Invasion of Guadeloupe (1815)

For other attacks on the island, see Battle of Guadeloupe.

The Invasion of Guadeloupe (8–10 August 1815) was the last conflict between French and British forces during the Napoleonic Wars, and took place after Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo.

The battle

Guadeloupe had been captured by the British twice before, most recently in 1810, but had been returned to the French following Napoleon's first abdication in April 1814. Louis XVIII had appointed Admiral Charles-Alexandre Léon Durand Linois as Governor, but when news of Napoleon's return from exile in Elba in February 1815 eventually reached the island, Linois vacillated, but finally declared his support for Napoleon on 18 June 1815. This also happened to be the same day that he was defeated at Waterloo. The commander of British forces in the West Indies, Lieutenant-General Sir James Leith, a veteran of the Peninsular War, promptly set out with an expeditionary force, with naval support under the command of Rear-Admiral Sir Philip Charles Durham. The British forces landed on 8 August, and within 48 hours secured a complete capitulation, and eventually handed the island back to the representative of the French King. General Leith subsequently received the Order of Military Merit from France.