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 Republique, 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 Republique; 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:

1ST DIVISION—MAJOR-GENERAL HISLOP.

{Light Companies of 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 3rd Brigade—Brig.-General { 6th, and 8th West India Regiments 500 Maclean {90th Foot 500 {8th West India Regiment 400

{Battalion made up of 13th and 63rd 4th Brigade—Brig.-General { Regiments 600 Skinner {York Light Infantry Volunteers 200 {4th West India Regiment 400

2ND DIVISION—BRIGADIER-GENERAL HARCOURT.

{Light infantry 500 1st Brigade—Brig.-General {15th Foot 300 Harcourt {3rd West India Regiment 400

{Grenadiers of the 1st, 4th, and 8th 2nd Brigade—Brig.-General { West India Regiments 300 Barrow {25th Foot 600 {6th West India Regiment 350

RESERVE.

{Grenadiers 300 5th Brigade—Brig.-General {Royal York Rangers 900 Wale {Royal Artillery 300 {Military Artificers 100

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 Rivieres 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 Rivieres, 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 Rivieres 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.

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 35: This island had been restored to France by the Treaty of Amiens.]

[Footnote 36: The grenadier company of the 1st West India Regiment lost 1 rank and file, killed; 1 drummer, 18 rank and file, wounded; 1 subaltern, missing.]



CHAPTER XIII.

THE EXPEDITION TO NEW ORLEANS, 1814-15.

In July, 1814, the 1st West India Regiment was removed to Guadaloupe, except two companies detached to St. Martin's and Marie-Galante, and remained so stationed until it was selected to take part in the expedition to New Orleans.

In June, 1812, the United States of America had declared war against Great Britain, Washington had been captured by the British on July 24th, 1813, and the war had been carried on with varying success until towards the close of the year 1814. In October of that year an expedition to New Orleans was decided upon; the force was to rendezvous at Negril Bay, Jamaica, and for that place the 1st West India Regiment embarked at Point a Prene, Guadaloupe, on November 14th, 1814. Lieutenant-Colonel Whitby, who had for the first time joined the regiment on the previous day, was then in command.

The assembly of the fleet, and the concentration of troops at a point so near to their own coast, had aroused the suspicions of the Americans; and the treachery of an official in the garrison office at Jamaica enabled them to receive positive information as to the aim and destination of the expedition. This official communicated the intelligence to an American trader residing in Kingston, and the latter at once sailed in a coasting schooner for Pensacola; where General Jackson, who commanded the United States army of the South, was on the point of marching to the relief of St. Mary's, then being attacked by a naval force under Rear-Admiral Cockburn. The American general, upon learning of the proposed expedition, at once marched to the Mississippi, concentrated a force of 13,000 men in and around New Orleans, and threw up works on either side of the river to defend the passage in the neighbourhood of the town.

On the 26th of November, 1814, the British fleet, under the command of Vice-Admiral Sir A. Cochrane, having on board a force of some 5000 men under Major-General Keane, sailed from Negril Bay and arrived off the Chandeleur Islands near the entrance of Lake Borgne, on December 10th.

"To reduce the forts which command the navigation of the Mississippi was regarded as a task too difficult to be attempted, and for any ships to pass without their reduction seemed impossible. Trusting, therefore, that the object of the enterprise was unknown to the Americans, Sir Alexander Cochrane and General Keane determined to effect a landing somewhere on the banks of Lake Borgne, and pushing directly on, to take possession of the town before any effectual preparation could be made for its defence. With this view the troops were removed from the larger into the lighter vessels, and these, under convoy of such gun-brigs as the shallowness of the water would float, began on the 13th to enter Lake Borgne."[37]

The Americans, however, being well acquainted with what was taking place, opposed the passage of the lake with five large cutters, each armed with six heavy guns, and these were immediately attacked by the smaller craft of the British. Avoiding a serious engagement, they retired into the shoal water where they could only be attacked by boats, and owing to the delay in getting together a sufficiently powerful flotilla, it was not till the 15th that they were captured, and the navigation of the lake cleared. The vessels of a lighter draught having all run aground in a vain endeavour to pass up the lake, the troops were embarked in boats to carry them up to Pine Island, a distance of thirty miles.

"To be confined for so long a time as the prosecution of this voyage would require, in one posture, was of itself no very agreeable prospect; but the confinement was but a trifling misery when compared with that which arose from the change in the weather. Instead of a constant bracing frost, heavy rains, such as an inhabitant of England cannot dream of, and against which no cloak could furnish protection, began. In the midst of these were the troops embarked in their new and straitened transports, and each division, after an exposure of ten hours, landed upon a small desert spot of earth, called Pine Island, where it was determined to collect the whole army, previous to its crossing over to the main.

"Than this spot it is scarcely possible to imagine any place more completely wretched. It was a swamp, containing a small space of firm ground at one end, and almost wholly unadorned with trees of any sort or description. The interior was the resort of waterfowl; and the pools and creeks with which it was intercepted abounded in dormant alligators.

"Upon this miserable desert the army was assembled, without tents or huts, or any covering to shelter them from the inclemency of the weather.... After having been exposed all day to the cold and pelting rain, we landed upon a barren island, incapable of furnishing even fuel enough to supply our fires. To add to our miseries, as night closed, the rain generally ceased, and severe frosts set in, which, congealing our wet clothes upon our bodies, left little animal warmth to keep the limbs in a state of activity; and the consequence was, that many of the wretched negroes, to whom frost and cold were altogether new, fell fast asleep and perished before morning."

By December 21st the whole army was collected at Pine Island, and next day it was formed into three brigades, the 1st West India Regiment with the 21st and 44th Regiments composing the 2nd Brigade. The 1st West India Regiment, which had left Negril Bay 500 strong, was now so reduced by mortality and sickness that barely 400 men were in a condition to take the field. The cold was intense, and, considering the latitude, 29 deg. N., almost incredible. It appears that when the regiment left Jamaica no attempt was made to furnish the men with warm clothing, and their sufferings from this cause, they being all natives of the tropics, can be better imagined than described. During the voyage the regiment had been much scattered in small craft, where the soldiers were obliged to sleep on deck, exposed to the torrents of rain which fell by day and to the frosts that came on at night; and, being unaccustomed to the severity of an American winter, large numbers of them died from cold and exposure, the 5th West India Regiment suffering equally with the 1st.

On December 22nd, the 1st Brigade (1600 strong) left Pine Island in boats to proceed to Bayou Catalan, a small creek eighty miles distant, which ran up from Lake Ponchartrain, through the middle of an extensive swamp, to within ten miles of New Orleans. Next day it landed at the mouth of the creek and advanced along an overgrown footpath on the banks of a canal, its movements being concealed by the tall reeds of the swamp. After being delayed by several small streams, it finally emerged from the morass, and entering the cultivated portion of the district took up a position across the main road from Proctorsville to New Orleans, the Mississippi being on its left and the swamp on its right.

The exhausted troops, without any camp equipment, encamped for the night on the position. They were not, however, allowed to enjoy a long period of rest. Late in the evening a large schooner was observed stealing up the river, until she arrived opposite the bivouac fires around which the men were asleep; and before it could be ascertained whether she was a friend or foe, a broadside of grape swept through the camp. Having no artillery with them, and no means of attacking this formidable adversary, the troops sheltered themselves behind a bank. The night was as dark as pitch, and the only light to be seen was the flash of the enemy's guns as he continued to pour broadside after broadside into the camp. To add to the miseries of the condition of the British it began to rain heavily, and the earth, barely raised above the level of the river, became a vast puddle of slime, in which the soldiers were compelled to lie down to avoid the iron showers of grape that tore through the air.

