San Juan Expedition

1780 CE.

Shown on the map at 11.019°, -84.396°.

The San Juan Expedition took place between March and November 1780 during the American War of Independence when a British force under the command of John Polson and Captain Horatio Nelson landed in Mosquitia. Their aim was to sail up the San Juan River to capture the strategically crucial towns of Granada and León, located on the north-western shore of Lake Nicaragua. Despite an initial success in the capture of the Fortress of the Immaculate Conception, Polson's force never reached Lake Nicaragua and, decimated by yellow fever, was forced to return to Jamaica. The campaign ended in total failure and cost the lives of more than 2,500 men, making it the costliest British disaster of the entire war.

Text from the Wikipedia article San Juan Expedition (1780), licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

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