July 11, 1764, it was legal for the Acadians to return if they were willing to take an unqualified oath of allegiance.

The Dykes of Remsheg Bay

By: Francis Grant

In seventeen hundred and ten they'd come

Into primal forest land,

Then raised their dwellings, log on log

And roofs contrived, with adept hand'

Of poles, and bark from ancient birch;

Built chimneys, stout, of stone and clay;

And that their flocks and their herds be fed,

They raised the Dykes of Remsheg Bay

The men-folk shaped with axe and saw,

Bed, board and bench; their wants were small;

With skillful knife, carved bowl and spoon

And for the toddler's dog and doll:

The cradle by the hearthside stood

And lulled by many an ancient lay

Babe after babe was rocked within,

Born by the dykes of Remsheg Bay.

The women helped to shear the sheep,

Then washed the wool till snowy white

They carded, spun and wound the yarn

By fire and tallow-candle light:

They knit and wove the family clothes,

With song and myth of work made play;

They dyed their garments brilliant hues,

Near-by the dykes of Remsheg Bay.

The Children many tasks performed;

They watched the sheep and pulled the weeds,

Picked berries, red and blue and black,

In great abundance for their needs;

They loved the early weeks of spring,

When maple sap flowed day by day,

And reveled in the toothsome sweets,

Made by the dykes of Remsheg Bay.

In winter furs were worn for warmth,

Of fox and beaver, bear and moose,

Of muskrat, otter and raccoon,

And feathers from the migrant goose

Were prized by householder for the beds,

With well filled ticks whereon to lay,

In comfort cold and frosty nights'

By ice bound dykes of Remsheg Bay.

The earliest settlers had no school,

The Priest alone could write and read,

They farmed and fished and hunted game,

Of learning had but little need:

Acadian people liked to dance,

To tell old legends, sing and play,

And many a fiddler's lively tune

Rang o'er the dykes of Remsheg Bay.

Four decades and a half they lived

On Remsheg shores, and prospered well

By shipping food to Louisburg,

A practice Britian sought to quell,

But greedy for the French King's gold

Continued in their stubborn way

To send their kine, grown fat upon

Lush grass by dykes of Remsheg Bay

Shrewd Governor Lawrence saw that war

Would soon break our with sword and gun,

And off to England letters sent,

Suggesting what should now be done,

As threats to Nova Scotia loomed

Acadians must be shipped away,

From every hamlet in the land,

Including chose at Remsheg Bay

Swift sailing frigates of the fleet

The orders carried overseas,

But ships of sail are subject to

The wind and weather vagaries;

Time sped away and fall drew near,

No longer could there be delay

At ease they laboured on their farms

Beside the dykes of Remsheg Bay.

And so it was that Lawrence, then

With neighboring Governor Shirley's aid,

Moved forward on expulsion plans-

The dire and dread decision made:

Ere the reply had been received,

Which ordered an emphatic , "Nay! "

New England soldiers had arrived

At Tatamagouche and Remsheg Bay

The Massachusetts troops abhoored

This task they were compelled to do

But orders soldier must obey

Good Captain Willard sickened too,

As homes and barns went up in flames,

Lifetime hard labor wrenched away,

While men stood prisoners women wept.

At Tatamagouche and Remsheg Bay

With bright and pleasant cloudless skies,

August fifteenth had thus begun,

And lazy fragrant wood- fire smoke

Climbed slowly towards the smiling sun;

By nightfall how the scene had changed!

Sad hearts were leaden, skies were grey;

The first to feel the awesome blow

Were Tatamagouche and Remsheg Bay.

Two centuries and more have passed,

Almost unknown their doleful tale;

Alone the toil wrought dykes remain,

No other trace o'er hill and dale

But year on year the mounds stand forth,

"We mourn our loss," they seem to say,

And marsh winds add their haunting wail,

Along the dykes of Remsheg Bay.