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termined, that the major-general, with three-hundred of his own regiment, and two-hundred Nevisians, should go down and attack St. Martin's and St. Bartholomew's, two islands belonging to the enemy, in which they reared considerable quantities of stock, for the support and maintenance of other their sugar islands. In order to which expedition, the major-general, on Sunday the fifteenth of the said month, put his forces on board the vessels provided for them, being one brigantine, and nine sloops; and, on Monday the sixteenth, he himself embarked, and the fleet set sail for the said islands. On Wednesday the eighteenth, in the morning, we passed by St. Bartholomew's, and, about four in the afternoon, being within four or five leagues of St. Martin's, we espied a small sloop standing up towards us; but, upon sight of us, she tacked, and put into one of the bays. When we came up with the bay where she lay, the major-general sent one Lieutenant Dowden, with three files of men in a boat, to go up to her and board her, and, if she were floating, to bring her out. When the boat was got near on board, the enemy, who lay hid in the bushes on each side, the bay being land-locked, fired very thick upon them, forcing them to retreat, two of them being wounded. The major-general, being very desirous to have the sloop, after it was dark, sent thirty men in four boats and canoes, under the command of Captain Walter Hamilton, again to attempt the bringing her out; but the enemy discovered them, and fired hotly upon them. The canoe, which Captain Hamilton was in, on ground, the rowed close up to the sloop, and found her run men, being all gone out of her; so were forced to leave her, and return to their vessels. Captain Hamilton received two shots in one of his legs, about four persons more being wounded, but none killed; that night we stood off and on, as though we designed to land in the morning.

The next day being the nineteenth, there was a council of war held by the officers on board the brigantine, wherein it was determined, first to attack St. Bartholomew's, and accordingly the sloops stood up in the night to the said island. The next morning before day, Major John Stanley landed with fourscore men, notwithstanding the opposition of the enemy, and beat them out of their breastworks; and by break of day he had planted his colours upon a battery they had, consisting 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, we discovered a large fortification, which appeared to be well manned; but the major-general, running down bravely with his men, so disheartened the enemy, that, after they had given us two or three vollies, they quitted it, and fled into the woods. The for. tification was quadrangular, consisting 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 wide deep trench without it. On each corner there was a flanker, in one of which were planted four great guns; the entrance into it was a lock, ad. L14

where they had two great guns planted upon a hill a quarter of a mile distant, there being a clear valley between us; on the left hand low and bushy ground, and on the right, a ridge of mountains, with a very thick wood. The major-general sent Captain Birt, with a company of men, to gain the top of the highest mountain, which had the com. mand of the post we were at; which being done, he left an hundred men, under the command of Captain Geoffery Gibbs, to maintain that post, and marched back into the plain, with the rest of his forces, to secure the avenues, and hinder the enemy from coming upon our backs. Being come down into the plain, himself, with several offi. cers, and about an hundred sentinels, went to drink at a well, where, while they were drinking, they received a volley of about thirty shot from the enemy, who lay hid in the woods; but it pleased God, though they stood close one by another, there was but one man hurt.

Withdrawing from thence, Major John Stanley was sent with a party to rout them out of the woods; which he did, beating them from two strong breast-works they had upon a saddle between two hills, opposite to those we had before gained, in which works he posted himself. The passages being both ways secured, the major-general incamped with the body in the middle of the plain that night, and the next morning, the twenty first, our two brass field-pieces, with carriages, and two iron ones without, were brought on shore; the iron ones were planted in the plain, but the brass were drawn up to the burnt house, where our body was now incamped, and about three in the afternoon we began to play upon the enemy. In the evening, Captain Bartholomew Sharp was sent with one company of men, to cut a path through the wood, that we might make an attack upon the enemy that way; for in the valley they had four great guns planted directly against the road; but, being without carriages, they could not bring them to bear upon us as we lay. Captain Sharp had made no great progress in his work before he was discovered, and so hotly dealt with, that he was forced to retreat. All day the enemy kept firing upon us from their breast-work, both with their great guns and small arms, but in the night they silently quitted it.

The next morning, the twenty-second, leaving thirty men at the burnt house, under the command of James Smith, we marched over to the breast-work and demolished it, and also their line, which run down to a well in the valley near their four great guns, which we nailed, together with the other two above. Continuing our march about a mile farther, we came to a fine plain, encompassed with orange and other fruit-trees, where we incamped, there being store of cattle grasing; at the upper-end of it were three small houses, in one of which were found blood, and dressings of some wounded men, and we understood by two prisoners which we took presently after, that they had near twenty killed and wounded.

