Leaving six battalions in the island, Grey, who had been reinforced by the Buffs and Norfolks, embarked with these two regiments, the Warwicks, 43rd (Oxford Light Infantry), 63rd (Manchester), and the Grenadier and Light Infantry Brigades, for St. Lucia, which was captured on April 2; then, proceeding to Guadeloupe, he effected the reduction of that island by the end of May, not, however, without very sharp fighting. The casualties we incurred at the capture of Guadeloupe are given on p. 99. At the capture of St. Lucia our losses were trifling; those at the capture of Martinique are given below.
No less than 122 officers of the garrison died of disease before the end of the year:
+---------------------------+-----------+-----------+ | |_Officers._| _Men._ | | _Regiments._ +-----+-----+-----+-----+ | | K. | W. | K. | W. | +---------------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+ |Royal Artillery | - | 3 | 10 | 18 | |6th R. Warwick | 1 | - | 1 | 2 | |8th King's Liverpool | 2 | - | - | - | |9th Norfolks | 1 | - | - | 1 | |12th Suffolks | 2 | - | - | - | |15th E. Yorks | 2 | - | 3 | 4 | |17th Leicesters | 1 | - | - | - | |21st Roy. Scots Fusiliers | 3 | - | - | - | |34th Border Regiment | 1 | - | - | - | |35th R. Sussex | 1 | - | - | - | |Royal Navy | 2 | 4 | 19 | 65 | |Three L.I. Battalions | - | 2 | 20 | 62 | |Roy. Engineers | - | 1 | 1 | 3 | |38th S. Stafford | - | - | - | - | |39th Dorsets | 1 | - | 1 | 4 | |40th Loyal N. Lancashires | 1 | - | - | - | |43rd Oxford L.I. | 2 | - | - | 3 | |44th Essex | - | - | - | - | |58th N'ampton | 2 | - | - | - | |60th K.R.R. | 1 | - | - | - | |64th N. Staffs | - | - | - | - | |63rd Manchesters | - | - | 2 | 11 | |70th E. Surrey | - | - | - | 2 | |Three Grenadier Battalions | 1 | 4 | 30 | 74 | +---------------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+
No battle honour was conferred for the capture of the island on this occasion.
Immediately after the capture of Martinique, on March 25, 1794, General Sir George Grey, with Admiral Sir John Jervis, sailed for St. Lucia with a force composed as under:
First Brigade--H.R.H. Prince Edward (afterwards Duke of Kent, father of Queen Victoria): Comprising three battalions, made up of the grenadier companies of the whole force in Martinique.