A war having broken out with Denmark, the British Ministers, early in September, 1807, sent out orders to the Commander of the Forces in the West Indies, to reduce the Danish islands of St. John, St. Thomas and Saint Croix, and the 1st West India Regiment, with the other troops stationed at Barbados, embarked in men-of-war under General Bowyer, on the 15th of December, to proceed on this duty. On the 19th of December the expedition reached Sandy Point, Saint Christopher's, and receiving some troops from that garrison, sailed again the same day; arriving at St. Thomas, where it was joined by reinforcements from Antigua and Grenada, on the 21st. A summons to surrender was at once sent to the Governor, Von Scholten, the terms of which he accepted next day, and surrendered the islands of St. Thomas and St. John with their dependencies. A small garrison of the 70th Regiment being left at St. Thomas, the 1st division of the troops, in which was included the 1st West India Regiment, sailed on the evening of the 23rd for Saint Croix. The expedition arrived off the town of Frederickstadt on the 24th; and the Governor having capitulated on the 25th, the troops were landed, and the forts and batteries taken possession of, a royal salute being fired as the British colours were hoisted. Next night, the garrison and town of Christianstadt, on the other side of the island, were also occupied. The 1st West India Regiment during this expedition was commanded by Major Nathaniel Blackwell; and after the surrender of Saint Croix, it at once returned to Barbados. In January, 1808, three companies were detached from Barbados to Antigua, and one to Tobago; the detachment at Antigua rejoining head-quarters in October of the same year. The next service seen by the regiment was at Marie-Galante,[33] in 1808. Deseada and Marie-Galante, the former a few miles to the north-east, and the latter a few miles to the south-east of Guadaloupe, had been captured by Captain Selby and a naval force in March, 1808. Deseada, the French Governor of Guadaloupe allowed to remain unmolested; but Marie-Galante was so good a privateer station, and its loss also brought the British so much more nearly in contact with him, that he determined to try to recover it.