Siege of Pensacola

Last updated

Siege of Pensacola
Part of the Gulf Coast Campaign of the
American Revolutionary War
Spanish troops at Pensacola.jpg
Spanish Troops at Pensacola, Florida by H. Charles McBarron shows a grenadier officer of the Louisiana regiment urging his troops to the assault at Pensacola.
DateMarch 9 – May 10, 1781
Location 30°20′52″N87°17′50″W / 30.34778°N 87.29722°W / 30.34778; -87.29722
Result Spanish victory
Territorial
changes
Spanish gain control of West Florida
Belligerents
Flag of Cross of Burgundy.svg  Spain
Royal Standard of the King of France.svg  France

Union flag 1606 (Kings Colors).svg  Great Britain

Choctaw

Creek
Commanders and leaders
Union flag 1606 (Kings Colors).svg John Campbell   White flag icon.svg
Flag of Waldeck before 1830.svg Konrad von Horn  White flag icon.svg
Strength
7,400 regulars and militia [1] [2]
10,000 sailors and marines
21 ships [3] (Including 1,500 French sailors and 750 French soldiers) [4]
1,300 regulars, rangers and militia [5]
500 Natives [6] [1]
Casualties and losses
95 killed
202 wounded [7] [1]
155 killed
105 wounded
1,113 captured [7] [1]
2 sloops captured
North America laea relief location map with borders.jpg
Red pog.svg
Pensacola
Location within North America

The siege of Pensacola, fought from March 9 to May 10, 1781, was the culmination of Spain's conquest of West Florida during the Gulf Coast Campaign of the American Revolutionary War. [8] [1]

Contents

Background

When Spain entered the War in 1779, Bernardo de Gálvez, the energetic governor of Spanish Louisiana, immediately began offensive operations to gain control of West Florida beginning with his assault at Fort Bute. In September 1779 he gained complete control over the lower Mississippi River by capturing Fort Bute and then shortly thereafter obtaining the surrender of the remaining forces following the Battle of Baton Rouge. He followed up these successes with the capture of Mobile on March 14, 1780, after a brief siege.

Gálvez began planning an assault on Pensacola, West Florida's capital, using forces from Havana, with the recently captured Mobile as the launching point for the attack. British reinforcements arriving in Pensacola in April 1780 delayed the expedition, however, and when an invasion fleet finally sailed in October, it was dispersed by Solano's Hurricane a few days later. Gálvez spent nearly a month regrouping the fleet at Havana. [9] [10]

British defenses

Following the outbreak of hostilities with Spain 1779, General John Campbell, concerned over the condition of the defenses, requested reinforcements, and began construction of additional defenses. [11] By early 1781, the Pensacola garrison consisted of the 16th Regiment, a battalion from the 60th, and 7 (Johnstones) Company of the 4th Battalion Royal Artillery (Present day 20 Battery Royal Artillery, 16 Regiment Royal Artillery). These were augmented by the Third Regiment of Waldeck and The Maryland Loyalist Battalion, as well as the Pennsylvania Loyalists. These troops were provincial soldiers, rather than militia. [11] [1]

In addition to the Loyalist soldiers, some bands of Indians supported the British. After the fall of Mobile in March 1780, between 1,500 and 2,000 Indians had come at various points to Pensacola to join in its defense. [1] These allies included the Choctaw and Creek, with Creeks being the most numerous. Just before the Spanish attack only 800 Indian braves remained in Pensacola, as Campbell, not realizing the attack was imminent, had sent about 300 away. During the siege and battle there were ultimately only about 500 of these left at Pensacola, due to efforts of the Muscogee Creeks to take a more "balanced" role by offering supplies to both sides and diminishing their role on the British side. The majority of the warrior bands still present during the siege were Choctaw. [12] [1]

Gálvez had received detailed descriptions of the state of the defenses in 1779, when he sent an aide there ostensibly to discuss the return of escaped slaves, although Campbell had made numerous changes since then. Pensacola's defensive works in early 1781 consisted of Fort George, an earthen works topped by a palisade that was rebuilt under Campbell's directions in 1780. North of the fort he had built the Prince of Wales Redoubt, and to its northwest was the Queen's Redoubt, also built in 1780. [13] Campbell erected a battery called Fort Barrancas Colorada near the mouth of the bay.

