Spain’s Forgotten Contributions to American Independence
A Black Legend...
It's a story of New World exploitation, abuse by a greedy Spanish crown hungry for silver and gold, a story that has developed and intensified over the centuries, portraying Spain in a negative light and placing a decidedly positive spin on England’s New World conquests. As with all legends, there are many truths, Spain did exploit native peoples, amassing wealth from their colonial American holdings. France, Holland and the English established footholds in the Americas as well, with just as much violence and religious self-righteousness. The difference lay in the vastness of Spain’s empire, an empire that drew the ire of covetous, jealous eyes…
At one time or another, Spain’s colonial Empire stretched from the southern tip of South America to the dense forests of present day Canada. Spanish influence stretched westward from California through present day Arizona, New Mexico and Texas, up the Mississippi river, down to New Orleans, throughout most of the Caribbean and across present day Alabama and Florida. An enormous territory, full of riches, it attracted those who wanted its wealth. Compared to the Spanish, England and France had a much smaller piece of the pie. Their colonies were a fraction of the size, and held little in the way of precious metals. With such disparity, it's little wonder Spain’s colonial neighbors sought to cast aspersions on what they did not have. Spain was guilty of many crimes in the New World, but a one-sided view condemning Spain while glorifying the English or French colonial experience is dishonest...
Although the Black Legend grounds itself with many truths, they differ little, be they English, French, Dutch or…Spanish. Unfortunately, legend has obscured Spain’s contributions to the New World, especially American liberty, and a role critical to ensuring the American colonies won and secured their freedom from Great Britain...
England and her American colonies maintained a tenuous and often violent relationship with Hispanic America. The wealth generated from New Spain was tremendous, drawing many an Englishman’s eye. Walter Raleigh, Francis Drake and Henry Morgan are but a few names synonymous with raiding the Spanish Main for gold and glory. In the 18th century, Spain and England were constantly vying for colonial supremacy. In 1742, Battle of Bloody Marsh was fought on the southern coast of modern-day Georgia. In this battle, the English beat back a small contingent of Spaniards determined to gain a foothold in North America. In the French and Indian war of 1754-1763, the English laid siege and captured the city of Havana, the capitol and financial nerve center of Spain’s empire in the Americas. Havana fell in the summer of 1762 after a campaign lasting a little over two months. Spain was fortunate enough to regain this "crown jewel" at the conclusion of the conflict, but the price was high, having to cede both Florida and the island of Minorca to the British crown.
When the American Revolutionary War erupted in 1775, Spain saw a golden opportunity to avenge many of the wrongs committed by her colonial neighbor and quickly sent two million in currency and sundry war material to support the Continentals. Along with France, Spain pledged its support to the new American nation, entering into a secret agreement in support of the rebellion. Unofficially at war with England, Spain's assistance had to be clandestine to avoid endangering a tense neutrality. To this end, both France and Spain to covertly established a "front" corporation to funnel money and supplies into the fledgling American colonies. Roderique Hortelez et Cie was formed in May of 1776, and financed by Carlos III and Louis XVI, the king of Spain and France respectively. Each contributed one million in cash to establish and operate the company, headquartered in France but based on the Caribbean island of St. Eustatius. St. Eustatius was a Dutch colony at the far eastern end of the Caribbean and became the marshaling point for foreign aid and goods destined for the new United States. The island was a veritable “shopping destination”, providing the latest in fashionable goods to those who could afford it. At any given time, one might find an assortment of expensive imported silks, rich with embroidery, painted and printed cotton calicos, gloves, fine stockings and goods which were sure to satisfy even the richest of tastes. In 1779 alone, the island received and shipped over twenty five million pounds of sugar to destinations around the globe. With so much wealth passing through, it became known as “The Golden Rock”. In addition to silks, spices, clothes and sundry luxuries, the traders and agents of St. Eustatius privately obtained a variety of military supplies from Spain, Holland, France, Portugal, even England, and promptly sold them to a desperate and wanting United States.
