On their approach towards the bay of St. Paul’s, to prevent suspicion, the Nereide preceded the other ships; and being anchored close to the beach, the whole of the detachment were landed with the greatest celerity, without any alarm being given to the enemy, and proceeded towards the batteries, which were stormed in succession and carried with the greatest gallantry, and several of the guns pointed on the ships in the roads; in the mean time the squadron stood into the bay, and according to the plan agreed upon, when the movements of the troops enabled them to act, opened their fire on the shipping, which was warmly returned by the French frigate, the Indiamen her prizes, and those batteries which, from their distance from the first point of attack, were enabled to continue their fire; but these were finally carried, and by nine o’clock the whole of the batteries, town, and shipping, were in possession of the British troops and squadron.
By this event, the Hon.E.I.Company’s ships, Streatham and Europe, together with property to an immense amount, were rescued out of the hands of the enemy; all the defences of the only safe anchorage in the island destroyed; and a frigate of 46 guns and 360 men; a brig of 16 guns, and three merchantmen, captured; one ship burnt on the stocks, and three other vessels destroyed. In the execution of this service, the total loss sustained by the British was 22 killed, 76 wounded, and 4 missing.
This exploit led to a more decided enterprize. On the 7th July, 1810, a body of 1650 Europeans and 1600 Sepoys from Madras, with 1000 more from Roderiguez, the whole commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Keating, and escorted by a squadron[1] under Captain Rowley (who in consequence of the defective state of the Raisonable had previously been removed into the Boadicea frigate), arrived off Bourbon, or as it was called by the French Imperialists, the island of Buonaparte. While the main force drew the attention of the enemy off St. Marie, about two leagues to the eastward of the town of St. Denis, Captain Pym of the Sirius effected a landing of the troops which had been embarked in his ship for the purpose of making a diversion, at a part of the beach called
- ↑ Boadicea, Iphigenia, Sirius, Magicienne, and Nereide frigates.