Spanish forces

A 1763 map depicting Pensacola Bay PensacolaMap1763.jpg
A 1763 map depicting Pensacola Bay

Gálvez embarked his flag with the Spanish fleet, under the command of Captain José Calvo de Irazabal. With about 1,300 men, the regular troops included a Majorcan regiment and Arturo O'Neill (later Governor of Spanish West and East Florida) commanding 319 men of Spain's Irish Hibernia Regiment, and including militias of biracial and free Afro-Cubans. [14] Gálvez had also ordered additional troops from New Orleans and Mobile to assist.

The Spanish expeditionary force sailed from Havana on February 13. Arriving outside Pensacola Bay on March 9, Gálvez landed some troops on Santa Rosa Island, the barrier island protecting the bay. O'Neill's Hibernians landed at the island battery, which he found undefended, and landed artillery, which he used to drive away the British ships taking shelter in the bay.

However, bringing the Spanish ships into the bay turned out to be difficult, just as it had been the previous year at the capture of Mobile. Supplies were offloaded onto Santa Rosa Island to raise the draft of some of the ships, but Calvo, the fleet commander, refused to send any more ships through the channel after the lead ship, the 64-cannon San Ramon, grounded in its attempt. Furthermore, some British guns seemed to have the range to fire on the bay's entrance. [15]

Gálvez used his authority as Governor of Louisiana to commandeer the ships that were from Louisiana. He boarded the Gálveztown, and on March 18 he sailed her through the channel and into the bay. The three other Louisiana ships followed him, under what proved to be ineffective British artillery fire. After sending Calvo a detailed description of the channel, his captains all insisted on making the crossing, which they did the next day. Calvo, claiming that his assignment to deliver Gálvez' invasion force was now complete, sailed back to Havana in the San Ramon. [15]

Siege

On March 24, the Spanish army and its accompanying militia moved to the center of operations. O'Neill served as aide-decamp and commander of the scout patrols. Once the bay had been entered, O'Neill's scouts landed on the mainland and blunted an attack by 400 mainly pro-British Choctaw Indians on the afternoon of March 28. The scouts soon joined forces with the Spanish troops arriving from Mobile.

The Spanish forces led by Bernardo de Galvez at the battle. Oil on canvas, Augusto Ferrer-Dalmau, 2015. Cuadro por espana y por el rey, Galvez en America.jpg
The Spanish forces led by Bernardo de Gálvez at the battle. Oil on canvas, Augusto Ferrer-Dalmau, 2015.

During the first weeks of April, O'Neill's Irish scouts reconnoitered the Pensacola fortifications. The redoubt farthest from the city was the Crescent. Next distant was the Sombrero, followed by Fort George. The Spanish troops established encampments and began extensive preparations for a siege. Hundreds of engineers and laborers brought supplies and armaments to the battlefield. [16] The engineers also dug trenches, and built bunkers and redoubts, besides constructing a covered road to shield the troops from the constant fire of grapeshot, grenades, and cannonballs. [17] On April 12, Gálvez himself was wounded while viewing the British fortifications. Battlefield command was formally transferred to Colonel José de Ezpeleta, a personal friend of Gálvez. [18]

A second attack by the Choctaws began on April 19, interrupting the siege preparations, and that day a large fleet was sighted heading towards the bay. Although at first thought to be bringing British reinforcements, the ships turned out to be the combined Spanish and French fleet from Havana commanded by José Solano y Bote and François-Aymar de Monteil, having on board Spanish Field Marshal Juan Manuel de Cagigal. Reports of a British squadron sighted near Cape San Antonio had reached Havana, and reinforcements had been sent to Gálvez. The Spanish ships carried a total of 1,700 sailors and 1,600 soldiers, bringing the total Spanish force at Pensacola to an unstoppable 8,000 men. [19] Solano decided to remain to assist Gálvez after the disembarkation of the troops, and the two men worked closely together.

