confifting of 450 feamen and marines, under their proper officers, covered on each flank by a company of pioneers, with 20 feamen armed with cutlaffes, who carried the fcaling-ladders, and fupported by three companies of feamen, as many marines, with two field pieces, who formed the reserve, advanced at day-break, on the eleventh of January, to the affault. A fmall advanced party, under a ferjeant, who might be confidered as the forlorn hope, having made their way through the embrafures without discovery, were inftantly followed by the whole ftorming party; who foon driving the enemy from their works, poffeffed themselves of the fort, and procured the immediate furrender of the fhips and vefiels in the harbour.

The humanity of the victors equalled, and was ftill more praifeworthy than even their gallantry. Notwithstanding the fall of a brave and favourite officer with 20 of their fellows, befides two officers, and double that number wounded; and notwithstanding the heat and fury of a ftorm, when difcipline, refpect, and command are at an end, yet, under these circumftances, the feamen and marines difdained to

ftain their swords in the blood of a flying or proftrate enemy.Through this unexampled magnanimity and clemency, very few of the garrifon loft their lives.

A numerous artillery, a confiderable number of fmall arms, a valuable stock of gun-powder, with a great quantity of fhot, and of various ordnance and military ftores, were found in the place. In the harbour, two fhips richly laden, with a number of smaller veffels, were taken. The number of European military prifoners amounted to fomething near four hundred; a few Malay officers were likewife taken; but we do not hear of any native troops they commanded. The admiral greatly regretted the lofs of Mr. Long, a young gentleman of the greatest worth, and his own fecond lieutenant in the Superbe, who fell at the head of his company which he was gallantly leading to the affault. He fays that too much praife could not be bestowed on the conduct of the naval and marine officers; but he particularly acknowledges the eminent fervices performed, and the great abilities difplayed, both here and at Negapatam, by Major Geils, an engineer in the Company's fervice.

CHAP:

and probably the framer of this enterprize. The perfonal objects he had in view were fufficiently encouraging, while his military ardour and natural ambition were in themselves capable of urging him to the most hazardous attempts. The rank of general, the order of St. Louis, and the government of Jerfey, were to be the fplendid rewards of his fuccefs. Such powerful ftimulants operating upon a temper naturally fiery and bold, were liable to generate precipitation. The Chevalier de Luxemburgh, who was his partner in the defign, and intended to be his fecond in the execution, was, through fickness or fome other caufe, detained from taking any part in the enterprize.

Rullecourt's force for this expedition amounted to about 2000 men, and was compofed of the volunteers of Luxemburgh, and of detachments from other neighbouring corps. Having collected a fufficient number of veffels for their conveyance, and fome privateers for their protection at Granville on the coaft of Normandy, his impatience was fo great, that without regard to the bad weather which then prevailed, he embarked the troops and put to fea.

The immediate confequence of this precipitation, was the difperfion of his fleet of fmall veffels in a ftorm, by which ten of them, with about half the troops, were driven back to France, and never after joined him; whilft he, totally ignorant of their fate, with the remainder put in for fhelter to a cluster of fmall islands and rocks called Chaufey or Choze, which lie between the French coaft and Jerfey. He was ftill too eager in VOL. XXV.

the purfuit of the high rewards in view to be deterred by this misfortune; and forgetting the rough enemy he had to encounter, entertained no other apprehenfion than that of being driven back to his own ccaft. He accordingly feized the firft opening of fair weather for paffing over to Jerfey; and having made his way with difficulty, but with very good information, through the rocks of La Roque-Platte, arrived in the night. in Grouville Bay, where he landed his troops in the dark at a place called the Violet Bank, about three miles from St. Helier, the capital of the island. The coaft was, however, fo dangerous, that a privateer with four other fmall veffels were loft among the rocks, and about 200 of his men perifhed. A fmall party of militia who guarded a redoubt at this place, thought themselves fo fecure, and were fo fhamefully remifs in their duty as to be feized afleep by the enemy, who were thus for feveral hours upon the island without the fmalleft alarm being given.

1781.

M. de Rullecourt leaving about 120 men in the redoubt at Grouville, marched with the rest of his troops to St. Helier, where (having feized Jan. 6th, the avenues of the town, furprifed the guard in the dark, and poffeffed the marketplace without noife) the inhabitants were aftonifhed at break of day on finding themselves in the hands of an enemy. Major Corbet, the deputy-governor, with the magiftracy and principal inhabitants, being brought prifoners to the court - houfe, the French commander wrote terms of capitulation, which he propofed to the [G]

former

former to fign, by which the island was to be furrendered to the arms of France, and the troops to lay down their arms and be tranfmitted to England. To urge an acquiefcence in this meafure on which all his hopes depended, he greatly magnified his force, pretending that about 5000 of his troops were landed and difperfed in different parts of the ifland, fo that all refiftance was at an end; and at the fame time held out the barbarous threat of inftant destruction to the town and inhabitants in cafe of refufal. It was in vain remonftrated that no act of the lieutenant-governor's could have the fmalleft validity in his prefent fituation, and that the officers and troops were too well informed of their duty to pay any regard to his acts while a prifoner. Rullecourt was peremptory in his demand; and the lieutenant-governor, under the impreflions of the moment, too inadvertently figned the capitulation.

