He had a distinguished military and political career, being second in command to General James Wolfe at the Battle of the Plains of Abraham and later being named the governor of New York.

He saw action in the War of the Austrian Succession, later staying on in Flanders after the bulk of the British Army had been recalled in 1745 to deal with the Jacobite Rebellion.

Monckton and the French commander of Fort Beauséjour exchanged notes, deserters, and runaway horses during this time, but intelligence was also gathered that would prove valuable to him during subsequent events.

One of the first actions of this war was to be at Fort Beauséjour and Robert Monckton, with his intimate knowledge of the terrain and the local fortifications, was invited to spend the winter in Boston to assist in the planning process.

In June 1755, Monckton, commanding a fleet of 31 transports and three warships carrying 270 British regular troops and 2,000 New England militia, entered Cumberland Basin.

The French commander of Fort Gaspareaux, on the opposite side of the Isthmus of Chignecto, was offered (and subsequently agreed to) the same terms on the following day, thus securing the frontier of Nova Scotia.

The die was thus cast and Lawrence, emboldened by the size of Monckton's expeditionary force subsequently issued the order to expel the Acadian population from the region.

This decision was heavily influenced by the recent conflicts between the British colonial authorities and the Acadians in Nova Scotia during Father Le Loutre's War.

Lawrence's ordering of the deportation of the Acadians from Nova Scotia resulted in their dispersal to the other British North American colonies, as well as to Louisiana and to France.

Colonel Monckton, "with characteristic efficiency but no apparent enthusiasm",[2] carried out his orders (from Lawrence) to lure 400 Acadian men (whom he had originally pardoned) and imprisoned them at Fort Cumberland to await deportation.

Over the course of the next several months, the deportation effort spread to other French settlements on the Bay of Fundy and ultimately over 7,000 Acadian men, women and children were forced from their homes.

[2] Monckton and the other two brigadiers, George Townshend and James Murray recommended a stealthy advance on Quebec from the west rather than another frontal attack on the Beauport shore.

The French commander of Quebec, Louis Joseph de Montcalm decided to directly engage the British forces on the field.

Monckton commanded Quebec for a month following the capitulation and demonstrated considerable concern for (and leniency with) the conquered civilian population.

This was a strategically wise decision, as winter was approaching and the occupying British forces needed the goodwill of the civilian population in order to survive the season.

Under covering cannon fire, heavy fighting ensued on steep and uneven terrain especially around the high ground of Morne Grenier.

Monckton had already made his arrangements for the capture of Tobago when he received orders requiring the presence of his troops for the attack on Havana, Cuba.

Also that year, his younger brother, Henry Monckton was killed while leading the grenadiers at the Battle of Monmouth in New Jersey during the evacuation of Philadelphia.

Fort Monckton remains an active military establishment and currently is the home of the training section of the British Secret Intelligence Service (MI6).

He is generally reviled by the Acadian population of the Maritimes for his role in the deportation, but for the most part, Monckton was merely a subordinate following Governor Lawrence's directives.

Writing in 1884 about the later assessments of the historical event, noted 19th-century historian Francis Parkman concludes, "New England humanitarianism [and by implication, like-minded others to follow], melting into sentimentality at a tale of woe, has been unjust to its own.

Whatever judgment may be passed on the cruel measure of wholesale expatriation, it was not put in execution till every resource of patience and persuasion had been tried in vain."