Battle of Capri 1808

The Invasion

by Robert Fletcher, FINS, USA

To support the French attack on Capri, naval forces was gathered, consisting of the frigate Cerere, the Corvette Renommeé, 16 gunboats with 24 lb guns, a mortar craft, and 10 boating craft with small cannon. The attacking force was transported in an additional 180 boats, merchant ships, and fishing craft. On the third of October, all of the city lamplighter’s ladders were confiscated throughout the local towns. These ladders were then loaded aboard the expedition's ships, to enable the attacking troops to scale the cliffs of Capri.

Murat: Uniform of Grand Admiral; Print after oil painting A Calliano; Original in Royal Palace, Caserta

The attacking force exact numbers remain unknown (some 3,000+), but the list of units and commanders were given as: General of Division LaMarque, Generals of Brigade Destres, Montserras, Pignatelli-Strongoli, Chevardes, and Thomas. General Rgnier, Colonels Rochambeau and Manhes visited during the operation but did not remain. Murat handpicked the troops at an army review the previous day.

The soldiers were formed into detachments from the Guards, the 20th, 29th, 52nd, 62nd, Isembourg Legion, Swiss Regiment, 1st Neapolitan, and 3rd Italian, (mostly Grenadiers and Voltigeurs) Corsican Legion (Voltigeurs and Carabiniers), Artillery (100 men), French Sappers, Neapolitan Sappers, and the Marines of the Guard. The 10th regiment of Line provided a battalion.

At midnight, the attacking forces set sail from ports located around the bay of Naples, at Naples, Pozzuoli, Castellamare, and Salerno. General Lamarque embarked aboard the Cerere commanded by Captain Giovanni Bausan, with his staff, General Pignatelli-Strongoli, Captain of Engineers Pierre Michel Nempde, Neapolitan engineer officer Pietro Colletta, and an aide Luigi Arcovito. General Lamarque, not placing too much faith in the hastily prepared attack plan, decided that he was going to observe the landing area before he launched an attack. Capri: the Blue Grotto The Phoenician stairs from road going up to Anacapri West coast area cliff tops, above Cala Del Rio, the remains of fortified positions and site of heavy fighting (same positions used in World War II)

Unknown to Murat and Saliceti, the British forces on Capri actually totaled some 1,800 men commanded by Lt. Col. Hudson Lowe and Major John Hamill. The garrison consisted of the Royal Corsican Rangers (700 men in 10 companies), the Royal Malta regiment (700 men), 200 Sicilian irregulars, and some indifferent quality Bourbon troops.

On the day of the attack, the Corsican Rangers had been divided up by Lowe with three companies assigned to Marina Grande, three companies held in reserve at Capri, a company posted at the old roman port of Tragara with another drawn up behind in line for support, and a final company positioned above the Grotta della Forca.

Small detachments were placed at both Marina Piccolo and Castiglione. The Royal Malta Regiment was deployed with two companies at Palazzo a Mare, two companies at Grotta Azzurra, one company at Cala del Limbo, detachments at Rio Latino and Anacapri, one company on the Phoenician stairs, and the remainder stationed at Mulino a Vento and Torre del Monaco. Artillerymen were lacking and infantrymen regulars served many pieces.

On October 3rd a small boat arrived at Capri bringing a verbal communication to Colonel Lowe that the enemy was preparing to make an attack on the island. Lowe conferred with Hamill directing sentries to be doubled and at Tragara a 32-pound carronade was moved into the town line. Although called the “little Gibraltar”, without the Navy in close support, Capri was to prove untenable.

Early on the morning of October 4, Colonel Lowe found himself menaced from three directions, Marina Grande, Marina Piccola, and Anacapri. As the ships approached they were observed as: “one frigate of 44 guns, one corvette of 22 guns, about thirty gun and mortar boats, and forty, or upwards transport vessels with several row boats, the whole or greater part appeared to be filled with troops.”

A second division of 40 small vessels, seven being gunboats also with troops. Came from the direction of Salerno. The troop defenses of the town of Capri were arranged: Marina Grande – 3 companies Royal Corsican Rangers; Castle Hill – 1 company Royal Corsican Rangers; Town and in Reserve – 3 companies Royal Corsican Rangers; Grotto - 1 company Royal Corsican Rangers; Tragara - 1 company Royal Corsican Rangers; Tragara Hill, in reserve - 1 company Royal Corsican Rangers.

At Anacapri the troops were arranged as: Capo di Monte - 1 company Royal Malta Regiment; Limbo town line and Marina – 3 companies Royal Malta Regiment; Damecuta and Gratula – 2 companies Royal Malta Regiment; Works tower in reserve – 1 Company Royal Malta Regiment; Windmill - 1 Company Royal Malta Regiment.

Neapolitan ships opened fire on the English emplacements at Marina Grande and later at Marina Piccolo to provoke the English into committing troops. Commandant Pierre Montserrat with ships carrying 540 French, Neapolitans and Swiss commanded the diversionary attack on Marina Piccola. Commandant Francois Chavardes threatening by ships carrying 480 embarked troops commanded the diversionary attack on Marina Grande. Major Hamill, convinced that an attack was imminent on Marina Grande, sent 2 companies of the Royal Malta regiment to assist.

The two companies were sent back by Lowe, accomplishing little and spending several hours marching back and forth under a hot Capri sun. In the meantime, Lamarque received reports from the ship's boats sent to reconnaissance the landing area selected by Murat. Colonel Pierre Gaston Henri Livron, Adjutant Jean Thomas, and Captain Pierre Michel Nempde, all visited the planned landing site, finding the Cala del Limbo area difficult, if not impossible to land at.

A new landing area had to be found immediately, General Lamarque assuming responsibility to change Murat's plan. He had a ship's boat launched and personally went to select another beachhead.

After several hours of navigating the cliffs, he selected the site “Cala di Orrico”, located between the two coastline points of Capocchia and Miglio. Cala di Orrico had a rock beach and low cliffs with a negotiable protected slope for climbing. With this decision, Lamarque ordered his ships to disembark the troops, in early afternoon the first men were ashore, Adjutant Thomas commanding the landing party.

Battle of Capri 1808

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