The Battle of the Bay of Mayagüez between the British frigate Glasgow and the North American schooners Endowment and the Henry April of 1777 where Puerto Rico helped the American ships thus becoming the first nation to recognize the sovereignty and the flag of the United States.
Little-known crucial intervention from Puerto Rico
in the american war of independence of 1775
This is a real fact that has never been acknowledged.
Rafin Mena
Yes, it is generally unknown; but Puerto Rico, in fact, surely had a significant role in the war of independence of the United States from Great Britain in 1777. An intervention for which it has never been recognized, much less appreciated.
It all happened back on April 14, 1777 in the old port of San Germán in the Bay of Mayagüez, located on the west coast of the island. And it happened at a time that could not have been more urgent and critical, for George Washington’s war effort. Britain had sealed off and blockaded nearly all of the North Atlantic sea lanes with a fleet of heavily armed warships. The Continental Army, waging a desperate war against the most powerful nation of the time, desperately needed the necessary weapons and war supplies to face it. Which is why the great commander had commissioned several of the only small and medium sized schooners and sloops available to make the voyage to South America, specifically Curaçao, to break the blockade and retrieve and bring back the supplies and acquired weapons. over there. It was truly a matter of life and death for the fledgling revolution, and it had to be carried out at all costs, no matter what the cost.
One of these small American ships, the sloop barge Henry, was able to do just that. By circumventing the blockade, he had been able to sail to Curacao, load his weapons, and sail back to Virginia to deliver his cargo when near the Mona Passage, between Hispaniola and the west coast of Puerto Rico, he was intercepted by the British war frigate Glasgow. The Henry, being a gaff-rigged sloop, even when heavily laden, she was able to maneuver more than the Glasgow, which with square-rigged sails, was much slower to do the same. They continued all the way, with the Henry sticking to windward and tacking all the while, and in close pursuit of the Glasgow until they reached the sheltered waters of Mayagüez Bay, where the Henry was beached and her cargo unloaded. Her master, a certain Amos Weeks, requested protection from the local military port authorities of Puerto Rico. The Glasgow. by then she had also taken out one of her dinghies and was approaching said anchorage, with an armed detachment of sailors and her officer, to request the surrender of the people and cargo of the Henry.
It was the morning of April 14, 1777. Then there was a break, because apart from the unusual event, the port captain, Captain Faustino Martínez de Matos, was in another place outside the city, and only his lieutenant was available. Bernard Zeno. It was a time of tremendous tension and anticipation, as anyone can imagine, with the men from the Glasgow insisting on their request with guns loaded, ready and aimed, and the people from the Henry with their cargo scattered on the beach, desperate to find a solution. . Fortunately, the Harbor Master finally arrived and decided to grant military protection to Henry’s men and cargo; further requesting the Glasgow detachment to return to their ship. He then proceeded to notify the Governor of Puerto Rico in San Juan: don Juan Duffresne, who not only instructed him to officially grant him military protection but also to ask Glasgow to leave the bay and return everything that was taken from him. Henry. The Henry stayed in Puerto Rico for a while, repaired her rigging and when they were sure the Glasgow had left the area’s waters, they set sail and delivered the desperately needed weapons.
Four months later, on August 1, two American colonial ships arrived at the port of Mayagüez again, pursued by the Glasgow, which had obviously stalked them somewhere in the Caribbean islands. This time, in addition to the Henry, the Schooner Endowack had made the trip to Curacao and loaded with military supplies and weapons, in the process of being delivered in Virginia. Knowing the predisposition of the local authorities towards them, they docked in said port with the Glasgow, which this time decided to capture them at all costs, maneuvering sideways, very close to the coast, to be with their cannons within reach of the American ships. In view of this, and expecting the worst, the Puerto Rican authorities raised Spanish flags on both American ships to prevent their destruction; believing that the English, aware of the neutrality of Spain in that war, would not dare to attack neutral ships. The tactic worked and Glasgow, apparently confused and not knowing what to do, simply gave up the pursuit and left the bay.
The townspeople welcomed the men and officers of both ships, of whom they knew Captain Amos Weeks and the sailors of the Henry. They were fed and cared for, until they decided to return to Virginia again with the weapons.
How many people know this? Where or when was it mentioned? And more interestingly, why has he been kept out of the history of the American Revolutionary War? Regardless of this, there is one indisputable fact: THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA OWES A GREAT DEBT OF GRATITUDE TO THE PEOPLE OF PUERTO RICO.
