Antoine André de Sainte-Marthe

[1] Sainte-Marthe left home to avoid being forced into a marriage he did not want, spent some time in La Rochelle and then the Île de Ré, then moved to London.

[4] During the First English Civil War (1642–1646) Rupert led the royalist forces until the capitulation at Oxford on 23 January 1647, when his army was dissolved and he had to leave for France.

[4] Prince Rupert accepted a well paid commission from Anne of Austria to serve Louis XIV of France as a mareschal de camp on condition that he could leave French service to fight for King Charles I of England if called upon to do so.

Rokeby returned to England under the command of Rupert, handing over his regiment to Victor-Maurice de Broglie, governor of La Bassée in Flanders.

Sainte-Marthe next took a job as captain of the La Fère regiment, which was in winter quarters at Saint-Venant in Normandy, and held this position from 1664 to 1665, when company was dissolved.

[12] The Third Anglo-Dutch War was launched by the English and French in 1672, but the allies were outmatched by the Dutch forces under Admiral Michiel de Ruyter, who inflicted several defeats.

[13] After the English had withdrawn from their alliance with France against the Dutch, on 16 July 1674 de Ruyter appeared off Martinique with a fleet that included 18 warships, support vessels and 15 troop transports with 3,400 soldiers.

The French were expecting de Ruyter but thought Fort Royal (now Fort-de-France) was impregnable, so had concentrated their forces up the coast at Saint Pierre.

De Ruyter directed his force to Fort Royal, but was becalmed on the first day, giving the French time for urgent efforts to improve the defenses.

[14] Saint Marthe arrived to take command at dawn, by which time the French had booms across the harbour mouth and enough men to work the batteries.

[16] At the start of the attempted Invasion of Martinique de Ruyter's force was greeted by heavy gunfire when it entered the harbour in the morning on 20 July.