Winslow goes from Beausejour to Grand Pre to execute Lawrence’s orders—Proclamation—His Journal—Winslow's state of mind—Murray—Prebble.

We are at last on the eve of witnessing the fulfilment of Lawrence’s doubly criminal project, the deportation of an entire people, violently snatched from their homes, from that smiling and fertile land which their fathers had discovered and colonized over a century before.

In a burst of colonizing zeal France had left upon these shores some dozens of families, whom she afterwards, with guilty carelessness, forgot. At the period we have now reached the memory of the French fatherland had long become faint and indistinct. Tradition alone could recall both France and the history of those who were the pioneers of the country. Those original families had increased and multiplied; the two hundred who founded the colony had grown to seventeen thousand souls, a small nation, with habits, tastes and traditions of its own. They were all members of one large family, bound together by ties of blood or by common memories. Their home was no longer France; it was there, all in all before their eyes, in the country that stretched as far as they could see, in silent nature or in the works which they or their fathers had laboriously accomplished. By little and little, the accumulated labor of several generations bad pushed back and limited the sea, had encroached on the forest; the wilderness blossomed as the rose, the tiers of rising upland smiled with the golden grain. Here and there, on those gentle slopes that lead to the Basin of Mines, were ranged in line as far as the eye could reach their simple rustic dwellings. Each house had an orchard at its back and was shaded by willows, thus forming a nest of’ greenery where everything spoke of ease, quiet and the happiness of rural life. Below lay the singularly fertile meadows protected -by their dikes, where vast herds were grazing. Then there was the Basin itself, always heaving, with its vast dazzling sheet of reflected light; now folded back and narrowing into littleness and retirement, now proud and mighty pushing its waters far inland, caressing with its waves the graceful outlines of the dells. Tn the middle distance, hills rising one above the other, and silent forests framed this charming scene ; on either hand Cape Blomedon and Cape Fendu stood out boldly as sentinels to mark the entrance to this asylum of peace and happiness, and, as it were, to bar the way to all human passions. In the far distance the Cobequid Mountains blended with the purple lines of the horizon. Haliburton says it would be difficult to find elsewhere a landscape that could equal in rural beauty that which meets the eye from the hills that look down upon the ancient site of Grand Pro village. This was home and country to the Acadians. A few days more and the cupidity of a tyrant would make it the most desolate spot on the face of the earth. A whole people was to be heaped pell-mell in ships and scattered on a dozen coasts like leaves whirled away by the winds of autumn.

In the Mines district the task of breaking upon this idyllic peace and contentment was confided to "Winslow and Murray, the former having to operate at Grand Pre, which contained the parishes of St. Charles and St. Joseph (Riviere aux Canards), and the latter at Pigiguit, where were two other parishes, Ste. Famille and L’Assomption.

Winslow' was at Beausejour when he received the order to proceed to Grand Pre. Having embarked on August 14tli at Fort Lawrence with three hundred militia-men of his regiment, he cast anchor the following day before Grand Pro. Thence, without stopping, he went to Pigiguit where Murray was impatiently awaiting him. Both of them had the same instructions. They were, moreover, to consult together as to the most effective means of fulfilling their task. After they had done so, Winslow returned to Grand Pro. “I am pleased,” he wrote to Lawrence, “with the place proposed by Your Excellency—the village church—for our reception. I have sent for the elders to remove all sacred things, to prevent their being defiled by heretics.”

The church was occupied as an arsenal, the soldiers pitched their tents around the churchyard and the church, and Winslow made the presbyter) his headquarters. At the same time he informed Lawrence that he intended forthwith to surround his camp with a palisade, so as to guard against a surprise. Thereupon Lawrence took alarm and sent word to him, through Murray, that it was better to avoid whatever might excite wonder and mistrust. Winslow answered as follows:—

“Grand Pre, August 30th, 1755.

“I am favored with Your Excellency's letters, which Captain Murray was so good as to be the bearer of, and with whom I have consulted as to the duty proposed ; and, as the corn is not all down, the weather being such, has prevented the inhabitants from housing it. It is his opinion and mine, that Your Excellency’s orders should not be made public until friday; on which day we propose to put them in execution. We have picquetted in the camp before the receipt of Your Excellency’s letter, and I imagine it is go far from, giving surprise to the inhabitants as to their being detained, that they look upon it as a settled point that we are to remain with them all winter.....Although it is a disagreeable part of the duty we are put upon, I am sensible it is a necessary one, and I shall endeavour strictly to obey Your Excellency’s orders, to do anything in me to remove the neighbours to a better Country.''

