. The British in Capri, 1806-1808 . bria for theinvasion of Sicily, he consented at length to land withpart of his army on the continent, and make trial of theloyalty and affection of the people to their formermasters. The enterprise which Sir John Stuartreluctantly undertook, he conducted with singularjudgment and ability, and brought to a fortunate con-clusion with infinite glory to the British arms, but withoutany of those advantages to the court of Palermo, whichit had fondly anticipated from the experiment. The troops destined to this expedition by Sir JohnStuart amounted to about 4,800 e
. The British in Capri, 1806-1808 . bria for theinvasion of Sicily, he consented at length to land withpart of his army on the continent, and make trial of theloyalty and affection of the people to their formermasters. The enterprise which Sir John Stuartreluctantly undertook, he conducted with singularjudgment and ability, and brought to a fortunate con-clusion with infinite glory to the British arms, but withoutany of those advantages to the court of Palermo, whichit had fondly anticipated from the experiment. The troops destined to this expedition by Sir JohnStuart amounted to about 4,800 effective men : withthis small force he landed on the morning of the 1st ofJuly in a bay in the Gulf of St. Eufemia, near thenorthern frontier of lower Calabria. Little oppositionwas made to his landing by the enemy, who had notyet collected their forces. A proclamation was im-mediately issued by the English general, inviting theCalabrians to join the standard of their lawful sovereign,and offering them arms and ammunition for their. Major John Hamill MAJOR JOHN HAMILL 287 defence. Few or none, however, obeyed the in his expectations from the John Stuart was hesitating whether to re-embarkhis troops, when intelligence was brought to him thatGeneral R^gnier was encamped at Maida, about tenmiles off, with an army equal to his own. Under-standing at the same time that the French general wasin the daily expectation of reinforcements, he determinedto advance next morning (July 4th, 1806), and attackhim before they arrived. The two armies were separatedby a plain from four to six miles in breadth, extendingfrom sea to sea, and bounded on the north and southby chains of mountains. The French occupied a strongposition on the sloping side of a woody hill below thevillage of Maida, having the river Lamato in front,and their flanks strengthened by a thick imperviousunderwood. In numbers, they were greatly superiorto the English, having received the expe
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