Write a new simple attractive title based on the title from A Spanish Chapter in the American Revolution and dont use quote marks

By Irving Levinson, Christopher L. Miller, Russell K. Skowronek

As the observation of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776 fades into memory communities across the nation will reflect upon their connection to the birth of the United States.

Appropriately, the focus is on the events that transformed thirteen British colonies into our nation. Those of us who call the Rio Grande Valley home might be surprised to learn that the people living on this distant Spanish frontier became participants in an international effort that helped make American independence possible.

The War of Independence that followed lasted six years and the battles that took place at Trenton and Saratoga and Yorktown are events every student has studied. But another story of that war has received less attention and that is story of the events that took place along the Gulf coast and the role Spain played in those events. For some 150 years before our War of Independence; the Spanish, the British, the French and the Dutch fought many wars against each other. But the events of the Seven Years Wars (1756-1763), a war in which George Washington and many other Americans fought, left Spain and France with a fierce desire for revenge.

As a result of that war, Spain surrendered Florida to Britain. Also, the British forced France to abandon her possessions on the North American mainland and in India. But unlike the French, the Spanish retained much territory in North America including what is today California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. Here in Texas, these included the missions and presidios of Tejas with a capital at San Antoino and the new Rio Grande Valley settlements of Camargo, Laredo, Meir, Matamoros, and Reynosa. Spanish possession also included the Louisiana Territory, with its headquarters in present-day New Orleans.

Starting in 1777, Spain began a covert supply effort in support of our rebellion that included 200 cannon, 4,000 tents, and 30,000 uniforms plus powder, blankets, and shoes. The main route ran from ports on the Spain’s Atlantic coast to Havana, from where the cargos would be sent onward to New Orleans. From there, the Spanish transferred the materiel to merchants, who shipped then to the Americans. These transactions required discretion. In one instance, Louisiana Governor Bernardo de Gálvez y Madrid declared 10,000 pounds of gunpowder and 300 muskets to be surplus equipment and consequently available for sale. The purchaser was Oliver Pollock, an American agent in the city who promptly sent the material on to the US Army garrison at Fort Pitt (today Pittsburg). Pollock, known as the “financier of the American Revolution in the West,” served his country most ably. Spanish support for the American cause accelerated in 1779, when Spain declared war on the British. For de Gálvez, the goal was nothing less than forcing the British to abandon every one of their Gulf Coast bases.

Gálvez already had a formidable military reputation earned as an officer in the Seven Years War and as a leader of expeditions intended to secure remote settlements against Indian attack. He soon began accumulating supplies for his troops, including meat and hides from cattle driven west from Goliad, Tejas by vaqueros. By 1783, more than 10,000 head went from Texas to New Orleans.

The campaign began in late August 1779 and met with initial successes. After taking an almost abandoned fort at Manchac, Louisiana on September 7, Gálvez led his force of more than 1,000 that included Spanish regulars, Indian allies, and militia to Baton Rouge, where he faced enemy artillery and more than 500 troops at Fort Richmond. After a few hours of battle, the British surrendered both Baton Rouge and nearby Natchez on September 21, 1779. Galvez then paused, awaiting proper time and conditions, before attacking Mobile.

In 1780, he led a larger force of 1,300 men against Fort Charlotte, which guarded Mobile. The outnumber British garrison soon surrendered and with victories in what are today Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama, he again waited for the right time and for resources. In 1781, he led a force of 1,500 troops and thirty-two ships from Havana to attack the last and largest British fort on the Gulf Coast: Pensacola. Reinforcements for the climactic battle soon arrived: 900 troops from Mobile, 1,600 soldiers from New Orleans, and a Franco-Spanish fleet from Havana with five French regiments. Galvez now had some 7,500 troops for the ultimate battle of his campaign. They faced 3,500 British defenders. The siege began on March 9, 1781, and ended with the British surrender on May 10, 1781. With that, the Gulf Coast of North America had been taken from British hands.  Spanish contributions to the war effort did not end with these battles but were further supported in 1782 when the citizens of New Spain were asked to contribute financially to Spain’s military campaign. These donations reveal that ordinary people living in the most remote frontiers of the Spanish Empire willingly participated in a global conflict whose outcome would ultimately help shape the birth of the United States. Even at the edge of Spain’s vast empire, our region was connected to world events.

Gálvez is an interesting historical figure. At one point on a campaign, many troops voiced doubt about their ability to continue without adequate supplies. Gálvez then addressed them with these words: “I alone will go if no one will accompany me.” The troops then followed him, too ashamed to do otherwise. On another occasion, the captains of his squadron of ships hesitated to sail across a sandbar after the flagship ran aground. Seeing their hesitation, Galvez ordered his own ship to go to the head of the line and lead the rest. Duty was a family trait. His uncle, José de Gálvez y Gallardo, served the kingdom for decades in some of the most senior posts of colonial administration and his father, Matias Gálvez de Gallardo, served as Captain General of Guatemala. And we Texans also remember him in Texas with the city that bears his name: Galveston.

And so, that is a Spanish note about our war of independence in which Texas and the Rio Grande Valley played a role. And a happy July 4^th to all.

Editor’s Note: Teh above guest column was co-written by three professors at UT-Rio Grande Valley: Irving Levinson, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus History, Christopher L. Miller, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus History, and Russell K. Skowronek, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus Anthropology & History. The column appears in the Rio Grande Guardian with the permission of the authors.