St. Kitts (4): Brimstone Besieged

This is the fourth in a series of post on the St. Kitts campaign of 1782. The St. Kitts campaign took place in what is known as the West Indies theater of the Revolutionary War. [Click for Part 1 or Part 2, or Part 3].

Brimstone Besieged

Governor Thomas Shirley and Brigadier-General Thomas Fraser were faced with overwhelming French numbers. They commanded a little more than 1,000 men, and were opposed by about 7,000 of the enemy [1]. However, Shirley and Fraser defended Brimstone Hill, a virtually impregnable fortress, and they were optimistic that they could hold out long enough to be relieved by the Royal Navy (specifically, the West Indies squadron commanded by Rear Admiral Samuel Hood).

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British Defenses at Brimstone Hill (click to enlarge). This map is based on a 1775 Anthony Ravell map of St. Kitts. Brimstone Hill is at center. Two defenses can be seen on the hill. The square citadel was located on the highest point of the hill. Southeast of the citadel, a fortified “curtain” was placed on a lower plateau. Prior to the siege, the British also held coastal batteries at Fig Tree Bay (upper left) and Fort Charles (center left) on either side of Sandy Point Town. De Bouillé occupied Sandy Point Town on January 12th. On the other side of Brimstone Hill, the French established a camp east of “Goodwin’s Gutt.” [Original Image]

The View Towards Sandy Point (click to enlarge). The view today from Brimstone Hill, looking northwest towards Sandy Point Town. The island of St. Eustatius is visible in the distance. [Original Image by Ukexpat; licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license].

Brimstone Hill in 1783 (click to enlarge). This view is from Sandy Point Town, looking southeast towards Brimstone Hill. The citadel is at the uppermost part of the hill. Part of the curtain is visible on the plateau on the right side of the hill. Fort Charles is on the low-lying promontory at right center.

The View Up the Slope (click to enlarge). The French infantry feared being called upon to assault the British fortress. This modern day image reveals the great difficulty they would have faced. Part of the stone fortifications are visible near the top of the image. These would have been lined with infantry and artillery. [Original Image]

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The Marquis de Bouillé, who commanded the French army, determined that an infantry assault on Brimstone Hill was unlikely to succeed. Therefore, he resolved to use heavy guns to batter the garrison into submission and to only use an assault as a last resort. According to Governor Shirley, de Bouillé “carried on his approaches and opened trenches under all the formalities of the most regular siege." [2] Shirley, for his part, was resolved to keep the French at bay.

On January 15th, the British shelled the town of Sandy Point, which the French had occupied and where de Bouillé had his headquarters. The town soon caught fire and much of it was destroyed.

De Bouillé opened his first entrenchments against Brimstone Hill the night of the 16th-17th. Under cover of darkness, 300 workers, covered by 200 troops from the flank companies and a battalion of fusiliers (possibly Viennois [3]), dug an earthwork about 700 yards northwest of the fortress, on the plantation of one Stafford Somersall. After daybreak, the British spotted the work and began firing on the position.

The French launched a similar operation on the night of January 17th-18th. This time, the earthwork was dug 700 yards southeast of the fortress, on a plantation owned by one Stedman Rawlins. Again, after daybreak, the British used their heavy guns to impede French progress.

The French finally opened fire on Brimstone Hill on the 19th, when, according to Shirley, “a battery of seven mortars… bombarded the garrison very briskly” from Rawlins’ plantation. The British responded with “a warm cannonade.”

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Section of the Rossel de Cercy Painting, Prise des Iles de Saint Christophe et de Nevis (click to enlarge). In this image, the mortar battery on Rawlins’ Plantation can be seen shelling the British fortifications on Brimstone Hill. A part of the defensive “curtain” is at upper center; the citadel is at upper right. [Original image]

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Artillery exchanges were frequent over the days that followed. The French continued to dig entrenchments and gradually put into more and more artillery into action. On the 21st, three mortars became active on Wells’ Estate, east of Brimstone Hill. On the 23rd, a 6 or 7 mortar battery opened fire from Somersall’s plantation, near Sandy Point. [4]

The artillery exchanges were especially punishing for the French on the exposed plain. In a single incident, 20 men (fusiliers from Regiment Touraine and artillerists) were killed or wounded when a British shell ignited the magazine for the Rawlins battery. [5]

On January 24th it appeared that the worst of the garrison’s troubles were over. Samuel Hood came in sight of the island with 22 ships of the line, plus a number of frigates and other vessels. It was not an overwhelming force (indeed, the French navy was larger), but it was well led. Hopes among the British ran high.

