A little-known ally who helped America win the revolution.

Two years after the War of Independence, when Americans were looking for any advantage in the War of Independence, they trained a brave young Spaniard as an ally: Bernardo de Galvez, governor of Louisiana.

Is there really a girl, a woman whom Paul fears? 1977 In April, George Morgan, commander of Pittsburgh's Fort Pitt, sent a fleet to New Orleans along the Ohio River and the Mississippi River. He brought a letter to Galvez, proposing trade with Spain and asking for assistance in case Americans decide to stay in Florida. In August of that year, American ships loaded with ammunition, weapons and supplies went upstream along the Mississippi River. "I'll do my best ... to help," Galvez replied, "but it seems that I know nothing about all this." First the covert operation, then the open war, Galvez became an important ally of the American revolution. But he has long been forgotten, and he is dwarfed by American foreign friends such as Marquis of lafayette.

Galvez served as the governor of Louisiana, Spain for eight years. Louisiana is a large territory acquired from France in 1762, stretching from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains in the west and from New Orleans to Canada in the north. Galvez allowed the delivery of weapons, medicines and uniform fabrics to mainland troops through Mississippi. 1779, Spain declared war on Britain, and Galvez attacked Britain's West Florida, winning the king's victory, forcing the British to fight on two fronts, indirectly benefiting the Americans. He helped Americans not out of sympathy for their cause. In a world power conflict, standing with the United States promoted the interests of the king of Spain, a long-term competitor of Britain. Because of this, American history pays less attention to his strategic alliance. It was not until 20 14 that Galvez was officially recognized by the United States, when he was appointed as an honorary citizen of the United States by Congress.

Galvez was born in 1746 and joined the Spanish army in his teens. Influenced by his father (former Central American general) and uncle (royal minister), he was quickly promoted. As a professional soldier, he served in the war against Portugal in 1762, fought against the Apache in Mexico in 1770, and was injured when Spain invaded Algiers in 1775. 1776 In June, Galvez was sent to New Orleans as a colonel, and on New Year's Day of 1777, he was appointed as the governor of Louisiana at the age of 30. His bravery in his youth and his marriage to Creole beauty Felici de Saint Mark Dester Han deeply attracted the colonists.

When Galvez helped the Americans in Fort Pitt, he did not act alone, but was ordered by the king. Just two months after taking office, Galvez received an unusual letter from Spanish King Carlos III, ordering him to collect 300 rifles with bayonets, 65,438,000 barrels of gunpowder, cloth and medicine duty-free. These materials were provided to the continental army, but the king warned Galvez not to participate in the deal, "so that Britain would never think that Spain had helped her rebel enemy."

This elaborate trick is intended to maintain Spain's official neutrality in the American revolution and weaken Spain's long-term competitor Britain. But this move is not subtle enough. 1777 In March, Peter Chester, Governor of West Florida, England, extended westward to the Mississippi River in baton rouge. He said that ships loaded with weapons and ammunition sailed on the river flying the Spanish flag. Galvez replied that he was just being hospitable.

In the next two years, Americans worked hard to cultivate their semi-secret allies. Patrick Henry, the governor of Virginia, wrote to Galvez many times, expressing his willingness to trade "hemp, flax, fur, beef and pork" with Spain, and promised to exchange goods, friendship and gratitude for munitions and loans of 6,543,800+5,000 gold coins. Galvez continued to allow goods to be shipped from Mississippi to Pennsylvania because Britain blocked the ports on the East Coast. Galvez quietly cooperated with Oliver Pollock, the agent of the Continental Congress in New Orleans. Pollock is now called "the financier of the Western Revolution". He is an Irish businessman, and his loyalty to his motherland inspired him to fight the British in any way possible. Galvez secretly helped him to finance George Rogers Clark's frontier band, which captured Fort sackville, Illinois from England in 1778. After James Wilder, another American funded by Pollock, attacked the British fort in West Florida and the homes of loyalists, Galvez declared Wilder and his men refugees and allowed them to sell some trophies, including stolen slaves, and buy weapons in New Orleans. 1After Spain declared war on Britain in the summer of 779, Galvez thought that a good attack was the best defense in his successful military journey. He assembled an army of Creoles, free blacks and Indians, as well as his regular Spanish army. Galvez, with 667 men, defeated the British from the fortresses in the Mississippi Valley, including baton rouge and Nazizi. 1780 laid siege to motorboats in March, and occupied them after four days of fighting. A hurricane in June 1780.

