Lieutenant-General Sir Stephen Remnant Chapman , K.C.H.(26 April 1775 – 6 March 1851) was a British Army officer and colonial official who served in Gibraltar and also as Governor of Bermuda.

Stephen Chapman was born in Chatham, on 26 April 1775, he was the eldest son of General Richard Chapman (Royal Artillery) and Mary, the daughter of Stephen Remnant, from whom Chapman derived his middle name. He was baptized on 5 May 1775, his godparents were Captain John Carter and Sarah Remnant, his grandmother.

He was educated at the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich. The studies at the academy emphasized theoretical and practical instruction aimed at military engineering needs. The cadets learnt mathematics including algebra, geometry, trigonometry, and mechanics and these were applied directly to gunnery principles giving them an understanding of artillery.  They also studied chemistry so they obtained an understanding of explosives and other materials. Their studies also dealt with fortifications which included drawing fortification plans, and surveying techniques to assess terrain and ground conditions, fostering skills in reconnaissance and site evaluation critical for defensive works.

Stephen Chapman received his commission as an Ensign in the Royal Engineers on 18 September 1793.

The West Indies

Ensign Chapman was ordered to the West Indies in October 1795 to join the expedition to the Leeward Islands under the command of Sir Ralph Abercromby who was appointed commander-in-chief in the West Indies in late 1795.

Lt Chapman went to Portsmouth to join the fleet assembled under Rear Admiral Hugh Cloberry Christian which was to carry troops and supplies for the West Indies to fight the French. It is believed he was on the Commerce de Marseille, a massive former French three-decker that had been captured and converted into a British store-ship for the expedition.  The fleet comprised around 200 ships which set sail from Spithead in 16 November but on the morning of 17 November 1795, the fleet was caught in a hurricane-force gale west of Portland. Reports from the time mention intense thunder and lightning occurring during the storm's peak.

Hundreds of men were lost as multiple ships, including the troop transports Piedmont, Catherine, and Venus, were wrecked on Chesil Beach in Dorset with the loss of hundreds of lives. These terrible gales were nicknamed "Christian's Gales". The Commerce de Marseille was so "badly shattered" and in such "disorder" that it nearly became a grave for its crew. The ship was carrying 800 barrels of gunpowder and it was hit by lightning, with a ball of fire rolling from cabin to cabin through the ship. Disaster was averted thanks to the exertions of Lt Chapman. The ship suffered severe structural damage, including its ports being stove in, and was forced to limp back to Portsmouth.

After returning to port for repairs, the fleet sailed again on 9 December but was driven back to Spithead by more storms after six weeks of being tossed about the English Channel.

In February 1796 Admiral William Cornwallis had been appointed to succeed Admiral Christian in command of the expedition to the West Indies. He hoisted his flag on the 100-gun HMS Royal Sovereign, which after repairs and regrouping, departed from Spithead on 1 March 1796. It seems that Ensign Chapman had been ordered to move his berth to the flagship, as it is mentioned he was with Cornwallis when shortly after leaving port, the Royal Sovereign was accidentally run down (collided with) by one of the troopships in the convoy, the Belisarius on 7 March 1796. The accident was reportedly caused by a heated dispute between the Master and the second mate of the Belisarius while "wearing ship" (turning the vessel away from the wind). Due to their lack of attention during this manoeuvre, the Belisarius fell across the path of the Royal Sovereign. The Royal Sovereign's jib-boom and bowsprit entangled the Belisarius's main-mast, striking the transport vessel amidships. The Belisarius was so severely damaged that it sank almost instantly. Approximately 110 people were saved, including Captain Barge, but nearly 200 soldiers and seamen were lost in the sinking.

The collision was so severe that the Royal Sovereign was left in a "sinking condition," with its hull badly damaged and taking on water. The crippled flagship was forced to struggle back toward the English coast. It spent four days in extreme distress in the vicinity of Mount's Bay, Cornwall, while the crew worked desperately to keep her afloat during which no pilot would venture out. Lt Chapman, who had some knowledge of this part of the coast because of previous work on surveys and soundings, personally navigated the ship into Mount's Bay.

The Royal Sovereign suffered significant structural damage from the collision, contributing to its "sinking condition" and forcing its return to Spithead on 14 March for repairs. However, when the Admiralty ordered him to immediately shift his flag to a smaller frigate (HMS Astrea) and continue to the West Indies, he refused, citing his poor health and the lack of accommodations for his rank on a frigate. He resigned his command, and as a result was court-martialled in April 1796, where he was censured but technically acquitted.

The fleet, which had been left at anchor in Spithead, was given back to Rear-Admiral Hugh Cloberry Christian who made a third attempt to cross the Atlantic. He departed England on 20 March 1796, and successfully arrived with his squadron and transports at Carlisle Bay, Barbados on 21 April 1796, about a month later.

