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The Battle of San Juan was an ill-fated
On 21 April, the British started a 7-day artillery duel with the Spanish forts of San Gerónimo and San Antonio, located at the Boquerón Inlet. At the same time, further Spanish forces put pressure on the British positions, the Spanish recaptured
History of the Fixed Regiment of Puerto Rico by Coronel Héctor Andrés Negroni
* {{DEFAULTSORT:San Juan 1797 Military history of Puerto Rico Battles involving Spain Battles involving Great Britain Amphibious operations involving the Great Britain Invasions by Great Britain Conflicts in 1797 History of San Juan, Puerto Rico Battles of the War of the First Coalition
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
assault in 1797 on the Spanish colonial port
A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as H ...
city of San Juan in Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...
during the 1796–1808 Anglo-Spanish War. The attack was carried out facing the historic town of Miramar.
Background
Spain aligned itself with France by signing theSecond Treaty of San Ildefonso
The Second Treaty of San Ildefonso was signed on 19 August 1796 between the Spanish Empire and the First French Republic. Based on the terms of the agreement, France and Spain would become allies and combine their forces against the Kingdom of Grea ...
in 1796. Britain then targeted both countries' Caribbean colonies. Admiral Sir Henry Harvey's fleet picked up Sir Ralph Abercromby's army in Barbados. Together, they captured Trinidad from the Spanish, before heading for San Juan.
Battle
On 17 April 1797, Lieutenant-General SirRalph Abercromby
Lieutenant General Sir Ralph Abercromby (7 October 173428 March 1801) was a British soldier and politician. He rose to the rank of lieutenant-general in the British Army, was appointed Governor of Trinidad, served as Commander-in-Chief, Ir ...
's fleet of 68 vessels appeared offshore Puerto Rico with a force of 7000, which included German auxiliaries and French émigrés. Two of his frigates then blocked San Juan harbor.
The governor, Field Marshal Don Ramón de Castro y Gutiérrez, had already mobilized his 4000 militia and 200 Spanish garrison troops which, combined with 300 French privateer
A privateer is a private person or ship that engages in maritime warfare under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign or deleg ...
s, 2000 armed peasantry, and paroled prisoners, brought his troop strength up to almost equal that of the British. He also had 376 cannon, 35 mortars
Mortar may refer to:
* Mortar (weapon), an indirect-fire infantry weapon
* Mortar (masonry), a material used to fill the gaps between blocks and bind them together
* Mortar and pestle, a tool pair used to crush or grind
* Mortar, Bihar, a villag ...
, 4 howitzers and 3 swivel guns.
Abercromby landed 3000 troops on 18 April and took control of Cangrejos. Castro moved his forces to Escambrón and the Spanish First Line of Defense.
On 21 April, the British started a 7-day artillery duel with the Spanish forts of San Gerónimo and San Antonio, located at the Boquerón Inlet. At the same time, further Spanish forces put pressure on the British positions, the Spanish recaptured Martín Peña Bridge
Martín Peña Bridge, in Spanish properly known as Puente Martín Peña, is an
Art Deco style bridge from 1939, designed by Cecilio Delgado and others. It crosses the Martín Peña Channel in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
It was listed on the U.S. N ...
, while militia led by Sergeant Francisco Díaz raided behind British lines, bringing back prisoners. Then, on the 29th and 30th, the Spanish crossed the Boquerón Inlet, and forced the British to pull back.
Aftermath
On 1 May, the Spanish learned the British were gone, leaving behind arms, stores and ammunition.References
Further reading
* Alonso, Mariá M. and Milagros Flores (1997). ''The Eighteenth Century Caribbean and the British Attack on Puerto Rico in 1797''. San Juan: National Park Service, Department of the Interior, Publicaciones Puertorriqueñas. * Marley, David (1998). ''Wars of the Americas: a chronology of armed conflict in the New World, 1492 to the present.'' ABC-CLIO.External links
History of the Fixed Regiment of Puerto Rico by Coronel Héctor Andrés Negroni
* {{DEFAULTSORT:San Juan 1797 Military history of Puerto Rico Battles involving Spain Battles involving Great Britain Amphibious operations involving the Great Britain Invasions by Great Britain Conflicts in 1797 History of San Juan, Puerto Rico Battles of the War of the First Coalition