The Gulf Coast campaign or the Spanish conquest of West Florida in 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 ...

, was a series of military operations primarily directed by the governor of

Spanish Louisiana Spanish Louisiana ( es, link=no, la Luisiana) was a governorate and administrative district of the Viceroyalty of New Spain from 1762 to 1801 that consisted of a vast territory in the center of North America encompassing the western basin of t ...

Bernardo de Gálvez Bernardo Vicente de Gálvez y Madrid, 1st Count of Gálvez (23 July 1746 – 30 November 1786) was a Spanish military leader and government official who served as colonial governor of Spanish Louisiana and Cuba, and later as Viceroy of New Sp ...

, against the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

province of

West Florida West Florida ( es, Florida Occidental) was a region on the northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico that underwent several boundary and sovereignty changes during its history. As its name suggests, it was formed out of the western part of former S ...

. Begun with operations against British positions on the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the List of longest rivers of the United States (by main stem), second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest Drainage system (geomorphology), drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson B ...

shortly after Britain and

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

went to war in 1779, Gálvez completed the conquest of West Florida in 1781 with the successful

siege of Pensacola The siege of Pensacola was a siege fought in 1781, the culmination of Spain's conquest of the British province of West Florida during the Gulf Coast campaign. Background When Spain entered the War in 1779, Bernardo de Gálvez, the energeti ...

Background

officially entered the American Revolutionary War on 8 May 1779, with a formal

declaration of war A declaration of war is a formal act by which one state announces existing or impending war activity against another. The declaration is a performative speech act (or the signing of a document) by an authorized party of a national government, ...

King Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to a ...

. This declaration was followed by another on 8 July that authorised his colonial subjects to engage in hostilities against the British. Gayarré (1867), p. 121 When Bernardo de Gálvez, the colonial Governor of Spanish Louisiana, received word of this on 21 July, he immediately began to secretly plan offensive operations. Gálvez, who had been planning for the possibility of war since April, intercepted communications from the British at

Pensacola Pensacola () is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle, and the county seat and only incorporated city of Escambia County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 54,312. Pensacola is the principal ci ...

indicating that the British were planning a surprise attack on

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

; he decided to launch his own attack first. Gayarré (1867), p. 122 To that end, he concealed from the public his receipt of the second proclamation. Gayarré (1867), p. 124

Control of the lower Mississippi

On 27 August Gálvez set out by land toward Baton Rouge, leading a force that consisted of 520 regulars (about two-thirds of them recent recruits), 60 militiamen, 80 free blacks and mulattoes, and ten

Anglo-American Anglo-Americans are people who are English-speaking inhabitants of Anglo-America. It typically refers to the nations and ethnic groups in the Americas that speak English as a native language, making up the majority of people in the world who spe ...

volunteers Volunteering is a voluntary act of an individual or group freely giving time and labor for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergency rescue. Others serve ...

headed by

Oliver Pollock Oliver Pollock (1737, Bready, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland – December 17, 1823, Pinckneyville, Mississippi) was a merchant and financier of the American Revolutionary War, of which he has long been considered a historically undervalued ...

. Gayarré (1867), pp. 125–126 As they marched upriver, the force grew by another 600 men, including Indians and

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. At its peak, the force numbered over 1,400; this number was reduced due to the hardships of the march, by several hundred, before they reached Fort Bute. Gayarré (1867), p. 126 At dawn on 7 September this force attacked Fort Bute, a decaying relic of the

French and Indian War The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was a theater of the Seven Years' War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various Native American tribes. At the st ...

that was defended by a token force.Haarmann (1960), p. 111 After a brief skirmish in which one German was killed, most of the garrison surrendered. The six who escaped capture made their way to Baton Rouge to notify the British troops there of the fort's capture. Nester (2004), p. 232 After a few days' rest, Gálvez advanced on

Baton Rouge Baton Rouge ( ; ) is a city in and the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. Located the eastern bank of the Mississippi River, it is the parish seat of East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana's most populous parish—the equivalent of counti ...

