October. Napoleonic Wars In December 1803 Ross was appointed to command of the frigate (36), employed at the blockade of Saint-Domingue and witnessed the surrender of the French squadron with the remains of General Rochambeau's army from Cap Français. In early 1804 Ross took part in an expedition led by Captain John Bligh to capture the Dutch island of Curaçao. The British believed that the garrison there was only 160 strong, and weakened by disease, so their force consisted only of the 74s and , frigates and Pique, and the schooner Gipsy. On their arrival at the Willemstad on 31 January the British learned that they had been misinformed about the local strength, which consisted of 250 regular troops, reinforced by a local militia and the crews of the vessels in the harbour. The Dutch refused to surrender, and unable to force the harbour, which was defended by shore batteries, the frigate Hatslaar and two French privateers, the British were compelled to attempt a landing. Leaving the two frigates to blockade the harbour, the British sailed to a nearby cove and landed a 605-man strong force of seamen and marines which captured Fort Piscadero. The British then landed guns, and erected artillery batteries on heights to the west of the town. Over the next few days the British, the Dutch in Fort Amsterdam and their French allies fought an artillery duel and several skirmishes with little result, so the British turned their guns on the town and shipping, destroying some of the former by fire. However, disease, casualties, and lack of provisions soon took their toll on the British, who were eventually forced to abandon the enterprise on 25 February. Pique continued to operate in the Caribbean, making numerous captures, including the French cutter Le Terreur of 10 guns and 75 men, on 18 March 1804, the Spanish ship-of-war Diligentia (in company with ), and the 18-gun corvette Orquijo on 8 February 1805. On the morning of 26 March 1806 Pique was en route from Saint-Domingue to Curaçao, when she spotted two 16-gun French brig-corvettes and , and gave chase. By 13:00, Pique commenced firing at long range, and at 14:00 she closed with the two brigs. After about twenty minutes, Phaëton was crippled, so about 30 men from Pique boarded her, while Ross stood off to pursue the Voltigeur. No sooner had the boarding party stepped aboard than the