An Account of the Campaign in the West Indies, in the Year 1794 Part 2

[6] The Generous Friends transport, laden with officers' baggage, &c. dragged her anchor on the night of the 5th, struck against a rock at the entrance of the bay, and was wrecked. Fortunately, however, the hands on board and the baggage were saved.

On Feb. 7th the Admiral sent (with a flag of truce) Lieutenant Miln of the Boyne, accompanied by Lieutenant James of the fifteenth regiment, and the Chaplain of the Boyne, with a letter for the munic.i.p.ality or governor of Maran. As they approached the town they perceived hostile preparations making in the fort of St. Etienne; but, in hopes of preventing a flag of truce being insulted, Mr. Miln boarded one of the American s.h.i.+ps that had been run aground the day before, intending, in case the captain of it was on board, to take him in his company. Being now within half gun-shot of the fort, the enemy began to fire on the boat, notwithstanding the flag of truce, and continued to do so, although Mr. Miln endeavoured to proceed towards the sh.o.r.e: but the enemy seeming determined to oppose his landing, and several of their shot falling close by the boat, he at length judged it most prudent to return. As he pa.s.sed Pointe du Bourgnesse he perceived some negroes near the fort, and sent the two gentlemen who accompanied him armed, to endeavour to cut off their retreat, and to give them the papers which were to have been delivered to the commander at Maran; but the negroes, on perceiving them land, immediately made off towards the town: they however found a wounded man, whose leg had been broken by a cannon ball, with whom they left the papers, adding a note to express their surprise and indignation at a flag of truce being fired on[7].

[7] The French have since said that they fired on the boat because it had a white flag hoisted: this was a most ridiculous objection; for, though with them a mark of aristocracy, it has ever been acknowledged by all nations as a signal of peace and cessation from hostilities. However, we found it necessary afterwards to comply with their wishes; and whenever a boat was sent from either party on a truce, they carried the flag of the opposite party in the bow of the boat, and their own colours abaft.

In the afternoon Mr. Miln went with the gun-boats against Maran, to form a diversion in favour of Lieutenants Rutherford and Rogers, who had landed with two companies of seamen to carry fresh provisions to Sir Charles Grey's army. This had the desired effect, as soon after a large body of troops came down from the hills to the town and fort, which might otherwise have fallen in with the seamen on their march.

The next day, Feb. 8, the Admiral sent another flag of truce by the same officer to the town of St. Anne. He took with him an American captain of a s.h.i.+p, in addition to his former complement; and having been so roughly handled the day before, he also ordered a gun-boat to attend. St. Anne's was entirely deserted. The American then proceeded a mile up the country to the house of a planter, who had left it; but finding his mulatto mistress there, he left the papers with her, to forward to the commanding officer at Maran. On this estate the American told us he saw three hundred slaves, and every thing in perfect order; from whence we judged the owner of it had been a friend to the revolution, the houses and plantations of the royalists being universally destroyed. The enemy now entirely evacuated this part of the country, to throw themselves into Fort Bourbon; and in their retreat burnt several fine plantations, and murdered many slaves of the royalists with circ.u.mstances of the most horrid cruelty.

I should have mentioned that, on our approach to this island, the Commanders in Chief dispatched General Dundas with Commodore Thompson to the attack of Trinite, and another division under the command of Colonel Sir Charles Gordon, a.s.sisted by Captain Rogers of the Quebec, to Case de Navirre; while Sir Charles Grey, a.s.sisted by Lieutenant General Prescott, and under cover of the Boyne, &c. made good his landing at Trois Rivieres: thus, by making three attacks upon distant parts of the island at the same time, the force and attention of the enemy was divided; and by that spirited conduct, which animated all parties, more particularly by the unanimity which prevailed between the army and navy, they all happily succeeded. And here I must beg leave to observe, that where the commanders are united in friends.h.i.+p, and equally inspired with an earnest desire to serve their king and country, their example will always have such influence on the conduct of those under their command, that the same friendly intercourse will be sure to subsist between the subordinate ranks of the two services; and, from the Commanders in Chief to the private soldier and sailor, they will join hand and heart, and form a phalanx that nothing can withstand.

CHAPTER IV.

MARCH OF THE COMMANDER IN CHIEF FROM TROIS RIVIERES TO SALLEE ...

OCCURRENCES ON THE MARCH ... GENERAL WHYTE DETACHED ... TAKES PIGEON ISLAND ... THE ADMIRAL ANCHORS OFF PIGEON ISLAND ...

DESCRIPTION OF THE BAY OF FORT ROYAL ... THE THIRD BRIGADE LANDS AT CAS DE NAVIRES.

I have already said that his Excellency Sir Charles Grey, with Lieutenant General Prescott, and that part of the army which landed at Trois Rivieres, marched from thence on Feb. 6th across the country to La Riviere Sallee, a distance of two leagues, over very mountainous roads, and that evening they reached the town of the same name, situated on its banks, where the troops were lodged. They met with no opposition on their march, and lost only one man (a sergeant), who died of fatigue and heat. On the march the Commander in Chief detached Brigadier General Whyte, with the second battalion of light infantry commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Close, with two amuzettes, to force the batteries of Cape Solomon and Point a Burgos, in order to get possession of Pigeon Island, as our s.h.i.+pping could not go into the bay of Fort Royal till that was accomplished; nor indeed could our boats with provisions and ammunition go with safety round to the army at Riviere Sallee. On Feb.

