The Battle of Puerto Plata Harbor took place in 1800 with

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

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") , i ...

on one side, and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

on the other, during the undeclared

Quasi-War The Quasi-War (french: Quasi-guerre) was an undeclared naval war fought from 1798 to 1800 between the United States and the French First Republic, primarily in the Caribbean and off the East Coast of the United States. The ability of Congress ...

officially between the

French First Republic In the history of France, the First Republic (french: Première République), sometimes referred to in historiography as Revolutionary France, and officially the French Republic (french: République française), was founded on 21 September 1792 ...

and the

. American forces landed about a hundred troops and sailors from USS ''Sally'' in Puerto Plata and boarded the French corvette ''Sandwich'' anchored there, which surrendered after a brief firefight. U.S. Marines then assaulted the Spanish Army's ''Fortaleza San Felipe''; after another brief firefight, the fort was overrun and its

cannon A cannon is a large- caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder ...

s were spiked.

History

In early May 1800,

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

Silas Talbot Captain Silas Talbot (January 11, 1751June 30, 1813) was an American military officer and slave trader. He served in the Continental Army and Continental Navy during the American Revolutionary War, and is most famous for commanding from 1799 ...

organized a naval expedition to Puerto Plata on the island of

Hispaniola Hispaniola (, also ; es, La Española; Latin and french: Hispaniola; ht, Ispayola; tnq, Ayiti or Quisqueya) is an island in the Caribbean that is part of the Greater Antilles. Hispaniola is the most populous island in the West Indies, and th ...

. His objective was to reduce French privateering. Having captured the small French sloops ''Sally'' and ''Ester'', arrived outside Puerto Plata. The French privateer ''Sandwich'' was known to be at anchor in the harbor. Talbot offloaded from USS ''Constitution'' a

landing force A landing operation is a military action during which a landing force, usually utilizing landing craft, is transferred to land with the purpose of power projection ashore. With the proliferation of aircraft, a landing may refer to amphibious force ...

of about 100

marines Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refle ...

and

sailor A sailor, seaman, mariner, or seafarer is a person who works aboard a watercraft as part of its crew, and may work in any one of a number of different fields that are related to the operation and maintenance of a ship. The profession of the s ...

s, onto the prize sloop ''Sally'' under the command of Lt. Isaac Hull. Hull, with the force hidden below deck, brought ''Sally'' into harbor and alongside an unsuspecting ''Sandwich''. The French were no doubt shocked at the approaching American force and hardly put up a fight; ''Sandwich'' was captured in minutes. Then the Americans turned their attention on

Fortaleza San Felipe The Fortaleza San Felipe is a historic Spanish fortress located in the north of Dominican Republic in the province of Puerto Plata. It is also known as ''El Morro'' de San Felipe and was used to protect the City of Puerto Plata from pirates an ...

, a

Spanish Army The Spanish Army ( es, Ejército de Tierra, lit=Land Army) is the terrestrial army of the Spanish Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is one of the oldest active armies — dating back to the late 15th century. The ...

fort whose guns covered the two ships. After another brief fight, the fort's defenses were overrun and the marines spiked the fort's

s. With the capture of ''Sandwich'' and the assault on the coastal fort, U.S. forces returned to their ships and sailed home. The Battle of Puerto Plata Harbor was one of the few land battles during the

. Later the United States government would have to disavow Talbot's raid as it was an attack on a neutral party (Spain) and against a neutral military force (the fort).Benjamin Armstrong, ''Small Boats and Daring Men: Maritime Raiding, Irregular Warfare, and the Early American Navy,'' (University of Oklahoma Press, 2019): 48-51.

Bibliography

* *Benjamin Armstrong, ''Small Boats and Daring Men: Maritime Raiding, Irregular Warfare, and the Early American Navy,'' (University of Oklahoma Press, 2019)

References

External links

Commanding Officers of ''Constitution''

USS ''Constitution'' Museum

{{DEFAULTSORT:Puerto Plata Harbor, Battle of Military history of the United States United States Marine Corps in the 18th and 19th centuries Battles of the Quasi-War 1800 in Spain 1800 in France 1800 in the United States Military history of the Dominican Republic Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic Amphibious operations Conflicts in 1800 Amphibious operations involving the United States