Battle of Fishguard 1797
Marker: recorded battle location (no official boundary).
Key facts
| Date (year) | 1797 | Wikidata P580 start time |
|---|---|---|
| Century | 18th century | derived |
| Period | Jacobite & later | derived |
| Country | Wales | derived |
| War / conflict | War of the First Coalition | Wikidata |
| Participants | France, Kingdom of Great Britain | Wikidata |
About the battle
The Battle of Fishguard was a military invasion of Great Britain by Revolutionary France during the War of the First Coalition. The brief campaign, on 22–24 February 1797, is the most recent landing on British soil by a hostile foreign force and thus is often referred to as the "last invasion of mainland Britain".
The French general Lazare Hoche had devised a three-pronged attack on Britain in support of the Society of United Irishmen. Two forces would land in Britain as a diversionary effort, while the main body would land in Ireland. Adverse weather and ill-discipline halted two of the forces, but the third, aimed at landing in Wales and marching on Bristol, went ahead.
After brief clashes with hastily assembled British forces and the local civilian population, the invading force's Irish-American commander, Colonel William Tate, was forced into unconditional surrender on 24 February. In a related naval action, the British captured two of the expedition's vessels, a frigate and a corvette.
Visiting the battlefield
In 1997, a 100-foot-long (30 m) Last Invasion Tapestry, sewn by 78 volunteers, was created to mark the 200th anniversary of the events. As of November 2024 only one of the 78 volunteers is alive today and continues to tell the story of her role in creating the embroidery.
Location
- Recorded location (Wikidata; may be approximate): 51.9982, -4.9804
Battlefields are often on private farmland: please keep to public rights of way and respect landowners.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Fishguard (revision 1370110273), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section and section(s) “Memorial tapestry”; condensed by selecting paragraphs; citations removed. No text added.
Battle location from Wikidata (CC0).