THE CREATION AND UTILIZATION OF BRITISH WEST INDIA REGIMENTS
IN THE CARIBBEAN DURING THE REVOLUTIONARY/NAPOLEONIC WARS
by Charles Consolvo
It all started when…
The raising of black regiments to be a part of the British Army establishment was originally proposed by Lt. Gen. Sir John Vaughan in a letter to the Home Secretary on 22 December, 1794. This was, however, preceded by an earlier proposal apparently from the government offices in Jamaica, and the later use of freed blacks recruited from the Carolinas at the end of the American War.
General Vaughan was anxious to overcome the severe losses to European soldiers that he was experiencing in the West Indies, the majority of whom were being killed by the environment. In 1796 the governors of colonies in the West Indies were instructed to prepare proposals for raising five black regiments. The principal barrier to the raising of regiments of armed slaves as part of the British Army was the strong resistance by colonial planters to the concept of armed slaves. Despite the order from Britain to raise five regiments in 1796, the assemblies of Barbados and Jamaica saw nothing but “ruin and death” in the proposal. This was certainly a possibility. There were as many as 75 actual or aborted slave uprisings in the British West Indies before 1837. This fear is further reflected by the action of the Assembly in Jamaica, which on learning that a mulatto regiment known as the Guadelupe Rangers had been transported to Jamaica after the evacuation of St. Domingo, requested its immediate re-embarkation.
Only two recorded instances of mutinous slave soldiers have been found. On April 9, 1802, the 8th West India Regiment mutinied, killing some officers and non-commissioned officers. The mutiny was suppressed after nearly 100 of the mutineers were killed. In the subsequent investigation, it was discovered that the black soldiers had been severely abused, and Colonel Johnstone, their commander was blamed for the mutiny and suspended. In 1808, some of the black soldiers of the 2nd West India Regiment mutinied and killed two officers. They were subsequently overcome by loyal soldiers of the Regiment, and seven leaders were executed.
The principle justification for using slaves and free blacks for the proposed regiments was the extremely high mortality rate of European soldiers in the West Indies. Many more soldiers died of fever or alcoholism than were ever killed in combat in the Caribbean. Assignment to the West Indies was extremely unpopular with the British Army, leading to a refusal to serve, as with Lt. Hector MacDonald who was superseded for failing to report for duty with the 4th West India Regiment. A posting to the West Indies also caused sudden rises in the sick lists and even mutinies in the army in Britain. Assignment to the West Indies became a form of punishment.
The data available stand as justification for the premise that the survival rate of black soldiers was much better than that for white soldiers. Between 1796 and 1802, on an annual average, white soldiers in the West Indies suffered a mortality rate of 41%, while black soldiers suffered only a 6% mortality rate.
Alcoholism apparently arose as a problem through sheer boredom and inactivity on the parts of both officers and men. According to St. Clair the Royals at Demerara, generally healthy otherwise, lost a great number by their own intemperance, indulging too freely in the “vile beverage” rum. He observes that “It has frequently happened that a widow has buried four husbands, but it is rare to meet a man who has survived one wife”.
The British West India Regiments were established along the lines of the traditional British regiment with eight battalion or line companies and two flank companies for a total of one thousand men, for the 1804 establishment. It was expected initially that these regiments would be formed by enlisting free coloured and purchasing additional slaves from plantation owners to complete the manning requirements. This did not prove feasible, in part from the high prices the plantation owners demanded for their slaves. The difficulty in procuring slaves from planters led to the direct purchase of slaves, both from ships and from Africa. From 1797 to 1807, when Great Britain abolished the slave trade, the British Army was the single largest purchaser of slaves in the West Indies. A statement of account dated 31 March 1801 for the purchase of 272 new negro men for His Majesty’s 5th and 6th WIRs, showed a cost of about £114 per man, together with £771 for clothing and £270 for inoculation against smallpox. On 10 March 1801 the sum of £115 per man was expended for 40 Eboe negros.
The black soldiers’ status in the Army was equal to that of white soldiers for pay, rations, discipline, uniforms and medical care. After an Act of Parliament in 1807 abolishing the slave trade, recruitment for the West India Regiments was assisted by a law which permitted the involuntary enlistment of slaves captured from an enemy or taken as prizes. This same Act of Parliament emancipated black slave soldiers. However they were still enlisted for life, unlike white soldiers who could enlist for seven years.
According to documents found in the National Archives, Public Records Office in London, in 1802 at least two Companies, one from the 1st British West India Regiment, and one from the 8th British West India Regiment were stationed on St. Thomas and lived in barracks on Hassel Island. The foundations of the barracks and associated kitchen are still in evidence.
Ruins of Barracks Kitchen being cleared
During the capture of the island of St. Martin by the British in 1801, the bravery and discipline of the soldiers of the 8th British West India Regiment were highly praised by the commanding officer of the British Army in the Caribbean.
Button, 1st British West India Regiment