Fought between France and England in 1760, the Battle of the Restigouche was the last naval battle of the Seven Years War for the conquest of New France. Surprisingly this battle was not fought in the open seas as one would expect, but rather the shallow waters of the Restigouche River, between what is now Quebec and New Brunswick, Canada.

In the fall of 1759 the British overtook Quebec City, threatening France’s remaining hold over its colony-New France. A fleet of six ships carrying reinforcements was sent from Bordeaux, France, but it never reached Quebec City. Instead it took refuge in the Chaleur Bay after encountering the British blockade. There it awaited instructions from Montreal, and gathered supplies.

Soon they were found by the British and the battle commenced in late June, 1760. Although the British won, France showed great strength and determination.

Two hundred years after the battle, the Archaeological Reasearch Division of Parks Canada conducted an excavation of the flagship: Machault. The process took four years and was finally completed in 1972. At the time, this was the largest submerged-site archaelogical excavation in the world.