In the meantime the 2nd Brigade, with the 1st West India Regiment, had embarked in the remainder of the boats from Pine Island, about ten hours after the departure of the 1st Brigade, and after being exposed to an incessant downpour of rain during the night of December 22nd, had arrived at the mouth of the Bayou Catalan at nightfall on the 23rd. In the stillness of the night the sound of the guns of the schooner as she opened fire on the 1st Brigade were distinctly heard, and the troops, stimulated to fresh exertions, hurried on to the assistance of their comrades. As they drew nearer to the camp, the roll of musketry was heard, for the enemy had brought up a force of 5000 men from New Orleans, thinking to overwhelm the solitary 1st Brigade in the dark, and had unexpectedly opened a semicircle of fire upon it. The 2nd Brigade pushed on, and arrived just in time to prevent the Americans turning the British right, which, owing to their local knowledge, they had partially succeeded in doing. Coming up the canal bank, the 2nd Brigade in their turn took the enemy in flank, and a hand-to-hand conflict took place along the whole line, the British fighting with the energy of despair in the darkness and depths of the wood, and trusting to the bayonet alone. At last, about 3 a.m. on the 24th, the enemy retired, beaten off at all points.

The losses in the night's engagement, and the deaths from cold and exposure that had occurred during the passage from Pine Island, had so thinned the already attenuated ranks of the 1st West India Regiment, that on the morning of the 24th, only 16 sergeants and 240 rank and file were available for duty. The officers serving with them were Major Weston, Captains Isles and Collins, Lieutenants McDonald, Morgan, Miller, Magee, Pilkington, McKenzie, and Dalomel.

Notwithstanding the repulse which the Americans had experienced, the schooner continued to annoy our troops. She had anchored in the river beyond musket range, and, from that safe distance, continued to pour round-shot and grape into the camp, which had been increased on the evening of the 24th by the arrival of the 3rd Brigade, consisting of the 93rd and the 5th West India Regiment. On December 25th, Captain Collins, 1st West India Regiment, was killed by a shot from one of her guns, and there were several other casualties in the regiment. On that day, however, Sir Edward Pakenham, who had been sent out from England to assume the command, arrived, bringing some guns with him. During the night a battery was quietly thrown up opposite the schooner, and at daybreak a heavy cannonade was opened on her with red-hot shot. Before long she was set on fire, and blew up, while another vessel, which had come to her assistance, was compelled to cut and run up the river.

The main obstacle to an advance being now removed, Sir Edward Pakenham divided the army into two columns. The right column, commanded by Major-General Gibbs, consisted of the 4th, 21st, 44th, and 1st West India Regiments; the left, under Major-General Keane, was composed of the 85th, 93rd, 95th, and 5th West India Regiments.

In the meantime the American general had occupied a position facing the British, with the Mississippi on his right, and an impenetrable morass on his left, covering New Orleans, and rendering an advance on that town impossible, until his position had been carried by a front attack. The ground thus occupied, about 1000 yards in breadth, had been fortified so as to be almost impregnable. Three deep parallel ditches had been dug across the whole front; in rear of these was a strong loop-holed palisade, and several batteries had been erected so as to bring a cross-fire to bear upon the level plain, across which the British would have to advance to the assault. The right flank of the enemy was further protected by a strong work thrown up on the right bank of the Mississippi, which effectually prevented our gun-boats turning the position, should they succeed in entering the river.

The night of December 26th was spent in continual alarms. Small bodies of American riflemen would creep down upon the pickets under cover of the darkness, and, firing upon the sentries, prevent the main body from obtaining any sleep. "Scarcely had the troops lain down, when they were aroused by sharp firing at the outposts, which lasted only till they were in order, and then ceased; but as soon as they had dispersed, and had once more addressed themselves to repose, the same cause of alarm returned, and they were again called to their ranks. Thus was the night spent in watching, or at best in broken and disturbed slumbers, than which nothing is more trying, both to the health and spirits of an army."

At daybreak on the 27th, the pickets were withdrawn, and the British formed in order of attack. The right column took post near the skirts of the morass, throwing out skirmishers half-way across the plain to meet the American riflemen, while the left column drew up upon the road. It was a clear, frosty morning, and in this formation the troops advanced, the enemy's skirmishers slowly falling back before them.

After an advance of about four miles the American position was sighted, and the British were saluted by a heavy cannonade from the batteries and shipping. "Scarce a ball passed over or fell short of its mark, but all striking full into the midst of our ranks, occasioned terrible havoc. The shrieks of the wounded, therefore, the crash of firelocks, and the fall of such as were killed, caused at first some little confusion; and what added to the panic was, that from the farm-houses beside which we stood bright flames suddenly burst forth. The Americans, expecting this attack, had filled them with combustibles for the purpose; and directing against them one or two guns, loaded with red-hot shot, in an instant set them on fire. The scene was altogether very sublime. A tremendous cannonade mowed down our ranks, and deafened us with its roar; whilst two large chateaux and their out-buildings almost scorched us with the flames, and blinded us with the smoke which they emitted."

The troops having formed line, advanced to storm the enemy's works. The right column, after a sharp and victorious skirmish with an advanced body of the enemy, arrived at the edge of the marsh, through which it endeavoured in vain to penetrate. At the same time the left column reached the first ditch, or canal, and, being unable to cross it, there halted, the men endeavouring to shelter themselves from the enemy's fire in a wet ditch about knee-deep. The troops being unable to close with the enemy, Sir Edward Pakenham ordered them to retire. This was effected by battalions, the last corps moving off about noon; and by nightfall the army was encamped about two miles from the former camping-ground, and the same distance from the enemy's position.

The 28th, 29th, and 30th, were occupied in bringing up guns from the fleet, on which duty the two West India Regiments and the seamen were employed. Major Weston and Lieutenant Magee, 1st West India Regiment, died from exposure and fatigue while engaged in this work.

During the night of the 31st, six batteries, mounting in all 30 pieces of heavy cannon, were completed, at a distance of some 300 yards from the American lines, and at dawn the artillery duel commenced. During the whole of the day a heavy cannonade continued, till, towards evening, the British ammunition began to fail, and the fire in consequence to slacken. The fire of the Americans, on the other hand, increased; and, landing a number of guns from their vessels, they soon compelled the British to abandon their works. The enemy made no attempt to secure the guns, and during the night they were removed.

Sir Edward Pakenham now decided to send a portion of his force across the river to attack the fort on the right bank and turn its guns upon the main position, whilst the remainder should at the same time make a general assault along the whole entrenchment. "But before this plan could be put into execution, it would be necessary to cut a canal across the entire neck of land from the Bayo de Catiline to the river, of sufficient depth and width to admit of boats being brought up from the lake. Upon this arduous undertaking were the troops immediately employed. Being divided into four companies, they laboured by turns, day and night.... The fatigue undergone during the prosecution of this attempt no words can sufficiently describe; yet it was pursued without repining, and at length, by unremitting exertions, they succeeded in effecting their purpose by the 6th of January."

