This history was originally written for Louisiana families with Bernard ancestors who trace their Acadian roots back to Canada, but it serves equally well as a history of other families who arrived in Louisiana through the same journey—including those with names like Broussard, LeBlanc, Landry, Theriot, Boudreaux, Hebert, Cormier, Breaux, and Doucet.

These families knew each other as friends and neighbors, escaped deportations together, and sailed to Louisiana under the leadership of Joseph "Beausoleil" Broussard to plant the seeds of a New Acadia in 1765. This is their story, told through the exploits of two young men named Michel and Pierre Bernard, who are the ancestors of most Bernards in Louisiana as well as many other families through maternal lines.