1810.] 
peace of Aix-la-Chapelle, in 1748, under 
i. RR... the Duke of Cumberland, 
partly in the Netherlands, and vartly in 
Britain, whither the regiment had_ been 
drawn in 1745, on account of the po- 
tical troubles in the kingdom. In the 
end of 1746, the regiment returning to 
the Continent, Ensign Melville, at the 
battle of Lafeldt, conducted himself in 
such a way, as to merit being selected by 
his colonel, (the Earl of Rothes,) to de- 
liver to the Commander in Chief the 
colours of a French regiment, t taken by 
the 25th, on which occasion he was pros 
moted to a lieutenaney. 
Ifis regiment, after the battle of Fon- 
tenoy, was besieged in Ath, where Lieu- 
tenant Melville narrowly "escaped de- 
struction: for the enemy directing their 
fire at the fortifications alone, in order. 
to spare the town, a shell from an over- 
charged mortar passing over the ram- 
parts, feli in the middle of the night, 
when he was absent on duty in one of 
the outworks, on the house where he was 
quartered, and, piercing the roof, actually 
made its way through the bed he usually 
occupied, 
On the termination of the war, Lieu- 
tenant M, proceeded with his regiment 
for the south of Ireland; and on the 
passage was shipwrecked on the coast of 
Normandy. 
Tn 1751, being promoted to the com- 
mand of a company 1n the same regi- 
ment, and employed in recruiting in Scot- 
land, his unexampled success drew the 
Hotige of the commander of the forces, 
and he became aid-de-camp to the Earl 
of Panmure. In 1756, he was made 
major of the 38th regiment, then in An-- 
tigua, where it had been stationed for 
Memoirs of the late General Melville. 
half a century, since its removal frou” 
Gibraltar. 
That island had often been made 2. 
receptacle for offenders, from regiments 
at home ; and thus its military force had, 
Jong been composed of the most disor- 
derly troops. By the indefatizable zeal, 
of the new major, and from the perfect, 
conviction he was able to inspire into the 
men, that he had their welfare, and that 
alone at heart, | he at. length, with the 
assistance of most of the other officers, 
succeeded in rendering the 38th regi-, 
ment one of the most orderly in the 
service: and detachments from it ac- 
companied him in the attack on Mar- 
tinique, as also on the invasion of Gua- 
Gaioupe, where Majcr M. commanded 
the light infantry, at the advanced posts. 
Jn one of the skirmishes, which were 
Monvury Mac. No. 195. 
~ 
4 
constantly successful: during an. attack, 
after a night’s march, and the surprise 
of a post very close to the French camp, ' 
the major was .entering a house. just 
abandoned by the enemy, when it ex- 
ploded, and he was blown to a consider- 
able distance, and taken up for dead. 
From the immediate etiects of this 
accident he soon recovered: but to 
the same cause must be attributed the 
decay of sight, with which, in his latter. 
years, he was afflicted, and which at last 
ended in total irremediable blindness. 
In recompence for his services in Guas 
datoupe, Major M. was directed by the 
commander of the forces, (General Bar- 
rington,) to succeed Lieutenant Colonel 
Debrisey, i in the defence of Fort Royal, 
which he heid until the reduction of the 
island, when, in addition to the governs 
ment of that fort, he was appointed lieu- 
tenant-governor of the island of Guada- 
loupe, and its dependencies, with the 
heutenant-coloneley. of «the 63d regis _ 
ment. 
Brigadier-zeneral ‘Crump, who was 
made governor of the new colony, dying» 
in 1760, Lieutenant-colonel M. suc=~ 
ceeded to the government, with the com- 
mand of the troops. In this situation he 
exerted himself to the utmost, and was 
at very considerable expense, in order ~ 
to impress the new French subjects with — 
“fayourable notions of the justice and 
liberality of the British government. In 
this attempt he was so successful, not 
only in the colony immediately under his 
command, but in Martinique, and the 
other neighbouring French islands, that 
a secret correspondence was established 
with the leading people amongst the 
enemy, 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 ar- 
rived in. Guadaloupe, 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 
colonelin the-army, still resisting very 
tempting invitations -to return home, he 
preferred to remain even as second in 
command, inthe view of accomplishing 
his great “object—the acquisition of the 
French colonies: which, trom the inter- 
course he had now opened with them, 
must have suffered much interruption 
from his absénce. In pursuance of these 
projects. Colonel M. proceeded as second 
in’ command, with Brigadier-general 
Lord Rollo, against Dominica, which 
é Coik . “was 
‘ 
