Bloody Creek National Historic Site of Canada

Bridgetown, Nova Scotia
Address : Highway 201, Bridgetown, Nova Scotia

Recognition Statute: Historic Sites and Monuments Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. H-4)
Designation Date: 1930-05-16
Dates:
  • 1711 to 1711 (Significant)
  • 1757 to 1757 (Significant)

Other Name(s):
  • Bloody Creek  (Designation Name)
Research Report Number: 2008-CED/SDC-26, 2024-CED-SDC-06
DFRP Number: 76202 00

Plaque(s)


Approved Inscription:  

Two deadly skirmishes occurred near here in times of war during the years of complex interactions involving Mi’kmaq, W8banakiak, Acadians, French, and British for control of the North Atlantic region. After the French defeat at Port Royal, the British garrison pressured Acadians to provide them with timber. In response, an ambush by a W8banaki force sent by a French officer in 1711 killed 18 soldiers and took the rest prisoner. In 1757, during the Acadian Deportation, British troops were ambushed as they pursued a Mi’kmaw and Acadian force that had attacked near Annapolis Royal. Many were wounded or killed on both sides.

Original plaque dismantled / removed / replaced:  Highway 201, Bridgetown, Nova Scotia

Commemorating two combats between British Garrisons of Annapolis Royal and allied French and Indians in the half century of conflict for possession of Acadia: on the north bank of the Annapolis River, 10th June 1711; and, here, 8th December, 1757. *Note: This designation has been identified for review. A review can be triggered for one of the following reasons - outdated language or terminology, absence of a significant layer of history, factual errors, controversial beliefs and behaviour, or significant new knowledge.

Description of Historic Place

Bloody Creek National Historic Site of Canada is located on sloping farmland in Bridgetown, Nova Scotia. Two circles of land mark the sites of two battles, which took place in 1711 and 1757, between British forces and allied French and Aboriginal forces over the possession of Acadia. The first battle site is centred on the northwest shore of the Annapolis River, and the second site is centred on the east shore of Bloody Creek. Both are comprised of land and water. A Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada stone cairn, near the site of the 1757 battle, marks the location. Official recognition refers to the two circles as they were at the time of designation in 1930.

Heritage Value

Bloody Creek was designated a national historic site of Canada in 1930. The reasons for designation, as updated in 2024, are:

• these locations mark two related military encounters of 1711 and 1757, between the British garrison of Annapolis Royal on one side, and Mi’kmaq and Wabanaki (W8banaki) and French or Acadian forces on the other;

• the encounters exemplify the complex interactions involving Mi’kmaq, Wabanakiak (W8banakiak,) British, French and Acadian combatants in the half century during which European colonial ambitions reshaped the North Atlantic region.

Sources: Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada, Minutes, October 2008 and June 2024.

Character-Defining Elements

Key elements that contribute to the heritage character of the site include: its location within traditional Acadian lands near Bridgetown, Nova Scotia; the riverbank setting of both battles, within sloping farmland; the integrity of any surviving or as yet unidentified archaeological remains which may be found within the site in their original placement and extent; viewscapes along the Annapolis River and Bloody Creek.