A few days into the rebellion, Fédon told his hostages that they need not expect swift rescue, as the rebels "were perfectly acquainted with the mode of making war in the woods". The rebels received further assistance from Hugues, in the form of armed squadrons, which had sufficient success to establish an administrative
département under the rebels' direct control. Hugues, who had been outraged at the British proclamation, advised Fédon to execute his hostages if he suffered losses to the government, declaring the statement "an outrage against the rights of nations and humanity". A large number of slaves had by now joined the rebellion, either overtly or covertly: the former filled Fédon's ranks, while the latter were midnight arsonists, setting alight their ex-masters' plantations. Regarding the latter, it was later reported that "this was the beginning of a conflagration which was lighted up every night by the negroes in different parts and in the end, desolated the whole island". White French and free-coloureds were armed with what rifles,
muskets and
bayonets were available while slaves were issued pikes and
cutlasses. Although Fédon's army was clearly being augmented by many slaves from across the island, Cox notes that it is now impossible to ascertain whether this was due to ideological support or a fear of the consequences of not doing so. was joined by Candlin questions whether the burning of plantations was in Fédon's interests and suggests that, rather, the enslaved he freed as they marched were bent on the destruction of their places of captivity and imprisonment. He did not want a war of destruction, she says, yet was unable to prevent one, particularly in the early weeks of the campaign. The rebellion, says Martin, "raged for 15 months, and saw extreme brutality and destruction" take place. Many of the white French rebels surrendered to the British as the rebellion increased in ferocity; they may have felt more endangered from the rebels than from the British. Most British planters deserted their estates for the towns, leaving both them and any faithful slaves at the mercy of the rebels. The British Army sustained continual losses, and the Chief Surgeon, called McGrigor, recorded "frightful" losses. In the early days of the rebellion, comments Candlin, and in spite of the widespread destruction, "Fédon seemed to have kept a semblance of order or, at least, focus". Although the rebels massively outnumbered the British, Fédon's side lacked the experienced tacticians and strategists possessed by the British, and their assaults—while large-scale and brutal—were disorganised. Although controlled most of the countryside, Fédon's army was unable to displace the British from St George's, while the latter also had the advantage of
superior sea power. This was used to great effect, eventually cutting Grenada off from its supply lines to St Lucia and Guadeloupe. Meanwhile, Lyndsay marched inland and attacked the Belvidere estate. He was able to capture Fédon's house on 17 March after savage fighting, but then discovered that the main rebel camp was situated further up the hill. Campbell later wrote to
Lord Cathcart that taking Camp Liberté seemed impossible, and how "the service was in storming the stronghold of the insurgents, which ended in proving which must of been the opinion of every military person before it commenced, a matter without any probability of success. Sickness, mostly from
Yellow fever, pervaded the British Army. In April, a British
Brigadier-General,
Colin Lindsay, was so distraught with the fever that he left his camp, went out into the rain, and shot himself; although notes Craton, his position was worsened by "the nightmare of heat and mosquitoes, barbarous shouts and sudden volleys from hidden assailants". Little activity from either side is known of between the initial rebel attacks and May 1795; the rebels may have spent their time consolidating the defences at Belvidere; Philip's brother was a trained
mason, notes Candlin, and this would have been a particularly useful skill in this regard. The rebels were still disorganised, so intensive training was probably undertaken, while the presence of a large number of women and children made it necessary for them to be looked after. The British limited their actions to circulating bills around the anglophone community urging them to remember their duty as subjects of
George III, while calling on the French-speaking populace to return to the fold. They may have been conserving their strength, suggests Cox, or perhaps deliberately avoiding Fédon's base in case he carried out his threat to the hostages. In March, a small but decisive engagement was fought at Madame Aché's plantation on Grand Etang, with the victory going to the rebels, while the British were also unable to clear them from Pilot Hill.
