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The Battle of Jersey was a battle during the American War of Independence and was technically the last battle fought in the British Islands (coming after the Battle of Culloden in 1745). It was the last attempt by France to invade Jersey militarily. The American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), also known as the American War of Independence, was a war fought primarily between Great Britain and revolutionaries within thirteen of her North American colonies. ...
Image File history File links Download high resolution version (2048x1398, 221 KB) Description: Title: de: Der Tod des Major Peirsons Technique: de: Öl auf Leinwand Dimensions: de: 247 × 366 cm Country of origin: de: USA Current location (city): de: London Current location (gallery): de: Tate Gallery Other notes: de: Historienmalerei...
Portrait of Copley by Gilbert Stuart. ...
is the 6th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ...
1781 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ...
Saint Helier (Jèrriais: St Hélyi) is one of the twelve parishes and the largest town on Jersey, the largest of the Channel Islands in the English Channel. ...
Image File history File links Union_flag_1606_(Kings_Colors). ...
The American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), also known as the American War of Independence, was a war fought primarily between Great Britain and revolutionaries within thirteen of her North American colonies. ...
Under the Interpretation Act 1978 of the United Kingdom, the term British Islands refers to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, together with the Crown Dependencies: the Bailiwicks of Jersey and of Guernsey (which in turn includes the smaller islands of Alderney, Herm and Sark) in the...
Combatants British Army Jacobites Commanders William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland Charles Edward Stuart, the Young Pretender Strength 8,000 ca. ...
Causes
Only 14 miles (23 km) off the coast of France, and placed on the principal sea-borne supply route to the French naval base at Brest, Jersey was a location of strategic importance during any war between Britain and France. Large numbers of privateers operated out of the island, causing chaos amongst French mercantile shipping. Jersey privateers were even operating in support of the Royal Navy off the coast of America. The French government were determined to neutralise this threat. Furthermore, at the time Gibraltar was in the midst of the Great Siege; contemporary British newspapers reported that the attack on Jersey was an attempt to distract British attention from Gibraltar and divert military resources away from the Siege. Brest is a city in Brittany, or the Bretagne région, north-west France, sous-préfecture of the Finistère département. ...
For other uses, see Privateer (disambiguation). ...
This article is about the navy of the United Kingdom. ...
For the painting, see The Defeat of the Floating Batteries at Gibraltar, September 1782. ...
Defences in Jersey Aware of the military importance of Jersey, the British government had ordered the Island heavily fortified. Gun batteries, forts and redoubts had been constructed around the coast. The local militia comprised some 3000 men in five regiments, including artillery and dragoons. They were supplemented by regular army units: the 95th Regiment of Foot, five companies each of the 83rd Regiment of Foot (Royal Glasgow Volunteers) and 78th Highlanders, and around 700 'Invalids' (semi-retired reservists) — the total amounting to about 9,250 troops of all types. A naval force, the 'Jersey Squadron' was also based in the Island but was on a cruise against the Dutch at the time of the invasion. There have been several regiments in the British Army numbered as the 95th Regiment of Foot. ...
The French plan Despite the misgivings of the French military, who believed that an attack on Jersey would be a futile waste of resources, with any success being short-lived, the government approved a plan put forward by Baron Philippe de Rullecourt. De Rullecourt was an adventurer and a colonel in the French Army. King Louis XVI had promised de Rullecourt the rank of General and the Cordon rouge as soon as he had control of the town of Saint Helier, the Island's capital. The Second Commander was an Indian prince, named Prince Emire, who had been taken by England in wars in India, had been sent to France with other French prisoners and whom the French had since retained in their service; a member of the British force wrote of him: "He looked quite barbarian, as much as his discourse; if our fate has depended on him, it would not have been of the most pleasant; he advised the French General to ransack everything and to put the town to fire and to blood." La Grande Armée (in English, the Big or Grand Army) is the French military term for the main force in a military campaign. ...
Louis XVI, born Louis-Auguste de France (23 August 1754 – 21 January 1793) ruled as King of France and Navarre from 1774 until 1791, and then as King of the French from 1791 to 1792. ...
This does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...
Chiang Kai-sheks Légion dhonneur. ...
Saint Helier (Jèrriais: St Hélyi) is one of the twelve parishes and the largest town on Jersey, the largest of the Channel Islands in the English Channel. ...
Commander is a military rank which is also sometimes used as a military title depending on the individual customs of a given military service. ...
Hundreds of princely states in British India existed prior to the independence of India and Pakistan (including the present Bangladesh) in 1947, ruled by semi-independent potentates. ...