On January 1st H.M.S. Vengeur arrived off the Chandeleur Islands with a convoy of transports, containing the 7th and 43rd Regiments, under Major-General Lambert, and these two battalions, each 800 strong, joined the army on the evening of January 6th. Next day the final arrangements were made. Colonel Thornton, with the 85th, the marines, and a body of seamen, in all 1400 men, were to cross the river immediately after dark, seize the batteries on the right bank, and at daylight commence firing on the enemy's line, which at the same moment was to be attacked by the remainder of the army. Major-General Keane, with the 95th, the light battalion, and the 1st and 5th[38] West India Regiments, was to attack the enemy's right, Major-General Gibbs, with the 4th, 21st, 44th, and 93rd, force the left, whilst Major-General Lambert was to hold the 7th and 43rd in reserve.

In accordance with this scheme, Colonel Thornton at nightfall moved his force down to the brink of the river, but no boats had arrived. Hour after hour elapsed, and then at last only a sufficient number to transport 350 men made their appearance. With this small force Colonel Thornton determined to make the attempt, and pushed off. The loss of time which had occurred was however fatal, for day began to break before the boats had crossed the river, and though the troops carried the batteries by assault, after a short but obstinate resistance, the alarm had already been carried to the main body of the enemy, and they were thoroughly prepared for defence.

The capture of the works on the right bank had, however, really made the front attack upon the American lines unnecessary; for the passage of the river now being clear, the armed boats from the canal could have passed up the stream and taken the whole of the position in rear. Had this been done, the American general would inevitably have been obliged to abandon his defences, falling back upon New Orleans, and we should have obtained possession of his formidable position without the loss of a man. Major-General Pakenham, however, still persevered in his original intention, and ordered the assault to take place.

There had been so much mismanagement, that the advance, which should have taken place at dawn, did not commence till some time after daylight. The officer, whose duty it was to have prepared fascines for the purpose of filling the ditches, had neglected his work; and, at 2 a.m., the hour at which he had been directed to have them ready, not one was made.[39] Eventually an insufficient number were got together, but "the 44th, which was appointed to carry them, had either misunderstood or neglected their orders, and now headed the column of attack, without any means being provided for crossing the enemy's ditch, or scaling his ramparts."

"The indignation of our brave leader on this occasion may be imagined, but cannot be described. Galloping towards Colonel Mullens, who led the 44th, he commanded him instantly to return for the fascines and ladders, but the opportunity of planting them was lost; and, though they were brought up, it was only to be scattered over the field by the frightened bearers, for our troops were by this time visible to the enemy. A dreadful fire was accordingly opened upon them, and they were mowed down by hundreds while they stood waiting for orders."

The word being given to advance, the other regiments rushed on to the assault. On reaching the first ditch a horrible scene of carnage ensued; the few fascines that were thrown down floated away; there were no ladders, and the men, crowding to the edge of the ditch in the hope of closing with the enemy, fell in heaps. Many threw themselves into the water, and endeavoured to struggle across, but were shot down, or drowned. On the right, Major-General Keane's column had, though reduced to half its strength, succeeded in passing the ditches near their junction with the marsh, and pushed on desperately to the palisade. But to scale this obstacle without ladders was no easy matter. Some few, indeed, by climbing upon their comrades' shoulders succeeded in entering the works, but only to be at once shot down; while those who remained outside were exposed to a flanking fire that swept them down by scores. The two West India regiments distinguished themselves by their desperate valour, so much so, indeed, as to win encomiums from the American general, Jackson.

On the left there had been a slight success, the 21st Regiment having stormed and taken a three-gun battery; but they were not supported, and the enemy, forcing their way into the work, retook it with great slaughter. In vain was the most obstinate courage displayed, the British were beaten off at all points.

"Sir Edward saw how things were going, and did all that a general could do to rally his broken troops. Riding towards the 44th, which had returned to the ground, but in great disorder, he called out to Colonel Mullens to advance; but that officer had disappeared, and was not to be found. He therefore prepared to lead them himself, and had put himself at their head for that purpose, when he received a slight wound in the knee from a musket-ball, which killed his horse. Mounting another, he again headed the 44th, when a second ball took effect more fatally, and he dropped lifeless into the arms of his aide-de-camp."

Major-Generals Keane and Gibb were, almost at the same moment, borne off the field severely wounded. "All was now confusion and dismay. Without leaders, ignorant of what was to be done, the troops first halted and then began to retire; till finally the retreat was changed into a flight, and they quitted the ground in the utmost disorder. But the retreat was covered in gallant style by the reserve. Making a forward motion, the 7th and 43rd presented the appearance of a renewed attack, by which the enemy were so much awed that they did not venture beyond their lines in pursuit of the fugitives."

The British loss in this action was over 1000 killed; while the Americans stated their total loss to be 8 killed and 14 wounded. The 1st West India Regiment had 5 rank and file killed, 2 sergeants and 16 rank and file wounded. The following officers were wounded: Captain Isles, Lieutenants McDonald and Morgan, Ensigns Miller and Pilkington; and all, with the exception of Ensign Miller, severely so. Lieutenants McKenzie and Dalomel, the only remaining officers of the regiment with the expedition, were publicly thanked by Major-General Lambert for the courage which they had displayed, and the able manner in which they had withdrawn the remnant of their corps from the enemy's palisades.

The capture of New Orleans being now despaired of in the shattered condition of the force, a retreat was determined upon. As it was impossible, without great risk, to return to the fleet by the route by which the army had come—there not being sufficient boats to embark more than a third of the force at a time—it was decided to make a road from the firm ground to the water's edge, a distance of many miles, through the very centre of a morass, where human foot had never before trodden. The difficulties experienced in making this road were immense. Sometimes for miles together no firm soil could be found, nor trees to furnish brushwood, and all that could be done was to lay down bundles of reeds on the morass. Nor were the enemy idle; there was constant skirmishing at the outposts, and a continual fire was kept up on the camp from a six-gun battery mounted on the bank of the river.

After nine days' incessant toil the road was completed; the sick and wounded were first removed, then the baggage and stores, and on January 17th, the infantry alone remained in the camp. On the evening of the 18th it also began its retreat. Leaving the camp-fires burning as if no movement were taking place, battalion after battalion stole away in the darkness in the most profound silence. Marching all night over the fragile road of reeds, through which the men sank knee-deep into the mud, the army reached the borders of the lake at dawn. Boats were in readiness, and regiment after regiment embarked and set sail for the fleet, the only loss being the capture of a boat containing two officers and forty men of the 14th Light Dragoons.

After remaining a few days at the Chandeleur Islands, the naval commander decided, in concert with Major-General Lambert, to make an attack on Mobile, and the fleet accordingly proceeded to that place. On February 12th, Fort Bowyer, which commanded the entrance to the harbour, surrendered, and a British garrison being left in the citadel, the fleet retired to Isle Dauphin, West Florida. Hostilities were then terminated by a treaty of peace, and the 1st West India Regiment returned to Barbados, where early in March, Brigade-Majors Cassidy and Winkler rejoined from the West India staff. The former succeeded to the majority, vice Weston, deceased.[40]

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 37: "The Campaigns of the British Army at Washington and New Orleans," by an Officer.]

