An Account of the Campaign in the West Indies, in the Year 1794 Part 4

XIX. General Rochambeau, immediately upon the surrender of the fort, shall be at liberty to take his measures for his return to France. A frigate to be furnished him, his aides de camp, secretaries, and suite.--ANSWER. A commodious vessel shall be allowed to General Rochambeau, with the necessary pa.s.sports for his safe return to France.

XX. The effects, trunks, chests, private papers, and all that General Rochambeau shall declare to belong to himself and suite, shall be put under the protection of an English guard, when the troops of that nation shall have taken possession of Fort Convention, and shall be embarked with him.--ANSWER. Granted.

XXI. The civil ordonateur, or intendant of the colony, shall have liberty also, with the officers of administration, comptroller and treasurer, with those employed in the public offices at St. Pierre and Fort Royal, to return to France.--ANSWER. Granted.

XXII. The same demands made by General Rochambeau in Art. XX. shall be granted to the intendant and those under him.--ANSWER. Granted.

XXIII. All papers of accounts in the forts or town shall be carefully collected by the princ.i.p.als of each department to which they belong, and embarked in the same s.h.i.+p with the ordonateur.--ANSWER. All papers, not essential to be left in the colony, shall be given, and free access to take authentic copies of such as it may be thought necessary to retain.

XXIV. Captains and officers of merchant s.h.i.+ps, who have not settled their affairs, shall be allowed time to do so. The former the s.p.a.ce of four months, the latter of two months, under the protection of the commander of his Britannic Majesty's forces, that they may recover their debts; after which they will procure the readiest pa.s.sage to whatever place may be expedient for their affairs, with pa.s.sports from the English commanders.--ANSWER. Granted.

_Additional Article._ Fort Bourbon to be delivered up to his Britannic Majesty in its present state, with no deterioration of its batteries, mines, magazines of artillery or provisions, and every thing it contains which is not the private property of the garrison.

Fort Royal, March 22, 1794.

Signed.

D'AUCOURT. C. THOMPSON.

GASCHET, Fils. RICH. SYMES.

DUPRIRET. JOHN CONYNGHAM.

Approved by me, Approved by us,

DTE. ROCHAMBEAU, CHARLES GREY.

Commander in Chief of the French JOHN JERVIS.

West India Islands.

On the 21st of March Captain Faulknor was promoted from the Zebra sloop to the command of the Bienvenue French frigate of 40 guns, taken in the Carenage of Fort Royal, and which was now named the Undaunted by the Admiral, to express the greatness of that action, which finished the capture of the whole island. At the same time Lieutenant Bowen was promoted to the command of the Zebra sloop, for his gallant conduct on the 17th instant, as well as at various other times.

The gun-boats, which by the French were called "Les Pet.i.t Diables," were of infinite service, and gained the officers commanding them immortal credit, by the steady and well-directed fire they kept up constantly, both night and day, on Fort Louis; and though continually exposed to an heavy fire both of grape and round shot, their loss was small, not more than four killed and wounded, during the siege. The several s.h.i.+ps of the line contributed their aid, by sending row-boats armed to attend them in case of accident.

CHAPTER VIII.

GENERAL PRESCOTT IS LEFT GOVERNOR OF MARTINIQUE ... THE COMMANDERS IN CHIEF SAIL FOR ST. LUCIA ... GENERAL DUNDAS LANDS NEAR PIGEON ISLAND ... THE FLEET ANCHORS AT MARIGOT DE ROSSEAUX ... PRINCE EDWARD LANDS WITH THE GRENADIERS, AND MARCHES TOWARDS MORNE FORTUNE ... COLONEL COOTE LANDS WITH THE LIGHT INFANTRY ... THE FLEET ANCHORS IN BARRINGTON'S BAY ... COLONEL COOTE STORMS A REDOUBT ON THE MORNE ... GENERAL RICARD SURRENDERS THE ISLAND ... COLONEL SIR CHARLES GORDON LEFT GOVERNOR OF ST. LUCIA ... THE COMMANDERS IN CHIEF SAIL TO MARTINIQUE.

