David Syrett came to study the British capture of Havana in 1762 as
a forgotten campaign of the Seven Years' War. Through this
collection of documents he showed that Havana was arguably the most
complex and difficult operation of that war. It involved making an
opposed landing with an army of 16,000 men on a defended coast from
a fleet that first had to pass through treacherous waters as well
as to pass several well-defended enemy island positions to get to
its objective, the strongest fortress in the Americas. Havana was
the centre of Spanish military power in the Caribbean, the best
naval base and harbour in the region, the rendezvous point for the
homeward bound flotas carrying silver from the South American
mines, the strategic centre for Spain's communications with her
American possessions, and a place that was reputedly a rich target
for booty for an enemy to seize. Yet, the British operation was not
without its failures. The protracted campaign that lasted between 7
June and 18 October 1762 saw British forces ravaged by tropical
disease. Of the 5,366 men lost in the campaign, 4,708 died from
disease, while numerous others were incapacitated and later died
from disease The volume is a compilation of contemporary documents,
selected from the Albemarle archives at the East Suffolk Record
Office, the Pocock Papers at the Huntington Library, the Douglas
and Keppel Papers at the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, The
Royal Archives at Windsor Castle, and The National Archives classes
of Admiralty, Colonial Office, War Office papers, as well as the
Rodney Papers. A final document, forming the appendix, was written
in 1800 by Lieutenant-General David Dundas, who served during the
1762 siege. It provides valuable insight that documents
contemporary memory and professional judgment on the operation.
Although British intelligence about the defence of Havana was
limited, British forces conducted a successful amphibious siege
operation against a strong and well-defended fortress that resulted
in a Spanish surrender.
General
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