The Invasion of Jersey was a failed French attack on British-held

Jersey Jersey ( , ; nrf, Jèrri, label=Jèrriais ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ), is an island country and self-governing Crown Dependencies, Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west F ...

in 1779, during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

Battle

A letter from Major

Moses Corbet Major Moses Corbet (1728–1814) was a British Army officer who served as Lieutenant Governor of Jersey from 4 April 1771 to 6 January 1781. Early career Corbet joined the British Army c.1745. In 1748 he was an Ensign in the 7th Regiment of Foo ...

, Lieutenant Governor of Jersey, reported that on 1 May 1779, a French force attempted a landing at St Ouen's Bay. Early that morning, lookouts sighted five large vessels and a great number of boats some three leagues off the coast, proceeding towards the coast in order by a

coup de main A ''coup de main'' (; plural: ''coups de main'', French for blow with the hand) is a swift attack that relies on speed and surprise to accomplish its objectives in a single blow. Definition The United States Department of Defense defines it as ...

to effect a landing. Guns on the cutters, and small craft supporting the landing, fired

grapeshot Grapeshot is a type of artillery round invented by a British Officer during the Napoleonic Wars. It was used mainly as an anti infantry round, but had other uses in naval combat. In artillery, a grapeshot is a type of ammunition that consists of ...

at the defenders on the coast. By fast marching, the

78th Regiment of Foot The 78th (Highlanders) Regiment of Foot was a Highland Infantry Regiment of the Line, raised in 1793. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with 72nd Regiment, Duke of Albany's Own Highlanders to form the Seaforth Highlanders in 1881. ...

and Jersey militia had arrived in time to oppose the landing, dragging with them some field artillery through the sand of the beaches. The defenders were able to prevent the landing, suffering only a few men wounded when a cannon burst. As the tide was ebbing, the French warships could not get close enough to support any landing, and without their support, the captains of the transports were unwilling to bring their vessels inshore. By some reports, the first and only vessel that attempted to land was either struck with a shot or dashed upon a rock. Twenty men got ashore and surrendered, 15 or 18 men drowned, and the rest got off safe. The French vessels held off a league from the coast, but eventually left the area. On 2 May, a vessel from Jersey fell in with a convoy under Admiral

Mariot Arbuthnot Admiral (Royal Navy), Admiral Mariot Arbuthnot (1711 – 31 January 1794) was a Kingdom of Great Britain, British admiral, who commanded the Royal Navy's North American station during the American War for Independence. Early life A native of Wey ...

that had left Spithead en route to North America. Arbuthnot sent the convoy to Torbay and proceeded to the relief of Jersey with his ships. However, when he arrived, he found that Captain Ford of had the situation well in hand. Arbuthnot returned to his convoy, but his deviation resulted in the convoy not clearing the Channel until end of June, with consequent hardship for the troops in North America who were awaiting it.Campbell ''et al.'' (1827), Vol. 5, pp.456-7. Combat naval sur les côtes de France en 1779

Combat naval sur les côtes de France en 1779

On 13 May Captain Sir James Wallace captured the French frigate ''Danae'', and a

brig A brig is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: two masts which are both square rig, square-rigged. Brigs originated in the second half of the 18th century and were a common type of smaller merchant vessel or warship from then until the ...

and cutter, in Cancale Bay. The squadron had sailed to the relief of

after the failed French invasion.

Aftermath

In 1787 the British placed a battery of three 24-pounder guns on the spot where the Rector of St Ouen, le Sire du Parcq, had placed guns to repulse the French attack. In 1834, the British built a

Martello tower Martello towers, sometimes known simply as Martellos, are small defensive forts that were built across the British Empire during the 19th century, from the time of the French Revolutionary Wars onwards. Most were coastal forts. They stand up ...

there. Known as

Lewis Tower Aria (formerly known as the Lewis Tower Building) is a 33-story Art Deco skyscraper in Center City Philadelphia designed by the firm Edmund Gilchrist. History and architectural features An exceptionally slender building, is historic structure wa ...

(or St Ouen's No. 1), it survives to this day. During the

German occupation of the Channel Islands The military occupation of the Channel Islands by Nazi Germany lasted for most of the Second World War, from 30 June 1940 until liberation on 9 May 1945. The Bailiwick of Jersey and Bailiwick of Guernsey are two island countries and British ...

1940–1945, the Germans built a large bunker next to Lewis Tower; today it houses the Channel Islands Military Museum.

Citations and references

Citations {{reflist, 30em References * Campbell, John,

John Berkenhout John Berkenhout (8 July 1726 – 3 April 1791) was an English physician, naturalist and miscellaneous writer. He was educated as a physician at Edinburgh and Leyden. While at Edinburgh he published a botanical lexicon ''Clavis Anglicae Linguae ...

, Henry Redhead Yorke,

William Stevenson William Stevenson may refer to: Government and politics * Sir William Stevenson (colonial administrator) (1805–1863), Governor of Mauritius * William E. Stevenson (1820–1883), American politician, Governor of West Virginia * William Ernest St ...

(1817) ''Lives of the British admirals: containing an accurate naval history from the earliest periods''. (Printed for C.J. Barrington, and J. Harris) Conflicts in 1779 Battles of the American Revolutionary War 1779 in Great Britain 18th century in Jersey Military operations involving France

Military history of Jersey Invasions of Jersey