Naval operations in the American Revolutionary War: Encyclopedia II - Naval operations in the American Revolutionary War - Britain on the Defensive 1779 & 1780

Naval operations in the American Revolutionary War - Britain on the Defensive 1779 & 1780

On January 6, 1779 Admiral Byron reached the West Indies. During the early part of this year the naval forces in the West Indies were mainly employed in watching one another. But in June, while Byron had gone to Antigua to guard the trade convoy on its way home, d'Estaing first captured St Vincent, and then on the 4th of July Grenada. Admiral Byron, who had returned, sailed in hopes of saving the island, but arrived too late. An indecisive action was fought off Grenada on the 6th of July. The war now died down in the West Indies. Byron returned home in August. D'Estaing, after co-operating unsuccessfully with the Americans in an attack on Savannah, in September also returned to Europe.

In European waters the Channel had been invaded by a combined French and Spanish fleet of sixty-six sail of the line, Spain having now joined the coalition against Great Britain. Only thirty-five sail of the line could be collected against them under the command of Sir Charles Hardy. But they came late and did nothing. The allies retired early in September and were not even able to molest the British trade convoys. In the meantime the Spaniards had formed the siege of Gibraltar.

So far the British navy had stood on the defensive, without material loss except in the West Indies, but without triumph. The operations of 1780 went on much the same lines. The British government, not feeling strong enough to blockade Brest and the Spanish ports, was compelled to regulate its movements by those of its opponents. In the Channel it was saved from disaster by the ineptitude of the French and Spanish fleets. The only real success achieved by this numerically imposing force was the capture on the 8th and 9th of August of a large British convoy of ships bound for the East and West Indies carrying troops.

But on the American coast and in the West Indies more vigour was displayed. Early in the year Admiral Marriot Arbuthnot was sent to take command in North America. On the French side the Comte de Guichen was sent with reinforcements to the West Indies to take command of the ships left in the previous year by d'Estaing. He arrived in March, and was able to confine the small British force under Sir Hyde Parker at Gros Islet Bay in Santa Lucia.

In May d'Arzac de Ternay was sent from Brest with seven line-of-battle ships, and a convoy carrying 6,000 French troops to act with the Americans. He had a brush with a small British force under Cornwallis near Bermuda on the 20th of June, and reached Rhode Island on the 11th of July.

During the rest of the year, and part of the next, the British and French naval forces in North American waters remained at their respective headquarters, New York and Newport, watching one another. The West Indies was again the scene of the most important operations of the year. In February and March a Spanish force from New Orleans, under Bernardo de Gálvez, invaded West Florida with success. But the allies made no further progress.

At the close of 1779 Sir George Rodney had been appointed to command a large naval force which was to relieve Gibraltar, then closely blockaded, and send stores to Minorca. Rodney was to go on to the West Indies with part of the fleet. He sailed on the 29 December 1779 with the trade for the West Indies under his protection, captured a Spanish convoy on his way off Finisterre on the 8th of January, defeated a smaller Spanish force at Cape St Vincent on the 16th, relieved Gibraltar on the 19th, and left for the West Indies on the 13th of February. On the 27th of March he joined Sir Hyde Parker at Santa Lucia, and Guichen retired to Fort Royal in Martinique. Until July the fleets of Rodney and Guichen, of equal strength, were engaged in operations round the island of Martinique. The British admiral endeavoured to force on a close engagement. But in the first encounter on the 17th of April to leeward of the island, Rodney's orders were not executed by his captains, and the action was indecisive. He wished to concentrate on the rear of the enemy's line, but his captains scattered themselves along the French formation. In two subsequent actions, on the 15th and 19th of May, to windward of Martinique, the French admiral would not be brought to close action. The arrival of a Spanish squadron of twelve ships of the line in June gave a great numerical superiority to the allies, and Rodney retired to Gros Islet Bay in Santa Lucia. But nothing decisive occurred. The Spanish fleet was in bad health, the French much worn-out. The first went on to Havana, the second to San Domingo. In July, on the approach of the dangerous hurricane season, Rodney sailed for North America, reaching New York on the 14th of September. Guichen returned home with the most worn-out of his ships. On the 6th of December Rodney was back at Barbadoes from the North American station, where he was not able to effect anything against the French in Narragansett Bay.

The rambling operations of the naval war till the close of 1780-- directed by the allies to such secondary objects as the capture of West Indian islands, or of Minorca and Gibraltar, and by Great Britain to defensive movements--began to assume a degree of coherence in 1781. The Netherlands having now joined the allies, the British government was compelled to withdraw part of its fleet from other purposes to protect the North Sea trade. A desperate battle was fought on the Dogger Bank on the 5th of August between Sir Hyde Parker and the Dutch admiral Zoutman, both being engaged in protecting trade; but the Netherlands did not affect the general course of the war. The allies again failed to make a vigorous attack on the British forces in the Channel. They could not even prevent Admiral George Darby from relieving Gibraltar and Minorca in April. The second of these places was closely invested later on, and was compelled to surrender on the 5th of February 1782. But a vigorous policy was carried out by France in the West Indies and America, while she began a most resolute attack on the British position in the East Indies.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Britain on the Defensive 1779 & 1780", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki