Local History

A brief moment – one encounter from the 200 year series

Military prowess or sly maneuvers, either way you look at Barrington won the day and the island in 1778

Following one of those brief moments of peace within the history of St Lucia, one must bear in mind that the island did change hands fourteen times between the French and the British over a 200 year colonial period, Admiral Rodney by a series of letters to the King’s ministers impressed upon the government the necessity of possessing St Lucia during times when the British were engaged in war with the French, which was more frequent than not. Thus towards the end of the year 1778 the government issued orders to Sir Henry Clinton to “send a reinforcement to the British commanders in the West Indies, to be employed in the conquest of St Lucia.” Thus was Admiral Barrington joined with such reinforcements and assigned the task of taking the island from the, after fifteen years of prosperity, well ensconced French.

The Deputy Governor, the Chevalier de Micoud, hence awoke to find at his doorstep a landed contingency just north of Cul de Sac Bay and a fleet steadfastly positioned in the bay. Weakly defended, de Micoud dispatched a boat to Martinique and then fled to a more central location at Paix Bouche seven miles north and east of Castries. French Admiral, Count d’Estaing upon receiving de Micoud’s messenger immediately set sail across the twenty-mile channel. However, arriving late in the day, he delayed his landing until morning. Unfortunately as he attempted to enter the Castries harbor the following day, he discovered that the British had repositioned during the night and now held the Vigie Peninsula at the north of the harbor. He was repulsed again in an attempt to land at Cul de Sac and decided to concentrate his efforts on the British stationed at Vigie. Ah, alas their attempts to storm the land were also repulsed once, twice and thrice again.

D’Estaing was so disheartened despite his superior numbers that he returned to the safety of Martinique, abandoning de Micoud to his only course—surrender. And, this fairly well summarizes the official account. However, folklore adds a bit of a twist to the tale: Upon arrival to St Lucian waters Count d’Estaing gave a very valiant chase to the British under Admiral Barrington. In a panicked maneuver, Barrington ducked into Marigot Bay and being familiar with the topography of the area, he knew that Marigot was indeed a double bay. He hid in the inner bay, behind the sandbar that practically divides the bay in two. To further his concealment, he tied coconut palms to his masts. Count d’Estaing, being less knowledgeable of the St Lucian terrain only noted a bay lined with a sandy beach backed by a forest of coconut trees. He simply sailed by, thus allowing the sly Barrington the opportunity to return to Castries and occupy the Vigie point. Either story leaves d’Estaing in a sad position and the British in charge once again of St. Lucia. Admiral Rodney arrived shortly after this time and established his fort at Pigeon Island, which a few years later played a crucial role in the “Battle of the Saints”, considered to be the most important naval encounter in Caribbean history. But, that is a story for another day.