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Capture of Grenada (1779)

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"Capture of Grenada" redirects here. For the 1983 U.S. invasion, seeUnited States invasion of Grenada.

Capture of Grenada
Part of theAmerican Revolutionary War

View of the French assault on the island of Grenada, 4 July 1779.Prise de l'île de la Grenade, 4 juillet 1779by Jean-François Hue
Date2–4 July 1779
Location
Grenada,West Indies
Result French victory
Belligerents
France Great Britain
Commanders and leaders

Comte D'Estaing

Arthur Dillon		 Lord Macartney(POW)
Strength
2,100 men
25ships of the line[1]		 125 regulars
436 militia and volunteers[2]
Casualties and losses
114 killed
200 wounded[3]		 About 700 prisoners
118 artillery pieces 200 merchantmen[4]

TheCapture of Grenadawas anamphibious expeditionin July 1779 during theAmerican Revolutionary War.Charles Hector, comte D'EstaingledFrenchforces against theBritish-heldWest Indiesisland ofGrenada.The French forces landed on 2 July and the assault occurred on the night of 3–4 July. The French forces assaulted the British fortifications on Hospital Hill, overlooking the island's capital,Saint George's.The British cannons were captured and turned against Fort George. British GovernorLord Macartneyopened negotiations to surrender.

Admiral d'Estaing controversially rejected Macartney's terms of capitulation, instead insisting on him adopting the harsher terms he had written. Macartney rejected those terms, choosing to surrender unconditionally. D'Estaing thereafter permitted his forces to loot the town, and Macartney was sent to France as aprisoner of war.

On 5 July, French forces re-embarked when word arrived that a British fleet under AdmiralJohn Byronwas approaching. The two fleetsbattled the next day.The French severely damaged several British ships; however, both fleets successfully returned to their bases. Under the terms of theTreaty of Paris,France returned Grenada to British control at the end of the war.

Background

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Following the entry ofFranceinto theAmerican War of Independenceas anAmerican allyin early 1778, French Admiral thecomte D'Estaingarrived in theWest Indiesin early December 1778 commanding a fleet of twelveships of the lineand a number of smaller vessels.[5]At about the same time a British fleet under AdmiralWilliam Hothamalso arrived, augmenting the West Indies fleet of AdmiralSamuel Barrington.[6]The British thencapturedFrench-heldSt. Lucia,despite d'Estaing'sattempt at relief.The British used St. Lucia to monitor the French onMartinique,where d'Estaing was based.[7]

The British fleet was further reinforced in January 1779 by ten ships of the line under AdmiralJohn Byron,who assumed command of the BritishLeeward Islandsstation.[8]Throughout the first half of 1779, both fleets received additional reinforcements, after which the French fleet was superior to that of the British.[9]Byron departed St. Lucia on 6 June in order to provide escort services to British merchant ships gathering atSt. Kittsfor a convoy to Europe, leaving d'Estaing free to act. D'Estaing and the French governor-general at Martinique,François Claude Amour, marquis de Bouillé,seized the opportunity to begin a series of operations against nearbyBritish possessions.[10]

Their first target, the isle ofSaint Vincent,fellon 18 June, and d'Estaing turned his attention to other islands. He had hoped to captureBarbados,a key British possession, but after making no progress against the prevailing easterlytrade winds,he turned his attention instead toGrenada.[11]

British defences

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Plan of the French attacks

Grenada was one of Britain's richestcolonies,producing significant quantities of sugar on its plantations.[12]Lord Macartney,the British governor, had been alerted to the possibility of a French attack. He made repeated requests for support to Admiral Byron and the British commander at St. Kitts but was told that Saint Vincent was the principal French interest. However, Byron stated he would bring relief should Grenada be attacked.[13]

Macartney had at his disposal 101 soldiers drawn from the48th Regiment of Footand 24 artillery men. He also had over 400 militia and volunteers but did not consider these forces dependable because one third of them were of French extraction.[2]He ordered the construction of significant fortifications on Hospital Hill, a prominence overlooking the island capitalSt. George's.The steep hillsides were fortified by stone walls, and the hilltop had apalisadesurrounding a series of entrenchments.[14]

French capture

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Hand-colored 1779 engraving depicting d'Estaing's capture of the heights

The French fleet anchored off the Grenada coast just north of St. George's on 2 July.[15]The troops that d'Estaing landed that day consisted of the 1,400-man IrishDillon Regimentand 700 troops drawn from the regiments Champagne, Foix, Auxerrois, and Hainault.[14]With the arrival of the French, Macartney ordered his forces to withdraw behind the fortifications of Hospital Hill. D'Estaing spent 3 July reconnoitring the British position.[16]Concerned that Byron might appear at any time, he decided to launch an attack on Hospital Hill.[1]He first sent a parley flag to Macartney demanding his surrender; the British governor rejected the demand.[17]

