The determination of the location of the "Pont a Buot" bridge is important for archeological purposes as well as to better understand how the Acadians crossed the river after the burning of Beaubassin and how English troops actually deployed during the initial assault.
On the northwest side of the Pont a Buot was a tavern / trading post originally established by an Irishman, "Roger Casey". This eating place, blacksmith shop and tavern was a common stopping off point for travellers. It also provided a congenial place for French and English soldiers to relax with victuals and libations when there were lulls in their conflagrations from 1751 to 1756. And it was a convenient place for secret messages to be exchanged.
The French also built a redoubt at the site to defend the bridge in the event of a British insurgency which was the first site of hostilities during the Battle of Fort Beausejour.
This report examines one means of determining where this bridge was: by comparing a map drawn by a British Surveyor in 1755 to a satellite map of 2012.
Findings: A comparison of a map of the area produced in 1755 by "Engineer Brewes", that records notable events of that time, was made with a contemporary 2012 map produced by Natural Resources Canada. It indicates that Pont a Buot was located east of the crossroads of the NB Highway 15 and Pointe de Bute Road. This is about two kilometres further downstream from the existing bridge on the Eddy Road. This means that the trading post was less convenient than expected for residents of either Fort and for the Acadian exiles forced to leave Beaubassin.
A comparison of the two maps would seem to confirm the Colpitts / Mackinnon / Trueman research that the Pont a Buot - the bridge crossing the Missaguash - was near the current location of the village of Pointe de Bute.
"C" in the map is the current location of the bridge crossing the Missaguash River. "E" is the most likely location of the actual Pont a Buot.
On the northwest side of the Pont a Buot was a tavern / trading post originally established by an Irishman, "Roger Casey". This eating place, blacksmith shop and tavern was a common stopping off point for travellers. It also provided a congenial place for French and English soldiers to relax with victuals and libations when there were lulls in their conflagrations from 1751 to 1756. And it was a convenient place for secret messages to be exchanged.
The French also built a redoubt at the site to defend the bridge in the event of a British insurgency which was the first site of hostilities during the Battle of Fort Beausejour.
This report examines one means of determining where this bridge was: by comparing a map drawn by a British Surveyor in 1755 to a satellite map of 2012.
Findings: A comparison of a map of the area produced in 1755 by "Engineer Brewes", that records notable events of that time, was made with a contemporary 2012 map produced by Natural Resources Canada. It indicates that Pont a Buot was located east of the crossroads of the NB Highway 15 and Pointe de Bute Road. This is about two kilometres further downstream from the existing bridge on the Eddy Road. This means that the trading post was less convenient than expected for residents of either Fort and for the Acadian exiles forced to leave Beaubassin.
A comparison of the two maps would seem to confirm the Colpitts / Mackinnon / Trueman research that the Pont a Buot - the bridge crossing the Missaguash - was near the current location of the village of Pointe de Bute.
"C" in the map is the current location of the bridge crossing the Missaguash River. "E" is the most likely location of the actual Pont a Buot.
| report_on_location_of_pont_a_buot.pdf |
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