Attacks on Belvidere The British launched a number of assaults on the Belvidere Estate. The first was the day after Nogues' and Philip's visit to St George's, and the plan was to disperse Fedon's army before it could gather more adherents and become further entrenched. To this end, the militias of
St Patrick's and
St Andrew's parishes were raised with the aim of approaching Fédon from the east, north and west of the island. Demonstrating the seriousness of the situation argues Ashby, is the fact that the militia commanders were instructed, at their discretion, "to arm a number of able trusty negroes" at a time when the administration was in constant fear of those members of the population turning the aforesaid guns against their masters. A force led by Captain Gurdon of the 58th landed at Gouyave, intending to march east to Belvidere. However—in what Ashby has termed a "tactical error"—instead of doing so immediately, he camped his force in town overnight. His men, in turn, proceeded to get plastered on "rum, wine and porter"; as a result, Ashby's role in the operation was called off. However, they were still called upon to fight. Somehow, the rebels had learned of Gurdon's presence in Gouyave and attacked the town with around 400 men. This attack, suggests Ashby, was probably designed to test the British strength and the defences for weak spots. Twelve rebels died to four defenders: Comments Ashby, "Apparently, the St. George's Militia distinguished themselves during the action, which sorely embarrassed the British officers because of their own men's drunkenness".
Strong drink On the east of the island, the militia refused to make its way to Gurdon because of, as they saw it, "the hostile disposition of almost all the gangs of negroes, not to say the same of many whites in this quarter". By the time McKenzie had managed to persuade them to march out and meet Gurdon, over a day had been lost. And although Gurdon's force had been reinforced with sailors from
HMS Quebec, both his men and the newly-arrived sailors had got drunk again and were in no position to campaign. In response, Gurdon marched them closer to Fédon's camp, where they would be denied access to further libations. His plan failed, however, when he discovered that, as he later noted in his official report, "contrary to my expectations, I found that the negroes brought rum to the men from every house or hut". Ashby suggests that, of the 50
Royal Marines from the
Quebec, on 28 were capable of marching any distance. Eventually, the attempt on the Belvidere encampment was arranged for Sunday, 8 March. In the event, Gurdon considered it too well defended to be successfully stormed with the force at his disposal and the British returned to Gouyave. By this point, the militia was on the verge of revolt, so Gurdon deemed it tactical to withdraw to St George's. Gurdon's army was beset with discontent, with many considering their position outnumbered and helpless. Fights broke out in the ranks, and on one occasion, a private attempted to bayonet his captain. Another captain was urging the men to desert and the militia's doctor had already abandoned his post. On 12 March, Colin Lindsay arrived in Grenada; he was followed by Schaw two days later. With them came men from the
9th and
68th Regiments of Foot. By 15 March they were ready to launch an all-out next attack on Belvidere, or
Camp Liberté as the rebels had named it. Lyndsay led a troop of 400 men and militia and marched to Gouyave where he awaited marines from
HMS Beaulieu and reinforcements from Le Grenadine. While Lyndsay paused, Fédon moved his hostages to the secure third level of his camp.
Attack of 20 March At dawn on the 15th, Lindsay led 400 men and militia northwards out of St George's toward Gouyave—the rebels having evacuated on his approach—he awaited Royal Marines to be landed again. Although it is unknown for what reason, Lindsay kept his troops at Gouyave for another two days before marching westwards. About a mile from Fédon's camp, Lindsay rested the troop for two hours. This argues Ashby, was a mistake, as it wasted the final precious hours of daylight. Belvidere was once again not taken, and although a rebel outpost was captured, two men were lost in a bloody set-to doing so. Further operations were hampered by continuing rain, and Lindsay wrote to McKenzie on 21 March. While promising to be in the enemy camp "tomorrow", he also had a litany of complaint ranging from the (poor) quality of his forces to the weather, to thieving locals and the continued inebriation of much of his army. Two days later—"in a fit of temporary insanity", possibly brought on by fever—he blew his brains out.