7th General Whyte took two small pieces of cannon loaded, at a village in the bay of d'Arlet (one hundred and fifty mulattoes having fled at his approach); and immediately marching to the attack of the two posts above mentioned of Point Solomon and Burgos, the enemy surrendered at discretion, their retreat being cut off. In the interim the Commander in Chief received intelligence of a body of the enemy having crossed the bay from Fort Royal, and landed near Morne Charlotte Pied, where they took post to intercept the communication between General Whyte and head quarters at Sallee: on which he instantly dispatched Adjutant-General Colonel Dundas, with the seventieth regiment, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Johnson, with two howitzers, to dislodge them. This was executed that night with great spirit, and the post taken possession of early the next morning, the enemy being completely defeated at the first charge.

In this action Captain Nares of the seventieth regiment distinguished himself so as to gain the notice of the Commander in Chief in public orders[8].

[8] Vide Appendix, page 14.

Brigadier General Whyte (being now reinforced with a detachment of the royal artillery, some ordnance, mortars, &c.) Colonel Symes, with a detachment of the fifteenth regiment and two hundred seamen from the Admiral, armed with pikes and pistols, under the command of Lieutenants Rogers and Rutherford, ascended the heights on the 9th instant, and got possession of Mount Matharine, which commanded Pigeon Island, at the distance of not more than four hundred yards, where they erected their batteries. On this day his Excellency the Admiral sailed from Maran Bay, and anch.o.r.ed in Pet.i.te Ance d'Arlet, from whence he could send succours of men and ammunition to General Whyte; who accordingly instantly landed two companies of seamen, with several cannon, which they in vain attempted to drag over the hills to General Whyte's post, a distance of four or five miles; for the steepness and ruggedness of the roads, rendered every effort ineffectual. However he sent him a plentiful supply of shot and other ammunition, with one howitzer; and in the evening Lieutenant Miln was dispatched with a party, carrying provisions and spirits for the army. We found the country on the march from Ance d'Arlet to General Whyte's camp beautiful in a high degree, but the roads almost impa.s.sable: a succession of steep roads, through thick woods, at length brought us to the summit of a hill (on which our seamen were posted), commanding a fine view of the bay of Fort Royal, with Islet aux Ramieres, or Pigeon Island, in front; and on each side rose hills finely clothed with wood, on one of which our little army was posted. During the time we were there, the enemy on Pigeon Island annoyed us with their sh.e.l.ls and shot, by which one of our seamen was killed, and another mortally wounded. The two five and a half inch howitzers, brought by the seventieth regiment from head quarters, being now placed in a battery under the direction of Captain de Rivigne of the royal artillery, so as to take the island in reverse, and Colonel Dornford having also joined with a company of artificers, the batteries were completed during the night of the 10th instant, and opened on Tuesday morning, February 11th, under the conduct of Major Manley, who kept up so incessant and well-directed a fire upon Pigeon Island, that in two hours the garrison struck their colours, and surrendered at discretion, having fifteen killed and twenty-five wounded. When our batteries opened, it consisted of two hundred and three men.

After the strong orders the Commander in Chief issued during the time he was preparing for the commencement of the campaign at Barbadoes, in which, among other things, he declared his determination to punish with the utmost severity any one who should presume to maraud or plunder the inhabitants, it is surprising that on the first day's march any soldier should have had the temerity to offend against that order: but we had a melancholy instance of it in William Milton of the tenth light dragoons, and Samuel Price of the black dragoons, who were tried and convicted of a robbery in the house of Jacques, an inhabitant of Sallee; and the General, being determined to put an early stop to such enormities, had the sentence put in execution, and they were both hanged in view of the whole army on February 8th[9].

[9] Vide Appendix, pages 10, 11, 12.

On the capture of Islet aux Ramieres, or Pigeon Island, the Admiral sailed with the rest of his fleet from Ance d'Arlet on Wednesday, Feb.

