San Juan Expedition (1780)

The San Juan Expedition of 1780 was a military campaign during the American Revolutionary War. It was a joint British and Spanish effort aimed at wresting control of territories in Central America, specifically present-day Nicaragua, from the United Provinces of Central America, which at the time was loyal to Spain but contained elements sympathetic to the American Revolution.

The primary objective of the expedition was the capture of the strategic Spanish fort of San Juan, located on the San Juan River, a critical waterway connecting the Caribbean Sea with Lake Nicaragua. Control of this fort and the river would allow the British to potentially split the Spanish colonies and disrupt Spanish trade routes.

The expedition was led by Captain John Polson of the British Army and involved British soldiers, Jamaican colonists, and Miskito Indians, who allied with the British. The Spanish forces defending the fort were led by Don Juan de Ayssa.

Despite an initial British success in capturing outlying Spanish positions, the siege of Fort San Juan proved difficult. The tropical climate, disease, and the tenacity of the Spanish defense significantly hampered the British efforts. Sickness, particularly dysentery and other tropical illnesses, decimated the British ranks.

Ultimately, the British captured Fort San Juan, renaming it Fort Charles. However, the victory was pyrrhic. The heavy casualties from disease made maintaining control of the territory untenable. The British were forced to abandon the fort and the region later that year. The expedition is considered a strategic failure for the British, largely due to the devastating impact of disease and the harsh environmental conditions. The expedition had a severe impact on the health of those involved and helped to further erode the already strained British resources during the American Revolutionary War.