Andrew Deveaux
| Andrew Deveaux | |
|---|---|
| Born | 30 April 1758 St Helena's Parish, South Carolina |
| Died | 11 July 1812 Red Hook, New York |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland |
| Service/branch | Loyalist |
| Rank | Colonel |
| Commands held | South Carolina Loyalist Militia |
| Battles/wars |
|
Andrew Deveaux (30 April 1758 – 11 July 1812) was an American Loyalist from South Carolina who is most famous for his recapture of the Bahamas in 1783.
He was born to plantation owners Andrew Deveaux senior & Catherine Barnwell on 30 April 1758 at St Helena's Parish in Beaufort, South Carolina. Deveaux's ancestry stretches back to France in 1665 when André de Veaux (who was born in 1665 at Château de Veaux, France) went to the American Colonies in late 17th or early 18th century. Andrew Deveaux (junior) was owner of many thousands of acres around Prince William's Parish & Port Royal Island.
At the age of 17 Andrew Deveaux, Jr., enlisted in the Continental army. However, the elder Deveaux senior was under constant badgering by Beaufort locals for his support of the British. In defense of his father, young Deveaux banded together a group of loyalists who created havoc in and around Beaufort. Deveaux joined the services of British under Major General Augustine Prévost in 1779 and was present at the Siege of Savannah where the Franco-American assault was repulsed with heavy loss. He was present at the Siege of Charleston which afterwards he was given a commission by Lord Cornwallis to raise a regiment called the Royal Foresters. This however did not succeed but Deveaux was promoted to colonel and was given command of a group Loyalist irregulars for which two American generals were captured in woodland ambushes.
In December 1782 the British evacuated South Carolina and Deveaux with his men went to St. Augustine, Florida capital of East Florida. He thus set about a plan to recapture the Bahamas for himself & the British crown. Nassau had fallen to the Spanish earlier in the year.
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