Having overcome all opposition, the British continued their march, and took post in front of the enemy's lines before the town. On the following morning the governor, General de Caen, agreed to surrender the place to the British troops, under Major-General John Abercromby. This valuable island was thus added to the possessions of the British crown, and the Fourteenth were thanked in orders for their conduct on this service.
After the capture of the Isle of France, the first battalion of the Fourteenth Regiment proceeded to Madras, where it was stationed several weeks.
1811
In January, 1811, the flank companies of the second battalion proceeded from Malta, to the island of Sicily, under the orders of Captain Ramsay and Captain Light, to serve under Major-General Lord William Bentinck.
After the capture of the Isle of France, the British government resolved to complete its dominion in the East, by the conquest of the island of Java, of which the Dutch had held undisturbed possession for more than one hundred years. The extent of the island,—six hundred and forty miles long, and about a hundred broad; the luxuriant and fertile character of the soil, the mountain districts yielding the vegetables and grain of Europe, and the plains the delicious fruits and other valuable productions of the East in abundance, without the necessity of laborious tillage, and to so great an extent as to occasion it to be sometimes called the granary of the East; rendered the island of Java a valuable acquisition to the United Provinces, and its principal city, Batavia, was the capital of the Dutch settlements in the East Indies. Holland having become a part of that empire which Napoleon was forming to prepare the way for universal dominion, it became necessary to deprive the Dutch of the large and fertile island of Java, and a body of troops was placed under the orders of Lieutenant-General Sir Samuel Auchmuty for that purpose. In this enterprise the first battalion of the Fourteenth Regiment was employed, and the greater part of the officers and men were re-embarked in March on board of the men-of-war ordered to cruise off the island, in which service they had various opportunities of distinguishing themselves, in destroying gun-boats, and in other enterprises on the coast. On one occasion Lieutenant Gillman, who commanded a party on board the boats of His Majesty's ship "Sir Francis Drake," was killed. The conduct of a detachment under Lieutenant J. H. Heyland, embarked in the sloop "Procris," engaged in the boarding of some of the enemy's gun-boats, was highly commended in the public despatch of Captain Maunsell, R.N.
Detachments consisting of the Fourteenth and Eighty-ninth Regiments, Royal Marines, and seamen, were landed from His Majesty's ship "Minden," near Bantam, on the coast of Java, and, in two contests, defeated five hundred of the enemy's chosen troops, which had been sent to Batavia to attack them. Captain Watson, Lieutenants Rochfort, McLean, and L'Estrange, and Ensign Jennings, of the Fourteenth, and Lieutenant Dunscombe of the Eighty-ninth, particularly distinguished themselves on these occasions.
The head-quarters sailed from Madras on the 18th of April, 1811, and landed on the 4th of August, at the village of Chillingching, about twelve miles east of Batavia, towards which city the army directed its march. The French and Dutch troops set fire to the magazines in Batavia, and abandoned the city, which was taken possession of by the British.
On the 10th of August the British advanced from Batavia, and found three thousand select men of the Gallo-Batavian troops in a strong position, defended by abattis behind Weltefreden; and this post was stormed and carried at the point of the bayonet, many of the enemy being killed, and the remainder retreating to the entrenched position at Cornelis, between the great river Jacatra, and the deep aqueduct of Slaken. The conduct of Captain Stannus commanding the light infantry company of the Fourteenth, and of Lieutenant Coghlan, commanding the rifle company, was highly commended in Colonel Gillespie's report of this action. The regiment had Ensign Nickisson and three rank and file wounded.
In the strong position of Cornelis more than ten thousand Gallo-Batavian troops were assembled, and they were greatly superior in numbers to the British force. This formidable position was, however, stormed on the 26th of August, and the invincible prowess of the assailants overcame all opposition; the British were triumphant at every point; nearly two thousand of the enemy were killed, and about five thousand prisoners were taken, including three general officers. The remainder of the enemy dispersed, excepting a few men, who accompanied the Gallo-Batavian commander, General Jansens, in his flight. The Fourteenth distinguished themselves on this occasion, and the conduct of their commanding officer, Lieutenant-Colonel Watson, was commended in the official account of the action given by Colonel Gillespie.
The victory of Cornelis terminated the Dutch sovereignty of Java; General Jansens was pursued up the country; and on the 16th of September, the Fourteenth were engaged in storming the fortified position at Jattoo, when the remainder of the Gallo-Batavian force was routed; General Jansens was afterwards forced to surrender, and this valuable island was annexed to the dominions of the British Crown. It was restored to Holland, at the termination of the war, by the Treaty of Vienna in 1814.