'History of the Indian Navy. (1613-1863).' [‎230] (271/590)

230
HISTORY OF THE INDIAN NAVY.
advisable to wait for the arrival of the Cape division, the expe
dition, the naval portion* of which was under the command of
Vice-Admiral Bertie, set sail for Mauritius on the following
morning, and arrived in sight of the island on the 28th.
On the 29th the men-of-war and transports, numbering in all
nearly seventy sail, anchored in Grand Baie, situated about
twelve miles from Port Louis, and, in the course of the same
day, the army, w 7 ith its artillery, stores, and ammunition, the
several detachments of marines serving in the squadron, and a
large body of seamen, under the orders of Captain Montagu,
disembarked without opposition or casualty. On the morning
of the 30th there was slight skirmishing with the enemy, and,
on the 1st and 2nd of December, an affair, rather more serious,
took place between the British main body and a French corps,'
which had taken up a strong position to check the invaders!
The French, however, were soon overpowered by numbers, with
the loss of their guns, and several men killed and wounded.
The loss on the part of the British, including that sustained on
the 30th, amounted to twenty-eight officers and men killed,
ninety-four wounded, and forty-five missing. Immediately
after the termination of this action. General Decaen, the French
Governor, proposed terms of capitulation, and, on the following
morning, the 3rd December, the articles were signed, and rati
fications exchanged, by which the island was surrendered to
Great Britain. The garrison of the Isle of France—henceforth
known as Mauritius, the name formerly given to it by the
Dutch—consisted of only one thousand three hundred regular
troops, though there were upwards of ten thousand militiamen,
who w T ere, however, almost useless. Two hundred and nine
pieces of heavy ordnance were captured, together with ample
stores of ammunition and every other requisite for service. In
Port Louis were five French frigates, 'Bellone,' ' Minerve,'
'Manche,' c Astree,' and (late British) 4 Iphigenie,' the'Victor'
corvette, brig 'Entreprenant,' and Honourable Company's cruiser
6 Aurora;' also the 6 Charlton,' ' Ceylon,' and ' United Kingdom,'
captured Indiamen, and twenty-four French merchant ships
and brigs. From that day, Mauritius has remained one of the
most valuable dependencies of the British Crown.
* The following were tlie British ships of war attached to the expedition, in
cluding a portion that blockaded Port Louis .—Seventy-four-gun ship 1 Illustrious,'
Captain Eroughton; forty-four-gun frigate ' Cornwallis,' Captain Canlfield;
thirty-eight-gun frigates 'Africaine, (Yice-Admiral Bertie) Captain Gordon;
4 Boadicea/ Captain Rowley; 4 Nisus,' Captain Beaver; 4 Clorinde,' Captain
Briggs ; ' Menelaus,' Captain Parker ; ' Nereide,' Captain Henderson; thirty-six-
gun frigates c Phoebe,' Captain Hillyar; 4 Doris,' Captain Lye ; thirty-two-gun
frigates c Cornelia,' Captain Edgell; 4 Psyche,' Captain Edgcumbe; 1 Ceylon,'
Captain Tomkinson; sloops, Vesper,' Captain Paterson; 'Eclipse,' Captain
Lynne; 4 Hecate," Captain Rennie; 'Action,' Captain Yiscount Neville; gun-
brig 'Staunch,' Lieutenant Craig; Government ship 4 Emma,' Captain Street,
and a large fleet of transports.