CHAPTER V.

Naval history of the Isle of France during the French Revolution-Expeditions of Sercy and Linois-Successes of the Island Corsairs, and their depredations on British commerce-Surprise, capture, and abandonment of Bourbon -Descents of Captain Willoughby on the coasts of the Isle of France-Recapture of Bourbon-Expeditions of Hamelin and Duperré--Seizure of Ile de la Passe by the British-Conflict at Grand Port-Expedition against the Isle of France-Its success, &c.

THE naval history of the French Revolution, as connected with the Isle of France, presents little worthy of notice until the arrival of the British squadron under Admiral Rainier, who sailed from England in May 1794, and was soon after followed by the French squadron under Vice-Admiral Sercy, which, with the insular marine,

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The Centurion, Captain Osborne, of 50, the Resistance, Captain Pakenham, 44, the Diomede of 44, and Orpheus frigate, were the English vessels cruising in this part of the Indian Ocean in 1794. The Duguay Trouin, a French frigate of 34 guns, and the corvette Vulcan, were captured in that year by the latter vessel. As the Isle of France was the source from whence all the French naval operations in the Indian Ocean emanated, it may be right to give a brief abstract of the proceedings of Vice-Admiral Sercy after leaving that island. The fleet of this officer had originally consisted of three frigates; namely, the Forte of 44, Régénérée of 36, and the Seine, armed en flûte and two corvettes, which, having parted in a storm from the remainder on the passage, were captured by English cruisers. Sercy was reinforced at Port Louis by the Vertu, Cybèle and Prudente frigates, with which he departed in 1796 on a cruise off Ceylon and the coasts of India, made some rich prizes, and would have made others had it not been for the check he experienced after a cruise in the Straits of Malacca from the Arrogant and Victor, two English men-of-war of 74 guns each, which dogged him for a considerable distance, but avoided an action, his force being so much superior. The French retiring after making out the British force, were chased by the latter, and an action ensued, in which the Arrogant was much crippled, as were the Vertu and two other French frigates, which, being taken in tow by the rest of the squadron, made all sail away. The British loss in this spirited encounter was twenty-four killed and eighty-four wounded; French loss forty-two killed and 104 wounded. The result was, that Sercy was compelled to abandon his designs on Indian commerce, and retired to the Isle of France to refit. The next year, Sercy sailed with his six frigates to Batavia, with the regency of which he entered into a treaty for the supply of the Isle of France with provisions. Sailing from thence he came in sight of five or six Indiamen, whom he took for a superior force, and congratulated himself on his escape. In this illusion he was aided by the British commander, who, with a boldness greatly to his credit, affected to assume the offensive, hoisted the flag of Admiral Rainier, and sent one of his vessels to reconnoitre the French ships. The chagrin of Sercy, who discovered the truth on his return to Port Louis, may be easily conceived. In 1798, he again sailed for Batavia with the combined squadron, which carried on board the troops expelled from the Isle of France, ostensibly with a view to succour the Dutch, but in reality to rid the colony of their presence.

The squadron now dispersed on marauding expeditions. Part returned to France. The Prudente, a frigate of 36 guns, was captured in 1799 by the Dædalus, an English frigate of 32 guns, after a warm engagement, in which twenty-seven

succeeded, as we have seen, in capturing a great number of the East India Company's vessels.

The peace of Amiens again put it in the power of France to dispatch a squadron which had been heretofore diverted for the national defence at home, to the Isle of France, under Contre amiral Linois. The fleet of the admiral, on board of which was M. Decaen, with the title of Captain-general of the Isles of France and Bourbon, and a commission to execute the new decree, consisted of the Marengo of 80 guns, the Atalante, Belle Poule, and Semillante frigates, a corvette of 28, and a Batavian brig of 18 guns, and contained a large garrison for the defence of the islands. M. Decaen disembarked on the 26th of September, 1803, took possession of the government, dissolved the Colonial Assembly, which had lasted for twelve years, abolished the whole existing system by a proclamation of twelve lines, and promulgated the new constitution formed for the colony by the consuls,-in virtue of which all the executive, legislative, and judicial powers were committed to three high functionaries, styled the Captain-general, Colonial Prefect, and Commissary of Justice. The secrecy which seems to have been maintained in France as to the objects of this expedition, directed the attention of the English ministry to its destination, and, in a despatch to Lord Grenville in 1801, Mr. Wickham, the British ambassador at the court of France observes:

"As to the intended expedition of the French to the Isles of France and Bourbon, of which I spoke in my despatch of last November, I am still positively assured that it is yet agitated, though great pains are taken to conceal its real destination, and that the vessels of which it is composed appear to make a part of the St. Domingo squadron. It is suggested that the Red Sea may make a part of the object of the expedition, but that its first destination is the Isle of France, the dependence of which it is first necessary

to secure."