British offensives At this point Vaughan—then in Martinique—called off all British offensive operations until reinforcements could be despatched to Grenada. The outpost captured by Lindsay was to be maintained as an
observation post by Schaw, and he was also to reinforce Gouyave. However, McKenzie believed that inactivity would be bad for the army and countermanded Vaughn's orders, despatching a force by sea under Schaw to reinforce Grenville. On their arrival, they came under artillery fire from Pilot Hill, killing one. Ashby estimates Fédon to have placed 200 men on Pilot Hill to accompany two pieces of cannon; this was too strong a defensive position to be taken by Schaw's smaller force. Schaw wrote to McKenzie, complaining that he and his men were "here without any provisions or bread, and there are scarce any
plantains to be found". He also highlighted how sickness was ravaging his troops, "a considerable number [of whom] with sore legs". An escapee from Fédon's camp informed the administration that, with around 7,000 people a day to feed—which itself took between eight and ten cattle to achieve daily—Fedon's army was starting to run out of supplies as well as meteriél. At the same time, Abercromby, in Barbados defeated Goyrand in St Lucia. Bringing that island under control was a tactical necessity, as there was little point in attempting an invasion of Grenada until it was cut off from its supply lines. A number of French ships were captured attempting to import arms. Those on board were taken prisoner except in one case when a deserter from the militia was discovered; he was hanged in St George's market place. A number of small rebel positions were attacked and overran, including Paradise Negro-House, Pilot House and Telescope Hill, but Gurdon's position on the latter gave him a view from which he established that an assault on Belvidere could lose him up to two-thirds of his men. Furthermore, although now in possession of Pilot Hill, he doubted he could hold it for any period of time, so he withdrew that night.
Attack of 8 April Main page-
Battle of Belvedere estate On the 8th of April 1795, the Coloured militia, led by
Louis Cazot LaGrenade attacked Belvidere/Belvedere with 200 men, this attack however failed, although some speculate it was nearly successful, and was the turning point in Fédon’s mind which made him execute the hostages.
Murder of the hostages Despite having sworn to kill the hostages if Belvidere was attacked, it had now been assaulted twice without their having been harmed, indicating their value to Fédon. Eventually, though, he lost patience. In retaliation for the
attack on Belvidere on the 8, April 1795—and perhaps indicating how close it had come to victory—Fédon had the 44 of his 47 hostages killed: "one by one", comments Candlin, "the prisoners were dragged from the coffee store into the estate courtyard and shot, their blood mingling with the muddy, rain-soaked ground and running in great streams off the hillside". This number included the island's Governor,
Ninian Home, upon whose killing Marie Rose Fédon observed with a "cold indifference", as Dr Hay later wrote, or a "protean detachment" according to Brizan. The Fédons' daughter, also Marie Rose, may also have been an onlooker. Another victim was one James Campbell, who had originally sold Fédon the Belvidere estate in 1791 and was also close to Ninian Home. The dead were buried in a
mass grave, but this was dug into by rooting pigs. The survivors were sent to Guadeloupe and into Hugues' custody. Among those whom Frédon allowed living was the "much-loved" Parson McMahon—who may have been personally known to Fédon—a Dr Hay, and a fellow named Kerr. Dr Hay was spared because, as a medical doctor, his skills would come in handy to the rebels; it is also probable, suggest Candlin and Pybus, that this was a
quid pro quo for his generous treatment of Marie Rose following her arrest. Little is known of Kerr, although he may have been married to the daughter of a local French
chevalier. It is also unknown why he was spared, is unknown, but in his memoirs, Dr Hay asserted that Kerr was probably a rebel spy among the hostages.
May 1795 , c. 1798. In May 1795, the British launched a surprise night-attack on Fédon's Belvidere base. Due to Lindsay's suicide, the command had fallen to his inexperienced subordinate, Colonel Schaw. The British troops, in particular, were weakened by sickness, and this lost them the element of surprise they had relied on for victory. As the Belvidere Estate was situated on elevated ground, the British were at a severe tactical disadvantage. It was divided into three sections; the lowest as the estate proper, the next was his personal camp, and above that Mount Qua Qua. Further, the rebels had spent the preceding weeks fortifying it with a number of levels of defence. The layers were named. The lowest—known as
Fraternité—held the majority of the rebel army, including artillery—which due to a lack of cannonballs, were loaded with sugar wedges wrapped in sacking—behind a complex of
earthworks. These consisted of
defiles intended to lure the British into ambush. Above that was
Liberté, which contained the estate buildings itself and the rebel headquarters. The third and last camp—
Morte—was by way of being a redoubt at the last line of defence. Fédon moved the hostages to the upper camp, while demanding that Governor Home force McKenzie to make a peace: "Ah, tyrant Home; you are now my prisoner. You must cause the [British] forts to be delivered up". By now though, suggests Brizan, Home had become lethargic as to his fate, replying "I am a prisoner and have no longer any power in the colony. I am resigned to my fate whatever you may make it". In torrential rain, the British attacked from several directions simultaneously, supported by both cannon and cavalry. After intense
hand-to-hand combat, the British army got to the gates of
Morte redoubt. Dr Hay was responsible for the rebels' medical station in
Liberté. Fédon's brother, Jean-Pierre, was killed in the intense fighting. and Fédon later suggested that no
quarter was given the rebels. The attack, however, had dissipated by morning. The failure was the result, says Candlin, of "poor coordination, coupled with bad weather and mere bad luck"; Jacobs describes the operation as "bungled". The British lost 27 men dead and 57 wounded.
