June 1779 to May 1781
Spain enters the war and takes West Florida
By the Treaty of Aranjuez of April 1779 Spain joins France against Britain, and in June it declares war. It does not ally with the United States. Bernardo de Gálvez, the governor of Louisiana, moves against British West Florida from New Orleans. In September 1779 he takes Fort Bute at Manchac and Baton Rouge, and the British surrender Natchez with them.
Bernardo de Gálvez, governor of Louisiana, portrait by an unknown painterWikimedia Commons, Unknown author, Public domain (Portrait of Bernardo de Gálvez.jpg)
West Florida on a map by Bernard Romans, 1776Wikimedia Commons, Bernard Romans, Public domain (BritishWestFlorida1776.jpg)
On 14 March 1780 Gálvez takes Mobile. A larger expedition from Havana besieges Pensacola, the capital of West Florida, from March 1781, and its garrison surrenders on 10 May. West Florida passes to Spain, while East Florida, with St. Augustine, stays British.
The capture of Pensacola, May 1781, engraving by Bertaux and Ponce after Lausan, 1783Wikimedia Commons, Lausan (artist), Bertaux and Ponce (engravers), Public domain (CaptureOfPensacola1781.jpg)
Sources
- Robert Middlekauff, The Glorious Cause (2005).
- John Ferling, Almost a Miracle (2007).
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