THE CAPTURE OF MARTINIQUE, 1809 THE CAPTURE OF GUADALOUPE, 1810.

The 1st West India Regiment continued doing duty at Barbados until January 27th, 1809, when eight companies joined the expedition against the Island of Martinique.

The interception, in the summer of 1808, of some despatches from the Governor of Martinique to the French Ministry asking for supplies and additional troops, and describing the condition of the island as almost defenceless, first directed the attention of the British Government to the reduction of this French colony. Preparations for the attack began at Barbados in November, 1808, the expedition assembled at Carlisle Bay, Barbados, in January, 1809, and on the 28th of that month the force sailed for Martinique.

The expeditionary force was under the command of Lieutenant-General Beckwith, and consisted of two divisions, each of two brigades, the 1st Division being commanded by Lieutenant-General Sir George Prevost, and the 2nd Division by Major-General Maitland. The 1st West India Regiment was included in the 1st Division. Six battalion companies, with the 13th and 8th Regiments, formed the 2nd Brigade under Brigadier-General Colville; while the grenadier company (Captain Winkler), with the 7th, 23rd, and a light battalion, in which latter was the light company, 1st West India Regiment, formed the 1st Brigade, under Brigadier-General Hoghton.

On the 30th of January the expedition arrived off the Island of Martinique, and on the evening of the 31st the troops disembarked, the 1st Division landing at Malgré Tout, Bay Robert, and the 2nd near St. Luce and Point Solomon on the opposite side of the island.

The 1st Division marched the same night to De Manceaux Estate. The roads were in a wretched condition from the rains, and the horses being done up from the length of time which they had been on board ship, the troops were obliged to drag the guns themselves. After a short rest the force continued its march to Papin’s, which it reached at midnight. Here the main body of the 1st Division halted for the night, while the grenadier company of the 1st West India Regiment, with the 7th Regiment, pushed on to the heights on De Bork’s Estate.

On the day following they were joined by the 23rd and the light infantry battalion, and advanced to the heights of Morne Bruno, the French skirmishers falling back slowly before them, while keeping up a smart fire. From this point the grenadier company, 1st West India Regiment, advanced with the 7th, the 23rd being in support, against the French position on the heights of Desfourneaux.

The enemy, under General De Hondelot, were well placed on the crest of the ridge, with a mountain torrent in their front, and a strong force of artillery drawn up on their left flank. The flank companies of the 7th were ordered to turn the French right, while the light battalion, with which was the light company, 1st West India Regiment, moved against his left, and the grenadiers of the 1st West India Regiment, with the remainder of the 7th, advanced against the centre. The troops rushed forward, fording the stream under a heavy fire, and attacking the enemy, who was greatly superior in numbers, with the bayonet, drove him from his position.

From this point, with the co-operation of the 2nd Brigade, the French were beaten back to the heights of Surirey, where they made a determined stand, but by a brilliant charge, the British carried the hill, and forced them to take shelter under the guns of their redoubts.

The troops encamped for the night on the position which they had won, while the enemy took up a second position, strengthened by two redoubts connected by an entrenchment.

Next morning, February 2nd, the British made a movement to turn the French right, and, being much annoyed by the enemy’s advanced redoubt, the light battalion and the 7th Regiment were ordered to take it. They were repulsed with considerable loss, but, on the following night, the 2nd division of the British having come up, the enemy abandoned the work and spiked the guns, retiring with all his force to Fort Bourbon, or Desaix.

While the 1st Division had thus been engaged at Morne Bruno and Surirey, the 2nd had been equally successful. Upon landing at St. Luce, a detachment of the Royal York Rangers took possession of the battery at Point Solomon, on the south side of Fort Royal Bay, thus securing a safe anchorage for the fleet. The same corps then pushed on and invested Pigeon Island, a small fortified island which commanded the anchorage in the upper part of the bay, and which had to be captured before any attempt could be made against the formidable fortresses of Bourbon and Fort République. Batteries were erected on Morne Vanier, from which Pigeon Island was shelled with such success that the garrison surrendered.

