In August 1779, Spain finally declared war on Great Britain and Galvez was free to act openly. He knew that his best chance of success was to strike first by surprise. Within a month, he had captured all four British forts in the lower Mississippi including Baton Rouge and Natchez. He captured 550 enemy soldiers and two naval vessels, one of which was captured from land. . . . He did this all without suffering a single defeat. His success was even more remarkable because a hurricane had sunk his supply ships. During the first month of fighting, how many battles had Gálvez and his troops lost?

Explanation:

from Louisiana’s German and Acadian communities, and American Indians.

The march was one of the first campaigns ignited by the Spanish declaration of war against Britain in June 1779, opening a second front in the region the British had hoped to quickly secure and turn against the rebellious colonists in the North. The Spanish, who had been secretly aiding the North American rebels with critical military supplies and financing since 1776 [see “Bankrolling the Battle of Yorktown,” Spring 2007], now openly challenged the British in the global power struggle between the Bourbon monarchs and King George III, finally taking their longstanding enmity into action against British forces in North America.