Background
When Spain entered the War in 1779, Bernardo de Gálvez, the energetic governor of Spanish Louisiana, immediately began offensive operations to gain control of British West Florida. In September 1779 he gained complete control over the lower Mississippi River by capturing Fort Bute and then shortly thereafter obtaining the surrender of the remaining forces following the Battle of Baton Rouge. He followed up these successes with the capture of Mobile on March 14, 1780, following a brief siege.
Gálvez began planning an assault on Pensacola, West Florida's capital, using forces from Havana, with the recently-captured Mobile as the launching point for the attack. However, British reinforcements arriving in Pensacola in April 1780 delayed the expedition, and when an invasion fleet finally sailed in October, it was dispersed by a hurricane a few days later. Gálvez spent nearly a month regrouping the fleet at Havana.
Read more about this topic: Siege Of Pensacola
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