St. Eustatius was the marshaling point, but New Orleans, at the mouth of the Mississippi River, was the distribution conduit. Originally a French colony, New Orleans was ceded to Spain after the French and Indian War as reparation for the loss of Florida. The city was perfectly situated to send goods upstream and across to the Thirteen Colonies. Jose de Galvez, Spain’s Minister to the Indies was instructed by his king to lend as much support as possible to the struggling Americans. In response, the Spanish shipped supplies in tremendous quantities up the Mississippi and into the hands of General Washington’s Army. Military equipage, lead, gunpowder, medicine and food spread out from the Crescent City and made their way into Continental hands by ship, barge and wagon train. Between 1776 and 1779, lines of credit and loans totaled roughly eleven million, along with over three hundred thousand pounds of gunpowder, over two hundred cannons and thousands upon thousands of musket balls, flintlocks, bayonets, tents, grenades, bayonets, uniforms, shirts and shoes.
After over three years of covert support, Spain finally declared War on Great Britain in June of 1779, and turned its military forces in the Caribbean loose in support of America’s Revolution.
The Man of the Hour...
Bernardo de Galvez was sent to New Orleans in 1777 as the interim governor of Spanish Louisiana (an immense amount territory that would eventually be sold to the United States as the Louisiana Purchase). The nephew of Jose de Galvez (who incidentally, was the Spanish official that ordered the Franciscans to occupy and establish the Mission System in California), Bernardo was a talented and experienced soldier who studied military science at Spain's prestigious military institution, the Academia de Ávila. Before his twenty-fifth birthday he had seen action in the Spanish invasion of Portugal, fought Apache Indians in northern New Spain and had been appointed Commandant of Military Forces in the north of Spain herself. He returned with his uncle from the New World in 1772 and participated in Spain's disastrous invasion of Algiers in 1775, where he successfully, but fruitlessly, captured the city's fort. He was rewarded with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel for his actions, and by 1776 Bernardo was a professor at the military academy from which he graduated.
Once he was established in the Crescent City, Galvez wasted no time in organizing a military force to combat the British colony of West Florida. Ceded by the Spanish in 1763, East and West Florida remained loyal to the British crown, not joining their sister colonies in revolt, and becoming a haven of refuge for those remaining loyal to King George. The Continental Congress delivered letters to both Florida colonies, inviting them to send delegates, but each refused. West Florida stretched westward to Baton Rouge and dominated the Mississippi River above New Orleans. This loyalist colony was a thorn in the side of the Spanish and the Americans, who used the great river to move military supplies up and over into the hands of Washington's forces. By mid August, Galvez's army included the Luisiana infantry regiment, local militia, natives and ten Americans under Oliver Pollock (who was the Continental Congress’s representative in New Orleans). This force numbered over fourteen hundred men, a tremendous army for the region, and with this army Galvez set out to secure the western border of British West Florida.
Marching along the bank of the Mississippi river, the first action occurred on September 7th, when Galvez forcibly captured Fort Bute. Roughly 115 miles upriver from New Orleans, it was garrisoned by a small force of about twenty-three Hessian grenadiers. The fort capitulated after a short firefight, with one Hessian killed, sixteen surrendering and six escaping to warn the main British force upriver. Galvez and his army rested for six days then pushed onward and laid siege to the British fort at Baton Rouge. His artillery opened fire on the 21st of September and after a three hour bombardment, the British surrendered. In the surrender terms, the British handed over their fortifications in Baton Rouge, Fort Panmure and the garrison in what is modern day Natchez, Mississippi. His troops had effectively cleared the river of British military influence, opened the way for un-inhibited shipment to the American army, and gave American privateering vessels free reign to capture unwary British transports that had not gotten word of their countryman’s surrender. The Mississippi River campaign was a rousing success for Galvez and the Spanish crown. With the bulk of his forces remaining to garrison what they had captured, Bernardo, flush with victory, returned to New Orleans and a promotion to brigadier general.
Two Bits, Four Bits, Six Bits, A Peso...
