.gif)
Invasion of Cayenne (1809)
Encyclopedia
The Invasion of Cayenne was a combined military operation by an Anglo-Portuguese-Brazilian expeditionary force against Cayenne
, capital of the French South American colony of French Guiana
in 1809, during the Napoleonic Wars
. The operation was part of a series of attacks on French held territory in the Americas during 1809 and due to commitments elsewhere, the British Royal Navy
was unable to send substantial forces to attack the fortified river port. Instead, appeals were made to the Portuguese
government, which had been driven out of Portugal the year before during the Peninsula War and was resident in Brazil
. In exchange for providing troops and transports for the operation, the Portuguese were promised Guiana as an expansion of their holdings in Brazil for the duration of the conflict.
The British contribution was small, consisting solely of the minor warship HMS Confiance. Confiance however had a highly effective crew and an experienced captain in James Lucas Yeo
, who was to command the entire expedition. The more substantial Portuguese contingent consisted of 700 regular Brazilian Colonial Army soldiers, led by Lieutenant-General Manuel Marques de Sousa, The First and 550 regular soldiers from the naval infantry of the Colonial Navy of Brazil and several warships to act as transports and provide offshore artillery support. The French defenders were weakened by years of Royal Navy blockade and could only muster 400 regular infantry and 800 unreliable militia, formed in part from the territory's free black population. As a result resistance was inconsistent and despite Cayenne's strong fortifications, the territory fell within a week.
It is considered to be the baptism of fire of the Brazilian Marine Corps
.
, French colonial territories in the Caribbean were a drain on both the French and British navies. The fortified harbours on the islands and coastal towns provided shelter for French warships and privateer
s that could strike against British trade routes at will, forcing the Royal Navy to divert extensive resources to protect their convoys. However, the maintenance and support of these bases was a significant task for the French Navy
. It had suffered a series of defeats during the war that left it blockaded in its own harbours and unable to put to sea without attack from British squadrons waiting off the coast. Cut off from French trade and supplies, the Caribbean colonies began to suffer from food shortages and collapsing economies, and messages were sent to France in the summer of 1808 requesting urgent help.
Some of these messages were intercepted by the patrolling Royal Navy. Based on the description in those messages of the low morale and weak defences of the Caribbean territories, the decision was taken to eliminate the threat from the French colonies for the remainder of the war by seizing and occupying them in a series of amphibious operations. Command of this campaign was given to Rear-Admiral Sir Alexander Cochrane
, who focused his initial efforts on Martinique
, gathering a substantial force of ships and men at Barbados
in preparation for the planned invasion. While the main British forces concentrated in the Leeward Islands
, smaller expeditionary forces were sent to watch other French colonies, including the small ship HMS Confiance, deployed to the northern coast of South America under Captain James Lucas Yeo
. Supplementing this meagre force were reinforcements provided by Rear-Admiral Sir Sidney Smith, the commander of the Brazil Station who had negotiated with the Portuguese government, then situated in Brazil
, where they had been forced to relocate
in 1808 following the French invasion that began the Peninsula War.
Smith had secured the assistance of a significant Portuguese squadron, consisting of the 64-gun ship of the line
Infante Dom Pedro, the brig
Voador and a number of smaller warships and transports. This force carried at least 550 regular Portuguese soldiers, supplemented by sailors and marines on board the ships, all under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Manuel Marques. Yeo, who was to retain overall command of the operation, joined the Portuguese force off Belém
in early December 1808. On 15 December he attacked the coastal districts of Oyapok
and Appruage, seizing both without resistance, in preparation for the advance on Cayenne
, the capital of French Guiana
.
The town of Cayenne is situated on an island in the mouth of the Cayenne
and Mahury River
s. In 1809, its approaches were protected by a series of forts and gun batteries, while the town itself was dominated by a modern star fort
. Acknowledging that his force was not large enough to invade the island directly, Yeo decided instead to attack a series of outlying forts on the Mahury River in an effort to draw out the French defenders. On 6 January 1809, preparations were complete and Yeo launched an attack during the night, landing at Pointe Mahury at 03:00 on 7 January in five canoes despite heavy rains, which continued throughout the campaign. The surf was strong and all five canoes were wrecked on the beach, but there were no casualties. Yeo detached a Portuguese force under Major Joaquim Manuel Pinto against the Dégras de Cannes battery while he advanced on Fort Diamant with a force of seamen and marines. Both positions were rapidly carried, the British suffering seven men wounded to French losses of six killed and four wounded. Four cannons were seized, as were 90 French soldiers. Both fortifications were then garrisoned with soldiers from the squadron.
