troude's expedition to the caribbean was a naval operation by a french force under commodore amable-gilles troude during the napoleonic wars. the french squadron departed from lorient in february 1809 in an attempt to reach and resupply the island colony of martinique in the caribbean sea, then under invasion from a british expeditionary force. the force arrived much too late to affect the outcome of the successful invasion and took shelter from a british squadron in the îles des saintes, where they were blockaded by part of the british invasion fleet, led by vice-admiral sir alexander cochrane. two weeks after the french ships arrived, british troops invaded and captured the saintes, constructing mortar batteries to bombard the french squadron. with his position unsustainable, commodore troude decided to break out.