Notes:

1. Details of the French order of battle were described previously (see Part 2). The British garrison at this point consisted of about 600 effectives of the regular army (specifically, the first battalion of the 1st Foot and the flank companies of the 15th Foot), 350 militia, and 70 sailors. Governor Shirley mentioned in a journal entry dated January 17th that “A working party of seamen and negroes were employed in placing the mortars and forming platforms for them,” indicating some blacks were on hand, but it seems that they were not considered to be part of the garrison.

2. Information on the British perspective, including Shirley’s journal, comes primarily from Algernon Aspinall (1915). West Indian Tales of Old.

3. The description of French actions is based primarily on a) Attaque et prise de Saint-Christophe dit le «Gibraltar» des Antilles (janvier-février 1782), in Revue Historique des Armées, Vol. 1, 1974. This article includes extracts from «Mémoires Secrets» de Bouillé. For the role of Regiment Viennois, see Paul Jean Louis Azan. Service of the Azans in America.Proceedings of the Massachusetts Historical Society, Volume 50, p 429-433.

4. Note that the battery on Somersall’s plantation was slow to get into action although the first entrenchment was dug there. Presumably the delay is related to the sinking of the Lion Britannique at Sandy Point on January 13 (see Part 3). I suspect the guns used at the Rawlins battery were landed at Old Road on January 13th, but I have not found the name of the transport. The three mortars for the battery established on Wells’ plantation possibly arrived aboard the vessel Citoyen on January 19th. Bougainville's journal mentions on this date that “Le Citoyen est revenu de la Guadeloupe avec 3 mortiers et des munitions de guerre” (R. de Kerallain (1928). Bougainville à l’Armée du Cte de Grasse. Journal de la Société des Américanistes de Paris, 20, 1-70).

5. For the losses in Regiment Touraine, see: Ministère des Affaires Étrangères. (1903). Les combattants Français de la Guerre Américaine: 1778-1783.

St. Kitts (3): Opening Skirmishes

This is the third in a series of post on the St. Kitts campaign of 1782. The St. Kitts campaign took place in what is known as the West Indies theater of the Revolutionary War. [Click for Part 1 or Part 2].

March to Brimstone Hill

The French army, commanded by the Marquis de Bouillé, marched towards Brimstone Hill on the night of January 11-12, 1782. In the lead was a division of troops commanded by Colonel Arthur Dillon. When these troops neared the hill, they filed off to the right and waited for the main body. De Bouillé arrived with the main body at 2:30am. Then, leaving the divisions of Dillon, Saint-Simon, and Damas near the coastal road, he advanced with du Chilleau’s division towards the town of Sandy Point. To reach Sandy Point, the troops marched along a sunken road that skirted the foot of Brimstone Hill. The British sentries above them heard their march and opened fire, but in the dark their aim was erratic. Apparently, some of the British also thought to roll heavy rocks down the hill, and these wounded a few of de Bouillé’s men. [1]

De Bouillé's March (click to enlarge). The French land at Basseterre on the evening of the 11th. That night, the column approaches Brimstone Hill (red dot). De Bouillé and du Chilleau bypass the hill in the early morning hours of the 12th.

