During that and the following day the whole of the troops of the expedition arrived, and about the same time a frigate came from England bringing the news of the battle of Waterloo, the abdication of Bonaparte, and the restoration of the Bourbon dynasty to the throne of France. This great and astounding news was at once dispatched under a flag of truce by the admiral, Sir Charles Durham, and Sir James Leith to the respective governors of Martinique and Guadeloupe, with the earnest request that they would at once acknowledge and show their loyalty to Louis XVIII, their now reigning King, and thus put an end to our intended hostile proceedings and useless effusion of blood. The governor of Martinique at once acknowledged the sovereignty of the Bourbons, and hoisted the white flag, but General Boyer, of Guadeloupe, returned an answer that he did not believe one word of the news, and that he was determined to fight for his Emperor and to resist to the last.

On the following morning, the 9th of August, 1815, our armament sailed from the Saints in two divisions for Guadeloupe, the main body of the force under the Commander-in-Chief for Grande Ance Bay, and one brigade, consisting of the 63rd Regiment and York Chasseurs under Major-General Douglass, for Bailiffe. In a few hours the whole were landed in safety at these places respectively. Our landing at Bailiffe was opposed by a considerable number of French infantry, but we had a man-of-war with us, which covered our landing and cleared the beach for a sufficient distance to enable us to get on shore safely. The enemy formed again at a little distance inland, and there we at once attacked them, and finally drove them before us till they reached Basse Terre and got under the protection of the batteries of Fort Matilda, beyond which we took up our position for the night, expecting to be joined by our main body next day. In the course of this day we lost some men, but no officers except Captain Lynch of the 63rd. The main body of our troops was also opposed on landing, and constantly during this march of two days from Grande Ance to Basse Terre, but their casualties were not numerous, and they joined us in safety at the expected time. Guns were then put into position, and they began battering the town, the fire being ably returned from Fort Matilda. Preparations were at the same time made by us for storming, and when the proper time arrived a flag of truce was sent in, giving the enemy the choice of surrendering without risking any further additional loss of life. This the governor refused, but the French general officer, who was next in authority, at once complied. He hauled down the tricolour and hoisted the white flag, acknowledging all as prisoners of war. The 63rd and some more of our troops marched in and took possession, the French garrison having first marched out under arms and laid them down in front of our main force, which was drawn up in line ready to receive them. The French troops, as prisoners of war, were formed in separate divisions and marched back to town into separate places of confinement until ships were ready to receive them, which finally took them back to France. The officers were allowed to retain their swords, and both they and the men were allowed to keep their private baggage. The governor, General Boyer, was nowhere to be found, till after a long search he was discovered concealed in a wine-cellar, determined to the last to uphold the honour of his Emperor. Of course, he was treated with every kindness, and was sent with the others to France.

A week afterwards the whole of our troops were re-embarked and went back to their former quarters in the different islands, except the 25th Regiment, which was left to garrison Basse Terre and Guadeloupe, and the latter was now made the headquarters of the British troops in the West Indies. I returned with my regiment to St. Vincent and continued my additional duties as acting-paymaster, expecting nothing better for some time. In a few weeks the General Orders arrived, and to my great delight and surprise I read: “Captain Joseph Anderson, of the York Chasseurs, to be Deputy-Assistant Quartermaster-General to the Forces, and to repair forthwith to Headquarters, Guadeloupe.” I was indeed proud of my extraordinary good luck, and so was Colonel Ewart, and as a mark of his regard he made me a present of a handsome staff sword, which he had himself worn for many years in a similar appointment. I soon handed over my company and my accounts as paymaster to officers appointed for those duties, and availed myself of a passage in the very first vessel that started for Guadeloupe, and arrived there safely.

CHAPTER XIII
DOMINICA

Sent to Dominica—A fatal foot-race—I give up appointment and rejoin my regiment at St. Vincent—An awful voyage

COLONEL POPHAM, of my old regiment, the 24th, was then deputy-quartermaster-general and the head of my department. He was always on the staff, and had not served much with the 24th during my time, so that I was very little known to him; but he received me most kindly, and set me at once to work in his office at correspondence and various public returns, which gave me a good idea of the duties. Thus I continued more than a month, until at last, being considered up to my work, I was sent off to Point à Pitre, thirty miles from Basse Terre, to take the sole charge of that station, or rather of the duties of the department, for there I found Colonel Brown as commandant with his 6th West India Regiment. A more charming man and able officer I have seldom or ever met. I became a member of the mess, which was well conducted and most comfortable. Although we had little society at Point à Pitre, I found enough to do, and spent my time very happily there for some months.

