Charles Town expedition
Encyclopedia
The Charles Town expedition (September 1706) was a combined French
and Spanish
attempt under Captain Jacques Fefebvre to capture the capital of the English
Province of Carolina
, Charles Town
during Queen Anne's War
(as the North America
n theater of the War of the Spanish Succession
is sometimes known).
Organized and funded primarily by the French and launched from Havana, Cuba, the expedition reached Charles Town in early September 1706 after stopping at St. Augustine
to pick up reinforcements. A brief encounter with a privateer separated the Brillant, one of the expedition's six ships. Troops landed near Charles Town were quickly driven off by militia called out by Governor Nathaniel Johnson when word of the fleet's approached reached the area, and an improvised flotilla commanded by Colonel William Rhett
successfully captured the Brillant, which arrived after the other five ships had already sailed away in defeat.
had come to southeastern North America in mid-1702, and officials of the English Province of Carolina
had acted immediately. After failing
in December 1702 to capture the capital of Spanish Florida
, St. Augustine
, they launched a series of destructive raids
against the Spanish-Indian settlements of northern Florida. French authorities in the small settlement at Mobile
on the Gulf coast were alarmed by these developments, since, as allies of the Spanish, their territory might also come under attack.
The idea of a combined Franco-Spanish expedition first arose in 1704, when the governor of Florida, Joseph de Zúñiga y Zérda, discussed the idea with a French naval captain as a means of revenge for the Carolina raids; however, no concrete action came of this discussion. Pierre LeMoyne d'Iberville, the founder of Mobile and an experienced privateer
who had previously wrought havoc against English colonial settlements in the Nine Years' War, in 1703 developed a grandiose plan for assaulting Carolina. Using minimal French resources, d'Iberville planned for a small French fleet to join with a large Spanish fleet at Havana, which would then descend on Carolina's capital, then known as Charles Town
. The expedition was to be paid for by holding other English colonial communities hostage after destroying Charles Town. It was not until late 1705 that d'Iberville secured permission from King Louis XIV
for the expedition. The king provided ships and some troops, but required d'Iberville to bear the upfront cost of outfitting the expedition.
, and d'Iberville successfully ransacked English-held Nevis
. D'Iberville then released part of his squadron, and sailed for Havana. There he attempted to interest Spanish authorities in supporting the expedition, with limited success, due in part to a raging epidemic of yellow fever
. In addition to decimating the expedition's troops, Spanish Governor Pedro Álvarez de Villarín died of the disease on July 6, and d'Iberville himself succumbed on July 8. Before he died, d'Iberville handed control of the expedition to Captain Jacques Lefebvre.
Lefebvre sailed from Havana with five ships, carrying about 300 French soldiers under the command of General Arbousset, and 200 Spanish volunteers led by General Esteban de Berroa. The fleet first made for St. Augustine, where Governor Francisco de Córcoles y Martínez
provided a sixth ship, another 30 infantry, and about 50 "Christian Indians" from the Timucua
, Apalachee
, and Tequassa tribes.
The French fleet sailed from St. Augustine on August 31. During the passage a sloop was spotted, and the Brillant gave chase; she consequently became separated from the rest of the squadron. The sloop was a privateer sent out by Carolina governor Nathaniel Johnson to intercept Spanish supply ships; its captain quickly returned to Charles Town with word of the fleet's movement. The countryside and town, then also suffering the ravages of a yellow fever epidemic, rallied in response to Governor Johnson's calling out of the militia. The exact number of militia mustered is not known; of the non-slave population of 4,000, an estimated 900 men served in the colonial militia. Anticipating that a landing would be attempted on James Island
, which guarded the southern approach to the harbor, Johnson posted the militia there under the command of Lieutenant Colonel William Rhett
. The northern point of James Island was fortified by Fort Johnson, which housed a few cannon whose range was inadequate to prevent ships from entering the harbor. The militia also improvised a small flotilla of ships, which even included a fire ship
.
then in use in the English colonies, and the modern Gregorian calendar
). Despite the absence of the Brillant, which carried much of the French force, including "the campaign guns, shovels, spades, shells, and the land commander" (the latter being General Arbousset), Captain Lefebvre and his fleet crossed the bar on September 7, and delivered an ultimatum the next day. He demanded a ransom of 50,000 Spanish pesos, threatening to destroy Charles Town if it was not paid. Governor Johnson contemptuously dismissed the demand as paltry, claiming the town was worth 40 million pesos, and that "it had cost much blood, so let them come".