Skirmishes at Sandy Point

At daybreak, du Chilleau’s division (regiments Armagnac, Viennois, and Guadeloupe) was on the outskirts of Sandy Point. There the French could hear a small British party in the “hedgerows” (les haies). De Bouillé ordered his vanguard (20 chasseurs from Regiment Armagnac) to charge. The chasseurs promptly killed a few of the British and dispersed the rest. The column then moved into Sandy Point, which was defended on its northern flank by a battery at Fig Tree Bay and on its southern flank (near Brimstone Hill) by Fort Charles. De Bouillé dispatched 100 men from the flank companies to seize the northern battery. The British began a hurried retreat from Sandy Point, preferring to defend Brimstone Hill. It was full light now, and the guns in Fort Charles fired on the tail of the French column as it moved into the town.

François-Claude-Amour de Bouillé

The Marquis de Bouillé had succeeded in placing his men on either side of Brimstone Hill, but now he faced by an array of difficulties. As the French took up their assigned positions, “many disorders” arose, no doubt caused by soldiers plundering. Officers were dispatched from the navy to help restore order. [2]

The French infantry also found themselves harassed by armed blacks. One French officer, who had invited an English lady to dine in camp, was slain while escorting her home. The adjutant of Regiment Viennois was captured and brought to Brimstone Hill. De Bouillé himself was attacked by 30 men while reconnoitering. He escaped thanks to the speed of his horse. His servant, however, was taken.

In retaliation, the French burned at least one plantation.

According to Governor Shirley, “the Marquis de Bouillé sent in a flag to remonstrate against the conduct of the negroes, threatening that unless they should be restrained he would immediately lay waste the country.” The white militia on Brimstone Hill had little appetite for total war. Therefore, “The servant was released and the Adjutant was discharged on parole.” [3]

Setbacks

De Bouillé’s greatest concern was the loss of the transport Lion-Britannique, which was carrying most of the army’s mortars, heavy guns, solid shot and shells. The vessel struck on a rock near Sandy Point and sank. The artillerists aboard (a “valuable species” according to one officer [2]) were brought off safely, and salvage operations soon begun to recover the guns and ammunition. Nevertheless, the incident threatened to significantly prolong the siege of Brimstone Hill.

The following day (the 14th), the French pushed their pickets closer to the British fortress. The British had some storehouses outside the fortress which contained surplus gunpowder. To prevent its capture, the British spread the powder on the ground and set it on fire. The fire, however, got out of control and destroyed some of their provisions, clothing stores, and spare gun and mortar carriages. These losses could not be easily replaced.

Hood Sets Sail

Rear-Admiral Samuel Hood commanded the British fleet in the West Indies, which was based in Barbados. At the time the French set sail for St. Kitts (January 5), they were being watched by two of Hood’s frigates. The commander of one (the Lizard) informed Hood on January 8th that the French were heading north. The other frigate was unable to follow the French very far, and it was not until the 14th that Hood received definite word on the French destination. Once he did (a letter reached him from Governor Shirley), he immediately put his fleet to sea. He had only 20 ships of the line, he was short on provisions, and his only infantry support consisted of two large battalions of marines and the 69th Regiment of Foot. To give his rescue operation a greater chance of success, he decided to stop en route at Antigua where he expected to be resupplied and reinforced. [4]

Notes:

1. The description of French actions is based primarily on a) Attaque et prise de Saint-Christophe dit le «Gibraltar» des Antilles (janvier-février 1782), in Revue Historique des Armées, Vol. 1, 1974. This article includes extracts from «Mémoires Secrets» de Bouillé. b) Journal Politique of April, 1782 (seconde quinzaine). c) Mémoire du marquis de Bouillé

2. cf. R. de Kerallain (1928). Bougainville à l’Armée du Cte de Grasse. Journal de la Société des Américanistes de Paris, 20, 1-70.

Two quoted phrases are derived from Bougainville’s journal:

“many disorders”:

14 . Il y a eu beaucoup de désordres commis à terre. La communication en est interdite aux équipages. Il est permis à la moitié des officiers de chaque vaisseau d'y aller à 4 heures après-midi...

“valuable species”:

Le Lion britannique s'est échoué sur une roche en allant prendre le mouillage sous Sandy-Point. On a sauvé les hommes, espèce bien précieuse, puisqu'il y avait 200 artilleurs; mais il est douteux qu'on puisse sauver 12 mortiers de 12 pouces, et toute l'artillerie que contient ce bâtiment.