With the capture of the Mahury forts, the French in Cayenne risked being cut off from external help and besieged. In response, Governor Victor Hugues
mustered most of the 600 troops available to him and marched on the Allied positions. Consolidating his forces at Dégras de Cannes, Yeo demolished Fort Diamant and sent scouts down river, where two further forts were discovered at Trio and the Canal de Torcy. The latter fort had been constructed to defend the approaches to Hugues' residence, which was situated on the canal. Yeo immediately ordered the Portuguese cutters Leão and Vingança into the river to attack the forts, the Portuguese bombarding the positions for an hour while Yeo prepared assault forces. Yeo himself led the attack on the Trio fort while a Portuguese party attacked the fort on the canal. Both positions were captured and their 50 strong garrisons driven off.
As Yeo secured his position from attack from the river, Hugues arrived at Dégras de Cannes. Despite attacking Lieutenant Colonel Marques' garrison immediately, Hugues was unable to defeat the Portuguese before Yeo returned, and was forced to retreat after a three hour engagement. A secondary force sent against Fort Diamant saw the British demolition party on the walls and, assuming the garrison there to be larger than expected, retreated without an assault. The following morning, as Hugues fell back on his residence, Yeo followed, using the river and canal to close with the position. Hugues had fortified his property with 100 men and two artillery pieces, and ordered his men to fire on a party of British sailors offering a truce. A second attempt was met with cannonfire and although a third attempt via one of Hugues' slaves drew a response, the French general's overtures were only an attempt to stall the Allies while his men laid an ambush in the trees near their landing point.
At a signal from one of the artillery pieces, the French ambush party began a heavy fire on the troops advancing up the lane towards the house. Charging forward, Yeo led an attack on the ambushers at the head of his men and in hand to hand fighting seized the house and its artillery. Gathering his forces, Yeo then marched on Cayenne, expecting to meet Hugues at the Beauregard plain, where the French general had stationed his remaining 400 men. Reaching the position on 10 January, Yeo sent two junior officers into Cayenne offering an armistice, which was accepted, Hugues recognising that he was outnumbered and outmanoeuvred. Over the next four days, Yeo's men took the surrender of the outlying French garrisons and units, with the entrance to Cayenne planned for 14 January.
Topaze
, a powerful 40-gun vessel that was significantly stronger than any of the British or Portuguese ships in the expeditionary force (the large Infante Dom Pedro having returned to Brazil some time earlier). Topaze had been sent from France under Captain Pierre-Nicolas Lahalle to reinforce the Cayenne garrison in December 1808. In addition to extra troops and military supplies, Topaze' s main cargo was 1,100 barrels of flour, Cayenne suffering from severe food shortages due to the British blockade of the French Caribbean. Lahalle was cautious on approaching Cayenne, and soon spotted Confiance at anchor off the harbour.
Confiance, as a 20-gun ship armed with short range carronades, was significantly weaker than Topaze; more critically, she was also almost completely uncrewed, as Yeo had removed all but 25 men and two midshipmen for service with the expeditionary force on land. If Lahalle closed with the ship, the senior officer, Midshipman George Yeo, the captain's much younger brother, would have no option but to surrender, leaving the landing party cut off and at risk of total defeat. Reacting quickly, George Yeo mustered 20 local men, all free black civilians, and pressed them into service to complement his skeleton crew. He then sailed from the harbour in an aggressive manner, as if to confront Topaze. Lahalle was under instructions to avoid combat if it placed his cargo in jeopardy and assumed that such a small vessel would not approach his frigate unless heavier support was hidden nearby, unwilling to risk losing his ship, he turned and sailed north, rapidly outdistancing Confiance and disappearing over the horizon in the belief that the British had already captured Cayenne. Nine days later, as he neared Guadeloupe, Lahalle was spotted by a genuinely larger British squadron and defeated at the Action of 22 January 1809
.
