The Battle of Anguilla was a military engagement that took place on the British controlled Caribbean island of Anguilla on 1 June 1745 during the

War of the Austrian Succession The War of the Austrian Succession was a European conflict fought between 1740 and 1748, primarily in Central Europe, the Austrian Netherlands, Italian Peninsula, Italy, the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. Related conflicts include King Ge ...

. A French force landed 760 men and marched inland but were repulsed with heavy losses by the British who then counter-attacked forcing the French to flee causing the loss of 100 casualties as well as fifty captured.

Background

The

had brought the fighting over to the rest of the French and British colonial territories in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

and the Caribbean. Convoys and holdings of each nation were a target or a threat. In 1744, a 300-strong British colonial force consisting of

militia A militia ( ) is a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or se ...

slaves Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

and regulars accompanied by two

privateer A privateer is a private person or vessel which engages in commerce raiding under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign o ...

s from

Saint Kitts Saint Kitts, officially Saint Christopher, is an island in the West Indies. The west side of the island borders the Caribbean Sea, and the eastern coast faces the Atlantic Ocean. Saint Kitts and the neighbouring island of Nevis constitute one ...

invaded the French half of neighbouring Saint Martin, holding it until the 1748 Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle. In late May 1745 two French royal frigates of 36 and 30 guns respectively under Commodore La Touché, plus three privateers sailed from

Martinique Martinique ( ; or ; Kalinago language, Kalinago: or ) is an island in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the eastern Caribbean Sea. It was previously known as Iguanacaera which translates to iguana island in Carib language, Kariʼn ...

in retaliation to invade and capture Anguilla. The British on Anguilla were aware of the threat and thus readied themselves with around 150 militia and regulars from the islands small garrison.

Assault

On 21 May early in the morning, they were surprised by a fleet of French, consisting of two warships, one of 36 Guns, the other of 32, with three

Privateer A privateer is a private person or vessel which engages in commerce raiding under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign o ...

s, and two Dutch vessels, used as tenders. At a place named by his namesake Katouche Bay, Le Touché landed 759 men on shore. The surprise landing was a great encouragement to the French, but a great discouragement to the British seeing as they were heavily outnumbered. The Governor Arthur Hodge, formed their defenders into three

platoon A platoon is a Military organization, military unit typically composed of two to four squads, Section (military unit), sections, or patrols. Platoon organization varies depending on the country and the Military branch, branch, but a platoon can ...

s, and posted them in a very narrow path behind well hidden breast-works by which the French were to pass. The first of which would contain twenty-two men of regulars, commanded by Captain Richardson. In effect the French were advancing into carefully placed ambush. These engaged the French, firing by platoons regularly, and with a good accuracy, they took a heavy toll on the attackers. Within a few minutes the advance guard broke rank and soon fled. Within fifteen minutes the other sections repeated the same fate holding their ground as the rest of the French advanced and they too also retreated. The British then launched a counterattack pursuing the retreating French as they headed back towards their boats in the bay. The retreat turned into a rout as the panicked French tried to get into their boats. The French ships opened up fire on the British who halted their pursuit and then rounded up the prisoners. Many of the French attackers drowned as they tried to get to their boats. The small British force expected a fresh attack the next day but the French encountering heavy resistance decided not to push on and thus withdrew to Martinique.

Aftermath

In this action at least 100 French were killed, drowned or wounded while another 50 were taken prisoner. The British buried 35 dead, and were in search of the few remaining French soldiers some who hid in the bushes including a few who were wounded. Among the dead were the second captain of Commodore Le Touché, the first lieutenant of the second warship; Captain Rolough from a privateer; the Governor of

Saint Barthélemy Saint Barthélemy, officially the Collectivité territoriale de Saint-Barthélemy, also known as St. Barts (English) or St. Barth (French), is an overseas collectivity of France in the Caribbean. The island lies about southeast of the island ...

’s son, and several other officers. Touché set on shore a

flag of truce White flags have had different meanings throughout history and depending on the locale. Contemporary use The white flag is an internationally recognized protective sign of truce or ceasefire and for negotiation. It is also used to symbolize ...

to ask for prisoners back in exchange for articles such as food, wine and stores. Touché was wounded in his arm and thigh. The British force had suffered seven casualties but had captured two French colours, many firearms,

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boxes,

hand grenade A grenade is a small explosive weapon typically thrown by hand (also called hand grenade), but can also refer to a Shell (projectile), shell (explosive projectile) shot from the muzzle of a rifle (as a rifle grenade) or a grenade launcher. A mod ...

s and

swivel gun A swivel gun (or simply swivel) is a small cannon mounted on a swiveling stand or fork which allows a very wide arc of movement. Another type of firearm referred to as a swivel gun was an early flintlock combination gun with two barrels that rot ...

s. According to the governor, the spoils were given to the

black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

population of the island as a reward for their assistance in the defence of the island.

References

Bibliography

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Anguilla, Battle of Conflicts in 1745 1745 in the Caribbean 1745 in the British Empire History of Anguilla Military history of the Caribbean Naval battles of the War of the Austrian Succession involving France Naval battles of the War of the Austrian Succession involving Great Britain