[Footnote 38: According to Major-General Lambert's despatch to Earl Bathurst, the 5th West India Regiment was to cross the river with Colonel Thornton.]

[Footnote 39: This officer was afterwards dismissed the service.]

[Footnote 40: The British force employed in this expedition has been thus estimated:

14th Dragoons 295 Royal Artillery 570 Sappers and Miners 98 4th Foot 747 21st Foot 800 44th Foot 427 85th Foot 298 93rd Foot 775 95th Foot 276 1st and 5th West India Regiments 1040 Seamen and Marines 1200 Staff Corps 57 —— 6583 7th Foot } arrived on January 6th { 750 43rd Foot } { 820 —— 8153

Out of the ten officers who accompanied the regiment on this ill-fated expedition one was killed, two died from exposure, and five were wounded.]



CHAPTER XIV.

THE OCCUPATION OF GUADALOUPE, 1815—THE BARBADOS INSURRECTION, 1816—THE HURRICANE OF 1817.

A few months after the disastrous expedition to New Orleans, and while the 1st West India Regiment was still stationed at Barbados, an expedition was formed by Lieutenant-General Sir James Leith, commanding the forces in the Windward and Leeward Islands, against the Island of Guadaloupe, the Governor of which, Admiral Comte de Linois, a staunch Bonapartist, had thrown off his allegiance to Louis XVIII., when the news of the escape of Napoleon from Elba had reached the West Indies, and had, on June 18th, 1815, proclaimed the latter Emperor. On the formation of this expedition, Captain Winkler, 1st West India Regiment, was appointed to the staff.

The fleet with the troops from Barbados, among whom were 400 picked men of the 1st West India Regiment, under Major Cassidy, attached to the 2nd Brigade, commanded by Major-General Murray, sailed from Carlisle Bay, Barbados, on the 31st of July, while other troops from St. Lucia, Martinique, and Dominica, rendezvoused at the Saintes. The force from Barbados anchored in the Bay of St. Louis, Marie-Galante, on the 2nd of August; but it was not until the night of the 7th that the troops from the Leeward were all assembled at the Saintes.

The internal state of Guadaloupe and the season were both so critical that Sir James Leith determined to attack at once; and on the morning of the 8th the whole fleet stood towards the Ance St. Sauveur. It was the intention of the general to attack in three columns, each of one brigade, but the scarcity of boats and the heavy surf necessitated that each brigade, should disembark in succession.

A portion of the 1st Brigade being landed without opposition at Ance St. Sauveur, and ordered to drive the enemy from the broken ground and ravines about Trou au Chien and Petit Carbet, the fleet dropped down to Grand Ance, where the principal attack was to be made. There, after the enemy's batteries had been silenced by the fleet, the 2nd Brigade, with the remainder of the 1st, were landed; and after a short but sharp skirmish with a body of the enemy, advanced with the bayonet and drove him from his position at Petrizel. The approach of night put an end to further advance, and the troops bivouacked on the ground they had won.

Next morning, the 9th, at daybreak, the troops advanced in two columns. The 1st Brigade moved upon and occupied Dole, while the 2nd Brigade marched by difficult mountain paths upon the left of Morne Palmiste, by Petrizel, and by this turning movement compelled the enemy to withdraw his posts and retreat to Morne Palmiste by noon. While this had been taking place the 3rd Brigade had disembarked in the vicinity of Bailiff, to leeward of Basseterre, and after a short struggle had occupied that capital.

In the afternoon of the 9th, the 1st and 2nd Brigades converged upon Morne Palmiste, and clambering up the rugged and bush-covered heights, compelled the enemy, after the exchange of a few shots, to evacuate his works and retire to Morne Houel, where he had eight guns in position.

While the British were still occupying the defences on Morne Palmiste, intelligence was brought to Sir James Leith that the French Commander of Grandeterre, with the whole of his available force, was moving in rear of the 1st and 2nd Brigades to endeavour to form a junction with the main body of the enemy at Morne Houel. The detachment of the 1st West India Regiment was at once despatched to reinforce the rear-guard, and to occupy in force all the passes of the Gallion, a river running through a formidable ravine at the foot of Morne Palmiste. The troops from Grandeterre being thus cut off, endeavoured to form a junction by unfrequented paths through the woods; but, being met at every point by the skirmishers of the 1st West India Regiment, who searched the woods in every direction, they were compelled to abandon the attempt and retire at dusk.

The night closed in with torrents of rain, and the British, having been told off in columns in readiness to attack the formidable position of Morne Houel at daybreak next morning, bivouacked on the ground, without shelter, and drenched to the skin. About 11 p.m., the Comte de Linois sent a messenger to propose terms of surrender; but nothing being definitely settled, the troops were put in motion at daybreak on the 10th. As they drew near to the works, however, the French hoisted the British flag on Morne Houel in token of surrender, and the position was occupied without resistance. This success put an end to the active operations.

The British loss in this, the third invasion of Guadaloupe, amounted to 16 killed and 40 wounded. The 1st West India Regiment suffered no loss.

The following general order was issued, dated Head-Quarters, Government House, Basseterre, Guadaloupe, 10th August, 1815: "The Commander of the Forces congratulates the army on the conquest of Guadaloupe being accomplished, and desires the generals and other officers, and the troops employed on that important service, to accept his best thanks for the gallant, zealous, and active manner in which they have compelled the enemy to surrender.

"It is certainly a matter of gratifying reflection to the troops employed, not only that a colony of such importance should be placed under the British flag, but that the exertions of the army have, in two days, defeated all the preparations and force of the enemy; thus sheltering the peaceable inhabitants from a formidable and sanguinary system of revolutionary violence which had been practised against their persons and property, and which threatened the entire destruction of social order.

"Lieutenant-General Sir James Leith will not fail to represent the steadiness and good conduct of the troops to H.R.H. the Commander-in-Chief."

Guadaloupe, however, was not at once reduced to a state of tranquility. A number of French soldiers, who had deserted previous to the surrender of the island, took refuge in the woods, whence they carried on a desultory and ferocious war against the British posts. The 1st West India Regiment, being composed of men better able to support the hardships of a guerilla war, carried on in a country naturally difficult, during the height of the tropical rains, was continually employed against these insurgent bands, and several men were killed and wounded in unknown and forgotten skirmishes.

Major Cassidy and Captain Winkler were each presented with a sword of honour by the major-general; and the order of the Fleur de Lys was transmitted to them by Louis XVIII., for their services in Guadaloupe.

Major Cassidy and the detachment of the 1st West India Regiment, remained in Guadaloupe until the 10th of October, 1815, on which day they embarked for Barbados, arriving at that island on the 26th. The regiment being then very much below its strength, on account of the heavy losses which it had sustained during the expedition to New Orleans, it was determined to transfer the majority of the privates who remained to the 3rd, 4th, 6th and 8th West India Regiments, and reform the regiment from a body of some 700 American negroes, who, in the late war with the United States, had served with the British, and had been temporarily organised as Colonial Marines.

On the 14th of December, the skeleton of the regiment embarked in H.M.S. Niobe for Bermuda, where the Colonial Marines were then stationed, and arrived at St. George's on the 9th of January, 1816. It was only then discovered that the number of men with whom it was intended to reform the regiment, did not exceed 400; most of whom were of but poor physique, and, moreover, unwilling to engage. At first the authorities determined to force these men to enlist, but ultimately the whole plan was abandoned; and the skeleton of the regiment left Bermuda on the 18th of March to return to the West Indies. It arrived at Barbados on the 1st of April; and the men who had already been transferred being sent back to it, the corps was completed with drafts from the late disbanded Bombor Regiment.

