Great Siege of Gibraltar
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| Great Siege of Gibraltar | |||||||
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| Part of the American War of Independence | |||||||
 The Defeat of the Floating Batteries at Gibraltar, September 1782, by John Singleton Copley |
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| Belligerents | |||||||
.svg/22px-Union_flag_1606_(Kings_Colors).svg.png){kind=small} Kingdom of Great Britain |
.gif/22px-Bandera_de_España(1748-1785).gif){kind=small} Spain France |
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| Commanders | |||||||
| George Augustus Eliott | Duc de Crillon | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 5,500 to 7,000 men; 96 guns | 40,000 men; 246 guns | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 333 killed 911 wounded 536 died from disease |
5,000 killed, wounded, captured, and missing (September 13th 1782 assault) | ||||||
The Great Siege of Gibraltar was an unsuccessful attempt by Spain and France to capture Gibraltar from the British during the American War of Independence.
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[edit] Background
In June of 1779, Spain declared war on Great Britain, France having done so the year before. The French and Spanish not only wished to retrieve lost territory from Britain but needed to secure Gibraltar, which was a key link in Britain's control of the Mediterranean sea.[1]
[edit] Overview
In July of 1779, the military forces of both France and Spain laid siege to the British garrison at Gibraltar. The British forces, led by George Augustus Eliott, 1st Baron Heathfield, suffered bombardment and blockade for more than three years. The most serious engagement of the siege took place on September 13, 1782 when a combined Franco-Spanish assault involving 100,000 men and 48 ships attacked the British. The garrison survived this assault.
[edit] Aftermath
Finally, in February of 1783 the siege was lifted. George Augustus Eliott was awarded the Knight of the Bath and was created 1st Baron Heathfield of Gibraltar. The Treaties of Versailles reaffirmed previous treaties.
[edit] The Great Siege in Popular culture
[edit] Music
In 1782 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart composed Bardengesang auf Gibraltar: O Calpe! Dir donnert's am Fusse a piece of music commemorating the Great Siege.[2] Mozart was known to have a favourable view of the British.[3]
[edit] Paintings
The 1783 painting, The Defeat of the Floating Batteries at Gibraltar, September 1782, was a work by an American artist John Singleton Copley which depicted the event. [4] A 1789 work by American painter John Trumbull, The Sortie Made by the Garrison of Gibraltar, 1789, covered the 1781 raid made by the garrison against the besiegers. [5]
[edit] Further reading
- Chartrand, René [July 2006]. Gibraltar 1779–1783: The Great Siege, Patrice Courcelle, 1st Edition (in English), Gibraltar: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 9781841769776.
[edit] References
- Bond, Peter [2003]. "Gibraltar's Finest Hour The Great Siege 1779-1783", 300 Years of British Gibraltar 1704-2004, 1st Edition (in English), Gibraltar: Peter-Tan Publishing Co., pages 28-29.
- ^ The Great Siege of Gibraltar. The Keep Military Museum. Retrieved on 2007-08-06.
- ^ List of musicians connected to Gibraltar. Mark Sanchez. Retrieved on 2007-08-05.
- ^ Mozart's Tribute to Gibraltar. The Gibraltar Magazine. Retrieved on 2007-08-05.
- ^ Defeat of the Floating Batteries at Gibraltar. Collage. Retrieved on 2007-07-30.
- ^ The Sortie Made by the Garrison of Gibraltar, 1789. Acquired Tastes-Trumbull. Retrieved on 2007-08-06.
