On the 2d of May 800 Seamen and 320 Marines were landed, who co-operated on shore with much credit, until the total subjection of St. Lucia, upon the 26th. I cannot express their good conduct in stronger terms, than in these which proceeded from Sir Ralph Abercromby, in General Orders of May 27th:—
"During the services which have been carried on in the island of St, Lucia, all the courage and every exertion of the Army, would have proved ineffectual, if Rear Admiral Sir H. C. Christian, and the Royal Navy, had not stepped forward with the alacrity which had been so conspicuous in forwarding the most arduous part of the public service; to their skill and unremitting labour is, in a great measure, owing the success which has attended his Majesty's arms. It will afford the Commander in Chief the greatest satisfaction to be able to lay before his Majesty the eminent services which have, on this occasion, been performed by the Royal Navy; and Admiral Sir H. C. Christian will confer a particular obligation on Lieut. General Sir R. Abercromby and the Army at large, if he will communicate to the Royal Navy, and particularly to Captains Lane, Ryves, and Stephenson, and the other Officers who acted on shore; and to the Corps of Marines, the great obligation which they consider themselves under to them.
"T. Busby, Adjutant General."
St. Vincents and Grenada, disorganized by the bustling Victor Hughes, were again restored to order; in effecting which objects, the Marines were also auxiliary, in union with their brethren of the Navy.
Early in this year the Dutch possessions of Amboyna and Banda were taken by the exertions of the squadron under Admiral Rainier, and the reduction of Columbo in the isle of Ceylon, with an immense booty, also occurred, by the joint forces under Colonel J. Stuart, and Captain Gardner of the Heroine. Although devoid of much military interest, still those settlements were of high importance in a commercial view, and I reflect with a mixture of pleasure and of pride, upon every instance in which my Corps has been instrumental in promoting the solid interests of their Country.
An expedition, that was destined for the recovery of the Cape of Good Hope, under Admiral Lucas, became a prey to the active vigilance of Sir George Elphinstone, who, with a cool judgment, and anxious to spare the effusion of blood, proposed terms of surrendering his squadron. By this exemplary address, eight ships of war were gained without a shot, or the loss of a man.
The French settlement of Foul Point, on the island of Madagascar, on the coast of Africa, was destroyed by the Seamen and Marines of the Crescent, Brave, and Sphynx, in the month of December.
Captain, now Lord Nelson, gave crouded displays of his zeal and courage upon various services in the Mediterranean during this year, by the cutting out some vessels from under the batteries of Loano, the capture of a Spanish frigate in La Minerve, and in obtaining possession of the Isle of Elba, without any loss. Porto Ferrajo, afterwards noted for its distinguished defence by a few Marines and some mixed troops, likewise capitulated to him, on the Captain, of 74 guns, having been placed against the grand Bastion.
The able valour of Captain Macnamara, of the Southampton, in boarding and bringing off, from under a heavy fire of the batteries on Porquerollos, one of the Hieres islands, the corvette Utile, is beyond praise. Lieut. Lydiard behaved most spiritedly, and William Oirton, private Marine, was the only man killed on this brilliant service.