During the American Revolution vital assistance was provided to the Patriot cause by the Kingdom of Spain. Unfortunately the value of this aid has been down-played by most American writers and researchers. Some refer to it as having a minor effect but many do not even mention it in their accounts of the war.

Also, books which provide summaries of battles rarely list the battles at Mobile and Pensacola as well as conflicts along the Mississippi.. This article will provide some information which will enable wargamers to build Spainish units and re-create some of the era's battles. As I locate more material, I will include additional facts in future update sections of the magazine.

Prior to 1779 the Spanish armies of the American Revolution era was very active. They had fought Portugal in 1762 and recently conducted unsuccessful operations against Algeria (1774-5) and even mobilized for a possible war against Britain (1770) over the Falkland Islands. . Despite wounds to American pride, the North American colonies were never considered a vital British asset. A similar view of world strategic value was shared by the French and Spanish.

The Spanish would never had entered the war if there had not been strategic gains to be had by them. As a result the obvious focus of their efforts would be to protect current colonies and capture the British controlled Gilbralter and Minorica Islands which were on Spain's backdoor. With regular and militia forces scattered throughout South America, Central America, Mexico, Caribbean, Philippines and Spain, any declaration of War against Britain would open all of these areas to raids by British naval landing parties.

Spanish colonial governors in the America's maintained significant independent control and any aid to the American Patriots would have to be based on their initiative. The young energetic Governor Galvez of Louisiana would display such initiative. His military actions could be considered to have helped shaped a new world..

This paragraph is concerned with the value of the Spanish position in North America during the War. Some of the conclusions are "what-if" considerations and are based mainly on my opinion combined with known future events. If Galvez had been an older less ambitious person, then we might expect that he would have been content with his position. As a result he would have argued that the vastness of his Louisiana holdings combined with a need to protect them from pro-British Native American Nations and British raids plus a lack of troops would keep him from conducting any offensive actions in support of the Patriots.

Therefore, the British would have maintained control of Pensacola, Mobile and the rest of Florida when the 1783 treaty was signed. A British controlled Florida would have provided a major obstacle to the Americans during the War of 1812 and the Creek War in the Southeast during 1813-14. Also with a major British presence in Florida would there have been any certainty that the Spanish/French would have held New Orleans and Louisiana long enough to sell it to the Americans. The possibilty exists that a British expedition would have been launched against New Orleans during the brief period of French Revolutionary control.

A more probable scenario for allowing British control of New Orleans is with a weak Galvez, the British, with support of the Creeks and Chickasaw, could have launched its own expedition against New Orleans during 1781 or even 1782-83. This could have resulted in a British controlled Canada, Florida, New Orleans and Mississippi River Valley. With an encircled United States, a second more earnest war would have occurred between Britain and the United States probably prior to 1812. Just think of the scenario and campaign possibilities of such a war. Anyway as you can see, thank goodness for an energetic General Galvez.

Historical Efforts

Historically, the Spanish did make political efforts in the Mississippi Valley to reduce British influence among the Native Nations located there. Governor Galvez froze British operations along the Florida frontier and into Georgia by threatening to attack Mobile and Pensacola.

When he did attack, he overwelmed the isolated British posts. Though often ignored by historians, the Spanish operations along the Mississippi River were of more strategic value and far more successful than the Patriot expedition of G.R. Clarke into Indiana. However none of these operations would not have been easy, if the British commander of the Southern theater had treated his Native American allies with more reasonable treatment and respect.

Spanish operations can be divided into several categories. Obviously the protection of the colonies and maintaining open trade routes was the number one priority. Another high priority objective would have been the capture of Gilbraltar and the Minorica Islands. The deployment of troops and the establishment of strategic objectives reflected these priorities. General Galvez had to argue frequently with other Spanish governors and fleet admirals to obtain their support in manpower and ships which were vital to his operations against the British in Florida.

The Galvez campaign can be divided into three operations. The first operation was to secure the Mississippi River by capturing the British posts located along it. The next operation was the capture of Mobile which would reduce the possibility of a British attack on New Orleans. The third operation was the capture of the British West Florida capital of Pensacola. A fourth operation which was considered but not executed was an assault on St. Augustine, the capital of British East Florida. The St Augustine operation is a great What-if battle for gamers to consider.

Researching the force sizes for these Spanish operations indicates that these battles are best simulated by using no larger than a 1:10 ratio and in some cases the 1:1 skirmish scale is best. While I will present now and later some scenarios for these battles, I will make a few comments on simulating sieges. The actual combat during a siege, excluding the rare assaults on the walls, consisted mainly of sorties by the defenders against the attckers and their siege works. The defenders objectives were to disrupt the besiegers and prolong the siege in hopes of a releiving force arriving to break the siege. tactical objectives would be to destroy enemy guns and fieldworks OR to obtain food by capturing cattle and other supplies. These are great situations for skirmish gaming.

More Spanish Operations During the American Revolution

Spanish Operations During the American Revolution Introduction
Spanish Operations During the American Revolution: Chronology
Spanish Operations During the American Revolution: Spanish Units and Strengths
Spanish Operations During the American Revolution: Spanish Uniforms mid-late 1700s