This was effected in time to enable the 1st West India Regiment to take a very active part in the suppression of an alarming insurrection of slaves, which broke out suddenly at Barbados on Easter Sunday, the 14th of April, 1816. "The revolt broke out in St. Philip's parish, shortly after sunset, and it extended, in the two following days, to the parishes of Christ Church, St. John and St. George. A conflagration upon a high ridge of copse-wood called Bishop's Hill, in the parish of St. Philip's, was the first signal. Shortly after, the canes upon eight or nine of the surrounding estates were set on fire. Some few of the rebels were furnished with fire-arms, and a scanty supply of ammunition, and the remainder were armed with swords, bludgeons, and such rude weapons as they had been able to procure. Their approach was announced by the beating of drums, the blowing of shells, and other discordant sounds. They demolished the houses of the overseers, destroyed the sugar works, and fired the canes.... Sixty estates were more or less damaged, many of them to a considerable amount."[41]

As soon as the news reached Bridgetown, martial law was proclaimed, the 1st West India Regiment was at once ordered to march, and the militia of the island were called out. Major Cassidy, who was in command of the 1st West India Regiment, found the rebels occupying a position on the heights of Christ Church, on Grazett's Estate, a dense mob of half-armed slaves crowning the summits of the low hills. He endeavoured to parley with them, but without success; and an advance being ordered, the 1st West India Regiment stormed the heights, and at the point of the bayonet drove the rebels from their position. Not a shot was fired by the regiment on this occasion, Major Cassidy being anxious to save bloodshed as much as possible; but a large body of the slaves offered a furious resistance, closing with and aiming blows at the soldiers with their rude weapons, and endeavouring to wrench the muskets from their hands, so that a considerable number of the insurgents were thus killed and wounded. This resistance only lasted for a few minutes, and the slaves, broken and dispirited, fled in all directions; only to be hunted down and fired upon by the militia all over the disaffected portions of the island. The 1st West India Regiment took no part in the pursuit and the capture or slaughter of the fugitives, this duty being left to the European militia, who, if the author of "Remarks on the Insurrection in Barbados"[42] may be believed, were guilty of many excesses.

By the planters this revolt was attributed to the introduction of the Slave Registry Bill into the British Parliament, and it was discovered that several free men of colour, who had for several months previous attended nocturnal meetings of slaves on the estates where the insurrection began, had told the slaves that a law was being passed in England to make them free, and that as the King was giving them their freedom the King's troops would not be employed against them.

Amongst other articles taken from the rebels by the 1st West India Regiment was a flag bearing the figure of a general officer (supposed to be intended for the King), placing a crown in the hands of a negro who had a white woman on his arm. Beneath these figures was the following motto: "Brittanie are happy to assist all such friends as endeavourance." In the struggle on Christ Church heights the regiment lost one man killed and seventeen wounded.

The following general order was issued, dated August 26th, 1816: "Colonel Codd, in communicating the following letters conveying the thanks of the Members in Council and House of Assembly at Barbados to himself and the officers, non-commissioned officers, and men employed during the late insurrection of slaves, feels it his duty to specify the commanding officer and corps whose good conduct on that occasion he has already reported in his official despatch to the Commander of the Forces, namely, Major Cassidy and the 1st West India Regiment."

In November, 1816, the regiment was removed from Barbados and distributed amongst the following islands:

Head-quarters. The Grenadier, Light, and 1 Company at Antigua = 3 2 Companies at St. Christopher = 2 1 Company at Montserrat = 1 2 Companies at St. Lucia = 2 2 Companies at Dominica = 2 — 10

Lieutenant-Colonel Whitby commanded at head-quarters.

Nothing of note occurred till October, 1817, when, on the 21st of that month the Island of St. Lucia was visited with a most violent hurricane in which the Governor, Major-General Seymour, was so severely injured that he died a few days afterwards; and Brevet-Major Burdett, 1st West India Regiment (then commanding the garrison), together with his wife, child, and servants, was killed by the fall of his house and buried under its ruins. The distress that the troops endured was great. The whole of the buildings on Morne Fortune and Pigeon Island, with the exception of the magazine and tanks, were levelled with the ground, and the fragments, together with the men's clothing and equipment, carried off by the wind to the woods about Morne Fortune. The hurricane had struck the island so rapidly that, although an order to evacuate the barracks was given at once, the men had barely time to escape from the buildings before they fell with a crash. The town of Castries was laid in ruins, and twelve vessels that were in harbour were driven ashore. When the hurricane abated, the killed and wounded were moved under the parapet of Fort Charlotte and temporary shelter erected from the ruins.

In January, 1819, when Lieutenant-Colonel J.M. Clifton retired, the second lieutenant-colonelcy in the regiment was abolished. In May of that year the head-quarters and three companies were moved to Barbados, two companies remaining at Antigua, two at St. Lucia, two at Dominica, and one at Tobago.

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 41: Bryan Edwards.]

[Footnote 42: Published in London in 1816.]



CHAPTER XV.

THE DEMERARA REBELLION, 1823.

On the 25th of October, 1821, the establishment of the 1st West India Regiment was reduced from ten to eight companies, which were thus distributed:

Head-quarters and 3 Companies at Barbados. 1 Company at Demerara. 1 " " St. Lucia. 1 " " Dominica. 1 " " Antigua. 1 " " Tobago. — 8

No change took place in this distribution until 1823, when the light company rejoined the head-quarters at Barbados, from Tobago.

In August, 1823, an alarming insurrection broke out among the slaves in the district of Mahaica, on the east coast of Demerara. The first notice of the impending rising was communicated, on the morning of the 18th of August, by a mulatto servant, to Mr. Simpson, of Plantation Reduit (now Plantation Ogle), a place distant some six miles from Georgetown. The servant stated that all the negroes on the coast plantations would rise that night; and Mr. Simpson at once proceeded with the intelligence to Georgetown, warning the various planters at their habitations en route. The Governor appeared to doubt the reliability of the information, but called out a troop of burgher horse, and proceeded with a portion of it to Plantation Reduit. There a considerable body of negroes, armed with cutlasses, sticks, and a few muskets, was met; and, after a short parley with them, which led to no result, the Governor returned at once to Georgetown, and called upon the officer commanding the troops for assistance.

A detachment of the 21st Regiment, and No. 8 Company of the 1st West India Regiment, the whole being under the command of Captain Stewart, of the latter corps, at once marched up the coast; while the militia of Georgetown was called out and patrolled the town. A body of the rebels, who had with them as prisoners several Europeans, was met near Wittenburg Plantation. On the approach of the troops the slaves opened a desultory fire, which did no damage, and a volley being returned, they dispersed in all directions. The force under Captain Stewart then proceeded further up the coast, encountering and dispersing other parties of slaves.

