Battle of Fishguard

Battle of Fishguard
Part of the War of the First Coalition
Royal Oak Pub in Fishguard, where Lord Cawdor set up his headquarters
Date 22 February 1797 – 24 February 1797 Location Near Fishguard, Wales Coordinates: 51°59′54″N 4°58′49″W / 51.9982°N 4.98041°W / 51.9982; -4.98041 Result Decisive British victory Entire invasion force surrenders
Belligerents
Great Britain	French Republic
Commanders and leaders
Lord Cawdor Thomas Knox	William Tate  (POW) Jean-Joseph Castagnier
Strength
300 reservists 250 militia 150 sailors	600 regulars 800 irregulars 2 frigates 1 corvette 1 lugger
Casualties and losses
Light	33 killed & wounded, 1,360 captured, 1 frigate captured, 1 corvette captured.

The Battle of Fishguard was a military invasion of Great Britain by Revolutionary France during the War of the First Coalition. The brief campaign, on 22 – 24 February 1797, is the most recent landing on British soil by a hostile foreign force, and thus is often referred to as the "last invasion of Britain". The French General Lazare Hoche had devised a three-pronged attack on Britain in support of the Society of United Irishmen. Two forces would land in Britain as a diversionary effort, while the main body would land in Ireland. Adverse weather and ill-discipline halted two of the forces but the third, aimed at landing in Wales and marching on Bristol, went ahead.

After brief clashes with hastily assembled British forces and the local civilian population, the invading force's commander, Colonel William Tate, was forced into unconditional surrender on 24 February. In a related naval action, the British captured two of the expedition's vessels, a frigate and a corvette.

General Hoche proposed to land 15,000 French troops in Ireland to support the United Irishmen at Bantry Bay. As a diversionary attack to draw away British reinforcements, two smaller forces would land in Britain, one in northern England near Newcastle and the other in Wales. Overall, the French intended to start an uprising against the English using the deep-rooted patriotism and nationalist pride in the Celtic regions of Britain, and then to lead the insurgent Celts to Bristol, Chester, Liverpool and finally London.

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