The Mauritius Campaign

Today is the anniversary of the French surrender of Mauritius to the British in 1810. This little-known Royal Navy campaign is the subject of one of my favorite of Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin series, The Mauritius Command. In it, Aubrey takes the place of Commodore Josias Rowley, the man who actually led the British squadron. However, as you can see from this excellent summary, O'Brian was very faithful to the actual facts of the various battles, including his descriptions of the successful British capture of St. Paul on the Island of Reunion, as well as the disastrous Royal Navy attempt on Grand Port on the Mauritius.