CHAPTER III.
THE FLEET SAILS FROM BARBADOES ... ANCHORS ON THE SOUTH COAST OF MARTINIQUE ... CAPTURE OF A BATTERY ... GENERAL GREY LANDS WITH HIS ARMY ... FLAG OF TRUCE FIRED ON BY THE ENEMY ... THE COMMANDERS IN CHIEF ATTACK THE ISLAND AT THREE DIFFERENT PLACES AT THE SAME TIME.
On Monday, Feb. 3, 1794, the fleet of men of war, transports, storeships, &c. sailed from Carlisle Bay, and the next morning land was seen, which proved to be the island of St. Lucia, bearing west several leagues. On Wednesday, Feb. 5, we approached the island of Martinique on the south east coast, off the bay of Maran; two forts, one at Pointe du Jardin, the other at Pointe de la Borgnesse, which defended the entrance to that bay, began to fire on our ships as they approached; notwithstanding which, the Boyne and the rest of the fleet anchored by four P.M. not far from the battery on Pointe de la Borgnesse, Lieutenant Bowen having previously run along shore in a small schooner to sound the depth of water. Our troops were now preparing to land, and had filled several flat-boats which lay along-side the men of war, when the battery opened a heavy fire on them, which was quickly answered by the ships; the troops at the same time pushed in and landed, covered by the gun-boats: seeing which, and alarmed by some well-directed shot from the Boyne and Veteran, the enemy fled in disorder from the fort, which our troops immediately entered, and having hoisted the British colours, were saluted with three cheers from the fleet. A trench was found in the battery, communicating with the magazine, in which a train was laid, and a brand or match laid across it. Happily (by the exertions of the officers and men) this dastardly plot was prevented taking effect. The guns were immediately turned upon the enemy in their retreat, and against the town of St. Anne; but as this was a post of no great consequence, after they had spiked the guns and broke the carriages, the troops reimbarked[5].
[5] During the landing of our troops, Lieutenant Bowen, who was in a gun-boat, perceived a number of the enemy collecting in the woods near the shore, and being scarce noticed by them, was suffered to approach without molestation, and having loaded his gun with langrege, he dealt such destruction among them, that they fled in all directions. A shot from the battery, which stuck in the larboard bow of the Boyne, when cut out, proved to be a thirty-four pounder, and to have been heated, but not sufficiently to do any mischief by fire.
In the evening the enemy in the battery on Pointe du Jardin burnt the sugar plantations near them, as we suppose, out of revenge for our success at Pointe de la Borgnesse; from the dryness of the canes the fire spread with great rapidity, and did much damage. Near us was the village of St. Luce, where a two-gun battery, directed by the curé of St. Luce, seeming disposed to trouble us, the Veteran opened her lower deckers on it, and soon drove the enemy from thence[6].--On Thursday morning, Feb. 6, our troops landed at Trois Rivieres, in the bay of St. Luce, without opposition, to the number of two thousand four hundred and eighty-four men, under the direction of Lieutenant General Prescott. Sir Charles Grey and his suite then landed, and the whole army moved off from the landing-place in two divisions; the first division began to march about twelve at noon, the second division at five in the afternoon. Lieutenant Rogers of the Boyne soon after landed at the curé's battery at St. Luce, and found the two cannon there to be twenty-four pounders, that had belonged to the Raisonable man of war, wrecked some time since on this island. They destroyed these guns, and returned on board without any loss. This evening a gun-boat and flat-boat with seamen, under the command of Lieutenants Rutherford and Ogle of the Boyne, and Mr. Johnson, midshipman, attempted to cut out some vessels in the harbour near Maran, where they were much exposed both to the great guns and musquetry of the enemy; but they succeeded so far as to bring off two American schooners; two others saved themselves by running ashore close under the guns of Fort St. Etienne.