The French commander then fummoned Elizabeth Caftle under the terms of the capitulation, which was preferved by the inftant recollection and the unthaken fortitude of the Captains Aylward and Mulcafter, who had fortunately escaped thither on the first alarm; and being now in fome degree prepared against a fudden attack, rejected the fummons with great fpirit, and peremptorily refufed to pay the fmalleft regard to the capitulation, or to any orders whatever extorted from or iffued by the lieutenant-governor in his prefent circumftances. The French placing Major Corbet in their front, ftill continued to advance towards the gate, notwithstanding

exprefs warning to the contrary; but they were fired at with fuch vigour from the castle, that they foon found it necessary to make the beft of their way back for shelter to the town.

In the mean time, as the alarm extended the nearest troops and the militia of the ifland advanced with the utmost expedition towards the point of danger, and began immediately to form on the heights near the town, under the conduct of Major Pierfon of the 95th regiment, who inftantly fecured a hill of great advantage, the poffeffion of which had been overlooked by the enemy. The French commander then fent a meflage to Major Pierfon, to require his compliance with the terms of capitulation; but was peremptorily answered by that fpirited officer, that if he and his troops did not within twenty minutes lay down their arms, and furrender themfelves prifoners of war, they were at the expiration of that time to be certain of his immediate attack.

his

Pierfon was punctual to word, and made a very mafterly difpofition of his forces. As he was informed that the enemy had applied the town artillery to their defence, the two columns destined to the principal attacks were each preceded by a howitzer. The af faults were made in all acceffible parts with fuch impetuofity, that notwithstanding the advantage which the enemy derived from the poffeffion of the streets and houses, they were everywhere driven rapidly in upon the center of their force in the market-place. There the action was foon decided; for the French general being mortally

wounded,

The fatisfaction arifing from fo fudden a deliverance and fo brave an exertion, was unfortunately damped by the fall of the gallant Maj. Pierfon, who was fhot through the heart in the inftant of victory. The extraordinary military abilities difplayed by fo young an officer (he being under five-andtwenty years of age) in what was probably his firft effay ir arms, as they would have held out the higheft expectations to his country if he had furvived, could not but render his death an object of much general regret. By the island of Jerfey he was lamented as a hero, who had generously facrificed his life to their prefervation. The death of his uncle, Sir Richard Pierfon (an ancient general officer of repute) which happened immediately after, and was attributed only to that caufe, ferved to render the misfortune the more ftriking and melancholy.

The unfortunate Baron de Rullecourt perfevered in the fame extravagance of conduct to the laft, which had fo ftrongly marked his character. When the attack was commenced in the market-place, he feized the lieutenant-governor by the arm, and declaring that he fhould fhare his own fate, led him out of the court - houfe under a fhower of fire, where he was obliged to stand clofe by him, until he had himfelf dropped under the preffure of three or four mortal wounds, which deprived him of the power of fpeech, though

During the engagement at the town, the redoubt at Grouville was gallantly retaken with fixed bayonets and without firing a fhot, by the grenadiers of the 83d regiment, who were on their way to join the main body. Thus the whole of the French party that landed, amounting to fomething about 800 men, were either killed or taken prifoners. The British troops were new raised, and nothing could exceed the valour and good conduct displayed both by them and the militia through the whole affair. The ifland decreed monuments with fuitable infcriptions to the fallen enemy, as well as to their gallant deliverer; but the former no less intended to perpetuate the memory of the furprise, as a warning to future times against fimilar negligence.

Such was the iffue of the fecond attempt made by France in this war upon the island of Jersey.

The neceffity of the times had occafioned much too long a delay in the relief or fupply of the important fortrefs of Gibraltar. The unconfumed part of the provifion which had been conveyed to that place by Admiral Rodney's fleet in the beginning of the preceding year, had by this paffed its proper time of keeping, and befides its being generally bad in quality, was fo much reduced in quantity, as to afford room for the most ferious apprehenfions. So early as the preceding month of October, their wary and provident governor found it neceffary to make a reduction of a quarter of a pound [G] 2

from