Chapter 635: Guerrilla Tactics
After the Jamaica Committee—a military force deployed by the local council—was defeated by Jamaica's abolitionist rebels, the insurgents effectively encircled the capital, Kingston. Governor Cumberland urgently sent a request for reinforcements to Britain.
Given Jamaica's immense economic value, Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger wasted no time in dispatching an expeditionary force.
General Brand stepped off the ship onto the pier, turning to watch soldiers disembarking from the transport ship Little Grey Elephant. He shouted:
"Move faster, you useless lot! Every minute we waste here is another plantation burned to the ground by those black devils!"
Taking the reins from his aide, Brand ordered his staff officer:
"Send out scouts immediately to locate the black rebel forces. Also, get in touch with Lord Cumberland and tell him to prepare a victory banquet for the troops."
It wasn't arrogance—Brand's forces included elite regiments like the 2nd Grenadier Guards, the King's Own Infantry, and the 1st and 2nd Carbineer Dragoons.
According to reports from the Jamaica Committee, the island's "Mulatto Army"—the mixed-race rebels—numbered fewer than 1,000 and were poorly trained. The black army, though larger at 3,000 men, consisted mostly of plantation slaves who had only recently learned to fire a musket.
With his 4,000 seasoned soldiers, Brand believed crushing these rebels would be an easy task.
Time was of the essence, though, as he had orders to pacify the entire Caribbean within three months. After Jamaica, his next target was the Bahamas, where a slave revolt had also erupted late last year.
Mounting his horse, Brand instructed his staff:
"Set up camp north of Kingston. Summon all officers ranked major and above to my tent for a meeting."
He cracked his whip and began strategizing how to suppress the uprisings across the Caribbean. Prime Minister Pitt had promised that upon his victorious return to London, Brand would be promoted to lieutenant general and nominated for deputy secretary of war.
A competent commander, Brand quickly identified the rebels' deployments and crafted a comprehensive battle plan within three days of landing.
On the fourth morning, Brand launched a full-scale assault on the abolitionist forces.
The Rebels Retreat
Major Auriole, leading the rebel forces, had only just learned of the British landing behind his position. The lack of horses among the rebels—a few of which had been left behind by the French expeditionary forces—made reconnaissance nearly impossible.
Forced to abandon their nearly successful siege of Kingston, Auriole scrambled to organize a defense.
However, his black soldiers could barely execute coordinated volleys, let alone stand up to the elite British regiments. Within half an hour of the first cannon firing, Auriole's aides reported that the front lines had collapsed.
Realizing he was facing not local militia but British expeditionary forces, Auriole made a swift decision. He ordered the 1st and 2nd infantry battalions to stall the British advance while smaller units set fire to plantations around Kingston, creating chaos. He then led the rest of his forces northwest, toward the Blue Mountains.
Unfortunately, Brand had anticipated every move Auriole might make. From the beginning, he had camped to the north of Kingston, cutting off the rebels' retreat route.
Auriole's forces suffered heavy losses as they attempted to escape. By the time they reached the cover of the Blue Mountains, only 800 of his men remained.
Regrouping in the Blue Mountains
Auriole pressed on, seeking refuge with the Maroons—communities of escaped slaves and indigenous peoples who had formed settlements in the mountains. The Maroons, long hostile to British colonists, had allied with the abolitionist forces early in the rebellion.
The Maroons provided Auriole's men with food and water. That evening, standing on a tree stump, Auriole rallied his officers:
"A single defeat means nothing. The British will leave this island in no more than a month!
"Dozens of plantations hold hundreds of thousands of slaves yearning for freedom. They will join our ranks and strike the British again!
"Meanwhile, supplies will flow in from Saint-Domingue. With renewed strength and better arms, victory will be ours!"
For the next three weeks, Auriole and his forces evaded British pursuit in the Blue Mountain jungles, surviving on bananas, mangoes, and occasional provisions from Maroon settlements.
Finally, after weeks of fruitless chasing, the British abruptly withdrew from the mountains.
The British Shift Focus
Brand, frustrated and seething, instructed Major Katenholt of the Jamaica Committee on how to guard against future uprisings. He then led his expeditionary force back onto transport ships bound for the Bahamas.
Just four days after defeating Auriole, Brand received word that Nassau, the capital of the Bahamas, was under siege by black insurgents. The local governor's frantic pleas for aid left Brand no choice but to redirect his forces.
A Clever Strategy
Unbeknownst to Brand, this was all part of a strategy devised by Joseph for supporting the abolitionist movement in Saint-Domingue.
Through the "Special Trade Association," clandestine communications and supplies were funneled to abolitionist forces across the Caribbean, forming a network of mutual support among rebels in Jamaica, the Bahamas, Dominica, and Barbados.
The tactic was simple: whenever British forces landed in one area, the local rebels would retreat and lie low while uprisings erupted elsewhere. Once the British moved to counter the new threat, the previously subdued rebels would regroup and resume their activities.
This strategy worked because the black population in the Caribbean far outnumbered the colonists. As long as the rebel leaders remained alive, they could always recruit more fighters from the plantations.
Saint-Domingue served as the logistical hub for the abolitionist forces. The French expeditionary army frequently "lost" battles, leaving behind weapons and ammunition for Auriole's forces, who redistributed them to rebel factions across the Caribbean.
Smuggling operations handled transportation, with small, agile vessels adept at evading British patrols.
Joseph's plan was working. While British forces dashed back and forth across the Caribbean, the fires of rebellion continued to spread.
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