Surinam, 1804.
The regiments authorized to bear this distinction are the Bedfordshire and the North Staffords.
It commemorates the capture of this colony from the Dutch by a combined naval and military expedition on the resumption of hostilities with Holland after the Treaty of Amiens. The colony had been captured in 1799 by Admiral Lord Hugh Seymour and General Trigge, but had been restored to the Dutch in 1802.
Carlisle Bay (Barbados) was the rendezvous, the squadron being under the command of Commodore Samuel Hood, whilst the troops were commanded by Major-General Sir Charles Green. These consisted of the 16th (Bedfords), 64th (North Staffords), and the 6th West India Regiment. Leaving Barbados on April 6, 1804, the squadron, delayed by adverse and light winds, did not arrive off the mouth of the Surinam River until the 25th, when the Dutch commander was invited to surrender. To the summons he returned a truculent reply; and the troops, divided into two brigades, under Colonels Maitland and Hughes, were thrown ashore, reinforced by a naval brigade 600 strong. The defence was feeble, and in three days the place fell into our hands. Our loss was trifling, falling on the naval brigade and the North Staffords, neither the Bedfords nor the West India Regiment suffering any casualties.
Casualties at the Capture of Surinam, 1804.
| Regiments. | Officers. | Men. | ||
| K. | W. | K. | W. | |
| Naval Brigade | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 |
| N. Staffords | - | 2 | 2 | 8 |
| Naval Brigade | 2 | 3 | 3 | 8 |
| Bedfords | - | - | - | - |
| 6th West India Regiment | - | - | - | - |
Dominica, 1805.
The only regiments authorized to bear this distinction are the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry and the West India Regiment.
Our connection with the island dates back to the year 1762, when, on June 11, it was captured by a joint naval and military expedition under Colonel Lord Rollo and Commodore Sir James Douglas, R.N., with the Belliqueux, Dublin, Montague, and Sutherland. The troops concerned in this first capture were detachments of the King's Own (Lancaster Regiment), the Cheshires, and the Black Watch. The brunt of the fighting fell on the Highlanders, who lost 2 officers and 19 men killed, 10 officers and 74 men wounded. The possession of the island was confirmed to us by the Treaty of Paris in the following year. In 1778 it was taken from us by the French. Prior to the outbreak of hostilities, the Governor, Major-General the Hon. W. Stewart, had reported the precarious position of the island. His total force amounted to 98 men of the 48th (Northamptons) and 28 gunners; of these but 41 were fit for duty. On September 7 a French force of four frigates, convoying 3,000 troops, appeared before the island, and the Governor was perforce compelled to surrender to De Bouillé. By the peace of 1783 the island was restored to us, but in 1805, mindful of their former success, the French made a fresh attempt at its capture. Five line-of-battleships, headed by the Majestueux, of 120 guns, stood into the harbour and overwhelmed the town of Roseau with their fire. The Governor, General Prevost, withdrew to a second position, and refused all summons for surrender, when the French, baffled, left him undisturbed. The garrison consisted of the 46th Foot (now the 2nd Battalion of the Cornwall Light Infantry), the 1st West India Regiment, and some local militia. The casualties of the defenders were slight, but their services were considered sufficiently meritorious for the following notification in the Gazette:
"As a distinguished mark of the good conduct and exemplary valour displayed by that regiment in the defence of the Island of Dominica against a very superior French force on February 22, 1805, the 46th Regiment is permitted to bear on its colours and appointments the name 'Dominica.'" For many long years this was the only distinction borne by that regiment.