, which marked the border with the British-held Dutch territory of Surinam.
Casualties in the operation were light, the British losing a lieutenant killed and 23 men wounded, the Portuguese one man killed and eight wounded and the French 16 killed and 20 wounded. The French prisoners were embarked on the expeditionary force's ships and taken to Brazil, and the colony was handed over to the Portuguese government for administration, with the stipulation that it be returned to France at the end of the war. Yeo was highly commended for his leadership during the operation, but his health had suffered during the extended campaigning in late December and was invalided to Rio de Janeiro
to recover. On his return to active service, he was presented with a diamond ring by the Portuguese Prince Regent
and knighted by both the Portuguese and British Royal families for his service in the campaign. He was subsequently made commander of the frigate HMS Southampton
. Four decades later the battle was among the actions recognised by a clasp attached to the Naval General Service Medal, awarded upon application to all British participants still living in 1847. After Napoleon's abdication in 1814, it was decided to return it to French control, but it was only in 8 November 1817, when a French expedition arrived with Cayenne's new governor, Claude Carra Saint-Cyr
, that the French took formal possession of the territory.
Cayenne
Cayenne is the capital of French Guiana, an overseas region and department of France located in South America. The city stands on a former island at the mouth of the Cayenne River on the Atlantic coast. The city's motto is "Ferit Aurum Industria" which means "Work brings wealth"...
, capital of the French South American colony of French Guiana
French Guiana
French Guiana is an overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department located on the northern Atlantic coast of South America. It has borders with two nations, Brazil to the east and south, and Suriname to the west...
in 1809, during the Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
. The operation was part of a series of attacks on French held territory in the Americas during 1809 and due to commitments elsewhere, the British Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
was unable to send substantial forces to attack the fortified river port. Instead, appeals were made to the Portuguese
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
government, which had been driven out of Portugal the year before during the Peninsula War and was resident in Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
. In exchange for providing troops and transports for the operation, the Portuguese were promised Guiana as an expansion of their holdings in Brazil for the duration of the conflict.
The British contribution was small, consisting solely of the minor warship HMS Confiance. Confiance however had a highly effective crew and an experienced captain in James Lucas Yeo
James Lucas Yeo
Sir James Lucas Yeo KCB was a British naval commander who served in the War of 1812.Yeo was born in Southampton on 7 October 1782, and joined the Royal Navy as a midshipman at the age of 10. He first saw action as a lieutenant aboard a brig in the Adriatic Sea, and distinguished himself during the...
, who was to command the entire expedition. The more substantial Portuguese contingent consisted of 700 regular Brazilian Colonial Army soldiers, led by Lieutenant-General Manuel Marques de Sousa, The First and 550 regular soldiers from the naval infantry of the Colonial Navy of Brazil and several warships to act as transports and provide offshore artillery support. The French defenders were weakened by years of Royal Navy blockade and could only muster 400 regular infantry and 800 unreliable militia, formed in part from the territory's free black population. As a result resistance was inconsistent and despite Cayenne's strong fortifications, the territory fell within a week.
It is considered to be the baptism of fire of the Brazilian Marine Corps
Brazilian Marine Corps
The Brazilian Marine Corps is the land combat branch of the Brazilian Navy.- Mission :...
.
Background
During the Napoleonic WarsNapoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
, French colonial territories in the Caribbean were a drain on both the French and British navies. The fortified harbours on the islands and coastal towns provided shelter for French warships and privateer
Privateer
A privateer is a private person or ship authorized by a government by letters of marque to attack foreign shipping during wartime. Privateering was a way of mobilizing armed ships and sailors without having to spend public money or commit naval officers...
s that could strike against British trade routes at will, forcing the Royal Navy to divert extensive resources to protect their convoys. However, the maintenance and support of these bases was a significant task for the French Navy
French Navy
The French Navy, officially the Marine nationale and often called La Royale is the maritime arm of the French military. It includes a full range of fighting vessels, from patrol boats to a nuclear powered aircraft carrier and 10 nuclear-powered submarines, four of which are capable of launching...