The way being now open for the fleet, preparations were commenced for the capture of Fort Bourbon. It was decided to attempt to take the place by storm, and on February 4th, the 1st Division, which, under Sir George Prevost, had marched over from Surirey, advanced to the assault, the grenadier companies forming the “forlorn hope.” The fire from the enemy’s guns was, however, so heavy and well-directed that the attempt failed, notwithstanding the most conspicuous gallantry on the part of the British, and the troops retired with a loss of 330 killed and wounded, the grenadier company of the 1st West India Regiment having suffered heavily.

General Villaret, the French commander, supposing Fort Bourbon to be impregnable, abandoned Fort République, leaving in it 4 mortars and 38 heavy guns, and collected his entire force, some 3000 in number, in Fort Bourbon. Being well supplied with food and ammunition, he resolved quietly to wait in the citadel; confident that the British army would gradually melt away from the sickness caused by the heavy rains, which had now set in and fell incessantly. On the 7th February a British force entered by night the abandoned Fort République; and, though the work was furiously bombarded from Fort Bourbon, in two days the guns which had been left in the fort were unspiked and the fire returned. In the meantime other batteries had been in course of construction, and by February 18th Fort Bourbon was completely invested.

The enemy were then summoned to surrender, but General Villaret declaring that he would rather bury himself under the ruins of the citadel, the bombardment commenced. The British batteries, six in number, opened fire simultaneously at 3.30 p.m. on Sunday, February 19th, and the fire was hotly returned. At Colville’s battery, where were four companies of the 1st West India Regiment, the brushwood in front of the guns was set on fire, and was only extinguished with much difficulty, and a terrific fire was kept up on both sides. On February 20th the enemy ceased firing during the whole day, recommencing again on February 21st; but on the 22nd a shell from our batteries having blown up the magazine, the enemy sent out terms of capitulation. These were rejected, but on the 24th the place surrendered; the garrison, 2700 in number, became prisoners of war, and three eagles remained as trophies in the British hands.

The following general orders were issued during this brilliant campaign:

1. Morne Bruno, February 3rd, 1809. “The benefit the advanced corps, under Lieutenant-General Sir George Prevost, have produced to His Majesty’s service, from the gallant and successful attack made upon Morne Bruno and the heights of Surirey, on the 1st instant, by the 1st Brigade of the army and the light battalion, under Brigadier-General Hoghton, demands from the Commander of the Forces a reiteration of his acknowledgments, and his assurance to the brigadier-general, and to the commanding officer of the Royal Fusiliers, of the Royal Welsh Fusiliers, and of the light battalion, also to the officers, non-commissioned officers, and soldiers of those regiments, that he will not fail to lay their meritorious exertions before the King. The exertions of all the corps engaged yesterday were conspicuous; and, although the state of the works possessed by the enemy did not admit of their being carried by the bayonet, which rendered it the general’s duty to direct the corps employed to retire, they manifested a spirit and determination which, when tempered by less impetuosity, will lead to the happiest results.”

2. February 27th, 1809. “The grenadier company, with a detachment of the battalion of the 1st West India Regiment, who were engaged with the enemy both on the 1st and 2nd of February, 1809, having been omitted to be mentioned in the general orders of February 3rd, referring to those operations, the Commander of the Forces takes the present occasion to acknowledge their services. From the day of the regiment landing, to that of the enemy’s surrender, it served with the greatest credit under all the disadvantages to which a West India regiment is exposed. The hard and severe work is generally performed by them, which the European soldiers could not undergo from the climate.”

During this campaign the 1st West India Regiment was commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Tolley; and, in token of its services, it was permitted to retain two brass side-drums and five battle-axes, which it had captured from the enemy.

The 1st West India Regiment continued to serve in Martinique till the 17th of May, 1809, when the head-quarters and six companies were removed to the Island of Trinidad. There they remained until the month of December following, when an expedition was formed for the reduction of Guadaloupe.

Since the expulsion of the British in 1794, that island had enjoyed a period of tranquility; its armament had been considerably increased under successive governors, slavery had been re-established, and its harbours swarmed with privateers, which preyed upon British commerce. The incessant annoyance and loss to our trade caused by these vessels, was a strong incentive for a descent upon the island. Added to this, it was a colony of considerable importance to France; the mother country depending, in a great measure, upon it for colonial produce.

