What's interesting about the Second Acadian Expulsion is that it means something completely different to the families that had fled to the mouth of the St. John River in NB. In 1701, the population of this St. John settlement was only about 50 people. In 1732, a larger group of Acadians, fleeing the British forces who had taken possession of Nova Scotia under the Treaty of Utrecht, settled in the area where Old Government House in Fredericton stands today, and called their community "Sainte-Anne des Pays-Bas (Ste. Anne's Point). A 1733 French census counted 83 people in 15 families. By 1755 and the Grand Derangement, approximately two thousand Acadians were scattered over several small villages along the river -- at Grimrose, Jemseg, Nashwack, Ecoupag, and Ste. Anne. Despite constant British harassment, the lower St. John Valley remained the only significant Acadian settlement in New Brunswick at the time. In part, the community survived because of a combination of the resourcefulness of the Acadian settlers, their strong friendship with the local Native Americans, and the presence of the French military leader Charles des Champs de Boishébert. In 1749, the French authorities at Quebec sent 30 men to the St. John River under Boishébert's leadership to take possession of the territory at its mouth and prevent the English from settling there. He maintained a fort near Grimrose, and many of the settlers (and refugees from other parts of Acadia) settled in the area under his protection. An accomplished woodsman and sailor, Boishébert was a major thorn in the side of the British and he was involved in the only major success by the Acadians against the British. In 1755, the British transport Pembroke became the only Deportation ship ever captured by the Acadians, and this ship and its settlers remained in the St. John River community under Boishébert's protection. General Monckton continued to raid the area, however, and eventually forced out Boishébert. As Monckton's Rangers raided and burned down the Acadian villages, they massacred a number of settlers they caught -- armed or unarmed. Ste-Anne was torched, and the surviving settlers fled to the forests once again, to live in hiding for the next eight years. With the assistance of Boishébert and their local Malecite allies, the Acadians managed to survive. In 1761, it is reported that as many as 40 Acadians still lived in the area of Ste-Anne. The 1763 Treaty of Paris allowed many deportees to return to their homes, but on arrival they discovered that their old lands were now inhabited by English colonists, and Ste-Anne had become Fredericton. Determined to live in peace, they moved farther up the St. John valley to Ecoupag, the French Village, and Kennebeccassis. The exile community here was fairly successful for a time. The Acadians cleared land and settled down, hoping to have their land grants approved by the British government, now that the war with France was over. Some of the more experienced couriers de bois served as "express carriers" -- essentially mail carriers who kept open the lines of communication between Quebec and Halifax. As such, they were quite familiar with the waters of the upper St. John River, and the fertile valley on either side. This knowledge would prove critical. In 1785, English Loyalists, fleeing American territory in the aftermath of the American Revolution, would forcibly evict the Acadians from their new homes. This is still called the Deuxième Derangement. The government officials in Quebec and New Brunswick, despite earlier promises of protection, offered no redress. Some of the displaced families included: Simon Joseph Daigle, Louis Mercure, Paul Mazerolle, Mathurin Mazerolle, François Hébert, François Godin, Jean Baptiste Daigle, Baptiste Viennaux, Louis Lejeune, Pierre Pinette, Joseph King (Roi), Alexis Thibodeau, the two Martin families, Pierre Mazerolle and Mathurin Gotreau. Louis Mercure and Simon Joseph Daigle, as experienced "express carriers", organized the 24 leading families, including the Martin, Cyr, Lizotte and Dubé families, to petition the government for permission to sell their lands for the promise of two hundred acres on the upper St. John River to the head of each family. Determined to live unaccosted, the families traveled up the St. John Valley, beyond Grand Falls -- where the British ships could not follow -- to the area called "the Madawaska", the Native American word for "the Land of the Porcupine..." More than half of the Acadian colony of the lower St. John would leave within the year for the Madawaska settlement. Others moved to Memramcook, Miramichi, Tracadie, Caraquet and Pisiquit. In June of 1785, upon setting foot on the banks of the St. John River at St. David, Maine (near the modern town of Madawaska), Joseph Daigle directed the erecting of a large wooden cross at their landing site -- this was the first Acadian Cross. The Acadian refugees had finally found a permanent home, after 30 years of persecution and flight. By 1790, the British would finally affirm the land claims for the Acadian families on the banks of the St. John. _________________________________________________________________ Tired of slow downloads and busy signals? Get a high-speed Internet connection! Comparison-shop your local high-speed providers here. https://broadband.msn.com