A 1783 engraving depicting the exploding magazine CaptureOfPensacola1781.jpg
A 1783 engraving depicting the exploding magazine

On April 22, 1781, the Spanish troops landed under the command of Field Marshal D. Juan Manuel Cagigal, being the Chief of Squadron of the Navy José Solano y Bote future Marquis of Socorro, and of Troops and officers of Navy and Land, of the garrisons of the ships of the squadron of the Navy. By this day22, General Bernardo de Galvez had under his command 7,800 veteran soldiers such as the Louisiana Fixed Battalion, the King, Crown and Prince regiments, the Royal Artillery Corps, the Spain, Soria, Navarro, Guadalajara regiments, Majorca, Navarre, Aragon, volunteers from Catalonia and Toledo, the fixed battalion from Havana, and the three red-coat regiments of Spain's famous Irish brigade, the Hibernia, Ireland, and Ultonia regiments plus a small group of American patriots. From the end of April to the beginning of May, the artillery positions of the Spanish are strengthened, making trenches and tunnels closer and closer, and causing greater damage to the English defenses. [20] [21] [22] [23]

On April 24, a third Choctaw attack caught the Spanish by surprise. No casualties but five Spanish were wounded, including O’Neill's cousin, Sublieutenant Felipe O'Reilly. Two days later, soldiers from the Queens Redoubt attacked Spanish positions, but were driven back by O'Neill's scouts.

On April 30, the Spanish batteries opened fire, signalling the start of the full-scale attack on Pensacola. However, the Gulf was now experiencing tempestuous storms, and a hurricane struck the Spanish ships on May 5 and 6. The Spanish fleet had to be withdrawn, for fear the seas would wreck the ships on the shore. The army remained to continue the siege, even though the trenches were flooded. Gálvez issued them a daily ration of brandy to keep up their spirits. [24]

In early May, Gálvez was surprised to receive chiefs of the Tallapoosa Creeks, who came offering to supply the Spanish army with meat. Gálvez arranged the purchase of beef cattle from them, and also requested that they appeal to the British-allied Creeks and Choctaws to cease their attacks. On May 8, a howitzer shell struck the magazine in Fort Crescent, exploding it and sending black smoke billowing. Fifty-seven British troops were killed by the devastating blast, and Ezpeleta quickly led the light infantry in a charge to take the stricken fort. The Spanish moved howitzers and cannons into what remained of it and opened fire on the next two British forts. Pensacola's defenders returned fired from Fort George, but were soon overwhelmed by the massive Spanish firepower.

Two days later, realizing his final line of fortification could not survive the barrage, General John Campbell reluctantly surrendered Fort George and Prince of Wales Redoubt. The garrison raised a white flag over Fort George at 3 in the afternoon of May 10, 1781. More than 1,100 British and colonial troops were taken prisoner, and 200 casualties were sustained. The Spanish army lost 74 dead, with another 198 wounded. [25]

Gálvez personally accepted the surrender of General John Campbell, ending British sovereignty in West Florida after signing the capitulation. The Spanish fleet left Pensacola for Havana on June 1 to prepare assaults on the remaining British possessions in the Caribbean. Gálvez appointed O'Neill the Spanish Governor of West Florida, and his Hibernia Regiment departed with the fleet.

Aftermath

Jose Solano y Bote in front of Santa Rosa Bay coming to the rescue of General Galvez Jose Solano y Bote.jpg
José Solano y Bote in front of Santa Rosa Bay coming to the rescue of General Gálvez

The terms of capitulation included the entirety of West Florida, the British garrison, large quantities of war material and supplies, and one British sloop of war. [26] Gálvez had the batteries and Fort Barrancas Coloradas moved nearer to the bay's entrance, and placed a battery on Santa Rosa Island against British attempts to recapture Pensacola.

