Invasion of Surinam (1804)

In March 1804, the new Commander-in-Chief, Sir Charles Green, along with the 16th and 64th Regiments of Foot, arrived in Barbados from Britain, and plans were immediately made to capture the Dutch colony of Surinam.[1] The previous year, the colonies of Demarara, Essequibo and Berbice had been peacefully taken over and was believed that the people of Surinam were also amenable, though the Dutch authorities were less so. The invasion force comprised a British squadron of 31 ships under the command of Samuel Hood, carrying 2,148 troops from 16 and 64 Regiments of Foot, the 60th Rifles, the York Light Infantry Volunteers, the 6th West Indies Regiment and the Royal Artillery.[2]

1773 map of the Dutch colony of Surinam showing the respective positions of the Surinam and Commewine rivers, Warapee Creek, Braam's point, the redoubt at Purmerend, and the forts Leyden, New Amsterdam and Zeelandia

The country's coastal waters were very shallow making any landing impossible except at the highest point of the tide, and the terrain was difficult to penetrate being covered in thick jungle that stretched down to the shoreline.[3] By far the easiest method of travel was by boat along the rivers and creeks but even this was fraught with the danger of grounding because the waterways were also shallow and full of shoals. Additionally, the Dutch had built a series of fortifications along them. At the mouth of the Surinam estuary, at Braams Point, stood a battery of seven 18-pound guns while a distance upstream on the same bank, were the forts of Frederick, and a mile further on, Leyden, both with 12 large-calibre guns apiece. On the other side of the estuary, almost opposite Leyden was Fort Purmerend of 10 heavy guns. At the junction with the Commewine River, was Fort New Amsterdam, armed with 80 guns of various sizes and guarding Paramaribo itself, Fort Zeelandia, armed with 10 heavy guns.[4] In order to secure the capital, the British would be required to make their way ten miles upstream past this series of well-constructed defences and any ship stranded on one of the numerous shoals would be helpless in the crossfire.[3]

The expedition arrived off Surinam on 25 April after a twenty-two-day journey.[5][6] On 26 April, the sloop Hippomenes, a transport and a further three armed vessels, landed Brigadier-General Frederick Maitland and an advanced corps of over 600 men at Warapee Creek.[5][4] Comprising men from 16th Foot, 64th Foot and 6th West Indian Regiment plus a battery of light artillery, the advanced corps had been ordered to make their way by water from their position, 30 miles east of the Surinam River, to the rear of Fort New Amsterdam.[4] The same night, the captain of HMS Emerald, James O'Brien was ordered to assist Brigadier-General William Carlyon Hughes in the taking of Braam's Point. A sandbar initially prevented Emerald from entering the Surinam River but O'Brien forced her across on the rising tide, with Pandour and Drake following. Anchoring close by, the three British ships quickly put the Dutch battery of 18-pounders out of action. Soldiers from the 64th were then put ashore and captured the fort without loss of life. An invitation to surrender was then dispatched to the colony's governor.[5][7][8]

On 28 April an unfavourable reply to Green’s summons was received but a plan to land soldiers for an attack on Fort Purmerend was thwarted by the low tide and marshes, and had to be abandoned.[8] The expedition then pushed up the river, sometimes in water shallower than the frigates drew, until they arrived close to the forts Leyden and Frederick.[7] A landing downstream was at first considered impossible due to the marshes and thick jungle but on 29 April the British learned of a path leading through the forest to the rear of forts.[8]

Sometime after 22:00, a detachment of 180 men from the 64th and West Indian regiment, under Hughes, was shown to the path by members of an indigenous tribe. Heavy rain had made the trail almost impassable but after a gruelling five-hour march undercover of the forests and swamps, Hughes and his men were able to launch a surprise attack that resulted in the capture of the two forts.[8][9] By this time, most of the squadron had managed to work its way up the river as far as Fort Frederick, General Maitland was advancing along the Commewine River, and with troops poised to attack the fort of New Amsterdam, the Batavian commander, Lieutenant-Colonel Batenburg, duly surrendered.[10]

Following the capture, Green was made governor general of British Suriname.[11] Shrapnel shells were used for the first time at the battle, after their creation by Major Henry Shrapnel in Newfoundland.[12]

• George Bruce. Harbottle's Dictionary of Battles. (Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1981) (ISBN 0442223366).
• Fortescue, John (1910). A History of the British Army. Vol. 5. London: Macmillan and Co. OCLC 650331461.
• Howard, Martin R. (2015). Death Before Glory - The British Soldier in the West Indies in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars 1793-1815. Barnsley: Pen and Sword. ISBN 978-1-78159-341-7.
• James, William (1827). The Naval History of Great Britain, Volume III, 1800–1805. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-907-7.