His Excellency the Commander in Chief, having left Lieutenant General Prescott to command at Martinique, with the fifteenth, thirty-ninth, fifty-eighth, sixty-fourth, and seventieth regiments to garrison that island, on the 30th of March he embarked the following troops on board his Majesty's s.h.i.+ps in the bay of Fort Royal, viz. the brigade of grenadiers, commanded by his Royal Highness Prince Edward; the brigade of light infantry, under command of Major General Dundas; and the sixth, ninth, and forty-third regiments, commanded by Colonel Sir Charles Gordon; with engineers under Colonel Dornford, and a detachment of Royal artillery, with some light ordnance, under Lieutenant Colonel Paterson.--On the 31st the Admiral made the signal for the fleet to sail by eleven A. M. and by half past nine the next morning was off the north part of the island of St. Lucia, where he lay to for the rest of the fleet that had fallen to leeward. Every thing having been previously arranged between the General and Admiral, they effected three different landings on the island with little resistance, and no loss. By half past one P. M. Major General Dundas's division, consisting of the third battalion of light infantry, under Lieutenant Colonel Close, and conducted by Captains Kelly and Lord Garlies of the navy, made good their landing at Ance du Cap, not far from Le Gros Islet[31]; and the second light infantry, under Lieutenant Colonel Blundell, conducted by Commodore Thompson, at Ance du Chocque, who were ordered to join the first column, taking the enemy's batteries in reverse, and to occupy a position for the purpose of investing the works of Morne Fortune on the side of the Carenage; all which, notwithstanding a sharp fire kept up by the enemy from several small batteries, was executed by General Dundas with his usual spirit and abilities. As the Boyne and the rest of the fleet pa.s.sed along the coast they received the fire of many small forts and batteries, without returning it; and though considerably within the range of their shot, which pa.s.sed over and through their sails and rigging, not a man was hurt in any of them. At four P. M. the fleet anch.o.r.ed in twenty fathom water, within a cable's length of the sh.o.r.e, at Marigot de Rofeaux; at which place his Royal Highness Prince Edward with the grenadiers landed about six o'clock in the evening, under the immediate direction of the Admiral, and began their march soon after. At night they halted on the heights opposite to Morne Fortune, from which they were separated by the Grand Cul de Sac, or Barrington's Bay. Soon after sun-set, Lieutenant Colonel Coote, with the first battalion of light infantry, landed from the Boyne at Ance de la Tocque, proceeded to and took the four-gun battery of Ciceron, investing Morne Fortune on that side; at the same time covering Cul de Sac, or Barrington's Bay, for the entrance of our fleet, which anch.o.r.ed there the next morning, being the 2d of April. This morning early the Prince dispatched two companies of grenadiers, with Lieutenant Smyth of the 7th regiment, his brigade major, to attack two batteries on the coast, which they found evacuated, with the tri-coloured flag still flying; this they brought off with them, and spiked the guns. Sir Charles Grey, visiting the Prince's quarters, found his men were halted in a very swampy and unhealthy place, and ordered them to change their ground, and move on to a house at the bottom of Morne Fortune, which they performed that night without any loss, though part of their road (near a mile in length) was exposed to the fire of the fort on the Morne, as also of a little two-gun battery on a point of land under the fort, which, as they pa.s.sed the ravine at the head of the Grand Cul de Sac, played upon them with round shot and grape: however, the distance was too great for any mischief to happen from the latter. In their march they had to pa.s.s a swampy thicket of plantain trees, which concealed them from the view of the enemy, who nevertheless kept up a constant fire of random shot; and though the distance was now very trifling, and the cannonade extremely heavy for a long time, not a man was killed, and a few only slightly hurt by the splinters of stones and rock which flew in great plenty round them.--Early in the morning of the 3d of April, Lieutenant Colonel Coote, with four light companies, stormed a redoubt and two batteries close to the enemy's princ.i.p.al work on the Morne, and killed two officers and thirty men, made one prisoner (a surgeon), and liberated one British seaman from captivity: he then spiked six pieces of cannon, and fell back to Morne Ferre, where he established his quarters[32]. The Commander in Chief now determined to carry the works on Morne Fortune by a.s.sault, and accordingly a plan was formed for a general attack to be made on it the next morning by the troops which now invested it, aided by a party of seamen under command of Lord Garlies: but General Ricard, perceiving the determined behaviour of our troops, prevented the plan being put in execution, by agreeing to terms of capitulation, which had been offered by Sir Charles Grey, who had sent in Major Maitland with a flag of truce to summon the garrison to surrender. The gates of the fort were put into our possession the same evening by nine o'clock. On the 4th the enemy marched out of the fort, with the honours of war, to the glacis, where they piled their arms, and were embarked on board of transports, which conveyed them to France, under conditions that they should not serve against his Britannic Majesty during the war[33]. When his Royal Highness Prince Edward marched into the fort of Morne Fortune, and hoisted the British colours, he changed its name to Fort Charlotte, in honour of his august parent.--Major Maitland had been dispatched to Pigeon Island with a summons, which, by order of General Ricard, was delivered up to his Majesty's troops on the same terms as the Morne. The Commander in Chief left the sixth and ninth regiments, with detachments of artillery and engineers, as a garrison for this island, under the command of Colonel Sir Charles Gordon, who was appointed governor till his Majesty's pleasure was known.

[31] By us called Pigeon Island. On it is a very strong battery, which commands a great distance.

