The next significant point in the history of the Battery is in 1806 when Captain Thomas Rogers took command. He led the Battery for an uninterrupted 19 years and it is in honour of his command at Waterloo that the Battery still carries his name. At the outset his powers of leadership were tested as the Battery sailed on 28 July 1809 for what was to be an ill-fated expedition to Walcheren. The force comprising 144 guns and mortars and 35 ships of the line was intended to relieve French pressure on the Austrian Alliance. Unfortunately, the expedition was struck by widespread sickness and was forced to turn sail for England.