The Royal Irish Artillery In Martinique And Neighbouring Islands, 1794-96 Volume 2: Island Campaigning

The second volume in this two-volume history explains how and why 300 gunners of the Royal Irish Artillery who landed in Martinique in 1794 mustered only 40 in 1796.

The story opens with captures of two fortresses in Martinique, and then St Lucia and Guadeloupe.  At that point French forces avoided the Royal Navy and retrieved control of Guadeloupe and then St Lucia.  The warfare consisted of sieges and assaults on strong points. The main causes of loss of life were diseases such as Yellow Fever and Malaria. How these were battled by the medical services, the unit commanders and the men themselves is fully described. Against a general background of shortage of military resources the wide ranging story covers concurrent events in the Western Caribbean, the importance of sea power and relations between the armed services, the French abolition of slavery in 1794, and the help received from French Royalists, military and local colons.