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The Last Invasion of Britain was a French attack on Britain in 1797. A French force of 1,400 troops (making up "La legion noire", or the Black Legion) in four warships, under the command of the Irish-American Colonel William Tate landed on 22 February 1797 at Carregwastad Head (or possibly Llanwnda), near Fishguard, Wales.
Their aim was to start an uprising against the English and march onwards to Bristol and London. The initial plan was to land near Bristol but adverse weather and tides forced the fleet to turn around and attempt a landing on the coast of Wales. On their way through the Bristol channel the fleet was spotted from Ilfracombe. The fleet was spotted off the coast of Pembrokeshire as it attempted to enter Fishguard harbour. A single shot from the cannons at Fishguard fort was all that was needed to turn the fleet around and it landed on a nearby beach instead, as Tate did not know that the defenders had hardly more ammunition than this. 1
Many of the French troops carried for the invasion were conscripted prisoners and discipline and morale were low. The invasion soon lost momentum when the convicts discovered the locals' supply of wine (a Portuguese ship had just grounded locally with alcohol) and was concluded with little harm done on either side - a few fatalities and some looting. The local heroine of the invasion was Jemima Nicholas, who with her pitchfork single-handedly rounded up 12 invaders.1 It is thought the French troops may have mistaken local women like her, in their tall black hats and red cloaks, for British grenadiers.
The surrender took place on 25 February, signed in the Royal Oak pub in Fishguard and conducted on Goodwick sands. The Frenchmen were soon exchanged for British prisoners of war, there was a run on the pound,2 and George III patriotically sacked his French chef.2
A shipwreck believed to be belonging to the invasion fleet was found in 2003 and lies off Strumble Head.3
In August of the following year, another French force landed in County Mayo, Connaught, in the west of Ireland. In contrast to the debacle at Fishguard, this expedition saw some bloody fighting in which hundreds were killed. See the Battle of Castlebar.
References
- ^ a b John Latimer, The Battle of Fishguard: The Last invasion of Britain, The Napoleonic Wargaming Club Newsletter, XXI Edition, April 2003
- ^ a b BBC TV series Coast, Severn Estuary to Aberystwyth, Series 1, Episode 3, Broadcast 01/03/2008 (caution: this was broadcast after the text appeared in Wikipedia)
- ^ BBC News
- E. H. Stuart-Jones, The Last Invasion of Britain, Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 1950
- Jon Latimer, Deception in War, London: John Murray, 2001, pp.21-3.
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