Naval Battle of Grenada

Naval Battle of Grenada

Part of: American War of Independence

The plan and course of the battle

date	July 6, 1779
place	off the island of Grenada , West Indies
output	French occupation of Grenada

Parties to the conflict
Great Britain	France
Commander
John Byron	Charles d'Estaing
Troop strength
21 ships of the line 1 frigate	25 ships of the line 5 frigates
losses
183 dead, 346 wounded	190 dead, 759 wounded

St. Lucia - Grenada - Martinique - Fort Royal - Chesapeake - St. Kitts - Les Saintes

The naval battle of Grenada was a naval battle between British and French naval forces on July 6, 1779 off the island of Grenada .

background

France had entered the American War of Independence on the side of the colonies in February 1778 . In August of the same year, a French squadron under Admiral Comte d'Estaing arrived in New England in support of the Americans . During a first encounter with a British squadron under Admiral Richard Howe , there was no battle despite long maneuvering. After the British took the island of St. Lucia in December , a counterattack under d'Estaing failed. In return, d'Estaing landed in Grenada to take the island.

The battle

The battle of Grenada . July 6, 1779. On the left, the French squadron. The right foreground shows the helpless English ships.

In the first week of July 1779, French troops began to land in Grenada. On the morning of July 6th, the squadron with 25 ships of the line and 5 frigates as well as the transport ships were still in front of the port of Saint George’s . The British West India Squadron under Vice Admiral John Byron attacked with 21 ships of the line and one frigate. Byron, seeing the ships at anchor, misjudged the situation and gave command of the general hunt . The French managed to form in the keel line rather quickly, and the foremost attacking British ships were badly hit. Byron also tried to form a keel line, but was later fought off by the French. Around noon the fight ended with no clear result. Although some British ships were badly damaged, d'Estaing failed to destroy them.

Web links

Commons : Naval Battle of Grenada  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

literature

• Helmut Pemsel : Seeherrschaft , vol. 2: Naval wars and maritime politics from 1650 to 1914 (= world history of seafaring, vol. 6). Koehler, Hamburg / Verlag Österreich, Vienna 2005, ISBN 3-7083-0026-2 and ISBN 3-7822-0838-2 .