Spanish Participants 1778-1783
| This Page: AZ | CA | LA | NM | TX | Cuba, West Indies, Panama, Phillipines | Mexico | Spain |
Latest Changes: 2022-01-16 add link to Louisiana SAR lists
People under Spanish dominion who provided civil and military support
for the U.S. War for Independence between the time that Spain
declared war on Great Britain and the peace treaty ending the war
are accepted as patriot ancestors for the purpose of joining the
Sons of the American Revolution (SAR).
ArizonaThe area that is now Arizona was controlled by Spain during the American Revolution, when about 100 soldiers were assigned to Tucson and Tubac.See the reference list below. |
CaliforniaThe area that is now California was controlled by Spain during the American Revolution, when about 300 soldiers were assigned to the presidios of Loreto, Monterey, Santa Barbara, San Diego, and San Francisco. Others were stationed at Los Angeles, San Buenaventura, and San Juan Bautista.Spanish Soldiers in California by Granville Hough (California Society SAR) -- a list of 250 soldiers published in Somos Primos (1998). See also the reference list below. |
LouisianaDuring the forty years from 1763 (when the French and Indian War ended and Canada was ceded to Great Britain) to 1803 (when the United States purchased the Louisiana territory from France) about 4,000 French settlers fled Canada to settle near New Orleans (which was under Spanish control during most of this time).In 1776 Spanish Louisiana extended from Texas to Florida and up into Georgia. During the American Revolution Spain joined the battle against England and ordered the Governor of Louisiana, Bernardo de Galvez, to take action. He assembled and led forces that defeated the British at Baton Rouge (LA), Mobile (AL), Pensacola (FL), and St. Louis (MO) -- as well as providing guidance and support for military actions at Fort St. Joseph (Michigan). These forced Great Britain to redeploy military force and to expend munitions and money on a global war rather than use them against U.S. forces. These victories opened the Mississippi River as a supply line for money and military goods from France and Spain, ultimately leading to Great Britain ceding to the U.S. (at the end of the war) the British territory between the Appalachians and the Mississippi River (except the land retained by Spain).  SAR Spanish Records, Spanish-English War, 1779-1783 -
Men under Gen. Don Bernardo de Galvez and other records from the Archives of the Indies (in Seville, Spain).
Note: Part 1 has the Index to Names.
Regimiento de Infantería de Luisiana
[Artifacts.com] (Louisiana Infantry Regiment) was expanded to two battalions
during 1779-1783 and participated in the conquest of British West Florida.
Print Resources ================================= Galvez and Other Louisiana Patriots, by Leroy E. Willie (Louisiana Society SAR) describes Louisiana's participation in the Revolutionary War, with illustrations, maps, and a list of over 1,900 names of Acadian, French, German, and Spanish settlers who served with Galvez against the British in 1779. German Ancestors and Patriots of Louisiana 1722-1803, by Leroy E. Willie (Louisiana Society SAR) lists the German pioneers in Louisiana, noting those who joined Galvez to defeat the British. Louisiana Soldiers In The American Revolution, by Winston De Ville (Smith Books, Ville Platte LA, 1991) Settlers of Cabanocey and La Fourche in the Spanish Province of Louisiana during the American Revolution, by Winston De Ville (Smith Books, Ville Platte, LA, 1993) The Natchez District and the American Revolution, by Robert V. Haynes (1976) Honor and Fidelity: The Louisiana Infantry Regiment and The Louisiana Militia Companies, 1766-1821, by Jack D. L. Holmes (Birmingham, 1965) See also the reference list below. |
New MexicoThe area that is now New Mexico was controlled by Spain during the American Revolution, when about 600 soldiers and militia were assigned to the presidios of Santa Fé, El Paso (then San Elizario), Carrizal, Buenavista, and Janos.See the reference list below. |
TexasThe area that is now Texas was controlled by Spain during the American Revolution, when about 200 soldiers were assigned to the presidios of La Bahía and San Antonio. Missions at San Antonio and others supplied beef for Galvez' army.See the reference list below. |
Cuba, West Indies, Panama, PhillipinesSee the reference list below. |
MexicoMexico was controlled by Spain during the American Revolution, when about 200 soldiers were assigned to the Sonoran Presidios of Pitíc, Fronteras, Altar, and Las Nutrias.See the reference list below. |
| Spanish regiments and ships during 1779-1783 -- At the moment we have no lists or rosters for these. Suggestions of sources and volunteers for this project are welcome. |
Reference List for Rosters of Spanish Participants Eight books by Granvile W.
and N.C. Hough giving the history and listing the Spanish soldiers
who served in Spain's 1779-1783 war against Great Britain.
Most of those listed served in the North American theater of war,
but some served in Central America or the Phillipines.
[South Costal Chapter, California Society SAR]
who manned Presidios (Spanish forts) at
-- AZ: Tucson. -- CA: Loreto, Monterey, Santa Barbara, San Diego, San Francisco -- NM: Santa Fe -- TX: El Paso, Bexar, Goliad -- Mexico: Horcasitas -- Panama: San Blas ( Spanish sailors) Print Resources None to list at present. |
