The topic was Governor Galvez and the Spanish Conquest of British West Florida. The speaker spoke about Bernardo de Galvez, the Spanish governor of Louisiana at the time of the American Revolution. France had given Louisiana to Spain at the end of the French and Indian War in 1763, and Galvez as the Spanish governor appealed for the loyalty of the French-speaking citizens of Louisiana. He obtained some of that support by marrying a French white Creole widow whose family had been prominent in New Orleans society. When Spain went to war with Britain on the side of the United States and France during the War for Independence, Galvez was able to appeal to the French people of Louisiana. Among the French-speaking citizens Galvez recruited for his army were Acadians who had settled in Louisiana after the British had expelled them from Canada. One of those Acadian soldiers was Firmin Breaux, an ancestor of the speaker.
Galvez launched a series of military campaigns against British West Florida, and was able to use his military forces to surround and capture major forts at Baton Rouge, Mobile, and Pensacola. With the fall of those cities, Galvez gained control of British West Florida. At the end of the war, Britain transferred all of Florida to Spain.
Galvez helped the new United States in its struggle against Britain, preventing British forces in British West Florida from going to the aid of Cornwallis, and contributing to his defeat. Galvez was also famous for sending financial and materiel aid up the Mississippi River to George Rogers Clark and American forces in the Ohio River valley. He should be remembered not only for fighting on the side of the United States against Britain during the American Revolutionary War, but also for his successful military campaigns. Galveston, Texas, was named in his honor.
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| Speaker Daniel L. Haulmen |
