382 NEW FRANCE AND NEW ENGLAND. [1696,1697. 



The people of Massachusetts, compelled by a 

 royal order to build and maintain Pemaquid, had 

 no love for it, and underrated its importance. Hav- 

 ing been accustomed to spend their money as they 

 themselves saw fit, they revolted at compulsion, 

 though exercised for their good. Pemaquid was 

 nevertheless of the utmost value for the preserva- 

 tion of their hold on Maine, and its conquest was a 

 crowning triumph to the French. 



The conquerors now projected a greater exploit. 

 The Marquis de Nesmond, with a powerful squad- 

 ron of fifteen ships, including some of the best in 

 the royal navy, sailed for Newfoundland, with 

 orders to defeat an English squadron supposed to 

 be there, and then to proceed to the mouth of the 

 Penobscot, where he was to be joined by the Abe- 

 naki warriors and fifteen hundred troops from 

 Canada. The whole united force was then to fall 

 upon Boston. The French had an exact knowledge 

 of the place. Meneval, when a prisoner there, 

 lodged in the house of John Nelson, had carefully 

 examined it ; and so also had the Chevalier d'Aux ; 

 while La Motte-Cadillac had reconnoitred the town 

 and harbor before the war began. An accurate 

 map of them w r as made for the use of the expedi- 

 tion, and the plan of operations was arranged with 

 great care. Twelve hundred troops and Canadians 



was an Acadian priest, who accompanied the expedition, which he de- 

 scribes in detail. Relation de ce qui s'est passe, etc., 1(595, 1696 ; Des Goutins 

 an Ministre, 23 Sept., 1696; Hutchinson, Hist Mass., 11.89; Mather, 

 Magnolia, II. 633. A letter from Chubb, asking to be released from 

 prison, is preserved in the archives of Massachusetts. I have examined 

 the site of the fort, the remains of which are still distinct. 



