An Account of the Campaign in the West Indies, in the Year 1794: Under the Command of their Excellencies Lieutenant General Sir Charles Grey, K.B., and Vice Admiral Sir John Jervis, K.B

In Short

Written by a ship's chaplain who sailed with the fleet, this eyewitness chronicle records the 1794 British expedition to capture Martinique, St. Lucia, and Guadeloupe from Revolutionary France. What begins as a triumphs-filled campaign of rapid naval landings, mortar bombardments, and bayonet charges quickly turns into a harrowing struggle against climate, yellow fever, and French republican counter-attacks. The author draws on his personal journal, original military orders, and firsthand observations to defend the campaign's commanders against accusations of extortion while detailing both the tactical victories and the eventual catastrophic collapse of the British position in Guadeloupe.

The Story

The chronicle opens in late November 1793 as the flagship Boyne leaves England carrying Lieutenant General Sir Charles Grey and Vice Admiral Sir John Jervis. During the Atlantic crossing, the army and navy commanders share quarters, using the weeks at sea to map out coordinated joint operations. Arriving at Barbadoes in early 1794, the expedition gathers auxiliary forces—including hundreds of enslaved laborers hired from neighboring islands—and launches a multi-pronged assault on Martinique in February.

The campaign unfolds through rapid, aggressive maneuvers. General Dundas lands on the northeast coast, clearing cane fields with bayonet charges, capturing Trinite, and pressing toward the strategic stronghold of St. Pierre. Meanwhile, naval gunboats and mortar bomb vessels hammer French positions at Fort Royal Carenage. British forces surround the island's primary fortifications, Fort Louis and Fort Bourbon. Under incessant artillery fire from both land batteries and naval vessels, General Rochambeau eventually capitulates, surrendering Martinique to British control.

Flushed with victory, the expedition moves on to St. Lucia and Guadeloupe. At Guadeloupe, British forces storm the heights of Morne Government and Fort Louis, quickly forcing French Governor Collot to surrender the island and its dependencies. However, the triumph is brief. As seasonal rains set in, yellow fever sweeps through the British ranks, decimating officers and enlisted men alike.

Taking advantage of the weakened garrison, a French republican fleet commanded by Victor Hugues arrives from Rochfort in June 1794 and recaptures Fort Fleur d'Epee. British forces attempt a desperate counter-offensive to retake Point a Pitre, but the attack turns into a bloody disaster when troops are caught in narrow streets under grape-shot fire from a French frigate. General Symes is mortally wounded, key officers are blown up by gunpowder explosions, and friendly fire casualties compound the carnage.

Forced onto the defensive, the remaining British garrison under General Prescott retreats to Fort Matilda on Basse Terre. Surrounded on three sides by French artillery on superior heights, the ruined fort becomes untenable as yellow fever claims virtually all field-grade officers. In December 1794, the surviving troops carry out a secret nighttime evacuation by sea, leaving Guadeloupe entirely in French hands and bringing the tragic arc of the campaign to a close.

How It Unfolds

The fleet sets sail The flagship Boyne departs England in November 1793, carrying General Grey and Admiral Jervis alongside staff officers and a French exile engineer who provides detailed intelligence on Martinique's fortifications.

Landing on Martinique In early February 1794, British troops launch simultaneous amphibious landings at three points across Martinique, disarming shore batteries and foiling a French plot to blow up a magazine at Pointe de la Borgnesse.

The fall of St. Pierre and Fort Bourbon General Dundas drives republican forces from cane fields with bayonets while naval gunboats shell Fort Louis; after an intense siege and daily mortar bombardment, General Rochambeau surrenders the island.

Victory in Guadeloupe Expanding their sweep through the Caribbean, British forces quickly conquer St. Lucia and assault Guadeloupe, compelling French General Collot to surrender Fort Saint Charles and its dependencies by April.

Disaster at Point a Pitre Yellow fever ravages the British occupation forces, enabling a French relief force under Victor Hugues to recapture key posts; a failed British counter-attack into Point a Pitre ends in heavy casualties and chaotic street fighting.

Evacuation of Fort Matilda Besieged in a crumbling fortress under constant shellfire and gutted by disease, the last British survivors execute a silent midnight naval evacuation in December 1794, abandoning the island.

The People

• Sir Charles Grey: The British army Commander in Chief who emphasizes swift execution and aggressive bayonet tactics. He maintains close cooperation with the navy, issues strict orders against looting, and faces the heartbreak of watching his army melt away under disease and counter-attack.
• Sir John Jervis: The Vice Admiral commanding the naval fleet. He provides seamless artillery support from gunboats, creates an innovative naval medical post to combat yellow fever, and coordinates complex amphibious troop movements.
• Major General Thomas Dundas: A key land commander who leads the successful marches across Martinique and takes charge of Guadeloupe, earning high praise for his tactical leadership before dying of yellow fever during the campaign.
• Victor Hugues: The formidable French republican commissioner who arrives with fresh forces from France, rallies local troops, recaptures Guadeloupe through fierce attacks, and imposes harsh reprisal policies on royalists.
• General Rochambeau: The French commander of Fort Bourbon on Martinique, who holds out under heavy siege bombardment until forced to negotiate formal terms of capitulation.
• General Prescott: The resolute officer left to command the doomed defense of Fort Matilda, who preserves his dwindling, disease-stricken garrison through a quiet, masterfully executed nighttime evacuation.

In Its Own Voice

"When an author lays his book before the public, unless it be a work of genius, some account of his motives for so doing is generally expected."

— Cooper Willyams explains his decision to expand his collection of landscape sketches into a full campaign narrative.

"The light infantry drove the enemy from this post after an action of about fifteen minutes. We had two men killed and seven or eight wounded... The enemy's loss was much greater."

— The author describes the sharp, rapid skirmishes that characterized the initial British invasion of Martinique.

"In this situation he first received a musket-ball which broke his arm, and was then met by his own grenadiers, who, taking him for one of the French blacks, attacked him with charged bayonets..."

— A harrowing detail from the chaos of the street fighting during the failed night assault on Point a Pitre.

What It's Really About

Beneath its record of battery placements and general orders, the text is a study in the brutal unpredictability of 18th-century tropical warfare. It contrasts the tactical efficiency of joint naval and army operations with the total helplessness of military forces against endemic disease.

The narrative acts as an explicit defense of Grey and Jervis, refuting allegations of extortion and plunder brought by plantation owners and merchants. It reveals the intense ideological conflict of the French Revolutionary Wars in the Caribbean, where European armies fought alongside and against freed black citizens, enslaved laborers, and royalist exiles. Ultimately, it questions the true cost of imperial expansion when victory can be erased in months by climate, sickness, and shifting political tides.

Why Read It Today

This account offers a rare, embedded view of 18th-century warfare written by a military chaplain who watched the drama unfold from ship decks and siege trenches. Readers who enjoy raw historical primary sources will appreciate the book's unadorned accuracy, complete with authentic battle dispatches, casualty lists, and court-martial transcriptions that capture the administrative reality behind the fighting.

The book presents natural difficulties for modern readers: the prose is filled with period military terminology, eighteenth-century spelling variants, and archaic views on race and colonial governance. Yet these very elements give the text its power as a historical document. The stark shift from the triumphant tone of early victories to the grim reports of yellow fever burials creates a deeply memorable reading experience, illustrating how quickly military glory could disintegrate in the West Indies.