The siege of Fort Charlotte at Mobile began on February 10th, 1780 , pitting Galvez against his old acquaintance British Captain Elias Durnford. Galvez received reinforcements from Havana late in February. British General John Campbell came from Pensacola with reinforcements just prior to the fall of Mobile. Realizing that it was too late to save Mobile, he returned with his troops and Indian allies to protect Pensacola. It was not only a victory for Spain when Fort Charlotte capitulated on March 14th but a significant gain of territory east of Louisiana.

With Mobile secured, Galvez proceeded toward Pensacola which was 55 miles southeast of Mobile (as the crow flies) with the purpose of capturing Fort George and occupying the town of Pensacola; the capital of British West Florida. Fort George was better fortified and supported than Fort Charlotte, leading Galvez to employ his previous tactic of bombarding and starving the garrison. This time it is a different story as the Creek Indians (Native to lower Georgia and Florida) supported General Campbell with 2,000 of their 3,500 warriors. Creeks are one of the Civilized Tribes but are less dependent on Europeans to support their culture and they are more warlike than the Cherokee to their north. Unlike the Cherokee who later agreed to move from their homelands to allow settlement by Europeans, the Creeks were not subdued until defeated and forced to move by General Andrew Jackson in 1813. The Seminole branch of the Creek Nation was never subdued, remaining to this day in what were the swamps and wilds of Florida.

On March 7th, British General Henry Clinton moved up to the Ashley River, approaching Charleston by land where it was most vulnerable. Clinton’s long delay had given the garrison of Charleston much needed time to shore up the landward defenses by the usual ditches and abates as well as numerous small forts, giving the Americans the belief that they could withstand a British attack by land. The waterside was equally well defended, not only by waterfront batteries, but the reconstitution of forts Moultrie and Johnson and six vessels carrying a total of 244 guns. This and the demand by the citizens of Charleston that American General Benjamin Lincoln must stay to defend the city would be the undoing of Charleston for both its citizens and its defenders. The garrison numbered some 5,000 men made up of Continentals, Dragoons, what was left of Pulaski’s Legion, and several thousand Carolina Militia to oppose Clinton, who had 10,000 soldiers at Charleston. On March 29th he crossed the Ashley River and the siege was on.

Perhaps it is time for us to return to John Paul Jones whom we left at New Year's Eve. From abeam of Ushant on New Year’s day, Jones sailed South as far as Cape Finisterre. Having found no prizes to be had by mid-January, he put into the Spanish port of Corunna. Alliance’s mixed crew (Alliance’s own plus Richard’s crew) was in a constant state of bickering which set the stage for more serious problems. The voyage south found the crew becoming more and more disgruntled, but it was the delay at Corunna which brought things to a head and a near mutiny developed. The crew had been promised a quick return to Lorient where it was expected that prize money from the voyage around the British Isles would be distributed. Instead they were in Corunna to take on supplies, do some re- rigging and to careen Alliance. The upshot was a refusal by the crew to work, but it lasted only a day. Still it was a barometer of the crew’s mood and a forerunner of things to come.

Not daunted by the near mutiny, Jones planned another cruise in search of prizes but his officers who were more in tune with the temper of the crew prevailed upon him to return to Lorient. Even then he did not go directly to Lorient. Alliance would finally arrive on February 19th. Jones was a difficult taskmaster for both officers and crew, driving them endlessly to improve the ships he commanded. Once docked, Jones left the officers and crew to improve Alliance while he went to visit Doctor Benjamin Franklin in Passy with the purpose of gaining money from sale of the prize ships to pay the crew and money from Franklin and the French to make what he saw as the necessary changes that needed to be made to Alliance. While it was true that all those things were needed, Frankllin gave up when Jones made his final request – a copper bottom to obviate the necessity if constantly careening and to improve the speed and maneuverability of Alliance.

The crew of Alliance had not been paid since departing America almost a year earlier, nor had they received any money from the prizes captured and sent to port for auction. The crew's dissatisfaction would be only one of many difficulties Jones would face in the coming months.

References: Christopher Ward’s "The War of the American Revolution"; Robert M. Utley's and Wilcomb E. Washburn's "Indian Wars"; Colin C. Calloway;s "The American Revolution in Indian Country"; Samuel Eliot.Morison's "John Paul Jones, A Sailor's Biography'; Bill Yenne's and Susan Garratt's "North American Indians"; Arthur Meier Schlesinger's "The Almanac of American History".

Back to American Revolution Month-by-Month Articles

Back to Historical Archives