The French admiral proceeded from the Isle of France to Pondicherry, which was to be restored to France by the peace, and to be governed by General Decaen. Hearing, however, of the probability of her men were killed, and twenty-two wounded, and the Forte, another of the squadron, which had committed great depredations on British commerce while cruising in the Bay of Bengal, was captured, after a terrible combat, by the English frigate Sibylle of 38 guns, though the Forte carried 48, with a corres. ponding weight of metal. In this engagement, the Sibylle had five killed and seventeen wounded; the Forte, sixty-five killed, and eighty wounded. The Preneuse, another French frigate, commanded by L'Hermite, being disguised as an English ship, captured two valuable Indiamen in the roads of Tellicherry, with 600 prisoners on board, in 1798. In the next year, cruising off the Cape, it encountered two small English vessels, which it was unable to capture. A ship of war, from the Cape station, was sent in pursuit, but returned without accomplishing its object. The Preneuse, retiring to the Isle of France, was driven ashore by two English vessels, and there set on fire, her crew being made prisoners.

of war1 again breaking out, Admiral Rainier, who was fortunately stationed off the coast with four men-of-war, and the same number of frigates, refused to give it up, or even to permit the French to land, upon which M. Linois, after giving full vent to his indignation, cut his cables and returned to the Isle of France. Here he received official dispatches from Europe, which gave intelligence of the war, as well as instructions to commence hostilities. He immediately set sail for the Eastern Archipelago, attacked Bencoleen, an English settlement in the island of Sumatra, captured some richly laden Indiamen, burnt others, and prepared to intercept the China fleet on its passage to England. This fleet, which was under the command of Captain Dance, a brave and resolute officer, though consisting exclusively of East Indiamen, and country ships, resolved not to yield without a struggle; and so strong was the resistance it opposed, that the French admiral was compelled to sheer off. On his arrival in England, Captain Dance received the honour of knighthood, and high rewards from the East India Company.

Admiral Linois was again disappointed in an attack upon an English frigate of 50 guns, though he had with him the Marengo of 80, and two frigates; and hearing that the British fleet was in pursuit of him, he set sail for the Isle of France, after having committed great depredations on the commerce of the East India Company. Having completed his repairs, he took advantage of the departure of the British fleet under Admiral Rainier, for sailing on another cruise, in which he was more successful in the acquisition of wealth than of honour.

'The treacherous designs of Bonaparte on British India, even during the peace of Amiens, and his intention to recommence the war on the instant that the French naval power in the East was sufficiently strong for the purpose, are confirmed, if previous evidence were insufficient, by the following extract from Napoleon's instructions to General Decaen, published by Count Dumas in his "Precis des Evénemens Militaires."

"The mission of the Captain-General is, in the first instance, a mission of political and military observation; but the First Consul, if well informed by the Captain-General, upon whom he relies for the punctual execution of these instructions, may, perhaps, place it in his power to acquire a great glory, which prolongs the memory of man beyond the duration of ages."

The conduct of Linois on this occasion will be best estimated by the following abstract of the engagement:

"British vessels formed in close order, while French closed astern, with the intention of attacking their rear, which, being expected by Captain Dance, he prepares to support it. French ships preferring an action by day, haul close to the wind. With the light of day, Linois attempts to cut off the rear of the English, on which Dance makes the signal to tack in succession, bear down in line ahead, and engage with the enemy. French fire returned with great spirit by the English, on which the former haul their wind, and stand away to the eastward. Indiamen pursue; but reflecting on the immense amount of property that might thus be endangered, and the danger of being carried too far from the mouth of the Straits of Malacca, tack about." The excuse offered by Linois was, that he judged by their conduct that these ships had an escort. English loss in the engagement, one man killed and one wounded.

In the interval, Admiral Rainier had stationed Captain Osborne in the Arrogant of 74, with a small squadron to blockade the ports of the Isle of France. Many of the enemy's vessels were either captured or destroyed by this excellent officer; but notwithstanding his vigilance, the French squadron with all its prizes, reached Port Louis in safety.

Quitting the island for the third time, Linois scoured the Mozambique Channel, proceeded to the mouth of the Red Sea; next made for Ceylon, and from thence directed his course for the Cape of Good Hope. Soon after he fell in, off the east coast of Madagascar, with the Blenheim of 74, commanded by Sir T. Trowbridge, with ten Indiamen whom she convoyed. Under the conviction that she was an Indiaman (he had fallen into the contrary mistake on another occasion), Linois hastened to bring her into action; but the moment he had felt the effect of her guns, he quickly removed out of gunshot, hauled his wind, and escaped, the British ship being too bad a sailer to pursue. No man had more perseverance than Linois, none more opportunities of encountering his enemy, and none was more unfortunate in the results. In short, his whole naval career was marked either with error or misfortune. The Isle of France was made the grand depôt of the plunder he had collected, where, being converted into specie, it was shipped for France. After having gained as much booty, and inflicted as much injury as he could accomplish, he resolved to carry the rest of his spoils to Europe. On the way, the Marengo and Belle Poulle, richly laden, were, after the best contested action in which Linois had engaged, overtaken and captured by Sir J. Borlase Warren, with the admiral on board.

