attack St. Martin's and St. Bartholomew's. On Monday the 16th of December, Major-General Thornhill, with 300 of his own regiment, and 200 Nevisians, sailed to attack them.

Upon the 20th, Major John Stanley landed, with eighty men, on St. Bartholomew's, beat the enemy out of their breast-work, and by daylight had planted his colours upon a battery of two great guns. All the forces being landed, the major-general ordered them to take three several ways, himself leading his own guard of "gentlemen reformadoes," with two companies more, through the body of the island. After a mile's march, they discovered a quadrangular fortification of about two acres of land, encompassed with double rows of stakes, six feet high and four feet distant, the intervals being filled with earth, and a deep and wide trench without. On each corner there was a flanker, in one of which were four great guns. The entrance into it was a lock admitting but one at a time. The fortification was abandoned upon the approach of the English, who found some bread, salt fish, and two barrels of powder in it, and also a large cistern of water. It was situated in a bottom, by the side of a lane, through which the English had to pass to come at it, and on the other side was a very high hill. From the fortification the Major-General sent a party to gain the hill, which was done, and two great guns found upon it, which the enemy had abandoned.

On Sunday, a flag of truce arrived with offers of surrender, but the terms were refused, and three days allowed for the inhabitants, with their arms and ammunition, to surrender themselves: after that time no quarter was to be expected. That night the governor sent an answer, that on Wednesday he would come in, but he could not sooner, because some of the inhabitants were hid in the woods, to whom he could not communicate his design before that time. On Monday and Tuesday, the 23d and 24th, the English marched round the island, burning all the houses as they passed. On Wednesday, the governor, with a flag of truce, arrived at the fortification: between six and seven hundred prisoners came in, all of whom were transported, the men to Nevis, the women and children to St. Christopher's. All the live stock, Negroes, and goods were carried to Nevis.

In taking this island, the English had ten men killed and wounded.

While they were busied in St. Bartholomew's, Colonel Hewetson landed, with 300 Antigua men, at Mariegalante, drove the inhabitants into the woods, demolished the fort, and burnt the

town.

Harleian Miscellany, vol. ix. p. 308.

1690.

On the 19th of January, Major-General Thornhill sent ten sail of small vessels from St. Bartholomew's, to make a false attack upon the weather side of St. Martin's upon the following morning. In the night, the major-general embarked himself, with the rest of his troops, and landed his men, without any opposition, the next morning (the 20th), on the lee-side of the island, the enemy having drawn their forces to the other. The English advanced two miles into the country, got sight of the enemy, and drew up in order of battle, in a convenient plain, to meet the expected attack. After continuing an hour in this posture, the enemy retreated, set fire to a large house to prevent its serving as a place of shelter, threw salt into the cistern, and tobacco into the pond, to render the water unfit for drinking. From this ruin the English general sent Captain Birt, with a company of men, to gain the high mountain which commanded the post; which being done, 100 men, under Captain Geoffery Gibbs, were left to maintain the post, and the rest of the forces were marched to secure the avenues, and hinder the enemy from attacking the rear.

Whilst the general, with some officers, and about an hundred men, were drinking at a well in the plain, they received a volley of about thirty shot, which wounded one man. Major John Stanley was sent to clear the woods, which he did, beating the enemy from two strong breast-works they had between two hills, opposite to those the English had gained.

Major-General Thornhill encamped in the plain that night, and the next morning, the 21st, received two brass field-pieces with carriages, and two iron ones without, from his vessels: the iron ones were planted in the plain, the brass were drawn to the burnt house, and opened upon the enemy about three in the afternoon. In the evening, Captain Bartholomew Sharp was sent to open a path through the wood, that an attack might be made that way; for in the valley the enemy had four great guns planted directly against the road, which, although without carriages, they could bring to bear upon the English where they lay. Captain Sharp was discovered, and obliged to retreat; but in the night the enemy left their breast-work, from which they had been firing with great guns and small arms all day.

Harleian Miscellany, vol. ix. p. 521.

Relation of the Proceedings of an Expedition against the French in the Caribbee Islands. By T. Spencer, jun. London, 1691.

The next morning, the 22d, leaving thirty men under the command of James Smith at the burnt house, the English marched to the breast-work, demolished it, spiked six guns which they found in the lines, and advanced a mile farther to a fine plain where they encamped for the night: they found store of cattle in the plain. The next morning, the 23d, a guard was left in the plain, and the army marched against the chief fort, about two miles off, which was taken with the loss of only one man wounded, the enemy quitting the fort after a slight resistance: it contained six great guns, mounted upon a platform, without carriages, and with banks of earth thrown up. The guns were nailed, and the army advanced about four miles, and encamped in a pleasant valley, where they found the governor's horse saddled and bridled in a garden, he having fled to the mountains with the inhabitants. This day, Major Stanley marched over the hills to the other side of the island, engaged a party of the enemy, drove them from their breast-work, demolished it, and returned to the army.

The 24th, the major-general continued his march round the island without any opposition, and at night returned and encamped at the burnt house.