[32] The conduct and abilities of Colonel Coote in this enterprise gained him the particular thanks of the Commander in Chief, whose orders he had so ably executed; and he was well supported by the whole of his department, particularly by Major Evatt, Captains Buchanan, Crosbie, Welch, Thomas Grey (one of the General's aid de camps), and Stovin; also by Major of Brigade Vischer, with Lieutenant Drozier, and the detachment of royal artillery, who spiked the guns.

[33] The garrison that marched out with General Ricard, and laid down their arms as prisoners of war, were about three hundred men, troops of the line (among which one hundred and twenty-five were of the regiment d'Aunai), some artillery, and a few people of colour.

General Ricard, at his own request, was sent to America, as had been General Rochambeau, who chose that place in preference to his own distracted country, where the system of blood that was then the order of the day under the tyranny of Robespierre, would have immolated even these men, who had with so much bravery defended the posts intrusted to them by their country.

The island of St. Lucia had its name from the day, dedicated to the virgin martyr St. Lucia, on which it was discovered. It is about six leagues south of Martinique, and twenty-one north-west from Barbadoes: it is fifteen miles long, and eleven broad; is very hilly, and covered in a great many places with thick woods, of whose timber the planters of Martinique and the neighbouring islands build their houses and mills.

The fustic and cocoa tree is found here also in great abundance. This island has frequently changed its masters, being alternately possessed by the French and English: it has many good bays and harbours, and is well watered by several fine clear rivers. Two of the mountains are said to have been volcanos. Morne Fortune is a high hill which overhangs Ba.s.se Terre, the princ.i.p.al town of the island. On the summit of the Morne is a fortification, as yet unfinished; by nature it is very strong, but art has done little for it; for, when the outworks fall, the fort is incapable of withstanding a siege. We found but little ammunition or military stores, and one small uncovered tank was the only reservoir for water. Here is also a Pigeon Island, which is called by the French Gros Islet, and is so strongly fortified both by nature and art, that if it was well supplied with provisions and stores, would be capable of braving a very formidable attack. The bay of the Grand Cul de Sac is a fine harbour for s.h.i.+ps of any size to ride in, during the hurricane months.

Lieutenant D'Arcy Preston, being promoted from a lieutenancy in the Boyne to the command of the Rattlesnake sloop of war, sailed for England this day, carrying Captain Mason, one of the aid de camps of the Commander in Chief, and Captain Parker of the Blanche, with an account of the further success of his Majesty's arms in the reduction of the island of St. Lucia[34], happily effected without the loss of a single man, though there had been a good deal of cannonading from the enemy's batteries and works. The flank battalions being reimbarked on board of their respective s.h.i.+ps, and Sir Charles Grey with his suite being as usual with the Admiral on board the Boyne, the whole fleet weighed and made sail from this island by eight in the morning of the 5th of April, and by nine at night they anch.o.r.ed in Fort Royal harbour, Martinique.

Thus, in the short period of something more than two months, by the efforts of this army and navy, inconsiderable indeed in numbers, but united in an ardent desire to prove themselves faithful to their country, and strenuous to defend and promote her welfare, and increase her consequence, was the British standard a second time hoisted on the walls of a republican fortress, and another island added to the British dominions.

[34] The General transmitted also a plan of the projected works on Morne Fortune, earnestly recommending them to be finished, as it was a very strong post, not commanded, but commanding every other post around it.

To provide for the future order and good government of their conquests was now the task of Sir Charles Grey and his friend and colleague, Sir John Jervis; and as, in the attainment of them, their hearts and counsels were in unison, so in this most arduous business were their united exertions employed to establish a system of government for the conquered islands, which might be equally serviceable to their country, as conciliatory to the minds of the newly acquired subjects of it; but at a moment like this, when they were pus.h.i.+ng on from one field of conflict and glory to another, it was impossible to render any system of government perfect; they therefore thought that the best mode would be to leave them a government which appeared to have been most desired by the majority of the people, and which agreed better with our own forms than the wild confusion of democratic and revolutionary power.

Accordingly, they for the present left them in the exercise of their accustomed laws, such as they had been at the happiest period of their own government, and which appeared best calculated to forward a system of confidence among their own order, and to prepare them for that form of government (we from experience know the blessings of, and) which unquestionably, on the same experience, would become earnestly desired by all ranks of people. To further also the desirable object of conciliating the minds of the conquered by an act of moderation and indulgence, the conduct of all civil affairs[35] was princ.i.p.ally entrusted to those whose influence in the colony pointed them out as proper to be confided in; and whilst every tendency to licentiousness would be checked by the vigorous direction of General Prescott under his military government, the former courts, for the administration of justice agreeable to the laws and customs before the revolution, were allowed to go on, that the affections and grat.i.tude of his majesty's new subjects might in the surest manner be attached and secured. However an arrangement of officers, guided by the const.i.tution of the other British colonies, was not neglected, and accordingly several nominations were made and transmitted home for approval. St. Lucia was left in the same state, as to its government, as Martinique.