3. Information on the British perspective, including Shirley’s journal, comes primarily from Algernon Aspinall (1915). West Indian Tales of Old.

4. An invaluable source on Hood’s actions during this period is Letters written by Sir Samuel Hood (Viscount Hood) in 1781-2-3.

St. Kitts (2): The Invasion

This is the second in a series of posts, which will appear from time to time, on the St. Kitts campaign of 1782. The St. Kitts campaign took place in what is known as the West Indies theater of the Revolutionary War. For Part 1, click here.

De Grasse Approaches

A French fleet left Port Royal, Martinique, on January 5, 1782, to attack the British isles of St. Kitts and Nevis. The fleet consisted of 25 ships of the line, the 50-gun Experiment, and a number of frigates and transports. Its commander was Lieutenant-General François-Joseph-Paul de Grasse. Because of calms and fog, the ships became strung out over a considerable distance while en route. Most of the fleet reached St. Kitts on the 11th, but some ships did not arrive until the 13th. [1]

The difficulty of the journey was of little importance. The British West Indies fleet (Rear Admiral Samuel Hood commanding) was at distant Barbados.

The French fleet was spotted from St. Kitts and Nevis long before it reached shore. On the afternoon of January 9th (when the French were still 2 days away), Governor Thomas Shirley received word from Nevis “that a large fleet, consisting of about forty sail, twenty-four of which were large ships and the rest sloops and schooners had appeared in sight of that Island.” Shirley was in Basseterre, the principal town on St. Kitts. There he had a cannon fired as an alarm. A detachment of Royal Artillery, and part of the militia, were ordered to defend the coastal batteries. [2]

The British had little in the way of naval resources on hand. One large vessel, the 64-gun Russell, was in port for repairs, but this ship hurriedly departed on the 10th.

As the French fleet slowly drew closer, the British commanders on St. Kitts – Governor Shirley and Brigadier-General Thomas Fraser– had time to rethink the wisdom of defending the entire coast. At last, the two commanders decided to abandon Basseterre and concentrate their forces on and about Brimstone Hill.

On the morning of January 11th, the St. Kitts brigade of militia assembled in Basseterre. Governor Shirley then marched this force along the coastal road towards Brimstone Hill.

At about the same time, a number of merchant vessels in Basseterre got underway and headed north and west, away from the French fleet.

The French Landing

As the French fleet completed the last leg of the journey, it divided into two parts. The main force headed directly for Basseterre, while a secondary force circled around the island and headed for the town of Sandy Point, near Brimstone Hill.

The secondary force consisted of:

• 1000 men from regiments Dillon and Royal Comtois aboard transports
• 500 grenadiers and chasseurs aboard two ships of the line, the Experiment, and several frigates. [3]

St. Kitts: January 11, 1782 (click to enlarge).

The French secondary force reached Sandy Point without difficulty, but no landing was made. The approaches to Sandy Point were defended by two coastal batteries, and the British were in force on nearby Brimstone Hill. Instead, the French attacked the merchant vessels which were streaming along the shore. The merchant vessels hurriedly took shelter under the guns of Brimstone Hill. According to Shirley, some of the merchant vessels were saved from capture “by a well-directed fire from our line of batteries” and “the merchantmen got shelter under the guns of Brimstone Hill and [nearby] Fort Charles.” Nevertheless, the French captured at least 27 vessels. [4]

The French secondary force also spotted the St. Kitts and militia on their march and opened fire. Shirley wrote that the militiamen were “very much annoyed” by the French ships, but the fire did not prevent them from reaching Brimstone Hill.

The main French force, under de Grasse, approached Basseterre and saw that the battery defending the town appeared to have been abandoned. A 60-man company of colonial troops (the Volontaires de Bouillé) approached the fort in two boats, supported by two frigates. When the company found that the battery was undefended, they hoisted the French flag. At about the same time, a delegation of citizens from Basseterre approached the French fleet in a small boat and informed the French that the British had retired to Brimstone Hill and that those who remained behind would offer no resistance.

