Dead Reckoning (20 page)

At about three that afternoon there came the renewed sound
of musketry which died away in half an hour. There were single shots after that at long intervals but the firing had died away by nightfall. Delancey saw nothing of the skirmish but had a full report from Northmore when the boats returned.

“The French attacked soon after three and we glimpsed some men on horseback—probably dragoons, armed with muskets. They failed, however, to press home their attack. After a further skirmish, in which two of our men were slightly wounded, the French withdrew again. Captain Stenning then sent out patrols. They reported, on their return, that they had seen camp-fires in the distance, indicating the arrival of troops in force. We embarked after that but without any further contact with the enemy.”

“Thank you, Mr Northmore. What is your interpretation, Captain Stenning, of the French tactics on this occasion?”

“Well, sir, General Decaen would seem to have some cavalry, perhaps no more than a troop. When he heard of our landing he sent some senior officer, with a few cavalrymen, to take command of the National Guard and gunners that were already on the spot. This officer, probably a Colonel, spurred them into action, his dragoons setting the example, but little came of his efforts. He was followed by a column of infantry but that failed to arrive before nightfall. The camp-fires our patrols sighted were lit by their troops forming the vanguard, their main body being far to the rear.”

“Thank you for a skilful operation in which we have discovered all that we wanted to know at a cost of four men wounded, all likely to recover. Well done!”

When the
Laura
rejoined the squadron off Port Louis, Delancey was able to report the success of his mission.

“The best place for our troops to land would be Mapou Bay,
in my opinion, immediately opposite the Gunner's Quoin, where there would be room for two battalions to land at the same time. The total force needed should not exceed two thousand five hundred men. The initial resistance would be small but French cavalry patrols might be expected to appear in about eight hours. French infantry would not be present in any strength until daybreak of the second day. We need not concern ourselves with the French National Guard, the military qualities of which are negligible.”

“Thank you, Captain Delancey, for an admirable report, concise and to the point. Have you anything further to add?”

“I shall report in writing, sir, on our landing at La Rivière Noire, commending the behaviour of all concerned. May I add my private opinion that General Decaen will capitulate as soon as we give him a reasonable pretext?”

“Why are you so sure?”

“Because he has been in exile here. All his contemporaries have been winning glory in Europe, becoming Barons or Dukes of the Empire. He will want his share, only to be gained after a creditable capitulation to superior forces.”

“From what I hear, the army he will have to face will be superior enough. Other estimates of the force needed are widely different from yours! That, however, need not concern us. Our task, is merely to put them on shore.”

It was not a task to be undertaken in 1809. Lord Minto's approach to the conquest of Mauritius was nothing if not cautious. The plan initially agreed was for the conquest of Bourbon, and the orders for that were not issued until March 1810. The blockade of the French islands continued in the meanwhile, the monotony relieved only by a raid on Bourbon in September; a raid in which the
Laura
played no part, having been left to cruise
off Port Louis. When the hurricane season approached Commodore Rowley withdrew to the Cape with his whole squadron. He knew by then that the invasion of the French islands was to take place in 1810. Amidst all the other preparations he ordered a survey on the
Laura,
supposing that she might have to be sent home. It was decided, however, that she was good for another season of blockade duty but would probably have to be broken up at the end of the year. That would not mean the end of Delancey's service in the Indian Ocean, he was assured; he and his crew would be transferred, no doubt, to another frigate. His services had been extremely valuable, he was told, and he was much too good a man to lose.

My dearest Fiona—We have had Christmas at the Cape and I think myself that we had earned it. First, we have occupied the little island of Rodriguez, which offers little but water and is occupied by two French families which are not on speaking terms with each other or with us. It is at Rodriguez that we mean to assemble our armada for the conquest of the French islands. A large army is to be embarked in India but even this impressive force is ordered to move cautiously, conquering Bourbon first, which is very poorly defended, and then going on to invade Mauritius itself.

You will rightly guess that I am to play the central role in the coming drama. In point of fact, my vital contribution is already made. I told the Commodore where to land, at the right distance from Port Louis, the island's capital. I then made a little raid—but I described it, I think, in a previous letter—at a place about the same distance from Port Louis but in the
opposite direction
(so as to avoid drawing attention to the actual landing place—what think you of that for cunning?). I was thus able to give the Commodore a good idea of the time it would take the French to arrive on the scene. I also told him that we need not
worry about the French National Guard (or Militia), the members of which, as we had found, would run away if we said, “Boo!” to them. I told him, finally, that the force required is about a quarter of what is now assigned to the task.

Having done all this, I expected to be sent home and given a peerage. At the least, I supposed that I should lead the invasion fleet to the chosen beach. But there is no such gratitude in the world. I was told, kindly but firmly, that the beach must be surveyed by experts in cartography and that the actual landing will be planned by specialists in conjunct warfare, the key men to be sent from England. In actual fact, the Commodore thanked me very nicely and seems to think well of me. You must remember meeting him at Portsmouth—Josias Rowley of the
Raisonable.

