The island of St. Vincent was captured from the French, in 1762, and was ceded to Great Britain at the peace concluded in the following year; it contained two tribes of natives, called the _red_ and _black_ Caribs, the former being the aborigines, and the latter having sprung from a cargo of African slaves, who escaped from a vessel which was wrecked on the island. The Caribs were devoted to the French interest; they were dangerous and troublesome neighbours to the English planters, and it was found necessary to restrain their conduct, and enforce obedience to a few salutary regulations. They were, however, of a resolute spirit, possessed many thickly wooded fastnesses, and resisted all attempts to restrain their roving propensities and mode of life with such determination, that it became necessary to augment the military force on the island. Although they were contemptible opponents in skill, yet the nature of the climate, and the natural difficulties of the country, being thickly wooded where they inhabited, rendered the service extremely tedious and arduous. [Sidenote: 1773] On the 14th of January, 1773, the THIRTY-FIRST regiment fell into an ambuscade, and sustained some loss; the commanding officer, Lieutenant-Colonel Ralph Walsh, was among the killed. [Sidenote: 1774] After the troops had been in the woods for some months, they at length succeeded, in February, 1774, in bringing the Caribs to terms, who agreed to acknowledge the sovereignty of Great Britain, but were permitted to preserve their own laws and customs. Thus terminated the Carib war. The THIRTY-FIRST regiment returned to England, and was subsequently stationed in North Britain. [Sidenote: 1775] At this period the unfortunate misunderstanding between Great Britain and her American colonies, on the subject of taxation, produced open hostilities. On the 19th of April the first collision occurred at _Lexington_, and on the 17th of June following the battle of _Bunker’s Hill_ was fought. During the winter _Quebec_ was besieged by an American Army: this fortress was gallantly defended by the troops under Lieut.-General Guy Carleton, and reinforcements were ordered to proceed from England to Canada. [Sidenote: 1776] The THIRTY-FIRST regiment proceeded from Glasgow to Cork, whence it embarked for Canada in April, as part of the army under Major-General Burgoyne. The transports arrived at Quebec on the 28th of May, shortly after the defeat of the Americans by a sortie of the garrison. Lieut.-General Carleton had pursued the enemy up the river St. Lawrence, and Major-General Burgoyne’s force remained only one night at anchor below Quebec, where orders had been left for him to follow. He joined at _Trois Rivières_; part of the army disembarked and immediately occupied the villages adjacent to their post on the road to Montreal. On the 8th of June the Americans attempted to surprise the post of Trois Rivières, having passed the river from Sorel with two thousand men.