THE LAST INVASION OF BRITAIN
■ THE last proper invasion of Britain took place today in 1797 – but what was it all about?
❑ By 1797, Britain was on the verge of bankruptcy due to the cost of maintaining its military and subsidising those of its European allies.
❑ The French under General Lazare Hoche decided to take advantage and launched a triple-pronged attack. Two sets of troops would land in Britain (one near Newcastle and the other in Wales) and one in Bantry Bay, Ireland.
❑ In December 1796, Hoche, below, and his men landed in Ireland but the weather was so bad they sailed back to France.
❑ In January 1797, the expedition to Newcastle set out, but poor weather and ill discipline forced that to return to France.
❑ On February 16, 1797, the third force of four French ships sailing under Russian colours set out for Wales from Brest. It was made up of 1,400 men – some regular soldier but many convicts and other undesirables – under the command of Irish-American Colonel William Tate, 44.
❑ Tate’s troops were nicknamed the Black Legion as they wore captured British uniforms, dyed brown or black.
❑ The Black Legion landed at Carreg Wastad Point near Fishguard, Pembrokeshire, on February 22, 1797. By 2am the next day, the French had brought ashore 17 boatloads of troops, 47 barrels of gunpowder, 50 tons of cartridges and grenades, and 2,000 stands of arms.
❑ Two local dignitaries, 1st Lord Cawdor and landowner William Knox, sent their own soldiers to confront the enemy and they were joined by irate townsfolk and the Pembrokeshire Militia.
❑ The French moved inland capturing some farms and Llanwnda Church. Many of the convicts under Tate’s command did not like the idea of being killed on foreign soil and deserted. Many others passed out from too much booze. Tate’s senior staff advised surrender.
❑ On February 23, Cawdor had set up his HQ at the Royal Oak pub, below, in Fishguard Square. Two Frenchmen arrived to negotiate a conditional surrender. Cawdor refused and told them to give up by 10am on February 24 or face annihilation. Tate hesitated but gave up by 4pm.
❑ Tate was imprisoned but in 1798 he was sent back to France in exchange for a captured British soldier. It is not known what happened to Tate then.
❑ Twelve Frenchmen were captured by 47-year-old Jemima Nicholas, the wife of a Fishguard cobbler. She locked them inside St Mary’s Church and is memorialised with a stone tablet.
❑ To make the 200th anniversary of the invasion in 1997, 78 Fishguard locals volunteered to sew a 100ft-long Last Invasion Tapestry.