The Tallapoosa Muscogee Creek mission during the siege was probably connected with or even ordered by Alexander McGillivray, a mixed-race Creek trader. Although he was a Loyalist and held a British commission as a colonel, he was a longtime opponent of American colonial intrusions on Creek land. Raised as a Creek, though well educated in South Carolina, McGillivray was viewed by many Creeks as their leader. He supplied the British in Pensacola, and had organized the British Muskogee Creek contingents who fought alongside the Choctaws. He would become principal Chief of the Upper Creeks in 1783, who lived on the Tallapoosa River at Little Tallassee (near today's Montgomery, Alabama). His support for Spain later resulted in the 1784 Treaty of Pensacola, in which Spain guaranteed to respect Creek territory, in return for a Creek promise to stop raiding their neighbors, and disrupting trade. McGillivray personally negotiated the treaty and spent the rest of his life in Pensacola.

The Spanish fleet took the British prisoners to Havana, from which they were sent to New York in a prisoner exchange, which deeply angered the Americans. However, such exchanges were routine, and Gálvez arranged the exchange to free Spanish prisoners of war from British prison ships.[ citation needed ]

Gálvez and his army were welcomed as heroes on their arrival in Havana on May 30. King Charles III promoted Gálvez to lieutenant general, [19] and he was made governor of both West Florida and Louisiana. The royal commendation stated that as Gálvez alone forced the entrance to the Bay, he could place on his coat of arms the words Yo Solo (literally, "me alone"). [27] [28]

José Solano y Bote was later recognized by King Charles III for coming to aid Gálvez with the title Marques del Socorro. A painting of Solano now hanging in the Museo Naval de Madrid shows him with Santa Rosa Bay in the background. A British flag captured at Pensacola is displayed at the Spanish Army Museum in Toledo.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bernardo de Gálvez</span> Spanish general and colonial governor (1746–1786)

Bernardo Vicente de Gálvez y Madrid, 1st Count of Gálvez was a Spanish military leader and government official who served as colonial governor of Spanish Louisiana and Cuba, and later as Viceroy of New Spain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Castillo de los Tres Reyes Del Morro</span> Fortress in Havana, Cuba

The Castillo de los Tres Reyes del Morro(English: Castle of the Three Kings of Morro), also known as Castillo del Morro(Morro Castle), is a fortress guarding the entrance to the Havana harbor. The design is by the Italian engineer Battista Antonelli (1547–1616). Originally under the control of Spain, the fortress was captured by the British in 1762, returned to Spain under the Treaty of Paris (1763) a year later. The Morro Castle was the main defense in the Havana harbor until La Cabaña was completed in 1774.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fort Barrancas</span> United States historic place

Fort Barrancas (1839) or Fort San Carlos de Barrancas is a United States military fort and National Historic Landmark in the former Warrington area of Pensacola, Florida, located physically within Naval Air Station Pensacola, which was developed later around it.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Capture of Fort Bute</span>

The Capture of Fort Bute signalled the opening of Spanish intervention in the American Revolutionary War on the side of France and the United States. Mustering an ad hoc army of Spanish regulars, Acadian militia, and native levies under Gilbert Antoine de St. Maxent, Bernardo de Gálvez, the Governor of Spanish Louisiana stormed and captured the small British frontier post on Bayou Manchac on September 7, 1779.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siege of Baton Rouge (1779)</span>

The siege of Baton Rouge was a brief siege during the Anglo-Spanish War that was decided on September 21, 1779. Fort New Richmond was the second British outpost to fall to Spanish arms during Bernardo de Gálvez's march into West Florida.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Fort Charlotte</span> 1780 battle during the Gulf Coast campaign of the American Revolutionary War

The Battle of Fort Charlotte, also known as the siege of Fort Charlotte, was a two-week siege conducted by Spanish general Bernardo de Gálvez against the British fortifications guarding the port of Mobile, during the Anglo-Spanish War of 1779-1783. Fort Charlotte was the last remaining British frontier post capable of threatening New Orleans, Louisiana. Its fall drove the British from the western reaches of West Florida and reduced the British military presence in West Florida to its capital, Pensacola.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle at The Village</span> 1781 battle of the American Revolutionary War

The Battle at The Village, also known as the Second Battle of Mobile, fought on January 7, 1781, was a failed British attempt to recapture a Spanish fortification at "The Village," during the American Revolutionary War. The attack was led by Waldecker Colonel Johann von Hanxleden who was killed in the attempt.

