wounded men sent on board, the army was drawn up into four battalions; the Duke of Bolton's regiment, in the van, was ordered to take the road adjoining to the sea; the major-general's regiment, under the command of Lieutenant-colonel John Thomas, in the body, was ordered to march through the country; and the Antigua regiment was commanded to march at a distance, as a reserve to the body; the other four regiments were to keep their posts, and wait for farther orders: After an hour's march, the Duke of Bolton's regiment encountered a small party of the enemy, and soon put them to the rout; immediately after those French companies which ran from Frigatebay, joining with the rest of their forces, which were gathered from all parts of the island, were advancing upon our body; they having much the advantage of ground, and three to one in number; and, after a sharp dispute of half an hour, they had almost surrounded us. But Colonel Williams, coming up with the reserve, and giving them an unexpected and vigorous assault, so encouraged the major-general's regiment, that they pressed resolutely on, and beat the enemy out of the field in confusion; one part flying to the mountains, and the rest betaking themselves to the fort, which formerly belonged to the English.

Örders being sent to the four regiments at Frigate-bay, to march up, and the Duke of Bolton's regiment also meeting us, the whole army was drawn up into an intire body, and the soldiers were permitted to drink by companies, at the adjacent wells and cisterns.

While the army was thus refreshing, the cockswain of the Mary frigate came with advice to the captain-general that, the frigates hav. ing fallen down before the town and fort of Basterre, the enemy, after firing two or three rounds, had struck their flag, set the town on fire, and quitted it; but, by the diligence of the seamen who came on shore from the frigates, it was happily extinguished. Upon which advice the Captain-general marched immediately away to the said town, with intent to quarter the army therein for that night; but, the enemy having left store of wines and other liquors behind them, and fearing the disorders it might breed among the soldiers, he altered his resolutions, and only making a halt there, and placing his own company of guards in the mass-house, commanded the army to march to the Je suits convent, lying about a mile above the town, where being again drawn up, and orders given to lie by their arms all night, centries were placed, and some parties sent to drive in cattle, there being store of flour, bread, &c. in the convent. The night proved very wet, it raining without intermission till morning; but the officers generously shared the weather with the centinels, scarce any, except the general officers, going into the convent for shelter.

The next morning, being Sunday the twenty-second, the commis. sary-general having secured the liquors in a convenient store-house, the army marched down to the town, and free liberty was granted them to plunder it; wine and brandy being also distributed to them, by the respective commissaries of each regiment. The fort here con sisted of sixteen guns, which they had nailed and spiked, but, by the diligence of our men, they were again cleared. In the afternoon, a

In the marine regiment, being a detachment out of the frigates, under the command of Colonel Kegwin, commander of the Assist. ance, four-hundred.

In the captain-general's guard, under the command of Colonel Byam, one-hundred.

In all, three-thousand men.

Upon Tuesday and Wednesday, being the seventeenth and eighteenth of the said month of June, we embarked for the said expedi. tion; and upon Thursday, the nineteenth, we set sail from Nevis with our whole fleet, consisting of ten men of war, two fire-ships, twelve merchant-men, and about twenty brigantines and sloops; and the same evening we came to an anchor before the island of St. Christopher's in Frigate-bay. In the night eight of our frigates weighed, and fell down three leagues to the leeward, to amuse and harrass the enemy, and the next morning they returned. That day we plied our great guns from some of the frigates, which lay nearest in with the shore, upon the enemy in their trenches, and received some shot in exchange, from a battery of five guns they had there, but without any damage on our side.

