Battle of Jersey

1781 battle of the American Revolutionary War

The Battle of Jersey took place on 6 January 1781 when French forces during the Anglo French War (1778–1783) and the American Revolutionary War unsuccessfully invaded the British ruled island of Jersey to remove the threat it posed to French and American shipping. Jersey provided a base for British privateers. The French expedition was defeated, losing nearly half its force, including its commander, Baron Philippe de Rullecourt, who died of wounds sustained in the fighting. The battle is often remembered for the death of the British commander, Major Peirson, and a painting based on his final moments by John Singleton Copley.

Only 14 mile (23 km) off the coast of France, and placed on the principal sea borne supply route to the French naval base at Brest, the Channel Islands, including Jersey, was a location of strategic importance during any war between Britain and France. Large numbers of privateers operated out of the islands, causing chaos amongst French merchant shipping. Jersey privateers even operated off the coast of America. The French government decided to neutralise this threat. Furthermore, at the time, Gibraltar was in the midst of the Great Siege: contemporary British newspapers reported that the attack on Jersey was an attempt to distract British attention from Gibraltar and divert military resources away from the siege.

On 1 May 1779, during the Anglo French War (1778–83) a French force under the command of the French born Prince of Nassau Siegen attempted a landing at St Ouen's Bay. Early that morning lookouts sighted five large vessels and a great number of boats some three leagues off the coast, proceeding towards the coast to effect a landing. Guns on the cutters and small craft supporting the landing fired grapeshot at the defenders on the coast. The defenders, the half regiment of 78th Seaforth Highlanders and Jersey militia, together with some field artillery that they dragged through the sand of the beaches, had by fast marching arrived in time to oppose the landing. The defenders were able to prevent the landing, suffering only a few men wounded when a cannon burst. The French vessels withdrew, first holding off a league from the coast before leaving the area entirely. De Rullecourt was an adventurer and a colonel in the French Army. King Louis XVI had promised de Rullecourt the rank of general and the Cordon rouge as soon as he had control of the town of Saint Helier, the island's capital. The second commander was an Indian prince named Mir Sayyad, who had been an ally of France in the Seven Years' War and moved to Paris upon the war's conclusion. Sayyad participated in the invasion and advised Rullecourt to sack the town and massacre all the inhabitants. One British officer wrote of him: "If our fate has depended on him, it would not have been of the most pleasant; he advised the French General (Rullecourt) to ransack everything and to put the town to fire and to blood." Rullecourt ignored Sayyad's advice. His captors took Corbet to the Royal Court House in the market square where De Rullecourt convinced Corbet that thousands of French troops had already overwhelmed Jersey. De Rullecourt threatened to burn the town and slaughter the inhabitants if Corbet did not sign a capitulation.

The British were now alerted; with Corbet a prisoner, command passed to the next most senior British commander, the 24 year old Major Francis Peirson, who commanded the troops at Saint Peter's Barracks. included the 78th Regiment, the Battalion of Saint Lawrence, the South East Regiment, and the Compagnies de Saint Jean. The 95th Regiment of Foot, with the rest of the militia, advanced down the other avenues. The British had too many troops for the battle, a British soldier later saying that a third of the British troops would have been more than enough to destroy the French army. Many British soldiers, confused and having nothing to shoot at, fired most of their shots into the air. The French resistance was short, most of the action lasting a quarter of an hour. The French only fired the cannons that they had at their disposal once or twice. The British had a howitzer placed directly opposite the market in the Grande Rue, which at each shot "cleaned all the surroundings of French" according to a member of the British service. Major Peirson and the 95th Regiment advanced towards the Avenue du Marché. Then, when the British were prevailing, a musket ball in the heart killed Major Peirson; his saddened troops, now led by a militia subaltern, Philip Dumaresq, rushed forward and continued the fight. The French had 78 killed and 74 wounded. De Rullecourt was seriously wounded, and died that night at the house of Dr Lerrier in Royal Square The charges against him related to his command of the army troops, in the absence of the Governor of Jersey, surprised and captured and contrary to his duty did take upon himself and agree to sign articles of capitulation and later did verbally induce others to capitulate. Admitting to being captured and signing the capitulation document, the outcome was inconclusive; he was dismissed as Lieutenant Governor, but granted a pension of £250 p. a. for life. Conway had proposed the construction of 30 coastal towers in 1778, and four had been completed by the time of the battle, however they played no part in defending the island. Between 1781 and 1814, the government built nineteen more of Conway's round towers and three Martello towers to improve the island's defences.