The 1780 Atlantic hurricane season ran through the summer and fall in 1780. The 1780 season was extraordinarily destructive, and was the deadliest Atlantic hurricane season in recorded history, with over 28,000 deaths. Four different hurricanes, one in June and three in October, caused at least 1,000 deaths each; this event has never been repeated, and only in the 1893 and 2005 seasons were there two such hurricanes. The season also had the deadliest Atlantic hurricane of all time, the Great Hurricane of 1780. Only one of the known storms was not a hurricane.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Francisco Saavedra de Sangronis</span> Spanish government official and soldier

Francisco Saavedra de Sangronis (1746–1819) was a Spanish government official and soldier whose work in Cuba during the American Revolutionary War laid the foundations for the defeat of British forces in Florida and at Yorktown.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gulf Coast campaign</span> 1779–81 Spanish invasion of British West Florida

The Gulf Coast campaign or the Spanish conquest of West Florida in the American Revolutionary War, was a series of military operations primarily directed by the governor of Spanish Louisiana, Bernardo de Gálvez, against the British province of West Florida. Begun with operations against British positions on the Mississippi River shortly after Britain and Spain went to war in 1779, Gálvez completed the conquest of West Florida in 1781 with the successful siege of Pensacola.

Oliver Pollock was a merchant and financier of the American Revolutionary War, of which he has long been considered a historically undervalued figure. He is often credited with inventing the U.S. Dollar sign in 1778.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spain and the American Revolutionary War</span> 18th-century war between UK and Spain

Spain, through its alliance with France and as part of its conflict with Britain, played a role in the independence of the United States. Spain declared war on Britain as an ally of France, itself an ally of the American colonies. Most notably, Spanish forces attacked British positions in the south and captured West Florida from Britain in the siege of Pensacola. This secured the southern route for supplies and closed off the possibility of any British offensive through the western frontier of the United States via the Mississippi River. Spain also provided money, supplies, and munitions to the American forces.

Gilbert Antoine de St. Maxent was a French merchant and military officer who played a major role in the development of French and Spanish Louisiana.

Castillo San Salvador de la Punta

Castillo San Salvador de la Punta is a fortress at the entrance to the bay in Havana, Cuba.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">José Solano y Bote</span> Spanish admiral (1726–1806)

José de Solano y Bote, 1st Marquess of Socorro, was a Spanish naval officer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Capture of the Bahamas (1782)</span>

The Capture of the Bahamas took place in May 1782 during the American Revolutionary War when a Spanish force under the command of Juan Manuel Cagigal arrived on the island of New Providence near Nassau, the capital of the Bahamas. The British commander at Nassau, John Maxwell decided to surrender the island without a fight when confronted by the superior force.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elias Durnford</span> 18th-century British army officer, civil engineer, and colonial official

Elias Durnford was a British army officer and civil engineer who is best known for surveying the town of Pensacola and laying out a city plan based on two public places.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Campbell, of Strachur</span> Scottish soldier and nobleman

General John Campbell, 17th Chief of MacArthur Campbells of Strachur was a Scottish soldier and nobleman, who commanded the British forces at the Siege of Pensacola, and succeeded Guy Carleton, 1st Baron Dorchester as Commander-in-Chief in North America in 1783 following the end of the American War of Independence.

