Richard jack, assistant engineer in the expedition to guadaloupe 1758/9: Facts and hypotheses

Abstract

Summary A piece of written printed evidence informs us that Richard Jack [ W. johnson , Int. J. Impact Engng, 12(1), 123–140 (1992) ] was on a British expedition sent out to attack French Guadaloupe and Martinique in 1758/9 (see Fig. 1). Jack, however, died in this latter year and his will was proved, by his wife, on 8 May 1759. As the French Island of Guadaloupe capitulated on 1 May 1759, reflection leads one to realize that Jack could not have been present during the final days of fighting for this island. This latter deduction is examined and various facets of its implications are considered. Among other things it is considered that there is a certain lack of credibility about Jack's presence in the Caribbean in the years mentioned. This Note is a companion to a paper [ W. johnson , Int. J. Impact Engng, 13(4), 567–574 (1991) ] about Robins' misjudgment of the destination of the British Caribbean expedition of 1739 and the unsuccessful British assault on Cartagena, in 1741, in which the famous novelist-surgeon, Tobias Smollett participated.