Celebrate America250: Siege of Gibraltar

June 24, 1779. Spain began a siege of the British fortress of Gibraltar, which was the largest battle of the American Revolution.

We usually think of the American Revolution as only occurring in North America, but some of the most important battles occurred in other theaters of the war. In June 1779, Spain allied with France and declared war on Great Britain. Almost immediately it besieged Gibraltar, which it had lost in 1704 during the War of Spanish Succession. It besieged it from the land and with a naval fleet with a total of 60,000 soldiers and sailors (against 5000 British soldiers), which made it the largest battle of the war.

Britain was able to send three resupply fleets to the fortress during the siege, which rendered the siege ineffective. In September 1782, Spain and France launched a disastrous Grand Assault on Gibraltar, which resulted in heavy losses for the attackers. In October 1782, Adm. Richard Howe brought a relief convoy into the port past the Spanish blockading fleet. In February 1783, the Franco-Spanish force ended the siege, and Gibraltar remained an unconquered Rock.

The disaster of the Grand Assault in September 1782 affected the peace negotiations in Paris because it made clear that while Britain had been defeated in the war, it would not suffer a decisive defeat. Therefore, Britain refused to cede any Canadian territory to America and demanded that Americans repay pre-war debts to Britain. American delegates realized that they would have to agree to these terms, and preliminary Articles of Peace were signed in November 1782. The failure of the Siege of Gibraltar brought the relative strengths of the combatants into sharp relief, which made it possible to come to peace terms.