A History of the British Army, Vol. 2: First Part—to the Close of the Seven Years' WarFortescue, J. W. (John William), Sir
History
A History of the British Army, Vol. 2: First Part—to the Close of the Seven Years' War
Fortescue, J. W. (John William), Sir
Great Britain -- History, Military; Great Britain. Army -- History
The surrender came in the nick of time, for the ink of the
signatures was hardly dry when news came of the arrival of
General Beauharnais from Martinique with six hundred French
regular troops and two thousand buccaneers. A day earlier this
reinforcement would have saved Guadeloupe; but on hearing of
the capitulation Beauharnais re-embarked his troops and sailed
away. Nothing therefore remained for Barrington but to settle
the administration, fortify the harbour, and leave a sufficient
garrison to hold it. The island of Mariegalante, which had not
been included in the capitulation, made some show of defiance but
surrendered on the first display of force. Crump was installed
as Governor; the Fourth, Sixty-third, and Sixty-fifth were left
with him; the Thirty-eighth returned to its old quarters in the
Leeward Islands, the Highlanders were shipped off to America, and
in June Barrington, with the remnant of the Buffs, Sixty-first, and
Sixty-fourth, returned to England.
So ended the campaign of Guadeloupe. The story is one which is
little known, and the name of John Barrington is one of which
few have heard; yet surely the achievements of himself and of
his troops are such as should not be forgotten. Barrington took
over from Hopson an army weakened by sickness, worn to death by
defensive warfare of the most harassing kind, and disheartened by
the consciousness that it was working to no purpose. He at once
shifted his base for more active operations, only to find, to his
great mortification, half of his force literally at sea, and the
fleet taken from him for other duty. Yet he went to work at once;
and knowing that he could not take the island by force reduced it
to submission by cutting off and destroying its supplies. I have
not hesitated to describe the petty engagements which followed,
since there was not one which did not show forethought in the
planning and skill in the execution. It is true that the French
regular troops on the island were few, and that the enemy which
deserted its entrenchments so readily was made up mainly of raw
militia and armed civilians; but they never fought except in a
strong position protected by artillery. It is true also that the
actual work in the field was done by Crump and Clavering, two
excellent officers, for Barrington was so much crippled by gout
that he could hardly leave Fort Louis. Nevertheless the whole
scheme of operations was Barrington's, and no man more cordially
acknowledged the fact than Clavering himself. The number of the
British killed and wounded in action is unfortunately not to be
ascertained, but judging by the casualties of the officers, of whom
eleven were killed and twenty-one wounded, it was not very great.
But it is not lead and steel that are most fatal in a tropical
expedition, and it is not in killed and wounded that its cost must
be reckoned. The island had been conquered, but the climate had
not; and the climate took its revenge. By the close of the seven
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account