When Murray brought to Winslow Lawrence’s letter, the two came to the conclusion that the surest way to get the inhabitants together would be to issue a proclamation requiring that all the men and all the children above ten years of age should meet in the church to receive His Majesty’s instructions with regard to them; and that this proclamation should be so ambiguously worded as not to reveal its object, and yet so peremptory that it would not be disobeyed.

The day after his return to Pigiguit, Murray wrote to Winslow: “I think the sooner we strike the stroke the better, therefore, I will be glad to see you here as soon as conveniently you can. I shall have the orders for assembling ready written for your approbation, only the day blank, and am hopeful will succeed according to our wishes.”

Before meeting Murray again, Winslow wished to see for himself how far advanced was the harvest. Considering that it would be almost impossible to make use of it, Lawrence had decided to let it be stored in the barns! and to burn it with the buildings. His instructions were that the country must he made an uninhabitable wilderness, so as to force deserters to give themselves up and to discourage the return of the exiles. Accompanied by an escort of soldiers, Winslow made a tour of inspection through the surrounding country and ascertained, with regret, that much of the grain was still standing in the fields. On the Tuesday, he went to Pigiguit to come to a definite understanding with Murray and to draw up the proclamation that was to be addressed to the inhabitants. It was translated into French by a man called Beauchamp, a merchant at Pigiguit.

It reads as follows:

"To the inhabitants of the District of Grand Pre, Mines, river Canard and places adjacent, as well ancients as young men and lads.

Whereas, His Excellency the Governor, has instructed us of his late resolution respecting the matter proposed to the inhabitants, and has ordered us to communicate the same in person, His Excellency being desirous that each of them should be satisfied of His Majesty's intentions, -which he has also ordered us to communicate to you, as they have been given to him: We, therefore, order and strictly by these presents, all of the inhabitants as well of the above-named District as of all the other Districts, both old and young men, as well as the lads of ten years of age, to attend at the Church of Grand Pre, on friday, the 5th instant, at three of the clock in the afternoon, that we may impart to them what we are ordered to communicate to them ; declaring that no excuse will be admitted on any pretence whatsoever on pain of forfeiting goods and chattels, in default of real estate.

“Givenat Grand Pre, 2nd Sept., 1755.

“John Winslow.”

A copy of this proclamation was made for Murray’s use at Pigiguit.

Had there been, behind the arras, a stenographer to report verbatim the discussions arising out of the composition of this cunning document, his notes would have been highly interesting. The only object of this proclamation was to get the men and lads in the church at the appointed hour. The contents and the form would be all the more perfect according as they the better deceived the people. Murray, who must have known better than Winslow the character of the Acadians, was no doubt the principal composer of this paper. The discussion must have been a long one ; so manifold are the methods of deceit. However, three principal points must have occurred to Murray’s mind and been readily accepted by Winslow. First, vagueness of expression as to the purpose of the meeting; the clause, “of his late resolution respecting the matter proposed to the inhabitants,” quite met this requirement. Lawrence had decided that, if they refused the oath, they should have to quit the country; as they had accepted this latter alternative, and as they had no reason to suspect anything more serious, when they were told that the Government had formed a resolution that was to be communicated to them, they would naturally think of some modification favorable to their desires. “Respecting the matter proposed” was suitably vague, and would leave a good impression. Second point: His Majesty’s authority invoked. The good impression must be intensified when the people learn of “His Majesty's intentions and that it was to let them hear these intentions that they were convoked. They could not easily doubt that Lawrence had really and truly received instructions from the King, and these instructions, they naturally conjectured, would be either an extension of the time allowed for evacuating the country, with, perhaps, the privilege of carrying off their movables, or, still better, some new proposal, some middle term imposing military service on those only who should be born after this date, a proposal they would be glad to accept. In fact, some months before, they had addressed a petition to the. French Government, praying the King, as custodian of the provisions of the Treaty of Utrecht, to intervene in their favor with the King of England. They had begged of him to ask for a delay of three years before quitting the province, with the privilege of carrying away their effects and the facilities necessary to effectuate their transmigration. They would now say to themselves: the question has no doubt been definitively settled between the two crowns, and it must be with reference to this decision that Lawrence wishes us to be present. They had everything to fear from Lawrence himself, but no injustice, or at least, no inhumanity from the British Government. They would, therefore, to all appearance, have no risk to run and everything to gain. It would seem impossible to them that Lawrence, or his subordinates, could invoke the King’s authority falsely. Murray, on the other hand, could not but be aware that Lawrence had resolved upon the deportation without instructions, without orders from His Majesty, and that he could not have obtained them. This, then, must be an infallible means of ensuring obedience to the proclamation; past subterfuges would be forgotten in the face of such plausible assertions. Murray must have rubbed his hands with delight and have thought himself a deep diplomatist as he expounded to Winslow this creation of his brain.