The next morning, the twenty-third, the major-general leaving this relator with a sufficient guard in the plain, to take care of the plun der; he marched with the body against their chief fort, about two miles distant, which he took without any loss, having but one man

the major-general, who sat in the house (which rather resembled a pigeon-house, than a governor's pavilion, as the French termed it; for it consisted only of one room about twelve feet square below, and another above) he was accompanied by a friar, and some of his officers, all which were received with great civility by the major. general, and many compliments passed between them. After some discourse they went to dinner, and the major-general so well warmed the friar with good Madera wine, that he spoke Latin so fluently upon transubstantiation, that he confounded himself in his own ar gument. The prisoners, who came in, were between six and seven hundred, all which were transported; the governor, with the men, as prisoners to Nevis; the women and children to St. Christopher's; all the live stock was also carried up to Nevis, with the negroes, goods, &c. The major-general returned the governor some of his negroes, his horse, arms, apparel, &c. to be carried for him to St. Christopher's. In taking this island, we had about ten men killed and wounded.

While we were thus busied in sacking this place, Colonel Hewet. son landed with three hundred Antigua men upon another island belonging to the French, called Marigalanta, beating the inhabitants into the woods, burning their town, nailing their guns, demolishing their fort, and returned to Antigua with the plunder of their island.

During our stay upon St. Bartholomew's, we had an addition of eight or nine sloops, with about fifty men, from some of the neighbouring islands, which the major-general made advantage of; for, on Sunday the nineteenth of January, he sent the brigantine with nine sloops, the like number that had been there before, under the command of Captain Walter Hamilton, to alarm the island of St. Martin's, and the next morning to make a false attack on the windward side. After Captain Hamilton was gone down, the same day the major-general embarked with all his forces in the other sloops, and in the night set sail for the said island, and the next morning, the twentieth, landed all his men on the leeward-side, without any opposition, the enemy having drawn all their forces to the other side of the island: only, after the first company was landed, about twenty of the enemy fired upon them from a breast work, but were soon beat out of it. When all the forces were landed, they marched intire through the body of the country, and, after two miles march, were drawn up in a convenient plain, the enemy being in sight, and, as we thought, advancing towards us. After we had continued an hour in this posture, the enemy retiring, had fired a great building upon a hill, about a mile distant, which seemed to be a fortification; upon which, the major-general marched up to it with the whole body, but found it to be only a large house, which they had burnt, because it should not serve us for shelter; but the stone walls, which remained standing, however, proved serviceable to us, in covering us from their shot. There was a large cistern of water, but they had rendered it unfit for drinking, by throwing salt into it; a pond also, that was adjacent, they had poisoned with tobacco. We had not been long here, before the enemy began to fire upon us from a breast-work, where

where they had two great guns planted upon a hill a quarter of a mile distant, there being a clear valley between us; on the left hand low and bushy ground, and on the right, a ridge of mountains, with a very thick wood. The major-general sent Captain Birt, with a company of men, to gain the top of the highest mountain, which had the command of the post we were at; which being done, he left an hundred men, under the command of Captain Geoffery Gibbs, to maintain that post, and marched back into the plain, with the rest of his forces, to secure the avenues, and hinder the enemy from coming upon our backs. Being come down into the plain, himself, with several offi. cers, and about an hundred sentinels, went to drink at a well, where, while they were drinking, they received a volley of about thirty shot from the enemy, who lay hid in the woods; but it pleased God, though they stood close one by another, there was but one man hurt.

Withdrawing from thence, Major John Stanley was sent with a party to rout them out of the woods; which he did, beating them from two strong breast-works they had upon a saddle between two hills, opposite to those we had before gained, in which works he posted himself. The passages being both ways secured, the major-general incamped with the body in the middle of the plain that night, and the next morning, the twenty first, our two brass field-pieces, with carriages, and two iron ones without, were brought on shore; the iron ones were planted in the plain, but the brass were drawn up to the burnt house, where our body was now incamped, and about three in the afternoon we began to play upon the enemy. In the evening, Captain Bartholomew Sharp was sent with one company of men, to cut a path through the wood, that we might make an attack upon the enemy that way; for in the valley they had four great guns planted directly against the road; but, being without carriages, they could not bring them to bear upon us as we lay. Captain Sharp had made no great progress in his work before he was discovered, and so hotly dealt with, that he was forced to retreat. All day the enemy kept firing upon us from their breast-work, both with their great guns and small arms, but in the night they silently quitted it.

The next morning, the twenty-second, leaving thirty men at the burnt house, under the command of James Smith, we marched over to the breast-work and demolished it, and also their line, which run down to a well in the valley near their four great guns, which we nailed, together with the other two above. Continuing our march about a mile farther, we came to a fine plain, encompassed with orange and other fruit-trees, where we incamped, there being store of cattle grasing; at the upper.end of it were three small houses, in one of which were found blood, and dressings of some wounded men, and we understood by two prisoners which we took presently after, that they had near twenty killed and wounded.

The next morning, the twenty-third, the major-general leaving this relator with a sufficient guard in the plain, to take care of the plun der; he marched with the body against their chief fort, about two miles distant, which he took without any loss, having but one man

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 eight. eenth 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 immediately, 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

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