Hiatus The assault on Belvidere and the killings of the hostages was followed, comments Candlin, by a "bizarre year-long standoff" during which both sides prepared for a
war of attrition while probing each others' strength in occasional
skirmishing. During this time, whites that remained in rural areas escaped, where they could, to the towns. On Fédon's part, this was because he had neither the troops nor the resources to maintain an army in the field for any length of time, although he was joined by a number of English-speaking slaves from British estates, as well, he boasted, as number of British soldiers whom he promised "faithfully offer all those that will follow their example the same good treatment". Time was originally against the British, who would bleed men and morale without reinforcements. The British, says
military historian Martin R. Howard, had been "surprised by the obduracy of their mostly black adversaries...admitting that Fédon's men were capable of putting up stiff resistance", while
William Dyott noted that they were not only resilient but mobile with it. On one occasion, the British were mortified, says Howard, to capture 500 rebels with "not a single white soldier among them".
Sir John Moore wrote how During this period, argues Cox, the helplessness of the British position was exposed to all; they were awaiting men and supplies that were gradually reached them by sea. During these months, says Dubois, with the British confined to St George's, Fédon's followers "pillaged and destroyed the abandoned plantations on the rest of the island". This enabled Fédon to feed the increasing number of people who now dwelt at Camp Liberté. McKenzie continued to fortify St George's until it was almost as formidable a port as
English Harbour in Antigua. He decided to conserve his forces and retreat to urban areas and forts, but by doing so, suggests Walvin, he allowed Fédon effectively to create a "state within a state". McKenzie recognised, however, that he was no soldier and could not expect troops to obey him as if he was their general. He wrote to Vaughn on 9 April that, regretfully MacKenzie was also forced to rely on credit to bring in supplies from other islands. For most of the rest of the year, Fédon relied on
guerilla tactics, so avoiding pitched battles. Towards the end of the year, the arrival of further French supplies enabled the rebels to launch an island-wide offensive. He drove the white militia out of Gouyave (capturing a unit of Loyal Black Rangers in doing so) and overran Grenville again, this time establishing
batteries with which to bombard the patrolling British ships. Then in February 1796, the rebels captured Mount St Eloi, to the north of St George's; soon after, however, on the 27th, the British stormed and captured Post Royal Hill on the east coast. This had the effect of acting as a future landing stage for reinforcements and driving the rebels back into the interior. The failure of the attack on St George's meant that the British remained in control of the most important strategic site on the island, and to where they could be regularly revictualled. Fédon, meanwhile, remained in command of most of the island. His army needed feeding, but he had no effective strategy for this and mainly relied on hand-to-mouth pillaging of by now-deserted estates. Although originally a rich vein of succour, these estates—by now producing nothing due to the war—were gradually becoming less and less profitable for the rebels. This was reflected generally: says Candlin, "the island's produce was destroyed, there were no crops and the economy completely collapsed". Following the suicide of Lindsay, he was replaced by Brigadier-General
Oliver Nicolls who brought 1,000 men and over-ran Pilot Hill in early May; Gurdon was killed in one of the skirmishes. At the same time, captured two French ships and the 250 marines on board. However, Yellow Fever continued to ravage the British Army, which by summer 1795 had lost two-thirds of its regulars to the disease; further, large numbers of the white militia also deserted. By the start of 1796 Craton has estimated that the militia stood at 281 active men (when it had been 535 the same time the previous year). There was some good news for McKenzie; the creation of a Loyal Black Ranger Corp had proved popular as an
auxiliary force and now comprised 5
companies of 60 men and 25 officers. However, despite the sea embargo, the rebels were able to land two ships from St Lucia which provided 200 French troops. ==Support==