Of course there remained a few difficulties that gave pause to Winslow and Murray. For instance, could the Acadians hope for good news, so long as their delegates were kept prisoners at Halifax? And that convocation of lads of ten years might well cause astonishment and distrust. What if the cat were thus let out of the bag? But Lawrence’s orders were precise: men and lads above ten years of age were to be seized, put on board ship and sent off before anything was done with the women and younger children. To get round this obstacle, Murray invented the formula which ends the Proclamation and constitutes the Third Point settled on before the document was composed. Threats of forfeiture were to be uttered in these words: “declaring' that no excuse will be admitted on any pretence whatsoever on pain of forfeiting goods and chattels, in default of real estate.” This would lead the Acadians to infer unhesitatingly that the new instructions received from His Majesty must be exceedingly favorable, since there was question of forfeiting movables and even immovables, if they refused to attend. According to Lawrence’s decision in presence of their delegates, the immovables were already forfeited. This proclamation seemed to imply that they were not; therefore, Ilis Majesty’s instructions must be such as to cause great rejoicing. And once more Murray rubbed his hands. This document, thought he, will be highly relished by tlie Governor, and will raise me several degrees in his favor.

A few days before, Winslow, who now saw this part of the country for the first time, had sent Captain Adams to reconnoitre in the direction of Riviere aux Canards and Riviere des Habitants, and Captains Hobbs and Osgood in other directions. Adams reported that it was “a fine country and full of inhabitants, a beautiful church, abundance of the goods of this world, and provisions of all kinds in great plenty.” Hobbs, who had visited Melanon village and the River Gaspereau, and Osgood, who had reconnoitred the rivers in the Pigiguit district, made equally favorable reports. Murray wrote again to Winslow on September 4th: “All the people quiet, and very busy at their harvest; if this day keeps fair, all will be in here in their barns. I hope to-morrow will crown all our wishes."

Stung by Braddock’s rout at Monongaliela, Winslow had written, when he was still at Beausejour and before the official decision of tin- deportation, this abominable letter:

“We are now hatching the noble and great project of banishing the French Neutrals from this province; they have ever been oili- secret enemies, and have encouraged our Indians to cut our throats. If we can accomplish this expulsion, it will have been one of the greatest deeds the English in America have ever achieved; for, among other considerations, the part of the country which they occupy is one of the best soils in the world, and, in that event, we might place some good farmers on their homesteads."

Rameau de Saint P6re comments thus on this letter: “The most brutal of the pirates that issued from the rocks of Norway to go and lay waste the coasts of Europe, in the year 1800, would not have published a more ferocious and cynical proclamation to collect around him the companions of his brigandage.”

Let us not be more severe on Winslow than is becoming. This terrible defeat of Braddock had thrown the English provinces into consternation; one must read the chronicles of the time to form an idea of the mental and moral confusion which that event had produced. Rage made men ferocious. Everything French was included in a hate which seemed insatiable except by complete extermination. This state of public opinion was of great assistance to Lawrence m his projects. Winslow was under the influence of this popular frenzy, and we should, before judging him, make allowance for that influence. The historian, more than all other men, is in duty bound to be indulgent; he must take account of the special circumstances of the epoch he is describing, if lie wishes to set a proper value on men and their doings. Now, war means hatred. From one day to the next it works a complete revolution in men’s minds. In a moment brains are on fire, blood is up, the friend is transformed into a foe. A victory makes a whole nation wild with joy; a defeat arouses hot indignation and fierce rage. In America this effect was intensified by the necessary interference of the Indian element, with the cruelties that were its inevitable accompaniment. On either side the redskin was a much-sought auxiliary; war became an ambush. This defeat at Monongahela, brought about by the infatuation of Braddock, was particularly exasperating because it had afforded no scope for military valor as understood in Europe. The outburst of anger and hatred that ensued was unjust; but, psychologically, it could not be otherwise. Lawrence, having all power in his hands, had found it easy to take advantage of this madness and to mould his subordinates to his views. Seldom does it happen that the servant, for whom flattery is a necessity, fails to outdo his master. A prey to this morbid infection, Winslow had come to Grand Pre. The severity of military discipline, the love of glory, warlike ardor, the very intensity of patriotism, act upon the soldier as mighty forces beating back to the bottom of his heart the tenderness of his better nature. It seems that these feelings were lulled only for the moment in Winslow, and that he was influenced to a certain extent by the scene of peace and contentment that lay before him. From the presbytery, wherein he had taken up his quarters, the eye embraced a wide prospect of country. Whithersoever he turned his gaze, he saw naught but restfulness, plenty and happiness. Those who had chosen this lovely retreat, “far from the madding crowd,” must have been drawn thereto by the wish to dwell peacefully in a safe asylum. He had expected to find a restless and turbulent people, ready to rise in revolt; instead of which, he comes and goes among them, he asks for the keys of the presbytery and the church, which are eagerly handed to him; he lodges there, he arranges his camp, he fortifies it; squads of soldiers march up and down the country roads; all this produces no unusual stir; his orders are obeyed with submission and respect; the harvest labors are pursued with unabated zeal. Is this, he must have asked himself, the attitude of an unruly and rebellious people? He had come in the temper of a general marching against an experienced and formidable adversary; he found himself confronted by peaceable and trustful men, by harmless women and children. He was disarmed. Was he, a brave officer, thirsting for battle and renown, to become the executioner of a submissive and defenceless people, to make a desert of this fair land, to ruin the lives of an entire generation? God forbid. He must have been deceived. These good people could not deserve the fate he was preparing for them. Perhaps their stubbornness seemed stupid to him; but it was based on motives which mankind has ever respected. He could not but admit that they were sincere in their belief, superstitious though it seemed to him, and in their patriotism, to which they sacrificed all else that was most dear. Perhaps also he had a presentiment that history would deal with himself far more severely than with his victims.