On September 9 the invaders landed two separate forces. One large force, numbering about 160, plundered some plantations near the Charleston neck, but was recalled when the Governor Johnson sent militia out in boats to oppose them. A second smaller force was landed on James Island, but was also driven away by the threat of opposition. Late that night Johnson received word that the party on the neck was still active, and sent Lieutenant Colonel Rhett with 100 men to investigate. Arriving around daybreak on the 10th, they apparently surprised the invaders. The invaders fled after a brief skirmish, but about 60 were captured, and as many as 12 invaders were killed along with one of the defenders. On September 11 Lieutenant Colonel Rhett sailed the colonial flotilla out to find the invaders, but found they had sailed off.
The next day the Brillant showed up, unaware of what had just transpired. Her captain had misjudged the distance from St. Augustine and had made landfall further north before turning around. General Arbousset landed his troops east of Charles Town, but the Brillant was captured by the colonial fleet; Arbousset and his men surrendered after suffering 14–30 killed in a brief battle with the English militia. The prisoners included 90 to 100 Indians; most of these were "sold for slaves".
In response to the Franco-Spanish expedition, Carolinians led Indian raiding expeditions that besieged
Pensacola
, one of the few remaining Spanish outposts in Florida. They also mobilized Indian forces to attack Mobile, but these efforts were frustrated in part by French diplomacy and false rumors of another Franco-Spanish expedition.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
attempt under Captain Jacques Fefebvre to capture the capital of the English
Kingdom of England
The Kingdom of England was, from 927 to 1707, a sovereign state to the northwest of continental Europe. At its height, the Kingdom of England spanned the southern two-thirds of the island of Great Britain and several smaller outlying islands; what today comprises the legal jurisdiction of England...
Province of Carolina
Province of Carolina
The Province of Carolina, originally chartered in 1629, was an English and later British colony of North America. Because the original Heath charter was unrealized and was ruled invalid, a new charter was issued to a group of eight English noblemen, the Lords Proprietors, in 1663...
, Charles Town
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...
during Queen Anne's War
Queen Anne's War
Queen Anne's War , as the North American theater of the War of the Spanish Succession was known in the British colonies, was the second in a series of French and Indian Wars fought between France and England, later Great Britain, in North America for control of the continent. The War of the...
(as the North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
n theater of the War of the Spanish Succession
War of the Spanish Succession
The War of the Spanish Succession was fought among several European powers, including a divided Spain, over the possible unification of the Kingdoms of Spain and France under one Bourbon monarch. As France and Spain were among the most powerful states of Europe, such a unification would have...
is sometimes known).
Organized and funded primarily by the French and launched from Havana, Cuba, the expedition reached Charles Town in early September 1706 after stopping at St. Augustine
St. Augustine, Florida
St. Augustine is a city in the northeast section of Florida and the county seat of St. Johns County, Florida, United States. Founded in 1565 by Spanish explorer and admiral Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, it is the oldest continuously occupied European-established city and port in the continental United...
to pick up reinforcements. A brief encounter with a privateer separated the Brillant, one of the expedition's six ships. Troops landed near Charles Town were quickly driven off by militia called out by Governor Nathaniel Johnson when word of the fleet's approached reached the area, and an improvised flotilla commanded by Colonel William Rhett
William Rhett
Colonel William Rhett moved to the Province of Carolina in 1698. He soon became successful and gained a high rank and social status as a colonial leader. In 1706 it was Rhett who commanded a flotilla that fought off a Franco-Spanish attack on Charles Town...
successfully captured the Brillant, which arrived after the other five ships had already sailed away in defeat.
Background
News of the start of the War of the Spanish SuccessionWar of the Spanish Succession
The War of the Spanish Succession was fought among several European powers, including a divided Spain, over the possible unification of the Kingdoms of Spain and France under one Bourbon monarch. As France and Spain were among the most powerful states of Europe, such a unification would have...
had come to southeastern North America in mid-1702, and officials of the English Province of Carolina
Province of Carolina
The Province of Carolina, originally chartered in 1629, was an English and later British colony of North America. Because the original Heath charter was unrealized and was ruled invalid, a new charter was issued to a group of eight English noblemen, the Lords Proprietors, in 1663...
had acted immediately. After failing
Siege of St. Augustine (1702)
The Siege of St. Augustine was an action in Queen Anne's War during November and December 1702. It was conducted by English provincial forces from the Province of Carolina and their native allies, under the command of Carolina's governor James Moore, against the Spanish colonial fortress of...
in December 1702 to capture the capital of Spanish Florida
Spanish Florida
Spanish Florida refers to the Spanish territory of Florida, which formed part of the Captaincy General of Cuba, the Viceroyalty of New Spain, and the Spanish Empire. Originally extending over what is now the southeastern United States, but with no defined boundaries, la Florida was a component of...
, St. Augustine
St. Augustine, Florida
St. Augustine is a city in the northeast section of Florida and the county seat of St. Johns County, Florida, United States. Founded in 1565 by Spanish explorer and admiral Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, it is the oldest continuously occupied European-established city and port in the continental United...
