Gálvez Captures Mobile and Pensacola

Spanish governor Bernardo de Gálvez led a military campaign along the Gulf coast, capturing Baton Rouge and Natchez in 1779, Mobile in 1780, and Pensacola in 1781 from the British.

People involved

• Bernardo de Gálvez

When this happened

Gálvez Captures Mobile and Pensacola occurred in 1779, 1780, and 1781, during the revolutionary era period of American history. The event spanned from 1779 to 1781.

Where this happened

Gálvez Captures Mobile and Pensacola took place in Alabama. Explore the full history of Alabama and primary source records from this era.

The American Revolutionary War (1775–1783) grew from colonial resistance to British taxation without parliamentary representation — a dispute that radicalized through the Stamp Act (1765), the Townshend Acts (1767), and the Boston Massacre (1770). Fighting began at Lexington and Concord in April 1775; the Continental Congress declared independence on July 4, 1776. The Continental Army under George Washington faced severe shortages of supplies and troops, enduring the brutal winter at Valley Forge (1777–1778) before French alliance and French financing turned the military balance. Major engagements included Bunker Hill (1775), Trenton (1776), Saratoga (1777) — which secured French intervention — and Yorktown (1781), where British General Cornwallis surrendered to Washington. An estimated 25,000 American soldiers died in service, from combat, disease, and captivity. The Treaty of Paris (1783) recognized American independence and ceded British territory east of the Mississippi, though it left unresolved questions about Indigenous land rights and the status of Loyalists.

Content adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Source: Wikipedia: History.