Before Lexington
1588 -- The sinking of the Spanish Armada by Lord Nelson and Admiral Sir. Robert Cross,
was the main cause of Spanish hatred of the English.
1589 -- The destruction of the remainder of the Spanish fleet and the capture
of Cadiz by Admiral Sir. Robert Cross, was the crowning blow of Spanish hatred
of the English, which lasted well over 200 years.
1761 -- The "Bourbon Family Compact", between France and Spain, provided that
any nation which attacked one nation, attacked both; and that when one
of the countries was at war, it could call upon the other for military or naval aid.
[The kings of Spain and France were both members of the Bourbon family, and were cousins.]
1763 -- End of the "Seven Years War" between England and the Spanish-French Alliance.
Spain lost Havana and Manila to the English. To get these forts back, Spain traded
East Florida and West Florida to England. Spain received New Orleans from the French.
1776
BEFORE 1776 July 4 -- Spain and France enter into a secret agreement with the colonists
to support them in their rebellion against England. [The promise of secret support
from both Spain and France surely gave confidence to the colonists prior to the signing
of the Declaration of Independence.]
1776-1779 -- Spain provided credit to the colonists totaling 8 million reales,
for military and medical supplies and food.
1776 August -- Gen. Charles Henry Lee, second in command to Gen. George Washington,
sent Capt. George Gibson, with a group of 16 colonists, from Ft. Pitt to New Orleans,
to obtain supplies from Spain.
1776 September -- Spain sent 9,000 pounds of gun powder to the colonists
up the Mississippi River, and an additional 1,000 pounds by ship to Philadelphia.
1776 Nov 25 -- Carlos, III orders Galvez to secretly collect intelligence
about the British. Later, Galvez was ordered to render secret help to the colonies.
1776 Dec 24 -- Order issued by Minister of the Indies, Jose de Galvez,
to the Governor of Louisiana, instructing him to support the Americans.
1777
BEFORE 1777 July -- Spain sent another 2,000 barrels of gun powder, lead
and clothing up the Mississippi to assist the colonists. Carlos, III made
secret loans of 1,000,000 livres. Additional arms, ammunition and provisions
were sent by the Spanish to Gen. George Rogers Clark's posts along the Mississippi;
and to George Washington's Continental Army.
1777 -- American Representatives in France, Benjamin Franklin, arranged
for the secret transport from Spain to the colonies of 215 bronze cannon;
4,000 tents; 13,000 grenades; 30,000 muskets, bayonets and uniforms;
50,000 musket balls; and 300,000 pounds of gun powder. [Since the colonies
had not obtained their independence from England yet, France could not accept
an Ambassador. Yet, Franklin, the "Representative" was afforded all the courtesies
normally extended to other Ambassadors.]
1777 Sep. -- By this time, Spain had already furnished 1,870,000 livres
tournaises to the Americans. Much of this was contributed through a dummy
corporation, for which France received credit. [The famous "Rodrigue Hortalez
and Company" served as the conduit for Spanish assistance. It's main director
was the French playright and statesman, Pierre Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais.]
1777 Oct. -- Patrick Henry wrote two letters to General Galvez, thanking Spain
for it's help and requesting more supplies. Henry suggested that the two Floridas
that Spain lost to England, should revert back to Spain.
1778
1778-1779 -- American Gen. George Rogers Clark obtained a considerable
amount of his supplies from Gen. Galvez in New Orleans. These supplies
were used in his victories over the British at Kaskaskia, Cahokia and Vicennes.
1778 Jan. -- Patrick Henry wrote another letter to General Galvez,
thanking Spain for it's help and requesting more supplies.
1778 Feb. -- "Treaty of Alliance" between France and The United States,
obligated Spain to assist France against the English. Gen. Galvez began
to recruit an army, under the guise that it was for the defense of New Orleans.
1778 Mar. -- U.S. Captain James Willing left Ft. Pitt with an expedition
of 30 men, bound for New Orleans to obtain supplies for the war. They plundered
the British settlements along the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. Gen. Galvez
welcomed them to New Orleans and assisted them in auctioning off of their British plunder.
Galvez sold them military arms and ammunition for their return trip to Ft. Pitt.
1779
1779-1782 -- Spanish Ranchers along the San Antonio River between San Antonio
and Goliad, send 9,000 to 15,000 head of cattle, several hundred horses,
mules, bulls and feed to Gen. Bernardo Galvez in New Orleans. The cattle were
used to feed his troops and to provision George Washington's Continental Army at Valley Forge.
1779 -- All males, including Indians, over 18 in New Spain were required
to become a member of the Militia in their respective areas.