, they launched a series of destructive raids
Apalachee Massacre
The Apalachee massacre was a series of brutal raids by English colonists from the Province of Carolina and their Indian allies against a largely pacific population of Apalachee Indians in northern Spanish Florida that took place during Queen Anne's War in 1704...
against the Spanish-Indian settlements of northern Florida. French authorities in the small settlement at Mobile
Mobile, Alabama
Mobile is the third most populous city in the Southern US state of Alabama and is the county seat of Mobile County. It is located on the Mobile River and the central Gulf Coast of the United States. The population within the city limits was 195,111 during the 2010 census. It is the largest...
on the Gulf coast were alarmed by these developments, since, as allies of the Spanish, their territory might also come under attack.
The idea of a combined Franco-Spanish expedition first arose in 1704, when the governor of Florida, Joseph de Zúñiga y Zérda, discussed the idea with a French naval captain as a means of revenge for the Carolina raids; however, no concrete action came of this discussion. Pierre LeMoyne d'Iberville, the founder of Mobile and an experienced privateer
Privateer
A privateer is a private person or ship authorized by a government by letters of marque to attack foreign shipping during wartime. Privateering was a way of mobilizing armed ships and sailors without having to spend public money or commit naval officers...
who had previously wrought havoc against English colonial settlements in the Nine Years' War, in 1703 developed a grandiose plan for assaulting Carolina. Using minimal French resources, d'Iberville planned for a small French fleet to join with a large Spanish fleet at Havana, which would then descend on Carolina's capital, then known as Charles Town
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...
. The expedition was to be paid for by holding other English colonial communities hostage after destroying Charles Town. It was not until late 1705 that d'Iberville secured permission from King Louis XIV
Louis XIV of France
Louis XIV , known as Louis the Great or the Sun King , was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre. His reign, from 1643 to his death in 1715, began at the age of four and lasted seventy-two years, three months, and eighteen days...
for the expedition. The king provided ships and some troops, but required d'Iberville to bear the upfront cost of outfitting the expedition.
Prelude
Two small fleets, one headed by d'Iberville, who was to lead the expedition, left France in January 1706, totalling 12 ships and carrying 600 French troops. They first sailed for the West Indies, where additional troops were recruited at MartiniqueMartinique
Martinique is an island in the eastern Caribbean Sea, with a land area of . Like Guadeloupe, it is an overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. To the northwest lies Dominica, to the south St Lucia, and to the southeast Barbados...
, and d'Iberville successfully ransacked English-held Nevis
Nevis
Nevis is an island in the Caribbean Sea, located near the northern end of the Lesser Antilles archipelago, about 350 km east-southeast of Puerto Rico and 80 km west of Antigua. The 93 km² island is part of the inner arc of the Leeward Islands chain of the West Indies...
. D'Iberville then released part of his squadron, and sailed for Havana. There he attempted to interest Spanish authorities in supporting the expedition, with limited success, due in part to a raging epidemic of yellow fever
Yellow fever
Yellow fever is an acute viral hemorrhagic disease. The virus is a 40 to 50 nm enveloped RNA virus with positive sense of the Flaviviridae family....
. In addition to decimating the expedition's troops, Spanish Governor Pedro Álvarez de Villarín died of the disease on July 6, and d'Iberville himself succumbed on July 8. Before he died, d'Iberville handed control of the expedition to Captain Jacques Lefebvre.
Lefebvre sailed from Havana with five ships, carrying about 300 French soldiers under the command of General Arbousset, and 200 Spanish volunteers led by General Esteban de Berroa. The fleet first made for St. Augustine, where Governor Francisco de Córcoles y Martínez
Francisco de Córcoles y Martínez
Francisco de Córcoles y Martínez was a Spanish soldier and politician. He participated for more than twelve years in the campaigns of Catalonia, Ceuta and Milan. As a reward for his services he was appointed governor and Captain General of Spanish Florida, a post he occupied from 1706 to 1716...
provided a sixth ship, another 30 infantry, and about 50 "Christian Indians" from the Timucua
Timucua
The Timucua were a Native American people who lived in Northeast and North Central Florida and southeast Georgia. They were the largest indigenous group in that area and consisted of about 35 chiefdoms, many leading thousands of people. The various groups of Timucua spoke several dialects of the...
, Apalachee
Apalachee
The Apalachee are a Native American people who historically lived in the Florida Panhandle, and now live primarily in the U.S. state of Louisiana. Their historical territory was known to the Spanish colonists as the Apalachee Province...
, and Tequassa tribes.
