The Battle of Fishguard - The last invasion of Britain is featured on a Circular Mosaic about 15 feet across, near the Goodwick Sands Beach where the invasion took place in 1797.
The Mosaic features historic scenes from the battle, including ships, soldiers & ladies in Welsh Costume.
"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 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.
Expedition forces:
The Wales-bound invasion force consisted of 1,400 troops from La Legion Noire (The Black Legion) under the command of Irish-American Colonel William Tate. He had fought against the British during the American War of Independence, but after a failed coup d'etat in New Orleans, he fled to Paris in 1795. Under his command was the Seconde Légion des Francs, more commonly known as Légion Noire ("The Black Legion") due to their using captured British uniforms dyed very dark brown or black. Tate's age has been misrepresented by most historians, following E. H. Stuart Jones in his The Last Invasion of Britain (1950), in which Jones claimed Tate was about 70 years old. In fact, he was only 44.
The naval operation was led by Commodore Castagnier. His four warships were some of the newest in the French fleet: the frigates Vengeance and Résistance (on her maiden voyage), the corvette Constance, and a smaller lugger called the Vautour. Castagnier's orders from the Directory were to land Colonel Tate's troops and then rendezvous with Hoche's Expedition returning from Ireland to give them any assistance they might need.
Landing:
Carregwastad Head, the landing site for Tate's forces.
Of Tate's 1,400 troops, some 600 were French regular soldiers that Napoleon Bonaparte had not required in his conquest of Italy, and 800 were irregulars, including republicans, deserters, convicts and Royalist prisoners. All were well-armed, and some of the officers were Irish. They landed at Carregwastad Head near Fishguard in Pembrokeshire on 22 February. Some accounts report a failed attempt to enter Fishguard harbour, but this scenario does not seem to have appeared in print before 1892 and probably has its origin in a misunderstanding of an early pamphlet about the invasion.[2]:78 In reality, the Legion Noire landed under the cover of darkness at the secluded bay of Carregwastad, three miles west of Fishguard. By 2 a.m. on 23 February, the French had put ashore 17 boatloads of troops, plus 47 barrels of gunpowder, 50 tons of cartridges and grenades and 2,000 stands of arms. One rowing boat was lost in the surf, taking with it several artillery pieces and their ammunition." Text Source: (
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French surrender:
Two French officers arrived at the Royal Oak where Cawdor had set up his headquarters on Fishguard Square. They wished to negotiate a conditional surrender. Cawdor bluffed and replied that with his superior force he would only accept the unconditional surrender of the French forces and issued an ultimatum to Colonel Tate. He had until 10 a.m. on 24 February to surrender on Goodwick Sands, otherwise the French would be attacked.
At 8 a.m. on the 24th, the British forces lined up in battle order on Goodwick Sands. Up above them on the cliffs, the inhabitants of the town came to watch and await Tate's response to the ultimatum. Tate tried to delay it but eventually accepted the terms of the unconditional surrender and, at 2 p.m., the sounds of the French drums could be heard leading the column down to Goodwick. The French piled their weapons and by 4 p.m. the French prisoners were marched through Fishguard on their way to temporary imprisonment at Haverfordwest. Meanwhile, Cawdor had ridden out with a party of his Pembroke Yeomanry Cavalry to Trehowel farm to receive Tate's official surrender. Unfortunately the actual document has been lost.
After brief imprisonment, Tate was returned to France in a prisoner exchange in 1798, along with most of his invasion force." Text Source: (
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Address:
The Parrog, Goodwick Sands, Fishguard, Pembrokeshire, Wales.