1779 Apr. -- Secret treaty was entered into between the French Ambassador
in Madrid, and Count Floridablanca, Spanish Secretary of State, which drew Spain
into the conflict between the American Colonies and England.
1779 Jun. 21 -- Spain declares war on England. Carlos, III, king of Spain,
ordered Spanish subjects around the world to fight the English wherever they were
to be found. Gen. Bernardo Galvez in New Orleans, was ready for battle.
1779 Aug. 27 - Sep. 7 -- Gen. Bernardo Galvez lead the Spanish Army at New Orleans
up the Mississippi River 90 miles to attack Ft. Bute, in Manchac, Louisiana.
Ft. Bute was surrendered by the English on 7 Sep. 1779.
1779 Aug. 29 -- Carlos, III, king of Spain, issued a proclamation that
the main objective of the Spanish troops in America was to drive the British
out of the Gulf of Mexico and the Mississippi River.
1779 Sep. 20 -- Gen. Galvez army captured Baton Rouge, and negotiated
the surrender of the British fort at Natchez. By clearing the Mississippi
of British forces, Galvez allowed Capt. William Pickles to bring an American
Schooner onto Lake Pontchartrain. Pickles seized the British privateer,
West Florida, which had dominated the lake for two years.
1779 Nov. 8 -- Thomas Jefferson wrote to Gen. Galvez, expressing his thanks
for Spain's assistance during the revolutionary cause.
1780
1780 -- Carlos, III issued a Royal Order requesting a one-time voluntary donation
of two pesos per Spaniard and one pesos per Indian in each provincial site
in Spain's New World Empire, to defray the expense of the war with England.
This request was viewed as a crown order, followed by a high level of participation.
1780 Jan. 28 - Mar. 9 -- Galvez led the attack on Mobile. The siege lasted
from 10 Feb. to 9 Mar. 1779, when the British surrendered. Galvez was promoted
to Field Marshall and was given command of all Spanish operations in America.
1780 Apr. -- Spanish fleet sailed from Cadiz, Spain to America to reinforce
the army of Gen. Bernardo Galvez.
1780 Oct. 16 -- Galvez led a Spanish fleet of 15 war ships and 59 transport ships
from Havana to attack Pensacola. Embarked were 164 officers and 3,829 men.
1780 Oct. 18 -- A hurricane hit the Spanish flotilla. Many were lost.
The survivors retreated to Havana. For fear that the British might seek
to retake Mobile before he could take Pensacola, Galvez dispatches two warships
and 500 soldiers to reinforce Mobile.
1781
1781 Feb. 28 -- Second (and smaller) Spanish flotilla, with 1,315 soldiers,
sailed from Havana, Cuba to assist Gen. Bernardo Galvez in his attack on Pensacola.
1781 Mar. 9 -- Two month Spanish siege on Pensacola began. Galvez had
previously ordered troops stationed in New Orleans and Mobile to join in the
attack on Pensacola. Mobile sent 500 men, and 1,400 arrived from New Orleans.
1781 Apr. 19 -- 1,600 reinforcements from Havana arrived in Pensacola.
1781 May 8 -- The British surrendered at Pensacola. This removed the British
threat from the Gulf of Mexico and the Mississippi River. Galvez was assisted
by four French frigates. He gave them 500,000 pesos to reprovision their ships.
These ships then proceeded to join the French blockade of Yorktown, which led
to the British surrender.
1781 Aug. -- Gen. George Washington drank a toast to the kings of France
and Spain at the home of Robert Morris, in Philadelphia. [It should be noted
that to a lesser degree, the colonists received aid and assistance from Holland
(now the Netherlands) and Sweden. Each allowed American ships the use of their ports.]
1781 Oct. 19 -- Gen. Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown.
After Yorktown
[Although the hostilities between the American and British forces were halted
by the surrender, the Revolutionary War was not over. Indians aligned with the British
continued to fight in Ohio and Indiana. France and Spain continued their hostilities
against the British.]
Note: Both the Daughters of the American Revolution and the Sons of the
American Revolution recognize service between the period 1781 Oct. 19 and
1783 Sep. 3 as "qualified" patriotic service.
1782 May 6 -- Gen. Galvez attacked the Bahamas, which surrendered.
1783 Sep. 3 -- With the signing of the Paris Peace Treaty, peace was declared
between England, the United States, Spain and France.
1784 -- U.S. Congress formally cited Gen. Bernardo Galvez and Spain for their aid
during the American Revolutionary War.
1785 -- Upon his father's death, Gen. Bernardo Galvez was named Viceroy of New Spain.
1785 Nov. 30 -- Gen. Bernardo Galvez died in Mexico City, Mexico.