[35] The revenue department was however an exception to this arrangement of the civil departments, as the purpose of trade could not of course be answered through the forms of a French custom-house, or the revenue laws adhered to but by the establishment of our own people to carry on that necessary branch.

Those places therefore in the district of the island of Martinique, which were immediately necessary to be filled, were attended to, and a list of them sent home, that when his majesty's pleasure should be made known with regard to the future civil government, they might be put in motion without any delay.

CHAPTER IX.

EXPEDITION AGAINST GUADALOUPE ... THE ISLES DE SAINTS ATTACKED AND TAKEN ... THE BOYNE AND VETERAN ANCHOR OFF GROZIER ... THE TROOPS LAND UNDER COVER OF THE WINCHELSEA FRIGATE ... CAPTAIN LORD GARLIES WOUNDED ... FORT FLEUR D'EPEE TAKEN BY STORM ... FORT LOUIS AND THE TOWN OF POINT A PITRE TAKEN ... CASUALTIES ... GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE ISLAND.

On Tuesday the 8th of April, the fleet[36], having the Commander in Chief on board, with the remainder of the forces which were not left to garrison the two islands of Martinique and St. Lucia, weighed anchor by seven o'clock A. M. and sailed from the bay of Fort Royal on an expedition against Guadaloupe (the troops having been previously s.h.i.+fted from the men of war to the transports). The Admiral detached Captain Rogers in the Quebec frigate, Captain Faulknor in the Blanche, Captain Incledon in the Ceres, and Captain Scott in the Rose, to attack a cl.u.s.ter of small islands called the Saints, lying between Dominique and Guadaloupe, which they executed with much spirit and gallantry: having landed a party of their seamen and marines, they carried them without any loss on their part, on the morning of the 10th instant; and when the fleet arrived the same morning off the islands, they had the satisfaction of perceiving the union flag hoisted on their two commanding batteries. These islands are valued princ.i.p.ally on account of a small harbour, where a few s.h.i.+ps of war may ride in safety during the hurricane months; and also that they overlook a good deal of the coast of Ba.s.se Terre.--About noon on the 10th of April the Boyne and Veteran anch.o.r.ed in the bay of Point a Pitre, off the village of Grozier, and some more of the fleet in the course of the afternoon; but a fresh wind and lee current prevented most of the transports from getting in till the day after. Without waiting however for the arrival of all the troops, the General determined to land those that were with him, immediately; and accordingly the first and second battalions of grenadiers, one company of the forty-third regiment, fifty marines, and four hundred seamen detached by the Admiral, under the command of Captain George Grey of the Boyne, made good their landing by one o'clock in the morning of the 11th, under a severe fire from Fort Fleur d'Epee, and a three-gun battery at Grozier. As it was impossible for them to land without the latter being silenced, Lord Garlies in the Winchelsea was ordered on that service, which he performed in a masterly manner, laying his s.h.i.+p within half-musket shot of the battery, as near indeed as the depth of water would allow him to approach; and after a smart fire for some time on both sides, he drove them from their guns, and the troops then effected their landing without any loss. In this business, though every shot from the battery hit some part of the Winchelsea, cutting the masts and rigging, Lord Garlies was the only man wounded, receiving a bad contusion in his face. Some more of the troops having arrived on the 11th, the General, perceiving the enemy to be in considerable force at the strong post of Fort Fleur d'Epee, determined to attack them without loss of time, and accordingly arranged his plans in the following order: the first division, under command of his Royal Highness Prince Edward, consisting of the first and second battalions of grenadiers and one hundred of the naval battalion, was to attack the post on Morne Mascot, an height within musket-shot of the fort; the second division, commanded by Major General Dundas, consisting of the first and second battalions of light infantry, and one hundred of the naval battalion, to attack the fort of Fleur d'Epee in the rear, and to cut off its communication with Fort Louis and Point a Pitre; and the third division, commanded by Colonel Symes, consisting of the third battalion of grenadiers and the third battalion of light infantry, and the remainder of the naval battalions, to proceed by the road on the sea-side to co-operate with Major General Dundas. The soldiers were particularly directed not to fire, but trust solely to the bayonet; and the seamen, who were commanded by Captain Nugent and Captain Faulknor, to use their pikes and swords; all which was most scrupulously obeyed; the several divisions having marched earlier, according to the distance they had to go, that they might commence the attack at the same instant.

