Lying some 40 miles north of the Venezuelan coast, the
Caribbean island of Curaçao is
today a separate country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It was first
colonised by the Dutch in the mid-17th Century and was to have major
strategic importance thereafter sine it contains one of the most enclosed, and
easily defended harbours in the world. This is the Saint Anna Bay, on which the
island’s capital, Willemstad, is located. The bay is approached through a
mile-long channel that is nowhere wider than some 300 yards. In the colonial era this approach was easily
defensible by flanking forts, thereby making the island a secure base for Dutch
naval forces in the Caribbean.
From 1795 to
1813 the Netherlands were dominated by the French, until 1806 as the so-called
Batavian Republic, and thereafter as the “Kingdom of Holland” with the Emperor
Napoleon’s brother Louis (father of the future Emperor Napoleon III) as king. French
rule was by no means unpopular with large portions of the population and Dutch
troops, and the Dutch Navy, fought in support of the French. Most notable of
such actions was the defeat of the Dutch Fleet by Britain’s Royal Navy at
Camperdown in 1797 and the fact that some
14,000 Dutch troops marched in Napoleon’s Grande
Armée in the 1812 invasion of Russia. Major British campaigns were launched
against Dutch possessions in the East Indies and Dutch naval bases in the Caribbean,
such as Curaçao were havens for French as well as Dutch naval forces.
 |
| 1836 Map of Curaçao - inset at top right is map of St. Anna Bay and of the channel leading to it. |
Considering its importance, and despite its strong defences,
Curaçao was to be captured by Britain with almost ludicrous ease. In late 1806 –
a period when French naval power was in decline – word reached the Royal Navy’s
commander-in-chief on the Jamaica station, Vice-Admiral Dacres, that there was support
from some citizens on Curaçao for throwing off French allegiance. Dacres
accordingly despatched a task force consisting of the frigates HMS Arethusa, (commanded by Captain Charles
Brisbane) and HMS Latona (Captain
Wood), together with HMS Anson (Captain
Charles Lydiard), originally a 64-gun “third rate” but later cut down to frigate
dimensions. Another frigate, HMS Fisgard
(Captain Bolton), which had been captured from the French in 1797, joined the others
close to Curaçao.
 |
| An earlier exploit of Arethusa and Anson - capturing the Spanish frigate Pomona off Havana in 1806 (painting by Thomas Whitcombe (1760- 1824) |
Brisbane, leading the British force, suspected that neither the
island’s governor, nor the garrisons of its forts, might not be as eager as the
parties who had contacted Dacres to break the French connection. Rather than
enter into diplomatic negotiations, which could be strung out over a long
period, thereby allowing defences to be strengthened, he revolved to launch an immediate
attack that would rely heavily on surprise. His objective was to drive directly
past the gun batteries at the mouth of the access channel and into the bay of
St. Anne. Once there the guns of his ships could threaten the town of
Willemstad and provide a powerful inducement to the authorities there to surrender.
Success depended on two factors – firstly an appearance so sudden that the four
frigates would be past the shore defences before their crews had time to man
them effectively and, secondly, wind conditions that would allow the ships to
drive straight up the narrow channel and into the bay beyond.
 |
| Brisbane |
On the last day of December 1806 Fortune was to favour
Brisbane as regards both these requirements. A favourable wind arose which
would be ideal for his purpose, and celebrations of the New Year, quite probably
involving much alcohol, were likely to lead to a collective and temporary relaxation
of Dutch watchfulness. The defences were powerful – Fort Amsterdam, a two-tier masonry structure
on the right of the channel mounted 60 guns and opposite lay a chain of
batteries anchored at the end by the formidable Fort République. Together, these two fortresses would be
capable of shredding Brisbane’s force
and he might well have recalled Nelson’s uncomfortable dictum that “A ship’s a fool to fight a fort”.
 |
| Lydiard |
At dawn on January 1st 1807 – by which time many
of the defenders might be nursing hangovers – Brisbane’s force drove for the channel
under a flag of truce, with HMS Arethusa
leading the other three frigates. Strong parties had been mustered on all of them
for boarding and landing duties. The
Dutch, surprised, opened a hot but ineffectual fire but the British ships drove
into the port. Here they found a 36-gun frigate Halstaar, a 20-gun corvette Suriname,
and two large armed schooners. Brisbane brought Arethusa so close inshore that her jib-boom projected over the wall
of Willemstad. He now sent a summons to
the governor, to the effect that the British squadron had come to protect, not
to conquer the inhabitants, but that if a shot was fired, he should immediately
storm the batteries. The governor was given five minutes to make up his mind and
when none was received Brisbane ordered fire to be opened on the Dutch ships.
Three broadsides sufficed to allow Arethusa
to take the Halstaar and for the Anson to capture Suriname. Assault
parties were now landed to attack Fort Amsterdam, some smashing a gate open with
crowbars while more escalated the walls. Resistance ceased after ten minutes. Storming
of the town’s citadel and several outlying batteries went just as quickly and as
successfully. Only Fort République now remained and was still strong enough to smash
the British ships. Faced however by an assault party of 300 seamen and marines,
the Dutch commander lost his nerve and surrendered without further resistance. By
1000 hrs all fortifications had surrendered and by midday a capitulation of the
entire island was formalised.
The cost of this remarkable victory was low – three British
killed and fourteen wounded, as compared with over 200 Dutch casualties both
ashore and afloat. (When mention is made of “wounded” however it should be
noted that gangrene was often to cause deaths later, and that in many cases the
only way to avoid it was by amputation of a limb. However small the numbers,
casualties were never “low” for victims and their families).
Brisbane was deservedly knighted for his victory and was to
see little further service. Much of his later life was spent as governor of the
Caribbean island of St. Vincent, where he was to die, aged 60, in 1829.
 |
| Contemporary impression of the loss of HMS Anson , December 1807 |
A sadder fate awaited Captain Charles Lydiard who
returned to Britain in the Anson later
in 1807. After refitting, the Anson
was allocated to blockade duty off the coast of Brittany. On December 28th,
less than a year after his exploits at Curaçao, Lydiard and the Anson were caught in a gale on a lee
shore off Cornwall. The ship still carried the heavy spars from her days as a
third-rate, and she rolled excessively. Anchors
were run out but the cables parted the following day and Lydiard attempted to
run the vessel on to a beach to save lives. The surf was too furious to allow launching
of boats from the ship and the survivors managed to reach the shore only by clambering
along the fallen main-mast. Throughout this crisis Lydiard remained on deck to
supervise the evacuation. He was at last washed away and drowned while
attempting to save a ship’s boy – an end as heroic as his life itself.
No comments:
Post a Comment