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Commanded by Field Marshal [[Bernardo de Gálvez]], Governor of Louisiana and architect of the successful Spanish campaign, a powerful flotilla of warships, that had exploited a weakness in the British land based naval defenses, neutralized outer British defenses and began an amphibious siege (led by the [[Wikipedia:Spanish Navy Marines|Infanteria de Marina]]) of the town on [[March 9]]. The Spanish forces included 580 officers and men (or about nine percent of the entire Spanish soldiery) from the [[Wikipedia:Regiment of Hibernia|Regiment of Hibernia]], one of the three regiments, at that time, of the Irish Brigade of Spain.
British Major General [[Wikipedia:John Campbell, of Strachur|John Campbell]] clung tenaciously to the sturdy defenses of [[Fort George]] until Spanish artillery fire struck close to the door of the British powder magazine and set fire to it on [[May 8]] at 9:30 in the morning. When the smoke cleared away, over 100 British casualties could be seen strewn about the emplacement, most of them fatalities. The Spaniards then took possession of the [[Queen's Redoubt]], entering through a yawning breach caused by the explosion. Just before three o'clock, Campbell raised a white flag.
==Timeline==