The British army was assembled at Prince Rupert’s Bay, Dominica, where, on the 22nd of January, 1810, the flank companies of the 1st West India Regiment joined. The force was under the command of Lieutenant-General Sir George Beckwith, and was thus composed:

On the 23rd of January the fleet sailed from Dominica, the 2nd Division being ordered to proceed to the Saintes, to prepare for disembarking near Basseterre, while the 1st Division and the Reserve made for the north-eastern quarter of that part of Guadaloupe which is called Cabesterre.

The light infantry battalion of the 3rd Brigade effected its landing at 9 a.m. on the 28th of January, without opposition, at the Bay of St. Marie; and immediately possessed itself of the heights, so as to cover the disembarkation of the remainder of the 1st Division and the Reserve. The whole of the troops were landed about half-an-hour after noon, and the light infantry battalion was ordered forward as the advance guard of the division. It reached the village of Marigot about sunset, and crossing the river (called Riviere des Peres Blancs), halted in the mountains in the most advantageous position for maintaining itself during the night. The remainder of the division encamped at Marigot. The troops had marched this day with three days’ cooked provisions in their havresacks. The Reserve remained at St. Marie to cover the landing of munitions and supplies.

On the 29th of January, the troops were under arms an hour before daylight, and the light battalion, being again pushed to the front, reached Bannaniers by sunset. There the division encamped for the night, while the light companies of the 1st and 3rd West India Regiments were ordered to possess themselves of the strong pass of Lacasse, above the British position.

On the same day, the 29th, the 2nd Division, after making a feint of disembarking at Trois Rivières to draw off the attention of the enemy, proceeded in the ships to the western side of the island.

On the 30th of January, at daybreak, the 1st Division again advanced. Between 9 and 10 a.m. the light battalion, which was still leading, descended the heights on the side of Trois Rivières, and coming up with the rear of a detachment of the enemy, dispersed it after a short conflict. Pursuing its march it reached the open ground, or savannah, at Loriols Trois Rivières about 11 a.m., and there halted to allow the column to come up.

The enemy’s position was now in front, and consisted of a line of redoubts and entrenchments on the commanding heights of Petrizel. Major-General Hislop at once made his dispositions for an attack on the following morning; the light battalion moving to the left, and the 4th Brigade, with the remainder of the 3rd, extending along the heights to the right. In the execution of this order, the light battalion, advancing along the high road towards the enemy’s position, alarmed him to such a degree as to induce him to open fire from all his batteries and entrenched lines, not only from Petrizel, but also from his post at Dole; from which he kept up for some time an incessant fire, without doing any other injury than killing one man, and wounding another. The troops took up their positions in the meantime without further inconvenience. Towards the close of the evening numbers of the enemy were seen ascending the mountains above their works at Petrizel. The heat this day had been excessive, and the country through which the troops marched exceedingly difficult, the strong pass of Trou au Chien lying in their way. The night closed in with heavy rain.

On the 31st, at daylight, not a soul was to be seen near the enemy’s works; and, it having been ascertained that they were evacuated, the light company of the 1st West India Regiment was ordered to march at noon and take possession.

The 1st Division remained halted during the 1st of February, and on the 2nd, the light battalion, as advanced guard of the 4th Brigade, was ordered to march, by a very difficult ascent, to the centre of the Palmiste heights; while the remainder of the 3rd Brigade moved to the right of the same heights, by an easier route. The troops bivouacked on the heights for the night.

While these operations had been going on, the 2nd Division had, at 10 a.m. on the 30th of January, disembarked at a bay to the northward of the village of Les Vieux Habitans and about three leagues to the north of the town of Basseterre. The troops gained the heights above the village after a slight skirmish, and encamped on the ground for the night. During the two succeeding days the 2nd Division was employed in bringing up guns to a height near Post Bellair.