, only from Fort Bute. When Gálvez arrived at Baton Rouge on 12 September, he found

Fort New Richmond Fort New Richmond was built by the British in 1779 on the east bank of the Mississippi River in what was later to become Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The Spanish took control of the fort in 1779 and renamed it Fort San Carlos. Revolutionary War The ...

garrisoned by over 400

regular army A regular army is the official army of a state or country (the official armed forces), contrasting with irregular forces, such as volunteer irregular militias, private armies, mercenaries, etc. A regular army usually has the following: * a standin ...

troops and 150 militia, under the overall command of Lt. Colonel Alexander Dickson.Haarmann (1960), p. 112 After nine days' siege, Dickson surrendered. Gálvez demanded and was granted terms that included the capitulation of the 80 Elite Grenadiers from the newly arrived 60th Regiment of Foote at

Fort Panmure Fort Rosalie was built by the French in 1716 within the territory of the Natchez Native Americans and it was part of the French colonial empire in the present-day city of Natchez, Mississippi. Early history As part of the peace terms that ...

(modern

Natchez, Mississippi Natchez ( ) is the county seat of and only city in Adams County, Mississippi, United States. Natchez has a total population of 14,520 (as of the 2020 census). Located on the Mississippi River across from Vidalia in Concordia Parish, Louisiana, ...

), a well-fortified position which would have been difficult for Gálvez to take militarily. Dickson surrendered 375 regular troops the next day; Gálvez had Dickson's militia disarmed and sent home. Gálvez then sent a detachment of 50 men to take control of Panmure. Gayarré (1867), p. 129 He dismissed his own militia companies, left a sizable

garrison A garrison (from the French ''garnison'', itself from the verb ''garnir'', "to equip") is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a mili ...

at Baton Rouge, and returned to

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

with about 50 men.

Mobile

In early 1780 Gálvez embarked on an expedition to capture

Mobile Mobile may refer to: Places * Mobile, Alabama, a U.S. port city * Mobile County, Alabama * Mobile, Arizona, a small town near Phoenix, U.S. * Mobile, Newfoundland and Labrador Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Mobile ( ...

, which was one of only two major British military establishments left in West Florida, the other being the capital,

. Assembling 750 men at New Orleans, he sailed for Mobile on 11 January, reaching Mobile Bay on 9 February after being delayed by storms. He was joined on 20 February by a supporting force of 450 from

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

, but did not begin siege operations until the 1 March. After 14 days of bombardment, Fort Charlotte's walls were breached, and its commander, Captain

Elias Durnford Elias Durnford (13 June 1739 – 21 June 1794) 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 (now the Plaza Ferdinand VII and the Sevi ...

, surrendered. Gálvez in the fall of 1780 sought to capture Pensacola, launching his naval force from Mobile, but the fleet was dispersed by a major hurricane. Its tattered remnants made their way back to either Havana or New Orleans, and planning began again for an expedition in 1781. British authorities in Pensacola had, when war with Spain was imminent, attempted to shore up West Florida's defences, but the meagre resources allocated to the region meant that General John Campbell, the military commander at Pensacola, had been able to do little to stop Gálvez's advance. By late 1780 he had received some reinforcements, and managed to recruit a significant force of local Indians to bolster Pensacola's defences. The destruction of Gálvez's expedition emboldened him to attempt the recapture of Mobile. In January 1781 he dispatched more than 700 men under the command of the Waldecker Captain Johann von Hanxleden to go overland. This force was

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when it attacked one of the forward Spanish defenses of Mobile, and Captain Hanxleden was killed. The attack prompted Spanish authorities in Cuba to enlarge the Mobile garrison.

Pensacola

Gálvez and Spanish authorities in Cuba again launched an expedition against Pensacola in February 1781. With forces that eventually numbered about 8,000, Gálvez, assisted by Spanish and French naval forces, first blockaded the Pensacola harbour, and then began siege operations on 9 March. By the 30 April the Spanish had successfully placed cannons that could fully attack the main Pensacola defences. A lucky cannon shot hit the powder magazine in one of the outer defences on 8 May, and the Spanish quickly capitalised upon this development by capturing the British position. Realising his position was no longer tenable, Campbell opened surrender negotiations the next day. The terms of capitulation included all of the British West Florida.

References

Bibliography