For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ...
Officially the expedition was a private affair; however, funding, equipment, transport and troops were provided by the government. In order to conceal their involvement, the government went so far as to order the 'desertion' of several hundred regular troops to De Rullecourt's forces.
On January 5, 1781 the expedition, consisting of some 2,000 soldiers in four divisions, set out. January 6 was still celebrated as 'Old Christmas Night' in Jersey, and the French were able to land undetected. The first, consisting of 800 men, landed at La Rocque, Grouville, and passed next to the body of guards without being noticed; a French officer even said that he had slept under the body of guards, but that the guard had not heard the French. The guards were subsequently put on trial, where it was found they had abandoned their post to go drinking. The first division of the French stayed there most of the night. The second division of the French, consisting of 400 men, was entirely lost, upon loading, in the rocks. The boats that contained the third division, consisting of 600 men, were separated from the rest of the fleet and were unable to join it. The fourth division, consisting of 200 men, landed early in the next morning at La Rocque. The total of the French troops unloaded on the island was therefore about 1,000, half the number of soldiers that France had expected to take into battle. is the 5th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ...
1781 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ...
is the 6th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ...
Island Jersey, Channel Islands Area 7. ...
An officer is a member of a military, naval, or if applicable, other uniformed services who holds a position of responsibility. ...
The day of the battle
The French in Saint Helier On January 6, 1781, between six and seven in the morning, the first division set up camp in the market while most of the town was asleep. About at eight o'clock a French patrol surprised the Island's governor, Moses Corbet, in bed in Government House (then situated at Le Manoir de La Motte). De Rullecourt convinced Corbet that thousands of French troops had already overwhelmed Jersey and threatened to burn the town and slaughter the inhabitants if the garrison did not capitulate. Corbet, unable to ascertain the true situation, surrendered. He was taken to the Royal Court building in the Royal Square and was persuaded to order Elizabeth Castle's commander Captain Mulcaster and 24-year-old Major Francis Pierson's troops at Saint Peter's Barracks to surrender as well. is the 6th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ...
1781 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ...
The Flag of the Lieutenant Governor of Jersey The Lieutenant Governor of Jersey is the representative of the British monarch in the Bailiwick of Jersey, a Crown dependency of the United Kingdom. ...
Government House is the name given to some of the residences of Governors-General, Governors and Lieutenant-Governors in the Commonwealth and the former British Empire. ...
Elizabeth Castle at high tide Elizabeth Castle is a castle in Saint Helier, Jersey. ...
Welcome to Jersey sign at Jersey Airport Saint Peter (Jèrriais: St Pièrre) is one of the twelve parishes of Jersey in the Channel Islands. ...
The British preparation The British troops and militia assembled on the Mont ès Pendus (now called Westmount) and Major Pierson soon had 2,000 men at his disposal, with which he resolved to descend the hill and attack. The French, who were camping in the market, had seized the town's cannons and had placed them at the different openings of the market, as to better stop the British troops from forcing them. However, the French did not find the howitzers. The British learned through different people who had been to observe the French troops that their number did not exceed 800 or 900 men. The French sent Corbet to Elizabeth Castle to offer a capitulation, which was refused by the Castle, which fired on the French troops and killed two or three men. Image File history File links Metadata No higher resolution available. ...
Image File history File links Metadata No higher resolution available. ...
19th century 12 pounder (5 kg) mountain howitzer displayed by the National Park Service at Fort Laramie in Wyoming, USA A howitzer is a type of artillery piece that is characterized by a relatively short barrel and the use of comparatively small explosive charges to propel projectiles at trajectories with...
Capitulation (Lat. ...
The 78th Regiment of Foot was detached and sent to take possession of the Mont de la Ville (now the site of Fort Regent), whence the British could stop a retreat of the French in case that they had wished to flee. When Major Pierson believed that they had reached their destination he gave the orders to his troops to descend to the plain and to directly attack the French. However the British were stopped at the plain, where Corbet was sent by de Rullecourt to offer capitulation terms and to tell the British that if the terms were not signed, the French would ransack the town within half an hour. Given their superiority in numbers, the British there refused, as did the 83rd Regiment of Foot and the part of the East Regiment in Grouville. When the de Rullecourt received their answer he was heard to remark: "Since they do not want to surrender, I have come to die." 78th Highlanders Highland Infantry Regiment of the Line raised in late 18th Century Scotland for service against the French. ...