D'Estaing's plan of attack called for three columns to attack the back side of the fortifications withbayonets,while a small fourth detachment made a demonstration from a location where the British might more reasonably expect an attack, in other words a decoy or distraction. On the evening of 3 July these formations moved out. The columns, each numbering 300 men, were led byArthur Dillon,Édouard Dillon, and the comte de Noailles. Arthur Dillon's column was accompanied by an advance guard of 180 under thecomte de Durat,and the demonstration force numbered just 200. At 4:00 am on the 4th the demonstration force opened fire, while the other three columns charged up Hospital Hill. The British defenders panicked and most fled down the hill to the apparent safety of Fort George.[17]

The British, in their haste to leave the premises, neglected to spike some of thecannons(driving a metal spike into thetouchhole,rendering the cannon inoperative). They also abandoned many valuables that had been brought up on the heights for safekeeping. The French used the captured cannons to fire upon Fort George. Realizing the situation was hopeless, Macartney raised the white flag.[18]The French took about 700 prisoners, and claimed casualties of 36 killed and 71 wounded. British reports, however, claimed the French casualties numbered closer to 300.[19]The French also claimed as prizes 200 merchant ships anchored in the harbour.[20]

Admiral d'Estaing rejected Macartney's proposed terms of capitulations, countering with a list of articles that he had drafted. Macartney found d'Estaing's proposed articles "not merely unprecedented and humiliating, but so ensnaring and uncertain in their nature, extent, and aim that they might at any time supply a pretext for taking away the lives, together with the fortunes, of the capitulants."[21]His council was unanimous in rejecting the proposed capitulation, and the British chose tosurrender unconditionallyinstead. As a consequence, d'Estaing permitted his troops to pillage St. George's.[22]Among the items taken or destroyed were most of Macartney's silver and plate, much of his clothing, and his personal papers. The latter came as a particularly harsh blow to the governor, for copies of those papers sent to St. Lucia with his wife for safeguarding were destroyed by fire.[23]When d'Estaing invited Macartney to dine with him, the governor apologised for his garb, noting that the coat he was wearing was the only one left him. Macartney and other leading Grenadians were also refusedparole,and were sent to France as prisoners of war.[22]

Aftermath

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Main article:Battle of Grenada
French political cartoon acclaiming d'Estaing for his successes

Admiral Byron had been alerted to the capture of Saint Vincent on 1 July and was en route with a force to retake it when he learned of the attack on Grenada. He immediately sailed there, arriving on the morning of 6 July. D'Estaing, alerted to Byron's intentions on the 5th, embarked most of the troops and weighed anchor at 4:00 am on the 6th. The fleetsbattled off Grenada,with d'Estaing prevailing over Byron's disorganised attack.[24]There were no further major actions in the West Indies before d'Estaing sailed north and ledan unsuccessful siegeof British-heldSavannah, Georgiain September.[25]

D'Estaing's successes in capturing Grenada and defeating Byron made him immensely popular in France.[26]Playwright and actorPierre-Germain ParisauwroteVeni, Vidi, Vici, ou La Prise de Grenadecontaining a re-enactment of the capture. D'Estaing did not see the popular work, butJohn Paul Jonesattended a performance during a visit toParis.[27]

During their occupation, the French began construction of a series of fortifications on Richmond Hill. Designed to defend against an attack like theirs, its cannons pointed to the landward rather than seaward side. These defences were completed by the British after 1783.[19]

Both Grenada and Saint Vincent remained in French hands until the end of the war, when they were returned to Britain under the terms of the 1783Treaty of Paris.[28]The rule of the comte de Durat, who was appointed governor by d'Estaing, was reported by British residents to be harsh and oppressive.[29]After the British resumed control, they cracked down on the predominantlyRoman CatholicFrench-speaking population, leading to discontent and an exodus of French Grenadians toTrinidad.[30]These religious and cultural divisions in Grenadian society contributed to the rise of local resistance which culminated in the nearly-successfulFédon Rebellionin 1795–96.[31]

Notes

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  1. ^abColomb, p. 390
  2. ^abBarrow and Macartney, p. 56
  3. ^Barrow and Macartney, p. 59
  4. ^Marley p.321
  5. ^Mahan, pp. 429–431
  6. ^Mahan, p. 429
  7. ^Mahan, pp. 429–432
  8. ^Colomb, p. 388
  9. ^Colomb, pp. 388–389
  10. ^Colomb, p. 389
  11. ^Colomb, pp. 389–390
  12. ^O'Shaughnessy, p. 60
  13. ^Barrow and Macartney, pp. 55–56
  14. ^abA Brief Historical Sketch,p. 827
  15. ^Colman-Maison, p. 263
  16. ^Colman-Maison, p. 264
  17. ^abBrizan, p. 44
  18. ^Brizan, p. 45
  19. ^abBrizan, p. 46
  20. ^Mahan, p. 434
  21. ^Robbins, pp. 109–110
  22. ^abRobbins, p. 110
  23. ^Barrow and Macartney, pp. 62, 408
  24. ^Colomb, p. 391
  25. ^Mahan, pp. 440–443
  26. ^Doniol, p. 421
  27. ^Campardon, p. 210
  28. ^Black, p. 59
  29. ^Brizan, p. 48
  30. ^Brizan, p. 49
  31. ^Brizan, pp. 50–52

References

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