He is best known in North America for leading the raid on Deerfield, in western Province of Massachusetts Bay, against English settlers on 29 February 1704 during Queen Anne's War.

At the head of a force composed mainly of Abenaki, Huron (Wyandot), and Mohawk (Iroquois) warriors, but also a company of Canadian militia, he took the men south in late February to the English Province of Massachusetts Bay and descended on the lightly defended frontier town of Deerfield in the western part of the colony.

The prisoners, including women and children, were taken on the long overland trek to Quebec, where many were adopted by Catholic Mohawk at Kahnawake, a mission village south of Montreal.

"[2] After Queen Anne's War ended in 1713, Hertel de Rouville was sent to Île-Royale (present-day Cape Breton Island) to scout sites for new French settlements.

Based on his recommendations, Fort Dauphin (present-day Englishtown, Nova Scotia) was selected for an initial settlement, and Hertel de Rouville supervised its construction.