That night there was a council of war held on board the admiral, by the general officers and some of the prime commanders, according to the result of which, Major-general Thornhill, with four hundred of his own regiment, and a detachment of one hundred and fifty out of the regiments of Montserat, Nevis, and Antigua, between two and three of the clock next morning, being Saturday the twenty-first, landed with the forelorn, the field-mark being matches about their left arms, at the little salt-ponds, about a league to windward of the aforesaid Frigate-bay, without any opposition; the enemy having left that place unguarded, by reason of its situation, it lying at the foot of an almost inaccessible hill, over which they thought it an impossibility to march. This steep ascent we mounted by a path frequented by none but wild goats, and in some places so near a perpendicular, that we were forced to use our hands as well as our feet in climbing up. About break of day we gained the top, where we received a volley of about seven or eight shot, from some scouts there placed, who imme. diately, upon their firing, retreated; which wounded us two brisk commanders, one of which died of his wounds soon after. The major-general, leaving one company to secure the pass upon the hill, led his men down about a third part of it, before they were discovered by the enemy, who now began to fire briskly upon us from their trenches, wounding several of our men; and the major-general himself received an unfortunate shot through the small of his left leg, which obliged him to stay the binding of it up; but his men, running down briskly upon the enemy, and flanking them in their trenches, and the Duke of Bolton's and the marine regiments landing at the same time at Frigate-bay, in which action Colonel Kegwin received a mortal wound, forced them to quit their post in disorder, and leave us masters of the field. We found fourteen of them dead, we having lost half the number, besides wounded men.

All our forces being landed, and the major-general with the

1

wounded men sent on board, the army was drawn up into four battalions; the Duke of Bolton's regiment, in the van, was ordered to take the road adjoining to the sea; the major-general's regiment, under the command of Lieutenant-colonel John Thomas, in the body, was ordered to march through the country; and the Antigua regiment was commanded to march at a distance, as a reserve to the body; the other four regiments were to keep their posts, and wait for farther orders. After an hour's march, the Duke of Bolton's regiment encountered a small party of the enemy, and soon put them to the rout; immediately after those French companies which ran from Frigate bay, joining with the rest of their forces, which were gathered from all parts of the island, were advancing upon our body; they having much. the advantage of ground, and three to one in number; and, after a sharp dispute of half an hour, they had almost surrounded us. But Colonel Williams, coming up with the reserve, and giving them an unexpected and vigorous assault, so encouraged the major-general's regiment, that they pressed resolutely on, and beat the enemy out of the field in confusion; one part flying to the mountains, and the rest betaking themselves to the fort, which formerly belonged to the English.

Orders being sent to the four regiments at Frigate-bay, to march up, and the Duke of Bolton's regiment also meeting us, the whole army was drawn up into an intire body, and the soldiers were permitted to drink by companies, at the adjacent wells and cisterns.

While the army was thus refreshing, the cock swain of the Mary frigate came with advice to the captain-general that, the frigates having fallen down before the town and fort of Basterre, the enemy, after firing two or three rounds, had struck their flag, set the town on fire, and quitted it; but, by the diligence of the seamen who came on shore from the frigates, it was happily extinguished. Upon which advice the Captain-general marched immediately away to the said town, with intent to quarter the army therein for that night; but, the enemy having left store of wines and other liquors behind them, and fearing the disorders it might breed among the soldiers, he altered his resolutions, and only making a halt there, and placing his own company of guards in the mass-house, commanded the army to march to the Je suits convent, lying about a mile above the town, where being again drawn up, and orders given to lie by their arms all night, centries were placed, and some parties sent to drive in cattle, there being store of flour, bread, &c. in the convent. The night proved very wet, it raining without intermission till morning; but the officers generously shared the weather with the centinels, scarce any, except the general officers, going into the convent for shelter.

The next morning, being Sunday the twenty-second, the commis. sary-general having secured the liquors in a convenient store-house, the army marched down to the town, and free liberty was granted them to plunder it; wine and brandy being also distributed to them, by the respective commissaries of each regiment. The fort here con sisted of sixteen guns, which they had nailed and spiked, but, by the diligence of our men, they were again cleared. In the afternoon, a

by him conducted to the captain-general; and, after some treaty, hostages were given on both sides, one of the majors continuing with us, and Lieutenant-colonel Nott was sent to them; Captain Hamilton also going with him as an interpreter. But, notwithstanding the treaty, the captain-general continued his works, joining our trench to the enemies trench, through which they used to come from the fort to the well; our centries were placed under the walls, and at the gate of the fort, and that evening our guns were also mounted upon the battery.

About twelve of the clock in the night, there was a canoe let over the fort-walls, it being situated by the sea-side, which run on board a sloop that came close in with the shore, under the covert of the dark night; our men let fly a whole volley upon them, which made them hasten away. Captain Hamilton came to the centry at the fort-gate, and ordered him to acquaint the major-general, that there was a ship seen off; upon which this relator was dispatched away to Old Road, to give Admiral Wright notice of it, but, in the interim, a brigantine was sent in pursuit of the sloop; the admiral immediately ordered two frigates to weigh, and put out in search of the said ship and sloop; which they did, and the next day, the thirteenth, returned without seeing any vessels.