Gálveztown was HMS West Florida, which the Continental Navy schooner USS Morris captured at the Battle of Lake Pontchartrain, which was then in the British province of West Florida. West Florida became Gálveztown, supposedly under the command of Bernardo de Gálvez, the Spanish governor of Louisiana.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Haarmann, Albert W. (January 1, 1966). Proctor, Samuel (ed.). "The Siege of Pensacola: An Order of Battle" (PDF). The Florida Historical Quarterly . Orlando, Florida, United States: Florida Historical Society. 44 (3): 193–199. ISSN   0015-4113. JSTOR   30145666.
  2. Marley 2005, p. 590, Pensacola.
  3. Mays 2009, p. 250.
  4. Chaline, Olivier; Bonnichon, Philippe; de Vergennes, Charles-Philippe (2008). La France et l'Indépendance américaine[France and the American independence] (in French). Paris, France: Presses de l'Université Paris-Sorbonne. p. 357. ISBN   9782840506126. OCLC   470566431.
  5. Mays 2009.
  6. Chartrand 2006, p. 54.
  7. 1 2 Chávez 2003, p. 194, Twelve. A costly blow to British prestige, 1780—1781.
  8. Worcester, Donald E. (January 1, 1951). Proctor, Samuel (ed.). "Miranda's Diary of the Siege of Pensacola, 1781" (PDF). The Florida Historical Quarterly . Orlando, Florida, United States: Florida Historical Society. 29 (3): 163–196. ISSN   0015-4113. JSTOR   30138821.
  9. Coker, William S.; et al. (Foreword by Jerald T. Milanich) (1999). "Pensacola, 1686-1821". In Bense, Judith Anne (ed.). Archaeology of colonial Pensacola. Ripley P. Bullen series. Gainesville, Florida, United States: University of Florida Press. ISBN   9780813016610. OCLC   40444062.
  10. Padgett, James A. (January 1, 1943). "Bernardo de Galvez's Siege of Pensacola in 1781 (as related in Robert Farmar's Journal)". Louisiana Historical Quarterly. Metairie, Louisiana, United States: Louisiana Historical Society. 26 (1): 311–329. ISSN   0095-5949. OCLC   1782268.
  11. 1 2 Fabel, Robin F.A. (January 1, 1987). Proctor, Samuel (ed.). "Ordeal by Siege: James Bruce in Pensacola, 1780-1781". The Florida Historical Quarterly . Orlando, Florida, United States: Florida Historical Society. 66 (3): 280–297. ISSN   0015-4113. JSTOR   30148578.
  12. O'Brien, Greg (2008). "Chapter 6: The Choctaw Defense of Pensacola in the American Revolution". In O'Brien, Greg (ed.). Pre-removal Choctaw History: Exploring New Paths. The civilization of the American Indian series. Vol. 255. Norman, Oklahoma, United States: University of Oklahoma Press. pp. 124–125. ISBN   9780806139166 via Google Books.
  13. Kaufmann & Kaufmann 2004, p. 131, Chapter 3: The American Revolution.
  14. Kuethe 1986, pp. 41–42, 2. Reform.
  15. 1 2 Dupuy, Hammerman & Hayes 1977, p. 151, IV. Spain joins the fight.
  16. Gálvez p. 26
  17. Gálvez p. 20
  18. Martín-Merás p. 82
  19. 1 2 Martín-Merás, p. 85
  20. "La toma de Pensacola, 1781". October 5, 2007.
  21. "La batalla de Pensacola, 1781". March 9, 2022.
  22. "Bernardo de Gálvez | Real Academia de la Historia".
  23. "Museo del Ejército - BERNARDO DE GÁLVEZ CONQUISTA PENSACOLA, EN AMÉRICA, EN LA GUERRA CONTRA INGLATERRA".
  24. Mitchell 2010, p. 104.
  25. Caughey 1998, pp. 209–211.
  26. This was the 18-gun HMS Port Royal. The 18-gun sloop HMS Mentor, the former Maryland privateer Who's Afraid, which the British had captured in 1779 off the Bahamas, had wrecked in March. Her crew had burnt her to prevent her capture.
  27. Caughey 1998, p. 2114.
  28. Huertas González, Manuel. Jiménez Barrios, Manuel; Peña Díaz, Manuel; de Pablos Candón, Mercedes (eds.). "Gálvez, "Yo Solo": El héroe de la batalla de Pensacola" (PDF). Andalucía en la historia (in Spanish). Centro de Estudios Andaluces: 54–57. ISSN   1695-1956.

Bibliography