Full Description
The naval chaplain Cooper Willyams (1762-1816), who was educated at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, and took holy orders in 1784, published this account of the West Indies campaign in 1796. The son of a navy commander, Willyams was also a self-taught artist and topographer, and in 1802 published his eyewitness account of the battle of the Nile, also reissued in this series. The campaign against the French in the Caribbean was notable for the large numbers of combatants on both sides who succumbed to yellow fever. Using his own notes and the accounts of other eyewitnesses, Willyams describes the arrival of the fleet, commanded by Sir Charles Grey and Sir John Jervis (later Earl St Vincent, for whom Willyams acted as chaplain), in Barbados; the actions undertaken against the French to secure the islands of Martinique, St Lucia, and Guadeloupe; and the subsequent recapture of the latter by the French.
Contents
Preface; List of subscribers; 1. Expedition to the West Indies determined on; 2. The Commanders in Chief prepare for the expedition against Martinique; 3. The fleet sails from Barbadoes; 4. March of the Commander in Chief from Trois Rivieres to Sallee; 5. General Dundas lands on the north east side of the island; 6. The enemy retire into Fort Bourbon and Fort Louis; 7. Forts Bourbon and Louis closely invested; 8. General Prescott is left governor of Martinique; 9. Expedition against Guadaloupe; 10. The General embarks his army, and lands on Basse Terre at Petit Bourg; 11. The charges of extorted contributions and oppressions refuted; 12. General Dundas dies of the yellow fever; 13. The Commanders in Chief sail to Martinique; Appendix; List of the officers of the army who died or were killed during the campaign in the West Indies.