The Isles of France and Bourbon were now the only relics of French dominion to the east of the Cape of Good Hope. The shelter afforded to shipping, and the resources possessed by the government of these islands for the equipment and victualling of ships-of-war and privateers, had enabled some of the most enterprising French officers to inflict incalculable injury on the commerce of India. The successes of Sercy, Linois, Bergeret, Hamelin, and Duperré were in great measure to be ascribed to the facilities with which they could make good the defects of their ships at Port Louis. The Creoles of the island, moreover, who were men of an active and adventurous spirit, delighted in the most perilous of enterprises, and ably seconded the operations of the French fleets by the equipment of a large number of privateers, with which they cruised successfully in the surrounding seas that became the theatre of most sanguinary conflicts with English vessels and their own. Napoleon, gratified by their bravery and success, directed that the thanks of the nation should be transmitted to them, and, as a farther reward, decreed the admission of the produce of the island into France free of duty. Among the most remarkable of these corsairs may be singled out the

names of Surcouf, Tréhouart, Perrot, Thomasin, &c. In1 all their enterprises against British commerce, they were materially assisted by a number of reckless American adventurers, who infested the whole of our possessions in the East, brought fast sailing ships to the Isle of France, fitted them out there, met the corsairs at a rendezvous mutually agreed on, gave information of the sailing of all our trade, bought not only the cargoes of the prizes for the American market, but the hulls of the ships to carry back to our own settlements, and there are strong reasons to believe, that collusive bargains were entered into in anticipation of the captures made in consequence of such intelligence; in a word, this island became a centre for the freebooters of every nation to fit out privateers and commit depredations on English property. In 1809, when the injuries sustained from the enemy had exceeded all bounds, when the East India Company bitterly complained of the loss of their richest vessels on the one hand, and the reclamations of our merchants could no longer be slighted on the other, when our navy, though everywhere triumphant, could not correct the evil, either by a blockade of the island, or by

1 Martin's Colonial Library.

2 Port Louis, with the French frigates Semillante and Bellone was blockaded in 1808 by the Pitt frigate of 36 and the Terpsichore of 32 guns. The latter afterwards departed for Ceylon, while the Pitt whose crew was reduced to less than one-half by sickness, cruised alone off the isle and captured several vessels. Sensible of her weakness, the French resolved to go out and engage her in the Semillante; but her captain changed his plan and steered for Bourbon to convoy merchantmen there detained, chased for some distance by the Pitt, which having scarcely hands enough to work the ship, proceeded to Ceylon, when the French ships re-entered Port Louis. The Bellone and Henriette were subsequently captured by the English, but the Semillante escaped, and had the good fortune to capture eight richly laden merchantmen, which she carried into Bourbon. The blockade of Port Louis was resumed by the English with the Sceptre of 74, and Cornwallis, and Dédaigneuse frigates. Several attempts were made to capture the Semillante, but bad weather favoured her escape on the first occasion, and she was protected on another by more than 100 pieces of cannon on the shore. On the departure of the English, the Semillante regained Port Louis with her prizes in safety, chased in vain by her antagonists. Soon after she again set out on a cruise and made some rich captures. On another occasion she met near Ceylon with the Terpsichore, whom she engaged. That vessel had from age and weakness been compelled to leave a great part of her guns behind, yet the Semillante did not dare to board her, but hastened to escape, first throwing on board a quantity of combustible materials, which caused an explosion. Terpsichore having put out the flame, makes sail, and recommences the action, but the Semillante avoided close quarters, and flies, pursued by the Terpsichore who had twenty killed and twenty-two wounded in the action. Arriving at Port Louis, the Semillante was found to be unfit for further cruises, and was dispatched to France laden with colonial produce. The French ships left at Port Louis were the frigate Canonniére of 40, and the Jena corvette of 18 guns. At this moment the English gun-brig Laurel of 22 guns, Captain Woolcombe arrived off the Isle of France, and finding there no British cruiser, watched the enemy's motions. Having captured a Portugese ship on her way from Bourbon to the Isle of France, on board of which were some French ladies as passengers, Woolcombe sent a boat with a flag of truce to General Decaen requesting him to send a small vessel to take the ladies and their baggage on shore. The second