During the whole action upon this island there were two frigates that cruised about, to take any French vessels which might arrive there, either by design or chance, but they met with none.

On Monday, the fourteenth, the fort was surrendered to the captain-general, upon the same articles that it was before delivered up to the French. After the enemy marched out, and the English flag was put up, the king's and queen's healths were drank, and the great guns three times fired, three vollies being also made by the whole army. The fort was quadrangular, consisting of four flankers with a curtain between each; on each flanker were mounted five guns; the walls were of stone, about twenty feet high, surrounded with a deep ditch twelve feet wide, over which was a narrow wooden bridge. In the middle of the fort were two mounts thrown up for batteries; there was also a well, but, upon firing the guns, the water would instantly dry away. There was store of provision, liquors, and powder, but they wanted shot.

In retaking this island, we had about an hundred men killed and wounded; the island in general is very strong, there being several small fortifications and breast-works all around, except where it is naturally fortified with hills or shoals. The inhabitants were about eighteen-hundred men, besides women and children, and negroes, all which, except the negroes, which were to be divided as plunder, were transported to the island of Hispaniola; only some particular persons had the favour granted them to be carried up to Martinico.

After a week's refreshment, the major-general, on Sunday, the twentieth of the said month of July, embarked with his own regiment in the sloops, and the marine regiment on board the frigates, and set sail for the island of St. Eustace; and the same evening, lying

before the said island, he sent Captain Hamilton on shore, with a flag of truce, to summon the island to surrender, who returned with an answer from the governor, that he would defend it to the utmost.

The next morning, the twenty-first, the frigates began to batter against the fort, and the major-general landed at the same time with his men under a high cliff, which they ascended; being got up, they had not marched far, before they perceived some Dutch colours in the woods; upon which a party was sent to discover them, who returned with an account, that it was Colonel Scorer, the governor of the island for the Dutch, when the French took it, with one-hundred men under his command, who came from Saba, and landed there three days before; but, not having strength enough to take the fort, into which the inhabitants were fled, he designed to get what plunder he could, and so go off again. He refused to join with the major-gene. ral, because he was first landed, and so accordingly went off the next day. The major-general proceeded in his march towards the fort, and incamped within musquet-shot from it, under the rising of a small hill.

The next day the marine regiment landed, and, the shovels, pickaxes, &c. being brought on shore, they began their intrenchments, running their trench along by the fort, within musquet-shot from it.

After five days siege, the enemy sent out a flag of truce, with articles; but they were so high in their demands, that the major-general refused them, and returned an answer, if they did not descend to more reasonable terms, within three days, he would grant them no quarter. Within the prescribed time, they came out again with a flag of truce, and surrendered themselves and their fort upon quarter for life, and to march out with their baggage. Their fort contained sixteen great guns; it was surrounded with double rows of stakes, the intervals filled with earth, and without that strong palisadoes, and on the outside of them a deep ditch, over which was a narrow bridge leading into the gate, admitting but one at a time; the besieged were about sixty men, the women and children being sent off some time be. fore; they had a well for water, and about twenty barrels of flour, some salt fish and pork, and a small quantity of ammunition; they behaved themselves very briskly, during the siege, especially the go. vernor, who was very active in firing the great guns, &c.

In taking this island, we had not above eight men killed and wounded. The major-general, leaving one company upon the island, under the command of Lieutenant John Mac-Arthur, returned to St. Christopher's with the whole fleet, carrying the inhabitants prisoners thither, and afterwards transporting them to Hispaniola. Lieutenant Pilkinton was afterwards sent down with a company out of the Duke of Bolton's regiment, to relieve Lieutenant Mac-Arthur, and he still continues there, for the defence of the said island.

The inhabitants of the island of St. Bartholomew's who were brought up prisoners from thence to Nevis, being sent down to St. Christopher's, before that island was retaken, there met with their wives and families; and, after that island was retaken, they were de sirous to live under an English government; upon which the captain