and 51 non-commissioned officers and privates wounded ; total, 27 killed and 56 wounded. Thus were the French again masters of the whole island of Guadeloupe, except Fort Matilda.

Against this post, which was commanded by Lieutenant-general Prescott, and was extremely weak both in point of position and masonry, the republican forces commenced operations on the 14th of October. It took them until the 10th of December, to render the works completely untenable ; and at 10 p.m. the garrison, amounting to 621 officers and men, under the judicious management of Captain Richard Bowen, recently promoted to the Terpsichore frigate, got safe off, without even the knowledge of the French commander, who continued firing at the fort until 3 a.m. on the 11th.

The British loss, between the 14th of October and 10th of December, was, to the army, 13 killed and 60 wounded, and, to the navy, three killed and 18 wounded ; including, among the badly wounded of the latter, Captain Bowen, who was unfortunately struck by a musket-ball in the face, while bringing off, in his own boat, the last man of the garrison. The behaviour of this officer, as well during the two months' siege as at the time of embarkation, gave such entire satisfaction to General Prescott, that the latter addressed a letter to Vice-admiral Caldwell (the successor of Sir John Jervis, who had sailed for England in November), expressly to acquaint him with the essential benefit which the garrison of Fort Matilda had derived from the zeal, vigilance, and great professional experience of Captain Bowen.

At the close of the preceding year we left Commodore Ford, in the 50-gun ship Europa, with a few frigates and sloops, and a detachment of British troops under Lieutenant-colonel Dansey, in possession of Jérémie, Cape Nicolas-Mole, the province of Léogane on the south side of the island, and several small places, including Boncassin on the north side. *

The newly surrendered post of Boncassin being within 12 or 14 miles of Port-au-Prince, and the Spaniards, from their side of the island, having taken possession of Borgue, Gonaïves, Petite-Rivière, and Verette, Commodore Ford, on the 2d of January, detached the 32-gun frigate Penelope, Captain Bartholomew Samuel Rowley, with a flag of truce, to Port-au-Prince; offering to the civil commissary, Santhonax, the same capitulation which had been voluntarily accepted by so many of the parishes. The offer was refused; and the port in consequence was closely blockaded by some ships of the commodore's squadron.

On the 3d of February, the strong and highly important post at Cape Tiburon, mounting 22 pieces of heavy cannon, was taken by the British, after a slight resistance, and the loss of three privates

* See p. 118.