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23-735: The earliest mention of the name is in the narrative of John Gyles . He states that in 1689 he visited a branch of the St. John river about ten miles to a branch called Medeockseenecasis. The suffix "asis" is a diminutive so it is possible that the name is a form of Little Meductic . The current spelling was first seen in 1840. In New Brunswick, the watershed of the Meduxnekeag is home to the richest, most diverse, and highest concentration of remnant sites of mature Appalachian Hardwood Forest in Atlantic Canada, containing many understorey plants rare or uncommon in

46-711: A larger expedition by Church against a number of other Acadian communities. During King William's War - the first of the four French and Indian Wars - French and Indians were victorious in the Siege of Pemaquid (1696) (present day Bristol, Maine ) earlier that year. In the Siege of Pemaquid, the French and Indians had destroyed Fort William Henry , which the English colonial militia leader Benjamin Church himself assisted in erecting. In response to

69-635: A modern adaptation of the memoirs by Stuart Trueman in 1966. Gyles Cove, north of Hillman in York County, New Brunswick was named for him. The memoirs are considered a precursor to the frontier romances of James Fenimore Cooper , William Gilmore Simms , and Robert Montgomery Bird . A play was produced about his life called John Gyles: an Indian Experience by Theatre New Brunswick 's Young Company in 1978. Siege of Fort Nashwaak (1696) The siege of Fort Nashwaak occurred during King William's War when New England forces from Boston attacked

92-778: The Siege of Pemaquid (1689) . His father was killed, one brother James was taken by the Penobscot, and only one brother escaped. John was conveyed up the Penobscot River , across portages to the Chiputneticook Lakes , and on to the main Maliseet village Meductic . For six years, Gyles was a slave to the Maliseets . He was forced to serve as drudge to one of the many small hunting parties that moved as far north as Gaspésie and endured harsh treatment. His fortunes greatly improved in

115-656: The English. The French were able to knock out one English cannon and slow the English fire of the last cannon due to continuous fire from the fort. The New Englanders were defeated (having suffered 8 killed and 17 wounded) and evacuated their position, retreating down the river. The French harassed the English retreat, keeping up musket fire and making them believe the Indians were following them. The French lost one killed and two wounded including Mathieu d'Amours. In response to Church's failed siege, Acadian Rene d'Amour of Aukpacque and Father Simon-Gérard accompanied an expedition of

138-468: The Indians at Fort Nerepis (later known as Fort Boishebert ) which was under attack by the English forces. The English continued their cautious approach and on October 16 were spotted by Sieur Neuvillette a short distance below Jemseg. Governor Villebon having been alerted, had prepared his defences. Several days earlier, on October 11, Governor Villebon, made a request to Father Simon-Gérard de La Place to gather Maliseet militia from Meductic to defend

161-665: The Maliseet militia, which, although one of the largest gatherings of natives ever assembled in Acadia, did not, after all, accomplish very much. By withdrawing from the Siege of Fort Nashwaak, the British gave up two small boats. Baptiste used them to head to Grand Pre . While in Grand Pre he armed the vessels and recruited Acadian crew members to make a descent on the coast of New England. In March 1697 Baptiste had captured eight English fishing vessels within three leagues of Casco Bay . Bapiste

184-590: The bridge on the North Branch (just above the confluence) and take out in downtown Woodstock, a half-day canoe depending on lingering time, passing through scenic, mostly forested country. The final 2 km before Woodstock is through an extensive wetland. The intervales and islands of the Meduxnekeag are locally celebrated for the edible fiddlehead ostrich fern, harvested in May. John Gyles John Gyles ( c. 1680 at Pemaquid, Maine —1755 at Roxbury, Boston )

207-544: The capital of Acadia , Fort Nashwaak , at present-day Fredericton, New Brunswick . The siege was in retaliation for the French and Indian Siege of Pemaquid (1696) at present day Bristol, Maine . In the English Province of Massachusetts Bay . Colonel John Hathorne and Major Benjamin Church were the leaders of the New England force of 400 men. The siege lasted two days, between October 18–20, 1696, and formed part of

230-412: The defeat, the following month Benjamin Church led a devastating raid on Chignecto and then laid siege to the capital of Acadia, Fort Nashwaak in 1696. Fort Nashwaak was a four-sided log palisade erected by Governor Villebon in 1691-92, who had decided to relocate the capital from Fort Jemseg as he felt a setting further up river would be safer from attack. Called by Villebon Fort St. Joseph , it

253-621: The door a statement, written by D'Amours' wife, that English captives had been treated kindly there. After the Treaty of Ryswick , Gyles was delivered to the captain of an English vessel at the mouth of the Saint John and sailed for Boston, where he arrived on 19 June 1698. Gyles' knowledge of and fluency in the Indian dialects of Acadia made him invaluable to the governing authorities of New England when war broke out again in 1701. During Queen Anne's War , he

