Topic summary
Battle of St. Louis
Spain
United States
- Emanuel Hesse
- Matchekewis
- Wapasha I
168 militia
750–1,500 Indian warriors
4 wounded
The Battle of St. Louis, also known as the Attack on St. Louis and the Battle of Fort San Carlos, was fought on May 26, 1780, between British-alliedIndians and defenders of the Franco-Spanishvillage of St. Louis, Louisiana (present-day U.S. state of Missouri) during the American Revolutionary War. The garrison, a motley assortment of regulars and militiamen led by Upper Louisiana's lieutenant governor, Captain Fernando de Leyba, suffered a small number of casualties.
De Leyba fortified St. Louis as best as he could and successfully withstood the attack. On the opposite bank of the Mississippi River, a simultaneous attack on the nearby American village of Cahokia was also repulsed. The retreating British-allied Indians destroyed crops and took captive inhabitants outside the protected area. The British failed to defend their side of the river, effectively ending any attempts to gain control of the Mississippi River during the Revolutionary War.