engaging French troops during the 1809 invasion of the
Îles des Saintes During the
Napoleonic Wars, the
French West Indies were almost completely cut off from France due to
Royal Navy blockades established as a result of Britain's
command of the sea. The blockades not only severely hindered trade and communication between
Metropolitan France and French colonies but also prevented the colonies from being sent military reinforcements. Consequently, the French West Indies began to suffer from food shortages and stagnant economies, severely eroding public and military morale. By 1808, the situation had grown so desperate that the governors of
Martinique and
Guadeloupe sent a series of urgent messages to France in the summer of that year requesting military reinforcements and foodstuffs. The French government responded with by sending warships either operating independently or in small squadrons to the West Indies; though a few ships reached their destinations most were captured by the British at sea. Those few that arrived safely were trapped there as they were unable to make the return journey without being intercepted by waiting British warships. The British had intercepted a number of the messages sent to France, and the decision was made to invade and capture the French West Indies before substantial reinforcements could arrive. During the winter of 1808, ships and troops from across the Caribbean began gathering off
Barbados under the command of Vice-Admiral
Sir Alexander Cochrane and Lieutenant General
George Beckwith, with the intention of invading Martinique early in 1809. A smaller force was sent to
Cayenne, which was
invaded and captured in early January 1809. In late January the
invasion of Martinique began, and despite resistance in the central highlands, the island fell to the invaders in 25 days. Cochrane then split his attention, sending a number of ships and men to aid the Spanish in the
Siege of Santo Domingo while still maintaining a strong blockade force in the Leeward Islands. In April 1809, a
strong reinforcement squadron of three
ship of the line and two frigates "en flute" with supplies arrived at the
Îles des Saintes, south of Guadeloupe. There they were blockaded until 14 April, when a British force under Major-General
Frederick Maitland invaded and captured the islands. The French squadron managed to escape during the following night, and the three ships of the line went to the north with the British following. Behind them, the two French frigates went for
Basse-Terre on Guadeloupe with their supplies and reinforcements. Later the three
ship of the line split up and the
''D'Hautpoul'' was captured after three days close to the south coast of Puerto Rico while the other two escaped to France. The two French frigates were trapped in
Basse-Terre. In June, the frigates attempted to return to France. Only one of the frigates escaped the blockade squadron, although the escapee was also captured a month later in the North Atlantic. Subsequent French attempts to supply their one remaining colony on Guadeloupe were minor, most of the
brigs sent were seized without reaching the island. The
only significant attempt, launched in November 1809, achieved initial success in the destruction of the British frigate
HMS Junon on 13 December, but ultimately failed when the two armed storeships,
Loire and
Seine were destroyed on 18 December in a battle with a British squadron off the southern coast of Guadeloupe. During the autumn and winter, British forces were collected from across the Caribbean at
Fort Royal, Martinique, under Cochrane and Beckwith for the invasion of Guadeloupe. ==Preparations==