Battle of Jersey

The Battle of Jersey (January 6, 1781) was an attempt by France to invade Jersey and remove the threat the island posed to French and American shipping in the American War of Independence. Jersey was used as a base for privateering by the British, and France, engaged in the war as an ally of the United States, sent an expedition to gain control of the island. The expedition ultimately failed, and its commander, Baron Phillipe de Rullecourt, died of wounds sustained in the fighting. The battle is often remembered for the death of the British officer Major Peirson, and a painting based on his final moments by John Singleton Copley.

Read more about Battle Of Jersey:  Causes, Defences in Jersey, Failed French Attack, The French Plan, Battle, Aftermath

Famous quotes containing the words battle of, battle and/or jersey:

    Probably the battle of Waterloo was won on the playing-fields of Eton, but the opening battles of all subsequent wars have been lost there.
    George Orwell (1903–1950)

    ... the big courageous acts of life are those one never hears of and only suspects from having been through like experience. It takes real courage to do battle in the unspectacular task. We always listen for the applause of our co-workers. He is courageous who plods on, unlettered and unknown.... In the last analysis it is this courage, developing between man and his limitations, that brings success.
    Alice Foote MacDougall (1867–1945)

    To motorists bound to or from the Jersey shore, Perth Amboy consists of five traffic lights that sometimes tie up week-end traffic for miles. While cars creep along or come to a prolonged halt, drivers lean out to discuss with each other this red menace to freedom of the road.
    —For the State of New Jersey, U.S. public relief program (1935-1943)