# French Recapture of Saint-Louis (1779)

URL: https://allhistories.com/senegal/timeline/1779-french-recapture-of-saint-louis
Location: Saint-Louis, Senegal
Themes: battle

When France joined the American War of Independence against Britain in 1778, its ministers saw an opportunity to recover the Senegal colony lost in 1758. The British garrison at Saint-Louis was small, unhealthy and poorly supplied, and the Province of Senegambia had few defences. A French expedition commanded by Armand Louis de Gontaut, Duc de Lauzun, with naval forces under the Marquis de Vaudreuil, sailed for Senegal at the end of 1778. Arriving at the mouth of the river in January 1779, it found Saint-Louis almost undefended, and the British surrendered the fort on 30 January 1779. The French then destroyed British posts on the Gambia, including Fort James. Britain in turn occupied Gorée, which the French had evacuated, later that year. The reconquest restored French control of the Senegal River and the gum trade and effectively ended the British Province of Senegambia. Its results were confirmed in the peace settlement of 1783. The fighting in Senegambia was a minor theatre of a global war in which France supported the American colonists against Britain. French forces in the region also seized British goods and shipping, and the gum trade was soon restored to French merchants. At this point in the timeline (30 January 1779), the British Governor of Senegal (Senegambia) was William Lacy (18 August 1778 – 11 February 1779); the King of Great Britain and Ireland was George III (25 October 1760 – 11 February 1779); the Damel of Cayor and Teigne of Baol (Damel-Teigne) was Birayama Faatim-Penda Fall (1777–1790).

## Why it matters
The recapture returned Saint-Louis permanently to France apart from a further British occupation in 1809–1817.

Ruler at the Time: [William Lacy](https://allhistories.com/senegal/rulers/gov-william-lacy-2)

King of Great Britain and Ireland: George III
Damel of Cayor and Teigne of Baol (Damel-Teigne): Birayama Faatim-Penda Fall

## Sources
- [Wikipedia — Armand Louis de Gontaut](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armand_Louis_de_Gontaut)
- [Wikipedia — Anglo-French War (1778–1783)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglo-French_War_(1778–1783))
- [UNESCO World Heritage — Island of Saint-Louis](https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/956)
- [Wikipedia — Wolof And Serer Kingdoms And The Atlantic Trade (period overview)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cayor)