| From: | Gurth gurth@******.nl |
|---|---|
| Subject: | [OT] Last invasion of the British mainland |
| Date: | Thu, 15 Jul 1999 19:44:54 +0200 |
the street was...
> >If you don't count the Channel Islands in WWII, actually it's a lot less
> >than that -- 202 years ago, around 5 pm on 22 February this year :)
>
> |1797? Only thing I can find around then is the battle of St. Vincent on 14
> |February, when Jervis scattered the Spanish fleet on its way to reinforce a
> |French invasion force in Brest. The invasion was cancelled as a result (and
> |a young Commodore Nelson earned his knighthood for his actions)
>
> I must say, I'm intrigued as well....Gurth?
Four ships carried some 1,400 poorly-disciplined French troops (chained
below-decks...) under a American colonel William Tate in 1797 sailed to
Fishguard, in western Wales, and landed there on the date mentioned above.
These troops did leave Brest, on the 16th of February, with the intention
of attacking Bristol. En route, the plans were changed to attack Swansea
instead, but for a variety of reasons they ended up in Fishguard instead.
The French established a beachhead, there was some looting by the troops,
and locals defending their homes against this, but no actual battle was
fought. The French thought there were strong British forces in the area,
but what they actually saw (without knowing it) were the local militia and
Welsh women in traditional costume -- red cloaks and tall, black hats --
who'd come to watch the invasion from some distance away. A few days after
the landing, Tate, under pressure from his officers, surrendered to the
British because he had no way out and no hope of being reinforced.
The whole affair may have simply been a way for the French to get
"undesirables" out of their way, and (if they were lucky) hurt the British
war effort at the same time.
[Source: Military Modelling magazine, January 1991 issue, pages 28-30.
Ironically, this issue also has a report on a re-enactment of the Battle
of Hastings.]
In the summer of 1991, IIRC, I was in Wales and in the area of Fishguard,
and unless my memory is faulty, there are some things there that tell of
the "invasion."
--
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