Raid on Saint-Paul

Raid on Saint-Paul
Part of the Napoleonic Wars
The capture of Saint Paul near the Isle de Bourbon, 21 September 1809, Thomas Whitcombe
Date 21 September 1809 Location Saint Paul, Île Bonaparte 21°0′S 55°16′E / 21.000°S 55.267°E / -21.000; 55.267 Result British victory
Belligerents
United Kingdom	France
Commanders and leaders
Josias Rowley Henry Keating	Nicolas Des Bruslys †
Strength
604 1 ship of the line 3 frigates smaller warships	1 frigate 5 gun batteries local militia
Casualties and losses
15 killed 58 wounded 3 missing	1 frigate and military stores captured

The Raid on Saint-Paul was an amphibious operation conducted by a combined British Army, Royal Navy and Royal Marines force against the fortified French port of Saint Paul on Île Bonaparte (now known as Réunion) during the Napoleonic Wars. The operation was launched on 20 September 1809 as both a precursor to a future full-scale invasion of Île Bonaparte and in order to capture the French frigate Caroline and the East Indiamen she had seized in the action of 31 May 1809 which were sheltering in the harbour. The operation was a complete success, with British storming parties capturing the batteries overlooking the port, which allowed a naval squadron under Commodore Josias Rowley to enter the bay and capture the shipping in the harbour.

The French defenders of the town, despite initially resisting the attack, were unable to prevent the seizure of the port's defensive fortifications. The British force later withdrew under pressure from the main garrison of the island, burning warehouses containing over £500,000 worth of silk captured from British merchant ships. Ultimately the French were unable to effectively oppose the invasion, the island's governor General Des Bruslys retreating to Saint-Denis rather than engage the British and later committing suicide. The transportation of forces from the recently captured island of Rodrigues, the co-ordination of land and naval forces and the failure of the French defenders to co-ordinate an effective response were all features of the subsequent invasion and capture of Île Bonaparte in July 1810.