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RESTIGOUCHE COUNTY
Glencoe The Massacre of Glencoe is one of the traumatic events in Scottish history. The Highland Chieftains had been given until December 31st,1691 to take an oath of allegiance to the English monarchs, William and Mary. All reluctantly did, except for Alexander MacDonald of Glencoe, who, due to delay and confusion, took the oath a week late. His Scottish enemies used this opportunity to make an example of MacDonald and his clan. After being received hospitality as visitors, the soldiers of Alexander Campbell's Argyll Regiment massacred the unsuspecting inhabitants of Glencoe in the early hours of February 13th, 1692. The disdain for the Campbells by the forces of Scottish nationalism, and particularly by the MacDonalds, was keenly felt for generations. Whoever selected the name of Glencoe for a village located just outside the town of Campbellton had both a good knowledge of history and a wry sense of humour. One would hope it was a MacDonald.
American Privateer Raids During the American Revolutionary War, Rebel privateers were active in the Bay of Chaleur. In 1773, David Duncan and Robert Adams had been engaged to develop the salmon fishery along the Restigouche River. They established stations at a number of points along the river, with their headquarters at Old Church Point, now part of Atholville. This trading post became an obvious target for raiding Rebel privateers who plundered it twice during the conflict. On the second raid, a warning had been received and the company stores were hidden in pits in the woods. Unfortunately, they were betrayed by some of their Acadian employees and Adam complained that the Rebels took everything, including his hat and watch. This raid left the traders in such a desperate state that they had to built a boat in order to obtain supplies from Quebec.
Grave of Lieutenant Perry Dumaresq, Royal Navy Buried in the Riverview Cemetery, Dalhousie, is a naval veteran of the War of 1812. Lieutenant Perry Dumaresq was born into a titled family on the Island of Jersey, Great Britain, in 1788. He entered in Royal Navy at an early age, served in the British North American and West Indies Squadron, and was promoted lieutenant on 14 April 1810. During the War of 1812 he was the commander of HMS Paz and part of the squadron under command of Admiral John P. Beresford, responsible for blockading the east coast of North American. Dumaresq distinguished himself by capturing many enemy ships, mainly American schooners. His most noteworthy seizure was the capture on 27 March 1813 of the armed American merchantman Montesquieu, en route to the USA with a rich cargo from Canton, China. A controversy followed with Dumaresq claiming that Beresford, his squadron commander, had usurped his prize money. Dumaresq retired from the navy after the war and entered the custom service, where he played a prominent role in the political life of northeastern New Brunswick. He died in Dalhousie on 13 March 1839.
Saint-Quentin The City of Saint-Quentin is located on the Somme River in the old French province of Picardy. It was the site of a key battle in the last major German offensive of World War One. Although the British forces were force to give ground, the line held after very ferocious fighting. The original names of the New Brunswick village was first Five Fingers and then Anderson's Settlement. The name was changed in 1919 to commemorate the Battle of Saint-Quentin of 1918. This was considered appropriate because some of the original settlers were from Picardy.
First World War Field Artillery Gun
Captain Robert Shives, Royal Flying Corps Robert Kilgour Shives, born in Campbellton, NB on 20 July 1891, graduated with a degree in forestry from the University of New Brunswick in 1913. When the First World War broke out he attempted to enlist in the Canadian Army but was rejected as unfit because of an injury he had sustained to his ankle working in the woods. Undeterred, he went to Toronto and learned to fly at his own expense. Once qualified as a pilot, he was accepted into the Royal Flying Corps. He was soon in action employed on aerial reconnaissance. On 30 April 1916, while flying ten miles behind German lines, he was engaged by an enemy aircraft and badly wounded. Despite his wound, Shives managed to fly back the twenty-five miles to his aerodrome. That summer he returned to Campbellton to recover from his wound. On his return to duty he was employed protecting England from attack by Zeppelins. On 29 September 1916 he was killed by an accidental discharge while examining a machine gun at Euston, England. Captain Shives’ remains were repatriated to Canada and he was buried in Fernhill Cemetery in Saint John. The pew, choir stalls and organ in the Anglican Christ Church in Campbellton are dedicated to the memory of Captain Shives and his father Kilgour Shives. (Also see Memorial Hall entry in York County.)
Lance Corporal Robert Stewart’s Unfortunate Death In the Riverview Cemetery two markers indicate the grave of Robert Gordon Caldwell Stewart, one a family gravestone and the other a veteran’s marker. Stewart was born in Dalhousie, New Brunswick, on 16 March 1879. At the outbreak of the First World War he was employed in Ontario and he immediately enlisted in the 15th (48th Highlanders) Battalion. He sailed with his unit to England in October 1914 and arrived in France on 14 February 1915. On 23 April 1915, Stewart received serious wounds to his head and shoulder at Gravenstafel Ridge during the 2nd Battle of Ypres. Within the month he was in hospitals in England and in December, suffering paralysis on one side, he was returned to Canada and placed in the St. John Military Hospital. In order to receive specialist treatment he was sent to Toronto. Due to his wounds, Stewart had impaired vision and was very unsteady on his feet. While convalescing he took a walk on Yonge Street. Despite his protests of innocence, a military policeman arrested him for drunkenness and place him in a police cell. Although released immediately the next morning, in his weakened condition he developed pneumonia in the damp cell and died shortly after on 28 March 1916. The Thompson Family Military Service during the Second World War
New Brunswick International Paper Mill during the Second World War When World War Two broke out, James O’Halloran, Chief Engineer at Anglo-Canadian Pulp and Paper Mills in Quebec City, developed a plan for gearing up machine shops at pulp and paper mills to assist with war production. The paper mill at Dalhousie was involved in this programme and outfitted several warships during the war. One of the ships outfitted at this mill was the ill-fated armed yacht HMS Racoon, sunk in the St Lawrence by a U-boat while on convoy escort duty with the loss of all 38 hands. The Dalhousie mill was recognized for its war effort with a Certificate of Merit for its “outstanding and meritorious work in the production of eccentric sheaves and straps for 10,000 ton cargo vessel engines.”
HMCS Inch Arran During the World War Two, the Royal Canadian Navy named their ships after towns and cities. Since no two Allied warship could share the same name, the RCN began to run out of names and came up with the idea of using names associated with selected communities. HMCS Inch Arran was named for Inch Arran Point in Dalhousie. The point was named by John Hamilton an early settler and native of the Island of Arran in the Firth of Clyde, Scotland. The word “inch” is also of Scottish origin and refers to a small point of land. HMCS Inch Arran remained in service to the end of the war and as late as the 1960s.
Veterans' Memorial
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