Edited sentence: After the battle, the 5th Foot took the white plumes worn by the French soldiers and placed them on their caps as a sign of honour.As a result of the defeat, the French force abandoned the island.On the 18 December 1778, a force of 9,000 French troops were landed on St.The 5th was engaged with a small force of French and captured a 4 cannon battery.The British, veterans of colonial fighting, inflicted a stinging defeat on the French.The French advanced on the British force several times.The French lost 400 killed and 1100 wounded to the British losses of 10 killed and 130 wounded, which included two officers from the 5th Foot.The French were fairly raw soldiers trained to fight in the classic European style of linear battles.The Northumberland Fusiliers embarked from New York on 3 November 1778, for the French West Indies, landing on 13 December 1778, on the island of Saint Lucia.The small British force of 1,400 men occupied a hill located on the neck of a peninsula