Capture of Saint Vincent
Capture of Saint Vincent | |
---|---|
Part of the Saint Vincent, West Indies | |
Result | French victory |
George Etherington
82 men lost by shipwreck[1]
422 men captured
The Capture of Saint Vincent was a French invasion that took place between 16 and 18 June 1779 during the
British Governor Valentine Morris and military commander Lieutenant Colonel George Etherington disagreed on how to react and ended up surrendering without significant resistance. Both leaders were subjected to inquiries over the surrender. The period of French control began by capturing the island, which resulted in a solidified Black Carib control over northern parts of the island. The area remained under Carib control until the Second Carib War of 1795.
Background
Following the entry of
The British fleet was further reinforced in January 1779 by ten ships of the line under Admiral
The political situation on Saint Vincent was somewhat tense. The island was divided roughly in half between land controlled by white
Saint Vincent's colonial government and defences were in some disarray. Governor Valentine Morris had assumed office in 1776 when the isle was granted a separate government, and reported then that it had virtually no defences. In addition to the difficult relations with the Caribs, the British population was also sympathetic to the cause of colonial independence.[10] The French capture of Dominica in 1778 had raised constitutional questions surrounding the imposition of martial law, and the colonial assembly had consequently refused to appropriate funds for improving the island defences. Governor Morris had spent his own funds instead on improvements, contributing to financial difficulties he would run into later.[11]
The only British military presence on the island was a garrison of about 450 men from the Royal American Regiment under the command of Lieutenant Colonel George Etherington, most of whom were poorly trained recruits and about half of whom were unfit for duty. Etherington, rather than training and drilling his troops, or fully staffing the island's outposts, was employing significant numbers of them to clear land on an estate on the north-west side of the island.[10] Etherington's estate was on territory on the Carib side of the island, and its grant (for Etherington's service in the Seven Years' War, but made under circumstances the Caribs viewed as illegal) was a major source of annoyance to the Caribs.[12] Governor de Bouillé had established regular contact with the Caribs, and was supplying them with arms.[13] In late August 1778 French officials met with Carib leader Joseph Chatoyer, and in early September Governor Morris was confronted by Caribs bearing new French muskets on a tour of the border areas.[14]
Composition
French Forces
French forces included:[15]
- Baritaut's Company from Régiment de Champagne
- Captain Germiny's Company from Régiment de Viennois
- Régiment de la Martinique (2 Battalions)
British Forces
British forces included:[16]
- 400 Men of unknown battalion from 60th (Royal American) Regiment of Foot
Capture
D'Estaing organized a force of 300 to 500 troops, including French regulars drawn from the regiments Champagne, Viennois, and Martinique, and about 200 volunteer militia from Martinique.
Two of the ships anchored in Young's Bay, near Calliaqua, while the third anchored off Kingstown. The ships flew no national colours, leading to local speculation as to their intent. Local planters who thought they might be merchant vessels expected to pick up the sugar harvest prevented a sentry at one of the island's coastal fortifications from firing a signal cannon, and one man sent out to one of the ships was taken prisoner. As the French began landing their troops, a small company under Captain Percin de la Roque was landed on the eastern shore to mobilise the Caribs.[1][20][21] These irregular forces, which grew to number about 800, quickly overran British settlements near the borders between the British lands and those of the Caribs, while du Rumain led his main body of troops toward Kingstown.[22]
The alarm was eventually raised, and Governor Morris thought it would be possible to make a stand against the French in the hills above Kingstown, in hopes that the Royal Navy would bring relief. Lieutenant Colonel Etherington was however opposed to this, especially when the size of the approaching Carib force became apparent, and a truce flag was sent to the French.[23] Du Rumain demanded an unconditional surrender, which Morris rejected. During the negotiations, three ships were spotted flying British flags. Du Rumain returned to his ship, and quickly determined that the strangers were supply ships; two he captured, but the third got away.[1][23] After further negotiations terms were agreed that were similar to those granted by de Bouillé in the 1778 capture of Dominica.[23]
Aftermath
After du Rumain's success, d'Estaing sailed with his entire fleet for
Admiral
Lieutenant Colonel Etherington was subjected to an enquiry at St. Lucia in 1781 over his conduct during the invasion, and exonerated.[32] Governor Morris, a long-time resident of the island, demanded an inquiry into his behaviour, alleging it had been misrepresented in the press and other writings; he was also vindicated.[33] He never returned to the island, dying in England in 1789 after spending seven years in King's Bench Prison over debts incurred, in part, due to spending on Saint Vincent's defences.[34]
The Black Caribs actively harassed British settlers during the French occupation, at times requiring intervention of the French military to minimize bloodshed. After the return to British control, an uneasy peace existed between the British and Caribs until the 1790s, when the Caribs again rose up in the
Notes
- ^ a b c d e Levot, p. 795
- ^ Mahan, pp. 429–431
- ^ Mahan, p. 429
- ^ Mahan, pp. 429–432
- ^ Colomb, p. 388
- ^ Colomb, pp. 388–389
- ^ Colomb, p. 389
- ^ Craton, pp. 151–153
- ^ Morris, p. xv
- ^ a b Shephard, pp. 36–38
- ^ O'Shaughnessy, pp. 187, 193
- ^ Craton, pp. 148, 190
- ^ Shephard, pp. 38–39
- ^ Taylor, pp. 87–88
- ^ Louis Susane, Infantry of the Ancient French Infantry (Multiple Volumes).
