author
William Pepperell
A wealthy New England merchant who became one of colonial America’s best-known military leaders, he is remembered above all for leading the 1745 expedition that captured the French fortress of Louisbourg. His life brings together trade, politics, and war in the British Atlantic world before the American Revolution.
1 Audiobook
About the author
Born in Kittery Point, in what is now Maine, in 1696, William Pepperrell built on his family’s successful mercantile business and became a prominent shipowner, trader, and public figure in colonial New England. He served in local and provincial offices and developed a reputation as a dependable leader within the Massachusetts Bay colony.
He is most famous for commanding the New England expedition against Louisbourg during King George’s War in 1745. The capture of the fortress was celebrated across the British colonies and in Britain, and it brought him unusual honors for a colonial American, including a baronetcy.
Pepperrell died in 1759, but his career remained a striking example of how commerce, politics, and military ambition could overlap in early American life. For listeners interested in colonial history, his story offers a vivid look at the world that existed a generation before independence.