Moncton is situated in Westmorland County, near the Northumberland Strait. Founded at a bend in the Petitcodiac River, Moncton itself was originally an Acadian settlement known as "le Coude" (the elbow) until it was left abandoned after the forceful deportation of the Acadian people. The present city is named for Colonel Monckton, Commanding Officer at Fort Cumberland and the officer who enacted the expulsion of the New Brunswick Acadians, in concert with Colonel Winslow, commander of the Minas district, Captain Murray at Fort Edward near Piziquid and Major Handfield at Annapolis Royal.