The conflict was intensified by personal animosity between the two governors, and came to an end when d'Aulnay successfully expelled la Tour from his holdings.

[9] Both La Tour and Aulnay had claims of some legitimacy to the governorship of Acadia because the French Imperial officials made their appointments with an incomplete understanding of the geography of the area.

La Tour had a fortified settlement at the mouth of the Saint John River while Aulnay's base was at Port Royal some 45 miles across the Bay of Fundy.

In adjoining New England, the people supported La Tour's claim since he allowed them to fish and lumber in and along the Bay of Fundy without let or hindrance while Aulnay aggressively sought payment for that right.

Winthrop arranged for several merchants to advance loans unofficially to La Tour for his purchase of men and material to defend the Saint John River fort from Aulnay's attack.

La Tour arrived from present-day Saint John and attacked Port-Royal (Annapolis Royal) with two armed ships.

[8] In response to the attack, d'Aulnay sailed out of Port-Royal to establish a blockade of La Tour's fort at present-day Saint John.

For five months, the Governor of Acadia d'Aulnay, who was stationed at Port Royal, created a blockade of the river to defeat La Tour at his fort.

[13] La Tour's soldiers were led by his wife, Françoise-Marie Jacquelin, who became known as the Lioness of LaTour[citation needed] for her valiant defence of the fort.

[14] With the death of his wife and the loss of his fort, La Tour took refuge in Quebec and did not return to Acadia for the next four years, until after d'Aulnay had died in 1650.