British expedition against Martinique
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The British expedition against Martinique was a military action from January to February 1762, as part of the Seven Years' War.
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[edit] Prelude
After the surrender of Dominica to a British expeditionary force, the French in Martinique fully expected this same expedition to head into their direction. Accordingly, they took measures for their defense. The French force in Martinique consisted of 1,200 regulars, 7,000 local militia and 4,000 hired privateersmen. Furthermore, the mountainous nature of the island made it rather easy to defend.
The neighboring British islands did what they could to help the mother-country:
- Antigua sent black peoples and part of her old garrison, the 38th Regiment of Foot which had never left her since Queen Anne's day;
- Barbados raised 500 black and 500 white men, which were the more acceptable since that island was, as usual, the rendezvous for the expedition.
The first troops to arrive in Carlisle Bay were a detachment from Belle-Isle consisting of:
- 69th Regiment of Foot
- Rufane’s Regiment of Foot
- 90th Morgan’s Regiment of Foot
- 98th Grey’s Regiment of Foot
On December 24 1761, the main army from America under command of General Monckton arrived in Carlisle Bay.
This army was made up of eleven different regiments:
- 15th Amherst's Regiment of Foot
- 17th Regiment of Foot
- 22nd Regiment of Foot
- 27th (Inniskilling) Regiment of Foot
- 28th Townshend's Regiment of Foot
- 35th Regiment of Foot
- 40th Armiger's Regiment of Foot
- 42nd Royal Highland Regiment of Foot (2 bns)
- 43rd Talbot's Regiment of Foot
- 46th Thomas Murray's Regiment of Foot
- 3rd battalion of the 60th Royal American Regiment of Foot
- American rangers (a few coys)
In all, the force entrusted to Monckton must have amounted to fully 8,000 men.
[edit] Attack on Martinique
On January 5 1762, the British transports weighed anchor and sailed away to leeward, under escort of Admiral Rodney's fleet, past the Pitons of Saint Lucia and past the port of Castries.
On January 7, the British amphibious force anchored in Sainte-Anne Bay, just round the southern extremity of Martinique, on the western side. Two brigades were then landed in Les Anses-d'Arlet, a bay farther up the western coast, from which they marched to the south of the bay that forms the harbor of Fort Royal, but, finding the road impracticable for transport of guns, were re-embarked.
On January 16, the entire British army was landed without loss of a man at Case Navire, a little to the north of Negro Point. This Point forms the northern headland of the harbor, and had at its foot a road leading due east over the mountains to the capital town of Fort Royal (now Fort de France), some 5 km away. The way was blocked by deep gullies and ravines; while the French had erected redoubts at every point of vantage, as well as batteries on a hill beyond, named Morne Tortenson. Monckton was thus compelled to erect batteries to silence the French guns before he could advance farther.
By January 24, British batteries were completed, and at daybreak a general attack was made under the fire of the batteries upon the French defenses on Morne Tortenson, a party being at the same time detached to turn the enemy's right flank. The turning movement was completely successful and the redoubts by the sea, on the enemy's left, having been carried, the troops stormed post after post, until at 9:00 they were in possession not only of the detached redoubts but of the entire position of Morne Tortenson, with its guns and entrenchments. The French retired in great confusion, some to Fort Royal and some to Morne Grenier, a still higher hill to the north of Morne Tortenson. Simultaneously two brigades under Brigadiers Haviland and Walsh attacked other French posts to the north of Morne Tortenson and, after great difficulty owing to the steepness of the ground, succeeded in driving them also back to Morne Grenier. The losses of the British in this action amounted to 33 officers and 350 men killed and wounded.
On January 25, Monckton, being now within range, began to throw up batteries against the citadel of Fort Royal, but finding himself much annoyed by the French batteries on Morne Grenier to his left, decided that these must first be silenced.
On the afternoon of January 27, before Monckton had time to launch an attack on them, the French entrenched at Morne Grenier suddenly debouched in 3 columns and launched an attack upon Haviland's brigade and the Light Infantry of the army, on Monckton's left. During this attack, one French column exposed its flank to the Highlanders and was almost instantly routed. The two remaining columns thereupon gave way, and the whole fled back to Morne Grenier with the British in chase. The pursuers plunged down into the intervening ravine after the French and swarming up Morne Grenier "by every path, road, and passage where men could run, walk, or creep," hunted the fugitives headlong before them. Night came on, but the British officers would not stop until they had cleared every Frenchman off the hill and captured all the works and guns. Monckton at once sent off more troops to support the pursuers.
By 1:00 AM on January 28, Morne Grenier was securely occupied, at a cost of little more than 100 British killed and wounded. The batteries on Morne Tortenson were then completed, new batteries were constructed within 370 meters of the citadel.
On February 3, Fort Royal surrendered.
By February 12, the rest of the Island had been reduced.
The regiments employed in Martinique, complete or in detachments, were the 4th, 15th, 17th, 22nd, 27th, 28th, 35th, 38th, 40th, 42nd, 43rd, 48th, 3/60th, 65th, 69th, Rufane's (two battalions), Montgomery's Highlanders, Vaughan's, Gray's, Stuart's, Campbell's, two companies of American Rangers, ten companies of Barbados Volunteers.
[edit] Aftermath
From February 26 to March 3, Monckton shipped off detachments to Saint Lucia, Grenada and Saint-Vincent, which islands fell without resistance. Monckton had already made his arrangements for the capture of Tobago when he received orders requiring the presence of his troops for the attack on Havana, Cuba.
The island was given back to France after the Treaty of Paris (1763).
[edit] References
Fortescue, J. W., A History of the British Army Vol. II, MacMillan, London, 1899, pp. 538-541.
[edit] Source
- This article was originally based on material from [1], which is licensed under the GFDL.
