British capture of St. Lucia

Capture of St. Lucia
Part of the American Revolutionary War
View from the island of St. Lucia in December 1778 taken by the squadron and the troops of Medows standing.
Date 18–28 December 1778 Location St. Lucia, West Indies Result British victory
Belligerents
Great Britain	France
Commanders and leaders
James Grant William Medows	Comte d'Estaing Marquis de Bouillé, Claude Anne Gui de Micoud
Strength
1400 men	9,000 regulars and militia
Casualties and losses
25 killed and 255 wounded	500 killed, 1,100 wounded

The Capture of St Lucia was the result of a campaign by British land and naval forces to capture the island of St Lucia, which was a French Colony. Britain's actions followed the capture of the British controlled island of Dominica by French forces after a surprise invasion in September 1778. During the Battle of St. Lucia the British fleet defeated a French fleet sent to reinforced the island, and a few days later French troops were soundly defeated by British troops during the Battle of Morne de la Vierge. Realising that another British fleet would arrive shortly with reinforcements, the French garrison surrendered. The remaining French troops were evacuated and the French fleet returned to Martinique, leaving the island in the hands of the British.

France formally recognised the United States on February 6, 1778, with the signing of the Treaty of Alliance. Britain declared war on France on March 17, 1778, which led to the Anglo-French War (1778–83). On September 7, 1778, the French governor of Martinique, Marquis de Bouille, launched a surprise attack on the British held Island of Dominica, which resulted in its re-capture by the French.

On November 4, Commodore William Hotham was sent from Sandy Hook, New York, to reinforce the British fleet in the West Indies. Hotham sailed with "five men of war, a bomb vessel, some frigates, and a large convoy." The convoy consisted of 59 types of transport carrying 5,000 British soldiers under Major General Grant.

Admiral Samuel Barrington, the British naval commander stationed on the Leeward Islands, joined the newly arrived Commodore Hotham on December 10 on the island of Barbados. Grant's men were not permitted to disembark and spent the next several days aboard their transports. Barrington and Hotham sailed for the French island of St. Lucia on the morning of December 12, with the idea of capturing it and using it as a base for monitoring French activity in the area.

The French Admiral Jean Baptiste Charles Henri Hector Comte d'Estaing had also sailed for the West Indies from the port of Boston on November 4. However the French fleet was blown off course by a violent storm, preventing it from arriving in the Caribbean ahead of the British.

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