The signal for the attack, which was a gun from the Boyne, was given by the Admiral at five o'clock in the morning of the 12th. The troops moved forward with the most determined intrepidity. As they advanced to the first picquet the alarm was given; the out-posts were driven in, or put to death; and in an instant the sides of the hill on which the fort was situated were covered by our people, who scrambled up, under a most tremendous discharge of grape shot and musketry: some sailors jumped into the embrasures, driving the enemy before: the soldiers, who had reached the gates, at length succeeded in forcing them open, and a scene of dreadful conflict took place: the enemy still continuing to make a stout resistance, were put to the sword in great numbers; at length, as many as could escape through the gates and embrasures, or by leaping over the walls, fled with the utmost precipitation towards the town of Point a Pitre. Our victorious troops soon followed, driving them across the Carenage to Ba.s.se Terre, whither they and several of the inhabitants made their escape in boats, before the Ceres and two gun-boats could get into the Carenage to cut off their retreat, though this service was performed by Captain Incledon with the greatest alertness. With Fleur d'Epee fell Hog Island, and Fort Louis, an old fortification commanding the entrance into the harbour of Point a Pitre, which town also was taken possession of at the same time by Sir Charles Grey. Our loss in this action was considerable, in proportion to the smallness of our numbers, being fifty-four killed and wounded; the enemy lost in all two hundred and fifty. Fort Fleur d'Epee is strongly situated on the summit of a hill, two sides of which are towards the sea, from whence it has a very formidable appearance; but being commanded by Morne Mascot, when that falls into the power of an enemy it is of little consequence. On the brow of the hill, a little below the fort, is an half-moon battery, which commands a great distance along the coast. Among the many accidents worth notice, I beg leave to mention the following, which I hope will be a striking instance (among many of the same kind which have happened this war) that it behoves all our people serving on sh.o.r.e, whether military or naval, to be distinguished by red dresses. The French, as well as several other continental troops, are dressed in blue; of course, in the confusion of an a.s.sault, especially if it happens before day-break, a seaman's blue jacket may, and I am convinced often has, been the cause of his death by the hands of his own countrymen. A seaman of the Boyne, belonging to the first company, expressing a wish that he might have an opportunity of lowering the French flag, and hoisting our own; and being a remarkably fine fellow, was pitched upon to carry the union flag on this attack for that purpose, in case the fort should be taken; and accordingly it was wrapped in many folds round him, and he was to defend it as well as he could. When he approached the fort, the first object that attracted his notice was the flag-staff, and, regardless of every danger, he rushed forward, pike in hand; and having once got into the fort, away he ran to the desired spot, and had already struck the tri-coloured flag, and was endeavouring to disengage himself from his wrapper, in order to hoist that in its stead, when some soldiers coming suddenly round the corner of a building, and taking him for one of the enemy, in an instant attacked him, and he fell severely wounded before they discovered their mistake. I am happy however to add, that the poor fellow, by the care and skill of Mr. Weir, the surgeon-general[37] of the navy, recovered sufficiently to shew, before the end of the campaign, that his courage was undiminished by the accident.--Captain Faulknor, who had so eminently distinguished himself at the capture of Fort Louis in Martinique, had a narrow escape in this business: having led his men on to the a.s.sault with his usual gallantry, he was encountered by a French officer, whom he instantly struck at with his sword, which falling on the epaulette on his shoulder, did not penetrate: the Frenchman closed with him, and being the strongest man, threw him to the ground; and, wresting the sword from his hand, was in the act of plunging it into his body, when fortunately a seaman belonging to the Boyne, seeing the danger his gallant leader was in, with his pike pinned his adversary to the earth.--As at this time I was the only chaplain on the expedition (Mr. Ruxton, chaplain of the fifty-sixth regiment, having died soon after his landing in Martinique), and several of our men having fallen in this gallant attack, I went on sh.o.r.e up to Fort Fleur d'Epee to pay the last honours to our unfortunate countrymen, eighteen of whom were killed on the spot. The scene I beheld surpa.s.sed my powers of description. It was early in the morning, soon after the action was over. At the foot of the hill lay several of our seamen badly wounded, waiting to be carried on board their respective s.h.i.+ps: a little further, under the tall trees that grew within a few yards of the sea, several naval officers reposing after the fatigues of the morning, and their men not far from them. As we went up the hill we met some of the wounded prisoners brought in by our people; and at the gates of the fort was an heap of the slain, who had all died by the sword or bayonet. Within the fort the destruction appeared more dreadful, being more confined; a mult.i.tude of miserable wretches expiring of their wounds, and many of our own people in the same situation: in the midst of this was his Excellency writing his dispatches on a table, on which, fatigued with the action, an artilleryman was sleeping, whom the General would by no means have disturbed; one proof among thousands that the truest heroism may be, and often is, united to the greatest humanity.--It would be invidious to mention particularly, who distinguished themselves in this business, where all seemed emulous of glory; but as the greatest responsibility is attached to the higher ranks, it will be but justice to say, that Prince Edward, General Dundas, Colonels Symes, Cradock, and Coote, with the other officers of rank, as also Captains Nugent and Faulknor, the officers commanding the naval battalions, received the thanks of the Commander in Chief in public orders, for their excellent conduct and resolution, displayed through the whole of the action.