The French fleet sailed from St. Augustine on August 31. During the passage a sloop was spotted, and the Brillant gave chase; she consequently became separated from the rest of the squadron. The sloop was a privateer sent out by Carolina governor Nathaniel Johnson to intercept Spanish supply ships; its captain quickly returned to Charles Town with word of the fleet's movement. The countryside and town, then also suffering the ravages of a yellow fever epidemic, rallied in response to Governor Johnson's calling out of the militia. The exact number of militia mustered is not known; of the non-slave population of 4,000, an estimated 900 men served in the colonial militia. Anticipating that a landing would be attempted on James Island
James Island (South Carolina)
James Island is one of South Carolina's most urban Sea Islands. The island is separated from peninsular downtown Charleston by the Ashley River, from the mainland by Wappoo Creek and the Wappoo Cut, and from Johns Island by the Stono River...
, which guarded the southern approach to the harbor, Johnson posted the militia there under the command of Lieutenant Colonel William Rhett
William Rhett
Colonel William Rhett moved to the Province of Carolina in 1698. He soon became successful and gained a high rank and social status as a colonial leader. In 1706 it was Rhett who commanded a flotilla that fought off a Franco-Spanish attack on Charles Town...
. The northern point of James Island was fortified by Fort Johnson, which housed a few cannon whose range was inadequate to prevent ships from entering the harbor. The militia also improvised a small flotilla of ships, which even included a fire ship
Fire ship
A fire ship, used in the days of wooden rowed or sailing ships, was a ship filled with combustibles, deliberately set on fire and steered into an enemy fleet, in order to destroy ships, or to create panic and make the enemy break formation. Ships used as fire ships were usually old and worn out or...
.
Attacks
The Spanish fleet arrived off the harbor bar on September 4 (this date is recorded in contemporary English documents and histories as August 24 due to differences between the JulianJulian calendar
The Julian calendar began in 45 BC as a reform of the Roman calendar by Julius Caesar. It was chosen after consultation with the astronomer Sosigenes of Alexandria and was probably designed to approximate the tropical year .The Julian calendar has a regular year of 365 days divided into 12 months...
then in use in the English colonies, and the modern Gregorian calendar
Gregorian calendar
The Gregorian calendar, also known as the Western calendar, or Christian calendar, is the internationally accepted civil calendar. It was introduced by Pope Gregory XIII, after whom the calendar was named, by a decree signed on 24 February 1582, a papal bull known by its opening words Inter...
). Despite the absence of the Brillant, which carried much of the French force, including "the campaign guns, shovels, spades, shells, and the land commander" (the latter being General Arbousset), Captain Lefebvre and his fleet crossed the bar on September 7, and delivered an ultimatum the next day. He demanded a ransom of 50,000 Spanish pesos, threatening to destroy Charles Town if it was not paid. Governor Johnson contemptuously dismissed the demand as paltry, claiming the town was worth 40 million pesos, and that "it had cost much blood, so let them come".
On September 9 the invaders landed two separate forces. One large force, numbering about 160, plundered some plantations near the Charleston neck, but was recalled when the Governor Johnson sent militia out in boats to oppose them. A second smaller force was landed on James Island, but was also driven away by the threat of opposition. Late that night Johnson received word that the party on the neck was still active, and sent Lieutenant Colonel Rhett with 100 men to investigate. Arriving around daybreak on the 10th, they apparently surprised the invaders. The invaders fled after a brief skirmish, but about 60 were captured, and as many as 12 invaders were killed along with one of the defenders. On September 11 Lieutenant Colonel Rhett sailed the colonial flotilla out to find the invaders, but found they had sailed off.
The next day the Brillant showed up, unaware of what had just transpired. Her captain had misjudged the distance from St. Augustine and had made landfall further north before turning around. General Arbousset landed his troops east of Charles Town, but the Brillant was captured by the colonial fleet; Arbousset and his men surrendered after suffering 14–30 killed in a brief battle with the English militia. The prisoners included 90 to 100 Indians; most of these were "sold for slaves".
Aftermath
Carolina officials declared October 17 a day of thanksgiving for their successful defense. The large number of prisoners, however, caused them some trouble. They sent about one third of them off to Virginia, expecting that they would be transported to England. However, by the time the prisoners arrived in Virginia, the annual merchant fleet had already sailed. Virginia authorities were unhappy that they now had to hold the prisoners, who would otherwise have been set free with the ship they arrived on.In response to the Franco-Spanish expedition, Carolinians led Indian raiding expeditions that besieged
Siege of Pensacola (1707)
The Siege of Pensacola was two separate attempts in 1707 by English-supported Creek Indians to capture the town and fortress of Pensacola, then one of two major settlements in Spanish Florida. The first attempt, in August 1707, resulted in the destruction of the town, but Fort San Carlos de...
Pensacola
Pensacola, Florida
Pensacola is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle and the county seat of Escambia County, Florida, United States of America. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 56,255 and as of 2009, the estimated population was 53,752...
, one of the few remaining Spanish outposts in Florida. They also mobilized Indian forces to attack Mobile, but these efforts were frustrated in part by French diplomacy and false rumors of another Franco-Spanish expedition.