Qualla: Invasion of Guadeloupe (1810)

Invasion of Guadeloupe (1810): Introduction

Wed, 11 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

By January 1810, Guadeloupe was the last French colony standing in the Americas. Every other foothold — Martinique, Cayenne, the Îles des Saintes — had fallen to British invasion forces during the previous year. The island's garrison was starving, riddled with disease, and watching its militia desert in droves. Napoleon's government had tried repeatedly to send supply ships across the Atlantic, but the Royal Navy's blockade intercepted nearly every one. When 6,700 British troops finally came ashore, the question was not whether Guadeloupe would fall, but how quickly.

Invasion of Guadeloupe (1810): Strangled by the Blockade

Wed, 11 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

The British strategy in the Caribbean during the Napoleonic Wars was methodical strangulation. Royal Navy squadrons patrolled the coasts of both France and its Caribbean colonies, intercepting communications, seizing trade vessels, and preventing reinforcement. For the French col...

Invasion of Guadeloupe (1810): The Dominoes Fall

Wed, 11 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Cayenne was the first to go, invaded and captured in early January 1809. Martinique followed later that month, falling after twenty-five days of fighting in the island's central highlands. Cochrane then dispatched ships to support the Spanish siege of Santo Domingo while maintain...

Invasion of Guadeloupe (1810): Nine Days to Surrender

Wed, 11 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Beckwith assembled his invasion force at Fort Royal, Martinique — 6,700 men drawn from West India Regiments, regular infantry battalions, garrison artillery, and militia units. The French defenders numbered between 3,000 and 4,000 on paper, but an epidemic had rendered much of th...

Invasion of Guadeloupe (1810): The Last French Flag in the Caribbean

Wed, 11 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

British casualties were remarkably light: 52 killed, 250 wounded, and seven missing. French losses were heavier — between 500 and 600 casualties across the campaign. Within weeks, the nearby Dutch colonies of Sint Maarten, Sint Eustatius, and Saba surrendered without a fight to s...