[36] Consisting of the Boyne, Irresistible, Veteran, Winchelsea, Solebay, Quebec, Ceres, Blanche, Rose, Woolwich, Experiment, and Roebuck, together with the transports with troops, and the ordnance and hospital s.h.i.+ps and victuallers.

[37] As this is an office, I believe, hitherto unknown in the navy, I shall explain the reason of its being now established. The Admiral had in a former war experienced the attention and zeal of Mr. Weir, and being well acquainted with the fatigue and danger that would unavoidably be the lot of his surgeon, if he did his duty, he pitched upon him for that office, and as an encouragement he procured permission to appoint a surgeon general to the navy, and his appointment did honour to his discernment. Mr. Weir was indefatigable in attending the wounded and sick in his own s.h.i.+p, and equally ready to visit others; and even where his duty had no demand on him, his humanity led him to give his advice and a.s.sistance. In his mode of treatment of that dreadful disease, the yellow fever, he was more successful than was generally the case, as the Boyne lost a less proportion of patients under that afflicting malady than any other s.h.i.+p on the expedition.

Point a Pitre is the capital of that part of Guadaloupe called Grand Terre, which is separated from the other part, called Ba.s.s Terre, by a narrow arm of the sea, in form of a river; it is called the river Sallee. The town is neat and well built, but in an unhealthy situation, being on the borders of a large extent of swampy land; it has a good harbour called the Carenage, the entrance to which is guarded on one side by an half-moon battery lately erected on Islet a Couchon, or Hog Island, and on the other by the ancient castle of Fort Louis; it is also defended on the land side by a hill called Morne Government, on which is a strong battery. The country on this part of Guadaloupe is remarkably flat, forming a strong contrast to Ba.s.se Terre, which gradually rises from the sea-sh.o.r.e till it forms a chain of hills extending from one end of that part of the island to the other.

CHAPTER X.

THE GENERAL EMBARKS HIS ARMY, AND LANDS ON Ba.s.sE TERRE AT PEt.i.t BOURG ... OCCURRENCES ON THE MARCH TOWARDS PALMISTE ... THE ADMIRAL ANCHORS IN ANCE DE BAILLIF ... GENERAL DUNDAS LANDS, AND FORMS A COMMUNICATION WITH SIR CHARLES GREY ... THE PALMISTE TAKEN BY a.s.sAULT ... GENERAL COLLOT DELIVERS UP FORT SAINT CHARLES AND THE ISLAND OF GUADALOUPE AND ITS DEPENDENCIES TO THE COMMANDERS IN CHIEF.

On the 13th, the forty-third regiment being landed to garrison Fort Prince of Wales (late Fleur d'Epee), the town of Point a Pitre, and the other ports on Grand Terre, the General and the rest of his army reimbarked on board of their respective s.h.i.+ps; and in the evening the Sea Flower brig, Captain Pierrepoint, sailed for England with dispatches. At twelve o'clock the next day, the Quebec and the other frigates, with the transports, sailed over to the other side of the bay; and in the afternoon the troops, consisting of the grenadiers and light infantry, commanded by his Royal Highness Prince Edward, landed at a village called Pet.i.t Bourg, where many of the princ.i.p.al people of the island were a.s.sembled, who received the Commander in Chief and the Prince with the greatest demonstrations of joy. A party of sailors also, under the command of Captain Rogers of the Quebec, landed at the same time. That night the General returned to the Boyne; the next morning he landed at St. Mary's, where he found Colonel Coote, with the first battalion of light infantry, who had marched in before day-break from Pet.i.t Bourg. The troops now marched forward, princ.i.p.ally along sh.o.r.e, without any remarkable occurrence, and halted for the night at a small village between Cabes Terre and Pet.i.t Bourg. On the 16th the troops, still advancing along sh.o.r.e, reached Trou Chien, a very strong post, which the enemy had abandoned; and before dark the army halted on the high ground over Les Trois Riverres, from whence they saw the enemy's two redoubts and their strong posts on the heights of Palmiste. The General intended to have attacked the enemy that night; but the troops were too much fatigued from the long and difficult march they had just finished. Here, at a beautiful plantation belonging to Monsieur Bellisle, the Prince and several of his officers were sumptuously entertained at supper by that gentleman, who repeated his hospitality the next day. All this time the Admiral stood off and on near the sh.o.r.e, to be ready to pour in a.s.sistance in case there should be any necessity for it: but on the army retiring up the country towards Palmiste on the 17th instant, he came round towards the town of Ba.s.se Terre. Fort St.