- ^ "British War with France and Spain, 1778-1783". 13 October 2007. Archived from the original on 13 October 2007. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
- ^ Chartrand, p. 3
- ^ Shephard, p. 41
- ^ Guérin, p. 71
- ^ Shephard, pp. 40, 163
- ^ Taylor, p. 88
- ^ Levot, p. 796
- ^ a b c Shepard, pp. 42–43
- ^ Colomb, p. 390
- ^ Colomb, p. 391
- ^ Black, p. 59
- ^ Shephard, p. 47
- ^ Ludlum, p. 66
- ^ Guérin, p. 89
- ^ Taylor, p. 95
- ^ Shephard, p. 48
- ^ See Harburn et al for details
- ^ Morris, pp. 305–306
- ^ Bourn, p. 599
- ^ Craton, p. 190
- ^ Rodriguez, p. 226
- ^ Treaties in Force 2010, p. 237
References
- Black, Jeremy (2006). A Military History of Britain: From 1775 to the Present. Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers. OCLC 70483433.
- Bourn, Thomas (1815). A Gazetter of the Most Remarkable Places in the World. London: Mawman. OCLC 166063695.
- Chartrand, Rene (1992). The French Army in the American War of Independence. London: Osprey Publishing. OCLC 635271744.
- Colomb, Philip (1895). Naval Warfare, its Ruling Principles and Practice Historically Treated. London: W. H. Allen. p. 386. OCLC 2863262.
- Craton, Michael (2009) [1982]. Testing the Chains: Resistance to Slavery in the British West Indies. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press. OCLC 8765752.
- Guérin, Léon (1851). Histoire Maritime de France, Volume 5 (in French). Paris: Dufour et Mulat. p. 89. OCLC 16966590.
- Harburn, Todd; Durham, Rodger (2002). "A Vindication of my Conduct" : the General Court Martial of Lieutenant Colonel George Etherington of the 60th or Royal American Regiment Held on the Island of St. Lucia in October 1781 and the Extraordinary Story Regarding the Surrender of the Island of St. Vincent in the British Caribbean during the American Revolution. Bowie, MD: Heritage Books. OCLC 182527605.
- Levot, Prosper Jean (1857). Biographie bretonne, Volume 2 (in French). Vannes: Cauderan. OCLC 67890505.
- Ludlum, David M. (1963). Early American Hurricanes, 1492–1870. Boston: American Meteorological Society. OCLC 511649.
- Mahan, Alfred Thayer (1898). Major Operations of the Royal Navy, 1762–1783: Being Chapter XXXI in The Royal Navy. A History. Boston: Little, Brown. OCLC 46778589.
- Morris, Valentine (1787). Narrative of the Official Conduct of Valentine Morris. London: J. Walter. OCLC 5366175. Self-publication by Morris of documents pertaining to his tenure as governor, including affidavits gathered for inquiries after the capture, and the articles of capitulation.
- O'Shaughnessy, Andrew Jackson (2000). An Empire Divided: the American Revolution and the British Caribbean. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. OCLC 185896684.
- Rodriguez, Junius (2007). Encyclopedia of Slave Resistance and Rebellion, Volume 1. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. OCLC 255787790.
- Shephard, Charles (1831). An Historical Account of the Island of Saint Vincent. London: W. Nicol. OCLC 1119052.
- Taylor, Christopher (2012). The Black Carib Wars: Freedom, Survival, and the Making of the Garifuna People. Jackson, MS: University Press of Mississippi. OCLC 759909828.
- U. S. State Department (eds) (2010). Treaties in Force 2010. United States Government. )