In a “memorial” dated August 20, 1778, John Burbidge petitioned the Nova Scotia government on “behalf of himself and many of the principal inhabitants of Kings County” for military protection and compensation following a raid by American privateers up the Cornwallis River.

In the petition, Burbidge “honourably (showed) that on the night between 9 and 10 August at Cornwallis in said county, some whaleboats came up the Cornwallis River with between 30-40 armed men (and) invaded and plundered the home of Wm. Best Esquire.” The raid, notes the provincial archives, took place near what eventually was to be the town of Kentville.

The American Revolutionary War was raging at the time of the raid and privateers had been give carte blanche to take British ships whenever and wherever possible. Nearly 800 vessels were commissioned as privateers by the American Congress and the waters off Nova Scotia and settlements along the coast, which were largely undefended, were prime targets.

In the raid up the Cornwallis River, the privateers that plundered the home of William Best took “everything valuable of easy carriage (everything of value that could be picked up and carried to the whaleboats). They took cash and other effects to the amount of 1000 pounds and upwards,” Burbidge stated in his petition.”

Describing the raid in a 1933 Dalhousie University thesis (Pre-Loyalist Settlements Around Minas Basis) James Stuart Martell briefly described the raid, stating that before any assistance could arrive, the pirates had “escaped to their two brigantines, which were lying the Bay.”

As early as 1777, Martell writes, fearing attacks from American privateers the settlers in Cornwallis and Horton townships had petitioned the government to ask for military protection. The petition went unanswered, Martel says and “after this audacious visit from the pirates, panic spread among the inhabitants of Kings County.” Once again they petitioned the government, stating bluntly that unless some protection was given, they would be “induced to remove with their families from their settlements.”

Again quoting Martell, the direct result of the pirate raid up the Cornwallis River was the establishment of Fort Hughes in Cornwallis township. New barracks were built that would hold 56 men. Martell doesn’t indicate if British regulars or the local militia manned the fort, but by early November, about three months after the raid, Fort Hughes was operational.

Throughout the remaining years of the American Revolution, privateers constantly threatened the Minas Basin settlers. American privateers were reported in Minas Basin late in 1778. The following spring several armed American whaleboats were spotted in Minas Basin but there were no more raids up the Cornwallis River.

He played a significant role in preserving the early history of the province, contributed some to compiling the history of Kings County, and has rightly been hailed as Nova Scotia’s national historian; yet you probably never have heard of Beamish Murdoch and the major role he played in writing about the early history of Nova Scotia.

Murdoch was a pioneer in the field of historical research and historical writing. As well as an author, he was a lawyer and political figure in Nova Scotia. Born in Halifax in 1800, Murdoch was one generation removed from the Ireland. He was admitted to the bar of Nova Scotia in 1822 and served as MLA for Halifax township from 1826 to 1830.

While he was a noted lawyer and political figure, it is his role as a historian that he deserves to be remembered. Murdoch is the author of the History of Nova Scotia, or Acadie, which he began to write when he retired in 1860. He wrote his three volume history in instalments, publishing them between 1865 and 1867.

Writing the three-volume history was only possible after the founding of the provincial archives, the Record Commission of Nova Scotia, in 1857. The archives first commissioner, T. B. Akins, had collected historical papers and documents of all kinds from various parts of Canada, from America and from Europe. Within seven years of the archives being formed Akins had amassed some 211 volumes and nearly 40 boxes of documents. Most of the public and historical records extant on Nova Scotia at the time – including many rare documents related to the English regime and the deportation of the Acadians – were collected and catalogued by Akins.

Murdock would make good use of this vast amount of material in writing the history, and was the first historian to do so. You can find Murdoch’s history at Acadia University. Also, an American University has posted his entire history on line – Google Murdoch’s history of Nova Scotia – but be warned: Unless you’re really an avid history buff it’s dry, sleep inducing reading.

Now to the Kings County connection with Murdoch the historian: Much of what Arthur W. H. Eaton writes about in his Kings County history came from research completed by other historical writers. One of them was Murdoch of whom Eaton only mentions twice as a source while praising the likes of William Pitt Brechin and Benjamin Rand. Yet without accessing Murdoch’s historical writing – his three volume history and other historical essays – Eaton couldn’t have written a truly comprehensive history of Kings County. This is the impression I get after reading relevant sections of Murdoch’s history. Eaton neglected to acknowledge his debt to Murdoch and also to Kentville historian, Edmond J. Cogswell. Eaton quotes Cogswell freely (from various newspaper articles published in the 1890s) but doesn’t name him, referring to him only as a “recent writer.”