Charles fired a few shot and sh.e.l.ls at the Boyne without effect. At half past one P. M. we were becalmed off the town, and had a beautiful view of the country round it, which, rising gradually inland, presents a varied amphitheatre of plantations, woods, hills, and vallies, interspersed with elegant and well-built houses, ornamented by many fine plantations of palms, cocoa-nut, and other tall and majestic trees. By five P. M. we anch.o.r.ed in Ance de Baillif, about a mile from the town of Ba.s.se Terre, which was hid from our view by an high point of land forming the bay. On the 17th Major General Dundas, with the third battalion of grenadiers, and second and third battalions of light infantry, landed at Vieux Habitant, some miles north-west of Ba.s.se Terre, meeting with little opposition and no loss, taking possession of Morne Magdalene, and destroying two batteries, then detaching Lieutenant Colonel Blundell with the second battalion of light infantry, he in the night forced several difficult posts of the enemy. On the 17th General Sir Charles Grey made a disposition for the attack of a redoubt called d'Arbaud, and a battery named d'Anet, both near Grand Ance; the troops pushed forward, and halted within a league of the village of Trois Riviere. By day-break on the 18th Lieutenant Colonel Coote, with the first battalion of light infantry, attacked and stormed the battery; every man in it was either killed, wounded, or made prisoner, and not one of our own was hurt. At the same time the grenadiers were ordered to advance against the redoubt, which was commanded by this battery, and which they found had been deserted by the enemy early in the night, who burnt and destroyed every thing in and near it. On the night of the 17th instant, the enemy in the town of Ba.s.se Terre (being divided in their opinions, and party running very high among them) set fire to the town, the whole of the west end of which was consumed, containing much valuable property, and many fine houses. The motives for this mischief we never could learn, as they were at that time in full possession of the town; and as it was entirely commanded by Fort St. Charles, there could be no danger of its falling into our hands until the fort was taken. At one o'clock in the morning of the 20th, the Commander in Chief, at the head of his troops, advanced to the attack of the princ.i.p.al dependance of the enemy, which was a chain of batteries on the heights of Palmiste, extending above a league. The grenadiers were commanded by Prince Edward, and the light infantry by Lieutenant Colonel Coote. At five in the morning the attack commenced by the light infantry advancing to the a.s.sault of the highest and most formidable battery, which, though well defended by nature and art, was soon obliged to yield to the superior activity and bravery of our troops, who with their bayonets forced the works, putting thirty of them to death. It is remarkable, that in this affair the three first sentries at the advanced batteries, on firing their muskets on the alarm, shot two advanced men of the light infantry and their guide. The instant our men had made themselves masters of this post, perceiving that it commanded all the others, they with infinite spirit and address turned the guns against them, under cover of which our troops marched up and took them all in succession, without much further opposition, although, by every appearance, they had determined to make a vigorous resistance, having felled trees and laid them across the road, and at the entrance of their batteries, and the guns being mostly loaded with grape-shot, or bags of musket b.a.l.l.s, it seemed as if they expected to have come to close quarters. General Dundas had now formed a communication with Sir Charles Grey by Morne Howell, and the Palmiste (the key of the town and Fort St.

Charles) being thus in our possession, the governor, Monsieur Collot, sent a flag of truce to Sir Charles Grey, offering to deliver up Guadaloupe and its dependencies on the same terms as had been granted to General Rochambeau at Martinique, and Ricard at St. Lucia: the garrison to march out with the honours of war, and lay down their arms, and to be sent to France, on condition that they should not serve against the British forces and their allies during the war; General Collot and his suite to be allowed a certain time to settle their affairs, and to be conveyed to North America in a frigate. Accordingly, the light infantry being left in the batteries on the Palmiste, the remainder of the troops marched down and took possession of the gates of both town and fort that night. The next day the Boyne weighed anchor, and was towed by boats round from the bay of Baillif to the road of Ba.s.se Terre, where she anch.o.r.ed within a cable's length of the sh.o.r.e. At night a design of the garrison, to rise upon our people and murder them, was happily made known to General Dundas, who instantly rode down to the fort, and took the necessary precautions to prevent the completion of this infamous plot. At eight o'clock in the morning of Tuesday the 22d of April the French garrison of Fort St. Charles marched out, consisting of fifty-five regulars of the regiment of Guadaloupe, and the fourteenth regiment of France, and eight hundred and eighteen national guards and others; Prince Edward, with the grenadiers and light infantry, taking possession immediately, struck the republican and hoisted the British colours, changing the name of it to Fort Matilda. From the returns found among General Collot's papers it appeared that the number of men capable of bearing arms in the island of Guadaloupe was at that time five thousand eight hundred and seventy-seven; and the number of fire-arms actually delivered out to them was four thousand and forty-four[38]. On the 26th Prince Edward with his suite embarked on board the Blanche frigate, commanded by Captain Faulknor, and sailed for North America; his regiment, the seventh or royal fuzileers, being stationed at Quebec.

The spirit and enterprise of his Royal Highness on this expedition, with his strict attention to discipline, merits the highest applause, and deservedly gained him the respect and esteem of all who served with him.

