Acadians as a possible threat. In spite of resistance led by Jean-Louis Le Loutre, representatives eventually agreed to sign, but their reluctance persuaded Governor Charles Lawrence to order the Acadian population expelled from British territory. About 1,100 Acadians living around the Petitcodiac River were affected by this decision. Two hundred British troops led by Major Joseph Frye were sent to destroy the settlements of the Three Rivers, beginning with Shepody and Village-des-Blanchard (now Hillsborough). French resistance commander Charles Deschamps de Boishébert, hoping to evacuate as many Acadians as possible, was unable to march the distance between Nerepis and the Shepody settlement in time, but fought at the second threatened village on 28 August 1755. Boishébert's troops, composed of inhabitants from the area and from Shepody, counter-attacked, suffering only one loss to twenty-three British casualties. This defeat is thought to have been the reason for the British abandonment of the campaign at the Three Rivers. The commander and the evacuated Acadians, whom Edward Larracey estimated to total around 700, suffered a massive famine from 1756 to 1758, largely caused by the scarce resources following the battle. In 1758, Joseph Broussard, also known as Beausoleil by the locals, led raids against British vessels sailing in the Bay of Fundy and the Cumberland Basin. This provoked the British into initiating two raids of their own. The first took place in February in Shediac, where Lieutenant Colonel George Scott tried to find Boishébert. When they were returning, Boishébert ambushed them, killing two of Scott's gunmen. The second raid took place at the settlement of Shepody in March, where the British were shocked to find that the Acadians had already begun rebuilding their homes. On 28 June, Scott learned of reports that cattle were stolen outside of Fort Beausejour; the British issued an order for Captain Beloni Danks to send 75 men up the Petitcodiac River. They arrived in Moncton the following night, and about 30 Acadians began firing at their vessel. However, Danks held his offensive position, and the British killed 19 Acadians, taking nine others prisoner. He and his troops continued to sail up the river the next day; they sent 60 men to burn a settlement west of Moncton. Historians presume that the area had already been deserted. Acadians continued to survive in the region, overcoming the results of the raids. Scott sailed back to the region to search for Beausoleil and