It is important to understand the historical events and the geography when trying to understand the Acadian exile and movement into Louisiana. The Acadians were exiled in 1755 to the colonies, islands and England. In 1758-1759 the Acadians in PEI and Ft. Louisbourg were sent directly to France. In 1763, the Acadians in England were repatriated to France. Between 1755-1763, the Acadians in the colonies were basically "prisoners of war" although they had been British Subjects since 1713! Their French Neutral status, guaranteed by treaty, was ignored when they were exiled. Many were basically in a "forced labor" status during the exile years. In 1763, the Acadians in the Colonies were given 18 months to leave. Some returned to Nova Scotia to find that their land had been given to newcomers so they moved into New Brunswick. Thousands were lured into Santo Domingo in 1763-1764 with the promise of land only to find themselves basically enslaved by the cost of the passage. They basically had to work for food and shelter and most died. Between 1766-1768, several thousand went from the Colonies to Louisiana and some from Santo Domingo also went to Louisiana [both with and without the Joseph Broussard group] Except for a few isolated situations, none of the Acadians in the colonies from 1755-1763 were able to leave. The British monitored this group very closely and they couldn't just "wander off" at will. A few in Georgia left but were forced to remain in New York. Some from South Carolina [including Alexandre Broussard] did escape and return to Acadia but were captured and imprisoned. Perhaps further historical review will provide new information [I believe that some Acadians did get to Mobile, Alabama between 1755-1763]. There are several sites that provide excellent material upon Acadia and the exile, e.g. Lucie's site, Yvon Cyr's site and Tim Hebert's site. There are also set books. Stanley LeBlanc http://www.thecajuns.com