and at the commencement of the French revolutionary war he appears to have obtained a similar rating on board the Royal William 80, bearing the flag of Sir Peter Parker, Bart., commander-in-chief at Portsmouth; from which ship he was made a Lieutenant into the Inspector sloop, Nov. 10, 1793.
In that vessel. Lieutenant James followed the expedition under Sir John Jervis and Sir Charles Grey to Martinique; from whence she was sent with a convoy to Jamaica, and thereby prevented taking any part in the operations against the French colonies, previous to the storming of fort Fleur d’Epée, April 12, 1794[1].
The surrender of Guadaloupe on the 22d of the same month; the departure of the squadron, for St. Christopher’s; the recapture of Grande Terre, by Victor Hugues; Sir Charles Grey’s second landing in Basse Terre; and the return of Sir John Jervis to his former anchorage, off Grozier; have been noticed in our memoir of Rear-Admiral John Maitland[2]. the storming of fort St. Ann’s, about twelve or fourteen miles from the latter place; the bombardment of Point a Pitre and fort Fleur d’Epée, by the British land-batteries and gun-boats; an unsuccessful sortie made by the enemy, on the 26th of June; the establishment of our advanced post, on Morne Mascot; the repeated defeats of the French troops sent to recover that eminence; and the disastrous result of an attempt made by Brigadier-General Symes to gain possession of the heights near Point a Pitre, preparatory to the intended assault of fort Fleur d’Epée; will be found described at pp. 109–113 of Vol. II. Part I.
During these latter operations, Lieutenant James occasionally commanded a division of gun-boats; and on the unfortunate 2d July, he entered the harbour of Point à Pitre about two hours before day-light in order to support the detachment under Brigadier-General Symes. From that fatal period he was employed affording protection to the troops
