Toulon was evacuated in the middle of December, 1793, and the remnant of the army employed there soon afterwards landed in Corsica. With this force the detachment of military artificers shared in the various actions and sieges of that island, particularly at San Fiorenzo, Bastia, Ajaccio, and Calvi. In directing the construction of the required works and batteries, more especially at the lengthened siege of Calvi, their services were highly spoken of by their officers and the assistant engineers under whose instructions they for the most part acted; and though so few in number, they were considered by the army to be most useful and valuable soldiers.[96] Most of them were killed at San Fiorenzo and Calvi, and the rest were wounded; of whom two privates only survived. These two men, previously to the evacuation of Corsica in October, 1796, were present at the capture of the Island of Elba, and in January, 1797, returned with Lieutenant De Butts, royal engineers, to Gibraltar. ----- Footnote 96: Lieutenant John Duncan, royal artillery, who was employed as assistant engineer in the sieges of Toulon and Corsica, “often spoke,” writes Lieutenant-General Birch, of the royal engineers, under date 22nd August, 1848, “with the very utmost enthusiasm of the conduct of the royal military artificers in these operations, and would delight to dwell in describing their conduct as being fine, brave, and enduring.” ----- Hostilities were resumed in Flanders as soon as the severity of the winter had subsided. To compel the French to evacuate Flanders was now the purpose of the allied commanders. To this end, on the 16th May, the whole force made a forward movement. The column under the Duke of York, to which the company of artificers was attached, marched to Lannoy and then to Roubaix driving the enemy before it. On the 18th May the French, making a determined stand, hotly pressed the British in front and rear by an overwhelming force, and obliged his Royal Highness to resort to the daring alternative of retreating through the enemy’s line, which he accomplished, but with great loss. In this action the artificers had four wounded, one missing—private John Smart—and seven taken prisoners.[97] ----- Footnote 97: Privates Alexander Williamson, Archibald Douglas, Alexander Stewart, Andrew Lindsay, David Morton, George Horn, and John Bristo. -----