It dispersed Galvez's fleet and delayed his plan to attack the English outpost Pensacola in Florida. Six months later, Galvez launched an offensive. He ventured boldly and made a breakthrough. When a Spanish naval commander proved unwilling to let his fleet sail into Pensacola Bay and be exposed to British gunfire, Galvez went on without him. "The ship did not suffer any damage when it entered the port, although a large number of bullets penetrated the sail and the shroud," wrote a Spanish war newspaper, which is usually regarded as Jarvis himself. "In the warm applause of the army, they showed their joy and love to ordinary people with constant' living'." male ...

The Spanish surrounded Pensacola for two months. 178 1 In May, the enemy surrendered when they blew up a British powder magazine and killed about 100 soldiers. The Englishman left Florida and never came back. The founding leader of the United States

Admit Galvez as an ally, although their enthusiasm is not as good as praise for foreign volunteers such as Lafayette or Thaddaus. 1777, Mrs. Mitt of the Continental Congress wrote to Galvez, thanking him for protecting American trade on the Mississippi River. When George Washington learned of Galvez's victories in baton rouge and Naziz, he wrote to the informal Spanish ambassador in Philadelphia, saying, "They may have a beneficial influence on the affairs of the southern States."

Galvez's victory in Peng Sacola was far more than that. It not only eliminated the British threat to New America from the south, but also deprived the British of the troops that could have been deployed to fight the Americans in the last war in Yorktown at the end of 178 1. Spain's new order to the Gulf of Mexico also allowed France to deploy all its naval forces against Britain in the battles of Chesapeake and Yorktown. The Spanish even sent four warships to Haiti to guard the French port Cap Francois, which is now Cap Haitien, so that the French warships could sail northward and join the decisive battle of the revolution.

After the war, Carlos III paid tribute to Galvez. 1785, he appointed Galvez to replace his late father and become the new Spanish governor. Galvez ruled the American territory of Spain for only one and a half years; 1786165438+1October, he died of yellow fever in Mexico city at the age of 40.

Spain ceded Louisiana to France in the treaty of 180 1, but Napoleon sold Louisiana to the United States in 1803, which doubled the area of this new country. The Spanish ceded Florida to the United States in 182 1 year.

Most American historians pay little attention to Galvez. Unlike Galeries Lafayette and Koshuzko, he was not inspired by the revolutionary spirit, nor did he fight on the land of the former 13 colony. More importantly, getting help from a monarchist who served the king did not conform to the patriotic narrative of the American revolution.

"The United States from a colony to another country, it fought alone and won an independently created myth, which has never been corrected, and there has never been a suitable candidate, Larry? d？ Ferrero pointed out in his new book "Comrades in Arms: American Independence and the French and Spanish People who Saved It". The true story is that the United States was born as the core of an international alliance, and it tried to defeat a Mongolian opponent. "

In the end, Galvez got what he deserved. In the 1920s, Mexico named Galveston, Texas after him. 20 14 12 16. President Obama signed a congressional resolution to appoint Galvez as an honorary citizen of the United States. This honor was awarded to only eight foreign citizens, including wartime allies lafayette and Winston Churchill. The resolution called Galvez a hero of the War of Independence and "he risked his life for American freedom". Perhaps few people remember him, but the legacy left by one of the most fearless allies in the American War of Independence lasts forever.