COMMENDATIONS: Commends the pivotal contributions made by Bernardo de Gálvez and other Hispanic people during the American Revolution

ENROLLED
2026 Regular Session
HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 7
BY REPRESENTATIVE BAYHAM
A RESOLUTION
To commend the pivotal contributions made by Bernardo de Gálvez and other Hispanic
people to the success of the American Revolution.
WHEREAS, the United States achieved independence not only through the efforts
of American Revolutionaries but also because of the contributions and commitment of allied
foreign powers like Spain; Spain entered the war as a French ally in 1779 and provided
support to revolutionaries by means of funds and supplies and by land and sea military
operations; and
WHEREAS, the first foreign weapons for the Revolution came from Spain in early
1775 as a result of a petition from the Congress of Massachusetts; these supply lines were
achieved using the long-established commercial relations between coastal merchants and
Spanish traders such as Diego de Gardoqui from Bilbao; and
WHEREAS, Spain appointed Juan de Miralles as representative to the Continental
Congress of Philadelphia in 1779 and had several meetings about strategy and funding
matters with George Washington in his Sommerville and Morristown headquarters in New
Jersey; he passed away in May 1780 due to illness contracted during his mission; and
WHEREAS, Spain opened its ports to the Continental Navy ships and United States
privateers; Spain also sent a huge combat force of eleven thousand soldiers and twelve
thousand sailors aboard a hundred ships to Havana in 1780 to fight in America; and
WHEREAS, Bernardo de Gálvez was a military commander and governor of Spanish
Louisiana who, like his predecessor Luis de Unzaga, continued to send supplies to the
American rebels up the Mississippi river during the Revolutionary War; and
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HR NO. 7 ENROLLED
WHEREAS, de Gálvez had an army of Spanish, French, African American, Mexican,
Cuban, Native American, and Anglo-American troops and led the effort of Spain against
British possessions along the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico, which both came
under threat during a crucial point in the war; and
WHEREAS, de Gálvez and his troops defeated the British at battles in Baton Rouge;
Natchez, Mississippi; and Mobile, Alabama; in 1781, he led the longest siege conducted in
America during the revolution, which lasted for two months in Pensacola, Florida, and his
troops captured the capital of British West Florida; although wounded, he demonstrated
bravery that forever endeared him to the United States soldiers; and
WHEREAS, on December 9, 2014, a portrait of de Gálvez was hung in the Capitol
of the United States, and seven days later, the Congress of the United States approved a joint
resolution to grant him honorary posthumous United States citizenship; and
WHEREAS, Spanish troops were commanded by Fernando de Leyva during the
defense of St. Louis, Missouri; the Spanish presence in the upper Missouri and the capture
of Fort Saint Joseph, Illinois, prevented Great Britain from seizing the Western territories
and launching operations against the Continental Army; and
WHEREAS, other Hispanic individuals fought in the Revolutionary War, including
Jorge Farragut and Miguel Yznardy in North Carolina and South Carolina, along with others
who joined the ranks of the Continental Army and Navy; Spain sent military supplies and
funds to the Continental Congress throughout the Revolutionary War and tasked
de Gardoqui with the management of these resources; and
WHEREAS, hundreds of Hispanics who were captured and taken as prisoners
suffered and died aboard British prison ships, many of which were stationed in Brooklyn,
New York; and
WHEREAS, the decisive victory at the battle of Yorktown, Virginia, was made
possible by funds raised for Spanish authorities by Francisco de Saavedra and Hispanic
people from Havana, Puerto Rico, and Mexico; these funds accounted for a month of wages
for the Continental Army and funded additional French reinforcements that joined the
campaign; and
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WHEREAS, thousands of Hispanic soldiers and sailors fought on land and sea from
the Mediterranean to the Atlantic, to the Caribbean and to Central America; these soldiers
were of decisive strategic importance for American independence; and
WHEREAS, Spain conducted military operations with Hispanic militiamen under
the command of Matias de Gálvez in the coasts of Nicaragua and Guatemala from 1780 to
1782, expelling British forces in the area and preventing them from using these locations as
military bases for fighting in North America; Spanish troops from Havana transported
aboard U.S. ships captured the islands of the Bahamas from the British in 1782.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the House of Representatives of the
Legislature of Louisiana does hereby commend the pivotal contributions made by Bernardo
de Gálvez and many other Hispanic people during the American Revolution; does hereby
acknowledge the pivotal role of Spain and Hispanic America in the triumph of the American
Revolution; and does hereby urge that their role in American history be taught in schools,
printed in publications, shown in museums, and honored accordingly.
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
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