12th, and anch.o.r.ed in Fort Royal Bay, off Pigeon Island, by which means he could co-operate with his colleague, and supply the army with ammunition and provisions at pleasure. As the s.h.i.+ps worked into the bay, several sh.e.l.ls were thrown at them from Fort Louis, but happily without doing any mischief.--It is impossible to conceive a more beautiful scene than presented itself on our entrance into this fine bay. On the north side we saw Fort Louis and the town of Fort Royal; and immediately behind it, on the top of a steep hill, was the strong fortification of Fort Bourbon, which, with the tri-coloured flag waving on its walls, formed a conspicuous object in the landscape; the parapet being built of white stone, strongly contrasted with the vivid glow of verdure on the surrounding hills. To the westward rose majestically prodigious mountains, called Les Pitons du Carbet, the hills on the side of which were cultivated, while the mountains themselves were covered with wood to their summits. Eastward the bay opens to several bays and harbours, into which some n.o.ble rivers discharge themselves, and pleasant islands of different dimensions and forms, embellish the whole. Pigeon Island, or Islet aux Ramieres, is situated on the south side of the bay of Fort Royal, about two hundred yards from the sh.o.r.e, and is a steep rock, inaccessible except on one side by a ladder fixed against a perpendicular wall. The summit is about thirty yards above the level of the sea, and is three hundred paces round. It contained the following ordnance, viz. Eleven forty-two pounders, six thirty-two pounders, four thirteen-inch mortars, and one howitzer, with an immense quant.i.ty of stores and ammunition, and a large stove to heat shot; it also had good barracks. It is famous for having prevented Admiral Rodney with twelve sail of the line from entering the bay in 1782.

On the 12th of February the fifteenth regiment, led by Major Lyon, and commanded by Captain Paumier, surprised several hundreds of the enemy, very strongly posted on the heights of le Grande Bouclain, killed several of them, and took all their ammunition and arms, with their cattle.[10]

[10] Vide Appendix, page 16.

Sir Charles Gordon with the third brigade had landed on the 8th instant to leeward, on the side of Cas de Navires, under cover of a division of the fleet commanded by Captain Rogers in the Quebec[11]. The enemy being masters of the grand road and the heights above it, he made a movement towards the mountains, and turning them (unperceived) with part of his force, gained the most commanding post in that part of the country. By day-break on the 9th instant Colonel Myers, descending the heights, took possession of la Chapelle, and a post established by the enemy above it; and on his return to the column, Sir Charles Gordon proceeded through most difficult ground to the heights of Berne, above Ance La Haye. The enemy, after having abandoned the battery of Cayman, and set fire to the village, still keeping a constant fire on him from the batteries of St.

Catharine, he took a position which gave him an easy communication with the transports; when on the 12th he observed the battery and works at St. Catharine, and the posts which guarded the first ravine, abandoned by the enemy, on which he took possession of them, while Colonel Myers, with five companies of grenadiers and the forty-third regiment, crossed four ravines higher up, seizing all the batteries that defended them.

This movement was completely successful, the enemy flying on every side, and our troops were soon in possession of the five batteries between Cas de Navires and Fort Royal. They then proceeded, and occupied the posts of Gentilly, La Coste, and La Archet, within a league of Fort Bourbon.

[11] They met with considerable opposition in this business; and the boats employed in landing the troops by some mistake got close under the enemy's batteries, before they discovered their situation. Our loss however was less than might have been expected.

The Dromedary, venturing too near the battery of Point Negro, received a shot between wind and water, entering under the counter, and a second shot went through the quarter-deck barricade, killed one man, and wounded four, among whom was Captain Tatham.

CHAPTER V.

GENERAL DUNDAS LANDS ON THE NORTH EAST SIDE OF THE ISLAND ...

TRINITE TAKEN ... COLONEL CRADOCK ATTACKED, CAPTAIN M'EWEN killed ... GENERAL DUNDAS FORMS A JUNCTION WITH SIR CHARLES GREY ... MARCH TOWARDS ST. PIERRE ... COLONEL CAMPBELL KILLED ... ST. PIERRE ATTACKED BY SEA, AND TAKEN ... DESCRIPTION OF THAT TOWN.

When Commodore Thompson with his division (having on board Major General Dundas and the second brigade) parted from the fleet on their voyage from Barbadoes, he proceeded with the utmost expedition to the north east part of the island; and on Feb. 5th arrived off the bay of Gallion.

Captain Faulknor in the Zebra led in, and placed himself along-side of the battery on Point a Chaux, from whence he soon drove the enemy. The Beaulieu, Captain Salisbury, and the Woolwich, Captain Parker, followed; and the troops were landed without further opposition about a league from the town of Trinite, which was situated on the further side of the isthmus that formed the bay of Gallion. Here General Dundas halted for that night. Early the next morning he began his march towards Trinite.

As he moved off from the ground he had occupied during the night, the enemy annoyed him much by a brisk fire of musketry from the cane fields, where a large body of them were concealed; from thence however they were soon driven by the bayonet, which (as the Commander in Chief observed[12]) in the hands of a gallant British soldier is the first of weapons. In this business we had one artilleryman killed, and two officers and three privates wounded. The General then continued his march to La Bruen, a strong post situated on an eminence immediately over the town of Trinite. The light infantry drove the enemy from this post after an action of about fifteen minutes. We had two men killed and seven or eight wounded, among which were two officers. The enemy's loss was much greater. Early on the night of the 6th our troops took possession of Fort Louis (and changed its name to Fort Dundas), and Fort Bellgarde, a post that commanded the harbour of Trinite. Mons.

