An edition of The Golden rock (1993)

The golden rock

an episode of the American War of Independence, 1775-1783

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Last edited by MARC Bot
August 4, 2024 | History
An edition of The Golden rock (1993)

The golden rock

an episode of the American War of Independence, 1775-1783

The story of the tiny Dutch island of St Eustatius - the Golden Rock - in the Lesser Antilles, once the richest trading centre in the Caribbean and a major source of supply for arms and necessaries for the American rebels in the War of Independence, will be known to few, other than students of that war or British naval history.

The events which followed Britain's declaration of war on the Dutch in December 1870, to pre-empt a threatened alliance with Britain's enemies, France and Spain, and the consequent seizure of the island in February 1781, by Admiral Sir George Brydges Rodney and Major-General Sir John Vaughan, reflect little credit upon those joint-Commanders-in Chief or, indeed, upon the government of King George III.

After some years of extensive and penetrating research, Ronald Hurst has pieced together the whole story and given us a fascinating and wholly authentic account of the rape of St Eustatius and its aftermath.

He has laid bare the shameful conduct of those who busied themselves with the stripping of the assets of the island and its people: not least we are given an intriguing view of the activities of Lieutenant-Colonel James Cockburn of the 35th Regiment of Foot, Vaughan's Quartermaster-General and, later Governor of the island. For the highly controversial surrender to the French over which he presided, he would ultimately be court-martialled and cashiered.

  1. With what can only be described as poetic justice, the British spoils of the operation were brilliantly snatched by the French Admiral La Motte Picquet even as the Prize Convoy approached home waters, leaving Rodney and Vaughan with nothing but a public tongue-lashing from Burke in the Commons and a mountain of law suits to combat.

It is one of the quirks of history that both should survive this episode to have honours conferred upon them for later deeds - Rodney, who became a peer in 1782, for his crushing victory over the French in the Battle of the Saints in April of that year and Vaughan to be promoted to Lieutenant General and appointed Governor of the Leeward Islands, where he died in 1795.

Publish Date
Language
English
Pages
254

Buy this book

Previews available in: English

Edition Availability
Cover of: The golden rock
The golden rock: an episode of the American War of Independence, 1775-1783
1996, Naval Institute Press
in English
Cover of: The Golden rock
The Golden rock: an episode of the American war of independence, 1775-1783
1996, L. Cooper
in English
Cover of: The Golden Rock
The Golden Rock: An Episode of the American War of Independence
May 1993, Trans-Atlantic Publications
Hardcover in English

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Book Details


Edition Notes

First published in Great Britain in 1996 by Leo Cooper.
Includes index.

Published in
Annapolis, Md

Classifications

Dewey Decimal Class
973.3/5
Library of Congress
F2097 .H87 1996, F2097.H87 1996

The Physical Object

Pagination
xviii, 254 p., [8] p. of plates :
Number of pages
254

ID Numbers

Open Library
OL1015158M
Internet Archive
goldenrockepisod0000hurs
ISBN 10
1557503389
LCCN
96067492
OCLC/WorldCat
35293915
Library Thing
1195862
Goodreads
2372806

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History

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August 4, 2024 Edited by MARC Bot import existing book
January 14, 2023 Edited by ImportBot import existing book
November 1, 2022 Edited by Scott365Bot Linking back to Internet Archive.
December 29, 2021 Edited by ImportBot import existing book
April 1, 2008 Created by an anonymous user Imported from Scriblio MARC record