. It had suffered a series of defeats during the war that left it blockaded in its own harbours and unable to put to sea without attack from British squadrons waiting off the coast. Cut off from French trade and supplies, the Caribbean colonies began to suffer from food shortages and collapsing economies, and messages were sent to France in the summer of 1808 requesting urgent help.
Some of these messages were intercepted by the patrolling Royal Navy. Based on the description in those messages of the low morale and weak defences of the Caribbean territories, the decision was taken to eliminate the threat from the French colonies for the remainder of the war by seizing and occupying them in a series of amphibious operations. Command of this campaign was given to Rear-Admiral Sir Alexander Cochrane
Alexander Cochrane
Admiral Sir Alexander Forrester Inglis Cochrane GCB RN was a senior Royal Navy commander during the Napoleonic Wars.-Naval career:...
, who focused his initial efforts on Martinique
Martinique
Martinique is an island in the eastern Caribbean Sea, with a land area of . Like Guadeloupe, it is an overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. To the northwest lies Dominica, to the south St Lucia, and to the southeast Barbados...
, gathering a substantial force of ships and men at Barbados
Barbados
Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint...
in preparation for the planned invasion. While the main British forces concentrated in the Leeward Islands
Leeward Islands
The Leeward Islands are a group of islands in the West Indies. They are the northern islands of the Lesser Antilles chain. As a group they start east of Puerto Rico and reach southward to Dominica. They are situated where the northeastern Caribbean Sea meets the western Atlantic Ocean...
, smaller expeditionary forces were sent to watch other French colonies, including the small ship HMS Confiance, deployed to the northern coast of South America under Captain James Lucas Yeo
James Lucas Yeo
Sir James Lucas Yeo KCB was a British naval commander who served in the War of 1812.Yeo was born in Southampton on 7 October 1782, and joined the Royal Navy as a midshipman at the age of 10. He first saw action as a lieutenant aboard a brig in the Adriatic Sea, and distinguished himself during the...
. Supplementing this meagre force were reinforcements provided by Rear-Admiral Sir Sidney Smith, the commander of the Brazil Station who had negotiated with the Portuguese government, then situated in Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, where they had been forced to relocate
Transfer of the Portuguese Court to Brazil
The Transfer of the Portuguese Court to Brazil was an episode in the history of Portugal and the history of Brazil in which the Portuguese royal family and its court escaped from Lisbon on November 29, 1807 to Brazil, just days before Napoleonic forces captured the city on December 1...
in 1808 following the French invasion that began the Peninsula War.
Smith had secured the assistance of a significant Portuguese squadron, consisting of the 64-gun ship of the line
Ship of the line
A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed from the 17th through the mid-19th century to take part in the naval tactic known as the line of battle, in which two columns of opposing warships would manoeuvre to bring the greatest weight of broadside guns to bear...
Infante Dom Pedro, the brig
Brig
A brig is a sailing vessel with two square-rigged masts. During the Age of Sail, brigs were seen as fast and manoeuvrable and were used as both naval warships and merchant vessels. They were especially popular in the 18th and early 19th centuries...
Voador and a number of smaller warships and transports. This force carried at least 550 regular Portuguese soldiers, supplemented by sailors and marines on board the ships, all under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Manuel Marques. Yeo, who was to retain overall command of the operation, joined the Portuguese force off Belém
Belém
Belém is a Brazilian city, the capital and largest city of state of Pará, in the country's north region. It is the entrance gate to the Amazon with a busy port, airport and bus/coach station...
in early December 1808. On 15 December he attacked the coastal districts of Oyapok
Oyapock River
The Oyapock or Oiapoque River is a 370-km long river in South America that forms most of the border between French Guiana and the Brazilian state of Amapá...
and Appruage, seizing both without resistance, in preparation for the advance on Cayenne
Cayenne
Cayenne is the capital of French Guiana, an overseas region and department of France located in South America. The city stands on a former island at the mouth of the Cayenne River on the Atlantic coast. The city's motto is "Ferit Aurum Industria" which means "Work brings wealth"...
, the capital of French Guiana
French Guiana
French Guiana is an overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department located on the northern Atlantic coast of South America. It has borders with two nations, Brazil to the east and south, and Suriname to the west...
.
