It is but fair to state that our knowledge of the gross indignity to which Lady la Tour was subjected is derived from Denys’ narrative, and its authenticity has been questioned by Parkman. Nevertheless accounts of the transaction that have come to us from sources friendly to Charnisay admit that he hanged the greater number of his prisoners, “to serve as an example to posterity,” and that Madame la Tour was put into confinement where, as Charnisay’s reporter somewhat brutally observes, “she fell ill with spite and rage.” The Lady la Tour did not long survive her misfortunes. Scarcely three weeks had elapsed after the capture of the fort she had so gallantly defended when she died and was laid to rest near the spot consecrated by her devotion, the scene of so many hopes and fears.
There will always be a peculiar charm for us in the story of our Acadian heroine. Fearless, energetic, resolute undoubtedly she was, yet who shall say that the motives that actuated her were other than pure and womanly? A heart more loyal and true never beat in a human breast. She gave her life to protect her husband, 28 her children and the humbler dependents that followed their fortunes from the hands of a bitter and unscrupulous enemy.
The capture of his stronghold and the death of his faithful wife involved la Tour in what appeared to be at the time irreparable ruin. He found himself once more, as in his younger days, an exile and a wanderer.
The booty taken by Charnisay was valued at £10,000 sterling and as it had been accumulated in traffic with the Indians we may form some idea of the value of the trade of the St. John river at this time.
When the capture of la Tour’s fort was known at the court of Versailles the young king was well pleased. He confirmed Charnisay’s authority in Acadia and even extended it—on paper—from the St. Lawrence to Virginia. He could build forts, command by land and sea, appoint officers of government and justice, keep such lands as he fancied and grant the remainder to his vassals. He had also a monopoly of the fur trade and with Fort la Tour, the best trading post in Acadia, in his possession, the prospect for the future was very bright. Charnisay possessed the instincts of a colonizer and had already brought a number of settlers to Acadia. Everything at this juncture seemed to point to a growing trade and a thriving colony; but once again the hand of destiny appears. In the very zenith of his fortune and in the prime of manhood Charnisay was drowned on the 24th day of May, 1650, in the Annapolis river near Port Royal.
With Charnisay’s disappearance la Tour reappears upon the scene. His former defiant attitude is forgotten, he is recognized as the most capable man of affairs in Acadia and in September, 1651, we find him again in possession of his old stronghold at St. John. The king now gave him a fresh commission as lieutenant-general in Acadia with ample territorial rights. Disputes soon afterwards arose concerning the claims of the widow of d’Aulnay Charnisay; these disputes were set at rest by the marriage of the parties interested. The marriage contract, a lengthy document, was signed at Port Royal the 24th day of February, 1653, and its closing paragraph shows that there was little sentiment involved: “The said seigneur de la Tour and the said dame d’Aulnay his future spouse, to attain the ends and principal design of their intended marriage, which is the peace and tranquillity of the country and concord and union between the two families, wish and desire as much as lies with them that in the future their children should contract a new alliance of marriage together.”
There is no evidence to show that la Tour’s second marriage proved unhappy, though it is a very unromantic ending to an otherwise very romantic story. His second wife had also been the second wife of Charnisay who was a widower when he married her; her maiden name was Jeanne Motin. Descendants of la Tour by his second marriage are to be found in the families of the d’Entremonts, Girouards, Porliers and Landrys of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.
La Tour and his new wife were quietly living at St. John the year after their marriage when four English ships of war suddenly appeared before the fort and demanded its surrender. These ships had in the first instance been placed at the disposal of the people of Massachusetts by Oliver Cromwell for the purpose of an expedition against the Dutch colony of Manhattan (now New York); but on the eve 29 of their departure news arrived that peace had been made with Holland. It was then decided that the expedition should proceed under Major Robert Sedgewick’s command to capture the French strongholds in Acadia. This was a bold measure for England and France were then ostensibly at peace. La Tour at once saw that resistance was useless and surrendered his fort and the flag of Britain was hoisted over the ramparts. However, la Tour’s address did not desert him; he went to England and laid before Cromwell his claim as a grantee under the charter of Sir William Alexander. He proved as skilful a diplomatist as ever and obtained, cojointly with Thomas Temple and William Crowne, a grant which practically included the whole of Acadia.
La Tour, now more than 60 years of age, was sagacious enough to see that disputes were sure again to arise between England and France with regard to Acadia, and not wishing to be the football of fortune, sold his rights to Sir Thomas Temple his co-partner, and retired to private life. He died in 1666 at the age of 72 years and his ashes rest within the confines of his beloved Acadia.