APPENDIX to the CHRONICLE. 



73 



night-gnard and gun-boats for a con- 

 sider-ible time, perceiving a favour- 

 able moment, push-jd into the Car- 

 eenage with tlie rowing boats of tlie 

 guard, boarded tlu Bien Venu, 

 French frigate, and brought offthe 

 capta'n, lieutenant, and abiiut 'JO 

 men, who wereonboa'-d her, under 

 a smart lire of grape-shot and mus- 

 quetrj- from the ramp:irts and para- 

 pet of the fort. The success of this 

 gailan: action determined the gene- 

 ral and me to attempt the fort and 

 town of Fort Royal by assault, and 

 I directed forty scaling ladders to be 

 made of bamboo and small stretched 

 Cordage, from twenty to thirty-six 

 feet long, and ordered the A'^ia and 

 Zebra to be held in readiness to 

 enter the Careenage, in order to 

 batter the fort and to cover the flat- 

 boats, barges and pinnaces, under 

 the command of commodoreThomp- 

 son, supported by captains Nugent 

 and Riou, while the grenadiers and 

 light-infantryfrom the camp atSou- 

 rierre advanced with field-piec s a- 

 long the sidi of the hill under Fort- 

 Bourbon, towards the brid?;e, over 

 the canal, at the back of fort Royal. 

 This combination succeeded in eve- 

 ry part except the entr^ince of the 

 Asia, which failed from the want of 

 precision in the ancient lieutenant 

 •f the port, Mo.;sieur de Tourelles, 

 who had undertaken to p lot ihe 

 Asia. Captain Faulkeuerobs.rving 

 that siiipbaftled in heraltempts, and 

 -the Zebra having been under a 

 shower of grape-shot for a great 

 length oftime(whichhe, hi^s oflicers, 

 and slo >p's company, stood with a 

 tirmness notto ty; described), he de- 

 termined to undertake the service 

 alone, and he executed it witii 

 matchless intrepidity and conduct, 

 running the Z'"bra close to the wall 

 of the fort, and leaping overboard. 



at the head of his sloop's company, 

 assailed and took this important post 

 before the boats could get on shore, 

 although they rowed v/ith all the 

 force and animation which charac- 

 terizes English seamen in the face' 

 of an enemy. No language of mine 

 can express t!ie merit of captain 

 Faulkner upon this occasion ; but as 

 every officer and man in the array 

 and squadron bears testimony to it, 

 this incomparable action cannot fail 

 of being recorded in the page of 

 history. The grenadiers and light- 

 infantry made good use of their field 

 pieces and musquets, and soon after 

 the surrender of the fort, took pos- 

 session of the town by the bridge 

 over the canal at the back of it, 

 while a strong detachment from the 

 naval battalions at Point Negro, 

 under the commandof captains Ro- 

 gers, Scott, and Bayntun, in flat- 

 boats, barges, and pinnaces, ap- 

 proached the breach in front. Mon- 

 sieur Rochambean did not losea mo- 

 ment in requesting that commission- 

 ers might be appointed to consider 

 of terms of surrender j and the ge- 

 neral and I named commodore 

 Thompson, colonel Syraes, and cap- 

 tain Conyngham, tomeet three per- 

 sons named by him at Dillon's plan- 

 tation, at nine o'clock on the 21st, 

 and on the 2'2d the terms were con- 

 cluded. 



The rapid success of hismajesty's 

 arms has been produced by the high • 

 courage and perseverance of his 

 officers, soldiers, and seamen, in the 

 m')st ditficult and toilsome labours, 

 which nothing t-hort of the perfect 

 unanimity and affection between 

 them and their chiefs could have 

 surmounted. 



Commod'ireThompson conducted 

 the enterprizc on the sde of la Tri- 

 lutelike an able and judicious otii-' 



cer. 