Admiral Christian then took over as commander-in-chief of the Leeward Islands station and, in coordination with Lieutenant-General Sir Ralph Abercromby, who arrived in Barbados on 17 March 1796, ahead of the main fleet, began the successful military campaign to recapture the French-held islands in the Caribbean.

Sir Ralph Abercromby knew that he needed to commence operations quickly before any sickness appeared amongst his troops and started decimating his strength. He immediately launched a series of offensive operations to restore British control in the Caribbean by starting with the capture of St. Lucia and St. Vincent from the French.

St Lucia 1796

The British fleet arrived off St. Lucia on 26 April 1796, and began landing troops the following day in different locations to secure beachheads and outposts, including at Longueville Bay, Choc Bay, and Anse La Baye.

The French forces, which included soldiers, formerly enslaved Africans, and free people of colour fighting for the French Republic, retreated to their main stronghold, the fortress of Morne Fortune. The British laid siege to the fort with assistance from seamen who hauled guns up the difficult terrain.

The company of artificers, under the command of Captain Hay, Royal Engineers, had landed on 26 April, and at once were told off for the duties of the siege. The officers of Engineers, which included Ensign Chapman, planned and directed the essential siege operations, specifically the construction of artillery batteries on strategic, elevated positions, including those deemed to be in "almost inaccessible" locations to capture the French stronghold.

In addition to the construction of some extensive batteries to act against Morne Fortuné, they superintended the formation of a communication by means of a new road from Choc Bay to the Morne.

After weeks of fighting, including a heavy loss for the British in an assault on the Vigie on 17 May. In In the last attack on the enemy's advanced posts at Morne Fortuné, a detachment of about twenty non-commissioned officers and men, under Lieutenant Fletcher, R.E., with handspikes, axes, and picks, rushed gallantly forward and formed a lodgement, which was rapidly converted into a battery of five 24-pounders to breach the body of the place. The exertions of this party greatly contributed to the success of the assault and to the fall of St Lucia. Lieutenant Fletcher was wounded, as also two rank and file.

By 24 May the English had pushed up to within 500 yards of the fort and the French garrison under General Goyrand capitulated on 24 May 1796. Around 2,000 French soldiers were taken prisoner and sent to Britain. Colonel John Moore, a key subordinate to Abercromby, was left in command of the island's garrison. The British lost 566 men during the campaign to take the island. Sir Ralph Abercromby relied heavily on his engineering staff for the success of the operation given the nature of the ground and other circumstances, the operations for the reduction of the fort were extraordinary and arduous, and the exertions of the engineers noteworthy. Sir Ralph noticed these efforts and conveyed his thanks to the Engineers and artificers for their good conduct and soldier like behaviour at the siege.

After the island's capture, engineers were tasked with repairing the captured fortifications and ensuring the island was secured for the subsequent British garrison. He acknowledged the combined effort of both land and naval forces in the general order issued after the victory.

It was during this expedition that Ensign Chapman met Lt Richard Fletcher (who later was Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Richard Fletcher) who was a key engineer officer. Fletcher was wounded in the head by a musket-ball during the final assault on Morne Fortune in May 1796. He later served as the chief engineer in Dominica before returning to England. He also met Major Charles Shipley, who later became the commanding royal engineer for the Windward and Leeward Islands, and was instrumental in providing reports and engineering expertise regarding the defences of the various islands in the region around that time.

St Vincent

Leaving St. Lucia, Abercromby sailed for St. Vincent, where French forces and their Carib allies (known as the Black Caribs) had been resisting British control in the Second Carib War.

British troops landed on the evening of 8 June 1796. Abercromby swiftly executed an encircling movement to trap the insurgent forces at their base at Vigie Ridge. The Royal Engineers provided the technical expertise required to dislodge French Revolutionary forces and their Carib allies from their primary defensive position at Vigie Ridge. The Engineer's contributions were defined by the island's mountainous and "almost inaccessible" terrain, they planned and supervised the construction of artillery batteries on commanding heights and used four cannons and two howitzers to "batter" the principal enemy post at Vigie. The Engineer officers worked with the Royal Navy to move heavy ordnance up steep inclines. While the sailors' "ready resources" and labour were vital for hauling the guns, the Engineers directed the placement of these weapons to ensure they could effectively target French fortifications. The campaign involved a swift encircling movement to trap the insurgent forces. Engineers were responsible for identifying and clearing routes for troops to move through difficult overgrown jungle-type terrain to complete the investment of the French position.

The defence was obstinate, but the British successfully cut off the enemy's communications. The success of the engineering and artillery operations forced the French commander, Marinier, to surrender on 11 June 1796, and the Caribs surrendered four days later. The British took approximately 200 prisoners, with others escaping into the jungle. Following the surrender, the British deported the indigenous Caribs to Roatán, an island off the coast of Honduras. Following the capture, Abercromby transitioned to "reorganizing the defences" of the island, a task traditionally handled by the Royal Engineers to ensure the territory could withstand future counter-attacks.

Stephen Chapman was promoted to Lieutenant on 20 November 1796.

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