LOUISBURG, A town on the Atlantic coast of Cape Breton island, eommand ing the entrance to the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, a position which gave it great importance during the French and English wars of the eighteenth century. Cape Breton Island was secured to the French by the Peace of Utrecht in 1713. and the French Government at enormous expense erected a formidable fortress, inclosing and commanding an excellent harbor. This post served as a rendezvous for French fleets and French priva teers and was a source of ever-threatening dan ger to the New England fishermen on the Bank-. So great was this menace that, in 1745. Governor Shirley of Massachusetts was able to induce the Assembly of that Colony to undertake the reduc tion of the post. A force of some 3600 men (the great majority of whom were from Massachu setts), under the leadership of Col. William Pep perell, escorted by a fleet of 100 New England vessels, was joined by a British squadron under Commodore Warren, and the undertaking was carried to a triumphant conclusion. Louisburg
was invested April 30, 1745, and its garrison of 1600 men surrendered on June 17th. In 1748, however, by the terms of the Treaty of Aix-la Chapelle, Louisburg again became the property of France. Ten years later, in 1758, the town was invested by a force of 14,000 men under General Amherst and captured. Since that time it has been a part of British America. While under the French dominion, Louisburg was a flourishing centre for the fishing trade. Under English gov ernment the place has dwindled into insignifi cance, and its capacious harbor is used simply as a stopping-place for steamships. Besides the his tories of Cape Breton, much valuable material relating to the siege of Louisburg has been pub lished in the annual volumes of the Society of Colonial Wars.