By the combined movements of the two divisions, General Ernouf, the French commander, was now, by the night of the 2nd of February, hemmed in at the extremity of the island between the sea and the British army. He had judiciously chosen his position, which was naturally strong, and which he had strengthened by all the artificial means in his power. He was posted on heights, his left supported by the mountains of Matouba, and every accessible point of his line covered by abattis and stockaded redoubts. In his front was a river, the passage of which, exceedingly difficult in itself, was rendered much more so by a detachment of troops stationed behind abattis. The ground also, between the river and the heights, was bushy and full of rugged rocks, and of course highly unfavourable to the march of the assailants.

It was on the 3rd of February that the British troops were put in motion to dislodge him from his advantageous position. The 1st Division, soon after dawn, descended the north side of Palmiste, passed the river Gallion, and under a heavy fire from a battery at the bridge of Voziere, formed on the opposite heights, taking up a position so as to intercept the communication between the town of Basseterre and the enemy’s camp. The 2nd Division had, during the night of the 2nd, pushed forward the grenadiers of the 2nd Brigade and a detachment of the 6th West India Regiment to occupy the ridge Beaupere St. Louis, on the upper part of which the strong post of Bellair was situated. On the morning of the 3rd the enemy perceived what had been done, and moved out in force to dislodge the British. The 1st Brigade was immediately ordered up in support; but, before it could gain the heights, a smart action had taken place, and it only arrived in time to complete the defeat of the enemy. In this engagement the grenadier company of the 1st West India Regiment lost 2 rank and file killed, Captain Cassidy and 9 rank and file wounded. During the remainder of the day the troops of the 2nd Division were moved up to Bellair, and the whole army remained on the ground during the night.

Next morning, the 4th, the British advanced to the final assault of the position. The 1st Division was charged with the operations on the right, while the task of turning the left was entrusted to Brigadier-General Wale with the Reserve. At dawn of day the light company of the 1st West India Regiment and the York Light Infantry were ordered to advance to the enemy’s post at the bridge of Voziere. For some time they were unseen, but a picket of the enemy, moving along the opposite side of the ravine, discovered them; and, opening fire, a general discharge soon followed, in the face of which the British rushed forward and carried the work. Almost at the same moment, Brigadier-General Wale, who, with the Reserve, had forded the Gallion River, and under a heavy fire ascended the heights, carried the enemy’s works on the left; and General Ernouf’s situation had become so critical, that he at once hoisted flags of truce in the works which he still retained at Matouba.

On the 5th of February, the terms of capitulation were signed, the French marching out with military honours, and becoming prisoners of war. The British loss was 52 officers and men killed, 250 wounded, and 7 missing. The French lost 600 killed, and 2000 prisoners. Captain H. Downie, of the 1st West India Regiment, was mentioned in despatches for gallantry at the storming of the work at the bridge of Voziere.

The following general order was published, dated Beau Vallon, Guadaloupe, 6th Feb., 1810: “The enemy are now prisoners of war, to be sent to England, and not to serve until duly exchanged. Thus through the exertions and general co-operation of the fleet and the army, has been effected the important conquest of this colony in nine days from the landing of the 1st Division. The Commander of the Forces returns his public thanks to the officers of all ranks for their meritorious exertions, and to the non-commissioned officers and soldiers for the cheerfulness with which they have undergone the fatigues of a march, difficult in its nature, through the strongest country in the world, and the spirit which they have manifested upon all occasions to close with the enemy.”

In this campaign, it may be observed, all the hard work had fallen to the lot of the 1st Division, and especially to that of the light infantry battalion of the 3rd Brigade, which had, by forced marches, moved across the whole breadth of the island, from St. Marie to the neighbourhood of Basseterre, over a wild and broken country, in six days.

For their services at the capture of Guadaloupe, Captains Cassidy and Winkler were appointed brigade-majors at Trinidad and Grenada respectively; and the words “Martinique” and “Guadaloupe” were inscribed on the colours of the regiment, “as a mark of royal favour and approbation of its gallant conduct at the capture of those islands in 1809 and 1810.”

On the completion of this service the flank companies rejoined head-quarters at Trinidad, as did the two companies detached at Martinique and the two at Barbados. The whole regiment was then stationed in Trinidad, seven companies being at St. Joseph’s and three at Orange Grove. This arrangement lasted until March, 1814, when the head-quarters and four companies were moved to Martinique, four companies to St. Lucia, and two to Dominica.