Invasion
Cayenne River
The Cayenne River is a 50 km long river in French Guiana. Formed by the Cascades River and the Tonnégrande River, it flows into the Atlantic Ocean, near the city of Cayenne, forming a large estuary, about 2 km long....
and Mahury River
Mahury River
The Mahury is a river of French Guiana.-External links:*...
s. In 1809, its approaches were protected by a series of forts and gun batteries, while the town itself was dominated by a modern star fort
Star fort
A star fort, or trace italienne, is a fortification in the style that evolved during the age of gunpowder, when cannon came to dominate the battlefield, and was first seen in the mid-15th century in Italy....
. Acknowledging that his force was not large enough to invade the island directly, Yeo decided instead to attack a series of outlying forts on the Mahury River in an effort to draw out the French defenders. On 6 January 1809, preparations were complete and Yeo launched an attack during the night, landing at Pointe Mahury at 03:00 on 7 January in five canoes despite heavy rains, which continued throughout the campaign. The surf was strong and all five canoes were wrecked on the beach, but there were no casualties. Yeo detached a Portuguese force under Major Joaquim Manuel Pinto against the Dégras de Cannes battery while he advanced on Fort Diamant with a force of seamen and marines. Both positions were rapidly carried, the British suffering seven men wounded to French losses of six killed and four wounded. Four cannons were seized, as were 90 French soldiers. Both fortifications were then garrisoned with soldiers from the squadron.
With the capture of the Mahury forts, the French in Cayenne risked being cut off from external help and besieged. In response, Governor Victor Hugues
Victor Hugues
Victor Hugues was a French politician and colonial administrator during the French Revolution, who governed Guadeloupe from 1794 to 1798, emancipating the island's slaves under orders from the National Convention.-Early life and appointment:Hugues was born in Marseille's salesmen family and was a...
mustered most of the 600 troops available to him and marched on the Allied positions. Consolidating his forces at Dégras de Cannes, Yeo demolished Fort Diamant and sent scouts down river, where two further forts were discovered at Trio and the Canal de Torcy. The latter fort had been constructed to defend the approaches to Hugues' residence, which was situated on the canal. Yeo immediately ordered the Portuguese cutters Leão and Vingança into the river to attack the forts, the Portuguese bombarding the positions for an hour while Yeo prepared assault forces. Yeo himself led the attack on the Trio fort while a Portuguese party attacked the fort on the canal. Both positions were captured and their 50 strong garrisons driven off.
As Yeo secured his position from attack from the river, Hugues arrived at Dégras de Cannes. Despite attacking Lieutenant Colonel Marques' garrison immediately, Hugues was unable to defeat the Portuguese before Yeo returned, and was forced to retreat after a three hour engagement. A secondary force sent against Fort Diamant saw the British demolition party on the walls and, assuming the garrison there to be larger than expected, retreated without an assault. The following morning, as Hugues fell back on his residence, Yeo followed, using the river and canal to close with the position. Hugues had fortified his property with 100 men and two artillery pieces, and ordered his men to fire on a party of British sailors offering a truce. A second attempt was met with cannonfire and although a third attempt via one of Hugues' slaves drew a response, the French general's overtures were only an attempt to stall the Allies while his men laid an ambush in the trees near their landing point.
At a signal from one of the artillery pieces, the French ambush party began a heavy fire on the troops advancing up the lane towards the house. Charging forward, Yeo led an attack on the ambushers at the head of his men and in hand to hand fighting seized the house and its artillery. Gathering his forces, Yeo then marched on Cayenne, expecting to meet Hugues at the Beauregard plain, where the French general had stationed his remaining 400 men. Reaching the position on 10 January, Yeo sent two junior officers into Cayenne offering an armistice, which was accepted, Hugues recognising that he was outnumbered and outmanoeuvred. Over the next four days, Yeo's men took the surrender of the outlying French garrisons and units, with the entrance to Cayenne planned for 14 January.
Topaze
To Yeo's consternation, dawn on 13 January showed a sail approaching from the north. This vessel was the French frigateFrigate
A frigate is any of several types of warship, the term having been used for ships of various sizes and roles over the last few centuries.In the 17th century, the term was used for any warship built for speed and maneuverability, the description often used being "frigate-built"...
