Originally Posted by conspiratemus

Gen. LeJeune's folks might even have come from Canada. After England gained control of what are now New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, they tried to induce the settlers in the former French colonies, who called themselves "Acadiens", to swear loyalty to the English crown. After years of unsuccessful efforts, the English got fed up and, in 1755, in one of the great shameful episodes of our history, they rounded up the Acadiens and deported them by ship, scattering them all over the well-established British colonies to the south where they couldn't cause any trouble. Many "Cajuns" ended up in Louisiana where of course their descendents live to this day. It's a good bet that French surnames you encounter anywhere along the U.S. eastern seaboard are part of the Acadien diaspora.

However many others did eventually make their way back to our Maritimes -- it was home, after all -- earning their living from the sea because their farms had been confiscated and given to newly arriving English settlers. Modern-day Acadien culture is undergoing a revival and is quite distinct from that of Quebec next door.