Qualla: Roquebert's Expedition to the Caribbean

Roquebert's Expedition to the Caribbean: Introduction

Wed, 11 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

By the autumn of 1809, Guadeloupe was the last French colony standing in the Caribbean. The Royal Navy had picked off the others one by one: Martinique in February, the outlying islands through spring and summer, a reinforcement squadron ambushed near the Iles des Saintes in April. British blockade ships intercepted everything coming to or from the island, strangling trade, starving the garrison, and cutting Guadeloupe off from the rest of the French Empire. Into this tightening noose, the French government sent Commodore Dominique Roquebert with four ships, two frigates and two supply flutes, carrying food and more than four hundred soldiers. It was a gamble. Within a week, both supply ships would be burning wrecks in a Guadeloupean cove, and Guadeloupe's last hope of reinforcement would be gone.

Roquebert's Expedition to the Caribbean: Four Ships From Nantes

Wed, 11 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

The expedition departed Nantes on November 15, 1809, carefully assembled after months of preparation. The two flutes, Loire under Lieutenant Joseph Normand-Kergre and Seine under Lieutenant Bernard Vincent, carried large quantities of food supplies and over two hundred military r...

Roquebert's Expedition to the Caribbean: The Fight With Junon

Wed, 11 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

On December 13, the French squadron encountered HMS Junon, a British frigate patrolling east of Antigua in the company of the 16-gun brig HMS Observateur. Junon's captain did not realize the size of the force bearing down on him until it was too late. As Renommee engaged from one...

Roquebert's Expedition to the Caribbean: Trapped at Anse la Barque

Wed, 11 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Roquebert made a fateful choice after destroying the crippled Junon. He delivered his two flutes to within sight of Guadeloupe and then turned his frigates toward France, leaving Loire and Seine to complete the final approach unescorted. Meanwhile, Observateur raced to the Britis...

Roquebert's Expedition to the Caribbean: Fire in the Bay

Wed, 11 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

On the morning of December 18, a French boat sailed out offering a truce. The British ignored it. HMS Sceptre, a 74-gun ship of the line, had arrived from Martinique under Captain Samuel James Ballard, and the assembled British force now vastly outgunned the two anchored flutes. ...

Roquebert's Expedition to the Caribbean: The Last Colony Falls

Wed, 11 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Roquebert's frigates, having abandoned the supply ships, turned north and nearly ran aground on a sandbar off Antigua while fleeing the British squadron they spotted in the distance. By throwing their guns and stores overboard, they lightened their ships enough to float free and ...