Saint-Pierre’s Antebellum Bell
History June 17th, 2010
This is a sincere appeal to help locate a church bell that was taken as a war prize in 1793 from Saint-Pierre, Saint-Pierre et Miquelon to Nova Scotia. This appeal was fist published in 1999 on various usenet forums.
When was this BELL taken?
It was taken by British troops from Halifax under Wentworth, Olgivie and King when they attacked Saint-Pierre in May of 1793. The islands were subsequently occupied and the entire population deported by 1794. “The island of St Peter’s with that of Miquelon was taken from the French Republic the beginning of this War by the Alligator, Frigate, and a detachment of three hundred men under the command of General Olgivie, from Halifax. … A number of the Inhabitants, Prisoners of War, have been sent to Nova Scotia.” - Aaron Thomas 1794.
Why was this BELL taken?
It was a war prize. Before deporting the population most possessions were destroyed. “The whole of the Inhabitans are to be sent away in a month’s time, and then the Town is to be burtn down and everything destroy’d, after which the English Soldiers will evacuate the place. ” - Aaron Thomas.
In fact the English did not destroy the town as they had initially planned. It was French Rear Admiral Richery who destroyed the Town in 1796 so the English could not use Saint-Pierre as a fishing base as they did between 1713 and 1763. “The domestic Scences of distress amongst the poor French were many and afflicting. Grown old on the Island they got a comfortable living Fishing - and thus aged and infirm, numbers were forc’d to go God knows where to spend the remainder of their days in a strange Land. ” - Aaron Thomas 1794.
Why was Britain attacking Saint-Pierre?
Aware of the importance of the fishery on these islands, the British Government dispatched orders to attack Saint-Pierre a few days after the declaration of War between Britain and France. The Governor of Nova-Scotia , John Wentworth, was also very alarmed at the presence of Revolutionaries and Republicans elements within the Saint-Pierre population.
What else is known about this bell?
“There was a bell at Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, which was taken to Halifax at the time of the conflicts between France and England, although there is nothing which is given either of its origin or of its fate. All that we know is that, around the end of the 19th century, this bell was brought to Halifax as a booty of war. It was bought for the new Catholic church of Halifax (the future cathedral) which received its steeple in 1793-94. It is not said anywhere when this bell arrived in Halifax. But according to the date just mentioned, it could have been during the war which the Revolutionary Government of France declared on England in February of 1793. In the spring, an expedition had left Halifax for Saint Pierre-et-Miquelon and seized the island without firing a single shot.” From The Story of Acadian Bells
How you can help
Please comment below this message or email me [mac @ spm dot org] with any information that might lead to the locating of this bell.
Photgraph of Bell from TravelPod.com
Comments on this website are the responsibility of their respective authors.
July 3rd, 2010 at 12:18 am
According to the Yarmouth Vanguard, Tuesday, March 20 1990, the story of Saint-Pierre’s bell is as follows:
“Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon: There was a bell at Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, which was taken to Halifax at the time of the conflicts between France and England, although there is nothing which is given either of its origin or of its fate. All that we know is that, around the end of the 19th century, this bell was brought to Halifax as a booty of war. It was bought for the new Catholic church of Halifax (the future cathedral) which received its steeple in 1793-94. It is not said anywhere when this bell arrived in Halifax. But according to the date just mentioned, it could have been during the war which the Revolutionary Government of France declared on England in February of 1793. In the spring, an expedition had left Halifax for Saint Pierre-et-Miquelon and seized the island without firing a single shot.”
July 3rd, 2010 at 12:20 am
From: Marc A. Cormier
To: St. Mary’s Basilica
Date: Saturday, June 05, 2004
Dear father Williams,
Some years ago I initiated a historical request with the archbishopric of Nova-Scotia in regards to a long lost Bell taken at Saint-Pierre in 1794. My request at the time was met with somewhat terse language and I was told the matter was considered closed. Ten years later I still cannot lay this matter to rest in my mind as I believe most sincerely the Bell taken from Saint-Pierre is still somewhere in Nova Scotia.
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From: St. Mary’s Basilica
To: Marc A. Cormier
Date: July 16th 2004
Dear Mr. Cormier,
Fr. Williams passed your email on to me as I had done a fair bit of research about the bells at St. Mary’s. However, there is very little information about them available. If there was one bell that was here when the first church was erected, then there is no information as to what happened to it. The bells that are here now were first installed in 1879. During the Halifax explosion some of the bells were cracked and were sent to England to be re-cast. On the largest of the bells there is an inscription of the re-casting date and that the bells were in honour of those serving in World War I.
I am sorry I cannot offer you any information on the bell that you are searching for. If I can be of any other assistance, then please let me know.
Kind regards,
Georgie Ward