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Global Struggle
After the Battle of Saratoga in 1777 the French entered the war on the American side, signing the Treaty of Alliance in February 1778. The French wanted revenge for their defeats during the Seven Years War (1756-63). French entry into the conflict meant that British naval superiority, which had proved vital in the early part of the war, was now contested, both in North America and the Caribbean. French soldiers and supplies were also crucial to the Patriot cause on land.
The capture of Grenada by the French, 1779.
Line engravings by F Godefroy and N Ponce, 1783.
NAM. 1964-09-9-7
The Spanish, eager to recover the territories of Florida, Gibraltar and Minorca from the British, entered the war as an ally of France in June 1779. They also had their sights on the British outposts on the River Mississippi. The War of Independence had become a world war. This meant that British resources and soldiers could no longer be concentrated on North America alone, but had to be deployed around the globe. The Spanish and French were successful at Pensacola in Florida in May 1781, and Minorca, which they captured on 5 February 1782. Both were retained after the war.
The Siege of Pensacola in Florida, 1781.
Engraving by F Godefroy and N Ponce, c1783.
NAM. 1971-02-33-512-9
On 24 June 1779 the Spanish besieged the British garrison on the Rock of Gibraltar. The siege reached a crisis point in September 1782, when a combined Franco-Spanish assault involving 100,000 men, 48 ships and 450 cannon attacked General George Augustus Eliott's garrison. The Rock was bombarded by a number of specially designed floating batteries. In a daring and dangerous move, British gunners fired back with red-hot shot, setting many of the batteries on fire and causing some to explode. The enemy fleet retreated and the garrison was able to keep up its resistance until the end of hostilities in 1783.
General Eliott and his officers observing the destruction of the Floating Batteries, Gibraltar, 1782.
Oil on canvas by George Carter (1737-94), 1784.
NAM. 1996-07-107
The war in the West Indies was marked by naval raiding and skirmishing. Although the French succeeded in capturing several British possessions in the Lesser Antilles, including Saint Lucia (1778), Grenada (1779) and Tobago (1781), Admiral Rodney's naval victory at the Battle of the Saintes in April 1782 ended Franco-Spanish hopes of taking Jamaica. It also safe-guarded the vital Caribbean trade and did much to restore flagging British morale.
Prise de Tabago, 1781.
Line engraving by William and Ponce, c1783.
NAM. 1964-09-9-9
French entry into the war also renewed the old Franco-British rivalry on the Indian sub-continent. A British-Indian force struck first, capturing Pondicherry on 18 October 1778 and Mahe, on the Malabar coast, the following year. The ruler of the state of Mysore, Hyder Ali, sided with the French following the annexation of lands belonging to one of his dependents. His 90,000 strong army defeated a British-Indian force at Parambakum on 10 September 1780. Sir Eyre Coote was then sent against Hyder Ali with a larger force. He defeated him at Porto Novo on 1 July and Pollilore on 27 August 1781. Coote was again victorious at Sholinghur on 27 September 1781, but the war dragged on with neither side able to claim a decisive victory.
Hyder Ali Khan Bahadur, c1780.
Print after Bonneville, engraved by Chapman.
NAM. 1967-05-20-10
In 1781 a French force of around 700 men landed in Jersey. They moved inland and captured the Lord Lieutenant of Jersey, Major Corbet. He was fooled into believing that a force of 4,000 men had invaded, and that if he did not submit St Helier would be burnt. Corbet surrendered and ordered the Elizabeth Castle garrison to do likewise. They refused and fired upon the French when they approached the castle. The British troops and local militia then followed the retreating French into the town square where a brief but bloody battle was fought. The British commander, Major Peirson, was killed, but the French were defeated.
The death of Major Peirson, Saint Helier, 6 January 1781.
Coloured lithograph, by Castille after J S Copley, printed by Le Breton, Jersey, 1781.
NAM. 1971-02-33-216
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