Other names:

What:
Surrender, 20 Feb 1782, *Adm De Grasse vs. (British commander)??

Where:
17.13285, -62.63344, Fort Charles

Maps: [map notes]

• 17.13285, -62.63344, Fort Charles
• Google Aerial or hybrid.
• MultiMap
• MSN
• DMA Explorer, EC JRC Digital Atlas. Scripts must not be disabled. Click on cross-hairs to zoom in. Close window to return.
• Confidence: 4

Sources:

• History of Saint Kitts and Nevis, Wikipedia.

• Nevis, Wikipedia.

• Saint Kitts and Nevis, Answers.com.

• Nevis stamp commemorates Battle of Frigate Bay.

• History of Nevis.

• Nevisan Sailing Lighters: Small Vessels of Caribbean Inter-Island Transport. "Documents related to the capture and capitulation of Nevis by the French in 1782..."

• West Indies Score Card During the American War for Independence (1776-1783). "NEVIS, captured by French 20 Feb 1782."

• Battle for the Islands.

• The Real Story of the American Revolution.
  "1782 Feb 14: French capture St. Christophe (St. Kitts) (West Indies) from the British."
  "1782 Feb 20: French capture Nevis (West Indies) from the British."

• Timeline Illustrating French World-Wide Involvement in the American War for Independence.
  "1782 13 Feb, Fr. capture St. Kitts (WI)."
  "1782 Feb 20: French capture Nevis (West Indies) from the British."

• Fort Charles (Nevis), Answers.com.
  "In 1782, the fort elected to hold its fire when French Admiral Count Francois de Grasse passed within range on his way to Saint Kitts; the French fleet was vastly superior to Nevisian defenses. The entire island of Nevis subsequently surrendered to de Grasse without a shot, allowing him to lay siege to Brimstone Hill on Saint Kitts. Fort Charles was briefly manned by a small French garrison during this time, and all serviceable guns were removed for use against the British on Saint Kitts.". Note that this capitulation would have occurred in mid-January, rather that on 20 February, when a formal surrender must have occurred.

• Boatner, p.477, 1186.

• Piers Mackesy, War for America, Published 1993, U of Nebraska Press, p.330, 334.

• Snippet from Thomas Jefferys, St. Christophers, or Saint Kitts, 1775, image 472302 from the David Rumsey Historical Map Collection at DavidRumsey.com:

  Fort Charles

  

• Timothy Neeno, "War Comes to the Islands: The American Revolutionary War in the Caribbean

• John Knox Laughton, From Howard to Nelson: Twelve Sailors, Published 1899 Lawrence and Bullen, ltd. Hood, p.359 ff.

• Samuel Hood Hood, Letters Written by Sir Samuel Hood (Viscount Hood) in 1781-2-3, Published 1895, Printed for the Navy Records Society.

• RevWar75
  Not listed separately from St. Kitts.

Submitted by: John Robertson

Confidence level: 5