Rowley's rapid landing at Dominica

A British force under Lord Rollo and naval commander Sir James Douglas arrived with four ships of the line, two frigates, transports, and several thousand troops. After the French rejected a surrender demand, Rowley directed the landing and the troops immediately stormed four lines of entrenchments. The French commander and his deputy were captured, collapsing resistance far faster than expected. Drawings by Royal Engineers officer Archibald Campbell show more hulls than the official combatant list, and the absence of French warships identifies the extra vessels as British transports and support ships. Dominica returned to British rule in 1783 and remained there until independence in 1978. Rowley's role connected naval movement with an army operation ashore, while Campbell's drawings reveal the expedition's logistical footprint.