Topaze
French frigate Topaze (1805)
The Topaze was a 44-gun frigate of the French Navy. The British captured her in 1809 and she the served with the Royal Navy under the name Alcmene until she was broken up in 1816.-French service:...
, a powerful 40-gun vessel that was significantly stronger than any of the British or Portuguese ships in the expeditionary force (the large Infante Dom Pedro having returned to Brazil some time earlier). Topaze had been sent from France under Captain Pierre-Nicolas Lahalle to reinforce the Cayenne garrison in December 1808. In addition to extra troops and military supplies, Topaze
Confiance, as a 20-gun ship armed with short range carronades, was significantly weaker than Topaze; more critically, she was also almost completely uncrewed, as Yeo had removed all but 25 men and two midshipmen for service with the expeditionary force on land. If Lahalle closed with the ship, the senior officer, Midshipman George Yeo, the captain's much younger brother, would have no option but to surrender, leaving the landing party cut off and at risk of total defeat. Reacting quickly, George Yeo mustered 20 local men, all free black civilians, and pressed them into service to complement his skeleton crew. He then sailed from the harbour in an aggressive manner, as if to confront Topaze. Lahalle was under instructions to avoid combat if it placed his cargo in jeopardy and assumed that such a small vessel would not approach his frigate unless heavier support was hidden nearby, unwilling to risk losing his ship, he turned and sailed north, rapidly outdistancing Confiance and disappearing over the horizon in the belief that the British had already captured Cayenne. Nine days later, as he neared Guadeloupe, Lahalle was spotted by a genuinely larger British squadron and defeated at the Action of 22 January 1809
Action of 22 January 1809
The Action of 22 January 1809 was a minor naval engagement fought off the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe during the Napoleonic Wars. The action was fought as part of the blockade of Guadeloupe and neighbouring Martinique by a large British Royal Navy squadron, which was seeking to cut the islands...
.
Aftermath
With his reinforcements driven off and his defences broken, Hugues had no option but to complete his surrender to Yeo. Entering Cayenne on 14 January, Yeo's Anglo-Portuguese force took Hugues' 400 regular soldiers into captivity and collected the arms of 600 white militia and 200 black irregulars, all of whom were allowed to return to their homes. Included in the surrender were 200 cannon, all military and government stores, and all of the various villages and trading posts of French Guiana, which stretched from the Brazilian border to the Maroni RiverMaroni River
The Maroni or Marowijne is a river in South America. It originates in the Tumuk Humak Mountains and forms the border between French Guiana and Suriname...
, which marked the border with the British-held Dutch territory of Surinam.
Casualties in the operation were light, the British losing a lieutenant killed and 23 men wounded, the Portuguese one man killed and eight wounded and the French 16 killed and 20 wounded. The French prisoners were embarked on the expeditionary force's ships and taken to Brazil, and the colony was handed over to the Portuguese government for administration, with the stipulation that it be returned to France at the end of the war. Yeo was highly commended for his leadership during the operation, but his health had suffered during the extended campaigning in late December and was invalided to Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
to recover. On his return to active service, he was presented with a diamond ring by the Portuguese Prince Regent
John VI of Portugal
John VI John VI John VI (full name: João Maria José Francisco Xavier de Paula Luís António Domingos Rafael; (13 May 1767 – 10 March 1826) was King of the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves (later changed to just King of Portugal and the Algarves, after Brazil was recognized...
and knighted by both the Portuguese and British Royal families for his service in the campaign. He was subsequently made commander of the frigate HMS Southampton
HMS Southampton (1757)
HMS Southampton was the name ship of the 32-gun Southampton-class fifth-rate frigates of the Royal Navy. She was launched in 1757 and served for more than half a century until wrecked in 1812.- Fate :...
. Four decades later the battle was among the actions recognised by a clasp attached to the Naval General Service Medal, awarded upon application to all British participants still living in 1847. After Napoleon's abdication in 1814, it was decided to return it to French control, but it was only in 8 November 1817, when a French expedition arrived with Cayenne's new governor, Claude Carra Saint-Cyr
Claude Carra Saint-Cyr
Claude Carra Saint-Cyr was a French general and diplomat, noted for his participation to the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars....
, that the French took formal possession of the territory.