The Battle of Anguilla was a military engagement that took place on the British controlled Caribbean island of Anguilla on 1 June 1745 during the

War of the Austrian Succession The War of the Austrian Succession () was a European conflict that took place between 1740 and 1748. Fought primarily in Central Europe, the Austrian Netherlands, Italy, the Atlantic and Mediterranean, related conflicts included King George's W ...

. A French force landed 760 men and marched inland but were repulsed with heavy losses by the British who then counter-attacked forcing the French to flee causing the loss of 100 casualties as well as fifty captured.

Background

The

had brought the fighting over to the rest of the French and British colonial territories in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

and the Caribbean. Convoys and holdings of each nation were a target or a threat. In 1744, a 300-strong British colonial force consisting of

militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

slaves Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

and regulars accompanied by two

privateer A privateer is a private person or ship that engages in maritime warfare under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign or deleg ...

s from

Saint Kitts Saint Kitts, officially the Saint Christopher Island, is an island in the West Indies. The west side of the island borders the Caribbean Sea, and the eastern coast faces the Atlantic Ocean. Saint Kitts and the neighbouring island of Nevis cons ...

invaded the French half of neighbouring Saint Martin, holding it until the 1748 Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle. In late May 1745 two French royal frigates of 36 and 30 guns respectively under Commodore La Touché, plus three privateers sailed from

Martinique Martinique ( , ; gcf, label=Martinican Creole, Matinik or ; Kalinago: or ) is an island and an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France. An integral part of the French Republic, Martinique is located in th ...

in retaliation to invade and capture Anguilla. The British on Anguilla were aware of the threat and thus readied themselves with around 150 militia and regulars from the islands small garrison.

Assault

On 21 May early in the morning, they were surprised by a fleet of French, consisting of two warships, one of 36 Guns, the other of 32, with three

Privateer A privateer is a private person or ship that engages in maritime warfare under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign or deleg ...

s, and two

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

vessels, used as tenders. At a place named by his namesake Katouche Bay, Le Touché landed 759 men on shore. The surprise landing was a great encouragement to the French, but a great discouragement to the British seeing as they were heavily outnumbered. The Governor Arthur Hodge, formed their defenders into three

platoon A platoon is a military unit typically composed of two or more squads, sections, or patrols. Platoon organization varies depending on the country and the branch, but a platoon can be composed of 50 people, although specific platoons may range ...

s, and posted them in a very narrow path behind well hidden breast-works by which the French were to pass. The first of which would contain twenty-two men of regulars, commanded by Captain Richardson. In effect the French were advancing into carefully placed ambush. These engaged the French, firing by platoons regularly, and with a good accuracy, they took a heavy toll on the attackers. Within a few minutes the advance guard broke rank and soon fled. Within fifteen minutes the other sections repeated the same fate holding their ground as the rest of the French advanced and they too also retreated. The British then launched a counterattack pursuing the retreating French as they headed back towards their boats in the bay. The retreat turned into a rout as the panicked French tried to get into their boats. The French ships opened up fire on the British who halted their pursuit and then rounded up the prisoners. Many of the French attackers drowned as they tried to get to their boats. The small British force expected a fresh attack the next day but the French encountering heavy resistance decided not to push on and thus withdrew to Martinique.

Aftermath

In this action at least 100 French were killed, drowned or wounded while another 50 were taken prisoner. The British buried 35 dead, and were in search of the few remaining French soldiers some who hid in the bushes including a few who were wounded. Among the dead were the second captain of Commodore Le Touché, the first lieutenant of the second warship; Captain Rolough from a privateer; the Governor of

Saint Barthélemy Saint Barthélemy (french: Saint-Barthélemy, ), officially the Collectivité territoriale de Saint-Barthélemy, is an overseas collectivity of France in the Caribbean. It is often abbreviated to St. Barth in French, and St. Barts in English ...

’s son, and several other officers. Touché set on shore a

flag of truce White flags have had different meanings throughout history and depending on the locale. Contemporary use The white flag is an internationally recognized protective sign of truce or ceasefire, and for negotiation. It is also used to symboliz ...

to ask for prisoners back in exchange for articles such as food, wine and stores. Touché was wounded in his arm and thigh. The British force had suffered seven casualties but had captured two French colours, many firearms, cartouch boxes,

hand grenade A grenade is an explosive weapon typically thrown by hand (also called hand grenade), but can also refer to a shell (explosive projectile) shot from the muzzle of a rifle (as a rifle grenade) or a grenade launcher. A modern hand grenade genera ...

s and

swivel gun The term swivel gun (or simply swivel) usually refers to a small cannon, mounted on a swiveling stand or fork which allows a very wide arc of movement. Another type of firearm referred to as a swivel gun was an early flintlock combination gun wi ...

s. According to the governor, the spoils were given to

black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...

population of the island as a reward for their assistance in the defence of the island.

References

;Bibliography * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Anguilla, Battle of Conflicts in 1745 1745 in the Caribbean 1745 in the British Empire Battles of the War of the Austrian Succession History of Anguilla Military history of the Caribbean Naval battles involving France Naval battles involving Great Britain