French rule in the Ionian Islands days of close blockade and bombardment, the French surrendered on 17 November. Ushakov allowed 20 French officers to depart for France immediately, but the rest were sent to captivity in Constantinople. With the fall of Lefkada, Corfu remained as the last bastion of French control in the Ionian Islands. There too, the anti-French and pro-Russian sentiment had been gaining ground, and the exhortations of commissioner-general Dubois largely failed to have an impact. French forces on the island, augmented by the garrisons of Ithaca and Parga, amounted to 1,500 infantry and some 300 artillerymen, as well as 8 naval vessels. To
Flag of the United States of the Ionian Islands the Ionian Islands' national flag would be the flag of the Septinsular Republic, a Lion of Saint Mark holding a Bible on a blue background, with a Union Jack in the upper corner closest to the flagstaff to symbolise the British protectorate. During shipping in the Black Sea and the Eastern Mediterranean, the flag of the United States of the Ionian Islands would often be used as a flag of convenience by Greek ships to purport that they enjoyed the protection of the British Empire. The British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, Percy Smythe, 6th Viscount Strangford, was annoyed by