Next day, the 19th of August, martial law was proclaimed, for nearly all the negroes employed upon the coast estates had risen and were overrunning the country, capturing every European they met. Continually dispersed by the troops, they reassembled again, and, after being repulsed by a detachment of the 21st in an attack upon the post of Mahaica, a body of some 2000 of the better-armed slaves collected together and began to advance on Georgetown. By this time another detachment of the 21st Regiment had come up from Georgetown, under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Leahy of that corps, who joined the troops already in the field, and moved with his whole force against this more formidable body of insurgents. Proceeding past pillaged houses and destroyed bridges, the troops at last fell in with the rebels, and Lieutenant-Colonel Leahy, after reading a proclamation that had been issued by the Governor, warned them that if they did not disperse the men would open fire. After waiting for some time, the order to advance was given, and the slaves at once commenced firing. This was returned by the troops, and after a conflict of a few minutes' duration the rebels fled in all directions.

This was the last occasion on which the slaves assembled in any considerable force, but a constant skirmishing was kept up along the whole line of the coast; and two companies of the 1st West India Regiment, which were despatched from Barbados when the news of the insurrection reached there, and arrived at Demerara on the 26th of September, were actively employed in assisting to restore tranquility in the colony and in the apprehension of the ringleaders of the rebellion. Captain Chads, Lieutenants Strong and Lynch, and Ensign Brennan were the officers who were serving with these two companies.

The following general order was published, dated Head-quarters, Camp House, 17th December, 1823:

"Major-General Murray has great satisfaction in communicating to the troops and militia within this colony the following extracts from letters from Lord Bathurst, and the Commander of the Forces, Sir Henry Ward, the former conveying the approbation of His Majesty, and the latter that of His Royal Highness, the Commander-in-Chief, for their conduct during the late insurrection. The Commander-in-Chief takes this opportunity of again returning his thanks to the officers and troops for the uniform support he has received from the former, and for the good conduct of the latter, during the late operations; by these means alone have those services been accomplished which have occasioned His Majesty's flattering marks of approbation."

Extract (No. 1) of a letter from the Right Honourable Lord Bathurst, to His Excellency Sir John Murray:

"Downing Street, 23rd October, 1823.

"I have received your several despatches, as per margin, reciting the series of events that had occurred from the first intimation received by you on the 18th of August last, of a disposition towards insurrectionary movements on the part of the slave population in the District of Mahaica, and concluding with an account of the general termination of the revolt, which had yielded to the prompt and judicious measures of remonstrance and resistance offered by you, and which you represent to have been so admirably enforced by the civil and military authorities under your command. With respect to those measures, I have laid them before His Majesty, and they have received his most gracious approbation, which you will convey to the officers, both civil and military, who have so distinguished themselves on this occasion."

Extract (No. 2) of a letter from His Royal Highness the Commander-in-Chief, to Sir Henry Ward, K.C.B., commanding the Windward and Leeward Islands:

"I have received your further despatch reporting to His Lordship the issue of this revolt, so satisfactorily and judiciously terminated by the prompt and vigorous measures taken by Major-General Murray, and the exemplary zeal, discipline and good conduct of the 21st Regiment, the 1st West India Regiment, and the Militia, which entitle officers and men to the greatest credit."

Ensign Miles, of the 1st West India Regiment, the only officer serving with No. 8 Company under Captain Stewart, died a few days after the termination of the rebellion, of fever produced by fatigue and exposure in hunting down the rebel leaders.

In February, 1824, the Court of Policy passed a vote of thanks, and conferred a gift of 200 guineas on the regiment, to be expended in the purchase of plate, as a mark of the high estimation in which the inhabitants of the colony held the services of Captain Stewart and his detachment.

"KING'S HOUSE, DEMERARA, "19th July, 1824.

"SIR,

"I have the honour to enclose to you for the information of Captain Stewart and the detachment of the 1st West India Regiment, which served with so much credit to itself under his command during the late revolt in this Colony, the accompanying resolution of the Honourable Court of Policy, expressive of the sense entertained by the Court of that officer's conduct, and that of the officers and men placed under him during that distressing period.

"I have, etc., "JOHN MURRAY, "Major-General.

"To Major Capadose, "Commanding Detachment, 1st West India Regiment."

"Extract from the Minutes of the Proceedings of the Honourable Court of Policy of the Colony and dependant Districts of Demerara and Essequibo, at an extraordinary and adjourned meeting held at the Court House, George Town, Demerara, on Tuesday, the 13th of January, 1824.

"The Court of Policy, feeling anxious to mark its sense of the eminent service performed, in the late unhappy revolt, by the troops composing the garrison, as well as by the Militia of the United Colonies, take the opportunity afforded it by the cessation of Martial Law, to express its highest approbation of, and to return its warmest thanks to His Excellency the Commander-in-Chief for the able and judicious measures adopted by him, which succeeded in putting a speedy termination to a Revolt, in its nature most serious and alarming....

"The steady and soldierlike conduct of the detachment of the 1st West India Regiment commanded by Captain Stewart, the Court cannot too highly estimate; and it begs, as a testimony of its lasting regard, to be allowed to present to the Mess, through Captain Stewart, the sum of two hundred guineas, to be laid out in plate."

On the 25th of October, 1824, the three companies stationed at Demerara were removed to Barbados, where they arrived on the 2nd of November. The following brigade order was published at Demerara prior to the embarkation of the detachment:

"The detachment of the 1st West India Regiment under Major Capadose, will embark on board the Sovereign at half-past six on Monday morning, the 25th instant, and the transport will proceed to Barbados with the evening tide of that day.

"The Major-General commanding the district cannot allow these excellent troops to embark without expressing to them his approbation of their excellent conduct and discipline, and his cordial wishes for their health and good fortune. The unremitting attention of Major Capadose in the command of the detachment, and of Brevet-Major Gillard, Captain Hemsworth, and Lieutenant Strong, in that of their respective outposts, have given the Major-General unqualified satisfaction, and he requests those officers to accept his thanks."

The distribution of the regiment was now as follows: 5 companies at Barbados, 1 at St. Lucia, 1 at Dominica, and 1 at Antigua, and this was continued till the 21st of February, 1825, when the head-quarters, with 4 companies, embarked on board the Sovereign transport, and proceeded to the Island of Trinidad, to relieve the 3rd West India Regiment, ordered to be disbanded. The head-quarters landed at Port of Spain, Trinidad, on February 23rd, and were quartered at Orange Grove Barracks, being removed to San Josef Barracks on May 1st, 1828.

In April, 1826, a second lieutenant-colonelcy was re-established in the regiment, Major Henry Capadose being promoted Lieutenant-Colonel, without purchase, on the 22nd of that month.



CHAPTER XVI.

THE BARRA WAR, 1831—THE HURRICANE OF 1831—THE COBOLO EXPEDITION, 1832.

In 1826, owing to the difficulty found in obtaining a sufficiency of recruits in the West Indies, it was decided to send a company of the 1st West India Regiment to Sierra Leone, there to be stationed as a recruiting company, the recruits to be sent to the head-quarters of the regiment as opportunities occurred. The recruiting company embarked at Trinidad on the 17th of April, 1826, in the Duke of York brigantine, and proceeded to Dominica, where it was transhipped to the Jupiter transport. Captain Myers proceeded in charge of it to England, where it was inspected by Major-General Sir James Lyon, and it finally arrived at Sierra Leone on August 16th, 1826. Captain Myers having obtained sick leave in England, Captain Stewart, Lieutenant Brennan, and Ensign Russell, were the officers who had charge of the company.