In reading my last letter you may have wondered what the French men-of-war were doing while I was ashore on their territory, chasing off their militiamen and admiring the wild flowers. Well, they had dwindled at that time to nearly nothing. Recently, however, the Emperor (or Boney) has reinforced his squadron at Mauritius with four frigates of the largest class. These form the Division Hamelin, the
Venus
(44), the
Manche,
the
Bellone,
and
Caroline
(all of 40 guns). The arrival of Commodore Hamelin has changed the situation overnight, his frigates being more than a match for most of ours. Our 38-gun frigates are outgunned by the
Venus,
if not by the others, and as for the poor old
Laura,
any one of these French monsters could have her for breakfast.

In times past the directors of the East India Company
have assumed, happily, that an East Indiaman—or anyway a group of them—could stand up to a frigate. In point of fact, moreover, few regular Indiamen have been taken in previous years. In 1809, by contrast, no fewer than four have been captured. This gives the French something to celebrate but it might have paid them better to restrain their ardour, for these losses have changed the whole atmosphere at Calcutta. Hearing of mere country ships lost—vessels belonging to shipowners in India—the Governor-General merely said “Dear me! How tiresome!” But the loss of actual East Indiamen is something entirely different. Bugles have sounded, drums have rolled, and swords have been drawn. Cannon are being dragged to the quayside and horses are being embarked. This time the French at Mauritius have gone too far! Such is the wrath of Lord Minto that thousands are being sent to do what hundreds could do as well!

With all this military activity I could wish that we were comparably strong at sea. The
Raisonable,
needing refit, is to follow the
Leopard
home and I cannot see that we have the superiority we ought to have in the waters round Mauritius.

The end, however, for the French is near, and I shall be unlucky indeed if I am not with you before the end of the year. You must expect to see me older, more weatherbeaten, more easily tired, less easily pleased. Am I wiser, too? As a youngster, I believed that a senior captain must possess all the wisdom of the ages. Being now senior myself I know that this is false. I have learnt caution, perhaps, and I know what to do in a whole range of everyday situations, but wisdom—no, that I dare not claim. I am wise only in having found the perfect wife and in wanting no other lover
while life lasts. So do please believe that I still remain, as ever,

Your most affectionate husband,

Richard Delancey

Delancey had hardly finished this letter before he was summoned on board the frigate
Boadicea
(38) and told what part he was to play in the forthcoming invasion.

“You are to understand, Delancey,” said the Commodore, “that the plan is to invade Bourbon first and use that as base for the attack on Mauritius. After Bourbon has fallen it is my present intention to leave you there for a time; depriving you, I fear, of the distinction you might gain in our further operations. I shall do this for three reasons. First, the
Laura
is no match for any of the French ships. Second, whoever acts as governor of Bourbon will need a man-of-war to deal with any French merchantman bound for the island and unaware of its capture. Third, your knowledge of French will enable you to gain information in Bourbon which will be of service to us in the invasion of Mauritius. I am sorry to give you what may seem an unheroic task, but I do not regard your role as unimportant.”

“Very good, sir. I assume that the resistance to be expected at Bourbon will be rather slight?”

“Well, the population amounts to fifty-six thousand but only eight thousand of these are white or of mixed descent. Slaves number forty-eight thousand but the French would never dare arm more than a handful of them. So last year's raid met with little opposition and I expect the garrison to capitulate soon after we land. I don't foresee having to storm St Denis with bombardment and bloodshed.”

“May I ask, sir, where we are to land?”

“We shall land at two places, one at Grande Chaloupe near St Paul, six miles from St Denis, the other at La Rivière des Pluies, a few miles in the other direction. Bourbon has no harbour, unfortunately, and one has to anchor in the roadstead and land over the open beach.”

After some further discussion, Delancey went back to his own ship and began to study the chart. Bourbon, he knew, is about eighty miles from Mauritius, being visible on a clear day. Were the two islands, he wondered, within signalling distance? Bourbon is oval-shaped with St Denis at the north. There is a coastal strip of flat ground and then, inland, the hills rise sharply, the centre of the island being mountainous, culminating in Le Piton des Neiges, over ten thousand feet high and usually covered with snow. He had seen the place from a distance only, thinking it picturesque but of little value without a harbour. It had been formed by volcanoes, he knew, and one of them, towards the east coast, was said to be still active. Sugar was grown there but the place depended on Madagascar for some of its food supply.

He thought of the novel
Paul et Virginie,
describing a sort of earthly paradise or garden of Eden, but then remembered that the setting for this was Mauritius, not Bourbon. He hoped, however, to explore both islands after they had been conquered. That done, he hoped for orders that would send him home. He had served foreign for what seemed like a lifetime.

The conquest of Bourbon was actually a rather tame affair. Rowley's squadron, the
Laura
included, was joined by the troopships at a rendezvous fifty miles to windward of Bourbon.

The landings took place as planned, with few casualties, on July 7th and the French capitulated on the 9th. Delancey helped to cover the landing at Grande Chaloupe and then sailed with other ships to take possession of the French merchantmen at
anchor in La Baie de St Paul. The prizes were all secured by the evening of the 9th and dropped anchor near the
Sirius
and
Laura.
The prize-money would have to be shared with the squadron as a whole but two of the captured vessels were valuable and Delancey, by way of celebration, asked his officers to join him for supper. They had hardly filled their glasses before they heard some confused shouting on deck, followed at once by a grinding crash and shock. On deck in a matter of seconds, Delancey found that a three-masted schooner, one of the prizes, had collided with the
Laura,
carrying away her bowsprit and foretopmast. After an hour of frantic work in the dark the officers reassembled at their interrupted meal.