Background
Gálvez was born on July 23, 1746 in Macharaviaya, Spain. He the son of Matías de Gálvez and Josefa Gallardo Madrid, both of the ancient nobility but at the time of their son's birth greatly impoverished
military leader colonial administrator
Gálvez was born on July 23, 1746 in Macharaviaya, Spain. He the son of Matías de Gálvez and Josefa Gallardo Madrid, both of the ancient nobility but at the time of their son's birth greatly impoverished
Bernardo served in the army in Portugal (1762), in New Spain against the Apaches, in Algiers under Alejandro O'Reilly, and in the military school at Avila.
Sent to Louisiana as colonel of the fixed regiment, Gálvez was appointed governor and intendant of the province by a royal decree of July 10, 1776, and entered upon his duties February 1, 1777. The war that soon broke out with England afforded ample opportunity for the exercise of his talents, and his powerful family connections (his uncle, José de Gálvez, was colonial secretary under Charles III) obtained generous recognition of his services and the full support of the government for his undertakings. By espousing Felícitas de St. Maxent, the daughter of a prominent Louisiana family, he identified himself with the Creoles and assured himself of their cooperation in the impending crisis. In the two years of his administration preceding Spain's entry into the war he did all that he could to weaken the British in that quarter of the world, supplying the American frontiersmen with arms through the agency of Oliver Pollock and seizing British ships that had been carrying on a profitable contraband trade with Louisiana. When war came, he boldly rejected the advice of his cautious counselors and undertook a vigorous offensive. In three campaigns he reduced every British post in West Florida, thus making it possible for Spain to obtain both Floridas in the peace settlement of 1783 and to control the mouth of the Mississippi and the Gulf of Mexico. In 1779 he took Baton Rouge, Manchac, and Natchez on the east bank of the Mississippi, and in 1780 and 1781 respectively Mobile and Pensacola on the Gulf. The conquest of Pensacola is deservedly the most famous episode of his career. So formidable were its defenses that he had to obtain reinforcements from Havana. When these were not forthcoming promptly, he went to Havana in person and, as the nephew of the colonial secretary, got what he wanted. When he was overtaken on his way to Pensacola by a storm that crippled his fleet, he returned to Havana nothing daunted and organized another expedition. Upon the arrival of the fleet before Pensacola, the admiral, who was independent of Gálvez, refused to cross the bar under the guns of the British fort, alleging that to do so would be to court certain destruction. Unable to coerce or persuade him, Gálvez shamed him into compliance by running the gauntlet in a small ship, the Galveztown, that belonged to his own Louisiana forces. This feat was commemorated when he was made Count de Gálvez and Viscount de Galveztown, for on his coat of arms was emblazoned the ship Galveztown with the proud inscription "Yo Solo" ("I Alone"). The siege was finally ended by the explosion of a powder magazine that opened a breach in the fortifications and compelled the surrender of the British garrison (May 9, 1781). Gálvez then sailed for Santo Domingo to take part in a joint Franco-Spanish expedition against Jamaica. In 1783 and 1784 he was in Madrid giving advice to his government in regard to Louisiana, the Floridas, and the American frontier. His influence was increased by the honors that he had won as a result of the West Florida campaign. These included promotion to the rank of major-general, his Castilian title of nobility, and appointment as captain-general of Louisiana and the Floridas. He retained the latter office upon his promotion to the captaincy-general of Cuba and, by special dispensation, even after his elevation to the viceroyalty of New Spain (1785) as successor to his father, Matías de Gálvez. His name is associated with several important measures and episodes in the history of Louisiana and the Floridas. He aided in obtaining the commercial cedula of 1782 and in shaping the policy of Spain in regard to Indian affairs, immigration, the boundary dispute with the United States, and the navigation of the Mississippi River. In 1784 he transferred St. Mark's from East to West Florida and subordinated the commandants of Pensacola and Mobile to the governor of Louisiana. In the winter of 1784-1785 he consulted with Diego de Gardoqui at Havana and gave him supplementary instructions for his negotiation with the United States. In 1785 he received the thanks of Congress for releasing some American merchants imprisoned at Havana, and in the same year he ordered the summary expulsion of the Georgia commissioners who had come to Natchez to establish Bourbon County. He died in Mexico the last of the following November.
Gálvez aided the American Thirteen Colonies in their quest for independence and led Spanish forces against Britain in the Revolutionary War, defeating the British at the Siege of Pensacola (1781) and conquering West Florida. He is one of only eight people to be awarded honorary United States citizenship.
In November 1777, Gálvez married Marie Félicité de Saint-Maxent d'Estrehan, the Creole daughter of Gilbert Antoine de Saint-Maxent and young widow of Jean-Baptiste d'Estrehan's son.
