Chapter 636: The Rebel Counterattack
Brandt's trip to the Caribbean Sea seemed destined to be anything but smooth.
He didn't even achieve a major victory in Nassau like he had in Jamaica. Before his troops could even land, the abolitionist rebels attacking Nassau quickly retreated.
In fact, his previous success in cornering Auriol's army was purely due to luck. The British expeditionary fleet had made a last-minute decision to make an extra resupply stop in Dominic, thus not taking the usual shipping lane. This prevented the Special Trade Association's ships from discovering them in time.
This time, however, while Brandt's soldiers were still busy boarding transport ships at the docks in Jamaica, news had already reached the Bahamian rebels, and their ships were already en route.
Furthermore, the residents of Nassau were extremely hostile towards the British army—not just the Black people or Mulattoes, but even the white colonists despised them.
The main crops grown in the Bahamas were cotton and corn, which yielded less profit than sugarcane. To ensure the profitability of the colony, the British government imposed heavy taxes here.
They implemented every conceivable tax, from "wheelbarrow taxes" to "wild fruit gathering taxes." The latter was particularly harsh; for the common people of the Caribbean Sea, wild pineapples, coconuts, and similar fruits provided a large part of their daily diet, but for over 30 years, even picking these readily available items required paying taxes to the Governor.
Adding to this, the Bahamian abolitionist rebels had, from the very beginning, raised the slogan of "Bahamian Independence," which garnered them widespread support. Many plantation owners were even willing to lose their slaves if it meant shaking off British colonial rule.
This allowed the abolitionist rebels to acquire supplies wherever they went, while the movements of the British army held no secrets—Bahamian residents reported the British army's situation to the rebels almost daily.
As expected, trouble erupted in Barbados a month later.
The abolitionist rebels of Barbados and Dominic announced their alliance, forming a council and establishing the Republic of the West Indies. The British Governor there was no match for the Black rebel army and was forced to retreat to Bridgetown, pleading for Brandt's assistance.
This time, Brandt had learned his lesson. He left one thousand soldiers under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Straugh, while he led the main force to Barbados.
The Bahamian rebels numbered only two thousand four hundred and had weak combat capabilities; one thousand British soldiers would be enough to handle them.
However, no sooner had he left the Bahamas than Ogé, having received the news, organized the Saint-Domingue rebels. They evaded the patrolling British fleet in small boats and landed on Nassau Island under the cover of night.
This wasn't due to the British fleet being incompetent; it was simply because Saint-Domingue and the Bahamas were too close—the nearest point was less than 60 nautical miles—allowing travel from morning to dusk.
At the same time, this stretch of water was very wide, over 350 nautical miles, which created significant gaps between the warships responsible for the blockade.
After about a week of transport, nearly 800 Saint-Domingue rebel soldiers, led by the young Black officer Toussaint Louverture, successfully arrived southeast of Nassau City.
Yes, at Joseph's insistence, this Black officer, who had previously organized small-scale slave uprisings and would later become the foremost general of the Haitian independence movement, was given a crucial role by Ogé.
Louverture's outstanding military talent quickly became apparent, and he had now been promoted to Major.
In a cotton plantation on the outskirts of Nassau, Kenneth Lidington, commander of the Bahamian rebels, bowed to Louverture and said in broken French:
"Thank you, great freedom fighter. Your supplies have brought us hope. Freedom and equality will surely triumph!"
By now, Saint-Domingue had become the headquarters of the Abolition Movement in the Caribbean Sea, and so French naturally became the "official language" of the major abolitionist organizations. Rebel commanders in British colonies were desperately trying to learn French.
"Freedom and equality will surely triumph!" Louverture embraced Lidington, then turned to gaze coldly at Nassau in the night, his voice hoarse as he said, "Lieutenant Colonel Lidington, I didn't come here just to deliver weapons. I'm here to give the British a 'return gift'!"
"A return gift?"
"Yes, I've brought 800 soldiers. They're all seasoned veterans," Louverture patted his saber. "We can't just wait for the British to attack us. And there are exactly one thousand British soldiers in Nassau." Saint-Domingue was the first to launch an uprising and had fought numerous battles against government forces, so its soldiers' quality and combat experience were far superior to those in Jamaica, the Bahamas, and other regions.
Lidington's eyes lit up immediately, but he hesitated, saying:
"But the British are very formidable. Last time, we were inadvertently caught by them, and in just one engagement, we lost over 200 warriors."
Louverture's face remained expressionless:
"Therefore, they will surely underestimate us."
The following day at noon.
The Bahamian abolitionist rebels suddenly launched a fierce assault on Nassau City.
More than two thousand Black soldiers, accompanied by drumbeats, advanced from two directions towards the British positions outside the city, pausing intermittently to fire their muskets.
Lieutenant Colonel Straugh, the British commander, lowered his telescope and chuckled to his staff officer:
"Haha! These Blacks must think General Brandt has taken the entire expeditionary force with him. It seems the credit for suppressing the Bahamian rebellion will fall to me."
It wasn't until the Bahamian rebels were within 150 paces of the British positions that Straugh ordered the cannons to fire.
Three six-pounder cannonballs, accompanied by a roar, streaked over the rebel ranks, instantly kicking up a cloud of pulverized flesh.
These Black soldiers, who had never seen combat, froze instantly, then retreated in terror.
Those further from the cannon fire continued to advance, and the rebel ranks instantly fell into disarray.
After a few more rounds of fire from the British cannons, the Bahamian rebels on the south side began to show signs of breaking.
Straugh observed the scene through his telescope, then turned to his staff officer with a scornful look and said, "Order the infantry lines to advance."
"Yes, sir!"
Inevitably, the moment the Bahamian rebels engaged the British infantry lines, they immediately crumbled.
Large groups of Black soldiers threw down their weapons, screaming and fleeing, with many losing their lives to bullets from behind.
Straugh soon noticed that the rebels were all running towards a plantation on the east side.
He frowned slightly. If these Black soldiers burrowed into the cotton fields, his own soldiers would have an extremely difficult time searching for them.
He decisively ordered, "Infantry Companies 7 and 11 maintain their lines, other companies switch to columns for pursuit."
Column formation allowed for rapid advance but was not suitable for direct combat, usually being used to assault enemy positions.
However, the Black soldiers had already lost their will to fight, so there was no need to worry about formation; they simply needed to charge forward and cut them down.
Straugh's order was swiftly executed. Nine infantry columns quickly caught up to the fleeing rebels, all raising their flintlock muskets.
Just then, the roar of cannons suddenly echoed from the cotton fields ahead. Two black iron balls arced over the heads of the Black soldiers and slammed into the British ranks behind them.
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