déportation .

L`envahisseur déploie tout les efforts pour capturer et faire prisonniers les membres des milices Acadiennes et Micmacs qui défend ces mêmes familles .

On raconte que des pirates profite de la confusion pour s`emparer d`un bateau transportant des réfugiés Acadiens . Ces pirates brûlent le bateau francais en pleine mer au large de l`île de Caraquet .

Les survivants qui atteignent les côtes sont terrorisés à la vue ….. certains soirs …… d`un bateau en feu ….. de cris …… de gémissements …… Ce même bateau revient périodiquement et donne naissance à la légende du bateau fantôme ……….

Ici à l`Eco-musée de l`huître , il existe des photos ……. dans une voûte …… du dernier passage du bateau fantôme ….. apercu le 26 juillet 2002 , à 5 :30 du matin …… Le 26 juiullet est le jour de la fête de Sainte – Anne , la protectrice des Acadiens qui ont fui la déportation de 1755 , par la mer .

Récit de Gaétan Dugas Caraquette / Acadie

Jourdan Thibodeaux has profound words: "Oh tu vis ta culture Ou tu tues ta culture Il n'y a pas de milieu." ("You live your culture or you kill your culture... there is no in between." ) Let his message sink in while you listen to his music.

Link to: La Prière, Official video for “La Prière” by Jourdan Thibodeaux et Les Rôdailleurs directed by Jourdan Thibodeaux and Drake LeBlanc, Télé-Louisiane April 17, 2023. https://youtu.be/-3AQ5BYrXXE

Link to: Punch, T. (2023, April / May). "A French surname may not mean an Acadian pedigree: Generalizing is a human tendency, but it’s a poor habit to get into. It may stem from mental laziness, or simply from our need to arrange information in ways we can readily grasp. The trouble is that, sometimes, we get things wrong." Saltscapes. https://www.saltscapes.com/roots-folks/1447-not-all-acadians.html

“It was said that the Mallets descended from 'savages' and my father said that his grandmother carried the pen. All these stories aroused my curiosity,” says historian Lisette Mallet, invited by the Toronto Historical Society to her monthly talk at the Alliance française. Click here to read the rest of Lisette's story: https://l-express.ca/des-metis-acadiens-a-toronto/

Link to: l'express.ca. (2016, 26 avril). "Des Métis acadiens à Toronto." l'express.ca. https://l-express.ca/des-metis-acadiens-a-toronto/

Note: To translate the article from original French into English, use your Chrome browser to view this post and then click the translate button when prompted.

Published in the History of the Diocese of Hartford in 1900 in a chapter entitled, "The Acadians in Connecticut," beginning on page 63, were the names of the Connecticut towns where Acadians were exiled in 1755 and records of expenses. Historians spared no ghastly detail when they described how impoverished Acadian exiles were bound out, persecuted, and subjected to small pox.

Numbering among the published viewpoints of several, leading historians of the time, was an excerpt from a letter dated September 8, 1855, that was written by the Most Rev. William Walsh, Archbishop of Halifax, on the centennial anniversary of the Acadian expulsion.  He notes that following their exile in the United States, several Acadian families were able to find their way back to Nova Scotia, where they settled the untouched forests and shores of Baie Sainte Marie.

Reference: O'Donnell, Rev. James H. (1900). History of the Diocese of Hartford. Boston: The D. H. Hurd Company. https://www.google.com/books/edition/History_of_the_Diocese_of_Hartford/eZBMAQAAMAAJ?gbpv=1

Submitted by family researcher, Edward Vidal.