[6] The Generous Friends transport, laden with officers' baggage, &c. dragged her anchor on the night of the 5th, struck against a rock at the entrance of the bay, and was wrecked. Fortunately, however, the hands on board and the baggage were saved.
On Feb. 7th the Admiral sent (with a flag of truce) Lieutenant Miln of the Boyne, accompanied by Lieutenant James of the fifteenth regiment, and the Chaplain of the Boyne, with a letter for the municipality or governor of Maran. As they approached the town they perceived hostile preparations making in the fort of St. Etienne; but, in hopes of preventing a flag of truce being insulted, Mr. Miln boarded one of the American ships that had been run aground the day before, intending, in case the captain of it was on board, to take him in his company. Being now within half gun-shot of the fort, the enemy began to fire on the boat, notwithstanding the flag of truce, and continued to do so, although Mr. Miln endeavoured to proceed towards the shore: but the enemy seeming determined to oppose his landing, and several of their shot falling close by the boat, he at length judged it most prudent to return. As he passed Pointe du Bourgnesse he perceived some negroes near the fort, and sent the two gentlemen who accompanied him armed, to endeavour to cut off their retreat, and to give them the papers which were to have been delivered to the commander at Maran; but the negroes, on perceiving them land, immediately made off towards the town: they however found a wounded man, whose leg had been broken by a cannon ball, with whom they left the papers, adding a note to express their surprise and indignation at a flag of truce being fired on[7].
[7] The French have since said that they fired on the boat because it had a white flag hoisted: this was a most ridiculous objection; for, though with them a mark of aristocracy, it has ever been acknowledged by all nations as a signal of peace and cessation from hostilities. However, we found it necessary afterwards to comply with their wishes; and whenever a boat was sent from either party on a truce, they carried the flag of the opposite party in the bow of the boat, and their own colours abaft.
In the afternoon Mr. Miln went with the gun-boats against Maran, to form a diversion in favour of Lieutenants Rutherford and Rogers, who had landed with two companies of seamen to carry fresh provisions to Sir Charles Grey's army. This had the desired effect, as soon after a large body of troops came down from the hills to the town and fort, which might otherwise have fallen in with the seamen on their march.
The next day, Feb. 8, the Admiral sent another flag of truce by the same officer to the town of St. Anne. He took with him an American captain of a ship, in addition to his former complement; and having been so roughly handled the day before, he also ordered a gun-boat to attend. St. Anne's was entirely deserted. The American then proceeded a mile up the country to the house of a planter, who had left it; but finding his mulatto mistress there, he left the papers with her, to forward to the commanding officer at Maran. On this estate the American told us he saw three hundred slaves, and every thing in perfect order; from whence we judged the owner of it had been a friend to the revolution, the houses and plantations of the royalists being universally destroyed. The enemy now entirely evacuated this part of the country, to throw themselves into Fort Bourbon; and in their retreat burnt several fine plantations, and murdered many slaves of the royalists with circumstances of the most horrid cruelty.
I should have mentioned that, on our approach to this island, the Commanders in Chief dispatched General Dundas with Commodore Thompson to the attack of Trinité, and another division under the command of Colonel Sir Charles Gordon, assisted by Captain Rogers of the Quebec, to Case de Navirre; while Sir Charles Grey, assisted by Lieutenant General Prescott, and under cover of the Boyne, &c. made good his landing at Trois Rivieres: thus, by making three attacks upon distant parts of the island at the same time, the force and attention of the enemy was divided; and by that spirited conduct, which animated all parties, more particularly by the unanimity which prevailed between the army and navy, they all happily succeeded. And here I must beg leave to observe, that where the commanders are united in friendship, and equally inspired with an earnest desire to serve their king and country, their example will always have such influence on the conduct of those under their command, that the same friendly intercourse will be sure to subsist between the subordinate ranks of the two services; and, from the Commanders in Chief to the private soldier and sailor, they will join hand and heart, and form a phalanx that nothing can withstand.