CHARACTERS. 



757 



exerted himself to the utmost, and 

 was at very considerable ex pence, 

 in order to impress the new French 

 subjects with favourable notions 

 of the justice and liberality of the 

 British government. In this at- 

 tempt he was so successful, not 

 only in the colony immediately 

 under his command, but in Marti- 

 nique and the other neighbouring 

 French islands, that a secret cor- 

 respondence was established with 

 the leading people amongst the ene- 

 my, which in a great measure pro- 

 duced the speedy surrender of 

 those islands to the British arms. 

 Although a governor in chief from 

 England had arrived in Guada- 

 loupe, and lieutenant-colonel M. 

 had not only received his majesty's 

 leave to repair to Europe for the 

 benefit of his health, but was at 

 the same time promoted to the 



rank of colonel in the 



army, 



still 



resistmg very temptmg invitations 

 to return home, he preferred to re- 

 main even as second in command, 

 in the view of accomplishing his 

 great object — the acquisition of 

 the French colonies : which, from 

 the intercourse he had now opened 

 with them, must have suffered 

 much interruption from his ab- 

 sence. In pursuance of these 

 projects, colonel M. proceeded 

 as second in command, with bri- 

 gadier-general lord Rollo, against 

 Dominica, which was surprised 

 and taken with very little loss. 

 This expedition was concerted and 

 conducted with so much skill and 

 caution, that the island had sur- 

 rendered before the French go- 

 vernor of Martinique was informed 

 of the attack, although these islands 

 are within sight the one of the 

 other ; and the importance of co- 

 Loael M.'s service in the attack, 



as well as in the previous arrange- 

 ments with certain inhabitants, 

 were publicly acknowledged by 

 admiral sir James Douglas, and 

 brigadier-general lord KoUo, the 

 two commanders of the expedi- 

 tion. 



In the beginning of 1762, co- 

 lonel M. commanded a division in 

 the attack under general Monk- 

 ton on Martinique; and, notwith- 

 standing severe illness, was pre- 

 sent in the successful assault of the 

 hill and battery of Tortenson. The 

 British had, however, obtained pos- 

 session of a very small portion of 

 the island, when a small party 

 arriving at a certain spot in the in- 

 terior, one of three agreed upon in 

 colonel M.'s correspondence with 

 the principal inhabitants for that 

 purpose, a general defection, with 

 a cry of capitulation took place; 

 so that the French governor was 

 compelled to capitulate at the mo- 

 ment, when almost the whole 

 island, with St. Pierre, the capital, 

 and several important fortifications, 

 and all the fortresses in the moun- 

 tains, were still in his possession ; 

 and which, if at all reducible by 

 the British forces in the island must 

 have been carried with a very great 

 loss of troops. This rapid con- 

 quest was the more important as, 

 within a few days after the surren- 

 der, a French squadron, with a 

 great body of troops, appeared off 

 Martinique ; but on learning the 

 fate of the colony, the com- 

 mander, without attempting its 

 relief, immediately returned to St. 

 Domingo. 



On the fall of Martinique, the 

 remaining French islands, St. 

 Lucia, St. Vincent, Grenada, the 

 Grenadines, and Tobago, sub- 

 mitted to a sumttions, receiving 



con- 



