Battle of Saint Kitts 1782, Brimstone Hill, St. Kitts - Battlefields on Waymarking.com

The Battle of St Kitts, AKA Battle of Frigate Bay, ran January 25 and 26, 1782 during the American Revolutionary War. British fleet was commanded under Rear-Admiral Sir Samuel Hood and a larger French fleet under the Comte de Grasse and involved ground assault on Brimstone Hill Fortress.

When Hood returned to the West Indies in late 1781 after the Battle of the Chesapeake, he was for a time in independent command owing to Rodney's absence in England. The French Admiral, the Comte de Grasse, attacked the British islands of St Kitts and Nevis with a much superior force to the squadron under Hood's command. The attempt Hood made in January 1782 to save them from capture, with 22 ships to 29, was not successful, but the series of bold movements by which he first turned the French out of their anchorage at the Basse Terre of St Kitts, and then beat off the attacks of the enemy, were the most brilliant things done by any British admiral during the war.

Hood, with an inferior force first drove De Grasse from his anchorage at Basseterre, anchored there himself and then repulsed De Grasse's repeated attacks the following. But despite out maneuvering De Grasse, Hood was unable to save the island from surrendering to the French, due in part to the French siege of Brimstone Hill, a fortress on the island.

In 1782, when the French surrounded the Brimstone Hill Fortress with 8,000 soldiers and bombarded it with heavy artillery, the valiant defenders, numbering less than 1,000, were forced to surrender after a month of siege.

The logistics of such an operation included sea transport of troops by 28 ships of the line and other assorted craft, landing and transporting heavy equipment overland, digging miles of trenches and organizing meals for 8,000 men for several weeks.

It must be remembered that the two archrivals, England and France had shared St. Christophe / St. Christopher (now St. Kitts) from 1625 to 1713, both establishing their first Caribbean settlements on this friendly and fertile island. The success of these ventures provided a model and a springboard for English and French imperialism in the Caribbean. This must have been of some significance to both European nations who had in the ensuing years derived immense wealth, prestige and power from the exploitation of their Caribbean empires. St. Christopher, still a profitable colony in 1782, was of great importance, well worth defending -- and capturing. Indeed, the new republic of the United States of America, still embroiled in conflict with its former colonial masters, and recognizing the symbolic value of Brimstone Hill, encouraged their allies, the French to strike at this bulwark of British supremacy.

St. Christopher ( and with it, Brimstone Hill ) was returned to Britain a year later, following the Treaty of Paris. From that time and for the next fifteen years or so, a massive program of reconstruction and expansion of the Fortress was embarked upon. No effort was spared in creating an impressive and impregnable military complex, never again to be captured by the enemy. Brimstone Hill Fortress became "a veritable hilltop town" and came to be known then and thereafter as the "Gibraltar of the West Indies".

Sources Used:
(visit link)
(visit link)
(visit link)

Name of Battle: Battle of St Kitts Also known as the Battle of Frigate Bay Name of War: American Revolution Entrance Fee: 5.00 (listed in local currency) Date(s) of Battle (Beginning): 01/25/1782 Date of Battle (End): 01/26/1782 Parking: Not Listed

Visit Instructions:
Post a photo of you in front of a sign or marker posted at the site of the battle (or some other way to indicate you have personally visited the site.

In addition it is encouraged to take a few photos of the surrounding area and interesting features at the site.

Recent Visits/Logs:

Date Logged Log User Rating   01/24/2015 LCSM visited it 01/07/2010 PersonsMD visited it

View all visits/logs