Before the troubles (occasioned by the revolution) commenced in these islands, the town of Ba.s.se Terre was a place of very considerable traffic, and much resorted to by merchants and others: it is regularly built, well watered, and beautifully situated on the sea-sh.o.r.e, and well defended by several batteries and forts, particularly to the eastward by Fort St. Charles (now called Fort Matilda), which is a regular fortification of great strength and extent; but being commanded by surrounding high lands, particularly Houelmont, a steep hill, on which is a battery that overlooks, not only the fort and town, but the bay, and much of the country near it, it is incapable of maintaining a long defence against a powerful attack by land, but is impregnable by any that can be made against it from the sea only. In the centre of the main street is a s.p.a.cious walk shaded by handsome well grown trees, which forms an agreeable relief from the heat which in this climate is so very oppressive. Above the town is a large and commodious hospital, which at this period we found of infinite use. The island of Guadaloupe was discovered by Columbus, who named it after some mountains in Spain to which it bore resemblance, but by the native Caraibs it is called Karukera: it is situated thirty leagues N. W. from Martinique, and is reckoned the largest and most valuable island the French held in these parts; and, from its vicinity to Antigua and Dominica, as well as to several of our smaller islands, is of great consequence to us. The island is divided into two parts by a narrow channel called La Riviere Sallee, or the Salt River: the eastern part is called Grand Terre, and is comparatively flat; it is nineteen leagues long and nine broad: the western part is properly called Guadaloupe, but is now known by the name of Ba.s.se Terre, and is again subdivided (by a ridge of mountains extending from one end to the other) into Capes Terre and Ba.s.se Terre: this part of the island is thirteen leagues and a half in length, and about seven at the broadest part. The islands immediately dependent on Guadaloupe are Marigalante, Deseada, and the Saints. Marigalante is of a round form, about forty miles to the S. E. of Guadaloupe; it is about five leagues long and four broad, and was discovered by Columbus in 1493, who gave it the name of his own s.h.i.+p. Deseada, or Desirada (that is, the Desirable Island), was the first of these islands discovered by Columbus in his second voyage in 1493; it is about fifteen miles N. E.

of Guadaloupe, and is not very fertile. The Saints are a cl.u.s.ter of islands on the S. E. side of Guadaloupe, of which the westernmost is called Terre de Bas, or the Low Island; the easternmost the High Island: there is a good harbour here for a few s.h.i.+ps. These islands received the name of Sanctos from the Spaniards, who first discovered them on All Saints day. There is some good land in the valleys, but the hills are covered with rocks.--Thus, in the short period of three months, concluded a campaign, in which three valuable islands and their dependencies were added to his majesty's dominions. To the unanimity which subsisted between the Commanders in Chief, together with their allowed high professional knowledge, and seconded by the spirited conduct of all the inferior ranks, must this unlooked-for success be attributed, as the force employed to effect it was certainly far short of what it ought to have been for so great an enterprise. The originally small army was now obliged to be divided, to garrison and secure our newly-acquired possessions; the fatigue became the more burthensome, and the troops that had gone through the campaign with unexampled bravery and patience, at length began to feel the effects of a climate, that even in peaceable times is often found too trying for European const.i.tutions; and which was at this period rendered tenfold more severe by that dreadful malady the yellow fever, which, though it had subsided when we first came to the West Indies, was now, as it were, awakened by the arrival of fresh victims, and acquired more strength from the small resistance that could be made against it by const.i.tutions already broken by fatigue under hards.h.i.+ps and difficulties unparalleled.--As there were no expectations of any reinforcements of consequence being sent till November, the General determined to return to England, after he had made a proper arrangement to render the conquests permanent, and secure them against any attempt that might be made by those perturbed spirits that, notwithstanding his utmost vigilance, might remain in the colonies; and which he in a short time effected to his satisfaction, so far as it related to any attempt that could be made by the enemy in these parts: but it is not to be imagined that, with the small number of men he originally brought out, now reduced by a variety of causes to half their number, and daily decreasing in an alarming degree, any resistance could be made against a strong reinforcement, if the French nation should be able to send out one, from Europe[39]. Previous to his return, however, he was determined to leave the islands in the best possible state of defence; and for that purpose he, with the Admiral, visited all the islands in this quarter, inspecting the strong posts and fortifications, while the Admiral paid attention to the naval department in each; and in the beginning of June, after having taken formal leave of the army in general orders, he sailed for Europe.

[38] Lieutenant George Vaughan of the Boyne was this day promoted to the command of the Zebra sloop, and the Chaplain of the Boyne was appointed to the chaplaincy of the garrison of Guadaloupe, there being no other chaplain on the expedition; but government at home did not think fit to confirm the appointment. Lieutenant Davers of the Boyne was promoted to be acting commander of the Inspector, from whence he was promoted to the command of the Bull Dog sloop. Lieutenant Ogle was also appointed acting commander of the a.s.surance.