Invasion of Cayenne (1809) - Aftermath

Aftermath

With his reinforcements driven off and his defences broken, Hugues had no option but to complete his surrender to Yeo. Entering Cayenne on 14 January, Yeo's Anglo-Portuguese force took Hugues' 400 regular soldiers into captivity and collected the arms of 600 white militia and 200 black irregulars, all of whom were allowed to return to their homes. Included in the surrender were 200 cannon, all military and government stores, and all of the various villages and trading posts of French Guiana, which stretched from the Brazilian border to the Maroni River, which marked the border with the British-held Dutch territory of Surinam.

Casualties in the operation were light, the British losing a lieutenant killed and 23 men wounded, the Portuguese one man killed and eight wounded and the French 16 killed and 20 wounded. The French prisoners were embarked on the expeditionary force's ships and taken to Brazil, and the colony was handed over to the Portuguese government for administration, with the stipulation that it be returned to France at the end of the war. Yeo was highly commended for his leadership during the operation, but his health had suffered during the extended campaigning in late December and was invalided to Rio de Janeiro to recover. On his return to active service, he was presented with a diamond ring by the Portuguese Prince Regent and knighted by both the Portuguese and British Royal families for his service in the campaign. He was subsequently made commander of the frigate HMS Southampton. Four decades later the battle was among the actions recognised by a clasp attached to the Naval General Service Medal, awarded upon application to all British participants still living in 1847. After Napoleon's abdication in 1814, it was decided to return it to French control, but it was only in 8 November 1817, when a French expedition arrived with Cayenne's new governor, Claude Carra Saint-Cyr, that the French took formal possession of the territory.