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276-462: The fort from an attack. On October 16, Father Simon and Acadian Sieur de Clignancourt led 36 Maliseet militia members to Nashwaak to defend Fort Nashawaak. In further preparation to defend his position, Villebon cleared his field of fire by dismantling a house, hid surplus powder in hidden caches, and assigned his men to their positions. On October 18 the English troops arrived opposite the fort, landed three cannons (two being used with some effect with

299-457: The fort throughout Father Rale's War , until 1725. He finished his military career as commander of the New England garrison on Fort St. George (Thomaston, Maine) . He married his first wife, Ruth True, in 1703 and his second, Hannah Heath in 1722. In 1736 Gyles published his memoirs of his adventures. First printed in Boston in 1736, it was reprinted in 1853 and in 1875, and used as the basis for

322-410: The lower confines of the river and to carry supplies to Sieur Chevalier. On October 9, Neuvillette sent word back to Fort Nashwaak that six English vessels had entered the harbour at Saint John and landed two hundred English and Indian troops after successfully attacking Sieur Chevalier. On October 12, Neuvillette fell back to Fort Nashwaak and on the way picked up seven or eight French soldiers rescued by

345-558: The province. These include black raspberry, wild ginger , maidenhair fern , showy orchis , wild coffee, and numerous others. The non-profit Meduxnekeag River Association Inc., based in Woodstock, has purchased, since 1998, approximately 2.25 square kilometres (500 acres) of forest, with more than 6 km (3.7 mi) of undeveloped shoreline. This Meduxnekeag Valley Nature Preserve has more than 10 km (6.2 mi) of well-marked, low impact walking trails. Animals commonly found in

368-515: The summer of 1695 when he was sold to Louis D'Amours de Chauffours , who had a seigneury at Jemseg . John hunted and traded for D'Amours and worked in his store. In October 1696, the English came up the Saint John River to attack the capital of Acadia in the Siege of Fort Nashwaak (1696) . D'Amours was in France at the time, but Gyles helped to save his master's house from destruction. He posted on

391-557: The third unable to function effectively as it had been positioned too close, taking heavy musket fire from Villebon's forces) and assembled earthworks on the south bank of the Nashwaak River. Baptiste was there to defend the capital, having arrived at the Fort on Oct 17 with ten Saint John River Acadian settlers. Baptiste joined the Maliseet from Meductic for the duration of the siege. There

414-692: The watershed include the moose , white-tailed deer , black bear , eastern coyote , red fox , raccoon , beaver , eastern chipmunk , striped skunk , red squirrel , snowshoe hare , mink , weasels , porcupine , and various mice , voles , and shrews . Significant sections of the Meduxnekeag are easy to canoe or kayak in high or medium water conditions (generally in May and June, and in September and October; also in July/August in wet summers). Annual canoe races are held in both Maine and New Brunswick in May. Recreational canoeists traditionally put in just below

437-454: Was a fierce exchange of cannon fire for two days, with the advantage going to the better sited French guns. In addition to the opposing cannonades, Sr. Clignancourt and Sr. Baptiste with the Mi'kmaq allies confronted a force of English allied Indians advancing along the Nashwaak River. On the second day of the siege at about noon M. de Falaise arrived from Quebec and immediately placed his arms against

460-460: Was an interpreter and soldier, most known for his account of his experiences with the Maliseet tribes at their headquarters at Meductic , on the Saint John River . During King William's War , in 1689, when he was nine years of age, he was living with his family at Fort Charles . On 2 August, while labouring with his father Thomas near the new fort, he was taken prisoner by Maliseets in

483-481: Was injured three times in the raid, however, he was able to capture the vessels and took many prisoners. Two New England privateer ships arrived at the scene but Baptiste was able to beat them back and safely return to Grand Pre with his prizes. Church threatened the Acadians at Chignecto before leaving that he would return if more New Englanders suffered. He did return to raid Chignecto again during Queen Anne's War in

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506-505: Was located on the north bank of the Nashwaak River at its junction with the Saint John River. The site offered the additional strategic benefits to Villebon of being situated near the Maliseet capital of Meductic and of being on a traditional portage route. First informed on October 1 by Sieur Chevalier that an English brig had entered the harbour at Saint John, Villebon sent Sieur Neuvillette, on October 5 with seven men, to reconnoiter

529-492: Was with March in the Northeast Coast Campaign (1703) . He served as an interpreter under many flags of truce, sailed with Major Benjamin Church in 1704, and fought with Colonel John March at the Siege of Port Royal (1707) . Most of his later life was given to military service and liaison with the Indians. In 1715 he helped construct Fort George at Brunswick ; which was attacked in 1722. He remained to command

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