Bellgarde, general of the army composed of people of colour, finding that we had taken possession of the forts, made a precipitate retreat towards the mountains, having previously set fire to the town of Trinite, the best part of which, together with a great quant.i.ty of stores of all kinds, was consumed; but Commodore Thompson took possession of the vessels in the harbour and road. In all these attacks the seamen (under command of Captain Salisbury) bore a part, and by their intrepidity and good conduct gained the esteem as well as applause of the army.

[12] Vide Appendix, page 7.

On the evening of the 7th General Dundas proceeded with his brigade to the attack of Gros Morne, where he was informed General Bellgarde was strongly posted in considerable force; but on his arrival he found the forts evacuated. Gros Morne is a situation of great importance, being strongly fortified, and commanding the princ.i.p.al pa.s.s between the northern and southern parts of the island, and famous for being the rendezvous of the democrats during the revolution, previous to our arrival. Besides the princ.i.p.al fort, there is a redoubt on either side, about a mile distant, commanding the road leading to the fort. A detachment of the queen's regiment and a party of the marines being left to garrison Trinite, under command of Major Skerret, and the battalion of the 64th to garrison Le Gros Morne, the remainder of the brigade marched early in the morning of the 9th instant, and on the evening of the same day took possession of a strong situation called Bruno, where there had formerly been a fort, some of the guns of which were still remaining: it lies about two leagues north east of Fort Bourbon, and from it our army could see the enemy in their out-posts from that fort[13]. After the troops had halted for some time, Colonel Cradock with three companies of the second battalion of grenadiers was ordered to advance and take possession of the post of Maltide, where a considerable number of the enemy were a.s.sembled with their colours flying; but on his approach they evacuated the place in haste. Of this post our troops had the quiet possession that night, and all the next day; but in the night between the 10th and 11th they were attacked by a party of the enemy, commanded by Mons. Bellgarde, amounting to about eight hundred men, who, having crept up under cover of the canes and underwood, commenced a heavy fire on our troops, who, though rather taken by surprise, charged the enemy in their turn with such vigour and determined bravery, as forced them sorely to repent their temerity, and retreat towards Fort Bourbon with considerable loss. In this action Captain M'Ewen of the thirty-eighth regiment and seven privates were killed, and nineteen wounded. Next day a great quant.i.ty of fire arms were picked up, which the enemy had left behind them in their precipitate retreat. In the evening of the 11th the post was reinforced by three companies of grenadiers and part of the second battalion of light infantry; but that night all was quiet. Early on the morning of the 12th the grenadiers were ordered back to Bruno, and the battalion of the sixth regiment, commanded by Major Scott, took their place at Maltide, and the wounded were sent on board the hospital s.h.i.+p.

[13] About this time the army had nearly experienced an irreparable loss. As General Dundas was writing in his tent, a notorious villain, of the name of Barbarose, presented himself at the door of the tent, demanding to speak with the General, who, to drive him away, called to the centinel to "bayonet the fellow;" on which, in his fright, he dropped a dagger well oiled; and on being seized, proved to have been the a.s.sa.s.sin of a French royalist.