Such, I believe, were the anxious thoughts that haunted his mind when he entered in his Journal the following cry apparently wrung from his inmost soul: “Things are now very heavy on my heart and hands. . . I impatiently wait. . . That, once at length, we may get over this troublesome affair, which is more grievous to me than any service I was ever employed in.”

And further on : . . . “Shall soon have our hands full of the disagreeable business to remove them from their ancient habitations, which, in this part of the country are very valuable. .

Winslow was no ordinary man. He held a high position in the provinces of New England. He was a thoughtful man, as the Journal he kept shows. To judge from an entry he made in it some days before, he seems to have had an eye to posterity. As he was leaving Beausejour for Grand Pre, Monckton, the Commander-in-Chief, had obliged him to leave behind him his regimental flag. "Winslow thought this order a breach of courtesy, and told him indignantly that this action of his was strange and would appear so in history. Now, as this incident was far from important enough to be an historical event, and would have been forgotten but for his mention of it, we may be warranted in supposing that Winslow meant to publish his Journal. It did indeed become public property in this way. It had lain for seventy years in the treasures of the Massachusetts Historical Society, when that part of it which treats of the events we are now reviewing finally saw the light. In the absence of public documents, which, as we have seen, were abstracted from the Archives, this Journal of Winslow takes on great value. Though it refers only to the scenes in which he himself was the chief actor at Grand Prd, and though we still know nothing, or next to nothing, of what occurred at Pigiguit, Cobequid, Annapolis and Beausejour, yet what Winslow gives us is very precious. If he wrote for posterity, he must, evidently, have put himself in the most favorable light; but the fact that he was aware of the odious part he was playing entitles us to grant him the benefit of any mercy his situation may elicit. The orders he had received were severe, and cruelty was as inseparable from the execution of them as cutting is inseparable from the surgeon’s art. To make his success more complete Ire had to tell no end of lies. It may very well be that he never made any such reflections as I have suggested above, nor experienced any of those feelings I have described; but, for the honor of mankind and civilization, I prefer to err on the side of charity. Of Handfield and Monckton’s feelings we know little; but as for Scott and Prebble, and, above all others, Murray, they are entitled to no such leniency. Winslow’s Journal produces a letter from Handfield, which, to his honor, contains the following:“ I heartily join with you in wishing that we were both of us got over this most disagreeable and troublesome part of the service.”

Here is w hat Prebble wrote to Winslow' from Beaujour:

. . . “We rejoice to hear of your safe arrival at Grand Pre and am well pleased that you are provided with so good quarters for yourself and soldiers; as you have taken possession of the friar's house, hope you will execute the office of priest.”

A few days later:

. . . “I rejoice to hear that the lines are fallen to you in pleasant lands, and that you have a goodly heritage. I understand you are surrounded by the good things of this world and having a sanctified place for your habitation, hope you will be prepared for the enjoyments of another. ... We have only this to comfort us, that we are as nigh to heaven as you are at Grand Pre, and since we are denied our good things in this world, doubt not we shall be happy in the next."

“Jedediah Prebble,

“Camp at Cumberland (Beausejour),

5th Sept., 1855.”

After citing these and other letters, Philip H. Smith, in his “Acadia—A Lost Chapter in American History,” adds: “We will not burden these pages with more of this sickening religious cant. Such professions of piety made by men engaged in the work they were in, appear to be little short of sacrilege.”

Mr. Smith takes these rollicking blackguards too seriously. Their jocose references to Holy Scripture were not meant to be “professions of piety,” and therefore do not rise even to the dignity of hypocrisy—which is, after all, an indirect homage to genuine virtue.