1768: Former Pennsylvania merchant Oliver Pollockhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oliver_Pollock   moved to New Orleans.

August 17, 1769: Pollock sold flour at half its market value to the Spanish in New Orleans. Because of his generosity he was granted freedom of trading in Louisiana for as long as he wished.

1770: Spain and Great Britain seemed to be on the verge of war over a dispute over the Falkland Islands. British troops in New York were mobilized for an intended attack on New Orleans. Commercial control of the Mississippi River was already of supreme importance to the British. English "floating stores" dominated commerce with the Spanish on the river.

May 1776: General Charles Lee wrote the Spanish monarchy appealing for help for American rebels. He argued that an independent America would reduce the threat of a British attack on Spanish possessions in the New World.

June 1776: Spain gave the Continental Congress 1,000,000 livres and in July deposited 2,000 barrels of gunpowder in New Orleans.

July 19, 1776: Captain George Gibson, Lieutenant William Linn and 15 Americans disguised as traders left Ft. Pitt for New Orleans. When they arrived in New Orleans, Oliver Pollock conceiled their identity from British spies.

August 1776: Captain George Gibson and Oliver Pollock purchased 5 tons of gunpowder in New Orleans from the Spaniards and sent it up the Mississippi River to Fort Pitt under the care of Lieutenant William Linn. Pollock believed that the Spanish cooperation was influenced by news of the Declaration of Independence.

September 22, 1776: Linn and his men leave New Orleans for Fort Pitt.

January 1, 1777: Bernardo de Galvez took over as Governor of Louisiana. Governor Galvez at
once told Pollock that he would cooperated with the Continental Congress. He declared that the Port of New Orleans would be open and free to American commerce. He also approved the admission and sale of prizes captured by American cruisers and he requested American troops, goods and money for a proposed attack upon British posts on the Mississippi along with Mobile and Pensacola.


May 2, 1777: The gunpowder arrived at Fort Pitt on heavily laden flatboats rowed upstream against the current the entire way from New Orleans. The news of the delivery of this powder caused the British to begin harassing American shipping on the Mississippi. The British had told the Indians that the colonists had no gunpowder due to their embargo of American ports. This gunpowder was necessary to re-establish trade with the Indians and for the protection of the rebels.

May 1777: Galvez threatened to fire on British ships at New Orleans which had come to demand the release of British vessels seized by the Spanish on the Mississippi River for allegedly being engaged in illegal commerce. Two of these confiscated vessels were owned by Americans and these boats were secretly returned to their owners by Galvez when he was requested to do so by Pollock.

1777: Pollock was appointed  "commercial agent of the United States at New Orleans", making him the representative of the colonies in the city. Pollock informed the Continental Congress of the cooperation of Governor Galvez and urged them to send blank commissions to be used for recruiting American troops.

May 1777: 2800 Choctaws along with a 40 man delegation composed of the highest ranking Chickasaws attended a conference with the British at Mobile. After receiving presents, they agreed to keep watch on the Mississippi so that the British could harass communications between the Americans and the Spanish at New Orleans. The Choctaws also ceded to the British a strip of land on the east bank of the Mississippi River south of the confluence with the Yazoo(near present day Vicksburg).

Summer of 1777: Two British Indian agents, Taitt and Cameron, were visiting Alexander McGillivray in Little Tallassee (near present-day Wetumpka) when Creek Indians sympathetic to the American cause attempted to murder them. McGillivray helped these British soldiers to escape to Pensacola. Stuart immediately placed an embargo on supplying the Creeks.This won the Creeks back over to the British side and strengthened McGillivray's power over the tribe. 

October, 1777: Captain Gibson, who had been imprisoned in New Orleans by the order of Spanish Governor Galvez, in order to pacify British officials in the city, was released and was permitted to embark for Philadelphia on a ship. This was arranged by Oliver Pollock and Gibson concealed more of the gunpowder and was able to smuggle it to Philadelphia on this voyage.


 1778: Spain secretly aided the Americans through the firm of Joseph Gardoqui. Funds were collected at Madrid by Diego Gardoqui who forwarded the money to Arthur Lee  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Lee_(diplomat) in Paris. Lee ordered war material from the Gardoqui Company in Bilboa and they shipped the goods to America. In 1778, Americans acquired 18,000 blankets, 11,000 pairs of shoes, 41,000 pairs of stockings, and great quantities of shirts, tent cloth and medicine.

February 1778: Chickasaws and Choctaws on the Mississippi River do not detect or intercept the Willing expedition as they float down to Natchez. British Indian agent Colbert increased his authority over the tribes and increased his supervision. Cherokee Chief Attakullaculla visited British Indian agent John Stuart in Pensacola and promised to unite with fellow chief Dragging Canoe to lead the Cherokees north to guard the Ohio River  for the British. This agreement caused the British to restore trade with the "Peace Party" of the Cherokees. British influence over the Cherokee and Creeks increased and Indian raids of the American frontier of South Carolina and Georgia increased.


