The Antilles War was a campaign between the Great Britain and the France during 1782 for supremacy over the Antilles in the Caribbean Sea. It was a result of the American War of Independence.
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Following the surrender of Lord Cornwallis to a Franco-American force at the Siege of Yorktown, there was a tacit armistice on on continental North America between Britain and the United States during the winter of 1781–1782. A large convoy and reinforcements for the Antilles were being prepared in France, with the aim of putting the Admiral de Grasse's fleet in a state of readiness to support the struggle against admiral George Brydges Rodney's Royal Navy force. In the second half of January the marquis of Bouillé recaptured the islands of Sint Eustatius and Saint Kitts, and in February general de Crillon took Minorca.
However, the large convoy that had left France escorted by admiral de Guichen was scattered by a storm. The British regrouped all their naval forces at the îles du Vent, and the comte de Grasse, despite his fleet's inferiority, set sail to convey the troops of M. de Bouillé which had had to regroup, at Saint-Domingue, with those commanded by the Spanish general don Galvez. Admiral Rodney, manœuvring to cut the French fleet off from its convoy, was only able to reach the vessel Zélé, the slowest ship in the rearguard. The comte de Grasse decided to save this ship and committed his vanguard under the command of M. de Vaudreuil.
The French won this first encounter on 9 April 1782. Admiral Rodney followed them and, having got the weather gauge, engaged the French fleet on 12 April. The French admiral's flagship Ville de Paris and six others were immobilised and captured in the face of resistance. The comte de Grasse was captured and only gained his freedom the following year, when the war ended. His vessel's bridge had been completely razed by British bullets and the admiral and two officers were the only two people standing not to have been wounded when the ship finally surrendered, and Admiral Rodney could not hold onto any of the four vessels he had captured since they were too badly damaged. The César also caught fire and sank with around 400 British sailors who had taken possession of her.
When news of the Saintes reached the United States, the Continental Congress considered whether to receive general Carleton, who had replaced Clinton as supreme commander of the British land forces in America, and his proposition from the British government to fully recognise the United States' independence in return for America renouncing its alliance with France. The Congress did not let itself be influenced by news of the French disaster in the Antilles and showed only indignation at it, refusing to admit the negotiator who was responsible for this suggestion. The States unanimously declared any proposition for a separate peace as high treason. These overtures, as well as the armistice demanded at the same time by the commander of Charleston and refused by general Nathanael Greene, were sufficient proof that (despite their success in the Antilles) the British were about to give up forcing their former colonies to submit. The Americans certainly desired peace, but showed their loyalty to their French allies and appreciation of their help by making new sacrifices to gain a peace that was as honourable for their allies as for themselves.
On their part, the French government only stopped sending help to the Americans when the poor state of their national finances left them no option but to do so. Two frigates, the Gloire and Aigle, were sent from Brest on 19 May 1782 under the command of M. de la Touche Tréville. The marquis de Vaudreuil took over from the captured comte de Grasse as commander of the fleet and received the order to sail into Boston to repair and refit his squadron.