As the bay and harbour of Fort Royal were now completely opened to our s.h.i.+pping by the capture of Pigeon Island, the Commander in Chief moved forward on the 14th from La Riviere Sallee to Bruno with the remainder of the first brigade, a princ.i.p.al part of which had, under General Prescott, reached that place the day before; having previously concerted the attack of St. Pierre with General Dundas, that general marched on the evening of the 13th from Bruno with the second battalion of grenadiers, the thirty-third and fortieth light companies, and the sixty-fifth regiment, to Gros Morne, where he halted that night, and early on the 14th marched to Trinite; from whence he dispatched a sloop with the packs and blankets of his army round towards la Ba.s.se Pointe, in order to expedite his march toward St. Pierre, the capital of the island, the capture of which was now his object. From Gros Morne General Dundas had detached Colonel Campbell through the woods by Bois le Buc with the second battalion of light infantry and sixty-fifth regiment to Montigne. At five o'clock in the evening of the 14th General Dundas marched from Trinite (being joined by a company of the second or queen's regiment, commanded by the Honourable Captain Ramsay): after marching all night he halted for three hours; and soon after day-break on the morning of the 15th, having pa.s.sed the river Capot, arrived at the heights of Calba.s.s, after a march of thirty miles over a rough mountainous country. The fatigue of such a march in a tropical climate can only be conceived by those who have experienced it: hara.s.sed and worn down, it was necessary to give the troops some rest before they attempted to ascend the steep and craggy mountain, over the top of which was their road, commanded by a battery, where the enemy appeared in great force, with their colours flying. The spirit of our soldiers however overcame all difficulties, and they ascended the heights with such alacrity, that the enemy, alarmed at their determined conduct, evacuated the fort (fortunately for our men), without making any resistance; as, by the time they reached the summit of the mountain, they were so exhausted, that a steady opposition might have proved fatal to them. From hence (the post having previously been destroyed by the enemy, who had broken the guns and scattered the ammunition) General Dundas proceeded about four miles further, to a place called Morne Rouge: here he halted, and shortly after saw Colonel Campbell at Post au Pin, half a mile short of Montigne, under a heavy fire from five or six hundred of the enemy, strongly posted. General Dundas instantly pushed forward his advanced guard, under command of the Hon. Captain Ramsay, who gained the summit by extraordinary exertions, fired on the enemy, at that time engaged with Colonel Campbell, and silenced their fire; and, when joined by the second battalion of grenadiers, took possession of Montigne, where he was reinforced by two companies of grenadiers. The major general took post himself on Morne Rouge, and visiting Colonel Campbell's column, found he had been attacked at half past nine o'clock in the morning, and the enemy being within twenty yards of the fortieth light company, at the head of which he was, had charged them with bayonets, when, to the great grief of the whole army, he fell by a ball through his head from the musket of a mulatto, who had concealed himself behind a bush till the Colonel came close up to it. Colonel Campbell was a man high in estimation as a military character, and no less respected for his private worth, being sincere in his friends.h.i.+ps and steady in his attachments. When General Dundas arrived at Morne Rouge, the enemy were on their march to re-attack our troops; but the appearance of our grenadiers so near them, caused them to relinquish their plan at that time: but in the evening of the same day the General observed bodies of the enemy moving towards his front at Morne Rouge, and forming under a small redoubt near that post. The thirty-third, thirty-fourth, and forty-fourth companies of grenadiers, with a field piece, and Captain Whitworth of the artillery (the whole under the command of Major Forbes), were ordered to advance, when a smart engagement commenced. The enemy were covered by a brisk fire from two field pieces on Morne Bellvieu, a strongly situated battery immediately in their rear. The action continued for about half an hour, when the enemy gave way, and during the night abandoned the fort, leaving two field pieces behind them. From the number of graves observed the following day (corroborated by the accounts of some prisoners), their loss must have been considerable; ours consisted of one officer (Lieutenant Keating of the thirty-third regiment) and two privates wounded, and one private killed.--At two o'clock the following morning the sixteenth, thirty-fifth, and fifty-fifth companies of grenadiers were ordered to advance and storm the battery upon Morne Bellvieu, and were to be supported (if necessary) by the ninth and sixty-fifth companies. All their flints were taken out, the bayonet alone to be the soldier's defence. However, the enemy had been so roughly handled the day before, that they thought fit to decamp during the night, and our troops took possession of the fort without any opposition. Our army had now arrived within two leagues of St. Pierre, from whence by day-break the enemy sent a flag of truce, requiring three days to consider of a capitulation; to which General Dundas returned an answer, that instead of three days, he would allow them only three hours; and if they did not surrender within that time, he would advance against the town. The fifty-fifth company of grenadiers being left in possession of Bellvieu, the remainder of the battalion moved on towards St. Pierre. In the mean time the Admiral, Sir John Jervis, to co-operate with the land forces under General Dundas, had ordered the following s.h.i.+ps to sail for the bay of St. Pierre, the Asia, Veteran, Santa Margarita, Blonde, Rattlesnake, Zebra, and Nautilus, with the Vesuvius bomb. On board of this fleet Colonel Symes had embarked with three light companies, and Major Maitland with a detachment of the fiftieth regiment; Colonel Myers with five companies of the first battalion of grenadiers, and five companies of the third battalion of light infantry, (for the same purpose of co-operating with General Dundas) had marched from Camp la Coste towards Trinite.

The fleet on their arrival in the bay prepared for instant operation.

Colonel Symes, with the troops and seamen who were to land with him, had, previous to their entering the bay, embarked on board of the Zebra and Nautilus sloops, and some other vessels, which, being small, could get nearer the sh.o.r.e, thereby rendering the debarkation of the troops much less difficult.

In the evening of Feb. 16th they began to work towards the north part of the bay, beyond the Jesuits' College, the other men of war standing towards the town to cover them. About eleven o'clock the vessels with troops and seamen on board were under a cross fire from two batteries of red hot shot, which happily did them no damage, though they fell round and near them. Captain Harvey in the Santa Margarita, perceiving the troops were likely to be much annoyed, went close under the guns of the most considerable of the two batteries, which he silenced; and about four in the morning of the 17th the troops and seamen made good their landing, and found that the enemy had left the other battery. During the night the Vesuvius bomb did much execution with her sh.e.l.ls, many of them falling in the town, to which it set fire in some places: the fire however was soon extinguished. The batteries in the town and on the adjacent hills kept up a constant fire of shot and sh.e.l.ls on the men of war, as they advanced towards the town, which was returned with great spirit. The Santa Margarita was struck with a sh.e.l.l, which fortunately neither fired her, nor did any considerable damage. Colonel Symes on landing advanced with the troops towards St. Pierre, which the enemy evacuated on his approach, leaving their guns primed and loaded, and their colours flying, which were hauled down by our people, and the British union hoisted. About ten the whole of the troops and seamen had marched into the town. No man was suffered to quit his ranks, nor was the least injury done to any of the inhabitants, who, with the women and children, sat at their doors and windows to see our army march in, the same as when troops pa.s.s through a town in England. While our men were drawn up in the market place, a flag of truce came in from General Dundas, who with his army was on the hills near the town, and was on his march to attack it. This flag was in answer to one sent by the enemy to him, offering to capitulate. The officer who brought the flag was agreeably surprised to find on his entering the town that it was already in the possession of his countrymen. In the evening General Dundas with the army marched in; and having taken possession of the government-house, he instantly established quiet and good order in the town. As our troops marched into St. Pierre a drummer was discovered in the act of plundering one of the peaceable inhabitants, for which he was instantly hung up at the gate of the Jesuits' College, by order of the provost marshal. In the evening the seamen embarked on board their respective s.h.i.+ps. The men of war having anch.o.r.ed in the bay, were busily employed in taking an account of and unbending the sails of the different s.h.i.+ps in the harbour. Unfortunately at day-break of this morning, when the town surrendered, a schooner got out of the south side of the bay, in which it was reported there was a considerable quant.i.ty of money and some people of distinction. She pa.s.sed within gun-shot of the Santa Margarita, who (for some reason or other) did not fire at her to bring her to. The next morning the Santa Margarita sailed to Fort Royal bay with Mons. Au Cane[14], the mayor of St. Pierre, and Abbe Maunier, the vicar general of the island, and other prisoners.