In addition to Spain's role in organizing and conducting military operation against the British, Carlos III instituted a colony-wide tax or donation, of one peso per Indian and two pesos per Spaniard. Money, and in some cases supplies of an equal sum, was sent and distributed from Mexico City. The donativo or war-tax, generated a tremendous amount of hard currency and goods to be used for the American revolt. One silver peso, known as a “piece of eight”, could be cut into eight separate parts and divided into quarters, hence the term “two-bits” describing two pieces, or a quarter. This coin became the de-facto unit of currency in Britain's American and Caribbean colonies. At a time when the availability of hard currency was purposely being restricted in the Colonies, Spain's peso more than filled the void in that its purity was consistent and it was minted and distributed from Spain's American holdings, which made it fairly local and easy to acquire and it's value equaled roughly one quarter of a Pound. To illustrate the effectiveness of Spain's fund raising efforts, Alta or “upper” California’s contribution alone totaled well over four thousand pesos, a very large sum from a distant and sparsely populated region on the fringes of Spain's American empire. As the story goes, Fr. Junipero Serra (the Franciscan founder of California's mission system) was instrumental in ensuring the donativo from Alta California was fully covered and delivered as per the King's order.
All For Bernardo...
The first six months of Spain’s war with England brought the Spanish complete success. As the new year dawned, Bernardo de Galvez implemented a military operation against the easternmost forts of British West Florida, Mobile and Pensacola. Landing his forces from New Orleans and Havana, Galvez and his army besieged Fort Charlotte (located in what is today downtown Mobile) on March 2nd, having asked Captain Elias Durnford, the fort's commander, for his surrender the previous day. Receiving a rather polite “no,” the siege and bombardment lasted until March 14th, whereas the British had no choice but to relent, Spanish troops having breached the fort the day before. Although word was sent and had gotten through to Pensacola for reinforcements, various water obstacles delayed the relief force, and it failed to materialize.
It was an amazing streak of victories. Most of West Florida was in Spanish hands, but one obstacle remained...the stronghold of Pensacola. It would be over a year before Galvez could land troops and assault the most heavily defended fort in West Florida. Being the capitol, it was destined to be "a hard nut to crack".
Between the fall of Mobile and the beginning of the siege of Pensacola, a series of misfortunes befell the Spanish. In April, Pensacola received British reinforcements, delaying the Spanish and pushing out the expedition. It wasn’t until October of 1780 that Galvez and his army set sail, but a hurricane decimated the fleet, dashing Bernardo’s hopes for victory by the end of the year.
In February of 1781 the fleet was again ready to sail. Leaving Havana on the 13th, Galvez arrived off Pensacola on March 9th, being joined by ships and troops that had set sail from New Orleans and Mobile. As an opening move, he landed troops on the bay’s barrier island, Santa Rosa. Much to his surprise, he discovered it undefended. The island became Galvez's initial base of operation, ordering the fleet to begin entering the harbor and landing supplies and men. Surprisingly, Galvez met with resistance from the Spanish naval commander, Captain José Calbo de Irazabal, who refused to send the fleet into the harbor after his lead vessel grounded within what he perceived as British artillery range. Not to be dissuaded, and fearing another setback in an already painfully delayed campaign, Galvez used his authority as Governor of Louisiana to order the ships from New Orleans to enter the bay and finally unload. Upon obtaining a detailed description of the bay from Galvez himself, Captain Irazabel conceded to bring his ships into Pensacola’s harbor. By March 24th, Galvez had consolidated his forces and began the process of "digging in" and preparing to take the city. Pensacola was well defended by regular British infantry and artillery, Hessian infantry and two provincial loyalist battalions, the Maryland Loyalists and Pennsylvania Loyalists. Facing them was a mix of Spanish troops from across New Spain, including regular infantry, mulatto militia, Spanish marines, as well as a contingent of Continental marines and elements of South Carolina’s navy.
