Martinique 1809

(Richard Hunt)

     This "page" is here because my great great great great grandfather recieved a gunshot wound to his left shoulder on the 2nd February 1809 during the fighting leading to the capture of the island of Martinique from the French.

     He appears to have joined the Leicestershire Militia and risen to the rank of Corporal. He then transfered to the regulars (the 15th Foot) as a Private, was promoted to Corporal (again), transfered to the Light Company of the 25th Foot as a Private, got promoted to Corporal (again) and then to Sergeant. For reasons unknown he was demoted to Private and then wounded at the capture of the Island of Martinique and sent back to England and invalided out of the army. He then joined the 1st Royal Veteran Battalion and was promoted to Corporal (yet again). He died in Blaby, Leicestershire in 1841 at the age of 63.

     What follows is a series of letters and diaries written at the time by both junior and senior officers and a memoire of one of the commanders written for his wife, which apart from the obvious lack of references to modern technology sound as if  they could have been written yesterday, instead of more than 200 years ago. It is immpossible to describe how evocative these diaries and memoires are  - and how close they bring you to the writers and the events recounted in them.         

1. Extract from letter of Lt. John Christopher Harrison (23rd Fusiliers)

2. Diary of Lt. Thomas Henry Browne (23rd Fusiliers)

3. Diary of Captain Charles McGrigor (on the staff of the expedition)

4. Memoires of Major General Maitland (Second in command of the expedition)

5. Extract from Maitland papers.

6. Two earlier French reports on the fortifications. 

     What follows below was written by a young officer in who was actually in the 23rd on the Heights of Souri that day ......