[14] On our first arrival at the island of Martinique, the Commanders in Chief dispatched Captain Mason (aid de camp to the General) bearing a flag of truce, with a summons to the town of St.

Pierre. Au Cane, the mayor, met him on the quay on horseback, attended by a numerous body of armed men, with a field piece; &c.

and instead of reading the letter and summons, dismissed him rudely with threats.

St. Pierre is a long handsome town, situated on the sh.o.r.e of an open bay, and flanked by a strong battery at either end; also defended by two redoubts on the hills which overhang the town. The surrounding country rises in a succession of hills beautifully variegated with woods and sugar plantations; and near the town are some fine gardens, which before the revolution had been kept up in a superior stile of elegance and convenience. Each street of this beautiful town is watered by a clear stream from the mountains, running rapidly down the middle, which adds greatly to the health as well as convenience of the place. The streets in general are narrow and rough paved, but very regular; the houses are built of a fine stone like free-stone, the lower apartments of which were in general handsomely, and sometimes superbly, furnished.

There are two convents of nuns, one dedicated to St. Ursuline, the other called Les Blancs. The Ursuline convent has very beautiful gardens, situated at the declivity of a hill, which rises immediately behind the town: it was in a wretched state when we took it, the poor nuns having been deprived of their revenues by the revolutionists. Near this convent is a neat church, whose high altar, as well as pavement, is of good marble. Not far from the church is the opera house, which, from its high roof, is a very conspicuous object. Towards the south end of the town is the church of Notre Dame de bon Porte du Mouillage (of which Pere Maunier, one of the chiefs of the revolution, was cure). It is a handsome building: round the grand altar (which is of polished and well sculptured marble) are several tolerable paintings of saints and the Virgin Mary, as large as life. Over the bridge, at the north end of the town, is another large church, and several others, small and mean in their outward appearance and inside decorations. I was informed that most of these churches were well endowed before the revolution, and the religious houses were amply provided for, as is the case in all parts of the new world where the Roman Catholic religion is professed.

At the northern extremity of St. Pierre is a s.p.a.cious handsome house, with good offices, stables, and gardens, which formerly belonged to the Jesuits, in whose district the town and surrounding country is situated.

The Capuchins and Dominicans had the two other parts of the island.--The government-house, which on our taking it was inhabited by Au Cane, the mayor, is conveniently situated near the centre of the town, and was formed for the residence of the chief magistrate or governor of the island. The rooms are large and lofty, and there is a good garden at the back of the house, in which, amongst a variety of fruit trees, was a fine bread-fruit tree: how it came there, I could not learn, unless some French s.h.i.+ps had paid a visit to the islands in the South Sea, for the same purpose that our s.h.i.+ps of late have made that voyage; but then I think more of the trees would have been seen in this and the neighbouring French islands.--Towards the southern end of the town is a large and commodious hospital, which had good revenues attached to it, and was well regulated and attended. This we found of infinite use for our sick and wounded, who were far better provided for here than they could be in the hospital s.h.i.+ps, or with the army.

CHAPTER VI.

THE ENEMY RETIRE INTO FORT BOURBON AND FORT LOUIS ... THE ADMIRAL ATTACKS FORT LOUIS WITH THE BOMB-KETCH AND GUN-BOATS ... CAMP OF SEAMEN FORMED AT POINT NEGRO ... A WHARF BUILT IN THE CUL DE SAC DE COHEE, STORES AND AMMUNITION LANDED THERE ... GENERAL BELLGARDE ATTEMPTS TO CUT OFF THE COMMUNICATION BETWEEN THE ARMY AND NAVY, BUT IS BEATEN, AND HIS CAMP ON SOURIER TAKEN ... HEAD-QUARTERS ESTABLISHED ON SOURIER ... GENERAL ROCHAMBEAU SENDS AN AID DE CAMP TO THE COMMANDERS IN CHIEF ... THE NAVY MAKE A ROAD, AND DRAG THE GUNS TO THE HEIGHTS OF SOURIER.

