Siege of Baton Rouge (1779) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Siege of Baton Rouge
Part of the Western Theater of the American Revolutionary War
Detail from a 1776 map showing West Florida
Date September 12–21, 1779 Location Fort New Richmond, West Florida (present-day Baton Rouge, Louisiana) 30°27′00″N 91°08′00″W / 30.4500°N 91.1333°W / 30.4500; -91.1333 Result Spanish victory
Belligerents
Spain	Great Britain Waldeck-Pyrmont
Commanders and leaders
Col. Bernardo de Gálvez	Lieut. Col. Alexander Dickson
Strength
398 regulars 400 militia	400 regulars 150 militia
Casualties and losses
1 killed 2 wounded	34 dead 4 killed 2 wounded 375 captured 30 died of wounds in captivity

The Siege of Baton Rouge was a short military battle that happened on September 21, 1779. It was part of the Anglo-Spanish War, which was connected to the American Revolutionary War. During this siege, Fort New Richmond (which is now Baton Rouge, Louisiana) was captured. It was the second British fort taken by Spanish forces led by Bernardo de Gálvez as he moved through West Florida.

Why the Battle Happened

Spain officially joined the American Revolutionary War on May 8, 1779. This happened when King Charles III declared war. On July 8, he allowed his people in the colonies to fight against the British.

When Colonel Bernardo de Gálvez heard this news, he was the Governor of Spanish Louisiana. He quickly started making plans to attack and take over British West Florida.

Taking Fort Bute

On August 27, Gálvez began his journey towards Fort Bute. He led a group of about 520 regular soldiers. Many of these soldiers were new recruits. He also had 60 militiamen, 80 free black and mixed-race people, and ten American volunteers.

As they marched, more people joined them, including Native Americans and Acadians. At its largest, Gálvez's group had over 1,400 people. However, many left due to the tough march before they reached the fort.

On September 7, Gálvez's forces attacked Fort Bute. This fort was old and falling apart, a leftover from the French and Indian War. It was defended by a small group of soldiers. After a short fight, the fort's defenders gave up. Six soldiers escaped and went to Baton Rouge to warn the British troops there.

After resting for a few days, Gálvez moved towards Baton Rouge, which was only about 15 miles (24 km) from Fort Bute. When he arrived on September 12, he found a strong town. It had over 400 regular soldiers and 150 militiamen. Their leader was Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Dickson. The British soldiers were from the 16th and 60th Regiments. There were also some artillery soldiers and German troops from the 3rd Waldeck Regiment.

British Defenses at Baton Rouge

Weeks before the attack, Lieutenant Colonel Dickson decided that Fort Bute was too old to defend. So, he moved most of his soldiers to Baton Rouge. Starting in July 1779, he oversaw the building of Fort New Richmond.

This new fort was an earthen redoubt, which is a small, enclosed fort. It had sharp wooden stakes called chevaux de frise on the outside to stop attackers. A wide moat, about 18 feet (5.5 m) wide and 9 feet (2.7 m) deep, surrounded the fort. It also had thirteen cannons for defense.

The Battle Begins

Bernardo de Gálvez

Gálvez first sent some of his men up the river. Their job was to stop messages from going between Baton Rouge and other British places further north.

Gálvez could not move his cannons directly to the fort. So, he planned a trick. He sent a group of his less-trained militia into a nearby wooded area to cause a distraction. The British soldiers turned and fired many shots into the woods. But the Spanish forces were hidden by the trees and only had three people hurt.

While this distraction was happening, Gálvez's men quickly dug trenches and set up safe spots for their cannons. These spots were close enough to the fort for their muskets to reach. On September 21, they began firing their cannons at the fort.

Surrender and Aftermath

The British soldiers inside the fort were shelled for three hours. Then, Lieutenant Colonel Dickson offered to surrender. Gálvez agreed, but he had a special demand. He wanted the British soldiers at Fort Panmure (which is now Natchez, Mississippi) to surrender too. This fort was very strong and would have been hard for Gálvez to capture by force.

Dickson agreed to the terms. The next day, he surrendered 375 regular soldiers. Gálvez took away the weapons of Dickson's militia and sent them home. Gálvez then sent 50 of his own men to take control of Fort Panmure. He also sent his own militia companies home, left a good number of soldiers at Baton Rouge, and returned to New Orleans with about 50 men.

Daughters of the American Revolution commemorative marker

When the commander of Fort Panmure found out that Dickson had surrendered his fort, he was very angry. He thought Dickson had given up Panmure just to get better surrender terms for himself.

A local judge named Isaac Johnson wrote about the battle. He said that in the "mighty battle" between Governor Gálvez and Colonel Dickson, the Spanish only lost one person, or maybe none. He claimed the English lost twenty-five, and their commanding officer even hurt his head on his "tea table."

The victory at Baton Rouge meant that there were no longer any British forces on the Mississippi River. The lower part of the river was now completely under Spanish control. Soon after Gálvez's win, American and Spanish privateers (private ships allowed to attack enemy ships) captured several British supply ships on Lake Pontchartrain. One amazing capture was a ship carrying 54 German Waldecker troops and ten to twelve sailors. It was captured by a small boat with only 14 local Louisianans.

Gálvez was promoted to brigadier general because of his successful campaign. His brave actions were even written about in poems by Julien Poydras. Gálvez immediately started planning his next attacks against Mobile and Pensacola. These were the last British strongholds in West Florida. His efforts led to the capture of Pensacola, the capital of West Florida, in 1781.

Baton Rouge stayed under Spanish control for the rest of the war. In the 1783 Treaty of Paris, Britain gave both West and East Florida to Spain. Baton Rouge did not become part of American territory until 1821.

See also

In Spanish: Batalla de Baton Rouge (1779) para niños