On Saturday morning, the 25th, a French squadron of three great ships, and three small ones, under Monsieur Du Casse, from St. Christopher's, with 700 men on board, appeared standing in for the land. The major-general immediately sent guards to all the bays where he thought the enemy would land; but they, perceiving the English were on the island, did not anchor, but gave chase to the sloops, who were making the best of their way off. One of them was run aground—the crew got on shore, but the enemy hauled off the vessel. Major-General Thornhill sent an express to Antigua, to acquaint the lieutenant-general of his situation, and to request some ships might be sent to his assistance.

The 26th, Du Casse anchored off the windward part of the island, "hanging abroad bloody colours." The inhabitants, encouraged by his coming, returned to their fort, and began to drill the guns. In the night, Du Casse landed his soldiers, and the major-general brought his brass field-pieces from the burnt house into the plain, and planted them on the wings of the body which was there encamped. The iron pieces were planted towards each road, and strong guards placed upon "the saddle," at the burnt house, and the mountain which commanded it. In this posture the English continued until the 29th, the French not daring to attack them. Du Casse was joined by three ships more from St. Christopher's.

Harleian Miscellany, vol. ix. p. 523.

*

On Thursday the 30th, Colonel Hewetson arrived from Antigua with three ships. The French ships at an anchor perceiving the English colours, weighed and stood out to meet them about noon they engaged, and after four hours action, the French bore away. In the morning the English stood in for the land. The French were also in sight, but kept off at a distance. The major-general having sent the plunder and fieldpieces on board, ordered all his out-guards to quit their posts, and march down into the plain, in order to embark, which the enemy perceiving, marched down likewise, and both parties engaged, to the great loss of the enemy, who was beaten into the woods in confusion. All the English embarked safe, except ten, who were killed in the action, and three, who were taken prisoners asleep in one of the breast-works. There were about twenty more wounded, which, with the rest, arrived safe at Nevis, on Sunday morning the 2d of February.

In June, the English fleet arrived at Nevis, at which time preparations were making for an expedition against St. Christopher's. On the 16th, the forces were mustered, and amounted in all to 3000 men; and on Thursday the 19th, the whole fleet, consisting of ten men of war, two fire-ships, twelve transports, and about twenty small craft, sailed from Nevis, and the same evening came to an anchor in Frigate Bay, St. Christopher's. In the night, eight of the frigates stood three leagues to leeward, to amuse and harass the enemy, and the next morning they returned. That day, some shot were fired from the ships at the enemy in their trenches, and some shot received in exchange from a five-gun battery, but no damage was done to the English. That night, it was determined in a council of war to land the next morning; and Major-General Thornhill, with 550 men, was landed, between two and three o'clock on Saturday the 21st, at the little salt-ponds, without any opposition, the enemy thinking it impossible to march across the hill; the "field-mark" was a match about the left arm of the men. The ascent was steep-in some places so nearly perpendicular, that the men were forced to use their hands as well as their feet. At day-break they had gained the top, where they received a volley from some scouts, who immediately retreated. 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 from their trenches, and wounded several. The majorgeneral was shot through his left leg; 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 in Frigate Bay, forced them to quit their post in

disorder, and leave the English masters of the field. Fourteen dead Frenchmen were found: the English lost half the number, and Colonel Kegwin mortally wounded.

All the forces being landed, they were drawn up in four battalions; the Duke of Bolton's regiment, in the van, took the road along the sea-side. Lieutenant-Colonel John Thomas, with the major-general's regiment, marched into the country: the Antigua regiment was in reserve, and the other four regiments were to keep their posts, and wait for further orders. After an hour's march, the Duke of Bolton's regiment put to rout a small party of the enemy; but the main body of the French advancing to their support, after half an hour's hard fighting, the English were almost surrounded, when Colonel Williams coming up with the reserve, a vigorous assault was given, and the enemy driven out of the field in confusion-one part flying to the mountains, the rest to the fort.

While the English were refreshing themselves, intelligence was received by the captain-general, that the frigates had driven the French out of the fort and town of Basse Terre. The French set fire to the town, but the English sailors were in time to extinguish the flames. From the quantity of wines and spirits which the French had left in Basse Terre, the captain-general, fearing the disorders it might occasion among the soldiers, halted for the night at the Jesuits convent, a mile above the town. The next morning, Sunday the 22d, the commissary having secured the liquors, the army marched into the town, with liberty to plunder it. Monday, the army continued in the town. In the evening, the country was in flames all round, being fired by the English Negroes, who came from the mountains, where they had lain since their masters were driven off the island.

On the 24th the army marched, and that night encamped three miles from the fort; the frigates also dropt down to Old Roads. On the 26th the army encamped under cover of a high hill within a mile of the fort, and a party was sent to secure the top of the hill. The time until the 30th was spent in erecting a battery on the top of the hill, which was then opened, the first shot doing execution. The frigates also weighed from Old Roads, stood down to the fort, and battered it, the whole army advancing at the same time. In the afternoon the frigate stood up again to Old Roads; but the guns from the hill kept firing all night, when the army began their entrenchments, running, from the ditch where they lay encamped, a trench with a halfmoon at the end, capable of holding 400 men.

July the 1st, Colonel Pym surprised a small fort three miles

Harleian Miscellany, vol. ix. p. 524.
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