St. Pierre being now captured[15], the enemy's strength was concentrated in one point at Forts Louis and Bourbon: the latter is a work of late date, being built under the directions of the present Marquis de Bouille, and is a well planned as well as strongly situated fortification; but in this mountainous country it is hardly possible to find any spot that may not be commanded by some neighbouring height, unless on the tops of the mountains, where it would be difficult to procure water and provisions sufficient for the subsistence of an army during a siege of any length. The town of Fort Royal is situated on a flat and swampy ground, at the foot of the hill on which is Fort Bourbon; and Fort Louis, the ancient strong-hold of this island, is on a neck of land running into the sea, and forms one side of the Carenage, an excellent harbour for s.h.i.+pping of all kinds.--The Admiral, from the day he anch.o.r.ed in Fort Royal Bay, began a heavy cannonade on Fort Louis. The Vesuvius bomb, commanded by Captain Sawyer, and under the direction of Captain Suckling of the artillery, threw sh.e.l.ls into the fort from an eighteen-inch and twelve-inch mortar with great effect; and as soon as the evening shut in, the gun-boats, attended by several row-boats from the s.h.i.+ps in the fleet (to a.s.sist in case of their being sunk by the enemy's shot) moved towards the mouth of the Carenage, and commenced a brisk fire on the fort, which was generally returned with equal spirit; but, from the smallness of the object, and frequently s.h.i.+fting their situation, they were less often hit than could have been expected, considering that they constantly were within the range of grape-shot, which fell in showers round them. Towards day-break they returned to their respective s.h.i.+ps.--In the night of February 15th, the second and third companies of seamen, under the command of Lieutenants Miln and Ogle, left the Boyne; and, with other seamen from the fleet, the whole under command of Captain Rogers of the Quebec, landed at Cas Navire, and (occupying the posts that the troops under Colonel Myers had that day quitted, to a.s.sist in the attack on St. Pierre) formed a camp near Point Negro.--Our s.h.i.+pping having now, by the capture of Pigeon Island, free ingress to Fort Royal bay, most of the transports and store-s.h.i.+ps, under convoy of his majesty's s.h.i.+ps Santa Margarita, Solebay, Nautilus, &c. got up into the Cul de sac de Cohee, an harbour at the north-east end of the bay, from whence they had a communication with the army under Sir Charles Grey, and where they built a wharf to land provisions and stores; and a chain of posts was established from thence to the heights of Bruno, on which duty the fifteenth and twentieth regiments were employed.--On February 18th in the morning, General Bellgarde moved with nearly his whole force from his camp on the heights of Sourier, to attack the landing-place in the Cul de sac de Cohee, and by that means to cut off the communication between the army and the fleet. Sir Charles Grey, with that quickness of perception that has rendered him so often useful to his country, instantly perceived his design, and without loss of time ordered the grenadiers, under the command of Colonel Buckridge, and the light infantry, under that of Colonel Coote, to advance with the utmost expedition, and attack Mons.