Meanwhile, the secondary force joined the main fleet at Basseterre, and at about 6pm, the French infantry began to disembark. The French commander, the Marquis de Bouillé, had his troops assemble in four divisions on the shore. They were organized as follows:

• Colonel de Dillon’s division: Regiments Dillon and Royal Comtois, two companies of grenadiers from Regiment Martinique, and a detachment of Volontaires Étrangers de la Marine (perhaps 1,500 effectives in total).
• Maréchal de Saint-Simon’s division: Regiments Agénois and Touraine (about 2,000 effectives).
• Brigadier de Damas’ division: Regiments Auxerrois and Champagne (about 1,200 effectives).
• Brigadier du Chilleau’s division: Regiments Armagnac (2 battalions), Viennois, and Guadeloupe (perhaps 2,100 effectives). [5]

The disembarkation and assembly proceeded smoothly, and at 9pm Dillon’s division began marching towards Brimstone Hill. The rest of the troops followed 30 minutes later. De Bouillé intended to surround the British fortress under cover of darkness.

Left to right: Grenadiers of Armagnac, Auxerrois, and Viennois. These illustrations show what was essentially the uniform worn by these regiments on St. Kitts; one difference is that the French grenadiers generally wore a tall bearskin cap rather than the cocked hat shown here.

Notes:

1. An invaluable source on French naval operations is John Gilmary Shea's (1864) The Operations of the French Fleet Under the Count de Grasse in 1781-2 as Described in Two Contemporary Journals.

2. Extracts of Shirley’s journal, including that quoted here, appears in Algernon Aspinall's (1915) West Indian Tales of Old.

3. From Attaque et prise de Saint-Christophe dit le «Gibraltar» des Antilles (janvier-février 1782), in Revue Historique des Armées, Vol. 1, 1974. This article includes extracts from «Mémoires Secrets» de Bouillé. A detailed description of de Bouillé’s operations also appears in the Journal Politique of April, 1782 (seconde quinzaine).

4. R. de Kerallain (1928). Bougainville à l’Armée du Cte de Grasse. Journal de la Société des Américanistes de Paris, 20, 1-70.

5. French sources generally claim that they fielded an army of 6,000 men; British sources attribute to the French 8,000 men. I suspect the latter number is more accurate. One French account claims they had “6000 hommes effectifs & de 800 volontaires de la Martinique,” which I take to mean 6,000 effectives of the Metropolitan Army and 800 colonial troops that had been stationed on Martinique. Colonial troops known to have participated in this campaign included Regiment de la Guadeloupe, two companies of grenadiers from Regiment de la Martinique, and the company-sized Volontaires de Bouillé. If one counts soldiers of all ranks, the French army would have totaled well above 7,000 men. De Bouillé only partially identified the size of each of these divisions; I relied on a certain amount of extrapolation to determine the approximate size of Dillon’s and du Chilleau’s divisions. De Bouillé’s exact language in describing the composition of his forces (and how he intended to place them around Brimstone Hill) is as follows:

“La division du Marquis de Saint-Simon, composée de deux mille hommes, des régiments de Touraine et d'Agénois, dut prendre la droite, et se placer entre la vieille rade et Brimstone-Hill, le plus près possible, cependant hors de la portée du canon de la place. Celle du Vicomte de Damas, composée de douze cents hommes, des bataillons d'Auxerrois et de Champagne, à la gauche de la première, pour garder les debouches des montagnes. Celle du Comte Arthur Dillon, compose de 1.200 hommes, des bataillons de Dillon, de Royal comtois, et de deux companies de grenadiers de la Martinique, et les volontaires étrangers de la marine, fut à la gauche de celle de M. de Damas, pour le même objet et pour communiqué avec elle. Celle du Marquis du Chilleau, compose de deux bataillons d’Armagnac, d’un de Viennois, d’un de la Guadeloupe dut être à la gauche de celle de M. de Dillon, et occupier Sandy-point.”