The recruiting was so successfully carried on, that on July 9th, 1827, 73 recruits joined the head-quarters of the regiment at Trinidad; on December 27th, 1828, 182; and on February 28th, 1829, 39; the last being volunteers from the Royal African Corps. In 1829, Captain Evans and Lieutenant Montgomery proceeded to Sierra Leone to join the recruiting company.

The recruiting company continued being occupied with its peace duties until the year 1831, when the Barra War broke out. Towards the end of September, 1831, the Lieutenant-Governor of the Gambia Settlements sent an urgent despatch for assistance to the Governor of Sierra Leone. The news arrived at the latter place on October 1st, and on the 4th a force under Captain Stewart, 1st West India Regiment, consisting of detachments from the recruiting companies of the 1st and 2nd West India Regiments, from the Sierra Leone Militia, and from the Royal African Corps, sailed for the Gambia in H.M. brig Plumper, and the Parmilia transport. The events which led to this movement were as follows:

In August, 1831, disturbances having occurred amongst the Mandingoes[43] living in the neighbourhood of Fort Bullen, Barra Point, Ensign Fearon, of the Royal African Corps, by direction of Lieutenant-Governor Rendall, had proceeded with thirty men of his corps and a few pensioners, on the night of August 22nd, to the stockaded town of Essaw, or Yahassu, the capital of Barra, to demand hostages from the king. At Essaw this small force was attacked by a large body of Mandingoes, and compelled to retire to Fort Bullen, to which place the victorious Mandingoes advanced, completely investing it on the land side. The day following, Ensign Fearon, having lost twenty-three men out of his little force, evacuated the work, which was in an almost defenceless condition, and retired across the river to the town of Bathurst. After this defeat the chiefs of the neighbouring Mohammedan towns sent large contingents of men to the King of Barra; several thousand armed natives were collected at a distance of three miles only from Bathurst, and that settlement was in such imminent danger that the Lieutenant-Governor was compelled to send to Sierra Leone for assistance.

On November 9th the reinforcements arrived in the Gambia, and found Fort Bullen still in the hands of the natives, who fortunately had confined themselves to making mere demonstrations, instead of falling upon the settlement, which lay entirely at their mercy. On the morning of November 11th a landing was effected at Barra Point by the force, consisting of 451 of all ranks, under cover of a heavy fire from H.M. brig Plumper (Lieutenant Cresey), the Parmilia transport, and an armed colonial schooner. The enemy, estimated at from 2500 to 3000 strong, were skilfully covered from the fire of the shipping by the entrenchments which they had thrown up, and from which, as well as from the shelter of the dense bush and high grass, they poured in a heavy and well-sustained fire upon the troops who were landing in their front. Notwithstanding all disadvantages, however, the British pushed on, and, after an hour's hard fighting, during which the enemy contested every inch of ground, they succeeded in driving them from their entrenchments at the point of the bayonet, and pursued them for some distance through the bush. The British loss in this action was 2 killed, 3 officers[44] and 47 men wounded.

The next few days were occupied in landing the guns, and placing Fort Bullen in a state of defence; and at daybreak on the morning of November 17th the entire force marched to the attack of Essaw, the king's town, leaving the crew of H.M. brig Plumper, under Lieutenant Cresey, in charge of Fort Bullen.

On approaching the vicinity of the town the troops deployed into line, and, the guns having been brought to the front, a heavy fire was opened on the stockade. This was kept up for five hours, and was as vigorously returned by the enemy from their defences, with artillery and small arms. The rockets were brought to bear as soon as possible, and the first one thrown set fire to a house in the town; but the buildings being principally composed of "swish," and the natives having taken the precaution of removing the thatched roofs of the greater number, the rockets produced but little effect, as they could do no injury to the walls. Towards noon some of the enemy were observed leaving the rear of the town, and shortly afterwards a very superior force of natives appeared in the bush on the British right, threatening an attack in flank. A second body was also observed making a lengthened detour on the left, apparently with the intention of attacking the British rear. The men's ammunition being almost exhausted, and the artillery fire, though well sustained, having produced no effect upon the strong stockades which surrounded the town, it was deemed prudent to retire, and the force was accordingly withdrawn to Benty Point, having suffered a loss during the day of 11 killed and 59 wounded. Lieutenant Leigh, of the Sierra Leone militia, and 5 men subsequently died of their wounds.

On December 7th, Lieutenant-Colonel Hingston, Royal African Corps, arrived with reinforcements and assumed the command. Immediately upon this accession to the British strength, the King of Barra notified his desire to open negotiations, and, terms being proposed which he accepted, a treaty was finally concluded and signed at Fort Bullen on January 4th, 1832. The detachment of the recruiting company, 1st West India Regiment, returned to Sierra Leone on the conclusion of the war.

In the West Indies, the detachment of the 1st West India Regiment stationed at Barbados, had, in 1831, suffered from a violent hurricane which visited that island on the 10th of August of that year. The barracks and hospitals at St. Ann's were completely ruined, 36 men of various corps were killed, and a commissariat officer, with three of his children, and his entire household, entombed in the ruins of his house.

An officer of the garrison, who gives an account of this hurricane,[45] says: "Describe the appearance of our barracks, I really cannot. This I can say, in truth, that in no part of the world, a more beautiful range of buildings, or on a more liberal scale or appropriate site, could have been found. The establishment was complete in all respects for every branch of a small army. It was the depot of our West India military possessions. Well—in two hours during this awful night almost every building in the garrison was destroyed.... What a moment was that, when, thanks be to Heaven, the gale in some degree abated. The officers crept out one after the other, and the scene that followed can be compared only to that which one sees and feels after an action—who has escaped?—who is dead?... The first person I found wounded was Mrs. Brocklass, the lady of an officer of the 1st West India Regiment, who, with three fine children, finding the roof over them falling, hastened from under it. She had the misfortune to be knocked down by some shingles, received a blow on the head, and had two or three ribs broken; the children fortunately escaped: her husband was on duty in a most perilous situation.... The huts which were the quarters of the married people of the 1st West India Regiment were blown to pieces, and four men and one woman severely injured. The north building of the men's new barracks accommodated the left wing of the 36th Regiment, besides which a detachment of the 1st West India Regiment was quartered on the ground floor. None of the latter were hurt, but two men of the 36th were killed. The greater part of the spacious galleries was carried away, some of the arches that supported them fell, and many were very much broken. None of the roof remains that will ever be of service."

Towards the end of the year 1832, numerous complaints were made by native traders who were in the habit of trading to the Sherbro and the adjacent territories, that they were molested and their goods plundered by a marauding party of Mohammedan Acoos, who had established themselves in the vicinity of the Ribbie River. These Acoos were liberated Africans, that is, slaves who had been set free from captured slavers at Freetown, Sierra Leone, and had, contrary to the regulations then in force, clandestinely left the Colony.

A party of volunteers, having been despatched to gather information concerning these rebels, ascertained that they had been joined by other parties of marauders, and had established themselves at a place called Cobolo, on the northern bank of the Kates, or Ribbie River. The manager of the Waterloo District also reported various outrages and depredations committed by this band.