Bellgarde's camp at Sourier; and detached a strong corps from the heights of Bruno to support them. They began their attack on the enemy in the wood; and having driven them from thence, began to mount the rugged and almost inaccessible sides of the hill on which Sourier was situated. The troops gallantly forced their way through every obstruction, and mounted the heights under a heavy fire from the retreating enemy, whom they fairly drove up the precipice, and gained the heights, where they found an excellent dinner (provided for Bellgarde and his people) to refresh them after their fatigue. Our loss in this affair[16] was by no means so great as might have been expected, considering the length of ground, and the many disadvantages under which our troops engaged. While this was doing, General Sir Charles Grey cannonaded Bellgarde from the camp at Bruno, whose troops soon retired in confusion to their late camp at Sourier, which they found occupied by the British grenadiers, who turned their own guns on them (consisting of three bra.s.s field pieces), and drove them in confusion under the walls of Fort Bourbon. Our soldiers could not now be restrained, but with an impetuosity that General Prescott could not for the moment prevent, advanced so near the fort, that the enemy opening a heavy fire of grape shot on them, obliged them at length to retire with some loss to their new acquisition on Sourier, a post which Sir Charles Grey had intended to have attacked the following day, as being absolutely necessary to enable him to carry on his plan of attack against Fort Bourbon, and which the temerity of Bellgarde had thus put into his hands a day sooner.--The whole business of this action was conducted in such a manner, that each individual concerned partook of the glory of it; and when considered as to its utility, it was perhaps one of the most fortunate, as well as the best conducted, enterprises that happened throughout the campaign. The day after this event General Rochambeau, who commanded in Fort Bourbon, sent an aid de camp on board the Boyne, who went thence with Captain Grey to the Commander in Chief at head quarters. The terms of capitulation that he brought were, that the whole island should be delivered to the English on condition that, in case Louis the Seventeenth should ever come to the throne, it should be restored to him; if not, and the republic should be established, it should be given up to that government. The Commander in Chief returned for answer, 'that he came expressly to take this island for his Britannic Majesty; and that he hoped to take all the French islands in this quarter on the same account.'--The troops now pitched their tents, and formed their camp on Sourier. General Prescott's quarters were in this camp, where he commanded; and Sir Charles Grey established his head quarters at a small distance in the rear.--General Dundas having arranged every thing relative to the government of St. Pierre, left Colonel Myers of the fifteenth regiment with the battalions of the fifty-eighth and sixty-fifth regiments to garrison that town, and on February 20th embarked with the grenadiers on board the Veteran for Fort Royal Bay. The morning following they disembarked in the Cul de sac de Cohee, and marched directly to head quarters at Sourier, where they pitched their tents, and with regret parted from General Dundas, their commander hitherto, who went to Camp la Coste to take the command of the light infantry.--The artillery, artificers, and engineers, were now busily employed in landing stores and ammunition preparatory to the formation of the batteries necessary for the siege; in which business they received great a.s.sistance from a body of seamen landed for that purpose: three hundred of these brave fellows were landed at the wharf in the Cul de sac Cohee from his majesty's s.h.i.+ps Santa Margarita, Captain Harvey, with his Lieutenants Woolley and Harrison; the Solebay, Captain Kelly, with Lieutenants Carthew and Schomberg; and Nautilus sloop, Captain Carpenter; with Lieutenant Bennet, Lieutenant Collins, and a party of marines, from the Santa Margarita. They instantly began to proceed with a twenty-four pounder and two six pounders[17] towards Sourier. They halted with the twenty-four pounder that evening on the side of the road between Fort Royal and the town of Lamantin, as they were obliged to cut a road through a thick wood for nearly a mile. The next day they completed the road, and also made a sort of bridge, or rather pa.s.sage, across a river, which at times was of considerable depth, though fortunately there was now only four feet water in it. This they effected by filling it up with large stones and branches of trees, and then they proceeded with the twenty-four pounder and two eight-inch howitzers, which they left that night in charge of a piquet from the post above mentioned. On the third day they, to the astonishment of the whole army, got a twenty-four pounder to the heights of Sourier before the night shut in, and two howitzers within a mile of it; and to add to the difficulty, a considerable part of that day was employed in levelling the banks of the river that runs by Dillon's plantation, and making it fordable, by removing immense stones and fragments of rock. On the fourth day (notwithstanding they were obliged to employ a considerable party in making the road more complete) they got the two howitzers above mentioned, and two more twenty-four pounders, to the heights of Sourier. The distance from the wharf to those heights is near five miles; and when we consider that the road was to be formed for near four miles of the way, one of which was through a very thick wood, and that, as they approached the heights of Sourier, for near a mile the road was so steep, that a loaded mule could not walk directly up it, it seems scarce credible that so small a number as three hundred men should be able to have undergone such severe fatigue, considering the climate and the nature of the soil, which was a very stiff clay, intermixed with large rock stones.--A few days after, a reinforcement of seamen was landed from the Veteran, Captain Nugent, with Lieutenants Leaf and Whitlock, and the Winchelsea, Lord Viscount Garlies, with his Lieutenants Dixon and Watson; also Lieutenant Treminere of the marines, with a sergeant's party. They took post by the side of the road leading from Lamantin to Fort Royal, where the first twenty-four pounder was halted.--The first party of seamen took post on the banks of the river running past Dillon's plantation, at the foot of the heights of Sourier. But the Veteran being wanted for other service, in the course of the week one hundred and fifty men were reimbarked on board her, and the Winchelsea's crew joined the former party. The compliments paid the seamen in general orders for their spirited conduct, is a convincing proof that they never once relaxed from their first exertions from the beginning of the siege to the surrender of Fort Bourbon, a period of five weeks. Indeed their astonis.h.i.+ng exertions were almost beyond probability: after rain (which in this climate is frequent) the steep parts of the road were so slippery, that a man even with the greatest care would frequently slip back ten and sometimes twenty feet at a time: but so determined were the honest tars not to fail in what they undertook, that when once they set out with their gun after a heavy rain, and they found it impossible to keep their feet, they have crawled up as they dragged the twenty-four pounder, and kept themselves from sliding back by sticking their fingers in the ground. But among the many compliments paid the seamen, none pleased them so much as having a battery appointed solely for them[18], where they used to relieve one another by turns, without even an additional allowance of grog as an encouragement. Sir Charles Grey paid the highest compliments to the zeal and ability with which the Admiral seconded all his plans. Indeed there never was an instance in which two commanders carried on a business of such importance so unalloyed by the least difference in opinion, or jealousy of command: each strove to prove his readiness to a.s.sist his friend and colleague; of course every thing succeeded, and was carried on with a promptness of execution that seldom has been equalled, never exceeded.

[15] Information having arrived that some of the enemy had retired from St. Pierre to a five-gun battery on that part of the island, Major Manningham was dispatched with a strong detachment in flat-boats, under the protection of the Zebra sloop of war, and was completely successful in driving them from thence.