I was then suddenly ordered to hand over my charge to Captain Killy Kelly, of the 6th West India Regiment, and to proceed to Roseau, in the island of Dominica, to take charge of the department there, and I found the change a very agreeable one. The governor at the time, Colonel Maxwell, was a most kind and hospitable man, and I lived within a few yards of Government House. There was a very extensive and pleasant society amongst the residents and settlers in the town of Roseau and its neighbourhood. Parties and dinners were frequent, and I enjoyed them very much; but, alas! our greatest pleasures are subject to change, and ours had a partial check which proved very distressing to many. I was dining with a large party at Government House, and amongst the guests was a Dr. de Ravière. The conversation turned on foot races, and he boasted much of his powers and success in that line. I had had some experience in running also, and asked him what odds he would give me in a thousand yards. He declined giving any odds, and so we agreed to run equal for two hundred dollars. A place and day was at once appointed. At the given day and hour (three in the afternoon) no less than four thousand people had assembled, lining each side of the road we were to run. Tents and marquees were pitched for our dressing and for refreshments. Amongst the spectators were Dr. de Ravière’s two lovely sisters. We soon appeared, both dressed in flannel, and the word being given we started. I allowed him to lead for twenty yards, then pushed on, and for a few yards we ran abreast; then I passed him, increasing my advantage. He (in trying to overtake me) fell down, and became for a time almost insensible. He was carried home and put to bed; fever soon followed, and next day he was dead. In the absence of a medical man a Major Jack undressed me and put me into a tub of rum as a bath, then to bed, giving me a mixture of brandy and porter till I became almost unconscious, and finally fell into a sound sleep, from which I did not awake till next morning. I was free from fever, but was confined to my bed for that and the following day, and was kept ignorant of the fate of Dr. de Ravière for some days longer. It was indeed a foolish frolic to attempt to run a thousand yards in such a climate and at such an hour.

I remained at Roseau for some months after, with an excellent house and good allowances, amounting in all to more than double my regimental pay. Early in 1817 orders arrived from England for the removal of the York Chasseurs from the Windward and Leeward Islands to Jamaica, a distinct and separate command. I was then written to, officially, to say that my staff appointment would be continued if I exchanged into another regiment within that command, but if not I must follow the York Chasseurs to Jamaica in command of a detachment of the regiment still remaining at St. Vincent. This was a serious step for me to decide on, and I took some days before I finally made up my mind. I was then the second captain of my regiment, and to exchange into another would place me at the bottom of the captains, and yet my appointment was a most important and lucrative one, and such as I might never again hope to enjoy. For days I was quite undecided and did not know what to do, but at last I thought the least risk and the best chance of promotion was to give up my appointment and to follow my regiment. I wrote to the adjutant-general (my friend General Douglass) accordingly, and in due course I saw my name in General Orders directing me to hand over the charge of the quartermaster-general’s department and to join a detachment of my regiment at St. Vincent.

The first opportunity was from Barbados, from which island I knew I could readily get a passage to St. Vincent. I left Dominica in a small colonial schooner, the Johanna, commanded by a mulatto and manned exclusively by negroes. Our captain knew nothing of navigation, but was in the habit of making this voyage successfully by taking his departure from Point des Salines, in Martinique, and steering direct east, against the trade winds, for a day or two, to clear the islands, and then due south, with a man at the mast-head to look out for Barbados, which is a very high land. In clear weather it is seen at a distance of fifty-nine or sixty miles, but we had thick fogs and much rain, so that though we cruised about with a man constantly at the mast-head for some days, we could nowhere discover the island nor any other land. In despair our captain turned back before the trade winds, sure of making some of the islands, from which he could again take a fresh departure. About sunset we recognized Martinique, and on the following morning Point des Salines once more, from which we again took our departure; but that effort proved worse than the former, for on the second day we were opposed by a fearful hurricane, which carried away both our masts, and left us a helpless, unmanageable hulk in a wild and terrible sea. Our situation became indeed most fearful and alarming. The sea was constantly breaking over us, and wherever there was any opening it rushed in tons below, until the cabin, where I was alone, was completely flooded by many feet of water. All the crew except the captain gave up in despair, and shut themselves up below, crying and moaning all the time. The captain manfully kept to the deck, lashing himself to the tiller ring-bolts. In this perilous situation we continued for two days and one night, expecting every moment to be our last, for our ill-fated barque, being under no control, was tossed about at the mercy of the raging seas. We gave up all hope—then, recommending ourselves to Providence, we expected every moment to founder. In this awful and long-continued danger I must confess my mind was much troubled about a few hundred pounds which I had on board with me, in doubloons and dollars, and which I sorely grieved to think my sister would now lose. On the second day of this hurricane a sail appeared in sight (or rather a vessel under almost bare poles). It soon passed near us, and our captain managed to show his ensign on a spar upside down, expecting that the stranger would try and come to our assistance; but instead of doing so, he hoisted his own flag reversed, and continued his course. Although this was an English man-of-war, she was in such distress and danger in this heavy gale and raging sea that it was quite impossible for her to come near us or to render any help.