On May 8th, after more than a month of furious fighting (in which Galvez himself was wounded), the Spanish succeeded in dropping a cannon ball into the powder magazine of the main British redoubt, effectively "blowing up" the fort's defenses and outright killing a substantial number of defenders. Taking the advantage of a fortuitous moment, the broken walls were stormed, the Spanish forces securing a foothold that would quickly lead to British defeat. Finally on May 10th, with one fortification left and facing the entire brunt of Galvez's soldiers and artillery, British commander General John Campbell formally surrendered Pensacola. West Florida was entirely in Spanish hands.
By 1781, the War began to turn in favor of the American Colonies and their European allies. The British turned their eyes to St. Eustatius and the mass of goods flowing like a great river into the hands of the Continental Army...
Holland and Britain had declared war on one another the previous year, allowing for the problem to be dealt with. The tiny islands was a plague on Crown forces and influence in North America, providing an almost inexhaustible supply to the American enemy as well as being the first to recognize the new United States, its fort giving a proper military salute to the U.S. brig-of-war, Andrew Doria.
Admiral George B. Rodney, overall British commander of the Leeward Islands, sailed his fleet into Oranjestad (St. Eustatius' principal harbor) without flags flying in a clever ruse to entrap as many laden cargo ships as possible. He quickly subdued the single Dutch man-of-war, the town’s fort and the garrison, which totaled a meager sixty soldiers. Recognizing the vast wealth of his prize, Rodney proceeded plundered the island...completely. From February to November of 1781, Rodney, determined to make his own fortune, loaded his fleet with everything of value on St. Eustatius, and transported the loot back to England and into the Admiralty prize-courts. He razed Oranjestad, then singled out and forcibly relocated the island’s large Jewish population. His actions, driven by overt anti-Semitism, were vehemently protested in England, but protests were of little comfort to St. Eustatius’ Jews who were stripped of their homes and belongings, torn from the island on one day’s notice.
Despite the loss of wealth, material and supply, Rodney’s St. Eustatius expedition cost the British dearly in military terms. Because of his greed, he missed averting, and possibly destroying, a French fleet under Admiral DeGrasse, the same French fleet that went on to effectively blockade General Cornwallis' British army at Yorktown. Without Rodney’s fleet, and the naval support it would have provided, Cornwallis suffered defeat at the hands of a combined American and French army, finally surrendering to General Washington on October 19th, and effectively losing the American War of Rebellion.
America's Revolutionary War had become a global conflict. Spain, along with France and Holland, engaged the British across the globe. Galvez and his Spanish army were making preparations to launch attacks on England’s Caribbean possessions (with particular emphasis on Jamaica), while the French were attempting to wrest India from her place as Britain's colonial crown jewel. With the cessation of hostilities in America following Yorktown, Great Britain was still pressed to defend against those who had come to the aid of the new United States, and threatened Crown interests from Europe, to Asia and beyond. What had begun as a small colonial revolt in faraway, colonial town named Lexington had become a threat to Britain’s standing amongst the nations of the World and costing the British dearly in blood and treasure. The rebellious American colonies didn’t seem as important as they once had been…
Stand Up and Say So...
Without Spain’s generous contributions, the United States might have been engaged in a much longer, drawn out conflict and might very well have lost the bid for independence.
In many cases, Spain provided supplies and currency the American colonies did not have to pay for, or pay back. The military campaigns waged by Spain against Britain in the Caribbean drew men, ships and supplies away from the thirteen colonies, providing a positive measure of strategic advantage to the Continental army. Without the Spanish navy securing France’s colonies against the British Royal Navy in the Caribbean, the French fleet off Yorktown would have been unable to deny Cornwallis those much needed supplies and relief, actions that lead to victory for General Washington. Without Spanish beef from Texas, many Continental soldiers would have gone hungry. Without Spanish muskets and bullets, many American soldiers would have been unable to fight. Without Spanish coin, many would have gone without pay.
When taken into consideration, that legend, that black legend used by the Anglo colonies to demonize the Hispanic ones, appears a bit greyer…