ly watered and ill fortified, having refused to
submit when summoned by the squadron to surrender, general Barrington
resolved to reduce them by force. He embarked a body of troops on board
of transports, which sailed thither under convoy of three ships of war
and two bomb vessels from Prince Rupert's Bay, and at their appearance
the islanders submitting, received an English garrison. Before this
period, commodore Moore having received intelligence that M. de Bompart
had sailed from Martinique, with a design to land a reinforcement on
Guadaloupe, and that his squadron was seen seven leagues to windward of
Marigalante, he sailed from Prince Rupert's Bay, and turned to windward.
After having been beating about for five days to very little purpose,
he received notice from one of his cruisers, that the French admiral had
returned to Martinique; upon which information he retired quietly to
his former station in the bay of Dominique, the people of which were so
insolent as to affirm, in derision, that the English squadron sailed on
one side of the island, and the French upon the other, that they
might be sure of not meeting; but this, without doubt, was an impudent
calumny.*

* The commodore declared that he carried a press-sail night
and day, in order to come up with the French squadron, and
took every step that could be devised for that purpose. He
says, if he had pursued any other course, the French
commander might have run into the road of St. Kitt's, and
destroyed or taken a great number of merchant ships which
were then loading with sugar for England. He says he tried
every stratagem he could contrive for bringing M. de Bompart
to action. He even sent away part of his squadron out of
sight of the inhabitants of Dominique, that they might
represent to their friends at Martinique his force much
inferior to what it really was; but this expedient had no
effect upon M. de Bompart, who made the best of his way to
Cape Francois, on the island of Hispaniols.

General Barrington, having happily finished the conquest of Guadaloupe,
gave notice to the commodore, that he intended to send back part of the
troops with the transports to England, about the beginning of July. In
consequence of this intimation, Mr. Moore sailed with his squadron to
Basseterre road, where he was next day joined by two ships of the line
from England, which rendered him greatly superior