as a surprise, and possesses no special military interest; but it
is instructive to observe that Great Britain was unprepared, in the
West Indies as elsewhere, when the war began. A change had been made
shortly before in the command of the Leeward Islands Station, as it
was called, which extended from Antigua southward over the Lesser
Antilles with headquarters at Barbados. Rear-Admiral the Hon. Samuel
Barrington, the new-comer, leaving home before war had been declared,
had orders not to quit Barbados till further instructions should
arrive. These had not reached him when he learned of the loss of
Dominica. The French had received their orders on the 17th of August.
The blow was intrinsically somewhat serious, so far as the mere
capture of a position can be, because the fortifications were strong,
though they had been inadequately garrisoned. It is a mistake to build
works and not man them, for their fall transfers to the enemy strength
which he otherwise would need time to create. To the French the
conquest was useful beyond its commercial value, because it closed a
gap in their possessions. They now held four consecutive islands, from
north to south, Guadeloupe, Dominica, Martinique, and Santa Lucia.

Barrington had two ships of the line: his flagship, the _Prince of
Wales_, 74, and the _Boyne_, 70. If he had been cruising, these would
probably have deterred the French. Upon receiving the news he put
to sea, going as far as Antigua; but he did not venture to stay away
because his expected instructions had not come yet, and, like Keppel,
he feared an ungenerous construction of his actions. He therefore
remained in Barbados, patiently watching for an opportunity to act.

The departure of Howe and the approach of winter determined the
transference of British troops and ships from the continent to the
Leeward Islands. Reinforcements had given the British fleet in America
a numerical superiority, which for the time imposed a check upon
d'Estaing; but Byron, proverbially unlucky in weather, was driven
crippled to Newport, leaving the French free to quit Boston. The
difficulty of provisioning so large a force as twelve ships of the
line at first threatened to prevent the withdrawal, supplies being
then extremely scarce in the port; but at the critical moment American
privateers brought in large numbers of prizes, laden with provisions
from Europe for the British army. Thus d'Estaing was enabled to sail
for Martinique on th