H.M.'s ships Raisonnable and Sirius; the naval force being commanded by Commodore Rowley of the former. That same day the seamen and troops destined for the attack, amounting to 604 men, were massed on board the Néréide, and towards evening the squadron stood for the Isle of Bourbon, off the eastern coast of which it arrived on the morning of the 20th. Colonel Keating, however, had resolved to attempt to carry St. Paul, the chief town on the western side, to secure the batteries there, and to force the surrender of the enemy's shipping in the port.
At five o'clock on the morning of the 21st the troops were disembarked to the south of Point de Galotte, seven miles from St. Paul. They were formed into three columns: the reserve, composed of eighty men of the Pompadours and eighty of the Royal Marines, under the command of Captain Forbes; the second column, consisting of the detail of the 2nd Battalion 2nd Bombay Native Infantry, under the command of Captain Imlack; the centre column formed of 100 sailors under Captain Willoughby, and of the remainder of the Pompadours and Marines, about 140 in number, under Captain Hanna.
Colonel Keating landed first with the reserve to cover the disembarkation of the other two columns. This having been effected, the reserve column was directed to proceed under Captain Forbes by the road leading to St. Paul, until it should pass the bridge over the lake, when it was to make a turn to the left, and take