May 1778: Pollock suggested to the Continental Congress that they should send a force of about 300 men to capture Natchez and Manchac because in the event of war between Great Britain and Spain, the Spaniards would immediately take possession of these two posts.

Late Fall of 1778: The Maryland Loyalists and the Pennsylvania Loyalists in Pensacola were merged due to deaths produced by smallpox, yellow fever, dysentery and other diseases. They had arrived by a covoy from New York via Jamaica. This was the unit that brought a 16 year old native of Frederick, Maryland, WILLIAM AUGUSTUS BOWLES to the Gulf Coast.

December 19, 1778: General George Washington received a letter informing him that James Willing sailed from Pensacola aboard a British prize bound for Philadelphia but had escaped British custody. The letter also informed Washington that Willing had been rearrested in New York City by the British.  http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/03-18-02-0523

Spring of 1779: British Indian agent John Stuart sent the Cherokees out the attack the Americans in the Holston Valley located in present-day east Tennessee. The goal was to distract the American militia from sending reinforcements to American Lieutenant Colonel George Rogers Clark in the Illinois Country.

February 25, 1779: Colonel George Rogers Clark captured British Lieutenant Governor of Fort Detroit, Henry Hamilton, at Vincennes. Hamilton would eventually be exchanged by the U.S. for James Willing in March of 1781. 

March 21, 1779: British Indian agent John Stuart died in Pensacola (ed. note: The house where Stuart once lived in Charleston, S.C., is now a National Historic Landmark.). Thomas Browne who replaced Stuart, allowed William Panton of St. Augustine to have a monopoly on the business of supplying the Creeks and Cherokees with supplies. This resulted in the Indians being better supplied than ever and laid the foundation for Panton to eventually get the Spanish to grant him the same monopoly in Spanish West Florida and Spanish East Florida.

June 20, 1779: Francisco Garcia, an emissary from Bernardo de Galvez, arrived in San Antonio with a letter for Texas Governor Domingo Cabello, requesting and authorizing the first official cattle drive from Texas to Louisiana. Following the August 1778 hurrasicane in Louisiana the cattle herds were decimated and his troops in Louisiana needed beef. He also needed horses for his cavalry and to pull artillery pieces. 

August 27, 1779: Gen. Bernardo Galvez learned of the May 8, 1789 Declaration of War against England on August 16th. Because he knew that war was imminent, he had been prepared – at least until the hurricane struck the week before. One Galliot and three gunboats were salvaged from the bottom of the river and restored. These vessels were equipped ten cannons, one of 24 pounder, five 18 pounders, and four 4 pounders, and ammunitions . He led the 700 Spanish Army regulars at New Orleans up the Mississippi River 105 miles to attack Fort Bute, in Manchac, Louisiana in 11 days.

September 11, 1779: Galvez marched upon Ft. Richmond at Baton Rouge, some 60 miles to the west.

January 28, 1780: Galvez departed New Orleans bound for Ft. Charlotte at Mobile with twelve ships containing 754 men. His men were well fed on Texas beef. Mobile was the British capital of West Florida.

May 26, 1780: The Spanish authorities at Ft. Carlos in St. Louis aided George Rogers Clark in the conquest of the territories northwest of the Ohio River and rallied to defeat the combined British and Indian attack on St. Louis in 1780.

May 30, 1780: The records are unclear about the exact number of Texas longhorn steers were delivered to Galvez. The best estimate is that between 9,000 – 15,000 head of cattle, plus bulls and horses were provided. 16 Oct. 1780 Galvez led a Spanish fleet of 15 war ships and 59 transport ships from Havana to attack Pensacola. Embarked were 164 officers and 3,829 men. 1

October 8, 1780: A hurricane hit the Spanish flotilla. Many were lost. The survivors retreated to Havana. Along the way they seized two British frigates. For fear that the British might seek to retake Mobile before he could take Pensacola, Galvez dispatched two warships and 500 soldiers to reinforce Mobile. Galvez's flotilla survived a hurricane in harbor before initiating two months of constant artillery and cannon bombardment of the British forts.

April 23, 1780: Reinforcements had arrived, increasing Galvez's total force to 7,800.

March 1781: Only about 500 Choctaws are present to help defend Pensacola when Galvez and the Spaniards attack.

May 8, 1781: The 18-year British occupation of Pensacola, Florida, ended with a British surrender. 8 May 1781 The British surrender at Pensacola removed the British threat from the Gulf of Mexico and the Mississippi River. Galvez was assisted by four French frigates. He gave them 500,000 pesos to reprovision their ships. These ships then proceeded to join the French blockade of Yorktown, which led to the British surrender.