 In early 1810 , as the cyclone season came to an end , Hamelin ordered a squadron of frigates under Captain Guy @-@ Victor Duperré to attack British convoys in the Bay of Bengal . Duperré was initially unsuccessful , but after sailing to Madagascar for a brief refit he encountered and defeated a convoy in the Action of 3 July 1810 . The British response to the French depredations was already in progress : in late June , Rowley sailed with two frigates to Rodriguez , leaving Captain Samuel Pym off Isle de France with the remainder . On Rodriguez , Rowley and Lieutenant Colonel Henry Keating conferred on the best method of invading and rapidly subduing the island , determining that the best plan was to land soldiers either side of the island 's capital Saint Denis and defeat the garrison outside the town , forcing the new governor to surrender . 
