HISTORY OF EUROPE. 



263 



niand of lieutenant-colonel Keat- 

 ing. The whole of the ships, 

 transports, and men of war, as- 

 sembled at the place of general 

 rendezvous, in the evening of the 

 6th of July, 50 miles to the wind- 

 ward of the Isle of Bourbon, when 

 the troops were taken out of the 

 transports. In order to avoid a 

 protracted warfare in the interior 

 of a country almost inaccessible to 

 an army, it was determined to be- 

 gin with an attack on St. Dennis, 

 the principal town in the island, 

 occupied by the main military 

 force, and the residence of the go- 

 vernor. Dispositions were made 

 for an attack on St. Dennis, when, 

 July 8, a herald presented him- 

 self with an offer from the go- 

 vernor, colonel St. Susanne, to 

 capitulate on honourable terras, 

 which was accepted. On the 

 10th, lieutenant-col. Campbell, 

 with his brigade, took possession 

 of St. Paul. In the two towns of 

 St. Dennis and St. Paul, there was 

 found a large quantity of ordnance 

 and ammunition. 



A body of troops from India, 

 and the Capeof Good Hope, about 

 eight or 10,000, destined for the 

 reduction of the Isle of France, 

 arrived at the place of rendezvous, 

 on the 21st of November, The 

 army was commanded by major 

 general John Abercrombie, se- 

 cond son to the late great and 

 good general sir Ralph Aber- 

 crombie : the naval part of the 

 expedition by admiral Bertie. 

 The whole fleet, transports and 

 ships of war, amounted to 70 sail. 

 All the arrangements for an attack 

 on the isle having been made, the 

 fleet weighed anchor ; and, on the 

 29th of November, the troops 

 eft'ected a landing; under cover of 



the fire-ships. Some skirmishes 

 took place till the 2nd of December, 

 while the utmost exertions were 

 made for landing the artillery, and 

 attacking the forts ; but, on the 

 3rd, the enemy rendered all further 

 operations unnecessary, by pro- 

 posing to capitulate. Terms were 

 immediately agreed on ; and, on 

 the same day, a capitulation was 

 signed, by which the Isle of 

 France, an immense quantity of 

 stores and valuable merchandize, 

 five large frigates, some smaller 

 ships of war, and 28 merchant- 

 men, with two British East India- 

 men, that had been captured, were 

 surrendered to his majesty's arms. 

 Our whole loss did not exceed 1.50 

 men, in killed and wounded. The 

 French troops were sent to France, 

 not as prisoners of war, but free, 

 and at their own disposal. 



General Abercrombie states, in 

 his dispatches to lord Minto, that 

 he was induced to grant favourable 

 terms, from a regard to the inter- 

 ests of the inhabitants of the 

 island, who had long laboured 

 under the most degrading misery 

 and oppression, from a desire of 

 sparing the lives of many brave 

 officers and soldiers, from a confi- 

 dential knowledge of his lordship's 

 further intentions with regard to 

 the army under his command, and 

 a consideration of the late period 

 of the season, when every hour 

 became valuable. All the evils 

 that could possibly be done by a 

 handful of men, at such a distance 

 from Europe,in a state of freedom, 

 were not to be put in the balance 

 against objects of such national 

 importance. But this liberty 

 awarded to the French troops was 

 the only point on which he had 

 not adhered closely to tlie instruc- 



