Queen Ann's War, which lasted from 1702 to 1713, was the second of the four North American wars that were waged by the British and the French between 1689 and 1763. This was a direct result of the global maritime and colonial rivalry between Great Britain and France. In addition, it was also a result of the struggles between these two forces for control of the Europeans and North American continents. Queen Ann's War occurred because of unresolved issues that developed at the end of King William's War, from 168 to 1697.

The main events that occurred during Queen Ann's War were the capture and the burning of Saint Augustine by English colonies in 1701. During this time, St. Augustine was under Spanish possession. A major French operation was the capture and the burning of Deerfield, Massachusetts and the massacre of many of residents of the town in 1704. 1 What followed these operations were unsuccessful expeditions in 1704 and 1707 by the troops from New England against Port Royal, Acadia and the conquest of Arcadia in 1710 by colonist that were supported by a squadron of British ships.2 One major operation that was a failure by the British was a joint venture by the British and the colonial joint military against Quebec and Montreal. When the war ended in 1713, it brought an end to the War of the Spanish Succession.

Walker's Expedition to Quebec was also referred to as the Quebec Expedition. This was an attempt by the British to attack Quebec in 1711 during Queen Ann's War. This failed because of a disaster on the Saint Lawrence River on August 22, 1711. Seven transports and one storeship were wrecked and a total of 850 soldiers drowned. This was one of the worst naval disasters in British History. In addition to this being a failure on the part of the British, and being a disaster on human and military fronts, this was an embarrassing defeat for the British. Despite the secrecy, French agents were able to discover British intentions and then warn authorities in Quebec. This added to the turmoil that Britain was already experiencing. A significant factor that made many in New England talk and feel quite negatively upon this expedition was that by the end of this disaster, on August 22nd, after Walker ordered his ship to cut anchor cables to the Montague and the Windsor, many residents in New England reported that they hears calls of distress and cries of help from the ship. Walker ordered his ships to stay clear.