On December 13th, 1832, the Hastings company of volunteers, with that of Waterloo, marched from the village of Waterloo towards Cobolo, distant by road some thirty miles, with orders to capture and bring in the leaders of the rebels. Next morning, as this force was approaching Cobolo, the Acoos, who were concealed in the bush, fired upon the head of the column, and the volunteers at once, and without firing a shot, turned and ran in the greatest confusion; nor did they recover from their panic till they had reached Waterloo. The Acoos pursued the fugitives for some little distance, and killed seven of their number.

The rising, originally trivial, had now, through the shameful behaviour of the volunteers, become serious. The news of the defeat spread with great rapidity among the unruly tribes on the frontier of the Colony; and a Mohammedan priest, proclaiming himself a prophet, placed himself at the head of the movement. The Governor acted with promptitude; and recognising the great danger of delay, despatched, on December 17th, all the available men from the garrison of Sierra Leone, under Lieut.-Colonel Hingston, Royal African Corps. The recruiting company of the 1st West India Regiment accompanied the force, under the command of Lieut. W. Montgomery, 1st West India Regiment.

The troops proceeded to Waterloo in boats, and were there joined by the Wellington company of the Sierra Leone militia, and the Hastings company of volunteers. At the same time, H.M. brig Charybdis (Lieut. Crawford) was sent with the York company of volunteers to the mouth of the Ribbie River, with orders for the seamen and marines to ascend the river in boats, co-operate with Lieut.-Colonel Hingston's column, and cut off the retreat of the rebels.

Lieut.-Colonel Hingston's force marched from Waterloo on December 18th, and, halting for the night at Bangowilli, about twenty miles from the former village, advanced towards Cobolo next morning at daybreak. The march was unusually fatiguing, and for many miles the troops had to move through rush beds and mangrove swamps, frequently up to the hips in mud and water. On emerging upon the dry ground near Cobolo the report of fire-arms was heard in front, and scouts being thrown forward, it was learned that the Kossoos, which tribe had suffered most from the predatory propensities of the rebels, had taken up arms and were then engaged in attacking Cobolo. The troops at once pushed on, and a few minutes after their arrival on the scene, the Acoos, completely routed, fled in all directions, many being killed and a great number drowned while endeavouring to escape across a neighbouring creek.

The British force remained at Cobolo for four days, daily sending out small parties in pursuit of the dispersed rebels. By one of these parties Oji Corri, the leader of the movement, was shot down; and the rebellion being at an end the troops returned to Freetown, Sierra Leone, on December 28th; a detachment of the 2nd West India Regiment, under Lieutenant Lardner, being left at Waterloo to watch the movements of the Mohammedan Acoos in the neighbouring villages.

Lieutenant Montgomery, 1st West India Regiment, died at Freetown of fever, on April 9th, 1833, and this event left the recruiting company without an officer of the corps until the arrival in Sierra Leone of Captain Hughes on November 29th, 1834.

In the West Indies one company had been removed from the head-quarters at Trinidad to Tortola in May, 1834, and this detachment was, in January, 1836, moved to St. Vincent.

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 43: The Mandingoes are a warlike Mohammedan tribe, inhabiting the territory inland from the Gambia River to Sierra Leone.]

[Footnote 44: Captain Berwick, Royal African Corps; Lieutenant Lardner, 2nd West India Regiment; and Captain Hughes, Gambia Militia.]

[Footnote 45: An account of the fatal hurricane by which Barbados suffered in 1831, published at Bridgetown, Barbados, 1831.

"DETACHMENT 1ST WEST INDIA REGIMENT.

"Return of the men killed and wounded during the late hurricane, 15th August, 1831:

"Killed—Henry Read, private.

"Wounded—4 privates.

(Signed) "H. BROCKLASS, Lieut., 1st W.I. Regt."

]



CHAPTER XVII.

THE MUTINY OF THE RECRUITS AT TRINIDAD, 1837.

On April 1st, 1836, the 1st West India Regiment was increased from eight to ten companies, and recruits being obtained with difficulty, the Government commenced the injudicious practice of enrolling the slaves, disembarked from captured slavers, in the West India regiments. In September of that year the slaves from two slavers which had been captured off Grenada by H.M.S. Vestal, 112 in number, were drafted into the 1st West India Regiment. Similarly, in January, 1837, 109; on May 20th, 112; and on May 21st, 93 slaves, recently disembarked from slavers captured by H.M.S. Griffon and Harpy, were sent to the regiment. Thus, in the years 1836-7, 426 such slaves were received, 314 of them in the year 1837 alone.

The formality of asking these men whether they were willing to serve was never gone through, many of them did so unwillingly; and it must be remembered that they were all savages in the strictest sense of the word, entirely unacquainted with civilisation, and with no knowledge of the English language. The majority of them were natives of the Congo and of Great and Little Popo, two towns on the western frontier of Dahomey; and it may be here remarked that the negroes of these districts have maintained their reputation for ultra-barbarism even to the present day.

The only result to be anticipated from such a wholesale drafting of savages into a regiment was a mutiny, and every inducement to mutiny appears to have been afforded them. Instead of dividing them proportionately between the head-quarters and the detachments, they were nearly all kept at the former; and but three weeks before the actual rising, as if to further remove all check, 100 rank and file, all old soldiers, were sent from Trinidad and distributed between St. Lucia and Dominica. Thus, on June 18th, 1837, the day of the mutiny, with the exception of the band, officers servants, and mess-waiters, all the men at San Josef's barracks, Trinidad, were slaver recruits. The ringleader of the movement was one Daaga, or Donald Stewart, and the following account of him, and of the mutiny, is taken from Kingsley's "At Last":

"Donald Stewart, or rather Daaga, was the adopted son of Madershee, the old and childless king of the tribe called Paupaus,[46] a race that inhabit a tract of country bordering on that of the Yarrabas.[47] These races are constantly at war with each other.

"Daaga was just the man whom a savage, warlike, and depredatory tribe would select for their chieftain, as the African negroes choose their leaders with reference to their personal prowess. Daaga stood six feet six inches without shoes. Although scarcely muscular in proportion, yet his frame indicated in a singular degree the union of irresistible strength and activity.... He had a singular cast in his eyes, not quite amounting to that obliquity of the visual organs denominated a squint, but sufficient to give his features a peculiarly forbidding appearance; his forehead, however, although small in proportion to his enormous head, was remarkably compact and well formed. The whole head was disproportioned, having the greater part of the brain behind the ears; but the greatest peculiarity of this singular being was his voice. In the course of my life I never heard such sounds uttered by human organs as those formed by Daaga. In ordinary conversation he appeared to me to endeavour to soften his voice—it was a deep tenor: but when a little excited by any passion (and this savage was the child of passion) his voice sounded like the low growl of a lion, but when much excited it could be compared to nothing so aptly as the notes of a gigantic brazen trumpet.

"Daaga having made a successful predatory expedition into the country of the Yarrabas, returned with a number of prisoners of that nation. These he, as usual, took bound and guarded towards the coast to sell to the Portuguese. The interpreter, his countryman, called these Portuguese 'white gentlemen.' The white gentlemen proved themselves more than a match for the black gentlemen; and the whole transaction between the Portuguese and the Paupaus does credit to all concerned in this gentlemanly traffic in human flesh.

"Daaga sold his prisoners, and under pretence of paying him, he and his Paupau guards were enticed on board a Portuguese vessel: they were treacherously overpowered by the Christians, who bound them beside their late prisoners, and the vessel sailed over 'the great salt water.'