Individual Details

Joseph Beausoleil Broussard

(19 Oct 1702 - 18 Sep 1765)

Life of Joseph “Beausoleil” Broussard (1702–1765)

Early Life (c.1702–1725)
Joseph Broussard, known as dit Beausoleil, was born around 1702 at Port-Royal (Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia) to Jean-François Brossard and Catherine Richard. He grew up in a large Acadian family that would later become deeply involved in resistance against British expansion.

Marriage and Early Troubles (1724–1726)
In September 1725, at Annapolis Royal, Joseph married Agnès Thibodeau, daughter of Michel Thibodeau (Tibaudeau) and Agnès Dugas. Agnès was also the younger sister of the wife of Joseph’s brother Alexandre.
Around this time, Joseph appeared twice before the Annapolis council:
• 1724 – accused of rough treatment of another Acadian
• 1726 – accused of fathering an illegitimate child; he denied it but was jailed for refusing to provide support

Settlement at Chipoudy and Petitcodiac (1720s–1740)
Following his brother Alexandre and sister‑in‑law Marguerite, Joseph and Agnès moved to Chipoudy (Shepody) and Petitcodiac, choosing to live in territory more firmly under French influence.

Around 1740, Joseph settled at Le Cran (Stoney Creek), south of present‑day Moncton.

Rise as a Militia Leader (1747–1755)
During King George’s War, Joseph assisted French officer Nicolas‑Antoine Coulon de Villiers at the Battle of Minas in early 1747. His support for French troops led Massachusetts governor William Shirley to outlaw him and 11 others on 21 October 1747.

By this time, Joseph and his brother Alexandre were recognized leaders of Acadian partisans resisting British authority.

Fort Beauséjour and the Deportation Era (1755–1758)
In June 1755, as the British besieged Fort Beauséjour, Joseph:
• engaged in skirmishes
• captured a British officer
• was praised by French officer Louis‑Thomas Jacau de Fiedmont as one of the bravest and most enterprising Acadians

On 16 June 1755, the day the fort fell, Joseph boldly attacked the British camp with 60 French and Indigenous fighters, losing only one man.

Two days later, he met with Colonel Robert Monckton, offering to mediate with Indigenous allies in exchange for amnesty—conditional on approval from Charles Lawrence.

When the Acadian deportation began later in 1755, Joseph and his family likely fled into the woods. He may have joined Charles Deschamps de Boishébert in resisting British raids on Chipoudy and Petitcodiac.

Under orders from Governor Pierre de Rigaud de Vaudreuil, Joseph outfitted a small privateer and captured several prizes in the Bay of Fundy. With help from his four sons and Acadian refugees along the Petitcodiac, he continued guerrilla resistance.

In November 1758, during a British campaign led by George Scott, Joseph was wounded in the foot and temporarily withdrew to the Miramichi region.

Final Resistance and Imprisonment (1761–1764)
Even after the fall of Québec and Louisbourg, some Acadians continued resisting. In August 1761, British Colonel William Forster wrote that the remaining rebels were “spirited up in their obstinacy by one BeauSoleil.”

By November 1761, famine forced Joseph and a group of settlers to surrender to Colonel Joseph Frye at Fort Cumberland.

In October 1762, Joseph and his family were imprisoned at Fort Edward (Windsor, N.S.), then transferred to Halifax, where they remained until the Treaty of Paris (1763).

Later in 1763, Joseph was arrested again at Pisiquid (Windsor) for carrying a letter from the French ambassador in London encouraging Acadians to emigrate to France. He was released in 1764.

Exile to Saint‑Domingue and Louisiana (1764–1765)
After his release, Joseph chartered a schooner and sailed with other Acadians to Saint‑Domingue (Hispaniola). Many died from the climate, and Joseph brought the survivors to Louisiana in early 1765.

Final Months and Death (1765)
On 8 April 1765, in New Orleans, Charles‑Philippe Aubry, commandant of Louisiana, appointed Joseph:
• Captain of the militia
• Commandant of the Acadians in the Attakapas region (modern St. Landry, St. Martin, and Lafayette parishes)

Joseph Broussard died a few months later and was buried on 20 October 1765 at Beausoleil, near present‑day Broussard, Louisiana.

Today, he remains a legendary figure among Louisiana Acadians for his leadership, resilience, and defiance.

Events

Birth	19 Oct 1702	Port-Royal, Acadie, Nouvelle-France
Marriage	11 Sep 1725	Port Royal, Annapolis, Nova Scotia, Canada - Agnès Thibodeau
Census	12 Aug 1763	Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Death	18 Sep 1765	Yellow Fever - Attakapas Post, St. Martinville, St. Martin, Louisiana
Burial	20 Oct 1765	Beausoleil, Attakapas Territory, Louisiana
Alt name		Joseph Broussard dit Beausoleil
Alt name		Joseph Joseph Broussard dit Beausoleil Broussard dit Beausoleil
Alt name		dit Beausoleil Broussard dit Beausoleil Broussard
Alt name		Joseph Joseph Brossard Brossard
Alt name		Joseph Brossard
Alt name		Gaurhept Broussard Beau Soleil
Alt name		Joseph Brussare
Alt name		Joseph Beausoleil Broussard dit Beausolei

Families

Spouse	Agnès Thibodeau (1706 - 1765)
Child	Joseph Jean Gregoire Broussard (1726 - 1758)
Child	Joseph Gregoire Broussard (1727 - 1788)
Child	Victor-Grégoire Broussard (1728 - 1766)
Child	Isabelle Elizabeth Broussard (1730 - 1777)
Child	Raphael Broussard (1733 - 1765)
Child	Timothée-Athanase Broussard (1741 - 1769)
Child	François Broussard dit Beausoleil (1746 - 1819)
Child	Francoise Broussard dit Beausoleil (1746 - 1801)
Child	Claude Eloi Broussard (1748 - 1819)
Child	Amand Broussard dit Beausoleil (1750 - 1818)

Father	François Broussard (1654 - 1716)
Mother	Marie Catherine Richard (1663 - 1755)

Individual Details

Joseph Beausoleil Broussard

Events

Families

Endnotes