Three regiments of the British Army have been numbered the 83rd Regiment of Foot: 83rd Regiment of Foot, raised in 1757 83rd Regiment of Foot (Royal Glasgow Volunteers), raised in 1777 83rd (County of Dublin) Regiment of Foot, raised in 1793 Category: ...
The battle
The Royal Square, as seen here today, was the scene of the Battle of Jersey. The attack began. In the Grande Rue were the 78th Regiment, the Battalion of Saint Lawrence, the South-East Regiment and the Compagnies de Saint-Jean; and in the other avenues were the 95th Regiment of Foot with the rest of the militia. The British had too many troops for the battle, a member of the British service later saying that a third of the British troops would have been more than enough to destroy the French army. The British soldiers, confused and having nothing to shoot, unloaded most of their shots in the air. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1332x1056, 896 KB) Summary V for Victory laid into paving during German occupation of Jersey during WWII, later amended to refer to Red Cross ship SS Vega, and subsequently restored as monument. ...
Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1332x1056, 896 KB) Summary V for Victory laid into paving during German occupation of Jersey during WWII, later amended to refer to Red Cross ship SS Vega, and subsequently restored as monument. ...
Symbol of the Austrian 14th Armoured Battalion in NATO military graphic symbols This article is about the military unit. ...
The arched entrance to Morel Farm, a National Trust for Jersey property in St. ...
There have been several regiments in the British Army numbered as the 95th Regiment of Foot. ...
The French resistance was of short duration, most of the action lasting a quarter of an hour. The French only fired once or twice with the cannons that they had at their disposal. The British had a howitzer placed directly opposite the market in the Grande Rue, which at each shot "cleaned all the surroundings of French" according to a member of the British service. Major Pierson and the 95th Regiment advanced towards the Avenue du Marché; just as the British were about to win Major Pierson was killed by a musket ball in the heart, but his saddened troops continued to fight. When de Rullecourt fell the French gave up the fight, throwing their weapons and fleeing; several reached the market houses, from where they continued to fire. Muskets and bayonets aboard the frigate Grand Turk. ...
De Rullecourt, through Corbet, told the British that the French had two battalions and an artillery company at La Rocque, which could be at the town within a quarter of an hour. The British were not intimidated, knowing that the number of French troops there did not reach 200. A guard of 45 grenadiers of the 83rd Regiment resisted against 140 French soldiers until the arrival of a part of the East Regiment, whereupon the French were defeated, with 70 prisoners taken and 30 dead or wounded. The remaining French soldiers dispersed themselves throughout the countryside to reach their boats, though several were caught doing so. For other uses, see Artillery (disambiguation). ...
Standard NATO code for a friendly infantry company. ...
Grenadier redirects here. ...
After the battle
Historical re-enactment soldiers of 1781 Jersey Militia marching in the Royal Square, St. Helier, site of the Battle of Jersey, during ceremonies marking the anniversary of battle on 6 January, 2007. At right, the house of Dr Lerrier where Baron de Rullecourt died (now the pub called The Pierson) Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 541 pixelsFull resolution‎ (1,539 × 1,041 pixels, file size: 956 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ...
Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 541 pixelsFull resolution‎ (1,539 × 1,041 pixels, file size: 956 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ...
is the 6th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ...
Conclusion The British took 600 prisoners on that day, who were subsequently sent to England. The British losses were around 30 dead. De Rullecourt was wounded and died on the next day.
It became notorious that there were traitors among the British. De Rullecourt possessed a plan of the fortifications, the towers, the cannons and so on, saying that had he not had good friends in Jersey, he would not have come. The French knew exactly the number of British troops and militia, the names of the officers commanding them, and more. In the papers found in the General's trunk was the name of one Mr. Le Geyt, a Jerseyman who was later seized, as was another suspect.
After the battle, it was decided to build 30 coastal round towers to improve the defence system of the island. Model of the tower The Round Towers in the island of Jersey were built from the end of the 18th century. ...
Painting John Singleton Copley painted a dramatized version of the death of Major Peirson. That painting now appears on Jersey's 10 pound note and is in the Tate Gallery. Portrait of Copley by Gilbert Stuart. ...
ISO 4217 Code none User(s) Jersey Inflation 5. ...
The Tate Gallery in the United Kingdom is a network of four galleries: Tate Britain (opened 1897), Tate Liverpool (1988), Tate St Ives (1993), Tate Modern (2000), with a complementary website Tate Online (1998). ...
References For other uses, see Jersey (disambiguation). ...
Door of 9 Pier Road, Saint Helier, Jersey - house given to La Société Jersiaise for use as museum (now part of the Jersey Museum). ...
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