|
''Gálveztown'' was the HMS ''West Florida'', which the Continental Navy schooner captured at the Battle of Lake Pontchartrain, which was then in the British province of West Florida. ''West Florida'' became the ''Gálveztown'', supposedly under the command of Bernardo de Gálvez, the Spanish governor of Louisiana (New Spain). There are claims that she participated in the siege and capture of Pensacola in March 1781. However, documentary evidence suggests that she arrived in Philadelphia with cargo on 1 June 1780, and therefore could not have participated in this action in March 1781.〔Raymond J. Martinez, ''Rousseau: The Last Days of Spanish New Orleans'', Pelican Publishing, 2003, p.15〕 ==Historic significance== The vessel, described as a two masted brigantine square rigged on the foremast, with fore-and-aft sails on the mainmast,〔Gilbert C. Din, ''The Spanish presence in Louisiana, 1763-1803'', University of Southwestern Louisiana. Center for Louisiana Studies - 1996, p.197〕 was originally commissioned as a 14-gun cutter named ''West Florida''〔George Foster Emmons, ''The navy of the United States, from the commencement, 1775 to 1853'', Printed by Gideon & Co., 1853, p.169〕 after being built by the British in New England, and later was an armed brig-sloop and the only armed British vessel patrolling the lakes and Mississippi Sound. She had taken several American rebel smugglers as prizes under Lieutenant John Payne, RN. As such she posed a threat to the expected shipment of arms and military supplies that Benjamin Franklin had contracted from the Spanish firm of José Gardoqui & Sons to ship: “215 bronze cannon, 4,000 field tents, 12,826 grenades, 30,00 ''(or 30,000? )'' bayonets, 30,000 uniforms, 51,314 musket balls, and 300,000 pounds of gunpowder from a French port by way of Bermuda to Boston”. Spain also provided almost eight million ''reáles'' (currency) with which all types of supplies were purchased and sent by way of the Mississippi and Ohio rivers to General Washington and George Rogers Clark.〔(Robert Thonhoff, The Vital Contribution of Spain in the Winning of the American Revolution: An Essay on a Forgotten Chapter in the History of the American Revolution )〕 After intercepting a secret communication to the British General, Gálvez formulated a plan to attack the British forces once Spain declared war on Britain. After the HMS ''West Florida'' took three boats that the Spanish claimed to be theirs, the Spanish Governor used this as a pretext and reacted by seizing eleven British vessels on the river at the time, claiming them to be smugglers. One of the vessels was a British-registered ''Norton'', captained by a colonial William Pickles. Hiring American rebels to capture the British vessel, on 10 September 1779 Captain William Pickles in the ''Morris'',〔James L. Mooney ed., ''Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, V. 4: L-M'', Government Printing Office, Naval Historical Center, Dept. of the Navy, 1991, p.437〕 assisted by a detachment of the local American marines,〔John C. Fredriksen, ''The United States Marine Corps: A Chronology, 1775 to the Present'', ABC-CLIO,2011, p.7〕 captured the British sloop ''West Florida'', which had controlled Lake Pontchartrain during the early part of the war 〔Robert W. Hastings, ''The lakes of Pontchartrain: their history and environments'', Univ. Press of Mississippi, 2009, p.45〕 preying on American shipping in the lake.〔John Wilds, Charles L. Dufour, Walter G. Cowan, ''Louisiana, yesterday and today: a historical guide to the state'', LSU Press, 1996, p.223〕 It seems the strength of the British defenders wasn't great because another source reported that, On Lake Pontchartrain, an English privateer was taken, and the Spanish gun-boats captured at Galveston three schooners and a small brig, which were returning to Pensacola; also on the Mississippi two cutters, loaded with provisions for the English. This suggests that British vessels were undermanned, and had some guns removed since she was reported with only four 2 1/2-lbs guns. one 1 1/2 lbs and her swivels as a prize.〔John Walton Caughey, Bernardo de Gálvez in Louisiana, 1776-1783, University of California Press, 1934, p.197〕 The British vessel was only recently advised of the state of war with Spain, and the American captain used a "strategem" to approach her within a few days of the declaration of war. Overhauling the ''West Florida'', Pickles ordered her to surrender. The English captain, Payne, laughed at him. Shots were exchanged simultaneously.〔Walter Adolphe Roberts, ''Lake Pontchartrain'', 1946, p.97〕 Account of the action suggests the British crew put up a significant resistance and surrendered only after her commander, Lieutenant John Payne, was mortally wounded in the performance of his duty in defending his command. Although she was rigged as a sloop-of-war, the new Spanish owners converted her to a square-rigged brig sloop.〔(Sheldon Gardner, The ''Galveztown'' was an important vessel in Revolutionary War. ''Florida Times Union'', July 26, 2011 )〕 Some confusion exists as to whether it was the former 'West Florida'' that joined the Spanish squadron for the attack on Pensacola, and later participated in the capture of Mobile, Alabama.〔John C. Fredriksen, ''The United States Marine Corps: A Chronology, 1775 to the Present'', ABC-CLIO,2011, p.8〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Gálveztown (brig sloop)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|